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Slide TitleINNOVATION IN MINERAL PROCESSING AND
EXTRACTIVE METALLURGY IN THE PRODUCTION OF HIGH TECH AND
CRITICAL MATERIALSDr. Corby G. Anderson
Harrison Western ProfessorKroll Institute for Extractive Metallurgy
Colorado School of Mines
PROFESSIONAL PRESENTATION PHILOSOPHY
Colorado School of Mines• Est. 1874• Golden, Colorado• 21 Technical Majors• About 200 Faculty• About 6600 Students
• “…has a unique mission in energy, mineral, and materials science and engineering…”
• “has the best balance between teaching and research of any public university.”
• “QS ranked #1 in the World for Mining and Mineral Engineering” by Business Insider.
• “Ranked as #1 US Engineering school” by USA Today.
• “Mines has the brainiest students of any public university.” Luminosity survey.
• “the average starting salary of a BScMines graduate is $ 10 K more than an Ivy League graduate.”
The Kroll Institute for Extractive Metallurgy
Dr. Patrick R. Taylor, Director KIEMDepartment of Mining Engineering,
Colorado School of Mines
kiem.mines.edu
MY HOMETOWN ‐ BUTTE AMERICA
“A Mile High and a Mile Deep but the People are on the Level”
ANDERSON ANCESTORS 1891FROM LINDBERGE PARISH, HALLAND, SWEDENBUILT & OPERATED THE ANACONDA SMELTER
The Stack was built by the Alphons Custodis Chimney Construction Company of New York. At the time it was built, May 5, 1919 it was the tallest masonry structure of any kind in the world at 585 feet.
“Nothing is good enough if it could be made better and better is never good enough if it
can be made best.”
HARRINGTON CORBY ANCESTORS 1873 COPPER MINERS FROM ALLIHIES PARISH, BEARA PENINSULA,
COUNTY CORK, IRELAND
“Irish people are educated not only about artistry but local history.” – Fiona Shaw
MY INITIAL THOUGHTS
The Bronze Age• Metals were first used in tools and weapons manufacture. • Pure copper and bronze, an alloy of copper and tin, were used
indiscriminately at first; this early period is sometimes called the Copper Age and it occurred around 4000 B.C.
• The development of a metallurgical industry coincided with the rise of urbanization.
• The organized operations of mining, smelting, and casting undoubtedly required the specialization of labor and the production of surplus food to support a class of artisans.
• The search for raw materials stimulated the exploration and colonization of new territories.
MY INITIAL THOUGHTS
The Iron Age• The casting of iron did not become technically useful until the
Industrial Revolution. • The Iron Age developed the basic economic innovations of the Bronze
Age and laid the foundations for feudal organization. • They utilized the crops and domesticated animals introduced earlier
from the Middle East. Ox‐drawn plows and wheeled vehicles acquired a new importance and changed the agricultural patterns.
• For the first time humans were able to exploit efficiently the temperate forests. Villages were fortified, warfare was conducted on horseback and in horse‐drawn chariots, and alphabetic writing based on the Phoenician script became widespread.
• Distinctive art styles in metal, pottery, and stone characterized many Iron Age cultures.
MY INITIAL THOUGHTS
MY INITIAL THOUGHTSDr. William Justin Kroll was a Luxembourg
metallurgist.
He is best known for inventing the Kroll process in 1940 in conjunction with the USBM which is used
commercially to extract metallic titanium and zirconium from ores.
This created an entirely new material and industry !
Born: November 24, 1889, LuxembourgDied: March 30, 1973, Brussels, Belgium
“good metallurgists are not born. They are made with the ample money of the companies which hire them, and since they usually make their mistakes on a grand scale, they are the nightmares of business management.”
1943 Perkin Award Speech Quotation by Dr. William Kroll
“KIEM ‐ Excellence in Education and Research for the Mining, Minerals
and Metals Industries”
• Objectives: The objectives of KIEM are to provide research expertise, well‐trained engineers to industry, and research and educational opportunities to students, in the areas of : minerals processing, extractive metallurgy, recycling, and waste minimization.
• History: The Kroll Institute for Extractive Metallurgy was established at the Colorado School of Mines in 1974 using a bequest from Dr. William J. Kroll after he died.
