OREANDA-NEWS. September 3, 2012. The 12mn-real (USD 5.91mn) project is currently being funded by national development bank BNDES, with 3mn reais in counterparty funding from Vale. Research is being conducted at the company's Sossego mine tailings dam in Carajas, Para state. Vale's dam receives all the processed mineral waste, or about 90Mt, with 0.07% copper content residues, paper Folha de Sao Paulo reported.

The first step is to identify the ideal micro-organism to absorb the greatest possible amount of copper. Researchers have collected 35 samples of different micro-organisms living in the Sossego dam, the report said. In the second stage, the university will develop a process for removing the copper absorbed by the micro-organisms, which will allow its commercial use.

At current copper prices, Vale could obtain gross revenues of 2.8bn reais, or some USD 1.4bn, by recovering copper from the tailings dam through the new technology, a figure larger than that invested by the miner to start operations at Sossego, or 1.2bn reais spent in the 1997-2004 period, according to the report.

If successful, the initiative would pioneer the viable recovery of copper mining and processing residues. "That would be revolutionary technology for the mining industry," Vale's copper operations COO Eugenio Victorasso said.

Vale has current production capacity of 300,000t/y of copper at its Sossego mine and 100,000 t/y of copper concentrate at its Salobo mine in Para state. Rio de Janeiro-based Vale is the world's largest iron ore producer and exporter.