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By Ali Bunjaku, Lauri Pesonen, Hannu Johto

It is well known that there are many ways to process copper concentrates into copper anodes using the pyrometallurgical route. All modern copper smelting technologies are fundamentally energy efficient and environmentally safe options, and therefore choosing one depends on the desired capacity range, feed impurity levels, plant location, flexibility needs, overall energy use, and of course smelter economics in both the short and long term. This paper focuses on comparing different solutions which have potentially the lowest variable opex (operational expense), meaning in practice finding out which technology offers the best chances for profit maximization under certain scenarios. For the comparison, we chose to have a closer look at Outotec Flash Smelting (FSF) – Peirce-Smith Converting (PSC), Outotec Flash Smelting (FSF) – Outotec- Kennecott Flash Converting (FCF), Outotec Ausmelt TSL Smelting (ASF) - Peirce-Smith Converting (PSC), Outotec Ausmelt TSL Smelting (ASF) - Outotec Ausmelt TSL Converting (ACF), Mitsubishi Smelting Process (MIT), Bottom Blowing Reactor (BBR) – Bottom Blowing Continuous Converting (BCC), and Side Blowing Furnace (SBF) - Top Blowing Converting (TBC) since these seem to be the main state-of-art technologies now being applied in many recent copper smelter projects around the world. The work was carried out by modelling each smelting route by using the new HSC SIM 9 simulation software and applying operation time, energy, and consumables consumption numbers for each unit process and stream. Combined with cost data, the exercise produced a rich set of information which will be shown in detail for each area per scenario. The authors’ goal here was to provide a fair comparison where each technology can be evaluated from various perspectives such as electricity use or refractory consumption. INTRODUCTION Copper can be produced either pyrometallurgically or hydrometallurgically. The hydrometallurgical route is used only for a limited amount of the world’s copper production (~20%) and is normally only considered in connection with in-situ leaching of copper ores. On the other hand, most of the copper extraction from Cu-Fe-S minerals is pyrometallurgical (~80%) (Schlesinger 2011, ICSG 2017). Thus, several different processes can be applied for copper production, including the following state-of-the-art technologies: Outotec Flash Smelting (FSF) – Outotec-Kennecott Flash Converting (FCF) Outotec Flash Smelting (FSF) – Peirce-Smith Converting (PSC) Outotec Ausmelt TSL Smelting (ASF) - Peirce-Smith Converting (PSC) Outotec Ausmelt TSL Smelting (ASF) - Outotec Ausmelt TSL Converting (ACF) Mitsubishi Smelting Process (MIT) Bottom Blowing Reactor (BBR) – Bottom Blowing Continuous Converting (BCC) Side Blowing Furnace (SBF) - Top Blowing Converting (TBC)

Jan 1, 2019

The NorthMet deposit of PolyMet Mining is located in northern Minnesota, adjacent to the Iron Range. The deposit is polymetallic with values of Cu, Ni, Co, Zn, Pt, Pd and Au. The processing route selected for extraction of these values utilizes bulk sulfide flotation followed by hydrometallurgical treatment. The hydrometallurgical process has been thoroughly tested on the bench and pilot plant scale at SGS Lakefield Research. The major steps in the process are; ? Chloride-assisted total pressure oxidation for extraction of base and precious metals ?Thickening/filtration/washing of the barren residue from total oxidation ? Reduction and precipitation of Au, Pt, Pd from the oxidation solution ? Partial neutralization of autoclave acid using limestone ? Copper SXlEW for production of copper cathode ? Treatment of a portion of the raffinate from Cu SX to recover NilCo/Zn as either a mixed Ni-Co-Zn hydroxide or as separate Ni hydroxide, Co hydroxide and a Zn sulfate solution. ? Recycling of the remaining raffinate to the autoclave as coolant The process flowsheet, chemistry and bench/pilot plant test results will be reported in this paper.

