WORLD PROSPECTS
Chemours mobile mining at Trail Ridge South
The Chemours Company , a global chemistry company with leading market positions in Titanium Technologies , Thermal & Specialized Solutions , Advanced Performance Materials , and Chemical Solutions , recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for a new $ 93 million titanium and zircon mineral sands mining facility on land leased from Camp Blanding in Clay County , Florida . The new mine is Trail Ridge South , an expansion of its existing Trail Ridge operation .
The project will use mining technology that minimises environmental impact and was recently deployed at the company ’ s Jesup , Georgia mining site . The new facility will incorporate Mobile Mining Units ( MMUs ), allowing for reduced dependency on traditional dredge or truck and shovel mining processes . The MMUs allow the site to have much lower emissions , reduced dust levels , and lower safety risk versus using traditional haul trucks . In addition , the Trail Ridge South mining operations will recycle 98 % of the water used in the mineral transport and separation processes – providing sustainable solutions while still meeting Chemours ’ commitment to process minerals .
A high-performance solution , the MMUs for both Jesup and Trail Ridge South have been designed by Carrara , Queensland , Australia headquartered Downer company Mineral Technologies ( MT ). MT told IM earlier this year that they are aimed at mining sites where traditional dredging is not an option , or not cost effective . The technology delivers improvements in availability , orebody yields , throughput and overall mineral recovery . Suited to sand environments that include organics such as tree roots , light clay and soft or friable rock , MMUs can reduce operating costs by also eliminating the need for conventional truck and shovel mining . MT said the Chemours MMUs are extracting difficult to reach mineral sand deposits where traditional mining methods didn ’ t stack up as the best business case . The MMUs provide a far safer and substantially reduced cost per tonne solution compared to other options .
“ We view our mining projects as an opportunity to showcase our ability to extract essential minerals with an environmentally conscious approach that protects the planet and local wildlife – consistent with our company ’ s commitment to sustainability ,” said Stuart Forrester , Director of Minerals Operations for Chemours .
MT says the MMU has a 750 t / h nominal operation with peak at 900 t / h . It offers complete remote control via a tablet device eliminating the need for on-board personnel . Dozers push ROM ore to the unit where a hopper is loaded via hydraulic excavator , with the material then crushed to a suitable size for pumping of slurried ore
to downstream processes .
Expansion of its mining operations will allow Chemours to have additional access to highquality concentrated deposits of titanium and zircon mineral sands used to produce its Ti- Pure™ brand of titanium dioxide ( TiO 2 ). Minerals mined by Chemours contain the elements titanium and zirconium , which are included in the US Department of the Interior ’ s 2018 list of critical minerals as they are vital to the nation ’ s security and economic prosperity . These critical minerals are produced in limited quantities domestically . Clay County and the surrounding region are a key domestic source of these critical minerals .
Chemours ’ mining expansion on Trail Ridge South in Starke , Florida , will create 50-75 new positions , with at or above average wages for Bradford and Clay Counties . Construction will begin in July 2021 , with an anticipated start-up by the fourth quarter , 2022 . www . chemours . com ; https :// mineraltechnologies . com
Newmont ' s trolley plans for Penasquito
All the major miners are working on their mid to long term plans relating to decarbonisation . Newmont is no exception and gave a fascinating insight into its future plans within its recently released Climate Strategy and Sustainability Update . It is aiming for a greater than 30 % reduction in absolute GHG Emissions and Intensity by 2030 ( Scope 1 and 2 ) to be delivered from current operating assets through a shift to renewable energy , fuel switching , fleet electrification , and site energy efficiency improvements through its Full Potential program .
This will be delivered as part of an investment of $ 500 million over the next five years announced in December 2020 to support its climate initiatives and reduce carbon footprint . Newmont highlighted Scope 2 renewable energy opportunities at operations to total over 800,000 t CO2e reduction including ~ 10 % reduction at Yanacocha via a wind power project , ~ 10 % at Tanami via wind and solar , ~ 20 % at Penasquito via a solar project and ~ 45 % from wind and solar at Boddington . These renewable energy projects at four sites alone could represent ~ 80 % of the emissions reduction to achieve its Scope 1 and 2 2030 targets . The company also plans for battery energy storage at Tanami and at Merian in Suriname .
In addition to these renewable energy opportunities , Newmont has also identified additional Scope 1 emission reductions though evaluation of its major projects to determine optimal paths to reduce costs and emissions . And as part of this in the next ten years it plans to deploy trolley assist at its Penasquito gold mine in Mexico via retrofit . In the webcast for the Climate Strategy and Sustainability Update the company stated : “ The haulage fleet is already equippped with diesel electric wheel drive motors . By adding overhead power lines on the most fuel intensive haulage routes , we can provide electric power to the Penasquito fleet saving up to $ 30 million and potentially reducing our emissions by over 20,000 t of carbon per year .”
It also mentioned a battery electric underground equipment fleet at Tanami Expansion 2 but gave no additional details on this . In processing up to 2030 , less energy intensive ore separation and eco – efficiencies
in comminution were mentioned .
Back to the trolley plan – in 2020 Penasquito was operating 79 Komatsu 930E electric drive haul trucks ( with another four parked ). The mine is 780 km northwest of Mexico City , in the state of Zacatecas and has two open pits – Peñasco and Chile Colorado . Komatsu working with its AC electric drive supplier Wabtec , has previously told IM that a new Trolley Assist Package for its 930E-5 trucks will be launched in 2022 so the retrofitting at Penasquito is likely to be focused on the newer 930Es at the operation . The 830E-5 package is already available and is being retrofitted now on four trucks at Copper Mountain Mining in BC , Canada . https :// newmont . com /
10 International Mining | AUGUST 2021