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By J. S. Seawright

Haulage is a costly feature in the operation of an open pit mine, whether it be iron, copper, or limestone. The National Iron Co. has adapted an old underground method to the open pit inclined skip haulage to bring the ore from the pit bottom to the crusher or beneficiation plant. The Rockover skip has been placed in operation where limited areas have retarded or eliminated use of long rail or road slopes. Deep and narrow orebodies subject to rapid increase in depth that discourage use of conveyor belts and necessary crushing plants are ideal for this system. The skip haulage method was developed to combine the desirable features of conveyor, truck, and rail haulage and at the same time avoid the draw- backs. The skip was designed to follow the natural angle of repose of the pit wall and can vary from 25° to 45°. Open-pit skips now in operation show that the installation is successful and provide the

Jun 1, 1955

By R. C. Dalzell, A. E. Wells

In 1866, Thomas Graham1 called attention to the volume of gases, three times the volume of the sample, evolved from a meteoric iron heated in an evacuated porcelain tube. From that time to this the occurrence and significance of gases in metals have been the subject of investigation by many workers, among whom Sieverts,2 Iwasé3 and 0. W. Ellis4 stand preeminent. Sieverts and Iwasé concerned themselves with the solubility of a number of gases in metals in the liquid and solid states. They determined the absorption coefficients of these gases, and in all cases found a sharp change in solubility at the melting point of the metals. Ellis analyzed the gases evolved by solidifying copper and those occluded by the solidified metal. Lobley and Jepson5 endeavored to determine the effects of hydrogen, carbon monoxide and nitrogen on the porosity of copper that was allowed to solidify in the presence of each gas after 30 min. exposure to it in the

Jan 1, 1930

By F. R. Hensel

The present study was made to determine the laws governing the formation of the primary? crystal structure during solidification. Most of the experiments were carried out on chill castings, but from the resiilts it will be possible to draw certain conclusions as far as sand castings are concerned. It is necessary to discuss first a number of theories, which are generally adopted for explaining the structure of an ingot. Usually, the structure of an ingot consists of the following three zones (Fig. 1): (1) a chill layer of small at-random oriented crystals; (2) a layer of columnar crystals; (3) a zone of equiaxed crystals. The tensile properties of the chill layer and the equiaxed range are usually much better than in the columnar range, particularly the planes that are formed by the columnar crystals growing from two sides at right angles have low tensile properties. This is one of the reasons why columnar crystals in ingot structures are undesirable.

Jan 1, 1937

By G. Van Esbroeck

THE copper mines of the Katanga region in the Belgian Congo lie along the same mineralized belt as those of Northern Rhodesia. There are two distinct types of deposits in that belt, the dolomitic and the quartzitic. In the dolomitic type the metallic minerals are found in a dolomitic limestone country rock. Through oxidation and enrichment, large deposits of high-grade oxidized copper ores were formed, some of which are being worked by the Union Miniere du Haut Katanga. Such deposits are all in Katanga. The quartzitic deposits are found in Katanga and Northern Rhodesia. Here the primary mineralization occurred in sandstones and quartzites, in horizons stratigraphically lower than the dolomites. These rocks are not favorable to secondary enrichment and the oxidized zone is poorer than the sulphide zone, which alone contains the ore. There are also in Katanga a few ore-bearing veins. One of them is being worked in the Prince Leopold mine at Kipushi.

Jan 1, 1939

C. G. Dunn (Generai! Electric Research Laboratory)— The author is to be commended on his attempt to calculate the residual strain energy from information on the dislocation density within the subgrains and a surface energy associated with the subgrains. However, much closer agreement between a calculated critical size of a nucleus and the observed size of grains that did not continue growing can be obtained if a reasonable correction is made in obtaining the energy of the surfaces of the subgrains. For example, since the sample is a single crystal with a cold-rolling reduction of 70 pct in thickness, one needs either an average disorientation for this or an average subgrain boundary energy rather than the 2.5 deg disorientation of a bent crystal, which was used by the author. From either the Laue photographs of the author or the pole density plot of Koh and Dunn 16 for a (113) [332] cold-rolled crystal the

