Europe mine production

Today some 432 operable reactors with combined capacity of 372 GWe require 65,0001 of uranium from mines (or the equivalent from stockpiles or secondary sources) each year. The capacity is growing slowly, and at the same time the reactors are being run more productively, with higher capacity factors and reactor power levels. However, these factors increasing fuel demand are offset by a trend for increased efficiencies, so demand is dampened over the 20 years from 1970 there was a 25% reduction in uranium demand per kWh output in Europe due to such improvements, which continue today. Each GWe of increased capacity will require about 200 tU/year of extra mine production routinely and about 2.5-times this for the first fuel load. 

Bauxite, the main raw material for aluminum manufacturing, is found in deposits that may be very large. As a rule mining is carried out in open casts from strata typically some 4-6 m thick. The world mine production was 137 million tonnes in 2001. Austraha was the largest producer with 54 million tonnes, 40% of the total. Guinea, Brazil and Jamaica produced about 10% each, China and India 6% each, Russia, Suri-nameh and Venezuela 3% each. In Europe, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary and Greece are important producers [37.7]. 

Early demand for chlorine centered on textile bleaching, and chlorine generated through the electrolytic decomposition of salt (NaCl) sufficed. Sodium hydroxide was produced by the lime—soda reaction, using sodium carbonate readily available from the Solvay process. Increased demand for chlorine for PVC manufacture led to the production of chlorine and sodium hydroxide as coproducts. Solution mining of salt and the avadabiHty of asbestos resulted in the dominance of the diaphragm process in North America, whereas soHd salt and mercury avadabiHty led to the dominance of the mercury process in Europe. Japan imported its salt in soHd form and, until the development of the membrane process, also favored the mercury ceU for production. 

Minerals. Iron-bearing minerals are numerous and are present in most soils and rocks. However only a few minerals are important sources of iron and thus called ores. Table 2 shows the principle iron-bearing minerals. Hematite is the most plentiful iron mineral mined, followed by magnetite, goethite, siderite, ilmenite, and pyrite. Siderite is unimportant in the United States, but is an important source of iron in Europe. Tlmenite is normally mined for titania with iron as a by-product. Pyrite is roasted to recover sulfur in the form of sulfur dioxide, leaving iron oxide as a by-product. 

Pyrite is the most abundant of the metal sulfides. Eor many years, until the Erasch process was developed, pyrite was the main source of sulfur and, for much of the first half of the twentieth century, comprised over 50% of world sulfur production. Pyrite reserves are distributed throughout the world and known deposits have been mined in about 30 countries. Possibly the largest pyrite reserves in the world are located in southern Spain, Portugal, and the CIS. Large deposits are also in Canada, Cypms, Einland, Italy, Japan, Norway, South Africa, Sweden, Turkey, the United States, and Yugoslavia. However, the three main regional producers of pyrites continue to be Western Europe Eastern Europe, including the CIS and China. 

Domestic potash production suppHes one-third of U.S. consumption. The rest comes from mines in Canada and Europe. Pnces of both KCl and K2SO4 fluctuate. KCl ranges between 65 to 95 dollars per ton. Sulfate of potash sells for 150 to 190 dollars per ton. 

The United States is largely self-sufficient with respect to copper, meeting any shortfall by imports. AustraHa and the CIS consume most of their production on the domestic market. Japan and Western Europe import substantial quantities of copper in the form of concentrates, bHster, and refined copper. World mine, smelter, and refining capacities in 1989 are given in Table 6. Copper industries in Chile, Pern, Zaire, and Zambia are nationalized. 

For the noble metals used in oxidation, the loading is about 0.1 oz per car, with calls for a million ounces per year. The current world production rates of platinum, palladium, and rhodium are 1.9, 1.6, and 0.076 million ounces respectively the current U,S. demand for platinum, palladium, rhodium, and ruthenium are 0.52, 0.72, 0.045, and 0.017 million ounces respectively (72, 73). The supply problem would double if NO reduction requires an equal amount of noble metal. Pollution conscious Japan has adopted a set of automobile emission rules that are the same as the U.S., and Western Europe may follow this creates a demand for new car catalysts approaching the U.S. total. The bulk of world production and potential new mines are in the Soviet Union and South Africa. The importation of these metals, assuming the current price of platinum at 155/oz and palladium at 78/oz, would pose a balance of payment problem. The recovery of platinum contained in spent catalysts delivered to the door of precious metal refiners should be above 95% the value of platinum in spent catalysts is greater than the value of lead in old batteries, and should provide a sufficient incentive for scavengers. 

Some typical areas of former use are presented in Table 1 with an assessment of the problems coming up with the separation of used products containing PCBs. The overall production was about 1.5 Mio Mg until the end of the eighties. Many production lines ceased already until 1980. In Europe, PCBs were banned first for open [30], then for closed applications [31]. But many of the closed applications turned out to be open in reality, as has been demonstrated for hydraulic fluids used in German coal mines, where up to two third of the annual consumption of PCBs were lost [32],... 

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). 

There is one further potential source of mercury emissions which, in fact, totally overshadows all discussion of emissions, discharges and losses but which, until recently, was not on the regulatory radar screen. There are about 12 000 tonnes of pure mercury contained in operating cellrooms in Western Europe. What happens to this mercury when the cellrooms close After all, it represents some 1500 years of emissions at present rates from operating cellrooms, and it also represents some 15 years or more of global mercury production at present rates. Clearly the resolution of this issue is of importance not only for the environment but also for the mercury mining industry. 

Firedamp Recovery. Firedamp is essentially the same as natural gas and has value as a fuel. Recovery is practiced in Europe both for safety purposes (firedamp removed from the mine is no longer an expin hazard in the mine) and as a by-product for economic reasons. Recovery by several methods is possible. Some of these are cross-measure borehole methods from working galleries, boreholes from roads outside the seam being worked, superjacent heading method, suction, pack cavity method and blowers (Ref 3)... 

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