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"How Wall Street Darling Molycorp Undermined the U.S. Economy, Degraded our National Security and Distorted the Global Economic Balance and How These Falsehoods Continue to be Promoted Even Today INTRODUCTION & SUMMARY In 2007 the Molycorp Mountain Pass rare earth mine was resurrected from its desert-grave in California by its then-owner Chevron Mining. Responding to elevated rare earth prices Chevron began processing on-site rare earth concentrates left over from past mining operations that were terminated in 1998i. Chinese demand had sparked what was being described as a commodities super-cycleii. Commodity prices were on the move. Wall Street smelled opportunity. In 2008 Goldman Sachs, Pegasus Partners, Resource Capital Funds, Traxys North America LLC and Carint Group LLC acquired the mining assets from Chevron. In an environment of ever-declining ethical standards and regulatory consequences the private capital group and their investment bankers would bring Molycorp to market. Molycorp, with its high powered investment banking team of Morgan Stanley and J.P. Morganiii, easily dominated the contest. Molycorp promoted itself, largely based on its past operating history and proven reserves, as the best company to challenge China’s monopoly control over the production of rare earths: a group of elements critical to most advanced technologies and U.S. defense systemsiv. Most of Wall Street’s hottest investment sectors were dependent on these materials: alternative energy, green technologies, computing, personal communications, advanced electronics and defense systems. By late 2010 there were dozens of prospective rare earth start-up ‘mining companies’ seeking capital. Eventually the number of prospective rare earth mining companies seeking capital exceeded 400, despite the reality that supply requirements of this market were disproportionally small when compared to other natural resource sectorsv. In the world of finance ‘smart money’ picks the winners. Consequently just twovi projects attracted nearly all of the capital (Molycorp and Lynas). Wall street picked Molycorpvii. This paper will primarily focus on Molycorp. By early 2010 the words “Molycorp” and “Rare Earths” electrified many people in the mining industry, most non-Chinese manufacturing technology companies, U.S. & allied defense contractors, technocrats in the U.S. national security community and eager investors across most of the world’s stock markets. It was the hottest story of the yearviii. The financial, technology and defense press coverage verged on euphoric: heaping fuel on fuel until the highly combustible Molycorp-pyre cast a long shadow over all of its rivalsix. When the IPO match was lit the spectacular flaming pyre sucked all of the oxygen out of the rare earth spacex. Molycorp was ranked the most lucrative IPO of 2010, resulting in record breaking profits to its private investors and massive returns for its early stock holding investors."

Jan 1, 2017

By V. Rajaram

Rock reinforcement systems are used in open pit and underground mines to stabilize the rock mass in-situ and provide safe working conditions. Significant progress has been made to date in the design and implementation of rock reinforcement systems to accommodate bad rock conditions and larger excavations. However, the rationale for the design of rock reinforcement systems remains essentially the same and can be categorized into three groups, namely 1. to create a beam of competent rock in stratified formations, 2. to resist sliding motion in jointed rock, 3. to passively support the superincumbent loads in highly stressed ground. Case histories of the rock reinforcement sys¬tems that illustrate these design approaches will be presented in this paper.

Jan 1, 1983

By S. Garcia, J. Gebhardt, D. McBride, A. Hernandez, A. Esplín, M. Cross

The Minera Yanacocha operation consists of several heaps interconnected with ponds and gold recovery plants and presents various operating challenges. A comprehensive process model has been developed in order to better understand the effects of certain operating parameters and inventory issues. An integral component of the process water/mass balance is a model of each heap that describes heap behavior based on the individual characteristics of the heap. The heap models are linked to a mass balancing program in order to track flows and concentrations throughout the circuit. A case study of the process heap model is presented for the La Quinua heap, including results for the normal base line operation and several operational problems such as loss of solution flow to the heap (i.e., pump failure), increased flow to a section of the heap (i.e., pond volume control), effect of significant rain events, and impact of a change in material properties (i.e., change in ore type). The impact on heap operating efficiency is discussed with regard to effects on recovery and gold solution grades.

