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Dabloom,
You are a bottom feeder! I've cast my nets down there too, just in case I catch me some of those stray .05's.
Woof
Processing
Hydrometallurgy, or “hydromet” for short, is a metal processing technology that uses a chemical process combining water, oxygen or other substances in a pressurized or other vessel to dissolve a metal from its ore, concentrate or an intermediate product (such as matte). Further processing is required to produce high purity metal.
The nickel industry worldwide has traditionally smelted concentrates produced from nickel, copper and cobalt sulphide ores to make an intermediate sulphide product called matte. Hydrometallurgy has been used for refining the matte to produce high purity nickel, copper and cobalt for the market. Thus, traditionally production of these metals has occurred in two steps: smelting and refining.
The new hydrometallurgical process that Vale Inco developed will be able to process the nickel concentrate directly to metal products without first having to smelt the concentrate. It will be more economical and environmentally friendly since the sulphur dioxide and dust emissions associated with a smelter are eliminated. The process will also yield more of the valuable cobalt which is lost to a great extent in the smelting process.
This type of hydrometallurgical process is not entirely new. Many operations, some of them in Canada, have used hydrometallurgical processes for years for extraction of zinc and copper from sulphide concentrates. However, it was not until 1990’s that an acid-oxidative hydromet technology was developed to process nickel sulphide concentrates.
Process DescriptionIn the hydromet process for sulphide concentrate, a finely ground nickel-cobalt-copper concentrate will be processed in a pressurized vessel where it will react with oxygen and sulphuric acid to produce an impure solution of nickel, cobalt and copper. This solution will pass through a number of chemical purification steps ending with removal of impurities and separation of nickel, copper and cobalt. The copper and cobalt will be recovered as by-products. The nickel will be recovered by electrolysis as high quality electronickel product suitable for market. The waste solids from the process will be neutralized with lime and will be deposited in a specially designed disposal facility. All water leaving the plant, including precipitation run-off water will be processed to remove contaminants.
Developing a Hydrometallurgical FacilityIn developing the hydromet process for Voisey’s Bay concentrate, Vale Inco is using a step-by-step research and development approach.
The first step was to prove that each separate chemical process works individually at a laboratory scale. This has been successfully completed.
The second step was to operate a mini-pilot plant at our laboratory facilities to ensure that the steps can be interconnected into a continuous process. The mini-pilot plant began operating in 2003 and the program was completed in May 2005.
The next step was to build a demonstration plant at Argentia to allow for fine-tuning and optimization of the process, using actual Voisey’s Bay concentrate. Construction of the demonstration plant began in May 2004. Operations began in October 2005 and were completed in June 2008.
The key mission of the demonstration plant was to prove out and fine-tune all processing steps to confirm technical and economic viability and assist designers in the selection of the most appropriate materials of construction and specification of major pieces of equipment. In November 2008, Vale Inco made the decision to use hydromet technology in the processing plant.
Vale Inco has selected a site near Long Harbour, Newfoundland, as the location for the processing plant. Engineering, procurement and environmental planning for the processing plant in Long Harbour began in 2006. Initial construction began in April 2009 and is expected to be completed by February 2013.
Environmental ImpactHydrometallurgy has a major environmental advantage over conventional smelting since most of the waste products from the process are not produced as air emissions, but rather as solids, which can be easily contained.
In conventional pyrometallurgical smelting, sulphides are burnt off, creating SO2 gas, which is released as air emissions. With hydrometallurgy, there are no air emissions. The sulphides are transformed into elemental sulphur, which together with iron oxide form the solid tailings. The tailings will also contain gypsum and unleached rock minerals. Tailings will be neutralized to form a stable residue.
Good to leave them there sometimes.
Mine and Concentrator
Click here for a Bird's Eye View of the Voisey's Bay Mine & Concentrator (PDF format)
The main features of the Voisey’s Bay site are the open pit, the concentrator, waste rock storage areas, sedimentation ponds and tailings disposal areas.
