Search Documents

By Fidelis T. Suorineni

Rapid drifting enables quicker access to orebodies, higher productivity rates and a resultant reduction in activity costs. Increased advance rates, by examination of the key components (face preparation and drilling, hole loading and blasting, scaling, mucking and support installation) in the development cycle, and optimizing these processes is a high priority for research in the Canadian mining industry. Support installation time alone is typically 36 to 46% of the total development cycle time. A reduction in support installation time or techniques and alternative scaling strategies could result in significant gains in drift development advance rates. Support Staging and hydroscaling within the drift cycle could offer alternative drift development sequences that could reduce the overall cycle time. MIRARCO?s research into the support and hydroscaling processes for rapid drift development also suggests that there are many other factors (e.g. mine ventilation services) that have a significant impact on the rate of advance. These factors should be considered to promote and manage safe and rapid drift development. Constraints to the rapid drift development processes can only be overcome by sound construction management practices. In other words, the goals of rapid drifting can be achieved by the implementation of contractor-type construction management. This paper examines various constraints and processes affecting rapid drift development and draws attention to other factors affecting safe rapid drift development.

Apr 1, 2005

By F. W. Guernsey

Of all the elements, sulphur occupies a place by itself. It is mined in situ, in such quantities and of such purity that, as regards the tonnage produced, it is the first of any element on the list. Iron and coal the great tonnage producers, are combinations of elements, while sulphur is mined and marketed almost chemically pure. It is sold, in large quantities, commercially, calling for a purity of 99.5 per cent while for medicinal purposes, the Pharmacopoeia requires only 99 per cent. purity. It is a very common commodity, and like many common things is of extreme importance, in the progress of our civilization. The substance has been known from the earliest times, the word sulphur being derived from the Sanskrit Culvari", hence the Latin Sulphur. Commercially it is also called brimstone, this word being a derivative of the Anglo-Saxon Bryne Stane or burning stone. From our younger days, we have been more or less familiar with the mineral. On the spiritual side being threatened, if we did not behave ourselves, with an ultimate consumption in a lake of fire and brimstone, (which in moments of reflexion was not pleasant to contemplate) while our bodily ills were taken care of by inward applications as a spring medicine. In both instances, the effect required, was generally attained. Sulphur occurs in nature, both free and in the combined state, it being estimated that it forms, over one tenth of one per cent of the first ten miles of the earths surface. (I do not know who did the estimating and it is not guaranteed).

Jan 1, 1923

By P. Zhang, K. Liu, L. Ou

"The strength and mechanism of Portland cement prepared from stone coal vanadium slag were studied in this paper. Initially, the slag was used as silicon raw materials to prepare clinker. By blending the prepared clinker with gypsum, waste, and fly ash, a series of different grades cement got well prepared. All of performances of the cement were up to the requirements of China’s national standard. The hydration products and microstructure of cement were identified and analyzed by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. With the comparison of cement hydration characteristics at different ages, the strength formation mechanism of cement was clarified. The experimental results suggested that adding the fine materials (mainly waste and fly ash) to replace part of clinker would accelerate cement hydration, as it provided additional surfaces for the nucleation and growth of hydration products. And the hydration products were similar to ordinary Portland cement, mainly containing the amorphous calcium silicate hydrates (C-S-H), acicular ettringite (AFt) and portlandite (CH). With hydration time increasing, the hydration products continuously covered the cement particles, resulting in a thicker surface layer. As a result, it gradually condensed into a dense structure block with small pores and smooth surfaces, which led to higher strength. In conclusion, using the vanadium slag to prepare Portland cement can realize the utilization of solid mineral wastes, which will bring huge ecological and economic benefits.INTRODUCTIONWith the development of China’s mining industry, more and more mineral waste residue is discharged every year. These solid wastes cause varieties of resources and environmental problems on people’s living area. While at the same time, the demands of cement are increasing with the remarkable development of the construction industry. Thus, in recent years, utilization of proper solid waste to prepare cement has become an efficient way to deal with the solid mineral wastes problems (Boncukcuoglu, Kocakeri?M, & Tosunoglu, 2002; Simatupang, Hanafi, Purwasasmita, Imran, & Pane, 2012; Tsakiridis, Papadimitriou, Tsivilis, & Koroneos, 2008; Yun, Yong, Choi, Lee, & Lachemi, 2009)."

