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By Wencheng Gao

An attractive way to beneficiate magnesium chloride and aluminum chloride is to prepare Mg-Al spinel, an excellent refractory material. Mg4Al2(OH)14?3H2O, the precursor of spinel, can be prepared using a co-precipitate method from aqueous MgCl2-AlCl3 solutions. The co-precipitation process of magnesium-aluminum from acidified chloride solutions by using NaOH or NH4OH as base neutralization agent was studied. Co-precipitation was conducted from different mixed solutions ? at initial CAl=0.0625M and Mg/Al molar ratio from 0.5 to 10, the temperature range from 30 to 90 °C. The effect of other parameters, including base type, method of base addition, base addition rate, aging time, background electrolyte and concentration were also investigated. The co-precipitation process was monitored by potentionmetric(pH) measurements. The experimental pH curves were characterized by two platforms separated by a steep jump in pH at Mg/Al molar ratio 0.5~6. The first platform was centered at about a pH of 3.8 and the pH of second platform was varied with different conditions. When the Mg/Al molar ratio was up to 6~10, the first platform in pH was almost disappeared. Furthermore, the shapes of pH curves were also affected by base type, base addition rate and method of base addition. Experimental results showed that the first platform in pH was connected with Al precipitation, and the second platform was involved with Mg. The final co-precipitates were characterized by XRD, TGA-DTA, particle size analysis, SEM and TEM. We found both Mg/Al molar ratio and temperature proved to be the key parameters controlling the formation of Mg4Al2(OH)14?3H2O phase. At solution Mg/Al ratio=0.5~4, the main precipitate phase was Bayerite (Al(OH)3) admixed with Mg4Al2(OH)14?3H2O; at Mg/Al ratio=4~6, the main phase was Mg4Al2(OH)14?3H2O admixed with some Mg(OH)2; while from Mg/Al ratio=6~10, the systems were mixtures of Mg(OH)2 and Mg4Al2(OH)14?3H2O.

Oct 1, 2011

By W. R. A. Graeser

"The Nordenham finishing mill is situated in the town of Nordenham, Fede1•al Republic of Germany, on the banks of the Weser River opposite the town of Bremerhaven, with access by water to the North Sea.The unfinished fibre, shipped j?•om Deception Bay during the sub-Arctic summer shipping season, is unloaded from bulk ocean carriers, stored and then processed throughout the year until the following shipping season. This paper describes the unloading and storage facilities,the finishing mill and the finished-fibre storage arrangement. Details of environmental and dust control practices and West German environmental standards are discussed. A resumé of fibre markets is included."

Jan 1, 1976

By T. Bhambhani, Mukund Vasudevan, Partha Patra, D. R. Nagaraj, P. Somasundaram

Selective Ni separation from ultramafic ores rich in serpentines has been a huge challenge in the mineral processing industry, and therefore highly inefficient. Analysis of the root causes of the challenges and consequent development of robust processing solutions were the main goals of the Cytec-Columbia. University-Vale Joint Development Program. In this context, the subject of this paper is limited to one of the key findings of this research program which is the influence of fibrous serpentines on grade-recovery characteristics. Specifically, the poor flotation behavior is characterized by an atypical reverse C-shaped grade-recovery curve.

Jan 1, 2011

By Chris Rule

This paper tells the story of the rapid commercial application of stirred milling technology at Anglo American Platinum?s many Concentrators. The first stirred mill ? a 10 000 litre IsaMillTM; the largest at the time, was commissioned in late 2003. The project development work was presented at SAG 2001. This operation was ?proof of concept? and vindicated the decision to scale up the technology; allowing a rapid and extensive roll-out of mainstream regrind mills as well as several further flotation concentrate regrind mills, over the next six years. Currently 23 stirred mills are in operation with 64 MW of installed drive capacity ? this paper describes the projects? roll-out and the significant results achieved to date. Many operational problems have been solved along the way, some of these will be described. The introduction of the technology has seen a step change in metallurgical results and progressively decreasing operating costs.

