Kennecott and the Environment

1
Kennecott and the Environment

• Brad Rossman
• Matt Schramm
• Jason Shiring

2
Kennecott Utah Copper

• When Is The Area First Discovered?
• How Was The Mineral Deposit Found In Utah?

3
Kennecott Utah Copper

• As the Years Passed
• The New Method of Mining
• The Utah Copper Mine

Picture from http//www.kennecott.com/history_mi
ning_story2.html
4
Kennecott Utah Copper

• Jackling-Gemmell Report

Picture from http//www.kennecott.com/history_mi
ning_story2.html
5
Kennecott Utah Copper

• The Little Problem.
• The Bingham Canyon Mines Are Booming.
• The New Energy Source.

Picture from http//www.kennecott.com/history_mi
ning_story3.html
6
Kennecott Utah Copper

• Kennecott Copper Corporation.
• Utah Copper Corporation President Retires.
• From The Past To The Future.

7
The Geology

• Bingham Canyon
• Worlds largest Cu mine
• Porphyry copper deposit
• How is it formed?
• Major rock type
• Chalcopyrite (see picture at right)

Voynick, Steve. Rock and Gem online Bingham
Canyon copper. 13 Mar 2005 lthttp//www.rockhounds
.com/rockgem/articles/bingham_canyon.htmlgt.
8
The Geology (cont)

• History behind the area that contains the canyon
• Originally a shallow sea 300 MYA
• Forces around 60 130 MYA caused this seabed to
  fold and eventually form the Oquirrh Mountains as
  they are today

Voynick, Steve. Rock and Gem online Bingham
Canyon copper. 13 Mar 2005 lthttp//www.rockhounds
.com/rockgem/articles/bingham_canyon.htmlgt.
9
The Geology (cont)

• Bingham Canyon
• AKA The richest hole on earth
• Why?
• Not only copper is found there
• Gold (620 tons)
• Silver (5000 tons)
• Lead (significant)
• Molybdenum (610 million pounds)
• Platinum (significant)
• Palladium (significant)
• However, Cu is most abundant (CuFeS2) (Over 10
  million tons)

Voynick, Steve. Rock and Gem online Bingham
Canyon copper. 13 Mar 2005 lthttp//www.rockhounds
.com/rockgem/articles/bingham_canyon.htmlgt.
10
The Geology (cont)

• The canyon itself is an engineering masterpiece
• Stretches more than 2.5 miles across
• Covers over 2000 acres of land
• More than a half a mile deep
• Space
• Sears tower at 1454 feet

Voynick, Steve. Rock and Gem online Bingham
Canyon copper. 13 Mar 2005 lthttp//www.rockhounds
.com/rockgem/articles/bingham_canyon.htmlgt.
11
The Geology (cont)
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12
The Geology (cont)
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13
How is the copper produced

• Step 1 The rock is blasted from the walls of
  the canyon and moved to a rock (0.6) crusher
  within the canyon (10)
• Step 2 The 10 fragments are crushed into a
  fine powder using SAG and ball mills outside of
  the mine
• Step 3 This powder is mixed with water, several
  chemicals, and then saturated with air in large
  floatation cells (28)

Kennecott Utah Copper. Copper how we produce
Copper. 2000. 13 Mar 2005 lthttp//www.kennecott.c
om/copper_how_produce.htmlgt.
14
How is the copper produced (cont)

• Step 4 - The Cu solution is pumped to the
  smelting plant 3 components arise (the copper
  matte (70 Cu), sulfur gases, and slag
• Step 5 - This Cu matte is sent to a flash
  furnace where the impurities are burned off (98
  Cu)
• Step 6 Using electricity and the electrical
  properties of Cu, the Cu is further purified to
  the final product (99.99 Cu)

• Smelting
• Dehydrate
• Separate chemicals based on their melting point

Ministry of Energy and Mines. Mining terminology
and definitions. 17 Jul 2000. 15 March 2005.
lthttp//www.em.gov.bc.ca/Mining/MiningStats/03mine
term.htmgt.
Kennecott Utah Copper. Copper how we produce
Copper. 2000. 13 Mar 2005 lthttp//www.kennecott.c
om/copper_how_produce.htmlgt.
15
Cu toxicity

• Yes and No
• Too much of a good thing
• Human example
• Recommended - 0.9 mg Cu in diet/day
• Threshold level - over 10 mg Cu/day
• Cu is a component of about 30 enzymes in the
  human body
• Goes for all organisms however the numbers vary
  greatly from species to species

Dartmouth College. Dartmouth toxic metal
research Toxic metals. 09 Feb 2005. 13 Mar
2005 lthttp//www.dartmouth.edu/toxmetal/TXQAcu.sh
tmlgt.
16
Cu toxicity

• Many ponds around mines are polluted with Cu and
  can release excess Cu into the surrounding
  streams
• Too much Cu to the ecosystem
• Many organisms die as a result of overexposure
  (hit threshold levels)
• Nervous System Failure
• Liver Failure
• Kidney Failure
• Cu blocks bio-pathways when in high concentrations

Dartmouth College. Dartmouth toxic metal
research Toxic metals. 09 Feb 2005. 13 Mar
2005 lthttp//www.dartmouth.edu/toxmetal/TXQAcu.sh
tmlgt.
17
Environmental Reform

• EPA formed by Nixon in 1970
• Clean Air Act (1970)
• Clean Water Act (1977)
• Comprehensive Environmental Response,
  Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) AKA
  Superfund Act (1980)EPA.gov
• Set limitations and prohibitions for hazardous
  waste sites
• Set liability for owners of sites that released
  hazardous waste
• Set trust fund for cleanup

United States Environmental Protection Agency.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 15 March
2005. 16 March 2005. lthttp//www.epa.govgt
18
Hypothesis

• Environmental regulations are very costly for
  mining companies to comply with.