Jan 1, 2016

By Edward S. Bell, Frank Angebrandt

"Nuclear reactors must have very large heat outputs to compete with conventional sources and the only feasible applications are in the production of electric power or large quantities of process steam. This paper considers alternative fuels for electric power generation in Canada. In a publicly owned utility, nuclear stations are economic for base-load generation for unit sizes of 500 mega• watts or larger where competitive fossil fuel costs are higher than about 30 cents per million Btu. In British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan, fossil fuels will continue to be in adequate supply at costs lower than 30 cents per million Btu and thus, except for the special case of Vancouver Island, power generation in Western Canada will continue to be the hydraulic and conventional thermal type. In Eastern Canada, fossil fuel prices are likely to be higher than 30 cents per million Btu and most utilities will be able to install units of 500 mw or larger, so that nuclear power plants will provide much of the base-load generation required. Base-load generation comprises about two-thirds of the energy generated by power utilities. By 1990, the total annual electrical energy load will be over 600 billion kwh, with two-thirds of this load in Eastern Canada. Allowing for additional hydraulic resources which may be developed in Quebec, British Columbia and Manitoba, hydraulic generation is forecast to provide a little more than a third of this electrical energy, nuclear generation a third and fossil-fuelled generation about a quarter."

Jan 1, 1969

By V. Loya

Metallic foams (MF) are relatively new materials with a combination of attractive properties (permeability, high surface area, thermal and chemical stability, etc,), They can be produced from different materials and can be manufactured using various processes, Due to their unique properties, they find applications in different sectors of engineering, such as energy absorption, filtration, heat dissipation, etc, For many applications, the permeability is an important parameter to characterize and optimize, Most of the recent literature on the subject studied the permeability in the low velocity range. The present study was carried out to have a better understanding of permeability for greater velocity ranges, An equipment was designed and built for this purpose, Pressure drop measurements were made across the thickness of open-cell nickel foams, Pore and window sizes were measured by image analysis on SEM micrographs, The experimental results are in relatively good agreement with the Hazen-Dupuit-Darcy model (R2>98%), The permeability is affected by pore size, porosity and the normalized projected area of the connecting pores (ie. windows).

Jan 1, 2005

By Patrick Pelletier, Pierre-Alexandre Bossé, Julie Fournier, Gianni Bartolacci, Jayson Tessier, Ahmed Bouajila, Carl Duchesne

"This paper summarizes research into the study of the control of flotation processes based on froth images. The use of numerical image analysis techniques for the extraction of significant patterns (froth structure and colour) from industrial flotation froths is discussed.First, the froth was analysed by the use of the Multivariate Image Analysis (MIA) method to extract the spectral variation contained in a RBG image. The Partial Least Squares (PLS) was applied to develop the empirical model for the prediction of froth grade. The results of this application are illustrated using one industrial case study.Second, the froth was also analysed by Gray Level Co-occurrence Matrix (GLCM) and Wavelet Transform Analysis (WTA) to extract features related more to morphological aspects. Since there is useful information hidden in froth texture, these methods are used as texture descriptor to classify different types of froths.Third, a control strategy based on a froth structure indicator was developed and implemented on an industrial zinc flotation circuit. The feedback controller uses a reagent flow-rate in order to maintain the froth structure at its set point. Process improvements obtained with the implemented control strategy are highlighted.Finally, the feasibility to implement a hybrid control strategy consisting in a froth structure supervision controller based on the froth concentrate grade estimated by MIA and recovery inferred by image analysis is discussed.INTRODUCTIONThe development of control strategies to achieve satisfactory control performance has always been a great challenge for engineers and the need for improved process diagnosis, control and optimization has become more and more evident for the mineral processing industry in the last decades. That is why new process variables need to be measured particularly in highly multivariable processes such as flotation. This industrial process is subject to a wide variety of disturbances mainly generated by frequent and sometimes abrupt changes in physical and/or chemical ore characteristics and also, due to some irregularities in manual process operating procedures. A flotation circuit scheme is always a complex network of more than two dozens slurry streams. Information about those streams (% solid, metal content analysis and flow rates) is important for process diagnosis performance evaluation and control. Also, because of the grade decrease and increasing complexity of the new processed ores, more instrumentation outputs and more powerful and significant pr"

