Erguendo Pilares para o Desenvolvimento

Engineering Division
Mineral Processing Engineering Course
English II
Class: B
1st Year

Topic:
Economic issues and finance

Teacher:
Ravira Chaidakwa

Tete, February 2021

 Names of Students:
Edmilson Lázaro Chivite

Inácio Tsembane

Madina de Lurdes Daniel

Walter Hugo Salomão Mandlate

Evaluative work to be related in the mineral processing

engineering course for the purposes of analysis and due
evaluation, in the English discipline of Teacher: Ravira
Chaidakwa.

Tete, February 2021

Contents

Introduction................................................................................................................................4
Stages of Mining........................................................................................................................5
Mining Processing......................................................................................................................6
Ore processing........................................................................................................................7
Grinding and Crushing...........................................................................................................7
Ore separation.........................................................................................................................7
Physical separation process....................................................................................................7
Gravity separation:..............................................................................................................7
Flotation separation:...........................................................................................................8
Chemical separation processes:..........................................................................................8
Leaching with Cyanide:..........................................................................................................8
Leaching with Sulphuric Acid:...........................................................................................8
Dewatering.............................................................................................................................8
Mine Closure..........................................................................................................................9
Air pollution...............................................................................................................................9
Some topics related to Economic issues and finance.................................................................9
Mining contribute to economic growth....................................................................................12
Challenges faces by mining industry.......................................................................................13
Economic impacts of Mining...................................................................................................14
Introduction
The work to follow will talk about the economic effects of mining, addressing all related
content in order to make the reader understand the topic. At the beginning we will make the
summary about phases of mining and mineral processing.
Mining is one of the foundations of the national economy. It represents socioeconomic
development, as ores can be found in almost all the products we consume.
Stages of Mining
Mining process is a process that involves the research, exploration, extraction, transportation,

The mining process is responsible for much of the energy we use and products we consume.

Mining has been a vital part of Mozambican economy and the stages of mining process have
had little fluctuation. However, the process of mining is intricate and requires meticulous
work procedures to efficient and effective. This is why we have broken down the mining
process into six comprehensive steps:

 Prospecting: Is the first stage which involves the search for ore or other valuable
minerals. Skilled works with geological knowledge could identify an area where a
particular ore was likely to be present by analyzing the composition of the rock in the
area and surface mining activity. If it looks promising, small-scale exploratory shafts
might be sunk to confirm the area’s promise.
There are two methods workers and machines can employ during this stage:

Direct Method

- Focuses solely on the examination of deposits found on or near the surface

- Methods include: visual examination via microscopic study and video prospecting

Indirect Method

- Applied on deposits found deeper in the land.

- Methods include: radiometric, seismic, and magnetic.

 Exploration: Determines as accurately as possible the size and value of mineral

deposit. Exploration generally shifts to surface and subsurface location using a
variety of measurements to obtain a more positive picture of the extent and grade of
ore body. While ore could sometimes be found on the surface in small amounts, larger
lodes- or veins of metal ore in the rock- found deep underground. To reach them,
miners had to dig levels (tunnels) and sink shafts into the ground.
 Development: opening of a mineral deposit for exploitation take place. Stripping the
overburden with is the soil and or the rock covering the deposit, to expose the near
surface ore for mining or by excavating openings from the surface to access more
deeply dried deposit to prepare for underground miming. Breaking the ore
underground. Miners can use a variety of hand tools- including hammers, borers
 (chisels) and gads (wedges) – as well as gunpowder, and later dynamite or other high
explosives, to break the rock up and free the ore.
 Exploitation: Is associated with the actual recovery of minerals from the earth in
quantity. The method select for exploitation is determined mainly by the
characteristics of the mineral deposit and the limits imposed by safety technology
environmental concerns and economics. Geologic conditions such deep, shape,
strength of the and the surrounding rock plays a key role in selecting method.
Surface mining includes the mechanical exaction methods such as open pit, open cast
and aqueous methods such as placer and solution mining.
 Reclamation: The process closing the mine, vegetating and restoring the water and
land value. The land which was used to obtained these resources must be
rehabilitated as much as possible. The objectives of this process include:
 Minimizing environmental effects
 Ensuring public health and safety
 Preventing water quality
 Establishing new landforms and vegetation
 Removing waste and hazardous material
 Stabilizing land to protect against erosion

Mining Processing
Mine is an excavation aimed at cleaning substances useful to man, such as minerals, fuel,
water, etc.

