chapter 1

Plenary Presentations

Challenges in solid-liquid separation thickener

theory and applications
Fernando Concha
Water Research Center for Agriculture and Mining, University of Concepcin, Chile

ABSTRACT
Thickening development and innovation in the 20th Century occurred in two decades periods.
From 1900 to 1920, Dorr invented the continuous thickener and the first method of thickener design
was proposed by Coe & Clevenger. From 1920 to 1940, the operating variables of continuous
thickening were discovered by Comings at the University of Illinois. From 1940 to 1960, the first
theory of sedimentation was proposed by Kynch and several authors, Talmage and Fitch, Ysioka
and Hasset used this theory to develop new thickener design methods. From 1960 to 1980 Shannon
and Tory demonstrated that this theory applied exactly for the sedimentation for small rigid
spheres in water and Scott showed that it is not valid for flocculated suspensions. From 1970 to 1990
the phenomenological theory of thickening was developed based on the theory of mixtures. Papers
by Kos, Bascur, Thacker and Lavelle, Concha and Bascur, Concha and Barrientos, Auzeris, Buscal
and White, Landman, White and Buscal show the application of this theory to thickening and
Adorjan presented the first thickener design method based on this theory. In 1980s the
mathematical analysis and solutions of Kynchs model for batch and continuous thickeners was
obtained by Bustos.
The new Century brought solution to the phenomenological thickening model which was applied
to thickener design, simulation and control. The method of thickener parameter determination was
improved by designing new laboratory and on-line instruments and advanced control strategies
was designed and validated in plants.
Structural thickener design produced improved feedwells and feed dilution mechanism, stronger
raking mechanism and different thickener shapes according to new ambient requirements, such as
high rate thickener and paste thickeners that increase the water recovery.
New challenges include better flocculation and advanced control strategies.

There is no full article associated with this abstract.

Lower operating costs through enterprise dynamic

performance management
Osvaldo Bascur
OSIsoft, USA

ABSTRACT
The Metals and Mining industries continue to be challenged by deflated commodity prices,
increased energy costs, decreased quantity / quality of raw materials, and expanded regulatory
requirements. In an effort to offset these headwinds, leaders in these industries are now starting to
adopt comprehensive information strategies to improve operational efficiency and business
performance. These strategies are resulting in competitive advantage and helping to move
operating locations down the commodity cost curve. Current information trends are enabling
collaboration, analysis, and action across competence centers to ensure corporate sustainability and
ongoing profitability.
The digital revolution has created a new focus for continuous process improvement and
innovations (SIX SIGMA in practice) one that spans operations, service organization and also
customer interaction. With this expanded focus comes the need to improve processes more openly,
more iteratively and more collaboratively.
This presentation will share examples of how mineral processors have adopted new strategies such
as self-serve business intelligence, data mining, cloud computing and internal/external
collaboration. Mine to mill integration for grade recovery optimization, mine and mill asset
availability and reductions in operating costs examples will be presented.

There is no full article associated with this abstract.

Sustainability and public engagement in mining: The

role of engineers
Marcello Veiga and Christopher Tucker
Norman B. Keevil Institute of Mining Engineering, University of British Columbia, Canada

ABSTRACT
Social issues are increasingly recognized as significant inhibitors to mineral development projects.
Increasingly social risk is being recognized as a key factor determining the success of a mineral
investment. Groups opposed to a mine for social or political reasons often use environmental
impacts, real or perceived, to prevent mine development. These risk factors depend largely on
cultural perceptions of mining activities and must be understood as such in order to be
appropriately managed. A first step to addressing social issues is inclusive, transparent and
meaningful engagement of stakeholders. This process allows stakeholders to understand what the
other parties value in order to collectively establish a common currency for development and the
creation of mutual value. Expanding the scope of benefits and values a mine can bring is of
increasing importance to mining companies who typically consult outside specialists remote from
the mine site and late in the development timeline for this purpose. Training technical staff,
engineers and geologists, who make initial and ongoing contact with local interests, in a holistic
approach to mine development is crucial to successful and economic mineral development projects.
Further extending this conversation to the general public, media governments and nongovernmental organizations is a necessary step in developing a meaningful discourse on the benefit
of mining activities.

SOCIAL ISSUES IN MINING

The public often perceives mining operations as causing serious adverse problems to both
environmental and human health. Past examples of poor performance in handling environmental
and human rights issues linger in the social memory and haunt new mineral development
proposals. In such cases opponents to mineral development will often cite environmental issues
such as the potential legacy of pollution left by a mine, destruction of surrounding lands and forests,
water contamination and depletion, loss of access to recreational or traditional lands, noise, dust,
and excessive truck traffic.
Environmental impacts of most mining operations are localized and relatively small compared to
many other forms of human economic activity such as agriculture, forestry and urban settlement.
Nonetheless mining can negatively impact the environment especially if not well managed. More
frequently companies around the world are facing problems with local communities and
international environmental groups when implementing mining projects (Davis and Franks, 2011).
Environmental issues are often used to justify the opposition when in fact, there are larger
unresolved social and/or political problems or the initial approach of the mining company was not
well received by the communities. Typically a mining company limits the focus of their perception
and communication of community benefits to taxation revenues and job creation. The veracity of
this position is challenged in the notion of the resource curse (Auty, 1993) where it is argued that
countries endowed with great mineral or petroleum wealth do not see a corresponding increase in
the well-being of their people with the development of those resources. As with critics of aid
programs (Moyo, 2009) resource-rich countries often see their governance structures and
sovereignty challenged rather than strengthened. One rationale for the unsustainable extraction of
non-renewable resources is when this activity can support the development of sustainable and
sustaining improvements in other areas of human wealth. For example, sustainable mining,
considered by many to be an oxymoron can be used to describe the extraction of mineral resources
in a manner that contributes to long-lasting wealth or wellbeing.
Numerous levels of human organization may be considered for wealth creation. It is possible to
look at this globally, internationally or nationally. In the latter case, financial vehicles such as
Norways Sovereign Wealth Fund borne out of Norways North Sea oil extraction, can be used to
create last well-being among a people where inclusion boundaries are clear, in this case, citizenship
(Gjessing & Syse, 2007). At a provincial or state level similar vehicles exist such as the less
successful Alberta Heritage Fund designed to provide lasting benefit from the wealth created by
Tar Sands development in Canada or even the various credits issued by local taxation authorities
(Murphy 2013). At the regional, municipal and community level, where inclusion boundaries are
more porous it is more difficult to manage distribution of benefits from resource development. As
resources such as oil and gas or minerals are often more locally situated extending their benefits
locally makes sense. In this case it can make sense that the benefits rather than being financial in
nature are themselves local distributed such as infrastructure improvements or local quality of life
enhancements. The most effective level to create real improvements in human wellbeing is at the
community level where a community is defined as a local grouping of people with some
commonality in their strategies for meeting their needs. Many different types of communities
participate in non-sustainable practices in order to meet their needs and potentially all could

improve their way of life while decreasing their dependency on imperiled resources whether those
resources are old growth forests, wild salmon, cheap oil, or high grade gold and copper deposits.

THE CHANGING ROLE OF THE ENGINEER

Engineers usually define the steps of a Mining Project using technical-economic parameters that
can be simplified in 8 Ds:
1.

Detection of geological anomalies

2.

Discovery of the mineral deposit

3.

Definition of the ore body to be mined

4.

Design of the mine

5.

Decision to go ahead with the project

6.

Development of the mine

7.

Depletion of the ore body

8.

Decommissioning of the mine

This mnemonic sequence of Ds does not consider that quite often another D happens:
Deception, which is usually caused by the lack of an interdisciplinary approach or lack of
understanding of the socio-economic environment in which a mining project is implemented. In the
past, environmental and social issues were ignored or approached at the very end of a mining
project to fulfill legal exigencies. Many mining proposals have failed because mining companies did
not believe that it was their responsibility to deal with the local stakeholders in the early stages of a
project (Owen & Kemp 2012). The lack of social license to operate has been recently stressed as one
of the major hurdles for the mining companies to start a project (Moffat and Zhang, 2014). Even
when the company has their environmental permits, the public perception of the mine, associated
with hidden political interests, prevents the project realization. For example in the case of Infinito
Gold, in Costa Rica, a project that would have created a large number of jobs for the local
community in diversified activities but strong political players associated with international NGOs,
scared the local people alleging that tailing dam failures will lead to water contamination and
landslides (Evans, 2012). This is also the case of Marlin Mine in Guatemala where many
environmentalists believe that the population is vulnerable to cyanide spills, despite the total
destruction and regeneration of the cyanide used in the mine (Jaccard and Condon, 2013).
In 2014, in British Columbia, Canada, Taseko Mines had its New Prosperity project rejected for the
second time. First Nation leaders in the region opposed to the project alleging it would threaten the
environmental integrity of Fish Lake, a 1 km2 productive lake in the remote region of CaribooChilcotin. The project would generate around US$ 10 billion in taxes directly and indirectly had the
potential to generate 3000 new jobs. The Federal Government, through two Assessment Panels,
predicted environmental impacts for the lake (CEEAE, 2013). For the general public and
governments, the environmental argument was the main reason given for the project rejection, but
it seems secondary in the decision process as the First Nations regard the lake as sacred and the
relationship between company and First Nations degenerated upon the failure to establish a
working joint review panel (CEAA, 2013). All activities of the company to mitigate the
environmental impacts and to preserve the lake were not enough to bring the public opinion to

their side. In this situation both parties, initially willing to do business, could not find a common
currency by which to create mutual value, resulting in a breakdown of the relationship.
The above examples illustrate the importance of effective early engagement with communities. As
technical people, such as geologists and engineers, are often the point of first (and ongoing) contact
it is imperative that they have an understanding of the social dimensions of their work. Frequently
social issues are delegated to social scientists hired as consultants to establish a strategy to deal with
the local communities. The plans may be well done but the execution will still be in the hands of
technical staff permanently present at the mining site. Rarely do engineers regard understanding
social factors as part of their professional capacity. They typically fail to understand the traditions,
cultures and idiosyncrasies of the local communities. This lack of understanding can lead to
roadblocks and demonstrations by local community members that effectively halt production and
ties up management leading to serious cost overruns (Davis and Franks, 2011).
Most mining engineers have perceived education on social issues related to natural resources as a
topic of secondary importance. Unfortunately, this is a common situation in the technical academic
world. Even now, when the mining industry is being monitored by media, stakeholders and nongovernmental organizations, few academics bring the socio-political context to the engineering
classrooms. The role of mining in promoting development and reducing poverty has been
challenged, since there is no clear indicator of success (Pegg, 2006). The most significant criticisms
relate to the attitudes and performance of the mining companies in the field.
Some engineers still believe that the misunderstanding between companies and communities must
be resolved with legal interventions or they simply apply the philanthropic approach of providing
immediate benefits to the locals. In first place, rural communities around the world typically have
little faith in political systems as their politicians only appear when there is an election. Rural
communities have been relatively isolated for centuries, without political clout and receiving few
benefits from central governments. This is the case with the town Paraupebas with 110,000
inhabitants in the Brazilian Amazon, near the Vales gigantic Carajs Project. Mining activities in
the Carajs Ore Distric are responsible for 70% of Parauapebas Gross Domestic Product. In 2000,
the municipal government received US $12 million from royalties of the iron-ore mining alone
which is a fraction of the taxes from all the mines in the region. Despite the high incomes of the
municipal government, about 44% of the total population lives below the poverty line, the infant
mortality is 30 deaths per 1,000 inhabitants per annum, hospitals have 1.6 beds per 1000 inhabitants
and various other indicators do not show much in the way of the benefits to the town from the
largest mining complex in the world (Costa, 2008). Clearly the wealth from the mines is not
distributed to the community. The lesson learned in many rural communities is: the closer the
company is to the government, the farther they are from the local community.
The main challenge of mining companies is to engage in equitable partnership with the impacted
community to create a sustainable relationship (Veiga et al, 2001). This is usually seen as a
secondary task to be left with a department of public relations. All technical staff in a mine must be
trained to participate in the community and engage the population in the decision process, even if
this is a very technical subject. It is not a matter of communication, but engagement.

PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT
Problems with local communities are not only caused by lack of planning of the companies.
Planning usually takes place in corporate headquarters remote from the mine site and in many

cases the companies use local employees to implement their policies. In many cases, this is seen as a
communication problem, when in fact it is a lack of participation of the locals in the decision
process (Prno, 2013).
It is well established that mining companies have a legal duty to consult local communities.
However the term consultation does not ensure an open dialogue or a participatory process.
Social License to Operate describes a dynamic of engagement over and above legally bound
consultation that is necessary for a development to have the support of local communities.
Companies must account for their actions and the local communities and the general public require
transparency and inclusion in the decision making process. Organizational accountability is based
on effective engagement with stakeholders (Petersen & Bullock, 2005). The practice of hiding
mistakes from the local community is no longer accepted.
In communicating with local communities, engineers often use facts to explain their actions.
Different stakeholders come with different levels of understanding about how a mine is built and
operated. These different knowledge bases combined with different value systems produce
radically different perceptions about the process of mine development. The perceptions of the
communities, usually in rural areas with low education, cannot be resolved with a list of facts.
Technical facts may be obvious for engineers but not clear for the public. Demonstrating that you
are more knowledgeable, that you have the correct facts can even be more frustrating and
detrimental to the process of building trust and consensus. Facts are not very useful in dealing with
perceptions as they create a hierarchy in the debate and imply the superiority of the company. The
best way to deal with perceptions of the public and local communities, is to understand and attend
to the sources of perceptions (Fig. 1). This can encourage dialogue and shift attitudes about the
project.
An example of this is the most common argument presented by mining industry associations: you
need mineral products, therefore you need mining. While this is true and world consumption of
minerals is around 5 tonnes/person/a and in developed countries this can reach 20 to 50
tonnes/person/a and growing (Jones 1987) it is not a persuasive or compelling argument. Relying on
this line of reasoning further fails to look at deeper social and cultural resistance to mining activity.
With this tension unresolved we see play out in the media crude arguments for or against mining.
The reality is that mineral development is not only required but also desirable while also posing
risk and tradeoffs. Accepting that both perspectives are true allows a more sophisticated
conversation that can more effectively manage the costs and benefits of the activity.

Perceptions
Perceptions

Sources
Sources
Cultural
-- Cultural
Religious
-- Religious
Environmental
-- Environmental

Facts
Facts

Political
-- Political
Economic
-- Economic
Gossips
-- Gossips

Figure 1 Knowing the sources of perceptions is more important than facts

A common public perception in developing countries is that foreign companies are extracting gold
to take back to their home countries. This perception has led to the belief that artisanal miners bring
much more benefits to the local communities than international mining companies. In fact, artisanal
miners generate more unskilled jobs but also generate much more pollution with poor management
of mercury, cyanide and tailings. Community expectations are awoken at the beginning of the
exploration phase especially with regards to job creation. During the project discovery,
development and implementation the community expectations fluctuate and can create conflicts
with the company expectations. Ian Thomson (2000, pers. comm.) developed the following graphic
to show the lack of syntony between the company and community expectations (Fig. 2). The simple
presence of drilling in the community can create high false expectations that the mining production
will start soon. The time lag of the mining industry can be as large as 10 years from exploration to
construction (Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada, 2007).

investments

Expectation

company

production starts

construction starts

detailed engineering starts

accord with community

assessment panel

reserve established
feasibility study
conflict starts

prospecting or acquisition
drilling starts

community

Time

Figure 2 Different expectations about a mining project (free adaptation of Ian Thomsons idea)

Benefits for rural communities are important as a palliative measure to release the immediate
pressures of the local population, but in many cases they are not sustainable and tend to disappear
once the mineral resources are depleted. Once the mine has closed, infrastructure that has been
built for the community is rarely maintained leaving empty hospitals and schools behind. Life skills,
culture, friendship, and self-respect are values that are more sustainable than benefits and can both
benefit the community-company relationship as well as leave a lasting legacy. Companies are not
prepared to diversify the communities they operate in, even over the long term. They usually
believe that it is the responsibility of the government to use tax revenue obtained from the mine to
accomplish these objectives.
Recently, the mining industry has realized that environmental and social issues are key to change
the public image as well as to establish a long and sincere relationship with local communities. A
mine can be a showcase of environment-friendly operations but if the social issues are not
addressed (and vice versa), this can create lots of problems with the public. Improving

environmental performance is critical to ensure that the environment is protected but it does not
necessarily ensure the social health and welfare of any associated mining community during
operation and after closure. (Veiga et al, 2001).
There is no formula to deal with public engagement, as in communities there are different
perceptions and emotions. It is important to identify in a community values, perceptions, historical
facts and other potential sources of conflict.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN MINING

The term Sustainable Mining has been used to call attention to the public and the mining
industry that the non-renewable resources must be efficiently extracted, processed, used and
recycled (Fitzpatrick, Fonseca & McAllister, 2011). The community and the environment in which a
mine operates must be sustained not the mine. The concepts of efficiency have usually been
attached to the concept of sustainable development in industrial operation. However, sustainable
development is an ethical concept that is attached to economic prosperity, environmental health,
and social equity for the benefit of current and future generations (Shields, 2005). According to
George Francis, professor of Environmental Studies at University of Waterloo, sustainability is
ultimately an ethical commitment based on a belief that the natural world and its component life
forms, including humanity, have value in and for themselves (Francis, G. 1999 cited in Veiga et al.,
2001). Even in the official UN document in which Sustainable Development was conceptualized,
the Brundtland Report (1987), the definition makes reference to an ethical commitment to leave
resources for the next generations: development that which satisfies present needs without
compromising the possibility for future generations to satisfy theirs (UN-WCED, 1987).
According to Kazakidis et al (2013), sustainable development issues, are often at the centre of a
dispute that can make an empowered local community or group in a first world country the
strongest stakeholder in a new mineral resource development (either as advocates or opponents).
In fact, nowadays the environmental and social arguments mix and are hard to divorce even in
legal terms, when a judicial dispute is taking place. The example of Prosperity Mine shows this
clearly. Taseko Mines tried to implement a mine dumping tailings in a fish-rich lake. The idea to
transport the entire population of fish to an artificial lake was opposed by the First Nations and
when the company tried another more environmentally acceptable solution the relationship with
locals had already deteriorated.
The question is how to implement concepts of sustainable development into a mining operation. As
mining operations occur in remote areas, the main challenge of the companies is to deal with
impoverished communities that the only contact they had with mining was probably with artisanal
mining. In Tambogrande, Peru, for example, the community expelled a mining company that
wanted to develop a mine and was accused of generating pollution that would affect agriculture in
the valley. Around 87% of the population with households in the town opposed to the project
(Muradian et al., 2003). Now the town is invaded by artisanal miners dumping mercury and
sediments into the local rivers. In the Piura region 10,000 miners and more that 160 processing
plants are dispersed in 158,000 ha applying extremely primitive techniques to extract gold (Veiga,
2014). For the community, this is acceptable since artisanal mining generates more jobs for unskilled
people than a conventional mine. But sustainable benefits of a mining activity, artisanal mining
cannot provide. This is observed in thousands of shanty villages in the Brazilian Amazon created

during the gold rush of artisanal miners and now they have no economic alternatives (Veiga, 1997).
Artisanal mining is regarded by most rural communities as the easiest and fastest way to get out of
the extreme poverty and the immediate environmental impacts are disregarded by the desperately
poor local communities. A similar problem has the mining companies when bring only benefits to a
community. A mine represents an opportunity to add value to a community. Traditionally, mines
are said to contribute to communities through direct employment, ancillary economic activity that
supports the mine, infrastructure investment, educational programs and scholarships, and
recreational facilities. Benefits such as these are important but not sustainable either in conventional
or in artisanal mining. After the mine closure most towns remain without the benefits. Towns left
behind by mining companies become ghost towns. The mining companies have very little
participation in helping communities in their economic diversification, i.e. to find alternatives after
mining. Mining companies rarely provide useful land use (reclamation) for community use; most
reclamation objectives are for wildlife. Beyond that, companies need to think about how a new
mine can bring long term biophysical and socio-economic improvement to a region which is
consistent with holistic principles of sustainability. The legacy left by a mine to the community after
its closure is emerging as a significant consideration in its planning. In these cases, the company
must collaborate with the community to find solutions to diversify their economy and to leave
behind sustainable benefits.
An important step to establish a good and sustainable relationship with the community is to
recognize its values. Benefits are important, but values are sustainable (Table 1). When the ore is
depleted and the company closes the mine, the communities are left with hospitals without doctors,
school without teachers, and infrastructure without maintenance (Roberts & Veiga, 2000.)
The first step to introduce concepts of sustainability in a mining community may relate to local
capacity-building and local governance (Veiga et al, 2001). Local governance can achieve several
benefits including actively involving local residents in the process of making decisions, reinforcing
community self-esteem, bringing creativity for new opportunities, and reinforcing the relationship
with the mining company.
Table 1 Values and benefits a mining project can bring to the local community
Human Values

Benefits

Friendship

Employment

Solidarity

Schools

Family

Hospitals

Culture & Traditions

Paved roads

Respect

Clean water

Local governance is established with education and dialogue. When a community member is able
to speak freely with a mining authority or a company representative, dialogue can be established
and viewpoints understood. Co-development of projects to improve the interaction of mine with
the community and surrounding environment can help improve community relations:

reduce tailing generation

increase metallurgical recoveries (mining and processing)

recycle materials

10

find uses for tailings (bricks?)

reduce energy and materials consumption

mine other things (garbage, sewage, thermal energy)

think holistically (and beyond the mining operation)

assist and participate in community projects

Some argue that it is the role of government to assist the local communities through the investment
of mining royalties. However companies working in rural areas of developing countries are aware
that the royalties are not always well administrated by local or regional governments and at the end
of mine life the populations have no sustainable benefits. A corollary of [the resource curse] is the
neglect of the competitive diversification of the non-mining tradeables such as agriculture and
manufacturing (Auty, 1993). As government policies are not sustainable, especially in developing
countries, companies must create mechanisms to establish projects with the local communities to
diversify their economy. This is the case for example of Sullivan Mine in Kimberley, BC. The mine
operated from 1909 to 2001 and the city of Kimberly was incorporated in 1944. In total it was
produced: 9 million tonnes of Pb, 9 million tonnes of Zn, 280 million oz Ag, $20 billion in revenue.
After a temporary closure in 1991, the community realized its dependency on mining and thanks to
the leadership of the Mayor they started a public consultation to decide about the future of the
town. After many debates the community decided to transform the town in a tourist destination.
The town is today known as the Bavaria of the Canadian Rockies and has a steady flux of tourist to
their golf courses and ski hills (Ednie, 2006).

CONCLUSION
The social, economic, cultural, and physical effects of mineral development projects need to be
understood at a much greater level by not only local stakeholders including technical staff but also
the general public. Meaningful, inclusive decision making on resource projects requires innovative
approaches to mining and exploration education as well as broader communication initiatives. Real
and lasting value from mineral development derives largely from developing human infrastructure
or social capital and values; this in turn depends on developing a sophisticated program of
engagement with the community by numerous agencies including governments and mining
companies.

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Common Future. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. 383pp.
Veiga, M. M. (1997) Introducing New Technologies for Abatement of Global Mercury Pollution in
Latin America. Pub. UNIDO/UBC/CETEM. Rio de Janeiro, 94pp.
Veiga M. M., (2014) Reducing mercury use and release in Andean artisanal and small-scale gold
mining. Report to U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific
Affairs Office of Environmental Policy, Mercury Program. Contract SLMAQM- l0-CA-312-RC..79pp
(unpublished).
Veiga M., Scoble M., McAllister M. L., (2001) Mining with Communities. Natural Resources
Forum, .25(3), 191-202.

13

A new approach to assessing energy efficiency,

grindability and HPGR technology by comminution
research
Douglas Fuerstenau
Dept. of Materials Science & Engineering, University of California, USA

ABSTRACT
Comminution not only is the major energy cost in mineral processing but it also can limit the grade
of ores that can economically be processed. Rittinger first postulated that the energy for
comminution is proportional to the new surface produced. Because most of the strain energy
needed to initiate and propagate cracks in particles cannot be recovered, researchers reported
woefully low comminution efficiencies. Recognizing this, Schoenert proposed that the baseline for
assessing comminution efficiency should be the mechanical energy needed to break single particles.
After extensive single-particle studies, Schoenert turned to comminuting beds of particle in piston
dies. Finding particle-bed comminution to be energy efficient, he had the brilliant conception of
making the process continuous, namely his invention of the choke-fed high-pressure roll mill
(HPGR).
Practical comminution involves masses of particles, which can lead to energy efficiencies far less
than that of single-particle breakage. A three-way classification of grinding modes in terms of the
mobility of the particle mass provides the necessary insight into the low efficiency of different
comminution machines: namely, single-particle breakage, confined particle-bed grinding (HPGR),
and loose-bed grinding (ball mill). Examples are given for determining and comparing
comminution efficiencies.
The size distribution of comminuted products become self-similar, and a single parameter, the
median size, can be used to quantify the extent of comminution. The reduction ratio, expressed in
terms of the mean size of the feed and product, varies linearly with expended energy and the slope
of such plots is a measure of the grindability of the mineral. This approach clearly gives the order of
energy efficiency as single-particle > particle-bed > loose-bed comminution.
HPGRs are more efficient at low reduction ratios but lose that advantage at higher reduction ratios.
Extensive hybrid grinding experiments carried out with our instrumented ball mill and HPGR
showed significant energy savings by first comminuting the material in the HPGR and followed by
the ball mill. At Cerro Verde an industrial-scale hybrid HPGR/ball mill system is reported to have a
13 percent energy savings over a SAG mill/ball mill system.

