Chapter One Ores, Mills, and Concentrates Farmer's Law on Junk: “What goes in, comes out.”” Alll the inorganic materials used to support our civi- lization, are in some way derived from the earth's crust, the thin shell of silaceous material that coats our planet to a depth of about 13 km. The various ele- ‘ments that make up this crust are not evenly distrib- uted; rather they exist as a mixture of minerals, each of which has only a few major elements in its struc- ture. (Appendix A gives some details of the more important minerals.) Further irregularities of distri- bution are generated by geological processes and by ‘weathering, which result in some minerals being formed into larger concentrations in particular areas, ‘This concentration is described as an ore body when it is large enough for the mineral to be economically exploited." Today; virtually no mineral as mined is suitable for conversion to a final product; rather it requires reparation, and the preparation of ores by physical ‘methods is described as mineral processing. A wider concept of mineral processing includes chem- ical methods of treating minerals and therefore ex- tends across the field of extractive metallurgy to the production of commercially pure metals. Only the physical processing of ores is considered in this book. 1.1. ECONOMIC CRITERIA Although a certain minimum product quality is al- ways a restriction on the production of a material, economic considerations provide the ultimate con- Corollary 1: “He who sees what comes out, and why, gains wisdom. Corollary 2: “He who sees only half the problem will be buried in the other half. straint (though in some situations political factors may appear to be more important). Ifan ore or min- ‘ral is not marketable without mineral processing, the processing operation will not be justified unless the product has a selling price greater than all the costs involved in producing it. These costs include mining, processing, transportation, and selling, as well as the costs incurred in meeting environmental regulations. Even for an ore that is marketable as mined, however, processing may be justified if its costs can be exceeded by an enhanced selling price. On these bases, it is possible to recognize a num- ber of situations in which mineral processing can be justified. To control particle size. Size control may be car- red out simply to make the material more conve~ nient to handle (e.g., the crushing of an ore in an underground mine), or to make a product suitable for sale (as in the case of sized ageregate). To produce a product of regular size and compost tion. Any metallurgical operation, but smelting in particular, can be performed far more efficiently if ‘the material fed in is of regular composition and size. A classic example is the achievement of un- precedented production rates in iron blast furnaces by the use of pelletized feed. To expose or liberate constituents for subsequent processing. Exposure and liberation (freeing) are achieved by size reduction. For subsequent leach- ing processing exposure of the valuable is sufficient, but when the minerals are to be separated by physi- 5cal processes, an adequate degree of liberation of the different minerals from each other is a prereq- uisite. To control composition. It is necessary to elimi- nate (or partially eliminate) constituents that would make the ore difficult to process chemically or ‘would result in an inadequate final product. Respec- tive examples are lowering the iron content in lead and zinc ores to avoid problems during smelting, and the removal of iron from silica sand used for ‘glass manufacture, since even very small amounts color the glass, ‘The more typical situation is the elimination of the, bulk of the waste minerals from an ore, thus forming aconcentrate, a significantly smaller volume of material containing the bulk of the valuable min- eral. Generally, the production of a concentrate is the ‘most complex and difficult form of mineral process- ing, in that it can involve liberation, size control, and composition control. Thus this step is the focus of our discussion, since generally this choice per- mits the separate situations above to be covered, as well. LLL. Product Valuation Because mineral products inherently lack uni- formity, their valuation is a complex issue, involv- ing payment credits for desirable features with penalties for undesirable features. To introduce the subject, we consider representative custom smelter schedules. A custom smelter is one that purchases concentrates and smelts (reduces) them to salable metal. The price paid by the smelter depends primarily on the market price of the metal.*# Deduc- tions are made based on all costs involved in smelt- ing (including smelting losses), as well as penalties for constituents in the ore or concentrate that are detrimental to the smelting process. ‘Some simplified typical smelter schedules are given in Table 1.1. Actual figures vary from smelter to smelter, depending on the smelting method em- ployed and its efficiency. The smelting method de- termines what metals can be recovered and thus what credits can be paid, while the method and its ‘efficiency determine what fraction of the metal can be recovered from the concentrate and thus the ex- tent of the deductions to be made from the pay- ments, The treatment charge is seldom fixed; in- Ores, Mills, and Concentrates cman race sera, EM paseo nome tnt SEAT I ne “Seen ag nee RaatomeneEconomie Criteria stead itis tied to the metal price and/or to labor and fuel costs. Penalty elements are normally deter- mined after a sample of the concentrate has been analyzed. Example 1-1. A lead concentrate is produced from an ore assaying 10% PbS. In addition the PbS con- tains 2 of Ag per kilogram of PbS. The concentrate assays 80% PbS. ‘What is the return per tonne of concentrate? (Metal prices: Pb = $1.10/kg; Ag = $1.23/g; labor rate = $10.50/hr; PbS = 86.67% Pb.) Solution Basis. 