Jan 1, 2005

By D. Wolfe, R. Cleminson

"The Aurora North mine has been operating for more than ten years, and is the source of over half of Syncrude’s bitumen production. The hydrotransport systems at Aurora experience high rates of wear, and mission lengths on current slurry pumps are nominally 1,500-2,000 hours. Recent work has enabled a better understanding of the significant adverse effect of large particle impingement damage to impeller vane leading edges - which is the known life determining issue for Aurora hydrotransport pumps. A new pump design has been developed and installed at Aurora, incorporating significantly increased impeller diameter and pumping vane lengths. The new pumps are expected to triple Aurora’s previous mission length for hydrotransport pumps. Part II of this paper will share actual hydraulic and wear performance observed in the first several months of operation, and draw comparisons relative to what was expected for these pumps in design / development.INTRODUCTION Slurry Pumps are Critical Equipment at Syncrude Slurry pumps are a key component in Syncrude’s operations. In a typical Aurora application, each 5000 HP pump stage helps move over 8,000 dry tonnes per hour of oil sand, plus an equal volume of process water that has been added to create the slurry. The average impeller life in oil sand hydrotransport service at Aurora has been nominally 1,500 to 2,000 hours, or 12 to 16 million tonnes of oil sand pumped. Generally, the slurry pump application at Aurora has proven very difficult to improve due to the unique combination of high sand abrasivity, 125 mm (5”) large particle top size (lumps), and high flow rate relative to basic pump size; a factor that results in unduly high impeller vane leading edge speeds for the service conditions."

Jan 1, 2014

By Gordon Smith

ABSTRACT Gold-bearing quartz veins in the northeastern Ontario and north western Quebec mining camps are shown to have been mineralized in part by epithermal solutions. The vertical gradient of pressure during this stage of mineralization is calculated, using decrepitation temperatures of quartz and thermoelectric potentials of pyrite. The base of the Cobalt sediments, which lie uncomformably over part of the mining region, may be taken as datum level in calculating the depth of erosion into the basement below that level. The vertical extent of the epithermal gold mineralizaiton in this region is at least 9,000 feet below the datum level. INTRODUCTION IT WOULD have been difficult a few years ago to convince economic geologists that after making a series of measurements in a laboratory in Toronto, the depth of erosion which has taken place below the base of the Cobalt sediments at any place in the Ontario-Quebec mining region can be calculated to the neare.st 500 feet, or that the same series of measurements would also serve to allow a prediction of the minimum vertical depth of probable ore in a producing mine in the same region, with the same degree of certainty. Possibly it is just as difficult today, but the following description of the data and calculations may help to demonstrate the reliability of the method.

Jan 1, 1951

By K. G. Chipman

The Geological Survey is the oldest map making department in the Canadian Government service, and when organized in 1842, one of the first principles to be recognized was the absolute necessity of having good maps. The primary purpose of the Survey has always been geology; but because a graphic representation by means of maps makes the written report .more readily intelligible; because the correlation of known geological facts is often difficult or nearly impossible unless they can be represented on a map; and, because the public demand information shown in this way, the Geological Survey must continue to supply maps; and the supplying of these maps must be considered as an essential part of the work of the Survey. It is a commonly recognized principle of pedagogics that an appeal to the eye is quicker than one to the ear; that children (and others) learn more quickly when a thing is presented to them through the eye rather than through the ear. The application of this principle to the work of the Geological Survey is that, to a large number of people, the message of a map is more quickly grasped, is more readily intelligible, and is in many ways of more interest and value than is the same information in a report. I do not mean that the maps are of more importance than the reports.

