Australia copper

Mayze, R. Nickel laterite processing in Western Australia. Copper, Cobalt, Nickel and Zinc Recovery, Conference, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, July 16-18, 2001, F1-F12. 

Peroxyxanthates. A new factor in the theory and practice of flotation was found in the Mount Isa, Australia, copper flotation solution. Secondary butyl perxanthate was formed by the reaction of the xanthate with hydrogen peroxide in dilute alkaline aqueous solution and was found to be identical to a substance from the flotation solution. The perxanthate was isolated as the ammonium salt. 

Discovered in 1803 by Wollaston, Palladium is found with platinum and other metals of the platinum group in placer deposits of Russia, South America, North America, Ethiopia, and Australia. It is also found associated with the nickel-copper deposits of South Africa and Ontario. Palladium s separation from the platinum metals depends upon the type of ore in which it is found. 

More than 200 ores are known to contain cobalt but only a few are of commercial value. The more important are arsenides and sulfides such as smaltite, C0AS2, cobaltite (or cobalt glance), CoAsS, and linnaeite, C03S4. These are invariably associated with nickel, and often also with copper and lead, and it is usually obtained as a byproduct or coproduct in the recovery of these metals. The world s major sources of cobalt are the African continent and Canada with smaller reserves in Australia and the former USSR. All the platinum metals are generally associated with each other and rhodium and iridium therefore occur wherever the other platinum metals are found. However, the relative proportions of the individual metals are by no means constant and the more important sources of rhodium are the nickel-copper-sulfide ores found in South Africa and in Sudbury, Canada, which contain about 0.1% Rh. Iridium is usually obtained from native osmiridium (Ir 50%) or iridiosmium (Ir 70%) found chiefiy in Alaska as well as South Africa. 

Volcano-sedimentary ore deposits are syngenetic deposits precipitated from sea water enriched in metals by submarine volcanic activity. Deposits of this type are also called submarine exhalative-sedimentary deposits. Stratabound lead-zinc-copper deposits associated with marine sedimentary volcanic sequences belong to this category. Important examples are Kuroko deposit in Japan, Mt. Isa in Australia, Sullivan deposit in British Columbia, Canada, Rammelsberg in Germany and Rampura-Agucha in Rajasthan, India. 

Zinc is the fourth most widely used metal after iron, aluminum, and copper (lead is fifth). In abundant supply world-wide, zinc is mined and produced mainly in Canada, the former Soviet Union, Australia, Peru, Mexico, and the U.S. Historically, in the U.S. recoverable zinc has been mined in... 

McLaren R.G., Ritchie G.S.P. The long-term fate of copper fertilizer applied to a lateristic sandy soil in Western Australia. Aust J Soil Res 1993 93 39. 

Pietrzak, U. and McPhail, D.C. (2004). Copper accumulation, distribution and fractionation in vineyard soils of Victoria, Australia , Geoderma, 122(2 1), 151-166. 

Talbot, V., S. Creagh, and R. Schulz. 1985. The derivation of threshold mean concentrations of copper and zinc in seawater, to protect the edible tropical rock oyster, Saccostrea cuccullata, from exceeding the health (food) standards. Dept. Conserv. Environ. Perth, Western Australia. Bull. 12. 25 pp. 

In 1973, global consumption of nickel was 660,000 tons and that of the United States 235,000 tons (Sevin 1980). End uses of nickel in the United States in 1973 were transportation (21%), chemicals (15%), electrical goods (13%), fabricated metal products (10%), petroleum (9%), construction (9%), machinery (7%), and household appliances (7% IARC 1976). A similar pattern was evident for 1985 (Table 6.3). In 1988, 40% of all nickel intermediate products consumed was in the production of steel 21% was in alloys, 17% in electroplating, and 12% in super alloys (USPHS 1993). The pattern for 1985 was similar (Table 6.3). In Canada, nickel is the fourth most important mineral commodity behind copper, zinc, and gold. In 1990, Canada produced 197,000 tons of nickel worth 2.02 billion dollars and was the second largest global producer of that metal (Chau and Kulikovsky-Cordeiro 1995). Most of the nickel used in the United States is imported from Canada and secondarily from Australia and New Caledonia (USPHS 1977). 

