Tennessee Zinc: A Status Report

The summer joint meeting of the East Tennessee and Carolinas Sections of SME was held in Morristown, TN, on July 29 and 30, 1994. The Friday portion of the meeting began with a field trip to Asarco Inc.'s Young Mine and Mill, one of four mines operated by the company in the Mascot-Jefferson City district. The Young Mill processes ore from two other mines as well as its own, first by heavy media separation and then by standard flotation processes. Zinc concentrates are shipped by truck and barge to an electrolytic refinery in Clarksville, TN. The heavy media rejects and the dolomitic limestone tailings are sold through Asarco subsidiary American Limestone Co. Saturday's technical session, organized by Program Chairman Bob Fulweiler of the Tennessee Division of Geology, provided a review and status report of the zinc industry in Tennessee. This article summarizes papers presented, including one on recent developments in underground blasting.