Significant infrastructure is required to support the operation of the mine and concentrator and to ensure a safe and comfortable living environment for the people that work at the site. Supporting site infrastructure includes:
Accommodations
People working at the Voisey’s Bay site generally work on a two-week rotation. While at site, workers live in an accommodations complex that contains cafeterias, recreational areas, shops, offices and medical facilities.
AirstripVoisey’s Bay is a fly-in/fly-out operation, similar to many of today’s remote mining operations. A permanent, all-weather airstrip has been constructed to allow workers to be flown in and out of the site.
Port FacilityThe port facility at Edward’s Cove in Anaktalak Bay includes a dock, a concentrate storage building and equipment for loading the concentrate onto arriving ships. Most supplies for the project arrive at Edward’s Cove by ship.
Site RoadsThe site has a network of all-season roads that connect the open pit and the underground mining areas, the concentrator, port, airstrip and waste disposal areas.
Other FeaturesThe Voisey’s Bay site also incorporates a facility to treat sewage, a drinking water supply, a diesel generating plant to supply power to the site, and a number of warehouses and maintenance facilities to support the operation.
thanks, that GTC order was about 2 weeks old, it was the tail end of a larger order that took almost 4 - 5 days to fill.
http://www.vbnc.com/ProcurementOperationsLabrador.asp
Overview
Location of Project Sites (click to view)
In September, 1993, prospectors exploring northern Labrador for diamonds discovered the Voisey's Bay nickel deposit in Labrador. It lies on the eastern edge of a vast expanse of northern wilderness, 350 km north of Happy Valley-Goose Bay. In 1996, Vale Inco Ltd. acquired the rights to the Voisey's Bay property.
The Voisey’s Bay development consists of three major components: an integrated mine and concentrator at the Voisey’s Bay site in Labrador that will process ore from the Voisey’s Bay deposit; a demonstration hydrometallurgical plant in Argentia to confirm the technological and commercial application of hydrometallurgical technology for Voisey's Bay concentrate; and a processing facility. Construction of the mine and concentrator is complete and mining activity is underway. Vale Inco began processing its first ore in August 2005. Construction of the hydromet demonstration plant was completed in October 2005 and the final phase of the R&D program was completed and the demonstration plant closed in June 2008.
Following the completion of the R&D program, Vale Inco will construct a processing facility at Long Harbour, Newfoundland that will produce finished nickel product. Based on what we know today, this facility will cost in the order of US$2.2 billion and during operations employ about 450 people. Construction of the Long Harbour Processing Plant is expected to generate approximately 5,750 person-years of employment.
Vale Inco registered the processing plant for environmental assessment in March 2006 (click here to view1 ), submitted an Environmental Impact Statement in April 2008 and was released from environmental assessment by the federal government (July 2008) and by the provincial government (August 2008). Initial construction of the processing plant began in April 2009 with construction wrapping up in February 2013.
In addition to the mine and concentrator and the processing plant, Vale Inco has committed Cdn$20 million to the establishment and operation of an Innovation Centre in St. John’s in conjunction with Memorial University. The Inco Innovation Center was officially opened on September 20, 2005.
An integral part of this commitment involves utilizing appropriate initiatives regarding the participation of Innu and Inuit people in our activities in Labrador. Since the Voisey's Bay property is located in an area subject to land claims by both Innu Nation and the Nunatsiavut Government, we have negotiated separate Impacts and Benefits Agreements (IBA) with these two groups. Through the IBAs we have established specific employment objectives for Innu and Inuit and we have identified specific opportunities and joint-ventures.
At present, the Voisey's Bay development has an estimated project life of about 30 years. It is our hope that through further exploration we can increase our mineral reserves at Voisey's Bay and operate both the mine and concentrator and the Long Harbour Processing Plant well into the future.
Agreed. With thinly-traded miners, patience is key.
Example today: AZGFF. I have watched it churn on lows for the past 4 or 5 months on low volume between .06 and .08 cents. Today it hit nearly .14 out of the blue on big volume. I made all my money back on it instead of taking a huge loss. Patience.
Nice Doubloon, and great catch on the 4s.