There is no full article associated with this abstract.

14

Reducing whole of enterprise running costs through

coarse particle flotation
Graeme Jameson
University of Newcastle, Australia

ABSTRACT
In current flotation circuits it is customary to grind the whole of the mill feed to an initial size,
which is determined by the liberation characteristics of the ore, and the ability of the flotation
machines to float the fully liberated particles. Usually, the product of the primary mill will be
ground further in a ball mill, to improve the liberation of the values and hence the product grade,
before passing to rougher flotation cells. The final grind size is ore-dependent, and is a balance of
factors including the relation between surface liberation and grind size, the grain size of the
valuable particles within the host rock, and the feed grade. The P 80 for the feed to flotation may be
as high as 300 m for free-milling copper ores, and as low as 53 m for finely disseminated
complex ores.
The grinding of the feed ore requires considerable input of energy. The rate of replacement of
wear components such as mill liners and media, is proportional to the energy input. The costs of
these two factors energy and wear are usually comparable and together they form the major
part of the running costs of a concentrator, and indeed, of the whole mining operation. The
energy required increases as the final grind size decreases.
This talk will focus on the reduction of milling costs that could be achieved, using a fluidized bed
flotation technology that can give high recoveries at coarse particle sizes. A number of different
circuit designs will be presented, using the new technology. Calculations show that reductions in
the running costs of a mine and associated concentrator of the order of ten to twenty percent
could be achieved.

There is no full article associated with this abstract.

15

Drivers that will change the design and plant operation

in the mining industry
Bert Huls
Goldcorp, USA

ABSTRACT
Already starting, new drivers will dictate how future mineral processing plants will be designed and
operated. These drivers include requirements in water and energy conservation because of rising costs,
larger demand for mineral and metal products as the result of a rising population, and the increasing
demand from the population in general to have influence over what type of operations will be developed
where. Mineral operating facilities will require processing of lower grades. To do this economically,
design engineers will be influenced to introduce newer concepts, or return to older processing concepts
once deemed not desirable. Our understanding of the fundamentals must be improved, and this may
come from better measurement techniques and more process piloting, and will go in hand with a
reduction of waste generated during the process, improved separation of minerals or product size.
Process engineers will also be required to not just design according to the established 3D methodology for
efficient plant installation. Already in other industries the design concept encompasses the entire range
from source to product. Not only that, the design will be affected by public influence that must be
illustrated prior to project execution. On the one hand, the added dimension in design may slow a project;
on the other hand it may result in a blessing, and in a higher responsibility for engineering.

16

New Forces at work in Mining

About 35 years ago a young Bill Imrie prepared for his Bechtel boss a paper on the future of
mineral processing plants. At that time he advocated that the future industry would employ
economies of scale through the use of larger equipment. Nobody in the audience could accept
the premise that was put forward; however, we all know that this was exactly what the industry
did.
Use of large equipment may have resulted in some energy savings with economies of scale, but
not in conservation of water.
With increasing automation and larger equipment, lost production costs from downtime have
taken on greater importance in determining a mines economic performance. Studies have
shown that maintenance costs comprise the single largest controllable expense in mining
operations, as much as one-half of total operating costs. Greater integration between operations
and maintenance to optimize equipment operations and minimize downtime is the key to
improving cost structures.
Today the industry may look different. This is because different additional drivers now play a
role. These drivers are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Lower grades
Increasing energy price
Water scarcity
Gap between demand and supply of skilled labor
License to operate

None of these four drivers stand alone, as all four are integrated. Any improvement in
conservation has an impact on each element. Many groups across the world are thinking about
this. For example, the World Economic Forum (Kleinfeld et al, 2005) is in the process of creating
a Green Trade Alliance (GTA) to promote environmental sustainability without compromising
competitiveness. The group argues that new government regulations, targeted taxes and carbon
pricing schemes, along with factors related to the materials themselves, are reshaping demand
patterns and will lead to innovation in the use and reuse of resources. And indeed, government
regulations and taxes will result in lower profits that will force the conservative mining industry
to reach out to technology, to smarter ways to do maintenance and mine planning and
production implementation.
Mining companies will need to look at other industries to see how they have crossed that road.
It requires a very fundamental change in thinking and a cultural change that is organized from
the top down so that things get implemented, as mentioned by Chris Holmes, HeadInternational at IDC Manufacturing (Rivard, 2014).
Another group, the Center for Social Responsibility in Mining (part of the Sustainable Minerals
Institute at the University of Queensland) (Sullivan, 2005) defines 'low footprint mining' as

17

minimizing the physical disturbance associated with mining (including 'keyhole' mining and
underground processing), using far fewer resources (water, energy, etc.) to extract the ore, and
minimizing or eliminating waste and discharges. The mining footprint according to their
definition includes the social impact, not only the availability and relocation of the workforce,
also the changes in local communities. This Center believes that any negative social and
economic impacts associated with mining development, must be minimized and preferably
avoided altogether.
The point being made here is that the traditional slow incremental approach followed by the
mining industry may have to give way to the implementation of new innovation at a more rapid
pace to maintain compatibility in light of various new legislations and rising community
awareness.
In addition, arguably a fifth driver may be the difficulty of attracting highly skilled people in the
mining industry.
Each driver will be discussed in this paper, indicating potential trends in future operation of
mines.
Lower grade ores
The copper consumption rate, 35 years ago, was about 5 Mt/y, while it now stands at about 18
Mt/y. In that time period the population has grown by a factor of about 2. The consumption rate
per person may still not be satisfied for the current developed world, let alone the increased
consumption that can be imagined with improved living conditions in developing countries. At
face value this situation may want us to believe that the drive towards more copper demand
will continue, which will require processing of lower grade ores.
Processing of lower grade ores may result in continued use of economies of scale, thus larger
equipment. Capacity has been added with limited new/breakthrough technology. This is
because a traditional major stumbling block is the conservative nature of adopting new
technology in mining. The mining industry follows an incremental approach rather than a
transformational approach to innovation.
Changes are on the horizon. Rio Tinto expresses it thus: The next phase of the cycle requires
significant productivity improvement. It will become an opportunity for technology
implementers, and for the technology supply market (McGagh, 2013). Productivity lies at the
core of the mining industry. The productivity increase will not merely be the result of the
introduction of new types of equipment, but also how data is generated and transferred to and
from equipment.
We will also become more critical towards minimizing the losses inherent to the standard way
of processing. It will require from us to prevent overgrinding, to prevent losses in fines on the

18

one hand, while on the other hand, a finer grind may be required to ensure sufficient liberation
of minerals in lower grade ores.
Lower Grade Ores: Minimizing waste
Minimization of waste, in the form of non-economical material, starts at the mine. There are
technical challenges to realizing unmanned mines. Improved sensors that can accurately and
reliably perceive the environment will allow advanced robotic systems of high reliability and
high integrity to be built. Dundee Precious Metals at Chelopech turned on the program Taking
the lid off, which allows phone and internet accessibility everywhere underground. The
objective is real-time sensing during mining to avoid waste production through for example
drilling outside of the ore.
Especially in gold mine productions, new developments are underway to improve the efficiency
of mining of narrow veins. We can imagine a mole tunnel boring machine being applied to the
extraction of gold from narrow veins where the block model has been digitized into the brain
of the mole to follow the veins. This will allow reduction of dilution, so that higher grade will be
processed.
Another future technology to tackle tough veins is the thermal fragmentation process as is being
developed by Rocmec mining (Candy, 2014). Rock within a narrow vein from 30 to 100 cm will
be shattered through use of extreme heat instead of explosives, which makes it a great deal more
efficient because it means the miner needs to extract roughly four times less rock when mining a
narrow vein of gold. A first a hole is drilled into vein using a long drill. Then, "Using a burner
powered by diesel fuel, the intense heat created within the vein shatters the rock containing the
precious metal contents, into small fragments. The ore bearing vein is directly extracted, greatly
reducing the dilution factor and the inefficiencies associated with traditional mining methods
which extract large amounts of waste rock."
For processing, to satisfy the future need of the world population, an increase in economies of
scale developing bigger equipment, is not likely to be the final answer. The reduction in losses
when processing lower grade ores will be necessary to avoid not only metal price escalations,
but also to reduce energy consumption and to be more water efficient.
Rio Tinto has started their PEC (Processing Excellence Center) in Brisbane to develop new
technologies having the Mine of the Future in mind. Many of their initiatives focus on
improved mining technologies: total automation, from trucks to drilling rigs with sophisticated
automated robotic systems, combined with remote operation of unit processes from control
centers located in major cities thousands of kilometers away from the mines. Drilling rigs are
conducting experimentation with Prompt Neutron Activation down hole to characterize the ore
around the drill core, a technology that was developed by the Schlumberger water services
division which is now employed in oil and gas. This technology will greatly improve the mine
plan as geological models are based on interpretation between holes.

19

Minimizing waste at processing starts upfront. One is presorting of ore prior to the crushing
phase. There are two types of developments on this front.

On-line cross-belt sorters are being developed by various suppliers. Using the Magnetic
Resonance Technique, it may be possible to do mineral sorting for some base metals
rather than for only industrial minerals.
Use of optic sorters, capable of upgrading low-grade ores, also is indicated by Rio Tinto
as an avenue they are pursuing. Ore at Detour Lake (gold) and other Northern Ontario
properties appear amenable to Optical sorting (alliance between Outotec and Tomra
Sorting GmbH). Tomra's sensor-based sorters can reduce specific energy consumption by
15 percent, as well as reduce the amount of water used by three to four cubic meters per
tonne of ore.

Lower grade ores: A better understanding of processing

We need to improve our processing through better understanding of particle behavior and
through better measurements.
Measurement of Particle Size and Behavior
A better understanding of liberation, or better, on-line measurement of liberation, would
enhance energy efficiency. In the past, flotation was always based on sufficient liberation of
particles for maximum recovery. In more recent process design, the comminution process aims
at 40-60 % liberation as that should be sufficient. The production of stronger reagents has also
helped make this possible.
To support their JKSimFloat model, JKMRC is experimenting with X-Ray tomography to review
the physical and chemical structure of the ore with the host rock to investigate how the texture
of the ore affects how fragments will float after breakage. In a similar vein, in the past Professor
Jan Miller of the University of Utah also experimented with X-ray computed tomography (CT), a
multi scale imaging of multiphase particulate systems in 3D to measure liberation. These
technologies dont exist on-line, but on-line liberation analysis will be available at some time in
the future and will prove a valuable tool to reduce overgrinding and minimize energy
consumption.
Besides liberation, it is also important to properly measure particle size in the flotation feed. The
two most well-known analyzers are the PSM, originally developed by Armco Autometrics, now
part of Thermo Fisher Scientific, and the PSI (Outotec). It is unfortunate that in most plants their
measurements are rarely used in process control, which is partly due to not continually
actualizing the calibration curve. A better understanding of the true particle size is required
when optimizing downstream processes, such as split flotation. Developments have started to
generate on-line not just a single particle measurement, or a percentage smaller than a certain
size, but a full size distribution. This size distribution will include sub-sieve measurements

