The latest news, trends and data from the mining industry
$400m
Mining giant BHP has committed to invest $400m as part of its Climate Investment Programme over the next five years to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
240 people
The Minas Gerais State Court in Brazil has convicted Vale and declared that the company is responsible for reparation of damages after a tailings dam claimed the lives of more than 240 people.
29
There has been 29 deepsea exploration licenses granted to countries, including China, Korea, the UK, France, Germany and Russia, according to a recent report by Greenpeace.
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A million or more
The mineral resources in space are thought to be a million or more times greater than those on earth.
2%
The world’s biggest miner BHP, announced a 2% decline in profits, as they dropped to $9.47bn from $9.62bn at the end of June.
Pilipino environmentalist Gina Lopez dies
On 16 August, it was announced that Gina Lopez, an environmentalist who led the crackdown on mines in the Philippines had passed away. Ms Lopez was appointed as the country’s environmental secretary in 2016, and ordered the closure of 23 mines along with suspending operations, and cancelling 75 mining companies’ contracts.
Ms Lopez, who was 65, took swift action against mining companies she said had flagrantly violated environmental laws. This includes claims that nickel mines for example, had left rivers and rice fields stained red with pollution.
“I’m going to do the right thing and let the dice fall where it may,” Ms. Lopez said when she canceled the mining permits. “And I am going to hope that maybe these politicians, even if they’re funded by mining money, must have love for God and country in their hearts.”
She quickly due criticism from miners operating the country, and only remained in office for ten months.
Read the full article on New York Times
The Western Australia (WA) government and agencies has collaborated with science experts and a wide range of industry representatives on a new mine closure criteria for mine sites across the region. The partnership has announced a new guidance for the rehabilitation of mine sites in WA.
The governor of the Puno region in Peru Walter Aduviri has been sentenced to six years in prison by a Peruvian court for his role in leading protests against plans to mine a silver deposit in the area in 2011. Aduviri was found guilty in absentia as his location is currently unknown, with his attorney Aldo Valdivia stating that the Governor was in an undisclosed “safe harbour” due to what he considers to be an unfair judicial process.
UK-based Eurasia Mining has signed an engineering procurement and construction (EPC) contract with China-based firm Sinosteel to develop the 2Moz Monchetundra palladium, platinum and gold project in Russia. Sinosteel’s EPC financing covers 85% ($149.6m) of the total contract, which is valued at $176m. Eurasia noted that the Monchetundra project is moving towards production after securing a mining permit.
Avesoro Jersey acquires Avesoro Resources
Avesoro Resources has received a non-binding acquisition proposal from its controlling shareholder Avesoro Jersey (AJL) for all shares it does not already own at £1 ($1.21) a share. Currently, AJL holds nearly 72.9% of Avesoro’s common shares and its recent proposal is supported by holders of an additional 12.9% of common shares.
Source: The Citizen
Ganfeng Lithium acquires interest in Caucharí-Olaroz project
Chinese firm Ganfeng Lithium has closed a previously announced transaction to increase its interest in the Caucharí-Olaroz lithium brine project in Jujuy, Argentina from 37.5% to 50%. Minera Exar will use the $160m raised from the transaction to fund the project’s construction.
Source: Universe Today
Mastermyne acquires Wilson Mining Services
Australian company Mastermyne has signed a conditional agreement to buy all shares of Wilson Mining Services (WMS) for an upfront consideration of $7.6m. It will purchase $3.8m in cash and the remaining will be issued as ordinary shares in Mastermyne.
Source: New York Times
NQ Minerals invests in Tasmania Energy Metals
Australia-based mineral processing, exploration and mining company NQ Minerals has announced its investment in private mining company Tasmania Energy Metals. Pursuant to the terms of the debt instrument agreement, NQ Minerals has an option to convert it into Tasmania Energy Metals equity.
Source: Science Alert
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COMPANY INSIGHT
An online analyzer is a good investment for most plants. Already in 1991 Jones et al concluded that the typical return of investment was 4.8 – 5.3 months. This is true also today, even for a small copper or zinc producer, and if commodity prices rise the investment will pay off even sooner. For a larger operation the return of investment may be as short as a few weeks.
Many operations prefer Evolution to Revolution and in that viewpoint the Boxray analyzers are a good choice. Well proven technology but in it’s latest form and with higher performance and accuracy than what has been the norm.
Quicker data acquisition allows for better process control. Usually an averaging function over a few samples is used in the control loop. This is fine, but the problem might be that the oldest sample is two or three hours old and simply not relevant any longer. With fast and accurate data there will always be enough relevant data available to allow for good decisions at all times.
More than half of the country’s coal mines are managed by pro-Russian separatist militia.Credit: DmyTo/Shutterstock.
More than half of the country’s coal mines are managed by pro-Russian separatist militia. Credit: DmyTo/Shutterstock.
More than half of the country’s coal mines are managed by pro-Russian separatist militia.
Credit: DmyTo/Shutterstock.
Xore’s analyzers are used in a wide range of applications. The slurry applications are the most common ones. Among our Boxray 24 users there is a Zinc operation with an underground mine, with the same productivity as some open pit mines. Or a copper mine with very low head grade that is among the 20 % most productive mines in the world. Both of these operations rely heavily on the process data supplied from their Boxray 24 analyzers. It is also worth noticing that they only use one analyzer in their plants. That speaks for itself when it comes to the quality and performance of our products.
How to handle the water supply to, and discharge from, processing plants is quickly becoming more and more important everywhere. Recycling water is not only good for the environment. In many cases it is also cheaper to reuse water than to pump fresh water from a source, given that it is actually clean when it is reused.
“The Boxray Compact has been used to monitor a water treatment process since 2001, so Xore has a long track record in this field.”
The Boxray Compact has been used to monitor a water treatment process since 2001, so Xore has a long track record in this field. The challenge is that the process water after the first steps of cleaning has very low metal content. However the Boxray analyzers use the latest energy dispersive detector technology with very low detection limits. The data can be used both for manual or automated process control. The investment in an analyzer will pay off by enabling use of the correct amount of chemicals and energy to clean the water.
The added benefit of using the analyzer is that the operation also has a record of the whole treatment process. This makes it easy to follow up environmental permits and regulations as well as CSR goals.
Electrolyte is also a well-proven application with the Boxray Compact in use in an electrolytic refinery since 2001. We also have experience in analyzing leaching solutions for more than five years. The analysis itself is not the big challenge; it is the harsh conditions with aggressive and often warm chemicals. The Boxray analyzers are well equipped to meet the high demands of these applications.
AusProof is celebrating 25 years of business in Australia in 2019.
More than half of the country’s coal mines are managed by pro-Russian separatist militia. Credit: DmyTo/Shutterstock.
The Boxray analyzers utilize Energy Dispersive XRF technology. The x-ray detector acquires a spectrum and the sample content is calculated from the height of the peaks. Having a complete spectrum is beneficial from many aspects. Adding more elements to the analysis is done by software configuration. By evaluating the spectrum next to the peaks it is possible to make a correct background subtraction.
“What all these technical features are aimed at achieving is fast and accurate data to the control room.”
Another key feature of our technology is the sample excitation achieved by using a secondary x-ray target, and the target changer. This allows us to choose a secondary target most suitable for the analysis to be performed, rather than trying to find a compromise or using direct excitation.
Using a secondary target enables maximum sample excitation with relatively small x-ray power, as it is tailored to the sample. Different targets can be used for different
AusProof is celebrating 25 years of business in Australia in 2019.
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