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By T. N. Matveev, V. V. Getman, A. Yu. Karkeshkina, L. B. Lantsova, N. K. Gromova

Sulfide-type tin deposits in Russia are characterised by the complex mineral composition of ores and dump products of their processing. Tin-sulfide ores contain industrial quantities of copper, lead, zinc, tungsten, silver, rare and trace elements (indium, scandium, etc.). In addition, the ores are characterised by uneven dissemination of sulfide minerals (chalcopyrite, galena, arsenopyrite, etc.) and tin minerals (cassiterite, stannine, etc.). X-ray phase and spectral analysis, scanning electronic microscopy (SEAM), laser SIM and AFM microscopy helped to identify the selective fixing of sodium dibutyl dithiocarbamate (DBDTC) on chalcopyrite and galena, as well as the tall oil fatty acids (TOFA) and IM-50 on cassiterite. For the first time, collectors and flocculants of slurry fractions of silver and tin, thermomorphic polymers TMPF were used to isolate more than 80% silver from the tin tailings of the Solnechny mine into a copper-silver rough concentrate. It has been established that preliminary ultrasonic treatment and desliming according to the 0.02 mm class removes up to 20% of sludge material, which impairs the process of gravity separation. The combined flotation-gravity scheme using new reagent compositions helped to obtain tin concentrate with a tin content of 5.42%, which meets the requirements for further metallurgical processing (at least 5%). This work was supported by the RSF according to the research project No. 17-17-01292. Keywords: Flotation, flotation reagents, tin-sulfide ores, casiterite, adsorption, flocculation

Jan 1, 2020

By N. P. Mabasa, N. Naudé, A. M. Garbers-Craig

An improved methodology is presented for assessing the economic feasibility and effectiveness of recycling MgO-C and Al2O3-MgO-C refractory bricks, which are widely used in the steelmaking industry. Since approximately 28 Mt of refractory bricks are discarded each year, it is logical to recycle them. When furnaces and ladles are relined, the spent refractory bricks become mixed up, and need to be sorted before recycling. This study examined the use of a hand-held X-ray fluorescence analyser (HH-XRF) to distinguish between spent oxide-based and oxide-carbon-based refractory materials, with special emphasis on spent MgO-C (MC) and Al2O3-MgO-C (AMC) bricks. HH-XRF analysis was conducted on 18 oxide-carbon refractory bricks as well as on MgO-chromite and bauxite-based refractories. X-ray diffraction, reflected light optical microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy were used to characterize the MgO-C and Al2O3-MgO-C bricks to confirm the accuracy of the HH-XRF analyses. This study also underlined the importance of calibrating the HH-XRF analyser for the refractory bricks to be sorted. The HH-XRF was successful in distinguishing between the different oxide-carbon-based refractory bricks both before and after cleaning. This result is important as it proves that HH-XRF provides a method whereby spent MC and AMC bricks can be sorted quickly and reliably.

Jan 26, 2023

W. C. J. van Rensburg and D. A. Pretorius (H. Glen ed.). South Africa's strategic minerals - pieces on a continental chessboard. Johannesburg, Valiant Publishers, 1977. 170 pp. RI2,00. (Obtainable from The Librarian, Foreign Affairs Association, P.O. Box 26410, Arcadia, 0007 South Africa.) This book provides the answers to many questions relating to what minerals South Africa produces and in what quantities, what mineral industries and trade she practises, and what mineral resources and reserves she possesses.

Jan 1, 1978

Bowen, R., and Gunatilaka, A. Copper, its Geology and economics. London, Applied Science Publishers, 1977. Miller, D. S. Internal flow systems. (Volume 4 in the BHRA Fluid Engineering Series). 1978. 288 pp. £21,50. MACH 80 The Machine Tool Trades Association of Great Britain (M.T.T.A.) announce that MACH 80 - The International Machine Tool Exhibition - will take place from Tuesday, 22nd April, to Friday, 2nd May, 1980, at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham.

Jan 1, 1979

By R. D. Agrawal, M. L. Kapoor

Cementation has been used extensively by chemists and metallurgists as an economical process for the purification and recovery of metals from dilute solutions. The paper deals. firstly. with the thermodynamic aspects of cementation. and. secondly, with the effects of various process variables, such as temperature. stirring speed. initial concentrationof copper ions. pH of the solution, atmosphere, and surface area of the precipitant metal. on the kinetics of the process in the light of the rate expressions.