20

(below 30 microns), which typically constitute up to 30% of the flotation feed, and in some
operation over 60 % (Century, Cannington and Mt Isa Mines, Australia).
Further improvement in understanding of particle behavior may come from applying the
technique of Positron Emission Particle Tracking or PEPT. This is a technique for studying the
flow of particulate systems such as tumbling mills in the minerals industry. Initially developed
for the medical imaging industry, positron emission tomography has been adapted for
engineering applications at the University of Birmingham.
Professor Kristian Waters is one of the pioneers in this area of Positron Emission Particle
Tracking (PEPT) and applied it to particles in froth flotation systems to observe the behavior of
individual particles in a mixed particleliquidgas system (Cole et al., 2010). The intent of these
studies is to directly follow the particle position in the pulp and froth to better understand the
behavior and couple this with instantaneous froth events such as bubble coalescence. This
technique is being validated by combining it with high speed digital imaging to track a particle
within a foam column with visual verification of the tracer trajectory recorded with PEPT.
Through application of this technique, the existing fundamentals in flotation may eventually be
tested by direct measurement. We visualize that adjustments to fundamentals may be required,
which will eventually lead to better and more efficient flotation equipment. Perhaps larger
equipment is still a valid approach, but energy transfer to effect efficient collision and adhesion
of particles to bubbles may be optimized through better engineering.
Mineral Phase Analysis on line
No single technology exists to measure all the mineral phases in slurry and it appears that future
capability in this area will require several complementary analytical techniques. Moreover, a
solution for one plant may not be directly transferable to another but similar plant. Better
measurements through on-line mineralization analysis would result in better design of control
strategies. In one way or the other that ability will be available in the future. To maximize
recovery in flotation it is important to better understand the deportment of minerals. Examples
are:

Pyrite variability in copper flotation. Any change in the Fe content, which is being
analyzed on line, could be the result of changes in the chalcopyrite to bornite content, or
from more pyrite. In pyrite flotation circuits the pyrite content is important, especially if
associated with gold recovery.
Gold and other precious metals content down to ppb levels on-line.
Grade-recovery relationship on-line.
Changes in copper mineralization in circuits containing chalcopyrite, covellite, chalcocite
and bornite

21

The mineral phases that present themselves to flotation. This will allow tailoring the
reagent blend to the mineral composition in the feed. The result is better recovery, or
keeping the non-paying minerals out of the concentrate. Conversely, if for example gold
is in the pyrite, you may not prefer to depress that mineral. Technology development
may be limited by not having experienced engineers involved long enough with an
operation to be able to develop such technique for a plant.
Insolubles content to avoid overpaying by shipping concentrate full of insolubles.
Producing a concentrate with high insoluble results in paying of shipment of a material
insoluble - that has no value.

Several units attempting on-line mineral analysis have been manufactured. The Continuous on
Stream Mineral Analyser (FCT, 2011) was developed about 10 years ago by CSIRO & INEL (a
French manufacturer of XRD analyzers). It uses an innovative curved detector so it can measure
120 area simultaneously which allows for the fast collection of XRD data. It was tested out on
powders in cement plants (including the Ash Grove plant in Leamington, UT) and worked
reasonably well in those applications where the mineralogy was very consistent.
Cross Belt Neutron Analyzers using the advanced technologies (such as perhaps PGNAA or
Prompt Gamma Neutron Activation Analysis) provide elemental (chemistry) analysis. Efforts
have been made to infer mineralogy, but this is always fraught with difficulty, as common
elements such as Fe, Cu and S are present in many different mineral phases.
Both Panalytical (who purchased the company ASD) and Bruker make an on-line (over the
conveyor) NIR (Near InfraRed) instrument that can be calibrated to give quantitative
mineralogy of alteration phases (clays, micas, carbonates, etc). Blue Cube is another on-stream
analyzer device that uses a technique called Diffuse Reflective Spectroscopy. The calibration of
these units is fairly intensive and requires a large set (several hundred) of reference samples.
The calibration is a huge challenge as is the detection issue for low concentrations of copper
minerals.
Word is that some manufacturers of on-line analyzers, such as Thermo Fisher Scientific, are
investigating a new technique to provide a direct measure of three key copper phases, i.e.
chalcopyrite, chalcocite and covellite. Bornite cannot be measured directly by this technique, but
would have to be inferred. Copper slurry mineral analysis may find its application in rejecting
pebbles from a grinding mill discharge in case these do not contain an economical mineral
content. The result may be a reduction of grinding energy per tonnes and also a throughput
increase. Note that also Pyhsalmi, a Cu-Zn-Pyrite operation in Finland, has been practicing
rejection of pebbles due to low metal content. Another application would be measurement of
flotation rougher feed to optimize a feed forward collector dosing regimen.
Similarly investigations have started around requirements to measure pyrite in mineral slurry
streams. It requires a different technique than for a copper slurry mineral analyzer.

22

As yet, on-line mineralogy analysis is not available. However, FEI has developed an on-site
mineralogy analyzer, consisting of a compact Qemscan that can be placed in any office in a
plant. This technique provides near real-time shift-by-shift mineralogical measurements of, for
example, flotation streams in the form of element deportment, recovery, ore quality and
flotation performance (Van der Wal et al., 2013). The Qemscan analyses from the analyzer are
presented in the form of 3x3 matrices indicating particle size and liberation for different
minerals. A test at Greens Creek in Alaska showed how the pulling of rougher concentrate
affected the recovery of fine liberated freibergite.
Lower grade ores: Specification of equipment use
Most new facilities are overdesigned by engineering companies. Big companies are conservative
in design, more so than smaller companies. Partly this is caused by the mining owners
themselves, who file for law suits in case of not meeting production rates. Ausenco once was an
astute engineering designer, but now has become too large, and more conservative in design.
Perhaps there will be a future for boutique designers, resulting in a more efficient design.
Already mentioned are the fewer graduates in processing from the 1970s to early 2000 as a
result of low metal prices. With this drop in numbers, a shift in design concept can be observed.
Design now starts prior to having a flowsheet locked in, resulting in several redos of layout and
wrong eventual layout. Bechtel always used to insist to lock in a flowsheet, then the design
engineers take over and no changes are allowed. We can see a trend towards standardization in
design, for example, pump boxes, sumps, sampling systems, prior to even purchasing that
equipment. This has merit to avoid repeat work by engineering companies, which is a waste of
money and often leads to the introduction of errors in design. Standardization will be both for
equipment and process design:

Standardization in PI&Ds
Merrill Crowe process
Mill aspect ratios, etc.

In fact, more focus will be directed towards simulation models that will be enhanced by more
direct measurements through techniques such as the PEPT described above. Old theorems may
fall by the wayside, even the Bond model for mill design.
More direct unit processes will be leading to higher efficiency. Several examples of old
technologies that will be refitted into a new jacket are described below.
Revisit of two-stage cycloning
We know that fine particles behave like water molecules and, as with conventional flotation
cells, do not end up in the desired product stream. For cyclones, fine particles will be entrained

23

in the water that exits the cyclone underflow stream, and this bypass causes an imperfect
separation. The fines content in the underflow is almost a quarter of that for a single stage
cyclone.
Because of this imperfect separation, two cyclones in series produce significantly higher
classification efficiency than a single cyclone. The traditional way of double stage cycloning is an
intermediate pump arrangement. However, the associated operating costs are high and this
arrangement is not often used in the industry.

Figure 1 Cavex DE cyclone efficiency (%) as function of XXX

Previous attempts to combine two-stage classification into one unit resulted in lower efficiency
than desired. Common problems included high wear in the transfer zone, poor control over the
flow split to the secondary cyclone and the need to operate at high pressures. With the Cavex
cyclone (Weir web site, 2014), Weir has made good advances by rearranging the bottom of the
primary cyclone. It consists of a cone within a cylindrical housing where the adjustable gap
between the cone and the housing acts like a spigot.
Horizontal cycloning, at 13.5 angle, not the traditional >45, as tested in Cuajone (Peru)
For many years researchers have modeled cyclones and the publications are too numerous to
mention. At times a distinction is made between horizontally and vertically positioned cyclones.
In the 1980s a trend started with positioning cyclones horizontally. Most operations nowadays
have the angle of repose just off vertical to about 45. In that period several operations tested
cyclones positioned down to an angle of 25.

24

Little publicity was given to the test work that was conducted in Cuajone in the 1980s. Contrary
to common belief, it matters how a cyclone is positioned when it pertains to a large cyclone.
Naturally, the major force in a cyclone is exerted by the centrifugal action. The vortex flow
increases the static pressure radially outward. This centrifugal static head is primarily
determined by the distribution of the tangential fluid velocities in the flow. In large units gravity
has a significant effect on the removal of solids to the apex, due to the tall liquid column.
Horizontal mounting for large units will benefit from the possible reduction in required feed
pressure. At Cuajone the 2.3m long D26B cyclones were mounted at an inclination of 13.5,
sufficiently steep for natural drainage when shut down. The effective vertical length of the
cyclone was thus reduced to 0.54m. To obtain the same centrifugal force within the cyclone, the
feed pressure could be reduced by 2.7m water column, assuming 50% solids by weight. This is
equivalent to a drop from 62 kPa to 37kPa.
Cyclone operation became very interesting: because of the positioning of the cyclone, the
underflow density rose to 87% solids, compared to the 78% solids at which the cyclone started
roping. Rather than a forceful stream, pulp ejection from the apex was in the form of a weak
arch; however an air core was clearly noticeable. This was due to less fines reporting to the
underflow. The Tromp separation curve was nearly vertical, steeper than the separation curve
published by Weir for the DE Cyclone. As a benefit, it became impossible to get the cyclone to
rope (Huls, 1990).
Other benefits were that the circulating load was reduced from about 350 to about 100 %, which
translates into a diminished cyclone feed flow. Combined with a reduced operating pressure
(from about 50-60 kPa to about 25-30 kPa, the pump speed could be slowed down with a net
result in energy savings and reduced wear rate. At the same separation the mill throughput
could be increased by 10%.
The negative impact was that the efficient separation resulted in a reduced cyclone overflow
density from about 25-30% to 13-16% solids. Lack of knowledge in the industry about the effect
of kinetics with reduced pulp density at that time, created the fear that insufficient retention
time would be available in the existing flotation circuit resulting in much lower recoveries. We
now know that kinetics dramatically improve with lower flotation feed pulp density. The plant
may have been able to cope with it. However, as the situation was, plant management decided
to steepen the angle of the cyclones to initially 25 and later 45 degrees.
It is believed that this practice should be revisited. It presents an expectation of lower energy
consumption in particle separation, of reduced overgrinding, higher mill feed rate and higher
flotation efficiency due to improved kinetics. The test data at the time were used to generate a
modified Plitt cyclone separation model, but the model for the horizontal cyclone was criticized
at the time because the cut size became inversely related to the cyclone feed solids content.

25

We should also ask ourselves if horizontal cyclones in an operational mode as described above
could also be applicable to separate treatment of rougher/scavenger tailings and cleanerscavenger tailings to enhance water separation.
Hydraulically efficient sumps and pumps
Slurry pumps are primarily used in the hydro-transportation of solids and are an essential part
of all wet mineral processing applications. Wear rates are typically high, even though the pumps
are designed for pumping a mixture of solids and liquid. Conventional pumps reduce suction
side-recirculation by adjusting the suction liner and impeller closer together, explains Kenny
Don, pump applications engineer at FLSmidth. However, this causes particles to become
trapped and ground between the two, which decreases the wear life and efficiency of the pump
(Lovejoy, 2013). FLSmidths patented millMAX adjustable suction side-sealing system stops
suction side-recirculation within the pump while maintaining a large gap between the suction
liner and the impeller.
Weir boasts that its Warman WBH is its most advanced slurry pump because it features one of
the broadest efficiency curves in its class, offering less power usage, reduced maintenance,
longer wear life and higher performance (Lovejoy, 2013).
Computer-assisted fluid-dynamic design has already produced a tremendous improvement in
the design of thickener feed wells. This technology has already been implemented to improve
the hydraulic performance of slurry pumps, so that their hydraulic efficiencies are now closer to
clear-water pump designs. Undoubtedly, technological advance will also address the shape of
the sump itself, and through producing a more hydraulically efficient pumping system, energy
requirements per unit volume will be reduced.
Revisit of split flotation circuits
Split flotation circuits have been in use off and on for many years. Cuajone in the 1980s
separated slimes from sands, claiming a recovery improvement of at least 2%. Holloway et al
(2008) described the Cannington split flotation where a slimes float at 80% <16 microns was
floated separately to recover fine lead and silver. Respective increases in recovery are 4 and 3.5
%. Huls (2005) reported on separation of coarse particles from rougher tailings that would have
improved overall copper recovery by about 4%. Improvements in separation efficiency have also
been demonstrated in coal flotation.
Manufacturers are finally catching on to this old technique. In recent CFD modeling, FLSmidth
(Govender et al, 2012) seem to start thinking of Hybrid Energy Flotation. Modeling has
indicated that preferential pulp collection zones in the Wemco and Dorr-Oliver flotation
machines may vary with size class due to the local turbulent kinetic energy dissipation. This
may lead to different, or at least improved, design of their flotation cells as their models suggest
that that the attachment rate of the fine fraction increases in the high-energy zones shrouded by