Jan 1, 2012

By L. V. Bell

THE object in prospecting is to find ore. With the exception of certain discoveries of more or less accidental nature, intelligent prospecting as conducted today is, whether consciously or not, based upon a process of elimination. In the following discuss on it is proposed to evaluate those factors that enter into the eliminating of certain tracts of ground and, conyersely, the concentrating of attention upon others. The danger of generalizations as to the barrenness of cer.ain areas, without having due regard for all such factors, is emphasized. The fact that our conception as to what areas or rock formations are to be regarded as favourable or unfavourable is, in some measure at least, changing with new discoveries under diverse and unexpected circumstances, adds more point to the discussion. The criticism might be raised that the subject is treated largely from the standpoint of geology, but that may be met by stating that it is, and must continue to remain, precisely from this standpoint that the prospecror directs his activities. Briefly, the geologist may render the greatest service to the prospector in the early steps of selecting (a) the general territory in which to prospect; (b) the area to be intensively prospected; and, finally, (c) those parts of the claim or claims to be prospected in detail. Although certain phases of the discussion will be, in some measure, of general application, we shall here concern ourselves essentially with prospecting in the pre-Cambrian shield. Furthermore, the subject is so large that it has been decided to limit it to a consideration of that portion of the pre-Cambrian rocks in which is situated the mining district of western Quebec, of which the writer can speak with more personal knowledge. This limitation need not, however, seriously detract from whatever merit the discussion may possess, since the deposits concerned cover a fairly wide range of metallic ores, including gold, copper with associated zinc, and, lastly, molybdenum.

Jan 1, 1936

By D. W. Morgan, K. W. Downes

"OVER half a million tons of chromite ore is used annually on the North American continent, all of which is imported from overseas. Chromite is essential in the manufacture of stainless steel, armour plate, and tool steel, to mention only three important uses. It is, therefore, a strategic mineral, and every effort should be made to discover a means of utilizing our domestic supplies.Both Canada and the United States possess deposits of chromite, but they are low grade with respect both to their chromium content and to the ratio of chromium to iron. Mechanical concentration can improve the chromium content •by rejecting gangue, but chromium concentrate produced is still lower in chromium than imported chromite and, more important, the ratio of chromium to iron is only about half that in the imported material. At present, a chromium to iron ratio •of 3:1 is desired by industry. To obtain this .ratio in the case of domestic ores, a chemical attack on the chromi'e is necessary."

Jan 1, 1952

By A. L. Nunes, J. R. E. Garcia, G. Silva, U. Prasad, C. Rabe

"Drilling through the Guayabal shales, a gray calcareous shale, and the C1 to C100 formations, a well-cemented calcareous-sandstone in Corralillo field, Mexico, is a challenge due to severe wellbore instability problems. Additionally, there has been a history of ineffective reservoir stimulations by hydraulic fracturing. To predict and mitigate these subsurface issues, it is essential to characterize the mechanical properties and rocks strength for a better prediction of borehole stresses and collapse pressure during drilling. Various correlations can be used to estimate and/or determine the unconfined compressive strength but most of them are based on transit time and porosity.In this study, grain size distribution was combined with acoustic travel time, porosity and static Young’s modulus to develop a rock strength prediction model for the turbiditic sandstones of the Chicontepec basin. The main reason this combination of parameters was employed was because of the wide variations in rock strength estimated using traditional porosity-based correlations such as the McNally’s (1987), GMI-Jizba-E’s and Bradford’s (Bradford et al., 1987).To develop a new correlation, a geomechanical and microstructural campaign was initiated. Mineralogy by X-ray diffraction, pore and grain sizes by petrography, clay distribution by SEM and porosity by mercury intrusion porosimetry were measured. Static and dynamic Young’s moduli and Poisson’s ratios were acquired by triaxial and ultrasonic measurements on undisturbed sandstone samples from the Chicontepec basin. More than ten offset wells with wireline data, including transit time, porosity, density, resistivity and gamma ray, were used for reservoir and geomechanical characterizations.Our analyses lead us to propose a new correlation for predicting the uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) of sandstones of the Chicontepec Basin as a function of transit time and grain diameter, both of which can be derived independently from destructive laboratory tests. Our results also highlight the importance and value adding of a combined approach incorporating grain size analysis in the rock strength prediction. The UCS predicted using the transit-time and grain-size-based model presents a median value (P50) of 76 MPa, P10 of 55 MPa and P90 of 89 MPa."

