www.pwc.

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2012 Americas School of Mines

Basics of Mining and Mineral Processing

W Scott Dunbar University of British Columbia

Agenda
GeologicalConcepts MiningMethods MineralProcessingMethods MineWasteManagement MiningandMoney AFutureofMining

A Future of Mining: The Topics

Driversofinnovation in mining Automation,rapid excavation Insituandunderground processing

Somedifferentconcepts

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Sustainable Mining and Mineral Processing

Energyuse Wastedisposal Miningand MineralProcessing Resourcedepletion EnvironmentalImpact SocialImpact Canallthisbedonewithoutjeopardizingtheabilityof futuregenerationstomeettheirneeds? Ortheabilityoftheindustrytocontinueoperating?
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The call of the reserves trend to underground

3.2 3.0 2.8 2.6 Fungurume

Average Copper Grade (%)

2.4 2.2 2.0 1.8 1.6 1.4 1.2 1.0 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 Antamina Northparkes New Afton Minto

Nosignof thesekindsof deposits(yet) Allnearend ofminelife

Mostlarge newcopper minesare underground mines

Legend Proven + Probable Reserves Measured + Indicated Resources

Resolution Oyu Tolgoi El Teniente Andina Codelco Norte Grasberg

Palabora MorenciBingham GaloreCanyon Creek Cerro Verde Highland Valley Bagdad

Reserves or Resources (Mt)

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Notes: The call of the reserves

To obtain reserves mining companies must take on some significant unsystematic risks (risks not related to market changes) associated with exploration, project feasibility and constructability of new projects in places where there is little geological knowledge or infrastructure. One way to diversify these risks and still attract investment is to have a steady flow of cash from existing operations, some of which can be used to provide opportunities for development of new projects. If the unsystematic risks cause the new projects to fail, the existing operations provide a safety net. The large grades and/or resources of some copper deposits shown here attract large mining companies, but there are significant unsystematic risks: Freeport McMoran: Fungurume in the Congo. Political risks as well as social and health issues Rio Tinto, Ivanhoe Mines: Oyu Tolgoi in Mongolia. No infrastructure and uncertainty about what royalties the Mongolian government will charge Rio Tinto: Resolution project east of Phoenix. Orebody at a depth of 2 km in rock where the temperatures are 80C. Feasibility of any mining method under these conditions is uncertain. Teck Cominco, Novagold: Galore Creek in northwestern BC. No roads, no power and significant water management issues at the proposed mine.

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MINECOs balance sheet

Cash Receivables Inventories PP & E Investments Other 4.42% 1.85%

Property, plant and equipment

70.5%

6.8% 9.47% 7%
This is the average from the annual reports of five mining companies in 2005. Mining companies have a lot of their balance sheet tied up in physical assets. This affects return on equity and return on invested capital.

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Creating value

ReturnonEquity

RevenuesCosts Assets

UsualapproachtoincreaseRoE istoreduceoperatingcosts

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Mine Automation
Why?Toreducecosts.Alsosafer Possible,inprinciple,toautomateanypartoftheminecycle moreefficientuseofassetsandlabor Teleoperation:
teleoperatedLHDs,threedrills,oneoperatoraboveground somesuccessatVale(formerlyINCO)minesinSudbury,Ontario

Autonomoustrucksandshovels:
BHPandRioTinto forapplicationtocoalandironoremines

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Notes: Mine Automation to reduce costs

There have been some significant advances in mine automation over the last decade. For example, Komatsu has provided autonomous 290 tonne haul trucks (930E4AT) to both Codelco in Chile and Rio Tinto in Australia. Caterpillar is also working on developing an autonomous 700 tonne (!) truck. Deep underground mines have a strong incentive to be involved in mine automation because of long travel times of workers to and from work areas and the difficult, possibly unsafe, work conditions at large depths.

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This LHD has no driver

Lightropeguidancesystem

www.canadianminingjournal.com
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Notes: This LHD has no driver

In some cases, teleoperation can be slower than directly operated machines. However, it is reliable and that is very important in a mining operation which depends on a regular feed of material. One Canadian prime minister (Jean Chretien) was shown operating a LHD in a mine in Sudbury, Ontario from a conference hall in Toronto. So if a politician can do it, there is no end to the possibilities.

