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By D. G. Millenbruch

An account is given of a four-phase system for the appraisal of a mineral project while it is still in the exploration stage, and for continual consideration of a favourable appraisal until the production stage is reached. There are ten stages from the idea of a likely project to the production stage, and all the staff that are eventually to be concerned with the development of the project are involved at an early stage.

Jan 1, 1979

To the members of The South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy I have audited the annual financial statements of The South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy set out on pages 641 to 644 for the year ended 30 June 2006. These annual financial statements are the responsibility of the Institute?s Council members. My responsibility is to express an opinion on these annual financial statements based on my audit. Scope I conducted my audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing. Those standards require that I plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the annual financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes: ?examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the annual financial statements, ?assessing the accounting policies used and significant estimates made by management, and ?evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. I believe that my audit provides a reasonable basis for my opinion. Audit opinion In my opinion, the annual financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Institute at 30 June 2006 and the results of its operations and cash flows for the year then ended in accordance with generally accepted accounting practice appropriate to the Institute. Supplementary information The supplementary schedule does not form part of the annual financial statements and is presented as additional information. I have not audited this schedule and accordingly do not express an opinion on it.

Jan 1, 2006

By J. Xiao, Y. Jiang, Y. Tanabashi, Z. Song

Modelling the effect of blasting-caused damage, anisotropy of rock masses and excavation sequence on deformational behaviour and stability of large-scale underground caverns is important in the design and information-oriented construction of the pumped storage power plant. A powerful three-dimensional numerical method that can be applied for that purpose is presented in this paper. Damaged range caused by blasting and mechanical properties of rock masses near to the walls of caverns are determined by using the back analysis approach in which three lines of the measurement results during the arch part excavation process were used to verified the simulations. Finally, applying the improved model and properties of rocks, the cavern stability and reinforcement effect of the preliminarily designed support system are also estimated for the safety in the bench excavation process. La création de modèles des effets relatifs aux dommages résultant des explosions, à l’anisotropie des masses rocheuses et à la séquence d’excavation quant au comportement à la déformation et à la stabilité des cavernes souterraines de grandes dimensions est une étape importante dans l’étude et la construction sur ordinateur de centrales hydrauliques à accumulation par pompage. Cet article traite d’une méthode numérique tri-dimensionnelle puissante applicable à cet effet. La gravité des dommages résultant des explosions et les propriétés mécaniques des roches à proximité des parois de la caverne sont déterminées par une analyse du fond dans laquelle les simulations sont vérifiées à l’aide de trois lignes de résultats de mesures prises durant le processus d’excavation de la partie arche. Finalement, la stabilité de la caverne et les effets du renforcement du système de support préalablement conçu sont estimés par application du modèle amélioré et des propriétés de la roche, pour application à la sécurité durant le processus d’excavation en gradins. Nachahmung der Wirkungen von durch Explosionen hervorgerufenen Schäden, Anisotropie der Gesteinsmassen und der Ausschachtungssequenz auf das Verformungsverhalten und die Stabilität großräumiger Untergrundhöhlen ist für das Design und den informationsorientierten Bau von Pumpenkraftwerken wichtig. Entsprechend der Vorgaben in dieser Arbeit kann ein leistungsfähiges, dreidimensionales numerisches Verfahren für diesen Zweck eingesetzt werden. Der durch Explosionen und die mechanischen Eigenschaften des Gesteins bedingte Schadensumfang im Bereich der Höhlenwände kann mit Hilfe eines retroversen Analyseansatzes bestimmt werden, bei dem die drei bei der Ausschachtung resultierenden Messlinien dazu genutzt wurden, die Simulationen zu bestätigen. Abschließend wurde außerdem durch Einsatz verbesserter Modelle und Gesteinseigenschaften die Auswirkungen vorläufig entworfener Unterstützungssystem auf die Höhlenstabilität und Verstärkungswirkungen hinsichtlich der Sicherheit bei Böschungsausschachtung abgeschätzt.

