Search Documents

By J. Sjöberg, T. Savilahti, S. B. Umar

"Sublevel caving in Malmberget mine results in mining-induced surface deformation. One of the currently mined orebodies is the Printzsköld orebody. As mining deepens there is need to assess the behaviour of the cave formed in the subsurface above this orebody. Numerical analysis was used to assess the effects of extraction to deeper levels and perform strength parametric studies. Stress redistribution was studied, and the results showed high stress buildups in the hangingwall and the crown pillar. Two failure mechanisms have been identified – shear and tensile. Reducing cohesion by 50% increased the area of the yielded zone by more than 100% in the hangingwall.IntroductionThe Malmberget mine is owned and operated by the Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara AB (LKAB) mining company. Iron ore is extracted by large-scale sublevel caving. The mine comprises a total of 20 orebodies, about 10 of which are in production today (Figure 1). The mine is located in the municipality of Gallivare, about 100 km north of the Arctic Circle (Figure 2).Successful sublevel caving requires progressive caving of the orebody after initial blasting. This results in caving of the hangingwall, sometimes all the way to surface, resulting in surface deformation. As mining progresses to deeper levels a larger area is affected by deformation. Over the years, extraction from the Malmberget orebodies has led to deformation of the ground surface, affecting residential areas and existing infrastructure.Forecasting the caving process is not straightforward as it can be rapid or slow, depending on the rock mass conditions, stress conditions, the failure mechanisms at work, etc. Moreover, several of the orebodies in Malmberget are non-daylighting, which makes reliable caving analysis even more difficult, primarily since there is less available experience from such cases. The present study was designed to improve the understanding of the caving and deformation mechanisms at Malmberget, and in particularly for the Printzskold orebody"

Jan 1, 2017

By S. Konetschnik, E. Dreyer, A. Filzwieser

"More intense furnace operations require effective cooling in order to achieve low refractory wear and good furnace lifetimes, making cooling technology an important aspect of furnace operations. However, the use of water - today’s standard cooling medium - has some disadvantages, as it can cause problems both during furnace start-up and operation, namely hydration problems, corrosion, and explosions. Apart from these aspects, the energy that is removed by extensive cooling cannot be recovered and is normally lost in the cooling towers.With METTOP’s new patented cooling technology it is possible to overcome the disadvantages of water by using an alternative cooling medium, namely ionic liquids (ILs). The main advantage of ILs is the fact that there is no risk of explosion should this liquid come in contact with molten metal. Furthermore, ILs can be used at higher temperatures than water - up to 200°C. This relatively high cooling medium temperature avoids hydration and corrosion problems and allows recovery of the energy by combining the ILTEC system and the organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) technology, for example.Due to the removal of the explosion risk, much higher safety standards can be achieved, particularly in critical areas such as tap-holes"

Jan 1, 2014

By B. van Beek, J. H. Zietsman, A. Lexmond, N. J. Andrew

"In platinum group metals (PGMs) smelting, the slag-to-matte ratios are very high (approximately 4:1 to 9:1). The slag temperature therefore has a strong influence on matte temperature, which is a continual concern due to the low matte melting temperature and its resultant high superheat. Maintaining a stable slag temperature is therefore a critical safety and operational issue. This project aims to improve the understanding of the slag bath temperature drivers so that a more effective slag bath temperature control strategy can be implemented.With the aim of developing a multiphysics model of the furnace, extensive data analysis was performed to develop an in-depth understanding of the process before the start of modelling work. In this work, the effect of fluctuating furnace feed composition on slag temperature was examined. The results are based on equilibrium calculations using FactSage, implemented with ChemApp.A method was developed, using an equilibrium calculation at 25°C, to convert the available chemical assays to approximate mineralogical assays in order to determine the feed enthalpies. Actual 2013 furnace feed data was used and the average specific energy requirement to produce slag and matte at 1600°C was calculated to be 671 kWh/t concentrate. The furnace energy input was then kept constant, and it was found that the slag temperature varies significantly as a function of the feed composition. These results were compared to actual slag temperatures measured on site. It was found that close management of the furnace energy balance is important for maintaining a stable slag temperature."

