GE mining Rare Earth Element Extraction Strategy Plan

GE mining Rare Earth Element Extraction Strategy Plan Introduction to Engineering Design EDGSN 100 Section 001 Engineering Masters by Reliable Design Jobs / Team 2 Erica Salvo- ecs 8@psu. edu Andrew De. Luca- ajd 6007@psu. edu Dalal Malallah- dxm 664@psu. edu Mariah Alfaraj- Presented to: Prof. Berezniak Date: 28 April 2017

Project Objective ● The objective of this report is to research, develop and submit an extraction strategy. ● Each design team will have to research, decide, and improve methods that are used in mining. ● The team that comes up with the best solution will have the contract to apply their strategy. ● Teams will be required to use an alternative for diesel to use in the mining process.

Project Background In 2012, a major Rare Earth Element (REE) ore deposit located within the Pocono Mountain region in northeast Pennsylvania. As seen in the diagram, REE are 3 kilometers below the surface. Block Mining will be used to undercut the body of ore, allowing the RRE to collapse into a 100 different draw points.

Project Scope ● Because of the depth of REEs, workers will have to work under high temperature that is caused by the machines. ● In order to lessen the danger for workers to work in these conditions, the place will need to be cooled and dangerous gasses will need to be evicted. ● The potential use of diesel-powered mobile mining equipment within the REE mine for both ore extraction and mine removal also imposes significant additional requirements on mine air ventilation and cooling for diesel-exhaust-gas dilution ● It would be expensive to use diesel as the powering material.

Project Sponsor GE Transportation, a unit of GE (NYSE: GE), solves problems with all types of transportation. It’s headquarters are located in Chicago, Illinois and involves 13, 000 employees worldwide. GE Transportation is responsible for the economic and efficient services that allow their rail, marine, and mining customers to thrive. For rail customers, GE Transportation provides fuel efficient and lower-emission freight/ passenger locomotives, and diesel engines for trains. They provide marine and stationary power applications, including signaling and software solutions, and lastly, drive systems for trucks in the mining industry.

Rare Earth Elements (REE) ● The REE are relatively abundant in the earth’s crust but hard to extract from molecules. ● importance of REEs: renewable energy, electronics, medical science, and technology ● They are found 3 Km below surface.

Mine Requirements • Block Caving Methods What is it? Block Caving is a mass mining method that breaks up the orebody in order to collapse under its own weight ● begins with small targeted blasting right above a funneling, causing the ore to collapse under its down weight ● broken blocks of ore then fall into a previously built series of funnels and access tunnels beneath it before being collected and transported by the load-hauldump vehicles ● A crusher breaks the ore up into smaller pieces which are then carried upward via conveyor belt.

Underground Mining Equipment: LHD - ADT - Drilling Jumbo GE Fairchild Battery Powered LHD ● ● ● Tramming Capacity 11, 000 lbs. zero emissions fewer maintenance requirements safer mining environments lower fuel costs CAT AD 45 B Articulated Truck ● ● ● efficient fuel management fast cycle times Manually Articulated Electronic Unit Injection - electronically monitored through sensors to optimize engine performance ventilation hardware ultra low sulfur diesel and low ash engine oil Sandvik DD 210 L ● ● electric or diesel boom rotation of 360 degrees allows for easy, fast drilling

Known Parameters and Assumptions a. The REE concentration is uniform throughout the ore deposit. b. The Rare-Earth Ore is worth $10, 000 per ton extracted. c. The Haul Truck Ramp from the extraction level to the surface processing plant is 15. 3 km long at a constant 20% grade. d. Assume that each draw point provides a continuous flow of ore and that there are no hang-ups, downtime, or large boulders to break up during the extraction process. e. There are 100 Draw Points in the Mine. f. The Average Distance between a Draw Point and Haul Truck pickup locations is 300 meters. g. The REE ore deposit host rock is fine-to-medium-grained sandstone, siltstone, and conglomerate and is considered reasonably stable and selfsupporting over approximately 90% of the mine; structural roof/rock support systems will be needed in the remaining portion of the mine. h. Estimated average groundwater inflow (drainage) into the REE mine is 10 gallons per minute.

Extraction Strategy Plan Tasks 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Airborne Contamination Stewardship Environmental Management Occupational Health and Workplace Safety Operating Costs and Productivity Local Community Engagement Waste Management and Disposal Mine Closure and Rehabilitation

Extraction Strategy Plan: Operating Costs and Productivity GE Fairchild Battery Powered LHD ● Productivity – Has to travel a distance of. 6 km • 300 m to the pickup locations + from the pickup locations – Maximum Speed of 7. 6 km/h – Loading and unloading time is an extra 10 percent relative to the traveling time – 8 hour work day ● Calculations – Time spent traveling on one round trip • Time (h) =. 6 (km) / 7. 6 (km/h) =. 079 hours – Time spent loading and unloading • Time (h) =. 079 h x. 10 =. 0079 hours – Total Time per round trip • Time (h) =. 079 h +. 0079 h =. 0868 hours/trip – Total Number of MAXIMUM trips each day

Extraction Strategy Plan: Operating Costs and Productivity GE Fairchild Battery Powered LHD ● Revenue – Maximum tramming capacity is 11, 000 lbs. (5. 5 tons) – REE is worth $10, 000 per ton extracted – Using 4 GE Fairchild Battery Powered LHD Simultaneously ● Calculations – Maximum revenue (R) per trip for one LHD • R ($) = 5. 5 tons x 10, 000 ($/ton) = $55, 000 per trip – Maximum revenue (R) per day for one LHD • R ($) = $55, 000 per trip x 92 (trips/day) = $5, 060, 000 per day per LHD – Total maximum revenue (R) per day • R ($) = $5, 060, 000 per day x 4 LHDs = $20, 240, 000 per day

Project Conclusions After our research, we have decided that block cave mining is the most strategic option in extracting the ore body located in the Poconos. When executing the block cave method, we highly advise to use the GE Fairchild Battery Powered LHD, CAT AD 45 B Articulated Truck, and Sandvik DD 210 L for maximum efficiency, low fuel costs, minimum environmental repercussion, reduced ventilating costs, and maximum safety for employees (remote control operated).

Closing Now is an optimal time to invest in Rare Earth Elements. There is a great deal of potential and not mention the economic growth. Extracting all the REE from this region will take a bit of time, even with the block caving method. Team E-Mrdj recommends General Electric gets started as soon as possible. The sooner the REE is extracted, the sooner GE can flood the market, the sooner new technologies and discoveries develop.