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By Yuwang Wang, Yanggeng Tan, Kezhang Qin, Zengqian Hou

Abstract- The large Derni Cu-Co (-Zn) deposit in Qinghai Province exhibits unusual geological features, and its genesis is controversial. Based on previous research and detailed field investigations, petrographic studies of the host volcanic rocks, isotope and trace element geochemistry of the sulfide ore, and comparison with typical ore deposits, this deposit is a VHMS (submarine volcanichosted massive sulfide deposit) type. This argues against previous interpretations of a magmatic or a hydrothermal replacement origin. Systematic rock, mineral and geochemical studies of the host serpentinites of the ore district indicate that the protoliths of several types of serpentinites that are widespread in the ore district are mainly ultramafic volcanic rocks. The mineralization formed within an ultramafic volcanic breccia, or between the breccia and its overlying Mg-rich carbonate rocks and volcanic sedimentary rocks. The ore-forming components were derived mainly from ultramafic rocks and partly from mafic rocks. The ultramafic rocks are MgO-rich, CaO-poor with a high MgO/FeO ratio, and the mafic rocks are rich in Na2O and poor in K2O. The chemical composition of the ultramafic rocks is similar to that of volcanic peridotite, or komatiite. The volcanic rocks that host the Derni deposit are among the most basic host rocks known for VHMS deposits, and the Derni deposit represents the most basic member in the VHMS deposit spectrum.

Jan 1, 2000

By Chris M. Healey

"The Jasper Gold mine in northern Saskatchewan produced a total mill feed of 140 127 tonnes at an average grade of 19.0 g/t Au. Both diamond drilling and chip samples from underground workings returned extremely high values, up to 12851 g/t (375 oz/T) Au over 0.10 meter from a chip sample. In the presence of such extremely high grades, the accurate estimation of reserves is a major problem.In the first part of this study, production data from the mine were used to evaluate the results of a variety of reserve estimation techniques in this environment. In two out of three cases studied, indicator kriging with assays cut to 342.9 g/t (10 oz/T) gave extremely good results. In the third case, however, indicator kriging gave unacceptable results. Instead, lognormal kriging of uncut data gave the best results.Secondly, from the same database, a number of drill-hole spacings were simulated, and reserves estimated from the simulations. As may be expected, the results of this analysis show increasingly better results with tighter drill-hole spacing. However, even with a 5 m by 5 m spacing the variation from actual grade was quite large. This is not a systematic under- or over-estimation of grade, rather a random scatter of results.The results of this study show very clearly the problems of deriving good estimates of reserves when extremely high-grade samples are encountered. There is a high degree of randomness to this data base, so reserve estimation in this situation will remain a high-risk operation."

Jan 1, 1993

By P. W. A. Walker

"The Riviera tungsten occurrence in the Cape Province of South Africa was discovered in October 1979 as a result of stream-sediment panned concentrate sampling. The Cape age granite and late Precambrian Malmesbury Group carbonates and chlorite schists which it intrudes and which host the mineralization are covered by between 10 m and 30 m of Tertiary/Recent alluvium and clay. The scheelite/powellite and molybdenite mineralization occurs in a greisenized granite cupola with an overprint of porphyry-type alteration as well as in minor skarns. The ore reserve is estimated to be 46 million tonnes at an average grade of 0.216% W03 and 0.020070 Mo. The deposit is uneconomic at current tungsten prices. IntroductionDuring the 19705, Union Carbide Corporation was a major producer, processor and supplier of tungsten and derivative products to end-user manufacturing industries. The corporation owned and operated two tungsten mines in the United States, and one in Brazil, and operated a plant in the United States which produced ammonium paratungstate (APT) which is an intermediate product in the production of tungsten wire and tungsten carbide for cutting tool insets and hard facings. In 1975 the three mines were ageing with short-life reserves and high production costs. The world market for tungsten was buoyant and prices, in constant dollar terms, had risen steadily over the past 15 years (Fig. 1).It was against this background that a decision was made to explore for tungsten in North America, South Mrica, Australia and Brazil."

Jan 1, 1994

By Lee W. T. Weitzel

This paper reviews the Falconbridge- SMRQ?s Raglan project in northern Quebec and the process that was used in developing its current long-term mine plan. Challenges were many and not only limited to the longevity of the project, numerous ore deposits (both underground and open pit), and a 40km property strike length. As a result of its remote northern location other factors such as progressive reclamation, leachable mine waste, water treatment, and waste management were also part of the plan. A combination of modern planning tools were used to formulate the plan including DataMine, Mine 2-4D, AutoMod Simulation, and an Excel based financial spreadsheet to bring the total plan together. The focus of this paper is to show the complexity of modern mine planning and associated economic modeling of mine processes.