Jan 1, 2007

By Hugh R. Rhys

The question of the desirability of recovering cullet from MSW in order to recycle it into the manufacturing of glass containers remains a controversial one. The main factors appear to be: 1. The position of the Glass Container Manufacturers Institute (GCMI), as the trade association for most container manufacturers, is that post-consumer cullet is a vital source of raw material. Present requirements are for: a) Flint cullet b) Non-flint cullet of known mix proportions c) Mixed unsorted cullet of known mix propertions c) Mixed or non-flint cullet of unknown mix proportions. A market balance for these products exists, and this might somewhat limit the outlets for (b), (c) and (d), or severely limit the outlet for (d) alone. 2. The color specifications are rather strict. With cullet admixtures of 20% of the melt or more, and the use of decolorisers in a flint furnace discouraged because their action is reducing in a process which requires an oxidising environment, color contamination in a flint furnace is serious.. For amber and green furnaces (reducing) it is less serious, but in order that the quantity of decolorisers may be controlled, the color balance (as a measure of the Fe and Cr content) of the admixtured cullet should be known. 3. Why not simply color analyze, either by a continuous on-stream or off-stream: photo-electronic analysis, or by systematic batch sampling (with some kind off electronic surveillance of the mainstream) and just send mixed, color measured cullet to only amber and green furnaces? The flint would-be simply included in the mix. This is probably technically feasible, but is subject to the market limitations noted in point1.

Jan 1, 1975

By Jack Bedder

"Editor’s note: We would like to thank those who make this annual issue possible. A special thank you goes out to the industrial minerals annual review editor, to the Industrial Minerals & Aggregates Division Technical Committee chair and vice chairs, and to the authors of the individual commodity profiles.Jim Norman, member SME, of Tetra Tech, is the industrial minerals annual review editor.Ebrahim K. Tarshizi, member SME, of Michigan Tech, is chair of the Industrial Minerals &Aggregates Division’s Technical Committee.The technical committee vice chairs include: • Hyunjung Kim, member SME, of Chonbuk National University, agricultural materials.• Xihui Yin, member SME, of Kemira, ceramics and refractory materials.• Nikhil Gupta, member SME, of Virginia Tech, chemical raw materials.• Jasson Giddens and Swadhin Saurabh, members SME, of Oil Dri Corp of America and Mill Creek Engineering, respectively, chemical raw materials.• Snehamoy Chatterjee, member SME, of the Michigan Tech.• LeDeana Roberts and Shubham Verma, members SME, of Imerys and U.S. Oil Sands, respectively, fillers and pigments.• Thomas Hilderbrand and Kaiwu Huang, members SME, of Thiele Kaolin Co. and Virginia Tech, respectively, sorbents, filters and process aids.• Rhaghav Dubey and Edgar Blanco, members SME, of Outotec and FL Smidth, respectively, specialty mineralsAntimony generally occurs along with gold, lead, copper and silver. There are more than 100 antimony minerals, although the sulfide mineral stibnite is the main one.Antimony enters the supply chain either as a result of mining (primary production) or recycling (secondary production). China has by far the largest antimony resources and is, as a result, the world’s center for antimony mine production. In 2016, it accounted for more than three quarters of the global mine supply out of a world production figure of 130 kt (143,000 st), according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The biggest, and most high-grade deposits are found in southern China, with the largest mines located in Hunan, Guangxi and Yunnan provinces. Tajikistan, Russia, Australia and Bolivia are the largest mine producers outside China. A new antimony project in Oman made progress in 2016, producing first metal in April 2016 in test facilities, and then ordered three furnaces for a 26 kt/a (28,600 stpy) antimony metal and oxide smelter that is due on stream in late 2017.Antimony ingot production is not as widespread as is antimony mine production, owing to the high levels of pollution that are associated with antimony smelting. It is for this reason that smelting has been largely confined to China and other Asian countries, where environmental legislation is less stringent.Antimony oxide production is undertaken on four continents with China being the biggest producer. There is also a considerable amount of oxide production in Europe — which relies on imported feedstock, mostly from China. Antimony also enters the supply chain through recycling. Lead containing antimony is produced in a number of countries, mainly in secondary lead smelters. Typically, a blast furnace charge containing used or discarded battery plates, type metal or bearing metal is reduced to lead bullion, which is refined in reverberatory furnaces and melting pots. In the main, the antimony recovered is consumed in metallurgical applications. China was the biggest secondary antimony producer in 2016, and accounted for 25 retardants and lead-acid batteries. Flame retardants accounted for roughly 50 percent of consumption in 2016 with batteries representing about 25 percent. Other end uses include plastics and heat stabilizers, ceramics and glass and a variety of metallurgical applications. Demand has been sluggish since the global financial crisis, mostly because key markets failed to recover strongly from the downturn, particularly in Europe."

