A look into the Mining Chemicals Handbook’s past
Welcome to Syensqo's Mining Chemicals Handbook, an online knowledge platform based on 100+ years of expertise in mining chemistry and application know-how. In this successor to the Cytec MCH Blue Book, explore our decades of research, insights and technical guidance in an all-new, interactive format accessible across devices. Discover the powerful role reagent chemistry can play in taking your operation to the next level. We took all the knowledge from the older editions (also available here: 1972, 2003, 2010) and have added new knowledge. Furthermore, since the new handbook is digital, it is thus a living document which will be constantly updated and includes lots of other things like videos, graphs, tools & calculators, guidelines per technology, ore type, chemistry, and more! We conceived it as a customer-centric portal, where every user has a private login and can quickly find the exact information they’re looking for. We hope that you also find the new handbook of great value to you and your operations, enjoy!
Syensqo's famed Mining Chemicals Handbook goes digital
For those in the mining industry, the Blue Book from Cytec is a well-known reference document that encapsulates more than a century of knowledge and applied experience in mining chemicals all into one compact book. Thanks to the efforts of Syensqo's teams, the Blue Book, known formally as the Mining Chemicals Handbook (MCH) is now ready to take a leap forward, transitioning to a digital platform where Syensqo will pursue its mission to share knowledge with customers, academia and other industry stakeholders in a more efficient way.
This online hub is the latest addition to Syensqo's connected chemistry portfolio, which already comprises digital tools such as SolvExtract®, the Syensqo Cube and MINCHEM®. The digital handbook is a piece of this digital package. Looking ahead, we also believe that the metallurgists of the future don’t have time to look for information in a book, they will need a searchable and constantly evolving document.
There was strong customer demand for a new edition of the MCH, so this project, initiated during Covid-19 lockdowns, was a long-awaited delivery. It’s also a collaborative work, compiling the knowledge of all the skilled metallurgists who have worked in Syensqo's mining organization since its inception more than 100 years ago. Without contributions from many Syensqo mining colleagues over the years, we wouldn’t be able to offer the comprehensive digital Handbook that we now have today.
Advancing knowledge moving forward
Syensqo has made the digital MCH complimentary to all of their customers and industry influencers, since it is a direct continuation of Syensqo's mission to share scientific knowledge, which has been at the heart of the Group’s DNA since its very foundation.
Available in English, and soon in other languages , the handbook addresses the entire spectrum of the mining industry, with a focus on the fields where Syensqo has made the most significant advancements: mineral processing, solvent extraction, alumina refining and industrial minerals.
It’s a service our customers have come to expect of us. They want to know what’s new, what we’re working on and to learn about our latest technologies and best practices. What’s unique here is that we’re communicating our advancements and developments while promoting the best chemistry for a given application, regardless of the Syensqo brand.
A look into the Mining Chemicals Handbook’s past
Flash back to the 1930s. The American Cyanamid Company started distributing a “technical bulletin of chemicals” to its customers to promote its latest product developments. These technical bulletins addressed only one topic at a time and were initially more focused on unit operations as opposed to mining chemicals. Typically, more than one issue was published per year. In 1930, technical bulletin number 15 was solely dedicated to flotation. By 1934 the name was already changed to “Ore Dressing Notes”. Ore Dressing notes number 25 was the first mining chemicals handbook. By number 26, the name was officially changed to Mining Chemicals Handbook. The first three editions, i.e. those published in 1960, 1973 and 1976, were mainly about flotation chemicals.
Progressively focusing on mining, while simultaneously compiling information and knowledge that extended far beyond a list of products, by the 1980s, the handbook had become the Mining Chemicals Handbook as it was known henceforth. The 1989 edition was the first to include information regarding mineralogy, metallurgical calculations and flocculants. Soon after, in 1993, American Cyanamid’s Mining branch became Cytec. During the period 1960-1994, many important innovations in mining chemicals were introduced by us: AEROPHINE® in 1965, red mud flocculants for the Bayer Process in 1976; polymeric depressants, first generation neutral circuit collectors, our ACORGA line of products and HXPAMs during the first half of the 1980s; these continued with the introduction of our alkyl hydroxamate collectors in 1987, and our selective Au collectors in 1988.
In 2002, Cytec published its edition of the Mining Chemicals Handbook which reflected many of the innovations that had occurred until then since 1989 and was expanded to include Bayer process chemicals, solvent extraction chemicals, laboratory evaluation procedures and statistical methods. Again the period between 2002-2010 saw another wave of innovations coming from Cytec, developing MaxHT scale inhibitors for alumina refineries in 2004, our Flotation Matrix 100 methodology in 2005, to introduction of our flotation chemistries AERO XD-5002 and MaxGold in 2008, scale inhibitors for phosphoric acid producers in 2009, and many new process modifiers in 2010.
In 2010, Cytec published its last edition of the handbook in print, which had grown from only 100 pages to a little over 500 pages, and included: many case studies to showcase the performance of our products, a section on applied mineralogy and mineral surface analysis, and chapters on flotation reagent fundamentals, flotation practice for sulfide ores and non-sulfide ores, as well as product selection tables. The following is a timeline showing the progression of our knowledge publications from the Technical Bulletin days to the latest printed edition of 2010.