• This effort was led by Professor Al Schlechten. For over 45 years, the Kroll Institute has provided support for a significant number of undergraduate and graduate students who have gone on to make important contributions to the mining, minerals and metals industries.
MY INITIAL THOUGHTS
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MY INITIAL THOUGHTS
In any bureaucracy, there's a natural tendency tolet the system become an excuse for inaction.
Chris Fussell
INNOVATION IN MINERAL PROCESING AND EXTRACTIVE METALLURGY
“Beware lest you lose the substance by grasping at the shadow.” Aesop
FROTH FLOTATIONThe generally recognized first successful commercial flotation process for mineral sulfides was invented by Frank Elmore who worked on the development with his brother, Stanley.
It had previously been noted that sulfide minerals would float with application of oils.
The Glasdir copper mine at Llanelltyd, near Dolgellau in North Wales was bought in 1896 by the Elmore brothers in conjunction with their father, William.
In 1897, the Elmore brothers installed the world's first industrial size commercial flotation process for mineral beneficiation at the Glasdir mine.
FROTH FLOTATION
Georgius Agricola (24 March 1494 – 21 November 1555) was a German scholar and scientist. Known as "the father of mineralogy", he was born at Glauchau in Saxony. His real name was Georg Pawer; Agricola is the Latinised version of his name, Pawer/(Bauer) meaning farmer. He is best known for his book De Re Metallica. Translated to English by Herbert and Lou Hoover.
There were other Hoovers prominent in mining too !
FROTH FLOTATION
Developments elsewhere, particularly in Broken Hill, Australia by Minerals Separation, Limited, who Herbert Hoover’s brother T J worked with, led to decades of hard fought legal battles and litigations.
In 1911, James M. Hyde a former employee of Minerals Separation, Ltd., modified the Minerals Separation process and installed a test plant in the Butte and Superior Mill in Basin, Montana, the first such installation in the USA.
In 1912, he designed the Butte & Superior zinc works, Butte, Montana, the first great flotation plant in America.
Minerals Separation, Ltd., which had set up an office in San Francisco, sued Hyde for infringement as well as the Butte & Superior company, both cases were eventually won by the firm in the U. S. Supreme Court.
FROTH FLOTATION
GOLD CYANIDATION John MacArthur
GOLD CYANIDATION John MacArthur was a chemist in Glasgow Scotland.
He purposefully studied cyanide and successfully applied it to gold.
He was financially backed by the Forrest brothers who were physicians.
Patents were lodged and cyanide was introduced in Australia and South Africa.
The South African gold industry became dominant and they refused to honor the cyanide patents due to excessive royalty requests.
Increase In World Gold and Silver Production Between 1900 and 1910 As a Result of Cyanidation
GOLD CYANIDATION
GOLD CYANIDATION
The Carlin Trend in Northern Nevada. Now the largest producer of gold in the world.
My Son and Daughter in Law live and work here.
Thank you John MacArthur !
CHATEAU DES BEAUX, FRANCEWhy here ?????What mineral ???What metal ???
ALUMINUMA RARE METAL BEFORE 1887
ElementAbundancepercent by weight
Abundanceparts per million by weight
Oxygen 46.1% 461,000
Silicon 28.2% 282,000
Aluminum 8.23% 82,300
Iron 5.63% 56,300
Calcium 4.15% 41,500
Sodium 2.36% 23,600
Magnesium 2.33% 23,300
Potassium 2.09% 20,900
Titanium 0.565% 5,650
Hydrogen 0.14% 1,400
The 10 Most Abundant Elements in the Earth's CrustSource: CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 77th Edition.
ALUMINUM • High purity alumina was desired for the fabric industry.
• Le Chatelier had proposed a soda ash roasting process.
• Bayer instead used high temperature selective leaching followed by selective crystallization.
• Filled the need for fabrics. What else though ?
Karl Joseph BayerALUMINUM
BAYER ALUMINA PROCESS 1887
ALUMINUM • Charles Martin Hall at sixteen years old was a student at Oberlin College.
• In his second term he attended a lecture by Oberlin Professor Frank Fanning Jewett who said "if anyone should invent a process by which aluminum could be made on a commercial scale, not only would he be a benefactor to the world, but would also be able to lay up for himself a great fortune."
• Independently, Heroult also researched this in France.