Jan 1, 1961

To THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND MEMBERS OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF MINING AND METALLURGICAL ENGINEERS. GENTLEMEN Like every other significant activity in the United States today, the work of the Institute has been affected by and adjusted to the prosecution of war against Germany, .Japan and their satellites. As the elaborate engines and materiel of modern mobile warfare are made, for the most part, of metals and other minerals; and are powered by mineral fuels, the industries -represented by the A.I.M.E. are of primary and vital importance. Of some 29 critical materials officially listed by the War Production Board, 24 are minerals. An alternate for one of the others, rated as a nonmineral, is to be made principally from petroleum. This alludes, of course, to rubber. The procurement of tremendous quantities of such raw materials and the effective processing, fabrication, and utilization of them depend on members of those branches of the engineering profession represented by the A.I.M.E.

Jan 1, 1943

By Louis A. Panek

Caving of previously undisturbed ground was conducted for a period of about 20 months at two locations about 600 m (2000 ft) apart in an Arizona porphyry copper deposit. When mining was suspended the width of the mined zone at both sites was on the order of one-half the depth and the thickness of ore extracted was only a fraction of the rock column. Thus the results have potential application to predicting the subsidence above a cavern-type excavation. Break cables were used to detect the upward progress of caving. Analytical aerotriangulation was used to determine the vertical and horizontal displacements of 400-plus surface targets covering a 1585 m (5200 ft) square area. The measurements are summarized and interpreted with a view to predicting the rate of rise of a caving brow, detecting the initial surface subsidence, and characterizing the extent, the location, and the varying degrees of expected damage to surface facilities.

Jan 1, 1984

By B. A. Rogers

ACCORDING to petrographic investigations, 1-4 cooled steel furnace slags contain a number of substances that have been shown to be ferro-magnetic5,6 and hence capable of undergoing appreciable changes of susceptibility with temperature. Since any alteration of the suscepti-bility of a constituent affects the average susceptibility of the sample, information concerning the nature of the substance should be deducible from its magnetic behavior. The possibility of obtaining information concerning slags in this way led to the construction of the apparatus to be described. FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF APPARATUS The most convenient method of observing changes in mass suscepti-bility? with temperature is the one employed by Curie7 in his original investigation of the changes in magnetic properties of substances at elevated temperatures. As the method has been described frequently in the literature and in textbooks, only a brief review of the fundamental principles need be given here, but the particular arrangements used in the present work require a more detailed description.

Jan 1, 1939

By Herbert Clark Hoover, Lou Henry Hoover

THE third book has explained the various and manifold varieties of veins and stringers. This fourth book will deal with mining areas and the method of delimiting them, and will then pass on to the officials who are connected with mining affairs'. Now the miner, if the vein he has uncovered is to his liking, first of all goes to the Bergmeister to request to be granted a right to mine, this official's special function and office being to adjudicate in respect of the mines. And so to the first man who has discovered the vein the Bergmeister awards the head meer, and to others the remaining meers, in the order in which each makes his application. The size of a meer is measured by fathoms, which for miners are reckoned at six feet each. The length, in fact, is that of a man's extended arms and hands measured across his chest ; but different peoples assign to it different lengths,

Jan 1, 1950

By H. C. Goodrich

At the Utah Copper mine, steam shovels were first used, in 1906, for the removal of overburden, and in June, 1907, for the mining of ore. Prior to 1907, the ore came from underground development work and from stoping. The use of the steam shovel gradually increased until 1914; since then all material, both overburden and ore, has been loaded by power shovels operating on the various benches of the mine. During these 19 years, there has been a great improvement in open-pit mining, largely in the use of equipment having greater capacity and dependability. The history of the development of mechanical shovels and related equipment, as affecting the Utah Copper Co., would be interesting and would justify considerable space; but of greater interest at this time is the operation of the equipment now in use. The Utah Copper mine is in a great deposit of copper-bearing monzo-nite, which occurs as a prominent headland of the Oquirrh range of