1000 kg concentrate Payments Jead = mass lead % return 80% 86.6% = 100 ks (pp * “Too 1s) 90% $1.10 — $0.09 100) 100 = $616.12 silver = mass silver < return - [(ms 80% 28) : Saale = 9) 25 80 100 z = $1832.31 Deductions treatment charge ene $1050 s10.% (eae 2) $616.12 + $1832.31 — $61.88 $2386.55, ‘Although the smelter schedule applies to the sale of ‘a concentrate to another company, the concept is still quite valid for use on a concentrate being ‘smelted by the same company, in that the concen- trator in this situation is effectively selling concen- trate to its own smelter, "The basic concept of credits and penalties applies to the sale of most mineral products, be they base metal concentrate, coal, or aggregates. More 1s on the subject are available elsewhere.'* 1.1.2, Production Costs ‘A more detailed discussion of production costs is given in Chapter 25; however, it is worthwhile to Consider briefly here some of the important factors. Nature of the Ore. The texture, association, and degree of dissemination of constituent minerals de- termine both the amount of size reduction necessary before concentration can be carried out and the ex- tent to which it can be achieved. Size reduction is one of the most expensive items in mineral process- {ng, so that coarse grained or soft ores are cheaper to process. In practice, itis never possible to com- pletely liberate a valuable mineral, or to extract all of it Decreasing ore quality, or grade, has a twofold effect on the size of the operation. Leaner ore bodies must be operated on a larger scale simply to produce a given amount of product; but because Teaner ore necessitates the treatment of a large ‘amount of ore, the operation must be carried out on an even larger scale to reduce the cost per tonne, since this reduces with increasing tonnage handled. In torn this means that the investment must be fur- ther increased, with the result that lower grade ore bodies must be disproportionately larger. Today, ore bodies tend to be in isolated areas and this gen- erally necessitates additional investment in a830- ciated infrastructures, such as towns, transporta- tion, and service facilites. ‘The uniformity ofthe ore body itself affects pro- cessing costs, since slight changes in mineralogy tither necessitate changes in processing or lead to fosses of valuable material in the ealings or waste stream, Mill Location, The location of the mill or plant af fects the costs of fuel, power, water, transportation, ‘and labor, as well as the cost of the mill itself. Metal Prices. Continually changing prices necessi- tate a continual reappraisal of the dividing line be- tween ore and potential ore. (See Example 3.3.) ‘Variations in price can be large, and are affected not only by supply and demand, but also by local or ‘world political events. Legislation. Legislation may restrict or benefit the cost structure in a variety of ways. Government assistance in the form of subsidies (including gov- ‘ernment stockpiling) or low taxes may be used toencourage the initiation of a project, but such assistance may fade once a project is operating. Tightening environmental and safety regulations can be particularly expensive if they are not antici- pated. 1.2. FLOW SHEETS “The way a plant is arranged to produce its product is best portrayed by a flow sheet, such as those shown in Appendix B. At first glance there seems to be little similarity between the examples. Closer exam- ination will show that this isnot the case, but rather that any process can be considered to be made up from three basic operations: size reduction (or com- minution), separations, and materials handling. In tum, each of these can be further subdivided. The major subdivisions in size reduction (Part ID depend ‘on whether the particles broken are coarse or fine, the processes being described as crushing and grind- ing, respectively. Separations can be either solids from solids or liquids from solids. In the former, the separation is based essentially on the composition of. the solids (concentration processes, Part IV) or the size of the solids (screening and classification, Part TI), The separation of liquids from solids isin most cases one of dewatering (Part V). Materials han- ding (Part VI includes the auxiliary operations as- sociated withthe transport and storage of materials, in, to, and from the mill. Products are sold to a specification, expressed primarily in terms of composition andor size. When the material is derived from a hard rock mine, size reduction is necessary even ifthe product has only a size specification (e.g. a quarry producing agsre- gate) to meet. When a composition specification has been given, extensive size reduction is generally necessary to liberate the minerals from each other, so