Jan 1, 2003

By M. Sephton

Slat-band chains, currently manufactured from Type 430 ferritic stainless steel, are used as conveyors in various industries. A process to strengthen these chains?with the aim of prolonging the lifetime of the conveyors?was developed recently. The process entails heat treating the cold-worked chain at 475°C,strengthening the material by precipitation of the Cr-rich phase a? at relatively long periods of aging. In the present work, it was found that increasing the interstitial content by solution heat treatments (at 880°C or 930°C) prior to cold rolling and aging, causes an increase in strength at shorter aging times as a result of the precipitation of chromium-rich carbides and nitrides. The solution treatments can introduce martensite into the microstructure if carried out at a sufficiently high temperature. This, along with the deformation caused by cold work, also increases the strength. Corrosion resistance is not affected by the treatments, but ductility is lowered. However, calculated critical crack lengths indicate that solution treatment at a temperature below the Ac1allows for a larger critical flaw size, and that the lifetime of the chains will probably be determined by fatigue. Although the duration of the service of the chains are reportedly controlled by wear, with these treatments the tensile strength of the material is increased to within acceptable limits for conveyor chains. The tensile strength is an indication of the wear or abrasion resistance of a material. It is expected that after the treatments, the wear resistance will be improved, but since embrittlement occurs, the fatigue resistance is lowered. It is concluded that the preferred processing route for the chains would be solution treatment at 880°C, fast quenching to trap the interstitial atoms, cold rolling and then aging at 475°C for 8 minutes.

Jan 1, 1997

To the members of The South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy We have audited the annual financial statements of The South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy set out on pages 357 to 366 for the year ended 30 June 2002. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Institute?s Council. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audit. Scope We have conducted our audit in accordance with statements of South African Auditing Standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance that the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes: ?examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, ?assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, and ?evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. Audit opinion In our opinion, the financial statements fairly present, in all material respects, the financial position of the Institute at 30 June 2002 and the results of its operations and cash flows for the year then ended in accordance with South African Statements of Generally Accepted Accounting Practice. Auditors 26 July 2002 Council?s approval of the annual financial statements The annual financial statements for the year ended 30 June 2002 set out on page 357 to 366 wereapproved by the Council on 26 July 2002 and are signed on its behalf by:

Jan 1, 2002

It is estimated that the tailings dam of the Mouteh Gold Mine, in Iran, contains more than 770 kg of gold. Microscopic analysis reveals that sulphide minerals and active carbon are the main sources of the gold in the tailings residue. Flotation and cyanidation tests on the samples of tailings were conducted. Flotation concentrates, containing around 87.79% of the gold, which were associated with sulphide minerals, were recovered. By regrinding, roasting, and cyanidation of the flotation concentrate, the gold dissolution recovery was in the range of 87.8 to 98.4%. The carbon-in-column method was used to recover 98% of the gold from the solution. Keywords: gold ore, pyrite, flotation, roasting, cyanidation

Jan 1, 2009

By M. J. Papo, A. Muwila

Hercules? is a low nickel austenitic stainless steel developed at Mintek that has a typical composition of 9 wt% Mn, 0.05 wt% C, 2 wt% Ni, 0.25 wt% N and 16.5 wt% Cr. A more corrosion resistant version of Hercules? (Hercules? B) with 0.5 wt% Mo has also been developed. Potentiodynamic tests performed on Hercules? B in a 5 wt% sulphuric acid solution showed it to have improved corrosion resistance comparable to that of AISI 304. The effect of a varying Mn content on the corrosion resistance of Hercules? B has also been investigated and the results discussed in this paper. From the corrosion test results, it is clear that decreasing the Mn content of Hercules? B increased the corrosion rate while increasing it decreased the corrosion rate. KEYWORDS Austenitic stainless steel, %ferrite, molybdenum, manganese, nitrogen, electrochemical corrosion tests, potentiodynamic scans, microstructure, chemical analysis.