Jan 1, 1925

By F. F. Skiba, P. J. Root

A mathematical model has been used to investigate crossflow effects in a stratified reservoir during an idealized displacement process. A process in which one incompressible fluid displaces completely another incompressible fluid of the same density and viscosity was considered. The reservoir was assumed to be composed of homogeneous layers which are discrete but interconnected. Approximate five-spot flow geometry was simulated by arranging two pie-shaped cylindrical (two-dimensional) wedges in series. Some of the common production methods rely, for their effectiveness, on the fact that the formation consists of isolated strata. This is particularly true of selective plugging and single-zone production-injection methods. The effectiveness of these techniques for several cases in which adjacent strata are in communication has been evaluated. The usual production-injection schemes for fluid injection processes involve using the same completion interval in both the production and the injection wells. The efficiency of this, as well as alternative productioz-injection procedures has been examined for some cases involving communicating strata. INTRODUCTION The performance of many fluid injection projects is marred by early breakthrough and by production of a high percentage of the displacing phase after breakthrough. This channeling effect, if it occurs in reservoirs which have large permeability variations, is often explained on the basis of a model composed of discrete, isolated strata. Corrective or preventive measures based on this same model are also common. The behavior of stratified models has been the subject of considerable study. An excellent review of the early literature was given by Seba.1 Studies of the depletion performance have since been made for continuous, unrestricted communication between strata2-4 and for production from one permeable bed in continuous but restricted communication with an adjacent permeable bed.5,6 Model studies of displacement processes in stratified systems with crossflow also have been reprted.7-12 Finally, methods which account for crossflow have been developed for computing displacement behavior in stratified systems.13,14 Most methods for controlling or preventing channeling involve some change in the interval open to production and/or injection. Although many variations of the selective completion problem have been studied in regard to the depletion of a reservoir, little attention has been given to the behavior of a displacement process under similar conditions. Sebal used a resistance network model to study the performance of a process in which one incompressible fluid displaces an identical fluid from a linear, stratified reservoir. He investigated the possibility of improving the vertical coverage by limiting the completion interval of the production well. This investigation deals with techniques in which selective completion of the production and/or the injection wells is used in an attempt to control channeling. At one extreme, selective plugging and single-zone isolation (assuming perfect execution) should be successful if the reservoir is actually made up of independent strata. At the other extreme, they can hardly be expected to be successful if the channeling is caused by a mechanism in which stratification effects are negligible even though there are extreme variations in the formation permeability and/or the injectivity profile of the wells is not uniform. By contrast, it is difficult to anticipate the effect that the amount of communication between the beds of a stratified system will have on the efficiency of selective completion techniques. The objective of this study is the quantitative determination of the effect of communication on the behavior of some particular stratified systems which will at least lead to qualitative conclusions.

Jan 1, 1966

By S. A. Hovanessian

The method of characteristics which reduces the Buckley-Leverett mnlineur, partial differential equation to two first-order, linear differential equations is applied to the solution of a waterffood recovery problem for multiple lines of producing wells and one line of injection wells. The application of the method is described by a numerical example, and a brief theoretical background is given. From the results of this study, it is concluded that the cumulative water injected and oil produced are the same for single and multiple sets of producing wells. INTRODUCTION In this paper, the method of characteristics is applied to the solution of a waterflood recovery problem with multiple lines of producing wells and one line of injection wells. The application of the method to this type of recovery problem considerably simplifies the procedure of obtaining a numerical solution. It differs from the method described by Kern1 because it eliminates the need for integration in obtaining saturation fronts. In addition, the saturation history at any location within the field is obtained from a single diagram (time vs distance with saturation as a parameter)'. The paper includes a brief theory of the method of characteristics and its application to the solution of oil recovery problems. A numerical example is worked out, and the cumulative oil recovery-vs-time curve for a system with multiple sets of producing wells is obtained. This curve is then compared with the recovery curve of a system with only one set of producing wells. From this study, it is concluded that the cumulative water injected and oil produced are the same for single and multiple lines of producing wells. However, the recovery time is considerably longer for multiple sets of producing wells.

