Chapter 4 Mining and Mineral Processing

Successful exploration leads to the development of a mine for extraction of the ore
and of a processing facility to transform the ore into a marketable product. The
evolution toward this stage, and some of the costs involved in developing a mine, are
discussed in Chapter 2 and illustrated in Figures 2.1,2.2, and 2.3.

4.1 Mining

The mining methods and the scale of mining are determined by (a) geologic factors
relating to the geometry and distribution of the ore; (b) engineering factors involving
rock stability, technology, and equipment; and (c) economic considerations, includ-
ing the magnitude of the investment, availability of financing on reasonable terms,
payback period, and mine life, as discussed more fully in Chapters 5 to 7. In this chap-
ter, the geologic factors which determine the choice of the most adequate mining
methods will be addressed, and the mining methods themselves will be described
briefly.
As discussed in Chapter 1, minerals and metals occur in distinct types of ore de-
posits which are characterized by their geologic setting, geometry, and range of
grades. Each type of deposit or individual mine requires specific mining methods de-
pending on the setting of the ore. Copper, for example, may occur in relatively small
massive-sulfide deposits which grade from 1% to 4% copper, or in large porphyry
copper deposits with ore grades of 0.5-1.0% copper. Gold may be hosted in narrow
veins containing 10-20 g (0.3-0.6 oz) gold per ton, or as disseminations in rock con-
taining as little as 1 g (0.03 oz) gold per ton of ore. High-grade deposits, or deposits
of a commodity of high unit value like gold, can be mined by expensive, selective
mining methods while low-grade deposits, or deposits of commodities of a low unit
value, must be large enough to justify large-scale, more cost-effective bulk mining
methods. The cost of mining per ton of ore ranges from very low, for example for
mining of unconsolidated rock on the surface or for leaching of very low-grade gold
and copper ores, to very high, for example for selective mining of precious metals at
depth as illustrated by many of the rich silver-lead-zinc mines of Mexico and Peru. In-
termediate costs apply to open pit and underground mining in hard rock by bulk min-
ing methods.
All mining methods involve (a) removal of the ore, and host rock if needed; (b)
separation of the ore from the host rock; (c) crushing of the ore to a size that is conve-
nient for handling; and (d) transportation to a processing plant. Inexpensive removal
of ore by earth moving equipment is possible for deposits hosted in soft, unconsoli-
dated rock, for example placer deposits of gold and tin, or near-surface deposits of tar

W. R. Gocht et al., International Mineral Economics

© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 1988
Mining and Mineral Processing 75

Fig. 4.1. Layout of an open pit copper mine , Cananea, Mexico. (White 1980)

sands and brown coal. Mining of ore hosted by hard rock requires the added expense
of drilling and blasting. As a general rule, surface mining is less expensive per ton of
ore than underground mining. However, the amount of waste rock that must be
moved in surface operations increases as mining proceeds to greater depth, to the
point at which underground mining becomes the less costly alternative.

4.1.1 Surface Mining

The ore-to-waste ratio is the main factor in the choice between surface and under-
ground mining, and in any later decision to change to underground mining methods
to recover deeper portions of an ore body, as shown for example by the combination
of surface and underground mining adopted for the Mt. Isa deposit in Australia. The
selction of the most suitable surface mining method depends on the physical and
chemical characteristics of the ore .
- Placer deposits of gold, platinum, cassiterite (tin), rutile/ilmenite (titanium),
monazite (thorium), and diamonds hosted in unconsolidated gravels or beach
sands can be exploited by use of large earth-moving equipment, including dredges
and bucket-wheel excavators. This equipment is used both to remove overburden
and to mine the ore, which is then concentrated by gravity methods at the minesite.
Large operations to extract heavy minerals from beach sands along the coasts of
Brazil and Australia are examples. For environmental reclamation, the waste
material can be replaced to its former location as mining proceeds.
76 Economic Geology, Mineral Exploration, and Mineral Development

