Software Provides Automated Solution for Mineral Spectroscopy
Thermo Fisher Scientific has introduced Thermo Scientific ARL SMS version 6. Based on the recently released OXSAS analytical software for Thermo Scientific Optical Emission (OES) and X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) spectrometers, ARL SMS version 6 features a common software platform covering both the instrument and automation solution. The new graphic user interface is designed for ease-of-use and features common audit trail, system monitoring software and integrated contextual help. The company says this standardized system ensures minimal training is required for users in the metals, mining and cement industries. The new ARL SMS version 6 provides an integrated automation solution for the Thermo Scientific ARL 3460, ARL 4460, ARL Fire Assay, ARL OPTIM’X, ARL ADVANT’X and ARL 9900 spectrometers. Based on the Microsoft SQL server relational database, this new software supports different sample preparation techniques for metals and oxides for a full range of automation devices such as linear or X-Y manipulators. It also supports a number of different robots, covering all applications from simple systems to larger configurations involving multiple instruments. www.thermofisher.com
A strike by United Steelworkers union members at PotashCorp's Allan, Cory and Patience Lake potash mines in Saskatchewan, which was not resolved as of press time, took some steam out of the company’s near-term outlook. The strike came on the heels of PotashCorp's record first-half 2008 financial performance and an announcement in mid-July that it will invest $1.6 billion to add 2.7 million mt of annual potash capacity at its Allan, Cory and Rocanville mines in Saskatchewan. The strike was over workers' compensation, and as of mid-August, negotiations had broken off. A prolonged work stoppage appeared to be in the making.
The Allan, Cory and Patience Lake mines supply about 30% of PotashCorp's potash production and account for about 6% of world potash supply. All three mines are underground operations that mine potash at depths of about 1,000 m. In 2007, PotashCorp's Canadian mines produced 9.2 million mt of potash.
Sensidyne’s new Gilian 5000 is a personal air sampling pump for monitoring worker exposure to hazardous gases, vapors and particulates at flow rates from 20 to 5000 cc per minute. According to the company, the Gilian 5000 has an onboard intuitive four-button design with lock-out capability that does not require special tools or a personal computer to create or edit its programming. This new feature adds a four stage program with repeat cycling, permits scheduled sampling or intermittent duty cycles and programmable delayed start. Programmable features on personal air sampling pumps can be highly beneficial during many applications when a worker is fitted with the instrument prior to commencing the work shift or when a sampling method requires intermittent sampling. The unit is also available in a 5-pack which adds a 5-unit cradle charging system capable of quick charging the air sampling pumps is less time than ever. www.sensidyne.com
Outokumpu Doubling Tornio Ferrochrome Capacity - Europe
Outokumpu has initiated a construction program to double ferrochrome production capacity at its Tornio Works in Finland. The €420-million program will lift the Tornio plant’s annual ferrochrome capacity to 530,000 mt. The new capacity is scheduled to come on line during the first quarter of 2011.
The Tornio ferrochrome smelter is located adjacent to Outokumpu’s stainless steel mill and will make the company “comfortably self-sufficient in terms of its primary chromium,” according to the company. The ferrochrome smelter processes ore from the adjacent Kemi chromium mine.
Because the ferrochrome smelter is located at the same site as the stainless steel mill, ferrochrome can be transferred to the mill’s melt shop in liquid form, foregoing the re-melting that is required at most stainless steel mills. This, said Outokumpu, gives the Tornio Works an exceptional cost advantage. Also, the carbon monoxide emanating from the Tornio ferrochrome process is used as fuel in the stainless steel mill, reducing the plant’s need for external energy.
The market price of ferrochrome has increased substantially in recent years due to increased demand from the stainless steel industry and, more recently, due to production constraints relating mainly to the availability of electricity in South Africa, which produces more than half of the world’s ferrochrome.
Outokumpu CEO Juha Rantanen said, “Doubling our ferrochrome production is an exceptionally attractive and profitable project. Already, Outokumpu Tornio Works is the most integrated stainless steel mill in the world. We have estimated that, with current prices, the expansion will bring additional annual operating profits in the order of €200 million.”
Cameco/Mitsubishi JV Buys Interest in Kintyre Uranium
Cameco Corp. announced on July 8, 2008, that it signed an agreement to acquire a 70% interest in the Kintyre uranium exploration project in Western Australia for $346.5 million.