Jan 1, 2006

By T. Plikas, L. H. Gunnewiek, L. Oshinowo

Electric furnace smelting is one of the principal unit operations for ferroalloy production, and increased process intensity, improved availability, minimal maintenance and a longer campaign life are common objectives for electric furnace operation in order to obtain favourable economics of production. Furnace designers have continued to develop innovative solutions that have allowed these objectives to be realised, e.g., furnace cooling systems, and numerical modelling plays a key role in the design process. Enhanced understanding of the energy transfer process in the furnace and the ability to develop, evaluate and optimise components of the crucible design to match process requirements are the key motivators for modelling. This paper provides an overview of recent applications of numerical modelling to the design of electric furnaces. The aim is to illustrate what can be done, and identify areas where further work is needed in this field. Examples include furnace bath modelling, crucible cooling system design, taphole design, baking of Soderberg electrodes, off-gas systems, and fume control and building ventilation. It is argued that the trend is for numerical models to become more encompassing while at the same time more accessible, and therefore further improvements in furnace design will be realised with continued and well validated modelling efforts.

Jan 1, 2004

By E. O. M. Hanisch

Copper working in the Messina district E. O. M. HANISCH. B.A. (Pretoria) (Visitor) By reference to the available literature, an account is given of the manufacture of metal ingots by the Messina copper workers. These workers are thought to have been Balemba tribesmen, of the Musina Clan, who came from across the lebombo Mountains. A description is given of their methods of mining, smelting, and casting, and of the vlrious types of ingots they produced.

Jan 1, 1974

By M. H. Marsden, R. A. Laybourne, J. D. Flint

Operations of the strip mine at Arnot Colliery are described, and the improved volumetric extraction of the in situ coal reserves that has been obtained by the application of strip-mining techniques is highlighted. An account is given of the major problems encountered during the early stages of the operation with particular reference to overburden removal. coal and parting handling, and transportation. The techniques used in dealing with the problems and the current degree of success in overcoming them are outlined.

Jan 1, 1980

By Jochen Petersen, Thandazile Moyo

"The oxidative leaching of chalcopyrite in ammoniacal solutions has been evaluated using electro-analytical techniques. The anodic dissolution process has been established to be a seven-electron transfer process under nitrogen in ammonia–ammonium sulphate solutions and ammonia–ammonium carbonate solutions. The number of electrons transferred in the carbonate and sulphate salts suggests that the sulphur is oxidised to a thiosulphate intermediate and the copper and iron released as Cu+ and Fe2+. The Cu+ and Fe2+ is subsequently oxidised in solution in non-Faradaic reactions. The deportment of Fe2+ and S2O32- is affected by choice of the ammonium salt used in the leaching process. In the perchlorate salt, only five electrons are transferred, however observations made on the mineral surface after leaching do not support the formation of elemental sulphur. Scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive spectroscopy analysis of the mineral surface suggest presence of an iron–sulphur surface layer completely free of copper under the ammonia–ammonium sulphate conditions, an iron-rich surface layer under ammonia–ammonium perchlorate solutions and absence of surface layer build up under ammonia–ammonium carbonate solutions. INTRODUCTION Hydrometallurgical processes for copper extraction provide a viable route to recover the metal from mixed and low-grade ores, as well as overcome the environmental challenges faced by the traditional pyrometallurgical processes. Chalcopyrite is not only the most abundant of the copper sulphides, but also the most stable, making it recalcitrant to hydrometallurgical processes. Hence, hydrometallurgical processing of chalcopyrite continues to be an attractive area of research due to the vaguely understood surface chemistry of the mineral in different aqueous media. Different approaches to hydrometallurgical treatment of chalcopyrite can be carried out. These include thermal treatment prior to leaching, direct leaching and direct electrochemical leaching (Venkatachalam, 1991). Direct leaching of chalcopyrite can be carried out in various solution systems, as reviewed by Roman and Benner (1973) and Venkatachalam (1991). Ammoniacal solutions are attractive and effective lixiviants that form stable amine complexes with some base-metal cations while rejecting iron. Leaching of chalcopyrite in ammoniacal solutions in the presence of an oxidant is possible due to the stabilisation of copper(I) and copper (II) by ammonia at elevated pH levels. In oxygenated ammonia solutions, it has been suggested that chalcopyrite dissolves according to Equation 1 (Beckstead & Miller, 1977a):"

Jan 1, 2015

By D. A. Viljoen

An account is given of the development of man's interest in the recovery and working of minerals from Palaeolithic times to the present. This is followed by a discussion of future production trends for the more important minerals, and of likely technological developments in the recovery of various minerals. The crucial importance of energy minerals is stressed, as are several other factors of significance to a flourishing minerals industry: manpower, education, financial climate, Industrial health and safety, and preservation of the environment.