E. Windsor Richards, London, England:—In reading this paper the most interesting point to me mas the question of the maximum percentage of phosphorus allowable in the steel rail. Mr. Colby said, and we will all agree with him, that the engineer knew, and even a steel-rail maker grants that phosphorus is the most undesirable constituent of steel. We in England have been for a long time considering a specification for the supply of steel rails. This matter has been taken up by the Institution of Civil Engineers, the Mechanical Engineers, the Iron and Steel Institute, the Institute of Naval Architects, and the Electrical Engineers. Committees have been formed,and the whole matter has received most careful attention. They arrived at last at an analysis which I will read: " The carbon is to be from 0.35 to 0.5 per cent.; the manganese from 0.7 to 1.0 per cent.; the silicon, not to exceed 0.10 per cent.; phosphorus, 0.07; and sulphur, 0.07 per cent." As to the phosphorus, which is the most important point of all in the analysis, we have for many years, and indeed until very lately, always agreed to supply steel which would not contain above 0.06 per cent. of phosphorus. Iron-ores are not quite as good now as they were formerly, and the manufacturers at the meetings of the committees referred to, tried to obtain an increase in the allowance of phosphorus. They asked the Sub-committee to agree to 0.08 per cent. of phosphorus. They tried all they possibly could to obtain that; but they failed. English engineers in Great George Street and all over England, representing the important Associa tions I have mentioned, would only agree to 0.07 per cent. and that is the maximum allowance of phosphorus. Mr. Colby is an able advocate, but with all his ability he would not have been able to persuade the English engineers to agree to 0.08 per cent.

Jan 1, 1907

By Robert S. Archer

THE proper material of construction for a given purpose is that material which meets the requirements satisfactorily at the lowest ultirnatc cost. It is consistent with this principle that most aluminum castings are made of an alloy containing about 8 per cent. copper. This alloy possesses mechanical properties satisfactory for general engineering purposes together with manufacturing characteristics leading to the production of finished castings at low cost. It is to the aluminum industry what gray iron is to the iron and steel industry. Just as some services require "semi-steel," malleable castings or steel castings instead of gray iron, there is a certain and growing demand for aluminum castings of superior strength or ductility, or both. Since the beginning of .the industry producers and others have sought to develop alloys or processes by which such castings could be made. Out of these efforts have emerged many alloy compositions and special processes, of which only a few have had sufficient merit to survive. It is the purpose of this paper to describe those which seem to the authors to offer the greatest promise for the production on a commercial scale of aluminum castings of superior mechanical properties, with special reference to heat-treated castings. The suitability of an alloy or process for actual manufacture is affected by so many factors that the problem of appraisal is not a simple one. Since this is such an important part of the whole subject it is proposed to discuss briefly some of the requirements. The final verdict is of course the result of commercial trial and experience. It will therefore, perhaps, be profitable to employ a somewhat historical method of treatment in discussing the subject of alloy development. The alloys or processes to be used in the production of aluminum castings are to be considered from the standpoint of their effects on both the utility and the cost of the finished casting. Specific gravity and mechanical properties come under the first head, while the properties