26

the stator/disperser and adjacent to the impeller tip. Not so clear is FLSmidth in describing the
process for coarse particle recovery. They surmise that coarse particle recovery is favored in
regions of lower energy dissipation. The adverse susceptibility to increased fluid turbulence
induces the detachment sub-process.
Woodgrove flotation
Woodgrove has developed a Staged Flotation Reactor (SFR) by going back to the first principles
of flotation. In doing so, it is possible to better optimize each step that makes up flotation, such
as collection and separation, without the restraints that would normally be the result of trying to
find the best middle way that satisfies each principle of flotation. In the flotation unit, each of the
three zones operates in a mutually exclusive way. By making changes to the cell emphasis may
be given to mechanically agitated flotation or progressively more to a column flotation concept.
Woodgroves (company website) claims are worth reviewing:

Power consumption reduced by approximately 50%

Required floor space is only 50-60% of that used by conventional mechanical cells
Air consumption reduced by approximately 80%
Fewer units needed to achieve equivalent results
Building height reduced by up to 3m on large plants

Possibly this flotation technology has jump started a future trend into dramatic savings in
energy, which not only comes from lower power requirements but also from requiring a smaller
building to achieve the same results. Several companies have already ascribed to this technology
for cleaner applications (Dundee Precious Metals at Chelopech, Newgold at Afton), while a
pyrite flotation circuit in a cleaner-scavenger operation is now also operating at Chelopech, and
testing in rougher application are being conducted at Vale.
Rising energy prices and water scarcity
Chile is a good example where rising energy prices are driving a marginal mining sector to
reconsider starting or continuing operations. At the same time, Chile is moving towards
regulating the mining industry to source its water from the ocean for any new operation to be
built. For some operations, this may mean a tenfold increase in water costs, from about $0.35/m3
to about $3.50/m3, as a result of having to pump water from the ocean to the mine site, which
can be over 100 km away and then up the mountain anywhere up to 4000m.
Some equipment, such as the HPGR, was developed to conserve energy in grinding, in which it
succeeded. For hard ore it probably is the comminution tool of choice. However, we always
need to keep in mind what are the energy requirements of a complete installation, and not just
of a single piece of equipment. Most often the net energy costs/t processed became higher due to

27

associated conveyor belt infrastructure and necessary dust collection. Further development is
required on the material handling associated with the HPGR to realize the energy savings
promise of this technology.
Pursuing water reduction
In some areas there will be a revisit of dry processing. Dry processing will produce a sharper
cut, but may be more energy intensive, which is offset by a potentially higher metal recovery. In
other words, the result is a higher production of metal per unit of energy consumption.
A mental block in engineering design for dry processing has been in trying to design the entire
process. To overcome this, we need to imagine how dry products could be processed
downstream by applying a Black Box approach for the intermediate steps. Work backwards:
Must water be added to dispose of the waste properly (avoidance of dust, stabilization?), is there
a minimum water requirement? Filling the black box then becomes a secondary exercise, as it
will focus on minimum use of water while performing magnetic or gravity separation or other.
Mineral Separation Technologies recently received a patent for its DriJet 100 technology, a
process that uses X-Rays to identify the atomic weight of coal particles and air jets to separate
coal from ash without using water or chemicals. We remove the ash right at the mine face. Our
technology means fewer coal trucks on the road and less coal waste in impoundments, Roos
said. The company says DriJet requires low power and has few moving parts. Operating costs,
compared to other coal preparation technologies, are low (Anon, 2014).
Dry stacking of tailings
Nowadays the drivers for the implementation of dry stacked tailings are limited space
availability (El Sauzal, not being able to obtain a permit for tailings pond extension (Marlin),
lack of ground stability, where bog issues made building a conventional tailings dam impossible
(lonore). However, for high altitude locations, mining companies are now investigating dry
stack facilities for other reasons. These may be a reduced foot print, community issues, where
visual of conventional tailings deposit and fears of potential dam failure and water infiltration,
and large distance water pumping from ocean to high altitude. Pumping up to altitude for
mines in the high Andes would increase the costs for water tenfold. This is a stimulus for
tailings filtration and dry stacking. We estimate that fresh water requirements may be reduced
up to 40%.
However, for a typical 100,000 tpd operation, the number of filters required may be anywhere
between 35 and 100, depending on filtration characteristics and filter type. In addition,
depending on how the cake is dried, energy costs may actually closely approach the savings in
pumping. Optimization at large scale is necessary.

28

Figure 2 Filtration scheme for dry stacking of tailings

It starts with not being able to obtain realistic (vs. conservative) specifications from
geotechnicians or engineering firms that can reduce filter requirements. From recent quotations
and conservative approach in engineering, the sense is that redundancy requirements are over
estimated. We fail to understand where redundancy can be effectively reduced. We must think
of the system holistically. It means understanding of best equipment composition, which leads
to a reduction in capital costs. For example, installation of an improved compressor system must
be designed compared to the compressors that now accompany the installation of a filter, not a
number of filters (Huls and Moll, 2013).
We need to become smarter about how to put filters together, not only to reduce maintenance,
increase uptime, and reduce operational personnel requirements, but also from avoiding high
energy requirements for cake blow, which may be energy intensive. For a large filter plant,
when using a Base Pattern the fee structure, spare parts, and consumables should not be derived
from the conventional model, but be built from the bottom up, and thus built against the facility.
It will require a collaborative effort (Co-Creation or Co-Innovation? (Flintoff, 2014)) between the
owners, the suppliers and specific technical experts (e.g. geotechnical engineers in the case of the
above filtration-dry stack system).
Reduction of energy consumption
Ironically, several of the pursuits that may reduce water consumption, such as dry stacking of
tailings or dry processing, may result in increased energy consumption and hence costs. This
means that further innovation is required to fully take advantage of improved technologies so
that the overall footprint of mining, as identified by the Center for Social Responsibility in
Mining of the University of Queensland, indeed will be reduced.
According to Siemens, electric motor systems are responsible for more than 75% of the power
consumption in industry today. We all use energy efficient motors in the mining industry today.
However, the use of gearless drives would result in energy savings between 3 and 30%
(depending on the application), but is not ubiquitous for all mining equipment. Presently only

29

large grinding mills, conveyor belts, mine winders and some pumps are propelled by gearless
drives.
From designing equipment to designing systems
Energy savings will also result from mining companies buying systems rather than equipment
from electrical equipment suppliers. Equipment purchasing will focus on an integrated
operating costs approach where systems are optimized for energy efficiency, low resource use,
etc. El Morro was one of the first to sign a Framework Agreement with Siemens on electrical
supplies that encompasses not only the execution phase but life of mine supply.
System rather than equipment focus, was above seen important for the installation of large
tailings filtration and dry stack facilities. However, the future system approach will consider Pit
to Port integration: an integrated automation system throughout the complete value chain. It
will include offline simulation (and perhaps in the future on-line) tools. This is called digital
enterprise architecture [6]. This will require more sensing and thus the development of more
sensors and it furthermore provides the ability of diagnostic systems for improved condition
monitoring and optimization of maintenance intervals with the objective to increase reliability.
The role of automation
Automation and the intelligent use of information make up the engine room of tomorrow's
mine. Research and development within these two crucial disciplines are working towards
removing people from hazardous environments and creating a highly efficient and virtually
error-proof, factory-like consistency across production. A good example is driverless trucks and
shovels which may be realized as electric trucks on trolley line to further increase efficiency and
reduce diesel consumption.
Of the 12 disruptive technologies that will transform life, business, and global economy as listed
by McKinsey (2013), automation of knowledge work, the Internet of Things and advance
robotics are specifically those to affect the mining industry. Low-cost sensors and actuators for
data collection, monitoring, decision making, and process optimization, coupled with
increasingly capable robots that have enhanced senses, dexterity, and intelligence, and coupled
with intelligent software systems, will cause a shift in worker skills.
An IT technique called structured analysis identifies the shared informational requirements of
production and maintenance. Modeling the procedures and data flows identify the information
shortfalls and redundancies, allowing an efficient system design of maintenance controls to
resolve failures. A study by the RAND Corporation (Peterson et al, 2001) identifies areas that are
now being developed and applied to operations and maintenance:

On-board sensors and off-board diagnostics such as vibration analysis and vital-signs
monitoring predict equipment failures and optimally schedule maintenance actions.

30

New and more robust engineering and materials such as better lubricants and hotswappable components can extend operational capabilities and minimize downtime.
Electronic transmission of diagnostic data can reduce costs significantly with the
increasing use of outsourcing for maintenance.

However, new information technologies can only go so far unless they are combined with better
work practices, such as more effective record-keeping and better follow-through between
maintenance and subsequent operations.
Sensors on machinery will record the fine detail of situations to calculate positions, conditions
and directions precisely. Information will be sent, in real-time, to operators who will make rapid
decisions and transmit instructions back to the machines. However, these self-diagnosis systems
are also developed to improve maintenance. For example, the more energy efficient drive
systems that are being developed, in reality will be smart drives as part of an embedded system.
This also means that operators not necessarily have to be where the equipment is. Robotics and
self- healing machines, exoskeletons to enable one man to do the work of many are topics of
discussion. Longer term, autonomous operation (Machine to Machine) will be the new
paradigm.
Even a lot of the maintenance may be done remotely. Predictive Maintenance will be stressed
more, as people stretch for 98% availability and a slash in maintenance costs - maybe up to 2/3rds
when everything is considered. Prognostics is an engineering discipline focused on predicting
the time at which a system or a component will no longer perform its intended function. In fact
information will be made available at the machine to anyone who needs it. Sensor fusion (or
multi-sensoring) will provide us with new ways of measuring for both technical and process
health diagnostics (Flintoff, 2013). This increase in energy efficiency and remote control will lead
to reduction of the overall footprint of mining. "The Internet has changed the way we consume
information and talk with each other, but now it can do more," CEO Jeff Immelt said (GE News
Release, 2012). "By connecting intelligent machines to each other and ultimately to people, and
by combining software and big data analytics, we can push the boundaries of physical and
material sciences to change the way the world works."
Higher energy prices and lack of control on those prices, may well force mines in remote areas
to abandon connection to a standard power grid. We can expect renewable power stations
located at mine sites that are sized to generate sufficient power to energize the operation. One
aspect of energy savings is the reduction in energy losses during power generation and
elimination of such losses in power lines with power being transported over long distances.
Local renewable power stations will run on bio-diesel fuel that can be produced from an in-situ
algae farm, efficiently producing just the amount of power needed to run the operation. In areas
of nearby forestation, biomass can be produced from low-value wood and forest thinnings
(Simet, 2014).

31

Design philosophy
In a recent presentation by Freeport McMoRan about the new Climax Mill project it was
mentioned that the design philosophy was to take advantage of natural grade so that gravity
could replace pumps for moving slurry through the plant and thereby reduce energy
consumption for pumping. After the Cyclone feed pumps there is just one pump to take
Rougher Concentrate Thickener U/F back up to the head of the Cleaner circuit.
Elimination of process transfer pumps by gravity has the added benefit of reducing capital costs
and ongoing maintenance over the life of the plant. This is not a new concept, as especially in
Germany many mills were built that way in the past. This may well be setting a new trend,
especially if employing CFD modeling for a more efficient gravity flow of slurry and other
slurry transport. The picture here shows an example of such design.

Figure 3 Example of design with gravity flow of slurry (Germany)

Bridging the gap between demand and supply of skilled labor

Compared to 2009 the US will have lost 128,000 skilled senior labor, or 21%, and this number
will rise to 52% (SME, 2014). The cause of this loss is illustrated by showing the number of
mining graduates over time.