that separation or concentration can be carried out. However, an examination of any flow sheet (e.g., Appendix B).shows that irrespective of whether there isa size or composition specification, size separations are carried oUt at intermediate Stages of the processing. The main reason for this is that any size reduction or concentrating device op- erates best on a very narrow range of particle sizes. In the case of size reduction, the product always has a wide range of sizes, even if the feed is of a “single” size. By sizing such a product, material can be removed as soon as it is formed, and can also if necessary bypass the next stage if already fine Ores, and Concentrates ‘enough. Sizing before concentration is also benefi- cial, but because the issue is more complex, discus- sion of this aspect is left to the separate chapters in Part IV. It is sufficient to note at this stage that overgrinding causes losses in two ways: particles too fine to be separated are lost to the tailings (waste stream), and energy is wasted in overgrinding, ‘Any solid-solid separation can be represented as follows: ‘One vital characteristic of mineral processing separations is that they are never perfect; some of the valuable product is always in the waste stream, and some of the waste (or gangue minerals) is al- ‘ways in the valuable stream. To adequately describe the extent of the separation, two parameters are commonly considered: recovery and grade. Recov- ery measures how effectively the separator has extracted the valuable contained in the input stream, A suitable definition i Recovery (%) percentage (or mass) of valuable in product stream percentage (Or mass) of valuable in input stream % 100. (1.1) Losses can similarly be defined by the quantity of valuable in the residue or tailings. (Alternatively, it ‘may be convenient to consider the loss as a “recov- ery” of valuable in the tailings, since this consis- tently describes the distribution of valuable between the output streams.) Grade is a measure of the quality of any stream: ideally the valuable product stream should be of high quality, and the tailings of low quality. Thus, the grade of any stream is defined by: grade (%) ‘mass of valuable in stream imiass of valuable and waste in stream x 100 (1.2) Again, this definition is universal and can apply also to the input stream, or to an ore, Care should al- ways be taken in interpreting the grade when deal- ing with a metallic mineral. Grades (or assays) areMaterials Balances normally quoted as a percentage metal, whereas the ‘metal actually exists as a mineral, with the result that the grade in principle cannot rise above that tuiven by the stoichiometric composition of the min- eral. ‘The point will be repeatedly made that grade and recovery represent a tradeoff; for a given sample of ‘material, one can be obtained only at the expense of the other. Thus concentration (where the flow is large enough) is carried out in stages, described as roughing, scavenging, and cleaning. Roughing is the first stage, designed to remove the easily recover- able liberated valuable as arougher concentrate. The rougher tailings then pass to scavenging, where the ‘emphasis is on recovery: the aim is to extract all the remaining valuable that itis economically justifiable to recover. (The scavenger tailings are then said to be worthless with respect to that valuable minerals they may, however, contain a second valuable min- ‘eral worth recovering in another separator.) The scavenger concentrate is in principle recycled to re~ cover the valuable. Essentially it consists of mid- lings ot unliberated particles; and unless further size reduction is applied to this concentrate, it is forced eventually to leave with the final tailings or the final concentrate. In the former instance, overall recovery is low; in the latter, overall grade is low. + Typically, the rougher concentrate is diluted with waste minerals, primarily in the form of misplaced particles, that is, liberated waste particles that have passed to the wrong stream (strictly, there are also ‘some middling particles in the rougher concentrate, just as there are misplaced particles in the ‘scavenger concentrate). Rougher concentrates are therefore often retreated in cleaners (and if neces- Final Concentrate Figure 1.1. The basic concentrating circuit of roughins, scavenging, and cleaning sary recleaners), where the emphasis is on grade, Since this increased grade is achieved at the ex- pense of recovery, the cleaner tailings must be re~ cycled. Figure 1.1 illustrates these characteristic operations. They are considered again in Chapter 23, after the various concentration processes have been described in more detail 1.3, MATERIALS BALANCES ‘An important aspect of any mineral processing ‘study is an analysis of how material is distributed whenever streams split or combine. This knowledge is necessary when a flow sheet is being designed and. is also essential when making studies of operating plants. Such calculations are known as materials balances and are based on the principle of conserva tion of matter. In general, input ~ output = accumulation In a continuous system at steady state, there is no accumulation; thus the relationship reduces to: input = output Consider, for example, a mill represented by one of the flow sheets in Appendix B. From a single input of ore, two