Jan 7, 2017

By David Morrison

"The history of the mining industry is littered with in-pit crushing and conveying (IPCC), which should not be confused with the International Protocol for Carbon Capture, projects that failed. The failure is not the technical one of “did it achieve the desired tonnage rate for a longish test period” but, rather, the far more important one of “did it provide return on the investment in the manner that was promised?” While quite a few can claim the former, very few system installations can claim the latter.The reasons for the many failures are numerous, but they are all characterized by a combination of an element of engineering optimism in any, or all of the production rates, the productivity, or the operating and maintenance costs and in predicting the continuity of operating conditions. In these days of big data, propagating such a situation is rapidly becoming unforgivable.In this article, the three most common scenarios put to the corporate board for approval, and the logic as to why they were selected, are examined (with the irony included intentionally).• Fully mobile crusher, fed by a shovel and conveyed out of the pit to a waste dump / process plant.• Semimobile crusher (much more expensive than a fixed crushing station but which apparently allows trucks to short haul inside the pit and improve productivity), which moves when the face moves.• Relocatable crusher (more expensive than a fixed crushing station but which gets relocated at great expense after all the fixed infrastructure impeding relocation is demolished) fed by trucks that don’t leave the pit mostly.This paper will also consider the truth about their operational performance and associate costs."

Dec 1, 2016

By A. Choudhury

Deep open-pit mines are becoming increasingly common in the highly mineralized arctic and sub-arctic regions. Air inversion is a frequent occurrence in these regions, and is exacerbated by the natural topography of an open-pit mine. Due to such inversions, the air quality in open-pit mines deteriorates very rapidly. Transport of gaseous pollutants under arctic air inversion is complex and involves an interaction between flow, thermal and convective transport systems. This paper discusses the construction and validation of a three-dimensional model that simulate the flow of air and the transport of gaseous contaminants in an arctic open-pit mine and the effect of low influent velocity and large gust velocities on the contaminants profiles in the mine. It was found that while higher velocities may remove contaminants from the pit bottom, they may not remove the contaminants from the pit entirely, necessitating artificial mitigation measures.

Jan 1, 2012

By L. S. Hansen

Organized efforts toward the prevention of injuries and occupational diseases have been of comparatively recent origin in the mining industry, dating generally from the beginning of this century. Mining-and particularly underground mining- is more hazardous in many respects than most other major industries, and continual and increasing attention has been given to its health and safety aspects. The importance of the physical well-being of those engaged in mining was recognized by Agricola, who, after describing the hazards encountered in 16th century mining operations, stated that "Some of these evils, as well as certain other things, are the reason why pits are occasionally abandoned." In the past 50 yr particularly, mine managements and labor organizations, separately or collectively, have mounted productive efforts toward the prevention of accidents and industry-associated diseases and illnesses. A statistical study of this period indicates that increasing awareness coupled with the endeavors of all concerned agencies has resulted in decreasing frequency of occurrences of injuries and illnesses. In recent years particularly the mining industry has used the services of safety engineers, industrial hygienists, inspectors, ventilation engineers and other specializing in locating and correcting deficiencies affecting the welfare of employees. Concurrently, the labor movement has incorporated into its organization individuals working in the fields of health and safety, many devoting full time to these responsibilities. Others serve in behalf of their fellow workmen as on-the-job safety representatives. Most authorities agree that accidents are caused by (1) unsafe acts, (2) unsafe conditions and, exceptionally, (3) Acts of God. The "unsafe act" often is cited as the prime cause. but many accidents, and attendant injuries, are the result of a blend of "unsafe acts" and "unsafe conditions," with each chargeable in varying proportions. It therefore is necessary to consider both the physical elements of the mine plant and the training, mental attributes and actions of all personnel involved. Analysis of an accident, if based on hasty reconnaissance and unduly hurried questioning, seldom will disclose more than surface causes and consequently will result in inadequate measures to prevent repetition. Mining involves unavoidable and calculated risks, as in all facets of life. It is most important then that men employed in mining be schooled in the hazards and develop fully the ability to evaluate and minimize risks. The environment, of underground mining often is harsh and strange compared to the more natural surface conditions man has learned to cope with as a part of established life patterns. The miner. therefore, must adapt to unusual situations and conditions and must develop a mental attitude permitting acceptance of change. 3.1-INDUSTRY-AFFILIATED SAFETY AGENCIES L. S. HANSEN There are many organizations primarily interested in health and safety. In addition to industry and labor groups, there are many private and governmental

