Basics of Mining and Mineral Processing

2012 Amer i cas School of
Mi nes
W Scott Dunbar
University of British Columbia
www.pwc.com
Basics of Mining and Mineral Processing
Agenda
GeologicalConcepts
MiningMethods
MineralProcessingMethods
MineWasteManagement
MiningandMoney
AFutureofMining
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The mai n topi cs
Crushingand
grinding
Smeltingand
refining
Solutionextraction
Electrowinning
Flotationof
sulfides
3
Goldoreprocessing
Pressureoxidation
ofconcentrate
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Other topi cs
Physical
separation
Coal
4
Bioleaching
Diamonds Oilsands
Uranium
Industrial
minerals
All the chemi str y you need to know
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Meet atom A
electron
nucleuswith
protons
Nucleuscontainspositivecharges
Eachelectronhasanegativecharge
Numberofpositivecharges=numberofnegativecharges
+
+
+
+
+ +
+ +
+
+
+
+
Inthiscase
12electrons
12protons
MineralProcessingMethods 6
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The posi ti ve i on A
+
Takeawayoneelectron
AtomAbecomesapositiveionA
+
A A
+
+e
+
+
+
+
+ +
+ +
+
+
+
+
Inthiscase
11electrons
12protons
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The negati ve i on A
Addoneelectron
AtomAbecomesanegativeionA
A+e A
+
+
+
+
+ +
+ +
+
+
+
+
Inthiscase
13electrons
12protons
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Si mi lar ly
Takeawaytwoelectrons
A A
++
+2e(orA
2+
+2e)
Addtwoelectrons
A+2e A
2
Canbegeneralizedtonelectronsif
atomswillallowit
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I ons exi st i n soluti on (you cant touch them)
Saltorsodiumchloride
NaCl (s) Na
+
(aq)+Cl
(aq)
s solid
aq inaqueoussolution
Na
+
Cl
Na Na
+
+e
Cl +e Cl
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The goal of processi ng and refi ni ng metals
istogetthemetalsintosolutionaspositiveions
Some examples:
Copper Cu
+2
Gold Au
+
Lead Pb
+2
Zinc Zn
+2
Somemetalsionizemoreeasilythanothers
Thisishardtodo
Theseareeasier
toionize
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And once they are i n soluti on
electricitycanbeusedtoaddelectronstothemetalionsandplate
themassolidsontoasolidsurface
www.csiro.au/helix/sciencemail/activities/CopperCoat.html
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Ki tchen chemi stry (you can do thi s)
9Vbatterysnapwithalligatorclips
Glasscontainer
Coppersulphate
fromgardenstores
http://www.csiro.au/helix/sciencemail/activities/CopperCoat.html/
Cr ushi ng and Gr i ndi ng
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Gyratory crusher fi rst the blast, then thi s
Therockiscrushed
betweenthespindle
andtheinnershell
Hydraulichammer
Thespindleofthecrusher
moveseccentricallyabout
theverticalaxis
www.sandvik.com
Result:1050mm
sizeparticles
Topof
spindle
15 MineralProcessingMethods
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Notes: Gyr ator y Cr usher
16
Crushing is the second stage of rock breakage or comminution, the first stage being blasting. Primary
crushing is often done in the pit or underground. For hard rock a gyratory crusher is often used. The
goal is to reduce rock particles to 1050 mm size. The rotation speed of a gyratory crusher is 85100
rpm.
The picture on the right shows the top of the spindle of a gyratory crusher. A pneumatic rock breaker is
also shown. This is operated by a human whose job is to use the breaker to break up the large
fragments. Blasting should have broken all the rock into a smaller size.
Secondary or even tertiary crushing might be necessary in the
mill to ensure that rock breakage occurs to the required size.
Secondary and tertiary crushing would be done by a cone
crusher (see picture at right) the operation of which is similar
to a gyratory crusher except that the conical crushing head is
supported from below rather than by an overhead spider. The
feed to the crushing head is from a large bowl. Cone crushers
operate at higher rotation speeds than gyratory crushers.
www.metsominerals.com
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Bagdad: I n-pi t crusher, conveyor, and
stockpi le
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Twi n i n-pi t crushers and conveyors at HVC
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AG and SAG Mi lls the coarse gri nd
19
SAGmill
HuckleberryMine
Autogenous (AG):
ore tumbled in water to selfgrind the ore particles
Semiautogenous (SAG):
ore particles and steel balls tumbled with water
Result:<10mmsizeparticles
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Notes: AG and SAG mi lls the coar se gr i nd
20
Autogenous (AG) mills use large particles of ore as grinding media. For an ore to successfully grind
autogenously, the ore must be hard and it must break along boundaries between mineral grains to
produce particles large enough to grind the remaining particles to sufficiently fine size. If an ore cannot
be ground autogenously to sufficiently fine sizes, semiautogenous grinding is used in which steel balls
and the ore itself are tumbled to break the ore.
Autogenous grinding has two advantages, (1) it reduces metal wear and (2) the use of large ore
particles as grinding media means that the need for secondary and tertiary crushing stages is reduced
or eliminated.
AG and SAG mills are available for both wet and dry grinding. The diameter of AG and SAG mills is
normally two to three times the length. Larger diameter mills are common in North America while
longer mills are more common in Europe. A large diameter mill relies on the rocks and balls falling
through a large distance to break up the ore while a long mill relies on longer residence time.
The size of the feed to a AG/SAG mill can be large and is limited to that which can be fed to the mill by
conveying systems. Because of this the need for secondary and tertiary crushing is often eliminated.
AG/SAG mills can also grind ore with high moisture and clay content, which is otherwise difficult to do.
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I nsi de a large SAG mi ll
21
LinerreplacementinHighland
ValleySAGmill
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Ball Mi ll the fi ne gr i nd
www.porcupinegoldmines.ca
Result:partcles ofsize~0.075mm
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Notes: Ball mi ll the fi ne gr i nd
23
Grinding mills break up the ore particles into finer particles with a range of sizes.
A ball mill grinds material by rotating a cylinder with steel grinding balls, causing the balls to fall back
into the cylinder and onto the material to be ground. Grinding action is by impact. Ball mills are used to
grind material 0.25 inch and finer down to a particle size between 20 to 75 microns (0.0008 to 0.003
in). The rotation is usually between 4 to 20 revolutions per minute, depending on the diameter of the
mill; the larger the diameter, the slower the rotation. If the peripheral speed of the mill is too great,
the mill begins to act like a centrifuge and the balls do not fall back into the center of the mill, but stay
on the perimeter.. The point where the mill becomes a centrifuge is called the critical speed", and ball
mills usually operate at 65% to 75% of the critical speed.
The power requirements of ball mills depend on the energy required to grind the feed particles to a
particular size and on the dimensions and operating conditions of the mill.
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Cyclone separ ate coar se fr om fi nes
Fines
Coarse
Inlet
Separates coarsegrained particles from finegrained
particles in a slurry. Also called classification.
Slurry pumped in at high pressure. Creates low pressure in
center of the cyclone (as in a tornado)
Finegrained particles to the top overflow
Coarsegrained particles to the bottom underflow
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Gr i ndi ng Ci r cui t at Bagdad
Concentratorcapacity
75,000tpd
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Notes: Gr i ndi ng Ci r cui t at Bagdad
26
Crushers, AG mills and SAG mills, ball mills, and cyclone separators are configured into grinding circuits
depending on the way the ore breaks up into finer sizes which depends mostly on the hardness of the
ore. The distribution of the size of particles resulting from one component of a grinding operation
governs the configuration of the grinding circuit and the equipment used in the grinding circuit.
Grinding circuits typically involve secondary crushing or regrinding, cycling particles from the output of
one unit back to the input of the unit.
At Bagdad five grinding circuits in the mill process about 3000 tons of ore per hour. The output of an
AG mill is fed into a screen. The coarse material from the screen is passed to a cone crusher and fed
back into the AG mill. The cone crusher is used to break up larger particles which would otherwise
simply cycle through the AG mill. The fine material from the screen is fed into a closed ball mill circuit.
The output of the ball mill is separated into coarse and fine fractions in a cyclone, the coarse fraction
(underflow) is recycled and the fine fraction (overflow) is pumped to the flotation tanks.
In the absence of AG or SAG mills, there would be a rod mill followed by a closed circuit ball mill.
However, a rod mill is less efficient at grinding rock than an AG or SAG mill.
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Bagdad Gri ndi ng Ci rcui t the pi cture
Autogenous
mill
Ballmill
Cyclones
Screen
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Gr i ndi ng Ci r cui t at Hi ghland Valley
Concentratorcapacity
135,000tpd
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Notes: Gr i ndi ng Ci r cui t at Hi ghland Valley
29
At Highland Valley there are five parallel grinding lines which process a total of 5400 tonnes of
crushed ore per hour. Two of the grinding lines employ autogenous mills (AG) and three employ semi
autogenous (SAG) mills. Each mill feeds two closedcircuit ball mills which reduce the ore to sandsized
particles which feed the flotation circuits.
Each grinding circuit grinds and regrinds to ensure that the entire feed is reduced to sand size. The
ore exiting the AG or SAG mill is fed into vibratory grizzly feeders which separate the ore into
undersize and oversize. The undersize goes to the ball mill circuit while the oversize returns to the AG
or SAG mill. The ball mill circuits employ cyclones to separate sand from coarser particles. Coarse
particles are returned to the ball mill while finer sand particles (the overflow) go to the flotation cells.
It is usually not possible to distinguish an AG from a SAG mill based on its appearance.
Why are there two ball mills at HVC and one at Bagdad. Partly this is related to the larger tonnage
throughput at HVC, approx 1150 tons per hour versus 600 tons per hour at Bagdad. However, it is also
related to the power required to grind the rock into particles fine enough for flotation, Since there is a
limit to the size of a ball mill, the harder the rock, the more mills that are needed to deliver the power.
This does not necessarily mean that the rock at HVC is harder than that at Bagdad. The mill at HVC is a
combination of machinery from other mills and it may be that it was good enough at the time.
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A gri ndi ng ci rcui t at Hi ghland Valley
ballmill
SAGmill
cyclones
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Energy consumpti on of crushi ng and
gri ndi ng
31
Largestconsumerofenergyataminesiteiscrushingandgrinding
Crushing:from>50mmto1050mm
Grinding:from<10mmto0.075mm
www.elorantaassoc.com
particularlygrindingbecause
ofthelargersizechange
E
x
p
l
o
s
i
v
e
s
P
r
i
m
a
r
y