Jan 1, 1927

By Thomas H. Sheldon

IN the zeal for opening up new ore-bodies, or for. extracting the ore from attractive bodies gal ready opened up, we very often lose sight of the fact, that, after all, the operation of a mine is a business proposition, pure and simple; and for the best working-results should be treated upon a strict business basis. Of course, in every mine of consequence a record is kept of expenditures and receipts, and such glittering generalities as "gross receipts," " net receipts," " mining expenses," .and " per cent. profit," can be told to the cent; but does this . record show economy of management, either as compared with the same record of other months, or as compared to the record of other mines of the' same class ? Moreover, if such a record shows that the cost of mining is high, does it in any way en¬able the manager to put his finger on the leakage? Does it necessarily follow that a mine which makes a profit of, say, 40 per cent on 25-dollar ore, is doing less economical mining than one which saves 60 per cent on 80-dollar ore ? Of course the figures in the latter case look the more attractive, but when it comes to a point of saving everything which can be saved, and of cutting down expenses to the lowest possible cost of operation, the former mine is doubtless on the most firm and economical financial basis. But as the relative merits of the system of mining in the two cases, nothing could be decided without a basis of detailed comparison ; if one system is more economical than the other, why is it so, and wherein does the advantage lie ? This can be shown only by keeping accurately the cost of each mining operation. And no matter how dissimilar two mines may be in character and operation, yet there are a few general heads common to all mining operations. In the first place, it is necessary to break the ore from the solid ground ;

Nov 1, 1905

By Carl F. Dietz

(New York Meeting, February, 1912.) THE problem of drying ores is one that most mill-engineers are sooner or later called upon to meet, and it may be timely to point out sortie of the difficulties resulting from such operations from purely a metallurgical and economic stand-point. We mean, in the following pages, to discuss primarily the effect of such operations on. the ore itself, without particular reference to the mechanical or cost features of the subject; That an appreciable tonnage of the ore fed to the usual form of drier, either rotary or stack, is lost, is fairly well appreciated, but we believe that only a few mill-managers know just. what their drier-losses amount to, and we have found that in most cases they console themselves with the fact that the drier-smoke is not very much discolored, and it is generally believed that the draft is not sufficient to carry away more than a. negligible percentage of the values. The drying of ores is becoming an important factor. since the more general application of magnetic, static, and dry-table treatment. Its importance in the field of metallurgical operations warrants a close examination into its effects. This subject has been repeatedly brought hone to us, and while the drier-losses, in every case examined, have considerably exceeded even the most generous estimate, an attempt at a recovery of these values is rarely made. We have found that the losses resulting from drying-operations can be effectively recovered, at a low cost, and believe that the publication of the results of a number of investigations along these lines will be of interest and benefit to the profession at large. To dry an ore quickly and effectively, it must be brought into actual contact with hot gases or air. The rapid drying is effected by the fact that the hotter the gas the hungrier it is

Jul 1, 1912

By E. M. Murphy

(Presented by invitation at a meeting of the Spokane Local Section of the Institute, Feb. 17, 1912.) EIGHT years ago the Hecla mine, a lead-silver producer, situated at Burke, Idaho, was producing ore from but two levels, the 300- and the 600-ft. All hoisting was done with a 12- by 16-in. slide-valve, double-reel, hoist. The hoist was being worked to its capacity and was unsuitable for hoisting from greater depths. As the work of opening a new level was about to be started, it became necessary to remodel the then-existing equipment or install a new hoist. The recent advent of electricity from Spokane had made available a cheaper power than steam. By a series of tests conducted throughout the Coeur d'Alène district, it was found that it cost $109 per year to generate a horse-power with steam. Electric power was to be had for $50 a horse-power per year. It was decided to substitute for the engines a motor-drive, of sufficient capacity to operate from the 900-ft. level, and ultimately install an entirely new hoist. After disconnecting the engines, installing a new shaft, and making a few minor changes, a 300-h-p., 2,300-volt, 514-rev. per min., variable-speed motor of the induction type was geared to the reel-shaft. The reels were supplied with 3/8 by 4-in. flat rope, and the duty of the hoist was about as follows: Cage, 1,700; ore, 2,600; car, 1,400; rope, 2,250; total, 7,950 pounds. The Bristol ammeter chart, Fig. 1, shows the combined current-consumption of the hoist- and mine-motors. The large intermittent load is clearly shown ; this produced harmful fluctuations in the voltage of the long, lightly-loaded, 60,000-volt transmission-line from Spokane to the Coeur d'Alènes. The power company received no compensation for the increased cost of producing power for this intermittent or fluctuating load. In order to protect its system from similar excessive