May 1, 2002

?Introduction to the Delphi Group ?Why is carbon important to your organization ?Key elements of a carbon management strategy ?Inventory ?Risk & opportunity scan ?Mitigation options and financial mechanisms ?Identify targets and develop policy ?Communication and improvement ?Manage for success

May 1, 2009

By George Dogbe

Open pit optimization forms the basis of mine design, production planning and construction of mine facilities. The negative effects of this phase may include substantial reductions in ore recoveries, relocation of waste dumps and surface infrastructure, extraction of unwanted waste, with a cumulative effect on mine value reductions. As a result, this area has received significant research focus using linear and dynamic programming, heuristic, genetic and stimulation algorithms and the graph theory. These algorithms are derived from rigorous mathematical models, but they are built on the assumption that all the periodic production capacities are extracted at the time of analysis. This assumption weakens the models because mining occurs over significant time period. In order to develop a comprehensive model that accounts for the timing of material extraction, the current models, which are built on the economic block value (EBV) concept, must be modified to account for time. In this paper, the authors develop a model of the optimization problem using the 2-D Lerchs-Grossmann?s optimization algorithm. This model is used to investigate the effect of periodic discounting on the optimal pit layout design by designing an integrated pit optimiser (IPO) that incorporates ?production scheduling?. IPO uses the ensuing discounted economic block value (DEBV) as a basis for the pit optimisation process. The time-dependent model is compared with a time-independent model. The results show that discounting has no effect on the optimal pit contour although the reported pit value is overstated if the EBVs are used instead of the DEBV. The authors, however, believe that this conclusion may not be general and could have been influenced by the nature of ore body geometry and the proposed mining strategy.

May 1, 2004

By Xiaolin Cheng, A. J. Sinclair

"Norm calculation procedures originally designed principally for igneous rocks are very rigid in their application and, in general, do not utilize important alteration minerals. For instance, volatile components are essential constituents of many metasomatic rocks but either are not used or are not used effectively in determining normative minerals by the CIPW norm or Niggli-Barth norm procedures. Our approach to determining norms for metasomatic rocks allots all major, minor and volatile constituents to a set of standard normative minerals which are commonly observed as products of hydrothermal alteration. A useful procedure is to have a metasomatic norm approximate the mode as closely as possible. Petrographic information helps to provide the necessary mineralogical constraints. With the recognition of an immobile component and knowledge of sampling and analytical errors in lithogeo chemical data, it is possible to recast norms into amounts of alteration minerals relative to a given amount (100 grams) of parent rock. Combining these results with the calculations of absolute loss or gain of individual chemical constituents and considering errors (e) for an appropriate confidence level, an overall (net) material exchange equation can be presented as follows:<equation>where all items have extensive units (e.g., grams). The model includes the initial and final mineralogy of rocks (evident in the field) as well as gains and losses of specific elements. Only those constituents whose calculated losses and gains are significantly different from zero are retained in the above model, and only the normative minerals with abundances significantly different from zero are included in the model (equation). One advantage of the chemico-mineralogic model is that parent rock and product are modeled in mineralogical terms that are familiar to and easily usable by exploration geologists."

Jan 1, 1995

By J. W. Stickney

"On July 1, 1977 Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Company Limited announced the commencement of construction of a 3800 ton per day concentrator at Snow Lake, Manitoba. Snow Lake, a community of 2200 people, is located 130 road miles from the main metallurgical plants at Flin Flon.The design, detailed engineering and equipment selection for the project was awarded to Wright Engineers Limited of Vancouver, B.C., who would be working in close liason with Hudson Bay Mining personnel throughout the project.The feasibility of constructing a metallurgical plant in the Snow Lake area, in addition to the concentrator at Flin Flon, had been under study since 1964 with plants of varying capacities and designs being considered. Each successive study recommended a plant of increased capacity and sophistication and finally upon an in-depth study in 1976 of ore reserves, freight rates and operational benefits, the construction of a 3800 ton per day copper-lead-zinc concentrator appeared highly benificial."

