Report on resources for the steel industry
prepared by ESTEP's WG4
Jean-Pierre Birat1, Jean-Sébastien Thomas1, Pete Hodgson2,
Philippe Russo1, Valentina Colla3, José Ignacio Barbero4,
Borja Peña4, Hermann Wolfmeir5, Enrico Malfa6
1
2
ArcelorMittal, France
Tata Steel, United Kingdom
3
SSSA, Italy
4
Tecnalia, Spain
5
voestalpine, Austria
6
CSM, Italy
September 2012
Table of contents
Draft of report on resources prepared by ESTEP WG4
Table of contents
Introduction
References (1)
Part 1 Analysis of scarcity and criticality of raw materials in the
Steel sector
Status of primary raw materials for the Steel sector
New mines in Europe
Steel companies integrating vertically
Is ore quality changing?
Alloying elements used by the Steel sector
Other resources used by the Steel sector
References (2)
Raw materials for other Process Industry segments
References (3)
Part 2 Material efficiency in the Steel sector
Introduction to part 2: materials efficiency in the Steel sector
References (4)
Reduce
References (5)
Reuse of steel
Recycling (material to same material)
Reuse of residues and industrial ecology synergies
Appendix: short monographs on alloying elements
Aluminum
Events, Trends, and Issues:
World Smelter Production and Capacity:
Boron
Chromium
Copper
Lead
Manganese
Molybdenum
Nickel
Niobium
Silicon
Sulfur
Titanium
Vanadium
Zirconium
1
3
5
6
7
9
10
11
12
13
16
16
19
19
21
23
26
27
29
31
33
35
39
39
39
39
47
50
59
63
68
71
76
84
90
94
98
102
106
3
Introduction
Access to resources and particularly to raw materials has always been a strategic issue - from the
sourcing of flintstones in the Paleolithic until that of scarce "rare earths" today.
Indeed, a number of important issues for the long term come up where raw materials are concerned.
Security of supply is a concept that has its roots in military strategy and which has been adopted in
the civil discipline bearing the same name. However, in a global world economy, where international
trade is one of the drivers of growth, this is not necessarily always a relevant matter except if a risk of
scarcity comes up. Scarcity can be understood in two different ways: as a long-term issue, related to
the finite nature (finitude) of the planet, a concept first put forward by the Club of Rome with respect
to fossil fuels in 1968 [1], but also as a short-term, conjunctural issue, which leads to price fluctuations.
There is more to the matter of resources than simply security of supply and scarcity. Indeed, raw
materials are part of value chains, which need to remain robust, time in and time out. This sheds a
new light on the matter of security of supplies and correlatively of logistics: for example, in Northern
regions of the world, freezing of lakes, rivers or seas stops ore shipping in the winter time and creates
a seasonal discontinuity of supply, a temporary scarcity to which local players have learned to adapt.
There are also temporality issues, like the critical time of opening up a new mine or for searching for
new deposits. Scarcity is thus a geopolitical, time-dependent, adaptative issue: short and long-term
issues are somewhat blurred.
Long-term scarcity has probably been more discussed than short-term scarcity, especially in the identification of "critical materials". Short-term issues fall rather in the area of economic or even business
discussions.
Access to resources is not simply related to raw material supply but also to their demand. Demand is
controlled by the level of economic activity, by the intensity of material use, the amount of "reuse"
and of recycling and by material efficiency.
The European Institutions have recently joined the debate about access to resources in Europe with
powerful initiatives1 and roadmaps [2, 3, 4, 5, 6], which are likely to generate an abundant literature.
All the issues already pointed out are emphasized, i.e. energy, raw materials, material flows and particularly reuse and recycling, materials substitution, but also externalities like biodiversity and ecological services or water. Thus, resources are analyzed in a generic way and how any particular material
is impacted has been left for future work.
The point of the present communication is to review the status of steel, as analyzed by a permanent
working group of the Steel Technology Platform (ESTEP), the Planet or WG4 working group, of which
the authors are members. It will serve as a roadmap for the strategic analysis of ESTEP.
The argument to be developed for steel is simple.
While resources in terms of primary raw materials (iron ore and coal) are not scarce nor likely to
become so in any foreseeable future, the issue of access to raw materials is not void as short term
issues may create large price fluctuations and force players in the field to adjust their strategy to accommodate this kind of business risk. A slightly different story might have to be told regarding alloying elements, where tension on prices may reflect some short term scarcity.
On the other hand, secondary raw materials constitute a growing proportion of raw material feedstock, as the economy is on its way towards a closed-loop society, a transition which needs to be
carefully prepared. Indeed, a paradigm shift from a "hunters-gatherers" economy to an industrial ac1
"Resource efficiency was recognized as critical for further economic development in the EU and became a focus
of one of the seven flagship initiatives within the Europe 2020 Strategy"
5
tivity will have to take place. All these issues will be reviewed below.
This work is a follow up and an extension of documents already prepared and published by ESTEP's
WG4 [7, 8].
References (1)
1 D. Meadows, D. Meadows, J. Randers, W. Behrens. Limits to Growth, 1972, Universe Books
2 REPORT on an effective raw materials strategy for Europe (2011/2056(INI)), A7-0288/2011, the European
Parliament, Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, Rapporteur: Reinhard Bütikofer, 25.7.2011
3 A resource-efficient Europe – Flagship initiative under the Europe 2020 Strategy, Communication from the
Commission to the European Parliament, the council, the European economic and social committee and the
committee of the regions, Brussels, COM(2011) 21, 26.1.2011
4 On the Progress of the Thematic Strategy on the Sustainable Use of Natural Resources, Brussels, 20.9.2011,
Communication from the commission to the European Parliament, the council, the European economic and social committee and the committee of the regions, SEC(2011) 1068 final
5 SPIRE, Sustainable process industry, European Industrial Competitiveness through Resource and Energy Efficiency, 2011
6 Making raw materials available for Europe's future wellbeing, proposal for a European Innovation
Partnership on Raw Materials, Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council,
the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, COM(2012) 82 final,
29/02/2012
7 J-P. Birat, J-S. Thomas, L. Brimacombe, V. Colla, D. Schmidt, F. Verniory, K. Linsley, S. Oliver, E. M. Dias
Lopes, The sustainable use of resources in the European Steel Industry, ESTEP, 2010
8 J-P. Birat as chair and rapporteur for ESTEP WG4 (Planet), A short roadmap addressing the strategy of the
steel industry in the fields of sustainability, energy, CO2 and environment - as an example of an Energy Intensive
Industry, ESTEP, 2010
6
Part 1
Analysis of scarcity and criticality
of raw materials in the Steel sector
7
Status of primary raw materials for the Steel sector
Iron is one of the major chemical components of the planet and of the earth crust with, as a result of
geological processes, iron ore being ubiquitous all over the globe [9]. Reserves are estimated by the
USGS [10] at 80 Gt of iron contained (170 Gt of ore), while resources are estimated at 230 Gt (> 800
Gt of crude ore)2. With a production of 1.527 Gt of crude steel in 2011, reserves and resources represent respectively 52 and 150 years of production at this level. Iron ore is thus not scarce and this justifies statements made regularly, for example by the Steel Committee of OECD, that "in spite of temporary scarcity of raw materials, there are sufficient worldwide reserves to satisfy future demand"
[11].
Figure 1. Iron ore mines in the world (Raw Materials Group, 2011)
The other major raw material for making steel is coal. Reserves were estimated in 2010 at 860 Gt,
while 5.8 billion tonnes of hard coal and 953 million tonnes of brown coal were used worldwide in
2008 for all applications3 [12, 13]. Reserves are even larger than iron ore's (160 years).
As sensitive and questionable as these various estimates might be, because the concepts of resource
and reserve raise as many questions as they purport to answer, the conclusion that there is no scarcity issue for raw materials in the steel sector remains solid.
In the short term, this balance between supply and demand changes with new mines being opened,
old ones closed or with other events, such as flooding of coking coal mines or availability of shipping
vessels, strong fluctuations in demand due, for example, to the economic crisis started in 2008, etc.
The outcome is prices, which change quickly and by large amounts and thus are considered as volatile. This is a concept related to an immediate scarcity, which determines market prices, as opposed
to the concept of a strategic scarcity, which relates to the long term.
To accommodate this price volatility and some of the other strategic issues expressed by the EU
roadmap and to leverage on them to create business opportunities, three main initiatives have been
launched:
2
as an illustration of the dynamic nature of such estimates, resources in 1984 were estimated at 290 Gt and reserves (recoverable iron) at 103 Gt.
3
with a 4.9 % growth since 2000
9
•
exploration for iron ore has been actively restarted in Europe, especially in Scandinavia, and
the outcome has been a large number of new mines [14], to come on stream fairly soon. In
parallel, old mines, which had been abandoned, have been reopened [15]. The issue of local
sourcing and thus of security of supply is thus finding some practical answers.
•
some steel companies are reversing the trend of sticking to their steelmaking core business,
which led to mines being sold away in the 1990s, and are now re-integrating their business
with upstream activities. ArcelorMittal has thus engaged into a program of returning to the
Mining business with the objective of securing up to 70% of its own ore needs in the future.
Today, ArcelorMittal produces 32% of its own ore needs, sells some of the production on the
international market and has secured new iron ore and coal mines concessions in Canada and
Liberia, which will eventually bring it close to its target [16]. ArcelorMittal has now reached
the level of being the 3rd world producer of iron ore, thus in effect introducing a wedge among
the historical largest miners, Vale, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton.
•
sourcing iron ore from new mines raises a number of issues in terms of ore quality (iron content, impurities like acid gangue, phosphorus, sulfur, arsenic, antimony or volatile elements,
granulometry (more fines) and of logistics such as access to the mines, to export harbors and
ocean shipping. A rule of thumb states that new resources of high quality ore are hard to
reach and that easy to reach ones are of lower quality [11].
New mines in Europe
Figure 2. Nordic mining projects (Raw Materials Group, 2011) [17]
Scandinavia is experiencing a mining boom, which leverages on the rich resource base of metallic ores
in Scandinavia, iron but also nickel, lead, zinc, Platinum Group Metals (PGMs), aluminum, copper, and
even diamonds. The resource is estimated at 3.3 Gt. The region is already the European leader in
the sector. The infrastructure, regarding logistics, knowledge-base, talents and work force, is excellent [14]. The projects are presently at all stages of development. Middle range projections are for a
doubling of iron ore production within 10 years (as a reference, LKAB produced 26 Mt of finished
products in 2011, mostly pellets).
10
Resource
(Mt)
Grade
(% Fe)
Category
System
KIruna
993
46.6
Reserve
Jorc
LKAB
Sydvaranger
459
31.0
Reserve
Jorc
Northern Iron
Scand. Res.
Owner
Kiruna Area
412
39.9
Resource
Jorc
Malmberget
386
43.4
Reserve
Jorc
LAKB
Kaunisvaara
254
32.1
Reserve
Jorc
Northland
Rana
250
34.0
Reserve
?
L. Nissen
Ruotevare
140
39.1
Resource
Jorc
Beowulf
Grängesberg
120
57.0
Reserve
Non Jorc
Leveäniemi
110
47.0
Reserve
Jorc
LKAB
Hannukainen
110
35.1
Resource
Jorc
Northland
Kallak North
92
35.0
Resource
Jorc
Beowulf
Grängesberg Iron
Figure 3. Iron projects in Scandinavia [14]
Steel companies integrating vertically
Vertical integration between steelmaking and mining activities is a worldwide trend (see figure below).
Market economies
2009
CIS
China
Total
2008
11
11
7
5
4
4
22
20
2007
12
9
5
24
2006
12
12
6
28
2005
12
12
6
28
Figure 4. Vertical integration in the world steel sector (% of total world iron ore production) [14]
ArcelorMittal is probably the steel company which is the most advanced in this strategic move. The
75 % target of sourcing iron ore from their own mines amounts to substantially achieving selfsufficiency. Business-wise, the ArcelorMittal mining segment reported 1H11 EBITDA of $1.4bn based
on 12.9 Mt of iron ore and 2.4 Mt of coal shipped at market prices (internally and externally) – i.e.
about 25 % of the group's EBITDA in 2011. Present resources are estimated at 11 Gt and reserves at
4.3 Gt. A new mine opened up in Liberia in 2011; the next one, in Baffinland, will start up in 2015.
11
Figure 5. ArcelorMittal Mining assets portfolio
Figure 6. ArcelorMittal Mining assets portfolio
Is ore quality changing?
In the 1980s, Europe changed from local sourcing of iron ore to internationally traded ore, thus from
low grade, sometimes phosphorus-rich ores such as "minette" from French Lorraine, to high grade
almost pure hematite. Ore from Scandinavia, especially the very pure magnetite from Kiruna, was the
major exception to this general trend. The trend setters have been Japan and somewhat later Korea
and the move to high grade ore has been part of a major paradigm shift in ironmaking, which in-
12
cluded the generalization of strand sintering, a major improvement in Blast Furnace reliability and operating ratios, an increase in size and other changes that turned this reactor into a the high productivity tool that is the standard in the best operated steel mills in the world today. The new Steel Mills
that sprung up during the growth of emerging countries reproduced this "best technology" model,
but, at the same time, other regions than Europe in the world kept using lesser quality ores – various
grades of hematite, magnetite and goethite, in North America, China and India.
The "haute cuisine" diet of European Steel Mills may now be over and a return, for part of the furnace
charge, to lower quality ores may become a necessity, due to the scarcity of high grade ore in the
sense at least of immediate scarcity, as translated into prices. Mines of high grade ores are still being
opened, like the Liberia Iron Mining site of ArcelorMittal (cf. Figure 6), but the trend back to the less
concentrated, more abundant ores in the earth crust is probably inevitable. This will mean more
preparation of the ore at the mine and possibly at the Steel Mill as well, but also, more alumina, silica
and other components, which deteriorate value-in-use (cost of ownership), in the sinter or pellet
feeds. This may also mean mediocre operating ratios in the Blast Furnace, like higher RAR (Reducing
Agent Ratio), or the need for more complex hot metal treatment (HM "pretreatment", prior to refining) or even steel refining, and, eventually, higher environmental footprint like higher CO2 emissions
per ton of steel, eventually a trade-off between value-in-use and market value.
Work on the consequences of a shift in ore quality should address the following issues: ‐ ore preparation (mineral dressing) of material from typical new mines ‐ operation of a blast furnace with lower quality ore ‐ re‐examination of hot metal pretreatment in this new raw material context ‐ optimization of the balance between ore quality and value‐in‐use, between ore treatment and hot metal and steel treatment Alloying elements used by the Steel sector
Figure 7. Critical rare earth elements (REE) in the short and long term, with the definitions of these terms given in the figure
Steels use a broad range of alloying elements, in small (micro-alloyed steel), medium (low-alloy
steels) or large concentrations (alloy steels). Carbon steels also contain alloying elements which are
always present in the background composition and are sometimes simply called additions, such as
manganese, silicon or aluminum. Finally, tramp elements are alloying elements present in small con-
13
centrations, which are usually considered as detrimental to steel quality; some elements can be considered alternatively as alloying or tramp elements, depending on the context, like copper for example.
General statements made with respect to material scarcity are summarized in Figure 7 for rare earths
and in Figure 8 and Figure 9 for all elements. Rare earths are not a significant issue in steel production and none of the elements of importance for steel are shown as demonstrating a critical risk of
supply in these analyses (e.g. a supply risk>>2).
Figure 8. the "14 critical" elements in terms of scarcity as identified in the USA [18].
To investigate the issue at a finer scale, a series of monographs has been prepared, mainly from [19,
10], where most of these elements are described (Al, B, Cr, Cu, Pb, Mn, Mo, Ni, Nb, Si, S, Ti, Va, Zr)
and analyzed in terms of use, production, pricing, resource and sourcing. The point was to make a
statement on their availability and to identify which ones, if any, could be classified as scarce in a
long-term, strategic sense. The detailed information is given in a separate appendix.
Regarding long term scarcity, most of these elements are abundant and should be able to meet the
demand for them in "any foreseeable future", at least as it is expressed today in terms of use. These
are: Al, S, Si, Mo, Pb, Cu, Zr, B, Cr, Mn, Nb, Va. There might be a sourcing issue related to manganese, and, indeed, steel producers consider manganese as one of their major raw materials, side to
side with iron ore and coal [12]: this is true before taking on board the Hadfield family of high manganese alloys, which are being investigated here and there [20, 21, 22], something that might eventually raise the level of the concern.
14
Figure 9. Critical materials in the EU [23]
Abundant reserves and resources do not mean that a perfect balance between supply and demand is
achieved and, indeed, prices of some of these alloying elements have been volatile, showing on the
one hand that short-time supply issues do exist, while speculation on raw materials may explain another part of the phenomenon.
There might be some worries about availability regarding Ni and Ti, although the issue is open: these
metals are used for making high value alloys beyond steels (Ti alloys, super alloys and high-end
stainless steels), and they are being applied as well for non-metallurgy purposes (e.g. TiO2); they are
extracted from ores in long, complex and costly processes. They are thus considered as highly strategic in terms of sourcing and identification of new resources and opening of new mines are high stake
geopolitical issues, in which business but also governments are involved.
Finally, no alloying element has been identified as highly critical in terms of long term scarcity, a point
that was not obvious at the onset of this work.
Concerning the few elements used by the steel sector as alloying elements, which show a risk in terms of long term scarcity, i.e. Ni, Ti, Ce, La and Te, efforts to reduce the risks that they raise should be conducted in the following directions: ‐ improve the evaluation of the risk and of its probable evolution ‐ develop alternative alloys to those using these critical elements; this is the case, for example, for free machin‐
ing steels using Te, where S or Se have already been investigated, but more work might be needed; this is also the case for stainless steels, where lower Ni, higher Mn alloys have been developed in emerging countries and probably need more work Regarding Ti and Ni, transversal investigations on resources and reserves should be conducted including the steel, titanium and nickel sectors Efficiency in supply and recovery of strategically important materials should address the following issues: which alloys (and how much of them) are used in steelmaking and for what purpose? What happens to these materials at the end of life of products and what strategies can be adopted to enhance their recovery? 15
Other resources used by the Steel sector
Refractory materials are also an importance resource that the steel sector calls on. Refractory materials are minerals, the availability of which, in a general way, is not in question. However, some
very special minerals may become scarce in the short term, as the recent price evolution of some of
them shows clearly [24]4, for example low-iron content bauxite and zirconia. As a long-term a scarcity issue is very unlikely, countermeasures consist on the one hand in waiting for market mechanisms
to correct for this distortion, and, on the other hand, in making sure that no oligopoly is blocking the
search for new resources.
Figure 10. Evolution of the price of some refractory materials over the last 15 years
Intelligence regarding the dynamics of prices in these niche markets should be gathered and analyzed regularly. Logistics is also a resource, which can be analyzed in terms of scarcity [8]. Scarcity in this case can
refer to roads, or railroads or ships, etc.: one can in principle add to the existing stock, but up to a
point (law of diminishing returns), because of cost, of availability of resources (space), of competition
with other goods that also need being ferried around, of energy or carbon footprint, etc. [25]. For
example, the acidification and the eutrophication potentials are mainly driven by the transportation of
raw materials [25], thus by logistical matters: note that the carbon footprint, in this case, is not the
best yardstick, as it would be for consumer goods.
Building knowledge about logistics as a resource and about its optimization should be sought. References (2)
9 JP. Birat, Alternative ways of making steel: retrospective and prospective…, Centenaire de la Revue de Métallurgie, Paris, le 9 décembre 2004, La Revue de Métallurgie-CIT, Novembre 2004, 937-955
10 Mineral Commodity Summaries, US Geological survey, January 2012, p.85, 198 p.,
http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/mcs/2012/mcs2012.pdf
11 OECD Workshop on Steelmaking Raw Materials Dec 2011, OECD Conference Centre, Paris, 5 December
2011
12 2010 Survey of Energy Resources World Energy Council, World Energy Council, 2010, 618 p.
4
The speaker actually implied that scarcity in the case of bauxite was the result of speculation.
16
13 D.J.C. Taylor, D.C. Page, and P. Geldenhuys, Iron and steel in South Africa, J. S.Atr. Ins!. Min. Metal/., vol.
88, no. 3., Mar. 1988. pp. 73-95.
14 M. Ericson, The geography of steelmaking raw materials - policy implications, OECD Workshop on Steelmaking Raw Materials, OECD Conference Centre, Paris, 5 December 2011,
http://www.oecd.org/document/18/0,3746,en_2649_34173_49064466_1_1_1_1,00.html
15 JP. Birat, Personal communication
16 Joe Mathews, Mining activities at ArcelorMittal (49189109), OECD Workshop on Steelmaking Raw Materials, OECD Conference Centre, Paris, 5 December 2011
17 www.rmg.se
18 Committee on Critical Mineral Impacts of the U.S. Economy, Committee on Earth Resources, National Research Council, Minerals, Critical Minerals and the U.S. Economy, the National Academies Press, 2008, 264 p.
19 http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/mcs/
20 Olivier Bouaziz, David Barbier, Philippe Cugy and Gerard Petigand, Effect of Process Parameters on a Metallurgical Route Providing Nano-Structured Single Phase Steel with High Work-Hardening, ADVANCED
ENGINEERING MATERIALS 2012, 14, No. 1-2, 49-51
21 O. Bouaziz,* C.P. Scott and G. Petitgand, Nanostructured steel with high work-hardening by the exploitation
of the thermal stability of mechanically induced twins, Scripta Mater. (2009), doi:10.1016/j.scriptamat.
2009.01.004
22 O. Bouaziz , S. Allain, C.P. Scott. Cugy, D. Barbier, High manganese austenitic twinning induced plasticity
steels: a review of the microstructure properties relationships, Current Opinion in Solid State and Materials Science 15 (2011) 141–168
23 Critical raw materials for the EU, The ad-hoc Working Group is a sub-group of the Raw Materials Supply
Group and is chaired by the European Commission, Version of 30 July 2010
24 P. Dahlmann, R. Fandrich, H.B. Lüngen, Steelmaking in Europe, innovative, efficient, challenging, Clean
Steel 8, Budapest, 14-16 May 2012
25 J.P. Birat, J. Borlée, A.L. Hettinger, F. Saunier, Clean steels and clean steelmaking in Europe, Clean Steel 8,
Budapest, 14-16 May 2012
17
Raw materials for other Process Industry segments
Raw materials issues are sector specific and a detailed discussion related to each process industry
segment would be necessary, which falls however outside of the ambition of this document.
If one restricts the scope to structural materials, the general picture is however the same as steel's
[26, 27]: short-term scarcity driving prices up or down is obviously there, like in most businesses, but
long-term scarcity is not an issue. This is clearly the case of metals (aluminum, zinc, copper), of
cement, of glass. Of course, there might be an issue with high-value metals like super alloys or titanium alloys, as mentioned when these elements were discussed as alloying elements in steel.
Plastics, which are deeply related to oil, a feedstock that is also a major energy resource, raise slightly
different issues. On the one hand, the scarcity of oil in the long term, namely the issue of peak oil,
has been at the core of a lively debate and a majority of experts predict this event as to be taking
place in the present or within a very few years. The connection between peak oil and plastic production, however, is not completely rigid, as changes in energy futures may make oil for plastics more
readily available. On the other hand, bio-plastics are being developed and may eventually take
enough market share to alleviate the issue of raw materials scarcity.
Wood is also a special material, sourced from bio-resources. Bio-resources are produced on land
which competes with uses other than industrial applications, especially the production of food and in a
more general way, external to the economic realm, with ecological services. The finite nature of land
is thus a threat to the availability of wood in the long term: a resource issue is thus likely there in the
long term. This is rue as well of ecological services and these include those related to water.
References (3)
26 J-P. Birat, M. Chiappini, C. Ryman, Cooperation and competition among structural materials, conference to
group V of IVA, Stockholm, 8 February 2012
27 Materials Roadmaps to meet energy challenges, White Book, a report on the results and recommendations of
the International Summit World Materials Perspectives (WMP), February 2012, Materalia, Institut Jean Lamour
& McKinsey & Company, 43 p.
19
Part 2
Material efficiency in the Steel sector
21
Introduction to part 2: materials efficiency in the Steel sector
To be complete, a discussion on resources for a material sector like steel, needs to incorporate a vision of the close-loop society towards which the sector is moving, pushed and pulled by external and
internal drivers.
Today, for example, steel produced in the world originates for 70% from primary raw materials, thus
mainly from the iron ore-based Blast Furnace or Integrated Steel Mill route, and for 30% from secondary raw materials, thus mainly from the scrap-based Electric Arc Furnace route. The distribution is
40/60 % in the US and 60/40 % in the EU. North America is thus more advanced in the direction of a
close-loop economy relative to steel, while Europe lies below but above the world's average. The long
term trend is towards more secondary raw materials being used: a 100% sector based on scrap is
unlikely to ever happen, but a target of 80-85 %, which corresponds to the present level of recycling
of steel at its end-of-life, is possible. This will happen when steel production peaks, something that
will happen when population or GDP peak, thus a long-term time horizon at the end of this century or
possibly beyond [28].
0,80
scrap ratio (%)
0,70
0,60
0,50
0,40
0,30
0,20
0,10
0,00
1960
1980
2000
2020
2040
2060
2080
2100
2120
Figure 11. forecast of scrap used in producing steel in Europe (%) [ 28 ]
The waste (management) hierarchy [29] proposes a classification of processes for handling waste that
has also merits in discussing issues related to materials and sustainability. A shorter version of it is
the 3R rule, where R's stand for Reduce, Reuse and Recycle (cf. Figure 12).
Figure 12. The waste Hierarchy and the 3R rule
The "greenest" way to handle materials, and particularly structural materials, is certainly "reduce",
meaning that materials should be used more intensively, i.e. in lesser quantities and for longer lives.
23
This is what is sometimes called dematerialization, although this expression has many meanings which
may somewhat confuse the issue. Other players speak of a lean economy and still others of ungrowth, negative growth or slow-time economy.
The next approach is "reuse", i.e. the direct reutilization of final consumption goods, in all (like a second-hand automobile) or in parts (like a second-hand car engine), without complex re-manufacturing.
Next comes recycling, where a material is reused in a completely new application: thus a beverage
can may be recycled in a car engine, by going through collection, scrap handling, remelting in an EAF
steelshop, automotive plant, etc.
In terms of volume, measured in a Material Flow Analysis (MFA) - which incidentally does not account
for "reduce" - recycling is by far the most important contributor. In vernacular language, however,
recycling has various definitions, which do not all match the intuitive understanding of steel players.
Recycling steel to make steel is the basic concept, i.e. material to same material recycling. Reusing a
plastic as a feedstock for new plastic (feedstock recycling) is also sometimes called recycling, although
the loop is closed further upstream in the material production route. Reusing a waste or residue, for
example blast furnace slag used as a substitute to clinker, may also be called recycling (residue recycling).
The drivers behind the evolution towards a close-loop society are numerous and the dynamics of this
trend is complex. It would be naive to picture it only as the consequence of the drive towards sustainability. On the other hand, sustainability is often the consequence of other trends and drivers: for
example, the switch from flintstone to metals did not occur because of material scarcity, but because
mankind went through a number of major shifts in technological episteme in the Neolithic and ended
up discovering metals.
The recycling of steel has been a lively business practice long before Ms Brundtland [30] popularized
the concept of sustainable development: the key reason is that scrap is a commodity which has an
economical value because it competes with iron ore to feed iron units to the steel and foundry sectors. Its price is high enough for the "scrap mine" to be exploited until normal business conditions.
The results is actually that the recycling rate of steel is very high (80 to 85% at the end of life of
steel-containing goods) and that the production of iron ore ends up complementing scrap production,
rather than the contrary. On the other hand, prices are very volatile and no other sector speaks more
of scarcity than the scrap sector, even though scarcity in its long-term meaning has never materialized
and is unlikely to ever do, in any foreseeable future.
In all cases, a full life cycle approach should be adopted to assess the overall benefits of a particular strategy, in order to ensure that impacts would not be worsened or shifted to another phase of the life cycle. The new Brit‐
ish Standard, ‘BS8905 Sustainable Use of Materials’, provides guidelines on how to make such assessments across the three ‘pillars’ of sustainability. A list of other drivers follows:
•
issues related to the disposal of domestic waste: minimizing domestic waste has been a priority of city councils. Curbside collection is the flagship program deployed in all countries of
Europe to foster recycling of packaging and small consumer goods. The program has contributed to the recycling of paper, glass, plastics and of aluminum, but only minimally to that of
steel, which had already reached a high level of performance, before this policy was implemented. "Déchetteries" (waste reception centers) have also contributed to this trend for large
consumer goods. Again, the impact on steel has been minimal, as steel found its way into recycling through shredding.
•
issues related to the disposal of industrial waste and of end-of-life goods: again, there is a
profitable business related to scrap collection, very active for steel (machines, dismantling of
industrial buildings), copper and lead, for example; alloys, such as tool steels, have also been
24
collected and recycled, same alloy to same alloy, thus recycling the high value alloying elements at the same time as the iron units. Legislation relative to landfilling, for example the
directives on the end of life of electrical appliances or of automotive vehicles, have had a significant influence on aluminum and plastics, much less on steel for the same reasons as explained for domestic waste.
•
legislation fostering reuse and recycling and banning landfilling have been implemented espe-
•
academic research into recycling and sustainability has also fostered advances in this area, by
cially in Europe, in addition to legislation aimed at avoiding environmental and health risks,
such as IPP (Integrated Product Policy) [31] and REACH [32]. Such legislation has clearly
pulled reuse and recycling, where market mechanisms were not strong enough to initiate the
process: the market has taken over in some cases and taxes in others. But the analysis of the
actual benefits and of the rebound effects due to these policies remains mostly to be done.
The main beneficiaries have been materials which initially were not very much reused or recycled, thus not all materials in a broad manner.
investigating many subjects and building a rationale for suggesting fruitful synergies, which
have been published in famous and important books for raising public awareness [33, , 34,
35]; many students have been taught and enrolled into a field that creates enthusiasm in
young people.
We will independently review material-to-material recycling and reuse of residues, which both already
contribute significantly to the generation of secondary raw materials, but have the potential to generate more.
Studies on the effect of legislation and regulation, including positive and negative (rebound effects) feedbacks ought to be launched more systematically, in particular by the political bodies, which are at the origin of that legislation (évaluation des politiques publiques). This calls on political scientists to adopt a more reflexive atti‐
tude targeted at critically analyzing existing experience. One should be aware of the fact that a lot of inter-sector synergetic exchange of secondary raw materials and of waste energy already occurs at a significant level: in the steel sector, for example, blast
furnace slag, sometimes 100% of it, is used for cement production (where it becomes a substitute for
clinker, a high-value re-utilization from an industrial ecology standpoint) but also as roadbed material;
waste heat is collected and used for example by cities (e.g. heat from the sinter plant in ArcelorMittal
Dunkerque); BOF slag is often used in agriculture, but also as roadbed material; electric arc furnace
dust is sent for treatment and beneficiation of zinc, later feeding the zinc sector; steel mill gases
(COG, BFG, BOFG) are collected and combusted in steam boilers and power plants; most coke batteries produce a range of chemicals; etc. Steel mills use less waste from other sectors, but pet coke
should be on that list, scrap as well, and creative proposals are being made to use waste heat in the
steel mill for example to pyrolyze consumer goods [36], etc.
Many synergistic exchanges of waste among economic sectors have been studied in the past, without
much technical communication as most of them have been unsuccessful [37] and thus not published.
Probably the most visible efforts in this direction, i.e. those which have been discussed publicly thanks
to grants from the EU, especially from RFCS, have been related to the recovery of zinc from EAF dust,
where many projects have been conducted on electrochemical processes, which were developed to
fairly large scale pilots and demonstrators, but never made it in the commercial world [38]. These
failures should be acknowledged as such and analyzed to help new projects benefit from this experience, rather than be launched "naively" on the basis that sustainability makes them necessary. The
key reasons for failure were that profitability never materialized, at least in Europe: zinc collection
from EAF dust continues however, based on the Waelz process, a rather mediocre process from a
process engineering point of view [39], but one which benefits from existing kilns which have been
fully depreciated and thus make it hard for newer processes, where new investment have to be made,
to compete with them. The "death valley" of a first industrial implementation thus constitutes another
risk, which is hard to overcome.
25
When the price of primary raw materials goes up significantly or when the threat of closing landfills
"once and for all" is expressed once more, then a flurry of new research on such processes sprouts
up. But as soon as these particular conditions wane, the soufflé collapses and the new processes often end up in a particular kind of waste, that of promising new processes that never make it into
commercial life. This kind of waste, in terms of research activities, should be avoided in the future!
A repository of past experience, published (bibliography) or unpublished (surveys, interviews) should be cre‐
ated to produce a clear picture of what was already accomplished in the past, with positive or negative out‐
comes. Studies on the reasons for success and failure, conducted by process engineers, but also economists and inno‐
vation researchers should be fostered to create a knowledge base on which to build new work. New proposals have often lacked this critical background in the past and generations of processes aimed at solving the same problem have failed again and again! Therefore, the potential for developing new processes, which will have an industrial future, remain
somewhat uncertain.
As a follow‐up to the previous studies, a foresight study on what can be expected of industrial ecology syner‐
gies, beyond what has already been achieved, should be commissioned by the EU Commission. It should be based on the critical analysis of past successes and failures and identify drivers and approaches that duplicate the success stories and avoid the pitfalls of the past. References (4)
28 J.-P. Birat, The future of CO2-lean steelmaking, Technology developments towards 2050, Scenario 2050 for
the Iron & Steel industry in Northern Europe, Luleå, 6/09/201, organized by SVEREA-MEFOS
29 Directive [2008/98/EC] of the European Parliament and of the Council on waste.
30 G.H. Brundtland et al, Our common Future, Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development, United Nations, A/43/427, 4 August 1987
31 http://ec.europa.eu/environment/ipp/
32 http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/chemicals/reach/registration/key_info_index_en.htm
33 M. Reuter et al. , The metrics of material and metal ecology, Development in Mineral Processing, Elseveir,
2005, 706 p.
34 P. Baccini, P. H. Brunner, Metabolism of the Anthroposphere, The MIT Press, 2012, 392 p.
35 Brian Allwood, Sustainable Materials with both eyes open, Cambridge University Press, 2012, 373 p.,
http://withbotheyesopen.com/read.php
36 Document yet not published
37 Various personal communications
38 For example: REZEDA, Zinex, Zincex, COMET & SIDCOMET, etc.
39 JP. Birat, Recycling & Byproducts in the Steel Industry, in Recycling & Waste treatment in Mineral & Metal
Processing: Technical & Economical Aspects, 16-20 June, 2002, Luleå, Sweden, also in La Revue de metallurgie-CIT, 2003, 339-348
26
Reduce
"Reduce" relates to a lean-economy. The word "dematerialization" has been popular in this context
and means "do more with less". It may refer to materials but also to time, as a longer life leads also
to "reduce".
"Reduce" is an agenda for eco-design of materials, of goods and of production processes. Its ambition is holistic and it virtually embraces all activities in the value chain and in the life cycle of a good.
As such, there is no clear target of how much can be accomplished and "the sky may be the limit"!
Ecodesign is mostly a concept, a way to design new products, services or processes, while taking on board envi‐
ronmental constraints in addition to functional, economics and esthetics constraints of classical design. How to achieve this is left to the practitioner's art and style and there is no general methodology template, nor a stan‐
dard, for doing it. Some subdisciplines related to ecodesign have been developed in details: for example design for the end of life of consumer good, with variants such as "design for recycling", "design for dismantling", "design for shredding", etc. At a predictive level, a discipline is taking shape to validate new technologies before they are adopted or authorized by administrations: this is called Technology Assessment (TA), or Sustainability Assessment of Tech‐
nologies (SAT) – a kind of REACH procedure aimed at processes rather than at chemical substances. Last, some ecodesign approaches use LCA as a metrics to support them. Proposing a methodology and building a tool to implement eco‐design in a general way would therefore consti‐
tute a major progress forward. Materials efficiency is measured in terms of use properties and of yield: improved and new steel
grades extend the scope of properties, while yields result from optimization of processes, in the steel
mill and in the manufacturing plant where steel is incorporated in a final good. Eco-design of intermediate steel products, for example low-inertia beams [40], variable thickness plates or tailored
blanks, can also bring significant improvements in weight, material and energy use and environmental
footprints.
Eco-design of consumer goods is probably the most complex and, potentially, the richest avenue to
lean manufacturing. The optimal choice of a material to fulfill a particular function is part of the job:
as an example, Figure 14 shows an Ashby diagram for selecting a material with a ratio of modulus to
density [41]. The final good is lighter, which may bring benefits in the use phase of the good: light
weighting in a car, for example, cuts energy consumption and tailpipe emissions – a conclusion that
ought to be checked at the level of a full life-cycle, before the benefits are fully acknowledged. In
more general words, this means that are no such things as intrinsically "green materials", there are
only green solutions that incorporate materials "gifted" for this purpose5.
A generic target in eco‐design has been formulated as Using less Materials in products, including through light‐
weighting. The steel industry has been pursuing this strategy for many years, notably through the development of high strength steels and in steels that enable the lightweighting of steel packaging solutions. 5
Green Material labels are common and many material producers are willing to ride on this concept. It should
used sparingly, though, as its "ontological" nature is somewhat unclear. The disasters, that first generations of
biofuels went through, should have shown how delicate it is to tread this path! In the construction sector, EPD
have become a common feature, even though they emphasize only part of the life cycle related to the production
phase of materials, do not deal at all with the use phase and are ambivalent about how to handle the end of life.
