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87-523: Large-scale copper mining began in the district in 1907 and, with some hiatuses and several changes of ownership, continues in 2019. Production from 1908 to 1978 was more than 4 billion pounds (1.5 million tonnes) of copper and 2,700,000 troy ounces (84 t) of gold, and 2018 annual production of 106 million pounds (48,000 tonnes) of copper and 37,100 troy ounces (1.15 t) of gold. Published ore reserves at Robinson as of end of 2017 were 565,400,000 pounds (256,500 t) of copper. Current plans are for

174-620: A degenerative joint disorder in his foot resulting from a fracture or sprain, which would have resulted in painful, limited movement. The skeleton is on display at the Hall of Human Origins at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. The skeleton of Shanidar 4, an adult male aged 30–45 years, was discovered by Solecki in 1960, positioned on his left side in a partial fetal position . For many years, Shanidar 4

261-413: A heap leaching or dump leaching . The resulting pregnant leach solution is purified by solvent extraction (SX). It is treated with an organic solvent and an organic chelators. The chelators bind the copper ions (and no other ions, ideally), the resulting complexes dissolve in the organic phase. This organic solvent is evaporated, leaving a residue of the copper complexes. The copper ions are liberated from

348-442: A concentrates with 27–29% and 37–40% copper contents from chalcopyrite and chalcocite , respectively. Oxidised copper ores include carbonates such as azurite and malachite , the silicate chrysocolla , and sulfates such as atacamite . In some cases, sulfide ores are allowed to degrade to oxides. Such ores are amenable to hydrometallurgy. Specifically, such oxide ores are usually extracted into aqueous sulfuric acid , usually in

435-442: A cranium, 4 teeth, 1 vertebrae, 8 ribs, and miscellaneous other bones. The arrangement of the broken skeletal remains was thought to have been due to animals intervening after death. Radiocarbon results put the date at about 46,000 before the present day. Some years later a small correction to the original cranial reconstruction was found. During the recent excavations more pieces of Shanidar 5 were found The cranium of Shanidar 5

522-451: A crushing fracture to his left orbit which would have left him partially or totally blind in one eye. Research by Ján Lietava shows that the individual exhibits "atypically worn teeth". Severe changes to the individual's incisors and a flattened capitulum show additional evidence towards Shanidar 1 suffering from a degenerative disease. Additionally, analysis shows that Shanidar 1 likely suffered from profound hearing loss, as his left ear canal

609-414: A deliberate mortuary practice by Neanderthals. It has also been suggested that some of the pollen was deposited by nesting solitary bees. The Shanidar 5 remains were found during the 1960 excavations, in layer D, about 4.5 meters below datum. He was an adult Neanderthal, thought to be male and around 40–50 years of age before death. He was caught in the same rockfall that killed Shanidar 2. Recovered were

696-640: A diagnosis of diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH), also known as Forestier's disease. This diagnosis would make Shanidar 1 the oldest hominin specimen clearly presenting this systemic condition. The researchers found these bone growths in multiple places all over the partial skeleton. Based on the healing of his injuries, Shanidar 1 lived with them for a substantial time before his death. Assuming that Neanderthals did perform surgery on Shanidar 1, his recovery demonstrates that their methods were successful in sustaining life. The prolonged survival of an individual with significant disabilities has also provided

783-519: A few years before selling their copper assets. Reportedly gains were not as high as anticipated. Investments in copper mining concentrated in Chile in the 1980s and 1990s given that copper mining in other countries faced problems like political instability ( Peru ), increased environmental requirements (developed countries) or overall disinterest in foreign investment in a nationalized mining industry ( Zaire , Zambia ). The average grade of copper ores in

870-613: A gerbil-like rodent known as the Persian jird were found nearby. The jird is known to store large numbers of seeds and flowers at certain points in their burrows and this argument was used in conjunction with the lack of ritual treatment of the rest of the skeletons in the cave to suggest that the Shanidar 4 burial had natural, not cultural, origins. Paul B. Pettitt has stated that the "deliberate placement of flowers has now been convincingly eliminated", noting that "A recent examination of

957-406: A high grade copper concentrate. The roasting process is generally undertaken in combination with reverberatory furnaces . In the roaster, the copper concentrate is partially oxidised to produce " calcine ". Sulfur dioxide is liberated. The stoichiometry of the reaction is: Roasting generally leaves more sulfur in the calcined product (15% in the case of the roaster at Mount Isa Mines ) than

