World Mine Production and Reserves

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

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. 

The United States, the former USSR, Canada, and AustraUa have the largest known reserves of zinc ore which should permit mining at current levels into the next century (see Tables 2 and 3). World mine production of recoverable zinc between 1970 and 1996 is given in Table 9 (64—66). Mine production in the United States in the 1970s was lower than in the 1960s, reached a minimum in the mid-1980s and has risen since then. The U.S. share of world production has historically been 8—9%. 

World mine production, reserves, and reserve base is Hsted in Table 3. ... 

U.S. imports by class and country, 3 49t world mine production, reserves, and reserve base, 3 42t Antimony (III) acetate, 3 65 Antimony alloys, 3 41-56 compositional ranges, 3 52t process metallurgy, 3 44-47 selenium and metallurgy of, 22 98 uses of, 3 51-54... 

Mining of lead is found in more than 40 countries. However, production is more concentrated than what this figure indicates, because 12 countries according to Table 43.3 account for about 90% of the world s production. The reserves are estimated at 64 000 ktonne (world total) of which Australia has 15 000 and China and the United States 9000 ktonne each. 

The chart below shows the estimated world s reserves of rare earth metals. Although large resources are available, world mine production has been almost entirely in China. However, for a number of reasons, mining of reserves in the US, Australia and other countries is now (2011) becoming economically viable, and competitive markets for the rare earth metals are expected to replace the China-dominated market. 

In 1965, the world mine production of lead was 2.6 million Mg, with production increasing to 3.6 million Mg in 1975. The most important lead mining countries in 1975 were the United States (16.0% total world output), the Soviet Union (14.5%), Australia (10.0%), Canada (9.6%), Peru (5.5%), Mexico (4.5%), China (3.8%), Yugoslavia (3.5%), and Bulgaria (3.0%). In addition, Ireland, Japan, the Democratic People s Republic of Korea, Morocco, Poland, Spain, and Sweden each had over 2% of the total world production of lead. The estimated proven lead reserves of the world are 93 million Mg by metal content. 

Commercial mining of rare-earth reserves began ia the late 1800s. Mona2ite was the principal rare-earth source up until 1965. Thereafter bastnaesite production exceeded mona2ite production and as of 1992 bastnaesite, which is the world s principal source of rare earths, constituted 65% of world output of rare-earth minerals (see Table 5). In addition to the conventional ores, there are several other rare-earth resources having a low level of iadustrial production. 

Beryllium, like its neighbours Li and B, is relatively unabundant in the earth s crust it occurs to the extent of about 2 ppm and is thus similar to Sn (2.1 ppm), Eu (2.1 ppm) and As (1.8 ppm). However, its occurrence as surface deposits of beryl in pegmatite rocks (which are the last portions of granite domes to crystallize) makes it readily accessible. Crystals as large as 1 m on edge and weighing up to 60 tonnes have been reported. World reserves in commercial deposits are about 4 million tonnes of contained Be and mined production in 1985-86 was USA... 

Coal is the most abundant and most economical fossil fuel resource in the world. Proven coal reseiwes exceed 1 trillion tons, and indicated reserves are estimated at 24 trillion tons. Coal is found in eveiy continent of the world, including Antarctica, although the largest quantities of coal are in the Northern Hemisphere. Coal is mined in some sixty countries in nineteen coal basins around the world, but more than 57 percent of the world s total recoverable reserves are estimated to be in the United States, and China, which together account for more than two-thirds of the world s coal production. 

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). 

Sedimentary iron ores worth mining comprise about 80% of the world s Fe-ore production and ca 90% of the world s reserves. To be of value, ores should contain at least 0.6 g g Fe, preferably in the form of Fe oxides. Because hematite and magnetite contain more Fe per unit weight than goethite, ores in which the two former oxides predominate, are preferred. Table 15.3 summarizes the main characteristics of sedimentary iron ores. 

Major mercury producing countries (primary production from mining operations) in the world currently include Algeria, China, Czechoslovakia, Finland, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Morocco, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, and the Ukraine (USGS 1997). The world reserves of mercury are estimated to be sufficient to supply enough product for 100 years, given current production and consumption estimates (Jasinski 1993). 

Most of the world s production of iodine comes from the saltpeter deposits in Chile and natural brines in Japan. In Chile, calcium iodate is found in caliche deposits extracted from open pit mines in the Atacama Desert. Applying an alkaline solution to the caliche yields sodium iodate and iodine is obtained from the sodium iodate by reduction with sulfur dioxide. In Japan, iodine is a by-product of the production of natural gas, which is extracted from brine deposits a mile or two below ground. Iodine is recovered from the brines by one of the following two methods. In the blowout process elemental iodine is liberated as a result of the reaction of chlorine with sodium iodide in the brines. Elemental iodine is blown out of the brine with air and then purified in subsequent reaction steps. The second method, ion exchange, involves recovery of dissolved iodine from oxidized brines using anion-exchange resins packed in columns. In 2010, Chile produced 18 000 metric tons of iodine, compared to Japan s output of 9800 metric tons. Chile has reserves of 9 million metric tons, some 60% of the world s total reserves of iodine [10],... 

Minerals Handbook Statistics and Analyses of the World s Minerals Industry. 1982- London Macmillan. Incorporates information for each of over 50 metals and minerals an essential reference for minerals industry analysts and economists and for any mining or exploration company. Discusses world reserves and reserve base, production capacity, adequacy of reserves, consumption, end-use patterns, value of contained metal, substitutes, technical possibilities, and marketing arrangements. 

Crowson, P. 2006. Minerals Handbook Statistics and Analyses of the World s Minerals Industry, (1996-1997). New York Macmillan Pnblishers. (Out of print but still available for order from Macmillan Distribution Limited.) Intended as a comprehensive introductory guide for the nonspecialist, the book provides basic data on 52 minerals and metals to permit informed debate on mining and mineral policies. Figures provided list domestic production, trade and consumption, geographical sources of net imports, shares of world production and consumption, historic growth of consumption, end-use patterns, and estimates on world reserves and reserve bases. 

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