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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competencies and with regard for appropriate balance.
This study was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Industrial Technologies, and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Grant No. DE-AM01-99PO80016. The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Department of Energy or the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health. .
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THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
National Academy of Sciences
National Academy of Engineering
Institute of Medicine
National Research Council
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COMMITTEE ON TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE MINING INDUSTRIES
MILTON H. WARD, chair,
Ward Resources, Incorporated, Tucson, Arizona
JONATHAN G. PRICE, vice-chair,
Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, Reno
ROBERT RAY BEEBE, consultant,
Tucson, Arizona
CORALE L. BRIERLEY,
Brierley Consultancy LLC, Highlands Ranch, Colorado
LARRY COSTIN,
Sandia National Labroatories, Albuquerque, New Mexico
THOMAS FALKIE,
Berwind National Resources Corporation, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
NORMAN L. GREENWALD,
Norm Greenwald Associates, Tucson, Arizona
KENNETH N. HAN,
South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City
MURRAY HITZMAN,
Colorado School of Mines, Golden
GLENN MILLER,
University of Nevada, Reno
RAJA V. RAMANI,
The Pennsylvania State University, University Park
JOHN E. TILTON,
Colorado School of Mines, Golden
ROBERT BRUCE TIPPIN,
North Carolina State University, Asheville
RONG-YU WAN,
Newmont Mining Corporation, Englewood, Colorado
National Research Council Staff
TAMARA L. DICKINSON, Study Director
TERI G. THOROWGOOD, Research Associate
JUDITH L. ESTEP, Senior Administrative Assistant
NATIONAL MATERIALS ADVISORY BOARD
EDGAR A. STARKE, JR., chair,
University of Virginia, Charlottesville
EDWARD C. DOWLING,
Cleveland Cliffs, Incorporated, Cleveland, Ohio
THOMAS EAGAR,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge
HAMISH FRASER,
Ohio State University, Columbus
ALASTAIR M. GLASS,
Lucent Technologies, Murray Hill, New Jersey
MARTIN E. GLICKSMAN,
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York
JOHN A. S. GREEN,
The Aluminum Association, Incorporated, Washington, D.C.
THOMAS S. HARTWICK,
TRW, Redwood, Washington
ALLAN JACOBSON,
University of Houston, Texas
SYLVIA M. JOHNSON,
NASA, Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California
FRANK E. KARASZ,
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
SHELIA F. KIA,
General Motors Research and Development Center, Warren, Michigan
HARRY A. LIPSITT,
Wright State University, Yellow Spring, Ohio
ALAN G. MILLER,
Boeing Commercial Airplane Group, Seattle, Washington
ROBERT C. PFAHL, JR.,
Motorola, Schaumburg, Illinois
JULIA PHILLIPS,
Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico
HENRY J. RACK,
Clemson University, South Carolina
KENNETH L. REIFSNIDER,
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg
T.S. SUDARSHAN,
Materials Modification, Incorporated, Fairfax, Virginia
JULIA WEERTMAN,
Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
National Research Council Staff
ARUL MOZHI, Acting Director
JULIUS CHANG, Senior Staff Officer
DANIEL MORGAN, Senior Staff Officer
SHARON YEUNG, Staff Officer
TERI G. THOROWGOOD, Research Associate
DANA CAINES, Administrative Associate
JANICE PRISCO, Administrative Assistant
PATRICIA WILLIAMS, Administrative Assistant
BOARD ON EARTH SCIENCES AND RESOURCES
RAYMOND JEANLOZ, chair,
University of California, Berkeley
JOHN J. AMORUSO,
Amoruso Petroleum Company, Houston, Texas
PAUL B. BARTON, JR.,
U.S. Geological Survey (Emeritus), Reston, Virginia
BARBARA L. DUTROW,
Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge
ADAM M. DZIEWONSKI,
Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
RICHARD S. FISKE,
Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
JAMES M. FUNK,
Equitable Production Company, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
WILLIAM L. GRAF,
Arizona State University, Tempe
SUSAN M. KIDWELL,
University of Chicago, Illinois
SUSAN KIEFFER,
Kieffer and Woo, Incorporated, Palgrave, Ontario
PAMELA LUTTRELL, Independent Consultant,
Dallas, Texas
ALEXANDRA NAVROTSKY,
University of California at Davis
DIANNE R. NIELSON,
Utah Department of Environmental Quality, Salt Lake City
JONATHAN G. PRICE,
Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, Reno
National Research Council Staff
ANTHONY R. DE SOUZA, Staff Director
TAMARA L. DICKINSON, Senior Program Officer
DAVID A. FEARY, Senior Program Officer
ANNE M. LINN, Senior Program Officer
LISA M. VANDEMARK, Program Officer
JENNIFER T. ESTEP, Administrative Associate
REBECCA E. SHAPACK, Research Assistant
VERNA J. BOWEN, Administrative Assistant
Acknowledgments
This report has been reviewed by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise in accordance with procedures approved by the NRC’s Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the authors and the NRC in making their published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The content of the review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their participation in the review of this report: Bobby Brown, CONSOL; Harry Conger, Homestake Mining Company; Ed Dowling, Cleveland Cliffs Incorporated; Deverle Harris, University of Arizona; Mark La Vier, Newmont Mining Company; Debra Stuthsacker, Consultant, and Milton Wadsworth, University of Utah.
While the individuals listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, responsibility for the final content of this report rests solely with the authoring committee and the NRC. The review of this report was overseen by Donald W. Gentry, appointed by the Commission on Engineering and Technical Systems, who was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.
