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Train services through the Channel Tunnel linking Britain and France where scheduled to be fully restored in February 2009 following several months of repairs after a major fire in the tunnel on Sept. 11, 2008. A lorry caught fire on a shuttle train carrying heavy goods vehicles bound for France through the 50-km- (31-mile-) long northern tunnel. The fire, that spread to other vehicles, raged for about 16 hours. The extreme temperatures of up to 1,000º C (1,832° F) caused extensive damage to about 600 m (2,000 ft) of the 7.6-m- (25-ft-) diameter tunnel?s concrete lining, approximately 11 km (7 miles) in from the French entrance. The Channel Tunnel operator, Eurotunnel, awarded the repair con-tract, estimated to be between ?50 to 60 million, to a consortium of Freyssinet, Eurovia Travaux Ferroviaires (ETF) and Vinci Energies. Freyssinet was appointed to look after the civil engineering works, while ETF would be responsible for track and overhead wire restoration and Vinci Energies responsible for other equipment. The technique of hydrodemolition, which uses high-pressure water jets to remove concrete from various structures, was specified as the method to remove the fire damaged concrete. Freyssinet subcontracted the concrete removal to the specialist hydrodemolition and industrial cleaning contractor Philip Lasserat.

Jan 1, 2009

CHUQUICAMATA, as the Chile Copper Company's mine is known, has the largest developed deposit of copper ore in the world. Indeed, it is improbable that its equal will ever be found. The Union Miniére du Haut Katanga, operating in the Belgian Congo, may some day surpass Chuquicamata in the total amount of copper produced; or one of the companies developing the rich copper region of Northern Rhodesia may ultimately outdo it. But in each instance, the ore will come from a group of mines separated by 80 miles or more; whereas the deposit at Chuquicamata is one vast integral mass containing as a minimum probably 1,000,000,000 tons of ore, averaging better than 8.5 per cent copper, and as a maximum-well, most any reasonable figure might err on the low side. Utah Copper approaches Chuquicamata more nearly than any other in tonnage of exploitable ore; but Utah's ore is less than half as rich. The figure for the aggregate copper content of the reasonably assured ore at Chuquicamata is breath-taking at 50,000,000,000 pounds. Other distinctions has Chuquicamata: It was the first of the Porphyry Coppers to use leaching as the method of treating the ore; its plant cost for producing is lower than that of any of the others, only Braden and Utah being close rivals; and it was worked for its copper long before any of the others. According to an authentic article published in Ingeniería Internacional (May, v 1982) the Incas smelted copper ores from Chuquicamata prior to 1536. Diego de ALnagro, to whom Charles V, King of Spain, generously allotted a one-fourth portion of South America lying south of Cuzco, the Inca metropolis, made an expedition into Chile in 1534. Better known to history, perhaps, is Pizarro, who was awarded the area immediately north, and who proceeded

Jan 1, 1933

By Juan Carlos Zevallos

El presente artículo da cuenta de la puesta en marcha, en agosto de 2019, del proyecto que convirtió a Chuquicamata —una de las minas open pit de cobre más grandes y antiguas de Chile— en una ejemplar operación subterránea, moderna y sustentable, que aplica tecnología de punta. El autor ofrece detalles completos sobre los parámetros de esta operación, cuya explotación se realiza por medio de macro bloques, con el proceso denominado Block Caving. La operación cuenta hoy con una vida útil cercana a los 40 años y se han optimizado considerablemente los estándares ambientales, operativos y de seguridad.

Oct 30, 2020

By E. F. Raffo

THE design of the Chuquicamata concentrator offered an unusual combination of problems, all of which had, in one way or another, a definite effect upon the final arrangement of all the equipment and necessary facilities. First of all, a remotely located project of this magnitude required careful selection of equipment with an adequate supply of replacement parts and in some cases necessitated stand-by spare equipment ready for immediate use. Fortunately, in the course of determining the proper flowsheet, in itself a prime factor in the concentrator design, it was possible to conduct numerous grinding and flotation tests at the Anaconda and Andes concentrators. As a result of these tests made under actual operating conditions, most of the major equipment best suited for treating the Chuquicamata ore efficiently was decided upon while preliminary design layouts were still being made. The design has been based primarily on the treatment of sulphide ore crushed to about 3/4 or 1 in. However, until the new sulphide crushing plant is completed it will be necessary to handle ore crushed to 3/8 in. in the existing oxide crushing plants and to some extent a mixed ore which has had its oxide copper content removed by leaching. This mixed ore, known as leached residue, will contain a certain amount of sulphuric acid from the leaching process which necessarily requires special protective measures. Several factors influenced the final location of the Concentrator. The only established fact known during preliminary design layout was the elevation of the dumping floor over the fine ore bin. This was predetermined by the desired level railroad grade across part of the existing tailing and leached residue dumps from the oxide plant to the bin. Next it was necessary that a site be chosen that would not require an excessively long haul from either the present oxide plant or the mine and in addition provide a fairly constant natural ground slope sufficiently wide to accommodate the length of the ultimate concentrator. The site as finally chosen to meet the foregoing restrictions provided a natural ground slope of 6 to 7 pct. This was excellent, especially in a region subject to earthquakes, as it assured that foundations of heavy equipment and footings for building and crane columns would rest on cut or undisturbed ground. However, this shallow slope, although having some definite advantages in the overall consideration of plant layout, resulted in the need for extensive studies in the general arrangement of equipment. Wasteful and excessive vertical drops had to be eliminated in the