Jan 1, 1973

By Stanisław Prusek, CHONG WEI, Huawei Xu, Jun Wang, Andrzej Walentek, Artur Dyczko, Derek B. Apel

The excavation-induced stresses transferred from the panels or pillars in upper coal seams play a key role in the occurrence of rockbursts in driving roadways during close-distance coal seam mining, which has become a common problem and threat to many underground mines. The authors established a 3D finite-difference numerical model via FLAC3D software using the closedistance coal seam mining conditions in the Zofiówka Mine as a case example to reveal the rockburst mechanism in such conditions. The excavation-induced vertical stresses are analyzed, which provides a basis to build a conceptual model to explain the possible source mechanism of the rockburst under such conditions. Nine typical rockburst indicators considering different contributing factors are then selected as the evaluation criteria to assess rockburst potential in the study site. The results suggest that the superposition of multiple excavation-induced stresses of the main drift and tailgate provides an environment for stress concentration and energy accumulation. The side abutment stress induced by mining in the upper coal seam has a “strengthening” effect to the rockburst occurrence. The great deviatoric stress induced by complex excavating situations is another important exterior cause. A strict calibration procedure should be implemented before using indicators to predict rockburst potential. A methodology was proposed to estimate the location and magnitude of rockbursts combined with numerical modeling, laboratory tests, and feedbacks from the field. The study could provide some references and guidelines for preventing and mitigating rockbursts in underground mines under similar engineering conditions.

Aug 26, 2021

By William Ives

My presentation is from the viewpoint of the industrial mineral geologist, which is a relatively rare breed. Very few geologists become involved with industrial minerals for two reasons, I think: (1) Much of the industry utilizing non-metallic minerals has developed without the use of geologists in the begin¬ning and many of the management people, who generally derive from the processing plant supervision, tend to take raw materials for granted; and (2) non-metallic minerals are a very insignificant part of the curriculum of virtually all colleges granting a geology degree. One learns about the geology of industrial minerals by working with it. This "on-the-job-training" is probably best because it brings the geologist into close quarters with the production people and the production process. And the industrial minerals field has a distinctiveness when compared with the petroleum or metal mining field in that each deposit can yield a material differing in some aspect from that in any other or within the same deposit. The petroleum from a well in a given field will be similar to that from any other well, but a limestone on one side of a hill can differ signifi¬cantly in elemental composition, calcinability, soundness, specific gravity, or some other factor from the same ledge on the other side of the hill. This characteristic of almost certain variability creates problems sooner or later and provides for much of the employment of industrial mineral geologists. My job seen from the viewpoint of management is "Find us some rock we can extract and process at a profit." The industrial non-metallic geologist has much the same problems and approach as a detective. I do not mean the TV variety with the big mouths and the unfailing knack of spotting the wanted criminal immediately in a city of ten million people. Any real detective will tell you it takes leg-work, knowhow, and persistence to make a case. The same is true for the geologist who finds rock which can be quarried at a profit. I am responsible for finding raw materials for a company which manufactures portland cement and