27
How much further can this strategy be taken? Just as some authors have pointed out that there are limits to growth, there are probably also limits to lightweighting… Process ecodesign is the third variety of ecodesign, which is under the control of process engineers,
for instance in the Steel Mill.
Incremental process improvements add up over time to reap significant gains: Figure 14 shows the
energy demand for making steel along the process route in a steel mill as function of material yield;
the two curves show data for two cases, one more optimized than the other and thus point out to an
example of the aggregation of such step-by-step improvements.
Figure 13. example of an Ashby diagram for selecting a material that meets a given ratio of modulus to density [41]
27
HD galvanized
Stamped car door
Energy input (MJ/kg liquid steel)
25
Cold rolled
23
21
ArcelorMittal data (MJ/kg liquid
steel)
pickled
WellMet Data
HRC
19
CC slab
17
15
-
0,2
0,4
0,6
0,8
liquid steel
1,0
Cumulative yield (kg output/kg liquid steel)
Figure 14. energy consumption in an integrated steel mill as function of the cumulative yield along the production route. Two
examples are given, showing an example of the gap between steel mills' performance
28
Breakthrough technologies, on the other hand, can induce quantum jumps: the ULCOS program is an
example of a process eco-design program to reduce the specific carbon footprint of steel production
by at least 50% [42, 43].
Improving yield right through the supply chain is another generic eco‐design principle.. A significant amount, perhaps more than 25%, of all liquid steel does not make it to final product before being remelted. Another line of thought is to examine what options there are to conserve the energy and other resources that have been invested in this steel? Designing more durable, longer life products is still another eco‐design rule. This is an area that has been pur‐
sued by the steel industry for many years, for example through the development of coatings for corrosion pro‐
tection and more durable grades for specialist applications. As with lightweighting, there remains more scope for improvements to be made. More intense use of steel products, e.g. using a product more frequently or by using more of its capacity when it is used: the capacity of a car is rarely used to its full potential. Strategies in this category are likely to address the way that products are used and hence would tend to be directed at end users and society in general, rather than being something the steel sector could pursue in isolation. References (5)
40 e.g. Angelina Beam, ArcelorMittal, , http://www.arcelormittal.com/sections/fr/produits-services/solutionsconstructives/angelina.html
41 M. F. Ashby, Materials and the Environment, Elsevier, 2009, 385 p.
42 J.-P. Birat, J. Borlée, H. Lavelaine, D. Sert, P. Négro, K. Meijer, J. van der Stel, P. Sikstrom, ULCOS Program: An Update In 2012, 4th International Conference on Process Development in Iron and Steelmaking, 10-13
June 2012, Luleå, Sweden
43 J.-P. Birat, J. Borlée, A.-L. Hettinger, F. Saunier, Clean Steels in Europe, 8th International Conference on
Clean Steel, 14-16 May 2012, Budapest, Hungary
29
Reuse of steel
Since 2009, Dr Julian Allwood, of the University of Cambridge, has been leading the 5-year EPSRC6
funded WellMet2050 project. The project has been exploring some of the strategies towards material
and resource efficiency (initially with a focus on CO2 reduction), in the steel and aluminium sectors,
through 4 broad themes:
•
•
•
•
Conserving metal energy (e.g. re-use)
Using less metal to deliver same service (e.g. lightweighting, yield)
Prolonging metal use (e.g. more durable products)
Efficiencies in supply chains (e.g. through reducing the number of heating cycles in the supply
chain to achieve desired material properties)
Reports on each of those themes have been published and are available from the project web-site:
http://www.lcmp.eng.cam.ac.uk/wellmet2/introduction and a book presents them all together [35].
An industrial consortium, which includes worldsteel, Tata Steel and several key steel users helps to
steer the project priorities and activities. The project has already proven to be influential at a UK and
international level. The next stages are to develop demonstrators of some of the promising ideas already explored in general terms and to seek further influence of governments, policy and standards in
order to pursue material efficiency agendas.
Potential Strategies (probably not exhaustive): • Diverting manufacturing scrap. Rather than sending manufacturing scrap (e.g. from automotive blanking operations) to be remelted, what possibilities exist to divert the material to be used in other applica‐
tions? • Re‐use of steel products and components. Re‐use of structural steel appears to be a strong area of opportunity, both of material arising now and in designing now for future re‐use (DfR: Design for Reuse). What might the business models look like and what systems would need to be in place for these to be viable? Further analysis of these strategies reveals some interesting possibilities and some conflicts within
too; designing structural steel components with re-use in mind may be at odds with the design of
components that are lightweight and optimised for a particular building for example. Nonetheless,
within these strategies there may be significant opportunities for new product developments and new
businesses, which could help the steel sector to play its part in meeting the very tough resource efficiency challenges it is presented with.
6
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (United Kingdom)
31
Recycling (material to same material)
Recycled steel originating from end of life goods accounted last year for 25% of the steel production
in the world (381 million tonnes of obsolete ferrous scrap for 1.527 billion tonnes of steel produced).
This ratio is not that high considering a material that is well known for its easy collection and sorting
from the other materials (magnetic attraction) and for easy recycling by melting it in convertors or
electric arc furnaces, but this is due to the fact that an important part of the steel production is
trapped in the stock of steel that is used in goods that have a long life (40 years as an average). In
fact, very little steel is lost by oxidation or as a waste in garbage or dumped. The major part of steel
in the world is still used (old bridges or buildings or machines still used) or stored where it was used
("sleeping scrap"), but it can be collected in the future, especially when it will be known that its value
is high enough to pay for its collection, transport and treatment (to be accepted in a steel plant as raw
material).
The production of steel from scrap uses 75% less energy than the integrated process based on ore
and coal. Producing steel from scrap is also more carbon-lean than integrated mill production: 0.4
tons CO2/ton steel for the production based on scrap, vs. roughly 2.0 tons CO2/ton steel for the ISM,
which means an economy of 1.6 t of CO2 per t of steel produced. The recycling of steel also saves
natural resources and is reduces raw materials transportation, which also benefits the environment.
So the stakes to increase steel recycling and scrap use are high. The point is to identify how much
leeway there is to go beyond present performance, which is already very high in mature economies.
A particular challenge faces emerging economies, where most of steel production has been taking
place since the early 2000s based on integrated steel production: a transition to more intensive scrap
use there will have to take place and, probably a transition to EAF production.
To increase steel recycling, three major levers can be used:
•
develop collection and recycling in developing countries and emerging economies
•
improve ferrous scrap treatment to increase the value-in-use of scrap and thus avoid some
scrap from being "lost"
•
modify steel production processes to be able to use lower quality scrap.
The first point will probably be solved by economic growth in developing countries, of which Morocco
is a typical example. 20 years ago, the steel recycling ratio was below 50% in that country, because
there scrap demand was low and the collection was only for export and thus somewhat inefficiently
organized. Today there are two electric arc furnaces there, so that steel recycling has now risen to the
level of Europe. Ferrous scrap collection rate is facilitated by improving transportation infrastructure,
such as roads, railroads and shipping routes. Regarding emerging economies, where a strong integrated steel mill infrastructure is already in place, the transition to more scrap use has to be organized, an agenda which is widely open in the countries themselves.
Small developing countries are creating/will create a steel sector based on EAFs and probably a mixture of scrap and direct reduced iron units. Prospective studies on various scenarios are missing. Large emerging economies like the BRICS countries will have to anticipate the change over to some scrap‐based steel production. This also calls for major scenario modeling to analyze how this shift can take place at whether it will generate large steel exports. Organization of scrap collection in these countries is also an issue. In mature economies, where the collecting rate of scrap is already high, the challenge is to boost even
higher, towards nearly 100% of the steel in end-of-life goods. This would mean improving separation
technologies, for example shredder technology, but also dismantling and, at the design stage, designing product for end-of-life (Design for End-of-Life, DfEoL) and easy recycling (DfR). Then, once the
different material are separated, efficient magnetic sorting systems would have to be applied and
33
more sophisticated sorting machine based on all available detection systems would be used to sort out
and separate the various materials. Thus, recycling would not be targeted at collecting one major
metal, like steel, but would create ally categories, which would in effect carry out the co-recycling of
various metals at the same time.
Note that recycling steel does not recycle iron only, but also alloying elements, in a significant way.
For example, the amount of molybdenum recycled as part of new and old steel and of other scrap
may be as much as 30% of the apparent supply of molybdenum. Information on the level of corecycling of other metals, in the case of steel, is given in Table 1 – a very preliminary analysis. From
a material flow standpoint, it would be interesting to build an input/output table showing the interaction between metals (or materials) relative to co-recycling: these matrices could be built for regions,
the world or by type of consumer goods.
Table 1. Co-recycling of alloying elements taking place due to the recycling of steel
Level of co-recycling
Mo
30%
Ni
43%
Nb
20%
Ti
10%
Studies and technological development on: ‐ fragmentation technologies, ‐ separation technologies ‐ and measurement of physical properties and of chemical composition on the fly to control the separation into precisely‐defined and consistent metals, alloys and other materials. Work on the value‐in‐use of scrap is also necessary to help the industry balance the pros of purifying scrap even more to the cost of doing this by adding more technology. Adapting steels to lower quality scrap as a raw material is the third open avenue for technical development. This is happening on a daily basis, as producers are adapting to changes in scrap quality.
Whether this is going to be a steady trend and therefore a direction in which to do aggressive research and development is, however, an open question as scrap quality has not deteriorated over long
periods of time, rather the contrary. This is due to the fact that virgin raw materials dilute iron pollution in scrap: what will happen when society gets nearer to a closed-loop economy?
Purification of metal polluted melts (e.g. steel polluted by copper or tin, or copper polluted by Fe) has been studied in the past and might be worthy of some more work in the future, to prepare for this long‐term and still rather indefinite future. 34
Reuse of residues and industrial ecology synergies
(Foster the reuse of resources from by-products, discharged water, landfills)
Industry has, in recent years, made significant advances and improvements in resource efficiency.
Despite such improvements, process industries, and in particular Resource and Energy Intensive Industries (REII), continue to consume considerable quantities of primary raw materials and produce
somewhat disproportionate amounts of by-products and wastes.
Legislative drivers, for example EU Directives, such as the Waste Framework Directive, End of Life
Vehicle (ELV), Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), Integrated Pollution Prevention and
Control (IPPC), and ever increasing disposal costs/constraints continue to pressurise industry to further improve their efficiencies. The overall objective of these drivers is to achieve radical improvements in both the competitiveness and the environmental performance of resource and energy intensive industries (e.g. cement, steel, non-ferrous metals, glass and ceramics industries, chemical, pulp
and paper) by developing more cost-efficient and eco-efficient processes and technologies in a multisector context (e.g. resource exchange, local industrial clusters).
The reduction of the use of primary resources, that can be achieved by partially replacing them with
by-products, can significantly contribute to the preservation of natural resources by reducing the need
for landfills, deforestation, mining and the fuel consumptions and GHG emissions related to the transport of primary raw materials. Treatment processes that allow moving significantly toward the theoretical "zero waste" objective (i.e. with a significant yield in terms of recovery of valuable material and
high quality water) will be preferred. To this aim a global view must be adopted, by considering as
process outputs not only steel but also other related valuable materials.
The steel industry has a long tradition in the “sustainable” practice of recycling post-consumer and inhouse steel scrap, maximizing product yield and consequently minimizing the amount of waste material generated and valorising unavoidable waste materials both by using directly in the steelmaking
process or by finding uses in other industrial sectors. However a number of constrains concerning
waste management are changing the approach at the sustainable use of resources affecting the whole
European industrial community, including the steel industry. These include the following:
•
due to the implementation of the Landfill Directive, the availability of landfill has contracted
and there has been a reduction in the range of residues for which landfill is an option.
•
increased costs of waste disposal, owing to the reduction in landfill sites and changes to
waste classification, rendering more waste streams hazardous. Additionally, the requirement
to treat wastes, prior to disposal, translates into further increasing costs.
•
a number of wastes are problematic and their disposal is expensive owing to contaminants
contained within them.
•
major regulatory restrictions on the transfer of residues across frontiers between Member
States and movement beyond the EU.
•
major regulatory restrictions on the industrial consumption of freshwater and the discharge of
wastewater into rivers, lakes and sea coupled with an increased sensitivity of stakeholders toward this issue.
•
as raw materials decrease in availability and increase in cost, there has been a renewed emphasis on the recovery of wastes, many of which contain valuable sources of raw materials.
These residues may arise internally to the steel industry, or externally via other industries.
•
research is required to maximise the availability of secondary raw materials, in a form which
can be exploited by relevant industries.
35
Most of these issues are common to many manufacturing industries, therefore cross-sector and innovative approaches should be investigated for by-products and wastewater exploitation as both secondary raw material and as material and energy source. Therefore the efforts of future research activities should consider to the following overall directions:
•
develop alternative process solutions for improved recycling, reuse of by-products as well as
for the treatment of wastewater, sludge and dust by considering the site-wide interactions between the processes and related factors.
•
improve the internal (i.e. within the steelmaking cycle) by-products recycling and the recovery
of high-value material through the development of efficient and cost-effective treatment processes;
•
develop a new European production model which is capable to achieve in a flexible and dynamic way the optimum valorisation of by-products and wastes deriving from different process industries through the concept of industrial symbiosis and the exploitation of cross-sector
synergies.
The by-products of the steel cycle, the recovery of which is the most challenging, are: sludge deriving
from BF off-gas cleaning, sludge deriving from the steelmaking wastewater treatment as well as from
hot and cold rolling, hot rolling scale, water/oil mixes with high content of deposits, BOF and EAF
dusts, secondary steelmaking slag. More generally all kinds of by-products containing Carbon and
metal elements needed for steel production can present a recovery potential.
In the integral cycle, presently some by-products containing Carbon and Iron are internally recycled.
In the electric cycle the internal recycling is not so common although in the case of stainless steel
production it involves high valuable elements (Cr, V, Ni, Mo). Unfortunately future regulations are
foreseen to impose more severe limitations on the internal recycling as well as on landfilling.
In recent years both pyro-metallurgical and hydrometallurgical processes for by-products treatment
and recovery of valuable raw materials have been investigated.
The main obstacle for raw material recovery from sludge deriving from the steelmaking and rolling
processes is represented by the presence of oils and fats. This is especially true for sludge derived
from hot rolling, as such process generates the highest amount of fine solids. This kind of sludge is
usually mechanically dehydrated and landfilled and the only viable solution for their treatment is represented by pyro-metallurgical treatments (e.g. rotary kiln pyrolysis, PLD process, thermal desorption
with oil recovery). Some of them have been tested at pilot scale, but industrial implementations require further investigation.
In order to treat the oily scale derived from the hot rolling process, where raw material recovery is
limited by the high concentration of oils and fats (especially for scale the particle size of which is lower
than 1mm), pyro-metallurgical treatments operating in reducing atmosphere can be coupled to treatment with solvents and degreasing with water and chemicals: theoretically, the smaller the scale particle size, the less feasible this latter solution. Further investigation should be pursued on this side in
view of industrial size implementation.
Water/oil mixes without deposits can be concentrated and then marketed (with humidity lower than
15%) for regeneration. Otherwise, they are presently disposed by incineration at authorized facilities.
Their treatment can be coupled to sludge treatment.
Off-gases, which are normally exploited for their energy value, can be considered a by-product if their
chemical value is used (i.e. they can be a valuable input for the chemical industry or they could be
used as alternative fuels).
Actually the most important by-product the steel industry is already recycled as a primary raw material
is scrap, which is the main input in the EAF route. In view of the foreseen reduction of primary raw
36
material and of the enhanced use of the EAF cycle with scrap recycled many times, some research
efforts should investigate how to produce high-quality steels with low quality scrap.
As far as water is concerned, a coherent and reliable concept for assessing and rationalising fresh water utilisation in many industrial sectors is still to be spelled out, along with an optimized roadmap that
is capable of securing its sustainable provision to future generations. Considerable efforts are still required for the development of sustainable waste water treatment technologies that reduce fresh water
use and simultaneously increase the amount of high quality water for industrial use. Suitable sensing
technologies enabling real-time process and pollution control are being developed but their integration
into a global flexible and customizable online monitoring system for supporting water resource management is still far from industrial implementation. In the steel industry, non-integrated concepts for
water management have often dominated, with poor systematic consideration of the whole water system: most water minimization studies mainly deal only with water-using operations, without considering energy-related water usage. Only integrated efforts would allow defining significant and meaningful strategies for water management. Systematic interactions of water systems and effluent treatment
systems need to be explored.
A complex multi-disciplinary work is foreseen to reach the above-listed objectives. Process engineers,
chemists, physicists from both industrial and academic worlds need to cooperate for developing innovative solutions as well as for the improvement of existing technologies. Computer scientists need to
be involved for tasks dealing with processes simulation and control as well as for the development of
efficient, easy to use and flexible decision support tools to be used by plant managers in order to
chose appropriate treatment technologies and to optimise the materials flows, by taking into account
not only the current situations but also future scenarios. The involvement of plant manufacturers, water industry as well as of industrial sectors different from the steel sector (e.g. petrochemical, pulp
and paper, glass and food industries) is of utmost importance in order to actually implement the concept of industrial symbiosis and exploit cross-sector synergies. Actually one of the main aims of the
research action should consist in implementing strategies and technologies which open the possibility
of providing raw materials from one another’s residues and of providing a market for one another’s
residues.
The program would be organized along the following lines: 1. extraction of valuable materials (e.g. iron ore, oils, chemicals, etc..) from by‐products through preferably new but also improved energy efficient treatment processes; 2. exploitation of waste, residues or recycled materials from other industry sectors as a feedstock (secondary raw materials in essence replacing primary raw materials); 3. extraction of alternative fuels from by‐products; 4. sustainable landfilling; 5. new and improved wastewater treatment technologies aimed at maximising water reuse and improving the quality of the water exploited in the industrial processes; 6. development of flexible integrated on‐line monitoring system for water resource management; 7. development of decision support tools for optimization of industrial water networks, material fluxes and optimal selection of treatment processes. Part of this work is breakthrough and involves a deep interbreeding of chemistry, physics, physical
chemistry and technology. The remaining part concerns optimization of existing technologies and improved organisation of the fluxes of water within industrial water networks and of by-products not
only within the entire steelmaking cycle but also within the whole system of process industries. These
latter measures can have a comparable value with respect to innovative treatment technologies with
respect to the achievable savings of resources and improvements in resource efficiency and these results could be achieved at a shorter term with respect to the outcome of the more innovative technological research works. Work at laboratory scale, pilots and demonstrators should be envisioned.
37
Appendix: short monographs
on alloying elements
The information in this appendix is summarized and quoted from U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries, 2011 [10]
Aluminum
Aluminum is widely used as a deoxidizer. Aluminum can control austenite grain growth in reheated
steels and is therefore added to control grain size. Aluminum is the most effective alloy in controlling
grain growth prior to quenching. Titanium, zirconium, and vanadium are also valuable grain growth
inhibitors, but there carbides are difficult to dissolve into solution in austenite.
Events, Trends, and Issues:
World primary aluminum production increased in 2011 compared with production in 2010, mainly as a
result of starting new smelters and restarting domestic smelters that had been shut down in 2008 and
early in 2009. New smelters were constructed and came on stream, mainly in China and India. New
smelters previously completed reached full production during 2011 in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. World inventories of metal held by producers, as reported by the International Aluminium Institute, increased through the end of July to about 2.6 million tons from 2.5 million tons at yearend 2010.
Inventories of primary aluminum metal held by the LME worldwide increased during the year to 4.6
million tons in mid-September from 4.3 million tons at yearend 2010.
World Smelter Production and Capacity:
United States
Australia
Bahrain
Brazil
Canada
China
Germany
Iceland
India
Mozambique
Norway
Qatar
Russia
South Africa
United Arab Emirates
Venezuela
Other countries
World total (rounded)
Production
2010
2011
1726
1990
1930
1930
870
870
1540
1410
2960
2970
16200
18000
394
450
780
790
1450
1700
557
560
800
800
190
390
3950
4000
807
800
1400
1800
335
380
4900
5230
40800
44100
Yearend capacity
2010
2011
3200
3200
2050
2050
880
880
1700
1700
3020
3020
23000
25000
620
620
790
790
1950
2310
570
570
1230
1230
585
585
4440
4440
900
900
1800
1800
590
590
6180
6190
53500
55900
World Resources: Domestic aluminum requirements cannot be met by domestic bauxite resources.
Domestic non-bauxitic aluminum resources are abundant and could meet domestic aluminum demand. However, no processes for using these resources have been proven economically competitive
with those now used for bauxite. The world reserves for bauxite are sufficient to meet world demand
for metal well into the future.
39
Substitutes: Composites can substitute for aluminum in aircraft fuselages and wings. Glass, paper,
plastics, and steel can substitute for aluminum in packaging. Magnesium, titanium, and steel can substitute for aluminum in ground transportation and structural uses. Composites, steel, vinyl, and wood
can substitute for aluminum in construction. Copper can replace aluminum in electrical applications.
World Industry Structure
Production.—World primary aluminum production increased by 11% in 2010 compared with that of 2009
owing to smelter reopenings and expansions as prices recovered from the lows during the financial
crisis. China was the leading producer and accounted for 40% of global production. China, Russia,
Canada, and Australia, in decreasing order of production, accounted for 61% of total world primary
aluminum production.
During the fourth quarter of 2008 and early 2009, many primary smelters announced shutdowns in
response to declining prices, as demand for aluminum receded in the face of the financial crisis.
Throughout 2010, most of these shutdowns were continued, although several restarts were
announced in the second half of the year.
Stocks.—As aluminum demand increased and prices recovered from the lows during the financial crisis
in 2009, aluminum inventories stabilized during the fourth quarter of 2010. Unwrought aluminum
inventories held by member producers of the IAI increased by 16% to 1.40 Mt at yearend 2010 from
1.21 Mt at yearend 2009. Unwrought aluminum is defined by the IAI as aluminum in its basic form
made from primary metal or from scrap and that is metallurgically unworked. Total IAI aluminum
inventories increased by 13% to 2.52 Mt at yearend 2010 from 2.23 Mt at yearend 2009. Total
aluminum includes unwrought aluminum plus unprocessed scrap, metal in process, and finished
semifabricated (mill) products (International Aluminium Institute, 2011).
Yearend 2010 inventories of primary aluminum metal held by the LME decreased by 8% to 4.27 Mt
from 4.62 Mt at yearend 2009, aluminum alloy inventories decreased by 17% to 70,000 t from 84,500
t, and NASAAC ingot inventories decreased by 26% to 134,000 t from 180,000 t (London Metal
Exchange Ltd., 2009, 2010).
Primary aluminum metal ingot stocks at U.S. LME warehouses increased by 3% to 2.09 Mt at yearend
2010 from 2.02 Mt at yearend 2009. At yearend 2010, LME warehouses in the United States also held
about 134,000 t of NASAAC metal ingot, a 26% decrease from the 180,000 t held at yearend 2009
(London Metal Exchange Ltd., 2009, 2010).
World Review
Argentina.—Aluminio Argentino S.A.I.C. (Aluar) started production in July from 24 new pots that were
part of an expansion of its smelter. A total of 72 new pots were included in the expansion and would
bring smelting capacity to 425,000 t/yr from 410,000 t/yr by 2011 (Platts Metals Week, 2010d).
Australia.—The Australian Government announced it was deferring implementation of a cap-and-trade
program aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The proposal was withdrawn in April because
of a lack of agreement in Parliament (Australian Department of Climate Change, 2010). The proposal
would have included provisions for the aluminum industry and other emission-intensive industries to
mitigate the costs during the first several years of implementation.
A power supply contract was reached in November between Tomago Aluminium Co. Pty. Ltd. and
Macquarie Generation Pty. Ltd. The new contract would start when the current contract expires in
2017 and last until 2028. The Tomago smelter was a joint venture between Rio Tinto (52%), Gove
Aluminium Finance Ltd. (36%), and Norsk Hydro (12%) and had a capacity of 528,000 t/yr. The
smelter operator was discussing opportunities to sell molten aluminum to manufacturers considering
building facilities near the smelter (Norsk Hydro ASA, 2010j).
40
Alcoa of Australia Ltd. and Loy Yang Power Ltd. signed long-term power contracts for the Point Henry
and Portland smelters. A total of 820 megawatts (MW) would be provided to the two smelters through
2036. The contract for the Point Henry smelter would start in 2014 and the contract for the Portland
smelter would start in 2016, when the current contracts expire. The Point Henry smelter had a
capacity of 190,000 t/yr, and the capacity of the Portland smelter was 358,000 t/yr. The contracts
provided for increased power supplies in the event of expansion of the smelters (Alcoa Inc., 2010f).
Bahrain.—Aluminum Bahrain Ltd. (Alba) was planning to expand production capacity by adding more
pots to two of its five potlines and optimizing the power efficiency of those potlines. The project would
increase capacity of the smelter to 970,000 t/yr from 870,000 t/yr. The project would be completed by
yearend 2012, although specific plans were not released. Alba also was planning an additional potline
for completion by yearend 2014. The capacity of the proposed new potline would be 400,000 t/yr and
would bring total capacity of the smelter to 1.37 Mt/yr when completed (Platts Metals Week, 2010a).
Bosnia and Herzegovina.—Aluminij d.d. Mostar restarted approximately 35,000 t/yr of capacity at its
135,000-t/yr smelter during the first quarter. The smelter had shut down the capacity in early 2009 in
response to falling demand and prices for aluminum (CRU Aluminium Monitor, 2010b).
Brazil.—Novelis Inc. (a subsidiary of Hindalco Industries Ltd.) closed its 60,000-t/yr primary smelter at
Aratu at yearend. Novelis cited low prices, high operating costs from logistical issues with the
smelter’s location, high-priced power, outdated technology, and its small size as reasons for closing
(Novelis Inc., 2010).
Brazil recycled 98.2% of all aluminum beverage cans sold in the country during 2009. Brazil collected
and recycled 198,800 t of UBCs, the equivalent of 14.7 billion aluminum cans. For the ninth
consecutive year, Brazil had the highest aluminum can recycling rate among countries that do not
have mandatory recycling laws. Sales of aluminum beverage cans increased by 12% during 2010
compared with the number sold during 2009, and the volume of UBCs collected increased by 19.9%
compared with that of 2009 (Associação Brasileira do Alumínio, 2010).
Canada.—One-half of the 235,000-t/yr smelter in Laterriere, Quebec, was shut down from July through
September after the failure of two electrical transformers in July (Rio Tinto plc, 2010a).
Rio Tinto was moving forward with construction of a new smelter in Saguenay, Quebec, although
progress had been slowed during the financial crisis. The first phase of smelter operation would be in
early 2013, with a capacity of 60,000 t/yr. Additional potlines were planned that would bring total
capacity of the smelter to 460,000 t/yr, although a project schedule was not available (Rio Tinto plc,
2010b).
The Kitimat smelter modernization project that was delayed during the financial crisis was also
progressing. When completed, the capacity of the Kitimat smelter would increase to 420,000 t/yr from
277,000 t/yr. New prebaked pots would replace the Soderberg pots to increase efficiency and reduce
emissions (Rio Tinto plc, 2010b). In preparation for expansion of the smelter, two potlines with a
combined capacity of 67,000 t/yr were permanently shut down, and demolition begun in August (Riley,
2010b; Rio Tinto plc, 2010c, p. 7, 15).
China.—Primary aluminum production in China increased by 26% compared with that in 2009.
Capacity expansions and restarts of temporary closures outweighed closures of inefficient smelters
and from reduced output during power reductions at others (table 13).
The Government ordered that preferential power rates be discontinued to energy-intensive sectors
including primary aluminum smelters in several provinces by mid-June. The Government also ordered
highly polluting or inefficient smelters to be shut down. The policy was aimed at reducing energy
consumption and pollution in fast growing provinces of China. Other industries affected by the order
included ferroalloys, magnesium, silicon, and titanium (Wong, 2010).
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced that obsolete potlines, having a
combined capacity of 422,000 t/yr, at 15 smelters would be permanently closed by the end of
41
September. In Shanxi Province the affected smelters were Shanxi Zhenxing Aluminum Co. Ltd.
(20,000 t/yr), Taiyuan East Aluminum Co. Ltd. (15,000 t/yr), Hanzhou Zinc Industrial Special Material
Co. Ltd. (7,210 t/yr), and Shanxi Jinxin Aluminum Co. Ltd. (7,000 t/yr). In Shandong Province, affected
smelters were Shandong Aluminum Co. Ltd. (20,000 t/yr) and Zibo Aluminum Co. Ltd. (10,000 t/yr). In
Henan Province, the policy applied to Chinalco Henan Branch (60,000 t/yr), Sanmenxia Tianyuan
Aluminum Co. Ltd. (30,000 t/yr), Qin’ao Aluminum Co. Ltd. (20,000 t/yr), and Western Aluminum Co.
Ltd. (2,500 t/yr). In Hunan Province, 60,000 t/yr of capacity at the Hunan Maoerkou Aluminum Smelter
Co. Ltd. was closed. Affected smelters in Guizhou Province were the Shuangpai Aluminum Co. Ltd.
(50,000 t/yr) and the Guiyang Jinyuan Aluminum Co. Ltd. (30,000 t/yr). Chinalco’s Liancheng branch
closed 40,000 t/yr of capacity in Gansu Province. In Qinghai Province, Qinghai Products and Industry
Investment Co. Ltd. closed 50,000 t/yr of capacity. The pots closed had amperages of 100 kilo amps
(KA) or less, considered to be less efficient than newer potline designs that have amperages of 300
KA or greater. The potlines included Soderberg and prebaked pot designs, and many of the potlines
were shutdown prior to the policy being announced (China Metal Market—Alumina & Aluminum,
2010b).
In September, the government of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region announced strict regulations
on expansion of energy- and emissions-intensive industries, including primary aluminum smelting.
Other industries included were copper, lead, iron and steel, and zinc. Power supplies to these
industries were also cut at the beginning of September, resulting in some production cuts. New
smelters would not be approved for at least 1 year (China Metal Market—Alumina & Aluminum,
2010h, i). The provincial government of Inner Mongolia also announced similar policies, including the
closure of 800,000 t/yr of capacity at smelters with outdated or inefficient technology. A moratorium on
new smelter construction until 2011 was part of the policy (CRU Aluminium Monitor, 2010b). Hebei,
Jiangsu, Shandong, Shanxi, and Zhejiang Provinces were also implementing power restrictions to
aluminum smelters and other power intensive industries starting in July (China Metal Market—Alumina
& Aluminum, 2010l).
In order to decrease energy consumption, the Henan Provincial government ordered smelters to shut
down outdated and inefficient capacity. A total of 720,000 t/yr of capacity was affected by the ordered
shutdown. All pots using less than 160 kilo amps (KA) were to be shut down. Thirty percent of the pots
in the Province with amperage of 180 to 300 KA were to be shut down on a rotational basis. Other
industries including calcium carbide, caustic soda, ferroalloys, iron and steel, and polycrystalline
silicon were also affected by the policy to reduce power consumption (China Metal Market—Alumina &
Aluminum, 2010k). In Qinghai Province, the continuation of a similar policy shut down 50,000 t/yr of
obsolete potlines during the year. Since 2006, 165,000 t/yr of capacity had been shut down because
of the policy. Other potlines were being evaluated to determine if they would be forced to shut down
(China Metal Market—Alumina & Aluminum, 2010n). Zunyi, Guizhou Province, cut power supplies by
one-half to three smelters in the city at the end of August because of power shortages and to
decrease pollution. The smelters were owned by Zunyi Aluminum Co. Ltd., Zunyi Yulong Aluminum
Co. Ltd., and Zunyi Weiming Aluminum Co. Ltd., which had a combined capacity of 420,000 t/yr
(China Metal Market—Alumina & Aluminum, 2010j). Chiping Xinfa Aluminum Co. Ltd. was ordered to
shut down approximately 200,000 t/yr of aluminum capacity and 320,000 t/yr of alumina capacity at its
smelter and refinery, respectively, in Liaochen, Shangdong Province. The order was issued in July,
and the closures were implemented during the third quarter (China Metal Market—Alumina &
Aluminum, 2010f).
By early January, Aluminum Corp. of China (Chinalco) restarted all capacity at its primary smelters
that had been shut down during fourth quarter of 2008 and first quarter of 2009 (CRU Aluminium
Monitor, 2010a). Chinalco also announced it would phase out inefficient capacity of aluminum
42
smelters and alumina refineries by 2011. The permanent closures would involve more than 330,000
t/yr of smelting capacity (CRU Aluminium Monitor, 2010e).
Among the outdated pots being decommissioned by Chinalco was 20,000 t/yr of capacity at the
100,000-t/yr Shandong smelter. Dismantling of the pots started in September (CRU Aluminium
Monitor, 2010f). Chinalco also shut down a 176-potline at its Liancheng smelter in Liancheng, Gansu
Province in October because its outdated technology was not profitable. The smelter had been
commissioned in 2005 (China Metal Market—Alumina & Aluminum, 2010e). In the fourth quarter,
Sichuan Meishan Aostar Aluminum Co. Ltd. shut down 50 pots, accounting for about 38,000 t/yr of
capacity of the 250,000-t/yr smelter. Increasing prices for power and declining aluminum prices were
cited for the closure. Earlier in the year, the smelter had restarted some capacity that had been shut
down in late 2008 and early 2009 (China Metal Market—Alumina & Aluminum, 2010p, q).
A transformer fire at the 270,000-t/yr Yichuan Ningdong smelter in Ningxia Autonomous Region in
November forced a shutdown. A restart was not expected until early to mid-2011 (CRU Aluminium
Monitor, 2010g).
Qinao Aluminum Co. Ltd. (a subsidiary of Shenhuo Group) commissioned a 160,000-t/yr smelter in
Qinyang, Henan Province (China Metal Market—Alumina & Aluminum, 2010o). During the first quarter
of the year, Meishan Aluminium Co. restarted all capacity that had been shut down during the fourth
quarter of 2008. Higher prices and increasing demand enabled the restart (CRU Aluminium Monitor,
2010c).
Chinalco was progressing on several expansions that would add 850,000 t/yr of smelter capacity.
Construction of an expansion to 550,000 t/yr from 150,000 t/yr at the Guangxi smelter in Pingguo
began in November. The project included an expansion of the adjacent alumina refinery that would
increase capacity to 2.5 Mt/yr from 2 Mt/yr. The refinery would also attempt to recover iron oxide from
the red mud, with an expected 220,000 t/yr of iron oxides to be recovered (China Metal Market—
Alumina & Aluminum, 2010c). Expansion of the Liancheng smelter, expected to be completed in 2011,
would add 380,000 t/yr of capacity, and at the Gansu Hualu smelter, 70,000 t/yr of capacity and an
upgrade to the carbon anode furnace were expected to be completed in 2011 (China Metal Market—
Alumina & Aluminum, 2010d).
In May, Sichuan Aba Aluminum Smelter Co. Ltd. (a subsidiary of Chongqing Bosai Mining Group)
started production from an expansion project in Wenchuan, Sichuan Province, that increased capacity
to 200,000 t/yr from 110,000 t/yr. Bosai was also constructing an extrusion plant near the smelter to
produce value-added products (China Metal Market—Alumina & Aluminum, 2010a). Vimetco NV
commissioned the first two phases of the 250,000-t/yr Linfeng smelter during 2010 and had completed
the third phase by yearend. The third phase, with a capacity of 80,000 t/yr, was expected to start
production in early 2011 (Vimetco NV, 2011). Kaiman Aluminum Co. started production from a new
350,000-t/yr smelter in August. The company, previously known as Coalmine Aluminum Co., operated
a 1.8-Mt/yr alumina refinery (Platts Metals Daily, 2010).
Dongyuan Qujing Aluminum Co. Ltd. completed two expansions to its smelter in Qujing, Yunnan
Province, during the year that increased the smelter’s capacity to 380,000 t/yr from 230,000 t/yr (China
Metal Market—Alumina & Aluminum, 2010g). In the western part of China, Xinjiang Wujiaqu Coal &
Power Co. Ltd. (a subsidiary of Shandong Chiping Xinfa Group) completed a new smelter with a
capacity of 370,000 t/yr and started production in July. A plan to increase capacity of the smelter to 1.6
Mt/yr was being studied. The project also included a captive powerplant using coal mined near the
smelter (China Metal Market—Alumina & Aluminum, 2010r). Jinning Aluminum Magnesium New Type
Material Co. Ltd. started production from its new smelter in June. The smelter had a capacity of
350,000 t/yr and was located in Zhongning county, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. Expansion of the
smelter to 1.2 Mt/yr was planned (China Metal Market—Alumina & Aluminum, 2010m).
43
Germany.—During the first half of the year, Trimet Aluminium AG restarted 15,000 t/yr of capacity at its
170,000-t/yr Essen smelter and 40,000 t/yr of capacity at the 132,000-t/yr Hamburg smelter that had
closed in early 2009. Trimet had closed 50,000 t/yr of capacity at the Essen smelter but then restarted
35,000 t/yr of capacity in late 2009. The restarts brought production at both smelters back to full
capacity (Trimet Aluminium AG, 2010).
