Engineering and Mining Journal - Whether the market is copper, gold, nickel, iron ore, lead/zinc, PGM, diamonds or other commodities, E&MJ takes the lead in projecting trends, following development and reporting on the most efficient operating pr
Page 74 of 83
PROCESSING SOLUTIONS
"Mongolia holds vast deposits of natu- ral resources and being able to deliver state-of-the-art technology, as with this contract, we are able to strengthen our position and footprint in this increasingly important market. Our Mongolian activities will soon be supported by our new Super Service Center under implementation. The winning of the order also reinforces our engagement in the global copper industry and our ability to be the customers' One Source supplier—an important focus area for FLSmidth," said Group CEO Jorgen Huno Rasmussen.
Canadian Supplier Chosen for Argentina Potash Project Whiting Equipment Canada recently announced an agreement with Brazilian mining company Vale for the turnkey sup- ply of salt evaporators and potash crystal- lizers for Vale's Potasio Rio Colorado (PRC) potash solution mining plant in Argentina's Mendoza Province. The first new greenfield solution mining project of its size in more than 40 years, the potash crystallization plant is an important element in Vale's $4.2 billion investment in PRC. Construction of the crystallization plant is expected to begin in December 2012,
with the facility expected to become oper- ational in January 2014. The plant will increase world potash production by 5%, producing 2.4-million mt of potash per year, with potential phased-in increases to 4.2 million mt/y before 2020. Current world potash market is 50 million mt/y. Canada is the largest producer (35%); China is the largest consumer (27%). The vendor said its most recently installed potash crystallization plant equip- ment will start up this spring at Qinghai Salt Lake, in western China. Whiting Equipment Canada also delivered the first order for long-delivery alloy materials required to fabricate similar-capacity evap- oration/crystallization equipment for K+S's Legacy potash solution mine in southern Saskatchewan, Canada.
Whiting said it used technology invent- ed by its sister company Swenson Tech- nology to develop the process and engineer the processing equipment.
UNR to Restart Metallurgical Engineering Program The University of Nevada-Reno (UNR) has re-established its Metallurgical Engineering program. According to the school, metallurgical engineering studies
were started early in the 20th century at UNR but evolved into materials science and engineering during the last decade. The mining industry recently requested that metallurgical engineering be reestab- lished at the university and has supplied financial support for this program. For example, in March 2011, Newmont Mining Corp. donated $250,000 to UNR's Mackay Earth Sciences and Engineering School to support students, faculty, research and educational outreach, including metallurgi- cal engineering studies.
UNR said a goal of the program is to pro- vide many of the extractive metallurgy courses on-line so that students from around the world can continue their education at both the baccalaureate and graduate levels. An on-line M.S. program is being developed so that engineers can receive an advanced degree in extractive metallurgy while work- ing full-time on location. Undergraduate and graduate classes that are presently available on-line include heap leaching, hydrometal- lurgy, mineral processing and pyrometallur- gy. New on-line classes will be offered next spring, including advanced mineral process- ing, environmental chemistry of metals and qualified persons studies. For more informa- tion, visit www.ucan.unr.edu.
www.e-mj.com
FEBRUARY 2012 • E&MJ; 73