products are produced: a concen- ‘rate containing most of the valuable, and a tailings stream containing most of the gangue. The overall process involved is in terms of the total quantity of material entering and leaving, and the process can be represented thus: Feed > se gr, Concentrate \ ‘That is, the mill can be considered to be a separa- tion point, known as anode, and at this stage, how the separation is achieved is irrelevant. Thus input = output tonnes of feed = tonnes of concentrate + tonnes of tailings M, = Muy + Mo a3) (M; = mass of input; M,.) = mass of concentrate; ‘mass of tailings). Obviously, if any two of Meo10 the masses are known, the third can be calculated. ‘However, in making any such analysis, itis first of all necessary to set up a reference known as the basis: in effect, one stream is arbitrarily fixed and all other data are relative to this basis. Such a reference may be a volume, mass, period of time, or flow rate. Selection of a suitable basis is certainly aided by experience, but to help the novice, the following should be considered when making the selection: ‘What information is available? ‘What information is one trying to obtain? What is the most convenient basis? Further clarification of the problem is always ob- tained by making clear, neat sketches of the flow sheet, showing all known data. In many instances it is convenient to take the input rate as the basis; at other times a unit base of 1 or 100 in suitable units (e.g., tonnes) is useful, since this makes subsequer ‘quantities fractions or percentages, Returning to the mill considered above, if from a feed of 500 thr it produces 10 thr of concentrate, a convenient basis is 500 tonnes of feed (or $00 th) Thus input = output 500 t = 10 t concentrate + M. Mc = 490 t (or 490 thr) ‘As well as completing a materials balance for the total mass in each stream, itis also possible to have ‘a materials balance for each component of interest. ‘Once again, convenience is the best criterion for selecting a component: for example, if the mill con- sidered above is fed an ore that is 10% PbS and 90% ‘SiO, balances can be set up for PbS and SiO; thus: input = output PbS balance: = Mrs = Meme + Mcnes SiO, balance: — Mision = Munsion + Msioe Total: M, = May + Mo Note that although there appear to be three equa- tions here, implying that the equations can be solved for three unknowns, such is not the case. One of these equations is always redundant because of the existence of the vertical equations, such as, Migs + Miso, = Mr Ores, Mills, and Concentrates Alternatively, it is possible to take a balance of Pb and the total mass, since the mass of PbS in any sample can be calculated by the stoichiometry of PbS; then the mass of SiO; can be obtained from the difference between PbS and the total mass. More thorough methods are available for estimat- ing the number of equations required,’ but they are beyond the scope of this book, and at this stage itis assumed that sufficient data always are available. It is worth remembering that “‘missing"” equations can often be generated by using equations involving re- covery. So far, only the input and output of the total mill hhave been considered. The principles of materials balancing can in fact be applied to any node in the plant, such as a distributor, a separator, o the point at which streams combine or split. Again, it is not necessary to know how or why the material sepa- rates at a node: it is treated simply as a point. For example, the rougher flotation cells in a flow sheet = a Concentrate ‘can be represented as 4 ‘The following examples are used to illustrate the principles outlined. It is worth emphasizing at this point that with all problems of this type (and espe- cially with more complex ones), the development of good habits is vital. Experience is of course invalu- able, but the extensive use of clear diagrams and tables is particularly helpful Example 1.2. _A concentrator is fed 1000 Ur of ore assaying 10% PbS. It produces a concentrate assay- ing 80% PbS and a tailings assaying 0.19% PbS. ‘What are the flow rates of the tailings and con- centrate streams?‘Materials Balances Solution “ Problem: is elias 1000. he Yom Pos oct Pos — Basis. 1000 thr of feed ‘Mass Balances input = output feed = concentrate + tailings Total Flow 1000 hr = Oc) Uhr + Oc Uhr PbS Flow (1.2. =~ 00 Fe (S00) ome From (E1241): 2 0c.) = 1000 = Oc Substituting in (E1.2.2): 1000 29, = Ove thy * (1000 - Ou) 2 10,000 = 80 0.) + 190 = 0.190 qq) = 981079.81 122.9 vhe Substituting in (E1.2.1) Ov) = 1000 ~ 122.9 77.1 uhr i Example 1.3. A PbS concentrate is produced by rougher-cleaner flotation circuit. The cleaner tail ings assay 20% PbS and are recycled to the rougher cells, and the circulating load (reeycle/fresh feed) is 0.25. The fresh feed assays 10% PbS and is deliv- ‘ered at the rate of 1000 Uhr. The recovery and grade u in the concentrate are 98.2% and 90%, respectively. What are the flow rates and assays of the other streams? Solution Problem: Basis. 1000 t/hr fresh feed. ‘Although total and PbS mass balances can be set ‘up for the whole circuit, the rougher, and the ‘cleaner, two of these will be redundant because the rougher + cleaner balances sum to the whole circuit balances. Thus, to allow the fifth unknown to be determined, the recovery must be used to set up a fifth equation. input = ouput Rougher total mass balance: 1000 + 250 = OQ + Owe (E1.3.1) Cleaner total mass balance: Ocn = Ore + 250 (E1.3.2) Rougher PbS mass balance: 1000 x 10% + 250 x 20% Ocoin X Goon + Ovo * Gere (E1.3:3) Cleaner PbS mass balance: can * Gorn i = Ocene x 90% + 250 x 20% (E13.4) __ mass PbS in cleaner concentrate. 