Mineral Exploration and Evaluation (Erse 607) Contents: ¥ Introduction to mineral resources and exploration “ Historical background of mineral exploration “Types, phases and sequences of mineral exploration planning, and management of mineral exploration programs. ¥ Sampling and analytical techniques: sampling and sample preparation, laboratory techniques ¥ Exploration methods ~ Geological mapping and prospecting; “geochemical prospecting (distribution of elements, primary and secondary dispersion, treatments of the data and types of geochemical survey ¥ geophysical prospecting (gravity, magnetic, electric and electromagnetic, seismic and radiometric surveys) Presentation and interpretation of exploration data “Resource evaluation (ore reserve estimation, feasibility studies, piloting of mining operationPart one Introduction to Mineral Resources and Exploration * Definiti ¥ Mineral exploration is the process of finding economically viable accumulation of minerals/rocks. on: ¥ It is a scientific investigation of the earth’s crust to determine if there are mineral deposits present that may be commercially developed. * Minerals: are naturally occurring solid chemical compounds with definite chemical compositions and characteristic crystal structures. * Mineral Resources: Mineral resources can be defined as non- living, naturally occurring substances that are useful to us, whether organic or inorganic in origin.Historical Background of Mineral Exploration What were some of the first resources used? ¥ Water ¥ Salt (the mineral Halite) - The word salary comes from the Roman word for salt. People were paid in salt. ¥ Rock that could be shaped for making tools for hunting and gathering. What were the first metals used by civilization? ¥ Gold and copper were used before 15,000 B.P. why? Because they are found in their native state! What are the metals of antiquity? The metals of antiquity are the seven metals which mankind had identified and found use for in prehistoric times. These elements, gold, silver, copper, tin, lead, iron, and mercury, are the metals from which our modern world was forged.‘Baie Ra Ficcessng a Torin commacies | Sia —] Faia ‘Tou aad weapons of Broken, fe pained rock Tae Tools ative metals shaped by ammeer eolanes sores Notts Fist stone od First meta fools Fees wks Aeeidertal ecacbon of olde ee ‘eg 2000+ C= 204 + Coz Bronze ge Fornation of aaoys(oronze Cu + Sm 3200 Furaces sing chacoa! A raura! a ast “OF Ts on es torsap femensroie so Mage | eea a Aenean 70080 metMineral Exploration + Prospecting(finding places where ores occur) and exploration may discover evidence of a mineral occurrence and outline its size and character, but ore deposits that support a mining operation are "made" through the collective efforts of project geologists, geophysicists, geochemists, metallurgists, engineers, chemists, lawyers, and even politicians. * An ore body, strictly speaking, is that part of a mineral deposit which can be mined and marketed at a profit under contemporary technological, economic and legal conditions. Objectives of mineral exploration * The principal objective of mineral exploration is to find economic mineral deposits that will appreciably increase the value of a mining company's stock to the shareholders on a continuing basis, or to yield a profit to the explorer.Stages in Mineral exploration * The process of developing mineral resource can shortly be expressed as a three step process: Prospecting (search and discover), Exploration (study and evaluate) and Mining (extract and process). + However the following can be taken as one of the commonly used phases/stages in mineral resource development process. Stage 1 — Exploration Planning: involves five main activities: a. Commodity selection b. Regional assessment (Desk study) c. Preliminary result evaluation d. Organization e. Budgeting Stage 2 - Reconnaissance Stage * The general objective of reconnaissance stage is selection of small area (target generation) for detailed (follow-up) exploration thereby reducing the search area.Stage 3 — Initial Follow-up * This stage is dedicated to appraise or evaluate the targets selected during reconnaissance. It involves: Detailed geologic mapping, Detailed geochemical sampling, Large scale ground geophysics, Limited shallow drilling, Pitting and trenching. Stage 4 — Detailed Follow-up * This stage is devoted to ore body exploration. The methods employed are the same as previous stages but at detailed scale, close exploration grid and closer sampling intervals. The purpose of detailed follow-up phase is to access the deposit in 3D: + Size, Morphology, Quality, Maximum depth, Extension (along dip and