How Product Demand Impacts Mineral Sand Output

China and India’s burgeoning middle class has changed the way the two nations consume goods. With 1.3 billion people in China alone even a small change in purchase decisions can impact the demand and prices of mineral sands output needed to manufacture these goods.

One change in consumer demand was for more Western-style porcelain toilets five years ago. The quantity of toilets required saw the demand for the whitening agent zircon increase to the point that a previously closed Australian zircon mine swung into production.

The prime locations for zircon include the Murray basin which extends from the Mount Lofty Ranges in South Australia to Mildura in Victoria. South Australian miner Murray Zircon reopened its mine at Mindarie, about 150 kilometres east of Adelaide. Mindarie is a joint venture with a Chinese company that requires a quantity of zircon for use in China and for selling off to overseas markets.

Often demand causes a spike in mineral prices for a short time then falls making mining untenable. In the case of Mindarie, the mine’s camp was built in 2013, but just two years later redundancies were announced and the mine closed operations.

At the height of the boom, mineral resources made up 37% of South Australia’s merchandise trade, an increase of 13% in seven years.

Impact of Exchange Rates

It is not just the market price of the output that places pressure on mineral sands mining. Currency exchange rates play a big part in the viability of mineral sands operations. The price of mineral sands products is usually sold under contracts in $US. However, the cost of producing the sands is in local dollars, ie $AUS, so the forecasts for exchange rates are carefully studied before deciding to proceed with a mine’s production.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

An increased GDP can mean a similar increase for some products. Demand for paint products usually follows GDP while demand for other products such as plastics and decorative laminates can run faster than GDP.

Mineral processing and material handling:

Balancing product demand and supply can be a bit daunting. Speaking to experts or an agency for more information on mineral processing and material handling in the mining industry would be beneficial for your business.

Comments

What is a Scrubber and Trommel?

To process precious and base metals, gravel, minerals and sand, most sites will need a scrubber and trommel. When the mineral sand is trapped inside balls due to a high clay content, the material is passed through a rotating screen known as a scrubber. As the scrubber rotates, it breaks up alluvial, clay and sand. A trommel is used to separate the materials. Elevated at an angle a cylindrical drum has the material fed in one end. The under-sized material passes through the screen while the oversized material exits the drum at the other end. A vibrating screen does a similar job to the trommel, however, is not as robust and won’t last as long when working under stress. The vibrating screen can evaluate more material at one time than the trommel. The Right Specs Selecting the right scrubber for your project needs to take into account some considerations. By informing your supplier of the following information, you can ensure that you will receive the ideal scrubber for the job. N

Benefits of Modular Turn-Key Plants

Modular turn-key plants have several benefits compared to building a plant on site. We look at a few of the main ones here. 1. Preserve CAPEX Plants built on site require significantly more capital expenditure than a modular plant. The funds saved on a modular plant can be used in other parts of the business. Being modular means the plant can be more easily moved to a new location when required so the asset potentially has a longer life than if it is fixed. 2. Lead Time There is significantly less time needed to get a plant up and running if it can be built off-site. Building work on modular plants can begin as soon as the design is finalised where as on-site takes time to gain building approvals. The other local authority approvals can be finalised while construction is underway. By the time everything is in place, the building is ready for transport. Testing can also be completed off-site so once the plant has been fitted on-site, the time needed to get to full pr

Difference Between Mineral Sands and Rare Earths

There is some confusion around what is classified as a mineral sand and what is considered a rare earth. Australia has an abundance of both however rare earths is hard to produce and much of the mineral sands reserves are located in national parks and other environmentally sensitive areas not gazetted for mining. What are mineral sands? Mineral sands contain concentrations of the important minerals, rutile, ilmenite, zircon and monazite. In Australia, the three main minerals mined from mineral sands deposits are ilmenite, rutile and zircon. Zircon is used in industrial and chemical applications including the manufacture of ceramics and refractories. Titanium is also used for industry and chemicals but also for making titanium dioxide pigments. Australia is the largest producer of titanium, rutile and zirconium in the world. Production rates of the minerals depend largely on the increase and decrease of demand often linked to global recession and prosperity. What are rare

Mining Matters WA

Search This Blog