Bismuth Ore

Nigeria is blessed with abundant mineral resources and most of these remain untapped. The country is so blessed with solid minerals and in large quantities too. Due to presence of oil in the country as well the government has not devoted enough time to the solid mineral sector although it has started by declaring its intension to support investors in this sector. This it has done by streamlining the process of acquisition of mining title and setting aside solid mineral support fund for investors in the sector. One of such mineral that Nigeria has in abundance is Bismuth.

Bismuth is a chemical element with symbol Bi and atomic number 83. Bismuth, a pentavalent post-transition metal and one of the pnictogens, chemically resembles its lighter homologs arsenic and antimony. Elemental bismuth may occur naturally, although its sulfide and oxide form important commercial ores. The free element is 86% as dense as lead. It is a brittle metal with a silvery white color when freshly produced, but surface oxidation can give it a pink tinge. Bismuth is slightly radioactive and the most naturally diamagnetic element, and has one of the lowest values of thermal conductivity among metals.Bismuth is a silvery and brittle metal that is frequently found in low-melt alloys. Demand for bismuth metal has grown over the past 20 years in large part due to its effective use as a substitute for lead.

 

Characteristics:

Bismuth is a brittle, silvery-green metal that has a low melting temperature and high specific gravity.

Being both stable and non-toxic, bismuth is often used as a replacement for toxic metals such as antimony, cadmium, lead, and mercury.

Like water, bismuth is less dense as a solid than as a liquid (it expands as it cools), a property unique for a metal. Of all the metal elements, bismuth also has the highest electrical resistance and the lowest thermo-conductivity (except mercury), as well as the highest Hall Effect (increase in electrical resistance when placed in a magnetic field).

Production:

Bismuth most often occurs naturally in the sulfide ore bismuthinite (Bi2S3) or the oxide ore bismite (Bi2O3). However, extraction of such ores solely for its bismuth content is rarely economical and bismuth is, instead, primarily produced as a by-product of lead smelting. Also, large quantities of bismuth are also extracted from tungsten, tin and zinc ores.

Extraction of bismuth metal from lead commonly occurs via one of two processes; the Betterton-Kroll Process or the Betts Process.

The Betterton-Kroll Process separates bismuth from lead through the introduction of calcium or magnesium into a molten solution of the lead and bismuth. The resulting calcium or magnesium bismuthide, being lighter than molten lead rises to the surface as dross (solid impurities) and can then be removed. The dross is then treated with chlorine at temperatures of around 572-932°F (380-500°C) to remove the magnesium or calcium. High purity bismuth is produced after treatment using sodium hydroxide.

The Betts Process involves electrolytic refining of lead bullion. In a catalytic solution, pure metallic lead plates onto the anode, while impurities, including bismuth, settle to the bottom of the vessel. The muddy mix of metals can be melted to produce a metal alloy and a bismuth-rich slag, which is then reduced with carbon to produce bismuth metal.

The largest bismuth producing countries are China, Peru, Mexico (crude and refined) and Belgium (refined). In 2013, the US Geological Survey estimated global world refined bismuth production to be about 17,000 metric tons.

Applications:

Due to bismuth’s brittleness, pure forms of the metal are not used in metallurgical applications. It is, however, used as an additive alloy in copper, aluminum, iron and steel as a substitute for lead and to toughen and make alloys that are more machine able.

Bismuth compounds account for about half the production of bismuth. They are used in cosmetics, pigments, and a few pharmaceuticals, notably bismuth subsalicylate, used to treat diarrhea. Bismuth’s unusual propensity to expand upon freezing is responsible for some of its uses, such as in casting of printing type. Bismuth has unusually low toxicity for a heavy metal. As the toxicity of lead has become more apparent in recent years, there is an increasing use of bismuth alloys (presently about a third of bismuth production) as a replacement for lead.

Lead replacement

The density difference between lead (11.32 g/cm³) and bismuth (9.78 g/cm³) is small enough that for many ballistics and weighting applications, bismuth can substitute for lead. For example, it can replace lead as a dense material in fishing sinkers. It has been used as a replacement for lead in shot, bullets and less-lethal riot gun ammunition. The Netherlands, Denmark, England, Wales, the US, and many other countries now prohibit the use of lead shot for the hunting of wetland birds, as many birds are prone to lead poisoning owing to mistaken ingestion of lead (instead of small stones and grit) to aid digestion, or even prohibit the use of lead for all hunting, such as in the Netherlands. Bismuth-tin alloy shot is one alternative that provides similar ballistic performance to lead. (Another less expensive but also more poorly performing alternative is “steel” shot, which is actually soft iron.) Bismuth’s lack of malleability does, however, make it unsuitable for use in expanding hunting bullets.