19) * ‘mass PbS in fresh feed2 that is, 98.2% = Cee % x 100 (E13.5) Solving Eq. E135 Oye = 109.1 Uhr Substituting in Eq. E1.3.2: Ocain = 109.1 + 250 359.1 vbr Substituting in Eq. E13.1 1250 = Oye + 359.1 3 O.n = 890.9 vor Substituting in-Eq. E1.3.4: 359.1 x Giaye = 109.1 x 90 + 250 x 20 Gegn = 41.20% Substituting in Eq. E1.3.3: 1000 x 10 + 250 x 20 = 890.9 x Gu + 359.1 x 41.27 Gegg = 10.000 + 5000 — 14,831 390.9 = 0.20% Example 1.4. What is the circulating load ratio in Example 10.1? Solution Basis. 800 Uhr, hydrocyclone feed For the hydrocyclone: ot Ovartlow (Product) ~ fees Undertiow (Recycle) Mass Balance: input = output feed = overflow + underflow From Example 10.1 800 Uhr = 800 x 0.295 thr + 800 % 0,705 thr Ores, Mills, and Concentrates For the circuit: Bal Mill Hydrocycione Fresh Feed = @—> @——+ Product Fresh feed Circulating Tanguati?® — recycleffresh feed 564/236 39) Example 1.8. If the feed stream in Example 1.4 is 30% solids by volume and 30% of the water is recy- led, what is the slurry concentration of the hy- drocyclone products? (p, = 3.145 t/m) ‘Solution Basis. 800 tonnes feed solids Volumetric Solids Balance input = éutput feed = overflow + underflow 800t| m_ _ 564, 236 B45 t~ 3.145 * 3.145 That is, 254.4 m* = 179.4 m*-+ 75.0 m? Volume of water in feed 254.4 x 0.7/0.3, = 593.6 m* +. volume of water in underflow 0.3 x 593.6m> + = 178.1 m* + Solids conceitration in underflow = 179.4(179.4 + 178.1) = 50.256 (vol) volume of water in overfiow = $93.6 m* ~ 178.1 m* = 415.5 m* solids concentration in overflow = 75.01(75.0 + 415.5) = 15.3% (vol)Ores Comment. Mofe likely, the feed and underflow concentrations will be set and the water recycle un- known. In this situation, the solution of Examples 1.2, 13, 14, 8.3, 10.1, and 10.4 require successive iteration. A a In solving these problems, each node has been han- dled individually, even though the mathematical formulation is basically the same in each case. In fact, these equations are frequently presented and described as the nwo-product formulas, or in the case ofa stream split into three, the three-product formu- las." Though appreciating that these formulas are indispensable in handling routine data or large com- plex flow sheets on a computer, we consider it de- rable to develop a full understanding of the input! ‘output concept, and to avoid the unthinking use of ‘equations that can lead to a lack of appreciation of the process metallurgy. Tn each example above, there was just sufficient data to solve the materials balance. Seldom is this ideal situation found in practice (and if it is, one should take care!). Sometimes the problem is insuf- ficient data; either because data have not been ob- tained or because no sample point is accessible in the stream. However, a more likely problem, in operating plants in particular, is that an excess of ata exists, which generally leads to conflicting re- sults. Too often the solution is simply to collect data only sufficient to complete a materials balance, or to ‘guess which are the more accurate data and reject the remainder. Such methods may be satisfactory if the worth of the data can be assessed, but the ap- proach is fraught with danger. This is because major sources of error exist. ‘Assaying errors are the most obvious, and al- though their magnitude can generally be assessed, their effect on other data is easily overlooked. Sam- pling errors can also occur, and although they can be estimated, they are too often just neglected. However, the most significant source of error is the assumption that a circuit is at steady state. In real- ity, perturbations in flow and composition exist in any circuit, so that samples taken in different loca- tions effectively represent different material. ‘The solution to this dilemma is to take advantage of the excess data."'~ The situatiori can be likened to having a graph show three noncollinear points that represent a straight line: to find the best esti- mate of the true straight line, a least-squares statis tical analysis is carried out. In this case as more data B points are included, a more reliable estimate of the true line is obtained. The application of Ieast- squares analysis to mineral processing material bal- ances has been considered in a number of studies, ‘and although computation times can become long, because a considerable number of streams must be treated, the increased reliability justifies the effort. Computer programs for these analyses have been made available in the literature."*""'* ‘The concept of conservation may also be ex- tended to energy balances. Analysis may be difficult because of heat losses, but nevertheless, such bal- ances may be necessary in operations such as pump- ing and drying. 