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By G. Richards

Application of the Internet of Things (IoT) technologies - the interconnection of uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices within the existing internet infrastructure - to the mining industry is discussed. IoT technologies are aimed at making projects safer, better optimised and more economic and are applicable to current or new underground or open-pit mines, regardless of size. Two examples are presented of successful implementation of IoT technologies, the Chelopech gold, copper and silver mine in Bulgaria, where production has increased from 500 000 to 2 000 000 tonnes/y and communication costs have been reduced by US $2 500 000 over 2 y, and the Pilbara project in Western Australia, where remotely controlled wirelessly connected autonomous trucks have covered ca. 3 000 000 miles and hauled almost 250 000 000 t of ore since 2008

Apr 1, 2015

"Iron ore is the source of primary iron for the world’s iron and steel industries. Its production can be reported as crude ore, usable ore or iron content of ore. Historically, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) used reported crude ore production from China in tabulations of world iron ore production while other countries have typically reported their production in terms of usable iron ore. When China’s crude ore production was tabulated with usable ore production from other countries, world iron ore production totals have been overestimated by 10 percent to a high of content and may include products such as concentrates, direct-shipping ore, pellets, and sinter.• Iron content, also referred to as metal content or grade, denotes the amount of elemental iron in the crude or usable ore.BackgroundIron ores consumed in the steel industry typically require an iron content greater than 58 percent before being considered commercially usable. Iron ores that are not commercially usable must undergo beneficiation to raise the iron content. Approximately 98 percent of the world’s usable iron ore production is consumed in blast furnaces to make pig iron, which is further processed to make steel.High-grade iron ore mines can supply usable iron ore, known as direct-shipping ore, to blast furnaces, with minimal physical processing and no beneficiation. With direct-shipping ore, the reported production for crude ore and usable ore are the same. Ore from low-grade deposits must undergo beneficiation to increase the iron content before it can be used by the steel industry. In this instance, the mined material is called crude ore and post-beneficiation concentrates are called usable ore; the amount produced will be less than the crude ore amount. With the notable exceptions of countries such as Australia and Brazil, most of the world’s iron ore deposits are low-grade and require beneficiation."

Feb 1, 2017

By M L. Cramer, N P. Wines

"On 9 February 2014, bushfire embers landing on exposed coal in a disused pit at the Hazelwood mine in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley ignited a coal fire that burned for 45 days. The fire was the largest and longest burning mine fire to occur in the Latrobe Valley (Hazelwood Mine Fire Board of Inquiry, 2016). Two Victorian Government Boards of Inquiry have been held into the Hazelwood mine fire. The most recent, in 2015, included consideration of the regulation and implementation of rehabilitation practice at Hazelwood and the other two brown coalmines of the Latrobe Valley (Loy Yang and Yallourn; Government Gazette, 2015).The 2015 Hazelwood Mine Fire Board of Inquiry commissioned Accent Environmental Pty Ltd (Accent) to undertake a review of the financial mechanisms for mine rehabilitation and closure adopted in Australia and overseas (Accent, 2015). Specifically, Accent was engaged to identify ‘any practical, sustainable, efficient and effective alternative mechanisms to ensure rehabilitation of the mines as required by the [Victorian] Mineral Resources (Sustainable Development) Act 1990’ in accordance with Terms of Reference 10 (c) (Government Gazette, 2015).The review by Accent included consideration of a range of financial instruments such as bank guarantees, trust funds and insurance. It considered a number of financial assurance systems in operation in Australia, New Zealand, the European Union, Canada and the United States. These systems included: full and discount financial assurance systems predefined liability proportion systems pooled fund systems the use of post-closure financial mechanisms such as trust funds (Accent, 2015).What lessons can be learnt from other jurisdictions? Are there financial mechanisms already in place that could allow the Victorian Government and the mine operators to manage the risk of rehabilitation default3, lower rehabilitation liability, attain site rehabilitation objectives and allow eventual site relinquishment?CITATION:Cramer, M L and Wines, N P, 2016. Global lessons for a local problem – rehabilitation bonds and Victoria’s Latrobe Valley coalmines, in Proceedings Life-of-Mine 2016 Conference , pp 24–27 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne)."