Jan 1, 1977

By P. D. Chamberlain, R. M. Nadkarni, D. J. Kinneberg

Introduction The relationship between precious metal miners and gold refiners has been uneasy over the years. Reasons for this uneasiness and lack of trust include technical factors, economics of scale, and cultural differences. Technical factors take two forms. First, concentrates, precipitates, and sponge produced at the mine site are notoriously difficult to sample. A nonrepresentative sample can be the cause of misunderstanding and distrust. Dote, however, is relatively homogeneous and can be correctly sampled and analyzed with greater reliability. Second, the technology and chemistry of fine gold and silver production is complex and quite different from dote production. Most mining companies are content not to be involved with additional processing steps. From the standpoint of process economies, it is easy to see why miners and refiners are separate groups. Mine location is dictated by the natural occurrence of ore bodies. Heavy capital investment requirements for infrastructure in remote locations usually limits companies to produce the first marketable product from a mine. Beyond that point, the economies of scale and large capital investments for refineries generally dictate that the outputs of several mines be combined to feed a single refinery. The refin¬ing process is so complex that refineries are generally built in larger cities with a skilled labor pool. Therefore, only the largest mines can afford to refine their own output. Lastly, there are cultural differences between the miner and the refiner. The miner, particularly the small gold miner, is by definition a risk taker in a risky business. Refineries, on the other hand, have historically been operated under legal or implied monopolies approved by the government. The government is interested in owning gold, either for currency reasons or because many national mints are major users of gold coins. It is not surprising, then, to find that miners may regard refiners as part of an unresponsive government bureaucracy or, worse, as "city slickers." It is easy for the two groups to distrust each other with these different backgrounds. The interface between miner and refiner does exist and affects nearly all precious metal mining companies and most refineries. This paper discusses the technical and economic aspects of the interface. It points out how both parties can improve the relationship. Technical interface Precious metals selectively dissolve to produce a pregnant solution. They are then recovered from solution by zinc precipitation (Merrill-Crowe process) or by absorption onto activated carbon. This is followed by stripping and electrowinning. At this point, the mining company must decide whether to ship precipitates (or sponge) to refiners or to produce a dote. Some factors the company must consider are the ability to sample precipitates, concentrates or sponge, security of storage, and production rates. An important factor is the incremental cost (capital and operating) of converting precipitates or sponge into dote at the mine. Generally, mines prefer to melt precipitates or sponge to dote to avoid prob¬lems associated with sampling them. There are three types of fur¬naces used by mining operators to melt precipitates to dote. The first and most widely used is a sil¬icon carbide crucible heated ex¬ternally with a gaseous liquid fuel. The crucible is easy to use and slag can be skimmed before pouring dote. This simple system is capable of handling 1 t/a (32,000 oz per year) gold. It could cost as little as $20,000. More complex systems could cost up to $200,000. The second type of furnace is the gas- or propane-fired rever¬beratory furnace. This is usually used only by large-scale opera¬tors in the silver business. Precip¬itates in reverberatory furnaces come in direct contact with the flame. The large volumes of flue gas can carry significant amounts of dust and fume that must be re¬moved from the gas before dis¬charging it to the atmosphere. In the days when the Rand re¬finery in South Africa used reverberatory furnaces, the silver leaving the furnace in the form of vapor and fume was estimated at 2.2% of the total silver charged to the furnace. The gold in the gases was about 0.03% of the gold charged. Most of this silver and gold was recovered in the exhaust gas scrubber system. These scrub¬ber systems can be more costly than the furnace itself.

Jan 10, 1986

By John Marsden

Despite the recent pullback in metal and mineral prices, and the associated market adjustments, the mining industry is still facing a serious issue with the declining availability of graduate expertise. This is due to a combination of an aging workforce, retirements and retrenchments, coupled with a lack of suitably qualified graduates entering the workforce. The issue has certainly improved since 2004 when the industry picked up the rates of hiring graduate engineers and mining/mineral school enrollments picked up in response. This hiring effort has helped to cover the ?gap? years from about 1985-2000, when industry demand for graduates was particularly poor. However, the recent market pullback is likely to set back this progress, as recruitment and hiring wavers as a result of cost cutting measures and economic uncertainty. A key issue for the mining industry is how to ensure the survival and growth of relevant ?core? degree programs. Such programs include mining, metallurgical, mineral processing and geological engineering. The mining industry needs a healthy, high-level education program to ensure an adequate supply of appropriately qualified graduates for the mining industry. Two-thirds of the professionals entering the minerals industry who graduated within the past 40 years graduated prior to 1985. Since 1985, we have been living off the legacy of graduation classes from the mid-1970s and early 1980s. It is estimated that we have been producing graduates at approximately 40 to 50 percent of the sustaining rate since about 1985. Further growth in the domestic industry would increase graduate requirements significantly, and the export of U.S.-graduates to other parts of the world (as is currently occurring) also impacts the total graduate requirements.