Jan 1, 2014

By P. Lenegan, R. Masethe, R. I. L. Ferreira

Underground mining in high rock-stress environments can induce unanticipated dynamic rockmass deformation, posing a serious risk to the workforce. Data collected by seismic networks are imperative for the design-as-you-mine process. Often an inappropriate assessment of the seismic hazard is done when unnecessary data are included in analytical techniques, particularly short-term time frames. Depending on the methodology or application of data analysis and interpretation, some of the information may not be relevant and even detract from the objective. By using the spatial event clusters associated with active workplaces to define the shape and size of the polygons for data selection for subsequent analysis, a problematic subjective component can be eliminated. The mining of tabular reefs in South Africa, be they gold- or platinum group metals, is very extensive, and underground workplaces are often widespread. Production stoppages are very costly, especially for marginal mines, so there is just cause not to evacuate an entire operation’s workforce following the occurrence of a large mining-induced seismic event. A rationale based on the damaging peak particle velocities (PPV) of the past seismicity can exclude the unaffected underground personnel and allow a quick orderly withdrawal where required. Micro-deformation may precede rockbursting, which can occur on-shift close to the workface. A mine-wide array of geophones suitable for the accurate location and analysis of seismicity may not be able to detect these higher-frequency emissions. Inexpensive but fit-for-purpose accelerometers, providing real-time, continuous measurement of acoustic rockmass deformation near the workplace, integrated through underground and surface communications networks, are shown to record ‘rock-talk’, clearly distinguishable from the instrument background noise, which can be in the order of hours leading up to an imminent damaging seismic event.

Jan 12, 2025

By J. E. Dickinson, J. L. Sutherland, J. Zhou, M. J. Cole, K. P. Galvin

Interest in early gangue rejection has grown substantially in the minerals industry to reduce energy and water consumption arising from excessive comminution. Recent developments in coarse-particle flotation have proven successful by promoting a quiescent hydrodynamic environment to limit particlebubble detachment and by helping to convey more buoyant particles to the overflow. Current approaches also benefit from upstream classification to remove the finer particles ahead of the coarse-particle flotation. In this study, coarse-particle flotation was investigated experimentally using a novel hybrid gravity-flotation system called CoarseAIR™ that exploits the hydrodynamic advantages of the Reflux® Classifier. The system consists of a lower fluidised bed housing, with a system of inclined channels above. The inclined channels enhance the segregation and hence rejection of intermediate through to relatively coarse particles containing little or no surface liberation. This approach overcomes the need for pre-classification, while offering strong transport of coarse particles made buoyant through their attachment to air bubbles. The paper explores the strong relationship between the solids transport to the overflow and the input gas flux, showing firstly the potential for significant mass rejection at the relatively low gas fluxes, and robust performance in terms of recovery across the full range of gas fluxes. Keywords: Flotation, inclined channels, coarse particle flotation, Reflux Classifier

Jan 1, 2020

By H. C. Voges

The concentration of cassiterite at Iscor's Uis Mine is described, and information is given on aspects of the concentration of iron ore at Thabazimbi and Sishen Mines. At Uis, a very Iow-grade tin ore is concentrated by three-stage jigging, spiral concentration, and tabling to give a high-grade concentrate with a recovery of 80 per cent of the tin. A Iow-grade tantalite-columbite concentrate is also produced. The possibility of recovering mica, the use of sluice boxes instead of spirals, and the recovery of cassiterite from minus 45 µm material are being investigated. At the two iron-ore mines, heavy-medium separation is applied to size fractions larger than 0,5 mm. The types of ferrosilicon and the circuits used for the recovery of ferrosilicon from the various dilute-medium circuits are described. The spiral-concentration plant being installed at Thabazimbi for the treatment of the minus 0,5 mm portion of the ore is described.