Jan 1, 1981

By D. Eriksen

Zero Emission Gas power, ZEG, is a novel concept where a high temperature solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is integrated with a reforming reactor producing hydrogen from natural gas through Sorption Enhanced Steam Methane Reforming (SESMR). The SOFC is used as a high temperature heat source for regeneration of the CO2-absorbent. Moreover, by using part of the produced hydrogen as fuel for the SOFC, the waste heat of the process is considerably reduced. Thus, the process has a very high thermal efficiency and produces both electricity and hydrogen from natural gas. In addition, a stream of pure CO2 is produced in the regeneration step and can be deposited or used commercially. Initial cost estimates indicate a cost of electricity and a cost of hydrogen well below today&apos;s prices. A small (1kWel + 1kW H2) demonstration set-up is under construction and experimental results and related research will be presented. This set-up comprises one 2.5kWth H2 SESMR-reactor (about 0.85 Nm3/h H2) operating batchwise with dolomite as the CO2-sorbent. The reactor developed is designed like a parallel plate heat exchanger where the mixture of sorbent and reforming catalyst is packed between the heat exchanging plates. The demonstration set-up includes a 1kW SOFC operating in a continuous mode. The set¬up will therefore demonstrate continuous simultaneous hydrogen- and electricity production, but cannot demonstrate simultanuous electricity- and CO2-production. The set?up is well equipped for on-line monitoring of gas composition, flows and temperatures. This important part of the demonstration set-up is developed and provided by Christian Michelsen Research (CMR). A minor part of the project is the development of a continuous circulating fluidized bed SESMR-reactor system and in another related project the focus is on the development of more suitable sorbents. In these two projects co-operation with University of British Columbia and Lousianna State University, respectively, is highly appreciated.

Jan 1, 2005

By Graham Swan

The case is presented for the development of a spray-on liner for ground support, but only in the context of a new mining system, consistent with the technical and business case advantages of liners compared to alternatives. Over the past 10 years much effort has been expended in specifying and testing the mechanical/environmental properties of various liners, without actually fulfilling any mining system requirements. The results have been generally disappointing, with no consistent and sustained application in a dayto- day production environment being achieved, anywhere. Central to this shortcoming has been the failure of mining/liner ma nufacturing companies to realise that screen/mesh or shotcrete cannot simply be replaced with thin, deformable liners: success will depend upon closely defining and evolving a new, liner- functional mining system. The paper begins with a discussion of some fundamental technical capabilities and constraints associated with 3M Canada?s liner material that has been developed in partnership with Falconbridge Limited. Intended applications for this liner include the support of bursting ground associated with deep mining conditions. With safe application and consistent performance in mind, the paper argues for a new mining system that derives in the first place from best quality drilling and blasting practices. Taking this as a given, a system for waterscaling and liner application prior to mucking out is proposed, followed by bolting through the liner while arranging for the bolts to be explicitly connected to the liner. Some logistical and equipment related challenges of such a mining system are then reviewed and discussed in the context of the business case for liners. It is concluded that this approach, if successful, will provide the greatest benefits in the areas of safer mining, due to reduction in worker exposure, and in reduced mining cycle times.

May 1, 2003

By Bing Li, Kai Liu, Yongcheng. Zhao

With the ongoing development of copper smelting technology, the improvement of environmental emission control and achieving an automated continuous copper pyrometallurgical process have become the key development goals for copper smelting. The double bottom blowing continuous copper smelting process combine bottom blowing smelting (SKS) and bottom blowing converting (BCC) process and fire refining as “three-connected furnaces” arrangement is a pyrometallurgical process independently developed by China’s ENFI which can continuously produce copper from raw material through to anodes. This technology can improve energy efficiency and reduce environmental emissions for the overall copper smelting and converting process. This paper discusses the engineering characteristics and production practice of the SDIC Jincheng Metallurgical Project, which operates SKS smelting and BCC converting process with “three-connected furnace” arrangement for the first time in the world. Advanced engineering concepts and tools were used to optimize the configuration during the project engineering stage. The operation shows that the process has good environmental performance, reduced energy consumption and high level of automation, which is a new choice for copper continuous smelting process. INTRODUCTION One of the most important developing trends for the overall copper smelting process is to develop a continuous operation. Continuous copper smelting can maximise energy efficiency in copper concentrate and make full use of the rich heat treatment system. Cold charge and a part of low-heat-generating materials, which are processing with additional equipment in traditional copper smelting process, can be processed with rich reaction heat in continuous copper smelting and converting process to achieve good economic benefits. Yuan and Wang (2017) noted that SKS+BCC copper smelting process can reduce the secondary SO2 emissions compared with discontinuous copper smelting process, which required transportation of melted matte by matte ladle and may cause secondary pollution. The continuous copper smelting process can also reduce the generation of intermediate cold materials.