Mining is the extraction of valuable mineral or other geological materials from the Earth,
usually from an ore body, Iode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. These deposits form a
mineralized commodity that is of economic interest to miner.

Mineral and coal processing includes, sizing, separating and processing minerals for eventual
use.

Processing includes commination (crushing and grinding), sizing (screening and

classifying), separation (physical or chemical), dewatering (thickening, filtration, drying)
and hydrometallurgical or chemical processing.
Ore processing
Once ore is extracted from a mine it is processed to recover the valuable minerals. Ore
typically consists of a small amounts of valuable mineral in close association with much
larger amounts of waste minerals of economic value (gangue). The valuable ore mineral is
separated (liberated) from the gauge in milling operations to obtain higher quality metal.
Major steps in ore processing include grinding an crushing, chemical, physical, separation
and dewatering.

Grinding and Crushing

Grinding and crushing of ore is undertaken to physically liberate valuable minerals prior to
separation by physical and chemical processes. Crushing in done dry, and is used for coarse
size reduction. Grinding is used to achieve finer size reduction. Grinding is conducted et, and
chemicals such as lime, soda ash, sodium cyanide, and Sulphur dioxide may be added in the
grinding circuit in preparation for ore separation. Ore must be ground fine enough to liberate
the minerals from the gangue, or subsequent separation methods will not be effective

Ore separation
Ore separation may be done using physical or chemical separation methods. The end products
of ore separation is an ore concentrate. After separation, some ore concentrates are sent for
further processing, such as smelting, to produce pure metal for sale. A by-product of ore
separation is tailings, which are a mixture of water and finely ground rock from which most
of the minerals of value have been removed. Tailings may still contain metal-bearing mineral,
and the mixture may also contain residues of reagents used in ore processing.

Physical separation process

Physical separation processes exploit differences in the physical properties or behavior of

mineral particles, such as size, density, and surface energy. The bulk of the mineral is not
chemically altered, although chemical reagents may be used to help in the separation
processes, commonly used physical separation processes are as follows:

Gravity separation:
Mineral can be separated on the basis of differences in density, particularly for iron
ore and gold, as well as tungsten, tantalum and niobium. Gravity separation may also
be used to pre-concentrate metallic minerals prior to further processing. Gravity
separation tends to require the use of smaller amounts of process reagents than some
other ore separation methods.
Flotation separation:
is used for separation of a wide variety of minerals on the basis of differences in
surface properties of minerals in contact with air and water. It is the dominant process
for the recovery of base metal ores and also used in uranium and gold processing
operations. To separate minerals using flotation, fine air bubbles are introduced into a
mixture of ground ore in water, known as a slurry. In this slurry, mineral particles
collide with air bubbles, and minerals that favor contact with air attach, a forth forms
and eventually overflows as the flotation cell concentrate. Minerals that favor contact
with water remain in the slurry and go to the flotation cell tailings. A number of
chemical reagents are used to aid the process.

Chemical separation processes:

Chemical separation processes involve the preferential leaching of one or more
minerals, particularly for the recovery gold, silver and uranium and in some cases
copper. A number of chemical processes are used for ore separation:

Leaching with Cyanide:

This is the dominant method for recovery of metallic gold or silver. A dilute solution
of calcium or sodium cyanide is used to dissolve the metal. Following leaching,
metals are recovered from the solution by absorption directly from the leach slurry
onto activated carbon-granules or by addition of zinc dust to the solution which
causes the precious metals to precipitate from the solution.

Leaching with Sulphuric Acid:

Uranium ores are processed using sulphuric acid to dissolve the uranium. The
uranium is then removed from the solution using ion exchange or solvent extraction,
which results in the adsorption of uranium on a resin or organic solvent. The uranium
is then removed from the rain or solvent. In some cases, copper ores are also leached
with sulphuric acid.