Bismuth, as a dense element of high atomic weight, is used in bismuth-impregnated latex shields to shield from X-ray in medical examinations, such as CTs, mostly as it is considered non-toxic.

 

EXPORT OF BISMUTH

Bismuth ore can be exported after sorting into size and packaging. Packaging is usually in 50 Kg since the price is quoted in Metric tons. 1000/KG makes 1 ton and this helps in easy containerization of the goods since most shipping company prefer to carry 20 tons in 20 feet container. In shipping mineral ores, 20 feet container is usually preferred because of the weight of the ores.

The sorting of the ore simply refers to the breaking down of the ore into the desired sizes as agreed with the buyer. Sizes usually range from 0-50-100 mm and care must be taken while this is being done because if the product is not broken to the desired size, it might lead to a reduction in price or rejection of goods.

In the export of the Bismuth ore, some of the cost to consider includes cost of the ore at the site, cost of transportation to site of crushing/loading {in case the mining site is not accessible to trucks}, cost of crushing, cost of packaging, cost of loading it to the truck, cost of transportation to Warehouse/port, cost of analysis, cost of freight, agent fee, and miscellaneous. All these cost will be worked out for any potential investor so that you can have a better view of the return on investment

REFINING

The economically viable way of obtaining Bismuth is from the refinery of Lead ore. This facility do not exist in the Nigeria presently thus it presents a fantastic investment opportunity for a savvy investor to take advantage of, such investor will refine Lead ore sourced from ores that have large Bismuth content and then sell bismuth and Lead concentrates to local and international buyers. This fetches more return on investment even though the investment is huge

 

MARKET

Export of crude ore is good business but refining to obtain pure Bismuth and Lead concentrates ready to be used is better although it requires enormous investment so also is the return on investment. Global Bismuth consumption is steadily increasing, and currently stands at some 22 thousand metric tons 2017 report. Forecasts for global Bismuth demand show the same trend. The leading refined Bismuth consuming countries are China, the United States, Japan and Germany. Demand for Bismuth worldwide is expected to grow largely because of increased consumption in China, which is being driven by increase in use Pharmaceuticals, Chemicals, Fusible and other related businesses

 

REQUIREMENT AND CONDITIONS FOR MINING IN NIGERIA

There are two options available to a company or an individual to enter into the mining industry in Nigeria.

1. Through the acquisition of an existing mining Lease from the original owner. Approval must be obtained from the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development for such a purchase.
2. Fresh mining lease

 

Procedure for Mineral Title Licences/Leases and Permits:

Duly completed application form

Coordinates of the area of application

Certificate of incorporation

Attestation

Letter of consent from landowner(s)/occupier(s)

Types of minerals

Work programme/pre-feasibility report

Evidence of payment

Technical capability

Financial capability

 

In order to encourage investment in the solid minerals industry in Nigeria, Government is offering the following incentives

1. 3-5 years Tax Holiday
2. Deferred royalty payments
3. Possible capitalization of expenditure on exploration and surveys
4. Extension of infrastructure such as roads and electricity to mining sites, and provision of 100% foreign ownership of mining concerns.

The mining industry in Nigeria is regulated by the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act of 2007, National Minerals and Metals Policy 2008 and Nigerian Minerals and Mining Regulations 2011.

 

CONCLUSION

Business Advisory Network ‘BAN’ will work with you and assist you to process mining lease from the federal government. We will help you source for a site with rich mineral content. Mining is a technical field although the financial reward is enormous; therefore to succeed you need experts to guide you to avoid fatal mistakes that will erode your capital.

Other things BAN can do for you include but are not limited to helping you to determine the grade of Bismuth ore at the site, source market for your mined minerals, both locally and internationally. BAN will also help you arrange security at your mining sites. It will interest you to know that export of refined pure Bismuth is where you will make a kill. BAN will help you to set up an Ore refinery in Nigeria. The capital outlay for this is huge but even so much more is the return on investment.