Iceland.—Rio Tinto announced plans to modernize and expand capacity of the ISAL smelter in
Straumsvik. The capacity of the smelter would increase to 230,000 t/yr from 190,000 t/yr. The project
was expected to be started in April 2012 and be completed by July 2014. The expansion plan was
made in conjunction with a long-term power agreement (October 2010 through 2036) with the utility,
Landsvirjun (Rio Tinto Alcan Inc., 2010).
Century anticipated restarting construction on the Helguvik smelter by mid-2011 and was awaiting final
permits. The project was delayed during the financial crisis in late 2008. Once completed, the smelter
would have a production capacity of 360,000 t/yr (Century Aluminum Co., 2010b).
India.—Vedanta Resources plc completed expansion of the Jharsuguda I smelter to 500,000 t/yr from
250,000 t/yr. A power failure in April damaged 171 pots, which were repaired during the year (Vedanta
Resources plc, 2010b).
Because of delays in obtaining a mining permit at the Niyamgri bauxite mine, construction of two
smelters was temporarily delayed. The 325,000-t/yr Korba III smelter had been progressing towards
initial production in the first quarter of 2011 and completion in September 2011. The 125,000-t/yr
Jharsuguda II smelter would have been completed in September 2012. Revised completion dates for
both projects were not announced (Vedanta Resources plc, 2010a, p. 31, 39; 2010c).
A power failure caused by lightning shut down production at Hindalco’s Hirakud smelter in early July.
Full production was expected to be restored during the first quarter of 2011. Expansion of the smelter
to 161,000 t/yr from 155,000 t/yr was expected to be completed in early 2011. Another expansion to
increase capacity to 213,000 t/yr was expected to be completed in March 2012, and a further
expansion to 360,000 t/yr was being considered. Construction of the 359,000-t/yr Mahan smelter and
900-MW captive powerplant was expected to be completed in September 2011. Completion of the
359,000-t/yr Aditya smelter and 900-MW captive powerplant was projected for October 2011.
Acquisition of land and environmental permits for the proposed 359,000-t/yr Jharkhand smelter and
900-MW captive powerplant was progressing again after having been deferred in 2009. Completion of
the project was planned for 2013 (Hindalco Industries Ltd., 2010).
Iran.—Hormzal Aluminum Ltd. commissioned a 147,000-t/yr smelter in Bandar Abbas during the first
quarter of the year (CRU Aluminium Monitor, 2010c).
Italy.—Alcoa temporarily closed the Fusina smelter in May. Plans to close the 44,000-t/yr smelter and
the 150,000-t/yr Portovesme smelter were announced in November 2009 in response to a ruling by
the European Commission that power contracts between Alcoa and the Italian Government were out
of compliance with European Union regulations. Alcoa delayed the closures while the ruling was being
appealed and negotiations for power contracts were being made with the Italian Government. The
Portovesme smelter was continuing to operate (Alcoa Inc., 2010d, p. 2; Kovalyova, 2010).
Kazakhstan.—Construction on an expansion to increase capacity to 250,000 t/yr from 125,000 t/yr at the
Pavlodar smelter was completed in May, and all of the new pots were producing by midyear. An
anode plant was also under construction, with completion expected in 2011 (CRU Aluminium Monitor,
2010d; Eurasian Natural Resources Group Inc., 2010).
Montenegro.—Central European Aluminum Co. continued with a modernization project of the Podgorica
smelter and alumina refinery. Although originally planned for completion by yearend, some work was
delayed for completion to early 2011. Capacity of the smelter would increase to 156,000 t/yr from
120,000 t/yr, and capacity of the alumina refinery would increase to 400,000 t/yr from 280,000 t/yr.
During the year, about 100 pots which had been shut down because of the price decline during 2008
44
and 2009 were restarted. These pots accounted for approximately 40,000 t/yr of capacity and bring
operating capacity to 130,000 t/yr (Central European Aluminum Co., 2010a; b).
New Zealand.—In December, Rio Tinto cut production at its 350,000-t/yr Tiwai Point smelter by 18,000
t/yr because of rising spot market prices for electricity (10% of the smelter’s power was purchased on
the spot market). Shipments of billet to the United States were not expected to be affected. Earlier in
the year, Rio Tinto had increased billet production to supply customers on the west coast of the United
States because of strong demand by extruders (American Metal Market, 2010d; Riley, 2010a).
Norway.—Norsk Hydro announced plans to construct a recycling plant at Karmoy, on the site of the
Soderberg potline, which had been decommissioned in March 2009. Two furnaces would be built,
each with a capacity of 35,000 t/yr. Casting of the molten metal would take place in the casthouse
used by the primary smelter. Construction of the first furnace was expected to begin in early 2011,
with operation starting in summer 2012 (Norsk Hydro ASA, 2010e).
Norsk Hydro was planning to make investments to modernize and expand production of hydroelectric
power in Norway. Norsk Hydro had ownership in five primary aluminum smelters in Norway, with a
combined capacity of almost 950,000 t/yr, that were powered by its system of hydroelectric
powerplants. Construction began on an expansion project at the Holsbru powerplant in August that
would increase capacity by 84 gigawatts (GW). Other projects included expansion of the Ilvatn
powerplant by 113 GW (2012 to 2015), construction of a 98-GW powerplant at Oyane (2012 to 2014),
and modernization projects of five powerplants in the Rjukan region (2011 to 2015) (Norsk Hydro ASA,
2010a, b, f).
Qatar.—A power failure on August 9 forced the shutdown of 444 pots at the Qatar Aluminium Ltd.
(Qatalum) smelter in Qatar. The 585,000-t/yr smelter, which was commissioned in December 2009,
was still in the ramp-up process at the time of the shutdown. The smelter was expected to reach full
production by the end of March 2011. Qatalum was a joint venture between Qatar Petroleum Ltd.
(Doha, Qatar) and Norsk Hydro (Norsk Hydro ASA, 2010h, i).
Romania.—Vimetco restarted 35,000 t/yr of 60,000 t/yr of capacity idled in early 2009 at the 300,000t/yr Slatina smelter. The restart of the pots brought operating capacity to 275,000 t/yr (Vimetco NV,
2011).
Russia.—United Company Rusal restarted an idle potline at the 318,000-t/yr Novokuznetsk smelter in
the first quarter of the year. Approximately one-quarter of the smelting capacity was shut down in
March 2009 (United Company RUSAL, 2010a). Rusal also increased production from 950,000 t/yr to
980,000 t/yr, at the 1-Mt/yr Krasnoyarsk smelter. Minor increases in production at the Kandalaksha,
Nadvoitsy, Sayanogorsk, Volgograd, and Volkhov smelters also took place during the year (United
Company RUSAL, 2011a, p. 16 and 32).
Rusal commissioned a new potline at the Irkutsk smelter in April that increased capacity to 460,000
t/yr from 300,000 t/yr. Other investments at the smelter included a new casthouse and an emissions
control system (United Company RUSAL, 2010b). Rusal obtained financing and planned to resume
construction of the Boguchanskaya smelter and hydroelectric powerplant in early 2011, with
completion expected sometime in 2013. When completed, the smelter was expected to have a
capacity of 600,000 t/yr. Construction of the 750,000-t/yr Taishet smelter was scheduled to resume in
2011 after being put on hold in 2009 (United Company RUSAL, 2011b).
Saudi Arabia.—In October, Saudi Arabian Mining Co. (Ma’aden) and Alcoa began construction of the
740,000-t/yr Raz as Zawr smelter and 380,000 t/yr rolling mill. The project, expected to be completed
in 2013, also included a 4-Mt/yr bauxite mine at Al Ba’itha and 1.8-Mt/yr alumina refinery in Raz as
Zawr that were expected to be completed in 2014. Ma’aden owned 74.9% of the joint venture and
Alcoa owned 25.1% (Alcoa Inc., 2010e).
45
Spain.—Alcoa’s 93,000-t/yr Aviles smelter was shut down in June as a result of flooding caused by
heavy rains (Alcoa Inc., 2010g). The smelter was operating at full capacity by yearend (Alcoa Inc.,
2011).
Sweden.—Rusal increased production at the 128,000-t/yr Kubal smelter to 93,000 t/yr. Production from
the smelter had been cut to 70,000 t/yr in 2009 as Rusal temporarily shut high-cost capacity (United
Company RUSAL, 2011a, p. 16, 32).
United Arab Emirates.—Emirates Aluminuim Ltd. (EMAL) announced that the last of the 756 pots at the
700,000-t/yr smelter started production in December. Production from the first pots started in
December 2009. EMAL was a partnership between Dubai Aluminium Co. Ltd. and Mubadala
Development Co. (Emirates Aluminium Ltd., 2011).
United Kingdom.—In July, Rio Tinto restarted full production at its 44,000-t/yr smelter in Lochaber,
Scotland, and its 169,000-t/yr smelter in Lynemouth, England. The smelters had reduced production in
the early part of 2009, but by yearend 2009, production was gradually being restored (Rio Tinto plc,
2010c, p. 15).
Venezuela.—At the beginning of the year, Venalum shut down 145,000 t/yr of capacity at the 430,000t/yr smelter owing to a power shortage caused by low water levels at the Guri Dam and to low prices
for aluminum. Starting in August, Venalum restarted production from 145 of the 394 pots that had
been shut down. The company imported aluminum to fill domestic customer orders and reduced
exports because of the shutdown (Platts Metals Week, 2010h, i). Alcasa also shut down 115,000 t/yr
of its 210,000-t/yr smelter in January as a result of power shortages, including two potlines (50,000 t/yr
of capacity) that were permanently shut down because of outdated technology and low productivity.
Despite increased power supplies, restart of the temporarily closed pots was delayed as a result of
financial issues (Platts Metals Week, 2010b).
Reference:
U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries,
46
Boron
Boron is added to fully killed steel to improve hardenability. Boron-treated steels are produced to a
range of 0.0005 to 0.003%. Whenever boron is substituted in part for other alloys, it should be done
only with hardenability in mind because the lowered alloy content may be harmful for some applications.
Boron is a potent alloying element in steel. A very small amount of boron (about 0.001%) has a strong
effect on hardenability. Boron steels are generally produced within a range of 0.0005 to 0.003%. Boron is most effective in lower carbon steels
Events, Trends, and Issues: Elemental boron is a metalloid that has limited commercial applications.
Boron compounds, chiefly borates, are commercially important; therefore, boron products were priced
and sold based on their boric oxide content (B2O3), varying by ore and compound and by the absence
or presence of calcium and sodium. The four borates—colemanite, kernite, tincal, and ulexite—make
up 90% of the borates used by industry worldwide. Although there are more than 300 end uses for
borates, more than three-quarters of the world’s supply is sold into the following four end uses: ceramics, detergents, fertilizer, and glass.
The global economic crisis of late 2008 and recession of 2009 negatively affected sectors vital for boron consumption, such as the construction and automotive industries. The moderate economic recovery in 2010 created steady growth in boron production and consumption. Consumption of borates is
expected to increase in 2011 and the coming years, spurred by strong demand in the Asian and South
American agricultural, ceramic, and glass markets. In particular, boron consumption in the global fiberglass industry was projected to increase by 7% annually through 2013, spurred by a projected 19%
increase in Chinese consumption. World consumption of borates was projected to reach 2.0 million
metric tons of B2O3 by 2014, compared with 1.5 million metric tons of B2O3 in 2010. Demand for borates was expected to shift slightly away from detergents and soaps towards glass and ceramics.
Because China has low-grade boron reserves and demand for boron is anticipated to rise in that country, Chinese imports from Chile, Russia, Turkey, and the United States were expected to increase during the next several years. European and emerging markets were requiring more stringent building
standards with respect to heat conservation. Consequently, increased consumption of borates for fiberglass insulation was expected. Continued investment in new refineries and technologies and the
continued rise in demand were expected to fuel growth in world production during the next several
years.
World Production and Reserves:
Production - All forms
Reserves
2010
2011
United States
w
w
40000
Argentina
600
630
2000
Bolivia
97
120
NA
Chile
504
480
35000
China
150
150
32000
Iran
2
2
1000
Kazakhstan
30
30
NA
Peru
293
370
4000
Russia
400
400
40000
Turkey
2000
2100
60000
World total (rounded)
4080
4300
210000
World Resources: Deposits of borates are associated with volcanic activity and arid climates, with
the largest economically viable deposits located in the Mojave Desert of the United States, the Alpide
belt in southern Asia, and the Andean belt of South America. U.S. deposits consist primarily of tincal,
kernite, and borates contained in brines, and to a lesser extent ulexite and colemanite. About 70% of
47
all Turkish deposits are colemanite. Small deposits are being mined in South America. At current levels of consumption, world resources are adequate for the foreseeable future.
Substitutes: The substitution of other materials for boron is possible in detergents, enamel, insulation,
and soaps. Sodium percarbonate can replace borates in detergents and requires lower temperatures
to undergo hydrolysis, which is an environmental consideration. Some enamels can use other glassproducing substances, such as phosphates. Insulation substitutes include cellulose, foams, and mineral wools. In soaps, sodium and potassium salts of fatty acids can act as cleaning and emulsifying
agents.
World Review
Argentina.—Argentina became the leading producer of boron minerals in South America in 2010 (table
6). Borate deposits are located primarily in the Puna region, which includes the northwestern tip of
Argentina, the southeastern corner of Peru, the southwestern corner of Bolivia, and the northeastern
border of Chile. Recent increased demand in Asia and North America for borate use in ceramics and
glass led to increased production of Argentine borates, boric acid in particular.
Borax Argentina S.A. (a subsidiary of Rio Tinto Minerals), the country’s leading producer of borates,
operated open pit mines at Porvenir in Jujuy Province and at Sijes and Tincalayu in Salta Province.
These operations produced colemanite, hydroborocite, kernite, tincal, and ulexite at a rate of 100,000
t/yr (Industrial Minerals, 2009b). Located at 4,100 m (13,400 feet) above sea level, the Tincalayu Mine
was Argentina’s largest open pit operation. The deposit consisted primarily of borax, with rare
occurrences of ulexite and 15 other borates. Rio Tinto also produced refined borate ores and boric
acid at refineries in Campo Quijano, Sijes, and Tincalayu in Salta Province and Porvenir in Jujuy
Province. Lithium Americas Corp. entered into an agreement with Borax Argentina to extract
subsurface lithium and borate brines from the salt lake at Jujuy Province. The company contends that
the brine has the correct composition to be economically viable (Industrial Minerals, 2009e). The
company produced 18,000 t of borates in 2010, a 38% increase from the 13,000 t reported in 2009 but
a 5% decrease from the 19,000 t produced in 2008 (Rio Tinto plc, 2011, p. 80).
Minera Santa Rita S.R.L. (MSR) operated mines in Catamarca, Jujuy, and Salta Provinces and
operated a processing plant in Campo Quijano, which produced granular deca- and pentahydrate
borax, technical-grade boric acid powder, and various grades and sizes of the natural boron minerals.
MSR exports 97% of its products to 28 countries through the port of Buenos Aires and by land to
Brazil. MSR refined more than 50,000 t/yr of borates and was expected to refine 75,000 t/yr after the
investment in a “flowing bed” system, a device that more efficiently dries boric acid. MSR has also
announced a permanent supply agreement with Sulphaar S.R.L. to furnish sulfuric acid for the Campo
Quijano plant (Santa Rita Mining Co., 2011).
Bolivia.—The most important Bolivian borate deposits, mined primarily by small cooperatives, are
located in the Altiplano of the Andes and contain ulexite with associated tincal. The Bolivian mining
agency, Corporación Minera de Bolivia (COMIBOL), was seeking to develop the Salar de Uyuni salt
flats for future borate production. COMIBOL planned to establish a $5 million borate pilot plant on the
deposit to determine full-scale feasibility. A full-scale boric acid plant would be expected to produce
20,000 t/yr (Industrial Minerals, 2006, 2009c; Moores, 2009).
Chile.—In 2010, Chile was the second leading producer of boron minerals in South America (table 6).
The 504,000 t of boron minerals produced in 2010 was a 17% decrease from that of 2009. The
Chilean borate producers were all located on the northeastern border of Chile, which contains one the
world’s largest deposits of ulexite. The largest producer, Quimica e Industrial del Borax Ltda.
(Quiborax), mined 450,000 t/yr of crude ulexite and produced up to 80,000 t/yr of boric acid and
40,000 t/yr of granular ulexite (Tran, 2008).
48
China.—China possessed more than 100 borate deposits in 14 Provinces. The northeastern Province
of Liaoning and the western Province of Qinghai accounted for more than 80% of the resources,
mostly in the form of sassolite and tincal. Chinese boron resources are of low quality, averaging about
8.4% B2O3, in comparison to the Turkish and United States reserves, which average about 26% to
31% and 25.3% to 31.9% B2O3, respectively. Apparent consumption of borate in China increased by
7% per year between 2000 and 2009 fueled by the glass and ceramic industries, but domestic
production remained relatively consistent during this period. To maintain this high level of consumption
and moderate level of production, China became more import reliant on borate products originating
from Russia, South America, Turkey, and the United States (Industrial Minerals, 2008a; Baylis, 2010,
p. 5).
The Chinese government was considering closing a loophole that gives a 5% tax rebate on the export
of alloys in attempts to curtail misuse of the rebate. Some carbon steel mills added small amounts of
boron, nearly 0.0005% by weight, to pass the steel off as an alloy in order to collect the rebate. This
practice may have given these mills as much as a 20% pricing advantage on their products (Metal
Bulletin, 2011).
India.—Although deposits of borates were identified in India, the country was reliant on imports of
borates from China, Turkey, and the United States to fulfill domestic needs. Borate products produced
in India include boric acid, boron carbide, ferroboron, and sodium perborate. The leading producer of
refined borates was Indo Borax & Chemical Ltd., which operated borax and boric acid plants in
Pithampur, Madhya Pradesh, northeast of Mumbai.
Serbia.—Erin Ventures Inc. (Victoria, British Columbia, Canada) entered into a binding agreement with
the Serbian state-owned coal mining company, JP PEU, for joint development of the Piskanja borate
deposit in southern Serbia. Additionally, Erin Ventures was seeking monetary compensation totaling
$15 million from Elektroprevreda, the Serbian national power corporation, over an alleged 1997
breach of contract in the development of the Piskanja deposit. The deposit had an estimated resource
of 7.5 Mt averaging 36% to 39% B2O3 (O’Driscoll, 2010, 2011a).
Rio Tinto Minerals held a license to the Jadar borate lithium deposit 150 km north of the Piskanja
deposit and planned further exploration drilling in 2010. Initial drilling revealed an inferred resource of
114 Mt with a 13.1% B2O3 and 1.8% Li2O grade. The company expected to produce borate by 2015
(Industrial Minerals, 2009d; O’Driscoll, 2010, 2011a).
Turkey.—The main borate producing areas of Turkey, all controlled by the state-owned mining
company Eti Maden AS, are Bigadic (colemanite and ulexite), Emet (colemanite), Kestelek
(colemanite, probertite, and ulexite), and Kirka (tincal). Production of refined borates increased during
the past few years owing to continued investment in new refineries and technologies. Eti Maden
planned to expand its share in the world boron market from 36% to 39% by 2013, increasing sales to
$1 billion by expanding its production facilities and product range. In 2009, Turkey exported 4 Mt of
borates valued at $104 million (Today’s Zaman, 2009; Uyanik, 2010).
Since 2007, the Turkish government has granted 110 million Turkish lira (about $64 million) to 317
proposals in support of the Industry-University Project (SAN-TEZ). SAN-TEZ was implemented to
develop boron-related technologies that might lead to increased consumption of Turkish borates
(Today’s Zaman, 2010).
Reference:
U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries,
49
Chromium
Chromium is commonly added to steel to increase corrosion resistance and oxidation resistance, to
increase hardenability, or to improve high-temperature strength. As a hardening element, Chromium is
frequently used with a toughening element such as nickel to produce superior mechanical properties.
At higher temperatures, chromium contributes increased strength. Chromium is a strong carbide former. Complex chromium-iron carbides go into solution in austenite slowly; therefore, sufficient heating
time must be allowed for prior to quenching.
Events, Trends, and Issues: Most chromite ore is converted into ferrochromium that is consumed by
the metallurgical industry and most of that is consumed to make stainless and heat-resisting steel. The
year 2011 was characterized by uncertainty resulting from the escalating Eurozone debt crisis. World
ingot and slab equivalent stainless and heat-resisting steel production at the end of the first half of
2011 was on track to reach 32 million tons for the year. At 32 million tons, an historically high stainless
and heat-resisting steel world production would be reached.
World Mine Production and Reserves: Reserves for India were revised based on information reported by the government of India. Reserves for Kazakhstan and South Africa were revised based on
Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC) complaint information reported by mining companies.
United States
India
Kazakhstan
South Africa
Other countries
World total (rounded)
Mine production
2010
2011
NA
3800
3800
3830
3900
10900
11000
5170
5300
23700
24000
Reserves
(shipping grade)
620
54000
220000
200000
NA
>480000
World Resources: World resources are greater than 12 billion tons of shipping-grade chromite, sufficient to meet conceivable demand for centuries. About 95% of the world’s chromium resources is
geographically concentrated in Kazakhstan and southern Africa; U.S. chromium resources are mostly
in the Stillwater Complex in Montana.
Substitutes: Chromium has no substitute in stainless steel, the leading end use, or in superalloys, the
major strategic end use. Chromium-containing scrap can substitute for ferrochromium in some metallurgical uses.
World Industry Structure
The chromium industry comprises chromite ore, chromium chemicals and metal, ferrochromium,
stainless steel, and chromite refractory producers. Several trends are simultaneously taking place in
the chromium industry. The chromium chemical industry has eliminated excess production capacity,
concentrating on production growth in surviving plants. Chromite refractory use has been declining;
however, foundry use has been increasing slowly. Environmental concerns have reduced the use of
chromite refractories and chromium chemicals. The fraction of chromite ore from independent
producers is declining, while that from vertically integrated producers is increasing. In other words,
chromite ore mines tend now to be owned and operated by chromite refractory, chromium chemical, or
ferrochromium producers. This trend is associated with the migration of ferrochromium production
capacity from stainless steel producing countries to chromite ore-producing countries, a trend that has
been interrupted with the emergence of China as a significant ferrochromium and leading stainless
steel producer. While ferrochromium production capacity was closed in historically producing
countries, which usually have been stainless steel-producing countries, new furnaces or plants were
constructed in chromite ore producing areas. The electrical power and submerged-arc electric-furnace
production capacities used to produce ferrochromium have been increasing. Furnaces built recently
50
have an electrical capacity in the tens of megavoltamperes (MVA), whereas when ferrochromium
plants were first built, furnaces rated in the low kilovoltampere (kVA) range were common.
Production process improvements, such as agglomeration of chromite ore, preheating and
prereduction of furnace feed, and closed-furnace technology, have been retrofitted at the plants of
major producers and are being incorporated in newly constructed plants. Since the introduction of
post-melting refining processes in the steel industry after 1960, there has been a shift in production to
high-carbon ferrochromium from low-carbon ferrochromium. After years of ferrochromium production,
slag stockpiles have grown. Recently developed processes have efficiently recovered ferrochromium
from that slag, and processes have been or are being installed at existing plant sites. In South Africa,
the leading chromite ore- and ferrochromium-producing country, three trends are emerging—
ferrochromium plants are being developed in the western belt of the Bushveld Complex,
ferrochromium plants are being built in association with chromite ore mines, and ferrochromium
production processes have been developed to accommodate chromite ore byproduct recovered from
platinum operations.
Capacity.—Rated capacity is defined as the maximum quantity of product that can be produced in a
period of time at a normally sustainable long-term operating rate based on the physical equipment of
the plant and given acceptable routine operating procedures involving labor, energy, materials, and
maintenance. Capacity includes both operating plants and plants temporarily closed that can be
brought into production within a short period of time with minimum capital expenditure. Because not all
countries or producers provide information about production capacity, historical chromium trade data
also have been used to estimate national production capacities. Reported production capacity
changes result from both facility changes and increased knowledge about facilities. New information
about a facility may result in the reevaluation of production capacity for that facility. Production
capacities have been rated for the chromite ore, chromium chemical, chromium metal, ferrochromium,
and stainless steel industries (table 7).
Production.—In 2009, world chromite ore production was about 18.9 million metric tons (Mt) gross
weight, of which 95.2% was produced for the metallurgical industry; 2.4%, for the foundry industry;
1.6%, for the chemical industry; and 0.8%, for the refractory industry (International Chromium
Development Association, 2010, p. 1).
The chromium industry entered 2009 under the burden of a world economic recession resulting from
the world financial crisis of 2008. Demand for chromium declined significantly along with demand for
industrial and consumer products that contain chromium. Under conditions of reduced consumption,
producers and consumers of chromium-containing materials used stocks as their primary source of
supply, exacerbating falling demand. Prices of chromium materials fell, but began to recover before
the end of the year. Consumption, however, did not return to 2008 levels.
Chromium Chemicals.—Major chromium chemical producers included China, Russia, South Africa,
Kazakhstan, and the United States. Murthy (2009) reported that world sodium dichromate production
was about 1.2 Mt produced by China (27%), United States (16%), Kazakhstan (12%), Russia (11%),
South Africa (11%), Turkey (9%), and India (8%).
Chromium Metal.—Major chromium metal producers included Russia (by the electrolytic process), Japan
(by the silicothermic process) and China, France, Kazakhstan, Russia, and the United Kingdom (by
the aluminothermic process). Lofthouse (2009) reported that industrial-scale chromium metal
production by the aluminothermic process started in Germany after the process was patented by Hans
Goldschmidt in 1922 and by the electrolytic process in the United States after 1950. In 1990, there
were 15 industrial scale chromium metal producers, 12 aluminothermic and 3 electrolytic; however, by
2010 there were 7 aluminothermic, 1 electrolytic, and 1 silicothermic chromium metal producers.
During the same time period, production shifted from 70% aluminothermic/30% electrolytic in 1990 to
95% aluminothermic in 2010. Chromium metal produced by the aluminothermic process requires
51
metal-grade chromic oxide, a chemical product, as a feed material. The two metal producers in China,
Jinzou and Sing Horn, and two of the metal producers in Russia, Kluchevsky and Novotroitsk, are
vertically integrated chromic oxide-chromium metal producers. The remaining two aluminothermic
chromium metal producers, LSM in the United Kingdom and Delachaux in France, were supplied by
Aktyubinsk in Kazakhstan and Elementis in the United Kingdom until it closed in 2009 and then by
Elementis in the United States. World production of chromium metal peaked at 40,000 t in 2007, and
then declined to 34,000 t in 2008. Nickel- and cobalt-based alloys and superalloys used in aerospace
(jet engine) and electrical power (turbine powerplants) were the leading end use for chromium metal.
Stainless Steel.—In 2009, world stainless steel production was 24.579 Mt, a decrease of 5.2% from that
of 2008 (International Stainless Steel Forum, 2010). At 36% of world stainless steel production, China
was the leading producer in 2009. Pariser (2010, p. 14) reported stainless steel production increased
in 2009 from 2008 for Asia excluding China (7.9%) and for China (32.8%). The rest of the world
showed mostly double digit declines.
Ferrochromium.—The price of coke, an essential reductant for ferrochromium production, has escalated
owing to, in the Western world, stricter environmental regulations and less integrated steel production;
in China, which accounted for one-half of world trade in 2009, by export taxes and the closure of bee
hive furnaces; and in general by higher prices owing to port and rail investments to alleviate
transportation bottlenecks. Jones estimated that coke accounted for 25% of ferrochromium price in
2004 at 25 cents per pound, and for 20% of that price in 2009, assuming 0.6 t of coke per ton of
ferrochromium product (Jones, 2010).
Stainless Steel Scrap.—Stainless steel scrap is an important source of chromium to the stainless steel
industry that consists of three components: internal (such as, scrap generated in the steelmaking
plant), external (such as, scrap that originates outside the steel producing plant), and reclaimed (such
as, post-consumer scrap). Stainless steel scrap recycling accounts for a significant, but
undocumented, fraction of world stainless steel production. Kovarsky (2009) reported historical
stainless steel melting production growth rate (from 1995 to 2008) to have been 5.3% and that of
ferrochromium consumption to have been 5.2%. External stainless steel scrap growth during the same
period was about 8.1%. China was expected to become the leading stainless steel producer and
consumer of stainless raw materials, which would lead to chromium-material markets reflecting
Chinese market dynamics. Merrills (2009) reported that historical stainless steel scrap availability
increases to about the same rate as stainless steel melting production (5% to 7% per year). Internal
stainless steel scrap is recycled within about 3 months; external scrap, within about 6 months; and
reclaimed scrap, within about 15 to 20 years. Stainless steel scrap is less costly to consume in the
production of stainless steel than primary raw materials and is more environmentally friendly because
less carbon dioxide (CO2) is generated and less energy used when recycled raw materials are used in
place of primary raw materials (such as iron and ferroalloy). Asia recently has accounted for most of
the growth in stainless steel production and consumption driven mainly by China. As a result, Asia
was expected to surpass Europe in stainless steel production and consumption by 2013 and to
become a leading source of stainless steel scrap.
World Review
Albania.—ACR (formerly Albanian Chrome) [a subsidiary of DCM (Austria)] produced chromite ore at
Bulquiza Mine. DCM DECOmetal [a subsidiary of DCM (Austria)] produced high- and low-carbon
ferrochromium at Elbasan (DCM, 2008). DCM operated three furnaces at Elbasan, two for high-carbon
ferrochromium and one for low-carbon ferrochromium. DCM’s production capacity was 18,000 t/yr of
low-carbon ferrochromium and 18,000 t/yr of high-carbon ferrochromium. DCM planned to increase
52
low-carbon ferrochromium production capacity to 33,000 t/yr (Metal Bulletin Daily, 2009a, b; SBB Daily
Briefing, 2009a).
Albanian Minerals & Bytyci Shpk explored for chromite ore in the Tropoje and Kukes areas of northern
Albania and Kosovo (International Chromium Development Association Secretariat, 2009).
Empire Mining Corporation (Canada) explored for chromite ore in the Bulqiza chromite mining district
near the town of Bulqiza (41°29'27" N, 20°13'4" E). Empire started a drilling program in the area
(Empire Mining Corporation, 2009, 2010).
JAB Resources Limited (Australia) explored for chromite ore in the Bregu I Bibes, Kalimash, and Zogaj
areas. JAB reported inferred mineral resources of 6.72 Mt grading 4.36% Cr2O3 in the Kalimash area
(JAB Resources Limited, 2010, p. 63).
Australia.—The Government of Western Australia reported chromite ore sales by calendar year in
contained Cr2O3: 2008, 56,881 t-Cr2O3; 2009, 74,789 t-Cr2O3 (Government of Western Australia, 2010,
p. 20).
Brazil.—Brazil produced chromite ore, ferrochromium, and stainless steel. Brazil reported 2008
chromite ore production of 705,762 t (299,952 t Cr2O3-content), 54,273 t of chromite ore (24,422 t
Cr2O3-content) exports, and 22,896 t (12,592 Cr2O3-content) imports. Brazil produced from a chromite
ore reserve of 13.9 Mt containing about 4.469 Mt Cr2O3-content, mostly in Bahia State. In 2008, Brazil
produced 199,354 t of chromium ferroalloys, exported 34,827 t and imported 11,648 t (Ramos, 2010).
Based on production of chromite ore and trade of chromite ore and chromium ferroalloys, Brazilian
chromium apparent consumption was 312,000 t in 2008.
Canada.—Canada reported chromium mineral imports of 60,301 kg in 2008, 50,599 kg in 2007; and
49,009 kg in 2006; exports of 1,921 kg in 2008, 1,759 kg in 2007; and 2,733 kg in 2006; 2,991 kg in
2005 (Natural Resources Canada, 2009).
Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (United States) (2010, p. 5, 115) acquired Freewest Resources Canada
Inc. and its chromite ore resources in Ontario, Canada. Cliffs planned to mine from 1 to 2 Mt/yr of
chromite ore to produce from 400,000 to 800,000 t/yr of ferrochromium that would subsequently be
used to produce alloy or stainless steel.
China.—China produced chromite ore, chromium chemicals and metal, ferrochromium, and stainless
steel. China was the leading producer of stainless steel, which also made it the leading market for
ferrochromium. China produced a small amount of chromite ore; a moderte amount of ferrochromium,
mostly from imported chromite ore; and a large amount of stainless steel.
The Government encouraged power consumers to negotiate prices directly with powerplants without
the interference of local authorities. Discounts in electricity prices were expected to be available, but at
a smaller discount than before. As a result, electrical power prices were expected to rise for
ferrochromium producers (Metal Bulletin Daily, 2009c, p. 1).
China’s economy grew by 8.7% in 2009 and inflation was 1.9% year-on-year in December. China’s
government stimulus measures helped the economy to withstand the global recession. To avoid
further inflation, China raised its reserve ratio requirement, which limits the amount banks can lend as
a proportion of total reserves (Metal Bulletin Daily, 2010, p. 1).
The leading stainless steel producers in China were Baosteel Stainless, Lianzhong Stainless Steel
Corporation, Shanghai Krupp Stainless, Shanxi Taigang Stainless (Taiyuan Iron & Steel), and
Zhangjiang Pohang Stainless Steel.
Finland.—Finland produced chromite ore (Kemi Mine) (65°46'55.50" N, 24°42'18.58" E), ferrochromium
(Tornio Works), and stainless steel (Tornio Works) (Baerchmann, undated). In 2009, Outokumpu
produced 247,000 t of marketable chromite ore from 0.9 Mt of run-of-mine ore and 123,000 t of
ferrochromium compared with 614,000 t of chromite ore from 1.3 Mt of run-of-mine ore and 234,000 t
of ferrochromium in 2008. The company reported proven reserves of chromite ore at 37 Mt graded at
26% Cr2O3, and indicated resources of chromite ore at 13 Mt graded at 30% Cr2O3, and inferred
53
resources of chromite ore at 73 Mt graded at 29% Cr2O3. Outokumpu produced stainless steel at
meltshops in Tornio, Avesta (Sweden), and Sheffield (Britain). Outokumpu reported that its stainless
steel comprised 90% recycled materials while the world average is 60%. Outokumpu idled its Kemi
Mine, ferrochromium works, and a stainless steel melt shop from April to October owing to weak
demand (Outokumpu Ojy, 2010).
Germany.—Germany produced low-carbon ferrochromium and stainless steel. Elektrowerke Weisweiler
GmbH produced low-carbon ferrochromium and ThyssenKrupp AG produced stainless steel.
Elektrowerke Weisweiler was owned by Kermas Group (United Kingdom). Kermas also owned Serov
Ferroalloys Plant (Russia) and Samancor (South Africa), other low-carbon ferrochromium producers.
India.—India produced chromite ore, chromium chemicals, ferrochromium, and stainless steel. India
exported lumpy and friable chromite ore and chromite ore concentrates. India reported that 21 mines
collectively produced 4,798,515 t of chromite ore in fiscal year 2007–08 (April 1, 2007, through March
31, 2008) from a chromite ore reserves of 66.128 Mt compared with 5,295,551 t from 17 mines in
fiscal year 2006–07. India reported chromite ore exports of 906,575 in fiscal year 2007–08, 1,203,060
in fiscal year 2006–07, and 692,673 t in fiscal year 2005–06 (Indian Bureau of Mines, 2009). Kapure
and others (2010) estimated that 140 Mt of chromite overburden had been mobilized in India and that
5 Mt is generated each year. The chromite overburden contains 0.6% to 0.8% nickel in addition to
chromium and iron. The authors recovered about 80% of chromium, iron, and nickel from chromite
overburden in bench-scale tests by direct reduction using coal.
The leading Indian chromite ore producers were OMC Ltd. and Tata Iron and Steel Corp. (Metal
Bulletin Daily, 2009e). Orissa Mining Corp. operated the Daitari and Kaliapani Mines (OMC Ltd.,
undated). Ferro Alloys and Minerals (FAMD), a division of Tata Iron and Steel Corp., produced
chromite ore in the Jajpur District of Orissa State. FAMD beneficiated its ore at its beneficiation plant
in Sukinda and then exported the product or converted it to ferrochromium at its plants in Keonjar
District and Cuttack, Orissa State. At Cuttack, FAMD operated two furnaces with electrical power
rating of 16.5 MVA and ferrochromium production capacity of 50,000 t/yr. At Bamnipal, FAMD
operated one furnace with electrical power rating of 33.5 MVA and ferrochromium production capacity
of 60,000 t/yr (Ferro Alloys and Minerals Division, undated).
Balasore Alloys Limited, formerly Ispat Alloys Limited, a part of the Ispat Group produced chromite ore
and ferrochromium. Balasore operated chromite ore mines in Sukinda Valley, Jajpur, Orissa. Balasore
planned to set up a captive electrical powerplant and to expand beneficiation, furnaces, and
transportation (Balasore Alloys Limited, 2010, p. 10).
OMC suspended mining operations for about 2 weeks in September while it resolved a forest
clearance with the State Forest Department, after which OMC was ordered by the State of Orissa to
stop supplying chromium ore to ferrochromium producers outside the State of Orissa for the
December quarter (Metal Bulletin Daily, 2009f, g).
Idcol Ferro Chrome & Alloys planned to build a chromite ore beneficiation plant. The company’s
ferrochromium plant in Jajpur, Orissa State, has a production capacity of 25,000 t/yr of high-carbon
ferrochromium from a captive ore supply. The plant also produced low-carbon ferrochromium (Metal
Bulletin Daily, 2009d).
JSL Limited (formerly Jindal Stainless) produced chromite ore, ferrochromium, and stainless steel.