c
r
u
s
h
i
n
g

(
i
n

p
i
t
)
S
e
c
o
n
d
a
r
y

c
r
u
s
h
i
n
g
G
r
i
n
d
i
n
g
0
5
10
15
20
25
30

k
i
l
o
w
a
t
t

h
o
u
r
s
/
t
o
n
Flotati on of Sulfi des
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Air
Concentrate
Tonext
flotationcell
Add
collector
Slurryfrom
grinding
Add
frother
Flotati on the basi c i dea
Frother makesfrothstiffandstable
Frothers arealcohols
bubble
sulfideparticle
Collector makessulfide
particleshydrophobic
Collectorsarelikesoaps
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Notes: Flotati on the basi c i dea
34
Froth flotation is the most common method for separating sulfide minerals from each other and from
waste minerals or gangue.
The particles from the grinders are mixed with water to form a pulp in a flotation cell. An organic
chemical called a collector is added. It selectively coats the surface of the mineral of interest and
renders it hydrophobic, meaning literally afraid of water. You all have used a collector called soap;
soap coats dirt particles rendering them hydrophobic.
A stream of air bubbles is passed through the pulp. Being hydrophobic, the particles attach to the
bubbles which, of course, are filled with air. The bubbles float to the surface and collect in a froth layer
that either flows over the top of the cell into a channel at the base of the cell. (Some froths are thick
and may have to be skimmed.) A frother, such as a long chain alkyl alcohol, is added to stabilize the
froth layer. The froth on a beer will float things (yuk!), but the froth is not stable so beer cannot be
used in sulfide flotation.
The first use of flotation to separate sulfides was at the Broken Hill mine in Australia where they used
eucalyptus oil as a collector. Collector chemistry has advanced considerably since then so that different
metal sulfides in an ore can be sequentially floated by the use of different types of collectors and
adjustment of the chemistry (typically the acidity) of the cell.
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Soaps and collector s
35
hydrophilicend
hydrophobicend
Hydrophobicendsofsoap
moleculeattachtodirtor
grease
Waterflow
Hydrophilicendsofcollector
moleculeattachtosulfide
particle
bubbles
Soapandcollectormoleculeshavea
similarstructure oneendis
hydrophilic,theotherhydrophobic
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The froth copper concentrate
Wetconcentrate
~27%copper
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Notes: The fr oth copper concentr ate
37
A simple materials balancing can be used to determine the amount of ore, K, needed to produce one
ton of concentrate. This is known as the concentration factor. At Highland Valley the ore grade is 0.43%
Cu and the recovery of copper in the concentrator is 85%. The concentrate is 28% copper. Thus
K(tons) 0.0043 0.85=1(ton) 0.28
From which K ~ 77 tons. This ignores ore dilution, d%, which adds a factor 1d to the left hand side of
the above equation. If drilling and blasting are properly controlled, dilution at an open pit mine is
small.
There is an upper limit to the concentration of a metal in a concentrate depending on the mineral in
the ore. This is the direct proportion by atomic weight of the metal to the molecular weight of the
mineral. Some approximate atomic weights are given in the table below:
Copper Iron Lead Zinc Sulfur
64 56 207 65 32
For a copper concentrate made from chalcopyrite (CuFeS
2
), the copper concentration limit is 34.8%,
i.e., 64/(64+56+232) = 0.348. Similarly the concentration limit of lead in a lead concentrate made
from galena (PbS) is about 87% and for a zinc concentrate made from sphalerite (ZnS), the
concentration limit is about 67%. A mine that has bornite (Cu
5
FeS4) in its ore can achieve quite high
copper concentrations; unfortunately bornite is relatively rare.
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Flotati on ci rcui ts
Conditioner
tank
Reagents
(Collector)
Concentrate
Tailings
Pulp
slurry
Roughercells
Scavengercells
Theroughertailingsarefloatedby
thescavengercellandrefloated
bytheroughercells
Flotationcellbanksat
Neves Corvo Copper/ZincMinePortugal
1
2
3
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Notes: Flotati on ci r cui ts
39
On the left is a simple flotation circuit for mineral concentration. The numbered triangles show the
direction of flow. In a conditioning tank the collector is added to the slurry (often called pulp) from the
grinding circuit. The conditioned pulp [1] is fed to a bank of rougher cells which remove most of the
desired minerals to produce a concentrate froth. The tails from the rougher flow [2] to a bank of
scavenger cells where the pulp is refloated and the froth is returned [3] to the rougher cells for
additional treatment. The scavenger tailings is usually barren enough to be discarded as tails but in
some cases may be sent to cleaner cells to be refloated.
More complex flotation circuits have several sets of rougher, scavenger, cleaner and recleaner cells, as
well as intermediate regrinding of pulp or concentrate. On the right is a picture of the bank of
flotation cells (blue motor housings) at the Neves Corvo copper/zinc mine in Portugal.
Recovery of metals by flotation varies depending on the complexity of the ore. For a simple ore
containing only copper with some gold byproduct recovery can be 9095%. Recovery is lower for
polymetallic ores which may contain roughly equal proportions of desirable metals.
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Separati on of Cu and Mo concentrates
In column vats at Bagdad (2005 quantities)
Sodium
hydrosulfide
Incolumnvats
Cu/Mo
concentrate
Sodium
hydrosulfide
molybdenite concentrate
58%Mo
copperconcentrate
27%Cu
Pressure
leach
Smelter
Stripscollectoroff
chalcopyriteparticles
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Notes: Separ ati on of Cu and Mo concentr ates
41
Both copper and molybdenum minerals are floated in the first stage, leaving iron sulfides and other
waste minerals behind as tailings. The concentrate is then sent to a column flotation vat and sodium
hydrosulfide added to remove the collector from the surfaces of the chalcopyrite so that it sinks to the
bottom of the vat. The molybdenite floats to the surface since it is naturally hydrophobic.
The molybdenite (MoS
2
) in the concentrate may be purified for use in lubricants. Almost all
molybdenum ore is converted by roasting to molybdic oxide (MoO
3
). The oxide may be added directly
to steel to form a hard alloy that can withstand high temperatures; such alloys are used in making high
speed cutting tools, aircraft and missile parts, and forged automobile parts.
Other useful compounds of molybdenum include ammonium molybdate, used in chemical analysis for
phosphates; and lead molybdate, used as a pigment in ceramic glazes.
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Concentr ate logi sti cs i n BC
BaggedmolyconcentrateatHVCshippedeast
byrail
VancouverWharves
leadzincconcentratesin
copperconcentratesout
www.pnwship.com/canada/concentrates
Newloaderfor
copperconcentrates
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The grade-recovery battle
43
Chalcopyrite
particle
Chalcopyriteparticle
withnonsulfide
inclusion
Chalcopyriteparticlewith
attachednonsulfide
crystal
Allowcollectormoretimetoadheretochalcopyriteparticles
Result:
increased recovery of all particles with chalcopyrite, but
concentrate grade decreases
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Notes: The gr ade-r ecover y battle
44
This is a common problem in all sulfide concentration processes.
The flow rate and tank size are designed to give the minerals enough time to be coated with collector
(commonly called activation). Recovery depends on the flow rate. As the input flow rate decreases, the
sulfide particles have more chance to be exposed to the collector and adhere to the bubbles so that
recovery increases. However, the grade of the concentrate decreases because more silicates are
recovered along with the target sulfide.
One solution is to use finer grinding. However, this can be costly and would only be done if there was
the possibility of recovering valuable metals.
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Bagdad copper concentrate
Smelti ng and Refi ni ng
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The competi ti on for electrons
47
Copper
Sulphur Oxygen
Sulphurwants
theelectrons
Oxygenwants
themmore
thenucleus
(positivecharge)
anelectron
(negativecharge)
Solidcopperhasfreeelectrons
available.Thatswhyitsagood
conductor.
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Smelti ng of copper concentrate
Oxygentakes
electronsoffsulphur
becauseoxygen
wantsthemmore
ofcopperconcentrate
UndowhatNaturedidwhenformingthesulfide
oxygen
sulfur
dioxide
Ironoxides(slag)
copperanode
(9598%pure)
Addelectrons
tocopper
Addelectrons
toiron
copper
concentrate
CuFeS
2
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Notes: Smelti ng of copper concentr ate
49
1
chalcopyrite + oxygen ironoxide + covellite + sulphur dioxide
2CuFeS
2
+ 3O
2
2FeO + CuS + SO
2
2
covellite + oxygen chalcocite + sulphur dioxide
CuS + O
2
Cu
2
S + SO
2
3
chalcocite + oxygen copper + sulphur dioxide
Cu
2
S + O
2
2Cu + SO
2
Three chemical reactions involving copper sulfides occur in a smelter (1,200C).
The copper and iron oxide collect at the bottom of the furnace to form matte copper which
is tapped off and burned in a converter furnace to remove iron oxides and sulphur resulting
in blister copper. Oxygen in the blister is then burned off using natural gas to form anode
copper which is 95 to 98% pure and must be refined to produce cathode copper which is
99.99% pure.
Limestone (CaCO
3
) is added to the furnace. When heated it decomposes to calcium oxide
(CaO) and carbon dioxide (CO
2
). Calcium oxide reacts with silica (SIO2) and iron oxide (FeO)
which remain solid at 1,100C to form calcium and iron silicates which melt to form a slag.
The slag is lighter than matte so it floats on top of it from where it is removed and taken to
a disposal site.
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Double entr y chemi str y (i n a smelter )
Electrons
Account Reaction Debit Credit
Sulfur 4S
2
4S
+4
(in4SO
2
) 24
Copper 2Cu
+1
2Cu(whatiswanted) 2
Iron 2Fe
+3
2Fe
+2
(in2FeO) 2
Oxygen 5O
2
10O
2
(in2FeOand4SO
2
) 20
Balance 24 24
Remember:Yousawdoubleentrychemistryherefirst!
chalcopyrite + oxygen copper + iron oxide + sulfurdioxide
2CuFeS
2
+ 5O
2
2Cu + 2FeO + 4SO
2
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The Smelter at Mi ami Ari zona
51
Coppersulfidesinconcentrate
Copperanode
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And what about the sulphur di oxi de?
52
ThatstheSO
2
thatresultsfromsmeltingasulphide
Itsapoisonousgasbutcanbeconvertedtosulphuricacid
Sulphuricacidisusedincarbatteries,thepaperandfertilizer
industries.Itcanalsobeusedtoleachcoppersulphides(seelater)
Vitriol thehistoricnameofsulphuricacid
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How to make sulphuri c aci d from sulphur di oxi de
53
The diagram on the previous slide shows the contact process which starts with the
following reaction:
2SO
2
(g)+O
2
(g) 2SO
3
(g)
inthepresenceofvanadiumoxidecatalystat400450C
The sulphur trioxide gas could be bubbled through water but that results in an
uncontrollable reaction. Instead the gas is absorbed into a highly concentrated
solution of sulphuric acid to form a liquid called oleum (or fuming sulphuric acid)
and then the oleum is mixed with water to produce sulphuric acid
H
2
SO
4
(l)+SO
3
(g) H
2
S
2
O
7
(l)
H
2
S
2
O
7
(l)+H
2
O(l) 2H
2
SO
4
(l)
Note that twice as much sulphuric acid is made as was originally used to make the
oleum.
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Electro-Refi ni ng of Copper Anode
++
++
++
++
++
Anodefromsmelter
9598%copper
Cathode
99.99%copper
Insolubleimpuritiesformslimesonanode
(couldincludegold,silver,platinum,palladium)
CopperionCu
+2
Powersupply
electronflow
Useelectricalenergytoforcecopperionsoffanode
54 MineralProcessingandRefining
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Notes: Electr o-Refi ni ng of Copper Anode
55
The anode copper plates from the smelter are placed on one side of a tank filled with
sulphuric acid and cooper sulphate as an electrolyte. The power supply forces the copper
atoms in the anode to give up two electrons each (to oxidize) forming Cu
+2
ions. The
electrons flow through the circuit and end up at the negatively charged cathode while the
copper ions flow through the electrolyte toward the cathode. The electrons and ions
combine at the cathode to produce 99.99% pure copper, hence the name cathode copper.
After about two weeks in the cells the cathodes are harvested.
MineralProcessingandRefining
Attheanode Atthecathode
Cu Cu
+2
+2e
oxidationofcopper
Cu
+2
+2e Cu
reductionofcopper
Impurities, which may include gold, silver, platinum and palladium depending on the origin
of the concentrate, form slimes on the decomposed anode. They are extracted later by a
variety of processes.
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Copper refi nery at Harj avalta smelter,
Fi nland
56
www.boliden.com
Leachi ng Reacti ons & Heap Leachi ng
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Leachi ng of copper oxi des and sulfi des
Withdiluteacid
Eachreactionproducescoppersulfate.Recoverymaybepoor.
+
Azurite
Tenorite
Chalcopyrite
Chalcocite
Lowgrade
oxidesand
sulfides
Copper
Sulfate
Water
Carbon
Dioxide
Sulfur
Dioxide
Sulfur
lixiviant
Diluteacid
Sulfuric
Acid
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Leachi ng of copper oxi des and sulfi des
59
azurite +
sulfuric
acid