Jan 1, 1982

By G. Coetzer

"Prior to operating a non-recovery coke pilot plant, it was critical to ascertain coal cake stability during the loading of a 1 m3 coal cake into the oven. Various compaction parameters were verified and established on a small laboratory-scale compaction machine to obtain a coal cake of acceptable stability. These parameters include cake density, cake surface moisture, transverse strength (force applied perpendicular to the original compacted coal cake layers), and applied force to the coal cake. This work determined the behavioural characteristics of the coal while being compacted either with a full-sized or a 1/3-sized compaction plate in a 9 kg capacity mould. Two different coals were evaluated, namely Waterberg semi-soft coking coal (sscc) and Oaky North hard coking coal.The target wet cake density of 1 100 kg/m3 (79% of 1 400 kg/m3 relative density) was achieved for Waterberg sscc, with a particle size d50 varying between 0.6 mm and 1 mm, utilizing the 1/3-sized compaction plate in the laboratory-scale set-up, with 11.6% surface moisture and 92.2 t/m2 commercial equivalent applied force. For Oaky North hard coking coal, a wet cake density of 1 189 kg/m3 (85% of 1 400 kg/m3 relative density) was achieved at a surface moisture content of 12.3% and at a lower applied force than that for Waterberg sscc, i.e. 78.5 t/m2.Coal cakes of acceptable strength, and therefore sufficient stability for further processing, were obtained for all materials evaluated during this study.Further studies should be conducted to determine the effect of zeta potential during the compaction of coals.IntroductionExxaro Resources has successfully installed and commissioned a world-class stamp-charging horizontal 1 t electrically-heated pilot-scale coke oven at its Metallurgy Services facility. Prior to operating the coke non-recovery pilot plant, it is essential to ascertain coal cake stability during the loading of a 1 m3 coal cake into the oven. The design of Exxaro’s pilot plant is such that the coal cake is pushed inside the oven by means of a pusher plate, rather than through a ‘spoon’ feed mechanism, such as is found in industrial horizontal coke ovens. The pusher plate loading mechanism dictates that the coal cake should possess high stability and inherent strength during loading into the oven, owing to frictional forces exerted by the oven floor. In order to obtain a coal cake of acceptable stability, various compaction parameters needed to be verified and established on a small laboratory-scale compaction machine."

Apr 1, 2019

By C. A. Rawlins

In an underground mine the ingress of heat can generally be attributed to two sources (Rock exposure and artificial mechanisms). The heat load relating rock exposure is subdivided into stoping [~40%] and haulages [~20%]. Rock is exposed to the ambient air and as a mine increases in depth the VRT (Virgin Rock Temperature) increases which leads to more heat ingress underground. To counter the heat ingress, especially in low-seam stoping areas of a deep level mine, air is, a) cooled artificially, b) the amount of rock exposed is reduced in the back areas of a stope by backfill applications, and c) ventilation air is used more efficiently. The heat reduction within a stope due to placed backfill could amount to ~50% for operations mining at a mean rock breaking depth of about 4500 mbc (metres below collar). Unfortunately, due to backfill transport methods, the physical fluid properties and application methods adopted, additional heat is induced into the air. The heat ingress due to backfill application could amount to as much as 25% of the overall in-stope heat load. This heat influx, seen as a negative aspect of backfill operations, is nevertheless overshadowed by the overall in-mine heat load reduction capability of about 20% attainable. The in-stope benefit [~50%] attainable from backfill operations could be increased with the incorporation of a heat exchange (cooling) methodology to offset the additional heat ingress into the surrounding air of a deep underground mine.

Jan 1, 2003

By A. E. Landsberg, K. C. Corin, G. Stroebel, J. A. Miller, M. Becker, H. J. J. Gordon

Geometallurgy represents an integrated approach to mine planning and operation whereby the naturally occurring ore variability and its effects on all key downstream activities in the mine life cycle are considered. Process mineralogy is one of the key components of this integrated approach. This paper focuses on understanding some of the mineralogical variability across the Swartberg Cu-Pb-Zn sulfide ore in South Africa and its consequent effects on flotation performance. This process mineralogy project is motivated by the planned changeover and expansion of the Black Mountain Mines concentrator to process solely Swartberg ore compared to the run-of-mine blend currently being treated at the plant. Eight samples spanning the main lithological units of the ore body are described using quantitative mineral-textural data and bulk sulfide batch flotation performance to establish five process mineralogical or geometallurgical units comprising: quartz-pyroxmangite-magnetite, quartz-amphibolemagnetite, quartz-magnetite, garnet-magnetite-quartzite and mica-quartzite ores. Important mineralogical characteristics affecting Cu, Pb and Zn recovery, grade and selectivity specific to the different ore samples are discussed. Ultimately, the use of ore-specific process mineralogical and geometallurgical knowledge allows for better mine planning and plant optimisation. Keywords: Flotation, polymetallic base metal sulfide ore, process mineralogy, ore variability

Jan 1, 2020

By A. S. Ratnayake, H. C. S. Subasinghe

In this study, we review the role of mechanical activation in the pyrometallurgical, hydrometallurgical, and electrometallurgical processing of titanium feedstock. Mechanical activation has been shown to decrease the activation energy of chemical reactions, thus enhancing process efficiency and product quality by reducing processing time and energy consumption. Pyrometallurgical processing is energy-intensive and time-consuming. Hydrometallurgy is costly, requires high-grade feed material, and generates toxic waste. Waste generation and process complexity are the major drawbacks of electrometallurgy and solvent extraction. Bioleaching via a mechanically activated pyrometallurgical process can be identified as an alternative method, but the lengthy processing time is the major disadvantage. Mechanically activated titanium concentrate can be used in a finely tuned combined metallurgical process to overcome the challenges and drawbacks in these technologies.