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Figure 4 Number of Graduates in Mining per Year

Several papers have been written on how to promote young people to enter the mining
industry, the most exciting suggestion I find is providing increased research funding to
universities to advance technology or business processes to drive innovation and to allow
students to work on cutting edge technology that is applicable for the mining industry (NS,
2013). This works two ways: not only will the new generation enter the mining industry with a
desire for badly needed innovation, it may also result in a more readily acceptance of new
technology once they get promoted to the highest spots in a mining company.
License to Operate
If not input, the public wants to have more knowledge of the social and environmental impact of
a mining operation over the life cycle of the mine.
From the draft board to 4D modeling
In the past, a supervisor could immediately see how a draftsman was progressing: the drafting
board with the clean drawing stood beside the board indicating his sketches. On the table
behind it were open the standard reference books, allowing the supervisor to follow the thinking
process of the draftsmen. Now with a single screen, the process can no longer be easily followed.
In the past engineers produced plastic models of plants to visualize any interference. Although
this has been replaced by 3D models, that may prevent interference in plant design, for the very
near future 3D modeling may no longer suffice.
Just because you see a 3D model on a computer screen does not mean it is made for
construction. How do you get that means and methods data into the models for the General
Contractors and Subs? It's important to be able to harness the available intellectual property in

33

each firm and capture that data in the models. This knowledge (think: productivity, unit rates,
consumption) can be stored in a database so that it is readily accessible for all projects.
For that reason, in the non-mining industry 4D modeling is becoming in vogue, where the 4th
dimension indeed is time. The 4D model may also be called the BIM (Building Information
Model), which is presenting to the client owner as value in terms of life cycle coverage of
resources, including energy and environmental resources. BIM is defined as the digital
representation of physical and functional characteristics of a facility. A BIM is a shared
knowledge resource for information about a facility forming a reliable basis for decisions during
its life-cycle, defined as existing from earliest conception to demolition (NIBS, 2014).
An example of use of the 4D model was the design of the opening ceremony of the London
Olympics in 2012, which was designed as a life cycle model.
As an advanced construction management tool, the aim of 4D BIM (Wikipedia, 2013) clearly is to
deliver technology which supports the construction delivery team and survives the dynamics
and demands of the construction industry. If construction is a series of problems to be solved,
then 4D BIM software is the tool of choice to meet that challenge-enabling users to explore
options, manage solutions and optimize results. Yet it has the ability to be used in a sequence of
events that can be shown on a time line that has been populated by a 3D model. Use of BIM goes
beyond the planning and design phase of the project, extending throughout the building life
cycle, supporting processes including cost management, construction management, project
management and facility operation. Building Information Modelling can, of course, still produce
drawings, but the process is no longer focused on lines, shapes and text boxes; it is now based
on data sets that describe objects virtually, mimicking the way they will be handled physically in
the real world.
How this would apply to the mining industry could also be expressed as follows:
In the past there was overlap between engineering, procurement and construction. Construction
typically started at 40% completion of engineering. This is changing and likely to lead towards
starting construction only after engineering is 100% complete. This is partly due to more
detailed requirements when applying permits, but also to enhanced complexity in design. It
doesnt mean that plant startup will be correspondingly delayed. As this approach allows the
use of BIM, construction will be more efficient, less costly and resulting in reduction of
construction time. The use of BIM allows standardization of the use of models in architecture,
engineering and construction.
In addition, by allowing each group, design and construction teams and operators, to add to and
reference back to all information they acquire during their period of contribution to the BIM
model, the model can bridge potential information loss caused by hand over. BIM can be used
for communication of the proposed project phasing to all stakeholders. With 4D modeling,
stakeholders are able to better understand how the project affects them and better understand

34

projected construction schedules. However, we can visualize an extension of this model to cover
also environmental and community aspects.
This is where public input starts. Only through showing the effects of construction of a project
and the operation on their direct environment and life, will the communities be in a position to
provide constructive feedback to the design. Community needs over time can be built into the
model further enhancing visualization of project and operational effects to the stakeholders. On
the one hand, the added dimension in design may slow a project; on the other hand it may result
in a blessing, and in a higher responsibility for engineering. To a degree, Rosemont Copper
(Rosemont Copper Website) in Arizona has utilized this concept advising communities on dry
stacking of tailings. However, this is more presented in a video concept of a future impact,
rather than it was built up from an original 3D model to which a time line was applied.

CLOSING REMARK
Of course a step change in metal requirements may happen at any time. In the early 1900s the
worlds requirement for sodium nitrate (caliche), of which Chile was a major (and almost
unique) producer, led to a booming industry in Chile. This industry fell away from one day to
the next with Fritz Habers invention of synthesized ammonia important for fertilizers and
explosives for which he received the Nobel Prize in 1918. .. Analogously, the worlds appetite
for copper minerals may fall away once a perfected Graphene solution of high conductance
through a monolayer of carbon atoms will replace the need for copper.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to acknowledge the insight from several colleagues in the industry who have
assisted me in putting this paper together. They are Bill Imrie, Bechtel, Brian Flintoff, Metso,
Matti Tarvainen, Outotec, Tom Strombotne and Tim Sennett, Thermo Fisher Scientific, and
Stuart Saich of Promet 101. Talking to them on what changes we foresee in the future for a
milling operation was a great pleasure. I am particularly indebted to Bill who also assisted me
with the structure of the paper.
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Candy, G (2014). Mineweb. Gold news. Retrieved from the World Wide Web at www.Mineweb.com. March 19.
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Develop Modern Grid.
Govender, D., Lelinski, D., Traczyk, F. (2012).Hybrid Energy FlotationTM on the Optimization of fine and coarse
particle kinetics in a single row. The Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Platinum
Holloway, B., Clarke, G., Lumsden, B., (2008). Improving fine lead and silver flotation recovery at BHP Billitons
Cannington Mine. CMP Ottawa, paper 22.
Huls, B.J. (1990). PhD thesis Interaction between grinding and flotation, TU Delft. September.
Huls, B.J. (2005). The Coarse Particle Recovery Process, CMP Conference, Ottawa.
Huls, B.J., Moll, D. (2013). Filtration and Dry Stacking of Tailings at Goldcorp. Presentation at Procemin, Santiago,
Chile, October.
Kleinfeld, K. et al. (2009). World Economic Forum, Mining & Metals scenario until 2030. Retrieved from the World
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Lovejoy, C., (2013). Pump-it up. Mining Magazine. March 27.
Manyika, J et al. (2013). Disruptive technologies: Advances that will transform life, business, and the global economy.
McKinsey Global Institute. McKinsey & Company. May.
McGagh, John (2013). Rio Tinto Innovation, presented at the American Chamber of Commerce, Melbourne, August.
National Academy of Sciences (NAS) (2013). Emerging Workforce Trends in the U.S. Energy and Mining Industries.
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http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18250.
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Model Standard Project Committee, retrieved from the World Wide Web on April 20, 2014 at
http://www.nationalbimstandard.org/faq.php#faql.
Peterson, D.J., Tom La Tourrette, and James T. Bartis (2001). New Forces at Work in Mining:
Industry Views of Critical Technologies, RAND MR-1324-OSTP.
Rivard, L (2013) Special report on mining Innovation. UncertainTimes. Dassault Systems. Retrieved from the World
Wide Web on May 9, 2014 at
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Roesch, T. (2014) Personal conversation with Siemens personnel in technology development.
Rosemont Copper Website. Rosemont Copper Mine - Illustration of Mine Operations - A Reclamation Timeline.
Retrieved from the World Wide Web on May 17, 2014 at http://rosemontcopper.com/reclamation.html
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Retrieved from the World Wide Web on May 8, 2014 at

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http://www.ethanolproducer.com/articles/11019/obama-climate-change-report-points-to-bioenergy-forforest-health
SME (2014). Workforce Trends in the US mining industry. February 19, 2014.
Sullivan, T. (2005). The road to sustainability. Earthmatters, a CSIRO Exploration & Mining Magazine. Issue 9,
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2014. December 8.

37

A crystal ball vision of innovation in mineral

processing
Jannie van Deventer
The University of Melbourne, Australia

ABSTRACT
Innovation in the minerals industry has been lagging behind comparable industries like oil and gas.
An incremental innovation culture that tolerates long lead times between invention and adoption
has been exacerbated by a research grant structure that inhibits radical idea generation.
Entrepreneurs who can make the link between ore source, technology and finance will cause a shift
in innovation culture and open up substantial opportunities in the minerals industry of the future.
By extrapolating existing trends in technology within and outside mineral processing, a crystal ball
vision of future innovation is shaped with the aim to lower energy and water demand, reduce CO2
emissions, decrease operating and capital costs, reduce environmental impact, and secure a social
licence to operate. Advances in nanotechnology, advanced materials and biotechnology will impact
mineral processing, but the initiative for technology transfer must come from mineral processors.
Laminates of graphene oxide can offer efficient filtration and separation media, while microfluidic
devices will be used for desalination, solvent extraction and analysis. Substantial progress is
expected on benign lixiviants and separation agents, such as nanoscale supramolecular hosts that
can serve as high-capacity, selective and recyclable ligands and sorbents, and solid
aminobiphosphonate-based adsorbents.
Radical ideas for the recovery of precious metals from non-assayable ores and the generation of
energy above unity will be adopted in selected minerals projects. In-situ mining in which microbes
generate lixiviants at mineral surfaces will simplify processing circuits. Specific ores will be
subjected to microwave processing and electropulse liberation to enhance recovery. Ultrafine
grinding using devices of low energy consumption will be done mainly dry, followed by dry
separation. New flotation cells will remove efficiently either coarse particles or ultra-fine particles,
with mineral surfaces being modified not just by new reagents but also by selective microbes.
Innovation in mineral processing indeed has a bright future.

38

INTRODUCTION
Mr Mark Cutifani (2014) said that research and development (R&D) in mining is lagging behind the
oil and gas sector at a time when there is an urgent need for larger and better deposits of many
metals and minerals. Innovation in oil and gas has transformed the energy landscape in the US,
with fracking and horizontal drilling unlocking vast reservoirs of shale gas previously considered
uneconomic to develop. By contrast innovation in mining has been incremental and many methods
have changed little except for the size of equipment used. Our industry is damned by the fact that
our spending on innovation and R&D is 10% of the petroleum industry. If we dont start to bring
innovation back and do a lot better on our cost structures and deliver returns, the major diversifieds
will be subsidiaries of General Electric or some other conglomerate that still has innovation in their
vocabulary ... We either pick the ball up and innovate or somebody will do it for us Cutifani
(2014). Adding to these sobering words, it is important to note that many mining companies have
destroyed shareholder value, and with capital expenditure and debt levels on the rise, there are
other industries that offer better return on investment.
Against this background, it is no surprise that innovation in mineral processing is viewed as
incremental, not exciting, and not attracting the best young minds in a world where advanced
materials, nanotechnology, biomedicine and electronics offer more excitement. Unfortunately, the
incremental innovation culture of the minerals industry is also reflected in R&D programs and
outcomes. A scan of the major journals in minerals research shows that most papers are more of the
same and usually follow an analytical approach rather than offering a new synthesis. The
incremental innovation culture is exacerbated by the competitive grant structure in most countries,
where peer assessment has the perverse effect of inhibiting radical idea generation by conditioning
researchers to not stray too far from the norm. Consequently, some of the best ideas are generated
by inventors outside the peer assessment system, and by integrating ideas from different fields.
Fortunately, there are plenty of ideas that could nucleate future innovation in mineral processing,
as outlined in this paper. Mason et al. (2011) consider the drivers for innovation in the minerals
industry of the future as maturing demand, the challenges of energy and water, the need to reduce
CO2 emissions, the need to excel at remediation, declining ore grades, the difficulty of discovering
new ore bodies, and the importance of securing a social licence to operate. This paper demonstrates
how these drivers will enhance technological innovation in areas familiar to mineral processors,
facilitate the integration of new technologies into mineral processing, and hopefully allow a more
open-minded approach to radical ideas currently rejected by conventional science. This crystal ball
vision of innovation in mineral processing is not comprehensive, but is sufficient to demonstrate
that a changed innovation culture will bring renewed prosperity.

FAMILIAR TECHNOLOGY
Substantial progress has been made in the development of new comminution methods, the
separation of particles on the basis of physicochemical properties, biomining and non-cyanide
leaching of gold. These technologies familiar to mineral processors are expected to nucleate further
innovation as outlined below.

39

Fine-grinding technology
Napier-Munn (2014) asked recently: Is progress in energy-efficient comminution doomed? As the
most energy-intensive part of a mineral processing circuit with a multiplier effect through other
unit operations, it is contended here that comminution is only in its infancy on a path of innovation
towards energy reduction. Bearman (2013) stated that particles break due to their tensile strength
being exceeded. However, mechanical delivery in comminution is usually in the form of
compression, which may cause local compressive failure, but outside of the impact point the stress
field generated will cause the particle to fail in tension. This key point of insight has been neglected
by inventors of fine-grinding equipment and offers substantial opportunity for future innovation.
An example where fundamental insight in comminution mechanisms has been integrated with
creativity in design is the IMP super-fine crusher (Kelsey & Kelly, 2014) which can generate fine
and ultra-fine products from single stage reductions of coarse or fine mineral feeds. The concept is a
rotating compression chamber and an internal gyrating mandrel, with the axis of rotation of the
shell being displaced relatively to the axis of the vertically mounted mandrel. The compression
chamber is machined inside as double cone frustums at an angle equal to the displacement angle.
The combination of extraordinarily high power intensity and extreme compressive force results in
primary compressive fracture and induced secondary tensile failure. The axially displaced rotation
of the compression chamber effectively distributes the breakage forces throughout the particle bed.
Kelsey & Kelly (2014) suggest that this design, which could be applied dry or wet, will reduce the
capital and operating cost of fine-grinding and revolutionize mineral processing flow sheets. If the
scale-up of centrifugal IMP technology can be demonstrated, it will lead to process intensification
in comminution with the elimination of large SAG mills, the possible elimination of closed circuit
classification, and significant savings in energy and water.
High compression dry grinding used widely for cementitious materials is more energy efficient
than the conventional tumbling mills used in mineral circuits (Aydoan & Benzer, 2010). However,
mineral processors remain less familiar with modern dry grinding technology, and unlike Loesche
(2014), few equipment manufacturers promote their technology to minerals companies, consultants
and researchers. High compression dry grinders, for example vertical rollers, offer better grinding
and size control, hence improve liberation, minimize over-grinding, hence give sharper size
distribution curves, give activation of particle surfaces, result in energy savings and lower
operating costs, and obviously reduce water consumption.

