Search Documents

By D. Markwart, B. Volk

Anode effects are a phenomenon of the aluminium electrolysis process which produce potent greenhouse gases called PFCs (CF4, C2F6). With concerns surrounding global warming, and increasing regulation of GHG emissions, anode effects have become a significant sustainability issue for aluminium producers. In modem smelters, sophisticated computer control and automated alumina feeding systems allow for very tight control of the alumina concentration in the electrolyte and thus very low anode effect frequencies. Older smelters, however, do not have these systems and must either invest heavily to obtain them, or find other, innovative ways to reduce anode effect frequency. This paper will present the integrated approach to anode effect reduction used in the Vertical Stud Soderberg (VSS) potlines at Kitimat Works. Through an innovative combination of simplified signal analysis, modified alumina feed control logic, anode effect prediction, and anode effect prevention using a pager based communication system, Kitimat W arks has been able to make significant reductions to its anode effect frequency.

Jan 1, 2006

By D. Yamada, T. Tanaka, N. Inouchi, J. Nakahigashi, H. Yoshimura, T. Nonishi

The use of cereal food materials as lubricants was investigated in an attempt to develop nonpolluting lubricants. Suspensions of wheat flour in water and other types of cereal food lubricants were prepared and their friction coefficients measured. The results indicate that a cereal food lubricant containing 30% lipids, 2% proteins, 60% carbohydrates and 0.6% calcium carbonates has the lowest friction coefficient for a sheet (cpTi-1). As example applications, the lubricant was tested with a forming press and a screw-fastening device. In both applications the cereal food lubricant performed relatively well in comparison to conventional lubricants and thereby has potential for practical applications.

Jan 1, 2006

By S. Kelebek

Batch flotation tests were carried out using samples from stockpiles that were up to 1.5 months old as well as fresh samples oxidized in the lab for up to six months. Head grades and size distributions of samples were equalized whenever possible. The samples from stockpiles and oxidation experiments produced inferior nickel grade-recovery compared to the fresh sample. The poorer grade-recovery performance was attributable to two factors. First, a significant dilution effect was observed due to complete flotation of pyrrhotite. Secondly, the same stockpiling conditions caused nickel losses that were attributable to non-floatability of some pentlandite. Application of a high pH of 10 compared to the regular pH of 9.2 slowed down pyrrhotite flotation kinetics, but was not able to prevent complete flotation after 8 minutes. The samples oxidized in the lab did not match full characteristics of stockpile samples. They provided somewhat better selectivity for pentlandite. Some correlations were observed on a qualitative basis between surface characteristics such as elemental sulphur formation, activation and flotation behaviour. Oxidation conditions, which induce floatability on pyrrhotite while causing incremental loss in pentlandite floatability appear to be the root cause of difficulties in the processing of oxidized forms of these ores.

Jan 1, 2006

By Carlos Nieble

Ferteco Mineracao, belonging to the CVRD group, is one of the several iron ore mines in the south east of Brazil. Some of these mines have pit walls of over 350-m height and operations under difficult geo-technical conditions are steadily increasing. In order to mine the 15 million tonnes of high grade hematitic ore remaining in the Fabrica pit, Ferteco had to deal with the following restrictions: Warrant power to its concentrator and pellet plant, relocate the load-out rail road loop, stabilise a poor phillyte slope, relocate a creek on a bench, lower the water table and mine at maximum angles at a slope with phillyte and loose itabirites directly under the rail road loop. Considering these aspects, 3 stages of operations were designed, considering a safe operation, but with the lowest possible security factors at the last mining stage, before the pit would be filled in again with tailings. Stage one above the rail road loop and below the high tension power mast, where the poor phillyte slope was secured by a flexible retaining wall, using old rails and anchors up to 27 meters (80ft) with a working pressure of up till 30 tonnes and stage two with different slope angles, and deep wells, high wall blasting perpendicular to the highwall with relief holes and rerouting the creek in steel half culvert and stage three, the filling in with tailings and recuperation of the deep well pumps. Following studies and analysis were made: Geotechnical and geological studies of all rock formations including rock strength test, a hydrological study to define the lowering of the ground water level, slope stability analysis for every bench and all possible combination of benches, definition of blasting parameters close to the pit slope, a monitoring plan, including topographical movements, vibrations due to blasting, piezometers and pressure cells as well as a plan how to fill up the pit again with tailings in combination with the rising of the ground water level. A close co-operation between the geo-technical consultant, pit operations, the blasting contractor and the geological department resulted in an operation without any incidents, lowering the pit with an additional 3 benches and mining an additional 5 million tonnes of high grade ore.