Jan 1, 1979

By S. G. Ercelebi

In surface mining operations, truck haulage is the largest item in the operating costs, constituting 50 to 60% of the total. In order to reduce this cost, it is necessary to allocate and dispatch the trucks efficiently. This paper describes shovel and truck operation models and optimization approaches for the allocation and dispatching of trucks under various operating conditions. Closed queuing network theory is employed for the allocation of trucks and linear programming for the purpose of truck dispatching to shovels. A case study was applied for the Orhaneli Open Pit Coal Mine in Turkey. This approach would provide the capability of estimating system performance measures (mine throughput, mean number of trucks, mean waiting time, etc.) for planning purposes when the truck fleet is composed of identical trucks. A computational study is presented to show how choosing the optimum number of trucks and optimum dispatching policy affect the cost of moving material in a truck-shovel system. Keywords: Open pit mine, equipment selection, dispatching, linear programming, closed queuing network theory

Jan 1, 2009

In China, thin coal seams are rich in resources but are technically challenging. The mineable reserves in these seams account for 20.4% of the total coal resources, while the current production accounts for only 10.4% of the total annual production. Characteristics such as narrow mining space, low level of mechanization, poor working environment, and high cost of mining, restrict the development of mining safety and efficiency. Recently, fully mechanized mining technology has developed rapidly for thin coal seams, the level of yield and efficiency has reached or exceeded the international standard, and some state-owned key coal mines are considering automation of their mining process. In thin coal seams with hard stone bands that contain concentrations of pyrite, a specialized software, LS-DYNA, is used to calculate the rational blasting parameters that are used in the deep-hole pre-splitting blasting. Using this method the hard stone bands are fractured effectively, and hence increasing the coal productivity. In addition, mining advance rate were increased by enhancing the level of fully mechanized equipment and safety improved by increasing gas drainage from the gas outburst prone seam located some 7 m below the coal horizon. At present, thin coal seam mining technology faces many challenges, including the low level of equipment automation, the low advance rate in mixed coal-rock ground, and the large number of the mine personnel underground. By lowering the labour intensity and improving efficiency through automation and other measures, more efficient working faces can be implemented in thin coal seams.

Jan 1, 2012

By J. F. Lupo

One of the earliest records of metal recovery by solution leaching is described by Agricola as 'juice of rock' in the 1550s. In these early years of hydrometallurgy and civil engineering, few controls and systems were employed to enhance recovery and protect the environment. Since that time, leaching (dump or heap) operations have made significant strides in increasing metal and solution recovery while protecting the environment, all goals of a sustainable operation. It is now recognized that the design and operation of modern heap leach facilities requires contributions from many fields of study, including hydrometallurgy, civil engineering, geotechnical engineering, unsaturated-flow hydrology, mine planning, geosynthetics engineering, geochemistry, process engineering, mechanical engineering, and electrical engineering. While advancements in these fields have resulted in more sustainable heap leach operations, challenges in the industry still exist. A number of heap leach operations exhibit poor or lower-than-predicted metal recovery, loss of solution flow and control within the ore heap, loss of ore heap stability under leach, failure of liner and/or solution recovery systems, and overtopping of process water ponds. A number of these issues may be the result of several compounding conditions. For example, poor metal recovery may be due to an inadequate scale-up assumption (scaling laboratory tests to field-size heaps), lack of control of the in-heap geochemical environment, changes in ore mineralogy from the original design, changes in mechanical and hydraulic properties of the ore from the original design, ore handling and pre-treatment, inadequate solution management system, and inadequate solution application. The purpose of this paper is to present and discuss issues that may affect the sustainability of a heap leach operation. Since sustainability encompasses a broad range of topics and issues, the focus of this paper will be on issues affecting metal and solution recovery, solution flow and containment, and stability of the ore heap.