Jan 1, 2015

By J. Schick, V. Granger

Nowadays, all French former uranium mining sites are remediated and redeveloped. If needed, mining waters containing radium have to be treated before discharged into the environment. Classical radium treatment consists in a (Ba,Ra)SO4 salt precipitation and radium monitoring was carried out using a time-consuming analysis called emanometry. Three zeolite samples have been tested to remove 226Ra from mining water. In batch experiment, radium was totally (R=100%) and quickly removed after 2 minutes contact time. Continuous sorption experiments were carried out through a vertical column at lab scale. Chabazite is the most efficient zeolite with an 226Ra activity below 0.2 Bq/L until 60000 Bed Volume. Chabazite is always efficient although radium content in material reaches 150 Bq/g. 226Ra uptake was also tested at semi-industrial scale on a pilot plant. More than 3000 m3 were successfully treated with a radium content below 0.1 Bq/L. The environmental impact assessment of Ra-chabazite was characterized by using batch leaching tests made according to the NF EN 12457-2 standard as applied on all wastes. Ra-chabazite stability is excellent during this test: radium leaching is very low, less than 0.005%. A new 226Ra measurement method was developed by ICP-MS for a better analysis reactivity. This new method was carried out in a couple of minutes with a lower sample volume than emanometry. The validation was performed according to the French NF T90-210 standard for the calibration function definition, the limit of quantification, the accuracy and the interferences.

Jan 1, 2020

By B. W. Snyder

INTRODUCTORY THE earliest known case of transmission of natural gas by pipe lines was early in the Christian era when the Chinese used bamboo pipes to transport natural gas from surface seepages to heat brine for the recovery of salt. Since that time many materials have been used as conduits-hollow wooden legs, wood stave pipe, day tile, cast iron, and, finally -since about 130 years ago - steel pipe. Even then, this new material came into use rather . slowly for, as recently as 80 years ago, wood pipe was still being used. However, as techniques were developed to take advantage of the properties of steel, this material gradually replaced all ethers for the transportation of gas for longer and longer distances at ever increasing pressures. In 1912, one of the longest pipe lines of its size at that time was built-this was a 16-inch line bringing gas from Bow Island to Calgary, a distance of 170 miles. We have been able to find records of only two ether such lines at that time-one a 185-mile 16-inch line from Vivian, Louisiana, to Little Rock, Arkansas, completed in the summer of 1911, the ether a 280-mile line from West Virginia to Toledo, Ohio. This last ? mentioned line was reported in a magazine article of September, 1912, but no indication was given of its size on completion date. It is apparent, therefore, that modern high pressure transmission of natural gas is a technique less than forty years old.

Jan 1, 1951

By R. G. Eggert

"A critical element, as the term has come to be used, provides essential properties to a modern engineered material and is subject to supply risk. The rare-earth elements became perhaps the most prominent of the critical elements in recent years because of their important uses in permanent magnets, advanced lighting, and military materials; the geographic concentration of production in China; and the dramatic run-up in prices in 2010-2011 followed by price collapse between 2011 and 2016. Yet criticality extends beyond the rare earths. What is critical depends on your perspective – who and where you are, and when you ask. This paper reviews the many perspectives on, or faces of, critical elements. It compares and contrasts perspectives of industry (General Electric), national or regional manufacturing sectors (Japan, European Union), emerging energy technologies (as seen by U.S. Department of Energy and, separately, Joint Research Centre of the European Commission) and the world as a whole (as evaluated by academics). This comparison reveals a diversity of not only perspectives but also methodologies and time frames of concern.INTRODUCTIONRare-earth elements appeared prominently in the news in 2010 and 2011 because of the dramatic increase in their prices; their important uses in permanent magnets, advanced lighting, and military materials combined with the geographic concentration of production in China, which reduced export quotas significantly. Rare earths became the most prominent of what have become known as critical elements or materials – that is, those that provide essential properties to modern engineered materials and yet are subject to supply risks.Yet criticality, the state of being both essential and subject to supply risks, extends beyond rare earths. What is critical depends on your perspective. This paper begins by reviewing a little history and presenting a general conceptual framework from which to think about critical materials. It then reviews the many perspectives on, or faces of, critical elements – corporate, national, and global, as well several that focus on emerging energy technologies. The paper concludes with thoughts on what to do to mitigate the potentially negative effects of the supply risks associated with criticality."