Fig. 4.2. Underground stoping of a tabular ore body

- Near-surface coal seams located under cover of unconsolidated or poorly consoli-

dated overburden, for example in the western US or the Federal Republic of Ger-
many, or tar sands, for example in Athabaska, Canada, are extracted by strip min-
ing. The methods and equipment are very similar to those described above, except
that heavier machinery must be used to handle the tougher material and larger ton-
nages involved.
- Near-surface, high-tonnage metal deposits in hard rock are mined by open pit
methods. The grade and tonnage may be high, for example in iron, manganese, or
aluminum deposits; intermediate, for example in massive-sulfide deposits of cop-
per, lead and zinc; or low, for example in porphyry Cu-Mo or disseminated-gold
deposits. The development of an open pit operation generally requires stripping of
overburden. Once exposed, the ore is extracted by drilling and blasting of the rock,
transported to a central crushing facility, and the ore minerals are concentrated in
a processing plant prior to smelting. The ore is mined along benches (Figs. 1.3;
4.1), and transported, generally by diesel equipment, over ramps which connect
the benches.
Mining and Mineral Processing 77

4.1.2 Underground Mining

Underground mining is used to extract ores of relatively high grade and unit value,
for example ores of lead, zinc, silver, or gold, by selective mining methods, or to ex-
tract disseminated, low-grade ores, for example of copper and molybdenum, by bulk
mining methods. The cost of underground mining has decreased significantly over the
last decade because of the development of larger and more versatile diesel equipment
for underground use, and of an attendant increase in the scale of operations made
possible by progress in mining technology.
Selective mining or stoping is used to exploit tabular ore bodies, for instance layers
of massive sulfides of lead-zinc-copper, or veins of gold and silver. The ore is re-
moved horizontally by longwall or room-and-pillar methods, or upward in inclined
ore bodies by one of a variety of stoping methods (Fig. 4.2). As the ore is removed,
the open stope is supported by pillars of ore which are left in place, or with timber or
waste rock. In modern mines, stopes are often filled with tailings from the processing
plant which are transported to the underground workings as a slurry. To extract all
the ore without leaving ore pillars, mines are often divided into a system of access
tunnels on one hand, and the actual mining areas or "stopes", on the other. Stopes
can be mined out completely because there is no need to support and preserve drifts
and cross cuts for access after the ore has been removed.
Large bodies of disseminated ore, for example of disseminated porphyry copper
and molybdenum deposits, are mined by underground bulk mining methods in which
large blocks of ore are prepared by the construction of draw points and haulage tun-
nels on the level just below the blocks (Fig. 4.3). In block caving, the ore at the base

Fig. 4.3. Block caving of a large, low-

grade porphyry copper deposit
78 Economic Geology, Mineral Exploration, and Mineral Development

of the block is drilled, blasted, and removed through the system of draw points which
connect with the haulage levels. The remainder of the ore collapses into the large cav-
ity thus formed, to be drawn out at the base. In panel caving, one side of the ore
block is removed and the ore is blasted sideways, again to be recovered at the base of
the block. No attempts are made to fill the mine openings. The overlying, barren rock
collapses, leading to the formation of large collapse craters on the surface.
As these methods illustrate, gravity is used to the extent possible to facilitate the
removal and transport of ore underground. Depending on the size and depth of the
ore deposit, access from the surface is provided by horizontal adits, inclined ramps,
or vertical shafts. Levels analogous to the benches used in open pit operations are de-
veloped to reach and transport the ore to a central, underground crusher for com-
minution. The crushed ore is then brought to the surface, vertically by a shaft or hori-
zontally by an access tunnel, depending on the topography and the relative cost of the
two options.

4.1.3 Solution Mining

Solution mining is suited to the exploitation of easily dissolved materials, for example
sodium and potassium-bearing evaporites or sulfur, and has also been successfully
applied to the recovery of uranium ores hosted in porous sandstones. In a wider
sense, coal gasification and oil shale retorting by underground combustion may be
placed in this category. A variant of solution mining which is rapidly gaining in impor-
tance is dump leaching of copper and heap leaching of gold and silver. For the leach-
ing of low-grade ores of copper, acid is percolated through ore dumps to dissolve the
copper, which is precipitated electrically on cathodes. In heap leach mining of gold
and silver, the low-grade ore is mined, crushed, and placed on leaching pads. Leach-
ing by sodium cyanide solution chemically dissolves the gold and silver. The gold is
extracted by carbon adsorption and electrowinning, and the silver by precipitation as
insoluble sulfide (Fig. 4.4). Small, low-grade gold deposits containing as little as one
gram of gold per ton (0.03 ozlt) can be exploited profitably.

