Neves-Corvo copper mine
| Neves-Corvo copper mine | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| General information about the mine | |||
 |
|||
| other names | Neves Corvo Mine | ||
| Mining technology | Bench construction with offset | ||
| Information about the mining company | |||
| Operating company | Lundin mining | ||
| Employees | 910 | ||
| Start of operation | 1989 | ||
| Funded raw materials | |||
| Degradation of | Copper / zinc / lead | ||
| Degradation of | zinc | ||
| Degradation of | lead | ||
| Geographical location | |||
| Coordinates | 37 ° 34 '25.3 " N , 7 ° 58' 19.7" W | ||
|
|||
| Location | Neves-Corvo | ||
| local community | Senhora da Graça de Padrões | ||
| {{{NUTS3_BEZEICHNUNG}}} ( NUTS3 ) | Castro Verde | ||
| District | Beja district | ||
| Country | Portugal | ||
The Neves-Corvo mine is one of the most important copper - mines in Europe. The deposit belongs to the pyrite belt of the South Iberian peninsula and was only discovered in 1977. The end products are twenty-five percent copper concentrate and fifty percent zinc concentrate.
Geographical location
Neves-Corvo is located about 100 km north of Faro , in the south of the Beja district , between the towns of Neves da Graça and A do Corvo . The mine is connected to the Portuguese rail network via the Ramal de Neves Corvo branch line .
geology
The Neves-Corvo deposit is of the volcanogenic massive sulphide deposit (VMS) type. The deposit has secure and probable reserves of 27.7 million tons of copper ore with grades averaging 3.0% Cu, 0.9% Zn, 0.3% Pb, 44 g / t Ag and 23.1 million t . Zinc ore with average grades of 7.3% Zn, 0.4% Cu, 1.7% Pb, 66 g / t Ag. The deposit is divided into the Lombador and the Semblana camp.
history
The copper mining started in 1989. From 2006 to November 2008 zinc ore was processed. Zinc production was stopped because of the rapid fall in zinc prices on the world market. A resumption was planned for 2011. The zinc processing was switched to copper ore.
Companies
The mine was owned by SOMINCOR-Sociedade Mineira de Neves Corvo, SA until 2004 , when it was sold to EuroZinc , a company of the Canadian-Swedish group Lundin Mining . Lundin holds 100% of the shares.
Mine
The mine is accessed via a 700 m deep shaft with a 5 m diameter . The Santa Barbara shaft is connected to the 700 m level and has a production capacity of 4.6 million tons per year. A ramp serves as a second entrance .
Dismantling process
The excavation methods used are bench construction with offset and site construction with offset. Flushing offset or self-hardening offset is used as the offset method .
Exploration program
Neves-Corvo is considered not to have been adequately explored. That is why an exploration program with a total of 80,000 meters of drilling should be started in 2011. The aim of the drilling program is to explore the size of the semblana storage facility and to demonstrate further reserves in the Lombador storage facility.
Concept study
In order to be able to optimally exploit the deposit, a concept study is currently being carried out in order to be able to assess whether the copper-rich Semblana deposit can be mined in front of the lower-lying zinc and copper deposit Lombador ("Lombador Phase II"). This study compares different driveway variants , including a new shaft, ramps and mining mountains . Investments for 2012 have been postponed until the results of the study are available.
processing
There are two processing plants : a copper processing facility with a capacity of 2.5 million tons per year and a zinc processing facility , which is currently being expanded to a capacity of 1 million tons per year. The ores are processed by crushing , grinding and floating , thickening and filtering . Downstream of the processing are sludge ponds , which clear the processing residues (see Cerro do Lobo dam ). The dead rock is partly added to the backfill.
Copper processing
Currently (2011), mainly richer copper ore is processed, which leaves reserve capacity to process poorer ore when copper prices rise.
Zinc processing
A further expansion of zinc processing up to 2.5 million tons per year, which corresponds to a peak production of 150,000 t of zinc concentrate per year and an average of 112,000 t, was considered in the "Lombador Phase I" feasibility study , but until the end of the Concept study postponed.
Production targets for 2011
For 2011 an annual production of 70,000 t of copper concentrate and 4,500 t of zinc concentrate was announced.
Web links
- Neves-Corvo, Portugal. Lundin Mining, accessed January 7, 2012 .
Individual evidence
- ^ BHG Brady, ET Brown: Rock Mechanics. Retrieved January 7, 2012 .