World molybdenum production has increased from about 90 metric tons in 1900 — half from Australia and Norway, half from the United States — to 136 tons in 1906, 1364 in 1932 (an order of magnitude increase in 26 years), 10,909 in 1946, and 91,000 tons in 1973. Through the years, molybdenum has been produced in about 30 countries. In 1973, about 60% of the worldwide production was from the United States, 15% from Canada, 15% from the U.S.S.R. and China combined, and 10% from other nations — Chile, Japan, Korea, Norway, and Mexico (King et al. 1973). By 1979, the United States produced about 62% of the world production of 103,000 metric tons, and exported about half, chiefly to western Europe and Japan other major producers in 1979 were Canada, Chile, and the U.S.S.R. (Kummer 1980). In the United States, only three mines in Colorado account for almost 70% of domestic production. Other active molybdenum mining sites in North America are in Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and California molybdenum reserves have also been proven in Idaho, Alaska, Pennsylvania, and British Columbia (Kummer 1980). About 65% of domestic molybdenum is recovered from ores rich in molybdenum the rest is a byproduct from ores of copper, tungsten, and uranium (Chappell et al. 1979). 

Brittania A process for removing silver from lead, operated by Brittania Refined Metals in England, using ore from the Mount Isa mine in Australia. After initial concentration by the Parkes process, and removal of the zinc by vacuum distillation, the mixture, which contains silver (70 percent), lead, and some copper is treated in a bottom blown oxygen cupel in which lead and copper are removed by the injection of oxygen through a shielded lance. 

Sirosmelt [CSIRO smelting] A copper smelting process developed by the Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), Australia. Used in Miami, AZ. See Isasmelt. 

WORCRA [Womer Conzinc Rio-Tinto of Australia] A family of continuous smelting and refining processes developed by Conzinc Riotinto of Australia in the 1960s. Invented by H. K. Womer. The copper smelting process was piloted in Port Kembla, New South Wales, in 1968, but later abandoned. 

Oxide copper-gold ores are usually accompanied by iron hydroxide slimes and various clay minerals. There are several deposits of this ore type around the world, some of which are located in Australia (Red Dome), Brazil (Igarape Bahia) and the Soviet Union (Kalima). Treatment of these ores is difficult, and even more complicated in the presence of clay minerals. 

Copper oxide gold ores. Although this ore type is not abundant, they are of significant value because they contain gold. Only a few deposits in Brazil and Australia are known. The copper in these ores is represented by cuprite, native copper, antlerite and tenorite. The gold is associated with cuprite, as an auricupride and several sulphosalts. The major problem associated with treatment of this ore type is the presence of large amounts of clay slimes in the form of iron hydroxide and illite. 

Large-scale winning of copper by acidic leaching of copper ores sometimes results in waste solutions containing appreciable amounts of uranium. The uranium bearing aqueous raffinate from copper extraction is usually a dilute sulfuric acid solution. Uranium can be recovered using the same technique as described in section 12.3.1. A typical example is uranium production at the Olympic Dam mine in Australia, where the copper ore bodies are estimated to contain a total of over a million metric tons of uranium. 

Fedikow, M.A.F. Govett, G.J.S. 1985. Geochemical alteration halos around the Mount Morgan gold-copper deposit, Queensland, Australia. Journal of Geochemical Exploration, 24, 247-272... 

Van Zwieten, L., Merrington, G. and Van Zwieten, M. 2004. Review of impacts on soil biota caused by copper residues from fungicide application. In Singh, B. (ed.) SuperSoil2004 Third Australian New Zealand Soils Conference, University of Sydney, Australia, 5-9 December 2004. The Regional Institute, Gosford. pp. CD-ROM. 

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