Implications of dry processing for flow sheet design

Technology for dry separation has been aimed mainly at coarse gravity separation, for example the
continuous float-sink separation of lump iron ore and copper ore using a dry sand fluidized bed
dense medium (Franks, Firdaus & Oshitani, 2013; Oshitani et al., 2013). This method of gangue
rejection will be effective for a copper ore if the grade is a strong function of density, otherwise the
tailing would have to be subjected to heap-leaching.
Macpherson, Iveson & Galvin (2011) showed that it is possible to effectively separate particles on
the basis of density, with minimal size effects, in the air-sand dense-medium Reflux Classifier with
vibration. The Reflux Classifier combines a conventional fluidized bed with a system of inclined

40

channels to achieve enhanced rates of segregation of high density particles, and enhanced
conveying of low density particles. Greenwood, Langlois & Waters (2013) showed that a laboratory
Knelson Concentrator can operate satisfactorily on a dry basis using fluidizing air. It is expected
that developments in dry fine-grinding will catalyse further innovation in dry separation with
substantial flow-on effects for circuit design.
Loesche (2014) expects that dry fine-grinding will enhance mineral liberation, and increase flotation
kinetics and recovery. Better particle size control will result in reduced slimes production, hence
less coverage of ore particles by slime, hence improved adsorption of collector in flotation, resulting
in an improved grade-recovery relationship. Similarly, improved liberation and less fines will
increase recovery in gravity or magnetic separation. Improved liberation and enhanced mechanochemical activation of the particle surfaces (Bal, 2008) will enhance leaching efficiency and reduce
reagent consumption. Even part dry processing in a circuit will reduce water consumption, but the
reduction in fines will also improve dewatering. More efficient fine-grinding using IMP
technology for example, could promote more hydrometallurgical processing of concentrates rather
than smelting.

Froth Flotation
Froth flotation has experienced innovation in three areas, i.e. reagents, cell design and control. Such
innovation has been incremental to a large extent, and is expected to continue, with the economic
gains difficult to quantify. A review of recent developments by International Mining (2013)
indicated that the choice of reagents is so large that reagent selection requires mining companies to
engage consultants with adequate databases to select reagents for a new venture. Nevertheless, it
happens too often that the pre-construction selection of reagents for a new flotation plant must be
revised substantially post-commissioning. With advances in analytical techniques, academic
researchers today have a thorough understanding of flotation surface chemistry. Unfortunately, it
cannot be said that all this research has led to radical improvements in flotation efficiency; it is
difficult to identify a few papers or patents on flotation chemistry that have resulted in a step
change in flotation practice.
In contrast, flotation cell design has undergone radical change, and more innovation is possible,
provided that a deep understanding of the hydrodynamics and mechanisms governing flotation is
integrated with cell design in the creative mind of the inventor. In this regard, the depth of insight
and inventiveness of Prof Graeme Jameson are without equal; he understands how to convert
analysis to synthesis, while so many others remain analysts. His creativity has accelerated through
his long career, and it is just hoped that early career inventors will learn from his example. Based on
the theory that the rate of flotation of ultra-fine particles can be improved by increasing the rate of
shear in the suspension of particles and bubbles, Jameson (2010) invented the Concorde Cell, in
which the pre-aerated feed is raised to supersonic velocities before passing into a high-shear zone in
the flotation cell. By recycling the tailings, and using the mass pull as the control variable, this Cell
can produce a high-grade concentrate at high recoveries, over a wide range of particle sizes. By
understanding that a quiescent flow field is necessary to prevent coarse particles from becoming
detached from bubbles, Jameson (2010) invented a liquid-fluidized bed cell where air bubbles are
dispersed in the fluidizing water and coarse particles attach to the rising bubbles into the froth layer
on top. This technology provides major advantages beyond the ability to recover coarse particles

41

currently lost: (a) If the upper flotation limit can be extended, the top size for grinding can be
raised, with liberation being the key constraint on size; (b) This cell can handle a much higher
percent solids in the feed, leading to significant reductions in water requirements (Jameson, 2010).
Base level control of pulp levels, air flow rates and reagent dosing has advanced significantly over
the last forty years, but advanced and optimising flotation control systems have had mixed success
(Shean & Cilliers, 2011). As machine vision and intelligent systems become more robust it is
envisaged that fully automated flotation control will be possible in future.

Microwave processing and electrical pulse liberation

Microwave (MW) processing of ores may offer enhanced kinetics, enhanced recovery and more
efficient heating by using inverse thermal gradients and overcoming the low thermal conductivity
of oxides (Pickles, 2009b). Bradshaw et al. (2007) validated their thermal stress simulations
experimentally to show that MW operation at high power densities (109 W/m3 absorbing phase)
and short residence times ( 0.1 s) can process ores economically at viable MW energy inputs (1
kWh/t). MW treatment could potentially enhance liberation and change progeny size distribution in
confined bed breakage, with more grain boundary damage induced in coarser textured ores having
a large thermal expansion coefficient, which causes larger differential tensile stress in the zones
surrounding the absorbing grains compared with the tensile strength of the matrix (Ali & Bradshaw
(2009; 2011). When MW roasting a refractory gold concentrate, Amankwah & Pickles (2009)
observed that the heating rate and carbon removal rates were higher and the specific energy
consumption was lower than the corresponding values for conventional roasting. The addition of
coupling agents such as carbon or magnetite, or the use of a coupling crucible could enhance
microwave absorption and heating (Pickles, 2009a). MW processing of ore is relatively new and
offers considerable potential, especially when ores are ground and separated dry.
Although Swart & Mendonidis (2013) showed that treating granite rock samples with RF power
within the VHF range did not meaningfully weaken the mineral grain boundaries, hence did not
benefit mineral liberation, they suspected that improved results would be possible for sulfide
minerals that are more absorbent of electromagnetic radiation. By applying high voltage pulses at
specific energy of 13 kWh/t to pre-weaken mineral particles, Wang, Shi & Manlapig (2011)
obtained evidence of cracks and microcracks measured with X-ray tomography and mercury
porosimetry. They showed that ore surface texture and mineral properties affect the efficiency of
high voltage pulse breakage, so that its feasibility must be assessed on a case by case basis.
In an insightful review of mineral liberation by application of high voltage pulses, Andres (2010)
explains how polarisation at the electrodes causes rearrangement of charges in the affected ore
fragments containing constituents of different permittivity and conductivity. The electrical
imbalance at the interfaces between metalliferous and other minerals forms substantial local
charges and hence electrical fields at the boundaries of the polarized minerals. Electrical discharge
by these polarized minerals causes plasma streamers of a tree-like pattern inside the solid
fragments when solid matter is converted into plasma gas at a high temperature of 10 4K. The
thermal expansion of plasma produces fractures, cracks and fissures at the boundaries of the
metalliferous minerals and metallic inclusions of slags, weakening the cohesion between different
constituents inside the aggregates of ores and in smelter slags. Andres (2010) identifies the
requirement for commercialization of high voltage pulse liberation as a well funded multi-

42

disciplinary team of electrical specialists and mineral processors. It is possible that the generation of
plasma inside ore constituents by high voltage electrical pulses could cause chemical
transformations other than the physical liberation studied so far.

Biomining
A variety of microbes can efficiently leach metals from minerals and waste streams, either in situ or
in processing equipment. Although bioleaching has been applied commercially for more than 70
years, biomining is expected to be used increasingly for lower grade complex polymetallic ore
deposits (Brierley, 2008). An improved understanding of the physicochemical factors governing
reactions, along with genetic manipulation of existing strains that will increase microbial tolerance
to high concentrations of undesirable elements, will result in enhanced metal extraction from ores
as well as urban waste such as fly ash from coal and municipal waste incineration (Bharadwaj &
Ting, 2012). Johnson, Grail & Hallberg (2013) have shown that bacterial oxidation of elemental
sulfur could be coupled to the reduction of ferric iron in the goethite fraction of a limonitic nickel
ore to solubilize Co, Cr and Mn. This work demonstrates the potential for the bioprocessing of
oxidized, iron-rich ores using an approach that is energy-saving and environmentally-benign
compared with existing processes for the extraction of Ni from lateritic ores.
Until about 1999, bioleaching focused on Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans as the main mesophilic
bacterium, but since then the focus has shifted to the moderately thermophilic microbes, archaea,
that offer more potential for biomining. The archaea are a domain of single-celled microorganisms
called prokaryotes, which means that they have no cell nucleus or any other membrane-bound
organelles in their cells. Archaea use more energy sources than eukaryotes like fungi and plants,
ranging from organic compounds to ammonia, metal ions or even hydrogen gas. Salt-tolerant
archaea use sunlight as an energy source, while other species of archaea fix carbon; however, unlike
plants and cyanobacteria, archaea cannot do both (Wikipedia, 2014).
The biological degradation of cyanide has been proposed, but has not yet been found to be costcompetitive. Instead of the trial and error approach often followed in biomining, a scientific
understanding of the underlying mechanisms and the geochemistry of the minerals will enhance
adoption of the technology. Cyanide production by microbes is well-known, but has been found to
be too slow for practical application. In contrast, gold-targeting microbes attach directly to the
surface of gold, form biofilms and produce cyanide, which in-turn solubilizes gold without the
need for diffusional transport of cyanide. Such microbes have extensive potential for in situ
recovery of gold with obvious economical and environmental advantages over open-cut and
underground mining (Zammit et al., 2012).
Microbes usually render mineral surfaces hydrophilic and can prevent the attachment of collectors
in flotation. By utilizing a short residence time, bio-oxidation prior to flotation of some ores may
produce sufficient surface oxidation selectively on one sulfide phase so as to allow a far greater
collector selectivity, improving the grade of the concentrate or allowing the use of less selective, and
cheaper, collectors in flotation (Rowe, 2009).

43

New chemistry of metal extraction

Feng & Van Deventer (2011) reported that gold extraction in thiosulfate solutions was largely
improved by the addition of certain amino acids (L-valine, glycine, DL--alanine and L-histidine).
It is well-known that amino acids form relatively stable complexes with gold, which suggests that
they offer an opportunity to replace cyanide under controlled Eh-pH conditions, with the addition
of an oxidant. Florrea (2014) in Shenyang, China, markets a proprietary non-cyanide leaching
reagent that is claimed to be a direct substitute for cyanide and with the gold recoverable onto
activated carbon; these claims require further validation. Sadly, the presumption that there is no
replacement for cyanide in gold recovery has inhibited innovation in this field over decades.
An adsorption system with exciting potential but which has been under-utilized is the Spiderweb
technology of Intellimet (2014), which uses a tightly packed bed of beads, like a resin column, but
instead of putting the binding groups inside the beads, it has the binding groups on polymer strung
between the beads, resulting in rapid recovery. The development of a solid aminobiphosphonatebased adsorbent for the removal of heavy metals, including uranium and gold, at low
concentrations over a wide range of pH values offers substantial potential for innovation in mineral
processing (ScienceDaily, 2013). This technology developed by the group of Prof Jouko Vepslinen
in the School of Pharmacy at the University of Eastern Finland and acquired by Chemec Ltd in
Finland demonstrates the need to look broader afield than traditional mineral processing research
for radically new ideas.