Hall Heroult Process
22 Years Old ! 23 Years Old !
Hall – Heroult Aluminum Process Process 1887
ALUMINUM
ALUMINUMBayerProcess
Hall Heroult Process
Now the largest non ferrous resource industry.
Bayer Hall & Heroult Process Global Impact
!!!!!!!!!!
ALUMINUM
• General Mills had an off beat research project using oximes for liquid liquid extractions.
• General Mills had very limited interest in it as it was not a core business.
• The copper industry did not want it or accept it and rejected it. • Joe House kept it alive with bandit research just like sticky notes
at 3M. • Maxie Anderson accepted the technology risk and implemented
it at his Rancher’s Bluebird copper mine 50 years ago.
COPPER SOLVENT EXTRACTION
COPPER SOLVENT EXTRACTION Selectively Recover Cu+2 With Organic
2[R-H+] + Cu+2 R2-Cu+2 + 2H+
Org
OrgCu+2 2H+ AqueousSolution
OrgOrg
COPPER SOLVENT EXTRACTIONNow 30 % of World Copper Production
Swansea, Wales
The first copper ingot was produced at Swansea's historic Hafod Copperworks site in 1811 years ago and continued until 1980.
COPPER ELECTROREFINING
• The world’s first copper electrorefinery started production in 1869 at Pembrey in South Wales and was closed in March 1912. Refining principles pioneered there form the foundation of modern electrorefining practice.
• It was invented in 1865 by James Elkington to remove precious metals from copper by collecting slimes.
• No real use then for high purity copper. • Then the electrical age hit the world.
COPPER ELECTROREFINING
Utilizes a soluble anode and an impressed voltage.
Anode Reaction Cathode Reaction
COPPER ELECTROREFING
COPPER ELECTROREFININGNow 70% of World Copper Production
For the Manhattan Project, scientists needed pure uranium, lots of it, fast and at a low price.
HYDROMETALLURGY TWENTY THIRD LECTURE
THE RARE EARTHS
THE RARE EARTHSRare‐earth impurities in uranium could prevent a nuclear reactor from working by absorbing the neutrons needed to keep the chain reaction going.
So the rare earths had to be removed.
Yet the chemical similarity of the lanthanides makes it extremely difficult to isolate them from one another and to separate them from uranium and other actinides. Iowa State chemistry Professor Frank H. Spedding, an expert on rare earths, helped guide solution processing efforts to make tons of pure uranium oxide and a new high‐temperature smelting method—called the Ames process—to make tons of pure uranium metal.
THE RARE EARTHSExisting Rare Earths separations technology before the Manhattan Project.
\Ion Exchange Displacement Chromatography Ion Exchange Elution Chromatography
THE RARE EARTHSRare Earths separations technology after the Manhattan Project.
THE RARE EARTHSAfter WWII, in 1947, Spedding helped create and became director of Ames Laboratory, a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory with a mission to further develop rare earths, initially for military uses and space exploration. Building on their earlier work, Spedding and his team developed an ion‐exchange method to extract rare earths from minerals, enabling better separation of the rare‐earth metals on a larger scale.Rare‐earth research became commonplace after the groundbreaking work performed in Ames in the 1940s and 1950s,” explained materials scientist Vitalij Pecharsky of Iowa State and Ames Laboratory, another RERC organizer. Spedding and his colleagues made pure rare earths available in quantities required for broad chemistry and physics research and applications for the first time.
THE RARE EARTHS
A new term, “rare earthers,” was created for attendees of the 5th Rare Earth Research Conference when the Holiday Inn welcomed them to Ames, Iowa, in 1965.Credit: Vitalij Pecharsky/Ames Laboratory
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CURRENT INNOVATIONS
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THE HISTORICAL INNOVATION PATH
THE HISTIORICAL INNOVATION PATH A PERSONAL REAL WORLD EXAMPLE
1926: Two chemists, Joseph C. Patrick and Nathan Mnookin, were trying to invent an inexpensive antifreeze. In the course of an experiment involving ethylene dichloride and sodium polysulfide, they created a gum whose outstanding characteristic was a terrible odor. The substance clogged a sink in the laboratory, and none of the solvents used to remove it were successful. Then the frustrated chemists realized that the resistance of the material to any kind of solvent was a useful property. They had invented a synthetic rubber, which they christened "Thiokol".
