About this webinar
Although coal has been beneficiated, or washed, for over 100 years, the treatment of fine coal less than 1mm in size has remained problematic for technical reasons associated with the behaviour of fine coal under gravity. As a result, fine coal has historically rarely been treated and has been stored in either specialised dumps on surface or in abandoned underground workings. In other cases, fine coal has been dumped with other coal waste or in the opencast spoil dumps prior to rehabilitation. In virtually all situations, this has led to both airborne and water pollution. In addition, coal producers suffer economic loss by not selling a feasible product. This means treating the fine coal currently produced and potentially reprocessing old dumps has the benefits of both removing environmental hazards and creating additional economic opportunities. The webinar will discuss the technical challenges and opportunities in treating fine coal.