LESS FAMILIAR TECHNOLOGY

Developments in microfluidics, nanotechnology (Roco, Mirkin & Hersam, 2011) and advanced
materials have exploded over the last decade and have major implications for electronics,
communications, biotechnology, clinical medicine and defense. In contrast, the landmark report by
Diallo et al. (2011) states: The application of nanotechnology to mineral discovery, mining,
extraction, and processing has thus far received little attention. This report expects that the
convergence between nanotechnology, geosciences, synthetic biology, biotechnology, and
separations science will lead to major advances in mineral processing: (a) Development of nonacidic microbial strains that can selectively leach valuable metals from ores without extensive
dissolution of the surrounding rock; (b) Development of more efficient and environmentally benign
leaching solutions for in situ mining; (c) Development of more efficient separation systems. It is
contended here that researchers in nanotechnology and mineral processors are mutually ignorant of
each others challenges and opportunities. Therefore, the review below aims to make mineral
processors aware of relevant developments in these fields.

Microfluidics
By bypassing the settler stage and eliminating undesirable particle-stabilized emulsions (crud),
microfluidic solvent extraction (SX) was proposed by Priest et al. (2011, 2012) as an improvement
over conventional mixing-settling SX. They observed that leach solutions of copper oxide and
chromite with high concentrations of sub-micron silica particles did not cause failure of the SX
chips for extended periods, and that the extraction kinetics were not altered by the presence of

44

particles in both reaction or diffusion controlled cases. SX offers a reduced plant footprint, closed
systems (no escape of solvents), reduced reagent inventories, higher recycle rates, and flowcontrolled operations (no moving parts or human intervention). SX has been proposed for the
recovery of lanthanide ions in nuclear fuel processing (Nichols et al., 2011). Yin, Nikoloski & Wang
(2013) demonstrated SX for the extraction of platinum and palladium from chloride leach
solutions for spent automotive catalysts.
The scale out of microfluidic reactors through parallelization is less expensive and carries less
risk than the scale-up of conventional systems (Lo, 2013). Bhardwaj, Bagdia & Sen (2011) proposed
a microfluidic device operating as a micro-hydrocyclone for the separation of micron and
submicron size solid particles from liquid, which offers potential in lab on a chip type analytical
devices. Ceramic-like microfluidic devices that allow chemical reactions at high temperature or/and
high pressure conditions (Ren et al., 2014) could be used to synthesize reagents like cyanide on site
without the need for transport, or could be used to treat process solutions. Nanofluidic devices offer
promise for desalination of water with energy consumption that approaches that of a large-scale
reverse osmosis desalination system. Kim et al. (2010) proposed a system that uses low-pressure
and electricity to drive seawater through a channel containing a nanojunction, consisting of an ionselective nanoporous membrane, to connect two microchannels. This causes an ion concentration
polarization that separates the seawater stream into freshwater and a concentrate stream.

Nanotechnology and advanced materials

Significant advances have been made in the development of nanoscale supramolecular hosts that
can serve as high-capacity, selective and recyclable ligands and sorbents for extracting valuable
metal ions from solutions and mixtures, including: (a) Dendrimer-based chelating agents for
valuable metal ions, such as Cu(II), Ni(II), Zn(II), Fe(III), Co(II), Pd(II), Pt(II), Ag(I), Au(I), Gd(III), or
U(VI); (b) Dendrimer-based separation systems for recovering metal ions from aqueous solutions;
(c) Nanosorbents based on self-assembled monolayers on mesoporous supports for recovering
metal ions, such as Cu(II), Ni(II), Zn(II), Fe(III), Co(II), Pd(II), Pt(II), Ag(I), Au(I), Gd(III), or U(VI)
(Diallo et al., 2011).
Graphene has received much attention as an advanced functionalized material. The simplest
method to create graphene is by peeling off a piece of scotch tape stuck to a piece of graphite,
resulting in microscopic layers of hexagonally shaped graphene. In the same way as graphene
could be obtained from graphite, single atom thick sheets of hexagonal plates of transition metal
chalcogenides (sulfides, selenides and tellurides) could yield materials with spectacular properties.
For example, single atom sheets of molybdenum disulfide could be used as a transistor (unlike
graphene) consuming several hundred thousand times less energy than a silicon transistor
(ScienceDaily, 2014).
Functionalized graphene can adsorb heavy metal ions efficiently and selectively, so it has been used
for the removal and detection of environmental pollutants due to its unique physicochemical
properties (L et al., 2013). Graphene oxide has also been shown to adsorb radionuclides and other
toxins efficiently (Materials Today, 2013). Therefore, graphene and its functionalized forms offer
potential as selective adsorbents in mineral extraction.
Graphene-based materials like laminates of graphene oxide can have well-defined nanopores with
low frictional resistance to water flow, making them suitable for filtration and separation. In the dry

45

state the laminates are vacuum-tight, but if immersed in water, they become molecular sieves,
blocking all solutes with hydrated radii larger than 4.5, while smaller ions permeate through the
membranes at rates thousands of times faster than what is expected for simple diffusion. Joshi et al.
(2014) ascribed the anomalously fast permeation to a capillary-like high pressure acting on ions
inside graphene capillaries.

HERETICAL CONCEPTS
All scientists are taught that the law of conservation of mass and energy is beyond dispute. This
framework is then used to refute claims about the so-called free energy technologies with output
above unity (Eversole, 2013) as being fraudulent. Likewise, those who suggest that precious metals
can be recovered from ores that do not show values in sophisticated analytical methods, are
deemed to be fraudsters or considered to lack an understanding of metallurgy. Few professionals
will risk their reputation by debating or investigating these scientific heresies. The possibility that
radical and unconventional energy technologies are suppressed systematically is rejected outright
as conspiracy theory. Moreover, heretical technology is difficult to commercialize, as patent
applications are usually rejected on the basis that they offend against the generally accepted laws
of physics and established theories. What is pathological technology today may be the
innovation of tomorrow, as discussed below.

Unconventional energy
Eversole (2013) contends that there have been at least seventy successfully working free energy
technologies, including those of Nikola Tesla, that could have replaced fossil fuels and nuclear
energy, yet most of them have been suppressed. Of these technologies, the work of Dr Randell Mills
of BlackLight Power Inc. on energy release from hydrogen atoms, without combustion and without
harmful radiation, has arguably the best scientific basis (Mills & Lu, 2011). Their unified theory
predicts that a hydrogen atoms electron orbit could be tightened, forming a smaller atom called a
hydrino. Independent validation has shown that his heated-hydrogen-and-catalyst reaction
produces two hundred times more energy than comes from burning an equal amount of hydrogen
gas. BlackLight Power claims that one milliliter of water provides enough hydrogen to produce one
megawatt of electric power, and that capital costs will be about 2% of conventional generation. It is
not clear whether the Energy Catalyzer of Andrea Rossi, with support from physicist Sergio
Focardi, is related to the work of Dr Mills, or whether it is cold fusion as claimed. Apparently, this
device works by infusing heated hydrogen into nickel powder, transmuting it into copper and
producing heat. In January 2014 this technology was acquired by Industrial Heat LLC, a subsidiary
of Cherokee Investment Partners. Although cold fusion has been widely rejected by the scientific
community, it is worthwhile to follow developments in unconventional energy generation.

Abnormal precious metals

There are indications that high recovery of gold and platinum group metals (PGM) not detected by
neutron activation or conventional assay techniques is possible from certain ores. Such gold and
PGM are not considered to be invisible to detection but rather abnormal at atomic level. Largescale extraction of precious metals from abnormal ores has not been achieved yet, and is a

46

prerequisite for acceptance of this emerging field. Van Deventer (2013) reviewed unconventional
observations, the pseudo-science mainly available in non-peer reviewed websites, and hypotheses
for the recovery of non-assayable gold, including: (a) The occurrence of high levels of nano-sized
gold in clays detectable by high precision analytical instruments, which represents invisible gold;
(b) Accounts of ambient transmutation of elements, mainly using thermal methods; (c) Orbitally
Rearranged Monoatomic Elements (ORMEs) which are virtually undetectable by conventional
means and their conversion to normal metals; (d) The possibility of a high spin state of transition
metals; and (e) The formation of microclusters altering the chemical behaviour of precious metals
and the possibility of clustering with other elements. It was suggested that precious metals in ores
display a range of clustering, from normal detectable gold to the ORME state. The possibility that
ORMEs could be related to the postulated hydrino of Mills & Lu (2011) has not been suggested
before, and presents an interesting avenue to develop a theoretical framework for this field. The
high recoveries from non-assayable ores may not be the result of transmutation, but instead the
conversion of precious metals already present as micro-clusters to normal metals.

SYNTHESIS
Innovation in mineral processing has been incremental rather than radical, with lead times of 10 to
20 years between invention and industry-wide adoption. A crystal ball vision shows that
technological incubation times in the minerals industry will shorten, otherwise it will not attract
investment capital in competition with more exciting industry sectors. Inventors in biotechology,
nano-devices and advanced materials have ample opportunity in electronics and biomedicine, so
the onus is on mineral processors to transfer these technologies to the minerals industry. A shift in
innovation culture is required in the minerals industry, which presents substantial opportunity for
entrepreneurs who can make the link between ore source, technology and finance, but poses a
threat to companies unable to change.
The integration of various technologies will result in lower energy operations with substantially
reduced CO2 emissions, lower operating and capital costs, and less environmental impact. By
positioning mining as a high technology industry with benign environmental impact, communities
will be more supportive in granting a social licence to operate. Mineral processing viewed through
the crystal ball will prefer microbial in situ mining where reagents may be generated at the surfaces
of minerals, with advanced selective separation chemistry, using nano-materials or microfluidic
devices. Efficient water purification and desalination will be possible through microfluidic devices
and modified graphene materials. Precious metals will be recovered from unconventional ores
using benign reagents. Grinding will be done mostly dry and with lower energy consumption,
followed by improved dry separation, with substantially lower water demand. Microwave pretreatment and electropulse liberation will be applied to specific ores. Coarse particles will be
separated in high pulp density fluidized bed flotation as a means to minimize downstream
processing. Ultra-fine particles produced by low energy grinding machines will be recovered in
supersonic, high shear flotation cells. The surface properties of ore particles subjected to flotation
will be induced by more selective reagents as well as microbes. In summary, innovation rather than
access to mineral resources will determine investment returns in the mineral industry.

47

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50

Overcoming sustainability challenges of future

concentrator plants
Kalle Hrkki
Outotec, Finland

ABSTRACT
Sustainability principles in the minerals industry are now becoming more and more important from the
perspective of securing a license to operate and enhancing environmental, economic and social
performance. This trend is also setting new challenges for the design and operation of future concentrator
plants. It is evident that ore grades are declining and ores are becoming more complex requiring new
technology innovations and holistic approach for process optimization. There is a demand for more
energy-efficient process technologies especially in comminution that is the major energy consuming unit
operation in the process chain. Energy is not only a major source of cost but also contributes significantly
to the carbon and environmental footprint. There is also an increasing awareness that more intelligent
water management is required for reduction of fresh water consumption and mastering the impacts of
process water recycling will cause for process performance. In association with water recycling, tailings
disposal is an integral part of concentrator plant representing significant environmental and economic
issues to the operation. This presentation will discuss general trends and challenges of future minerals
processing plants and how innovative technology solutions and better integration of unit processes in
conjunction with intelligent process control would contribute to meeting the sustainability challenges.

There is no full article associated with this abstract.

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Sustainable mining at Antofagasta Minerals

Diego Hernndez and Hernn Menares
Antofagasta Minerals, Chile

ABSTRACT
Over the last few years, the copper mining industry has been facing a changing scenario with
respect to both the market and society which has resulted in taking a closer look at the way in
which mining is being done. The cycle of high metal commodity prices of the last decade left the
industry with high costs. Together with increased environmental and social requirements, a
decrease in ore body quality, scarcity of resources such as human capital, water and energy, has
resulted in an ever-increasing challenge to make a profit out of new ore bodies but also to maintain
the current operations in the longer term competitive.
The major challenge is to create value for all stakeholders, exploiting ore bodies that nowadays are
not considered economically attractive, which applies to both new ore bodies and existing
operations, but in a sustainable way. In order to achieve this objective, it is necessary to approach
the mining business differently in five main areas: (1) operational efficiency through better use of
installed equipment and skilled labor force; (2) efficient use of energy; using opportunities for
alternative energy sources and efficient design; (3) efficient use of water; diminishing losses and use
of seawater as an alternative source; (4) minimizing environmental impact by eliminating effluents
and controlling dust emission; and (5) a more closer, proactive and collaborative relationship with
the communities allowing them to be an active player in the solution to assure a sustainable
business in the long term.
This presentation will show how Antofagasta Minerals is facing these challenges with a long term
strategy that includes all of the above mentioned aspects and that is allowing the company to
exploit its mineral properties in an efficient and successful way.

There is no full article associated with this abstract.

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