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.

Mining Methods And Gold Processing Musselwhite Mines

   

      Mining methods and gold processing musselwhite mines initially operated both open-pit and underground mines, open-pit production having been designed to ensure mill feed at a rate of 3,300t/d for about five years following mill commissioning. Most of the mine’s ore is now sourced from underground. And gold processing from musselwhite mines processing includes crushing, grinding, leaching by cyanidation, carbon in pulp recovery and electrowinning, to achieve an overall recovery of approximately 96%.

      The stratigraphy in the Musselwhite mine vicinity is dominated by mafic volcanics, chemical sediments and felsic volcanics. External into the supracrustal sequences are a series of undifferentiated gneisses and granitoids. All mineral lithologies within the immediate mine area have been metamorphosed at mid to upper amphibolite facies. Mineralization is predominantly hosted within meta-chemical sediments (banded iron formations) and in particular within garnet-magnetite-grunerite facies meta-banded iron formations (locally termed the Northern Iron Formation). The location of mineralization is controlled by the intersection of shear zones and folded meta-banded iron formations. These geological controls result in mineralized shoots, which plunge at approximately 15 degrees to grid north, have a down dip extent of up to 150 metres, down plunge continuation in excess of 1.5 kilometres, and across-lithology width of up to 10 metres. Mineralized zones are characterized by abundant pyrrhotite, quartz flooding and, rarely, visible gold.

Mining Methods In  Musselwhite Mines

Gold Mining Industry In South Africa

      

       The country of South Africa is the producer of gold in the world. The successful gold mining industry in South Africa has had a significant impact on the development of africa as an advanced an economically successful country. Mining in South Africa has been the main driving force behind the history and development of Africa's most advanced and richest economy, after Nigeria The nation's gold mining efforts began with the discovery of a diamond stone at the Orange River in 1867. Soon after, the Kimberly pipes were discovered and explored, and gold rushes began to Pilgrim's Rest and Barberton. The Witwatersrand gold rush took place in 1886. This historical event began the development of the gold field in the area and formed the well known city of Johannesburg which is a region africa gold mines. Known as the Witwatersrand basin, this popular area has generated more than 41,000 tons of gold from Africa Mining and continues to be mined today. It is a massive area that encompasses more than 400km.

      The gold mining industry in South Africa is successful due to the countries large gold in africa, which make up a substantial portion of the gold reserves and gold prospecting in the entire world, with some estimates over 50%. The US Geological survey believes that the country has over 6000 metric tons of precious metal, but 95% of it is located underground. The future of gold mining industry in South Africa depends on the level of gold, that the mines can produce. However, the extraction of gold has recently declined because of rising costs. These higher costs are a direct result of the declining grades, an increase in the underground depth of the mines and a declining gold price.

AngloGold Ashanti Operations And Exploration Gold Mines In World

      Gold mining companies AngloGold began in South Africa in May of 1998, when the gold and uranium mining interests of Anglo American Corporation of South Africa were consolidated. AngloGold Limited was formed in June 1998 through the consolidation of the gold interests of Anglo American Corporation of South Africa Limited (AAC) and its associated companies, namely East Rand Gold and Uranium Company Limited; Eastvaal Gold Holdings Limited; Southvaal Holdings Limited; Free State Consolidated Gold Mines Limited; Elandsrand Gold Mining Company Limited; H.J. Joel Gold Mining Company Limited and Western Deep Levels Limited into a single, focused, independent, gold company. Vaal Reefs Exploration and Mining Company Limited (Vaal Reefs), the vehicle for the consolidation, changed its name to AngloGold Limited and increased its authorised share capital, effective 30 March 1998. AngloGold acquired minority shareholders interest in Driefontein Consolidated Limited (17%); Anmercosa Mining (West Africa) Limited (100%); Western Ultra Deep Levels Limited (89%); Eastern Gold Holdings Limited (52%); Erongo Mining and Exploration Company Limited (70%)

      In August 1998, AngloGold became the first South African company to list on the NYSE. AngloGold Ashanti Limited is a global gold mining company by the merger of AngloGold and the Ashanti Goldfields Corporation in 2004 AngloGold Ashanti Limited constitute mining for a gold exploration, development and production company with operations in South Africa, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Namibia and Tanzania. The AngloGold constitute largest gold mines in the world. They are listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE:AGA), the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE:AU), the London Stock Exchange (LSE:AGD), the Ghana Stock Exchange (GhSE:AGA) and the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX:AGG).

Gold Mines Bald Mountain ( History, Mining Methods And Operation )

     

      The Bald Mountain mine is one of largest gold mines in the world. The Bald Mountain mine lies within the Southern Ruby Mountains of northeastern Nevada, approximately 110 kilometers northwest of Ely, Nevada and 110 kilometers southeast of Elko, Nevada. Bald Mountain is operated by Barrick and ore is sourced from multiple open pits over an estimated 600 km2 property with processing at multiple conventional heap leaching facilities. Bald Mountain is the largest mine site by area in the U.S. It stretches 40 km north to south and 16 km east to west with the north and south areas being 19 km apart.

History Bald Mountain mine 

      The Bald Mountain mine lies on the western flanks of Little Bald Mountain and Big Bald Mountain. Rocks exposed in the area comprise a conformable, generally SSE dipping sequence of Cambrian to Silurian limestones, dolomites, shales, quartzites and siltstones. These sediments have been intruded by the Jurassic (159 Ma) Bald Mountain quartz-monzonite stock, and related felsic dykes, along a major north-west structural trend. Intense pre- and post-mineral faulting has produced a complex structural regime at Bald Mountain, controlled by the intersection of deep crustal NW and NNE trending fractures which have localised and controlled the location of gold deposits. Overall , the pluton, associated dykes and Au mineralisation are all controlled by the crustal scale, NW trending Bida Trend structure. Every rock exposed in that part of the district, from the lower Cambrian Hamburg Dolomite to the Silurian Laketown Dolomite has hosted some ore (Placer Dome, 1995).