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By A. Mboma

Keywords: Furnace, decommissioning, care and maintenance, re-start, funding, nickel Bindura Nickel Corporation (BNC) operates two nickel mines, and treats concentrates from these mines as well as toll concentrates from the region around its Bindura Smelter and Refinery (BSR) complex. At the smelter, concentrates of at least 5% nickel content are blended and dried to 4% moisture in a coal-fired rotary kiln. Matte smelting of concentrate is carried out in a six-in-line electric arc furnace, where the furnace slag is granulated and discarded. Furnace matte is transferred via ladles into Peirce-Smith converters, where, after granulation, a leach alloy containing 68%Ni, 20%Cu, and 6%S is produced. Converter slag is recycled via the matte-smelting furnace. The onset of the global economic recession towards the end of 2008 resulted in a collapse of metal prices, worsening the local situation that was already marred by unfavourable macro-economic conditions in Zimbabwe. As a result, BNC mines were put on care and maintenance in November 2008, followed by Bindura Smelter and Refinery in February and March 2009 respectively. The business environment has since changed, and BNC is getting ready to re-start the plant. This paper describes the decommissioning of the Bindura furnace, asset preservation during the care and maintenance programme in the past two years, and preparation for starting up of the Bindura smelter in the near future.

Jan 1, 2011

By M Robotham

In April 2013, Rio Tinto Kennecott Copper’s (RTKC) Bingham Canyon mine experienced what is arguably the world’s largest ever in-pit slope failure. The failure initiated along a major, continuous, low-strength bedding fault, named the Manefay bed, and comprised approximately 145Mtonnes of rock and waste dump material. Initial East wall slope deformations were detected some months prior to catastrophic slope collapse by RTKC’s slope monitoring systems. However, the failure mechanism was different to that which had historically been experienced in the prior more-than-100 years of open pit mining. Failure occurred as two separate events, the initial one likely consisting of a frictional failure of rock materials along the Manefay bed itself, before a second phase of failure occurred, which included a large mass of old rail dump material. The combination of these events led to a much larger failure run-out than had been anticipated by the RTKC team which led to loss of, and damage to, mining equipment and infrastructure as well as significant interruption to mining activities. Due to the diligent monitoring of the slopes no safety impacts were experienced at the mine, and as such the details and learnings from this failure can readily be shared with the broader mining and geotechnical industries to avoid similar recurrences elsewhere. This is an extended abstract only. CITATION:Robotham, M, 2018. Bingham Canyon Mine – from adversity to excellence, in Proceedings The Fourth Australasian Ground Control in Mining Conference (AusRock), pp 3–4 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Nov 30, 2018

By Robert Cefalo

Drill and Blast Engineer Abstract In 2019, the Bingham Canyon Mine, owned by Rio Tinto Kennecott Utah Copper Company, mined through the active underground that dewaters the pit. The active underground required the limitation of vibrations to avoid catastrophic damage or damage that would require work to the shotcrete and additional roof support. The surface design of the current sector next to and through portions of the active underground. The drill and blast group was required to test site law vibration parameters to ensure that vibration limitations were lower than limits set by the underground management team. Seismographs were used to validate the vibration prediction model and check performance of blast in areas of the underground. The bench conditions and limited pounds-per-delay created large obstacles for the blasting team, making it difficult for them to accurately load the pattern with the number of decks in the blast. Methods were used to improve the loading instructions and ensure that each hole achieved pound requirements based off of the distance to the underground that it was designed to protect. The project evolved from start to finish, and the process to estimate distances and loading improved to make the blast a more repeatable process for the size of the project.

By Robert Jacob Cefalo

In 2019, the Bingham Canyon Mine, owned by Rio Tinto Kennecott Utah Copper Company, mined through the active underground that dewaters the pit. The active underground required the limitation of vibrations to avoid catastrophic damage or damage that would require work to the shotcrete and additional roof support. The surface design of the current sector was mined next to and through portions of the active underground.

