Cobalt mine production

Historically, GECAMINES was the largest producer with 50-60% of world cobalt mine production until the end of the 1980 s. Cobalt was mostly produced in the hydrometallurgical plants of Shitum and Luilu in Katanga, whose main production focused on copper cathodes. Cobalt was present in the ore at a ratio Cu/Co of between 10 and 20 to one. Most of the... 

Cobalt. There is no U.S. mine production of cobalt. Refining of imported nickel—cobalt mattes has not occurred since the mid-1980s. About 1600 t of secondary cobalt was recycled from scrap by 13 faciUties in the United States representing - 22% of total U.S. consumption. The price of the metal was around 44/kg. Most is imported from Zaire and Zambia. Increasing quantities are coming from Russia. Historically, the price of cobalt has been quite volatile and dependent on the pohtical environment in those countries. Cobalt is used in superaHoys, 40% catalysts, 14% paint driers, 11% magnetic alloys, 10% and cemented carbides and other uses, 16%. 

Figure 1. Estimated World mine production and reserves for cobalt in 2011 (source USGS commodity summary 2012) [1]...

The production of cobalt ores and concentrates is increasing from new deposits in Australia, the DRC and Uganda. In addition many projects for cobalt mining are in the development stage in Africa, the Asia/Pacific region and North America. 

Table 30.2 World mine production of cobalt in the year 2000...

South Africa is by far the largest producer of primary (newly mined) PGMs. It suppHed 76% of the platinum used in the West in 1993, and over 50% of all PGMs. South African PGMs are mined as primary product. Other metals such as nickel, copper, and cobalt are by-products. The principal PGM mining houses in South Africa are Anglo American Platinum Corporation (Amplats), Impala Platinum, Lonrho South Africa, and Northam Platinum. 

Canada s most productive district is in the Canadian shield at Cobalt, Ontario. Nearly 97% of the silver values in this pre-Cambrian age ore were found as great slabs of nearly pure silver. One slab was 474 kg. The huge open-pit Kidd Creek Mine has had an aimual output of over 80 t of silver. 

In Zambia, having a production second only to Zaire, cobalt is mined by Nchanga ConsoHdated Copper Mines Ltd. (NCOM) and Roan Consohdated Ltd. (ROM). The cobalt minerals found there include minnaeite, carroUite, and cobaltiferrous pyrite. 

Cobalt is also found in seawater, meteorites, and other ores such as linnaeite, chloanthite, and smaltite, and traces are found mixed with the ores of silver, copper, nickel, zinc, and manganese. Cobalt ores are found in Canada and parts of Africa, but most of the cobalt used in the United States is recovered as a by-product of the mining, smelting, and refining of the ores of iron, nickel, lead, copper, and zinc. 

We should conserve and recycle metals whenever possible because it is far cheaper to produce metals from recycled products than from ore. Environmentally sound exploration of new reserves is also required. Ore nodules discovered on the ocean floor, for example, contain as much as 24 percent manganese and 14 percent iron. Significant quantities of copper, nickel, and cobalt have also been found in this submarine terrain. Perhaps mining of the ocean floor may one day replace the mining we now do on land. And in the not too distant future, perhaps the mining of metal-rich asteroids in space will become a reality. 

A principal environmental concern associated with mine wastes results from the oxidation of sulfide minerals within the waste materials and mine workings, and the transport and release of oxidation products. The principal sulfide minerals in mine wastes are pyrite and pyrrhotite, but others are susceptible to oxidation, releasing elements such as aluminum, arsenic, cadmium, cobalt, copper, mercury, nickel, lead, and zinc to the water flowing through the mine waste. 

Cobalt is a relatively rare metal produced primarily as a by-product of the mining of other metals, chiefly copper. It is the essential trace element found in cyanocobaltamine (vitamin 612). This vitamin protects against pernicious anemia and is required in the production of red blood cells. Medicinally, cobalt salts have been used to stimulate the formation of red blood cells in individuals suffering from anemia. 

Pure nickel was first isolated in 1751. Like cobalt, nickel was used to color glass, though nickel compounds turn glass and other substances green rather than blue. Because nickel is resistant to corrosion, it is often combined with other metals to form alloys that resist oxidation. A process known as electroplating uses nickel to coat the surface of metals that are vulnerable to corrosion, like iron or steel. Stainless steel is an example of a product made from nickel almost half the nickel that is mined each year is used to manufacture it. Also composed of chromium, stainless steel is extremely resistant to corrosion. Another nickel alloy is monel, which is made with copper. Monel is hard and resistant to corrosion, making it ideal for commercial marine applications such as the manufacture of boat propellers. The heating parts in toasters and electric ovens are made from an alloy called nichrome, which is another metal, made from chromium and nickel. 

Backgroxmd. Otto Roelen of Ruhrchemie, Germany, was chiefly responsible for development of the Oxo process. Some early work by Smith and his coworkers at the U.S. Bureau of Mines in 1930 had indicated that an increased yield of oxygenated compounds, as compared with conventional fischer-Tropsch practice, was obtmned when ethylene was added to water gas in the presence of cobalt catalyst at 200-225 C and atmospheric pressure. Roelen modified the operating conditions significantly and found that, at temperatures below 200°C "and pressures of 100-200 atm, all liquid products from the reaction of ethylene and water gas were oxygenated. He showed that the reaction could be applied generally to the formation of aldehydes from olefins and filed patents on the process as early as 1938. ... 

B) [CO(NH3)fiONO] CI2. Dissolve 1.5 grams of chloropentam-mine cobaltic chloride in 25 ml of water to which 5 ml of concentrated ammonia has been added, warming gently if necessary. Filter, and add 6M hydrochloric acid carefully until the solution is just neutral to litmus. Add 1.5 grams of sodium nitrite to the cold solution, then 1.5 ml of 6M hydrochloric cid, and leave to stand in the cold for an hour or so. A salmon-pink precipitate slowly forms. This, the desired product, is a good deal less soluble than the isomeric nitro compound. Cool in ice, filter, and wash with ice water and alcohol. 

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