Jan 1, 2016

By Ellis Thomson

The microscope is now used extensively not only in the examination of solid ore but also in the determination of fragmental mill products. It has therefore become a matter of paramount importance to be able to mount and polish fragmental as well as solid specimens in the easiest and most efficient way, so that the minerals present may be readily determined. In the case of the solid ore the ordinary mount of plasticine set on a glass or metal slide serves for most practical purposes. An improvement on this is furnished by the small brass container inside of which the specimen is mounted in a cementing medium of sealing wax. The latter is the method in use at Harvard University. It has the advantage of uniform height, thus obviating the necessity of a slide of any sort. It is also easily catalogued as the brass holder may be stamped with a convenient series of letters and numbers that will serve as a label. Other advantages of this type are the ease with which any particular part of the section may be re-located, the excellent storing facilities afforded by mounts of uniform size, and the possibility of polishing ten or a dozen sections at the same time by means of a holder which is placed over the polishing wheel, is geared with it, but revolves the opposite way.

Jan 1, 1926

By M. R. Julien, A. Maqsoud, J. Martschuk, B. Bussière

Acid mine drainage (AMD) from mine wastes is one of the most challenging environmental problems currently facing the mining industry. When mining wastes have the potential to produce AMD, the effluents produced have to be managed to meet existing regulations on water quality. The LTA impoundment (property of Barrick Gold Corp.) located near Malartic, Quebec, contains sulphide tailings that have the potential to generate an acidic leachate. The closure option selected by Barrick was to construct a cover with capillary barrier effects (CCBE), in which the moisture- retaining layer is made of non-acid-generating tailings. Since its construction in 1996, the cover has been monitored to evaluate its performance. For that purpose, various parameters have been measured, including the volumetric water content and matric suction in the different layers of the cover. This paper presents some of the main results from the monitoring program that started eight years ago. The results show that the cover is able to maintain a high degree of saturation in its moisture- retaining layer, acting as an oxygen barrier. The actual performance of the CCBE on the flat surface of the 60 ha site is better than expected at the design stage. The only concern with the LTA cover is the effect of slopes that can reduce the performance of the CCBE during dry periods. However, these effects appear only for short periods of time, and are limited to very localized areas, so that they do not significantly affect the overall performance of the CCBE and its ability to limit the production of AMD.

Jan 1, 2006

By C. A. Pickles

Microwaves are being applied industrially in a number of fields and possess a number of potential advantages that could be applied in extractive metallurgy. Microwave heating has a number of unique characteristics, which distinguish it from the conventional heating methods. In microwave heating, the absorption of energy occurs at the molecular or atomic level and therefore the heat is generated within the material itself. In conventional heating, the exterior temperature is usually higher than the interior, but with microwave heating, the temperature gradient is inverted and thus the interior temperature can be much higher than that of the surface. The energy densities in microwave systems can be relatively high and this in combination with the low thermal conductivities of oxide ores, can lead to very high internal heating rates. In this research, the application of microwave energy for the reduction of a nickeliferous silicate laterite ore has been investigated. The real and imaginary permittivities are the two fundamental properties which determine the microwave absorption characteristics of a material and these were measured for the ore, both with and without carbon additions using the cavity perturbation technique. The microwave heating and reduction experiments were performed in a 0 to 2 kW CTC microwave system. The effects of power input, processing time, sample mass and charcoal additions on the microwave absorption were investigated. Then reduction experiments were performed and the nickel grade of the magnetic concentrate and the nickel recovery in the concentrate were determined.

Jan 1, 2005

By W. J. Wolfe

"Quartz Hill is a large, low- to moderate-grade quartz vein stockwork porphyry molybdenum deposit, discovered in 1974 during a regional stream sediment geochemical reconnaissance survey of southeast Alaska conducted by United States Borax and Chemical Corporation. Mineralization is localized in the upper parts of an Upper Oligocene (30 Ma) composite quartz monzonite stock which is emplaced discordantly into older Cretaceous to Early Tertiary terrain of the Coast Range igneous metamorphic complex of the northwest North American Cordillera. Subsequent fault-controlled, complex multi-stage intrusion, concentrated in the core of the Quartz Hill stock, produced successive pulses of hydrothermal alteration and molybdenum mineralization at about 27 Ma. Overall, the deposit is tabular and flat-lying and well suited to open pit mining. The 0.05% MoS2 grade limit covers an area of approximately 1500 m by 2750 m and extends to a maximum depth of 520 m below surface. Details of grade distribution show two separate lobes of higher grade material within the larger low-grade deposit.A ten year program of exploration drilling, underground development, sampling and metallurgical testwork led to a 1983 feasibility study based on a resource of 1600 million tonnes grading 0.127% MoS2 at a 0.08% MoS2 cutoff The large size of the deposit and its homogeneous grade distribution, typically showing gradual outward decrease of grade, makes in pit grade selection practical at several cutoff levels. Cominco Ltd. now reports a Probable Resource of 210 million tonnes averaging 0.22% MoS2 with a further Possible Resource of 1100 million tonnes averaging 0.12% MoS:z. At low molybdenum metal prices which have persisted for 10 years since the molybdenum price spike of the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Quartz Hill deposit is sub-economic."