Feb 1, 2020

By William I. Busenbark, Elmer C. Newman

At Bingham Canyon, the world's largest open-pit copper mine, annual grease consumption is in the neighborhood of 109 000 kg (240,000 lb), all of which was 544 (120-16) purchased, warehoused, and distributed in 54-kg (120-1b) and 180-kg (400-1b) drums. While perhaps a menial and mundane chore, grease distribution shows on the ledger as a significant expense item. To improve labor and cost performance, Kennecott maintenance engineers undertook a study to find the most direct method for moving multi purpose grease (MPG) from the refinery to the point of final consumption. What they found was a direct vendor system for hulk grease so simple and flexible that long-established drum distribution is being phased out in favor of the newer method throughout 75% of the operation.

Jan 9, 1977

The greatest mining center in the state of Utah is the incorporated town of Bingham about twenty-five miles southwest of Salt Lake City. The principal industry of this vicinity, prior to the early fall of 1863, was lumbering and the first saw-mill in the state was built near the mouth of Bingham Canyon. Early in the fall of that year. George B. Ogilvie discovered gold and shortly afterward the first mining district in the state was organized. Some writers place the discovery of gold in the canyon in the late fifties. If this be so, however, the matter was kept extremely quiet because no mining was engaged in until after Ogilvie's discovery. Bingham was a placer mining camp, producing about one million dollars' worth of dust and nuggets from placers up and down the canyon and in Bear Gulch until early in the seventies, or about ten years after the discovery of gold, when a large body of argentiferous lead ore was discovered and soon after heavy shipments were made from a half dozen or more properties.

Jan 1, 1925

"The greatest mining center in the state of Utah is the incorporated town of Bingham about twenty-five miles southwest of Salt Lake City. The principal industry of this vicinity, prior to the early fall of 1 863, was lumbering and the first saw-mill in the state was built near the mouth of Bingham Canyon. Early in the fall of that year, George B. Ogilvie discovered gold and shortly afterward the first mining district in the state was organized. Some writers place the discovery of gold in the canyon in the late fifties. If this be so, however, the matter was kept extremely quiet because no mining was engaged in until after Ogilvie's discovery.Bingham was a placer mining camp, producing about one million dollars' worth of dust and nuggets from placers up and down the canyon and in Bear Gulch until early in the seventies, or about ten years after the discovery of gold, when a large body of argentiferous lead ore was discovered and soon after heavy shipments were made from a half dozen or more properties.In 1 8 74, A. H. and George L. Bemis erected the first concentrating plant in the state for the treatment of sulphide lead ores.The history of the camp as a producer of copper begins in the summer of 1 88 7, when Enos A. Wall noticed, in observing prospecting drifts and inclines driven some years before, the discoloration caused by the coppery solution. As a large part of the adjacent ground had been abandoned, he located two claims, which he called the ""Dick Mackintosh"" and the ""Charles Reid,"" after two of his friends.Late in 1896, the Highland Boy Mine produced sulphide ore rich in copper, causing a revival of interest in the copper potentialities of the camp, and during the next seven years a number of new claims were located ."

Jan 1, 1925

By Roger L. Goin

Maintaining smooth haulage roads is a key to significant cost savings at Kennecott Copper Corp.'s Bing- ham Canyon copper mine, located near Salt Lake City, Utah. The truck operations section of the mine moves an estimated 300,000 tpd of waste plus some ore to maintain a balanced production cycle. A three-year truck replacement program has produced a dramatic new look in both size and capacity of the truck fleet. Currently there are 95 haulage trucks in the Bingham fleet with capacities up to 150 t. The trend towards the larger haulage units places greater importance on overall truck availability. The impact of a 150-t truck being out of service is far more critical than with the former 65 or 85-t units.

Jan 12, 1974

By R Dwyer

Iron ore currently mined in Australia generally requires very little beneficiation. However, depleting high-grade resources means that in the future low-grade iron ore deposits will need to be mined to meet the increasing demands of the global steel industry. Along with the increased demand, the industry faces additional pressure to reduce the environmental impact of mining and mineral processing. This has stimulated research beyond incremental improvements to conventional processing into alternative low-impact processes, including biotechnological approaches to mineral processing.Bioflotation and bioflocculation have emerged as relatively recent technologies, in which bacteria and/or their extracellular material may be used as flotation reagents (collectors or modifiers), enabling improved selective separation of minerals. The primary advantage is the production of a selective, environmentally-benign alternative to conventional flotation reagents. A biotechnological approach may also be taken in the beneficiation of high-phosphorous iron ores utilising bacteria capable of iron reduction and phosphorous solubilisation.Samples from three iron ore deposits in Western Australia were examined for bacteria suitable for iron ore benefi ciation. A number of common soil microorganisms including Pseudomonas spp, Limnobacter thiooxidans, Paenibacillus spp, and Ralstonia insidiosa were identified using culture-independent molecular techniques. A number of anaerobic species belonging to the genus Clostridium were also identified in the core samples. Selected aerobic species were enriched and isolated on high nutrient media in the presence of haematite. Several of the isolated strains showed an affinity for iron ore, attaching to haematite in enrichment cultures and further demonstrated through adhesion studies. Other isolated species such as Ralstonia isidiosa and Pseudomonas stutzeri are known to solubilise rock phosphates in soils and have potential for the removal of phosphorous from Australian iron ores.

