Editing Slurry pipeline (section)

== Process ==
The concentrate of the ore is mixed with water and then pumped over a long distance to a port where it can be shipped for further processing.  At the end of the pipeline, the material is separated from the [slurry] in a filter press to remove the water.  This water is usually subjected to a waste treatment process before disposal or return to the mine. Slurry pipelines offer an economic advantage over railroad transport and much less noise disturbance to the environment, particularly when mines are in extremely remote areas.

Pipelines must be suitably engineered to resist abrasion from the solids as well as corrosion from the soil. Some of these pipelines are lined with [[high-density polyethylene]] (HDPE).

Typical materials that are transferred using slurry pipelines include [[coal]],<ref>Hydraulic Transport of Coal in Combination With Oil Granulation / V.Biletsky // 8th International Conference on “Transport and Sedimentation of Solid Particles” 24–26 January 1995, Pragye, Czech Republic. D6-1 – D6-11.</ref> [[copper]], [[iron]], and [[phosphate]] concentrates,  [[limestone]], [[lead]], [[zinc]], [[nickel]], [[bauxite]] and [[oil sands]].

Slurry pipelines are also used to transport [[tailings]] from a mineral processing plant after the ore has been processed in order to dispose of the remaining rocks or clays.

For oil sand plants, a mixture of oil sand and water may be pumped over a long distance to release the [[bitumen]] by [[ablation]]. These pipelines are also called hydrotransport pipelines.