By J. O. Stephens

During the late 1940's and early 1950?s, the Westinghouse Combustion Turbine Division built and demonstrated a residual oil-burning locomotive on six eastern railroads. Plans were made to convert to burning pulverized coal, and a single combustor was operated at a full-pressure condition in the laboratory for about two years. During the mid-1960's to mid-1970's, there was considerable interest in coal-burning MHD and a combustor was developed which would also be applicable to combustion turbines. In the early 19801s, the BCR National Laboratory (BCRNL) became affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh, and a program was begun, supported by the Stare of Pennsylvania, to develop an all-purpose combustor for use with industrial and utility boilers and eventually with combustion turbines. In this paper, we review the work of almost 40 years, indicate our present position, and propose steps to be taken leading to efficient and environmentally acceptable power generation from coal, and specifically to coal-burning locomotives.

Jan 1, 1986

By W. J. Schitt

Section 15 covers a loose collection of topics that involve water in some way. The chapters in this section include Dredge and Placer Mining (Chapter 15.1), Solution Mining: Surface Techniques (Chapter 15.2), and Solution Mining: In Situ Techniques (Chapter 15.3). The dredge and placer systems involve water in several forms. The segment on hydraulicking or hydrosluicing discusses the use of monitors to direct high-pressure water jets to move material. As such, this represents an alternative to mechanical breakage, loading, and hauling. This chapter also covers placer mining (except dry placering) where the water provides the medium that promotes the separation of minerals based on their density and other settling characteristics. Thus placer mining is generally limited to concentration of gold, tin ore, diamonds, and other heavy minerals that are already liberated and are contained in a less dense matrix. The third topic, straight forward dredging, as in sand and gravel operations, involves water only in an incidental way. Here water simply covers the minerals of interest. Thus the dredging system need only lift a payload from the submerged location to the surface for further processing or handling

Jan 1, 2008

By Mike Tracy

This section of the Handbook deals with general principles to be evaluated in the development of a mining operation. It addresses the major issues that must be examined to fully evaluate a mining venture. Of course, one of the main topics to be evaluated is mine planning, which is covered in more detail in other sections (13, 17) of the Handbook and should be referenced in mine development projects. The topics to be discussed in this introduction include equipment and supplies, infrastructure, utilities, and project management. In any of the aspects mentioned, the current existing conditions at or near the mine site must be evaluated. This will include assessment of current use of utilities, infrastructure, housing, equipment suppliers, etc., as well as anticipated growth, both in the supply aspect of these systems as well as projected usage on these systems. After full assessment of both these aspects, an evaluation must be made as to the requirements the project will place on these items. Assessment must be made as to any up-grades required to bring the project on line, what impact the project will have on existing or expanded systems, and anticipated future growth impacts on support systems not only of the project but of other surrounding industry and urban devel-opment