A joint venture comprising Cameco (70%) and Mitsubishi Development Pty. Ltd. (30%) purchased the Kintyre project from Rio Tinto for $495 million through a bidding process. Cameco will operate the project and is funding its share of the purchase price through existing credit facilities. The transaction is expected to close in August subject to ministerial approval in Western Australia and execution of certain agreements with the Martu people who are the traditional owners of the land.
Kintyre is an advanced exploration project located in Western Australia about 1,250 km northeast of Perth. Cameco said that based on its due diligence, the Kintyre project may host estimated potential mineral deposits ranging from 62 to 80 million lb U3O8 in total, with an average grade between 0.3% and 0.4% U3O8. These estimates are conceptual in nature. The basis for these conceptual estimates includes 355 historical diamond drill holes totaling 70,279 m. Cameco noted that there has been insufficient exploration, however, to define a resource at the Kintyre project in compliance with Canadian mineral resource reporting standards.
Uranium was first discovered in the area in 1985 and followed up with extensive exploration that identified eight deposits. The project was placed in care and maintenance in 1988 when uranium prices declined below $12/lb. The sale process was initiated by Rio Tinto in 2007.
Development of the Kintyre deposits is subject to state government approval. The current Labor government in Western Australia permits uranium exploration, but continues to oppose new uranium mine development.
The new XAHS 107 and XAS 137 Atlas Copco Series 1 portable air compressors feature a significantly smaller canopy and single axle undercarriage. Rated to provide an actual free air delivery of 93 l/s (197 cfm) at 12 bar (175 psig) and 127 l/s (269 cfm) at 7 bar (102 psig) respectively, the new models closely follow the successful launch of Atlas Copco's mid-range XA (M, T, H, V) S 307- 407 featuring a similar concept with reduced canopy size. The units are capable of operating in all ambient temperature conditions from -10°C (14°F) to 50°C (122°F) and up to 2,500 m altitude, with a duty cycle of 80% of the operating time at full load of a wide variety of applications. Optional cold start aids are available to handle temperatures as low as -20°C (-4°F). www.atlascopco.com
Tenke Fungurume Cu/Co Project Advances to Meet 2009 Production Startup
Lundin Mining Corp. recently issued an update on the $1.75-billion Tenke Fungurume copper/cobalt project in Katanga Province, Democratic Republic of Congo. Lundin holds a 24.75% interest in Tenke Fungurume. The majority interest (57.75%) is held by by operating partner Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold. Upon completion of the first phase of development, the mine is expected to produce about 115,000 mt/y of copper cathode and 8,000 mt/y cobalt. First production is forecast in the second half of 2009.
According to Lundin, the copper and cobalt hydroxide plant design and procurement is substantially complete, while cobalt refinery and acid plant design and procurement are under way. Construction progress has increased over the last several months since the end of the rainy season, aided by additional construction and logistics management brought in by Freeport from various global mining projects.
Tailings embankment construction, concrete installation, structural steel, process tank and pipe rack erection are advanced. SAG mill components, mixer settler cells, and other equipment and bulk materials are on site in anticipation of mechanical equipment and piping installation commencing in August.
The project’s construction and operations work force includes more than 4,500 workers, most of which are Congolese. More than 100 Congolese employees have undergone training at various Freeport global mining operations and are being mobilized to site for construction assistance and pre-production activities.
Lundin said that pre-stripping of the Kwatebala deposit is enabling high grade ore stockpiling to support a rapid plant startup. Last September the project began using a continuous miner in a first-ever application for sedimentary-hosted copper mining. This miner eliminates the need for traditional blasting and crushing of the ore and provides for highly selective mining of high-grade material. Lundin said the continuous miner has met and exceeded performance expectations and a second unit has been ordered.
In late June, supported by results from site exploration and ongoing Freeport process test work, meetings were held on major expansion planning. A series of mine expansion objectives is evolving and studies are advancing for the first phase of oxide plant expansion with construction to potentially commence immediately upon initial operations startup next year.