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1044-488: A higher profit. This extraction process can be applied to large quantities of low-grade ores, at a lower capital cost with minimal environmental impact. Generally, direct froth flotation is not used to concentrate copper oxide ores, as a result of the largely ionic and hydrophilic structure of the copper oxide mineral surface. Copper oxide ores are typically treated via chelating-reagent flotation and fatty-acid flotation, which use organic reagents to ensure adsorption onto

1131-593: A parallel reaction the iron sulfide is converted to slag: The purity of this product is 98%, it is known as blister because of the broken surface created by the escape of sulfur dioxide gas as blister copper pigs or ingots are cooled. By-products generated in the process are sulfur dioxide and slag . The sulfur dioxide is captured and converted to sulfuric acid and either sold on the open market or used in copper leaching processes. Shanidar Cave Shanidar Cave ( Kurdish : ئەشکەوتی شانەدەر , romanized :  Eşkewtî Şaneder , Arabic : كَهَف شانِدَر )

1218-522: A pronounced, painful limp. These findings in Shanidar 1's skeleton propose that he was unlikely to be able to provide for himself in a Neanderthal society. More recent analysis of Shanidar 1 by Washington University Professor Erik Trinkaus and Dr. Sébastien Villotte of the French National Centre for Scientific Research confirm that bony growths in his ear canals would have resulted in extensive hearing loss. These bony growths support

1305-424: A significant portion of the sulfur has been eliminated during the roasting stage, and the calcine consists of a mixture of copper and iron oxides and sulfides. The reverberatory furnace acts to allow these species to approach chemical equilibrium at the furnace operating temperature (approximately 1600 °C at the burner end of the furnace and about 1200 °C at the flue end; the matte is about 1100 °C and

1392-527: A sinter plant leaves in the sintered product (about 7% in the case of the Electrolytic Refining and Smelting smelter ). As of 2005, roasting is no longer common in copper concentrate treatment because its combination with reverberatory furnaces is not energy efficient and the SO 2 concentration in the roaster offgas is too dilute for cost-effective capture. Direct smelting is now favored, and uses

1479-474: A time, were employed in these excavations. During the fourth season, in 1960, a largely complete adult Neanderthal skeleton was recovered (Shanidar IV). Its state was considerably more fragile than the earlier specimens. While extracting it bones of another Neanderthal, possibly two, were noted and tentatively designated Shanidar VI. The former was presumed male and the later female based on size. The badly damaged and scattered remains of one adult Neanderthal male

1566-559: A wholly owned subsidiary of Kennecott Copper , another Guggenheim-controlled company. In September 1978, Kennecott closed its Nevada mines, and in 1983 the McGill smelter was also closed. Recorded production from 1908 to 1978 was more than 4 billion pounds of copper and 2.7 million ounces of gold. Magma Copper bought Robinson in 1991 and began work on reopening the mine in 1994. In 1996, BHP acquired Magma, and operated Robinson from 1996 to 1999. Magma/BHP invested around $ 480 million in

1653-474: Is a minor part of a supergene profile it will not be recovered and will report to the tailings . When rich enough, native copper ore bodies may be treated to recover the contained copper by gravity separation . Often, the nature of the gangue is important, as clay-rich native copper ores prove difficult to liberate. This is because clay minerals interact with flotation reagents used in extraction processes, that are then consumed, which results in minimal recovery of

1740-422: Is a mixture of copper, iron and sulfur that is enriched in copper, which is called matte or copper matte . The term matte grade is normally used to refer to the copper content of the matte. The purpose of the matte smelting stage is to eliminate as much of the unwanted iron, sulfur and gangue minerals (such as silica, magnesia, alumina and limestone) as possible, while minimizing the loss of copper. This

1827-421: Is achieved by reacting iron sulfides with oxygen (in air or oxygen enriched air) to produce iron oxides (mainly as FeO , but with some magnetite (Fe 3 O 4 )) and sulfur dioxide . Copper sulfide and iron oxide can mix, but when sufficient silica is added, a separate slag layer is formed. Adding silica also reduces the melting point (or, more properly, the liquidus temperature) of the slag, meaning that