4.1.4 Marine Mining

Major efforts have been made in the last two decades to develop mining methods for
the recovery of near-shore heavy-mineral deposits of tin, diamonds or monazite, and
of deep-sea manganese nodules which cover large areas of the Pacific deep ocean
floor and contain appreciable amounts of copper, nickel, and cobalt. These nodules
can be brought to the surface for processing by dredges and suction tubes. Similarly,
massive sulfides of copper, lead, and zinc which form in spreading centers in the deep
ocean have become attractive targets, and tests have already been conducted for the
recovery of the metalliferous sediments in the Atlantis Deep of the Red Sea. The pur-
suits of marine metal mining are of potential rather than immediate economic signifi-
cance. Lack of agreement concerning the legal aspects of ownership and rights to pro-
duction, addressed in more detail in Chapter 8, and the currently depressed metal
markets have slowed progress in the implementation of marine mining. This does not
Mining and Mineral Processing 79

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Fig. 4.4. Flow sheet of a gold-silver heap leach mining operation. (Eveleth 1979)

apply to the exploitation of oil and gas on the oceanic shelves, which is of great sig-
nificance in the supply of fossil fuels.

4.1.5 Strategies and Trends in Mining

The mining scale, payback period for the investment, and mine life are planned to
yield a maximum metal recovery and a maximum profit for a company or country.
Every mining venture represents a compromise between these two goals and under
certain conditions, maximum recovery will be sacrificed in favor of a larger, short-
term profit, for example to accelerate the initial payback of the investment, or to
avoid long-term economic and political risks. However, mining of the best ore ini-
tially, to achieve higher profits, results in decreased overall metal recovery because
any lower-grade material, which can be processed only if it is mixed with high-grade
ore, will have to remain in the ground.
80 Economic Geology, Mineral Exploration, and Mineral Development

The progressive exhaustion of the most easily discovered near-surface deposits

and of the high-grade deposits worked in the past causes a shift from surface to under-
ground mining and from the mining of high-grade or to low-grade ore. This shift is
mirrored by changes in mining methods, from selective to bulk mining, and from
labor-intensive to highly mechanized mining. Mechanization has been aided by the
development of trackless diesel equipment for ore transport, and of efficient drilling,
loading, and hauling equipment which makes increases in production possible.
Mining geologists and exploration geologists use the same approaches and tools,
but the mining geologist's main task is to secure the short-range and long-range re-
serves which are needed to sustain the mining operation, in the mine and district-
wide. Mining geologists are also responsible for grade and tonnage control during
mining, achieved by systematic sampling of the ore before it is extracted, to assure
that the mill receive a blend of ores of the optimum ore grade from different ore
blocks, while at the same time assuring maximum recovery. The direction and se-
quence of mining is decided on the basis of detailed geologic work and engineering
considerations.