May 1, 2003

By J. Doucet, C. Price

In an industrial setting, operational changes are continually introduced, driven by new technologies or changing economics. Because of day-to-day variability, quantifying the impact of these changes based on metallurgical performance requires long trial periods to achieve statistically significant results. Tools and techniques developed by the mineral processing group at McGill University have allowed for direct measurement of process variables (e.g., bubble size, gas and solid holdup). Two case studies are described where direct measurement techniques were used to evaluate: a) a new rotor stator mechanism; and b ), the introduction of a new frother type. Application of these methods has accelerated the evaluation of process changes and improved confidence in results.

Jan 1, 2009

By W. P. Campbell

In the course of the development of the Red Coulee field, northwest of Coutts, Alberta, a considerable amount of information has been gathered by the Department of the Interior regarding the chemical character of waters encountered in the drilling of wells in this area. The writer, in this paper, has undertaken to assemble the available material with the idea of deducing what relations, if any, may exist between the different waters from the same well, and also how these compare with waters encountered in similar horizons in other wells. From no other district, with which the Department of the Interior has had to do, have there been received so many samples of water, and yet not all the waters logged in the drilling reports were sent in for analysis. The information, therefore, herein contained is not as complete as the writer would have desired, but sufficient evidence has been accumulated to indicate some very definite tendencies in the chemical nature of the waters of this field. The drilling of Red Coulee wells has been carried out exclusively by percussive tools. These permit 'dry' drilling, and, consequently, water-sands are recognized when encountered. Had rotary tools been used, information regarding water-sands would have been very meagre, if not entirely lacking, since, in the mudding-off process, water-sands would have been overlooked, with the result that, should water break through into a completed well, its source would not be known and remedial efforts would be greatly handicapped, if not entirely defeated.

Jan 1, 1931

By E. Mohammadi Zahrani

In this study, Mg-doped fluorapatite (Mg-FA) nanopowders were prepared through a sol-gel, technique and characterized. Designated degree of Mg2+ ions incorporation into the apatite structure was indicated by the x value in the general formula of (Ca10-xMgx (PO4)6F2), where x=0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, and 1. XRD, AAS, FTIR and TEM techniques were utilized to characterize the synthesized nanopowders. In vitro bioactivity of the powders was evaluated in simulated body fluid. Powders had a crystallite size less than 100 nm. It was concluded that Mg-substitution could alter bioactivity and dissolution behaviour of Mg-FA. These two parameters were proportional to magnesium content of the powders.