19
Some basic regulations on copper

• EPA - Safe drinking water act
• 10 LBS Cupric Sulfate in one area Superfund
• 5000 LBS Cu in one area Superfund
• Only allow 1.3mg per liter Cu in public drinking
  water
• US FDA
• 1 mg per liter Cu in bottled water
• OSHA
• Strict regulations on Cu fumes and other sources
  in mines

Dartmouth College. Dartmouth toxic metal
research Toxic metals. 09 Feb 2005. 13 Mar
2005 lthttp//www.dartmouth.edu/toxmetal/TXQAcu.sh
tmlgt.
20
Kennecott vs. Superfund

• In 1990, EPA found that Utah homes had been built
  on flood plains contaminated
• Water plumes

Christensen, John. Can a Copper Firm Restore a
Blasted Ecosystem? High Country News. 30 May
1994. 15 March 2005. lthttp//www.hcn.org/servlets/
hcn.Article?article_id368gt
21

• 1991 Kennecott engaged in controversy
• 12 million deal to replace water
• Salt Lake County Water Conservancy District
• Kennecott called to reform its practices, not
  merely to buy off its pollution
• Massive corporation stood up to

Christensen, John. Can a Copper Firm Restore a
Blasted Ecosystem? High Country News. 30 May
1994. 15 March 2005. lthttp//www.hcn.org/servlets/
hcn.Article?article_id368gt
22

• In 1994, Kennecott pit proposed to be added to
  EPAs Superfund site list
• Kennecott opposed this because

Christensen, John. Can a Copper Firm Restore a
Blasted Ecosystem? High Country News. 30 May
1994. 15 March 2005. lthttp//www.hcn.org/servlets/
hcn.Article?article_id368gt
23

• the EPA would have authority to manage the
  cleanup itself, forcing Kennecott to comply with
  tough guidelines, and sue for non-compliance for
  triple damages
• Superfund liability extends to pollution that was
  formerly legal when it occurred, which accounts
  for the generations of pre-EPA pollution
• in extreme circumstances, however unlikely, the
  EPA could forcibly close the mine
• Superfund listing creates a massive stigma

Christensen, John. Can a Copper Firm Restore a
Blasted Ecosystem? High Country News. 30 May
1994. 15 March 2005. lthttp//www.hcn.org/servlets/
hcn.Article?article_id368gt
24

• In 1995, Kennecott, the EPA and the State of Utah
  came to an agreement Kennecott was allowed to
  clean itself up, albeit under the EPAs close
  watch
• Kennecott remains on the National Priorities List
  (NPL) as proposed, and the EPA will defer final
  listing unless Kennecott fails to clean up
  sufficiently

Bruninga, Susan and Meredith Preston. At Senate
Hearing, Leavitt Shows Support For Rules
Reforming New Source Review. The Bureau of
National Affairs. 26 September 2003. 15 March
2005. lthttp//ehscenter.bna.com/pic2/ehs.nsf/id/BN
AP-5RRG76?OpenDocumentgt
25
Kennecott Reforms

• As of 2003, Kennecott has spent 290 million on
  cleanups of surface waste, and have removed more
  than 25 million tons of it, removing a great deal
  of historic waste.
• 2 billion on modernizing equipment
• Construction of new smelter that is cleaner than
  required by current regulations
• Canals and filters to siphon minerals from leech
  water

Quinn, Sherri. Can Kennecott Be Trusted?
Catalyst. 14 March 2005. lt www.catalystmagazine.ne
t/issues/story.cfm?story110gt
26
Great Sacrifice?

• 290 million on cleanup 2 billion in
  updatesvs.
• 400-600 billion annual profits

Quoth Kennecott
Christensen, John. Can a Copper Firm Restore a
Blasted Ecosystem? High Country News. 30 May
1994. 15 March 2005. lthttp//www.hcn.org/servlets/
hcn.Article?article_id368gt
27
Bingham Canyon
http//maps.epa.gov/scripts/.esrimap?nameenviroMa
pperNCmdPrintMapCmdOldZoomInByScalarmapTitle
Bingham20Canyonthreshold0.3zoomFactor8.0laye
rsCode1111111000010101queryCode2fipsCode08816
click.x300click.y200IndexMaponLeft-112.260
72Bottom40.47880Right-112.06692Top40.62415
28
Conclusion

• Kennecott has made environmental reform a
  priority, and a public focus, though not
  voluntarily.
• Environmental agencies have created a severe
  punishment for failing to meet standards, yet
  Kennecott still treads the line.