Jan 1, 2019

By Xiaolin Cheng, A. J. Sinclair

"Abstract - Norm calculation procedures originally designed principally for igneous rocks are very rigid in their application and, in general, do not utilize important alteration minerals. For instance, volatile components are essential constituents of many metasomatic rocks but either are not used or are not used effectively in determining normative minerals by the CIPW norm or Niggli-Barth norm procedures. Our approach to determining norms for metasomatic rocks allots all major, minor and volatile constituents to a set of standard normative minerals which are commonly observed as products of hydrothermal alteration. A useful procedure is to have a metasomatic norm approximate the mode as closely as possible. Petrographic information helps to provide the necessary mineralogical constraints. With the recognition of an immobile component and knowledge of sampling and analytical errors in lithogeochemical data, it is possible to recast norms into amounts of alteration minerals relative to a given amount (100 grams) of parent rock. Combining these results with the calculations of absolute loss or gain of individual chemical constituents and considering errors (e) for an appropriate confidence level, an overall (net) material exchange equation can be presented as follows:SMineralparent rock ± e + SConstituentgained from solution ± e= SMineralaltered rock ± e + SConstituentlost from wall-rock ± ewhere all items have extensive units (e.g., grams). The model includes the initial and final mineralogy of rocks (evident in the field) as well as gains and losses of specific elements. Only those constituents whose calculated losses and gains are significantly different from zero are retained in the above model, and only the normative minerals with abundances significantly different from zero are included in the model (equation). One advantage of the chemicomineralogic model is that parent rock and product are modeled in mineralogical terms that are familiar to and easily usable by exploration geologists."

Jan 1, 1995

By Kadir Sariiz

Abstract - The Akçayir-Yürükakçayir Miocene-Pliocene basin in the Central Anatolia hosts ancient lacustrine sepiolite deposits. The succession in this basin consists of conglomerate (Yürükakçayir conglomerate), clayey and silty limestone, dolomitic marl, sepiolite beds and lenses, and dolomitic limestone (Kepeztepe formation). The main impurities within the sepiolite rock are dolomite, opal-CT, calcite, smectite and feldspar as sepiolite + dolomite and sepiolite + opal-CT are the main mineral assemblages. Smectite and feldspar are thought to be of detrital origin. Calcite is found as a secondary filling in root tubes and casts. Sepiolite samples studied display root-marks and root tubes, soapy and massive structure indicating direct precipitation. Sepiolite deposits probably formed at a pH of 8 to 9, and Mg+2 and SiO2 concentrations in moderately saline environments of internal facies of an alkaline lake.

Jan 1, 2000

By H. Asgari, A. G. Odeshi, J. A. Szpunar

In the current research, the role of grain size on the texture formation and mechanical behavior of rolled AZ31B Mg alloy is investigated under shock loading conditions. The grain size of the original asrolled sample was 8 µm and different grain sizes, e.g. 25 and 46 µm, were produced by heat treatments at temperatures in the range of 400-500 °C. In order to evaluate the effect of grain size on the anisotropy of mechanical behavior, the samples were cut along the rolling direction (RD), transverse direction (TD) and normal direction (ND) and tested at strain rates of 900 and 1200 s-1 using Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar. Texture measurements showed that initial texture of the samples cut from the as-rolled sheet is a weak rtype texture. However, a stronger texture was observed for samples with large grains. After shock loading, a (00.2) basal texture developed in all samples and the intensity of the basal poles was higher in samples with coarser grains. This observation is corroborated by high twinning activity and possible activation of pyramidal <c+a> slip in coarse grained samples. Besides, the strength of basal texture increased with increase in the strain rate. Furthermore, the samples with larger grain size showed lower strength and higher ductility, and this was observed for all investigated strain rates.

Jan 1, 2014

By Robert J. McCarthy

Mining has a record of achievement in developing and adopting new technology to facilitate the extraction of increasingly challenging resources. Certainly larger, or more capable, mining equipment has allowed mining companies to mine mineral deposits at lower unit costs; however, there has also been the advent of computerized systems that aid in the management and tracking of mining operations. Unfortunately, the latter computerized systems have not always had the success anticipated with their implementation. This paper explores the view that increased transparency of the planning and operating cycle in a mine, as provided by certain computerized systems, can result in some resistance from those whose work becomes ?exposed?. Examples are drawn from industry-leading technologies for both mine management and reconciliation that illustrate the issues and challenges that result. The adoption of appropriate change management principles is suggested as a best practice in planning and mitigating the challenges in implementing technologies which increase transparency in the mining environment.