Dewatering
The ore concentrates obtained from most physical ore separation processes are slurries with
high water content that must be dewatered prior to further processing. Dewatering involves
two processes: thickening and filtration. In thickening, slurries are thickened by gravity
settling. The excess water is decanted off and may be recycled in the milling processes. After
thickening, the slurry is passed through a vacuum filter, which traps the particulates. Most of
the remaining water is removed.
Mine Closure
Mines are closed when the ore minerals are completely exhausted or when it is no longer
profitable to recover the minerals that remain. In some cases, mines may be closed
temporarily and put into a status called ‘’care and maintenance’’, also known as temporary
suspension. This is frequently done further commercial operations financially viable.
Eventually, ore reserves are depleted, and mines are permanently closed. Since much of the
work conducted at mine site during the mine closure phase is related to environmental
protection and rehabilitation.

Air pollution
Air pollution is a mixture of solid particles and gases in the air. Car emissions, chemicals
from factories, dust, pollen and mold spores may be suspended as particles. Ozone, a gas, is
a major part of air pollution in cities. When ozone forms air pollution, it's also called smog.

Some air pollutants are poisonous. Inhaling them can increase the chance you'll have health
problems. People with heart or lung disease, older adults and children are at greater risk from
air pollution. Air pollution isn't just outside - the air inside buildings can also be polluted and
affect your health.

Some topics related to Economic issues and finance

Economy is the set of activities carried out by men aiming at the production, distribution and
consumption of goods and services necessary for survival and quality of life.

Consumption is the act of using a product or service to satisfy a personal or group need. In
this way, the action of eating, dressing and even leisure are acts of consumption.

Production refers to any type of activity for the manufacture, elaboration or obtaining of
goods and services.

Income refers to a certain amount of money that an organization or individual receives from
the fact of marketing a good or service.

Scarcity is the limited availability of a commodity, which may be in demand in the market or
by the commons. Scarcity also includes an individual's lack of resources to buy commodities
Labour: physical or mental work, especially of a hard or fatiguing kind; toil. a job or task
done or to be done.The physical effort and periodic uterine contractions of childbirth. the
interval from the onset of these contractions to childbirth.

Finance is a broad term that describes activities associated with banking, leverage or debt,
credit, capital markets, money, and investments. Basically, finance represents money
management and the process of acquiring needed funds. Finance also encompasses the
oversight, creation, and study of money, banking, credit, investments, assets, and liabilities
that make up financial systems.

Standard of living is the level of wealth, comforts and services available, generally applied
to a society or location, rather than to an individual. Standard of living is relevant because it
is considered to contribute to an individual's quality of life. Standard of living is generally
concerned with objective metrics outside an individual's personal control, such as economic,
societal, political and environmental matters - such things that an individual might consider
when evaluating where to live in the world, or when assessing the success of economic policy
. It is affected by factors such as the quality and availability of employment, class
disparity, poverty rate, quality and housing affordability, hours of work required to purchase
necessities, gross domestic product, inflation rate, amount of leisure time, access to and
quality of healthcare, quality and availability of education, literacy rates, life expectancy,
occurrence of diseases, cost of goods and services, infrastructure, access to, quality and
affordability of public transportation, national economic growth, economic and political
stability, freedom, environmental quality, climate and safety. For the purposes of economics,
politics and policy, it is usually compared across time or between groups defined by social,
economic or geographical parameters.

Supply is a fundamental economic concept that describes the total amount of a specific good
or service that is available to consumers. Supply can relate to the amount available at a
specific price or the amount available across a range of prices if displayed on a graph. This
relates closely to the demand for a good or service at a specific price; all else being equal, the
supply provided by producers will rise if the price rises because all firms look to maximize
profits.
Work: The scientific definition of work is different in many ways from its everyday
meaning. The definition of work in physics reveals its relationship to energy – whenever
work is done, energy is transferred. For a work to be done, in a scientific sense, a force must
be exerted and there must be displacement in the direction of the force. With this said, we can
say that

Demand is an economic principle referring to a consumer's desire to purchase goods and

services and willingness to pay a price for a specific good or service. Holding all other factors
constant, an increase in the price of a good or service will decrease the quantity demanded,
and vice versa. Market demand is the total quantity demanded across all consumers in a
market for a given good. Aggregate demand is the total demand for all goods and services in
an economy. Multiple stocking strategies are often required to handle demand.

