Please commentTechnology investement risk proves big winner
Although Bagdad is one of Phelps Dodge Corp.'s smaller mines, it is known for its innovation and use of technology.
The revolutionary "SX-EW" process, in which copper is leached out of ore with acid and then plated onto metal sheets, was largely developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s at Bagdad.
The technique cuts production costs significantly by eliminating the smelting process. But this solution extraction-electrowinning process can be used only on oxide ore, one of two types of copper-bearing rock found at Bagdad and many other mines. The sulfide ores must still be smelted, or heated to a molten state, to eliminate iron and sulfur.
But at a $42 million demonstration plant at Bagdad, iron and sulfur are being removed from the sulfide ore through a chemical process instead of smelting. The technology, which was first tested in 2003, eliminates a costly step in copper production and promises to breathe new life into marginal mines that have relatively low-grade copper ore bodies.
Royce Smith, Phelps Dodge's manager of hydrometallurgical and heat leaching at Bagdad, said the company continues to run tests at the new plant and is exploring ways to scale up the facility to process more ore.
Smith noted the plant was a risk for Phelps Dodge that paid off.
"The company was going through hard times, yet they were willing to invest $42 million in new technology," he said. "That says a lot about their commitment to the future."
---------------------------------------------------------------------
This is Baghdad, Arizona by the way. It would be cool if Ivanhoe would partner with Phelps or license this technology. Would the Mongolian government even allow it or is it hell bent on that smelter??
Kavi