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1914-619: Is an archaeological site on Bradost Mountain , within the Zagros Mountains in the Erbil Governorate of Kurdistan Region in northern Iraq . Neanderthal remains were discovered here in 1953, including Shanidar 1, who survived several injuries, possibly due to care from others in his group, and Shanidar 4, the famed 'flower burial'. Until this discovery, Cro-Magnons , the earliest known H. sapiens in Europe, were

2001-614: Is an energy-efficient smelting process that was jointly developed from the 1970s to the 1990s by Mount Isa Mines (a subsidiary of MIM Holdings and now part of Glencore ) and the Government of Australia 's CSIRO . It has relatively low capital and operating costs for a smelting process. ISASMELT technology has been applied to lead, copper, and nickel smelting. As of 2021, 22 plants were in operation in eleven countries, along with three demonstration plants located at Mt Isa. The installed capacity of copper/nickel operating plants in 2020

2088-607: Is considered by Solecki to belong to the Natufian culture . Also, in 2018, Shanidar-11 and Shanidar-12 were discovered. Investigations were conducted in 2014-2015 under the auspices of the Kurdistan Directorate of Antiquities. The remains found in the Shanidar cave are being reexamined to analyze the mortuary activity of the Neanderthal people who inhabited this area. There are various signs of activity with

2175-465: Is constantly forced through the slurry. The air bubbles attach to the hydrophobic copper sulfide particles, which are conveyed to the surface where the froth is skimmed off. These skimmings are generally subjected to a cleaner-scavenger cell to remove excess silicates and to remove other sulfide minerals that can deleteriously impact the concentrate quality (typically, galena ), and the final concentrate sent for smelting. The rock that has not floated off in

2262-411: Is eliminated from the concentrate). It is essentially a melting process. Consequently, wet-charged reverberatory furnaces have less copper in their matte product than calcine-charged furnaces, and they also have lower copper losses to slag. Gill quotes a copper in slag value of 0.23% for a wet-charged reverberatory furnace vs 0.37% for a calcine-charged furnace. In the case of calcine-charged furnaces,

2349-427: Is normally added to help form the slag. The furnace is fired with burners using pulverized coal, fuel oil or natural gas. Reverberatory furnaces can additionally be fed with molten slag from the later converting stage to recover the contained copper and other materials with a high copper content. Because the reverberatory furnace bath is quiescent, very little oxidation of the feed occurs (and thus very little sulfur

2436-599: Is thought to be either congenital, a result of childhood disease and trauma, or due to an amputation later in his life. The sharp point caused by a distal fracture of the individual's right humerus points towards this theory of amputation. If the arm was amputated, this demonstrates one of the earliest signs of surgery on a living individual. The arm had healed, but the injury may have caused some paralysis down his right side, leading to deformities in his lower legs and feet. Studies show that this individual had suffered from two broken legs. This would have resulted in him walking with

2523-469: The refractory bricks lining the furnace. When the removal of the matte or slag is complete, the hole is normally plugged with clay, which is removed when the furnace is ready to be tapped again. Reverberatory furnaces were often used to treat molten converter slag to recover contained copper. This would be poured into the furnaces from ladles carried by cranes. However, the converter slag is high in magnetite and some of this magnetite would precipitate from

2610-450: The 1960s. In the 1960s and 1970s large copper mining operations by U.S. companies were nationalized in many of the main copper producing countries. Thus by the 1980s state owned enterpises overtook the dominant role U.S. companies like Anaconda Copper and Kennecott had had until then. In the late 1970s and early 1980s various oil companies like ARCO , Exxon ( Exxon Minerals ) and Standard Oil Company expanded into copper mining for

2697-478: The 2003 invasion , although casts remain at the Smithsonian. In 2006, while sorting a collection of faunal bones from the site at the Smithsonian, Melinda Zeder discovered leg and foot bones from a tenth Neanderthal, now known as Shanidar 10. Shanidar 1 was an elderly Neanderthal male known as 'Nandy' to his excavators. He was aged between 30 and 45 years. Shanidar 1 had a cranial capacity of 1,600 cm ,

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2784-517: The 21st century is below 0.6% copper, with a proportion of economic ore minerals being less than 2% of the total volume of the ore rock. Thus, all mining operations, the ore must usually be beneficiated (concentrated). The concentrate is typically sold to distant smelters , although some large mines have smelters located nearby. Such colocation of mines and smelters was more typical in the 19th and early 20th centuries, when smaller smelters could be economic. The subsequent processing techniques depend on

