Technological Challenges in Mining

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1 The mining industry faces new challenges today. These are anything from technological challenges to social and economic. Worlds demand for minerals and raw material continue to be high. Technology has been advancing at a high rate and mining industry has been taking advantage of that. But the main issues fall under other areas, mainly non-tangible issues. Due to high level of risk and fluctuating commodity prices the confidence for investors is low.

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3 Most Challenges are controlled and limited by economics /productivity Material Handling Processing and Extraction Exploration and mineral evaluation Geotechnical/Geomechanics Health and Safety Environmental Issues and Waste Management New and innovative mining methods

4 Materials Handling High efficiency and productivity Automation/Robatics Fleet management dynamic dispatch systems Reliability and safety of equipment Preventive Maintenance non-destructive detection systems Fragmentation Blast induced vibration, air blast, and damage

5 Processing Ore Communtion Crushing and grinding; very high energy intensive process, therefore expensive. Leaching and floatation process of complex or difficult to treat ores Non-sulfite zinc (large quantities but metallurgically difficult to extract Some Peruvian deposits). Sulfide-bearing gold deposits some like those found in Peru and parts of South America with high gold grades but associated with pyrite. Must oxidize first, therefore very expensive. Low grade resources As the high grade resources are getting depleted only low grade deposits will be left to be extracted. Especially for strategic metals (Ti, Cr, Ta-Nb, and all Rare Earth Minerals)

6 Exploration and Mineral Evaluation Most near surface and easy to find deposits are already found and developed. Advanced technology, methods, and new knowledge in understanding ore deposits are needed to explore for deeper and hard to find potential deposits. Undiscovered and under-explored frontiers Central Asia, Africa, parts of South America, seafloor, Antarctica (who owns it?)

7 Geotechnical/Geomechanics As the near surface deposits are depleted mining depths are increasing. The need for better understanding of geomechanics is increasing. Increase safety and stability Better computer modeling capabilities Effective and low cost support systems Better tools to define the rock mass characteristics Monitoring systems to understand the behavior of complex geologic conditions

8 Health and Safety Need to establish tools to predict a major failure monitoring and warning systems Communications systems Particularly in underground operations. Rescue tools and techniques Robots? Ventilation Understanding the health effects of various contaminations, exposure time Improving work environment and workers protection

9 Environmental Issues and Waste Management Design and operation of waste disposal facilities Tailings, Waste Rock, Leach Piles Physical Stability monitoring, failure control Chemical/geochemical stability acid drainage and heavy metal release Ground and surface water protection Liner design Detection Remediation Reclamation/remediation/closure

10 New And Innovative Mining Methods As the easy to mine deposits are depleted more challenging mining conditions are encountered. New mining methods that can be adopted must be introduced to fit the specific ore body and geologic conditions. Examples of Innovative Mining Methods: Long-wall Mining Block Caving Vertical Cratering Retreat Square Set Mining

11 Sustainability Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (The Brundtland Report) Everything that we need for our survival and well-being depends, either directly or indirectly, on our natural environmental. Sustainability creates and maintains the conditions under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony, that permit fulfilling the social, economic and other requirements of present and future generations. (US EPA)

12 Education/Research/Development To meet and resolve all the needs and challenges governments and industry must invest in universities to produce high quality future engineers and technicians. Research and education are the main foundation of technological and sustainable growth. The future and success of the industry relies and depends on education of future generations for the industry.

13 Other Non-Technological Challenges Financing and managing capital projects Mining transactions and industry consolidation Improving performance and operational effectiveness Managing risk (financial/safety/forecasting) Complying with regulatory & reporting requirements Recruiting and retaining a skilled workforce Water issues

14 Other Non-Technological Challenges Recruiting and retaining a skilled workforce Aging workforce is a major issue. Other major challenges are attracting young and interested individuals to join the industry. According to SME, in 2019 the industry will need almost 80,000 replacement workers due to retirement (total of 128,000 new positions will be required by 2019). Water issues Water has always been a challenging issue and crucial for the mining industry. Availability and water management, particularly in arid areas of the world is the top challenge. Other water related issues are acid mine drainage, discharge, sharing with communities, and other usage such as agriculture.

15 Non-Technological Challenges But These are not the main challenges that the mining industry and community faces. The main challenges are social and political These represent the greatest challenges to exploration, start of a new mine or expansion of an existing mine at present. There are many examples of failed or failing projects because of the pressure from the local communities and some times governments.

16 Non-Technological Challenges A few examples are: Pebble, Alaska The largest underdeveloped Cu + Au (Mo, Ag) deposit known. Anglo-American has spent over $580 million on exploration and has announced that they are pulling out. Pascua-Lama in Chile (Au, Ag) Barrick Minas Conga in Peru (Cu, Au) Newmont Esquel (Au) in Argentina Meridian Gold Copper Flat (Cu) in New Mexico Roco Hondo, Mount Taylor (Uranium) in New Mexico

17 Thank you