Zinc mining is the process by which mineral forms of the metal zinc are extracted from the earth through mining. A zinc mine is a mine that produces zinc minerals in ore as its primary product. Common co-products in zinc ores include minerals of lead and silver. Other mines may produce zinc minerals as a by-product of the production of ores containing more valuable minerals or metals, such as gold, silver or copper.[1] Mined ore is processed, usually on site, to produce one or more metal-rich concentrates, then transported to a zinc smelter for production of zinc metal.[2]
Global zinc mine production in 2020 was estimated to be 12 million tonnes. The largest producers were China (35%), Australia (12%), Peru (10%), India (6.0%), United States (5.6%) and Mexico (5.0%), with Australia having the largest reserves.[3]
The world's largest zinc mine is the Red Dog open-pit zinc-lead-silver mine in Alaska, with 4.2% of world production.[4][5] Major zinc mine operators include Vedanta Resources, Glencore, BHP, Teck Resources, Sumitomo, Nexa Resources, Boliden AB, and China Minmetals.[5]
- ^ Russell, Peter; Tharmanathan, Tharsika (28 February 2013). "Zinc". Earth Sciences Museum. Waterloo, ON: University of Waterloo. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
- ^ "Processing". McArthur River Mine. Glencore. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
- ^ Tolcin, Amy C. (29 January 2021). "Zinc" (PDF). Mineral commodity summaries 2021. Reston, Virginia: U.S. Geological Survey. pp. 190–191. ISBN 978-1-4113-4398-6. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
teckwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b "Industry Trend Analysis - Global Zinc Mining Outlook" (PDF). Mining.com. 4 October 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2020.