2871-602: The Robinson Mine had 605 employees. Paleozoic limestones , shales and sandstones were intruded in the Cretaceous by a quartz monzonite porphyry . This intrusion metamorphosed the surrounding sediments creating a tactite zone in the altered limestone up to 150 meters away, producing porphyry ores with traces of gold. Chalcopyrite is the primary ore mineral, which may be altered to chalcocite . Copper mining Copper extraction refers to

2958-524: The Shanidar Cave. Three Neanderthal unfossilized skeletons were found at the cave. One was nearly complete (Shanidar I - field catalog no. 504 III), one was fragmentary (Shanidar III - field catalog no. 384 III), and for one only the skull was excavated at that time (Shanidar II - field catalog no. 618 III). Two Neolithic skeletons were also recovered, an infant and female teenager (with grave goods). Frequent use of explosives, up to eight sticks at

3045-604: The Shanidar diet. It is unclear whether this diet was caused from cultural change or a change in the environment that lead to changes in previous foods as seen in the analysis of size decrease in goats. However, there are other lineages from Africa that share this diet and was culturally motivated which may indicate that the Neanderthals in the Shanidar cave may have possibly changed their diet for cultural reasons. In Layer B, dating back to approximately 12,000 years ago, Ralph S. Solecki found numerous snail shells which may indicate

3132-702: The University of Michigan Expedition to justify the Near East, first explored the site with a sounding in 1951. He returned in 1953, under the auspices of the Directorate General of Antiquities of Iraq and the Smithsonian Institution, for another sounding. The first human body, Mousterian age, possibly Neanderthal, infant, was found. The next season, in 1956–57, conducted soundings at two nearby village sites and continued work at

3219-626: The Veteran Mine. "The resulting mine was an impressive open-pit and satellite cave." During World War I and until the Great Depression , Nevada Con employed some 1000 - 1200 men in their mines. Mining ended around 1949. Future production would come from open-pit mining . In late 1906, the Guggenheim interests acquired control of Nevada Con, as a part of their rapidly growing copper-mining business. In 1932, Nevada Con became

3306-407: The average Neanderthal skull. This may prove that the Neanderthals of Shanidar had more of a "morphology of anatomically modern humans" than other Neanderthals, or that the group was very diverse. This points to similarities between the two species, Neanderthals and Homo sapiens, but it does not show any inherited "relationships within that species". Shanidar 3 was a 40- to 50-year-old male, found in

3393-527: The basis for conjecture about Neanderthal social behavior. According to paleoanthropologist Erik Trinkaus, Shanidar 1 must have been aided by others in order to survive his injuries. Due to the chronic effects of trauma, it was unlikely that this individual could independently provide for his family, so his post-injury lifespan may imply that he was kept alive due to his high social status or valuable cultural knowledge. This evidence has also led to speculation about Neanderthals' capacity for altruistic behavior and

3480-412: The concentrate is dispersed in an air or oxygen stream and the smelting reactions are largely completed while the mineral particles are still in flight. The reacted particles then settle in a bath at the bottom of the furnace, where they behave like calcine in a reverberatory furnace. A slag layer forms on top of the matte layer, and they can separately be tapped from the furnace. The ISASMELT process

3567-452: The concentration of copper in the ore bodies decreased, the energy costs of smelting the whole ore also became prohibitive, and it became necessary to concentrate the ores first. Initial concentration techniques included hand-sorting and gravity concentration. These resulted in high losses of copper. Consequently, the development of the froth flotation process was a major step forward in mineral processing. The modern froth flotation process

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3654-406: The converter slag (due to its higher melting point), forming an accretion on the hearth of the reverberatory furnace and necessitating shut downs of the furnace to remove the accretion. This accretion formation limits the quantity of converter slag that can be treated in a reverberatory furnace. While reverberatory furnaces have very low copper losses to slag, they are not very energy-efficient and

3741-421: The copper dissolved in slags from mattes containing less than 50% copper is sulfidic copper. Above this figure, oxidic copper begins to dominate. The loss of copper as prills suspended in the slag depends on the size of the prills, the viscosity of the slag and the settling time available. Rosenqvist suggested that about half the copper losses to slag were due to suspended prills. The mass of slag generated in