May 1, 2011

By L. Long

Stirred milling of nickel laterites offers possibilities for improving liberation and selective size reduction of soft nickel-bearing minerals in laterites. Batch grinding tests were performed in a Netzsch LME4 stirred mill on siliceous goethitic (SG), goethitic (G), and saprolitic (SAP) nickel laterite samples (- 2000 ?m particle size) to evaluate the effect of stirrer speed, solid content, water salinity and grinding time. A fine mineral product (-38 µm) was used to evaluate the effect of selective grinding and Ni upgrade. The optimum grinding time for the highest Ni upgrade was 0.25 min, 0.1 min and 0.1 min for the SG, G, and SAP nickel laterite, respectively. A new feed (38-2000 µm) for each nickel laterite sample was prepared for batch grinding tests under the optimum grinding conditions. Upon grinding the 38-2000 µm feed, the - 38 µm product confirmed the effect of selective grinding and nickel upgrade. Size classification followed by stirred milling is a suggested process for Ni upgrade. The best Ni upgrade result was achieved on the SG nickel laterite among the three samples. The Ni grade increased from 0.85% to 1.37%, with 27.8% Ni recovery. Bottle roll leach tests showed that for SG and SAP samples selective grinding had no dramatic effect on Ni extraction due to the slow leach rate of hard mineral particles. Stirred milling of G sample increased the surface area of goethite, resulting in higher Ni extraction. Gravity concentration through a Knelson Concentrator was not effective in the further treatment of the stirred milling products either due to the poor operating conditions or due to the mineralogy characteristics of the feed samples. The energy requirement in the stirred milling was investigated. The first pass of the signature plots study is critical for the purpose of selective grinding, because the best result on selective grinding is achieved in the early stage of the grinding process.

Aug 1, 2013

By Andrew Kerr

Abstract - The base-metal and PGE contents of samples from magmatic sulfide mineralization are commonly correlated with their sulfide contents, indicating that the metal contents of bulk sulfides remain approximately constant within a given prospect or part thereof. Calculated sulfide metal contents provide valuable information in mineral exploration and research, but there are few formal descriptions and analyses of the procedures. Sulfide metal contents are best calculated using an assumed value (35.7% S) for a typical pyrrhotite-chalcopyrite-pentlandite mixture, and there appears to be little advantage in accounting for sulfide species separately. Regression of metal data against sulfur is probably the most rigorous approach, but is not always practical. Above 10% S, calculations are very robust, but lower sulfide contents generally demand at least some correction for non-sulfidehosted metals. Such corrections can become significant below 5% S, and/or in olivine-rich samples. They are best accomplished by mass-balance calculations, using concentration data from unmineralized host rocks. Significant uncertainties are introduced by analytical errors for sulfur, base-metals, and PGE, which are commonly measured from separate sample aliquots. These combined errors in sulfide metal contents generally exceed ±10%, but expand further at low S contents. In general, treatment of data from samples containing <2.5% S must be approached with caution, especially for PGE, for which the exact host minerals may not be known. Application of the method in simple grade-potential assessment is straightforward, but research studies involving sulfide-poor samples are inherently more complex. Under-correction or over-correction of data for non-sulfide-hosted metals can lead to false negative or positive correlations between sulfide metal contents and sulfide content. As the latter may itself be linked to geological parameters, such as depth within an intrusive body, undue significance could be ascribed to such trends. There are also valid geological reasons for such correlations, and such data require careful assessment to separate true and artificial variations. Propagated analytical uncertainties increase significantly in sulfide-poor samples, and must also be borne in mind whenever data from different localities or units are compared and contrasted.