Jan 1, 2012

By A. V. Rasskazova

Theoretical substantiation of leaching of clustered ultra-fine gold by the electro-photo activated cyanide and chloride solutions is given in the paper; and processes of activation of leach solution by electrolysis and photo-activation are described. Comparative experiments on electro-photo activated leaching of ultra-fine gold from refractory ores by cyanide and chloride solutions were carried out. The material for research is primary ore of the Pogromnoe deposit (Russian Federation, Trans-Baikal Territory). The ore is characterised by the minimum sulfide minerals and the organic carbon content. Gold in ores of this deposit is presented as mainly ultra-fine. Gold inclusions in quartz and silica-alumina minerals (metasomatic minerals) are ultra-fine. Sulfide minerals (2.5-3%) are presented in ore generally by pyrrhotine (gold content does not exceed 10 g/t). Standard cyanide technology provides 49.5% gold recovery. Photo-electro activated air saturated NaCN provides 69.9% gold recovery. Laboratory research of chloride-hypochlorite column leaching demonstrated that the electro-photo activated method provided 78.9 % gold recovery to pregnant leach solution. Chloride-hypochlorite photo-electro activated solution can provide higher level of gold recovery with shorter process duration (10 days) in comparison with cyanide (40 days). The final decision regarding the choice of leach solution has to be done on the basis of technical and economic calculations. Keywords: Ultra-fine gold, cluster chemical reactions, active clusters, leaching, electro-photo activation of leach solution

Jan 1, 2020

By S. Vujic

The exploitation of stone (trachyte) at the ?Srebro? open pit mine, located on the northern slopes of the Fru?ka Gora National Park (Serbia) central area begun in 1964. Stone exploitation in this locality does not endanger the environment in an ecological sense, does not pose a threat to plants and animals, and apart from the terrain configuration changes, it did not leave behind permanent consequences to the environment. Projects for permanent cessation of mining operations and for land reclamation and spatial arrangement were completed in these circumstances. The paper gives a short review of the condition at the open pit mine; furthermore, the key problems and basic demands are presented, together with a concept of technical and biological land reclamation and the spatial arrangement of the mining complex. Keywords Open pit mine, land reclamation, spatial planning, spatial arrangement, National Park, Fru?ka Gora, Srebro.

Jan 1, 2011

By B. Strohmeier

The role of large, ultra-high-powered arc furnaces in a fully integrated steelworks for the production of flat products is outlined, and an account is given of the technological improvements that have been implemented over the past few years to enable the arc furnace to remain competitive against the conventional route using blast furnaces and top-blown-oxygen steelmaking (LD). Modern secondary refining facilities have been installed, enabling the arc furnace to operate at high production rates in the manufacture of high-quality flat products.

Jan 1, 1985

By S. Banisi, A. Ghasemi, E. Nematollahi

Discrete element method (DEM) has been used as a popular simulation method to verify designs by visualising how material will flow through complex equipment geometries. Although DEM simulation is a powerful design tool, finding a DEM model which includes real material properties (e.g., shape, cohesion and friction coefficients) is not computationally feasible. In order to obtain more realistic results, particle energy loss due to rolling friction has been highlighted by many researchers. To implement a reverse torque to account for rolling friction, various models have been proposed. On account of the complexity of the problem, there is no unique model for all applications (i.e. dynamic and pseudo-static regimes). In this paper, an in-house developed DEM software (KMPCDEM ©) was used to assess the robustness of three commonly used models by comparing the repose angle of iron ore pellets obtained through the draw down test in a laboratory setup and then the elastic–plastic spring dashpot model was modified based on considering the individual parameters instead of relative parameters of two contact entities. Results showed that the modified model could produce higher repose angle. The modified model was used to calibrate DEM simulation of repose angle of iron ore pellets in a laboratory setup of the draw down test. Comparison of the calibrated DEM simulation and laboratory results showed 2° differences between the predicted and measured angle of repose. This difference was attributed to considering the particle shape effects by assuming a spherical shape for particles. Keywords: DEM, rolling friction,particle shape, repose angle

Jan 1, 2020

By T. B. S. Giddy

The advantages to be gained from the use of a high-density ion-exchange resin in a uranium recovery circuit are shown. It is concluded that, in existing fluidized-bed plants, the throughput of solution can be increased by up to 40 per cent at the same uranium recovery. Alternatively, the values in the barren solution can be improved at the same flow-rate of solution.

Jan 1, 1980