Palabora Mining South Africa

     

      Palabora Mining is located at 360km north east of Pretoria, close to Kruger National Park, Palabora Mining in South Africa's leading copper producer and also a major source of vermiculite and baddeleyite (zirconium oxide). Palabora Mining Company was founded in South Africa in August 1956. The mining company is owned and managed by Rio Tinto. 57.7% owned by Rio Tinto and Anglo American has a stake of 16.8%. On September 5, 2012, both mining companies have announced their intention to sell their respective interests in Palabora mining. And on December 11, 2012, Rio Tinto announced that it reached an agreement with a consortium of sales that are committed to sustainable management continuously in mining bound Palabora. The consortium is made up of the South African state and the Chinese state entities led by the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) of South Africa Limited and China's Hebei Iron & Steel Group. The sale agreement was concluded in July 2013, and the company name changed from Palabora to Palabora Copper Mining Company (Pty) Limited.

     

      Palabora mine containing magnetite, vermiculite, apatite, zirconium, titanium and uranium and copper. Mineral deposits in a complex consisting of alkali pyroxenite especially frozen by events pegmatites, foskorite and carbonatite. Three separate mineralized zones have been identified in surface outcrop 20km² complex of phosphate-rich northern and central (Loolekop) zones form the basis for the production of copper in this Palabora mining. Copper mineral ore that is channeled into the carbonatite pipe where the value is usually concentric with the highest value (1.0% copper) at its core. High grade copper mineralization extends in the middle of the end of the projection on the floor of the open pit mine.

Copper operations consist of underground mines, Vermiculite operation comprises open pit mining operations and recovery plants, concentrator, a copper smelter with anode casting facilities and associated acid plant, an electrolytic refinery tank house, rod casting plant, magnetite separation plant and a plant for the recovery of the product.

     

     Palabora open pit mine in southern Africa began in 1964 and ended in 2002 when the economy reached the final hole depth. Throughout the course of 35 years, Palabora mining is often at the forefront of technological developments in the field of surface mining. The main feature is the use of the trolley, which helps truck to haul material out of the hole mineral mining, as well as save diesel, and it was one of the early users both in pit crushing and computerized despatching trucks. A fleet of haul trucks in open pit mine Palabora consists of about 20 Euclid and Unit Rig trucks, with the four P & H 2800 and 2100XPA shovel. Cargo truck monitored using Pit control systems on-board overload the shovel, associated with Modular Mining Systems' despatching and monitoring program. Fuller-Traylor rotating in-pit crusher, with a nominal capacity of 5,000t / h, feeding the main conveyor that carried a 1.8-width crushed ore drift up on the pit wall to the rough surface of the ore stock.

     

      Underground mine development Palabora to take ore remaining under the bottom of the hole started in the last years of open pit Palabora production , the construction costs would be around $ 465m, with the prospect of life more than 20 years in underground operations. Underground mine development was completed in October 2004 when 20 cross-cut is brought into full production. In May 2005 the mine has consistently reached 30,000 tons per day - one of the fastest ramp-up to full production in the world. Integrated copper production complex has a metal-refining capacity of 135,000t / y, despite the change to underground mining means that some of this capacity is now redundant. Operation employs about 1,800 people.

     

      Underground mine Palabora is block caving operation, the system was first used in metal mining in South Africa. With the introduction of underground operations, ore output had fallen from the 82,000t / d achieved in the previous open pit to 30,000t / d. However, the transition to underground production has proved problematic, especially in relation to the handling of large ore in drawpoints, and I have struggled to meet production targets. Average output during the end of 2003 was about 20,000t / d, and additional secondary breaking system is being built to help alleviate the bottleneck drawpoint. Palabora Mining operates the mine underground block-cave successful, producing 80,000 tons of copper ore per year. Palabora's block-cave mine is a benchmark for integrated design. No other block-cave mine has been put into as competent an ore-body. Block cave reached a record height of 450 meters in the center, rising up to 700 meters in the suburbs, rendering Palabora a world-class mine.

      Palabora underground mine has been developed on the proven reserves of 225Mt of 0.7% copper mineral. coupled with the possibility of additional reserves of 16Mt grading 0.49% copper. At the end of 2005, proven and probable reserves of 112Mt level reached 0.56% copper, representing a significant reduction of the tonnage and grade of mineral, quoted from previous year. Rio Tinto recorded a US $ 161m asset write-down in the 2005 accounts to reflect this.

      Shaft sinkers contracted to install the service shaft and axle production in the main-1,280m, while the RUC Mining Contractors are constructing underground. This includes driving around 36km of tunnels plus the underground crusher station, ore handling infrastructure and weaken level to block the first cave, located 500 m below the base of the final hole. Destruction of mineral ore which is equipped with four ThyssenKrupp 900T / h double-toggle jaw crusher feed conveyor which connects to the shaft 1.32km production

      Mining Palabora just fine copper producer South Africa and supply the local market with 85% of the copper market needs. Palabora mine employs one of the most complex recovery circuit installed in each copper mine, producing eight metals, minerals and chemical products in about 20 different varieties and grades. The complex includes a concentrator, a copper smelter and refinery, which is now capable of producing 135,000t / y of copper. Phosphate-rich tailings sent to Foskor, while Palabora sells its own copper, precious metals, nickel, zirconium, magnetite and vermiculite in domestic and world markets.