Jan 1, 2008

By Hans W. Schreiber

Most geologic and mining engineering consulting firms* began to experience the recession with declining billing levels, number of inquiries, and proposal requests in late 1981 or early 1982. As of today, most of them have been functioning at reduced income levels for nearly a year. And while many consulting firms have apparently reached a stabilized income level, they can see little prospect for attaining normal (pre-late 1981) billing levels and income for the remainder of 1983. A few firms have escaped being affected by the recession. Such com panies almost without exception are small (fewer than 20 personnel), offer a limited range in technical capabilities, and tend to be highly specialized in a particular niche. They include those specializing in the heap leaching of precious metals ores, in ground water testing programs, and in the derivation of computer-aided programs to monitor particular mineral processing functions. Those firms affected by the economic downturn have instituted a variety of policies and undertaken actions to cope with significantly reduced incomes to bring fixed costs in line with the depressed demand for services. These changes fall into the following broad categories: • management and management practices; • markets and market definition; • marketing and the pursuit of assignments; and • administration and personnel relationships. Not all of the perceived changes have necessarily been instituted by every consulting firm, and any one appears sporadically instituted. Management and Management Practices In favorable times the managers, and often the owners of the equity, of consulting firms tend to concentrate their attention on the part of the business they find most satisfying and enjoyable. For some, this means acting as project or assignment leaders, even undertaking a specific technical aspect of the job. For others, it means constant marketing with the associated heavy travel and entertainment schedules. In unfavorable conditions, such as the current recession, managers tend to spread themselves far more thinly, expending time and effort on all facets of the business including marketing, proposal preparation and cost estimating, budgeting, general administration, accounting and cash flow monitoring, project/assignment overview, and actual client work. The manager who in favorable times concentrated on client work is now less billable. The manager who concentrated on marketing is somewhat more billable. The manager now needs to pay attention to and expend equal effort on each facet of the business just to keep all the facets in relative balance. Falling behind schedule on a client job or carrying an unduly large percentage of accounts receivable exact a cost to the firm. Clearly the absolute cost to the firm is the same whether demand for service is good or slack. But in periods of slack demand the firm is frequently less able or even unable to bear such costs. Marketing and Market Definition Markets appear to have undergone some significant changes: • Federal and state governments have assumed a greater importance as providers of work vis-a-vis both industry and private groups. • Projects with increase-in-capacity aspects have given way to projects with maintenance or reduced operating cost aspects. • Projects searching for new deposits of minerals in generally new locations have given way to projects reviewing known mineral districts or known deposits. • Industrial mineral and mining companies have exhibited a great propensity to cut back the use of consultants and to undertake as much work as possible in-house. Further-more, a number of industrial mineral and mining companies have entered the competitive arena with consulting firms, submitting proposals (usually to the federal government) in an effort to keep their staffs intact and occupied. In response, consulting firms have reevaluated their capabilities by reviewing old work and reassessing personnel. The purpose is to broaden the services offered and the potential client base, thus redefining the available market. For example, a firm specializing in assessment of technical and cost parameters of a deposit would normally assist a prospective lender in judging the deposit's suitability for project financing. That same company could easily expand into the field of analyzing production costs for an individual operation -something that is needed in periods when lower prices reduce profit margins. Similarly, a firm that has confined such economic assistance to commercial banks could expand to provide its expertise to other lending and even equity buying in-stitutions such as insurance companies. Marketing and the Pursuit of Assignments With few exceptions, consulting firms have significantly increased their

Jan 2, 1983

By N. A. Karl, D. R. Wilburn

"This summary of international mineral exploration activities during 2017 draws upon information from industry sources, published literature, SNL Metals & Mining (SNL), an offering of S&P Global Market Intelligence (New York, NY) and specialists in the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Minerals Information Center. Three types of information are reported and analyzed in this annual review of international exploration: 1) budgetary statistics expressed in U.S. dollars provided by SNL; 2) regional and site-specific exploration activities that took place in 2017 as compiled by the USGS and 3) regional events and legislation that affected exploration activities including economic, social and political conditions, which were derived from published sources and discussions with USGS and industry specialists. Commodity and regional compilations are presented in this summary. Because multiple sources were used to develop commodity and regional compilations, statistics may vary depending on the source and type of data that are being reported.The SNL data summarize budget estimates for worldwide exploration activities in 2017 for 30 nonfuel mineral commodities and metal alloys, based on company surveys. Surveys focused on precious metals (gold, platinumgroup metals (PGMs) and silver), base metals (cobalt, copper, lead, molybdenum, nickel, tin and zinc), bulk commodities (bauxite, chromite, iron ore, manganese, phosphate and potash), and other commodities (aluminum, antimony, diamond, graphite, heavy-mineral sands, lithium, niobium, rare-earth elements (REEs), scandium, tantalum, tungsten, uranium, vanadium and yttrium). Information on uranium exploration activities was included in SNL’s survey for the first time in 2007. Data on lithium, niobium, phosphate, potash, REE and tungsten were compiled for the first time in 2010, and scandium, vanadium and yttrium were added in 2014 because of their increased topical significance. Since 1999, companies with exploration budgets of $100,000 and greater were included in the SNL surveys. SNL budget estimates exclude coal, and oil and gas. The 2017 SNL mining company survey compilation was reported by SNL to include an estimated 95 percent of the world’s nonfuel mineral exploration budgets. The 5 percent that was not covered was accounted for by companies that chose not to participate in the SNL survey, private companies that do not publish their budget data, and government-funded exploration activities."