Jul 11, 2011

By Eric Jones, Leslie C. Thompson

Biological processes for cyanide detoxification in mine waste are receiving attention as an alternative to conventional chemical treatment options. Some of the advantages of biological treatment include: Low comparative treatment cost * Shorter treatment time * In Situ Treatment * Complete Detoxification - Ends long-term liability - Eliminates in-perpetuity monitoring - Natural Re-Vegetation potential Natural and non-toxic nutrients, by-products and process end-products Hecla Mining chose a bio-neutralization process developed by Pintail Systems, Inc. for cyanide detox in spent are and process solutions from heap leach operations at the Yellow Pine Unit. The Yellow Pine operation is located 50 air miles east of McCall, Idaho, in the Stibnite Mining District. This district is a historic mining district dating back to the early 1900's. During World War II, this district produced a majority of the antimony and tungsten the United States using for the war effort. More recently, the Stibnite district has been known for its gold production. Hecla Mining Company is based in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and is a leading domestic producer of precious metals and a major supplier of specialty aggregate and industrial minerals. Pintail Systems, Inc. is a company specializing in the development of biological treatment processes for mine waste remediation. PSI has offices in three states and a laboratory, pilot plant and field office in Aurora, Colorado

Jan 1, 1993

Bioleaching of solid wastes lithium ion battery industries was carried out in this investigation. A new method for recovery of cobalt, potentially the basis of an economic and environmentally friendly process was examined. The present study was conducted using chemolithotrophic and acidophilic bacteria Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans and some mixed thiobacilli collected from abandoned mine drainage. These organisms were able to utilize sulfur and ferrous ion as energy source. Bio-dissolution of cobalt was found to be faster than lithium. The effect of initial Fe(II) concentration, initial pH and solid/liquid (w/v) ratio were studied in detail. With increase of time of leaching the dissolution of cobalt was found to be increased and this must be due to competitiveness of the mixed thiobacilli for utilizing the energy source among them. Since the bacteria are belonging to acidophilic group the higher pH studies revealed a decrease trend in metal dissolution. Higher solid/liquid ratio also found to be detrimental for the bacterial activity. It seems bacteria are not resistant to higher concentration of the metal. The optimized conditions for bio-dissolution were sol-id/liquid (w/v) ratio - 10 g/L, initial Fe(II) concentration - 5 g/L, elemental sulfur - 1% (w/v). In the optimized conditions, cobalt dissolution was observed to be about 75 % whereas that of lithium was 15% after 25 days.

Jan 1, 2006

By Dale Ross, Bill Clements, Jim Spanos

Current world conditions are forcing the search for "green" energy technology in every aspect of our daily lives. Finding alternatives to petroleum fuels seems to be at the top of the list. The search for the "perfect" alternative is something like the never ending quest of the perpetual motion machine. Unfortunately, the laws of physics prevent us from getting something for nothing, and Murphy's Law normally gives us nothing for a lot of something. Regardless of Murphy, the quest goes on, and in our industry cheaper ANFO seems to be the popular subject.

Jan 1, 2012

Rajasthan of western India blessed with rich base metal and phosphorite deposits. The biogeochemical and geobotanical methods of mineral exploration are greatly used in parts of Rajasthan Zawar, Khetri and Ambaj multi-metal project Gujarat and Jhamarkotra phosphorite deposit. These principles are exclusively based on certain assumptions about the anomalous chemical composition in plants and distribution and migration of indicator elements. Biogeochemical studies for lead zinc deposit of Zawar group of mines were carried out to locate the probable accumulators which could help in prospecting for these metals. The important roots of Impatiens balsamia plants contain 735 mg. of cadmium and crotolaria linifolia 603 mg., melhania futteyporensis 626 mg. lindenbergia muraria 443, celosiu argentia 360 mg. In the Khetri copper belt the vegetation is scanty and the species includes Acacia arabica, zyzypus jujuba and cactus euphorbia.