JSL operated a 40,000-t/yr ferrochromium plant at Vizag and a 150,000-t/yr ferrochromium plant in
Orissa. JSL’s chromite ore division produced 3,946 t of chromite ore and 22,833 t of chrome ore
concentrate. JSL commissioned a chromite ore beneficiation plant in August. JSL’s Vizag, Andra
Pradesh, plant produced 32,681 t of high-carbon ferrochromium in 2009 compared with 31,901 t in
2008. JSL continued construction of a 1-Mt/yr stainless steel plant in Jajpur, Orissa (JSL Limited,
2010, p. 11, 17, 35).
54
Ferro Alloys and Minerals Division of Tata Steel Limited produced ferrochromium at its Bamnipal plant
in fiscal year 2009–10 (April 1 through March 31) (Tata Steel Limited, 2010, p. 75, 137).
Facor Alloys Limited produced 63,350 t of ferrochromium in 2008–09 compared with 69,075 t in 2007–
08 at its Garividi Plant, Andhra Pradesh (18°16′25″ N, 83°32′ E) (Facor Alloys Limited, 2009,
unpaginated; Prakash, 2010).
Ferro Alloys Corporation Limited produced 177,760 t of chromite ore and 56,216 t of high-carbon
ferrochromium in FY 2008–09 compared with 186,896 t of ore and 53,750 t of ferrochromium in 2007–
08. Ferro Alloys Corporation produced ferrochromium at Charge Chrome Plant, Randia, Orissa, and
mined chromite ore, also in Orissa (Ferro Alloys Corporation Limited, 2009, p. 20).
Indian Metals and Ferro Alloys Limited (IMFA) mined chromite ore in Orissa and produced
ferrochromium at Choudwar and Therubali plants. IMFA mined 282,836 t of chromite ore and
produced 130,758 t of ferrochromium (Indian Metals and Ferro Alloys Limited, 2009, p. 7, 8, 13). IMFA
planned to expand production of high-carbon ferrochromium at Choudwar plant with the addition of a
30 MVA furnace to the existing two furnaces by 2010. The expansion would increase IMFA’s total
production capacity to 275,000 t/yr. IMFA exported about 75% of its ferrochromium production, mainly
to China, Japan, and Republic of Korea. The company also operated three chromite ore mines in
Orissa and had a captive powerplant at the Choudwar works (SBB Daily Briefing, 2009c).
Rohit Ferro-Tech Limited produced ferrochromium at Jajpur, Orissa, and Dishnupur, West Bengal
(Rohit Ferro-Tech Limited, 2009, p. 4, 18).
Jindal (2009) reported that more than three-fourths of India’s stainless steel production is 200 series
and that production capacity in 2009 was 2.910 Mt; production was 2.1 Mt. Ferrochromium production
capacity was 1.3 Mt.
Murthy (2009) reported that sodium dichromate production capacity in India amounted to 88,000 t/yr of
which Vishnu Chemicals Limited accounted for 70,000 t/yr.
Kazakhstan.—Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation PLC (ENRC) (United Kingdom) produced
chromite ore and ferrochromium. ENRC produced chromite ore at Donskoy and Saranovskaya Mines.
Production capacity at Donskoy was 3.5 Mt/yr from 184.2 Mt of reserves at an average grade of
41.5% Cr2O3; Saranovskaya production was 150,000 t/yr. ENRC produced ferrochromium at Aksu
(800,000-t/yr ferrochromium production capacity), Aktobe (368,000-t/yr ferrochromium production
capacity), and Serov (195,000-t/yr ferrochromium production capacity) plants. ENRC reported
production with 1.161 Mt ferrochromium in 2009 compared with 1.196 Mt in 2008. ENRC constructed
a second 700,000-t/yr pelletizing plant at a cost of $40 million and worked on installation of a direct
current furnace at Aktobe with production capacity of 440,000 t/yr that was to be completed in 2012 at
a cost of $590 million. The new production capacity was to displace a portion of the old production
capacity, which was to be retired (Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation PLC, 2009, p. 10; 2010, p.
14–16, 45).
Chromite ore commercial reserves were 317.2 Mt at an average grade of 45.9% Cr2O3 of which 24.8
Mt at 41.4% Cr2O3 could be surface mined and the remaining 292.4 Mt at 50.7% Cr2O3 could be mined
by underground methods. In 2008, TNK Kazchrome (a subsidiary of ENRC in Aktobe) produced 1.07
Mt of chromium ferroalloys; 996,267 t of high-carbon ferrochromium; 45,496 t of medium-carbon
ferrochromium; and 32,914 t of low-carbon ferrochromium (Tolymbekov and others, 2010).
Russia.—Russia produced chromite ore, chromium metal and chemicals, ferrochromium, and stainless
steel. Mechel Open Joint-Stock Company produced chromite ore (Voskhod deposit in Aktyubinsk
region of Kazakhstan), ferrochromium (Tikhvin Ferroalloy Smelting Plant Closed Joint-Stock
Company, Leningradskaya region), and stainless steel. Mechel reported production of 58,000 t of
ferrochromium in 2008 (Mechel Open Joint-Stock Company, 2009, p. 6, 10). Russia also produced
ferrochromium at Serov and ferrochromium and chromium metal at Kluchevsky Ferroalloy Plant.
55
Russia increased ferrochromium production to 578,000 t in 2005 from 274,000 t in 2000 based mostly
on chromite ore imported from Kazakhstan, Turkey, and other countries. Russia mined chromite ore in
the Urals (Saranovskoe, Alapaevskoe, and others) and in the Komi region; however, the ore was low
grade. Saranovskoe chromite ore was used in Serov Ferroalloys Plant, JSC (Leontyev and Zhuchkov,
2010).
South Africa.—South Africa was a leading chromite ore and ferrochromium producing country and
produced chromium chemicals and stainless steel.
AMCOL International Corporation (United States) purchased 53% interest in the Ruighoek Chrome
Project from Pacific Niugini Limited [formerly Chrome Corporation Limited (Australia)] citing strong
demand for specialized grade chromite within the heavy-casting industry (AMCOL International
Corporation, 2010, p. 4). AMCOL took operational control of Ruighoek Chrome Project in the Western
Lobe of the Bushveld Igneous Complex in North West Province of South Africa, where chromite has
been mined for more than 50 years. AMCOL planned to mine chromite ore from the LG6 and LG6A
seams first by surface and then by underground methods (Chrome Corporation Ltd., 2010, p. 6).
African Rainbow Minerals Ltd. (ARM) produced chromite ore and ferrochromium in joint-venture
partnerships with Assmang Ltd. (Dwarsrivier Chrome Mine and Machadodorp Ferrochrome Works)
and with Norilsk Nickel Africa (Nkomati Nickel and Chrome Mine). Nkomati Nickel Mine produced
528,000 t of chromite ore in fiscal year 2009 compared with 1,177,000 t in 2008 and 631,000 in 2007.
Nkomati chromite ore proven and probable reserves reportedly were 2.9 Mt at 31.0% Cr2O3;
measured and indicated resources were 1.8 Mt at 33.6% Cr2O3. Dwarsrivier Chrome Mine production
was 684,000 t in fiscal year 2009 compared with 849,000 t in 2008, 710,000 Mt in 2007, and 526,000 t
in 2006. Dwarsrivier proven and probable reserves were 39.6 Mt at 39.5% Cr2O3; measured and
indicated resources were 53.2 Mt at 39.56% Cr2O3. Machadodorp ferrochromium production was
169,000 t in 2009 compared with 270,000 t in fiscal year 2008, 242,000 t in 2007, and 230,000 t in
2006 (African Rainbow Minerals Ltd., 2009, p. 35, 48).
Assore Ltd. produced chromite ore at Zeerust Chrome Mines Ltd. and chromite ore and ferrochromium
in joint-venture partnership with ARM [Dwarsrivier Chrome Mine (30°05′00″ E, 24°59′00″ S),
Machadodorp Ferrochrome Works] through its subsidiary company Rustenburg Minerals Development
Company (Proprietary) Ltd. (RMDC). RMDC developed shafts to mine underground as surface
reserves diminished. Zeerust chromite ore proven reserves were 0.8 Mt; measured and inferred
resources were 0.9 Mt and 10.6 Mt, respectively (Assore Ltd., 2010, p. 7, 20, 29).
ASA Metals (Pty.) Ltd. (24°33' S, 30°08'35" E) (Pentz, undated a) [a joint venture between Sinosteel
Corp. (China) and Limpopo Economic Development Enterprise] produced chromite ore and
ferrochromium. ASA installed two 66-MVA furnaces and a beneficiation and pelletizing plant to
process feed material for ASA’s furnaces. ASA increased its ferrochromium production capacity to
400,000 t/yr (ASA Metals (Pty.) Ltd., undated). ASA operated four furnaces; two rated at 66 MVA, one
at 45 MVA, and one at 33 MVA with a collective annual ferrochromium production capacity of 240,000
t/yr. The beneficiation and pelletizing plant production capacity was 600,000 t/yr of pellets comprised
of chromite ore concentrate, UG2 chromite concentrate, smelter dust, fine coke, and bentonite. The
pellets contained 41.4% Cr2O3 and were smelted into ferrochromium product containing 50.5%
chromium (Ives, 2009).
Chromex Mining plc (United Kingdom) operated the Stellite opencast mine in the western limb of the
Bushveld Complex. A processing facility designed to take 40,000 metric tons per month of run-of-mine
ore was completed in 2009, and production of chromite ore graded at 42% to 44% Cr2O3 was started
(Chromex Mining plc, 2010).
Hernic Ferrochrome (Pty.) Ltd. produced chromite ore and ferrochromium. Hernic produced chromite
ore at its Maroelabult Mine and started development of Bokfontein Mine, which was planned to
56
produce 1.5 Mt/yr of chromite ore. Hernic reported chromite ore reserves of 250 Mt and production
capacity of 420,000 t/yr (Hernic Ferrochrome (Pty.) Ltd., 2007).
International Ferro Metals Ltd. (Australia) (IFM) produced chromite ore at Lesedi Mine and
ferrochromium at its integrated works in the western limb of the Bushveld Complex. IFM developed the
SkyChrome property in which it held 80% interest. IFM reported Lesedi plus SkyChrome proven and
probable reserves of 55.359 Mt at 32% Cr2O3 and measured and indicated resources of 102.553 Mt at
32.49% Cr2O3. In the fiscal year that ended in June, IFM reported ferrochromium production of
110,346 t from a production capacity of 267,000 t/yr (International Ferro Metals Ltd., 2009, p. 2, 7, 25).
Merafe Resources Ltd. produced chromite ore and ferrochromium via wholly owned subsidiary
companies and in joint venture with Xstrata plc. In the eastern limb of the Bushveld Complex, Merafe
mined chromite ore or produced byproduct chromite at Boshoek, Horizon, Kanana UG2 plant,
Kroondal, Marikana, and Waterval Mines and produced ferrochromium at Lydenburg and Lion plants.
In the western limb of the Bushveld Complex, Merafe mined chromite ore or produced byproduct
chromite at EPL UG2 plant, Helena, Magareng, Mototolo UG2 plant, and Thorncliffe and produced
ferrochromium at Boshoek, Rustenburg, and Wonderkop plants. Collectively, these plants had
ferrochromium production capacity of 1.979 Mt/yr from 20 furnaces at 5 production sites. Merafe
reported run-of-mine production of 3.33 Mt in 2009 from proven chromite ore reserves of 52.078 Mt at
an estimated average grade of 33.93% Cr2O3 (Merafe Resources Ltd., 2010, p. 3, 75, 78).
Samancor Chrome Ltd. [a subsidiary of the Kermas Group (Virgin Islands)] is the second leading
chromite ore and ferrochromium producer in South Africa. Samancor operated two mining complexes
(Eastern Chrome Mines, Lydenburg-Steelpoort area, Mpumalanga Province, and Western Chrome
Mines, Rustenburg, North West Province) and four ferrochromium plants (Ferrometals, Emalahleni
(formerly Witbank), Mpumalanga Province; Middelburg Ferrochrome, Middelburg, Mpumalanga
Province; and Tubatse Ferrochrome (24°44'27.55" S, 30°11'45.09" E), Lydenburg-Steelpoort area,
Mpumalanga Province (Pentz, undated b; Samancor Chrome Ltd., 2008).
Tata Steel reported production from two 75,000-t/yr furnaces at Richards Bay to have been 118,327 t
in financial year 2009–10 (April 1 through March 31) compared with 63,479 t in financial year 2008–
2009 (Tata Steel Limited, 2010, p. 80).
Xstrata plc (Switzerland) was the leading world ferrochromium producer. Xstrata produced chromite
ore and ferrochromium in South Africa at vertically integrated operations. Xstrata produced 0.786 Mt in
2009 compared with 1.126 Mt of ferrochromium in 2008. Xstrata reported proven reserves of 52 Mt
and probable reserves of 17 Mt (Xstrata plc, 2010, p. 53, 93, 173).
Columbus Stainless Pty. Ltd. produced 546,261 t of stainless steel in 2009 compared with 528,336 t in
2008, a 3.4% increase. Columbus worked to optimize its use of liquid ferrochromium to reduce its
electrical power needs (Acerinox S.A., 2010, p. 180–181).
Sweden.—Sweden produced ferrochromium and stainless steel. Vargön Alloys AB (58°21'29.83" N,
12°22'54.04" E), Vargön, Västra Götalands Län, a Yildrim Group (Turkey) company, produced
ferrochromium. Vargon operated with ferrochromium production capacity of about 230,000 t/yr from
four furnaces (SBB Daily Briefing, 2009b). Outokumpu (Finland) produced stainless steel at its Avesta
plant in Avesta, Dalarnas Län (Outokumpu Ojy, 2010).
Turkey.—Turkey produced chromite ore, chromium chemicals, and ferrochromium. Eti Krom A.S., a
Yildirim Group company, produced chromite ore and high-carbon ferrochromium (38°39'10" N,
39°46'10" E). Eti Krom’s ferrochromium production capacity was 150,000 t/yr (Eti Krom Inc., undated).
Eti Elektrometalurji A.S. produced chromite ore and high- and low-carbon ferrochromium near Antalya
(36°56'08" N, 30°39' E) from an annual production capacity of 12,000 t/yr low-carbon ferrochromium
and 12,000 t/yr high-carbon ferrochromium (Eti Elektrometalurji A.Ş., undated).
United Kingdom.—The United Kingdom produced chromium metal and stainless steel. Outokumpu
(Finland) produced stainless steel at its Sheffield plant (Outokumpu Ojy, 2008, p. 33). London &
57
Scandinavian Metallurgical Co. Ltd. (53°24'57" N, 1°22' W) produced chromium metal by
aluminothermic reduction at Rotherham, United Kingdom (London & Scandinavian Metallurgical Co
Limited, undated). Elementis plc, a leading world chromium chemicals producer, manufactured sodium
dichromate from chromite ore at Castle Haynes (North Carolina, United States) and Eaglescliffe
(Stockton-on-Tees, United Kingdom). Elementis closed the Eaglescliffe plant (54°31'30" N, 1°22'50"
W) in July (Elementis plc, 2010, p. 7, 9).
Zimbabwe.—Zimbabwe produced chromite ore and ferrochromium. Chromex Mining plc (United
Kingdom) purchased Falvect Mining (Private) Limited, a company that owns chromite concessions in
the Shurugwe and Ngezi areas (Chromex Mining plc, 2010).
Zimbabwe Alloys reprocessed chromite ore dumps, improved chromium recovery in the furnace, and
recovered chromium from slag. Mining and smelting started in 1953 when fines were not suitable
furnace feed and metal was not recovered from slag. As a result, the operation stockpiled these
materials (Chirasha and Shoko, 2010). Use of briquetted recovered chromite ore fines resulted in
improvement in production, power specific consumption, chromium recovery, and chrome ore specific
consumption.
Current Research and Technology
Mineral Processing and Industrial Applications.—South Africa’s Council for Mineral Technology (Mintek)
continued conducting Government- and commercial-sponsored research and development on
chromite ore and ferrochromium. Mintek developed mine-specific processes for chromite ore
beneficiation, developed platinum recovery process applied to chromite ore tailings, developed
furnace controller technology for ferrochromium-producing furnaces, and developed stainless steel
dust recycling technology. Mintek expected the first commercial use of an electrode monitor that
reports the position of the electrode tip in a ferrochromium-producing electric arc furnace (Mintek,
2009, p. 43). Mintek recovered platinum from chromite ore tailings using its ConRoast process, which
involves roasting followed by direct current arc smelting (Mintek, 2010, p. 23).
A concise international chemical assessment on inorganic chromium (III) compounds was published
by the International Programme on Chemical Safety—a cooperative program of the World Health
Organization, the International Labour Organization, and the United Nations Environment Programme
(Santonen and others, 2009). Natural and anthropogenic sources, routes of exposure, and
concentrations at which environmental or human impact could be expected were discussed.
Holappa (2010) reported energy (3,100 to 3,500 kilowatthours of electricity per metric ton of highcarbon ferrochromium produced from a closed submerge-arc furnace) and raw materials consumption
data and the CO2 emission factor for ferrochromium production (about 1.6 t of CO2 per metric ton of
ferrochromium). Reduction in CO2 emissions by more energy-efficient production, higher recovery
rates, and other ways were also discussed. A bioaccessibility study of ferrochromium, ferrochromium
silicon, and a common grade of stainless steel found that very little chromium was released (less than
0.15% expressed as amount of metal released per amount of particles loaded) from ferrochromium
and even less from ferrochromium silicon or stainless steel (Midlander and others, 2010).
Reference:
U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries,
58
Copper
Copper in significant amounts is detrimental to hot-working steels. Copper negatively affects forge
welding, but does not seriously affect arc or oxyacetylene welding. Copper can be detrimental to surface quality. Copper is beneficial to atmospheric corrosion resistance when present in amounts exceeding 0.20%. Weathering steels are sold having greater than 0.20% Copper.
Events, Trends, and Issues: Refined copper prices trended upward during the second half of 2010,
with the London Metal Exchange Ltd. (LME) price ending the year at the then record-high level of
$4.44 per pound of copper. Though fluctuating significantly, copper prices mostly remained above $4
per pound through August 2011, with the LME price reaching a record-high $4.60 per pound in February. In September, in response to concern about the effect on copper demand from the mounting debt
crises in the European Union and slower growth policies in China, the spot price fell sharply to $3.16
per pound during a 1-week period, the lowest level since July 2010. In September, however, the International Copper Study Group6 projected that global refined copper demand in 2011 would exceed
refined copper production by about 200,000 tons, continuing the production deficit experienced in
2010, as operational problems and labor unrest, including strikes in Chile and Indonesia, continued to
constrain world copper mine output. Global consumption and production of refined copper were projected to increase by 1.5% and 2.3%, respectively, in 2011.
World Mine Production and Reserves: Significant upward revision to Chile’s reserves is based on
revised company reports and new developments. For Australia, Geoscience Australia’s “Accessible
Economic Demonstrated Resources” are reported; Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC) compliant
reserves for Australia were only about 25 million tons. The Kazakhstan reserve estimate was revised
downward to reflect international reporting standards.
United States
Australia
Canada
Chile
China
Congo (Kinshasa)
Indonesia
Kazakhstan
Mexico
Peru
Poland
Russia
Zambia
Other countries
World total (rounded)
Mine production
2010
2011
1110
1120
870
940
525
550
5420
5420
1190
1190
343
440
872
625
380
360
260
365
1250
1220
425
425
703
710
690
715
1900
2000
15900
16100
Reserves
35000
86000
7000
190000
30000
20000
28000
7000
38000
90000
26000
30000
20000
80000
690000
World Resources: A 1998 USGS assessment estimated 550 million tons of copper contained in identified and undiscovered resources in the United States.8 Subsequent USGS reports estimated 1.3 billion tons and 196 million tons of copper in the Andes Mountains of South America and in Mexico, respectively, contained in identified, mined, and undiscovered resources.9, 10 A preliminary assessment
indicates that global land-based resources exceed 3 billion tons. Deep-sea nodules and submarine
massive sulfides are unconventional copper resources.
Substitutes: Aluminum substitutes for copper in power cables, electrical equipment, automobile radiators, and cooling and refrigeration tube; titanium and steel are used in heat exchangers; optical fiber
substitutes for copper in telecommunications applications; and plastics substitute for copper in water
pipe, drain pipe, and plumbing fixtures.
59
World Review
World production of refined copper rose by about 90,000 t, less than 1%, in 2009 as increases in
electrowon and secondary refined production were countered with reduced primary electrolytic copper
production. World copper use, according to revised ICSG data, rose slightly in 2009 to about 18.2 Mt
but remained slightly below the record high use in 2007. Consequently, the global market balance
indicated a small production surplus of about 167,000 t in 2009, up slightly from 144,000 t in 2008.
The 2-year surplus of about 300,000 t was essentially equal to the revised deficit for 2007. Stocks held
on the more visible commodity exchanges rose by about 300,000 t to 688,000 t, and were at their
highest level in 5 years. ICSG estimates of total reported inventories (exchanges, governments, and
industry) rose by about 270,000 t to 1.43 Mt. Note that with the exception of exchange inventories,
inventory levels in China were not reported and were discounted in these analyses. Consumption data
for China are based on apparent consumption of refined copper (production, net trade, and SHFE
stock changes) and did not account for changes in industry and government stock levels (International
Copper Study Group, 2010a, p. 9–20).
World mine production of copper rose by about 420,000 t, about 3% compared with that of 2008, to a
record-high 15.9 Mt. World copper mine production had remained relatively flat from 2005 to 2008,
increasing by about 3% during the period. This low level of growth took place despite an estimated
11% capacity growth from 2005 to 2008, according to data compiled by the ICSG. Consequently,
capacity utilization at global copper mines fell from 88.9% in 2005 to 83.1% in 2008. With global mine
capacity increasing by about an additional 4% in 2009, capacity utilization fell to about 81.6% in 2009.
Numerous factors contributed to the downward trend, including competition for labor, power, and
equipment from a global boom in mineral commodity production; labor unrest; preferential mining of
coproducts; political uncertainty; and technical problems associated with aging and expanding
operations. In 2009, the sharp fall in prices during the fourth quarter of 2008 led to industry
curtailments and delays or deferrals of anticipated projects (International Copper Study Group, 2010c,
p. 13).
Production of copper in concentrates, which rose by about 260,000 t to 12.6 Mt, was insufficient to
meet growing smelter demand, and concentrate supplies remained tight through most of 2009.
Smelter production capacity increased by 700,000 t in 2009 and 2.3 Mt from the 2005 to 2009 period,
while production of copper in concentrate increased by only about 300,000 t during the same period
(International Copper Study Group, 2010c, p. 14). According to CRU International Ltd. (2010a, p. 67–
72), consumption of copper in concentrates exceeded supply by about 180,000 t and fell far short of
global demand as smelter capacity utilization fell to 69.5% from 72.2% in 2008. According to CRU, the
cumulative 3-year deficit was about 450,000 t of copper in concentrate. The combined spot treatment
(smelting) and refining charge (TC/RC), which had fallen to about 3 cents per pound during the third
quarter of 2008, spiked back above 20 cents per pound in December 2008 and January 2009
following the onset of the economic crisis and announced smelter cutbacks. With renewed buying by
Chinese smelters, the combined TC/RC fell sharply throughout 2009 and reportedly was back at the 3cent-per-pound level during the fourth quarter of 2009. Spot TC/RCs have trended lower since 2005,
when they averaged about 40 cents per pound of copper. Term contracts were much less volatile and
averaged about 13 cents per pound during the fourth quarter.
Global consumption of refined copper rose by about 130,000 t to about 18.2 Mt but remained slightly
below the level in 2007. Based on revised data, copper consumption in 2007 had risen by almost 1.2
Mt (7%). In 2009, for the third consecutive year, Asia, where apparent consumption rose by 18%, was
the only major consuming region to experience demand growth. In China, where apparent
consumption rose by a relatively modest 5% in 2008, apparent consumption rose by 38% to reach
7.18 Mt. China, which emerged as the leading world consumer in 2002 when it surpassed the United
States, increasingly dominated global consumption with an almost 40% market share in 2009, up from
60
only 11% in 1999. Note, however, that apparent consumption calculations for China do not include
changes in unreported inventories that were thought to have been drawn down in 2008 and then built
up in 2009. During 2009, China’s growth in apparent refined copper consumption exceeded its growth
in semimanufacture production. It was thought that significant growth in unreported inventories of
refined copper and substitution of refined copper for scrap, contributed to the disparity. In India and
the Republic of Korea, consumption rose by 7% and 16%, respectively, while in Japan and Taiwan,
consumption declined by 26% and 15%, respectively. Consumption in North America, which
accounted for 11% of global consumption in 2009, declined by 19% from that in 2008, and in Europe,
which held a 21% market share, year-on-year consumption was down by 21% (International Copper
Study Group, 2009, p. 25; 2010a, p. 19–20).
Owing to the global recession and overall lower commodity prices, relatively little global realignment of
the copper industry took place during 2009. Corporación Nacional del Cobré de Chile (Codelco)
regained its position as the leading global mine producer of copper, having narrowly relinquished that
title in 2008 to FCX following FCX’s acquisition of Phelps Dodge Corp. in 2007. Production by Codelco
and FCX rose by 230,000 t and 100,000 t, respectively. BHP Billiton, Xstrata plc (Zug, Switzerland)
(exclusive of Glencore’s approximate 30% share), and Rio Tinto retained their positions as the third,
fourth, and fifth leading producers, respectively. Combined, the top five producers accounted for 35%
of global mine production. Codelco retained its position as the leading producer of refined copper and
Norddeutsce Affinerie AG (Hamburg, Germany), renamed Arubis AG effective April 1, 2009, rose to
second place following the acquisition of Cumerio SA (Olen, Belgium) in March 2008. FCX fell to the
third ranked producer, Jiangxi Copper Corp. (Guixi City, Jiangxi Province, China) rose to fourth, and
Xstrata fell to the fifth position. The top 5 producers accounted for 26% of global copper mine
production, and the top 10 producers accounted for 46% (CRU International Ltd., 2010b, p. 266).
Mine Production.—In 2009, world mine production capacity continued its strong upward growth and,
according to ICSG estimates, increased by about 750,000 t (4%). Significant capacity growth took
place in Australia (105,000 t), China (40,000 t), Congo (Kinshasa) (150,000 t), and Zambia (225,000
t). The remaining growth was attributable to small (less than 40,000-t increases) in several other
countries. In Chile and Peru, the two leading growth engines for copper mine capacity in the past
decade, capacity was essentially unchanged in 2009 (International Copper Study Group, 2010b, p. 17;
c, p. 17).
In Australia, OZ Minerals Ltd. (Melbourne, Australia) began production in February at its Prominent
Hill Mine. At capacity, it was expected to produce 110,000 t/yr of copper in concentrate for at least 4
years. In Congo (Kinshasa), capacity continued to increase at several mines that began production in
2007, including 15,000 t/yr of additional concentrate production capacity at the Frontier Mine (First
Quantum Minerals Ltd., Vancouver); 30,000 t/yr of additional electrowon capacity at the Kamoto Mine
(Katanga Mining Ltd., Baar, Switzerland); 60,000 t/yr of additional electrowon capacity at the Luita
Mine (Cental African Mining and Exploration Co., London); and 16,000 t/yr of additional electrowon
capacity at the Ruashi II Mine (Metorex Ltd., Johannesburg, South Africa). The Tenke Fungarume
Mine (57.75% owned by FCX), which along with Prominent Hill were the only significant greenfield
startups in 2009, began production in March and was expected to reach full capacity of 115,000 t/yr in
2010. In Zambia, the Kansanshi Mine (First Quantum Minerals) increased concentrate and electrowon
capacities by 15,000 t/yr and 30,000t/yr, respectively; the Lumwana Mine (Equinox Minerals Ltd.,
Perth, Australia, and Toronto) reached capacity of 170,000 t/yr following a delayed startup in 2008
owing to a fire (International Copper Study Group, 2010b, p. 34–73).
The global mine capacity utilization rate fell for the fourth consecutive year to about 81.5% in 2009 and
was at its lowest level in more than 10 years. Production in 2009 continued to suffer from a number of
technical and geopolitical problems that plagued production in the previous several years, but was
more significantly affected by project delays and cutbacks inspired by the rapid decline in copper
61
prices. According to CRU International Ltd., almost 700,000 t of mine cutbacks or closures had been
announced by the end of the first quarter of 2009 (CRU International Ltd., 2009a, p. 6). Average
production costs for most producers, which had risen sharply from 2006 to 2008, stabilized or declined
during 2009, in part owing to these cutbacks, and in part owing to lower input costs. FCX reported that
its North American net unit cash costs decreased to $1.11 per pound of copper from $1.33 per pound
in 2008, despite lower molybdenum byproduct credits, owing to cost reductions and efficiency
improvements, including lower operating rates, and to lower energy costs. FCX’s South American
production costs, inclusive of gold and molybdenum credits, decreased to $1.12 per pound of copper
from $1.14 per pound in 2008 (Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., 2010a, p. 6–7). Grupo México
reported that Southern Copper Corp. lowered its cash operating costs to $1.34 per pound of copper,
exclusive of byproduct credits, from $1.63 per pound in 2008 (Grupo México, S.A.B. de C.V., 2010a,
p. 8).
Smelter and Refinery Production.—According to the ICSG, world smelter production capacity rose
by about 700,000 t/yr to 18.2 million metric tons per year (Mt/yr), mostly because of increases from
operations being expanded during 2006 to 2009. China (410,000 t/yr), Chile, (85,000 t/yr), Poland
(60,000 t/yr), Zambia (55,000 t/yr), and the Republic of Korea (40,000 t/yr) accounted for most of the
increase in smelter capacity. In Chile, expansions of the Al Norte (Xstrata) and Codelco Norte
smelters were completed; in China expansions of the Guixi (Jiangxi Copper Corp.), Jinchuan
(Jinchuan Nonferrous Metals Group), and Tongling II (Tongling Nonferrous Metals Corp.) smelters
were completed; and in Poland, the Glogow I (KGHM) blast furnace was replaced by a higher capacity
flash smelter. In Zambia, the Chambishi [China Nonferrous Metal Mining (Group) Co., Ltd.] Isasmelt
process smelter (150,000 t/yr), and the Nchanga (Konkola Copper Mines) Outokumpu flash smelter
(250,000 t/yr at full capacity) were the only greenfield smelters to come onstream in 2009, though the
latter was a replacement for the Nkana reverberatory smelter closed during 2009 (International
Copper Study Group, 2010b, p. 71–80; 2010c, p. 58–81).
Global copper refinery capacity rose by 840,000 t/yr to 23.6 Mt/yr. About 300,000 t/yr of the refinery
capacity increase came from electowinning associated with mine leach operations, mostly in Congo
(Kinshasa) (150,000 t/yr), Chile (115,000 t/yr), and Zambia (50,000 t/yr), partially offset by declines in
Australia and the United States. Electrolytic refinery capacity increases in China (340,000 t/yr) and
Zambia (110,000 t/yr) were mostly related to smelter expansions. In China, the greenfield Baiyin
electrolytic refinery (Baiyin Nonferrous Metals) was constructed to match existing smelter capacity of
100,000 t/yr. Its projected capacity of 300,000 t/yr was expected to exceed the proposed expansion of
the Baiyan smelter to 200,000 t/yr (International Copper Study Group, 2010b, p. 71–83; 2010c, p. 81–
109).
Reference:
U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries,
62
Lead
Lead is virtually insoluble in liquid or solid steel. However, lead is sometimes added to carbon and
alloy steels by means of mechanical dispersion during pouring to improve the machinability.
Events, Trends, and Issues: The global lead market was in surplus during 2011 owing to the buildup
of lead stocks held in London Metal Exchange (LME) and producer warehouses. North American producer prices increased steadily throughout the first 8 months of the year. LME lead prices were more
volatile in 2011, starting at $2,601 per metric ton in January, increasing to $2,741 per metric ton in
April, and declining to $2,298 per metric ton in September. Global stocks of refined lead held in LME
warehouses increased by 79% to 374,125 tons during the first 9 months of 2011.
Global mine production of lead was expected to increase by 9% in 2011 from that in 2010, to 4.52 million tons, mainly owing to production increases in China, India, and Mexico, offsetting declines in other
regions. China was expected to account for nearly one-half of global lead mine production. Global refined lead production was expected to increase by about 7% from that in 2010, to 10.3 million tons.
Increased refined lead output was expected to be primarily driven by new production capacity in China
(despite shutdowns of many smaller smelters) and increases in Australia, Germany, India, and the
Republic of Korea. Global lead consumption was expected to increase by about 6% in 2011 from that
in 2010, to 10.1 million tons, partially owing to a 7% increase in Chinese lead consumption. The International Lead and Zinc Study Group forecast global refined lead production would exceed consumption by 188,000 tons by yearend 2011.
World Mine Production and Reserves: Reserve estimates for Australia, Canada, China, Peru, Poland, and the United States were revised based on information derived from Government and industry
sources.
United States
Australia
Bolivia
Canada
China
India
Ireland
Mexico
Peru
Poland
Russia
South Africa
Sweden
Other countries
World total (rounded)
Mine production
2010
2011
369
345
625
560
73
85
65
75
1850
2200
95
120
45
50
158
225
262
240
70
40
97
115
50
55
60
70
320
340
4140
4500
Reserves
6100
29000
1600
450
14000
2600
600
5600
7900
1700
9200
300
1100
5000
85000
World Resources: In recent years, significant lead resources have been demonstrated in association
with zinc and/or silver or copper deposits in Australia, China, Ireland, Mexico, Peru, Portugal, Russia,
and the United States (Alaska). Identified lead resources of the world total more than 1.5 billion tons.
Substitutes: Substitution of plastics has reduced the use of lead in cable covering, cans, and containers. Aluminum, iron, plastics, and tin compete with lead in other packaging and coatings. Tin has
replaced lead in solder for new or replacement potable water systems. In the electronics industry,
there has been a move towards lead-free solders with compositions of bismuth, copper, silver, and tin.
Steel and zinc were common substitutes for lead in wheel weights.
63
World Review
World mine production of lead increased by 6% to 4.14 Mt in 2010. China was the leading producer
accounting for about 45% of the world total, followed by Australia, with 15%; the United States, 9%;
Peru, 6%; and Mexico, 4% (table 13). This increase in mine production was primarily owing to
increased production in Australia, China, Mexico, and Russia, offsetting decreases in Peru and the
United States. In 2010, six lead-producing mines were opened, reopened, or expanded, adding
129,000 t/yr to global lead mine production capacity. The additional mine capacity was in Australia,
Canada, Mexico, and Peru. No substantial lead mines were closed in 2010.
World production of refined lead (primary and secondary) increased by 7%, to 9.49 Mt in 2010 from
8.90 Mt in 2009. China was the leading producer of refined lead, accounting for 44% of world
production, followed by the United States, with 13%; and Germany, 4% (table 14). A 13% increase in
Chinese production of refined lead metal in 2010 compared with that of 2009 and smaller production
increases in Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Japan, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Poland, Russia,
Thailand, and the United States accounted for the majority of the global refined lead increase.
Secondary (recycled) lead has accounted for an increasing portion of the total global lead supply
during the past 11 years. Secondary lead production represented about 54% of total refined lead
production worldwide in 2010 compared with 47% in 1999. In 2010, five lead smelters opened,
primarily in China, adding about 388,000 t/yr of refined lead production capacity. Conversely, a lead
smelter (100,000 t/yr capacity) was closed temporarily in China in late 2010 (International Lead and
Zinc Study Group, 2011b, p. 5–6).
According to ILZSG, consumption of refined lead increased by 7% to 9.56 Mt in 2010 from 8.93 Mt in
2009, following a slight decline in global lead consumption in 2009 from that in 2008. The leading
refined-lead-consuming countries in 2010 were China, 44%; the United States, 15%; the Republic of
Korea, 4%; and Germany, 4%. Chinese consumption continued to drive global demand growth. Lead
consumption throughout the remainder of Asia benefited from China’s growth. This was partially offset
by declining consumption in Western Europe. Chinese consumption was fueled by strong demand for
automotive and stationary batteries used in backup power supply systems, telecommunication
networks, and renewal energy storage applications. ILZSG data indicated that there was a global
refined lead supply surplus of about 39,000 t by yearend 2010 compared with a surplus of about
57,000 t by yearend 2009 (International Lead and Zinc Study Group, 2011a, p. 8–9).
European Union.—Recylex S.A. (Paris, France), a leading lead producer in Europe, reported that in
2010 its two facilities in France and subsidiary in Germany processed 149,000 t of spent lead-acid
batteries, a 14% increase compared with 131,000 t in 2009. The lead-bearing materials produced by
these plants were sent to the company’s two smelters in Belgium and Germany. During 2010, the
operating performance of the company’s main smelter, in Nordenham, Germany, was significantly
affected by a temporary shutdown for 3 weeks in late 2010 owing to a damaged furnace. Total refined
lead production from the company’s smelters in 2010 was 122,000 t, a 2% increase compared with
120,000 t in 2009 (Recylex S.A., 2011, p. 10)
Australia.—In February, Magellan Metals Pty. Ltd. [a wholly owned subsidiary of Ivernia Inc.,
(Toronto)] announced that it had restarted operations at its Magellan Mine in Western Australia.
