Where Your Copper Comes From

[rockgremlin]

I recently moved to Monticello from Salt Lake City. A pretty drastic change, but I'm really enjoying it. The reason for the move is because I was recently hired to work at the newly opened Lisbon Valley Copper Mine, which is located about half-way between Moab and Monticello. Going from rock to pure copper is a fascinating process, and I thought I would share a few pics describing it.

[derstuka]

Excellent write up Rock! You should be a teacher. Very interesting process. Sounds like a good steady way to make some cash. I just have one question....what happens with the water from this pond of chemicals? How much gets leached into the ground? Not trying to rip you, only curious is all.

[rockgremlin]

I just have one question....what happens with the water from this pond of chemicals? How much gets leached into the ground? Not trying to rip you, only curious is all.

Nope. A very valid question. I'm glad you asked. After the copper has been extracted out of the solution in the tank house, the leaching solution is no longer "pregnant," and is recycled. It's a completely closed system.

The PLS ponds, and the leach pads are all lined on the bottom -- first with a thick layer or impenetrable clay, then double-lined with a special plastic that is acid proof. On top of that, we have sensors built under the leach pads and PLS ponds to detect any leaks. We do not want any of this stuff leaking into the ground! In the first place, if we have leaks, then that's copper that we cannot recover (lost profit), it would be really bad for the aquifer, and we would be smacked with fines. There are several governmental regulatory agencies that we are required to report to. They ensure that we are doing our job to monitor for any leaks in the pad, as well as any settling of the leach pad that may occur.

[accadacca]

That's cool! How hot does it get on the job site and how about in Monticello where you live? Of course you sit in an air conditioned office.

[Iceaxe]

Nice write up......

Now if you could just tell me where babies come from? Complete with pictures please

[rockgremlin]

That's cool! How hot does it get on the job site and how about in Monticello where you live? Of course you sit in an air conditioned office.

A good rule of thumb is to take the temperature in Moab, subtract 10 degrees, and that's what it is at the mine. For Monticello, subtract 15 degrees.

Both Monticello and Lisbon Valley can be quite windy at times. Monticello is actually higher in elevation than Park City!

[rockgremlin]

Now if you could just tell me where babies come from? Complete with pictures please

Ya, sure. Here ya go.

[Iceaxe]

Looks like ya got the COD part right

Hey, I always hear about the ruins around Cedar Mesa, but is there much around Monticello?

If the nakid twin midget thing doesn't pan out I might be down that way over the 4th and the cooler temp intrigues me.

[Sombeech]

That's pretty sweet, dude.

What's the estimated time frame of gathering ore at this site? Do they think they know where most of the ore is, or are they tapping into an area unknown in size?

I would suppose they had a pretty good idea though, on how much ore was in the area.

[rockgremlin]

Estimated mine life is 7 years, but that's a rough guess. It wouldn't be any less than 7 years, and may be much longer than that pending favorable results of an exploration drilling program currently underway a few miles downvalley.

As far as ruins around Monticello, supposedly there's a few cliff houses up in Montezuma Canyon, which drains a large area just east of Monticello. I would believe it. I pass Montezuma Canyon every day on my way to and from the mine, and it looks like a prime location for ruins.

[Alex]

Awesome write up, thanks! A few questions:

1. Does the same process take place at the Kennecott mine? I used to work there as a core driller, but I never thought about the process as you described it, now it all makes sense :)

2. There are quite a few ponds around Potash (near Moab), is it similiar mine as the one you are working?

3. What is your job at the mine?

Thanks,
Alex

[accadacca]

That's cool! How hot does it get on the job site and how about in Monticello where you live? Of course you sit in an air conditioned office.

A good rule of thumb is to take the temperature in Moab, subtract 10 degrees, and that's what it is at the mine. For Monticello, subtract 15 degrees.

Both Monticello and Lisbon Valley can be quite windy at times. Monticello is actually higher in elevation than Park City!

That's sweet! So sounds like a good climate.

[rockgremlin]

Awesome write up, thanks! A few questions:

1. Does the same process take place at the Kennecott mine? I used to work there as a core driller, but I never thought about the process as you described it, now it all makes sense :)

2. There are quite a few ponds around Potash (near Moab), is it similiar mine as the one you are working?

3. What is your job at the mine?

Thanks,
Alex

Answers to your questions:

1. To my knowledge, Kennecott does use this same process to extract copper, but with a few added steps inbetween. They extract four different metals (copper, silver, molybdenum, and gold), and so their process has to accomodate several different steps in order to extract all four metals. I'm pretty sure that their process is identical to ours up until the secondary crusher. At Kennecott, after the secondary crusher they will run their crushed ore through a floatation circuit, separating the copper from the molybdenum. From there, the copper is mixed with water and other chemicals to make a copper concentrate. That concentrate is then treated to extract copper the same way that we do -- through electrowinning (plating the copper onto stainless steel cathodes). After the copper plates onto the cathodes, the gold and silver drop out into the solution, which is then harvested and refined. One major step they cut out of our process is heap leaching (stacking up the ore, and dripping acid over the top). They don't need to do that because they collect their copper by floatation.

2. The ponds around Potash are part of a mining operation, but very different to ours. Instead of copper, they are mining a mineral called potash. Here's an excellent website describing what's going on there:

http://www.intrepidllc.com/loc/moab.html

3. There are two mining engineers here at Lisbon Valley. The chief engineer (my boss), and me.

[Iceaxe]

3. There are two mining engineers here at Lisbon Valley. The chief engineer (my boss), and me.

[greyhair biker]

Potash is used in similar processes as Trona Ore (soda ash) that I mine up here in the Green River basin. I work at Solvay Chemicals - we mine the trona that is processed into soda ash. A good friend of mine works for Intrepid Potash which owns Moabs' Potash mine ( he's at the one in Carlsbad NM)

[Alex]

What does potash ash used for?

[accadacca]

What does potash ash used for?

Take a wild guess...

[Alex]

What does potash ash used for?

Take a wild guess...

nice one.

nm found it http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potash

[R]

What does potash ash used for?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potash

[rockgremlin]

What does potash ash used for?

Mostly fertilizer, but it has a variety of uses. It has also been used in the manufacture of soap and glass.