Types and Application Areas of the Ore Industry in Mercury Mines
1. Types of the mining industry
Mercury is the only metal that exists in liquid form at room temperature. It is also known as "quicksilver", has a silvery color, a density of 13.546, a melting point of -38.87℃, and a boiling point of 357℃. Mercury can form alloys with many metals, which are called amalgams.
According to the industrial technical requirements of ores, the types of ore industrial classification for mercury ores are mainly single mercury, mercury-uranium, mercury-silver, mercury-selenium, mercury-gold, and mercury-polymetallic types. For industrial utilization, the main type is the single-mercury type ore.
2. Application fields of mercury
Mercury is widely used in various industries due to its unique physical and chemical properties. It is extensively employed in the chemical, electrical, instrumentation and military sectors. Additionally, it is used as a coolant in atomic reactors and as a material to prevent atomic radiation. It is also utilized for extracting non-ferrous metals, for extracting gold through the amalgamation method from lead smelting dust, for extracting thallium from lead smelting dust, and for extracting aluminum. It also has certain applications in the field of medicine.
Mercury Ore Production and Distribution
With the development of technology, mercury has gradually been widely used in the manufacturing of scientific measuring instruments (such as barometers, thermometers, etc.), medicines, catalysts, mercury vapor lamps, electrodes, mercury fulminate, etc., as well as in the dental medicine and cosmetics industries.
However, as is well known, mercury is a toxic metal. Therefore, during its extensive application process, its harm to the human body and pollution to the environment have gradually drawn global attention. The report "2021-2027 China Mercury Industry Competitive Status and Market Size Forecast Report" released by Zhiran Consulting shows that the global mercury mine production decreased year by year from 2014 to 2016, and then rebounded to 3,790 tons in 2017; in 2019, the global mercury mine production was 4,000 tons, an increase of 600 tons compared to the previous year.
Mercury is also a toxic chemical element that can harm the human nervous system. However, the development of industry has accelerated the emission of mercury and its circulation worldwide, making it a global pollutant.
Almadén in Spain and Idrija in Slovenia were once the largest mercury-producing areas in the world. Later, due to environmental protection, these mercury mines were closed one after another. In 2019, the global mercury mine production was 4,000 tons. Among them: the production of mercury mines in China, Mexico, Tajikistan, Peru and Kyrgyzstan was 3,500 tons, 240 tons, 100 tons, 40 tons and 20 tons respectively, accounting for 87.50%, 6.00%, 2.50%, 1.00% and 0.50% respectively.
China's proven mercury reserves rank second in the world, after Spain. Mercury mines in China are distributed across several southwestern provinces. Guizhou is particularly abundant, and the main mining areas are located near the border between Hunan and Guizhou. In 2019, China's mercury production was 3,500 tons, an increase of 500 tons compared to the previous year, accounting for 87.50% of the global total.
Transformation of Waste Mercury Mines under the Guidance of Green Development Theory - A Case Study of Tongren City, Guizhou Province
Green development is a hot topic that has attracted widespread attention in the world today. The green development concept should be the harmonious development of the economy and the environment. We need to develop the economy while also protecting the environment. This is a positive, forward-looking and people-oriented sustainable concept.
In Guizhou Province, there is the earliest county-level industrial park in China - Wanshan District, Tongren City. Due to unreasonable mining, Tongren City has become a resource-depleted city. Based on the reuse of the abandoned mercury mine in Wanshan District of Tongren City, it is aimed to promote the economic development of the industrial zone of Wanshan. By applying the green development concept to analyze the internal advantages, disadvantages, external opportunities and challenges of the transformation of the Wanshan mining area, and proposing corresponding countermeasures and suggestions, Wanshan District of Tongren City should fully utilize its own advantages, seize the relevant historical opportunities, promote industrial transformation on the basis of the original mining area, stimulate the economic growth of the mining area, and find a new sustainable development path in the predicament.
Guided by the theory of green development, combined with the relevant situation of the abandoned mercury mines in Tongren City, we should follow the path of green development and achieve the transformation and upgrading of the mining area. We should seize the opportunities of current development, utilize the existing advanced technologies and policy support, enhance the independent innovation ability, and promote the optimization and upgrading of the industry. Actively draw on relevant cases from both domestic and foreign sources, absorb the essence and discard the dross, and apply them to our own development. We believe that through our efforts, the transformation and upgrading of the abandoned mercury mines in Tongren City will surely yield results, and the future of Tongren City will become increasingly bright.