Jan 1, 1988

By Terzis D. PhD, Katterbach M.

While awareness around the environmental impact of existing grout materials and chemical binders is increasing rapidly, biotechnologies are growing traction as sustainable alternatives in groundwork operations. Herein we present the principles and application methods of bio-grouting. The term is used to describe a system which is based on soil, groundwater or marine enzymes which are able to catalyze the production of calcite replicating a natural phenomenon. The system’s end result are mineral crystalline bridges which act as binders to improve the geotechnical properties of soils. This paper presents a comprehensive description of bio-grouts, their underlaying mechanisms contributing to mineralization as well as environmental considerations. With their water-like rheology, bio-grouts have a wide application range and are minimally invasive, requiring only very limited injection pressures. The equipment is the same as that used in conventional cement grouting, and the reactant components are worldwide available or easily suppliable, which explains why bio-grouting has nowadays become a valuable and sustainable alternative towards efficient soil treatment. Recent developments in the last years have allowed to further increase the applicability and efficiency of bio-grouts to ultimately bridge the gap between research and practice. A case study is illustrated in this paper showing the successful implementation of bio-grout for the stabilization of weakly cemented sandstone to safeguard an adjacent road segment in Switzerland

May 1, 2022

By C. Joulian, A. G. Guézennec, A. Chmielarz, Y. Ménard, M. Hanke, P. d’Hugues

"The copper concentrate used in this study is produced by flotation of a black shale organic rich ore. This resource is a carbonate-rich, polymineral concentrate. In the last 5-6 years, ore characteristics changed and the concentrate grades degraded. This study evaluated bioleaching of the concentrate in stirred tank reactors as an alternative to the pyrometallurgical technology that is currently applied, and which may no longer be feasible in future given the concentrate chemistry.The first part of the study focused on testing non-traditional operating conditions during continuous bioleaching experiments: high solids concentration (> 20% solids), reduced agitation and aeration rates. For the same residence time, bioleaching performance at high solids loading (25%) was the same as that reached during previous bioleaching experiments at 15% solids. No mixing or microbial issues were encountered. The bacterial consortium used in the experiments demonstrated a high copper tolerance.The second part of the study was devoted to technology development for metal recovery from copper bearing solutions obtained during bioleaching experiments. Due to the high copper concentration of the leachate, solvent extraction prior to electrowinning was not necessary. After iron removal, high quality copper cathodes (morphology and composition) were obtained from the PLS by electrowinning."

Jan 1, 2014

By A. D. Davis, J. L. Sorensen, C. J. Webb

Environmental impacts from acidic mine drainage are growing national concerns that are particularly acute in the headwaters of the Rocky Mountain region. In the Black Hills of South Dakota, approximately one thousand mines are inactive or abandoned, most of them in the headwaters of major drainages. This paper examines the Bear Butte Creek basin, a heavily mineralized watershed with significant historical mining impacts and a surface gold mine permitted in 1997. The watershed loses its surface discharge to swallow holes in the karstic Madison Limestone. The integrity of the aquatic ecosystem was monitored with a suite of sitespecific bio-indicators. Stream surveys covered the entire reach of Bear Butte Creek from near its headwaters to the swallow holes in the Madison aquifer. Data from the stream surveys, water-quality sampling, and bio-indicator surveys clearly showed that water-quality impacts are limited mainly to Strawberry Creek and to the area of Bear Butte Creek near and downstream of the town of Galena.

Jan 1, 1999

By A. D. Davis

Environmental impacts from acidic mine drainage are growing national concerns that are particularly acute in the headwaters of the Rocky Mountain region. In the Black Hills of South Dakota, approximately one thousand mines are inactive or abandoned, most of them in the headwaters of major drainages. This paper examines the Bear Butte Creek basin, a heavily mineralized watershed with significant historical mining impacts and a surface gold mine permitted in 1997. The watershed loses its surface discharge to swallow holes in the karstic Madison Limestone. The integrity of the aquatic ecosystem was monitored with a suite of site-specific bio-indicators. Stream surveys covered the entire reach of Bear Butte Creek from near its headwaters to the swallow holes in the Madison aquifer. Data from the stream surveys, water-quality sampling, and bio-indicator surveys clearly showed that water-quality impacts are limited mainly to Strawberry Creek and to the area of Bear Butte Creek near and downstream of the town of Galena.