AIRLANCO Pulse Jet filters have no moving parts to wear out, and come in compact, top- and side-access modular housings. The flters are available in many sizes and filter bag configurations, but the cleaning cycle is the same throughout the line: Dust-laden air or gas enters the filter through a hopper inlet where it is directed toward a deflector that slows the airflow and causes heavier particles to fall directly into the collection hopper. Lighter airborne particles follow the air stream into the dirty air housing where the filter bags are located. The particles collect on the outside surfaces of the filters. The filtered air then flows into the clean air plenum and exits the unit. The clean air plenum houses rows of pulse jet pipes lined up over the rows of filter bags. Periodic signals from a programmable timer control open valves that allow short bursts of compressed air from an external supply to flow through the pulse jet pipes and reverse the airflow in each row of bag filters in sequence. These compressed air pulses dislodge the surface dust from the filters so that it falls into the angled collection hopper, which helps funnel the dust and debris to an airlock for final disposal. Proprietary AIRLANCO venture assemblies at each bag cup draw in extra air during the pulse cycle to amplify the reverse airflow and enhance the removal of dust from the surfaces of the filter bags. These venturi assemblies increase filtration and operating efficiency. www.airlanco.com
from Australia Allight Pty Ltd., an Australian lighting tower manufacturer, has previously focused on domestic sales of its heavy-duty lighting towers—which are excellent for mining but not economic to transport internationally. Signaling its new international marketing intentions, the company has developed more compact new products suitable for worldwide delivery by container. The new Nightlight 6000 and Nightlight 4000 models are already in production with a 9,000-W tower currently under development. A boom design and hydraulically tilting lamps allow precise illumination of a chosen space. www.allight.com
The numbers from the May 12 earthquake in China are staggering. As this edition of E&MJ went to press, the death toll in Sichuan Province had climbed to 68,000 with 288,000 injured and more than 5 million people homeless. The earthquake was measured at 7.9 on the Richter scale and centered in Wenchuan County. Rock slides in the mountainous region had blocked rivers creating "quake lakes" and residents were living in fear of temporary dams giving way.
News reports from the interior of China remain somewhat vague, but E&MJ'ducers. The Sichuan-Chongqing region specifically produces lead, zinc, and aluminum. The output of zinc concentrates in 2007 in Sichuan reached 130,000-140,000 metric tons (mt). Sichuan is the third largest production area for vanadium ores. The earthquake forced most zinc and vanadium mines in Sichuan province to close and most of the zinc and aluminum smelters to halt production.
Indirectly, the earthquake also destroyed the electrical infrastructure and transportation networks. At least 10 zinc smelters in Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi are confirmed to be closed. They have a combined total annual capacity of more than 500,000 mt, which represents about 11% of China’s total zinc smelting output. The largest zinc smelter in Sichuan Province, Sichuan Hongda Co. Ltd., was forced to close. It has an 80,000-mt capacity. A smelter owned by Hanzhong Bayi Zinc Industry Co., Ltd. with an annual capacity of 120,000 mt in Gansu is also closed because of the shortage of electricity. The company’s smelter is 400 miles from Chengdu. "For safety concerns, the local government suggested temporarily closing the mill and we now have closed 70% of its capacity," the company said in a statement. "The smaller zinc smelters nearby also suspended the production and their total capacity is about 150,000 tons."
A total of eight power plants in Sichuan closed because of the earthquake and the transmission system has been disrupted. Eight transformer stations in Sichuan and nearby Shaanxi have also closed. The Chinese metal research institution Antaike Information Development Co., Ltd. estimates that power could be restored by mid-June. If mines are more heavily damaged, the smelters will obviously remain idle.
Aluminum smelters are facing similar, indirect problem with power shortages. When production will start again depends on the power supply and how much damage the earthquake did on the power system, said a spokesperson from Sichuan Aostaral Aluminum Co. Ltd. The annual aluminum smelting capacity in Sichuan exceeds 720,000 mt. Aostaral Aluminum’s annual capacity is 125,000 mt in Sichuan. The region’s largest smelters, Sichuan Meishan Aostaral Aluminum with a capacity of 225,000 mt and Emei Qiya with a capacity of 150,000 mt, are both operating normally.
Transportation has been severely disrupted and smelters were unable to transport metals to other provinces in China. Central China’s mail railway from Baoji to Chengdu remains inoperable. Coal is transported on this railway from Shanxi and Shaanxi to northeast Sichuan Province. That supply line has been interrupted. Sichuan also provides about 40% of China’s natural gas. China’s already stressed power distribution system could fall victim to more outages.