Jan 1, 1995

By H. J. McQueen

About 1973 the abrupt decrease in crude oil shipments due to political action by Middle Eastern suppliers, caused a shortage and a steep price rise. In response, Canada had to develop strategies of diminishing consumption and increasing production in both traditional and environmentally friendly resources. To clarify the situation in Canada, there are brief histories of energy (discovery, pipelines), manufacturing and science development, 1800-1970. Energy strategies, both nationally and in Quebec, succeeded in curbing consumption and in expanding production while fostering research in renewable sources. The industry-sector committees provided free exchange of conservation techniques through the federal energy ministry, with progress reports issued annually. Pipeline history in North America is reviewed along with manufacture and construction plans in Canada. Considerable success in all the aspects provided long lasting benefits, but after the embargo was lifted, many research initiatives were gradually abandoned for political reasons. Sustainability is the goal; society must conduct conserver analysis, legislation and action to enhance it.

Jan 1, 2015

By P. D. Waters

"Mineral deposits are where you find them; they have no allegiance to territorial boundaries. Over the past decade much of the new investment in mining has been outside of continental North America, let alone Canada. The larger Canadian Banks have pursued this offshore business through their multi-national organizations; this reflects both the increasingly international orientation of today's business environment, and to a degree, the competitive advantage of these offshore developments.The current oversupply situation in mineral markets and the increasing maturity of the Developed World Economy reduces the need for new mining projects relative to growth' in GNP. Those that are brought on stream in the future due to their competitive advantage, will continue to be pursued by lenders and equity investors alike. IntroductionProspects facing those who search for mineral wealth were described rather well more than 200 years ago by a Scottish professor of moral philosophy, who also happens to be the father of modern economics.In search for new mines, Adam Smith wrote in The Wealth of Nations, ""there seems to be no certain limits either to the possible success or to the possible disappointment of human industry"".How true that statement remains today, where we are seeing economic cyclical problems compounded by basic fundamental structural change within the mining industry.Despite the enormous advances in earth sciences during the past two centuries, the rewards of mineral exploration still remain uncertain. Even though a promising orebody is found, ultimate profitability may still depend on the vagaries of the marketplace, where large and unanticipated changes in supply, demand and prices can play havoc with the best of calculations.The Canadian mining industry has had its share of disappointment during the past few years, with savage competition, shrinking demand, declining prices, and disappearing profits. But it has also had some share of success, such as at Hernlo, which now seems certain to provide some of the lowest cost gold production in the world"

Jan 1, 1986

By Sylvie Lévesque, Frederic Couët, Laura Pérez-Barnuevo, Cory Hennessey

Determining mineralogical characteristics of samples throughout the iron ore concentration process – from drill core samples up to the concentrate – is critical to process improvement and remediation. However, assessment of mineral proportions, liberation, and texture, although essential, can be time-consuming and costly. Thus, a mineralogical study is often not performed or only restricted to a limited number of samples. New iron ore deposits or new ore zones in active mines will bring new challenges as they are known to be problematic due to their lower grades, complex textures and presence of mineral impurities. In those cases, applied process mineralogy will be necessary to understand and to diagnose potential processing issues. To take full advantage of mineralogical information along the iron ore concentration process, new tools are being developed to provide mineralogical data based on texture, composition and liberation. In an early stage at the mine, the automated identification of drill core textures could provide essential information for the prediction of ore concentrability and grindability. In a later stage, the automated modal tool, combining the knowledge of the iron ore mineralogy of a specific deposit and the results of chemical analyses, can quantify the mineral proportions of the ore; results show good agreement between mineral estimation via chemical analysis and modal analysis using a Mineral Liberation Analyser. A bulk mineralogical analyser allowing semi-quantitative evaluation of the liberation of iron oxides is being validated. The results from the bulk mineralogical analyser will eventually be linked with the mineral proportions issued by the automated modal tool to provide complete mineralogical characteristics of iron ore samples. Ultimately, these mineralogical tools could provide valuable and timely insight for predicting concentrators’ performances or troubleshooting gravity separation processes.

