What is the Definition of Mineral Processing?
Note: The answers to these questions should not be used to make formal determinations of the status of how wastes at a particular facility are regulated under 40 CFR 261.4(b)(7). Such opinions should be secured from the RCRA authorized state or the EPA Regional office.
The Agency discusses the definition of mineral processing in the September 1, 1989 rulemaking (54 FR 36592).For purposes of this rule, mineral processing wastes are generated by operations downstream of beneficiation and originate from a mineral processing operation as defined by the following elements:
Excluded Bevill wastes must be solid wastes as defined by EPA.
Excluded solid wastes must be uniquely associated with mineral industry operations
Excluded solid wastes must originate from mineral processing operations that possess all of the following attributes:
Follow beneficiation of an ore or mineral (if applicable);
Serve to remove the desired product from an ore or mineral, or from a beneficiated ore or mineral, or enhance the characteristics of ores or minerals, or beneficiated ores or minerals;
Use mineral-value feedstocks that are comprised of less than 50 percent scrap materials;
Produce either a final mineral product or an intermediate to the final product; and
Do not combine the product with another material that is not an ore or mineral, or beneficiated ore or mineral (e.g., alloying), do not involve fabrication or other manufacturing activities, and do not involve further processing of a marketable product of mineral processing.
Residuals from treatment of excluded mineral processing wastes must be historically or presently generated and must meet the high volume and low hazard criteria in order to retain excluded status.
Processing operations generally follow beneficiation and include techniques that often destroy the ore or mineral, such as smelting, electrolytic refining, and acid attack or digestion. EPA also wishes to emphasize that operations following the initial "processing" step in the production sequence are also considered processing operations, irrespective of whether they involve only the techniques defined above as beneficiation. Therefore, solid wastes arising from such operations are considered mineral processing wastes, rather than beneficiation wastes.