Mining operations at Magellan had been suspended in April 2007 owing to environmental concerns
associated with the transport of lead concentrate from the mine. The company had received approval
to transport sealed bags of lead concentrate from the mine to the Port of Fremantle for export. The
company proceeded with ramp-up operations during the rest of 2010 and expected to reach full
production capacity (85,000 t/yr) by yearend. Total production of lead in concentrate in 2010 was
44,000 t. On December 31, 2010, the company received a stop order from the Acting Minister for
Environment of Western Australia relating to the transport of lead concentrate from the mine owing to
64
environmental concerns. The company ceased all mining operations immediately upon receipt of the
order and remained closed during the first quarter of 2011 (Ivernia Inc., 2011, p. 2, 5).
Canada.—Xstrata plc’s (Zug, Switzerland) Brunswick underground zinc-lead mine near Bathurst, New
Brunswick, was the leading producer of lead in concentrate in Canada. The mine had production
capacity to process 3.40 Mt of ore containing copper, lead, silver, and zinc on an annual basis. In
2010, Brunswick Mine produced 60,000 t of lead in concentrate, down by 9% from the 66,000 t
produced in 2009. In 2010, Xstrata increased reserves at Brunswick Mine to extend the mine life to
2013, beyond its previously anticipated closure in early 2010 (Xstrata plc, 2011, p. 91, 99).
In 2010, Selwyn Resources Ltd. (Vancouver, British Columbia) and joint-venture partner, Yunnan
Chihong Zinc and Germanium Co. Ltd., continued an exploration, permitting, engineering, and
development program at the Selwyn Project in the eastern Yukon Territory. Selwyn Chihong Mining
Ltd. was formed as a joint-venture company to advance the Selwyn Project to bankable feasibility
study and production. In 2010, Selwyn Chihong completed an extensive diamond drilling program in
the XY Central and Don deposits to upgrade mineral resources to the measured and indicated
category. It also undertook exploratory drilling in the XY West deposit to confirm the continuity and
extent of the high-grade mineral resources. Approximately $7.6 million was spent on environment and
engineering studies to support the bankable feasibility study and permitting activities. The Selwyn
project was one of the largest undeveloped resources of lead and zinc in the world according to the
company. The latest resource estimates for the project, as of February 2009, included 16.06 Mt of
indicated high-grade mineral resources, grading 4.23% lead. Selwyn’s development schedule
provided for initial ore production to begin in 2014 at rates that would produce about 65,000 t/yr of lead
in concentrate (Selwyn Resources Ltd., 2011, p. 1–9, 13).
Teck announced that 2010 refined lead production at its metallurgical complex at Trail was 71,500 t, a
slight decline from that of 2009 owing to operational issues at an oxygen plant that affected lead
operations and planned maintenance activities during the fourth quarter of 2010. The required
maintenance necessitated a 32-day shutdown of the lead smelter. By yearend 2010, the lead smelter
had returned to full production. Teck expected to produce 80,000 t of refined lead at Trail in 2011
(Teck Resources Ltd., 2011a, p. 34).
China.—China continued to be the leading global producer and consumer of lead in 2010. China was
also the leading producer of lead-acid batteries in the world. Between 1999 and 2009, China’s surging
demand for lead contained in lead-acid batteries was caused by tremendous growth in the production
of automobiles, electric bicycles (e-bikes), and motorcycles, increasing by 23%, 74%, and 8%,
respectively. The number of e-bikes in China had grown to more than an estimated 100 million by
yearend 2010. Each e-bike needed at least one lead-acid battery per year, containing about 10
kilograms of lead, to operate, which translated to about 1 Mt of lead consumed for this use in 2009.
Consumption of lead in China has increased by an average of 20% per year from 1999 to 2009 and
was estimated to have increased by 7% to 4.21 Mt in 2010 from 3.93 Mt in 2009. In 2010, lead
consumption for automotive lead-acid batteries (OE and replacement) and e-bikes increased from that
in 2009 owing to global economic recovery and continued growth in those sectors. Lead in
concentrate production in 2010 was 1.85 Mt, a 16% increase from the 1.60 Mt produced in 2009.
Refined lead production in 2010 was 4.20 Mt, a 13% increase from the 3.71 Mt produced in 2009. In
2010, secondary lead production accounted for 32% of total refined lead production in China,
compared with 22% in 2006. Secondary lead production was expected to continue to increase and
approach 50% of total refined lead output by 2015. In 2010, 38,000 t of refined lead was imported,
78% less than in 2009 (International Lead and Zinc Study Group, 2010, p. 1–14; 2011a, p. 26).
In 2010, the Chinese Government continued to eliminate smaller lead mines and smelters in an
attempt to consolidate production. Lead was one of several nonferrous metals targeted by the
Government for consolidation and modernization, but a multitude of lead exposure and poisoning
65
incidents from lead smelters and lead-acid battery plants during 2009–10 had increased pressure to
clean up the lead industry and increase oversight of production. Many of these incidents involved the
poisoning of children living in villages near lead plants and were often publicized globally by
mainstream media. In August, the Ministry of Industry and Information announced that 17 lead
smelters with capacity to produce about 266,000 t/yr of refined lead were targeted for elimination. The
majority of these smelters were smaller operations with substantially less than 50,000 t/yr of refined
lead production capacity. These closures were part of the National Development and Reform
Commission’s twelfth 5-year plan (2011–15), which proposed to limit lead smelting capacity in China
to 5.5 million metric tons per year (Mt/yr) by 2015 and eliminate all outdated capacity. The plan also
advocated increasing self-sufficiency for mineral commodities by developing domestic reserves and
increasing overseas investments. Recycled production of lead was to account for more than 30% of
annual refined lead production by 2015. The plan called for consolidation that would lead to the 10
leading producers to account for 70% of annual refined lead output by 2015. Despite the closures of
smaller smelters, it was expected that new larger smelters scheduled to open would allow for
continued increases in total lead metal production. In 2010, construction was ongoing at four new lead
smelters that were expected to add about 360,000 t/yr of refined lead capacity by 2011. More projects
were planned for 2012 to 2013 (China Metal Market—Lead, Zinc & Tin, 2010a, p. 2; 2010b, p. 18;
Metal-Pages, 2010).
In October, leading lead-acid battery manufacturer JCI announced that it was investing $118 million to
build its third lead-acid battery plant in China. The company was in the process of substantially
expanding its production capacity to meet the increased consumption of lead-acid batteries for
automobiles and motorcycles. The new plant was scheduled to be built in Chongqing and increase
JCI’s lead-acid battery production capacity in China to 18 million batteries per year when completed in
2012. JCI planned to increase capacity to 30 million batteries per year by 2015. The company
expected to select a location in northern China for a fourth lead-acid battery plant in late 2010
(Johnson Controls Inc., 2010).
India.—In support of its emerging industrial economy and automotive sector, mine and refined lead
production increased in 2010 compared with that in 2009. Lead consumed for production of lead-acid
batteries also increased. Hindustan Zinc Ltd. (HZL) (Udaipar), India’s leading integrated zinc and lead
producer, produced 609,000 t of mined zinc and lead in concentrate at its four active mines during the
9-month period that ended December 31, 2010, a 6% increase compared with production in the same
period of 2009. Construction work continued at a new zinc and lead smelter in Rajpura Dariba that
was expected to produce 100,000 t/yr of primary lead when completed in late 2011. HZL was also
expanding production capacities at its Kayar, Rampura Agucha, and Sindesar Khurd zinc-lead mines
for progressive commissioning from mid-2010 to 2012. Upon completion of all of these projects, HZL’s
total zinc and lead smelting capacity would be 1.06 Mt/yr. HZL’s expanded production capacity could
help satisfy some of the increased demand for lead in India, which has become reliant on imported
lead during the past several years (Hindustan Zinc Ltd., 2011).
Mexico.—In September, Goldcorp Inc. (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) announced that it had
reached commercial production levels at its Penasquito gold-silver-lead-zinc project in the northeast
corner of the State of Zacatecas. Mill throughput during the last 4 months of 2010 averaged more than
70,000 metric tons per day (t/d), with peaks reaching 105,000 t/d. Production levels were ramping up
during the first three quarters of the year. In 2010, Penasquito produced 44,000 t of lead in
concentrate. During an expected 22-year mine life, Peñasquito was expected to produce an annual
average of about 90,700 t/yr of lead in concentrate (Goldcorp Inc., 2011, p. 8, 48).
JCI’s new secondary lead smelter in Monterrey commenced operations in November. The plant was
ramping up output towards its design capacity of 132,000 t/yr of refined lead. The smelter had the
ability to expand to 176,000 t/yr of refined lead capacity and was expected to recycle spent lead-acid
66
batteries from Mexico and the Southwest United States. The new plant was the company’s second
lead recycling facility in the Monterrey area, with an existing 120,000 t/yr refined lead capacity
operation at Cienega de Flores (CRU International Ltd., 2011, p. 149).
Peru.—In the second quarter of 2009, Doe Run Peru halted operations at its La Oroya metallurgical
complex, 140 kilometers east of Lima owing to environmental and financial problems that kept it from
obtaining copper, lead, and zinc concentrates to process. La Oroya had the capacity to produce
120,000 t/yr of refined primary lead. Unsure of the company’s financial stability following the late 2008
decline in commodity prices, banks froze credit lines that the smelter needed for working capital to
purchase feed concentrates from suppliers. By yearend 2009, Doe Run owed its concentrate suppliers
$100 million and needed an additional $150 million to complete an ongoing environmental cleanup of
La Oroya in which Doe Run had already invested $307 million. La Oroya produced 114,000 t of
refined lead in 2008, the last full year that it was open. In 2010, the company was working with the
Peruvian Government, the labor union representing its employees, and its creditors to formulate a plan
that would allow Doe Run to restart operations at the facility and complete its environmental
obligations. The company failed to comply with a 2009 requirement imposed by Peru’s mining minister
to acquire the necessary financing for clean up and restart of the smelter by July 24 or permanently
close operations. By yearend, it was unclear if and when the smelter would restart operations (CRU
Lead Monitor, 2010; Metal Bulletin, 2010).
Reference:
U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries,
67
Manganese
Manganese is generally beneficial to surface quality especially in resulfurized steels. Manganese contributes to strength and hardness, but less than carbon. The increase in strength is dependent upon
the carbon content. Increasing the manganese content decreases ductility and weldability, but less
than carbon. Manganese has a significant effect on the hardenability of steel.
Recycling: Manganese was recycled incidentally as a constituent of ferrous and nonferrous scrap;
however, scrap recovery specifically for manganese was negligible. Manganese is recovered along
with iron from steel slag.
World Mine Production and Reserves (metal content): Reserve estimates have been revised from
those previously published for Brazil (upward), Gabon (downward), and South Africa (upward), as reported by the Government of Brazil and the major manganese producers in Gabon and South Africa.
United States
Australia
Brazil
China
Gabon
India
Mexico
South Africa
Ukraine
Other countries
World total (rounded)
Mine production (tons)
2010
2011
3.100
2.400
780
1.000
2.600
2.800
1.420
1.500
1.000
1.100
175
170
2.900
540
1.340
13.900
3.400
340
1.400
14.000
Reserves(tons)
93.000
110.000
44.000
21.000
56.000
4.000
150.000
140.000
Small
630.000
World Resources: Land-based manganese resources are large but irregularly distributed; those of
the United States are very low grade and have potentially high extraction costs. South Africa accounts
for about 75% of the world’s identified manganese resources, and Ukraine accounts for 10%.
Substitutes: Manganese has no satisfactory substitute in its major applications.
World Industry Structure
World manganese ore production was estimated by the USGS at 10.8 Mt (contained manganese) in
2009, down 16% from the revised amount in 2008. Most (97%) of manganese ore was produced in 10
countries. On a manganese-content basis, the leading producer countries of manganese ore were, in
decreasing order, China (22%), Australia (20%), South Africa (18%), India (9%), and Gabon (8%) (table 7). World manganese ferroalloy production in 2009 was 12.5 Mt (gross weight), an 8% decrease
from that of 2008. On a gross weight basis, the leading producer countries of manganese ferroalloys
were, in decreasing order, China (64%), India (12%), Ukraine (7%), Japan (3%), Norway (3%), and
South Africa (3%) (table 8).
The International Manganese Institute (IMnI) estimated that world apparent consumption of manganese ferroalloys decreased by 12% to 12.0 Mt in 2009 compared with that of 2008. Of that amount,
7.2 Mt was silicomanganese, 4.0 Mt was high-carbon ferromanganese, and 0.8 Mt was refi ned (mediumand low-carbon) ferromanganese. IMnI estimated that world production of manganese ferroalloys
was 11.6 Mt, slightly less than world consumption. World manganese ore production was 11.1 Mt
(contained manganese), which was a decrease of about 22% from the revised IMnI estimate of 14.3
Mt in 2008 (Ideas 1st Information Services Pvt. Ltd., 2010, p. 19; Mark Camaj, market analyst, International Manganese Institute, unpub. data, June 13, 2010). New manganese materials projects scheduled for completion around the world from 2009 through 2013 are listed in table 9.
World Review
68
European Union.—Antidumping duties on silicomanganese imported from China (8.2%) and Kazakhstan (6.5%) that had been previously suspended by the Commission of the European Communities in
2007 and 2008 automatically went into effect on September 7 (Metal-Pages, 2009g).
Australia.—OM Holdings Limited (Singapore) constructed a secondary processing plant (SPP) to
crush and reprocess reject material from the heavy-media drum plant at the Bootu Creek Manganese
Mine. The SPP operations would fi rst handle reject material currently stockpiled (about 1.5 Mt) with a
tie-in to the existing heavy-media drum plant to follow. SPP material would serve as feedstock to sinter
plant operations; the company expected the SPP to initially generate an additional 150,000 t/yr of 35%
manganese fi nes (OM Holdings Limited, 2009a, 2010).
Brazil.—Vale S.A. (formerly Companhia Vale do Rio Doce) was the leading manganese ore and ferroalloy producer in Brazil. Vale produced 1.7 Mt of manganese ore in 2009, a decrease of 30% from
that of 2008. The Azul Mine in the Carajás region produced 1.4 Mt of ore. Vale’s manganese ferroalloys plants, with the exception of the Urucum plant, resumed operation at the beginning of 2009 after
being shut down in December 2008. Vale’s manganese alloy production in Brazil was 99,000 t, a 66%
decrease from that in 2008 (Ryan’s Notes, 2009b; Vale S.A., 2010, p. 4).
China.—Chinese imports of manganese ore were at an alltime high of 9.62 Mt (gross weight) in 2009,
up 27% from that of 2008 (TEX Report, The, 2010a). This was about 29% of the USGS estimated total
world production (gross weight) in 2009. Most of the imported manganese ore was likely used to blend
with lower-grade domestic manganese ore for the production of manganese ferroalloys and metal.
China was the leading producer of manganese ferroalloys in the world but still relied on imports of ferromanganese and silicomanganese. The country’s manganese ferroalloy exports were signifi cantly
less in 2009 than in 2008—47,062 t (-87%) of ferromanganese and 115,175 t (-84%) of silicomanganese (TEX Report, The, 2010b). China, the leading producer of electrolytic manganese metal (EMM)
in the world with about 190 companies, produced 1.29 Mt of EMM in 2009, an increase of 14% from
the revised amount of 1.13 Mt in 2008. The country exported about 155,000 t of EMM in 2009, a decrease of 50% from that in 2008. Before the global economic downturn in late 2008, China exported
between 250,000 t/yr and 300,000 t/yr of EMM. Only two countries, China and South Africa, have the
capacity to produce EMM. China’s EMM capacity in 2009 was estimated to be about 2.11 million metric tons per year, or 96% of the world total (2.20 Mt) (Metal-Pages, 2009c; Tan, 2010). In 2009, China
was also the leading producer of EMD in the world, with total output of 181,520 t. This equated to 79%
of the country’s annual production capacity, which was 230,000 t. China’s share of the active world
EMD production capacity in 2009 was about 60%, followed by the United States with 16%. China’s
EMD exports fell slightly to 38,720 t from that of 2008, lowing mainly to antidumping duties assessed
by Japan and the United States (Li, 2010, p. 2, 5–7). Several Central Government policies affected
manganese materials during the year. The Government maintained the 20% export duty on ferromanganese, unwrought manganese metal, and silicomanganese exports. They also kept the duty on manganese ore exports at 15%. However, they raised the value-added tax on manganese ore imports to
17% from 13% (Metal-Pages, 2009d; TEX Report, The, 2009).
France.—Eramet reported a 13% reduction in worldwide manganese alloy output in 2009 to 617,000
compared with that in 2008. The company owned manganese alloy plants in China, France, Norway,
and the United States (Eramet SA, 2010, p. 33). Vale’s Rio Doce Manganese Europe reduced manganese alloy production at its Dunkerque plant by 18% to 45,000 t in 2009 from that in 2008 (Vale
S.A., 2010, p. 4).
Japan.—Nippon Mining & Metals Co., Ltd. started a demonstration-scale recycling plant for used lithium-ion batteries to extract value-bearing metals such as cobalt, lithium, manganese, and nickel. The
plant, located on the premises of Nikko Tsuruga Recycle Co., Ltd. in Fukui, was expected to recover
about 6 t/mo of manganese. Full-scale commercial operation of the plant, which would be the fi rst of
its kind, was planned for 2011 (Nippon Mining & Metals Co., Ltd., 2009).
Mexico.—Minera Autlán, S.A.B. de C.V., the sole Mexican manganese ferroalloys manufacturer, reported a 40% decrease in manganese ferroalloys production in 2009 compared with that in 2008 (table 8). However, as global market conditions improved during the second half of 2009, the company
restarted two of its plants—Teziutlan in June and Gomez Palacio in September— after having shut
them down at yearend 2008. Additionally, the company operated its Tamós ferroalloys plant below full
capacity (estimated to be about 150,000 t/yr) (Minera Autlán, S.A.B. de C.V., 2010, p. 12).
Norway.—Manganese ferroalloy production at Vale’s Mo I Rana plant was 79,000 t, a 29% decrease
from that of 2008. The decrease in production was attributable to the maintenance of one of two furnaces starting in November (Vale, S.A., 2010, p. 4). Eramet increased its ownership stake to 100%
from 56% in Eralloys, a company combining the former silicomanganese producer Tinfos AS. Tinfos
69
produced silicomanganese at its Kvinesdal plant, which has an 180,000-t/yr production capacity
(Eramet, SA, 2010, p. 33).
South Africa.—The global economic slowdown greatly affected production of manganese materials in
2009. South Africa’s position as the world’s leading producer of manganese ore (content-basis) in
2008 dropped to third in 2009. The country became the sixth-leading producer of manganese ferroalloys (gross-weight basis) in 2009, down from third in 2008. Samancor Manganese reduced production
at its Metalloys manganese ferroalloy plant in FY 2009 (July 1, 2008, through June 30, 2009). The
plant produced 301,000 t of manganese alloys during that period or about 53% of its total annual production capacity (BHP Billiton Ltd., 2009, p. 59, 61). In March, Mogale Alloys Limited curtailed two silicomanganese furnaces capable of producing about 4,000 t/mo (Ryan’s Notes, 2009a). In April, Assmang Ltd. shut down its No. 5 high-carbon ferromanganese furnace (55,000-t/yr production capacity)
at its Cato Ridge Works plant in KwaZulu Natal. High-carbon ferromanganese furnaces Nos. 3 and 4
that were shut down at yearend 2008 remained closed, owing to market conditions, as was the refi
ned ferromanganese alloys convertor at the company’s Cato Ridge Alloys plant. As a result, Cato
Ridge operated at about 65% of its total capacity (225,000 t/yr) throughout most of the year (Assore
Limited, 2009; Metal-Pages, 2009a, b). There were ownership changes in several South African manganese companies. In May, Ruukki Group Plc (Finland) acquired 84.9% of Mogale. The minority stake
in Mogale would be owned by South African Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) partners. During
the year, Mogale produced ferrochromium, silicomanganese, and stainless steel; the production capacity for this mix of materials was 110,000 t/yr (GlobeNewswire, Inc., 2009; Ruukki Group Plc, 2010,
p. 11). In
July, Samancor Manganese sold 26% of the Hotazel manganese mines—Mamatwan and Wessels
Mines—to BEE partners (BHP Billiton Ltd., 2009, p. 58). In November, OM Holdings Limited (Singapore) acquired 26% in Ntsimbintle Mining (Proprietary) Limited, which owns 50.1% of the Tshipi Kalahari Manganese Project (OM Holdings Limited, 2009b).
Spain.—Grupo FerroAtlántica, S.L. cut production at all its Spanish manganese ferroalloy operations
by 70%. The company’s Spanish production capacity was 183,000 t/yr for ferromanganese and
218,000 t/yr for silicomanganese (Metal-Pages, 2009h; Grupo FerroAtlántica, S.L., 2010).
Ukraine.—Ukraine’s total output of manganese concentrate decreased by 36% in 2009 to 932,000 t,
compared with that of 2008. Manganese ferroalloy production also decreased in 2009 by 64% for ferromanganese and 23% for silicomanganese. However, ferroalloy companies ramped up production in
the second and third quarters of 2009, as economic marketconditions improved. OAO Zaporozhsky
Ferro-Alloy Works restarted fi ve ferroalloy furnaces in June, raising the number of working furnaces to
20 of 31. Nikopol Ferroalloy Plant restarted two silicomanganese furnaces in July after a shutdown of
8 months (Platts Metals Week, 2009a, b).
Reference:
U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries,
70
Molybdenum
Molybdenum increases the hardenability of steel. Molybdenum may produce secondary hardening
during the tempering of quenched steels. It enhances the creep strength of low-alloy steels at elevated
temperatures.
Recycling: Molybdenum in the form of molybdenum metal or superalloys was recovered, but the
amount was small. Although molybdenum is not recovered from scrap steel, recycling of steel alloys is
significant, and some molybdenum content is reutilized. The amount of molybdenum recycled as part
of new and old steel and other scrap may be as much as 30% of the apparent supply of molybdenum.
Events, Trends, and Issues:
Molybdenum prices slowly increased in the first 2 months of 2011 but decreased for the remainder of
the year; average price for the year was slightly higher than that of 2010. However, molybdenum demand remained strong. Both byproduct and primary molybdenum production levels in the United
States remained strong in 2011 compared with their relatively low levels in 2009. Byproduct molybdenum production continued to be suspended at the Chino Mine in Grant County, NM, the Morenci Mine
in Greenlee County, AZ, and the Mission Mine in Pima County, AZ. The Questa Mine, in Taos County,
NM, commenced primary molybdenum mine production in the second quarter of 2011.
World Mine Production and Reserves:
United States
Armenia
Canada
Chile
China
Iran
Kazakhstan
Kyrgyzstan
Mexico
Mongolia
Peru
Russia
Uzbekistane
World total (rounded)
Mine production
2010
2011
59400
64000
4150
4200
8260
8300
37200
38000
93600
94000
3700
3700
360
360
250
250
10900
12000
2500
2000
17000
18000
3800
3800
550
550
242000
250000
Reserves
(thousand metric tons)
2700
200
220
1200
4300
50
130
100
130
160
450
250
60
10000
World Resources: Identified resources of molybdenum in the United States amount to about 5.4 million tons, and in the rest of the world, about 14 million tons. Molybdenum occurs as the principal metal
sulfide in large low-grade porphyry molybdenum deposits and as an associated metal sulfide in lowgrade porphyry copper deposits. Resources of molybdenum are adequate to supply world needs for
the foreseeable future.
Substitutes: There is little substitution for molybdenum in its major application as an alloying element
in steels and cast irons. In fact, because of the availability and versatility of molybdenum, industry has
sought to develop new materials that benefit from the alloying properties of the metal. Potential substitutes for molybdenum include chromium, vanadium, niobium (columbium), and boron in alloy steels;
tungsten in tool steels; graphite, tungsten, and tantalum for refractory materials in high-temperature
electric furnaces; and chrome-orange, cadmium-red, and organic-orange pigments for molybdenum
orange.
71
World Review
World molybdenum reserves and production capacity were concentrated in a few countries. World
mine output in 2010 was estimated to have been 242,000 t (molybdenum contained in concentrate), of
which, in descending order of production, China, the United States, Chile, Peru, Mexico, and Canada
provided about 94% (table 11). Peru increased molybdenum production by about 40% from 2009 to
2010.
In North America, most Canadian reserves of molybdenum were contained in porphyry molybdenum
and porphyry copper-molybdenum deposits in British Columbia. Other Canadian reserves were
associated with minor porphyry copper-molybdenum deposits in New Brunswick and Quebec. The La
Caridad porphyry copper-molybdenum deposit in Mexico was a leading producer. Molybdenum
reserves in Central America and South America were associated mainly with large porphyry copper
deposits. Of several such deposits in Chile, the Chuquicamata and El Teniente deposits were among
the largest in the world and accounted for 85% of molybdenum reserves in Chile. Peru also had
substantial reserves. Reserves of molybdenum in China and the Commonwealth of Independent
States (CIS) were thought to be substantial, but definitive information about the current sources of
supply or prospects for future development in these two areas was lacking.
According to a study performed by the International Molybdenum Association and by the Steel &
Metals Market Research Company, in 2009, global Mo consumption in all applications was 212,000 t,
which included new and recycled molybdenum. Most recycled Mo is introduced as scrap in
steelmaking. Their analysis was based on more than 250 interviews with key Mo end users. For all
applications, according to their study, approximately 15% of Mo input material originated from scrap.
Molybdenum was used in the following end uses—engineering steels (34%), stainless steels (26%),
chemical products (13%), tool and high-speed steels (10%), cast iron (7%), superalloys (5%), and Mo
metal (5%) (International Molybdenum Association, 2011, p. 2).
Armenia.—Production and sales of molybdenum concentrate at the Karajan copper-molybdenum mine,
managed by Zangezur Copper and Molybdenum Combine CJSC (ZCMC), a subsidiary of Cronimet
Mining GmbH (Germany), increased by 2.3% to 8,800 t of molybdenum in 2010. The Karajan coppermolybdenum mine is in the southeastern corner of Armenia in the Province of Syunik. ZCMC was in
the final stages of completing a multimillion dollar ore processing facility, which was expected to be
one of the largest mills, by production capacity, in the CIS countries. According to the company, its
main strategy was to have processing infrastructure for copper and molybdenum which meet Western
standards (Mining Journal, 2011, p. 7).
Agarak Copper and Molybdenum Combine (ACMC), located in the southern Armenian Province of
Syunik, was acquired by GeoProMining Ltd. (GPM) in 2007. According to the company, ACMC
produced 254 t of molybdenum concentrates in the first 6 months of 2010. GPM announced that it
planned to install new flotation machines and upgrade new equipment to increase its molybdenum
recovery rate. The upgrades were anticipated to be completed in early 2012 (Mining Journal, 2011, p.
11).
Australia.—Moly Mines Ltd. (Perth, Australia) announced that mining activities were expected to start in
August 2010 at its Spinifex Ridge molybdenum project in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. In
April, Hanlong Mining Investment Pty. Ltd. became Moly Mines’ controlling shareholder (55%),
following the settlement of a $200 million equity and debt funding package (Moly Mines Ltd., 2010, p.
1). According to the company, site construction work had commenced and work on the Utah Point
export facility was on schedule. The facility was expected to receive Spinifex Ridge ore at the end of
October (Engineering and Mining Journal, 2010).
Moly Mines had initially planned to develop and operate a mining operation at Spinifex Ridge that
would produce 20 million metric tons per year (Mt/yr) of molybdenum ore, based on a 24-year mine
life. However, a dramatic fall in molybdenum prices in late 2008 led the company to revise its plans for
72
a smaller 10-Mt/yr ore operation, with a possibility of future expansion (Engineering and Mining
Journal, 2010).
In April, Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. announced it would start a prefeasibility study for its high-grade Merlin
molybdenum and rhenium deposit, which comprises the Mt. Dore project in the Cloncurry District in
northwestern Queensland, part of Ivanhoe Australia Ltd. (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada).
Environmental permitting was expected to be carried out in parallel with the prefeasibility study.
Indicated resources total 6.5 Mt at a grade of 1.3% molybdenum and 23 grams per ton rhenium.
Production was expected to produce approximately 5,300 t/yr of molybdenum and 7.5 t/yr of rhenium,
with an initial mine life of 9 years. Production was expected to begin in the third quarter of 2012.
Despite its high molybdenite content, the silicate nature of the Merlin ore might make it difficult to
convert to salable high-grade molybdenum concentrate. Therefore, the scoping study, released in
March, suggested the best value would be achieved by producing a rough grade concentrate and
leaching and roasting this concentrate to produce molybdenum oxide and ammonium perrhenate
(Ivanhoe Mines Ltd., 2011, p. 9, 13).
Canada.—Roca Mines Inc. announced molybdenum production of approximately 630 t of molybdenum
concentrate at its Max molybdenum mine from August 2009 to August 2010, a 42% decrease
compared with the 1,080 t during the same period of the previous year. The Max underground
molybdenum mine is near Trout Lake, British Columbia. Roca Mines sells the molybdenum
concentrates produced at its Max Mine to a British-based buyer (Roca Mines Inc., 2010).
TCMC announced in August 2009 that the Endako Mine expansion project that was postponed in
December 2008, owing to the economic downturn, was approved to resume. In July 2010, TCMC
received the approval of TCMC’s joint-venture partner, Sojitz Corp., for the mill expansion project. The
expansion project included an upgrade of all processing equipment, construction of a new modern mill
building, and a new mining plan, which was expected to widen the area being mined. As a result of the
mill expansion, annual molybdenum production was expected to be between 6,800 and 7,300 t/yr of
molybdenum, of which TCMC 75% share would be between 5,000 and 5,400 t/yr of molybdenum. The
mill expansion project was expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2011, with additional
production ramping up from the Endako Mine during that quarter. The Endako Mine is near Fraser
Lake, 161 kilometers (km) northwest of Prince George, British Columbia. The Endako Mine is a fully
integrated facility that includes a concentrator and a roasting facility. Production from the Endako Mine
is sold primarily under annual supply contracts to customers from the chemical, petroleum catalyst,
and chemical fields (Thompson Creek Metals Company, 2011, p. 8, 24, 34–35).
Taseko Mines Ltd. announced that it produced 430 t of molybdenum in 2010, a 50% increase
compared with 285 t of molybdenum produced in 2009 at its Gibraltar Mine in south-central British
Columbia. According to the company, the production increase was a direct result of the investments in
mine and concentrator equipment performed in 2010 (Taseko Mines Ltd., 2011).
Chile.—Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile (Codelco), the state-controlled copper and
molybdenum producer, announce a 60% increase in net earnings to $1.87 billion in 2010 owing to
higher copper and molybdenum prices. Molybdenum production rose to 22,000 t in 2010, a slight
increase compared with the 21,500 t produced in 2009. According to the company, its molybdenum
production was expected to increase during the next 3 to 5 years, as new ore zones containing more
molybdenum were brought into production at its Andina, Chuquicamata, and El Teniente Mines in
Chile (Metal-Pages, 2011c).
Antofagasta plc announced that molybdenum production at its Los Pelambres Mine was 8,800 t of
molybdenum, a 13% increase compared with 7,800 t of molybdenum produced in 2009. Los
Pelambres is in Chile’s Coquimbo Region, 240 km northeast of Santiago. According to the company,
the plant expansion initiated in mid-2008 was successfully completed, on schedule and on budget,
during the first quarter of 2010. The company expected to produce approximately 9,300 t of
73
molybdenum in 2011, based on the plant expansion and a stable molybdenum grade of approximately
0.019% Mo (Antofagasta plc, undated, p. 17, 28).
Molibdenos y Metales S.A. (Molymet) announced that construction of the Molynor Industrial Complex,
in the port of Mejillones in northern Chile began in 2008 and was fully operational in January 2010.
According to the company, the new plant was expected to have a production capacity of 13,600 t/yr of
molybdenum (Molibdenos y Metales S.A., 2011).
China.—China’s imports of molybdenum concentrates decreased by 58% in the first 11 months of 2010
compared with imports during the same period of 2009, according to official customs data. China
imported 5,464 t of Mo concentrate in the January through November 2010 period, with an average
price of $10,909 per metric ton, 15% higher than the average price during the same period in 2009
(Metal-Pages, 2011a). China’s exports of MoO3 (roasted molybdenum concentrate) increased 157% in
the first 11 months of 2010, compared with exports during the same period of 2009. China exported
20,413 t of MoO3, with an average price of $20,202 per metric ton, 37% higher than the average price
during the same period in 2009 (Metal-Pages, 2011b).
China’s Ministry of Land and Natural Resources announced that molybdenum would be the sixth
protected mined mineral added to a list of strategic resources starting in January 2011. Molybdenum
will join antimony, gold, rare earths, tin, and tungsten on its list. China was expected to begin
restricting the mining and export of molybdenum as of January 2011 (Metal-Pages, 2010a). In
December, China’s Ministry of Commerce released the first batch of export quotas for molybdenum
chemicals (2,400 t), molybdenum fabricated products (2,295 t), and molybdenum primary materials
(20,312 t) for 2011. Molybdenum chemicals included ammonium molybdate, other molybdate salts,
and molybdenum oxides and hydrates. Molybdenum fabricated products included molybdenum
powder, unwrought metal, and scrap. Molybdenum primary materials included roasted and unroasted
molybdenum concentrates and ferromolybdenum. The first batch of export quotas were unchanged
from the first batch of export quotas released in 2009 (Metal-Pages, 2010b).
Mongolia.—In July, Erdene Resource Development Corp. (Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada)
announced its Zuun Mod molybdenum project in southwestern Mongolia was officially registered with
the Mongolian Mineral Resource Council, a prerequisite to applying for a mining license. In November
and December 2010, the company carried out a drilling program to provide more detailed information
on potential areas of high-grade mineralization to be initially developed for mining. According to the
company, the data from this drill program was expected to define a more extensive prefeasibility level
drill program designed to upgrade inferred resources to measured and indicated resource categories
(Erdene Resource Development Corp., 2011, p. 15).
Peru.—The Cerro Verde Mine of FCX is an open pit copper and molybdenum mining complex 16 km
southwest of Arequipa. The mine was shut down in the second quarter of 2009 owing to the economic
downturn but reopened in September 2009 (Metal-Pages, 2009). In 2010, molybdenum production at
Cerro Verde was approximately 3,180 t of molybdenum compared with 910 t of molybdenum in 2009
(Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., 2011a, p. 38).
Outlook
The principal uses for molybdenum were expected to continue to be in chemicals and catalysts and as
an additive in steel manufacturing, most importantly alloy and stainless steel. Molybdenum plays a
vital role in the energy industry but may become an increasingly essential factor in green technology,
where it is used in high-strength steels for automobiles to reduce weight and improve fuel economy
and safety. Molybdenum may play a critical role in reducing sulfur in liquid fuels by acting as a
cracking agent. Production of diesel fuels having ultra-low-sulfur levels was expected to more than
double the amount of molybdenum used in oil refineries. Analysts expected global demand for these
types of catalysts to increase by more than 5% annually until 2013. The need for companies to reduce
74
carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power stations will require plants to run at higher
temperatures, resulting in greater demand for higher grade molybdenum-bearing steels.
In 2009–10, there were significant production cuts at copper and molybdenum producers worldwide,
as well as delays and difficulties in sourcing finance, which have delayed many potential projects.
Many analysts think that the molybdenum projects that are expected to commence in 2011–12 still
have a significant amount of risk. For example, FCX continued construction at its Climax molybdenum
mine in 2010 after halting construction in November 2008 at the height of the global financial crisis.
FCX had announced a potential restart date for 2012; however, the company has been very wary of
committing to a ramp-up date for Climax, owing to the risk of oversupply in the market.
During the past decade, molybdenum consumption has shown a strong annual growth rate, primarily
fuelled by rapid increases in China’s industrial growth. Molybdenum demand continues to be driven
largely by the steel sector. The fall in stainless steel production mainly took place in developed
economies. As emerging economies, such as China and India, continue on the path to
industrialization, they are expected to need increasing amounts of molybdenum, and this trend is
expected to contribute to global demand growth in the coming years (Virga and Horn, 2009). The
outlook for the molybdenum market in 2011 appears to be strong. Increasing steel demand, projected
through at least 2015, and the potential for a whole new market from green technology were expected
to contribute to increased molybdenum consumption.
Reference:
U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries,
75
Nickel
Nickel is a ferrite strengthener. Nickel does not form carbides in steel. It remains in solution in ferrite,
strengthening and toughening the ferrite phase. Nickel increases the hardenability and impact strength
of steels.
Recycling: About 99,000 tons of nickel was recovered from purchased scrap in 2011. This represented about 43% of reported secondary plus apparent primary consumption for the year.
Events, Trends, and Issues: The U.S. economy continued to recover from the global recession of
2008–09, but the recovery remained weak. In 2011, U.S. production of austenitic (nickel-bearing)
stainless steel increased to 1.57 million tons—slightly more than production in 2010 but 35% greater
than the reduced output of 1.16 million tons in 2009. Stainless steel has traditionally accounted for
two-thirds of primary nickel use worldwide, with more than one-half of the steel going into the construction, food processing, and transportation sectors. China, the world’s leading producer, cast a record-high 9.69 million tons of austenitic stainless steel in 2011.