Jun 28, 2016

By Ian MacGregor

INTRODUCTION I retired in 1977 and have been enjoying myself ever since doing odd jobs for various people - on occasions, politicians. I commend it to you as post retirement - get involved in situations that nobody else will take on. It produces all sorts of excitement, it is a lot of fun and, courtesy of the media, you provide great raw material for their current Punch and Judy shows. The example of the adventures in the Escondida financing made me think about the history of the minerals industry in the United States. In order to see more clearly what is going to happen in the future, we have to look at the past and what we have learned, and try to extrapolate from that a scenario for the future. This paper is about global material cycles and the financial needs of the extractive industries. Since about 2,000 years B.C. we have been living in the Iron Age. Since about 4,000 B.C. we have been living in the Copper Age. These have been the two foundations of modern industrial society. Understanding the use of metals and materials helps us understand the civilization in which we live today. Let me focus more closely on the United States, particularly in this century. In the first two-thirds of this century the United States was growing and expanding and developing. It was providing for its inhabitants a society which was enjoying the benefits of a rising standard of living, improved opportunities and the ability to support a population growing at quite a dramatic rate. It is still growing. In the Department of Commerce, there is a clock that shows how many people there are in the United States. It turns all the time; the numbers are going up. On January 21,1980, when Ronald Reagan was sworn in as President, the number on that clock was a little over 220 million, and in the last week before he left, it was travelling towards 245 million. During his period in Washington, we have added , the equivalent of one total state such as California. That gives the dimensions of the U.S. appetite for raw material inputs. The inputs are of critical importance. COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE During the first two-thirds of this century, the minerals sector enjoyed comparative advantages. There was a clear understanding of the importance of minerals enshrined in the tax legislation of the country from the early decades of this century - the depletion allowance. No other country identified as clearly that the supplies of minerals were finite. As they are used up, just as with a wearing-out machine, one must get capital back to replace the resource when the time comes. Within the last decade, that idea has been questioned and criticised. It is now seen as giving money away to a preferred part of the economy, instead of recognizing what depletion is all about. In previous times it insured that the U.S. always was able to regenerate the capital in its minerals industry, so that it could remain competitive. The U.S. had plenty of everything, including energy. We had a growing population. Equally important, we had an agriculture that led the world in productivity, even as far back as the turn of the century. It continues to do so. We still retain that comparative advantage, an ability to produce our foodstuffs in quantity and quality at excellent cost. Look at another ingredient of our comparative advantage, the energy position. We ran through the first two-thirds of the century with ever- decreasing energy costs. In the 1940s and 1950s the coal industry went into a decline. Why? Because the $3.00 - $5.00 a ton cost of mining coal in the U.S. represented relatively expensive energy. A ton of good grade bituminous coal contains 25 million BTU's. $0.20 a million BTU's represents $5.00 a ton at the pithead. That price was undermined by the increasing ability to find petroleum at even lower costs. At the apex of the growth of development of the American dominated

Jan 1, 1990

Transformations of minerals to processed mineral products fundamentally involve wholesale chemical change, and therefore have a high potential for the release of chemicals and wastes. In this regard minerals processing contrasts with downstream production operations, which involve mainly physical changes. The contrast with mining, which must take place where the minerals are found, is that mineral processing allows choices as to location, processes, fuels and reductants. These choices provide a foundation for dealing with issues of resource stewardship. This paper locates the mineral processing industry in the global perspective by quantifying the masses of major material inputs and outputs, based on current processing choices. Estimates for recycling have also been collated, revealing figures that differ surprisingly from commonly held impressions. The paper draws on a variety of current sources, mainly those available through the Internet, to rank the major transformed virgin mineral products by production, price and value. The figures demonstrate the dominance of Portland cement and steel in the global environmental impacts of mineral processing. Aluminium comes a distant third in the list, and the metals particularly associated with localised environmental impacts have relatively small global effects compared with those of the staple materials of our built environment. This global macro input/output perspective, with materials flows expressed per unit of virgin product, provides a benchmark for grasping sustainability challenges within specific operating businesses. Because of the global scope and pervasive impact of the minerals processing industry, the issue of resource stewardship is rising as a matter for public concern. There appears to be a developing view that the mining and mineral processing sector should take responsibility for these products throughout their various life cycles. However, in a future of stabilising consumption, dematerialisation and intensive recycling, the mining industry would only need to provide the top-up to a stock of recirculating materials. The question of responsibility for stewardship over SocietyÆs stock of materials remains open.