Jan 1, 2007

By Charles J. Zablocki, Robert J. Kamilli

"Buried, possibly mineralized granite cupolas at the Silsilah tin deposit in Saudi Arabia (lat. 26°06' N, long. 42°40' E) have been successfully located using a closely spaced electric-field-ratio profiling technique. In this study, electrical fields at 27 and 270 Hz across grounded electrodes spaced 50 m apart were measured along six traverses. This method is interpretable by inspection, unlike the dipole-dipole technique, which requires mathematical modeling for interpretation.In the study area, the technique allowed the authors to identify and distinguish among unroofed granite cupolas, cupolas with their aplite-pegmatite apical contact zones intact, strong (quartz-rich) and weak (relatively quartz-poor) greisens, dikes, faults, and pervasively argillized rocks.This method should be useful in the valuation of other shallow mineral prospects in similar settings in other parts of the world, especially deposits for which the location of vertical contrasts is important, such as veins or mineralized zones associated with the apexes of small igneous cupolas."

Jan 1, 1993

By J. Aiello

"A brief history of previous mining activity on Coal Mountain, near Corbin, British Columbia, is followed by a description of the steps leading up to the resumption of mining in /974 by Byron Creek Collieries. New developments, including a preparation plant, a rail spur and a totally enclosed facility, as well as operating techniques, are also discussed. IntroductionThe Corbin Mine of Byron Creek Collieries Limited is located in southeastern British Columbia, approximately 110 air miles southwest of Calgary (Fig. I), 15 miles south of Highway 3 via a newly constructed provincial road (Fig. 2). Development of the area began on July 30, 1905, when D.C. Corbin, a prominent businessman from the northwestern U.S., and his associate E.J . Robert s, first visited the site of Coal Mountain on horseback. Coal was in great demand by railways and other industrial users, so the Corbin Coal and Coke Co. , after acquiring 15,000 acres of land in the area , began to develop a mine.F.J. Roberts was responsible for the construction of the 14-mile rail spur, the Eastern British Columbia Railway, which joined the mine to the CPR main line at the McGillivray Loop. Rail access to the mine and its developing community, Corbin, B.C., was completed in September 1908, the same year that the first underground mine began production.The Corbin Coal and Coke Co. operated six mines on Coal Mountain (Fig. 3), and production from 1908 to 1930 inclusive totalled 2,337,800 tons. This production was allocated to the mines as shown in Table 1. No.3, 4 and 6 mines were operated intermittently from 1931 to 1935."

Jan 1, 1980

By S. Koski, J. Vanderbeek, J. Enriquez

"The Cerro Verde copper-molybdenum porphyry mine, majority owned and operated by Freeport- McMoRan Copper & Gold, is located 30 km southwest of Arequipa Peru. The concentrator, which produces copper and molybdenum concentrates, started operating in late 2006 with a 108,000 tpd design capacity, processing primary sulfide ore (mainly chalcopyrite and molybdenite). Plant capacity was recently increased to 120,000 tpd. The comminution circuit consists of one 60” x 113"" primary crusher, four MP-1000 secondary crushers in closed circuit with dry screens, four 2.4m x 1.6m High Pressure Grinding Rolls (HPGRs) in closed circuit with wet screens, and four 7.3m x 11m gearless ball mills in closed circuit with cyclones. The HPGR circuit is fed by the Secondary Crushing circuit product at a T80 of 35 millimeters, and the HPGR circuit product feeds the Ball Mill circuit at a T80 of 3000 microns.This paper describes operating experiences with HPGRs during these first four years highlighting improvements in operating practices and presentation of data regarding operational efficiencies, also discussed are the primary benefits provided by HPGRs such as production of micro fractured particles, reduced ore Bond Work Index, and reduced power consumption. Cerro Verde represents the first installation of HPGRs in both the copper industry and large scale hard rock mining."

