Waste management and treatment of copper slag BCL, Selebi Phikwe Botswana: review

Abstract

The production of copper bears both viable product and by product know as slag which is a challenge to dispose and poses a problem to the environment. BCL holds copper slag is seen as waste which is iron - opulent containing heavy metals which can seep into ground water and affect environment. These metal accumulate in millions of tonnes year after year posing as a threat to the environment and need to be managed to avoid them being harmful. This paper explores metallurgical ways of treating the slag and utilizing it in different ways. Extracting metals such as iron is one way of managing the slag, as previous research and present indicate that iron can be recovered from copper slag. This will help manage the waste slag and rehabilitate land sustainably. The copper slag can also be used in cement and concrete production and provides potential environmental and economic benefits for all parties involved. The BCL dump will be regarded as raw material rather than waste hence igniting management and treatment of waste to sustainability.