strike) etc Stage 5 — Feasibility study * Feasibility study is a complex phase involving both geologic and non-geologic issues. The geologic issues concentrate on the nature and amenability of the ore body for processing. The non-geologic aspect involves engineering and economic analysis of the mining operation,+ Activities to be conducted during feasibility stage include: + Drilling for reserve calculation + Metallurgical test + Mine design and pilot mining (test mining) + Select suitable ore dressing method * Geotechnical studies + Select type of mining + Economic analyses, and * Make ready the deposit to mining. Stage 6 — Construction and Mine Development Activities include: * Site construction + Further drilling to see ore extension + Shaft sinking or overburden removal + Construction of processing plant + Employment process, and + Installing mine safety measures.Stage 7 - Extraction * Extraction is removal of the ore material from the ground and associated ore beneficiation activities. Stage 8 — Mine closure * Every mineral deposit, no matter how large, has a finite life and will one day be exhausted (i.e. mining will be over at least for that specific area). * After the mining life is over, the extraction activity will cease unless more reserve is discovered through exploration efforts around the discovered ore. This phase includes: + Dismantling equipments * Reduce number of workers, and * Install/implement environmental rehabilitation & protection measures.prospecting criterion * In the search for mineral deposits, it is impossible to examine in details every square km of the area or country by, for example, drilling (why?).This would be too expensive, time-consuming and in most cases pointless. + Recognition of the environment and existence of potentially economic mineral deposits may be based upon a variety of geological criteria: 1. Stratigraphic (age) criteria (important in the search for sedimentary deposits e.g. coal, oil & gas, u, Fe, placer deposits etc.). Ages of mineralization - e.g. banded iron formation deposits are characteristic of Precambrian age rocks. 2. Lithological criteria (different rock formations are characterized by deposits of definite lithological composition). Association with specific types of igneous rocks -- e.g., copper with quartz- monzonite porphyry, diamonds with kimberlite pipes, tin with granites, ete.. | Host rock association -- e.g. lead and zine with carbonate rocks.™ . Structural criteria. Structural controls -- e.g. laterite deposits associated with unconformities, replacement deposits associated with crests of anticlines. Magmatogenic criteria (basic magma, granite magma and alkaline magma) Metamorphic criteria (metamorphic facies are criterion for metamorphic deposits) Geochemical criteria (the behavior of elements in the earth’s crust is governed by certain laws; some are typical of basic rocks and others of acid igneous rocks sediment. Some elements never occur together in the same ore province (Cu and Sn), on the contrary, the presence of other) Geomorphological criteria (mainly for placer deposits, direct criteria concerns the surface feature of the deposit, which can be either positive or negative, indirect criteria such as tectonic steps, hogbacks, cuestas, reveal the tectonic structure of the area.8. Paleoclimatic criteria (particularly important in prospecting for deposits related to weathering crust) 9. Weathering effects -- ¢.g. oxidation of pyrite leaves a residue of iron oxide gossan marking possible underlying deposits. 10. Wall rock alteration -- e.g. a concentric pattern of feldspathization, sericitization and propylitization around porphyry copper deposits, and dolomitization around lead-zine replacement deposits. 11. Gangue mineral association -- e.g. gold associated with quartz- ankerite veins. 12. Trace metal association -- e.g. gold associated with arsenic and mercury in trace amounts. 13. Ore and gangue mineral in fresh or oxidized states in outcrop of derived sediments may give surface evidence of underlying or adjacent deposits,14. Products of alteration zones from residual deposits like gossan 15. The presence of pathfinders 16. The presence of sulfide minerals in outcrops 17.I[dentification of suitable structures favorable for mineralization: major shear zone and contacts between various lithological units, volcano-sedimentary units, conglomeratesChapter Two Geological Mapping and Prospecting Geological Method, why make a map? * Conceptual tools can then help in the interpretation of isolated outcrops and drill hole intercepts that might be available in and adjacent to covered areas. * The geological observations and analysis