3828-467: The copper from the pregnant leach solution . To ensure the best recovery of copper, it is important to acknowledge the effect copper dissolution, acid consumption, and gangue mineral composition has on the efficacy of extraction. Supergene sulfide ores rich in native copper are refractory to treatment with sulfuric acid leaching on all practicable time scales, and the dense metal particles do not react with froth flotation media. Typically, if native copper

3915-404: The crushed ore is wetted, suspended in a slurry, and mixed with reagents that render the sulfide particles hydrophobic . Typical reagents ("collectors") include potassium ethylxanthate and sodium ethylxanthate , but dithiophosphates and dithiocarbamates are also used. The slurry is introduced to a water-filled aeration tank containing a surfactant such as methylisobutyl carbinol (MIBC). Air

4002-409: The depletion of copper resources. Processes including in situ, dump, and heap leaching are cost-effective methods that are suitable for extracting copper from low-grade ores. Extraction processes for secondary copper sulfides and low-grade ores includes the process of heap bioleaching. Heap bioleaching presents a cost efficient extraction method that requires a less intensive energy input resulting in

4089-606: The earlier record of copper smelting from Rudna Glava ( Serbia ). Copper smelting technology gave rise to the Copper Age , aka Chalcolithic Age, and then the Bronze Age . The Bronze Age would not have been possible without the development of smelting technology. Until the latter half of the 20th century, smelting sulfide ores was almost the sole means of producing copper metal from mined ores ( primary copper production). As of 2002, 80% of global primary copper production

4176-570: The fact that the curve was missing after the correction of a misplaced cranium bone fragment. Still, the frontal mid sagittal angle of this individual was very flat at 147º. The cranium shows signs of endocranial hyperostosis where plaques are found in the left and right side of the frontal crest and in the front area of sagittal sinus. In February 2020, researchers announced the discovery of more Neanderthal remains, which dated back to more than 70,000 years ago. Land snails were excavated and discovered in significant amounts and thought to be part of

4263-402: The flotation cell is either discarded as tailings or further processed to extract other metals such as lead (from galena) and zinc (from sphalerite ), should they exist. A variety of measures are taken to improve the efficiency of the froth flotation. Lime is used to raise the pH of the water bath, causing the collector to bond more efficiently to the copper sulfides. The process can produce

4350-449: The following smelting technologies: flash smelting , Isasmelt , Noranda, Mitsubishi or El Teniente furnaces. The initial melting of the material to be smelted is usually referred to as the smelting or matte smelting stage. It can be undertaken in a variety of furnaces, including the largely obsolete blast furnaces and reverberatory furnaces , as well as flash furnaces , Isasmelt furnaces, etc. The product of this smelting stage

4437-427: The furnace as separate streams. The slag layer is periodically allowed to flow through a hole in the wall of the furnace above the height of the matte layer. The matte is removed by draining it through a hole into ladles for it to be carried by crane to the converters. This draining process is known as tapping the furnace. The matte taphole is normally a hole through a water-cooled copper block that prevents erosion of

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4524-551: The injury may have been caused by a long range projectile. This would be the earliest example of inter-personal or inter-specific violence in the human fossil record and the only such example amongst Neanderthals. The presence of early-modern humans , possibly armed with projectile weapons, in western Asia around the same time has been taken to imply that this injury may have resulted from inter-species conflict. However, spears produced by Neanderthals 300,000-400,000 years BP were likely used as projectiles. Shanidar 3 also suffered from

4611-411: The left tibia had teeth marks. Scavengers likely disposed of parts of his remains. There is evidence that Shanidar 2 was given a ritual send-off: a small pile of stones with some worked stone points (made out of chert ) were found on top of his grave. Also, there had been a large fire by the burial site. Shanidar 2 had a "higher cranial vault", and other skull proportions that did not quite match up to

4698-459: The loss of copper to slag in the smelting stage are: This means that there is a practical limit on how high the matte grade can be if the loss of copper to slag is to be minimized. Therefore, further stages of processing (converting and fire refining) are required. The following subsections briefly describe some of the processes used in matte smelting. Reverberatory furnaces are long furnaces that can treat wet, dry, or roasted concentrate. Most of