copper
sulfate
+
carbon
dioxide
+ water
2CuCO
3
Cu(OH)
2
+ 6H
2
SO
4
3CuSO
4
+ 2CO
2
+ 4H
2
O
chalcopyrite +
sulfuric
acid

copper
sulfate
+
iron
sulfate
+
sulfur
dioxide
+ sulfur + water
CuFeS
2
+ H
2
SO
4
CuSO
4
+ FeSO
4
+ SO
2
+ 2S + 4H
2
O
tenorite +
sulfuric
acid

copper
sulfate
+ water
CuO + H
2
SO
4
CuSO
4
+ H
2
O
chalcocrite +
sulfuric
acid

copper
sulfate
+ sulfur + water
Cu
2
S + H
2
SO
4
2CuSO
4
+ S + 2H
2
O
If you really must know the chemistry ...
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Dump leach pads at Morenci , Ari zona
Lowgradeore~0.2%
Pregnantleachsolution(PLS)with
coppersulfate CuSO
4
60
www.geomineinfo.com/mining_photos.htm
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Heap leachi ng
61
Leach pads can be divided into four categories: conventional or flat pads, dump leach
pads, valley fills and on/off pads. Conventional leach pads are relatively flat, either graded
smooth or terrain contouring on alluvial fans such as in the Chilean Atacama desert,
Nevada and Arizona, and the ore is stacked in relatively thin lifts (5 to 15 m typically). The
lifts in dump leach pads are much thicker (up to 50m). Valley fill systems are leach pads
designed in natural valleys using either a buttress dam at the bottom of the valley, or a
leveling fill within the valley.
On/off pads (also known as dynamic heaps) are hybrid systems. A flat pad is built with a
robust liner system. Then a single lift of ore, from 4 to 10 meters thick, is loaded and
leached. At the end of the leach cycle the spent ore is removed for disposal and the pad
recharged with fresh ore. Usually loading is automated, using conveyors and stackers.
PwC PwC
Leachi ng of gold ore wi th cyani de
gold +
sodium
cyanide
+ water + oxygen
sodium
aurocyanide
+
sodium
hydroxide
4Au + 8NaCN + 2H
2
O + O
2
4NaAu(CN)
2
+ 4NaOH
The Elsener reaction
62
Leachingdoneinheapleachpadsortanks
This is the basis of two processes for extracting gold:
MerrillCrowe: uses zinc to precipitate gold
Carbon adsorption: adsorb aurocyanide onto activated carbon
Lixiviant
Cyanide+water
PwC PwC
Gold heap leach pad
Driptrickleirrigationsystemontopofpad
RubyHillGoldMine,Nevada,USA
www.miningtechnology.com/projects/rubyhill/rubyhill6.html
PwC PwC
Seepage i n a leach pad
Recoveryisuncertainandvariesoverthelifeofthepad
Typicalgoldrecoveries:4070%
lessconsolidated
moreflow
moreconsolidated
andmorefines
lessflow
Notedifferencein
colorattopofpad
mineralparticle
Leach pad, Anchor Hill pit, South Dakota
Photo courtesy Robertson Geoconsultants
64
continuous
irrigation
PwC PwC
Seepage i n a leach pad
65
Suppose a gold mine piled some ore into a 200m 200m pile and suppose the pile was 10
m high. Then there are 400,000 m
3
of ore in the pile. The density of the ore might be 2.0
tonnes/m
3
. That means there are 800,000 tonnes of ore in the pile. If the ore grade is 2 g/t
there are 1.6 million grams of gold in the pile. Thats about 51,450 oz.
However, recovery of gold in a leach pad is typically 4070%. Thus for the hypothetical
leach pad above, the expected amount of recovered gold would be between 640,000 and
1,120,000 grams .
The reason for the low recoveries is that not all of the leaching solution (acid in the case of
copper, cyanide in the case of gold) can flow past the mineral particles. Flow paths to the
particles may be blocked. In addition, as more ore is placed on top of the pad, the particles
in the underlying ore become consolidated (closer together) and can block the flow of the
leaching solution. For this reason, a layer of ore is placed on top of a pad only after the
recovery from the lower layers begins to decrease.
Improved recovery can be obtained by blasting techniques which break the ore to smaller
particles, by crushing ore to smaller sizes, and by agglomeration of fine particles which
inhibit the flow of lixiviant. However, the costs of these methods can be considerable.
PwC PwC
Agglomerati on of gold ore
66
Fines plug voids between particles
and cause a loss of permeability
which prevents the flow of
lixiviant. Agglomeration of the
fines into larger particles creates
larger voids through which the
lixiviant can flow.
ore+cement+
lixiviant
Rotatingagglomerationdrum
Soluti on Extr acti on Electr o-wi nni ng
PwC PwC
Soluti on extracti on (SX)
PLSfromleachpad
withlowCu
concentration
Loadedorganic
withhighCu
concentration
Coppersulfateto
electrowinning(EW)
Sulfuricacid
(fromEW)
Settler
Mixer
Organic
solvent
PwC
Notes: Soluti on extr acti on (SX)
69
The water and copper sulfate form a solution known as a pregnant leach solution or PLS. The PLS is
pumped into a solvent extraction plant (the SX or extraction stage) where it is mixed with an organic
solvent, an acid which we will label HR, to denote a hydrogen atom and a long chain hydrocarbon
molecule R. (This is the oily stuff seen in the tanks.) The copper sulfate and HR react in the mixer as
follows:
The sulfuric acid goes back to the heap leach pad and the copper organic phase CuR
2
goes to the
stripping stage where it is mixed with a stronger acid solution to strip the copper from the CuR
2
Now the copper sulfate solution is much richer in copper. The organic acid is recovered and reused.
Copper
sulphate
+
Organic
acid