1.4, ORES ‘The rocks that form the earth's crust are classified as igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary; but since the mantle is probably the starting point for all rocks, the average composition of the crust can be assumed to be similar to that of an average igneous rock. Such an estimate is shown in Table 1.2. A notable feature of these data is that the common metals are present in the crust in very small amounts. Also shown in the tabte are the prices of ‘some elements, and it can be seen that there is litle correlation between abundance and price. What therefore determines the price of a metal? A clue to this complex question is shown in Fig. 1.2,’” where it can be seen that there is good correlation between selling price and annual consumption. Despite the ‘many factors that affect the selling price and the ‘consumption, the general supply and demand situa- tion means that production costs are still a signifi- cant factor in determining the selling price of a mate~ rial." In tum, production costs depend on the costs of the three main processing stages: mining, mineral processing, and extractive metallurgy. (In the case of nonmetallic ore treatment the extractive ‘metallurgy step does not occur, although there may instead be some other form of chemical processing.) Tt is possible to distinguish four types of mining'*: open-pit (Fig. 1.3), underground (Fig. 1.4), alluvial (Fig. 1.5), and solution mining.** The first two are forms of hard rock mining. Open-pit ‘mining, which is the more economical and practical ‘method of handling enormous tonnages of material, is Becoming more common as ore grades decrease. Such a method does require the ore body to be rela- tively close to the surface. Underground mining is“ ‘TABLE 1.2: AVERAGE COMPOSITION OF IGNEOUS ROCK Coa Element * com ‘Oxygen 88 ‘tigen 27 1.20 Aluminium “8.1 120, tron 50 oz Calcium 38 lad 28 0.80 26 xe.60 24 222 os 720 on 128 0.06 0.03 0.02 Vanadium = 0.017 Copper 0.010 Zine 0.004 too 0.002 Cobalt 0.001 Tw 0.001 o.Ga, = Go.Gati 10-100 per s.8.60.Ht Mo.Sb.uw 1° 10pm Bica.n 0.1.1 ppm ‘AgPdSe 0.01--0.1 ppm ‘Aule05.Pt—<0.01 ppm +1978 the most expensive method, but there is not much cchoice (unless solution mining can be used) when the ore is a considerable distance underground. Sometimes both open pit and underground mining are used on the same ore body. Alluvial mining uses dredges or hydraulic water to extract ore from placer deposits (unconsolidated ‘mineral deposits such as river beds or sand dunes) and by comparison with hard rock mining, is inex- pensive. Unlike subsequent processing, the mining ‘method has comparatively little dependence on the ‘mineralogical nature of the valuable minerals in the ore, although the nature of the gangue minerals may affect the actual method of hard rock mining used. Basically, mining can be considered to be an en- gineering problem in materials handling, dependent on the ore body rather than on the minerals. In broad terms the mineral processing method employed depends on the mineral being processed, Ores, Mills, and Concentrates which in turn depends on whether that mineral is amenable to reduction to a metal. Three factors de- termine whether and how a metallic mineral can be reduced to a metal: the chemical stability of the ‘metal compound, the nature of the anion(s) com- bined with the metal, and the ability to engineer a practical process. In general the more stable the compound the ‘more difficult and expensive it will be to reduce it to ‘a metal. Carbon (as CO) is the cheapest and most convenient reductant available, and so it is used wherever possible. Unfortunately, metals such as ‘copper, lead, zinc, and nickel occur in suitable con- centrations in the earth's crust only as sulfides, and because the sulfur anion does not form a stable compound with carbon, carbon cannot be used di- rectly as a reductant. To overcome this problem, sulfides first have to be converted to oxides by a process known as roasting: (metal) § + O,— (metal) 0 + SO, Engineering limitations can be illustrated by ref- erence to the reduction of aluminum oxide. Al- though this comparatively stable oxide can be re- duced by carbon, the high temperatures necessary impose severe engineering problems. Conse- quently, in practice, lower temperatures are used, employing electrical energy to bring about the re- duction. In addition, because most of the impurities are reduced at the same time, they must be removed by a chemical refining process before reduction. ‘The expense of this chemical refining means that ores with only one major impurity are acceptable, even though there are extensive deposits of less suitable minerals, Figure 1.2. Correlation between seling price and annual U.S. ‘consumption for a variety of materials in 1978. (Data from U.S, Bureau of Mines")‘igure 1.3, Open-it copper mine. (Courtesy Bucyrus-Ere.) igure 14. Dring rig in underground mine. (Courtesy Enginering and Mining Journal.)Ores, Mills, and Concentrates, 16 Err susodact oun Arno) (2129) yemuaouoo Buneoy pe (ye) AAp21p Yon ws Jo)n> ys sues yoeog snout srr ounanyMineralogy In summary, whether a mineral area becomes an ‘ore body depends on the technology and economics ‘of the combined operations of mining, mineral pro- cessing, and extractive metallurgy. If the ore body is ofa high grade, more expensive operations can be tolerated in one or more stages. However, as ore grade decreases, only highly efficient operations can be tolerated. The classic example is the gradual de- crease in the minimum grade of copper ores since the tum of the century. This decline has been at- tained in face of virtually constant copper prices (in real terms) and has been achieved