Mining and Ore Preparation

The location and the nature of the ore strongly determine the energy requirements for its mining
and primary processing. Typical data for some major ore types and processing methods are
summarized in Table 7.2. An alluvial ore, which consists of unconsolidated sand and gravel lying near
the Earths surface, requires the least energy. It needs only to be excavated by shovels or dredges and
to be processed for the separation of the heavy miner- als. Examples include titanium, zirconium,
and also tin minerals. For these, the dredging of the alluvial ore followed by a physical concentration
of the heavy minerals on board the dredge requires 0.023 to 0.07 109 joules for every ton of ore
excavated and processed. Next come the typical hard rock ores that can be mined from the surface
by open-pit methods and processed by crushing and grinding (to about 100 m particle size),
followed by con- centration by flotation. The energy requirement for such ores is in the range of 0.35
to 0.45 109 joules for every ton of ore mined and processed. For treating a hard rock ore that is
deeply buried, the sequence of operations consists of underground mining, crushing, fine grinding,
and flotation. These require about 1.0 109 joules of energy per ton of the ore. In mining, the energy
needed for the drilling, blasting, ventilation, and dewatering of underground mines is relatively small.
The operations of loading the ore, lifting it out of the pit or the mine, and its haulage are the most
energy-intensive. In primary physical beneficiation, fine grinding of the ore is the most energy-
intensive operation and the en- ergy requirement for this may range from 0.11 to 0.28 109 J t1,
depending on the hard- ness of the rock and the fineness to which it has to be ground. In contrast,
for a coarse grinding of rock and for mineral separation by flotation, magnetic separation, or gravity
concentration, the total energy requirement is only about 0.07 to 0.10 109 J t1 of ore. Milling and
concentration are usually performed near the mine site in order to minimize the energy consumed in
transporting large quantities of ore. Crushing in gyratory and cone crushers involves less energy
consumption as compared to grinding in rod and ball mills. The latter consume a considerable
amount of steel, which indirectly amounts to energy consumption. When ores are mineralized in
such a way that discrete grains of valuable minerals are contained in a matrix of gangue minerals,
physical concentration methods such as flota- tion, gravity separation, and magnetic separation can
yield valuable mineral concentrates with recoveries in the range of 80 to 95% of the value in the ore.
However, there are impor- tant ore types in which the nature of mineralization is not amenable to
physical concentra- tion, and so primary processing by chemical means is necessary. Primary
chemical treatments of the ore can be of two types. If the metal values in the ore are selectively
soluble in a relatively dilute acidic or alkaline solution, leaving the gangue unaffected, and if the
metal values in the ore can be removed from the solution by a simple process such as precipitation,
ion exchange, or solvent extraction, the treatment turns out to be the least energy-intensive among
the chemical beneficiation techniques. In such cases, mining and selective leaching to the stage of a
concentrate containing the metal together require about 0.35 to 1.4 109 joules of energy per ton of
ore. Selective leaching of gold and uranium ores respectively are examples where the energy
requirement corresponds to the lower and the higher limits of this range. When the ore is so
mineralized that the entire rock matrix has to be attacked either by chemical digestion in hot,
concentrated, aqueous solutions, or by smelting to yield molten phases, the treatment turns out to
be the most energy-intensive among the chemical beneficiation techniques. The energy requirement
in such cases is about 4.5 to 14 109 joules of energy per ton of ore for mining and primary
processing. About 8.5 to 10 109 joules are required for the smelting of one ton of nickel laterite ores
to produce molten ferronickel and slag. The production of pure aluminum oxide from bauxite ores by
strong alkali digestion at elevated temperatures and pressures (Bayer process) requires about 8.5
109 joules of energy per ton of ore. Aluminum refining by the Bayer process consumes about 16% of
the total energy needed for the production of one ton of primary aluminum. Metallic ores can vary
widely in grade (% metal content). The grade of the ore, G, deter- mines the number of tons of the
ore, T, that must be processed to recover one ton of the metal. If the recovery (% metal recovered)
during processing is represented by R, the terms G, T, and R are related as follows: T = 10,000/(G R)
According to this relationship, if the desired recovery is fixed at 90%, only about 1.7 tons of high-
grade direct shipping iron ore (~ 65% iron) need be processed to produce 1 ton of iron. To produce 1
ton of gold from an ore containing 0.001% gold, about 111,000 tons of the ore will have to be