4785-463: The low concentrations of sulfur dioxide in their off-gases make its capture uneconomic. Consequently, smelter operators devoted a lot of money in the 1970s and 1980s to developing new, more efficient copper smelting processes. In addition, flash smelting technologies had been developed in earlier years and began to replace reverberatory furnaces. By 2002, 20 of the 30 reverberatory furnaces still operating in 1994 had been shut down. In flash smelting ,

4872-471: The methods used to obtain copper from its ores . The conversion of copper ores consists of a series of physical, chemical, and electrochemical processes. Methods have evolved and vary with country depending on the ore source, local environmental regulations , and other factors. The Old Copper Complex in North America has been radiometrically dated to 9500 BP—i.e., about 7480 BCE—making it one of

4959-433: The microfauna from the strata into which the grave was cut suggests that the pollen was deposited by the burrowing rodent Meriones persicus , which is common in the Shanidar microfauna and whose burrowing activity can be observed today". Despite his conclusions that flowers were unlikely to have been deliberately placed, Petitt nevertheless concludes that the Shanidar burials, because they happened over so many years, represent

5046-424: The mine and plant. The mine was closed in 1999 due to low copper prices. Quadra Mining bought Robinson in 2004, and reopened the mine later that year. Since 2005, production has averaged about 125 million pounds of copper per year. In 2010, Robinson produced 109 million pounds of copper and 73,000 ounces of gold. In 2012, Quadra was acquired by KGHM Polska Miedź , a large Polish copper producer. As of December 2017,

5133-541: The mine to operate until 2022 before closure and reclamation. Around 1868, prospector Thomas Robinson discovered gold and silver, along with widespread, low-grade copper, in what became the Robinson Mining District. From around 1892 to 1907, several gold mines were opened, but none were successful. Around 1907, interest turned towards copper. Under Daniel C. Jackling , in 1905 Nevada Consolidated Copper Corporation (Nevada Con) began copper mining in

5220-437: The mineral chalcocite; a mineral formed from primary sulfides, like chalcopyrite , that undergo chemical processes such as oxidation or reduction. Typically, secondary sulfide ores are concentrated using froth flotation. Other extraction processes like leaching are effectively used for the extraction of secondary copper sulfides, but as demand for copper rises, extraction processes tailored for low-grade ores are required, due to

5307-426: The mineral surface through the formation of hydrophobic compounds on the mineral surface. Some supergene sulfide deposits can be leached using a bacterial oxidation heap leach process to oxidize the sulfides to sulfuric acid, which also allows for simultaneous leaching with sulfuric acid to produce a copper sulfate solution. For oxide ores, solvent extraction and electrowinning technologies are used to recover

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5394-409: The nature of the ore. In the usual case when it is primarily sulfide copper minerals (such as chalcopyrite , FeCuS 2 ), the ore is treated by comminution , where the rock is crushed to produce small particles (<100 μm) consisting of individual mineral phases. These particles are then ready to be separated to remove gangue (silicate rocks residues) using froth flotation. In froth flotation,

5481-523: The oldest known examples of copper extraction in the world. The earliest evidence of the cold-hammering of native copper comes from the excavation at Çayönü Tepesi in eastern Anatolia , which dates between 7200 to 6600 BCE. Among the various items considered to be votive or amulets, there was one that looked like a fishhook and one like an awl. Another find, at Shanidar Cave in Mergasur, Iraq, contained copper beads, and dates back to 8,700 BCE. One of

5568-510: The only individuals known for purposeful, ritualistic burials. The site, 1 ⁄ 2 mile (800 m) from the Great Zab river and near Rowanduz , lies at 2,100 feet (640 m) above sea level. The cave entrance is triangular, 82 feet (25 m) wide by 26 feet (7.9 m) high. Its dimensions are, at maximum, 175 feet (53 m) wide, 45 feet (14 m) wide, and 130 feet (40 m) deep. Anthropologist Ralph Solecki , part of

5655-598: The other remains were found in a single compressed block. Overall these excavations found the remains of seven adult and two infants Neanderthals , dating from around 65,000–35,000 years ago. These individuals were uncovered amongst a Mousterian layer (layer D), overlaid by a Baradostian culture layer (layer C), a Mesolithic Zarzian layer (layer B) and a Holocene Neolithic layer (layer A), accompanied by various stone tools and animal remains. The cave also contains two later proto-Neolithic cemeteries, one of which dates back about 10,600 BCE and contains 35 individuals, and

