2009 Montana Mining - Montana Mining Association

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Made in MONTANA When you think of mining in Montana, talc may not be the first thing that comes to mind even though this unique mineral is prevalent in many Montana industries. Luzenac talc, mined and processed by Rio Tinto Minerals, is used by many companies for a variety of applications, many of which contribute to a better environment. One of the primary markets for Rio Tinto’s talc is for pitch and stickies control in the manufacture of paper and cardboard. When trees (known to pulp mills as “virgin fiber”) are converted to wood pulp, the fibers are torn apart and the sap is released. The oiladsorbing facets of the talc crystals have a high affinity to sap, so when talc is introduced, millions of finely-ground talc particles surround and coat each tiny drop of sap. This prevents the drops from sticking together and forming big sticky globs, and thereby damaging the machinery. Talc also replaces some of the fiber in the paper, meaning fewer trees need to be harvested. Many paper products are made from recycled wood fiber, such as the liner board (cardboard) made in the Frenchtown, MT plant 24 Montana Mining 2009 P.O. Box 50370 • Billings, MT 59105 1-800-999-6676 www.westate.com The plastic and/or rubber insulation found on copper electrical wire and high voltage cable often contains talc produced from Rio Tinto Minerals. owned by Smurfit-Stone Container. For this use, the stickies have an opposite electrical charge, requiring the talc charge to be reversed. Under the Luzenac brand, Rio Tinto Minerals invented two products that meet this need and make this type of production possible. Moving on to agriculture, Montana is one of the largest U.S. producers of certified seed potatoes, producing around 3.5 million pounds yearly from areas around Manhattan, Dillon, Polson, Kalispell and Toston. These areas have short summers, cold winters, and most importantly, are isolated and contain very little disease vectors. The seed spuds are shipped to Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Wisconsin, Michigan, North and South Dakota, where they are replanted the next season and grown to maturity. Talc is used to coat Maximizing Performance Nordberg MP Series Cone Crushers With fi eld-proven technology in demanding mining operations, the MP800 and MP1000 provide higher productivity and effi ciency: • Uniformity – rotating bowl compensates for uneven feed rates • Adaptability – operates at various speeds and cavity combinations • Reliability – hydraulic cavity clearing and setting adjustments minimize downtime • Simplicity – push-button disassembly for routine maintenance Call Westate Machinery today for more information www.metsominerals.com
the seed potatoes to keep them from sticking in the planting machines where they are cut, quartered and returned to the ground. Talc is also used in many types of plastic and rubber compounds, adding rigidity, impact resistance, dimensional stability, and reducing permeability. The plastic and/or rubber insulation found on copper electrical wire and high voltage cable often contains talc; some of this copper is produced in Montana by Montana Resources (Butte, MT), Stillwater Mining Company (Columbus, MT) and Revett Silver (Troy, MT). In a very environmentally-friendly function, talc is being used in the production of catalytic converters due to its dimensional stability at high temperatures. Automobiles use these converters to burn harmful pollutants from the exhaust system and convert them into harmless emissions such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen. The core of the converter is a ceramic honeycomb substrate; the honeycomb provides a large surface area for this process to take place. The honeycomb is coated with platinum and palladium metal, the catalysts that spur the combustion reaction. Platinum and palladium are mined and smelted by the only U.S. producer of these important metals, Stillwater Mining Company near Columbus, MT. Other automotive uses of talc include high performance polymers for the interior. Again, the dimensional stability of talc at high temperatures is an important property that allows auto manufacturers to attain a high quality fit and finish of interior parts. Under the Luzenac brand, Rio Tinto Minerals has developed advanced grades Intermountain West Energy 150 Sheep Camp Road Whitehall, MT 59759-9647 Phone: 406.287.3229 Chris Hyle Technical / Sales Representative Cell: 406.490.3059 iweblaster@aol.com of talc that reduce the overall weight of vehicles by “down-gauging” the thickness of parts including rubber tires and under-the-hood plastics and rubber. Lighter vehicles mean improved fuel mileage and lower emissions. As you can see, many of talc’s uses are quite ‘green’. When talc is combined with other raw materials, several of them “Made In Montana”, we improve the environment by reducing waste, making recycling more efficient, reducing air pollution and/or reducing fuel consumption and emissions. About Rio Tinto Minerals Rio Tinto Minerals operates a talc mine and two milling/packaging facilities in Montana and employs 140 people. The Yellowstone Mine is located 20 miles south of Ennis, MT in southern Madison County; annually, it supplies about 300,000 tons of crude ores to the Three Forks Mill and Sappington Mill, both located in western Gallatin County. The talc ores are pulverized and packaged at the mills and then shipped to customers in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, South America, Indonesia and Europe, serving the paper, rubber, paint, polymers, agriculture and ceramics markets. The operations have been a subsidiary of Rio Tinto (the world’s third largest mining company) for the last 15 years, operating under the banner of the Luzenac talc group since 1992. In 2006, Luzenac joined forces with two Rio Tinto sister companies – Borax and Dampier – to form Rio Tinto Minerals. � TETRA TECH Supporting the Montana Mining Industry since 1959 Environmental Engineering Consulting Billings 406.248.9161 Bozeman 406.582.8780 Helena 406.443.5210 Missoula 406.543.3045 Montana Mining Association www.montanamining.org 25
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2009 Montana Mining - Montana Mining Association

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