Loaded
organic
+
Regenerated
Sulphuricacid
CuSO
4
+ 2HR CuR
2
+ H
2
SO
4
Loaded
organic
+
Sulphuric
acid

Copper
sulphate
+
Regenerated
organicacid
CuR
2
+ H
2
SO
4
CuSO
4
+ 2HR
PwC PwC
Electr o-Wi nni ng (EW)
++
++
++
++
++
Anode
(leadtinalloy)
Cathode
(starterplate)
Powersupply
electronflow
Winthecopperfromthesolution
CoppersulfateCuSO
4
solutionfromSXplant
CopperionCu
+2
Sulphuric acidH
2
SO
4
toSXplant
70 MineralProcessingandRefining
PwC
Notes: Electr o-Wi nni ng (EW)
71
The copper sulfate solution is called an electrolyte. At the anode, electrical energy splits water into
hydrogen and oxygen to give a hydrogen ion, two electrons and oxygen. The power supply causes the
electrons to flow through the circuit to the cathode. Being positively charged, the copper ions are
attracted to the negatively charged cathode where they combine with the electrons to form copper
metal.
At the anode: H
2
O 2H
+1
+ 0.5O
2
+ 2e (oxidation of hydrogen)
At the cathode: Cu
+2
+ 2e Cu (reduction of copper)
Copper that is 99.999% pure (five nines) has been produced using the SX/EW process.
In electrowinning the copper is in a solution (the electrolyte) whereas in electrorefining the copper
from the smelter forms the anode of the cell. Electrowinning requires much more energy than
electrorefining because more energy is required to break down water to provide electrons than to
oxidize copper to the Cu
+2
state and provide two electrons.
Note: Oxygen is formed at the anode and produces bubbles. In addition, the hydrogen ions, H
+1
,
combine with the sulfate ion, (SO
4
)
2
, produce sulfuric acid in the tank, H
2
SO
4
. When the bubbles reach
the surface they burst, liberating an aerosol of sulfuric acid called acid mist. This is not good for the
health of operators in the tank house. Chemical additives are used to reduce the size of the bubbles
and to put a thin layer of foam over the electrolyte to keep the bubbles from reaching the surface.
PwC PwC
Bagdad: SX/ EW faci li ty
Electrowinning
plant
Severalsolventextractionand
solventstrippingstagesinparallel
PwC PwC
Electr o-Wi nni ng Plants
Quebrada Blanca
Harvestingandwashingcathodes
atBagdad
PwC PwC
Anodes and Cathodes
Anode
(leadtinalloy)
Cathode
Copper
Starters
PwC PwC
Pressure leachi ng of concentrate
anotherwaytooxidizesulfides
ExperimentalfacilityatBagdad,
Arizona
PwC PwC
The pressure leach process
76
Coppersulfatetoelectrowinning
Molybdenumoxidetosteelcompanies
PwC PwC
Notes: The pr essur e leach pr ocess
77
In a stainless steel reactor vessel the concentrate slurry is agitated or stirred for about 30 minutes. The
temperatures used range between 212450F (100232C) and the pressures used range between 200
600 psi (13794137 kPa)
For chalcopyrite concentrate there are actually two chemical reactions:
chalcopyrite+oxygencoppersulfate+ferroussulfate
CuFeS
2
+4O
2
CuSO
4
+FeSO
4
ferroussulfate+oxygen+water ferricoxide(rust)+sulfuricacid
4FeSO
4
+O
2
+4H
2
O2Fe
2
O
3
+4H
2
SO
4
Iron:Fe
+2
insulfateoxidizedtoFe
+3
inironoxide.
Some copper concentrates are dirty and contain impurities such as antimony, bismuth, arsenic and
mercury. These are found within the iron oxide (rust) that precipitates during the leach. Any precious
metals in the concentrate would also be found in the iron oxide. These can be extracted using cyanide
leach processes (see later).
For molybdenite concentrate the chemical reaction is
Molybdenite +oxygen+waterMolybdenumoxide+sulfuricacid
MoS
2
+4.5O
2
+2H
2
O MoO
3
+2H
2
SO
4
Bagdad is currently using their autoclave to oxidize their molybdenite concentrate.
Pr ocessi ng of Gold Or e
PwC PwC
Basi cally we wi ll see how
0.116ozperton
~3.97gm pertonne
this
istransformedtothis
PwC PwC
Merri ll-Crowe process
zinc
dust
+
sodium
aurocyanide
gold +
sodiumzinc
cyanidecomplex
Zn + 2NaAu(CN)
2
2Au + Na
2
Zn(CN)
4
Goldprecipitateisfilteredandthensmeltedtoproducegoldbar
80
gold +
sodium
cyanide
+ water + oxygen
sodium
aurocyanide
+
sodium
hydroxide
4Au + 8NaCN + 2H
2
O + O
2
4NaAu(CN)
2
+ 4NaOH
The Elsener reaction
PwC PwC
Why zi nc?
Becausezincgivesupelectrons(oxidizes)morereadilythangold
Agoldionwillpickupanyelectronszincprovidesandprecipitate
Zincsolid Zincinsolution Twoelectrons
Zn(s) Zn
+2
(aq) + 2e
Goldinsolution + Twoelectrons Goldsolid
2Au
+
(aq) + 2e Au(s)
Zincisusedtoprecipitatemetalsfromsolutioninthefollowingorder
Iron Cadmium Cobalt Nickel Tin Lead Antimony Copper Silver Gold
Fe
+2
Cd
+2
Co
+2
Ni
+2
Sn
+2
Pb
+2
Sb
+3
Cu
+2
Ag
+2
Au
+1
PwC PwC
Mer r i ll-Cr owe as a system
sodiumcyanide
waterandoxygen
zinc
dust
Filterpress
Goldore
Leachpad
Mine
Drying
oven
Furnace
1200C
tailings
dore
~90%gold
Deaeration
PwC PwC
Notes: Mer r i ll-Cr owe as a system
83
Ore is first crushed and ground, then placed in leach pads. (It may also be crushed and ground and
placed in stirred tanks for leaching.) A sodium cyanide solution is added to the ore which produces a
solution of sodium aurocyanide and sodium hydroxide.
gold+sodiumcyanide+oxygen+watersodiumaurocyanide +sodiumhydroxide
4Au+8NaCN+O
2
+2H
2
O4NaAu(CN)
2
+4NaOH
The aurocyanide complex involves Au
+
, gold with one electron missing.. When zinc dust is added to the
solution, the gold is reduced and precipitated as a solid. This is known as zinc cementation and actually
consists of two reactions:
zinc+sodiumcyanide+oxygen+watersodiumzinccyanide+sodiumhydroxide
Zn+4NaCN+O
2
+H
2
ONa
2
Zn(CN)
4
+2NaOH
zinc+sodiumaurocyanide gold+sodiumzinccyanide
Zn+2NaAu(CN)
2
2Au+Na
2
Zn(CN)
4
The aurocyanide is deaerated (oxygen removed) to stop the first reaction from producing sodium zinc
cyanide which would force the second reaction to the left and redissolve the gold. The resulting solids
are filtered producing a barren solution and then smelted to produce a gold bar.
The MerrillCrowe process is used when the ore has a high silver to gold ratio as silver cannot be
recovered using activated carbon methods (see next slides). However, if the ore contains a large
amount of clay, the filtering process in MerrillCrowe can become difficult.
PwC PwC
Adsorpti on of aurocyani de
84
Resultisloadedcarbon
30020,000g/t
Produced by burning of carbon rich materials such as
coal, wood or coconut shell. Steam or chemicals are used
to develop microporosity. Enormous internal surface
areas where adsorption can occur. (1 gm of activated
carbon has 500 m
2
of surface area.)
ontoactivatedcarbon
Activatedcarbon
particle
PwC PwC
Three ways adsorb gold onto carbon
85
CarboninPulp(CIP)
Leachandadsorbinseparatesetsoftanks
CarboninLeach(CIL)
Leachandadsorbinthesametanks
CarboninColumn(CIC)
Leachinheapandadsorbintanks
PwC PwC
Carbon i n Leach (CI L)
Crush,grind,
thicken
cyanide
Ore
Leachandadsorbinthesametanks
Regenerated
carbon
Loaded
carbon
.
Barren
leachate
Stripcarbon
andelectrowin
slurry
carbon
Tailings
PwC PwC
Notes: Car bon i n Leach
87
Leaching and adsorbing in the same tanks has the advantage of lower capital costs. It is also
used when the ore is naturally carbonaceous (pregrobbing) to force adsorption onto the
activated carbon. However, leaching and adsorption in the same tank leads to
concentration gradients which must be broken down. This is done using greater agitation
than that required in CIP tanks. The result is loss of precious metals from the carbon and
lower recovery than in CIP.
PwC PwC
Car bon i n Pulp (CI P)
Carbon
adsorption
Cyanideleach
.
Regenerated
carbon
.
Crush,grind,
thicken
Ore
Loaded
carbon
Barren
leachate
Leachandadsorbinseparatesetsoftanks
Stripcarbon
andelectrowin
Tailings
PwC PwC
Notes: Car bon i n Pulp
89
In CIP the gold ore is ground into fine particles and passed as a slurry into leaching tanks.
The pregnant solution from the leach tanks is then pumped into tanks containing activated
carbon particles. The activated carbon flows in the opposite direction to the leachate.
The number of tanks may vary between 4 and 8 depending on the rate of production.
The leaching and adsorption are done in separate sets of tanks. The advantage of this is
simplicity and the recovery can be over 95%. However, naturally occurring carbon in the
ore will compete with the activated carbon (pregrobbing) and any silver or copper
present will compete with the gold during adsorption.
PwC PwC
Carbon i n Column (CI C)
PwC PwC
Heap Leach Pads and Preg Ponds
LeachPad Initialstage
Pierina Mine,Peru
(MerrillCroweProcess)
www.cosapi.com.pe
Heapleachpadand(empty)preg pond
CortezMine,Nevada
PwC PwC
Notes: Heap Leach Pads and Pr eg Ponds
92
Left: The initial stage of one of several leach pads at the Pierina mine in Peru. The
pad is underlain by a polyethylene liner (HDPE). The pregnant solution collects in a
sump and is piped to a pregnant solution pond, also underlain by a liner.
The leach pad and the preg pond at Cortez are shown on the right. There were
several preg ponds, each lined with HDPE. The pond shown was empty at the
time. (Beautiful scenery, but it was very cold that day)
PwC PwC
CI C Adsorpti on Tanks at Cortez
93
Hard to get a picture of the whole
adsorption tank facility at Cortez. You
have to go there to really appreciate it.
PwC PwC
The carbonincolumn (CIC) process is often used in conjunction with heap leach of gold
ores. The pregnant solution of sodium auric cyanide from the leach pad is collected in a
pond and passed through tanks where the gold is adsorbed onto activated carbon
particles. Activated carbon acts like a sponge to gold cyanide complexes in solution such as
sodium auric cyanide.
The leachate flows in the opposite direction to the carbon particles so that the gold
concentration of leachate decreases downstream and the amount of gold on the carbon
increases upstream. Gold is stripped (eluted) from the loaded carbon by a solution of
cyanide and caustic soda. The stripped carbon particles are recycled.
Notes: Car bon i n Column (CI C)
PwC PwC
Str i p car bon and electr o-wi n
Loaded
carbon
Acid
wash
Stripping
Sodium
hydroxide
90C
Regenerated
carbon
Electrowinning
Furnace
1200C
Dor
~4090%gold
Cleancathode
dryslimes
( )
2
AurocyanideAu CN