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Autonomous trucks (and shovels one day)

RioTintosWestAngeles ironmine,Australia

Source:www.komatsu.com/CompanyInfo/press/2008122516111923820.html PwC AFutureofMining 13

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Rapid excavation for rapid development

Roadheader

Roadheader cycle Nodrillingandblasting

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Notes: Rapid excavation for rapid development

Most of these technologies have been applied to tunnel construction but have not yet been applied in mining construction or development. Other technologies such as water jets and projectiles have been tested as a means of rapid excavation.

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Does cost cutting really work?

DowJonesTotalReturnIndices
1400 1200 Dow Jones Total Return Index 1000 800 600 400 200 0 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Basic Materials (includes mining) Consumer Services Consumer Goods Oil and Gas Financials Health Care Industrials Technology Telecommunications Utilities

Notreally,ifcomparisonsmadeto otherindustries

Also Energyandequipment costsaresignificant

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What about the assets?

RevenuesCosts RevenuesCosts Output Assets Output Assets

Operatingproductivity

Industryfocus

Capital productivity

With existing technology it is possible to find ways of using assets more efficiently or to use less of them.

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Process Integration mine to mill or mill to mine

Mine

Mill

Currentparadigm metal

the wall Thesubjectofalot ofresearch Wasteore Existing technologies separationatface oratpitwall Concentrate tosurface metal

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Notes: Process Integration

Sometrialsofpreconcentration(wasteoreseparation)atundergroundminesinOntario
Mine McCreedyEast,ON McCreedyWest, ON FraserMine,ON Oretype Narrowveincopper Massivenickelsulfide Narrowveincopper Separationmethod %Wasterejected Opticalsorting 55.9% Densemedia Conductivitysorting 21.6% Densemedia Densemedia 44.3% Densemedia 14.2%

ThayerLindsley,ON Massive/bandednickel sulfide

Ore and waste minerals often have different optical properties (i.e., they respond to a particular kind of light differently), different electrical conductivities, and different densities. Thus ore and waste minerals will reflect a particular kind of light differently. In the presence of an electrical current, one will resist the current (typically the waste) and the other will pass the current. If a dense medium is mixed with the ore, the lighter minerals (typically the waste minerals) will float to the top. Thus each of these differences in properties can be used to separate the two types of minerals.

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Why not reduce assets?

Develop radically different technologies that can do mining and mineral processing with small (micro) assets minimizematerialhandling cheapanddisposablemachines

New technologies

Insituor nearsitu processing

metal

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But one could also ask:

DOWENEEDMACHINES?

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Ants cleaning their nest

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Notes: Ants Cleaning their Nest

1500 dead ants were put into a 10 cm diameter dish located in an artificial ant colony. A few worker ants from the colony were released. The workers then proceeded to clean the nest by moving the dead ants into separate piles. Within 36 hours three distinct piles were made. After 72 hours, there was one pile. There is no foreman ant. An individual worker ant moves ants around based on cues such as the ease with which a dead ant can be moved; if it is too hard to move, its likely in a pile so leave it alone, if its easily moved then pick it up and put it in a place where it is hard to move which should be a pile.

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Why not sort minerals this way?

Construct a swarm of small machines that can detect or infer particle size or weight Each machine has a simple instruction set: pickupaparticleifitisheavy dropaparticlenearsimilarparticles,or movearoundtofindapileofsimilarparticles Itisactuallyverydifficulttodothis arethinkisnecessary. Naturemighthavedonesomeoftheworkforus(theDoftheR&D)

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Mining and Remediation with Plants

Nickelmine wasterock

Plantnickelaccumulators

Harvest,thenplantnative species Phytominingofgoldminetailings, SouthAfrica

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Notes: Mining and Remediation with Plants