World Industry Structure
Nickel prices have been volatile in the aftermath of the global economic recession. In February 2011,
the London Metal Exchange (LME) cash mean for 99.8%-pure nickel peaked at $28,249 per metric ton
after an 8-month recovery. The cash price, however, began to deteriorate at that point as the European debt situation worsened and the adverse economic effect of the March earthquake in Japan became apparent. By September, the cash price had fallen to $20,388 per metric ton despite a gradual
drawdown of stocks in LME warehouses. The average monthly LME cash price for November 2011
was $17,879 per ton. Canadian mine production rebounded after a 12-month labor dispute was settled
in July 2010. Companies mining lateritic ore in the Philippines have been ramping up production to
meet increased demand from Chinese producers of nickel pig iron. The $5.5 billion Ambatovy mining
and processing project in east-central Madagascar was scheduled to begin producing nickel metal in
early 2012. The lateritic ore was being slurried and piped to the venture’s pressure leach plant and
refinery near Toamasina. The Toamasina refinery was designed to produce 60,000 tons per year of
nickel metal. New mines also were being developed at several locations in Brazil, Southeast Asia, and
the Pacific. The Barro Alto and Onca Puma laterite projects in Brazil have been producing ferronickel
since early 2011. The $4.5 billion Goro hydrometallurgical complex in New Caledonia began producing a nickel-cobalt intermediate for export and was scheduled to reach full production in 2013.
World Mine Production and Reserves: Estimates of reserves for Canada, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Madagascar, and New Caledonia were revised based on new mining industry information from
published sources.
76
United States
Australia
Botswana
Brazil
Canada
China
Colombia
Cuba
Dominican Republic
Indonesia
Madagascar
New Caledonia
Philippines
Russia
South Africa
Other countries
World total (rounded)
Mine production (tons)
2010
2011
170.000
180.000
28.000
32.000
59.100
83.000
1.420
1.500
1.000
1.100
175
170
2.900
3.400
540
340
1.340
1.400
13.900
14.000
130.000
140.000
173.000
230.000
269.000
280.000
40.000
42.000
99.000
100.000
1.590.000
1.800.000
Reserves(tons)
24.000.000
490.000
8.700.000
21.000
56.000
4.000
150.000
140.000
Small
630.000
12.000.000
1.100.000
6.000.000
3.700.000
4.600.000
80.000.000
World Resources: Identified land-based resources averaging 1% nickel or greater contain at least
130 million tons of nickel. About 60% is in laterites and 40% is in sulfide deposits. In addition, extensive deep-sea resources of nickel are in manganese crusts and nodules covering large areas of the
ocean floor, particularly in the Pacific Ocean. The long-term decline in discovery of new sulfide deposits in traditional mining districts has forced companies to shift exploration efforts to more challenging
locations like east-central Africa and the Subarctic. In 2007, a promising high-grade sulfide resource
was discovered in the James Bay Lowlands of northwestern Ontario. The development of awaruite
deposits in other parts of Canada may help alleviate any prolonged shortage of nickel concentrate.
Awaruite, a natural iron-nickel alloy, is much easier to concentrate than pentlandite, the principal sulfide of nickel.
Substitutes: To offset high and fluctuating nickel prices, engineers have been substituting low-nickel,
duplex, or ultrahigh-chromium stainless steels for austenitic grades in construction applications.
Nickel-free specialty steels are sometimes used in place of stainless steel within the power-generating
and petrochemical industries. Titanium alloys can substitute for nickel metal or nickel-based alloys in
corrosive chemical environments. Cost savings in manufacturing lithium-ion batteries allow them to
compete against nickel-metal hydride in certain applications.
World Review
The world’s leading nickel producer was Norilsk (Russia), followed by Vale Inco Ltd. (Brazil and
Canada) and the BHP Billiton Group (Australia and United Kingdom). PT Aneka Tambang Tbk.
(Indonesia) was in fourth place, producing large tonnages of direct shipping ore for the Chinese nickel
pig iron (NPI) industry. Other major producers were Eramet Group (France), Jinchuan Non-ferrous
Metals Corp. (JNMC) (China), and Xstrata plc (Switzerland).
In 2009, world use of primary nickel was reported to be 1.24 Mt, down by 11% from the alltime high of
1.40 Mt in 2006 (International Nickel Study Group, 2010, p. A–5). A few nickel producers continued to
operate at full capacity, but others cut back production and slowed development or postponed projects
because of the decline in nickel prices. A prolonged labor dispute crippled Vale Inco’s mining and
smelting operations in eastern Canada. Global demand, in contrast, continued to be buoyed by
upward spiraling apparent consumption in China, which had risen to 472,000 t in 2009 from 66,800 t in
2000. The Chinese stainless steel industry continued to expand and used a record high 340,000 t of
primary nickel in 2009. The Chinese stainless steel industry overtook that of the EU in 2009 to become
the leading consumer of primary nickel. The steel industry of the EU consumed 174,000 t of primary
77
nickel in 2009, while the Japanese steel industry was in third place with 79,900 t (Eramet Group, 2010,
p. 32–44).
Production of raw stainless steel (excluding production in China, the Commonwealth of Independent
States, and Eastern Europe) had been increasing at a compound annual growth rate of 4.8% since
1950. That rate includes the recession period when production decreased from 20.8 Mt in 2007 to
18.9 Mt in 2008 and then to 16.1 Mt in 2009 (Vale S.A., 2010b, p. 4). According to the International
Stainless Steel Forum (2011), stainless steel production for the entire world declined to 24.6 Mt in
2009 (preliminary) from 25.9 Mt in 2008 and 27.8 Mt in 2007.
Albania.—Balkan Resources Inc. (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) was managing the Devolli-KokogllaveZemblak project near Korca. The 50-50 joint project with European Nickel PLC (London, United
Kingdom) was at the prefeasibility stage of development. The joint venture (Devolli Resources, sh.p.k.)
planned to develop European Nickel’s Devolli deposit and Balkan Resources’ Kokogllave and
Zemblak deposits as a single mining operation if the project proved economically feasible. The three
licensed areas cover a total of 51 square kilometers and contain at least 102 Mt of lateritic ore grading
1.2% nickel. The Devolli deposit has two components—the Kapshtica West area, which contains 13.7
Mt of inferred resources grading 1.21% nickel, and the Verniku area, with 21.9 Mt grading 1.19%
nickel (Balkan Resources Inc., 2010; European Nickel PLC, 2010) (table 13).
Australia.—Australia was the third ranked nickel-producing country in the world. Seven companies in
Western Australia reported producing salable nickel in 2009. One other company, plus two of the
seven, trucked sulfide ore to BHP Billiton’s concentrator at Kambalda for further processing
[Department of Mines and Petroleum (Western Australia), 2010, p. 38–40]. In February, OZ Minerals
Ltd. (Melbourne, Victoria) placed its Avebury Mine in Tasmania on care-and-maintenance status
because of deteriorating nickel prices. Avebury remained closed for the remainder of 2009.
Laterite Operations.—In December 2008, BHP Billiton suspended production at its newly constructed
Ravensthorpe mining and processing complex, northwest of Esperance in Western Australia. The
$2.09 billion complex was designed to recover up to 50,000 metric tons per year (t/yr) of contained
nickel and 1,400 t/yr of cobalt in the form of a nickel-cobalt hydroxide precipitate. The mixed hydroxide
precipitate was initially sent to the company’s Yabulu refinery in Queensland for further processing,
but the shipments of precipitate were halted because of concerns about profitability. The Yabulu
refinery continued to process laterite ores purchased from third party mines in Indonesia, New
Caledonia, and the Philippines as its main feedstocks. In July, BHP Billiton sold the Yabulu refinery to
an Australian entrepreneur for an undisclosed amount of money (Keenan, 2009). In 2009, the Yabulu
refinery produced about 35,000 t of nickel in compacts (a product similar to rondelles) averaging
98.5% nickel or greater (BHP Billiton, 2009, p. 34–36, 53, 108, 113, 165).
In the second half of 2009, First Quantum Minerals Ltd. approached BHP Billiton and offered to buy
the Ravensthorpe complex for $340 million. Engineers for First Quantum thought that the plant was
capable of producing between 28,000 and 39,000 t/yr of nickel metal if $150 million worth of
modifications were made to the front end of the complex. BHP Billiton agreed to sell and the
transaction was closed in February 2010. Recommissioning was scheduled for late 2011. The three
laterite deposits at Ravensthorpe—Halleys, Hale-Bopp, and Shoemaker-Levy—have 235 Mt of
combined reserves grading 0.67% nickel (First Quantum Minerals Ltd., 2009; 2010a; b, p. 9–12).
The Murrin Murrin joint venture near Leonora used sulfuric acid to leach nickel and cobalt from lateritic
ores in high temperature, high-pressure autoclaves. The laterite mining and processing operation
produced 32,977 t of nickel, up by 8% from 30,514 t produced in 2008. Murrin Murrin was jointly
owned by Minara Resources Ltd. (60% interest) and Glenmurrin Pty. Ltd. (a subsidiary of Glencore)
(40%). Nickel production was higher in 2009 than in 2008, but ore grades were slightly lower. In 2009,
Murrin Murrin mined 1.64 Mt (dry) of ore grading 1.29% nickel and 0.104% cobalt. Minara was in the
process of installing a sixth reduction autoclave at the Murrin Murrin refinery. A new $1.7 million
78
autoclave was scheduled to be commissioned in late 2010 (Minara Resources Ltd., 2010, p. 6, 16,
19).
Sulfide Operations.— Tasmania.—In February, OZ Minerals stopped hauling ore and put its new Avebury
Mine near Zeehan on indefinite care-and-maintenance status. In June, China Minmetals Corp.
(Beijing, China) acquired the mine and mill when Minmetals bought OZ Minerals for $1.39 billion. A
new Australian company, Minerals and Metals Group Ltd., was created to manage all of the assets of
OZ Minerals, including Avebury. The Avebury mill, commissioned in August 2008, was designed to
produce about 8,500 t/yr of contained nickel in concentrate (OZ Minerals Ltd., 2008; China Minmetals
Corp., 2009).
Western Australia.—In 2009, BHP Billiton’s Nickel West produced 66,300 t of metal briquettes and
powder at Kwinana from concentrates smelted at Kalgoorlie. Kwinana also produced several
intermediate products, including cobalt-nickel sulfide, copper sulfide, and ammonium sulfate. Nickel
West was the third ranked producer of nickel-in-concentrate in the world.
The Kalgoorlie smelter produced about 28,200 t of nickel in finished matte for export. The matte
typically contains 68% nickel. About one-third of the concentrate came from the Mount Keith Mine in
the Northern Goldfields region. The remaining two-thirds came from Leinster and third party mines at
Kambalda. Nickel West continued to expand its Mount Keith operation and was reevaluating the
undeveloped Yakabindie deposit, 25 km south of Mount Keith. About 15% of the nickel ores at Mount
Keith contain excessive levels of talc. In September, contractors began constructing a magnesium
oxide flotation circuit at Mount Keith designed to separate the talc from the pentlandite concentrate,
producing a marketable coproduct (BHP Billiton, 2010, p. 34–36).
In 2009, Norilsk Nickel International produced 1,223 t of nickel in concentrates at its Lake Johnston
sulfide flotation plant. The concentrates were produced from ores mined at its nearby Emily Ann and
Maggie Hays underground workings or from ores supplied on a toll basis by Western Areas NL.
Norilsk Nickel International also operated the Black Swan-Silver Swan mining complex and the
Waterloo underground mine. In late 2008, Norilsk Nickel International had placed its Silver Swan and
Waterloo Mines on care-and-maintenance status. In February 2009, Norilsk’s Australian subsidiary
also placed its Black Swan and Lake Johnson Mines on care-and-maintenance status. All four mines
were still closed at the beginning of 2010 (OJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel, 2010, p. 52–55, 62).
Western Areas NL commissioned its high-grade Flying Fox Mine at Forrestania in late 2008 and was
constructing a second high-grade mine, Spotted Quoll, in the district. The two mines reportedly have a
combined 3.94 Mt of resources grading 5.3% nickel. The Tim King open pit at Spotted Quoll was
scheduled to begin production in June 2010. Development of the underground portion of Spotted Quoll
was scheduled to begin in March 2011 (Department of Mines and Petroleum [Western Australia],
2010, p. 38; Western Areas NL, 2010, p. 4–16, 19).
In November 2008, production was suspended at more than eight other Western Australian mines
because of deteriorating nickel prices. Some of these mines resumed production in fiscal year 2009–
10. This second set of active mines included the Carnilya Hill, Mariners, McMahon, Miitel, and Otter
Juan Mines (Mincor Resources NL), the Cosmos, Tapinos, and Sinclair Mines (Xstrata Nickel
Australasia Pty. Ltd.), the Lanfranchi and Savannah Mines (Panoramic Resources Ltd.), and the
Lounge Lizard Mine (Kagara Ltd.) (Department of Mines and Petroleum [Western Australia], 2010, p.
38–40).
Brazil.—Three companies mined nickel ore in Brazil in 2009—Anglo American Brasil Ltda., Cia. de
Nickel do Brasil, and Grupo Votorantim. Four major mining and/or metallurgical processing complexes
were under construction—the Barro Alto ferronickel smelter and refinery in Goias State (Anglo
American plc), the Niquelandia ferronickel smelter in Goias State (Votorantim Metais), the Onca Puma
mining and ferronickel complex in Para State (Vale Inco Ltd.), and the Santa Rita Mine in Bahia State
(Mirabela Nickel Ltd.).
79
Votorantim Metais was the leading producer of electrolytic nickel in Latin America and operated a
nickel-cobalt refinery in Sao Miguel Paulista, Sao Paulo State, capable of producing 23,000 t/yr of
electrolytic nickel and 1,420 t/yr of electrolytic cobalt. The Sao Miguel Paulista refinery used
intermediate nickel carbonate from the company’s operation in Niquelandia for feed. The electrolytic
nickel was 99.9% pure and was registered on the LME. Votorantim’s sulfide smelter at Fortaleza de
Minas, Minas Gerais State, produced an estimated 9,500 t of nickel in matte in 2009, primarily for
export to Finland, up from 8,328 t (revised) in 2008 (Da Silva, 2010). The matte typically assays 50%
to 55% nickel, 7% to 12% copper, and 0.14% to 1% cobalt (Votorantim Metais, 2008).
In August, Mirabela Nickel Ltd. (Perth, Australia) began mining at its Santa Rita project near Ipiau,
Bahia. The crushing, grinding, and concentrating complex was commissioned in October. When
rampup is completed in 2010, Santa Rita was projected to produce 27,000 t/yr of nickel in sulfide
concentrate. Mirabela expected to ship 50% of the concentrate produced at Santa Rita to Norilsk
Nickel’s Harjavalta smelter in Finland for further processing. The remaining 50% would be trucked
1,350 km to the Fortaleza smelter in Minas Gerais. Santa Rita reportedly had 15 Mt of proven
reserves averaging 0.65% nickel and 106 Mt of probable reserves grading 0.59% nickel (Mirabela
Nickel Ltd., 2009, p. 2–8, 12–13).
Burma.—China Nonferrous Metal Mining Group (CNMC) was in charge of developing the Tagaung
Taung (Dagongshan) laterite mine in Thabeikkyn township, Mandalay Division. CNMC began a
feasibility study of the $800 million project in mid-2004 and was given approval to proceed in 2007 by
the National Development & Reform Commission of China. The Government of Myanmar was a
partner in the project and has issued the required investment and mining permits. Tagaung Taung is a
12-km by 18-km massif that rises 750 meters (m) above the lower terraces of the Ayeyawaddy River.
The massif is composed largely of serpentinized harzburgite (orthopyroxene peridotite) and dunite
(olivine peridotite). The laterite deposit reportedly has 70 Mt of ore grading 2.0% nickel. Construction
of the mining and smelting complex began in December. The mine was scheduled to be
commissioned in mid-2011. The adjacent smelter would be capable of producing 22,000 t/yr of nickel
in ferronickel averaging 26% nickel. All the ferronickel would be shipped to Chinese stainless steel
producers. Power for the smelter would come from the Shweli Hydel project in Nam Khan Township,
Northern Shan State (China Business News, 2010; Government of Myanmar, Ministry of Mining,
2011).
Canada.—Manitoba.—Vale Inco’s operations at Thompson produced 28,800 t of refined nickel in 2009
from ores extracted from the Birchtree and Thompson Mines. The Thompson Mine extracted 1.27 Mt
of ore grading 1.98% nickel, while the Birchtree Mine extracted 769,000 t grading 1.48% nickel (Vale
S.A., 2010a, p. 32–36).
In February, Crowflight Minerals Inc. shipped the first nickel concentrates from its new Bucko Lake
Mine near Wabowden. By June, Bucko Lake was operating at greater than 60% of mill capacity. In
November, Crowflight suspended all mining and milling operations for 3 months so that key
improvements and upgrades could be made to the operation. The mine produced 627 t of nickel in
concentrate in 2009 and resumed milling in March 2010. All of the concentrate was processed at
Xstrata’s Falconbridge smelting complex in Ontario (Crowflight Minerals Inc., 2010, p. 1–9).
Newfoundland and Labrador.—The Ovoid Mine at Vale Inco’s Voisey’s Bay operation extracted 990,000 t
of ore grading 3.20% nickel and 2.57% copper. The mined tonnage yielded 39,700 t of finished nickel,
down from a record 77,500 t in 2008 (Vale S.A., 2010a, p. 34–35). A prolonged labor dispute that
began in August and continued into 2010 was responsible for the 49% decrease in production of
concentrate. Vale Inco shipped the high-grade nickel concentrate produced at Voisey’s Bay to
Sudbury and Thompson for smelting and downstream processing.
Ontario.—Sudbury has been the largest nickel-producing district in Canada since the discovery of the
first ore body in 1883. Vale Inco’s Ontario Division was the leading nickel producer despite a
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prolonged strike that began in July. The division produced only 43,600 t of finished nickel in 2009 on
an ore-source basis, compared with 85,300 t in 2008 and 70,700 t in 2007. The division had six mines
operating in 2009, the largest being the Stobie in terms of gross tonnage, followed by the Coleman.
Part of the refined nickel was recovered from intermediate nickel oxide at the division’s Clydach
refinery in the United Kingdom (Vale S.A., 2010a, p. 32–36).
Vale Inco continued to develop its new $450 million Totten Mine despite the ongoing strike. The new
mine could be operational by the end of 2011 (Tollinsky, 2009).
Xstrata, Sudbury’s other principal producer, mined 716,000 t of ore with an average grade of 1.31%
nickel and 2.08% copper (Xstrata plc, 2010b, p. 7). Xstrata’s smelter at Falconbridge produced 65,889
t of nickel in matte, which was shipped to the company’s Nikkelverk operations in Norway for refining.
Xstrata’s new Nickel Rim South Mine, which opened in 2009, offset declining production from the
Craig, Fraser, and Thayer-Lindsley operations. Xstrata halted all mining operations at Thayer-Lindsley
in January 2009 because the mine was an older, higher cost operation in a depressed nickel market
and was approaching the end of its productive life (Xstrata plc, 2008a, b).
In late 2008, FNX Mining Co. Inc. began cutting back nickel mining operations at the Levack Complex
on the north rim of the Sudbury Basin. Because of the decline in nickel prices, the company decided
that the contact nickel deposits at the Levack Mine could no longer be economically mined. At yearend
2008, FNX suspended nickel ore production at the adjacent McCreedy West Mine. In 2009, FNX
focused its efforts on mining copper-precious metal ores from the Rob’s deposit at Levack, the 700
and PM deposits at McCreedy West, and the 2000 deposit at the Podolsky Mine. Because of this shift
in strategy, FNX’s payable nickel production in 2009 was only 1,990 t, compared with 5,940 t in 2008
(FNX Mining Co. Inc., 2010, p. 7–15).
Xstrata mined 209,000 t of ore averaging 1.02% nickel at its Montcalm Mine near Timmins and treated
226,000 t of ore at the company’s Kidd mill, where 1,961 t of nickel in concentrate was recovered
(Xstrata plc, 2010b, p. 7).
In June 2009, Noront Resources Ltd. (Toronto) discovered additional nickel-copper-PGE
mineralization at its Eagle One deposit in the McFaulds Lake District. The district is located in the
James Bay Lowlands, in the far northwestern corner of Ontario, where infrastructure is minimal. The
original discovery of copper-nickel sulfides at the Eagle One site in August 2007 accelerated an
exploration rush north of the Albany River that led to the identification of two massive chromite zones
and a variety of nonferrous metal targets in and around a large ultramafic intrusion—the Ring of Fire
(53° N latitude, 86° W longitude). At yearend 2009, Eagle One (later renamed Eagle’s Nest) had 6.9
Mt of indicated resources averaging 2.04% nickel and 0.95% copper (Noront Resources Ltd., 2010;
2011; Schwartz, 2010).
Quebec.—Xstrata’s Raglan Mine in northern Quebec produced 29,262 t of nickel in concentrate, which
was 13% greater than the 25,873 t recovered in 2008 (Xstrata plc, 2010b, p. 7).
China.—According to the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association, China produced 165,000 t of
electrolytic nickel in 2009, up 28% from 129,000 t in 2008. Electrolytic nickel from Jinchuan Nonferrous Metals Corp. (JNMC) accounted for 131,000 t, or 79% of the national total. JNMC operated the
Yongchang mining complex at Jinchang in Gansu Province (Copper & Nickel Monthly, 2010, p. 22–
24). Jilin Jien Nickel Industry Co., Ltd. produced about 8,500 t of nickel in salts, metal, and matte in
2009. Jilin Jien had two operations in Jilin Province plus the Siziwngqi Mine in Inner Mongolia.
Xinjiang Xinxin Mining Industry Co., Ltd. and at least four other companies also produced primary
nickel in China during 2009.
Chinese consumption of primary forms of nickel continued to escalate and was estimated to have
reached 472,000 t in 2009, which was 35% greater than that of 2008 (Eramet Group, 2010, p. 43).
The Chinese stainless steel industry accounted for 72% of the country’s primary nickel consumption.
China was the world’s leading stainless-steel-producing country in 2009, with a crude stainless steel
81
output of 9.55 Mt, 35% greater than the 7.09 Mt in 2008. Chinese production of stainless steel
resumed its upward growth in 2009 after registering a decline the previous year for the first time in
more than a decade. Chinese production of stainless steel has been growing at an average annual
rate of 37% since 1999. Four companies—the Baosteel Group, Lianzhong Iron and Steel Co. (LISCO),
Taiyuan Iron & Steel (Group) Co., Ltd. (TISCO), and Zhangjiagang Pohang Stainless Steel Co. Ltd.
(ZPSS)—accounted for about 60% of the country’s stainless steel meltshop production (Vale S.A.,
2010b, p. 4, 16).
Since 2001, China had consumed more stainless steel annually than any other country. In 2009,
China consumed 8.54 Mt of stainless steel, about 41% of the world total and a tonnage larger than the
total consumption of Japan, the United States, and Western Europe combined. Chinese imports of
stainless steel had been declining since 2006 but rose slightly in 2009 to 1.29 Mt. Exports slipped to
0.897 Mt in 2008 and declined even further in 2009 to 0.660 Mt (Vale S.A., 2010b, p. 4, 6, 12, 16,
A37–A38).
China has a large electroplating industry and a number of rechargeable battery manufacturers that
use nickel. China’s plating industry accounted for about 13% of the country’s primary nickel demand in
2009, while battery manufacturers consumed about 5% (Copper & Nickel Monthly, 2010, p. 9–13, 33–
35; Eramet Group, 2010, p. 43).
In 2008, China’s stainless steel producers used relatively inexpensive nickeliferous pig iron (NPI),
typically grading 4% to 6% nickel, as a substitute for ferronickel and scrap. Most NPI producers halted
production in 2009 because of declining demand. The market price for NPI was very close to
production costs. A few companies in Jiangsu and Shandong Provinces, however, remained open
because of low transport costs and their proximity to key seaports. Three NPI operations in Jiangsu
Province reported sales in 2009: Boruite (a 200-t/yr blast furnace operation producing 5% nickel NPI),
Huaibei (a 2,160-t/yr EAF operation producing 14.5% nickel NPI), and Jinxiang (a 960-t/yr EAF
operation producing 12% nickel NPI) (Copper & Nickel Monthly, 2010, p. 22–24).
Finland.—Talvivaara Mining Co. Plc (Espoo) began heap bioleaching on a commercial scale in July
2008. The company produced its first metal sulfide precipitates from the leach solution in October
2008 and delivered its first shipment of mixed nickel-cobalt sulfide to Norilsk Nickel Harjavalta Oy in
February 2009 (Talvivaara Mining Co. Plc., 2009, p. 24–27).
Indonesia.—PT Aneka Tambang Tbk. (Antam) cut back production of saprolite ore when purchases
from NPI producers in China began to decline. The state-owned company mined 5.85 Mt (wet) of
various laterite ores, down from the alltime high of 7.11 Mt in 2007. About 83% of the production was
direct shipping ore for export—primarily to China, Eastern Europe, and Japan. Antam produced only
12,550 t of nickel in ferronickel, down from 17,566 t in 2008. Antam’s three smelters at Pomalaa had a
combined capacity of 26,000 t/yr of nickel in ferronickel (in the form of ingot and shot averaging 19%
to 21% nickel) (PT Aneka Tambang Tbk., 2010, p. 54–55, 76–77).
PT Inco mined 3.60 Mt of ore averaging 2.02% nickel from its Pomalaa and Sorowako concessions on
Sulawesi. The production figure represents the amount of product delivered to the company’s smelter
from its adjoining dryer kilns. The smelter produced 68,800 t of nickel in matte for export to Japan, up
from 68,300 t in 2008. Vale has a 59% interest in PT Inco (Vale S.A., 2010a, p. 33–35).
Korea, Republic of.—In late 2008, Société du Nickel de Nouvelle-Calédonie et Corée (SNNC)
commissioned a ferronickel plant at Gwangyang, adjacent to the stainless steel operations of Pohang
Iron and Steel Co. Ltd. (POSCO). By October 2009, the plant was operating close to design
capacity—30,000 t/yr of nickel in ferronickel shot averaging 17% to 18% nickel. SNNC is a joint
venture of Société Minière du Sud Pacifique (SMSP) (51%) and POSCO (49%).
Madagascar.—The Ambatovy project passed a number of key milestones in 2009. At yearend,
engineering was 98% complete and construction was almost two-thirds complete. The Ambatovy
project is built around the Sherritt hydrometallurgical process for recovering nickel and cobalt from
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lateritic ores. The Ambatovy ore would be piped 220 km from the mining area to the processing plant
as a water-based slurry. The ore would be treated with sulfuric acid in autoclaves operating at
elevated temperatures and pressures to dissolve the nickel and cobalt. The metal-rich solution is
recovered by countercurrent decantation washing and treated to produce a mixed sulfide intermediate.
The mixed sulfide intermediate will be dissolved, producing a concentrated solution of nickel and
cobalt, which are separated by solvent extraction (Sherritt International Corp., 2010 a, p. 11–16; b, p.
2.)
New Caledonia.—Société Le Nickel (a subsidiary of Eramet) produced 38,229 t of nickel in ferronickel at
its Doniambo smelter. The smelter also produced 13,902 t of nickel in matte, which was shipped to
Eramet’s Sandouville refinery in France for conversion into LME-grade metal and chemicals
(International Nickel Study Group, 2010).
In 2009, Vale Inco Nouvelle-Calédonie SAS (formerly named Goro Nickel SAS) began conducting
performance tests in stages at its new Grand Sud hydrometallurgical plant. Performance testing of the
autoclaves was scheduled to begin in February 2010. The $4.3 billion mining and processing complex
was expected to have a production capacity of 60,000 t/yr of nickel in intermediate product (Vale S.A.,
2010a, p. 32–34).
SMSP and its joint-venture partner, Xstrata, were developing the saprolitic portion of the Koniambo
laterite deposit near Kone in the Northern Province. The metallurgical plant was being constructed in
modules in China, with the first module scheduled to arrive in the summer of 2010. The plant would be
capable of producing 60,000 t/yr of nickel in ferronickel (Xstrata plc, 2010a, p. 14, 50, 82).
Russia.—About 82% of Norilsk’s sales of marketable nickel came from its Russian operations. The
other 18% was generated by the company’s holdings in Australia, Botswana, Finland, and South
Africa. Norilsk’s operations on the Kola and Taimyr Peninsulas had a combined output of 232,813 t of
nickel metal—about 89% of Russia’s primary nickel output for the year. Norilsk’s two Arctic
subsidiaries exported almost all of their nickel production; only about 10,000 t, or less than 5%, was
sold to Russian consumers (OJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel, 2010, p. 52–62).
OAO Mechel (Moscow) owned and operated the Southern Urals ferronickel smelter in Orenburg
Oblast and the two laterite mines—Buruktal and Sakahara—that supplied the operation. Mechel
produced 15,565 t of nickel in low-iron ferronickel in 2009. The bulk of the production was shipped to
the ports of Kaliningrad and St. Petersburg for export to the EU. The remainder was used to make
stainless steel at Mechel’s stainless steel plant at Chelyabinsk (OAO Mechel, 2010, p. 99–107).
Reference:
U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries,
83
Niobium
Niobium (Columbium) increases the yield strength and, to a lesser degree, the tensile strength of carbon steel. The addition of small amounts of Niobium can significantly increase the yield strength of
steels. Niobium can also have a moderate precipitation strengthening effect. Its main contributions are
to form precipitates above the transformation temperature, and to retard the recrystallization of austenite, thus promoting a fine-grain microstructure having improved strength and toughness.
Recycling: Niobium was recycled when niobium-bearing steels and superalloys were recycled; scrap
recovery specifically for niobium content was negligible. The amount of niobium recycled is not available, but it may be as much as 20% of apparent consumption.
Events, Trends, and Issues: The leading suppliers of niobium in ore and concentrate were China
(43%) and Brazil (26%). Financial market problems in 2008 and the subsequent economic slowdown
resulted in reduced niobium material consumption in 2009. Niobium apparent consumption is believed
to have continued an upward trend in 2011; however, the debt crisis in Europe threatened that recovery. In 2011, the British Geological Survey published a niobium-tantalum minerals profile
(http://www.bgs.ac.uk/downloads/start.cfm?id=2033).
World Mine Production and Reserves:
United States
Brazil
Canada
Other countries
World total (rounded)
Mine production
2010
2011
58000
58000
4420
4400
520
600
62900
6300
Reserves
2900000
200000
NA
3000000
World Resources: World resources of niobium are more than adequate to supply projected needs.
Most of the world’s identified resources of niobium occur mainly as pyrochlore in carbonatite [igneous
rocks that contain more than 50% by volume carbonate (CO3) minerals] deposits and are outside the
United States. The United States has approximately 150,000 tons of niobium resources in identified
deposits, all of which were considered uneconomic at 2011 prices for niobium.
Substitutes: The following materials can be substituted for niobium, but a performance or cost penalty may ensue: molybdenum and vanadium, as alloying elements in high-strength low-alloy steels;
tantalum and titanium, as alloying elements in stainless and high-strength steels; and ceramics, molybdenum, tantalum, and tungsten in high-temperature applications.
World Industry Structure
Brazil and Canada were the leading producers of niobium mineral concentrates; Australia, Brazil,
Canada, China, and Mozambique were the leading producers of tantalum mineral concentrates.
Tantalum-bearing tin slags, which are byproducts from tin smelting, principally from Asia, Australia,
and Brazil, are another source of tantalum. The leading niobium ore and concentrate producers were
Companhia Brasileira de Metalurgia e Mineração (CBMM) in Brazil and IAMGOLD Corporation
(Niobec Mine) in Canada. The leading tantalum ore and concentrate producers were Talison Minerals
Pty. Ltd. (Wodgina Mine) in Australia and Metalurg Group (Mibra Mine) and Mineração Taboca S/A
(Pitinga Mine) in Brazil. Other tantalum producers were Cabot Corp. (Tanco Mine) in Canada, Noventa
Ltd. (Morropino Mine) in Mozambique, and Yichun Tantalum Co., Ltd. (Yichun Mine) in China.
As much as 97% of 2008 world niobium production resulted from the mining pyrochlore mineral
[(Na,Ca)2Nb2O6(OH,F)] in Brazil and Canada. Steelmaking, primarily high-strength low-alloy and
stainless steels, accounted for about 90% niobium use. The niobium-containing high-strength low-
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alloy steel was use in automobiles, construction, and gas pipelines; the stainless steel in automobiles
(Roskill Information Services Ltd., 2009a, p. 1–3).
About 70% of 2008 tantalum world production resulted from the mining of tantalum-containing
minerals with an additional 7% from synthetic tantalum ore and the remainder from recycling (Roskill
Information Services Ltd., 2009b, p. 8).
The tantalum industry, traditionally shrouded in secrecy, is comprised of (in order of material flow) a
mining component that typically extracts ore and produces a concentrate, a processing segment that
converts concentrate into an oxide or metal, a parts manufacturing segment that uses the oxide or
metal material to produce such components as capacitors or superalloys, and a product
manufacturing sector that uses the parts, such as capacitors, in electronic devices, such as cellular
telephones (Firman, 2008). World supply by source in 2008 was about 71% from primary production
(mining), 20% from recycling, 7% from tin slag, and 2% from inventory (Wallwork, 2008). Tantalum
world consumption was estimated to have increased at an average annual rate of 6% from about 1991
through 2006 (Ruffini, 2008).
Tantalum-bearing minerals were considered to be among the “conflict minerals” [minerals identified as
a driving force for the conflict in the Congo (Kinshasa)], and production, trade, processing, and use of
tantalum has come under international scrutiny (Global Witness Ltd., 2009, p. 4). Transparency of
material movement will probably contribute to the reduction of illicit material trade and encourage
legitimate mining operations by permitting the tracing and auditing of the supply chain (Ma, 2009).
Since those who trade in illicit minerals could reasonably be expected to hide the origin of their
material, independent third-party verification is necessary. The Electronic Industry Citizenship
Coalition and the Global e-Sustainability Initiative studied the tantalum issue and developed a process
to support and promote environmentally and socially responsible practices (Electronic Industries
Citizenship Coalition, 2010, p. 21–22; Resolve Inc., 2010, p. 14–19).
World Review
The USGS reported on world niobium-containing carbonatite deposits. USGS reported deposit models
and grade and tonnage types based on 58 well-explored and partially mined deposits in several
countries. Results were presented as figures showing the cumulative proportion of deposits versus the
tonnage or grade of the deposit. About one-half of the 55 carbonatite deposits studied had 0.23%
Nb2O5 average grade (Berger and others, 2009, p. 14).
Burt (2010) estimated tantalum resources by geographic area, by resource character (known, inferred,
or deposit), and by host rock type based on about 100 projects. Burt estimated known resources of
153,000 t of Ta of which 44% was in South America; Australia (27%); Africa (12%); Asia (13%); and
North America (5%). Know resources were distributed among in apogranite (61%), carbonatite (7% ),
pegmatite (25%), and placer (7%) host rock types. Close to 85% of production in 2002 came from
pegmatite based ore bodies making them the most significant resource to production. Since they host
such a large fraction of resources, apogranite hosted deposits are likely to become more important in
the future. No production came from carbonatite deposits. Tantalum resources were found to be
abundant and geographically distributed with Australia and Brazil being the leading host countries.
Australia.—The Government of Western Australia reported that tantalite production was 105 t of
contained tantalum pentoxide (Ta2O5) in 2009 compared with 680 t of contained Ta2O5 in 2008
(Government of Western Australia, Department of Mines and Petroleum, 2010, p. 23). Australia
reported that, as of December 31, 2008, Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC)-compliant proven and
probable ore reserves (as stated in company annual reports and reports to the Australian Stock
Exchange) for niobium were not available; and for tantalum, 19,000 t of contained Ta2O5 (Geoscience
Australia, 2009, p. 5).
85
Talison Minerals Pty. Ltd. suspended production at the Wodgina Mine, the world’s leading producing
operation of tantalum ore, owing to the global financial downturn and greater market share going to
central Africa, where tantalum minerals were mined under conditions of armed conflict and human
rights abuses [northeastern regions of Congo (Kinshasa)]. Talison sought to educate consumers about
conflict mining and to secure long-term contracts (Emery, 2010, p. 70).
Capital Mining Ltd. (Phillip) reported inferred resources of 55 million metric tons (Mt) containing
niobium, among other metals, at a concentration of 80 grams per metric ton (g/t) of niobium dioxide
(NbO2) at the Narraburra prospect about 12 kilometers (km) northeast of Temora, New South Wales.
Capital received results from gravity separation of drill samples and planned bulk sample treatment
(Capital Mining Ltd., 2010, p. 17–18).
Orion Metals Limited (East Brisbane), formerly Queensland Gold and Minerals Ltd., prospected for
niobium and tantalum. At Walwa, Orion found 83 parts per million (ppm) Ta2O5 and 100 ppm Nb2O5
based on rock sampling. Orion drilled at Grants Gully (Orion Metals Limited, 2009).
Galaxy Resources Limited (Perth) prospected for tantalum at Mount Cattlin in Western Australia State
near the town of Ravensthorpe. Galaxy reported proved reserves of 2.683 Mt containing 135 ppm
Ta2O5 and probable reserves of 8.684 Mt containing 151 ppm Ta2O5 to a cutoff grade of 0.4% Li2O.
Galaxy reported starting mine development (Galaxy Resources Limited, 2010, p. 2–7).
