EVOLUTIONARY AND REVOLUTIONARY TECHNOLOGIES FOR MINING pdf

EVOLUTIONARY AND REVOLUTIONARY

TECHNOLOGIES FOR MINING

Committee on Technologies for the Mining Industries

National Materials Advisory Board

Board on Earth Sciences and Resources

Committee on Earth Resources

National Research Council

NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS

Washington, D.C.

NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS 2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W. Washington, DC 20418

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the

National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy

of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of

the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard

for appropriate balance.

This study was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Industrial Technologies,

and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Grant No. DE-AM01-99PO80016.

The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and do not necessar￾ily reflect the views of the Department of Energy or the National Institute of Occupational Safety

and Health. .

International Standard Book Number: 0-309-07340-5

Library of Congress Control Number: 2001088181

Copies are available for sale from:

National Academy Press

2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W.

Washington, DC 20418

800-624-6242

202-334-3313 (in the Washington metropolitan area)

http://www.nap.edu

Copies are available in limited supply from:

National Materials Advisory Board

2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W.

Washington, DC 20418

202-334-3505

[email protected]

Cover: Photograph of open-pit copper mine at Bingham Canyon, Utah. SOURCE: Kennecott Utah

Copper Corporation.

Copyright 2002 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

iii

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distin￾guished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of

science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter

granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the

federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts is president of the

National Academy of Sciences.

The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National

Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its

administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences

the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also

sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and re￾search, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Wm. A. Wulf is president of

the National Academy of Engineering.

The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure

the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters

pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the

National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal govern￾ment and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr.

Kenneth I. Shine is president of the Institute of Medicine.

The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to

associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of further￾ing knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general

policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of

both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing

services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Coun￾cil is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts

and Dr. Wm. A. Wulf are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research

Council.

National Academy of Sciences

National Academy of Engineering

Institute of Medicine

National Research Council

v

COMMITTEE ON TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE MINING INDUSTRIES

MILTON H. WARD, Chair, Ward Resources, Incorporated, Tucson, Arizona

JONATHAN G. PRICE, Vice-chair, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, Reno

ROBERT RAY BEEBE, consultant, Tucson, Arizona

CORALE L. BRIERLEY, Brierley Consultancy LLC, Highlands Ranch, Colorado

LARRY COSTIN, Sandia National Labroatories, Albuquerque, New Mexico

THOMAS FALKIE, Berwind National Resources Corporation, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

NORMAN L. GREENWALD, Norm Greenwald Associates, Tucson, Arizona

KENNETH N. HAN, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City

MURRAY HITZMAN, Colorado School of Mines, Golden

GLENN MILLER, University of Nevada, Reno

RAJA V. RAMANI, Pennsylvania State University, University Park

JOHN E. TILTON, Colorado School of Mines, Golden

ROBERT BRUCE TIPPIN, North Carolina State University, Asheville

RONG-YU WAN, Newmont Mining Corporation, Englewood, Colorado

National Research Council Staff

TAMARA L. DICKINSON, Study Director

CUNG VU, Senior Program Officer (through April 2000)

TERI G. THOROWGOOD, Research Associate

JUDITH L. ESTEP, Senior Administrative Assistant

NATIONAL MATERIALS ADVISORY BOARD

EDGAR A. STARKE, JR., Chair, University of Virginia, Charlottesville

EDWARD C. DOWLING, Cleveland Cliffs, Incorporated, Cleveland, Ohio

THOMAS EAGAR, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge

HAMISH FRASER, Ohio State University, Columbus

ALASTAIR M. GLASS, Lucent Technologies, Murray Hill, New Jersey

MARTIN E. GLICKSMAN, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York

JOHN A.S. GREEN, The Aluminum Association, Incorporated, Washington, D.C.

THOMAS S. HARTWICK, TRW, Redwood, Washington

ALLAN JACOBSON, University of Houston, Texas

SYLVIA M. JOHNSON, NASA, Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California