A gain is a general increase in the value of an asset or property. A gain arises if the current
price of something is higher than the original purchase price. For accounting and tax
purposes, gains may be classified in several ways, for example as gross vs. net gains or
realized vs. unrealized (paper) gains. Capital gains may additionally be classified as short-
term vs. long-term in nature.

Inflation

Inflation is the decline of purchasing power of a given currency over time. A quantitative
estimate of the rate at which the decline in purchasing power occurs can be reflected in the
increase of an average price level of a basket of selected goods and services in an economy
over some period of time. The rise in the general level of prices, often expressed a a
percentage means that a unit of currency effectively buys less than it did in prior periods.

Population growth is the increase in the number of individuals in a population. Global

human population growth amounts to around 83 million annually, or 1.1% per year. The
global population has grown from 1 billion in 1800 to 7.8 billion in 2020. It is expected to
keep growing, and estimates have put the total population at 8.6 billion by mid-2030, 9.8
billion by mid-2050 and 11.2 billion by 2100. Many nations with rapid population growth
have low standards of living, whereas many nations with low rates of population growth have
high standards of living.
Profit is the value remaining after a company’s expenses have been paid. It can be found on
an income statement. If the value that remains after expenses have been deducted from
revenue is positive, the company is said to have a profit, and if the value is negative, then it is
said to have a loss (see: P&L statement). Other terms that mean the same thing are earnings
and income.

Unemployment is a term referring to individuals who are employable and actively seeking a
job but are unable to find a job. Included in this group are those people in the workforce who
are working but do not have an appropriate job. Usually measured by the unemployment rate,
which is dividing the number of unemployed people by the total number of people in the
workforce, unemployment serves as one of the indicators of a country’s economic status.

Globalization has accelerated since the 18th century due to advances in transportation and
communication technology. This increase in global interactions has caused a growth in
international trade and the exchange of ideas and culture. Globalization is primarily an
economic process of interaction and integration that is associated with social and cultural
aspects. However, disputes and diplomacy are also large parts of the history of globalization,
and of modern globalization.

Mining contribute to economic growth

 Historical influence Mining attracts many investments and has a good financial
return. And this sector's potential was already visible since the colonial Brazil period.
At that time, the extraction of ores was responsible for part of the occupation of the
national territory and, mainly, for the economic balance and generation of wealth.

 Relationship with social phenomena The extraction of minerals is associated to a

greater or lesser extent with all social phenomena and is linked to practically all
questions of growth and development in the country. The very history of mining in
Colonial Brazil reveals this strong influence of the sector. During the colonial period,
the gold found in the country was taken to Portugal and generated a profit even for
England, which would have financed the Industrial Revolution with part of the wealth
 taken from the Portuguese colony. Not to mention that, with the wealth brought by
gold mining at the time, a new consumer class emerged in Colony Brazil, the middle
class.

 Influence on national GDP Did you know that mining in Brazil is responsible for
almost 5% of national GDP? It is able to offer products for several and varied types
of industry such as steel, fertilizers, petrochemicals and metallurgy. With an eye on
this potential for mineral extraction, many government initiatives focus on investment
and the modernization of the sector. And the result of this is the rapid growth of the
segment and significant returns for the country's economy. 5 Generation of jobs
Mining contributes to the creation of numerous direct and indirect jobs, precisely
because it offers raw materials for various types of industry. After all, what would
become of the vehicle assembly industries without steel, glass and petroleum
products, materials that come directly from mining? It is precisely this indirect
relationship with other industries that makes mineral extraction one of the main
sources of job creation.

Challenges faces by mining industry

The pressure for greater sustainability and innovation are some of the main factors that guide
the strategies of companies and market dynamics in the coming years. Technological efforts
have been made to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Renewable energy sources, such
as wind, biomass and solar energy, have been more explored, causing the relative cost of
energy generation from such sources to be reduced in recent years.