Brazil.—CBMM mined niobium ore from the Barreiro carbonatite complex (19°40' S, 46°57' W) near
Araxá, Minas Gerais State, and beneficiated the ore at the mine site by selectively extracting the
pyrochlore minerals from which niobium oxide is separated (Filho and others, 2009). The deposit
contained 440 Mt of ore reserves at an average grade of 2.5% to 3% Nb2O5 that could be mined by
open pit methods (Riffel, undated). CBMM produced ferroniobium, nickel-niobium, niobium metal, and
high-purity ferroniobium, and had production capacities of 90,000 metric tons per year (t/yr) of
ferroniobium, 3,000 t/yr of high-purity ferroniobium and nickel-niobium, and 210 t/yr of niobium metal
(Companhia Brasileira de Metalurgia e Mineração, undated a, b).
Anglo American Brazil (a subsidiary of Anglo American plc) mined pyrochlore from a carbonatite
deposit. Catalão Mine (47°48' W, 18°08' S) is comprised of three open pit mines and a processing
facility near the city of Catalão, Goiàs State. Anglo reported that Catalão mined 906,700 t of ore and
processed 873,500 t of ore containing 9.3 kilograms of niobium per metric ton (kg/t) of ore to produce
5,100 t of contained niobium in 2009. JORC-compliant proved and probable reserves were 12.2 Mt at
1.17% Nb2O5 containing 142,000 t of niobium (Anglo American plc, 2010, p. 156, 176).
Mineração Taboca, which was acquired by MINSUR S.A. (Peru), mined columbite at the Pitinga Mine
(0°47'01" N, 60°04'43" W) in Presidente Figueiredo Municipality, Amazon State. Taboca produced a
ferroniobiumtantalum alloy containing 45% niobium, 4.5% tantalum, and 25% iron (Mineração Taboca
S/A, undated a, b).
Angel Mining plc (formerly Angus & Ross plc) prospected for tantalum via St. Andrews Mining Ltd.,
64% owned by Angel, at the Caiçara project in Rio Grande do Norte State. Angel liquidated St.
Andrews’ assets paying the former chairman with the company’s remaining assets (Angus & Ross plc,
2008, p. 37; Angel Mining plc, 2009, p. 3).
Canada.—Canada reported niobium mine production of 4,330 t of contained Nb2O5 and tantalum mine
production of 29 t of contained Ta2O5 in 2009 compared with 4,400 t of contained Nb2O5 and 53 t of
contained Ta2O5 in 2008. Niobium was produced in Quebec, and tantalum, in Manitoba (Natural
Resources Canada, 2009, 2010).
American Manganese Inc. (formerly Rocher Deboule Minerals Corp.) (2010) reported finding no
significant niobium value in five holes at two locations on previously untested carbonatite showing
about 1 km from the Lonnie carbonatite deposit in British Columbia, where previous exploration had
assayed 0.20% Nb2O5. Avalon Rare Metals Inc. (Toronto, Ontario) (formerly Avalon Ventures Ltd.)
prospected for niobium and tantalum at its Thor Lake (about 62°06'20" N, 112°36' W) and Separation
86
Rapids properties. Avalon undertook metallurgical work to recover tantalum and niobium from Thor
Lake core samples (Avalon Rare Metals Inc., 2010, p. 3–7).
Commerce Resources Corp. (Vancouver, British Columbia) prospected for niobium and/or tantalum at
the Blue River (east of Quesnel, British Columbia), Eldor (south of Kuujjuaq, Quebec), and Carbo
(northeast of Prince George, British Columbia) properties that host carbonatite deposits. Commerce
planned an NI 43–101-compliant estimate of Fir, Verity, and Upper Fir deposits, which comprise the
Blue River project (Commerce Resources Corp., 2010). Commerce estimated that, at a cutoff grade of
150 g/t Ta, the Upper Fir deposit contained 8.6 Mt of indicated resources at a grade of 209 g/t Ta2O5
and 1,373 g/t of Nb2O5 content per metric ton of ore and inferred resources of 5.5 Mt at 208 g/t of
Ta2O5 content per metric ton of ore and 1,350 g/t Nb2O5 (Gorham, 2007, p. 39).
IAMGOLD mined niobium contained in pyrochlore mineral from the Saint-Honoré carbonatite deposit
at the Niobec Mine (about 48°32' N, 71°09' W) 15 km northwest of Chicoutimi, Quebec. Niobec mill
production capacity was 4,500 t/yr of niobium. The mill produced concentrate from which Niobec
produced Nb2O5 that was then converted to standard grade (66% niobium) ferroniobium by
aluminothermic reduction. IAMGOLD expected to complete a paste backfill plant and mill expansion in
2010. The mill expansion was to increase throughput by 24%. IAMGOLD reported that niobium mine
production in 2009 was 4,100 t of contained Nb compared with 4,400 t in 2008 and 4,300 t in 2007.
IAMGOLD reported 32.086 Mt of proven plus probable ore reserves containing 181,300 t of Nb2O5
(average ore grade of 0.59% Nb2O5 ). In 2009, Niobec mined 1.773 Mt of ore, milled 1.755 Mt of ore,
and produced 4,106 t of Nb (IAMGOLD Corporation, 2010, p. 41, 60, 149).
Tantalum Mining Corp. of Canada Ltd. (near Lac du Bonnet, Manitoba) suspended mine production at
its tantalite mine in Manitoba during fiscal year 2009 citing current ore inventory levels and other
currently available ore sources as the reason (Cabot Corporation, 2010, p. 6).
Taseko Mines Limited (2009) deferred prospecting for niobium at its Aley prospect owing to economic
conditions. Taseko acquired the Aley niobium prospect in northern British Columbia in 2007; however,
no mention of the prospect was made in Taseko’s annual report (2010a). Taseko identified the Aley
niobium property as a key asset (Taseko Mines Limited, 2010b).
Niocan Inc. (2010, p. 6) reported 4.28 Mt of measured resources at an average grade of 0.72% Nb2O5
and 6.35 Mt of indicated resources at an average grade of 0.65% Nb2O5 based on a cutoff grade of
0.40% Nb2O5 at its S–60 niobium deposit near Oka, Quebec.
MDN Inc. (2010b, p. 62–68) completed an NI 43–101-compliant preliminary economic assessment of
its Crevier Niobium project north of Lac Saint-Jean, Quebec, and reported that the property (49°30′ N,
72°49′ W) had indicated resources of 25.75 Mt containing 0.186% Nb2O5 and 199 ppm Ta2O5. MDN
estimated a 25-year mine life starting with open pit production followed by underground mining. MDN
projected production of 1.133 t/yr of Nb2O5 and 220 t/yr of K2TaF2 from 1 million metric tons per year
(Mt/yr) run-of-mine ore production. MDN planned a feasibility study with the objective of
commercializing the niobium and tantalum resource (MDN Inc., 2010a, p. 59).
Sarissa Resources Inc. (2009a) purchased the Nemegosenda property (48°00′ N, 83°06′ W) in
Ontario, which was reported to have niobium minerals (Sage, 1987). Sarissa verified that niobium
mineralization extended to the east of the Hawke Zone and that a magnetic anomaly was found to the
south of what was thought to have been the southern boundary of mineralized zone (Sarissa
Resources Inc. 2009b, c).
China.—The leading tantalum mining areas were at Yichun, Jiangxi Province, and Nanping, Fujian
Province (Fetherston, 2004, p. 78–79). TiChun Tantalum & Niobium Mine (27°38'58.10" N,
114°31'4.06" E) produced tantalum and niobium concentrate (Yichun Tantalum Co., Ltd., undated).
King-Tan Tantalum Industry Co. Ltd. in Shishi Industrial Zone, Yifeng County, Jiangxi Province,
produced niobium and tantalum products (King-Tan Tantalum Industry Co. Ltd., undated). Ningxia
87
Non-ferrous Metals Smeltery (a state-owned enterprise) produced niobium and tantalum products
(Ningxia Non-ferrous Metals Import & Export Corp., undated).
Congo (Kinshasa).—Katanga, Kivu, Maniema, and Orientale Provinces in the eastern part of Congo
(Kinshasa) host columbite-tantalite deposits known locally as coltan (Fetherston, 2004, p. 71).
Shamika Resources Inc. (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) prospected for tantalum and niobium through
Shamika Congo Kalehe SPRL (Shamika Resources Inc., undated).
Egypt.—Tantalum Egypt JSC [Gippsland Ltd. (Claremont, Australia) and the Government of Egypt]
planned to mine tantalite from the Abu Dabbab and Nuweibi deposits. Gippsland reported Abu
Dabbab (25°20'59.42" N, 34°13'30.07" E) reserves were 15.2 Mt at 260 g/t Ta2O5 proven and 15.04 Mt
at 250 g/t Ta2O5 probable; resources were 15.2 Mt at 290 g/t Ta2O5 measured, 17.3 Mt at 250 g/t
Ta2O5 indicated, and 12 Mt at 200 g/t Ta2O5 inferred. At Nuweibi (25°12'3.09" N, 34°29'56.15" E),
resources were 48 Mt at 147 g/t Ta2O5 indicated and 50 Mt at 140 g/t Ta2O5 inferred. H.C. Stark Group
GmbH (Goslar, Germany) committed to buy 300,000 kg/yr of contained Ta2O5 for the first 10 years.
Gippsland estimated mine development cost at $175 million and planned to produce a concentrate
containing 55% Ta2O5. Producing a concentrate reduces transportation cost and limits combined
uranium (as U3O8) and thorium (as ThO2) to less than 0.1% (Gippsland Ltd., 2009, p. 7–12).
Gabon.—Eramet Group considered developing the Mabounié deposit (Eramet Group, 2010, p. 70).
Greenland.—The Motzfeldt intrusion, a part of the Igaliko complex of southern Greenland, hosts
localized niobium and tantalum mineralization associated with pyrochlore (McCreath, 2009). Ram
Resources Limited (Perth, Australia) planned to acquire the Motzfeldt project (near 61°15′ N, 45° W)
and to conduct a drilling program there (Fetherston, 2004, p. 69, 71–82; Ram Resources Limited,
2010, p. 1).
Malawi.—Globe Metals & Mining Limited (West Perth, Australia) (2009a, p. 4–10) reported updated
resources for the Kanyika Niobium project (about 12°38′ S, 33°38′ E). At a cutoff grade of 0.15%
Nb2O5, Globe reported JORC-compliant indicated resources of 13.2 Mt containing 48,590 t of Nb2O5
(0.36% average grade) and 2,120 t of Ta2O5 (0.016% average grade), and inferred resources of 42.1
Mt containing 117,900 t of Nb2O5 (0.28% average grade) and 5,470 t Ta2O5 (0.013% average grade).
Globe planned to improve its resource estimate, to validate a process flowsheet previously developed
in a scoping study, and to demonstrate ferroniobium production. Globe (2009b, p. 9, 14, and 16)
estimated that for a capital expenditure of $151.7 million it will probably produce 3,000 t/yr of Nb
contained in ferroniobium, 194 t of Ta2O5, and uranium oxide. Globe and Thuthuka Group Limited
(Gauteng, South Africa) (TGL) formed a joint venture to develop the Kanyika property. Globe and TGL
planned to develop a bankable feasibility study in support of production planned to start up in 2012
(Thuthuka Group Limited, 2009).
Mozambique.—Noventa Limited (St. Helier, United Kingdom) reported probable reserves of 7.80 Mt
containing 2,255 t of Ta2O5 at Marropino (16°30' S, 37°54' E) and 3.61 Mt containing 1,673 t of Ta2O5
at Morrua (16°16′ S, 37°52′ E) (Noventa Limited, 2007, p. 127–129). Noventa put Marropino Mine,
which had been operating intermittently since 2003, on care-and-maintenance status in May and
planned to restart production from tailings in 2010 with a modified plant and mine plan. The Marropino
Mine was connected to the national power grid. Review of the production process found that process
recovery, anticipated to be 60%, was only 30%. It was found that about one-half of the run-of-mine ore
was too big to be processed and that the ore size distribution needed to be reduced. A comminution
circuit was added to address this problem. Mineralogical, textural, and chemical work showed that
recovery could be improved by reducing particle size to less than 1 millimeter and that the tantalum
grains do not appear to be included in the mica, permitting the mica to be removed early in the
beneficiation process (Noventa Limited, 2010a, p. 8–13, c). Noventa planned to restart production in
2010 (Noventa Limited, 2010b).
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Pacific Wildcat Resources Corp. (Canada), a mineral exploration company, acquired Tantalum
Mineracao e Prospeccas Limitada, which held licenses for tantalum exploration in the Alto Lingonha
belt, Zambezi Provence (about 15°45′10" S, 33°15′10" E) near the Muiane Mine, a historical tantalum
producer. Pacific also purchased a tantalum treatment plant (Pacific Wildcat Resources Corp., 2010a,
b).
Saudi Arabia.—Tertiary Minerals plc planned to evaluate the feasibility of developing the Ghurayyah
tantalum-niobium rare-earth deposit subject to receiving a new exploration license that it applied for in
2007 (Tertiary Minerals plc, 2009, p. 2, 5).
Reference:
U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries,
89
Silicon
Silicon is one of the principal deoxidizers used in steelmaking. Silicon is less effective than manganese in increasing as-rolled strength and hardness. In low-carbon steels, silicon is generally detrimental to surface quality.
Silicon is a light chemical element with metallic and nonmetallic characteristics. Silicon is rarely found
free in nature. Silicon combines with oxygen and other elements to form silicates, which comprise
more than 25% of the Earth’s crust. Silica (SiO2) as quartz or quartzite is used to produce silicon ferroalloys for the iron and steel industries and silicon metal for the aluminum and chemical industries.
Silicon metal that is refined into semiconductor-grade metal for use in making computer chips is crucial to modern technology, but the quantity is less than 5% of total silicon metal demand (Roskill’s Letter from Japan, 2000). Silicon metal also may either be used directly in an upgraded metallurgical form
or refined into wafers to power solar batteries.
World Production and Reserves:
Production
United States
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Iceland
India
Norway
Russia
South Africa
Ukraine
Venezuela
Other countries
World total (rounded)
2010
176
224
52
4920
127
74
66
303
643
137
127
50
394
7290
2011
350
230
52
5400
140
75
68
320
670
130
100
62
400
8000
Ferrosilicon accounts for about four-fifths of world silicon production (gross-weight basis). The leading
countries for ferrosilicon production, in descending order, were China, Russia, the United States, Norway, and Ukraine, and for silicon metal production were China, the United States, Norway, Brazil, and
France. China was by far the leading producer of both ferrosilicon (5,800,000 tons) and silicon metal
(1,650,000 tons) in 2011.
World Resources: World and domestic resources for making silicon metal and alloys are abundant
and, in most producing countries, adequate to supply world requirements for many decades. The
source of the silicon is silica in various natural forms, such as quartzite.
Substitutes: Aluminum, silicon carbide, and silicomanganese can be substituted for ferrosilicon in
some applications. Gallium arsenide and germanium are the principal substitutes for silicon in semiconductor and infrared applications.
Consumption
Consumption of ferrosilicon and silicon metal was estimated by CRU International Ltd. to have each
increased throughout the western world in 2010. In terms of contained silicon, ferrosilicon
consumption increased to 1.99 Mt in 2010 from 1.41 Mt (revised) in 2009, and silicon metal
consumption increased to 1.49 Mt from 1.03 Mt. Areas with the largest year-to-year increase in
consumption of ferrosilicon, in terms of volume, were Europe, Japan, and the United States. Areas
90
with the largest year-to-year increase in silicon metal consumption, in terms of volume and as
categorized by CRU International, were the European Union (EU) and other western world countries
(excluding the EU and all Asian countries), and the United States. In decreasing order of consumption,
Europe, other Asian countries (excluding China, Japan, and North Korea), and Japan accounted for
72% of the ferrosilicon consumption in 2010. Also in decreasing order of consumption, the EU, the
United States, and other Asian countries (excluding China, Japan, and North Korea) accounted for
72% of the silicon metal consumed in 2010 (CRU Bulk Ferroalloys Monitor, 2011a, b).
World Industry Structure
Data on annual world production of ferrosilicon and silicon metal by country from 2006 through 2010
are provided in the Ferroalloys chapter of the 2010 USGS Minerals Yearbook, volume I, Metals and
Minerals. World production of ferrosilicon, on a gross-weight basis, was estimated to have been 7.89
Mt in 2010 compared with 7.32 Mt (revised) in 2009. The major ferrosilicon producers in 2010 were, in
decreasing order, China, Russia, the United States, Norway, and Ukraine; they accounted for 87% of
total world production listed in table 1.
World production of silicon metal, excluding that from the United States, was estimated to have been
2.18 Mt in 2010 compared with 1.79 Mt (revised) in 2009 (table 1). China was by far the leading
producer of silicon metal in the world in 2010 with an estimated 1.5 Mt; this was 69% of the world total.
Other major producers of silicon metal in 2010 were, excluding the United States and in decreasing
order, Norway, Brazil, and France; they accounted for 19% of world production reported in table 1.
New ferrosilicon and silicon metal projects scheduled for completion around the world from 2010
through 2014 are listed in table 9.
World Review
European Union.—In May, the Council of the European Union assessed new, lower antidumping
duties on silicon metal imports from China and the Republic of Korea effective during the next 5 years.
An antidumping duty rate of 19% would apply to all silicon metal imports except those from Datong
Jinneng Industrial Silicon Co. Ltd., which would be 16.3%. A 49% antidumping duty rate had been in
place on silicon metal imports from China and the Republic of Korea since 1990 and 2007,
respectively (Official Journal of the European Union, 2010, p. 21).
Bhutan.—Starting in 2008, Bhutan became a new ferrosilicon-producing country. By 2010, there were
six ferrosilicon producers in the country—Bhutan Ferro Alloys Ltd. (BFAL); Bhutan Ferro Industries
Ltd.; Druk Ferro Alloys Ltd.; Druk Wang Alloys Ltd.; SD Eastern Bhutan Ferro Silicon Pvt. Ltd.; and
Ugen Ferroalloys Pvt. Ltd. The country’s total ferrosilicon production capacity was estimated to be
100,000 t/yr; BFAL had the largest capacity with 34,000 t/yr. According to the United Nations trade
statistics, Bhutan exported most of its ferrosilicon to India (United Nations Statistics Division,
unpublished data, August 2011; Wangdi, 2011).
Canada.—In October, Timminco Ltd. and Dow Corning formed a joint venture, dubbed Quebec
Silicon, to produce silicon metal at Timminco’s wholly owned Becancour Silicon Inc. plant in
Becancour, Quebec. Timminco retained 51% ownership in, and operational control of, the plant.
Production, initially set at 47,000 t/yr, would be split proportionally between the two companies.
Timminco continued to hold 100% equity in UMG-Si production at Becancour under the new name of
Timminco Solar. Timminco Solar facilities remained closed in 2010 pending recovery in the solar
market, but Quebec Silicon operated at full production capacity to meet the needs of the aluminum
and chemical industries (Timminco Ltd., 2010; 2011, p. 2, 10, 14).
91
China.—China’s exports of silicon materials in 2010 were significantly higher than those in 2009
because of improved global economic conditions, despite continued high export tariffs and reduced
energy consumption and carbon dioxide (CO2) emission targets imposed by the Central Government
of China in September 2010. China’s exports of ferrosilicon increased by 77% to about 735,000 t from
the amount exported in 2009. The leading countries of destination for Chinese ferrosilicon were Japan
(45%), the Republic of Korea (21%), the United States (6%), and Taiwan (4%). China’s exports of
silicon metal were also significantly higher in 2010 compared with those in 2009; they were up 50% to
633,464 t from 421,610 t. The leading countries of destination for Chinese silicon metal were Japan
(29%), the Republic of Korea (13%), the United Kingdom (7%), and Thailand (6%) (TEX Report, The,
2011a, b).
Chinese export tariffs in 2010 for ferrosilicon and silicon metal remained at 25% and 15%, respectively
(Metal-Pages, 2011). With these duties, the Chinese Government aimed to reduce exports of these
materials from the country so more material would be available for the domestic market.
The Central Government of China imposed electricity and CO2 emission restrictions on energyintensive industries in the fourth quarter of 2010; CO2 emissions were to be reduced by 20%.
Electricity supply on the national grid was cut mainly in the so-called Silicon Land—the area
comprised of Gansu Province, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region,
and Qinghai Province. As a result, Chinese ferrosilicon and silicon metal production fell, and spotmarket prices rose sharply at the end of the year (TEX Report, The, 2011c, d).
France.—In late March, Grupo FerroAtlántica S.L. (Ferroatlantica) restarted production at its five
French silicon plants as aluminum and chemical market conditions improved. The plants included the
following with their associated products and capacities: Anglefort, silicon metal (36,000 t/yr); Château
Feuillet, silicon metal (12,000 t/yr); Laudun, ferrosilicon (25,000 t/yr) and silicon (14,000 t/yr); Les
Clavaux, silicon metal (35,000 t/yr); and Montricher, silicon metal (30,000 t/yr) (Metal-Pages, 2010b).
Kazakhstan.—Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. PLC produced 48,000 t of ferrosilicon in 2010 at its
Aksu plant in Kazakhstan and its Serov plant in Russia (Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. PLC,
2010a, p. 13; b, p. 12; c, p. 6; 2011, p. 6).
Macedonia.—Ownership in the Silmak dooel silicon materials plant located in Jegunovce changed
twice during 2010. In February, Paris-registered metal trader Société Commerciale de Métaux et
Mineraux sold the plant to Metal Invest EFT, the Macedonian unit of international energy trading
company The EFT Group. Metal Invest then sold 90% of the plant to Hong Kong-based Camelot
Group in July. The plant, renamed Jugohrom Ferroalloys, resumed ferrosilicon production in July at a
rate of 4,500 metric tons per month (t/mo) with the restart of four of its eight ferrosilicon furnaces; the
plant had been shut down since early November 2009. The company was reportedly upgrading the
remaining four ferrosilicon furnaces to produce silicon metal (Metal-Pages, 2010e; SeeNews, 2010).
Norway.—Norwegian producers of silicon-materials ramped-up production considerably during 2010
in response to improved market conditions and low inventories. Fesil AS reported full capacity
utilization at its two-furnace Rana Metall ferrosilicon plant after May. The Rana Metall ferrosilicon plant
production capacity was 90,000 t/yr. Fesil held majority interest (51%) in Fesil Sunergy AS, which
started construction in 2010 on a fully financed UMG-Si pilot plant at Fesil’s idled Lilleby siliconmaterials plant. Fesil Sunergy’s goal would be to produce 6,800 t/yr of UMG-Si (Fesil AS, 2011, p. 3–
4, 10, 20).
By the third quarter, Finnfjord Smelteverk was operating all three furnaces, up from two in 2009, at its
100,000-t/yr ferrosilicon plant near Finnsnes. Virtually all of Finnfjord’s production was exported to the
European Union. Construction also began on Finnfjord’s energy-recovery plant to capture waste heat
from its ferrosilicon furnaces. The energy the company would save, estimated to be 340 gigawatthours, would be equivalent to the annual electricity requirements of 12,000 single family homes
(Metal-Pages, 2010d; Norske Energi, 2011, p. 4).
92
Orkla ASA (2010, p. 6) reported its Elkem AS silicon-related businesses were operating at close to full
capacity by the end of September. In the third quarter of 2010, average capacity utilization was 91%
compared with 57% in the third quarter of 2009. Elkem had total ferrosilicon production capacity of
76,000 t/yr; 40,000 t/yr at the Bjolvefossen plant and 36,000 t/yr in Bremanger. Elkem’s silicon metal
capacity was as follows: Salten, 65,000 t/yr; Thamshavn, 40,000 t/yr; and Bremanger, 28,000 t/yr.
German chemical producer Wacker Chemie AG acquired the 50,000-t/yr Holla Metall silicon metal
plant from Fesil in June for €66.5 million ($80 million). As a result, the plant would supply Wacker with
one-third of its annual silicon metal needs, and up to 20% of silicon metal would be removed from the
European spot market (American Metal Market, 2010b; Wacker Chemie AG, 2011, p. 2).
Poland.—In March, Poland’s sole ferrosilicon producer Huta Laziska doubled production to 5,000 t/mo
to meet increasing iron and steel industry requirements. The company’s total ferrosilicon production
capacity was 96,000 t/yr (Metal-Pages, 2010a).
Russia.—Russia exported 412,892 t of ferrosilicon in 2010, an increase of 30% from that in 2009.
This was an alltime high for the country, as Russian producers filled the void left by a decrease in
Chinese ferrosilicon exports to Europe and Asia. The leading destinations for Russian ferrosilicon
exports were the Netherlands (115,822 t), Japan (103,372 t), and the Republic of Korea (76,639 t)
(TEX Report, The, 2011e, f).
Mechel OAO reported an increase in ferrosilicon production at its Bratsk ferroalloys plant in Eastern
Siberia to 89,920 t in 2010 from 86,010 t in 2009. The company planned to increase the plant’s
ferrosilicon production capacity to 122,000 t/yr from 87,200 t/yr by 2013 (Mechel OAO, 2011, p. 104–
105, 107).
Spain.—During the year, Ferroatlantica operated only one furnace at reduced capacity at its Sabon
silicon metal plant. The Sabon plant had a total production capacity of 40,000 t/yr (Metal Pages,
2010c).
Ukraine.—Ferrosilicon production in the Ukraine increased by 30% to 195,500 t from 150,300 t in
2009. Stakhanov Ferroalloy Works produced 136,100 t of ferrosilicon, up 22.6% from that of 2009, and
Zaporizhiya Ferroalloy Works produced 59,400 t of ferrosilicon, up 51% from that of 2009 (Interfax
Russia & CIS Metals & Mining Weekly, 2011).
Reference:
U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries,
93
Sulfur
Sulfur decreases ductility and notch impact toughness especially in the transverse direction. Weldability decreases with increasing sulfur content. Sulfur is found primarily in the form of sulfide inclusions.
Sulfur levels are normally controlled to low levels. The only exception is free-machining steels, where
sulfur is added to improve machinability.
World Production and Reserves:
World Production
United States
Australia
Brazil
Canada
Chile
China
Finland
France
Germany
India
Iran
Italy
Japan
Kazakhstan
Korea, Republic of
Kuwait
Mexico
Netherlands
Poland
Qatar
Russia
Saudi Arabia
South Africa
Spain
United Arab Emirates
Uzbekistan
Venezuela
Other countries
World Total
2010
9070
940
480
7255
1676
9600
590
1305
3905
1171
1780
740
3292
2000
660
830
1810
530
732
1124
7070
3300
465
637
1763
520
800
4020
68100
2011
8800
930
480
7100
1700
9600
590
1300
3700
1200
1800
740
3100
2700
1500
830
1800
530
1000
1100
7100
3300
470
640
1800
520
800
4000
69000
World Resources: Resources of elemental sulfur in evaporite and volcanic deposits and sulfur associated with natural gas, petroleum, tar sands, and metal sulfides amount to about 5 billion tons. The
sulfur in gypsum and anhydrite is almost limitless, and some 600 billion tons of sulfur is contained in
coal, oil shale, and shale rich in organic matter, but low-cost methods have not been developed to recover sulfur from these sources. The domestic sulfur resource is about one-fifth of the world total.
Substitutes: Substitutes for sulfur at present or anticipated price levels are not satisfactory; some acids, in certain applications, may be substituted for sulfuric acid. Worldwide, compliance with environmental regulations has contributed to sulfur recovery; however, in 2009 there was a slight decrease in
sulfur production. Recovered elemental sulphur is produced primarily during the processing of natural
gas and crude petroleum. Estimated worldwide production of native (naturally occurring elemental)
sulfur decreased by 23%. In the few countries where pyrites remain an important raw material for sulfuric acid production, strong demand resulted in a slight increase in sulfur production from pyrites.
Since 2003, between 82% and 84% of the world’s sulphur production as elemental sulfur and byprod-
94
uct sulfuric acid came from recovered sources. Some sources of sulfur were unspecifi ed, which
means that the material could have been, and likely was, elemental sulfur or byproduct sulfuric acid,
raising the percentage of byproduct sulfur production to about 90% annually. The quantity of sulfur
produced from recovered sources was dependent on the world demand for fuels, nonferrous metals,
and petroleum products rather than for sulfur. World sulfur consumption was thought to be slightly
lower than it was in 2008; typically, about 50% was used in fertilizer production, and the remainder, in
myriad other industrial uses. World trade of elemental sulfur decreased slightly from the levels reported in 2008. Worldwide inventories of elemental sulfur were higher.
World Review
The world sulfur industry remained divided into two sectors—discretionary and nondiscretionary. In the
discretionary sector, the mining of sulfur or pyrites is the sole objective; this voluntary production of
either sulfur or pyrites (mostly naturally occurring iron sulfi de) is based on the orderly mining of discrete deposits, with the objective of obtaining as nearly a complete recovery of the resource as economic conditions permit. In the nondiscretionary sector, sulfur or sulfuric acid is recovered as an involuntary byproduct; the quantity of output is subject to demand for the primary product and environmental regulations that limit atmospheric emissions of sulfur compounds irrespective of sulfur demand.
Discretionary sources, once the primary sources of sulfur in all forms, represented 10% of the sulfur
produced in all forms worldwide in 2009 (table 11). Poland was the only country that produced more
than 250,000 t of native sulfur by using either the Frasch process or conventional mining methods (table 11). The Frasch process is the term for hot-water mining of native sulfur associated with the
caprock of salt domes and in sedimentary deposits; in this mining method, the native sulfur is melted
underground with superheated water and brought to the surface by compressed air. The United
States, where the Frasch process was developed early in the 20th century, was the leading producer
of Frasch sulfur until 2000. Small quantities of native sulfur were produced in Asia, Europe, and South
America. The importance of pyrites to the world sulphur supply has signifi cantly decreased; China
was the only country of the top producers whose primary sulfur source was pyrites. China produced
87% of world pyrite production. Of the 25 countries listed in table 11 that produced more than 500,000
t of sulfur, 18 obtained the majority of their production as recovered elemental sulfur. These 25 countries produced 92% of the total sulfur produced worldwide. In 2009, about 29 Mt of elemental sulfur
was traded globally. The leading exporters were, in decreasing order of tonnage, Canada, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, Russia, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Japan, and Iran, all with
more than 1 Mt of exports. The leading importer was China, by far, followed by, in decreasing order of
tonnage, Morocco, the United States, Tunisia, Brazil, and India. All of the top importing countries had
large phosphate fertilizer industries (International Fertilizer Industry Association, 2011). Supply growth
stalled in 2009 as world production was virtually static. Prices generally were stable in the fi rst half of
2009 and showed an increase toward the end of 2009. International prices for 2009 averaged higher
than those in the United States. Although actual sulfur production was lower than in 2008, consumption and supply were balanced. Chinese imports were in excess of their average annual consumption.
Native sulfur production, including production of Frasch sulfur at Poland’s last operating mine, was
about 23% lower than that of 2008. Recovered elemental sulfur production decreased by 4% and byproduct sulfuric acid production decreased slightly compared with those of 2008. For most of 2009,
owing to the falling demand in the fertilizer and industrial sectors new sulfur production was limited.
However, the lower world production, recovering sulfur consumption, and strong imports from China,
created tight market conditions by yearend and continued into 2010. Globally, production of sulfur from
pyrites decreased slightly. With lower sulfur prices, pyrites become a less attractive alternative to elemental sulfur for sulfuric acid production. The environmental remediation costs of mining pyrites are
more onerous when the price for sulphur is low, as additional costs are incurred when using this less
environmentally friendly raw material.
Canada.—Ranked third in the world in sulfur production, Canada was the leading sulfur and sulfuric
acid exporter. I2009, sulfur production in Canada was 8% lower than it was in 2008. About two-thirds
of Canadian sulfur is recovered at natural gas and oil sands operations in Alberta, with some recovered from gas in British Columbia and from oil refi neries in other parts of the country. Sulfur recovery
from natural gas has declined for several years, but increased sulfur production from oil sands offsets
that, and this trend was expected to continue. Sulfur production from natural gas processing declined
by 13% in 2009, while sulfur production from the oil sands operations continued its upward trend. Production from oil sands was about 15% higher in 2009 than in 2008 (North America Sulphur Review,
2010a). Canada’s sulfur production was expected to remain stable over the medium term and may
increase over the long term as a result of expanded oil sands production. Sulfur production from natu-
95
ral gas was expected to decline as natural gas reserves decrease. Signifi cant increases in production
from oil sands operations and minor increases at refi neries were expected. Canada was likely to remain a leader in world sulfur production. Byproduct acid production was expected to remain relatively
stable (Stone, 2010). Xstrata Plc (Switzerland) announced that it would permanently cease operation
at its copper and zinc plants at Kidd Creek, Ontario, in May 2010. The closure would remove a signifi
cant volume of merchant sulfuric acid from the North American market. The estimated sulfuric acid
production at Kidd Creek was 500,000 t/yr (North America Sulphur Review, 2009a). A report from Alberta’s Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB) published in 2010 showed that sulfur emissions in 2009 from Alberta’s natural gas processing plants declined by 59% from levels in 2000 and
12% from those of 2008. Sulfur emissions declined as the result of improved sulfur recovery technology at the plants and because gas production had declined as resources have become depleted. Although sulfur recovery increased as a percentage of gas processing, total sulfur recovered declined
during the same period because of lower gas processing volumes (Energy Resources Conservation
Board, 2010, p. 5). An estimated 800,000 t of sulfur was added to Canada’s stockpiles in 2009. Stocks
increased to about 12.3 Mt in Alberta in 2009, more than 8 Mt of which was stored at Syncrude Canada Ltd.’s Fort McMurray, Alberta, oil sands operation. Fort McMurray is so remote that transporting
the sulfur to market is extremely diffi cult and expensive (Stone, 2010). Oil sands was one of the fastest growing industries in Canada. Expansions at oil sands operations were expected to add an additional 3.6 Mt of sulfur production within 10 years. By 2015, sulfur production from Canadian oil sands
was expected to represent 8% of annual world sulfur production (Sulphur, 2007). Continued focus on
greenhouse gas emissions from oil sands operations and other environmental scrutiny, however, may
limit development of oil sands and direct investment dollars elsewhere. Estimates of the cost of production suggest that a price of $70 per barrel of oil is necessary for oil sands to be profi table. If national and (or) provincial carbon taxes, which have been discussed for Canada and Alberta, were put
into place, the cost of oil sands production could become too high. In addition to relatively high carbon
dioxide emissions related to oil sands operations compared with those from other petroleum sources,
concerns about tailings ponds and land restoration contributed to negative perceptions of oil sands
development (Park, 2008). The Athabasca oil sands are a mixture of sand, water, clay, and bitumen, a
naturally occurring viscous mixture of heavy hydrocarbons. Because of its complexity, bitumen was
diffi cult or impossible to refi ne at most oil refi neries. It was upgraded to a light-oil equivalent before
further refi ning or was processed at facilities specifi cally designed for processing bitumen. Oil sands
with more than 10% bitumen were considered rich; those with less than 7% bitumen were not economically attractive (Oil & Gas Journal, 1999). Bitumen contains approximately 5% sulfur. On average,
it takes about 1 t of bitumen to produce 1 barrel of oil (Stone, 2007). In 2009, more elemental sulfur
was recovered from Canadian oil sands than in 2008, when the world economic downturn had a negative impact on Canadian oil sands projects. However, oil sands operations require tremendous capital
to develop, and only high oil prices allow them to be profi table (Stone, 2010). The form of the primary
product at the oil sands operation infl uences the quantity of sulfur produced at the oil sands operations or determines whether the sulfur is recovered at refi neries at other locations. When the operators process the bitumen from the oil sands into synthetic crude oil, the sulfur is recovered at the upgrading site. If bitumen is transported (usually by pipeline) to oil refi neries specially upgraded to process this product, then the sulfur is recovered at the oil refi nery, sometimes in other countries, often in
the United States (Stone, 2007; 2008).
China.—For the fi rst time, China was the leading producer of sulfur in all forms. It also was the
world’s leading producer of pyrites, with about 50% of its sulfur in all forms coming from that source.
The country was the leading sulfur importer, with 12.5 Mt in 2009 (International Fertilizer Industry Association, 2011). Imports represented 90% of elemental sulfur consumption in China, with the Middle
East as the leading source of the imports, followed by Canada. Fertilizer production consumed about
three-quarters of the sulfuric acid produced in China. During the second half of 2008, export tariffs
were imposed to keep Chinese phosphates available for farmers in China, but those actions caused
shutdowns among fertilizer producers. In July 2009, export tariffs were reduced by 10% in response to
the request for a reduction. Fertilizer production was China’s primary application for sulfuric acid, and
long-term prospects for Chinese fertilizer demand were expected to remain strong. In 2009, strong
global imports were driven by heavy purchases of sulfur by China. However, the short-term demand
for sulphuric acid was negatively affected by the slump in the fertilizer markets (Sulphur, 2009b).
Without access to the export market, Chinese phosphate producers were only supplying the domestic
market rather than increasing revenue by exporting phosphate fertilizer (Sulphur, 2009b). In 2009,
China imports averaged about 816,000 metric tons per month of elemental sulfur, with the largest
quantities of imports entering the country during the fi rst 6 months of the year (North America Sulphur
96
Review, 2010c). China had sulphur stockpiles of more than 2 months’ worth of demand (Sulphur,
2009b). In China, 70% of electricity is generated at coal-fi red powerplants that emit signifi cantly more
sulfur dioxide proportionally than powerplants in Western countries. Only about 14% of the Chinese
powerplants have desulfurization apparatus, and of these, not all are fully operational. Industry experts
estimated that China emitted 25 Mt of sulfur dioxide from powerplants in 2008, with expectations for
this to increase as electricity requirements and capacity increased. Sulfur recovery from implementing
clean coal technology in China could result in the recovery of at least some of this sulfur, but no timeframe for these accomplishments was proposed (Sulphur, 2008). The Zinjin Copper Industry Co. (a
subsidiary of the Zihn Mining Group Co.) announced plans to build a 200,000-t/yr copper smelting
plant in the Fuijan Province. The smelter was expected to produce 700,000 t/yr of sulphuric acid (Sulphur, 2009a).