Just to recap the story here
1. mineral claims are 9 miles by 20 miles in size
2. the only east west road in Labrador runs through the property
3. line staking has been completed
4. areo-mag survey has been completed (see I-box)
5. 4 outcroppings have been discovered and targeted for drilling
6. Vale Inco is spending $2.2 billion on a smelter and deep water port within hauling distance
7. company has been public for 4 weeks
8. float is 38 million shares
9. authorized is 68 million shares
10. founders restricted shares were sold at .10$
11. largest areo-mag anomaly is 460 x 370 meters at the surface and is suspected to be up to 1/2 mile in depth
12. (although completely unproven at this point in time) the reserves here could top $1 billion in value
It's really no use jumping up and down like a monkey eating jalapeños. Investors either find this one before the fund managers or they don't, it's that simple.
Patience always pays off on these when they get slow. LOL The quick dollar is usually more then one day for sure and we are only 9 days from the 10q we are waiting more answers from. The company also said they will have an update news for the 10q.
I got lucky !!!
Picked up some of those .04's for a friend and myself.
Never really expected it to go through though.
I guess even a blind hog finds the occasional truffle LOL! GL M.
GLTA !!
Ha! That's great that you got that price. I guess you were in line first.
oh my, looks like my left over gtc order filled at .04, well thanks to whoever sold, call me in 6 months and see if you can buy them back, I really highly doubt it.
I often wonder what kind of trader sells before the fact, obvioulsy there are many that think the share price is more important than the story..
Just like I figured--we saw .04 again. Didn't snag any for myself, though. Sheesh.
Thanks I thought I had it there but I do know what you mean on adding in the iboxes as it gets a little funny sometimes for sure.
Looks like all are holding tight here and we may see some impatience crawl in for some good buys till we set the next level here.
Added the aero-magnetic fly-over of the property to the i-box, i-hub is a little wonky this morning so I will continue to add information once it gets it's issues dealt with
I know the area as I left Key west and graduated in Va. Beach. lol Lived there for 18 years. then I got the idea to live on a mountain. brrrrrrrrr it is a heat wave today it made it to 18 now.
Man, you think you have it bad. It's really bad down here. It was 34 when I was coming into work, brrrrr. There was about a 1/8 inch of ice covering some mud puddles, lol. It's okay few more days and we'll be 70-80s again.
I have this large spruce tree and the snow around it is starting to touch the lower branches. The picnic table looks like it is over two foot deep on it and the worse part is there are two things I do not like and that is cold or snow. lmao.
I kept marrying girls farther north as I left key west high school as a senior.
I knew we would have a northerner laugh at what we think is cold, lol.
Hows our L2 looking?
Well whats the best guess of where we go today?
Thx penny...WOLV is a great reason to be here..This is going to be one for the books imo..
Fridays our day..we'll see
Good Morning and glad to be in the WOLV but also glad I am not in the Wolverine as that state looks really cold now. lol Looks to be a good day off the consolidation yesterday.
Hey Threw...glad to see ya here. Freezing here in VA!
LOL Freezing in Fl. Good Morning from Pa were the snow out my window is almost two foot now and more on the way. Brrr
Looks like it going to be a great day to stay in and trade.
We were 26 yesterday, 28 this morning, and supposedly our coldest is yet to come.
We're headed to 29 degree's Friday w/ rain/snow...WHHHHAAAAAT? I'm north of Tampa about 45 minutes...weird
I know how you feel. Still freezing here in Louisiana. Not the norm here either.
Doing well jm..freezing our butts off in FLA this am..unusual :o)
You?
Morning, how are you this morning?
Beautiful run over here.
I am betting that is the only red candle this time then we move back p again. Look for a gap trap in the am then we go up. It was showing in the gap trap this am on the spread.
Looks great and we will see the .09 level next now.
too lat as i was waiting and they did not want to give them. lol now they will have to come to me. weee
let see who wants out now. lol
Hope so too Montanore. Looks like a regular Rogues Gallery of my favorite folks!
GLTA !!
Glad ya made it cork..WOLV is lookin fine..
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