partly by im- provements in technology, but largely by economies of scale. ‘Some of the minerals commonly used as ores are detailed in Appendix A. The most common nonfer- rous (i.e., noniron) ores are the sulfides, and typi- cally they are low grade. The term “oxide"’ or “oxidized ore” is applied to minerals containing ‘oxygen, such as the oxides, hydrated oxides, sul- fates, carbonates, and silicates. These vary from relatively high grade ores (aluminum ores are given virtually no physical beneficiation, while a small proportion of iron ores are still used without con- centration), down to very low grade materials con- taining less than 1% valuable, as in the case of some placer deposits of tin ores. ‘Nonmetallic ores are those that are not used for the production of a metal: they may however con- tain a metal.' Examples are ores containing MgO or ‘Al:O; used to make refractories. Because ore bodies cannot be seen, it is neces- sary to qualify ore quantities or reserves in terms of the reliability of their existence.'* Proven or mea- sured reserves are those that have been well out- lined in three dimensions by extensive drilling pro~ grams. Indicated reserves are those implied by limited amount of drilling, and inferred reserves rep- resent essentially educated guess work, based on the results from one or two drill holes or other ex- ploration techniques. It is also possible to define potential reserves as those estimated to exist on the basis of statistical or geological data, or as the more thoroughly explored mineral bodies that cannot be worked economically at the present time. 1S. MINERALOGY Any ore can be considered to be made up of two components: the valuable minerals, and the waste ‘or gangue components. Complex ores are those that 0 contain more than one valuable mineral. (Even so, ‘one should appreciate that in many situations the valuable minerals are extracted one at a time, so that with respect to a given separator, any valuable that is removed later is considered to be tailings until itis recovered.) {It is essential at this stage to grasp the fact that each ore is unique, and as a consequence there are no standard mineral processing procedures, even though some may appear to be very similar. A thorough knowledge of the mineralogy of an ore is, therefore essential not only for the design of a plant, but also for the research program that collects data, to be used for plant design.**~ (It is to emphasize the vitality of mineralogy that the subject is dis- cussed here rather than in the next chapter.) Fur- thermore, once a mill is in operation, regular ap- praisal of the mineralogy is just as essential for fine tuning and for maintaining efficiency. This arises because ore bodies are not homogeneous; thus variations in feed mineralogy are normal and may ‘occur to such an extent that major circuit modifi- cations are required. Certain basic mineralogical knowledge is impor- tant: ‘The grade of the ore in terms of the valuable minerals. ‘The grain size of the minerals. ‘The combinations of minerals present. The relative form and association of minerals. ‘The existence of trace elements in the lattice of the valuable mineral. ‘The occurrence of minor amounts of potentially valuable minerals. Implicit here is that knowledge of both valuable and ‘gangue minerals is essential. In the case of the valu- able clement, chemical analysis is not sufficient. Part of the valuable may exist in a mineral form that, prevents its recovery, of at least necessitates a sec fond separation method that exploits some other property. Alternatively, itis possible for the chemi- cal analysis of a complex ore to remain essentially constant, while the mineralogical compos changes markedly. Details of the interrelations between valuable and ‘gangue are also necessary. When liberation is ‘complete, either grade or recovery must be si rificed unless further grinding is practical. It is quite possible for two particular minerals to be so inter-8 laced that no amount of grinding will adequately liberate them. Without mineralogical examination, it may be impossible to determine whether a poor separation is due to inadequate grinding or to min- eral characteristics. Identification of all constituents in the ore is es- sential and can lead to highly profitable by-products recovery: many a plant has been able to recover a trace mineral from a tailings stream; its recovery becomes economical because mining and grinding costs have already been met by the primary miner- als. Even major mineralogical constituents have been overlooked, with the result that some of the ‘world’s major ore-bodies have remained hidder the open for many years—witness, for example, some of the vast Australian bauxite deposits.”” Mineralogical Examination. The optical micro- scope is the major tool used in mineralogical exam- ination" and although it has been superseded technologically by the electron microprobe,”° the particularly high cost and complexity of the newer instrument means that the microscope still has its place. ‘Two main methods of optical microscopic exam- ination can be distinguished: reflected light (Fig. 1.64) and transmitted light (Fig. 1.66 and c). Re- flected light examination is in general simpler, re~ quires less experience, and gives adequate informa- tion for more routine studies, such as plant control. ‘Specimens to