Jan 5, 2018

By Steve Kral

As the mining industry watches commodity prices continue to soar, the question on most everyone’s mind is how long will this upcycle last. The con-census among speakers and attendees at the SME Annual Meeting and Exhibit is that this cycle is sustainable. The buzz at the meeting was, of course, the current boom cycle the industry is in. Most agree that China’s huge appetite for mineral commodities is part of the force driving the upturn. But the improving economies of other developing nations also plays a role. However, along with the good times come challenges. Speakers at the keynote session addressed some of the challenges and offered their opinions on the sustainability of the boom.

Jan 1, 2006

By W. J. Atkinson

The first recorded discovery of diamonds in Australia was in 1851 in New South Wales. Subsequent prospecting has shown alluvial occurrences of diamond to be widespread through much of the Tasman fold belts of Eastern Australia. Production is estimated to be some 500,000 carats from several small alluvial fields. Despite extensive exploration, though, no primary rock source carrying significant diamond content has ever been confirmed in Eastern Australia. Conversely, diamond exploration of the older Western and Central Cratons of Australia during the past 30 years has discovered 12 fields containing 360 kimberlites, lamproites and lamprophyric volcanic pipes, dykes and other intrusives. Of those, 180 have been confirmed to be diamondiferous. Only one pipe, however, the 1200 Ma high-grade Argyle lamproite and associated nearby alluvials, has proved to be economically exploitable. Its current annual production is 40 million carats valued at about US$400 million. Production from the open pit will be sustainable until at least 2003.

Jan 1, 1995

By Angela Binder, Mareike Schubert, Yichen Jiang, Sandra Nowosad, Oliver Langefeld

GermanyINTRODUCTIONThe mining industry is currently characterized by various factors such as environmental impact, resource scarcity, social responsibility and geopolitical uncertainty. The production of minerals required to meet the demand for renewable energy is expected to increase by 500 % by 2050, particularly for critical minerals such as graphite, lithium and cobalt 1. Easily accessible deposits are often depleted, meaning that deeper and more complex deposits need to be developed. Furthermore, investors’ value systems have shifted towards more sustainable practices. Alternative approaches to solving this problem are therefore currently being developed, such as the Modular Mining Systems concept for scalable and adaptable mining projects 2. Many mining companies have also taken important steps to become more sustainable, implementing measures such as proactive closure strategies, restoration programs and the development of renewable energy projects. In the European Union, laws such as the Critical Raw Materials Act and the Net Zero Industry Act support the mining industry 3,4. They see it as important for the energy transition and promote more sustainable ways of working in the industry Particularly negative environmental impacts such as land degradation, scarcity of local water resources, water pollution and greenhouse gas emissions are ingrained in society’s memory. Despite these efforts, the public image has not yet changed. To change this perception, the industry must strive to better communicate its sustainable practices and the steps it is taking towards a more responsible and sustainable future, promote transparency and build trust.Digitalization, automation and electrification are driving the digital transformation in mining. However, their implementation can lead to higher capital expenditure, limiting their adoption across the industry. Furthermore, implementing new technologies can be a daunting task for any organization. Change management comes into play when introducing such disruptive technologies. It involves preparing an organization for change, potential resistance and establishing effective communication. This helps to ensure that the implementation is successful and the benefits of the new technology are maximized. Digital transformation requires well-trained, young mining, electrical, mechatronic and software engineers with a deep understanding of information systems. Unfortunately, the industry faces the enormous challenge of attracting this younger generation, who have little interest in the extraction of raw materials. The need for action is compounded by an aging active workforce heading into retirement and the forecast of increasing demand for critical minerals.In this challenging environment, the concept of Blue Mining with its constant further developments represents a promising approach. This implies a shift from a linear to a sustainably oriented circular economy. For the mining industry, this specifically means the introduction of innovative technologies, the increased recovery of materials from waste and the consistent questioning and application of circular principles along the entire life cycle of a mine. Such a change can not only reduce the environmental impact, but also contribute to economic resilience and increased social acceptance of mining.

Feb 1, 2025