Jan 1, 1982

By M. C. van Blerck

This paper outlines the tax provisions that became defective in January 1992, which allow a working mine to make tax-deductible contributions to a dedicated environmental body that is itself not subject to tax. Such a body will then provide a source of funding for the mine's future environmental expenditures. It is concluded that the establishment of such environmental bodies is a financially sound, tax-effective route, allowing mines, prospectors, and quarry operators to provide for future environmental rehabilitation.

Jan 1, 1994

By D. W. Horsfallt

The above paper gives a fair amount of information and is a useful addition to the literature on a subject of growing importance. I believe that more experimental results could have been given, together with more details of the modifications made to the plant that enabled it to operate with the success mentioned in the paper. One important omission is a definition of the word fines. As pointed out elsewhere!, this word is used very loosely.

Jan 1, 1980

The 98th Annual General Meeting of The South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy was held in the Gold Room, Transvaal Automobile Club, 60 5th Street, Lower Houghton, Johannesburg on Wednesday, 16th August, 1995. Obituaries The President announced the death, during the year, of the following members: Honorary Life Fellows R.C.J. Goode, F.G. Hill Life Fellows R.S. Cooke, J. W. V. Mortleman Fellows S. Craib, R.R. Hendry, T.J.B. Jones

Jan 1, 1995

By A. Morley

It is difficult to evaluate exploration properties in a manner that is transparent, repeatable and easily re-calculated to cater for different geological interpretations, but the risk-based assessment methodology, the Geological Risk Method, developed and described by Lord et al (2001) attempts to satisfy all these criteria. This paper examines a case study example based on valuations of exploration projects conducted by SRK Consulting using this methodology, and describes some of the advantages and limitations of the method.

Jan 1, 2007

By G. Ferrara

The mathematical framework of a well-established model proposed earlier by the authors for the screening process is briefly recalled. Some numerical methods for the application of the model, concerning numerical solution of the equations and parameter estimation, are indicated. Some applications of the model to improve screening operations, sizing of screen, simulation of screening and of integrated plant operations are discussed, and the computer software to be used for these purposes is described in detail.

Jan 1, 1987

1. Reviews A concise world atlas of geology and mineral deposits, by D. R. Derry. London, Mining Journal Books, 1980. (Reviewer: B. C. Alberts) The geology of the Western Cordillera of northern Peru, by various authors. London, Institute of Geological Sciences, Overseas Memoir 5. (Reviewer: C. E. Feather) 2. New books Influence of diffusion coatings on the strenth of steel, by G. V. Karpenko, V. I. Pokhmurovskii, V. B. Dasilov, and V. S. Zamikhovskii, second revised and updated edition by A. Aladjem. Aedermannsdorf (Switzerland), Trans Tech Publications, 1979. 200 pp. Sw. Fr. 68.00. Mechanical and corrosion properties, by G. S. Ansell, P. Haasen, J. Weertman, D. J. Fisher, U. Gramberg, and F. W6hlbier (editors). Heat-resistant and refractory steels, by K. L. Lanskaya. Aedermannsdorf (Switzerland), Trans Tech Publications, 1979. 266 pp. Sw. Fr. 86.00. Hardening of metals, by P. Feltham (editor). Aedermannsdorf (Switzerland), Trans Tech Publications, 1980. 316 pp. Sw. Fr. 78.00. Precious metals The 6th International Precious Metals Conference will be held in Newport Beach, California, from 7th to 11th June, 1982. Strata mechanics A symposium on Strata Mechanics is to be held in Newcastle-upon-Tyne from 5th to 7th April, 1982. Over the past thirty years, mining of coal and stratified mineral deposits has become increasingly capital-intensive, and the level of investment demanded by modern methods has led to demands for improved assessment of their likely performance.