Plants transpire large amounts of water from the soil to facilitate photosynthesis and will accumulate any soluble metals present in soil water during transpiration. The amount of accumulation increases with the concentration of metals in the soil, with the ambient temperature, and with an increase in plant biomass. This can be exploited to induce hyperaccumulation of metals in the following way: wait until the plant is fully grown when the ambient temperature is high, induce a high concentration of metals in the soil by application of a suitable chemical (thiocyanate in the case of gold or acids in the case of some base metals) harvest the plants (which are probably dead due to the high metal concentration), burn them and recover the metals from the ashes. Phytoremediation is the use of plants which accumulate contaminant metals to clean mine waste. Phytomining is the use of the plants which accumulate valuable metals to extract these metals into the tissue mass of the plant. The process can be repeated until the metals are completely extracted. However, the concentrations of metals required to make the process economic have apparently not been achieved. It is an area of active research. Plant species could be genetically engineered to enhance their capabilities to absorb metals. Source: Anderson et al, 1999. Phytomining for nickel, thallium and gold. Journal of Geochemical Exploration, 67:407415

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Nuggets in the desert

BillSouthern,ownerofretail outletinMorristownbetween PhoenixandWickenburgonthe waytoBagdadmine www.nuggetshooter.com

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ForavideoofanAussiefindinganuggetsee www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5nv1lcbN54
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How did they get there?

Detrital loosefragmentswornawayfromtheMotherlode
But gold is relatively heavy and not that mobile Wheres the Mother lode?

Chemicalaccretion crystallizationfromsolution
Butgoldisnotthatreactive(rememberitsanoblemetal) Wheresthewater?Howwoulditgetintosolution?

Theremustbeanotherway.

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A nugget up close (electron microscope)

Looks like goldencrusted bacteria white arrows show cell wall structure Genetic analysis of biofilms on gold showed evidence of bacteria

(JustliketheydoDNAanalysisonCSI)
Source: Reith et al, 2006. Biomineralization of gold: Biofilms on bacterioform gold. Science, 313: 233236

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And the most pervasive bacterium is

somethingcalledRalstonia metallidurans

goldparticle

IncubateR.metallidurans withgoldchloridefor5daysat30C Electronmicrographofsinglemicrobeshowsembeddedgoldparticle

Source: Reith et al, 2006. Biomineralization of gold: Biofilms on bacterioform gold. Science, 313: 233236

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Notes: And the most pervasive bacterium is

The genetic analysis showed that the bacteria in the biofilms on the gold nugget belonged to as many as 30 species, most of which could not be found in the soil surrounding the nugget. The most pervasive species was genetically nearly identical to the bacterium Ralstonia metallidurans, a microbe wellknown for its ability to precipitate some heavy metals from solution. R. mellidurans was incubated with a gold chloride (HAuCl4) at 30C for 5 days. The gold chloride is toxic to bacteria and so initially the bacterial count decreased. However, the bacteria count eventually increased rapidly indicating it developed a resistance to the gold chloride. The backscatter electron micrograph of the bacteria in the culture shows energy peaks corresponding to carbon, oxygen and metallic gold. The gold either accumulated in the cell walls of the bacterium or appeared to cover the bacterium entirely.

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Sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB)

SRBscatalyzethe reductionofsulfates Metalsulfates are presentin contaminatedwater

Carbon source

SRBsexistnaturally butneedacarbon sourcetobeactive

Metalsulfides precipitate
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Notes: Sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB)

SRB use carbon source and reduce sulfates in contaminated water:

Sucrose+acid+sulphate+water hydrogensulphide+carbonicacid C12H22O11 +12H+ +6SO42 +H2O 6H2S(aq)+12H2CO3(aq) Metalion+hydrogensulphide metalsulphide+hydrogenion Me2+ +H2S(aq) MeS(solid)+2H+
Acarbonsourceisnotusuallypresent SRBaredormant. Asimplecarbonsource:addsugar

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Notes: Sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB)