Jan 1, 2016

By W. E. Cockfield

THE object of this paper is to review recent geological work in the Cariboo district and to present notes on the recent development of mineral properties. The Geological Survey has done considerable work in the Cariboo district, extending over a period of years. In 1885 and 1886, Bowman (1) mapped the geology of a large area. In 1922 and 1923, Johnston and Uglow (2) mapped Barkerville area in some detail and prepared a report on the placer and lode gold deposits. In 1931 and 1932, Cockfield and Walker (3) mapped the Quesnel Forks area. In 1933, Hanson reported on Willow River area ( 4), and in 1934 made a detailed examination of part of the Barkerville area (5). In 1935, Lang commenced work on the Keithley area, lying to the southeast of the Barkerville area, and in 1936 published a preliminary re-port (6). The work on Keithley area was continued in 1936 by both authors of the present paper. As the results of the earlier work have been published, this paper will be concerned largely with Keithley area, that is, the part of the region lyinp between longitudes 121° 00' and 121° 30', and latitudes 52° 45' and 53° 00 . This area lies astride Cariboo (Swamp) river and extends north some 17 miles from Keithley, which is situated near the southern border of the map-area (see sketch-map). Points in the western part of the map-area are fairly accessible. A road extends from Barkerville to upper Cunningham creek, and from this a trail crosses Snowshoe plateau to Keithley. A second trail from this road leads to the lower falls on Cariboo river. From this road, a branch road leads to upper Antler creek, with a trail leading from this branch road to Keithley. Part of this western half of the area is made up of the Snowshoe plateau, which constitutes a gently rolling surface, at or above timber line, where trails are largely unnecessary.

Jan 1, 1937

By I. R. Muirhead, A. L. Craven

The trend in mining thermal coal is only to mine coal with the lowest sulphur content. In many coal seams, bands of coal with high sulphur content are often present, generally occurring either at the roof or floor level. Methods of selective mining are, therefore, necessary to recover only the low sulphur coal. This paper examines the methods currently in use in mines and the alternative methods that are able or have potential to offer control of shearers and continuous miners where greater thicknesses of coal have to be left in the roof and floor. These alternative methods rely on such characteristics as neutron gamma radiation; electromagnetic waves; vibration; infrared; infrared; optical; pick force; X-ray fluorescence; conductivity; gyroscopes and laser systems.

Jan 1, 2000

By Paul W. Shelley, Daniel J. Hodges

The mining industry is undergoing a period of rapid transformative change.  This is the result of the social and financial accountabilities that the industry is faced with because of the world’s desire to cap average temperature increase to 1.50C above pre-industrial levels (UNFCC, 2016).  To limit global warming to 1.50C, greenhouse gas emissions must peak before 2025 at the latest and decline 43% by 2030.  In hard rock mining, comminution is identified as the major energy consumer, being responsible for 40-60% of the electricity use.  It follows that comminution is the major greenhouse gas emission process of the mine.  All effort is being made to radically reduce the carbon emissions of comminution. Grinding media plays a large role in the energy consumption and carbon emission story.  In recent years industry practitioners have attempted to quantify the grinding media carbon footprint.  This paper makes a definitive contribution to that discussion.  The grinding media carbon footprint is quantified in Scope 1, 2 and 3 emission terms in the context of a grinding media supplier.  Major emission contributors, steel, natural gas and electricity are discussed in detail.  The steel industry transition is a key factor. The paper will explore the steel industry transition and its effect on grinding media manufacturing.  The carbon footprint of heritage steel process routes are analysed and compared with the process routes of the future.  Emerging steel making technologies are presented and discussed.  The future of the steel manufacturing and procurement route for grinding media is proposed. This narrative allows for a comparison between the heritage carbon footprint and the future carbon footprint of manufactured grinding media.  Of equal importance is the opportunity of reducing the grinding media carbon footprint in the field.  The paper explores possibilities of reducing the grinding media carbon footprint at the customer site.  Media in use options are presented that take account of the mineral characteristics, the mill dynamics, and the product metallurgy to optimise both carbon footprint and media performance. It is intended that this is a landmark paper in the discussion of the carbon footprint of grinding media.

May 4, 2025