Jan 1, 2010

By Michel Dagbert, Mohammed Harfi

"Abstract - The Draa Sfar polymetallic deposit, at about 16 km NW of Marrakech in Morocco, is a massive sulfide zone at the contact between an underlying volcanic and an overlying clastics sequence. The mineralized body is a flat lens with schistosity and "boudinage," tilted to the west and with a strong dip to the east. The lens extends over a strike length of about 2 km and from surface to a depth of about 1 km, with thickness varying from 1 m to almost 30 m. It has been intersected by about one hundred surface drill holes and, in its south part, by about thirty underground fan holes from two exploration levels at depths of 300 m and 400 m. On these two levels, the massive sulfide zone has been channel sampled over a cumulative length of about 0.7 km. Results from drill and channel samples are used to estimate the resources of the orebody according to several methods: sections, polygons around intercepts on a longitudinal plan, grids on the same longitudinal plan with various distance weighting methods including kriging and, finally, a 3D grid with the same range of interpolators. A comparison of the various estimates delineates the important factors in deriving resources for this type of deposit. Those factors are mostly geological and related to the interpretation of the geometry of the two limiting surfaces of the zone. For the 3D gridding, the authors have devised a new and original method that constrains the interpolation of blocks from samples to a geometry of limiting surfaces. The resulting model shows internal grade variations that parallel fluctuations of zone thickness and orientation without having to re-orientate the search window in each block. Résumé - Le gisement polymétallique de Draa Sfar, situé à environ 16 km au NW de Marrakech est un horizon de sulfure massif au contact d’une formation volcano-sédimentaire de base et d’une formation détritique sur-jacente. Le corps minéralisé se présente sous forme d’une méga-lentille aplatie, schistosée, boudinée et déversée vers l’ouest avec un fort pendage vers l’est s’étendant sur une longueur de 2 km et une profondeur de près de 1 km avec une épaisseur variant de moins d’un mètre à près de 30 m. Il a été reconnu par plus d’une centaine de sondages de surface et, dans sa partie sud, par une trentaine de trous souterrains en éventail à partir de deux niveaux à des profondeurs respectives de 300 m et 400 m. Sur ces mêmes niveaux, des traçages ont permis de rainurer le minerai sur une longueur cumulée de 0.7 km. Les données de sondage et de rainurage ont servi à estimer les ressources du gisement selon plusieurs méthodes : sections, polygones sur longitudinale, grille sur longitudinale avec différentes pondérations en fonction des distances incluant le krigeage et enfin grille tridimensionnelle avec le même éventail de pondérateurs. La comparaison des estimés obtenus permet de mettre en évidence les facteurs importants dans l’estimation des ressources de ce type de gisement. Ces facteurs sont essentiellement géologiques et relatifs à l’interprétation de la géométrie des limites des corps minéralisés. Pour l’estimation sur grille tridimensionnelle, on a mis au point une technique originale qui calque l’interpolation des blocs à partir des échantillons sur cette géométrie des surfaces de contact. Le modèle résultant montre des variations internes de teneurs qui épousent les fluctuations d’épaisseur et d’orientation de la zone sans qu’il soit nécessaire de ré-orienter les fenêtres de recherche dans chaque bloc."

Jan 1, 2002

By Patty Simpson, Sarah Benson

In an effort to improve consistency across the nuclear industry, over the past 10 years the Canadian Standards Association has developed a series of standards related to environmental management at Class 1 nuclear facilities and uranium mines and mills. Canadian uranium mines have been required by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission to align their existing monitoring programs with these standards. Orano’s McClean Lake Operation’s monitoring program, which was originally presented in the Environmental Impact Statement in 1991, has evolved through regulatory change, new scientific understanding, additional projects, and experience into a comprehensive set of monitoring requirements for effluent, groundwater, air emissions, and the receiving environment. The exercise of aligning the existing practices with the standards provided an opportunity to review and rationalize the entire program. To document the process the original “Environmental Monitoring Program Design Document” was restructured and developed as both a repository for historical information and monitoring rationalization, and also to be a living document describing on-going studies and supplementary work that are outside of the regular environmental monitoring program and may justify future changes to the program.