be examined are prepared by flatten- ing a surface on them and polishing this surface with successively finer abrasives. Final polishing is car- ried out with 4-0.25 um diamond powder. If the mineral sample is not a convenient size to handle (e.g., chips of mill products), it must be mounted in a plastic before polishing. ‘A number of properties can be used to identify minerals under reflected light. Color is the most ob- vious, but it must be used with éare, first because color is affected by trace elements and second be- cause under the microscopic color is determined largely by the mineral’s refractive index. Polarized light can give further information, since many min- erals have unique reactions, some showing different colors (pleochroism) as the specimen is rotated, whereas those with anisotropic crystal structures show colors that lighten and darken as the specimen rotates. Chemical tests can be used to color specific minerals, indicate texture, cleavage twinning, or the existence of trace elements. Ores, Mill, and Concentrates Figure 1.6. (2) Reflected light microstructure of lead-zine or: white = galena; light grey = sphaleite; darker grey = dolomite. (j) Transmitted light microstructure of sandstone containing vel- ‘nic fragments of quartz, feldspar, and mica. (c) As(b) but with polarized light, and crossed Nicol prisms, illustrating how tans iitted light microscopy can be used to identify the components in more complex minerals. These two-dimensional microstruc tures should be compared with the Part I frontispiece, which ‘lustrates the more complex three-dimensionl nature ofthe dif ferent phases. (Courtesy H. W. Kobe.)References Hardness can also be used as an aid to identifica- tion. The preferable method is to use a microhard- ness tester, but when this is not available, hardness can often be estimated from the relief generated by polishing. This arises because the softer grains are polished below the harder grains, The softer grain can be distinguished by the white line test; that is, ‘when the microscope is racked up (after being fo- ‘cused on the grain boundary), the line of the bound- ary passes from the hard to the soft mineral Darkfield illumination, where available, will show up translucent minerals under reflected light. ‘Transmitted light microscopic examination has ‘more potential than reflected light microscopy, but the specimens are more difficult to prepare, and their analysis requires considerably more experi- ‘ence. Specimens in this case are sections of mineral mounted on glass; they are polished thin enough to permit light to pass through the different minerals. The appearance of the minerals differ under polarized light, and crystallographic features such as twinning are also significant in aiding identifi- cation. ‘The electron microprobe uses elemental analysis to identify each mineral.” Since mineral composi- tions vary in many cases and also because the instrument is incapable of detecting the lighter elements (below oxygen), identification must be Supplemented by the use of standards, as well as by other techniques such as transmitted light micros- copy and X-ray diffraction. These limitations are not serious, and they are far outweighed by the large amount of information that can be obtained about the distribution of the elements in the different min- erals. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) with an energy dispersive analysis of X-rays (EDAX) facility is also capable of similar analysis. In general itis easier to use, but it gives more qual- itative information rather than the quantitative in- formation that can be obtained with the microprobe. diffraction is the most reliable method of positively identifying the mineral occurring in a given ore.*** A typical powder diffraction pattern is illustrated in Fig. 1.7. The relative distance between the different peaks is a unique measure of the crys- tal structure of the minerals, and the overall spread is a measure of the distance between the atoms, Furthermore, the heights of the different peaks are determined by the atomic number of the atoms at different points in the crystal structure. As a conse- quence, the diffraction pattern is unique for a given Diractn Angle, 26 Figure 1.7. Schematic chart readout of X-ray difaction pattern of ttanomagnetit. crystalline compound (mineral), and identification ccan be made by reference to standard sets of data." The lower detection limit for a mineral is about 1-107 (depending on the mineral), but by using var- ious separations on ground samples, concentrated samples can be obtained so that minor minerals can be identified below these limits. REFERENCES 1. W.C. Peters, Exploration and Mining Geology, Wiley 1978) 2. “Markets” Eng. Min. J. (every monthly issue) Metals Week (published weekly) 4. PJ. Lewis and C. G. Streets, “An Analysis of Base-Metal Swacier Terms,” 1th Commonwealth Min. and Metal. Congr, Hong Kong, 1978. pp. 753-767, IMM (197) 5. HB, Blber, “Smelting, Refining and Marketing for Small Scale Mining,” UN. Instiute for Training and Research, Ine. Conf. on the Future of Small Scale Mining. Sum- marized in Min. Eng. 3, 149-150 February 1979) 6, DW, Gentry and M. J. Hrebar, “Procedure for Determin ing Ecooomics of Small Underground Mines,” Min. Ind. Bull, 19, No. | January 1976), 17. C.F. 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