Jan 1, 1924

By Jehan Rondot, Raymond Marleau

"Des quartzites trés pars ont été découverts au cours de la cartographie de la region du lac des Martres, étape de l'étude géologique de la region de Charlevoix.On distingue quatre groupes métasédimentaires, tons con tenant des niveaux de quartzite dans an mains deux domaines géologique différents, c'est à l'ouest, clans le do¬maine gneisso-charnockitique que se situent les quartzites du groupe des Martres. Quartzite et gneiss à, grenat et sillimanite, en banes épais, constituent la formation de La Galette. A Pest, dans un environnement gneisso-granitique, les deux groupes métasédimentaires de Saint-Siméon, et de La Malbaie comprennent, par contraste, des bancs pen épais et de compositions variées. Les niveaux de quartzite dépassent rarement 50 m d'épaisseur. L'autre groupe métasédimentaires, celui de Saint-Tite des Caps, recoupé de nombreuses intrusions charnockitiques et granitiques, ne possède que de minces niveaux de quartzite.La pureté et la grande épaisseur des quartzites de La Galette suppose une histoire complexe qui se termine par des depots continentaux de climat aride, par opposition aux depots marins des autres groupes. D'autre part, la presence de ces quartzites an sein de roches Presque anhy¬dres et de haute temperature que sont les charnockites leur confére des caractéristiques de fusion sans decrepitation.Parmi la multitude de depots de quartzite qui existe clans le monde, peu sont de qualité supérieure. Or, de par sa composition chimique, le quartzite de La Galette se compare avantageusement à ceux des meilleurs gisements des Etats-Unis, de l'Europe de l'Ouest et de l'Afrique du Sud. D'accès facile pour l'exploitation, les gisements ne sont qu'à une trentaine de milles de Baie Saint-Paul ou de La Malbaie, sur le Saint-Laurent.L'utilisation en metallurgic prévue pour le quartzite de La Galette comprend la production de silicium, de ferro¬silicium et d'autres alliages de silicium. La composition du quartzite est en outre appropriée pour la production de carbure de silicium et de silicate de sodium. Les fines peuvent être utilisées pour la fabrication du verre et comme matiere de charge"

Jan 1, 1977

By B. Wasmund, M. Y. Solar, I. Candy

The nickel laterite industry is divided into two camps when it comes to the grade of the ferronickels produced. One group, led by Falcondo and Cerro Matoso, markets high-grade ferronickels in the range of 35 to 40% nickel, while another group, led by SLN and the Japanese smelters, favour lower grades in the range of 20 to 25%. Because the ores processed by these smelters vary widely in terms of nickel content and iron to nickel ratios, it is probably more accurate to classify these smelters in terms of their iron recovery: Falcondo and Cerro Matoso smelt at lower reduction potentials and thus recover only 15 to 30% of the iron in their ores, while SLN and the Japanese smelters are very reducing and recover 45 to 65% of their iron. Low reductions generally imply higher slag losses and lower nickel recoveries, but also lower power and reductant requirements; higher reductions, the reverse. The question is, therefore, whether an economically optimum ferronickel grade exists for processing any given ore. This paper proposes a methodology for determining this optimum grade and concludes that nickel laterite smelters should favour low reductions and production of high-grade ferronickels.

Jan 1, 2008

By Edward Martinez

Due to its unique properties, chrysotile asbestos is used in many diversified applications. In recent years, a better understanding of the structure and properties of chrysotile has evolved due to the research efforts of many investigators. A summary of the results of some of these investigations is given. An attempt is made to show the relationships between the properties of chrysotile and its crystal structure. Examples taken from the literature are cited in which methods have been developed for modifying the properties to improve the performance of asbestos in some applications. These include the effect of pH on the positive zeta potential and the addition of sodium silicate to improve filtration characteristics. The dehydroxylation and formation of forsterite when chrysotile is heated are also discussed.

Jan 1, 1966

By P. Lafleur

All indications point to a growing market for thermal coal in Japan as part of the country's current energy policy formulation process. The Ministry of International Trade and Industry forecasts imports of 16 million tons a year in 1985 and 40 million tons in 1990-a twenty-fold and forty-fold increase over the present level. This potential reflects Japan's over-all serious and increasing concern for security of energy supplies and its resultant need to seek alternative sources. Nuclear power will be the main alternative source, but, because it is expected that its development will be slow, imported thermal coal will assume greater importance. Canada, with large resources of all types of coal, could fill a portion of this market. Thermal coal could come from specific thermal coal developments or from metallurgical coal mines, which usually produce a certain amount of coal not amenable to coking, but suitable for power purposes. However, penetration of this Japanese market by Canadian thermal coal will depend on the resolution of a number of problems. On the demand side, siting, environmental aspects, the need for a coal unloading and trans-shipment centre, and the added cost of installing coal-fired stations could be major constraints. Although Canada has ample high-quality resources, any new development tied to the Japanese market will require improvement in prices to cover the high costs associated with transportation, the construction of new mines and the provision of new infrastructure.