Jan 1, 2002

By C. Timothy Shaw, Michael Karmis, Hans de Ruiter

The Society of Mining Professors/Societät der Bergbaukunde was established during a meeting hosted by the Montanuniversität, Leoben, Austria, in 1990. Since then, the Society has primarily functioned as a European entity of senior academics in the mining engineering discipline. The Society is considered the natural successor of the historic Societät der Bergbaukunde, formed in the early 18th century and recognized as the world’s first international scientific society. At the 14th Annual General Meeting of the Society, in Milos, Greece, 2003, a decision was made to examine the role of the Society in global minerals education, to reassess its vision and membership guidelines and to develop the future direction of the organization. A special Planning Subcommittee developed a plan of action to allow the Society to transform and position itself as the premier global voice of the academic minerals disciplines and to lead the effort of restructuring minerals education. The new vision calls for reconstituting the Society as a vibrant global society, representing the majority of minerals academics and making a significant contribution to the future of the minerals disciplines. This paper will present the history, vision, goals and action plans of the Society to help ensure that the necessary scientific, technical, academic and professional skills are available for the sustainable supply of minerals to mankind.

Jan 1, 2005

By A Giblett, M Daniel

"The Global Mining Standards and Guidelines Group (GMSG) currently supports nine individual industry working groups focused on developing standards and guidelines for the mining industry. In 2013 the GMSG established the Industrial Comminution Efficiency (ICE) working group to develop freely available guidelines for plant operators to quantify the operating efficiency of industrial comminution circuits. This initiative has engaged a diverse group of representatives from mining companies, equipment vendors, consultants and metallurgical laboratories with vast experience and capabilities in the field of comminution. The GMSG has issued the first two guidelines from the ICE working group in 2015–2016, with the third guideline having completed the approvals process and being in the final stages of editing ahead of release later in 2016.Two of the ICE guidelines present methods to quantify comminution circuit efficiency, and a complementary guideline describes best practice methods to collect the necessary samples and data to furnish these assessments. Collectively the guidelines cover sampling, survey data collection, laboratory testing procedures and calculation processes to allow the user to generate a relative circuit efficiency factor for the comminution circuit at the time of survey. The reference energy consumption is calculated considering the measured F80, P80 and ore strength at the time of survey, using either or both of the Bond or Morrell methods presented in GMSG guidelines dedicated to each method. The guidelines consequently provide the end user with practical tools to perform circuit efficiency analysis and to readily quantify the impact of optimisation efforts.This paper presents the content of the three ICE guidelines and describes their intended application.Citation:Giblett, A and Daniel, M, 2016. Global Mining Standards and Guidelines for Determining Comminution Circuit Efficiency, in Proceedings 13th AusIMM Mill Operators’ Conference 2016, pp 3–8 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne)."