Sep 1, 1912

By George W. Riter

(Canal zone meeting, November, 1910.) A DISTINGUISHED engineer, the active head of a large mining company, has said that surveying attains the dignity of a profession only in the hands of a few men-the few who know how to keep notes that will be understood by even a novice without further word of explanation. Of all mine-records, survey notes are perhaps the most important. The maps made from them serve as a working-guide, and as framework for other data ; and when, from any cause, access to underground workings is shut off, the surveyor's record often becomes invaluable. So seldom does a surveyor have a chance to check underground surveys by making a closure, that he is compelled to rely on the precision of each step of his work for the accuracy of the final result. When data are fully recorded on the spot, the notes, even in the hands of second parties, become evidence of the care and precision with which the surveying was done. It is worth a great deal to be able to pick up the work of a former surveyor where it was left o$; and to be able to carry it forward without retracing from the beginning. The purpose of this paper is to describe the survey-note system of a mine now under my direction, in which underground surveys had to be relied upon entirely for the proper division of rich ore-bodies between neighbors, thereby placing a premium on accurate surveying and permanent records. In survey-work, it soon turns out that paper is the least item of expense, and that little is gained by trying to economize note-book space. For many purposes it is best to record notes on cards or loose-leaves, which may be left in the office at the end of the day's work, and need not be carried into the mine again, there to become smeared with grime and grease. With the loose-leaf or card system, all notes relating to the same local-

Apr 1, 1911

By P. W. Bridgman

THE thesis of this article is that the age of Newton is now coming to a close, and that recent scientific discoveries have in store an even greater revolution in our entire outlook than the revolution effected by the discovery of universal gravitation by Newton. The revolution that now confronts us, arises from the recent discovery of new facts, the only interpretation of which is that our conviction that nature is understandable and subject to law arose from the narrowness of our horizons, and that if we sufficiently extend our range we shall find that nature is intrinsically and in its elements neither understandable nor subject to law. The new experimental facts are in the realm of quantum phenomena. Comparatively little has been written for popular consumption about this new realm which has opened in the last fifteen years. The man in the street has been much more interested in relativity, which to him has seemed extremely interesting and revolutionary. Occasionally, however, there has filtered down to him the news that nearly all the theoretical physicists are occupied with a new order of phenomena which they find very much more exciting and revolutionary than any in the realm of relativity. For after all is said and done, the practical effects of relativity, measured in ,dollars and' cents or in centimeters and grams, are exceedingly small, and require specially de- signed experiments executed by men of the highest skill to show their existence at all. The phenomena with which quantum theory deals, on the other hand, are of the greatest practical importance and involve the simplest aspects of everyday life. For example, before the advent of the quantum theory no one could explain why a tea kettle of water boiling on the stove should not give out enough light in virtue of its temperature to be visible in the dark; the accepted theories of optics demanded that it should be visible, but every burned child knew that it was not.