95
( )
2
Au CN e Au 2CN

+ +
PwC PwC
Notes: Str i p car bon and electr o-wi n
96
The carbon is first washed with acid to remove calcium that has precipitated on the carbon,
as well as to clean fines out of the carbon pores. Aurocyanide is then stripped (eluted) from
the loaded carbon by a hot solution of caustic soda (NaOH) and sodium cyanide. This
essentially reverses the Elsener equation to break up the sodium aurocyanide
The stripped carbon particles are recycled. The solution is pumped into electrowinning
tanks where the gold is plated onto a cathode. The electrowinning chemical reaction is
where e is an electron. The reaction could go either direction, but the application of
electric current forces it to the right causing a reduction of the gold ion in the aurocyanide
complex. Other metal cyanide complexes may be present resulting in impurities on the
cathode. After electrowinning the cathodes are cleaned and the resulting slurry is dried
and then refined to produce a dor bar containing mostly gold.
The electrolyte may contain other metal ions (e.g., copper) as well as the cyanide ion CN
.
The electrolyte can be treated to recover the cyanide for reuse. Recovery of the other
metals is also possible.
( )
2
Au CN e Au 2CN
+ +
( )
2
2
NaAu(CN) Na Au CN

+
+
PwC PwC
Electr o-wi nni ng cells
97
MtRawdon goldmine,Queensland
Source:Mintrex PtyLtdhttp://mintrex.com.au
stainlesssteel,rubberlined
PwC PwC
Wash off cathodes
Hemlo/DavidBellmine(Barrick Gold)
PhotocourtesyBernKlein,Dept ofMiningEngineering,UBC
PwC PwC
And fi nally the dor pour
99
MtRawdon goldmine,Queensland
Source:Mintrex PtyLtdhttp://mintrex.com.au
PwC PwC
When to use these methods
MerrillCrowe Used ifsilverdominantinore
Filteringdifficultifclayspresent
Heapleach
CarboninLeach(CIL) Lowcapitalcosts onesetoftanks
Carbonaceous ores
LowerrecoverythanCIP
CarboninPulp(CIP) Highcapitalcosts twosetsoftanks
Noncarbonaceousore
High recovery(~95%)
CarboninColumn(CIC) Lower operatingcosts
Usedforlowergradeores
Heapleach
PwC PwC
Newmont Mi ni ng: Roaster at Car li n
Nevada
101
Somegoldorescontain
naturalcarbon
Goldisadsorbedonto
thecarbonasinCIL
process
Thisreducesrecovery
Roasterusedtoburncarbonandreleasegold
PwC PwC
Refractory gold
102
Goldmixedinwithasulfide,typicallypyriteorarsenopyrite
Cannotbeleached
~450microns
free
gold
goldin
arsenopyrite
PwC PwC
An autoclave
Source:www.metsoc.org
inwhichsulfidesarebrokendownresultinginoxidesand
sulfuricacid
Usedtoreleasegoldfrom
refractorygoldore
(Itwillnotfly)
Sulfidesarefirstseparated
byflotation
PwC PwC
Notes: An autoclave
104
Autoclaving is used to process a variety of ores or metal products and is done in one of two ways:
Pressure oxidation of minerals high pressure and temperature (e.g., at Bagdad)
Pressure leach high pressure in acid or alkaline conditions
For refractory gold ores where precious metals are locked within sulfide minerals such as pyrite, the
sulfur in these minerals has to be oxidized so that the sulfide minerals are broken down and the gold
can be released. Following oxidization
Base metals are released into solution to be processed by electrowinning
Precious metals are leached using cyanide
In a pressure leach of sulfide minerals an autoclave operates at temperatures >175C and pH < 2, the
following chemical reactions oxidize the iron and sulfur in pyrite. First the sulfur is oxidized:
2FeS
2
+ 7O
2
+ 2H
2
O 2FeSO
4
+ 2H
2
SO
4
(oxidize sulfur from S
1
to S
+6
)
Next, the iron loses an electron and forms an iron oxide which precipitates (downpointing arrow).
Sulfuric acid is also formed.
2FeSO
4
+ O
2
+ H
2
O Fe
2
O
3
+ 2H
2
SO
4
(oxidize iron from Fe
+2
to Fe
+3
)
Electrons are taken from the sulfur and iron atoms. The oxygen atoms get all the electrons in these
reactions.
Other Methods
PwC PwC
Gr avi ty concentr ati on shaki ng table
www.odm.ca/pages/heavy.html
slimes tailings
Reciprocating
motor
heavier
particles
middlings
ore
water
PwC PwC
Gr avi ty concentr ati on - centr i fugal
concentr ator
Usedtoseparatefreegoldparticles
Water
cavity
Concentrating
cone
www.knelson.com
PwC PwC
Gr avi ty concentr ati on
108
Shaking table
A shaking table consists of a sloping deck with a riffled surface. A motor drives a small arm
that shakes the table along its length, parallel to the riffle and rifle pattern. The shaking
motion consists of a slow forward stroke followed by rapid return stroke. Water is added to
the top of the table perpendicular to the table motion. The heaviest and coarsest particles
move to one end of the table while the lightest and finest particles tend to wash over the
riffles and to the bottom edge. Intermediate points between these extremes provides
recovery of the middling (intermediate size and density) particles.
Centrifugal concentrator
A centrifugal concentrator consists of a riffled cone or bowl that spins at high speed to
create forces in excess of 60 times that of gravity. Slurry is introduced into the cone; the
centrifugal force produced by rotation drives the solids toward the walls of the cone. The
slurry migrates up along the wall where heavier particles are captured within the
riffles. Injecting water through the holes located in the back of the riffles fluidizes the
riffled area. The fluidization process prevents compaction of the concentrated bed and
allows for efficient separation of heavy minerals.
PwC PwC
Slui ce box
gravel&sandhere
rifflescatchheavier
particles
waterflow
http://nevadaoutbackgems.com/design_plans/DIY_equipment.htm
PwC PwC
Trommel screen
Largersize
screen
Smallersize
screen
www.metso.com
PwC PwC
Magneti c separati on
Nonmagnetic
material
Magneticmaterialfalls
awayatundersideofdrum
Nonmagnetic
shell
Stationary
permanentmagnet
Feed
leveler
PwC PwC
Magneti c separ ati on i n i r on or e plant
www.metso.com
PwC PwC
Processi ng wi th bacteri a
Breakdownsulfidesinrefractory
goldore
Canalsobeappliedtotheextraction
ofbasemetalsfromsulfides
Thiobacillus ferrooxidans
13,466times
www.personal.psu.edu/mah37/pictures/outreach04/thio.bmp
Specifictypesofbacteriaderiveenergybyoxidizingsulfideminerals
PwC PwC
Notes: Pr ocessi ng wi th bacter i a
114
Biooxidation of sulfides in refractory gold ore
Gold is often embedded in the crystal structures of pyrite and arsenopyrite. In the presence of
bacteria, the following reactions oxidize the sulfur in these minerals and break them up to release the
gold.
Pyrite: FeS
2
+ 14Fe
+3
+ 8H
2
O 15Fe
+2
+ 2(SO
4
)
2
+ 16H
+
(1)
Arsenopyrite: FeAsS + Fe
+3
+ 3O
2
+ 2H
2
O 2Fe
+2
+ (AsO
4
)
3
+ 2(SO
4
)
2
+ 4H
+
(2)
Fe
+2
to Fe
+3
: 4Fe
+2
+ O
2
+ 4H
+
4Fe
+3
+ 2H
2
0 (3)
The Fe
+3
generated in Reaction 3 is consumed in Reaction 1.
Bioleaching for copper
The speed of the oxidation of copper/iron sulfides (and other metal sulfides) is vastly increased by the
introduction of Thiobacillus ferrooxidans bacteria to the system. In the presence of Thiobacillus
ferrooxidans the chemical reaction is:
4CuFeS
2
+11O
2
+6H
2
O4CuSO
4
+4Fe(OH)
3
+4S(oxidizeironfromFe
+2
toFe
+3
)
Bioleaching vs Biooxidation?
Bioleaching refers to the use of bacteria, principally Thiobacillus ferrooxidans, Leptospirillum
ferrooxidans and thermophilic species of Sulfobacillus, Acidianus and Sulfolobus, to leach metal such as
copper, zinc, uranium, nickel and cobalt from a sulfide mineral into solution (water). Metal is recovered
from these solutions and the solid residue is discarded.
Biooxidation refers to a pretreatment process that uses the same bacteria as bioleaching to catalyze
the degradation of mineral sulfides, usually pyrite or arsenopyrite, which host or occlude gold, silver or
both. Biooxidation leaves the metal values in the solid phase and the solution is discarded.
http://technology.infomine.com/biometmine/biopapers/biomet_bioleaching.asp
PwC PwC
Bi oleach i n Heap or Tanks
TankleachAshantiGold,Ghana
960tpd pyrite/arsenopyrite
CourtesyofLawrenceConsultingLtd
Bioleachingofnickel/coppersulfides
TitanResources,Australia
www1.titanresources.com.au
Coal
PwC PwC
Formati on of Coal Step 1
Depositionoforganicdebrisinaswamp peatbog
Burnsbog,FraserDeltahttp://gsc.nrcan.gc.ca/urbgeo/vanland/delta_e.php
PwC PwC
Notes: For mati on of Coal Step 1
118
Step 1: The first step in coal formation is accumulation of organic debris in a peat swamp. In