Aug 3, 2023

By M. A. Reuter, N. J. Bartie

Metals make modern societies function, and increasingly, various high purity precious and special metals endow sustainability-driving technologies with specific functionalities. These metals become heavily intertwined within products, complicating end-of-life treatment. To counteract the resulting downcycling and potential depletion of scarce resources, maximising both the quantities and qualities of materials recovered during primary extraction and recycling, processes should be a priority in the pursuit of sustainable circular economy. Adopting a process simulation approach; a digital twin for the life cycle of cadmium-telluride solar photovoltaic (CdTe PV) modules was created. The system comprises an integrated metallurgical production system that produces, among others, cadmium, tellurium, selenium, zinc, copper, and lead, all of which are required to manufacture PV modules. System-wide resource efficiency and environmental impacts are assessed using exergy analysis and life cycle assessment, respectively. Simulation of this large and complex product life cycle at a high level of detail allows for the evaluation of potential system-wide effects of various production, recycling and residue exchange scenarios aimed at maximising the sustainability of the entire system. It diminishes the need to make arbitrary choices about allocation methods for the distribution of environmental impacts in multipleoutput production systems. Furthermore, it demonstrates the key importance of metallurgy in achieving circular economy. Keywords: Circular economy, sustainability, simulation, metallurgy, CdTe photovoltaics, life cycle assessment

Jan 1, 2020

By A. J. Vietti

"Drought conditions and the possible lack of sufficient raw water supply are a constant reminder to the Southern African diamond miner of the need to minimize raw (new) water input while maintaining or expanding mine throughput.Since water input volume is directly related to water output (loss) volume, mainly to the tailings, it is obviously beneficial to dewater the tailings as much as possible. However, this may not always be as easily achieved as first thought. Owing to the unique mineralogy of each kimberlite deposit and the unique chemical profile of each raw water source, dewatering of the slurry is not a standard process that can be applied equally across the entire diamond industry.This paper presents a first-step strategy that kimberlite diamond mine operators should consider and apply to meet and exceed their watersaving targets. Introduction A common metric for measuring water use efficiency in a metallurgical plant is the amount of raw water used per ton of head feed treated (m3/t). The metric includes all water recycled from the dewatering process and from the tailings storage facility (TSF), and the only inputs are tons of ROM ore and cubic metres of raw water make-up to replace water lost to evaporation, seepage, and lock-up at the TSF (Figure 1).The volume of new raw water available to the process is not unlimited and a maximum monthly allowance is typically set during the mine permitting process. Consequently, if the volume of water lost exceeds the volume of new water available or alternatively, in times of drought where the allowable volume is unavailable, the plant has no other option but to reduce throughput.However, if the plant operator is able reduce the volume of water lost to the TSF, the plant will have additional capacity to either increase tonnage throughput or sustain nameplate capacity during periods of severe drought. The obvious conclusion, therefore, is to reduce the volume of water lost to the tailings by improving the efficiency of the dewatering process (typically gravity thickening) simply by increasing the density of the tailings being discharged. In practice, however, the unique mineralogy of each kimberlite deposit and the chemical profile of the raw water source used imply that at some mine sites, solid/liquid separation (or settling) of tailings slurries at the dewatering process is more easily achieved than at others. In these cases, simple practical steps such as firstly improving the flocculant reagent make-up and dosing control, and secondly focusing on thickener discharge control, are the only requirements for enhancing water recovery at the dewatering circuit. At other mine sites however, solid/liquid separation of the tailings may not be achieved at all, in which case efforts to increase water recovery by improving reagent dosage and thickener control would be fruitless unless the colloidal properties of the thickener feed slurry are modified."

