Mineral Extraction--Result Studies of World Bank

Abstract

During the last 25 years geothermal scientists have conducted research in the area of mineral recovery from geothermal systems. In September 2005 the World Bank sponsored the first International Mineral Extraction from Geothermal Brines Conference in Kamchatka, Russia with the primary aim to initiate and coordinate efforts to improve the economics of mineral recovery from geothermal systems on a global scale. In 2006, the second International Mineral Extraction Conference was organized and held in Tucson, Arizona, United Statesto highlight the research results which had been achieved in this field. This second conference was again sponsored by the World Bank GeoFund and the United States Dept. of Energy. The recovery of minerals from geothermal brines can be viewed positively in two ways: 1. The economics of geothermal sites can be significantly improved if revenue can be derived through the recovery and sale of valuable mineral byproducts for example, silica, lithium, zinc, manganese and a number of rare earths. 2. Removal of minerals such as silica from geothermal brines can improve geothermal plant efficiency by allowing for additional energy extraction prior to injection of the spent brine.