Jan 1, 2001

"Chairman - To start this discussion off, I wonder if Mr. Dave Livingstone or Mr. Jeffrey of Granisle Copper would give a description of the crushing plant at Granisle since it is somewhat different from the usual plant, W. N. Jeffrey - Granisle Copper The main difference between the Granisle crushing plant and many others is the Livingstone method of putting the screens under the crushers instead of above them. This method allows a more compact arrangement and eliminates the heavy superstructure required to take care of the screen vibration when the screens are mounted above the crushers. There is a small surge bin above the tertiary crusher which takes care of the variation in circulating loads.All three crushers are gyratory crushers. There is no grizzly ahead of the primary crusher but the fines are removed from the primary crusher discharge at the first screen and sent directly to the fine ore bins. E, Thornton - Sullivan GroupDo you have any coarse ore storage outside?w. N. Jeffrey - Yes, there is about 6000 tons live storage, We have very little trouble with freezing even though it is open storage.E. Thornton - Sullivan GroupDoes rain cause any problem?w. N. Jeffrey - It sometime creates a problem because the storage area is on a slope. It is mainly a problem of keeping the drainage ditches open.Question – What is the size of the primary gyratory crusher and how does it work on run of mine size materials, in other words, do you have a problem with oversize material and how do you handle the oversize rock?w. N. Jeffrey - The primary gyratory is a 42 x 65 with a nominal open side setting of 61'. We do at times get a run of oversize material. For anything too large for the crusher to handle, we use what is known as the Esco hook, which is a type of grapple used to remove oversize rocks.The disadvantage with this equipment is that the crane is too slow. I am sure there must be better arrangements than the one we have,"

Jan 1, 1971

By B. McFadzean, J. Taguta

In order to recover minerals by flotation, the sub-processes of collector adsorption onto the valuable minerals followed by bubble-particle attachment should occur efficiently. This paper investigates both of these sub-processes for various thiol collectors and their mixtures onto base metal sulfide minerals. The aim of the work was to investigate whether there is a correlation between the strength of the collector interaction with the mineral and the subsequent bubble-particle attachment. The collector-mineral affinity was measured experimentally using an isothermal titration calorimeter in order to determine the molar enthalpy of adsorption for each collector-mineral system. The bubble-particle attachment was measured using a microflotation device which essentially determines the hydrophobicity of the mineral. Sodium ethyl xanthate (SEX) and sodium diethyl dithiocarbamate (DTC) and mixtures thereof were used as collectors with either single minerals or binary mixtures of pyrite and chalcopyrite, respectively. The adsorption enthalpies of the collectors were interpreted with reference to the chemical structure of the collector molecule and showed that the greater the positive inductive effect of the collector, which may be qualitatively related to their pKa, the greater their affinity for the mineral surface. In the microflotation studies, recoveries were strongly related to the alkyl chain length but there was no correlation between the enthalpies of adsorption and the flotation recoveries. When mixtures of collectors were used there was clear evidence of synergistic effects and in the case of DTC/xanthate mixtures it is possible that this synergism is related to a DTC promoted oxidation of xanthate to dixanthogen. When mixtures of pyrite and chalcopyrite were used the flotation recovery and enthalpy of adsorption of SEX onto the individual pyrite particles in the mixture increased substantially compared to the case of pyrite alone. Mechanisms are proposed to interpret these important observations.

Jan 1, 2016

By Jacob Wood, Robert Matusewicz

The Outotec® Ausmelt Top Submerged Lance (TSL) Process has achieved widespread commercial acceptance over the past 40 years for the processing of copper, nickel, lead, tin, zinc and precious metal bearing feeds. The continual development and evolution of the technology during this period has resulted in a more intense smelting process with higher energy efficiency and lower operating costs. More recently, considerable effort has been invested in decarbonisation of the process through improvements such as increased oxygen usage, dry feed injection and use of low-carbon auxiliary fuels. This paper covers a number of these recent advances to the technology and highlights their impacts on energy consumption and CO2 emissions for a range of non-ferrous smelting flowsheets. INTRODUCTION Relentless demand for improvements in the profitability, safety and environmental performance of non-ferrous smelting plants has driven a continual development and evolution of processing technologies in this industry. In response to these demands, a number of bath smelting technologies have emerged over the past 40 years and have been implemented for the treatment of primary and secondary feedstocks. The Outotec® Ausmelt Top Submerged Lance (TSL) Process (henceforth Ausmelt Process) is one such bath smelting technology which has been widely adopted in a large number of greenfield projects and brownfield plant modernisations (Wood & Hughes, 2016). Emissions of CO2 from the production of non-ferrous metals represent approximately 4-5% of global totals (Rankin, 2012), comparable with the almost 10% attributed to iron and steel production. Despite significant improvements in the energy efficiency of modern smelting technologies (Coursol, Mackey, Kapusta & Cardona Valencia, 2015), primarily through increased oxygen usage, further innovation and development is still required to address their reliance on fossil fuels such as coke and coal. Transformation of the non-ferrous smelting industry to low-carbon technologies and process flowsheets is lagging behind the power and transport sectors, which have witnessed significant growth in clean/renewable energy technologies to reduce CO2 emissions and address the issue of anthropogenic climate change (IRENA, 2018; IEA, 2018).

Jan 1, 2019