1. Sustainability Important Factors
Technical
Economic
Social/Political
Environmental
Past mining activities focussed on only the first two
The latter two have now become equally, if not
more important

2. Sustainability A Mine must plan for closure before it starts up
A mining company must always consider local communities in all parts of the world
As an industry, we must find ways to enhance our image and to influence government decision-making
Future methods must reduce the footprint of mining
no more open pits
waste returned to the mine
processing at the face
robotics and remote-mining systems

3. Sustainability
The BC Mining Industry must encourage its members to institute vertical integration policies
We need to invest in much more value-added processing (i.e. smelting and refining in BC)
Downstream manufacturing industries must be encouraged to develop in BC
This will provide the necessary systems to begin significant recycling of metals and other materials in the pacific North-West

4. Sustainability Social/Political Issues
Land Use
Government policies
The Influence of Activism
Environmental concerns
Aboriginal peoples and treaties
Need for jobs and a diversified economy
In BC, the Tatsenshini/Windy Craggy decision has
had important long-term impact on Mining
Similarly, the Delgamuk decision and Nishka Treaty are important to the future of BC's mining industry

5. ORE, WASTE and MINERALOGY
What is an ore?
What is waste?
What is the role of mineralogy in MMPE?
How do these questions change for different commodities?

6. What is an Ore? Definition:
An ore is a mass of mineralization within the Earth's surface which can be mined
- at a particular place;
- at a particular time;
- at a profit.

7. What is Waste? Definition:
Waste is mineralized rock that is removed from a mine to provide access to an underlying or nearby orebody containing at least one mineral of value.
Types of Waste:
- footwall material ( typically barren material )
- hangingwall material ( typically contains sulfides )
- gangue material contained within the ore

8. What is Waste? Waste rock can become ore at some later point in time.
- metal/commodity prices can change
- other values are discovered within the waste
- new technology is developed
- cost of environmental protection becomes too high
- ore has been exhausted; too costly to close the mine

9. Mineralogy in MMPE
The types of minerals in the ore have major impact on the operation and control of the processing plant.
- relative abundance of ore minerals
- feed grade and concentrate grade
- types of gangue minerals
- slime content (clays, etc.)
- pH effects (alkali rock)
- pyrite and pyrrhotite (iron sulfides)
- association of ore and gangue minerals
- liberation characteristics
- disseminated vs. massive

10. Process Mineralogy
- establish regular mineralogical analysis of mill feed and other process streams
- perform a size-by-size analysis of rock and ore mineral contents and associations
- relative abundance
- free/locked ratios of grinding circuit products
- perform metallurgical testwork on ore samples containing different mineralogy
Virtual Atlas of Opaque and Ore Minerals in their Associations <

11. Process Mineralogy
- establish the metallurgical performance of each process stage for each ore mineral type
- determine in which size ranges, losses are occurring and examine which minerals are responsible for these losses
- establish the influence of impurity minerals on product quality
- use all of the above information to decide on process changes that will improve plant performance with respect to recovery and product quality

12. Copper Ores Minerals: Sulfides Oxides chalcopyrite cuprite
bornite malachite
covellite pseado-malachite
chalcocite azurite
cubanite chrysocolla
Gangue Minerals:
pyrite arsenopyrite
quartz feldspars
silicates clays
Mn-wad calcite

13. Copper Ores
Ore Types:
Porphyry: igneous rock of large crystal size (phenocrysts) embedded in a ground mass. Typical mineralization is disseminated chalcopyrite with molybdenite.
Massive: pyrite/pyrrhotite host with chalcopyrite, pentlandite, sphalerite, arsenopyrite, galena.
Vein-type: quartz host with veins of chalcopyrite, chalcocite and pyrite

14. Copper Ores Problems: Liberation: fine grinding may be required.
Recovery: oxide/sufide ratio changes,
presence of slime particles,
poor recovery of coarse copper minerals.
Product: poor liberation, presence of As, Bi, Pb
Quality high %H2O, variable Cu grade
Separation: poor distribution of Co, Zn, Pb, etc.

15. Copper Ores
Anhedral chalcopyrite (yellow, top right) is intergrown with quartz (light grey, right centre). Pounded to euhedral rutile (grey-white, centre left) is disseminated throughout the host rock. The poorly polished dark grey gangue is phyllosilicate. - El Salavdor, Chile

16. Nickel Ores Minerals: pentlandite chalcopyrite Gangue Minerals:
pyrrhotite
quartz feldspars
silicates clays
Mn-wad calcite

17. Nickel Ores
Ore Types:
Massive: pentlandite and chalcopyrite in relatively equal quantities in massive pyrrhotite.
Massive: low copper content in pyrrhotite host.
Massive: presence of clay slimes,
chalcopyrite/pentalandite with pyrrhotite

18. Nickel Ores Problems: Ni-associations: 3 types - as pentlandite
- solid-solution in pyrrhotite
- "flame" pentlandite in pyrrhotite
Liberation: fine grinding may be required
for "flame" pentlandite.
Recovery: solid-solution losses.
magnetic vs. flotable pyrrhotite
Product: clay contamination
Quality high %H2O, variable Cu/Ni grade