Jan 1, 2020

By J. Zollinger, J. R. Kennedy, J. H. Park, D. Daloz

"In order to improve the properties of cast Ti-Al alloys to replace Ni-based superalloys past the low pressure stages of aircraft engines investigations into inoculation for grain refinement were carried out. Previous work showed isomorphic self-inoculation using Ti-Al-Nb particles was effective for grain refinement, however the relatively fast diffusion of Nb in Ti-Al make it difficult to observe the mechanism of nucleation. An alternative alloy was developed in the Ti-Ta system for isomorphic self-inoculation, maximizing the Ta content to improve the particles survivability in the melt. The powder processing produced comparatively small inoculant particles which dissolved, however larger particles were seen to survive solidification. The density difference between the inoculant particles and melt resulted in an inhomogeneous mixing of the particles and the melt with larger particles found near the outer edges of the ingots. Variations on particle size and interaction time between the inoculants and the melt resulted in the Ti-Ta inoculant reducing the as-cast equiaxed grain size by a factor of two compared to non-inoculated samples as well as increasing the equiaxed fraction in the ingot.INTRODUCTION Lightweight metals are of particular interest in aerospace applications. The hot sections of turbines are dominated by blades made of nickel based superalloys. Recently the GEnx turbine introduced TiAl blades in the last low pressure stage of the turbine to reduce weight and improve fuel efficiency (Kim & Dimiduk, 1991). In order to carry these benefits deeper into the turbine the high temperature (>800oC) properties of the alloys must be improved. Current grain refinement methods to improve properties rely on boron additions which may not be applicable for all blades as brittle precipitates may be formed during processing (McCullough, Levi, Mehrabian, & Hyman, 1991). A novel grain refinement process was previously introduced called “isomorphic self-inoculation” using Ti-Al-Nb particles to successfully grain refine TiAl (Kennedy, Zollinger, Bouzy, & Daloz, 2016). In order to better understand the mechanism of this process an investigation was carried out using the same process but with a Ti-Ta alloy which is more stable in the TiAl melt than the Ti-Al-Nb."

Jan 1, 2017

Adsorption of guar gum was investigated on model minerals typically found in water-insoluble slimes of potash ores. The ionic strength of the adsorption mixtures was varied from distilled water to saturated NaC1 and KC1. The tests were also performed using a saturated brine. The adsorption density of guar gum on illite, dolomite, and kaolinite was found to be not only a function of total ionic strength but also of the type of electrolyte present in solution. Generally, the adsorption of the polymer on the clay minerals was higher in KC1 solutions than in NaCI, but the differences gradually disappeared when the electrolyte concentration approached saturation. The results were analyzed in terms of chaotropic (K ) or kosmotropic (Na') properties of background counter-ions and their different behaviors at the hydrated mineral-water interface. Guar gum adsorption on dolomite was related to the presence of calcium and magnesium sites on the mineral surface, and to the cis-configuration of OH groups of mannose units. Based on viscosity measurements, it was suggested that guar gum macromolecules form entanglements in NaCI solutions (and distilled water), but individual molecules exist in KC1 solutions thus creating different modes of adsorption of guar gum from concentrated NaCl and KCl solutions.

Jan 1, 2006

By Veronique Falmagne

"In 1987 the only knowledge available of the Ansil orebody was that it was high grade, deep and relatively small . High stresses were also anticipated because there had been rockbursts during shaft sinking and destress blasting had been necessary (Fig. 1). From the design, through the development and now in the mining stage, rock mechanics and microseismic monitoring have been used to maximize recovery and safety and minimize dilution. Examples are given of the use of a microseismic monitoring system in the early stages o f mining. This paper also presents a review of the mine's in situ stress measurement campaign, cable bolting practice and backfill procedure.The Design PhaseAfter the initial mapping and classification work, preIiminary numerical modelling was performed using assumed stresses of ov = oH and oH = 3ov• The empirical Mathew's analysis was then used to optimize stope dimensions based on geomechanics data available at the time (Bawden et 01., 1988; Falmagne, 1987; Potvin et 01., 1988). Because of high stresses predicted by numerical modelling and a brittle, strong and relatively unfractured host rock which was believed to be rockburst prone, it was decided to mine without temporary or permanent pillars. However, in order to satisfy production rates, the orebody had to be broken up into two horiwns separated by a triangular pillar (Fig. 2). The final mining sequence is shown in Figure 3.The Development PhaseAt this point, based on work accomplished to date, including mapping and observations from drifting and modelling, the following problems were identified: (1) flat backs in the hangingwall andesite were thought to be highly stressed; (2) flat backs in weak massive sulphide ore would also be subjected to high stress and be difficult to support; (3) the felsic dyke was noted as a "" stress raiser"" , because activity increased as drifts approached it; and (4) chlorite coating of joints in the hangingwall was thought to be an important factor in reducing their stability."