Jan 1, 1979

By A. P. Sasmito

It is well known that underground miners are exposed to one of the most dangerous working environments on earth. As mine delve deeper, the geological factor, mine position and climate condition as well as heat generation from mining machine give rise to the mine operating temperature. This, in turn, has an adverse effect on the environment and thus leads to higher operating costs. Careful estimation and design of air flow rate, spray system, cooling load and additional ventilation auxiliary equipment are of importance to ensure safety, comfort and productivity whilst maintaining low operating cost. A computational fluid dynamics simulation approach is employed to examine underground mine ventilation in a 36 m cul-de-sac of tunnel of coal mine. The model predictions in the turbulent range were validated by comparison with published data. Different turbulence models were tested to select one that yields adequate accuracy and is computationally efficient. Effects of the following parameters are evaluated: tunnel geometry, air flow rate and inlet air temperature. The objective of the simulation is to arrive at an optimal strategy for ventilation and thermal comfort at low cost.

Aug 1, 2013

By G. M. Mason

History Due to its strong affinity for oxygen, aluminium as an element was isolated only after many other rarer metals had been prepared and studied. It was just over one hundred years ago that two scientists, Hans Christian Oersted and Friedrich Wohler, produced the first few pellets of aluminium and determined its physical properties. These early investigators used metallic potassium as a reducing agent. Later, St. Claire Deville, by using sodium instead of potassium, improved the yield in the reduction and produced some pounds of aluminium. From a figure of about $110 per pound in 1855, the price had fallen to about $4 per pound by 1886. In that year, a very important discovery was made independently by Charles Martin Hall in Oberlin , Ohio, and Paul . Heroult in France. Stated in its simplest terms, the discovery of Hall and Heroult was that aluminium could be produced by electrolyzing a solution of the oxide in molten cryolite. The application of the Hall-Heroult process made the metal immediately available in commercial quantities and, by 1900, the price had fallen to 23 cents per pound. The growth of the industry in the past fifty years is well known, and is outside the scope of this paper. It is, perhaps, not generally known that aluminium was first produced in Canada at Shawinigan Falls in 1901. Since that time, production has been continuous at one or more smelters in the Province of Quebec. The largest of these smelters, which is also the largest aluminium smelter in the world, is at Arvida, Quebec, on the Saguenay river. A large power potential and access to ocean shipping were the two principal reasons for the establishment of aluminium production facilities in the Saguenay district. It is interesting to note that the aluminium industry, as a large user of power, took an active part in the early industrial development at Niagara Falls and Shawinigan Falls, and is now repeating the process in the Saguenay valley.

Jan 1, 1949

By S. Banisi, M. Poorkani, M. Farzaneh, M. Askari

"At the Sarcheshmeh copper mine 40,000 t of ore per day with an average grade of 0.9 % Cu is ground to 70% passing 75 microns. Grinding is effected in 8 parallel lines of 8 x 5 m ball mills in a closed circuit with cyclones. The make-up balls are 80-mm forged alloy steel balls and the average ball consumption is 750 gh of ore ground. In order to optimize ball size distribution inside the mill, based on the previous investigation instead of using only 80 mm make-up balls a combination of 80 and 60 mm (75% to 25% by weight) ball charge was used in one of the mills. To evaluate the performance of three ball types namely forged alloy steel balls (A), ductile cast iron (C), high chromium cast iron (D) and also a combined (80 and 60 mm) charge of forged alloy steel balls (B), four identical parallel mills were charged accordingly. These four mills were sampled during a period of six months. The amount of material finer than 75 microns of cyclone overflows was selected as a criterion for the performance evaluation. It was observed that in a mill with the combined make-up balls the amount of fine produced was 4% higher than the other mills. The consumption of ball types A, C and D were 730, 710 and 534 g/t, respectively. The results of laboratory flotation tests showed that due to an improvement in the production of fines an increase of 1.4% in the overall copper recovery is obtainable. Due to the promising results, the new make-up ball regime was implemented in all mills in the plant.INTRODUCTIONThe Sarcheshmeh copper ore body which may rank as third or fourth largest in the world contains 1 billion tonnes averaging 0.90 % copper and 0.03 % molybdenum. It is located southeast of Iran and has been processing 40,000 t/d of ore since 1982. The mine produces 100,000 tonnes of copper and 2,200 tonnes of molybednite concentrate per year. After three stages of crushing, the ore with a F80 of 12.7 mm is fed to 8 parallel ball mills in closed circuit with cyclones to produce a product 70% finer than 75 microns. The concentrate of the first stage of flotation is reground and the tailing constitutes the main component of the plant final tailings. A concentrate with an average grade of 31% Cu is obtained after cleaning and re-cleaning stages. Total recovery of the plant varies between 83 and 87 % depending on the operating conditions and ore type."