most environments, such as the forest floor, plant material decays as fast as it is produced,
so it does not accumulate. However, in a peat swamp, stagnant water that does not contain
oxygen inhibits the decay of organic material allowing it to accumulate and form peat.
Burying the peat with sediment further inhibits the decay of peat.
PwC PwC
Formati on of coal Steps 2+
Successivesedimentarydepositscoverpeatandformcoal
Peat 20
1
Coal
20:1volumereduction
lossofwaterandgases coal
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Notes: For mati on of Coal Steps 2+
120
Steps 2+: Over time (millions of years) the sea level may rise and fall allowing organics to
accumulate as peat A transgression is where the shoreline moves landward, often due to a
relative rise in sea level, resulting in the land surface being covered by the sea.
Plant life on land began to evolve about 450 million years ago and so there are no coal
deposits older than that. Most coal deposits were formed during the warm Carboniferous
period 360 to 290 million years ago.
Burial of peat by overlying sediments results in an increase in the temperature and
pressure. One change that happens is compaction; it is estimated that coal results from a
20 to 1 compaction of peat, i.e., the coal is 1/20 the thickness of the original peat layer. In
addition to compaction there is a loss of moisture and volatiles. Much of the water that is
lost was trapped in pore spaces and is expelled during compaction. Some of the water, plus
the volatiles (gases) are released due to chemical changes in the peat.
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Coal rank uses and grade
Handfiredor
automaticstoves
Metallurgical
(coking)
Thermalcoalif
sulfurcontentlow
Anthracite Subbituminous Bituminous Lignite Peat
Forthe
garden
Increasingrank (carboncontent)
Increasingpressureofcompaction
Anthracite delivers high energy per unit weight and burns cleanly with little soot, making it ideal for heating.
However, its high value makes it prohibitively expensive for power plant use. Other uses include the fine particles
used as filter media.
Coalgrade referstotheamountofashandsulfur content.Lowgradecoalhashigh
ashand/orhighsulfur content.Ashisnoncombustibleandsulfur isjustnotgood.
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Notes: I s coal a mi ner al?
122
This question can lead to some heated debates. We could start with the idea (Skinner,
2005) that all solids are potential minerals and then see if coal fits the expanded definition
of a mineral:
An element or compound, amorphous or crystalline, formed through biogeochemical
processes
There are biogeochemical processes involved in the formation of coal. However, they lead
to a solid which includes carbonized plant remains. There is a wide variety of compounds in
these plant remains and for this reason it is difficult to define a characteristic chemical
composition or set of compounds that make up coal. For this reason coal is usually referred
to as a rock a combination of minerals.
Coal is the official state mineral of Kentucky (even though coal is not a mineral) and
the official state rock of Utah. (Source: wikipedia)
References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal
Skinner, HCW, 2005. Biominerals, Mineralogical Magazine 69 (5): 621641
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Canadi an Coal Resour ces
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US Coal Resour ces
lignite
s
u
b
b
i
t
u
m
i
n
o
u
s
bituminous
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Notes: Coal Resour ces and Pr oducti on
125
Proven reserves of coal worldwide are about 845 billion tonnes. This is enough coal to last
almost 120 years at current rates of consumption.
The US has the largest reserves of coal in the world, about 237 billion tonnes, and produces
about 1 billion tonnes of coal per year. (China produces 3.2 billion tonnes per year.)
Canada has about 7 billion tonnes of reserves and produces about 75 million tonnes of coal
per year. Canada is the second largest metallurgical coal exporter, Australia being the first
largest.
Current (2011) coal prices are about $200/tonne.
References:
http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/eneene/sources/coachaeng.php
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Coal Processi ng
Purpose
Removeincombustiblematerialsuchasdirtandrocktoincreasethe
heatingvalueorcarboncontentofthecoal
Incombustiblemineralmaterialreferredtoasash
Sometimesknownascoalwashing
Methodsused
Screens
Densemediaseparation
Flotation
Drying
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What does coal look li ke?
0
2 mm
Sporesfrom
vegetation
Wellpreserved
wood
Blackmaterialis
charcoalorminerals
(e.g.,silicates)
Yellowandorange
dotsaresporesor
algae
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Coal processi ng
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Coal processing is sometimes referred to as coal cleaning because it removes silicate minerals such as
sands, silts, clays and ash from the coal.
There are several types of breakers. A rotary breaker consists of an outer fixed shell and an inner
rotating drum with perforations. Typical rotational speed of the drum is 1218 rpm. Lifter plates pick
up the runofmine coal which then falls onto the drum. The softer coal breaks and passes through the
perforations while the harder rock is transported to the waste stream. In addition to the cleaning
(removal of rock), a size reduction is also achieved.
The total surface area of a volume of fine particles is larger than the surface area of a coarse particle
of the same volume. Since heat release from a coal particle is proportional to surface area, fine
particles are desired for both thermal and metallurgical applications. However, during processing and
transport, only the surface of the coarse particles oxidizes whereas an entire fine particle may oxidize
lowering its thermal value. Thus, both thermal and metallurgical coal are ground to fine sizes at the
location where it is used.
Usually the fine particles of thermal coal are so dirty that they cannot be cleaned. Often they are
discarded but it might be possible to blend the fines with coarse coal to achieve an overall acceptable
ash content.
The fines of metallurgical coal (also known as coking coal) can usually be floated to obtain clean coal.
The flotation is an added expense, but the value of the metallurgical fines is high. Sometimes the
clean fines are agglomerated to form coarse particles.
Notes: Coal pr ocessi ng
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Dense medi a separati on the basi c i dea
Fluid
medium
SG=w
MaterialwithSG>w
(sinks)
Feed
MaterialwithSG<w
(coalorfloats)
typicallymagnetite
inwater
Usedindrumforcoarseparticles
Usedinhydrocyclone forfinerparticleswhichmaynotseparate
easily
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Coal processi ng plant
Densemedia
drums
Cyclones
Source:www.flsmidthminerals.com/Company/Press+Room/Product+Brochures/HMS+Drum+Plant.htm
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Elkvi ew Mi ne, Bri ti sh Columbi a
132
Capacity:5.6mtpa
Reserves:376.1mt
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Coal tr anspor tati on system i n BC
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Trai nloads and boatloads
134
TrainnearElkviewloadout
CoalloadedatWestshore
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Rock sli de on r ai l r oute i n BC ear ly 2011
Source:Teck 1
st
quarter2011presentationreport
Thisrockslidetook710daystoclearup
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Cerrej on coal mi ne i n Colombi a
Resources:2,193mt
Bituminouscoal
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Coal transportati on system i n Colombi a
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The stri p rati o for coal mi nes
The strip ratio of a coal mine may be very high (1112 at Elkview)
and it can vary considerably during the mine life.
The compensating factor is that the yield of one tonne of coal ore is
much larger (~ 60%) than the yield of one tonne of a metal ore. Also
processing coal ore costs much less than processing metal ores.
www.miningtechnology.com/projects/fording/fording7.html
CrosssectionofgeologyatEagleMountain,BC
Di amonds