recorded on geological, tectonic and geomorphologic maps are very important for prospecting. + However, geological maps give too general idea of a district and outline too vast area where deposits of one mineral or another may possibly be discovered. * Though interdependent, geological mapping and prospecting are not the same operation, and therefore should be considered and planned separately. * the following working scales are generally taken for geological prospecting.Prospecting Object Scale ‘Sedimentary deposits of coal, phosphorites, iron, manganese and other 1:50,000-1;10,000 Endogenous deposits and exogenous deposits of complex structures: Ore field 1:25,000-1; 10,000 Deposit 1;5000-1:2000 Ore body 1:2000-1;500 The geological prospecting method (apart from the geological mapping) considers the river and glacial float tracing and panning. River Float Tracing: It is one of the oldest prospecting methods. This method consists in finding and tracing ore-bearing fragments and fragments of the country rocks. If float is found in the channel, or on the banks of a stream, it is followed along a certain line known as a traverse.Glacial Float Tracing: The prospector is guided by the material brought down by glaciers. The movement direction of glaciers (especially the last movement) is important. It is determined by striations on the rocks they are often found by local residents, or in excavation made for canals and roads. Panning: Like float tracing, this is based on the recognition and tracing of small pieces of metal and ore minerals which have migrated from outcrops and appear in concentrates obtained by panning alluvial and colluvial material taken at regular intervals along the sides of valleys and rivers and streams, and on tracing them to their source.Why we make a Map? * A geological map is a graphical presentation of geological observations and interpretations on a horizontal plane. + A geological section is identical in nature to a map except that data are recorded and interpreted on a vertical rather than a horizontal surface. * geological mapping is a method of recording and organizing observations, much of its power in targeting lies in providing conceptual insight of value. * Depending on scale there are different kinds of geological map. With large-scale maps, the geologist generally aims to visit and outline every significant rock outcrop in the area of the map. * Ina small-scale map, visiting every outcrop would be impossible; generally only a selection of outcrops are examined in the field and interpolations have to be made between the observation points,By convention, large-scale refers to maps with a small scale ratio (that is, a large fraction) — e.g. 1:1,000 scale or 1:2,500 scale. Small-scale refers to large scale ratios (a small fraction) such as 1:100,000 or 1:250,000. Generally, anything over 1:5,000 should be considered small-scale, but the terms are relative. Intelligent Mapping Most of the time of the intelligent mapper is thus spent in the areas of “fertile” outcrop where there is most to be learned, and less time is spent in those areas where the rocks are uniform — in the latter areas a lower density of observation will serve. Geological prospecting includes: Studying documentation ( archives , geological and topographical maps , acrial photo interpretation, bibliography and other information) Choosing or selecting of an area Inspecting of mining field (eg, Quarry) which have been abandoned , or even of fields still under operation+ Even from scratch based on reports of minerals * Geological mapping * From satellite images * Aerial photographs * Topo map + Field checking aided by ground investigation (gossan, rock alteration, sampling out crops etc.) * Geological methods rely on the identification of rocks and minerals and an understanding of the environment in which they formed. * Based on known "environments for mineralization" or models for mineralization, regional geological surveys can be used to define smaller areas in which more detailed studies can be undertaken. A geological survey can be undertaken using a number of methods depending on the size of a region and the amount of information that is required.