Oct 10, 2016

The Global Mining Standards and Guidelines Group (GMSG) is building an international, multi-stakeholder community to advance the availability and use of standards and industry guidelines for the global mining community. Standards and guidelines are key strategic tools for operational excellence, enabling companies to move forward with efficient, innovative operations with reduced risk. Launched in May 2012, the GMSG is the first international center to bring together information, resources and collaborative projects for mining standards and guidelines, in an open, knowledge-sharing forum. The GMSG is supported by five partner organizations providing outreach and helping to guide GMSG activities: the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM), the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME), the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM), the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (SAIMM) and the Surface Mining Association for Research and Technology (SMART). GMSG was formed under the CIM Surface Mining Society, though its mandate extends to include underground mining as well. ?SME is supporting the GMSG as a key international activity to advance the implementation of standards and guidelines in our industry, and to provide a forum for our members to access, and contribute to, projects and information to assist their operations,? said SME Executive Director David Kanagy. ?We see the GMSG as a good example of ways the major mining associations can work together for the benefit of all our members.? The GMSG charter encompasses all standards and guidelines that apply to mining; however, a number of subject areas are now being spearheaded by six working groups, namely: ? Access and usage of data from mobile mining equipment onboard systems. ? Operational safety. ? Situational awareness (namely, a unified equipment operator interface). ? Underground operations. ? Asset management and operations data definitions and KPIs. ? Energy in communition.

Oct 1, 2013

By James P. Cooney

What is required for the mining industry to grow and prosper in a politically challenging world? The answer to this can be summarized as “the industry’s three priorities.” The first priority is gaining access to the world’s mineralized jurisdictions. The second is establishing a measure of security and predictability in government treatment of mining. Confidence in the stability of the fiscal and legal framework within which mining operates is necessary to encourage the investment of large amounts of capital in mine development. The third priority is sustaining the industry’s welcome during the long term in those jurisdictions worthy of investment.

Jan 1, 1996

By Nick Karl, David Wilburn

"The mission of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Minerals Information Center (NMIC) is to collect, analyze and disseminate information on the domestic and international supply of and demand for minerals and mineral materials essential to the U.S. economy and national security. Understanding mineral exploration activities and trends assists government policy makers, minerals industry decision makers and research entities in identifying where future sources of mineral supply are likely to be discovered, the amount and type of these resources and factors that may affect exploration and development.This review summarizes significant exploration trends related to active sites and budgets, mineral commodities and regional factors for the years 2001-2015. Data were compiled by specialists in the USGS-NMIC, and reported annually in the USGS-NMIC Minerals Yearbook series and in the May issue of Mining Engineering magazine. External data for these analyses were derived from industry sources, published literature, and SNL Metals & Mining, an offering of S&P Global Market Intelligence (New York, NY).The USGS-NMIC compiled exploration site data for more than 80 mineral commodities, focusing on base metals, diamond and precious metals. More than $138 billion constant U.S. dollars were budgeted by the minerals industry from 2001 through 2015 to explore more than 16,000 mineral deposits globally (SNL Metals & Mining, 2016a). Annual analyses identified where mineral exploration took place by principal commodity target, ranked the magnitude of activity in each region, identified the factors that most affected changes in exploration activity and highlighted developments that led to changes in global supply or increased diversity of supply to the United States. Geographic classifications noted in this report were Africa, Australia, Canada, China, Latin America, Pacific, Russia, United States and Rest of the World."

Apr 1, 2017

By Nareetsile S., J. Kabwe

In the past few years Orapa and Letlhakane Mines have investigated various new technologies to enhance and improve production. The goal has been to improve productivity, reduce operating costs and make the mines more profitable The advent of Global Positioning Systems (GPS) in the early ’80s brought about the realization of this concept. Orapa and Letlhakane Mines started using GPS in 1999 and it is now used atLetlhakane mine for surveying, vehicle tracking and dispatching and for floor control system. Orapa Mine uses GPS in surveying, floor control and drill navigation. It will also be used for vehicle tracking and dispatching in mid-2001 following the installation of a fleet management and control system. The introduction of GPS at both Orapa and Letlhakane mines have improved productivity and reduced operating costs in the areas of drilling, topographic survey and floor control. In vehicle tracking and dispatching GPS has allowed for real-time information management for timeous decision-making which optimized fleet run time hours.