Jan 1, 2012

By T. McCallum, B. Wellbrook, T. Ratnaweera

Leaching of copper (Cu) concentrates produces elevated concentrations of Cu and acid, which makes solvent extraction (SX) processing more challenging. Maintaining extraction targets can be more difficult with higher pregnant leach solution (PLS) grades, and variability of PLS Cu and acid can lead to increased chemical iron transfer. Diluting concentrate leach feeds with an existing heap leach inventory makes SX processing easier. However, considerations about how much to dilute and where to distribute the flow into the SX configuration must be carefully evaluated, given their impact on metallurgical performance. In this paper, characteristics of a concentrate leach feed are discussed, along with considerations for processing by SX. Also reviewed are pilot plant results of concentrate leach distribution into SX and plans for commercial testing. INTRODUCTION Hydrometallurgical processing of copper concentrates continues to gain interest from the industry. Treatment by smelting and electrorefining continues to dominate, accounting for ~80% of global copper production, but is faced with its own challenges (Li et al, 2017). The case for increased hydrometallurgical processing has been discussed as high grade ore deposits are diminishing, capital costs for smelting are high, and the environmental aspects present challenges for sustainable practice. The hydromet copper industry is also turning a corner as easily leachable copper oxide deposits are depleting, and excess SX-EW capacity exists in certain regions. The transition to hydrometallurgical processing of copper concentrates will take a bit of effort as leaching of copper sulfides is difficult and byproduct credits must be considered. Various POX leaching processes have been studied and proposed to the industry as viable practices. Of the many processes, commercial use has been practiced with the Mount Gordon Copper Process, total and partial pressure oxidation by Freeport-McMoRan at their Bagdad and Morenci, Arizona complexes, the Sepon Copper Process in Laos, and the bioleach BIOCOP™ process in Chile (Dreisinger, 2016).

Jan 1, 2019

By Alan R. Holt

"This paper provides an overview of the use of uranium and coal in Ontario Hydro's generation program. The dynamics of available supply sources including mining and transportation infrastructures and regional considerations are described. Included is a discussion of needed procurement strategies, both in place and planned, to meet fluctuating fuel requirements while ensuring adequate supply security and cost effectiveness. IntroductionDuring the first half of this century, Ontario Hydro or the Hydro Electric Power Commission of Ontario, as it was then known substantially supplied all of the province's electricity needs from a large number of hydraulic generating stations. Although hydraulic power still provides a very significant part of Ontario energy requirements, this paper will concentrate on the role of uranium and coal in their generation program. To provide a perspective on the importance of these two fuels, Figure I shows the approximate value of each for the past few years in relation to Hydro's total operating costs. The trend toward increasing nuclear output and a corresponding decline in coal use is also clearly illustrated.Figure 2 shows the currently installed capacity of their three main energy sources, hydraulic, nuclear and coal and the 1986 production totals for each, followed by Table I which compares the average operating or running cost on the basis of dollars per megawatt hour for each type of plant. It demonstrates dramatically why Ontario Hydro base load s its hydraulic and nuclear plants, and why coal has become the swing fuel on the system. Although they have a 1200 megawatt plant in Toronto with natural gas-burning capability, and a 2000 megawatt oil-fired station near Kingston, both are presently mothballed and have not been considered in this paper.This paper starts with a user's perspective of the nuclear fuel supply situation which will be discussed in relation to the usual considerations of security, flexibility and cost."

Jan 1, 1988

By S. Caron, M. Bourassa, J. Châteauneuf, L. Tardif

"Since many years, the Yvan-Vézina gold plant custom mills and processes different ore types that show different behaviors. Because of this, cyanidation control is more complex than for a typical milling operation. In 1992, a Cyancor™ on-line « free cyanide » analyzer has been installed for monitoring and optimizing cyanidation. This implementation significantly reduced cyanide consumption for the overall cyanidation process. In order to further reduce cyanide costs, an automatic control strategy has been implemented to decrease fluctuations of« free cyanide » from their set points.This paper outlines the major steps of the project: process control audit, control strategy development, implementation and running-in period. Control strategy features include data filtering modules, adaptive PID algorithm and set points management modules are also presented. Finally, the strategy efficiency is illustrated with load-disturbance responses.IntroductionLocated in northwestern Quebec, the Yvan-Vézina plant has an average capacity of 1300 t/d using carbon-in-pulp technology. In 1991, the Yvan-Vézina gold plant was processing three types of ores (Beauchemin, Mouska and Silidor mines) and a pyrite concentrate (Beliveau mine). A cyanide reduction program was then undertaken to reduce « free cyanide» fluctuations <6>. To reach this objective, the optimum cyanide concentration was determined for each ore, a continuous monitoring method with the Cyancor™ on-line analyzer was developed and a tighter control of cyanide addition was applied. These modifications to the leaching practice significantly reduced cyanide consumption.After a while, it was observed that regulation of « free cyanide » concentrations could still be improved by the use of an automatic control strategy. Yvan-Vézina and CRM began collaborating in 1995 to develop and implement such a strategy. Results show that main disturbances of the circuit (e.g. ore mineralogy and pulp feed rate) can be significantly overcome in order to reduce their effects on the leaching operation."