Finally, the committee gratefully acknowledges the support of the staff of the National Research Council. We particularly thank Dr. Tamara L. Dickinson for keeping the committee focused on our charge and for advice and guidance throughout the process. We also thank Judy Estep for able assistance with logistics, Teri Thorowgood for technical matters, and Carol R. Arenberg for editorial assistance in minimizing the use of technical terms such as “blunging,” “crud,” and “slimes.”
Preface
Minerals are basic to our way of living. Essentially everything we use in modern society is a product of the mining, agriculture, or oil and gas industries. Mining is the process of extracting raw materials from the Earth’s crust.1 In fact, mining contributes much in the way of raw material to the other two industries. Mining is important to the United States, which is both a major producer and a major consumer of mineral commodities.
As a major producer in the world markets of metals and other mined products, the United States is a prime developer of mining technology, and American experts work in mining operations throughout the world. No country is entirely self-sufficient in mineral resources, and not every country has high-grade, large, exceptionally profitable mineral deposits. Mining is a global industry, and technologies are rapidly transferred from one country to another.
Mining in the United States is an industry in transition. Environmental considerations are shifting coal production from the East and Southeast to lower sulfur resources in the West. Industrial-mineral mining is projected to expand, in response to increasing consumer demand coupled with limitations on import competition for low-value, bulk-commodity products. The expansion of metal mining in the United States is likely to be small because of diminishing ore grades, regulatory burdens, and limited access to land (although there are some exceptions), as well as higher grade deposits being developed worldwide, including by U.S. companies. Nevertheless, technology will continue to play a vital role in all sectors of mining, as it has in the past, making the products of mining available to the consumers and raising standards of living. Technological advancements have been the key to keeping mineral depletion and mineral prices in balance.
In this period of transition, innovation and development will be more important than ever. The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Industrial Technology and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health requested that the National Research Council provide guidance on possible future technological developments in the mining sector. In response to that request the Committee on Technologies for the Mining Industries composed of experts from academia, industry, state governments, and the national laboratories, was formed. Committee members have recognized expertise in exploration geology and geophysics; mining practices and processes for coal, minerals, and metals; process engineering; resource economics; the environmental impacts of mining; mineral and metal extraction and processing technologies; and health and safety.
The report has identified research areas for new technologies that would address exploration, mining and processing and associated health and safety, and environmental issues. The report calls for enhanced cooperation between government, industry and academia in mineral research and development, which will be vital for the development of new technologies. The federal government’s role is especially important. As Dr. Charles M. Vest, president of MIT, stated when he received the 2000 Arthur M. Bueche Award from the National Academy of Engineering, “the role of the federal government in supporting research and advanced education will remain absolutely essential.”
Figures, Tables, and Sidebars
FIGURES
2-1a |
Major base and ferrous metal producing areas, |
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2-1b |
Major precious metal producing areas, |
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2-2a |
Major industrial rock and mineral producing areas, Part I, |
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2-2b |
Major industrial rock and mineral producing areas, Part II, |
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2-3 |
Coal-bearing areas of the United States, |
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3-1 |
Helicopter-borne, aeromagnetic survey system, |
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3-2 |
Helicopter-borne, aeromagnetic survey system, |
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3-3 |
Photo of open-pit copper mine at Bingham Canyon, |
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3-4 |
Photograph of a quarry, |
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3-5 |
A conceptual representation of the general layout of a modern mine, the methods of mining, and the technology used, |
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3-6 |
Sample layout of an underground mine, identifying various mining operations and terms, |
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3-7 |
Photograph of longwall coal mining, |
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3-8 |
The design of an in-situ well field in Highland Mine, Wyoming, |
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4-1 |
U.S. mine fatalities, 1910 to 1999, |
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4-2 |
Nonfatal lost workdays, 1978 to 1997, |
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4-3 |
U.S. fatality rates, 1931 to 1999, |
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4-4 |
Nonfatal days-lost rates, 1978 to 1999, |
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4-5 |
Average dust concentrations for U.S. longwall and continuous mining operations, |
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5-1 |
Photograph of pit lake, |
TABLES
ES-1 |
Key Research and Development Needs for the Mining Industries, |
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1-1 |
Research Agenda for the Mining Industry, |
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2-1 |
U.S. net imports of selected nonfuel mineral materials, |
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2-2 |
U.S. Consumption and Production of Selected Mineral Commodities, |
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3-1 |
Opportunities for Research and Technology Development in Exploration, |
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3-2 |
Opportunities for Research and Development in Mining, |
3-3 |
Opportunities for Research and Technology Development in In-Situ Mining, |
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3-4 |
Opportunities for Research and Development in Mineral Processing, |
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4-1 |
Recommendations for Research and Development in Health and Safety, |
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5-1 |
Opportunities for Research and Technology Development for Environmental Protection, |
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6-1 |
Estimates of Mining Research and Development Capabilities of the National Laboratories, |
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8-1 |
Key Research and Development Needs for the Mining Industries, |
SIDEBARS
3-1 |
Examples of Environmental and Health Concerns That Should Be Identified During Exploration, |
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3-2 |
Models for Ore Deposits with Little Environmental Impact, |
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3-3 |
Need for Research on Fine Particles and Dust, |
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5-1 |
Phosphogypsum, |
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5-2 |
Blue Sky Ideas for Research on Environmental Issues, |
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7-1 |
Benefits of SXEW to Producers and Consumers, |
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8-1 |
Potential Revolutionary Developments for Mining, |
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8-2 |
Basic and Applied Research and Development, |