Sep 1, 2001

By Linlin Wu, Marlen Bertram, Chris Bayliss, Bernard de Gelas, Samantha Jones, Kurt Buxmann

"Environmental management is one of the industry cornerstones of sustainable development. In order to understand fully the environmental aspects associated with the raw material acquisition, production, use, and end-of-life operations of aluminium products, the Aluminium Industry has developed an approach based on Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) methodology.Within this framework, the Primary Aluminium Industry has established a global Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) data set. Inventory flows include inputs of raw materials, energy and water, emissions to air and water, and solid waste.This paper presents the latest LCI data update by the International Aluminium Institute for the year 2010, based on a survey of aluminium plants globally, including bauxite mining, alumina refining, anode production, electrolysis and casting. This update also includes some performance tracking based on the last LCI data collection in 2005, reflecting progress in efficiency and technology, as well as changes in the geographical location of the industry [2010 data pending]. IntroductionIn 2010 the Primary Aluminium Industry produced a total of 41 Mt of aluminium. The International Aluminium Institute (IAI) membership represents approximately 70% of total global production. The industry recognises the importance of co=itting to reducing the environmental impacts of producing primary aluminium, and the significance of working towards a more sustainable future. As part of this co=itment the IAI has developed an in depth Life Cycle Inventory programme, in which data is collected every five years, with supplementary key metrics collected annually.In 2003 the IAI released its first Report ""Life Cycle Assessment of Aluminium: Inventory Data for the Worldwide Primary Aluminium Industry"" based on the year 2000 with an update Report released in 2007, based on 2005 data.This paper presents the latest update for the year 2010 [2010 data pending]. It has been prepared with the same view of collecting all significant Life Cycle Inventory data (raw materials and energy use, air and water emissions and solid waste generated) associated with producing primary aluminium ingot from bauxite ore, with worldwide coverage. The intended purpose of the Inventory Report is to accurately characterize resource consumption and significant environmental aspects associated with the worldwide production of primary aluminium. It reflects the fuct that primary aluminium is a globally traded co=odity."

Jan 1, 2012

By Kevin Bell

About Beltek Inc. For more than a decade Beltek, Inc. has been working with national and international organizations to harness and deliver solutions which gain real ebusiness advantages in today's world. Our objectives are to partner with our customers to achieve maximum results, while reducing costs. At Beltek, we provide a commitment to you and your organization's needs. Whether that be delivered by ensuring our services and products are state of the art or by providing a level of personalized service, which makes you feel like the center of attention, Beltek is about adding value to every job we work on. The individuals who work at Beltek quickly become your friends because we share your passion and enthusiasm for the business we are in. That's why every person is a leader in his or her respective fields. Having these individuals as apart of our business ensures you get the best out of our equipment, receive the very latest in advise, problem solving and support. We also pride ourselves on our ability to remain flexible at all times because we know deadlines and schedules can change quickly, so we always go the extra mile to deliver exactly what you need.

May 1, 2004

By Sans H

The geostatistical Discrete Gaussian (DG) model is demonstrated to be capable of providing an effective means of implementing change of support for Enterprise-style mineralisation and thus providing reliable global recoverable resource estimates. At Enterprise, sample grade distribution proves to be highly positively skewed, therefore significant deskewing of the histogram and reduction of variance occurs when going from sample to block support. The DG model was experimentally tested in'the Southern Primary Zone (SPZ) at Enterprise, where high anisotropy ratios and pronounced short range structures are observed in variograms. The experimental test was run for a change of support for which the variance reduction was. approximately 60 per cent. This reduction is similar to that predicted by Krige's Relationship ('the volume-variance relationship') for the practical situation of a change of support from 5 m vertical blasthole samples to 3 m x 8 m x 5 m selective mining unit (SMU) blocks. The DG model was found to correctly predict the grade tonnage relationships for a wide range of cut off grades. The experimental test indicated that, given a representative histogram and variogram, the DG change of support provides a computationally efficient and practical means of reliably assessing global mineable resources at the early stages of a mining project. Further, it allows a range of selectivity strategies to be meaningfully and comparatively considered prior to mining.