THE HISTORICAL INNOVATION PATH BECAME MY FIRST ENGINEERING JOB !
1945: Charles Bartley, working for the nascent Jet Propulsion Laboratory, discovers the use of Thiokol as a stabilizer in solid-fuel rockets.1948: Elkton, Maryland, plant opens, producing solid rocket motors.
• 1. HPGR – Cerro Verde & Boddington. For competent (uniformly hard) orebodies with little or no clay content, HPGR is a great alternative to SAG milling. Freeport McMoRan’s Cerro Verde operation (Peru) recently expanded to 360 kt/d (397,000 stpd) processing capacity using HPGR and ball milling technology. There are significant energy and wear savings compared with conventional SAG milling. This has enormous implications for our industry.
• 2. SAG mill performance predictor tests and methodologies. The development of SAG and AG performance indicators has provided a number of effective tools for the design and optimization of comminution circuits. Importantly, these tests are relatively low in cost, use modest amounts of sample, can be run on drill core, and provide rapid results. In some cases, there is no substitute for pilot plant testing in 1.8‐m (6‐ft)‐diameter mills.
• 3. Sea water for flotation and leaching. The use of sea water in major copper flotation and leaching facilities in Chile and Peru is having a big impact on how fresh water is managed and used. It is also helping to reshape the socio‐political conversation around mining in these countries.
Marsden’s Top Ten Mineral Processing Innovations in the Last 20 Years
4. High‐efficiency centrifugal gravity concentrators (and intensive leaching). The Knelson and Falcon concentrators introduced widely in the 1990s and 2000s have revolutionized gravity concentration for gold and silver recovery. When coupled with intensive cyanide leaching of the concentrates, this is an effective one‐two punch for gold metallurgists. We have Byron Knelson and Andre Laplante to thank for this, among others.
5. Ultra‐fine grinding (Glencore IsaMill, Metso Stirred Media Detritor, Metprotech, etc.) The ability to efficiently grind down to 7‐10 µm has opened the door to new hydrometallurgical approaches to treat refractory and semi‐refractory gold/silver ores, and for emerging base metal sulfide concentrate treatment options.
6. Pressure leaching of copper/ molybdenum concentrates. Pressure leaching of copper concentrates continues to gain momentum.
Marsden’s Top Ten Mineral Processing Innovations in the Last 20 Years
7. Rapid, automated SEM (MLA/ QemSCAN/TESCAN). We have witnessed a major revolution in process mineralogy with the advent of rapid, automated SEM technology that can provide quantitative mineralogy on representative samples of material in a timely manner.
8. The Derrick Stack Sizer. This is a very clever device that provides significant fine screening area within a small footprint. Derrick does it again.
9. Alternative anodes for copper electrowinning. Alternative anode technology introduced by Freeport‐McMoRan and Republic Anode Fabricators at Chino (New Mexico) and El Abra (Chile) has helped reduce the energy consumption for electrowinning and is eliminating lead from EW tankhouses.
10. Thiosulfate leaching. Barrick Gold has developed and implemented “CaTS” (calcium thiosulfate) leaching for gold extraction and recovery from highly carbonaceous, pre‐robbing refractory sulfide ores at Goldstrike in Nevada.
Marsden’s Top Ten Mineral Processing Innovations in the Last 20 Years
SUMMARY THOUGHTS AND CONCLUSIONS
SUMMARY THOUGHTS‐ Innovation in Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy has had
significant impacts on humanity.‐ It created the Iron and Bronze ages and civilization as we know it. ‐ It created new materials and new industries like aluminum and
titanium.‐ It has often been created for a need other than it actually found use in.‐ It was always created by people willing to put perspiration into the
effort, overcome failures and accept a risky challenge.‐ It was not always rewarded by wealth or fame and often met rejection. ‐ So, how do we continue to Innovate in Mineral Processing and
Extractive Metallurgy ?
SUMMARY THOUGHTS Why would anyone be a Professor ? Why do you do research ? Are you now retired ? What do you do with your summers off ?
Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Castletownbere, County Cork built in 1907 AFTERmass emigration to Butte, America circa 1872.“The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.”
Pablo Picasso
SUMMARY THOUGHTS
Dr. William J. KrollWorld famous Metallurgist and Benefactor of the Colorado School of Mines.
