DYNOSORT

The novel approach to sensor-based sorting of raw materials, developed by HZDR/HIF and HZDR/THEIAX, will be tested and validatedby joint work of RIS ESEE – based partners: the innovative sorting equipment manufacturer company COMEX Polska, the Technical University of Kosice with a strategic role in Slovakian RM market development, and DIAMO – a state enterprise dealing with elimination of consequences from mining activities. The intention is to develop a scalable simulation-based approach that allows for selection of the optimal sensor for sensor-based sorting of raw materials.

As a case study, the project will pre-sort polymetallic material of stockpiles from mine waste in the Příbram area. Stockpiles from former mining activities in the Příbram mining district (Czech Republic) have a total tonnage of 39 Mio t and contain approximately 380.000 t of polymetallic ore. In the following years, the Czech state is going to invest 148 Mio. € from the state budget to eliminate the environmental impact from former mining activities in the Příbram area by applying ore sorting to separate a fraction of high density material from silicic material during the remediation of the waste stockpiles. The latter serves as building material in road construction. The dense fraction contains a significant amount of lead and zinc and considerable amounts of the critical raw materials (CRM) niobium, tantalum, indium, antimony and cobalt, as well as silver that are currently stored for further treatment.

The DYNOSORT project will efficiently analyze representative samples from the high-density non-radioactive fraction and produce machine-learning-optimized simulations that qualify to determine the sensors and the sorting setup that is most suitable for efficient and sustainable separation of the material. The setup will be tested in a pilot site, in COMEX premises, processing material from two different stockpiles. After completion of the project, the DYNOSORT consortium is going to bid for an EIT RM Upscaling project in which the scalability of the technology is validated. A preliminary go-to-market strategy is going to be developed in order to prepare the market launch of a potential project spin-off.

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