4.2 Mineral Processing

The aim of mineral processing is to upgrade the ore from a mine to a product of the
purity and characteristics required by the market. This is to be done with the highest
possible recovery and at the lowest possible cost. Large blocks composed of ore min-
erals, gangue minerals, and host rock from the mine reach the processing plant. Min-
eral processing transforms this material by selectively concentrating the valuable con-
stituents and rejecting the admixed impurities.
Most mineral processing begins with a thorough disaggregation of the ore by
crushing, grinding, and screening until it has the proper size required for best separa-
tion and concentration of the ore minerals (Fig 4.5). The coarsest ore is crushed in
jaw crushers, ground to centimeter size in rotary mills, and pulverized in large rod or
ball mills which consist of rotating cylinders half-filled with steel rods or balls. Screens
between the grinding mills recycle- oversized material, to assure a constant feed of
properly sized material at each step of the process. The optimum grain size for sep-
aration of the ore minerals is determined by microscope studies of ore textures and
by,metallurgical tests.
Some ores are used without the need for concentration, or need only agglomera-
tion or pelletization before use, for example ores of iron, manganese, and phos-
phates. Most minerals and metals, however, have to be concentrated and smelted to
extract the metals. Concentration of minerals takes advantage of differences in their
phy~cal and chemical properties. Density separation and magnetic separation are the
main methods which rely purely on physical properties. Density separation is
employed, for example, in the concentration of gold and the heavy minerals cassiter-
ite (tin), rutile (titanium), ilmenite (titanium,), monazite (thorium), and zircon (zir-
conium), traditionally in gold pans, sluices or shaking tables, but now mostly in
con«s, spiral concentrators, jigs, and cyclones. All of these devices use the high den-
sity of the metals and minerals to separate them from less dense gangue or rock mate-
rial. Magnetite and ilmenite from beach sands are further concentrated by magnetic
Mining and Mineral Processing 81

Fine-ore bins

Ball mill

Fig. 4.5. Froth flotation for the recovery

- - Filters - -
of silver, lead, and zinc from Mexican
vein ores. The silver remains in the lead
concentrate and is recovered by smelt-
ing. (Courtesy of The Fresnillo Com-
Zinc concentrate Lead concentrate pany, Mexico)

separation. A reverse process is used in heavy media separation, for example of iron
and manganese ores, in which dense ore is separated from less dense barren rock in
a heavy liquid, generally a water suspension of a finely ground, dense mineral. The
density of the liquid is adjusted so that gangue and rock fragments float and the den-
ser ores sink and collect on the bottom of the flotation chamber.
Of much more economic importance than these physical methods of purification
are froth flotation and solvent extraction (Fig. 4.5) to recover base-metal sulfides and
precious metals. The principles employed are simple but the details of procedure are
complex. The ore is pulverized, mixed with water to form a pulp, and ore minerals
are chemically conditioned to attach to air bubbles which are circulated through the
pulp in flotation tanks. The air bubbles and attached ore minerals are removed from
the upper surface of the tanks. The separation of different mineral types by this pro-
cess is made possible by differences in their surface chemistry. Hydrophobic particles
will attach to the bubbles and rise to the surface while hydrophilic particles do not and
sink to the bottom of the tanks. The flotation cells are designed in such a way that the
ore pulp is kept in constant motion, and that there is a constant stream of bubbles
flowing upward. The separation process is controlled py a number of reagents:
frothers increase the surface tension of the bubbles so that they are stable and can
carry the mineral fragments upwards; collectors are polar molecules which attach to
the mineral particles and render them hydrophobic so that they are carried upward
with the gas bubbles; modifiers enhance collector selectivity for different minerals;
activators cause flotation of certain ore minerals while depressants discourage flota-
82 Economic Geology, Mineral Exploration, and Mineral Development

tion; dispersants clean mineral surfaces and pH regulators adjust the pulp to the best
pH range for separation of specific minerals. A proper choice and sequence of appli-
cation of reagents in conditioning tanks allows selective concentration, in sequence,
of ore minerals of copper, lead, zinc, or other sulfides. During froth flotation, origi-
nal metal concentrations of 0.5-5% of the base metals are increased to 25-30%. The
final extraction of the metals is achieved by smelting of the concentrates or by chem-
ical processing.

Notes on the Literature

Mining approaches are covered in a textbook by Thomas (1979). Collections of pap-

ers about surface and underground mining have been assembled for the American In-
stitute of Mining Engineers by Cpmmins and Given (1973), Crawford and Hustrulid
(1979), and Hustrulid (1982). A three-part Library of Operating Handbooks has been
published by the Engineering and Mining Journal covering surface mining (Hoppe
1978), underground mining (Sisselman 1978), and mineral processing (Thomas 1977).
Summaries of our knowledge of marine resources are given by Cronin (1980) and
McKelvey (1986), and a detailed account of solution mining is found in Schlitt (1982).