Jan 1, 1929

By Subhas G. Malghan

Feldspathic deposits occur widely throughout the United States, but North Carolina, California, Connecticut, and South Carolina accounted for over 80% of the total domestic feldspar output for the year 1973.1 Pegmatites and granites constitute the major feldspar reserves of the United States, 2 and in addition, feldspar is produced as a byproduct by firms whose major products are spodumene and mica. 3 Feldspar flotation is practiced in the United States, Mexico, Finland, Norway, West Germany, Japan, and the USSR. According to the US Bureau of Mines estimates, the production of feldspar in the United States and rest of the world were 704,000 and 2,514,000 t, respectively. Feldspar is principally used as a flux in making glass, pottery, porcelain, enamel, tile, and other ceramic products. In recent years, the domestic feldspar industry is faced with a number of problems. As a result of increased cost of energy and the introduction in 1972 of new legislative programs relating to air, water, and noise pollution, land-use restrictions, and mined-land rehabilitation, the production costs have increased. Apart from the increased cost of operation, an operational problem exists with the feldspar producers in North Carolina, especially those in the Spruce Pine area. This problem is concerned with the use of hydrofluoric acid in the feldspar flotation. Feldspar producers in Spruce Pine, NC, have been discharging process waste water into the North Toe River. The mill waste water contains active fluoride ions. Fluoride in excessive concentrations is undesirable in waters used for drinking. It is stated that water containing 0.9-1.0 ppm fluoride will seldom cause mottled enamel on children's teeth; and for adults, concentrations less than 3-4 are not likely to cause endemic cumulative fluorosis and skeletal effect. Although the literature on this subject is rather confusing and inconclusive, the inference that concentrations over 4 ppm may affect bone structure is clear. According to the recent Federal Register,4 maximum fluoride level of 1.4 ppm at 79°-98°F is considered to be adequate and safe for the protection of health of the consumers. The EPA and state environmental agencies have accelerated their drive to reduce water pollution on a faster schedule. By 1977, the EPA specifications for maximum contaminant level of fluoride ions in the discharge waters of feldspar milling operatins is expected to be reduced to 2.0 ppm. The other problems of using hydrofluoric acid are the following: toxicity, hazards of handling and storage, and high cost as compared to other inorganic acids (almost 16 times the cost of sulfuric acid). In order to reduce fluoride levels in mill discharge waters, mining companies have taken the following steps: I) Recirculating a part of their mill water. Even though recirculation of mill water seems to be a novel method of reducing fluoride contamination of the discharge water, there are certain operational and handling problems. 2) Conducting research on the treatment of fluorides in mill waste water. The technology of treatment of fluoride ions has received considerable interest in the recent years. A recent research report5 estimates that the cost of fluoride ion removal to meet the present specifications in the feldspar industry is approximately $0.25/t of ore processed, and about $0.50/t of feldspar produced. At the request of the feldspar producing industries in North Carolina, the North Carolina State University (NCSU) Minerals Research Laboratory has taken up a research program directed towards overcoming the fluoride ion pollution problem. After a close study of the operational, technical, and economic aspects of feldspar flotation, it was decided to attempt to replace the conventional hydrofluoric acid process. Conventional Feldspar Flotatin Using Hydrofluoric Acid Since the inception of the feldspar flotation process using hydrofluoric acid by O'Meara2,6 the process has achieved a great commercial success. In the conventional flotation separation of feldspar-quartz, hydrofluoric acid is used to suppress quartz and activate feldspar, and a long chain amine salt (acetate or chloride) is used as a collector. The bulk of amine collectors used in current feldspar operations are applied as the water-soluble acetates of the free-base amines. These products are pastes or waxy solids which are available in a range of acetic acid neutralization levels generally 50 to 100% neutralized. In spite of the problems mentioned in connection with the use of hydrofluoric acid, this process is extremely stable with respect to changes in the process variables. With the exception of a few operations, alaskite and pegmatite are the major sources of feldspar.7 In the flotation treatment of a pegmatite that contains iron-bearing minerals (heavy minerals), mica, feldspar, and silica, a logical order of removal presents itself considering the following:8 1) Mica is readily floated by an amine collector in a pulp pH 3.5. Some iron-bearing minerals will usually respond to amine collector in acid circuit with the mica concentrate. 2) Since iron minerals tend to occur invariably in the feldspar concentrate, it is desirable to remove most of these prior to feldspar flotation. A fatty acid or a petroleum sulfonate collector used in this flotation step in acid circuit will float iron-bearing minerals. 3) Using hydrofluoric acid to maintain pH of 2.5, an amine collector employed in a final step will float feldspar away from silica, usually leaving the latter in the tailing as a high-grade silica concentrate. The problems connected with the flotation separation of feldspar-quartz arise due to the similarities in their chemical structure. Therefore, any reagent system that is likely to succeed in feldspar-quartz separation should have adsorption affinity towards one of the minerals and depression effect towards the other mineral.

Jan 1, 1979