processed. If U is the energy required for mining and primary process- ing of 1 ton of the ore, the
energy requirement, E, for the recovery of 1 ton of the metal, corresponding to the stages of mining
and primary processing only, will be E = U T = 10,000 U / (G R) This relationship is illustrated in Figure
7.1, where E is plotted against G for a recovery level (R) of 80%. The pronounced influence of ore
type and ore grade on energy require- ments is clearly brought out in this figure. Each of the bands in
the figure represents an ore type, with the width of the band indicating the typical range of energy
required for the mining and primary processing of 1 ton of ore. The upward slope of the band from
right to left highlights the effect of ore grade on the energy required for the recovery of 1 ton of
metal. This has been called by Kellogg the tyranny of ore grade. No band is shown for the selective
leaching of ores because this is almost identical to that for the concentration of hard rock ores. Two
specific situations in the same band may be considered which amply illustrate the tyranny of the ore
grade. According to the figure, the recovery of 1 ton of copper from a hard-rock ore of 0.6% grade
involves 73 109 J of energy expenditure for mining and concentration. On the other hand, the
recovery of 1 ton of gold from an ore of 0.001% grade involves a much higher energy expenditure of
44,000 109 J for mining and selective leaching. Apart from the tyranny of the ore grade, one has to
contend with the tyranny of the ore type. If the amounts of energy required for mining and primary
process- ing for the recovery of 1 ton of nickel as ferronickel from two different types of nickel ores of
the same grade are compared, it is seen that the energy required in the case of nickel laterites is
more than ten times greater than that required in the case of sulfide nickel ores. Examples such as
these bring into focus the pattern of energy demands in the future when ores other than those
which are presently being mined and processed will have to be ex- ploited. With the passage of time,
the average grade of the ores mined for metal production has become progressively leaner, and this
trend will continue in the future because metallic ores are nonrenewable resources. For example,
fifty years ago the average grades of the iron and the copper ores mined in USA were about 55% and
1%, respectively. At present, these grades are about 34% and 0.6%. As illustrated in Figure 7.1, a
decrease in the grade of the ore of a given type results in an increase in the energy requirement for
producing 1 ton of the metal. Such an increase in the energy needed may be offset by technological
advances leading to energy savings in presently energy-intensive processes. In mining and primary
processing, for instance, the use of belt conveyors (in the place of the current practice of truck
haulage) for transporting the ore from open-pit mines can result in energy savings. Improvements in
grinding circuits, as for example, by the use of computers for control purposes, can also result in
energy savings. The relief brought about by the energy saving measures known at present can
support the economics of mining and primary processing upto a certain decrease in ore grade, but
not beyond that. Many of the suggested future sources of metals, of which common rock (which
contains metals such as copper, lead, and zinc in ppm levels) is an example, are very low in grade and
also are mineralogically com- plex. Their processing will involve digestion with strong reagents or
smelting of the rock. As a result, the energy consumption for metal recovery from these sources will
place them at the top left-hand corner of Figure 7.1. The energy requirement in such a situation will
be about 1000 times higher compared to the present level. The escalation in energy intensity
attendant to the processing of the possible future sources of metals can again be illustrated by taking
the example of deep-sea manganese nodules. These constitute a unique type of mineral resource,
which, by virtue of its extensive availability, may very well prove to be a major commercial source for
some nonferrous metals in the future. This resource is also remarkable on account of its complexity.
A special feature of these nodules, which has a bearing on the energy requirement for their
processing, is their water content, which is tenaciously held even at high temperatures, due to
capillary condensation in extremely fine (nanometer size) pores. This strongly held water content
renders such standard extraction processes as roasting and smelting prohibitively energy-intensive.
The energy intensity for the processing of manganese nodules is also excessively high because of the
fact that the nodules are indifferent to physical concentration processes such as flotation or magnetic
separation. As a consequence, processes designed to treat concentrates have to be applied to the
ore itself, making the entire operation energetically unviable, unlike the situation obtained with most
of the land-based metal resources