FRANK E. KARASZ, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

SHEILA F. KIA, General Motors Research and Development Center, Warren, Michigan

HARRY A. LIPSITT, Wright State University, Yellow Spring, Ohio

ALAN G. MILLER, Boeing Commercial Airplane Group, Seattle, Washington

ROBERT C. PFAHL, JR., Motorola, Schaumburg, Illinois

JULIA PHILLIPS, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico

HENRY J. RACK, Clemson University, South Carolina

KENNETH L. REIFSNIDER, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg

T.S. SUDARSHAN, Materials Modification, Incorporated, Fairfax, Virginia

JULIA WEERTMAN, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois

National Research Council Staff

ARUL MOZHI, Acting Director

JULIUS CHANG, Senior Staff Officer

DANIEL MORGAN, Senior Staff Officer

SHARON YEUNG, Staff Officer

TERI G. THOROWGOOD, Research Associate

DANA CAINES, Administrative Associate

JANICE PRISCO, Administrative Assistant

PATRICIA WILLIAMS, Administrative Assistant

vi

vii

BOARD ON EARTH SCIENCES AND RESOURCES

RAYMOND JEANLOZ, Chair, University of California, Berkeley

JOHN J. AMORUSO, Amoruso Petroleum Company, Houston, Texas

PAUL B. BARTON, JR., U.S. Geological Survey (Emeritus), Reston, Virginia

BARBARA L. DUTROW, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge

ADAM M. DZIEWONSKI, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts

RICHARD S. FISKE, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.

JAMES M. FUNK, Equitable Production Company, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

WILLIAM L. GRAF, Arizona State University, Tempe

SUSAN M. KIDWELL, University of Chicago, Illinois

SUSAN KIEFFER, Kieffer and Woo, Incorporated, Palgrave, Ontario

PAMELA LUTTRELL, Independent Consultant, Dallas, Texas

ALEXANDRA NAVROTSKY, University of California at Davis

DIANNE R. NIELSON, Utah Department of Environmental Quality, Salt Lake City

JONATHAN G. PRICE, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, Reno

National Research Council Staff

ANTHONY R. DE SOUZA, Staff Director

TAMARA L. DICKINSON, Senior Program Officer

DAVID A. FEARY, Senior Program Officer

ANNE M. LINN, Senior Program Officer

LISA M. VANDEMARK, Program Officer

JENNIFER T. ESTEP, Administrative Associate

REBECCA E. SHAPACK, Research Assistant

VERNA J. BOWEN, Administrative Assistant

COMMITTEE ON EARTH RESOURCES

SUSAN M. LANDON Chair, Thomasson Partner Associates, Denver, Colorado

CORALE L. BRIERLEY, Independent Consultant, Highlands Ranch, Colorado

GRAHAM A. DAVIS, Colorado School of Mines, Golden

P. GEOFFREY FEISS, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia

JAMES M. FUNK, Equitable Production Company, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

ALLEN L. HAMMOND, World Resources Institute, Washington, D.C.

PAMELA D. LUTTRELL, Mobil, Dallas, Texas

JAMES H. McELFISH, Environmental Law Institute, Washington, D.C.

THOMAS J. O’NEIL, Cleveland-Cliffs, Inc., Ohio

DIANNE R. NIELSON, Utah Department of Environmental Quality, Salt Lake City

JONATHAN G. PRICE, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, Reno

RICHARD J. STEGEMEIER, Unocal Corporation, Brea, California

HUGH P. TAYLOR, JR., California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California

MILTON H. WARD, Ward Resources, Inc., Tucson, Arizona

National Research Council Staff

TAMARA L. DICKINSON, Senior Program Officer

REBECCA E. SHAPACK, Research Assistant

viii

ix

Acknowledgments

This report has been reviewed by individuals chosen for

their diverse perspectives and technical expertise in accor￾dance with procedures approved by the National Research

Council’s Report Review Committee. The purpose of this

independent review is to provide candid and critical com￾ments that will assist the authors and the NRC in making

their published report as sound as possible and to ensure that

the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evi￾dence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review

comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to pro￾tect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to

thank the following individuals for their participation in the

review of this report: Bobby Brown, CONSOL; Harry Con￾ger, Homestake Mining Company; Ed Dowling, Cleveland￾Cliffs Incorporated; Deverle Harris, University of Arizona;

Mark La Vier, Newmont Mining Company; Debra

Stuthsacker, Consultant; and Milton Wadsworth, University

of Utah.

While the individuals listed above have provided many

constructive comments and suggestions, responsibility for

the final content of this report rests solely with the authoring

committee and the NRC. The review of this report was over￾seen by Donald W. Gentry, PolyMet Mining Corporation.

Appointed by the National Research Council, he was

responsible for making certain that an independent exami￾nation of this report was carried out in accordance with

institutional procedures and that all review comments were

carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of

this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and

the institution.

Finally, the committee gratefully acknowledges the sup￾port of the staff of the National Research Council. We par￾ticularly thank Dr. Tamara L. Dickinson for keeping the

committee focused on our charge and for advice and guid￾ance throughout the process. We also thank Judy Estep for

able assistance with logistics, Teri Thorowgood for techni￾cal matters, and Carol R. Arenberg for editorial assistance in

minimizing the use of technical terms such as “blunging,”

“crud,” and “slimes.”