Jan 1, 1981

By P. Valicek, M. Farren, G. Harrison, G. van den Berg, P. van Dorssen, P. Kramers

Full mechanization of the stoping operation using rockbreaking methods other than blasting has been a target of research for decades because of the considerable payoffs in terms of increased face advance rates, productivity and safety. However, the unavailability of economically viable rock breaking tools has prevented progress so far. This has changed with the invention of activated cutting tools, which achieve significantly reduced operating forces, power consumption and wear compared to non-activated tools and thereby permitted the development and evaluation of the first mining system using this technology. Targets for the mining system were a face advance of 100 metres per month on a double shift basis for a 30 metre long panel and eventually fully automated man-free stoping. The purpose of this paper is to describe the design, development and evaluation of the mining system. This was a major collaborative effort between Anglo Platinum’s Rustenburg Platinum Mines Rustenburg Section — Townlands Business Area, Anglo Platinum’s Research and Development Department within the Mining Technology Division, the inventor of the technology Bechem GmbH, the equipment manufacturers Long-Airdox Ltd and Zollern GmbH, and CSIR Miningtek who managed the project. A structured process was followed during the development to minimize the risks involved in using such leading edge technology. The system was rigorously evaluated to ascertain the economic viability of the method and to collect data for the design of a production system.

Sep 1, 2001

By Wm. Bleloch

SYNOPSIS The feasibility of rejection of nitrogen from stack gas by recycling of top-gas with cold-blast 95 to 98 per cent oxygen is assessed. It is concluded that nitrogen could be removed to a level below 3 per cent of the stack-gas using recycled cleaned cold top-gas and 95 to 98 per cent oxygen produced by a single-column air separation plant with liquid-air reflux instead of liquid nigroten reflux. The partial pressure of carbon monoxide in the stack-gas could be doubled without top pressure and the deposition of carbon and reduction of iron oxides by the stack gas could be markedly increased. It is concluded that rate of stock descent could be doubled compared with present-day practice and an iron make of 4400 kg/m 2 of hearth area/hour may be attainable with a working volume of 129 m2/m hearth diameter by this method. Oxygen consumption is estimated at possibly 280 m2 (0.4 t)/t iron made and carbon consumption at possibly 280 kg/t iron. Power consumption for oxygen including auxiliaries is estimated at 304 kWH/t 100 per cent oxygen as 95 to 98 per cent gas. The air separation cycle due to Schuftan is discussed in some detail, and the components of a 1 600 metric ton/day separation plant are briefly discussed. The paper is a theoretical essay.

By G. Blight

As part of an investigation of possible water-saving measures at Anglo American Platinum's Mogalakwena Mine in Limpopo, South Africa, a study was made of conditions on the wet beaches of two adjacent tailings dams, each serving a separate plant on the mine. For one of the dams, a special catamaran was designed and constructed to enable the full length of wet beaches to be accessed and sampled immediately after a layer of tailings had been deposited. For the other dam, the wet beach was accessed using conveyor belting and scaffold planks. The length of the beaches was 400 m on the first dam, and 200 m on the second, and each was sampled at 50 m intervals. The parameters reported in this paper, for both beaches, are: > Water content profiles along each beach from the surface to as deep as 2.5 m, at times ranging from 12 hours to 6 weeks from the end of deposition > Particle size distributions at the surface, down the full length of the beaches > Measurements of feed relative density, tonnage and volume, decant and drain flow volumes, as well as rainfall and evaporation for both dams. The surface water contents shortly after deposition have been used to establish the relative density of the settled, decanted tailings and its variation down the beach. This data, combined with the decant and drainage flows, is used to establish the calculated and actual water recoveries from both dams.

Jan 1, 2012

The variety and sources of sampling errors have been studied since the late 1800s, but the pioneering work of Pierre Gy in the 1950s provided insights into sampling as an error generating process. Total sampling variance is a measure of the total sampling error, but disaggregating the variance into its component parts is problematical. Ten sources of error and error generating processes have been identified, some of which can be eliminated through rigorous application of the principle of correct sampling. Others can only be minimized but never eliminated. Three principal questions relating to the appropriate mass of a sample, the fragment size of the sample and the size of the associated error are addressed. These questions relate principally to the Fundamental Error (FE), the only error that can be estimated before the sampling event. Aspects of constitutional and distributional heterogeneity are examined, as are the essential components of Gy?s formula including the shape factor (?), the granulometric factor (g), the mineralogical composition factor (c), and the liberation factor, l. Applications of Gy?s equation to the problems of sampling in the minerals industry are explained using real-life examples. The approach to sampling taken by Pierre Gy provides an excellent inferential relationship between the mass of material to be sampled, the size of the fragments being sampled, and the relative variance of the sampling error. It also provides solutions for three of the main problems associated with the Theory of Sampling.