5742-403: The oxygen potential of the slag increases. The oxygen potential generally increases as the copper content of the matte is increased. Thus, the loss of copper as oxide increases as the copper content of the matte increases. On the other hand, the solubility of sulfidic copper in slag decreases as the copper content of the matte increases beyond about 40%. Nagamori calculated that more than half

5829-483: The pollen samples, all of which have been traditionally used, as diuretics , stimulants , and astringents and anti-inflammatories . This led to the idea that the man could possibly have had shamanic powers , perhaps acting as medicine man to the Shanidar Neanderthals. However, recent work has suggested that the pollen was perhaps introduced to the burial by animal action, as several burrows of

5916-533: The presence of ethos in the Neanderthal communities. The discovery of stone tools found in proximity to these individuals demonstrates that Neanderthals exhibited the intelligence to make everyday life easier for themselves, and their cognitive ability may have surpassed basic comprehension to include characteristics such as humility and compassion commonly associated with Homo sapiens . These individuals may have exhibited empathy or attached abstract meaning to life that caused them to want to help Shanidar 1. Shanidar 2

6003-578: The remains after death being that the position of the skull and mandible of Shanidar 1 were not natural. Examinations of other sites will be integral in understanding and analyzing the activity of the remains after death of those found in the Shanidar cave. Additional work is being conducted on the faunal remains found in Layer D at the University of Chicago to analyze butchery activity. Many remains found had cut marks that where caused by flint items which correlates to butchery practices. The ten Neanderthals at

6090-517: The residue with sulfuric acid. The barred (denuded) sulfuric acid recycled back on to the heaps. The organic ligands are recovered and recycled as well. Alternatively, the copper can be precipitated out of the pregnant solution by contacting it with scrap iron; a process called cementation . Cement copper is normally less pure than SX-EW copper. Secondary sulfides—those formed by supergene secondary enrichment—are resistant ( refractory ) to sulfuric leaching. Secondary copper sulfides are dominated by

6177-428: The reverberatory furnaces used in the latter years treated roasted concentrate because putting dry feed materials into the reverberatory furnace is more energy efficient, and because the elimination of some of the sulfur in the roaster results in higher matte grades. The reverberatory furnace feed is added to the furnace through feed holes along the sides of the furnace, and the solid charge is melted. Additional silica

6264-462: The same grave as Shanidar 1 and 2. A wound to the left 9th rib suggests that the individual died of complications from a stab wound by a sharp implement. Bone growth around the wound indicates that Shanidar 3 lived for at least several weeks after the injury with the object still embedded. The angle of the wound rules out self-infliction, but is consistent with an accidental or purposeful stabbing by another individual. Recent research has suggested that

6351-629: The site were found within a Mousterian layer which also contained hundreds of stone tools including points , side-scrapers , and flakes and bones from animals including wild goats and spur-thighed tortoises . The first nine (Shanidar 1–9) were unearthed between 1957 and 1961 by Ralph Solecki and a team from Columbia University . The skeleton of Shanidar 3 is held at the Smithsonian Institution . The others (Shanidar 1, 2, and 4–8) were kept in Iraq and may have been lost during

6438-403: The slag is about 1195 °C ). In this equilibration process, oxygen associated with copper compounds exchanges with sulfur associated with iron compounds, increasing the iron oxide content of the furnace, and the iron oxides interact with silica and other oxide materials to form the slag. The main equilibration reaction is: The slag and the matte form distinct layers that can be removed from

6525-453: The smelting process can be operated at a lower temperature. The slag forming reaction is: Slag is less dense than matte, so it forms a layer that floats on top of the matte. Copper can be lost from the matte in three ways: as cuprous oxide (Cu 2 O) dissolved in the slag, as sulfide copper dissolved in the slag or as tiny droplets (or prills ) of matte suspended in the slag. The amount of copper lost as oxide copper increases as

6612-401: The smelting stage depends on the iron content of the material fed into the smelting furnace and the target matte grade. The greater the iron content of the feed, the more iron that will need to be rejected to the slag for a given matte grade. Similarly, increasing the target matte grade requires the rejection of more iron and an increase in the slag volume. Thus, the two factors that most affect