Inventor of commercial processes for the production of titanium and zirconium. Philanthropist and advocate for Metallurgical education.
SUMMARY THOUGHTSThe Sons of Martha is a poem written by Rudyard Kipling who admired engineers. It is inspired by the biblical story of Jesus at the home of Martha and Mary. It celebrates the careful work done by engineers and builders like Martha to provide for others physical needs. In the Bible story, Christ visits a home where two sisters, Mary and Martha, live. Mary sits nobly at the visitor's feet to listen to him while Martha races about attending to the hospitality until her patience runs out, and Martha calls on Jesus to direct Mary to help her. Jesus chides Martha for her mundane concerns and is told: "Mary has chosen what is better". It is recited at US and Canadian Engineering Order Inductions.
SUMMARY THOUGHTSAnd the Sons of Mary smile and are blessed‐‐‐they know the Angels are on their side.
They know in them is the Grace confessed, and for them are the Mercies multiplied.
They sit at the feet‐‐‐they hear the Word‐‐‐they see how truly the Promise runs.They have cast their burden upon the Lord, and‐‐‐the Lord He lays it on Martha's Sons !
HowardA Son of Martha
SheldonA Son of Mary
SUMMARY THOUGHTS‐ There are about 8 US schools left that teach and research Mineral Processing and
about 5 that teach and research any Extractive Metallurgy.‐ There is no distinct degree in Mineral Processing or Extractive Metallurgy offered
any longer in North America.‐ The average age of the faculty engaged in these activities is well over 50 years old.‐ An H Index is more important for hiring, tenure and promotion of faculty than any
real world practical engineering knowledge that can be passed on to students.
SUMMARY THOUGHTS‐ The US Bureau of Mines no longer exists so there is no single agency that fully
represents a relatively globally large GDP sector for the USA.‐ The majority of the Western world mineral research is done by the METS service
sector. ‐ Corporate research and development barely exists.‐ Over one half or more of the experienced mineral and metallurgical engineers will
retire in less than ten years. ‐ As an analogy, will you now hire a plumber if you need an electrician ?
SUMMARY THOUGHTS
Central South University, Changsa ChinaThe largest of 38 Mineral Processing schools in China. 1000 Undergraduates and 500 Graduate Students !
Extractive Metallurgy is in an equally large but separate school !
SUMMARY THOUGHTS
So, Rare Earths are not Rare at all.In the USA, Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy are very Rare.
The Chinese now control what the USA had created in Rare Earths because they control now Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy.
1/7/2021 64
SUMMARY THOUGHTS
SUMMARY THOUGHTS‐ The world’s growing population needs a vast amount of future
skilled mineral and metallurgical engineering professionals to provide the additional global minerals and metals demands.
‐ Where will be doing innovative research in 20 years ?‐ Who will provide the increasing minerals and metals and the
innovations needed to produce them more efficiently from more complex, lower grade and more remote orebodies ?
‐ Who will create entirely new metal industries like Kroll did ?‐ Who will create an enduring educational and research legacy as
Kroll did ?
SUMMARY THOUGHTSKROLL’S DESCENDANTS
“ I am happy that a gracious fate has allowed me to carry, for a while, the flag of rare metals research, around which many young people have now gathered to carry on where I have left off “
1943 Perkin Award Acceptance Speech Final Statement by Dr. Kroll
CONCLUSION
Conclusion‐ In order to innovate, you must be motivated and dedicated
to continually invest effort, time and money.‐ Luck and success in innovation directly reflects this
investment in effort, time and money. ‐ You likely will NOT achieve what you intended but you will
likely achieve something.‐ You likely will not get rich or famous and may be rejected.‐ The key is to continue to give back to create the future
as you move forward.
INNOVATION IN MINERAL PROCESSING AND EXTRACTIVE METALLURGY
CONCLUSIONIt was a privilege and pleasure to present this.
I am glad to take any questions and answer …….. some of them
Thank you !
Slide TitleINNOVATION IN MINERAL PROCESSING AND
EXTRACTIVE METALLURGY IN THE PRODUCTION OF HIGH TECH AND
CRITICAL MATERIALSDr. Corby G. Anderson
Harrison Western ProfessorKroll Institute for Extractive Metallurgy
Colorado School of Mines