Jan 1, 2007

By F. A. G. M. Camisani-Calzolari

Approximately 850 groundwater samples were collected over a 29 300 km2 region of the semi-arid Northwestern Cape during the site selection phase of the South African radioactive waste disposal project. The purpose of the geostatistical investigation was primarily to delineate metallogenic occurrences and provinces which might exist below the thin veneer of surficial material and could thus interfere with the suitability of the site, and to quantify the distribution patterns of groundwater parameters in order to establish a relationship to local and regional geology. Up to 34 variables were analysed for each sample. Structural analysis revealed that the study area is statistically uniform. The variables have low correlation coefficients, with the exception of major ions, indicating a general poor degree of interrelationship between the spatial distribution patterns of the different variables. On the other hand, the long semivariogram range of the majority of variables, which reaches 70 km in cases, demonstrates their continuity on a regional scale. Kriging, which was repeated for each parameter, reveals that most variables, particularly trace metals, have distribution trends which are not influenced by local geomorphology or surface lithology. A 50 km wide, 220 km long metallogenic province, defined by kriging, could possibly reflect a broad metallogenic imprint on the basement and could represent a target area for prospecting. Kriging also reveals the possible existence of a wrench faulting system which may well have influenced the Namaqualand coastal graben and the western boundary of the Karoo.

Jan 1, 1987

By E. J. McLean

Gold mineralisation at Bendigo is exclusively associated with quartz reefs, commonly found within or near anticlinal fold hinges. The gold is typically coarse grained (0.5 mm to 5 mm), free milling and displays a complex, nuggetty distribution within the veins. This ore is highly amenable to gravity recovery processes. As the Bendigo operation is not permitted to treat whole ore by a cyanide leach/CIL circuit, the flow sheet is more complex than conventional gold recovery circuits. Primary gold recovery is from a gravity circuit closing the grinding circuit to a bulk gravity concentrate and from a flotation circuit treating cyclone overflow to a bulk float concentrate. The plant capacity is relatively low by current gold industry standards at 600 000 tpa. Re-establishing gold production at Bendigo has presented several challenging, and sometimes competing, issues in process design and operation. The mine, process plant, associated services and infrastructure are at Kangaroo Flat, a low density, semi-rural zone in the southern urbanisation of the Bendigo metropolitan area. One of the main processing challenges during the design was the competing comminution requirement to avoid over-grinding, which would flatten or smear the characteristic nugget gold and hinder effective gravity gold recovery, whilst also providing sufficiently well liberated particles that would respond well to flotation. Important, non-metallurgical challenges were to minimise impacts on the local community from noise, dust, air emissions, visual impact, water egress and off-site traffic.

Jan 1, 2007

By A. Y. Senchenkoa, Y. V. Kulikov

The relationships revealed between ore hardness and specific energy consumed by crushing and grinding are described in the paper. A comparison of key technical and economical parameters of SAG and HPGR circuits is made, based on testing of several ore types for greenfield projects. The comparison of results make it possible to estimate efficiency of the technologies application, depending on ore hardness and taking into account potential risks for a circuit under design. Keywords: Comminution circuits, SAG, HPGR, test results

Jan 1, 2020

NIM Reports Report no. 1549 Thermodynamic and related physicochemical factors pertaining to the production of ferromanganese. A literature survey. Report no. 1568 A computer programme for the estimation of parameters in flotation. Report no. 1571 The commissioning of a directreading spectrometer for the analysis of silicate rocks by use of the graphitepellet technique. Report no. 1582 The construction and testing of a precision calorimeter. Report no. 1587 A preliminary investigation of the flotation of copper-activated sphalerite without the use of collectors.

Jan 2, 1974

By C. Hey

The cycloned gravitated tailings backfill system, also referred to as a soft or low density fill, has been implemented at Vaal Reefs. Inhibiting the success of the system was the problem of shrinkage after placement. The problem was overcome by a pressure fill technique which eliminated settlement, contained costs and allowed remote placement. The technique involves the preinstallation of disposable pipes which are filled cyclically until a residual pressure of 0,5 bar of active support is generated in the filled paddock.

Jan 1, 1988