+ Remote Sensing-some geological mapping can be done using satellite remote sensing methods. While most of these methods rely on geophysical rather than pure geological data, the use of this method can give broad scale views of surface geological structures such as folding, faulting, igneous intrusions ete. + Air photo interpretation-this can give a broad overview of the geological relationships of an area with no detailed knowledge of the mineral composition or fabric of the rocks. * Outcrop surveys-this is normally achieved by geologists driving along roads and walking traverses along creeks and rivers mapping the outcropping rock types. Geological mapping includes: * a) Geological indications of a possible mineral body include presence of gossans or leached capping, rock alteration. * b) Structural intersections, breccia, fold axes. * c) Favorable rock types. + d) Topographic features suggesting anomalous rock conditions.* IN GEOLOGICAL exploration methods the following works could be the technical methods: Trenching, Pitting , and Drilling FEA] mmr vain si Davey Alsration af Feldspars plan tam Ste fo es mone =BSS abenmee S%CpPy 1:9. D>V DV ms: 0.5¢5/00150 cm: O26 CpPy= 41; DV Keaiticate (Btio-Kap) Atta 156 Cp: AB Woe 1/10 omChapter Three Sampling and sample preparation * Economic mineral deposits are sampled to ascertain the grade of minerals, which is sometimes important for the commercial evaluation of a deposit. * This is achieved by taking samples from mine openings, boreholes and natural exposures. + The results of sampling furnish the necessary information for determining: ¥ the mean thickness of mineral bodies Y the technical and technological properties of useful minerals ¥ delineate the mineral bodies ¥ correlation of individual constituents and elements in the ore ¥ establish the priority in mining the minerals ¥ their losses and dilution during exploitationDifferent types of sampling for different purposes 1. 2. Sampling may be chemical, mineralogical, technical and technological. Chemical: Samples are taken for determining the content of useful and secondary components. Mineralogical: It is done to ascertain the mineral and Petrographical composition of the mineral. It helps to establish the origin of the deposit, the dependences governing grade variations and also to plan the ore dressing and beneficiation. Technical: Samples are taken to study the technical properties of the raw material, which does not require metallurgical or chemical treatment. Thus in the case of building stone, it is their bearing capacity, in the case of asbestos — the length, strength and flexibility of fibers; mica — the size; sand and gravel — grain size distribution, etc.4. Technological: Samples are collected for the study of the technological properties of the raw material in the course of its beneficiation and processing. Sites of sampling * Surface - surface outcrops of any possible rock types having ore indication, - old working and old dumps, soil, broken ore, - bottom or the walls of pits and trenches, + Underground : * walls and /or roofs of adits, cross-cuts, drifts, raises, winzes and sometimes shafts. * In drill holes: * either core or cuttings from bore holes * During mining activities: - they are taken as bulk samples from blasted materialMethods of sampling: point or spot, face or lump, channel or trench, drill or shot hole, chip and bulk sampling. Point or Spot Sampling consists of taking a number of equal portions of a mineral at points distributed in a regular grid over a work face ore mineral exposure. (a) © Fig. 17.1. Disposition of point sampling sites (a) according to *quare spacing pattern; (b) according to rhomb spacit tern; (¢) aceord! to Fectangle spacing pattern; (¢) point sampling in ple ae! meFace or Lump Sampling: This method of sample taking may be referred to the group of point sampling. It is a very simple, quick and cheap procedure, but the taking sample is often done subjectively and for this reason, the accuracy of the method is rather low. Channel or Trench Sampling: It is most widely used and consists of scooping out a rectangular channel across the entire thickness of a mineral deposit or a certain part there of. * Drill and Shot Hole Sampling: It is applied on ore deposits. This is employed in collecting samples for chemical assaying. The samples are taken from blast holes drilled in driving mine workings, or from special sampling bore holes. * Dnill holes intended for taking samples are disposed along the line of the greatest regularity or across the thickness of mineral body. * The number of drill holes depends upon the degree of the irregularity: a uniform ore may be sampled from a single drill hole; with an extremely variable (irregular) ore samples are taken from 3 to 4 holes per each advance of the face.Recommended Cross-Section of Channel Sampling, cm? canes Somaptne Distribution of components keness of ore bodies, m S25 Tons, * Grade, Average Grade Entire Deposit = aos ee 790,533 =0.92%Cu CoOoRKoRMethod of Triangles * Triangular prisms are defined on a two-dimensional projection (e.g., bench plan) by joining three sample