PbZn 2020: The 9th International Symposium on Lead and Zinc Processing: PbZn Sustainability
Sponsored by: The Mining and Materails Processing Institute of Japan, Nonferrous Metals Society of China, GDMB: The Society for Mining, Metallurgy Resourcce and Environmental Technology, Metallurgy & Materials Society of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy & Petroleum, TMS Extraction and Processing Division, TMS: Hydrometallurgy and Electrometallurgy Committee, TMS: Process Technology and Modeling Committee, TMS: Pyrometallurgy Committee, TMS: Recycling and Environmental Technologies Committee
Program Organizers: Andreas Siegmund, LanMetCon LLC; Shafiq Alam, University of Saskatchewan; Joseph Grogan, Gopher Resource; Ulrich Kerney, Recylex; Cheng Liu, China Enfi Engineering Corporation; Etsuro Shibata, Tohoku University
Tuesday 2:00 PM
February 25, 2020
Room: 15A
Location: San Diego Convention Ctr
Session Chair: Sabina Grund, International Zinc Association (IZA)
2:00 PM
Effect of Deposit Types, Mine Development and Industry Structure on Primary Lead and Zinc Economics in Australia, North America and Europe: Hendrik Reemeyer1; 1Resourceful Paths Consulting
The economics of primary lead and zinc production are influenced by geological attributes of deposits and geographical factors such as access to transport infrastructure and markets. Characteristics of deposit types such as SEDEX, VMS, CRD and MVT influence both revenue and costs. Resulting mine economics are reviewed with focus on Australia, Canada, USA and Europe. Mine development and depletion and changes in smelting due to tightening environmental standards and changing concentrate availability are reviewed for the last 25 years. This includes major changes in smelting flowsheets to adapt to feedstock supply shifts. Changes in industry structure including consolidation, changes in vertical integration and the rise of Chinese production are examined. The role of byproduct recovery, particularly silver, on economics of both mines and smelters is reviewed. A future outlook on lead-zinc industry structure in Australia, Canada, USA and Europe to 2040 is included.
2:20 PM
Processing Technology of Zn-Al Alloys into Wires for Thermal Spray Applications: Piotr Osuch1; Monika Walkowicz1; Pawel Strzepek1; Beata Smyrak1; Andrzej Mamala1; Tadeusz Knych1; Tomasz Napiora2; Radoslaw Sokol2; Stanislaw Pawlicha2; 1AGH University of Science and Technology; 2ZM Silesia SA
Although the Zn-Al alloy wires are intended for remelting with thermal spraying devices, their mechanical properties and overall quality are important factors for customers, who are leaning to more automated and precise thermal spraying equipment nowadays. Wires for thermal spray applications are manufactured in wire-drawing process from the wire-rod, which is manufactured in continuous casting and rolling process (CCR) at industrial scale. The technology allows the wire-rod’s microstructure and properties to be formed by adjusting numerous technological parameters, such as alloy composition, melt temperature, casting and rolling speed, cooling water pressure and flow, temperature profile of the rolled bar during the process and many others. Due to the complexity of Zn-Al phase diagram wire rod’s microstructure and properties may also be altered by its heat treatment at properly selected parameters. Recent research and development results on processing technology of Zn-Al alloys into wires are presented.
2:40 PM
Opportunities for Concentrating Solar Thermal Energy in Pb and Zn Flowsheets: Susanna Hockaday1; Aphelele Sithole1; 1MINTEK
The Northern Cape Province in South Africa has high levels of annual solar irradiance and has reserves of Pb and Zn. The question arises as to the benefits of integrating renewable solar energy into the production flowsheets of these reserves. The proposed paper evaluates novel flowsheets for Pb and Zn production maximising solar energy as energy source for both electricity and process heat against flowsheets using grid electricity and fossil fuels as energy sources. Solar variability will be discussed based on possible implementation sites for such technologies and the cost and benefits of thermal storage in the flowsheets will also be evaluated. The benefits of using solar energy will be evaluated based on a cost discounted economic models taking into account the variability of the solar resource, capital costs and operating costs of infrastructure over the lifetime of the project.
3:00 PM Break