Jan 1, 1995

By W. S. Fyfe

The future environment of our planet, with the concept of sustainable development, has moved to centre stage of all future plans for development. This global view is new. It presents great opportunities and challenges for the Earth Sciences. We have the tools to describe our environment on all scales - planetary to molecular levels. We must respond to this great demand by world society.

Jan 1, 1990

By Tim Robinson, Michael S. Moats, William G. Davenport, Andreas Filzwieser, Andreas Siegmund, Shijie Wang

This survey continues the long tradition of providing a snapshot of operating data from industrial electrorefineries. It is a supplement to previous surveys that were performed in 1987, 1991, 1995, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2007, 2010, 2013 and 2016. Analyses of current data and historical trends are presented. Examples of innovations to reduce costs, improve productivity, and improve quality are provided. In general, refineries continue to increase productivity while treating anodes with more impurities. INTRODUCTION This manuscript analyzes global survey data provided by operating copper electrorefineries. This paper continues a series of surveys of copper refining tankhouses that started in 1987 (Schloen, 1987, 1991; Schloen & Davemport, 1995; Davenport et al., 1999; Robinson et al., 2003; Moats et al., 2007, 2013, 2016). In this installment, data collected from 2015 and 2018 will be presented and analyzed. The 2015 survey data were presented at Copper 2016 in Kobe, Japan. This survey will continue the analysis of previous data to illustrate long term trends in copper electrorefining, which were originally presented at the Davenport Symposium in October, 2014 (Moats, Robinson, & Wang, 2014). Refineries who supplied surveys are listed in Table 1. Cathode production data from 2015 and 2017/18 (from surveys presented in 2016 and 2019) are provided to indicate which plants provided surveys and when. This manuscript presents operating data for ~6.5 million tonnes of copper production, which represents 30–35% of the world’s copper electrorefining production. The detailed survey results are available upon request from the corresponding author.

Jan 1, 2019

By J. J. Taute, O. S. Tinkler, G. Zárate, K. C. Sole, J. Steeples

Global practice in copper solvent extraction is reviewed, based on individual plant operating data for 2018. The survey respondents account for almost 40% of global copper cathode production by solvent extraction and electrowinning. Regional trends in operating conditions, as related to the prevailing ore mineralogy, leaching processes, and life of mine are evaluated. The adoption and expansion of this technology in the African Copperbelt and Asia are assessed, together with the associated challenges of specific orebody characteristics. Trends in feed and electrolyte compositions and flow rates, and extractant and diluent selection, together with their impact on copper recovery are reviewed. The evolution of equipment design and associated ancillary processes are discussed, and new projects identified. INTRODUCTION Continuing from similar surveys carried out in 1997, 1999, 2003, 2007, and 2013 (Robinson, Davenport, & Jenkins, 1997; Jenkins, Davenport, Kennedy, & Robinson, 1999; Robinson, Sandoval, & Cook, 2003; Robinson, Moats, Davenport, Karcas, Demetrio, & Domic, 2007; Sole, Zarate, Steeples, Tinkler, & Robinson, 2013), global operating practice in copper solvent extraction (SX) in 2018 is reviewed. Contributing operations include established sites in the USA (8), Chile (9), Peru (2), Spain (1), Mexico (2), and Australia (2), as well as newer operations in Africa (7) and Asia (3). This survey represents 2018 copper cathode production of 1.91 Mt, or about 43% of world production by solvent extraction combined with electrowinning (SX–EW). Trends in operating conditions and performance, as well as equipment design and process technology choices are analysed. The significant expansion in production in the African Copper Belt is also discussed. There are currently about 130 operations worldwide producing some 4.6 Mt copper by SX–EW; of these, about half produced more than 10 000 t/a. Figure 1 shows global copper production by country. As it has for several decades, Chile remains dominant, with 36% of global production of cathode copper. Since 2005, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has increased production year on year, and now represents 23% of the global total (International Copper Study Group, 2017; Statistica, 2018). Copper production in Asia has grown significantly in the past decade, particularly since the ramp-up of Wanbao in Myanmar. There used to be numerous small copper SX plants in China (Schlesinger, King, Sole, & Davenport, 2011), although most of these have now shut down and Chinese production is lower than it was five years ago. The most important trend, however, is the rise of Chinese-owned mining companies, particularly in Central Africa, but also around the world more generally.