Jan 1, 1999

By S. M. Moon

Today, underground exploration is spotlighted as an infinitely developable area. For this purpose, many tunneling technologies were created. And until this very day, many techniques are being developed for more efficient underground movement. Although previous technologies have been developed and now being used in various forms like TMB, struck propulsion method and hydraulic propulsion method, it is hard to find a robot type exploring in small scale. But development of small scale underground exploration robot is a promising research subject for its usage in examination of soil, mineral, and subterranean resources, investigation of hazardous regions, and the military. So we developed a robot that can dig and move underground, inspired from the motion of earthworm and mole cricket. Earthworm and mole cricket dig the soil in the front and draw it off backward, so that they can move forward. We developed a mechanism that uses 2 rotating solid of revolution (bits) for pulverizing the firmly united soil in the front and put it inside the body. The bits rotate in the opposite direction of each other. While moving forward, the soil in the front moves along the spiral on the bit and is saved inside the body. The soil saved inside is taken out through an outlet in the back by a ventilation system. The ventilation system on the ground blows through a hosepipe connected to inner part of the robot and the air blows off the soil. The moving mechanism of exploring underground can be classified into 2 parts. One is to fix the blade link on the soil in a form of 4-bar link. The other one is to move forward rotating the whole link. When the blade link system for movement rotates a certain degree, one blade link is fixed, while the other one is folded in. When 2 blade links of different length rotate as it is, different torque is applied on each link. By the law of action and reaction, the link that has larger torque leads the rotation and movement.

Aug 1, 2013

"Depletion of known ore reserves and increased demand for precious metals have caused a revolution in biohydrometallurgical processing technology for gold recovery. Known ore deposits and future discoveries are most likely to be lower grade sulfide ores that can be difficult to recover with current leaching technology. Future metal recovery operations will increasingly use bio-oxidation techniques.Bacteria are an integral part of mineral cycling and mineral transformation in nature. Although biological processes are recognized as part of the mineralization and oxidation reactions in some ore deposits, they have only recently been applied to enhancing metal recovery in hydrometallurgical procedures. This paper explores the traditional metallurgical application of biological leaching and oxidation reactions and reviews the complete range of bacteria available for metal recovery systems. Pre-treatment of ores with bacteria improves metal recoveries in tank leaching systems and shows promise for heap leaching methods.IntroductionThere is no longer any question that bacteria playa natural role in the on-going transformation of some ore deposits (1,2). As applied to sulfide ores, a few strains have been specifically identified that exhibit a natural leaching potential (3). These bacteria can be isolated from waters and soils in old mining districts where they contribute to continuing leaching and pollution problems in acid drainage and heavy metal solubilization. Sulfur and iron bacteria as well as many heterotrophic strains have also been found in ore deposits and sedimentary rocks at depths up to 2000 meters (4). Their presence in both ore deposits and processed ores shows the microbial association with natural leaching and the potential role that bacteria can play in the development of new leaching technology."

Jan 1, 1988

By Xiu-Xiang Tao

This study investigated bio-liquefaction of lignite and its model compounds of thymol, bezioc acid and quinoline by a fungus, Hypocrea lixii AH. It analyzed, during bio-liquefaction, enzyme activity of oxidase, LiP, Lac, MnP and polyphenol oxidase, and degradation products by UV-Vis, FTIR, 13C NMR and GC-MS. The results showed that the bio-liquefaction percentage (by mass) of lignite was up to 44.86 %. The bio-liquefaction products of lignite were mainly aniline, amide, ether, carboxylic acid ketone and ester. The aromatic ring number was 1-3 with an aromatic carbon ratio of 0.328, which indicated rings opening, bonds breaking and oxidation reaction. By considering with the enzyme activity analysis results, it showed that LiP and Lac catalyzed reactions to open aromatic cycles and to break bonds; esterase to break ester bond; and peroxidase in oxidation reaction.

Aug 1, 2013