Anshan Iron and Steel Group Corporation: developing the comprehensive utilization of iron tailings to enhance green benefits

Company Profile
Anshan Iron and Steel Group Corporation (AnSteel), established in May, 2010, is restructured with the merger of AnSteel and Panzhihua Iron and Steel Group Corporation (PanSteel).

Challenge
With the large-scale development and utilization of iron ore resources, the iron tailings has become one of solid waste with the largest output and lowest utilization ratio in China. According to estimates, there are more than 12 billion tons of tailings in China and the number keeps increasing at 400 million tons per year. All these tailings not only occupy a lot of land and destroy vegetation, but also pollute surface water, groundwater and atmospheric environment because they contain radioactive elements like lead and zinc and other chemicals.
AnSteel discharges iron tailings about 35 million tons per year, and has accumulated over 600 million tons of tailings in its major tailing ponds. Today, the mineral resources are increasingly rare while people are increasing their awareness on environmental protection. Since the tailing belongs to secondary resource, its utilization is an inevitable choice for AnSteel to achieve greater development.
As the tailings utilization is faced with greater difficulty and involves a wide range of problems, which not only decide the survival and development of the enterprise, but affect the environment and safety, it has become one of social concerns. Therefore, the better utilization of tailings is the necessary requirement for AnSteel to implement the scientific concept of development, promote the harmony between people and the nature, develop ecological civilization, build a resource-saving and environmental-friendly society, and fulfill corporate social responsibility.

Solutions
Taking the increase of resource utilization and economic efficiency as the goal, AnSteel makes great efforts to develop the comprehensive utilization of iron ore tailings, speeds up the transformation of mining enterprise from metallurgical raw material base to the integrated resource base, and reduces the output and emission of tailings. In the end, it will utilize all of them to achieve its goal for building a non-waste mining enterprise.

- Strenghten publicity and raise the awareness on tailings utilization. AnSteel has made wide publicity on the tailings utilization through various channels to change production concept and enhance the awareness on the tailings utilization. AnSteel has also rewarded handsomely the units or projects that bring outstanding performance in this respect, and increase their publicity to play their exemplary and leading effects.

- Strengthen leadership and implement effective management. AnSteel has set up a leader group for the utilization of resources, standardized the approval system for the tailing utilization projects, and taken technical measures to supervise and protect the resources in the dump yard and tailing pond. Additionally, AnSteel has integrated the utilization of secondary resources into its development strategy to prevent short-term behavior and other adverse consequences.

- Extend its communication with the outside and follow the latest technology. AnSteel has extended its communication and cooperation with the other companies at home and abroad. Its exchanges and cooperation with the Technology Centre of Tailings Utilization of the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, University of Science & Technology Beijing, and China Enfei Engineering Corporation has helped it introduce and absorb advanced foreign experience and applicable technology, and established the mechanism for exchanging and promoting tailings utilization technology and experience, laying the theoretical basis for its research on the tailings utilization and provid the direction for its industrialization.
Considering the security and the future large-scale use of tailings pond, AnSteel has decided to focus on its online development and utilization, and take various measures to achieve its emission reduction target, recover residual metal in the tailings, and produce building materials.
Adhering to the principles of “utilizing, demonstrating and reserving tailings” in the tailings utilization technology, AnSteel has strengthened scientific and technological research and development, especially in the development of micro-ceramic-glass slate, super-durable high-strength tailing concrete,  dry-mixed mortar, and cemented backfilling materials, by which it has improved tailings utilization and promoted the healthy and sustainable economic development of mines.
Mobilize all forces to develop and utilize tailings resources. In consideration of huge amount of tailings resources, AnSteel has coordinated all forces, shared out the work, and made multi-channel financing for projects to improve the utilization of resources and environmental remediation, and build the tailings utilization project into the national demonstration project.

Achievement
AnSteel’s research on tailing utilization has been included in the major technological innovation projects of central enterprises. Up to now, AnSteel has made a number of achievements in this project, and applied for 9 patents with 12 proprietary technologies. In 2013, AnSteel obtained the certificate for its scientific and technological achievement of “experimental study on producing high-value building materials with iron ore tailings”. The appraisal committee believes that AnSteel has optimized and created the technical process to produce high-value building materials with iron ore tailings. This technological achievement is of great significance for mining enterprises to develop circular economy, expand resource industries, and promote their transformation and upgrading.
In 2013, AnSteel achieved the capacity of Tailings Reselection Project by 200,000 tons per year. In its industrialized project of replacing river sand with tailings, it achieved the production of 1 million cubic meters per year, and hoped to produce 2 million cubic meters by 2015, utilizing about 2 million tons of tailings. Its annual production of foam concrete building panels and blocks came up to 100,000 cubic
meters, consuming about 100000 tons of tailings, and its annual capacity of building blocks, pavement bricks and sand-lime bricks was 80 million pieces, consuming 200,000 tons of tailings.

Prospect
The tailings utilization is a huge systematic project, and involves a wide range of technologies. AnSteel will continue to increase investment in the science and technology, strengthen its cooperation with the research institutes and relevant companies, and draw on advanced technology to accelerate the transformation of scientific research achievements. In addition, it will speed up the industrialization process of tailings utilization to reduce the output and emission of tailings, and finally make full use of tailing resources and create a demonstration mine.