Kazakhstan.—Kazakstan’s largest phosphate producer, Kazphosphate LLC, signed a memorandum
of understanding with state company United Chemical Co. (UCC) to build a 650,000-t/yr sulphuric acid
complex as part of a major phosphate joint venture at the Karatau phosphate fi eld. The sulphuric acid
plant was to be built in Taraz as part of the second phase that was scheduled to begin in 2011. The
cost of the two phases of the project was estimated to be nearly $250 million (Sulphur, 2009d).
Reference:
U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries,
97
Titanium
Titanium is used to retard grain growth and thus improve toughness. Titanium is also used to achieve
improvements in inclusion characteristics. Titanium causes sulfide inclusions to be globular rather than
elongated thus improving toughness and ductility in transverse bending.
Recycling: New scrap metal recycled by the titanium industry totaled about 27,000 tons in 2011. Estimated use of titanium as scrap and ferrotitanium by the steel industry was about 10,000 tons; by the
superalloy industry, 1,000 tons; and in other industries, 1,000 tons. Old scrap reclaimed totaled about
1,000 tons.
Events, Trends, and Issues: Because TiO2 pigment is used in paint, paper, and plastics, consumption is tied to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In June, the World Bank forecast domestic (2.5%)
and global (4.3%) GDP growth in 2011. Increased consumption and production of TiO2 pigment was
led by China. To meet rising domestic and global TiO2 consumption, domestic production of TiO2
pigment increased to 1.4 million tons, an 8% increase compared with that in 2010.
In 2011, global consumption of titanium metal in commercial aerospace and industrial markets rose
significantly. Increasing demand and reduced inventories brought about by production curtailments
made in 2009 and 2010 caused several metal producers to increase titanium sponge production capacity. China’s titanium metal and TiO2 pigment production capacity grew most significantly.
World Sponge Metal Production and Sponge and Pigment Capacity:
United States
Australia
Belgium
Canada
China
Finland
France
Germany
Italy
Japan
Kazakhstan
Mexico
Russia
Spain
Ukraine
United Kingdom
Other countries
World total (rounded)
Sponge production
2010
2011
W
W
57800
60000
31600
56000
14500
20700
25800
40000
7400
9000
137000
186000
Capacity 2011
Sponge
Pigment
24000
1470000
281000
74000
90000
114000
2000000
130000
125000
440000
80000
62200
309000
26000
1000
130000
46500
20000
80000
10000
120000
300000
900000
283000
6550000
Substitutes: There are few materials that possess titanium metal’s strength-to-weight ratio and corrosion resistance. In high-strength applications, titanium competes with aluminum, composites, intermetallics, steel, and superalloys. Aluminum, nickel, specialty steels, and zirconium alloys may be substituted for titanium for applications that require corrosion resistance. Ground calcium carbonate, precipitated calcium carbonate, kaolin, and talc compete with titanium dioxide as a white pigment.
98
World Review
Australia.—Iluka began production of heavy-mineral concentrate at its Jacinth-Ambrosia Mine in the
Eucla Basin, South Australia. During its projected mine life of more than 10 years, Jacinth-Ambrosia
was expected to produce approximately 1.5 Mt of ilmenite, 350,000 t of rutile, and 2.8 Mt of zircon
(Iluka Resources Inc., 2009b).
In Western Australia, Iluka idled its Eneabba Mine because of declining ore grades and the opening of
the Jacinth-Ambosia Mine. In 2009, Iluka was in the process of upgrading the Narngulu mineral
separation plant to process heavy-mineral concentrate from the Jacinth-Ambrosia concentration plant
(Iluka Resources Inc., 2009a).
The Australian Government approved Astron Ltd.’s environmental plan to develop its Donald heavymineral deposit in the Murray Basin, Victoria. Astron planned to produce heavy-mineral concentrate
from Donald and then process the concentrate through a mineral sand separation plant in China
(Astron Ltd., 2009, p. 6). According to Astron, the deposit contained an indicated and inferred resource
of ilmenite (8.5 Mt), leucoxene (5.4 Mt), rutile (1.2 Mt), and zircon (5.2 Mt) (Astron Ltd., undated).
Australian Zircon NL suspended mining activities at its Mindarie operation in South Australia, and the
company went into administration to obtain relief from its creditors. During 2009, the company
continued a feasibility study of the WIM150 deposit and produced ilmenite, rutile, and zircon from
previously mined ore through yearend (Mineral Sands Report, 2009a). Although no data were
available for 2009, in 2008, the Mindari operation produced about 8,600 t of ilmenite and 3,000 t of
rutile in 2008 (Geoscience Australia, 2009, p. 48).
In May, Unimin Australia Ltd. acquired Consolidated Rutile Ltd. (CRL) from Iluka (Mineral Sands
Report, 2009b). In 2009, the CRL Mine on North Stradbroke Island, Queensland, was reported to
contain reserves of 3.2 Mt of heavy minerals (Iluka Resources Ltd., 2010, p. 75).
Canada.—Sustainable Development Technology Canada awarded Titanium Corp.’s “Creating value
from waste” project $4.9 million in funding. The award was expected to promote technologies that
recover bitumen and heavy minerals, including ilmenite and rutile, from oil sands tailings. Consortium
members of the project included Sojitz Corp., Syncrude Canada Ltd., Titanium Corp., and the
Government of Alberta (Titanium Corp., 2009).
Citing the slump in construction activity and weakness in the automotive sector, Rio Tinto Fer et Titane
shut down its titaniferous magnetite mine near Lac Allard, Quebec, and its smelting operations in
Sorel, Quebec, for 8 weeks in the summer (Rio Tinto plc, 2009, p. 1).
Chile.—White Mountain Titanium Corp. (WMT) was proceeding with the exploration and development
of its Cerro Blanco rutile deposit. In December, WMT completed a pilot-plant test to produce a natural
rutile concentrate meeting the specifications of titanium pigment and sponge metal producers. WMT
planned to complete a study for commercial feasibility by the first quarter 2011 (White Mountain
Titanium Corp., 2010, p. 16).
China.—Despite a drop in domestic consumption, China’s titanium metal and pigment production
capacity continued to rise. The top five sponge producers increased capacity to 63,000 t/yr in 2009
from 44,000 t/yr in 2008. However, owing to market conditions, several less-efficient sponge plants
were idled in 2009. Total sponge production capacity was estimated to be more than 80,000 t/yr
(Dewhurst, 2010, p. 15–17). TiO2 production was reported to have reached a record 1.04 Mt, a
259,000-t increase from that in 2008. Owing to rising domestic consumption, TiO2 production was
expected to increase to 1.2 Mt in 2010 and may reach 1.9 Mt by 2015 (Titanium Dioxide Report,
2010). Although the development of domestic mine production was ongoing, increased consumption
of titanium concentrates was met through increased imports of titanium mineral concentrates. In 2009,
Chinese imports of titanium mineral concentrates increased to 1.48 Mt from 1.07 Mt in 2008 (United
Nations Statistics Division, undated).
99
Hainan Taixin Minerals Co. Ltd. acquired mining rights to a heavy-mineral deposit near Wanning City,
Hainan Province. The deposit was reported to have a proven reserve of ilmenite (2.24 Mt) and zircon
(0.5 Mt). While granting the mining rights, the Provincial government stipulated that the company
would be required to produce value-added products beyond ilmenite and zircon concentrates (Mineral
Sands Report, 2009c).
Germany.—Huntsman Corp. closed its 40,000-t/yr TiO2 pigment plant at Grimsby. According to the
company, the Grimsby plant was its oldest and least-efficient manufacturing facility. Huntsman
produced TiO2 pigment in seven countries with a combined production capacity of approximately
560,000 t/yr (Huntsman Corp., 2009).
India.—Trimex Group was preparing to begin production of up to 200,000 t/yr of ilmenite and 6,000 t/yr
of rutile in the Srikurmam district, Andhra Pradesh. Proven reserves reportedly were estimated to be
5.5 Mt of ilmenite (Industrial Minerals, 2008).
Kerala Minerals & Metals Ltd. (KMML) continued construction on a 500-t/yr titanium sponge plant.
TiCl4 was to be supplied to the plant from KMML’s Chavara TiO2 pigment plant. The plant was
scheduled to be in production by June 2010 (Kerala Minerals & Metals Ltd., undated).
Japan.—Although curtailing production in 2009, Toho Titanium Co., Ltd. was proceeding with plans to
increase its total sponge production capacity to 28,000 t/yr through the addition of a new 12,000-t/yr
plant at Wakamatsu, Fukuoka Prefecture (Metal-Pages, 2009a).
In the Hyogo Prefecture, Osaka Titanium technologies Co., Ltd. delayed plans to increase capacity at
its Amagasaki sponge plant to 41,000 t/yr. In 2008, the production capacity was raised by 33% to
32,000 t/yr (Bloomberg.com, 2009).
Kazakhstan.—Ust-Kamenogorsk Titanium-Magnesium Complex, the sole producer of titanium sponge in
Kazakhstan, neared completion of new ingot production capacity. A 16,000-t/yr ingot plant was
expected to be commissioned in 2010 and reach full production capacity in 2011 (Metal-Pages Ltd.,
2010).
Kenya.—In August, Jinchuan Group Ltd. entered into an understanding with Tiomin Resources Inc.
wherein Jinchuan would acquire 70% of Tiomin Kenya Ltd.’s (TKL) Kwale mineral sands project;
however, in October, Jinchuan terminated the agreement. At yearend, Tiomin abandoned plans to
develop the deposit and wrote off all the costs associated with the Kwale project. In early 2010, Tiomin
changed its name to Vaaldiam Mining Inc. (Vaaldiam Mining Inc., 2010, p. 12).
Madagascar.—QIT Madagascar Minerals SA (QMM) was ramping up production at its 700,000-t/yr
mineral sands project near Mutamba. QMM was a joint venture between Rio Tinto plc and the
Government of Madagascar. Rio Tinto began exporting 60% grade ilmenite to its slag operation at
Sorel, Quebec (Rio Tinto plc, 2010, p. 2).
Mozambique.—BHP Billiton Ltd. completed a prefeasibility study of the Corridor Sands heavy-minerals
project and concluded that further development of the project was not warranted (BHP Billiton Ltd.,
2009, p. 33). The Corridor Sands project was based on 10 deposits near Chibuto in southern
Mozambique. Previously, total resources of ore were estimated to be 14 billion metric tons, with the
largest deposit containing about 300 Mt of ilmenite.
Kenmare Resources plc was addressing startup problems that prevented the Moma operation from
achieving its design capacity of 800,000 t/yr of ilmenite, 14,000 t/yr of rutile, and 50,000 t/yr of zircon.
In 2009, the Moma operation produced about 474,000 t of ilmenite concentrate. The company also
made plans to increase its design capacity by about 50% by 2012 (Kenmare Resources plc, 2010, p.
6).
Norway.—Nordic Mining ASA was developing an eclogite deposit at Engebøfjellet in Sogn and
Fjordane County. In 2009, Nordic Mining’s work was related to mineral resource prospecting and
developing methods for ore dressing and beneficiation for the production of rutile and garnet. Nordic
Mining also submitted a proposal with an environmental impact statement for the development of the
100
deposit to the Naustdal and Askvoll municipalities. In 2010, the company planned to focus on
optimizing rutile recovery and prepare for pilot-plant production (Nordic Mining ASA, 2010).
Russia.—ARZM Uranium Holding Co. was developing the Lukoyanovskoye heavy-minerals sands
deposit near Nizhny Novgorod. ARZM planned to commission a mine and processing plant with the
capacity to process up to 1.5 Mt/yr of heavy-mineral concentrates by 2014. According to the Russian
classification system, ore reserves in categories “C1” and “C2” were estimated to be 30 Mt containing
about 1 Mt of titanium and more than 350,000 t of zirconium oxide (ARZM Uranium Holding Co.,
2009).
VSMPO-AVISMA Corp. decided to postpone an expansion of its titanium sponge production capacity
to 42,000 t/yr until 2015. VSMPO was proceeding with plans to increase its capacity to produce
downstream products such as sheet and forgings (Metal-Pages, 2009b).
Senegal.—A feasibility study of Mineral Deposits Ltd.’s Grande Cote deposit was underway in 2009.
The study was expected to be completed in 2010 and was to include updated capital costs, circuit
model test work, financial modeling, geological block modeling, hydrological modeling, and mine path
design (Mineral Deposits Ltd., 2010b). The company planned to produce up to 75,000 t/yr of zircon
and 600 t/yr of ilmenite for a mine life of more than 25 years (Mineral Deposits Ltd., 2010a).
Sierra Leone.—Construction of Titanium Resources Group Ltd.’s (TRG) third mining dredge was
underway, and the dredge was expected to be commissioned in 2011. At yearend, repairs to TRG’s
second dredge that capsized in July 2008 were pending the resolution of its insurance claim. In 2010,
TRG expected its rutile production to increase by 30% from 63,900 t produced in 2009 (Titanium
Resources Group Ltd., 2010, p. 1, 13).
South Africa.—In December, Rio Tinto Iron & Titanium concluded a Broad Based Black Economic
Empowerment transaction at Richards Bay Minerals (RBM) in South Africa. Under the transaction,
24% of the equity of RBM was sold to a consortium of historically disadvantaged groups, with an
additional 2% transferred to a trust for the benefit of RBM employees. The remaining 74% was split
equally between BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto (Rio Tinto plc, 2010, p. 22).
Exxaro Resources Ltd. decided not to proceed with the development of the Fairbreeze mineral sands
mine in KwaZulu-Natal. Subsequently, Exxaro planned to close the KZN Sands operations during the
next 5 years unless new feedstock alternatives were located. Exxarro postponed restarting a slag
furnace at its Namakwa Sands operation, which was shut down to be relined in March 2009. In
addition, production at the mine and separation plants was temporarily halted in August to adjust for
market conditions (Exxaro Resources Ltd., 2010, p. 48–49).
Ukraine.—Rutile-Ilmenite Co. (RICO) was preparing to mine and process heavy-mineral sands at its
deposit in Tarasovka. In 2011, RICO planned to produce 51,000 t of heavy-mineral concentrates
including ilmenite (6,000 t), leucoxene (20,000 t), rutile (15,000 t), and zircon (10,000 t). In 2012,
production was expected to reach its maximum capacity of 196,000 t/yr (Industrial Minerals, 2009).
Vietnam.—In an effort to assist the domestic mining industry, the Government of Vietnam temporarily
lifted a ban on exports of heavy-mineral concentrates. Producers were permitted to export from mid2009 through the end of 2010. The ban had been imposed to encourage the production of valueadded products. In 2008, the export tariff for zircon ore was raised to 20% from 15% (Mineral Sands
Report, 2009d).
Reference:
U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries,
101
Vanadium
Vanadium increases the yield strength and the tensile strength of carbon steel. The addition of small
amounts of Vanadium can significantly increase the strength of steels. Vanadium is one of the primary
contributors to precipitation strengthening in microalloyed steels. When thermomechanical processing
is properly controlled the ferrite grain size is refined and there is a corresponding increase in toughness. The impact transition temperature also increases when vanadium is added.
All microalloy steels contain small concentrations of one or more strong carbide and nitride forming
elements. Vanadium, niobium, and titanium combine preferentially with carbon and/or nitrogen to form
a fine dispersion of precipitated particles in the steel matrix.
Recycling: Some tool steel scrap was recycled primarily for its vanadium content. The vanadium content of other recycled steels was lost to slag during processing and was not recovered. Vanadium recycled from spent chemical process catalysts was significant and may comprise as much as 40% of
total supply.
Events, Trends, and Issues:
Vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) prices continued to slowly increase to a year-to-date high of $7.41 per
pound of V2O5 in March 2011 before decreasing again in April. In August 2011, V2O5 prices averaged $6.65 per pound of V2O5, slightly more than average V2O5 prices in August 2010. Ferrovanadium (FeV) prices continued to slowly increase to a year-to-date high of $16.00 per pound of FeV in
August 2011 before decreasing again in September. In September 2011, FeV prices averaged $14.95
per pound of FeV, slightly less than average FeV prices in September 2010.
World Mine Production and Reserves:
United States
China
Russia
South Africa
Other countries
World total (rounded)
Mine production
2010
2011
W
W
22000
23000
15000
15000
19000
20000
1600
1500
57600
60000
Reserves
(thousand metric tons)
45
5100
5000
3500
NA
14000
World Resources: World resources of vanadium exceed 63 million tons. Vanadium occurs in deposits of phosphate rock, titaniferous magnetite, and uraniferous sandstone and siltstone, in which it constitutes less than 2% of the host rock. Significant amounts are also present in bauxite and carboniferous materials, such as coal, crude oil, oil shale, and tar sands. Because vanadium is usually recovered as a byproduct or coproduct, demonstrated world resources of the element are not fully indicative
of available supplies. While domestic resources and secondary recovery are adequate to supply a
large portion of domestic needs, a substantial part of U.S. demand is currently met by foreign material.
Substitutes: Steels containing various combinations of other alloying elements can be substituted for
steels containing vanadium. Certain metals, such as manganese, molybdenum, niobium (columbium),
titanium, and tungsten, are to some degree interchangeable with vanadium as alloying elements in
steel. Platinum and nickel can replace vanadium compounds as catalysts in some chemical processes. There is currently no acceptable substitute for vanadium in aerospace titanium alloys.
World Review
A large majority of the world’s supply of vanadium was derived from mined ore, either directly as
mineral concentrates derived from vanadiferous titanomagnetite (VTM) or from steelmaking slags,
102
where the steel has been produced from VTM. Five countries recovered vanadium from ores,
concentrates, slag, or petroleum residues (table 7). The leading vanadium-producing nations
remained China, Russia, and South Africa. Japan and the United States were thought to be the only
countries to recover significant quantities of vanadium from petroleum residues.
World vanadium reserves, at more than 13 million metric tons (Mt), are sufficient to meet vanadium
needs into the next century at the present rate of consumption. Increased recovery of vanadium from
fly ash, petroleum residues, slag, and spent catalyst is not taken into account and is expected to
extend the life of the reserves significantly.
Australia.—Atlantic Ltd. (Perth) announced in September that vanadium production was expected to
begin in mid-2011 at its newly acquired Windimurra vanadium project in Western Australia, following
raising $55.5 million in capital. The previous owners of the project failed to secure the necessary $81
million financing in 2009. According to Atlantic, Windimurra production was expected to be 5,700 t/yr
of V2O5 and to meet approximately 7% of world demand. According to the current mine plan for the
project, at a cutoff grade of 0.275% V2O5, 97.8 Mt of ore was expected to be generated at an average
grade of 0.47% V2O5 during 24.5 years (Atlantic Ltd., 2010).
In November, Reed Resources Ltd. (West Perth) announced that it entered into a memorandum of
understanding (MOU) with Chinese conglomerate, China Nonferrous Metal Industry’s Foreign
Engineering and Construction Co. Ltd. (NFC), for the Barrambie vanadium project in Western
Australia. According to the company, the MOU formalizes discussions between Reed and NFC,
specifically construction, an engineering procurement, and project financing, and represents the next
step towards the successful development of the project (Reed Resources Ltd., 2010).
Brazil.—Largo Resources Ltd. (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) has completed extensive work on its
Maracas vanadium project including a feasibility study which outlined proven and probable mineral
reserves of 13.1 Mt grading 1.34% V2O5 produced during a 23-year project life-span. The Maracas
vanadium project was expected to produce 5,000 t/yr of FeV. The property is located in the
municipality of Campo Alegre de Lourdes, State of Bahia (Largo Resources Ltd., 2010).
Canada.—Apella Resources Inc. (Vancouver, British Columbia) owns two vanadiferous magnetite
deposits in Canada, the Iron-T vanadium project in central Quebec and the Lac Dore vanadium project
in northern Quebec. According to the company, the Lac Dore project is an advanced vanadium project
and was expected to be the largest vanadium deposit in North America, and the second largest in the
world (Apella Resources, 2011b). Apella was expected to continue exploration and development on
the Lac Dore project into 2011. Simultaneously, Apella was expected to study the feasibility of its IronT vanadium project, which was expected to take 12 to 18 months and cost approximately $18 million
(Apella Resources, 2011a).
China.—The Chinese vanadium industry continued to feel pressure from niobium, particularly in highstrength low-alloy steels (HSLA). The additive amount of niobium in steel production is only one-half of
that of vanadium, so every 3,000 t of ferroniobium can substitute as much as 7,000 t of 50% grade
FeV (Metal-Pages, 2010). The substitution of ferroniobium however, is only economic at very high
vanadium prices.
Sino Vanadium Inc. (Xi’an) owns 100% of the Daquan property in Shaanxi Province, and according to
the company, the property was expected to become one of the largest global producers of V2O5, with
indicated resources of 15.8 Mt at an average grade of 0.95% V2O5. In advance of completion of the
feasibility study for the project, the company was proceeding with the necessary applications to the
Chinese government authorities to amend the Daquan project mining license, valid to July 2, 2030, to
include both open pit and underground mining. The feasibility study was expected to confirm the
construction schedule, which was anticipating completion in the second quarter of 2012 (Sino
Vanadium Inc., 2010).
103
India.—The Indian Ferro Alloy Producers Association continued to urge the Indian Finance Ministry to
reconsider the 7.5% import tax on V2O5 and vanadium sludge/ammonium metavanadate. They have
asked that the tax be removed completely to protect the domestic FeV producers from completely
shutting down their operations owing to lack of profits caused by the excessive costs of importing the
raw material (V2O5) (Indian Ferro Alloy Producers Association, 2011).
Japan.—Japan’s vanadium imports increased in 2010 compared with those in 2009; however, they
have not recovered to 2008 levels. Japan’s imports of V2O5 rose to 1,382 t V2O5 compared with 942 t
V2O5 for the same period in 2009. Japanese FeV production increased to 2,825 t FeV in the first 8
months of 2010, up from 1,362 t FeV in the same period in 2009 and 2,620 t FeV in the same period
of 2008 (Ryan’s Notes, 2010).
Madagascar.—In November, Energizer Resources Inc. (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), formerly known as
Uranium Star Corp., updated the resource estimate for its Green Giant vanadium project in
Madagascar to include an indicated resource of 49.5 Mt at an average grade of 0.693% V2O5. The
mineral resource is contained in three separate zones on the Green Giant property, totaling
approximately 5.3 kilometers (km) in strike length. According to the company, a preliminary economic
assessment, to include analysis of the existing and additional infrastructure necessary for the project,
was to begin in 2011. One important and potential benefit to the company would be the development
of the adjacent Sakoa coal project, situated 30 km away from the Green Giant project (Energizer
Resources Inc., 2011).
According to the company, the Green Giant vanadium deposit is a sedimentary-hosted deposit, in
contrast to most vanadium deposits which are magnetite hosted. As a result, the metallurgical process
for the Green Giant vanadium is different from that used by other vanadium producers. The unique
characteristics of the Green Giant vanadium would allow the company to produce a high-purity V2O5,
which is required in battery power and in battery storage for both automotive and large-scale
applications. FeV, which is the usual end product from magnetite-hosted deposits, can only be used
for steel applications (Energizer Resources Inc., 2011).
Russia.—Evraz announced that it focused on increasing the efficiency of its Vanady-Tula plant, and
upon implementation of its plan, the plant’s production capacity was expected to increase by 3% to 5%
in 2011 and by up to 10% by 2013. In 2011, Vanady-Tula had a capacity to produce 12,500 t/yr of
V2O5 and up to 7,100 t/yr of FeV (Evraz Group S.A., 2011, p. 45).
South Africa.—Xstrata plc (Zug, Switzerland) announced that its Rhovan vanadium facility, located 30
km northwest of Brits, achieved record production during 2010. The Rhovan facility produced 4,300 t
of FeV in 2010, an 89% increase compared with 2,280 t of FeV produced in 2009. The facility
produced 9,920 t of V2O5 in 2010, a 90% increase compared with 5,210 t of V2O5 produced in 2009. In
part of 2009, the facility suspended all vanadium production owing to an extended maintenance
program (Xstrata plc, 2011).
Vametco Alloys (Brits), a division of Stratcor, part of Evraz, announced that it improved production
efficiency at its Vametco plant through optimizing the feed mix of vanadium ore and vanadium slag to
its process. Vametco was therefore able to raise its production to full capacity during the second half
of 2010. Vametco’s primary end product is Nitrovan vanadium, a specialty vanadium-nitrogen alloy,
which according to the company, strengthens steel more efficiently than FeV. The company was
expected to continue to improve its vanadium recovery rate in 2011 as well as perform several safety
improvements and environmental projects (Evraz S.A., 2011, p. 45).
Evraz Highveld Steel and Vanadium Ltd. (Emalahleni) reported producing 64,202 t of vanadium slag
in 2010, a 38% increase from 46,614 t of vanadium slag produced in 2009. The company mines
titaniferous magnetite ore at its Mapochs Mine at Roossenekal, Limpopo, and produces iron and steel
products and vanadium bearing slag at its Steelworks facility in Emalahleni, Mpumalanga. The
104
company marketed the vanadium-bearing slag locally as well as in Europe through its Austrian-based
subsidiary, Hochvanadium Holdings AG (Evraz Highveld Steel and Vanadium Ltd., 2011, p. 5, 7).
Reference:
U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries,
105
Zirconium
Zirconium can be added to killed high-strength low-alloy steels to achieve improvements in inclusion
characteristics. Zirconium causes sulfide inclusions to be globular rather than elongated thus improving toughness and ductility in transverse bending.
Events, Trends, and Issues:
Global production of zirconium concentrates (excluding the United States) increased significantly
compared with that of 2010. In the Eucla Basin, Australia, production at the Jacinth-Ambrosia operation was being ramped up to 300,000 tons per year of zircon concentrate. Higher titanium and zirconium mineral prices supported the resumption of mining operations at yearend at Eneabba in Western
Australia. In Mozambique, mine production was increasing at the Moma operation to 80,000 tons per
year of zircon. In South Africa, a mine tailings treatment plant was commissioned at Richards Bay to
recover heavy-mineral concentrates, including zircon, from about 30 years of accumulated mine tailings. Heavy-mineral exploration and mining projects were underway in Australia, Canada, India, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Paraguay, Senegal, South Africa, and the United States.
World Mine Production and Reserves: World primary hafnium production statistics are not available.
Hafnium occurs with zirconium in the minerals zircon and baddeleyite.
United States
Australia
Brazil
China
India
Indonesia
Mozambique
South Africa
Ukraine
Other countries
World total
Zirconium mine production
(thousand metric tons)
2010
2011
W
W
518
720
18
18
140
100
38
38
50
50
37
40
400
380
30
35
14
32
1250
1410
Zirconium reserves
(thousand metric tons, ZrO2)
500
21000
2200
500
3400
NA
1200
14000
4000
5000
52000
World Resources: Resources of zircon in the United States included about 14 million tons associated
with titanium resources in heavy-mineral sand deposits. Phosphate and sand and gravel deposits
have the potential to yield substantial amounts of zircon as a byproduct. Eudialyte and gittinsite are
zirconium silicate minerals that have a potential for zirconia production. Identified world resources of
zircon exceed 60 million tons.
World resources of hafnium are associated with those of zircon and baddeleyite. Quantitative estimates of hafnium resources are not available.
Substitutes: Chromite and olivine can be used instead of zircon for some foundry applications. Dolomite and spinel refractories can also substitute for zircon in certain high-temperature applications.
Niobium (columbium), stainless steel, and tantalum provide limited substitution in nuclear applications,
while titanium and synthetic materials may substitute in some chemical processing plant applications.
Silver-cadmium-indium control rods are used in lieu of hafnium at numerous nuclear powerplants. Zirconium can be used interchangeably with hafnium in certain superalloys; in others, only hafnium produces the desired or required grain boundary refinement.
World Review
Excluding U.S. production, world production of zirconium mineral concentrates in 2010 was about 1.25
Mt, a 4% increase compared with revised 2009 data (table 5).
106
TABLE 5
ZIRCONIUM MINERAL CONCENTRATES: ESTIMATED WORLD PRODUCTION, BY COUNTRY1, 2
(Metric tons)
Country3
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
Australia
492.000
601.000
550.000
476.000
518.000
Brazil4, 5
25.120
26.739
17.682
18.134
18.150
China
135.000
140.000
140.000
130.000
140.000
4
India
28.000
29.000
30.000
37.000
Indonesia
65.000
111.000
65.000
63.000
Malaysia
1.690
Mozambique
4
--
Russia6
7.500
26.347
South Africa
435.000
Ukraine
27.000
r
Vietnam
Total
p
948
r,
4
1.145
32.985
4
7.136
r,
4
United States
4
7.393
r,
7.000
r
r,
4
19.101
4
405.000
405.000
4
37.000
r
36.000
r
1.300
37.100
5.000
4
6.000
390.000
r
400.000
31.000
r
30.000
r,
4
38.000
50.000
W
W
W
W
W
26.100
22.000
22.000
7.000
7.000
1.310.000
1.180.000
1.250.000
1.240.000
r
1.410.000
r
r
Preliminary. Revised. W Withheld to avoid disclosing company proprietary data; not included in “Total.” -- Zero.
1
World totals and estimated data are rounded to no more than three significant digits; may not add to totals shown.
2
Includes data available through May 16, 2011.
3
Small amounts of zirconium concentrates were produced in various countries; however, information is not sufficient to estimate output.
4
Reported figure.
5
Includes production of baddeleyite-caldasite.
6
Production of baddeleyite concentrate averaging 98% ZrO2.
Australia and South Africa supplied about 76% of all production outside the United States. The leading
zircon producers were Iluka, Richards Bay Minerals, and Exxaro Resources Ltd. China was the
leading consuming country. Based on metal oxide content, world reserves of zirconium were
estimated to be 56 Mt. After curtailing production in 2009, in 2010 producers were moving to increase
production and renew exploration and development efforts.
Australia.—Owing to improved market conditions, Iluka significantly increased its global production of
zircon (413,000 t in 2010 compared with 263,000 t in 2009). The increase was largely because of the
startup of its operations in the Eucla Basin, South Australia (151,000 t), and its operations in the
Murray Basin, Victoria (158,000 t). Production from the Perth Basin, Western Australia, contributed
46,200 t to the global total (Iluka Resources Ltd., 2011, p. 18–22).
In New South Wales, Alkane Resources Ltd. continued to develop its Dubbo Zirconia project. In 2010,
the company operated a demonstration pilot plant to validate the process flowsheet, provide data for
cost estimates, and generate product for market evaluation. A definitive feasibility study was
scheduled for completion in 2011. Potential products from the project included zirconia, zirconium
basic sulfate, zirconium carbonate, and zirconium hydroxide. Owing to high demand for rare earths,
the company was also researching the recovery of rare-earth elements (Alkane Resources Ltd., 2011,
p. 2).
In August, the mining license for Astron Ltd.’s Donald mining project was approved by the Department
of Primary Industries, Victoria, and mine and plant designs were completed during the year. Ore
reserves were estimated to be 305 Mt, with 6.2% heavy minerals containing 19% zircon (Astron Ltd.,
2010a, b).
Gunson Resources Ltd. completed a definitive feasibility study for its Coburn heavy-minerals project in
Western Australia. Reserves of zircon in the Coburn deposit were estimated to be 850,000 t
107
p
supporting a mine life of 17 years, with a target production rate of 40,000 t/yr (Gunson Resources Ltd.,
2010, p. 9).
Matilda Zircon Ltd. continued the development of zircon-rich heavy-minerals deposits in the Northern
Territory and Western Australia. In 2010, Matilda Zircon formed an agreement with Chinese zircon
consumer Tricoastal Minerals Co. to take all heavy-mineral concentrate from the Tiwi Islands
operations and supply $2.5 million in loans and share placements to assist in development of the
Lethbridge Mine, which began production in June. At yearend, the company expected approval from
the Western Australian Minister of the Environment to proceed with the development of the Keysbrook
deposit, 70 kilometers south of Perth. Mining at Keysbrook was expected to begin in 2012, with an 8year mine life (Matilda Zircon Ltd., 2010).
Canada.—Titanium Corp. continued its research into the recovery of bitumen, volatile organic
compounds, and heavy minerals, including zircon, from mined oil sand tailings. In 2010, Titanium
Corp. commissioned a demonstration pilot plant at the Canadian Government’s Canmet testing
facilities in Devon, Alberta. Pilot studies were conducted in June through September, with additional
studies planned for 2011 (Titanium Corp., 2010, p. 4).
China.—As a leading producer of ceramic tiles, steel, and zirconium chemicals, China was the leading
consumer of zircon, with about 40% of the total global zircon consumed (Porter, 2010, p. 7). China led
the world in production of zirconium chemicals, with a total production capacity of 300,000 t/yr,
including 170,000 t/yr of zirconium oxychloride (ZOC), an intermediate to many zirconium chemicals
and zirconium metal. In 2010, the leading export destinations for China’s ZOC were Japan (49%) and
the United States (33%). China’s production of ZOC was forecast to rise to 230,000 t by 2015 (Roskill
Information Services, 2011, p. 97.)
Areva (50%) and China National Nuclear Corp. (50%) formed a joint venture called CNNC Areva
Shanghai Tubing (CAST), which was expected to produce zirconium alloy tubes for fuel assemblies.
The CAST facility was scheduled to begin production in 2020 near Shanghai (World Nuclear News,
2010a).
Indonesia.—In 2010, Matilda Zircon’s Kalimantan heavy-mineral concentration plant exploration
program was placed on care-and-maintenance status while focusing on its Australian projects. Matilda
intended to reassess the Indonesian project in 2011 (Matilda Zircon Ltd., 2010, p. 4).
Kenya.—In July, Base Resources Ltd. acquired the Kwale Mineral Sands project from Vaaldiam Mining
Inc. In 2010, an updated definitive feasibility study was underway and was scheduled for completion in
2011. The company expected the Kwale operation to be in production by 2013, with a production
capacity of 35,000 t/yr of zircon (Base Resources Ltd., 2011).
Korea, Republic of.—The Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. (AECL) was contracted by Korea Hydro and
Nuclear Power to refurbish the CANDU 6 reactor at the Republic of Korea’s Wolsong 1 nuclear
powerplant. Under the terms of the contract, AECL completed the removal and replacement of 380
calandria tubes, pressure tubes, and end fittings. A calandria is constructeed like a shell-and-tube heat
exchanger. Fuel channels consist of an inner pressure tube, which contains the fuel bundle and the
heavy water primary coolant, and an outer calandria tube. Each calandria tube is made of zirconium
alloy and is approximately 6 meters long and 13 centimeters in diameter. CANDU reactors were
designed to undergo refurbishment after approximately 25 years of operation (World Nuclear News,
2010b).
Mozambique.—Kenmare Resources plc was ramping up production at its Moma heavy-minerals
operation. Zircon production at Moma in 2010 was 37,100 t, a 76% increase compared with that in
2009. In October, a breach of a settling pond allowed water to flood into a nearby village, causing one
fatality. The mine was idled for 4 weeks while repairs and new safety measures were implemented. At
yearend, Kenmare was proceeding with an expansion that would increase production capacity by
about 50% (Kenmare Resources plc, 2011).
108
Russia.—ARZM Uranium Holding Co. continued to develop the Lukoyanovskoye heavy-minerals sands
deposit near Nizhny Novgorod. By 2014, the company planned to begin production of heavy-mineral
concentrates including up to 35,000 t/yr of zircon. ARZM planned to supply mineral concentrates to
OJSC TVEL (ARZM Uranium Holding Co., 2010, p. 40).
Senegal.—A feasibility study of Mineral Deposits Ltd.’s Grande Cote heavy-minerals deposit was
completed in 2010 enabling the company to secure financing to develop the project. Construction of
the mine and separation plants was expected to begin in 2011, and initial production was scheduled
for 2013. Once the mine and separation plants are fully commissioned, the company expected to
produce an average of 575,000 t/yr of ilmenite, 80,000 t/yr of zircon, 11,000 t/yr of leucoxene, and
6,000 t/yr of rutile (Mineral Deposits Ltd., 2010, p. 16).
South Africa.—Exxaro Resources Ltd. increased zircon production in South Africa to 161,000 t in 2010
from 152,000 t in 2009 through improved recovery of zircon at its Namakwa Sands operation. In 2010,
Exxaro’s Hillendale Mine neared the end of its life; however, plans were underway to develop the
Fairbreeze deposit as a substitute for the waning production from the Hillendale Mine (Exxaro
Resources Ltd., 2011, p. 53).
Rio Tinto Plc invested $158 million in a tailings treatment facility at its Richards Bay Minerals heavyminerals operation. At yearend, the treatment facility neared completion and was scheduled to begin
production in the first quarter of 2011. Heavy-mineral concentrates, including zircon, were to be
recovered from about 30 years accumulation of mine tailings (Industrial Minerals, 2010).
Vietnam.—In an effort to assist the domestic mining industry, the Government of Vietnam continued to
suspend a ban on exports of titanium and zirconium mineral concentrates designed to encourage the
production of value-added products. Producers were permitted to export through the end of 2010
(Mineral Sands Report, 2009).
Reference:
U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries,
109