Even though, in general, the cost of adopting more sustainable processes is high, they start to
be increasingly used by companies, to reduce the impact on the environment. To a certain
extent, it is observed that the economic perspective has been influenced by sustainability
issues. Given the urgency of the problem, the trend is that the pace of innovation on the topic
is increasing.
Economic impacts of Mining
Mining plays a vital role in the economic development of many countries. Historically this
has been the case in many parts of the developed world, and while mineral development is an
important factor for economic growth it can also, if done responsibly, be a catalyst for social
growth in developing countries.

The present economic impact of mining needs to be assessed within the perspective of the
industry's present tendencies. For example, emerging economies are now major player in the
production and availability of key commodities, such as copper (70%) and bauxite (40%) and
with iron ore, precious metals, lead and others within this range. Also, the continuous
declining trend of real metals price during the past 35 years represents a difficult challenge
for mining companies to reduce production costs through technical and financial
management.

Another key trend is globalization and the dominance of market economy, with three
important elements:

(i) The creation of global capital, goods and service markets;

(ii) The creation of global communications and information space;
(iii) The emergence of global values.

While the mining sector has operated at a global level for a long time, the establishment of
global information and communication has had enormous consequences on the mining
industry as it has meant that positive and negative impacts and experiences in the sector are
quickly reported and transmitted throughout the globe.

The emergence of global values is to a large extent the result of the changes in
communications and information, but it is also due to the increasing realization that actions in
one country can have profound effects on other countries at the economic, social and
environmental levels. For the mining industry, the increase in shared environmental values
throughout the world has been the most important change to date, although the recent
emergence of shared socio-cultural values is likely to have an even more profound impact.
Other recent developments, such as the Asian financial crisis, and the down-turn in metal
prices, in combination with the continued globalization, especially with respect to access to
mineral deposits on a global scale, has resulted in an unprecedented competitive environment
and the need for competitiveness at all levels.
In the area of environment and social protection, the industry's exposure to an increased focus
and awareness by the public at large, results in a need to address and integrate those factors in
project design and operations at the earliest stage of development. In particular, the emphasis
has moved away from the narrow environmental definition of sustainability to one of
"sustainable communities"; that is, communities which are able to turn part of the wealth
generated by mining into an asset base which not only results in wide-spread benefits from
the operation of the mine but ensures that the community will have a continued economic
future once the mine is closed.

As a consequence, the discourse on politics and economics of mining are shifting from a
primarily central government focus to include both regional governments and communities as
well as the international community.

Another important economic impact of mining can be measured in terms of employment and
income generation. Commercial-scale mining provides employment and skills transfer to
more than 2 million workers with, in addition, an employment multiplier effect by a factor
from 2 to 5. While mostly a poverty-driven activity, small-scale mining provides income to
about 13 million workers and their families worldwide, in countries such as Bolivia, Brazil,
Colombia, Venezuela, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Madagascar, Mozambique, Tanzania and
Indonesia, among many others.

Mining can cause economic impacts, both positive and negative, due to the way it acts in the
financial market. As positive impacts, it can be noted the generation of direct jobs, as well as
indirect jobs resulting from those jobs that depend on companies to be able to provide some
kind of service. And in the negative impacts it harms environmental management a lot. At the
same time, it generates taxes, which revert to services to the popolation, allowing the
continuation of works and the projects that aim to improve living conditions, providing well-
being to the population in general. It is noteworthy that, generally, these positive impacts also
have repercussions in the area surrounding the mining, since the extracted sand is
commercialized and used and, in general, generates wealth.
Mining is one of the foundations of the national economy. It represents socioeconomic
development, as ores can be found in almost all the products we consume.
It is, therefore, na essential activity for the progress of a society. However, although mining is
indispensable for development, it is na activity that generates major negative environmental
impacts.
Conclusion

Mining can cause economic impacts, both positive and negative, due to the way it acts in the
financial market. As positive impacts, it can be noted the generation of direct jobs, as well as
indirect jobs resulting from those jobs that depend on companies to be able to provide some
kind of service. And in the negative impacts it harms environmental management a lot. At the
same time, it generates taxes, which revert to services to the population, allowing the
continuation of works and the projects that aim to improve living conditions, providing well-
being to the population in general. It is noteworthy that, generally, these positive impacts also
have repercussions in the area surrounding the mining, since the extracted sand is
commercialized and used and, in general, generates wealth.
References