![]() This technique was developed in the first centuries BC and AD by Roman miners to erode away alluvium. Hydraulic mining had its precursor in the practice of ground sluicing, a development of which is also known as " hushing", in which surface streams of water were diverted so as to erode gold-bearing gravels. Hydraulic mining has been used in various forms around the world. These problems led to its legal regulation. ![]() Though successful in extracting gold-rich minerals, the widespread use of the process resulted in extensive environmental damage, such as increased flooding and erosion, and sediment blocking waterways and covering farm fields. Its modern form, using pressurized water jets produced by a nozzle called a "monitor", came about in the 1850s during the California Gold Rush in the United States. Hydraulic mining developed from ancient Roman techniques that used water to excavate soft underground deposits. It is also used in mining kaolin and coal. In the placer mining of gold or tin, the resulting water-sediment slurry is directed through sluice boxes to remove the gold. Hydraulic mining is a form of mining that uses high-pressure jets of water to dislodge rock material or move sediment. The permit area, which is in New Zealand territorial waters, is located 600 km east of Christchurch and includes significant shallow seabed deposits of rock phosphate and other potentially valuable minerals.Mining technique using high-pressure water jets to carve away mineralsĪ miner using a hydraulic jet to mine for gold in California, from The Century Magazine January 1883 On 25 February 2010, a consortium comprising Widespread Energy and associated company Widespread Portfolios Ltd, was granted an offshore prospecting permit by the Crown Resources division of the Ministry of Economic Development covering an area of 4,726 km 2 on the central Chatham Rise. ![]() ![]() This process Widespread states: “will allow it to tap the expertise of several world leaders in the dredging industry without the necessity to make what could be a premature decision on a preferred partner.” Each of the dredging companies will also benefit from being able to undertake a jointly funded pre-feasibility study before being required to commit significant resources towards detailed concept design and production testing. Detailed concept design and production testing are expected to take at least 12-18 months. The requested studies will provide a mining concept with an assessment of the technical feasibility of the mining concept considerations as to how to minimise environmental impact and production estimates and a preliminary indication of capital and operational costs.Īfter the two studies have been completed, Widespread Energy will review them and then (with the assistance of suitably qualified industry experts) select an exclusive partner for detailed concept design, production testing and, ultimately the mining/dredging operation. They are being funded 50/50 by Widespread Energy and the dredging companies. One study is being undertaken by Dutch dredging company Royal Boskalis Westminster NV, the other by a consortium of Rotterdam-based IHC Merwede and Belgium’s DEME. The mining concept studies, which are expected to be completed within eight weeks, are effectively engineering pre-feasibility studies. New Zealand-based Widespread Energy Ltd, the operator of the Chatham Rise Rock Phosphate Project, has reached agreement with three of the world’s largest dredging companies to carry out two jointly funded mining concept studies. ![]()
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