Jan 1, 1991

By S. Afshar, E. Dajoux, C. Allaire

For various reasons, molten salts, mainly chlorides and fluorides, are used in the aluminum industry. In the holding and melting furnaces, these salts may have different roles such as protecting the metal from oxidation, reducing the metal content of the skim or removing inclusions or impurities from the metal bath. However, the use of these salts may also have some undesirable effects such as easy attack of the furnace lining refractory materials by molten aluminum. The aim of the present investigation was to clarify and to compare the effects of chloride versus fluoride salts, on the corrosion process of the aluminosilicate based refractory materials. A laboratory test and procedure, simulating the conditions at the metal line in the aluminum treatment furnaces, was used. Different aluminum alloys (A1-5wt.%Mg, A1-5.5wt.%Zn and 7075 alloy) and chloride or fluoride salts (MgC12, KC1, CaCl2, NaC1, MgF2, CaF2, NaF and cryolite) were used as well as several aluminosilicate materials. Thermogravimetric measurements were also carried out in order to analyze the effect of the salts on the oxidation of molten aluminum alloys. The experimental results showed that fluoride salts are more aggressive than chlorides against the tested refractory products. It is postulated that the fluorides prevent the formation of a protective oxide layer on the metal surface, favoring at the same time the corrosion of refractories. Moreover, it was found that the presence of Na in fluoride salts increases significantly the aggressiveness of the aluminum alloy towards the refractory samples.

Jan 1, 2004

By Glen Robertson, Jeff McLaughlin

"The Clarabelle Mill rock tailings have the potential to generate sulphuric acid through chemical and biological oxidation of sulphide minerals. Current rock tailings assay between 0.80 -1.40 %S, with sulphur occurring principally as coarse pyrrhotite. Acid generation within the tailings area can be substantially reduced by segregating pyrrhotite rich tailings in a submerged storage area and by depositing only low sulphur rock tailings in exposed areas. Laboratory tests confirmed that low sulphur tailings could be produced by flotation at reduced pH with a small xanthate addition. A plant test was conducted to evaluate the production of low sulphur tailings in conjunction with INCO's continuing commitment to environmental protection and progressive decommissioning of the metallurgical site.During the plant evaluation, approximately 5% of the mill rock tailings were reprocessed in a line of 100 tt3 Denver flotation cells. Tailing grades below 0.40% S were easily achieved through operation at pH 6 -7, with xanthate addition (dosages up to 0.02 lb/ton) and 10 -15 minutes of nominal retention time. Froth depths between 1 -3 inches combined with relatively liberal amounts of frother were required to pull the lightly mineralized froth into the concentrate which averaged 11% sulphur and less than 5% mass recovery. In addition, three field lysimeters were each filled with two hundred.ton bulk samples of low sulphur tails (0.35% S), standard rock tailings (0.98% S), and mill total tailings (2.30% S) for long term monitoring. The implications for full scale plant design, tailings area decommissioning, the possibility of increased nickel recovery and preliminary field lysimeter data are discussed."