sites such that the resulting triangle contains no internal sample sites. * The average of the three values at the apices of a triangle is assigned to the triangular prism (block). * in which each hole is taken to be at one corner of a triangle, or a number of them, with a width and grade assumed to be the average of its three corner holes.Figure 6.8. Triangle Construction.Table 8. Assay Data for the Ojala Copper Deposit Grade Dnill Hole | Thicknes s (ft) %Cu D 50 0.93 D-2 5 0.77 D-3 0.82 D4 1.05 D-5 0.72 p-€ 0.49 D7 1.63 D-8 0.92 D=3 0.86 D-10 9.74 ‘Given this data, the tonnage and grade calculation for tiangle T1 would be as follows: Area = 4400 fF (by geometry)Table 8a. Grade and Tonnage Calculation for Triangle Tl. s(f) %Cu_| Thickness D-1 30 3) 4 5 Tonnage = area * average thickness * tonnage factor = 4400 *(225/3)/12.5 = 26.400 tons.B-5 D-4 D-4 D-7 [263,445 Av Grade Entre Deposit = verage Grade Ent Epo: F Tom, Average Grade = 277,927/263 445 = 1.05 % Cu DTons,*Grade, 2Inverse Distance Weighting Methods * Inverse distance weighting methods generally are applied to a regular three-dimensional block array superimposed on a deposit * each block is estimated independently from a group of nearby data selected on the basis of distance criteria relative to the pointContouring Methods * Contouring methods of reserve/resource estimation generally depend on estimation of a regular grid of points by some type of interpolation procedure (e.g., one of the traditional estimation methods described previously) followed by contouring of the data. CHAPTER EIGHT * Mineral resources are accumulations, occurrences or showings in such form and quantity that economic exploitation of a mineral or substance from the deposit may be currently or potentially feasible. * cost of exploration is relatively easy to count or even to foresee. But the evaluation of results is much more difficult. * Quantification of success means the calculation of the price of exploratory results. * We can say that quantifying has been well done, when we are able to sell our project with a reasonable profit.It is one of the alternate economic strategies of mining companies to buy successful projects instead of starting new ones from the grassroots level. Sequential approach makes above quantification easier. For cach sequence, targets have been defined on the basis of cumulated information. After completing a sequence, the expenditure is known. Target definition actually includes a rough estimate of the worth of deposits possibly detectable. The first sequences end with sereenings. Screenings or tentative feasibility studies or viability studies are based on indirect observations, extrapolations, analogies, and simulations and on general market and work pricing. Ore evaluation in the early phases of an exploration project is more or less based on speculations and may be rather called ‘project evaluation’.Ore evaluation will then be started by the evaluation of: ¥ observation quality ¥ sampling quality ¥ sample preparation quality “assay quality After quality evaluations, the evaluator can start quantifying: assay value treatment geological modeling ore geological interpretations The only concrete element in the evaluation process is the collection of remaining geological samples including core remnants, pulver bags, thin sections, etc.CHAPTER NINE Exploitation of Mineral Resources Ore dressing comprises the following processes: 1. Crushing, 2. Sizing, 3. Grinding 4, Concentration, 5. Storage. Crushing and Grinding * Crushing is done either manually or by using different types of crushers. For grinding, different mills are utilized. While crushing yields a relatively coarse product, grinding produces finer material. * the parts of the machine, which are used for grinding, come into contact with each other, while crusher jaws and rolls do not touch each other.ite et Section: tore fecetving bin; 2—rolis with fluted steel shells, 4 buffer spring, £- teed bot with a tray; S—kenp between roils: (c) ball mitis: 1—metal bearer bedplate: 2— driving roll: Wiiers: 4, 3—ball and rod mitis; Wd) attrition disc mi* The purpose of crushing is generally, to reduce the size of the run of mine product, but grinding is essential for liberating valuable minerals from the gangue. * Grinding is also necessary in order to liberate minerals, where the minerals occur as intergrowths, e.g. galena and chalcopyrite, so that these ores may be render amenable to ore dressing processes, c.g. floatation. + In the case of non-metallics, e.g. feldspar, sillimanite, limestone, coal, etc. grinding is done to make them marketable. Sizing * Purposes of sizing are: (1) to remove the coarser fractions, (2) to remove the finer material from the grinding circuit, (3) to obtain commercially marketable sizes of material, e.g. sand, rock chips, etc., (4) to obtain suitable sizes for further beneficiation, and (5) to separate different minerals, which occur together, but each mineral being characterized by a particular grain size.