Tag Archives: Florida

Chemours kicks off commissioning at Trail Ridge South mineral sands mine

17th August 2022Energy minerals, Mineral project development, Mining equipment, Mining services, Water managementChemours, Downer, Florida, Jesup, Jody Sciance, mineral sands, Mineral Technologies, MMU, The Chemours Company, Ti-Pure, titanium dioxide, Trail Ridge South, USA, zirconDaniel Gleeson

The Chemours Company has begun commissioning its newest mineral sand mine, Trail Ridge South, in Florida, USA.

The new mining operation represents a $93 million investment that will create approximately 50 new jobs in the three-county area, and will incorporate Mobile Mining Units (MMUs) that were previously tested out at the company’s Jesup, Georgia mining site, allowing for reduced dependency on traditional dredge or truck and shovel mining processes.

Commissioning work to test operational aspects of the new mine has begun, with startup anticipated later this year. Expansion of its mining operations will allow Chemours – the only domestic producer of titanium and zirconium minerals and one of only two domestic producers of rare earth minerals – to have additional access to these high-quality concentrated deposits used to produce Chemours’ Ti-Pure™ brand of titanium dioxide (TiO₂).

“The commissioning of our new Trail Ridge South mine is much more than an operational milestone – it represents a huge win for our customers, community, and our country,” Jody Sciance, co-Director of Minerals Operations for Chemours, said. “This secure, domestic mineral supply means more tonnes of TiO₂ for our pigment customers, more jobs for Clay County residents, and access to critical materials identified by the U.S. Department of the Interior as vital to our nation’s security and economic prosperity – all with minimal impact on our local environment. We are extremely proud to expand our footprint in Florida and look forward to partnering with this community for years to come.”

The MMUs to be used at Trail Ridge South, an expansion of its existing Trail Ridge operation, allow the site to have much lower emissions, reduced dust levels and improved safety by removing conventional hauling trucks, Chemours says. In addition, the Trail Ridge South facility will recycle 98% of its water used in the manufacturing process – providing sustainable solutions while still meeting the company’s commitment to process minerals. Trail Ridge South process water and water treatment ponds are all constructed above ground, with approximately 39 million gallons (177 million litres) of storage capacity.

A high-performance solution, the MMUs for both Jesup and Trail Ridge South have been designed by Carrara, Queensland, Australia-headquartered Downer company Mineral Technologies (MT). MT told IM in 2021 that these units are aimed at mining sites where traditional dredging is not an option, or not cost effective. The technology delivers improvements in availability, orebody yields, throughput and overall mineral recovery. Suited to sand environments that include organics such as tree roots, light clay and soft or friable rock, MMUs can reduce operating costs by also eliminating the need for conventional truck and shovel mining. MT said the Chemours MMUs are extracting difficult-to-reach mineral sand deposits where traditional mining methods don’t stack up as the best business case. The MMUs provide a far safer and substantially reduced cost per tonne solution compared with other options.

MT says the MMU has a 750 t/h nominal operation with peak at 900 t/h. It offers complete remote control via a tablet device eliminating the need for on-board personnel. Dozers push run of mine ore to the unit where a hopper is loaded via hydraulic excavator, with the material then crushed to a suitable size for pumping of slurried ore to downstream processes.

RIEGL capitalises on North America LiDAR tech demand with new regional HQ

16th December 2020IoT, Mine surveying, Mining servicesDPR Construction, Florida, Johannes Riegl Jr, RIEGL, scanners, USADaniel Gleeson

RIEGL USA has relocated to a new state-of-the-art, RIEGL group financed North America headquarters and training center in Winter Garden, Florida.

This investment was made possible by the continued success and growth of RIEGL in North America, the excellent and determined teamwork of the RIEGL USA team, and by the strong confidence that the RIEGL headquarters in Austria, Europe, is placing in the North American market, RIEGL said.

RIEGL USA’s new 1,719 sq.m facility is located on its own ground of approximately 7.7 ha at 14707 West Colonial Drive, Winter Garden, just west of Orlando, Florida.

The multi-million-dollar headquarters and training facility features modern training rooms and service areas including climate chambers and laser test ranges for equipment testing and calibration, a customer support centre, a distribution hub, and sales and administration offices.

RIEGL USA President, Johannes Riegl Jr, said: “Over the last couple of years, we have continuously grown our business here in North America and this new facility resembles that continued growth. The support of our headquarters in Austria has been critical to the development of this amazing building we are now in.”

Due to current COVID-19 travel restrictions, the official Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony will be delayed and take place in 2021 after restrictions are lifted.

The new facility has been constructed by DPR Construction company, which has used RIEGL LiDAR terrestrial scanners and UAV-based technologies throughout the construction process to document and monitor the progress of the construction.

Mosaic clears final hurdle to develop Ona phosphate project in Florida, US

4th January 2019Energy minerals, Environmental, Industrial minerals, Mineral project development, Mining project newsFlorida, Four Corners, Joc O'Rourke, Mosaic, Ona, phosphate, South Pasture, US Army CorpsDaniel Gleeson

The Mosaic Company has acquired the US Army Corps of Engineers 404 permit for its Ona phosphate project in Hardee County, Florida. This was the final remaining permit for the project and secures 160.2 million tons, or 145.33 Mt (metric), of phosphate rock for future mining, the company said.

The overall project covers 22,483 acres (9,099 ha) with 16,778 acres of land permitted for mining.

“The western extent of the project will extend the life of Mosaic’s Four Corners mine by 14 years, while the eastern extent will provide mining for future decades at the South Pasture mine once production resumes at that facility,” the company said.

Mosaic President and CEO, Joc O’Rourke, said: “This important project helps secure the continued operation of our Florida manufacturing facilities. It will deliver tremendous value to the local community, our employees and our investors well into the future.”

Permitting efforts for the Ona project began in 2011. Mining permits from the State of Florida were issued in 2015 and local government permits were secured in July 2018.

Fluor completed the front-end engineering and design scopes for the Ona project, which includes an expansion of the existing South Pasture beneficiation plant, an extension of the life of the existing Four Corners beneficiation plant, and installation of a 24 km mining access/pipeline corridor.

Late last month, Mosaic reached a major milestone in the development of its multi-year mine project at Esterhazy K3, in Saskatchewan, Canada, with the commissioning of the production hoist and sending of the first bucket of potash on the overland conveyor to the Esterhazy K2 mill.

The commissioning of the K3 production hoist, which will move 60-ton skips, takes the company one step closer to mitigating Esterhazy’s brine inflow costs and risk, it said. K3 is expected to reach full operational capacity by 2024.