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Where di amonds are found
140
Mostlyinveryoldrocksinthecenterofcontinents
>2.5by
1.62.5by
<1.6by
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Diamond deposits are found in the oldest parts of continents called cratons, where the
basement rocks are older than 1,500 million years. The most productive cratons are older
than 2,500 million years located in the central parts of continents such as North America,
Asia, India, and Australia. Less productive deposits are found in rocks 1,6002,500 million
years old.
Other than that described above, the location of diamond deposits cannot be related to
any plate tectonic activity within the last 100200 million years. This is because the
formation of diamonds and diamond deposits more related to processes deep in the earth
rather than the shallow crustal processes that lead to base and precious metal deposits.
http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/diamonds/
Notes: Wher e di amonds ar e found
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How do di amonds form?
142
150 200km
Continental
plate
Upper
mantle
Diamond
formation
Nondiamond
bearing
Diamond
bearing
Kimberlite
pipes
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Notes: How do di amonds for m?
143
Diamonds are formed by recrystallization of graphite (carbon) at high pressure and temperature (900
1200C) at depths greater than 150 km in a region below the earths crust known as the mantle. They
are transported to the surface by magma under considerable pressure. Dissolved gases in the magma
expand and the magma combines with boiling groundwater to result in an explosive supersonic
eruption at the surface. The high speed prevents the diamonds in the magma from recrystalizing as
graphite. The result is a carrotshaped pipe or vent at the surface and a small volcanic cone.
The pipes contain minerals such as garnets and pyroxenes which are formed in the mantle. Fragments
of crustal rock are also present. The rock in the pipes is called kimberlite, after the city of Kimberley,
South Africa, where pipes were first discovered in the 1870s. Pipes occur in clusters and the pipes in a
cluster are typically at most tens of kilometres apart.
http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/diamonds/
Diamonds from kimberlite pipes have been agedated and found to be between 3,300 million to 990
million years old. However, the kimberlite rock was intruded only about 100 million years ago. Given
the age of the diamonds, the carbon source is most likely carbon trapped in Earth's interior at the time
Earth formed 4,600 million years ago. (Kirkley, MB et al, 1991, Gems and Gemology, 27:225)
Two things which make diamonds rare: Only about 1 in 50 kimberlite pipes contain diamonds. Secondly
explosive eruptions that produce kimberlite pipes seem to have stopped occurring. The youngest
kimberlite pipe in the world is in the Lac de Gras area of Canada and is about 50 million years old.
(Davis WJ and Kjarsgaard BA, 1997, Journal of Geology, 105:503510)
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How to fi nd a ki mberli te pi pe i n the Arcti c
144
#pyrope per20
kgsample
0
110
1150
51150
>150
Pyrope Mg
3
Al
2
(SiO4)
3
Atypeofgarnet
Takesamplesoftill
Count#ofindicatormineralgrainsinsamples
Countindicatormineralsin
theglacialtill
Iceflow
Kimberlite
pipe
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Indicator minerals such as pyrope (garnet), chromite and ilmenite, are present in the mantle where
diamonds are formed and are transported to the Earths surface in the kimberlite. They are easily
recognized, mobile, and resistant to weathering. Thus the trail of indicator minerals in glacial till left by
glacial erosion of a kimberlite pipe can lead to the location of the pipe beneath the till.
Tracking this trail of indicator minerals in the glacial deposits was the key to the first diamond mine
discovery, the Ekati mine, in the Northwest Territories. A good read about this diamond find is:
Fire Into Ice: Charles Fipke and the Great Diamond Hunt by Vernon Frolick. Raincoast Books,
Vancouver, 1999 (ISBN 1551922320)
A more recent (and colorful) story about Mr Fipke can be found at
http://www.wired.com/print/science/planetearth/magazine/1612/ff_diamonds
Currently the Ekati and Diavik mines are in operation. There are many other diamond pipes under
investigation in northern Canada. Canada is the third largest producer, by value, of diamonds in the
world, after Botswana and Russia.
Till photo: http://gsc.nrcan.gc.ca/landscapes/details_e.php?photoID=670
Notes: How to fi nd a ki mber li te pi pe i n the Ar cti c
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They really are i n there (somewhere)
146
Glacial till in Lac de Gras area, NWT
Kimberlite boulderintilldeposit
http://gsc.nrcan.gc.ca/mindep/method/kimberlite/index_e.php#ind
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Di avi k Di amond Mi ne
Onasunnysummersday
Inwinter(35C)
Seasonaliceroad
OpenFebruarytoApril
The
AntiBling
147
June9,2011
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Photos courtesy of Diavik Diamond Mines Inc.
Left: Pit formed inside a dam constructed in a lake called Lac de Gras. Construction during 20002003
shown. Mining occurs year round.
Top right: The ice road extends 600 km from Tibbitt Lake (outside Yellowknife) to the Jericho Diamond
Mine. Seventyfive per cent of the road is ice, built over frozen lakes. Diavik is about 370 km from
Tibbitt Lake. Travel time to Diavik is 1519 hours depending on load weight.
Bottom right: Rough diamonds. The larger diamond on the lower left of the picture weighs about 8
carats and is worth C$30,000. The manner in which these diamonds are separated from the waste is
interesting. See part C.
Diavik Mines data:
27.2 Mtonne reserves at 3.9 carats/tonne, four orebodies (pipes)
Annual ore production: 1.5 to 2 million tonnes
Annual diamond production: maximum 8 million carats
Mine life: 16 to 22 years. Production began January 2003, capital cost: C$1.3 billion
Underground operation under development in 2007, expected to begin in 2009. Capital cost of
underground development as of November 2007 is US$787 million.
Open pit operation will cease in 2012.
Notes: Di avi k Di amond Mi ne
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How do you crush di amond ore?
Verycarefully withaHighPressureGrindingRoll(HPGR)
Adjustgapbetween
rollerstomaximum
expecteddiamondsize
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Notes: Hi gh pr essur e gr i ndi ng r olls
150
A High Pressure Grinding Roll (HPGR) machine consists of a pair of counterrotating rolls, one fixed and
the other floating. Ore feed is introduced into the gap between the rolls. The position of the floating
roll can be adjusted. A hydraulic spring system maintains grinding pressure on the floating roll. The
pressure and roll speed can be adjusted during the grinding to adapt to changing feed properties.
Comminution in a HPGR is done virtually completely by compression. This results in a product that has
a higher percentage of fines than can be achieved with a SAG or AG mill where comminution is done by
a combination of compression and shear. Coarse particles in the HPGR product exhibit extensive
cracking which reduces the amount of grinding work to be performed in a downstream ball mill.
HPGR technology was originally developed for the cement industry. Diamond mines adopted the
technology in the early 1980s for crushing kimberlite ore. HPGRs are now being used or considered for
use in crushing gold and base metal ores where they would replace SAG and AG mills in a grinding
circuit. Base and gold metal ores are typically harder than kimberlite.
HPGR units have a 610% higher capital cost than SAG mills and an issue is wear of the roll surface
(which is typically studded), particularly in gold and base metal ore processing. However, this is offset
by the low cost of replacing wear surfaces, short equipment delivery times, and a high throughput rate.
Energy costs of a HPGR are also significantly lower most of the energy in a SAG or AG mill circuit is
consumed moving the mill cylinder itself.
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HPGR test faci li ty at NBK (UBC)
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Dense medi a hydrocyclone plant