Jan 1, 1998

By J. C. Gathje

Newmont acquired the Phoenix Project through the acquisition of Battle Mountain Gold in 2000. Shortly after the acquisition, Newmont Metallurgical Services (NMS) and Nevada Operations began development work on a process to Pressure Oxidize (PDX) precious metal rich copper concentrates from Phoenix using the Lone Tree PDX facilities at Valmy, Nevada. The high precious metals content of the Phoenix concentrate - Au up to -300 g/t and especially Ag, up to -1700 g/t - led Newmont to the development of a High Temperature PDX process that achieves high cyanide leach recovery of Au and Ag, from the PDX solids, without the requirement for a messy and expensive "lime boil" or sulphate destruction process. Base metals content in Phoenix concentrates range from: 15-25 % for Cu, 1-10 % for Zn and 0-2 % for Pb. Excellent solution extraction of Cu and Zn is achieved while Pb is precipitated in the PDX residue. In addition to achieving high Au and Ag recovery this process produces very clean PDX discharge liquors that require minimum effort to remove contaminant metals and PDX solids that have superior settling and filtration characteristics. All of these factors contribute to lower capital and operating costs for the overall process. This paper describes the laboratory and PDX pilot plant developments for this process.

Jan 1, 2004

By G. M. Ritcey

The recovery of copper from low-grade solutions res ulting from dump leaching is well known, whereas the recovery from highly concentrated copper solutions has not been practiced. This paper discusses the use of Ashland Chemical's Kelex 100, a substituted quinoline, for the recovery of copper from solutions resulting from leaching copper-nickel concentrates. A flow sheet is described, and an economic comparison shows Kelex 100 to be superior to either the LIX 64N or LIX 70 reagents of General Mills for the recovery of copper.

Jan 1, 1973

By Ross G. Bertinshaw

"The Line Creek Mine of Crows Nest Resources started mining coal in the fall of 1981. There are seven mineable seams with thicknesses ranging from 1.5 to 13 metres and with dips varying from 0 degrees to 60 degrees. This, together with internal partings and the very friable nature of the coal, creates a number of mining problems.The coal is divided into zones depending on the dip of the seam. Each zone requires a different mining technique to ensure optimum recovery and low dilution while still keeping fines to a minimum.Line Creek employs a combination of hydraulic front shovels and backhoes to mine its coal without blasting or use of dozers. This has been very successful in reducing the proportion of fine coal hauled to the plant, thus improving quality control and reducing costs in coal processing.There have been a number of other benefits from the use of excavators instead of more conventional methods. These include better selectivity, good cleanup, reduction in traffic at the face and lower cost.IntroductionThe Line Creek Mine is situated approximately 25 km north of Sparwood in southeastern British Columbia (Fig. I). Preproduction stripping began in J98J with the first coal shipments made in 1982. In 1983 the mine produced 2.1 million tonnes of raw coal.Similar to other East Kootenay coals, the seams at Line Creek are characterized by their friability, producing a large proportion of fine coal during mining. In an attempt to reduce these fines Crows Nest Resources has instituted the use of hydraulic excavators to mine and load the coal.Hydraulic excavators offer other substantial advantages over front-end loaders and dozers, which has been the conventional system in other mines in the area."

Jan 1, 1985

By Manouchehr Oliazadeh

Talc is used as a gelating, diluting, antimould and softening agent in the pharmaceutical industries. This article reviews efforts made for producing pharmaceutical grade talc from a mine located in the west of Iran, called Masoud Abad. Reaching to the pharmaceutical standards, was the principal goal of the talc beneficiation. Methods such as flotation and leaching were applied to eliminate the impurities. Considering to the negligible Fe content of the ore, the major impurity was calcium carbonate and to some extent dolomite. Depressants used in froth flotation were dextrine, quebraco and sodium silicate. Variation of collectors such as oil petroleum, paraffin, stearic acid were also used. After optimization of the effective parameters, followed by two stages of flotation (rougher and cleaner) acid leaching process was also applied as a complementary step to remove the impurities. CaO impurities in the sample was 11.63% which reduced to 1.03% after two stages of flotation, and finally reached to 0.03% CaO by leaching process. This figure is more lower than the world pharmaceutical standards (i.e. <0.6 % CaO). The highest recovery was 55% at the best conditions. Other impurities (i.e.As, lead, heavy metals ,?) which were at standard levels, confirmed by the authorized health organizations.