Oxidation is an energyreleasing process, and organisms make use of the energy to live. Oxygen is the most common oxidizer; it wants electrons and once it has stripped them off some helpless ion, it combines with hydrogen to produce water. However, sulfatereducing bacteria (SRB) use sulfate as an oxidizer, reducing the sulfate to sulfide. SRB metabolism requires an organic carbon source (as food) and some growth substrate for attachment since the bacteria cannot survive in open water. SRB metabolism causes sulfide minerals to precipitate in marine sediments, wetlands, lake sediments, or wherever there are sources of metal ions, sulfate ions and carbon. SRB are used as a method for treating acid mine drainage which contains sulfates and metal ions in solution. See www.bioteq.com The biological names of common SRBs are Desulfovibrio and Desulfotomaculum. If sucrose (sugar) is the carbon source, the chemical reactions are: Sucrose+sulfate +acid+water sulfur dioxide+carbonicacid C12H22O11 +6SO42 +12H+ +H2O 6H2S(aq)+12H2CO3(aq) Metalion+sulfur dioxide metalsulfide +hydrogenion Me2+ +H2S(aq)MeS(solid)+2H+ Source: Saunders, J. A. et al. 2005. Geochemical, microbiological, and geophysical assessments of anaerobic immobilization of heavy metals, Bioremediation Journal, 9:3348

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SRBs under the electron microscope

ZnS

SRBbiofilm

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Remediation by SRBs

Seewww.bioteq.com

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Resources and Reserves of Metals

Scrapmetal Scrapcircuitboards alreadyametalsource

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Notes: Resources and Reserves of Metals

Some argue that all the metal needed in the world is above ground. (no reference still looking for it) On left: Densified Scrap Metal No. 3a, Hamilton, Ontario 1997 www.edwardburtynsky.com On right: www.deadcomputers.com Several mining companies with smelting capacity have invested in the electronics scrap business. As of 1998 recycling accounts for more than half of the U.S. metal supply by weight and roughly 40 percent by value. Sibley, S. F., 2004. Flow Studies for Recycling Metal Commodities in the United States, Circular 1196AM US Geological Survey. Available at: http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/2004/1196am/

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Can the industry grow its own?

Microbes

Hotsprings hydrothermalzones supergeneorezones

Electronicandmetalscrap

Contaminated water

Notyettried
METALS

Demonstratedat labscale

Feasible

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Notes: Can the industry grow its own?

Three sources of metals are shown here: Contaminated water from mines or other industrial sites Hydrothermal waters with sulfates or supergene ore zones (e.g., Morenci mine) where bacterial leaching is already occurring naturally Metal and electronic scrap

The idea of recovering metals from such sources using microbes might seem crazy, but really the only major barrier is our poor understanding of the interaction between metals and microbes. The amounts of valuable metals in these sources vary, but could be significant in the case of metal scrap. Metals are already being recovered from some contaminated waters. There are obvious practical problems with dealing with a hydrothermal zone, but the temperatures are not too high. Orderofmagnitude estimates of bacterial oxidation in one fracture at the Morenci mine in Arizona demonstrated that a few kg of thiobacilli could leach between 0.14 0.87 t of Cu annually. (See Enders et al, 2006. The role of bacteria in the supergene environment of the Morenci porphyry copper deposit, Greenlee County, Arizona. Economic Geology, 101:5970) Experiments have shown that bacteria and fungi grown in the presence of finegrained electronic scrap lead to acid formation and leaching of metals such as copper, tin, aluminum, lead and zinc. (See Brandl H, Bosshard R, Wegmann M, 2001. Computermunching microbes: metal leaching from electronic scrap by bacteria and fungi. Hydrometallurgy, 59:319326.)

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Its fun to think about this:

22nd century miningcompany mini machines orebodies

metalscrap

biological agents

tailingsand minewaste

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Notes: Its fun to think about this:

A 22nd century mining company will have swarms of small machines or biological agents located at orebodies, tailings ponds, waste dumps or metal scrap yards where it owns mineral or metal rights. These swarms would be activated to gain access to mineralized zones or metal and carry out insitu processing to produce minerals or metal products. The mining company would be a metal supply company that may supply metal from ore, from waste, or by recycling, depending on demand and costs. A truly flexible metals production system.

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Mining in 2100 Ataminesitein2100therewillbe apersonandadog. Personsjob Feedthedog Dogsjob Stopthepersonfiddlingwiththe controls,valves,andpipes.

orebody
Thispictureisnottoscale

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THE END

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