www.stornowaydiamonds.com
Toseparatekimberlite (light)fromdiamonds(heavy)
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Di amond ore processi ng X-ray separati on
Densemediaseparationincyclones
resultsindiamondconcentrate
(diamondsheavy,kimberlite light)
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Notes: Di amond or e pr ocessi ng X r ay separ ati on
154
The crushed ore is mixed with finely ground ferrosilicon (dense media) slurry at a density of
approximately 2.65g/cm
3
, near the density of diamond. The resulting slurry is spun at high speeds in a
cyclone, creating a density gradient in which lighter materials (kimberlite) rise to the top of the cyclone
(the overflow) and are discarded as waste (or used as backfill in an underground mine). The higher
density minerals, including diamonds, concentrate at the lower levels (the underflow) of the cyclone
and are sent to the Xray separator as a diamond concentrate. Using a magnet the ferrosilicon is
recovered for reuse.
The Xray separator system acts on a thin stream of particles from the concentrate accelerated off a
moving belt into the air, where they encounter an intense beam of Xrays. Any diamond fluoresces in
the Xrays, activating a photomultiplier that triggers a jet of air, deflecting the diamonds (red) into a
collector bin.
Sources:
Crusher and cyclone pctures: www.diavik.ca
Xray separator: www.amnh.org/exhibitions/diamonds/process.html
See video at
http://www.debeerscanada.com/files_2/snap_lake/snap_animations/mining_method/mining.swf
Oi l Sands
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Or i gi n of oi l sands
Resources~1.7trillionbarrels
Conventional marine organic origin in the
southwest of Alberta
Oil flows to the northeast
The lowering of the temperature to less
than 80C allowed biodegradation of the
lighter oils
Theresult:thickbitumenwithsand
Map by Norman Einstein, May 10, 2006
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Notes: Or i gi n of oi l sands
157
For the geologically inclined:
The following author favors a coalification origin for oil sands:
http://www.searchanddiscovery.net/documents/2004/stanton/index.htm
But this author (and others) favor a marine source similar to conventional oil:
Hein, F. J., 2006. Heavy Oil and Oil (Tar) Sands in North America: An Overview & Summary of
Contributions. Natural Resources Research, 15(2): 6784
It is clear that the oil sands could not flow to where they are in their current condition. The fluid oil,
whatever its origin, has been degraded by bacteria, a process which removes the lighter hydrocarbon
molecules, leaving behind the bitumen in between grains in these oil sands. Some current research is
directed toward enhancing this biodegradation process in deep oil sand deposits and collect the
resulting gases as an energy source ie to exploit the oil sands in situ.
PwC PwC
Separate bi tumen from sand and water
Addhotwater
Transportslurrytoextractionplant
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Flotati on of bi tumen
Airbubblesattachtobitumen
Floatstosurfaceasfroth
159
Bitumen
Water
Sand/Clay
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Subsequent processi ng stages
160
Addnaptha tobitumen
frothandcentrifugeto
furtherseparate
bitumenfromsolids
Remove
naptha
UPGRADING
Removesulfurand
nitrogencompoundsto
producesyntheticcrude
yieldone
barrelofoil
Twotonnesoilsand
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A Pr oblem
161
Thispitisabout90mdeep
80%ofthebitumenresourceliesbelow100m
Butoilsandsareunstable
www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/oct/05/1
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One alter nati ve: Steam Assi sted Gr avi ty
Drai nage
162
BUT
Considerableenergyis
requiredtoformsteam
Steamcanescapeintothelower
pressuregaspoolmakingit
unavailableforheatingbitumen
Source:EnergyResourcesConservationBoard
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SAGD i nstallati on i n Alberta
Operatingat250C
Ur ani um
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Urani um i n Canada the Athabasca Basi n
~300m
depth
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Notes; Ur ani um i n Canada the Athabasca Basi n
166
The Athabasca Basin is composed of a sedimentary deposit of sandstones overlying
deformed metamorphic basement rocks. In geological terms the combination of these two
rock types is an unconformity, a buried erosion surface separating rock units of different
ages. It results when there is a hiatus between the deposition of older underlying rocks and
younger overlying rocks, allowing erosion to occur.
Uranium is a large atom and does not fit into the crystal structure of typical rock types. One
theory is that magmatic activity deformed the underlying metamorphic rocks and
hydrothermal fluids from the magma transported uranium and deposited it in large
quantities at the base of the sandstones. (See next slide)
Unconformitytype uranium deposits host high grades relative to other uranium deposits
and include some of the largest and richest deposits known. Other significant deposits
occur in the MacArthur Basin in the Northern Territory, Australia.
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Cr oss-secti on at Ci gar Lake ur ani um mi ne
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Uranium_deposit%28Cigar_Lake%29.png
(Sandstone)
(Quartzcap)
(Weatheredsandstone)
(Uraniumore)
(Metamorphicbedrock)
(Claycover)
PwC PwC
Urani um Mi ni ng i n Saskatchewan
Remotemining
methodstoavoid
exposuretoradiation
Groundfreezingto
controlgroundwater
Jetboring
essentiallywashore
outofground
Excellentanimationat:
http://www.cameco.com/mining/cigar_lake/jet_boring_animation/
PwC PwC
Urani um ore processi ng
FordetailsSeewww.chemcases.com/nuclear/nc06.html
Crushing
Grinding
Precipitation
Solvent
extraction
Ionexchange
Uranium
ore
1924%uraniumoxide
~85%uraniumoxide
Acidoralkali
leach
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I n si tu extracti on of urani um
Oxygenatedwaterwith
peroxideorcarbonate
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Notes: I n-si tu extr acti on of ur ani um
171
Applicable to deposits of uranium in sandstone and confined between
impermeable layers. Deposits in Australia, western US and Kazakhstan.
Injection wells pump a chemical solution typically sodium bicarbonate and
oxygen into the sandstone layer containing uranium ore. The solution dissolves
the uranium from the deposit and is then pumped to the surface through recovery
wells and passed through ion exchange columns to be converted into yellowcake.
www.powertechuranium.com/s/AboutISR.asp
I ndustr i al Mi ner als
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I ndustri al Mi nerals and thei r Appli cati ons
Industrial Minerals Applications
Limestone Construction
Clays Ceramics
Sand Paints
Gravel Electronics
Kaolin Fertilizers
Bentonite Filtration
Silica Plastics
Barite Glass
Gypsum Detergents
Talc Paper coatings
Potash Lubricants
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Glaci er s and glaci al ti ll
Sourceofanumber
ofgraveldeposits
PwC PwC
Canadi an Mi neral Producti on
175
1
9
9
5
1
9
9
6
1
9
9
7
1
9
9
8
1
9
9
9
2
0
0
0
2
0
0
1
2
0
0
2
2
0
0
3
2
0
0
4
2
0
0
5
2
0
0
6
2
0
0
7
2
0
0
8
2
0
0
9
2
0
1
0
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
22
24
26
28
Source: Natural Resources Canada

V
a
l
u
e

(
C
$
b
i
l
l
i
o
n
)
Metallic
Non-metallic (excluding coal)
PwC PwC
I M Mi nes i n BC
176
Source:http://geoscape.nrcan.gc.ca/nanaimo/sandgravel_e.php
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I ndustri al mi nerals processi ng
www.bateman.co.za
Almostallphysical
crushing,grinding,separationby
screeningorgravity
Spiralseparatortestrig
Screenparticle
separator
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Aspects of I ndustri al Mi nerals
Therearenoindustrialmineralmarkets
marketformineralmustbedeveloped,pricenegotiated
Butproductionmaybeturnedonandoffdependingonmarket
demand
Mineralusuallyoflowunitvalue
transportationcostsmustbefactoredintoprice
Relativelylowcapitalandoperationcosts
Almostallmaterialminedisused
overburdenstrippingmaybenecessary
PwC PwC
ENDOFPART3

Basics of Mining and Mineral Processing

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