May 1, 2001

By Denilson Coutinho, Euler Soares, Paulo de Tarso, Jordana Ferreira, John R. Goode, Andreas Sprecher, Alexandre Rocha

The Serra Verde Project is located in the northern part of Goiás state, Brazil, and comprises 49 mineral claims covering an area of 69,814 ha. The Serra Verde deposit is a rare earth element (REE) enriched weathered granite comparable to the weathered granite, or ionic-clay, deposits found in southeastern China. The Mineral Reserves of the Serra Verde Project total 388 Mt (Measured and Indicated) at an average grade of 1,484 ppm of REE oxide (REO). Several hundred agitated leach and column leach tests have confirmed recovery of about 40 to 55% of the REE, except for Ce, using simple desorption techniques. Present plans call for a heap leach operation followed by precipitation of impurities and precipitation of a pure REE carbonate suitable for refining and separation. The project plan includes initial production of 5,000 t/a of REO, with a high content of heavy and critical REO, rising to 10,000 t/a of REO. This production rate will be obtained by mining of the Mineral Reserves over a 22-year mine life at an initial rate of 6 Mt/a for the first four years with the mining rate thereafter increasing as required by grade and production targets.

Jan 1, 2014

By B. Das

"Computers have been used extensively in the mineral industry in exploration, reserves calculation, mining technology, mineral processing, etc. With respect to coal mining, there are also various applications for evaluating rock slope stability of open pits, design of open pits, underground operations, mine ventilation, ground control, data processing and management information, operations control and certain technological applications. Mine ventilation appears to be the field in underground coal mining touched on most; on the other hand, underground coal mining methods evaluation is represented only sparingly.It is therefore essential to review the status of the computer in underground coal mining methods evaluation in order to define its scope for further application. The paper discusses the roles of the mining engineer, programmer, computer operator and analyst as well as that of the computer. The important parameters will be identified and discussed along with their application for different underground coal mining methods, with their individual unit processes. Mainly, longwall face operations have been covered. Although many models have been of academic interest, they can be considered as important steps in a transition stage which will be followed by more practical applications for computers for underground coal mining method evaluations in the future. This calls for a coordinated effort from all concerned."

Jan 1, 1981

By K. Ghyselbrecht, R. Swennen, Y. W. Chiang, V. Cappuyns, R. M. Santos, T. Van Gerven, B. Meesschaert

Heavy metal contamination from mining and metallurgical activities of aquatic systems poses significant risk to the environment and human populations. The investigation of the distribution and immobilization mechanisms of heavy metals in sediments and soils has recently attained high priority. Different remediation methods can be employed to suppress or eliminate these contaminants. A tailored approach using both commercially available and in-house made adsorbents to rem ediate a heavy metal contamination site due to historical metallurgical activities in north Belgium is studied in this paper.

Jan 1, 2011

By John E. Udd

I N Part I of this paper, Professor Morrison suggested that our technique of causing cracks to develop around openings in a sheet of photoe1ashc plastic is, in effect, a laboratory-scale rockburst. Our investigations have indicated that the location and direction of these cracks are predictable, and that their growth can be controlled. On several occasions, we have been able to cause these cracks to propagate sufficiently slowly to be followed, with the naked eye. In practice, the rate of growth, gradual or sudden, would depend upon rock properties. This part of the paper presents an analysis of the stresses surrounding the openings before and after failure and also this author&apos;s views on the causes and after-effects of cracking. An attempt is made to correlate the stress patterns with those deter-mined from pure mathematics. Considering that the openings, except for the central enlargement, are long apertures with somewhat rounded corners, they might be compared with elongated ellipses having axes ratios of about 20:1 or with