19. Nickel Ores Problems: Cu-Ni separation: - at milling stage
- at the smelting stage
- at the matte separation stage
Synthetic Minerals: heazlewoodite (Ni3S2)
chalcocite (Cu2S)
Fe-Ni alloy (PMs)

20. Downstream Processing
Nickel
Typical Mine/Mill Treatment

21. Downstream Processing
Nickel
Matte Separation processing

22. Nickel Ores Chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite, pentlandite,
and cubanite - Stillwater, Montana, USA
Notice flame pentlandite in chalcopyrite

23. Nickel Ores
125µm
Pyrrhotite (brown) has pentlandite (light brown, higher
reflectance, centre) exsolution bodies as flames, aligned
along (0001). Minor amounts of chalcopyrite (yellow, centre
right) are associated with cleavage and fractures within
pyrrhotite. Silicates are black.

24. Nickel Ore
Rhomb-shaped areas of deeply etched hexagonal pyrrhotite are surrounded by more lightly etched monoclinic pyrrhotite,
which is the main phase. Very lightly etched monoclinic pyrrhotite
(pale brown, bottom right) has a rim of granular pentlandite
(light brown, higher reflectance). Pyrrhotite is intergrown with
chalcopyrite (yellow, centre) and encloses magnetite (grey, top left).

25. Lead/Zinc Ores Minerals: galena sphalerite Gangue Minerals:
pyrrhotite pyrite
arsenopyrite talc
quartz feldspars
silicates clays
Mn-wad calcite

26. Lead/Zinc Ores Ore Types: Pb/Zn: galena, sphalerite and pyrite
Cu/Pb: chalcopyrite, galena and pyrite.
Cu/Zn: chalcopyrite, sphalerite and pyrite
Cu/Pb/Zn: chalcopyrite, galena, sphalerite and pyrite

27. Lead/Zinc Ores Problems:
Zn depression: ZnS is readily activated by Cu ions
Cu/Pb separation: essential to avoid Cu smelter
penalties
Liberation: difficult to assess without mineralogy
Product: Zn conc > 55-58%Zn
Quality Pb conc > 60-65%Pb
Cu conc > 25%Cu

28. Copper, Lead, Zinc Ores Euhedral arsenopyrite (white,
high reflectance, left) is inter-
grown with galena (light blue-
white with triangular cleavage
pits, centre), chalcopyrite
(yellow, centre) and sphalerite
(light grey, centre right), with
fine chalcopyrite inclusions
(top left) or submicroscopic
chalcopyrite (grey to brown-grey, centre right). A lath of poorly
polished molybdenite (light grey, centre) is enclosed within chalcopyrite
and galena and has partially rimmed arsenopyrite (bottom right).
Minor amounts of rutile (light grey) form acicular crystals within the
gangue (right centre). Black areas are polishing pits.

29. Copper, Lead, Zinc Ores Reniform sphalerite (light grey,
centre) is interbanded with galena
(white, centre bottom) and chalco-
pyrite (yellow) in successive
growth rings. Chalcopyrite in the
centre of the right sphalerite has
replaced poorly crystalline pyrite
(white, top right). Chalcopyrite
can be seen to have higher relief than galena (bottom left).
The gangue (dark grey) is sulphate. Black areas are polishing pits.

30. Iron Ores Minerals: hematite magnetite martite goethite/limonite
siderite
Gangue Minerals:
quartz feldspars
silicates clays
MnO2 calcite

31. Iron Ores Ore Types: high grade hematite: Carajas, Brazil
low grade hematite: Shefferville ores, N. Quebec
hematite/magnetite: Iron Ore Company of Canada,
Labrador
hydrated/weathered ores: itabirite and limonitic ores
carbonate ores: Siderite ores (Sault St. Marie)

32. Iron Ores Problems: magnetite recovery: associations with hematite
gravity separation: fine size liberation
flotation: reverse flotation of gangue
Product: SiO2 content < 2%
Quality product size
(lump, sinter feed, pellet feed)
magnetite content

33. Samarco Iron Ore Flowsheet

34. Samarco Iron Ore Concentrator

35. Samarco Iron Ore Pipeline

36. Iron Ore Pellets
Malmberget, Norway

37. Gold Ores Minerals: native gold, electrum, tellurides
associated with pyrite and/or other sufides
Waste: quartz
pyrite
arsenopyrite
feldspars
calcite
other rock-type minerals

38. Downstream Processing
Gold processing options

39. Gold Flakes

40. Gold Panning

41. Gold Flakes

42. Grinding and Cyanide Leaching
Musslewhite Mine, Ontario

43. Smelting Gold
Campbell Mine, Ontario

44. Pouring Slag
Musslewhite Mine, Ontario

45. Pouring Gold Bullion Bars

46. What its all about!
Gold Bullion