* Requirements and conditions for proper sizing are: (1) All particles should be brought to the screen opening, oriented in such a way, and moved at such a rate, that the undersize particles will pass through freely unhampered, without rebounding, from the edges of the screen opening, (2) Ideally, every undersize particle should be at standstill and centrally placed, in respect of the aperture (3) Larger tonnage can be obtained if the particles of the material move over the sereen, (4) Even though screen, made of extremely fine wire or metal, they are ideal for efficiency, in practice, these cannot be employed as they are mechanically too weak.Concentration * This aspect of beneficiation takes advantages of the differences in specific gravity, which come into play under the influences of forces impressed upon various particles. ¥ Hand-Picking > There are many primitive mining operations in various parts of the world where groups of men, women, and children break up pieces of ore with hand hammers on hard stones or blocks of steel and, by sorting and re-sorting, discard the gangue and garner pieces of valuable mineral into separate piles. > Primitive as it is, hand-sorting can be the most economical method of ore-dressing when circumstances favour it. > In its modern form, hand-picking is facilitated by mechanical aids; the ore, after coarse crushing, goes over a screen to separate the fines and under a spray to wash off dust and mud.Gravity Concentration > This method is based on mechanical refinements of the simple processes of washing and panning. » effectiveness depends on the difference in specific gravity between different minerals; naturally, the greater the difference the better the separation. > Large particles of light minerals settle as fast as small particles of heavy minerals; thus, a quartz particle 4 mm in diameter settles at about the same rate as a galena particle of 1 mm. > Among particles of very small size, gravity separation is not efficient. Great varieties of machines have been used in gravity concentration, but much the commonest are jigs and vibrating tables.Heavy-Fluid Separation * This method uses the heavy fluid, which is a pseudo-liquid consisting of a finely ground heavy solid in suspension in water. * Galena and ferrosilicon are the solids most commonly used. * Ferrosilicon has the advantage of being ferromagnetic so that it can be recovered and cleaned for re-use by means of a magnetic separator. * This method uses sink-and-float process Floatation * a particle of sulphide, suitably treated, would float at the surface of the water while a particle of quartz would sink. * This is because the quartz, unlike the sulphide, is “wetted” by the water.Magnetic Separation * Magnetic methods have long been used for concentrating magnetite ores. The other iron oxides (hematite and goethite) as well as siderite are virtually non-magnetic, but they may be converted into artificial magnetite by controlled roasting. + Magnetic methods may be used “in reverse” to purify non-ferrous ore by removing the undesired magnetic minerals. Such methods are used on a large scale for removing magnetite from the titanium ore. + Wolframite or tantalite can be separated from cassiterite by this means. Amalgamation * Mercury forms an amalgam with metallic gold or silver. This principle is utilized in the recovery of precious metals by passing a layer of pulp over a table consisting of a plate of silvered copper, which has been coated with mercury.* The mercury holds and partially absorbs the particles of precious metals, while gangue and sulphides pass onward. Cyaniding * The cyaniding process is applicable commercially only to ores of gold and silver. Any base metals in the ore are not recovered. * The solvent is a weak solution of sodium or calcium cyanide which, when aerated, readily dissolves the precious metals. 4Au + NaCN+ 02+ 2H20 = 4NaAu(CN)2+ 4Na OH Leaching + Some copper ores can be treated by leaching, using a solvent ammonia, ferric sulphate, or sulphuric acid, according to the nature of ore. + Ammonia in presence of CO2dissolves native copper and is used in retreating tailings. * Sulphuric acid readily dissolves copper carbonates and sulphates but is uneconomical for ores with limestone gangue because of the high acid consumption.The end Thank you!!!