Jan 1, 1994

By Kristie D. Tarr

Ideally, in situ monitoring would supply the input data for numerical modeling of backfill material property requirements. However, clue to production requirements and costs of conducting field tests, input data are often based on small-scale laboratory tests. The size of test samples is known to play an important role in the laboratory assessment of the behaviour of geotechnical materials, including backfill. There are observed differences between the mechanical properties of laboratory-scale samples and those of in situ materials, and these are generally attributed to the differences in scale. Various scaling factors have been proposed for converting laboratory observations to anticipated in situ conditions for soil and rock materials. With regard to mine backfill, very limited studies exist which have involved the effects of sample size on material properties. The literature indicates that reported backfill strength data are based on a variety of test sample sizes and in some cases, specimen geometries. Carefully determined laboratory scale effects could play an important role in estimating the potential backfill behaviour in the field, especially when developing new backfill systems. Laboratory studies were conducted with sample diameters ranging from 50 to 300 mm. Scale factors relating specimen size to strength were developed wherever possible, and are presented in this paper

May 1, 2008

By Joe Price

Canada?s energy future will increasingly depend on a supply of light, sweet crude oil derived from the Athabasca oil sands deposit of North-eastern Alberta. Billions of dollars are being spent on the construction of new and expanded mine and bitumen extraction plants, in situ recovery facilities, pipelines, upgrading installations and all the infrastructure needed to support these projects. The success of the existing operators has also inspired new players, anxious for ?a piece of the action? to come forward with exciting project proposals of their own. None of this investment and spin-off economic activity would be taking place today if events had unfolded differently in this part of the world some one hundred million years ago. The accumulation of sand in rivers, estuaries and in the near-shore marine environment created the great reservoirs that host the enormous oil deposits these projects are designed to exploit. Mine operators of all stripes will likely agree that there are few good ?geological surprises?. With specific reference to oil sand deposits, the geological history determines the distribution of sand, silt and clay bodies, which in turn controls the ore grade. Important design factors including everything from stable pit slope angles to tailings properties reflects events that took place millions of years before. An understanding of the sequence of events that resulted in deposition and preservation of the sediment and oil are important to sound design for both mining and in situ facilities. A geological history of the region is described. Site-specific examples from Syncrude?s operating mines are used to illustrate some of the geological factors that can present design challenges.

May 1, 2003

By L. Paulino, C. E. Zangiacomi, J. Yamamoto

"This paper presents the learning from Alcoa Po9os de Caldas Smelter in Brazil, after several energy restrictions resulting from the failures of three rectifier units at its power switchyard. Starting on December 27th, fuses and diodes failed in three rectifier units of Potline #1, causing a long and dangerous power interruption. Even after current was reestablished, amperage was only 70% of the line target leading to a bath freezing process that lasted for around 48 hours. The process engineering team played with several potroom parameters as pot resistance, bath and metal levels, alumina feeding and bath chemistry in an attempt to minimize impact on the potline metal output and energy consumption. As it will be illustrated, the first battle was to keep the pots running on a ""survival"" approach. After that, several changes took place on the procedures used to run at reduced current which were considered rather successful. Finally, some recommendations will be given to foresee and prevent transformers and rectifiers from undesirable failures."