Jan 1, 2019

By Kim B. Shedd, Erin A. McCullough, Donald I. Bleiwas

"The earliest known use of cobalt was to make blue glass in Mesopotamia before 2000 B.C.E. Since then, innovations across many diverse industrial sectors transformed cobalt into an essential commodity for contemporary society. The physical and chemical properties of the element cobalt and its alloys and compounds make them indispensable for a variety of applications, including aircraft engines, hybrid electric vehicles, machine tools, missile guidance systems, petroleum refining and smartphones. As a major industrialized nation, the United States is a leading consumer of cobalt and cobalt-containing products. However, with few exceptions, U.S. cobaltcontaining ore deposits are of low cobalt grade. Historically, U.S. cobalt mine and refinery output have not met domestic cobalt demand. As a result, U.S. cobalt chemical and alloy producers need to procure most of their cobalt from the international market, which can become susceptible to supply risk.The 1978 Cobalt Crisis illustrates supply risk. At that time, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) (then known as Zaire) was the world’s leading producer of mined and refined cobalt. An insurgent invasion of the country’s copper-cobalt mining region during a period of high cobalt demand and low producer inventories caused a temporary supply shortage in the international market. The monthly average cobalt spot price increased from $18/ kg ($8/lb) before the crisis to $99/kg ($45/lb) seven months later. The high price and concern about potential disruptions in supply prompted manufacturers to reduce or substitute for cobalt where possible, and encouraged increased recovery of cobalt from scrap. The DRC has regained its position as the leading producer of mined cobalt globally and continues to be characterized by high governance risks (U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, 2015; World Bank, undated). This article will present current and historical world cobalt production trends, which can help inform discussion about the variety of international supply chain risks consequential to its trade."

Jan 12, 2017

By Christopher Mark

Knowledge of in situ stresses is fundamental to many studies in earth sciences, and coal mine ground control is no exception. During the past 20 years, it has become clear that horizontal stress is a critical factor affecting roof stability in underground coal mines. The theory of plate tectonics and the World Stress Map (WSM) project has been extremely helpful in explaining the sources and the orientations of the horizontal stresses observed underground. Recently, WSM geophysicists studying deep-seated stresses have developed a model of how stress magnitudes vary with depth in the crust. They have devoted relatively little attention to near-surface stresses, however. This paper explores the relationships between deep-seated and shallow in situ stresses in several of the world?s coalfields, using a data base of more than 350 stress measurements from underground coal mines. The analysis indicates that distinct regional trends exist, corresponding roughly to the regional stress fields identified by the WSM. The paper presents equations for estimating stress magnitudes that were developed by treating depth and elastic modulus as independent variables in regression analysis. The magnitude of the horizontal stress increases with depth, at rates that range from 0.8 to 2.0 times the vertical stress, just as the WSM ?critically stressed crust? model predicts. Overall, it seems that the stress regimes encountered in underground coal mines are closely linked to those that exist deep in the earth?s crust.

Jan 1, 2008

By William Gleason

During the 116th National Western Mining Conference and Exhibition in Denver, CO, the host city was often referred to as world?s mining capital, so it was fitting that the conference looked at the mining industry through a global lens. In the current world economy, the mining industry must keep a sharp focus on such things as commodity prices and global supply and demand as well as local issues that can have a dramatic impact on a mine?s social license to operate. In short, companies should mine locally but think globally. During the three-day conference at the Colorado Convention Center, a range of global and local issues that effect the industry were discussed. A record 1,144 people attended the conference.