Feb 1, 2019

By D. Yu, Y. Thibault, D. Paktunc

"Prereduction and flux-aided direct reduction of chromite provide significant advantages in reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions during ferrochrome production. In this investigation, a comparative evaluation of the influences of several alkali fluxes was carried out based on experimental observations supplemented by advanced material characterization and thermodynamic predictions. Direct reduction of a chromite ore with alkali fluxes at 1300°C for 1 hour produced (Cr,Fe)7C3 type alloys with Cr/Fe mass ratios from 0.7 to 2.3. Among the alkali fluxes, reduction aided by NaOH resulted in a high degree (85%) of Cr metallization with the ferrochrome alloy being Cr4.2–4.6Fe2.4–2.8C3. The formation of liquid slag, which facilitated Cr metallization, was limited by the formation of NaAlO2 between 800 and 1300°C. This, in turn, restricted the collection and transport of the charged ionic Cr species (i.e. O2–) to graphite particles. Under the conditions studied, ferrochrome particles were often small and largely unliberated, which would make the physical recovery of ferrochrome challenging. At 1400°C, the amount of liquid slag increased, enabling the growth of alloy particles. Direct reduction of chromite aided by NaOH is promising as an alternative technology to conventional flux-based smelting in electric arc furnaces. IntroductionConventional smelting processes are energyintensive (Riekkola-Vanhanen, 1999) with the energy requirements greater than 4 MWh/t (Naiker and Riley, 2006; Beukes, van Zyl, and Neizel, 2015), and the greenhouse gas emissions can be significant, exceeding 10.5 t CO2 per ton Cr in ferrochrome produced (International Chromium Development Association, 2016). These include emissions occurring on-site (smelter), emissions due to electricity production, and emissions due to upstream processes. Overall energy requirements are influenced by the degree of prereduction and smelter charge temperature. Significant reduction in electricity consumption can be realized if the charge is prereduced before feeding to the submerged arc furnace (Niayesh and Fletcher, 1986). This consideration has led to the development of several prereduction technologies, with the most important example being the Premus process. In comparison to the conventional smelting processes, this prereduction process lowers the overall energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by about one-third (Naiker, 2007)."

Dec 1, 2018

By J. E. Xu, J. Y. Zhang, M. Q. Sheng, K. Wan

"SynopsisThe densities of selected CaO-Al2O3-MgO slag systems were measured at 1823K by the Archimedean method. Thirteen different slag compositions were chosen based on different levels of the MgO content and the mass ratio of CaO/Al2O3. The results indicated that the density of the slag decreases with increasing MgO content (from 0–3.78 mass%), but increases with further increases in MgO content up to 11.33 mass%. At a fixed MgO content of 5.5%, the trend of density change with CaO/Al2O3 in the slag is similar to that for changes in MgO content. On the basis of the regular solution approximation rules of excess molar quantities, an attempt was made to estimate the molar volume of the slags investigated. The application of the molar volume model confirmed that the present expanded approximation rules are applicable to predict the molar volumes of the melts discussed.IntroductionDensity is one of the most important fundamental properties of slags, which influences metallurgicaly phenomena in many ways. Density is sensitive to the nature of the chemical bonds and the species in the melt, and is of great importance not only for theoretical research on the structural properties of molten slags, but also for industrial applications. Density is also required to estimate other key properties used to assess the behaviour of high-temperature molten oxides, e.g. viscosity, surface tension, and thermal conductivity.Liquid calcium aluminate slags that contain magnesia are the basis of most ladle slags for secondary refining processes. The CaO-Al2O3 binary phase diagram (Hallstedt , 1990) shows the eutectic composition (50 wt% CaO and wt% Al2O3) has the lowest melting temperature. The main emphasis of this study is on the 12CaO·7Al2O3 refining slag with MgO additions. The CaO-Al2O3-MgO ternary system is of considerable importance in industrial metallurgical processes, and is fundamental to the understanding of metallurgical slags, ceramic materials, and geological phenomena."

Jan 1, 2015

By D. F. Malan, R. P. Els

The limit equilibrium model, used in displacement discontinuity codes, is a popular method to simulate pillar failure. This paper investigates the use of physical modelling to calibrate this model. For the experiments, an artificial pillar material was prepared and cubes were poured using the standard 100 mm × 100 mm civil engineering concrete moulds. The friction angle between the cubes and the platens of the testing machine was varied by using soap and sandpaper. Different modes of failure were observed depending on the friction angle. Of interest is that significant loadshedding was recorded for some specimens which visually remained mostly intact. This highlights the difficulty of classifying pillars as failed or intact in underground stopes where spalling is observed. The laboratory models enabled a more precise calibration of the limit equilibrium model compared to previous attempts. Guidelines to assist with calibration of the model are given in the paper. The limit equilibrium model appears to be a useful approximation of the pillar failure as it could simulate the stress-strain behaviour of the laboratory models.