Jan 1, 2006

By T. H. Chuang, Y. Y. Shiue

"Rapid whisker growth was significantly alleviated in a Sn-58Bi alloy doped with 0.5 wt.% La. Experimental results showed that many thin, plate-form intermetallic phases appeared in the solder matrix. The absence of tin whiskers was correlated to the shape effect of RE-containing intermetallic plates. After reflowing, Cu6Sn5 intermetallic compounds appeared at the solder/pad interfaces of Sn-58Bi and Sn-58Bi- 0.5La packages with OSP pads, which grow linearly during the aging at 75 and 100? for various times ranging from 100 to 1000 h. In addition, the interfacial intermetallics layers in Sn-58Bi-0.5La solder joints were also observed thinner than those in undoped Sn-58Bi joints. However, RE-containing interfacial intermetallic compounds in Sn-58Bi-0.5La solder joints led to lower bonding strengths in both ball shear tests (0.4 mm/s) and high speed ball shear tests (2000 mm/s). All the reflowed and aged solder joints of both packages were ruptured through the solder balls indicating brittle characteristic INTRODUCTIONIt has been widely reported that solder alloys doped with rare earth (RE) elements reveal many beneficial effects, such as higher strength, lower melting point, improved wettability, and longer creep life (Wu et al., 2004; Ma et al., 2002; Chen et al., 2002). In addition, Dudek et al. reported that the alloying with 0.5 wt.% La in Sn-3.8Ag-0.7Cu solders resulted in an increase of rupture strain, up to 150% over undoped solders (Dudek et al., 2006). However, Chuang and Yen observed that a large amount of long, fiber-shaped tin whiskers were extruded out of the oxidized CeSn3 intermetallic clusters in the matrix of a Sn-3Ag-0.5Cu-0.5Ce solder air-stored at room temperature for several days (Chuang & Yen, 2006). Furthermore, many coarse hillocks appeared around the CeSn3 clusters in the RE-doped alloy after storage in an air furnace at 150? for several minutes. Chuang proposed a mechanism for the phenomenon of rapid whisker growth, which the predominate oxidation of CeSn3 intermetallics in Sn-3Ag-0.5Cu-0.5Ce solders induced compressive stress and extruded the tin atoms out of the specimen in the form of tin whiskers (Chuang, 2007). However, further investigation showed that Sn-9Zn-0.5Ce solders, after long term exposure at room temperature and 150?, were immune to the whisker growth; the immunity was attributed to the refining of the CeSn3 intermetallic phase in the alloy (Chuang & Lin, 2008). The inhibition of tin whiskers through the refining of rare earth containing intermetallics was further observed in Sn-3Ag- 0.5Cu-0.5Ce solders doped with 0.5 wt. Zn (Chuang & Lin, 2009). In addition to the size effect, the thin plate shape of intermetallic compounds was also shown in this study to inhibit the whisker growth on the surface of Sn-58Bi-0.5La solders."

Jan 1, 2012

An Attractive Investment ?Near term low cost and secure PGM producer ?restricted supply legislated demand ?strong pipeline of resource development ?Building Canada?s largest undeveloped PGM-Cu resource ?All work (resource, reserves, DFS, EA) is NI43-101 compliant ?Strong balance sheet: over $8 m in cash with no debt

May 1, 2010

By Ken G. Stowe, Stephen L. Chryssoulis, Christian Bendel, Joe Y. Kim, Ewald Niehuis

"TOF-SIMS (Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry) was used to detect collectors sorbed onto the surface of mineral particles in concentrate and tailings samples from the Brunswick, Matagami and Kidd Creek concentrators. This technique uses ion beams from either Cs or Ga sources to sputter the particle surface, a method which reduces fractionation of the collector molecule during sampling.In the Brunswick Zn circuit, sphalerite particles lost to the scavenger tails had less amyl xanthate and isobutyl xanthate compared to sphalerite recovered to the Zn final concentrate. Xanthates were detected on the surface of sphalerite particles floating to the CuPb final concentrate.At Matagami, significantly more isopropyl xanthate and isobutyl dithiophosphate were detected on sphalerite recovered to the Zn final concentrate, compared to sphalerite lost in the Zn rougher tails.In the Zn circuit of Kidd Creek, sphalerite lost to the tails had on average ten times less xanthate compared to sphalerite recovered into the Zn final concentrate. Xanthate was also detected on the floated pyrite particles. In addition to isobutyl xanthate, amyl xanthate was also detected on the floated sphalerite and pyrite particles.This preliminary investigation has (a) demonstrated the ability of TOF-SIMS to detect individual collectors on particle surfaces from plant samples and (b) shown that TOF- SIMS is an excellent tool, complimentary to TOF-LIMS, in establishing the surface chemistry of minerals as related to mineral processing."

Jan 1, 1995