Jan 1, 1963

By G Anders

The mucking out of sub-level headings by slusher and by Autoloader is described, and the performance and costs of both methods are compared. The introduction of the Autoloader is taken as an example to illustrate the meth-od used at the mine for evaluating the suitability of new equipment. The consecutive steps in the process are covered in detail -from the preliminary cost analysis and the preliminary estimate of savings and advantages, and the review of these data after a field investigation, through the elimination of dubious factors, and detailed time and performance studies at the property, to the final assessment of the new equipment and an evaluation of the initial forecast. The Autoloader in Operation. 1198 Introduction AT Mattagami Lake Mines Ltd., the mine workings are laid out basically on a pattern of 60-ft.-wide stapes alternating with 60-ft.-wide pillars, with stope lengths varying from 80 to 200 ft. and stope tonnages generally between 80,000 and 200,000 tons. Stapes are drilled off from sub-levels at 60-ft. intervals, with the

Jan 1, 1965

By P. L. Li, B. X. Song, C. H. Wang, T. Wang, Z. Hu

"The treatment of an oxidized copper-gold ore by stage cyanide addition was investigated. For cyanidation, free cyanide ion concentration can be an indicator of whether there is copper dissolved in cyanide solution, and maintaining the free cyanide ion concentration lower than 1.0 g/L could be an effective way to prevent copper dissolution and reduce cyanide consumption. For that purpose, stage cyanide addition was introduced to control free cyanide ion concentration within the range from 0.8 to 1.0 g/L. Cyanidation tests results indicate that gold extraction was still acceptable at reduced cyanide consumption with a lower copper extraction. Based on the experimental study, industry application works at Beiya concentrator of Yunnan province, China were successfully conducted. When the raw ore contains 2.95 ppm Au and 0.75% Cu, by stage cyanide addition method, the gold extraction was still 93% at reduced cyanide consumption of 2135 g/t, which was only half of one addition method, and the copper extraction dropped to only 5%, which indicated that dissolution was prevented for almost 75% of the malachites.INTRODUCTIONCyanide with its competency to form a strong complex with gold, is the most preferable lixiviant for gold leaching. However, cyanidation is not inherently a selective process since many other minerals present in the ore are also readily soluble, especially the copper minerals. Muir (2011) reported that every 1% reactive copper present in the ore consumes about 30 kg/t NaCN, which can have detrimental effects on the process efficiency and economics due to high cyanide consumption, reduced gold leach rates and poor gold recovery."

Jan 1, 2016

By Marc C. Bétoumay

Workplace safety, health, climatic conditions and rising oil prices are aspects that are important to the mining industry. The need for cleaner energy for underground mine vehicles is requiring serious consideration. A number of alternate energy systems offer clean solutions to diesel emissions while maintaining the current liberty of vehicle movement. This watershed article provides a broad comparison of cleaner diesel and alternative energies for underground production vehicles. Most alternate energies and clean diesel have already been tested in underground production vehicles. There are no technology gaps that would prevent the development of commercial alternative energy power plants, but in the case of alternate energies, second and third generation versions will be required to fully test for safety and operation viability. Full regulatory development is also required and could be done in parallel to power plant testing. Vehicle operation and maintenance manpower would be the same for alternate energy application as for clean diesel. Capital cost for alternate energy power plants will remain higher until the medium term. Owing to significant ventilation savings possible with alternate technologies, operating costs would be reduced.

May 1, 2011

By Marcel M. Djivre

The paper will outline historically the different materials used for pouring sockets and illustrate the current trend due to inherent advantages. A section will be devoted to engineering stress analysis showing the criteria necessary for the wires not to slip inside the poured socket material. The Ontario Mining Regulations pertaining to poured sockets will be reviewed with emphasis on the acceptable type of sockets depending on usage. In addition the paper will review the proper socket preparation techniques and explain the destructive testing conducted at the Materials Testing Lab essential for the certification requirements. In conclusion the paper will show the importance of the Certification Program for the safety of Miners working in Ontario, Canada and the World. The paper is also intended to inform the Mine Operators and Consultants that to-date the .Wirelock. sockets have been used safely for hoist ropes of locked coil and non-rotating construction and for the termination of balance ropes, and that further research is required on the construction of a socket approved for rotating type mine hoist ropes.

May 1, 2003