May 3, 2023

By E. D. Musin, S. S. Gudkov, A. V. Epiforov, S. V. Balikov

The standard technology for processing of gold-bearing sulfide raw material has many problems associated with the use of cyanide as a gold lixiviant. Therefore, many tests to find alternative gold recovery methods are being undertaken. This paper describes some technological solutions, which can become alternatives to cyanide technology in the future. Pressure oxidation (POX) of refractory gold-bearing sulfide concentrates from five different Russian gold deposits were investigated. Concentrate 1 was gold-copper concentrate. Concentrate 2 was gold-pyrite concentrate. Concentrates 3-5 were pyrite-arsenopyrite double refractory concentrates. The POX tests were at temperatures of 110, 200 and 220 °C and oxygen pressures of 1.5, 2.4 and 3.0 MPa were carried out. Gold lixiviants, such as chloride, thiosulfate, sulfite and thiocyanate were tested. The recovery of gold from sulfide gold-bearing concentrates by non-cyanide methods was 97- 99%, and from double refractory concentrates, 86-93%. The tested reagents are less toxic than cyanide, and their use will reduce of the cost of gold production. These methods make it possible to recover gold in acidic media, and eliminate the washing operation and POX slurry neutralisation. In addition, precious metals recovery from POX cakes using lead reduction smelting was investigated. It was shown that the “POX-pyrometallurgical” technology for double refractory concentrates processing could be used with recoveries of gold and silver of 97 and 96%, respectively. Keywords: Recovery of gold, refractory sulfide gold-bearing concentrates, double refractory concentrates, pressure oxidation, non-cyanide lixiviants of gold, chloride autoclave leaching, thiosulfate leaching, thiocyanate leaching, sulfite leaching, reduction smelting, POX-pyrometallurgical technology

Jan 1, 2020

By Y. Zhen, N. Topliffe, G. Shou

The typical service life for a long distance slurry pipeline is15 to 25 years. Determination of wear rate for a pipeline could have a high economic impact on the pipeline project. Wear is a combination of chemical corrosion and mechanical abrasion. The contribution of each factor has to be determined project by project. Normally, chemical corrosion dominates the pipe wear in fine slurry pipelines. These pipelines have been designed with a velocity between 1.5 m/s and 2.5 m/s. Solids are suspended with high homogeneity across the pipeline section. Bottom wear is not much greater than the top wear and not sensitive to velocity. The wear pattern in the pipeline transporting medium coarse solids, such as milled ore and tailings, is different. Wear concentrates on the bottom of pipeline and the outer bends, and is more sensitive to flow velocity. Wear distribution along the pipelines is similar.

Jan 1, 2007

Exxaro installed their first ultra fines treatment plant at Leeuwpan Coal mine. The plant is now fully operational and results already show that the plant has great potential. The plant was designed and installed by DRA. Several challenges were faced during the installation due to the space constraints in the Leeuwpan plant. Efficiency tests were conducted on both modules after commissioning and showed very promising results. A lower ash product with a higher yield can be produced with the fine coal dense medium cyclones compared to the spirals previously employed.

Jan 1, 2010

By O. A. Olaseinde

The 2101 lean duplex stainless steel has wide potential application in storage, heat exchangers, and in the oil and gas industries. This work investigates the electrochemical behaviour of 2101 duplex stainless steel with an addition of 0.15 wt% ruthenium, using potentiodynamic techniques in 1M H2SO4 at 25º, 40º, 60º, and 80ºC. The microstructures of samples were characterized using optical metallography and scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that the ruthenium addition moved the corrosion potential of alloy 2101 to a more positive potential. All samples containing ruthenium displayed longer passive regions at 25°C and 80°C compared to those without ruthenium. Alloys without ruthenium had higher critical current density (icrit) values when compared to the alloys with ruthenium. Ruthenium additions decreased the passive current densities and inhibited anodic dissolution. At room temperature the corrosion rate of alloys with ruthenium was lower than these without ruthenium.

Jan 1, 2012

By E. Matinde

Poor phase separation and fine dissemination of the desired components within congruous slag phases are key challenges limiting the recoverability of values from slags by conventional beneficiation methods. Slag microstructure conditioning is a pragmatic approach to increasing themvalue-in-use of discard slags, especially when integrated with the broader smelter infrastructure. Although not yet tested on oxide slag systems, this paper explores the potential application of magnetohydrodynamic principles to the crystallization behaviour of bulk slags. Integrating the slag microstructure conditioning infrastructure to the existing smelter infrastructure is key to unlocking the economic value of slags because it is most economic to condition the properties of molten slag directly after tapping. A new business model that integrates smelting units to transversalmeconomic activities, such as cement production and suppliers of construction aggregates, canmsignificantly increase the circularity of metallurgical slags.

Oct 9, 2024