6699-440: The usual pollen found throughout the site, suggesting that entire flowering plants (or at least heads of plants) had been part of the grave deposit. Furthermore, a study of the particular flower types suggested that the flowers may have been chosen for their specific medicinal properties. Yarrow , cornflower , bachelor's button , St Barnaby's thistle , ragwort , grape hyacinth , horsetail and hollyhock were represented in

6786-554: The world's oldest known copper mines, as opposed to usage of surface deposits, is at Timna Valley , Israel, and has been used since the fourth millennium BC, with surface deposit usage occurring in the fifth and sixth millennium. The Pločnik archaeological site in southeastern Europe ( Serbia ) contains the oldest securely dated evidence of copper making at high temperature, from 5,000 BCE. The find in June 2010 extends for an additional 500 years, dated to 5th millennium BCE, representing

6873-419: Was 9.76 million tonnes per year of feed materials and 750 thousand tonnes per year across lead operating plants. The matte, which is produced in the smelter, contains 30–70% copper (depending on the process used and the operating philosophy of the smelter), primarily as copper sulfide, as well as iron sulfide. The sulfur is removed at a high temperature as sulfur dioxide by blowing air through molten matte: In

6960-495: Was a Neanderthal male around the age of 30 who suffered from slight arthritis, found lying on his right side. It is estimated that Shanidar 2 was 5 feet 2 inches (157 cm) in stature, which places him just below the average height of a male Neanderthal. He was killed by rocks falling from the cave's ceiling, which crushed his skull and bones significantly. The skull had been compressed by about 5–6 cm (2.0–2.4 in). Much of his bones were missing when discovered, and

7047-427: Was around the height of 5 feet 7 inches (170 cm), and displayed severe signs of deformity. He was one of four reasonably complete skeletons from the cave which displayed trauma-related abnormalities, which in his case would have been debilitating to the point of making day-to-day life painful. During the course of the individual's life, he had suffered a violent blow to the left side of his face, creating

7134-591: Was designated Shanidar V. After the field material had been processed and analyzed more Neanderthal remains were declared. Shanidar 9 was an infant represented only by vertebrae. The remains of Shanidar 9 were discovered in the removal of Shanidar 4 when encasing it in sediment block and transporting it to the Baghdad Museum. Shanidar 8 was an adult with partial fragmentary skeleton. Shanidar 6 and 7 were skull, teeth and partial skeleton, all fragmentary. Shanidar 1, 2, 3, 5, and 7 were found as individual burials while

7221-425: Was from copper–iron–sulfur minerals, and the vast majority of these were treated by smelting. Copper was initially recovered from sulfide ores by directly smelting the ore in a furnace. The smelters were initially located near the mines to minimize the cost of transport. This avoided the prohibitive costs of transporting the waste minerals and the sulfur and iron present in the copper-containing minerals. However, as

7308-590: Was independently invented in the early 1900s in Australia by C.V Potter and around the same time by G. D. Delprat . It made the development of the giant Bingham Canyon mine in Utah possible. In the twentieth century, most ores were concentrated before smelting. Smelting was initially undertaken using sinter plants and blast furnaces , or with roasters and reverberatory furnaces . Roasting and reverberatory furnace smelting dominated primary copper production until

7395-405: Was partially blocked and his right ear canal was completely blocked by exostoses . He also suffered from a withered right arm which had been fractured in several places. A fracture of the individual's C5 vertebrae is thought to have caused damage to his muscle function (specifically the deltoids and biceps) of the right arm. Shanidar 1 healed, but this caused the loss of his lower arm and hand. This

7482-407: Was reconstructed by Erik Trinkaus and his colleagues beginning 1976 and was finalized in 1994 after correcting a couple of errors caught in the process. During the process of reconstruction, there were discussions suggesting signs of intentional cranial deformation. Erik Trinkaus suggested that Shanidar 5 had its cranium deformed intentionally as an infant. However, this implication was overruled due to

7569-404: Was thought to provide strong evidence for a Neanderthal burial ritual. Routine soil samples from around the body, gathered for pollen analysis in an attempt to reconstruct the palaeoclimate and vegetational history of the site, were analysed eight years after its discovery. In two of the soil samples in particular, whole clumps of pollen were discovered by Arlette Leroi-Gourhan in addition to

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