Jan 1, 2002

By W. G. Jewitt

Introduction The use of the aeroplane in prospecting is already familiar to everyone connected with the mining industry. Apart from transportation companies, three organizations, the N. A. M. E., the Dominion Explorers, and the Exploration Department of the Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company, have made the aeroplane an everyday feature in every mining district in Canada. Its use has been demonstrated successfully in the mountains of British Columbia, but perhaps its greatest field lies in the Canadian Shield, where the numerous lakes and rivers afford an almost continuous series of landing places for aeroplanes, on floats in the summer and on skis in the winter. To the man who has travelled by canoe, toiling over fly-infested portages or held for days at a time, wind-bound, on the big lakes, the ease, speed, and cheapness of aeroplane travel have marked the beginning of a new era, in which ground previously covered with difficulty in a month or more is travelled with ease in a few hours. Development of an air service in the Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company has proceeded on different lines from those of other organizations, and this paper is concerned with that development.

Jan 1, 1931

By L. E. Collins

"In western Canada, many new wells contain a significant fraction of H2S. As well, many older wells become increasingly sour over their operating lifetime. For these reasons, there has been increased demand for linepipe and casing for sour service applications in recent years. This paper will review the metallurgical factors which must be considered in designing steels for such applications. IPSCO’s development of linepipe and casing, and experience in fabricating products to meet test standards specified for sour service applications will be summarized. IntroductionWestern Canada produces the majority of Canada’s domestic crude oil and natural gas. A complex system of pipelines has been built to gather the oil and gas from the fields for transport to refining and/or cleaning operations. The gas carried in these pipelines can be either sweet or sour (i.e. containing no H2S or containing H2S) depending on the nature of the field from which it came. Many new fields contain a significant fraction of H2S and many older fields become more sour as their time in production increases. This uncertainty regarding product condition influences the user’s choice of materials for both casing and pipeline applications.It is well known (Merrick, 1989) that hydrogen induced cracking (HIC) will occur in steel when three conditions exist simultaneously: (1) the presence of H2S gas, (2) moisture, and (3) a susceptible material. Steelmakers can only address the latter of these factors. Development of steels to meet test requirements of sour service has been a major focus of IPSCO’s development work for several years."

Jan 1, 1998

By Mohamed Ourriban, Yongjun Peng, Qi Liu, Denis Cotnoir

"In the flotation of fine particles, there are two difficulties in general: low recovery of valuable minerals and high recovery of gangue minerals. The low recovery of fine valuable minerals is attributed to low bubble-particle collision and attachment efficiencies, while high recovery of fine gangue minerals is attributed to mechanical entrainment through water films between gas bubbles. Over the last five years COREM has been actively developing fine particle flotation techniques with the objective of improving fine particle flotation separation efficiencies.The fine particle flotation techniques with both generation of micro bubbles and enlargement of sizes of fine particles have been developed to increase bubble-particle collision efficiency. For oxidized fine sulphide minerals, both physical and chemical techniques have been developed to modify the hydrophilic surfaces and therefore increase bubble-particle attachment efficiency. To reduce mechanical entrainment of fine gangue minerals, a new approach, polymeric depression and flocculation, has been developed. By selecting the high molecular weight polymeric depressants to make fine gangue minerals hydrophilic and also enlarge their sizes, entrainment can be minimized. By combining these techniques, we are able to improve both flotation recovery and selectivity in some fine ore flotation systems.INTRODUCTIONWith depleting mineral resources and their declining grades, ores leaving grinding circuit for froth flotation are becoming increasingly finer to achieve mineral liberation. Together with the increasing demand for minerals, ever-increasing tonnages of fines are being produced. Therefore, flotation of fine particles is an immense challenge to be tackled by researchers all over the world today."

Jan 1, 2006

By D. Auerswald, M. Kotze, V. Yahorava, T. Udayar

Uranium can be recovered from lower grade uranium ores (<800 mg/kg U3O8), leach residues, and waste dumps cost-effectively via resin-in-pulp (RIP). Using this technology, no solid/liquid separation or washing of the leach residues are required. Furthermore, the uranium recovery can be higher than with conventional methods. RIP technologies have, however, been perceived negatively due to concerns around potential resin fouling and losses. This paper highlights the advancements made in RIP and discusses a number of potential applications where the technology could deliver economic and consequential environmental benefits by reducing the uranium levels in the waste.

Jan 1, 2014