Jan 1, 1952

By D. S. Sanders, E. W. Witcomb

FLOTATION tests, from which the flowsheet for the concentrator was determined, were made in a pilot mill at Chuquicamata and later comparative testing of full size flotation cells was done at the Andes Copper Mining Co. concentrator in Potrerillos. The principal sulphide copper mineral is chalcocite with varying amounts of covellite, enargite, and chalcopyrite. The oxidized portion is principally antlerite, a green basic copper sulphate. The gangue minerals include quartz, sericite, pyrite, feldspars and kaolin. Chuquicamata pit ores have proved to be hard grinding. The results of the flotation and metallurgical work prove that good extraction and concentrate grade can be obtained under a rather wide range of conditions. Metallurgy In general the metallurgy of the ore requires a fairly close control of the grind to the primary rougher flotation and of the regrind of the primary rougher concentrate before cleaning. Regrinding is necessary to reduce the insoluble content of the final concentrate since a large part of the middling combinations are between the copper and silica minerals. The alkalinity of the pulps can vary between wide limits and control of the percent solids gives the desired grind. Alkalinity Control Arroyo Salado water is supplied to the concentrator head tanks. It contains about 5000 ppm of salts but test work shows no deleterious effect. Actually this water permits a decrease of as much as 1 lb of lime per ton of ore as compared to San Pedro water, which is used for leaching oxide ore. About one quarter of the water flow through the concentrator will be new water from the reservoir. The remainder will be reclaimed from the thickeners. For primary grinding and rougher flotation, new and reclaimed water are combined in the head tanks. To avoid erratic results, only new water is used in the regrind system. Milk of lime is added to the rod mill feed chute to obtain the maximum benefit of mixing with the ore. This protects the equipment from corrosion due to entrained acids and soluble copper salts. Lime consumption is 3 to 5 lb per ton of ore. Grinding and Flotation The six bin gates over each belt feeder are opened in controlled combination and sequence to keep a live bed of ore in the bin to prevent arching and to obtain mixing. The milk of lime added ahead of the rod mill is regulated to suit rougher flotation requirements. The primary promoter reagent, Aerofloat 238, is added to the 10-mesh discharge of the rod mill as it is laundered to the ball mill scoop box. The classifier overflow is regulated to produce a grind of about 12 to 15 pct +65 mesh and 60 pct -200 mesh. A secondary promoter Z-4 (aml zanthate) and the pine oil frother are added in the overflow launder where a pH of 10 to 11 is maintained. Comparatively heavy beds of froth on the

Jan 1, 1952

By A. P. Svenningsen

IN the early stages of design it was not considered necessary that separate crushing plants be built for the new sulphide concentrator and smelter until sometime in the future. The plan was to use the existing crushing facilities for both oxide and sulphide ore. A few additions were contemplated for the existing plants, such as increased bin capacity, and possibly two new secondary crushing units. The more the problem was studied and discussed with the plant operators, the more it became evident that it was complex. It involved the classification of different kinds of ore from the open pit mine -sulphide, oxide and mixed-and how best to separate them so that each kind of ore was given the proper processing and treatment. It also involved the problem of keeping the different ores from being contaminated in bins, hoppers and chutes. Added to these, transportation became complicated and would involve additional handling and loading of ore from crushing plants to conveyors, to bins, and finally to railroad cars which were to be hauled to the concentrator and dumped into the fine ore bin. General In the early part of 1951 it was decided that the concentrator be constructed with ten grinding units instead of seven as originally authorized. The smelter was to be increased proportionally and naturally also the overall tonnages of ore to be handled by the new sulphide plant. Due to this increase in plant capacity and the larger tonnages involved, the difficulties which would arise by using the existing crushing plants were increased to a point where it became evident that the building of new crushing plants for sulphide ore exclusively was technically, as well as economically, advantageous. Authorization was, therefore, given by the company to construct new crushing plants to handle 30,000 tons of ore per day, and capable of reducing the run-of-open-pit ore to the proper size feed for the 10x14-ft rod mills in the concentrator. The ore, mined in the open pit, sometimes comes in pieces as large as 6 to 7 ft diam. The rod mills may call for ore crushed to 3/4 in. The large .size of ore delivered from the open pit determined that a 60-in. gyratory crusher be used as primary breaker. Such a crusher will have a capacity considerably in excess of 30,000 tons per day. The crusher will be a single discharge unit driven by a 500-hp electric motor through a tear coupling and a floating shaft. This type of drive has proven successful at a number of other crusher installations which our company has operating in the United States, Mexico and South America. The tear coupling will protect both the crusher and motor against damage in case of overload. No new features are incorporated in the design of the crusher itself, except that the, discharge chute is made the full width of the crusher with parallel sides instead of the usual converging sides. This change in detail should eliminate, a feature which has been a bottleneck in some of the operating plants and has caused loss of production due to ore hanging up and blocking the chute. The secondary crushing plants will have three 7-ft standard Symons cone crushers and six 7-ft short head Symons crushers. Between the primary and secondary crushing plants a coarse ore bin will be constructed with a nominal draw-off capacity of 30,000 tons of ore. The standard Symons and the short head Symons will be in separate buildings. All the crushing plants and the coarse ore bin are interconnected with conveyor belts for transporting the ore to the crushers at the tonnage rate desired. The final product of the new crushing plants is produced by the short head crushers. It will be delivered onto a conveyor belt leading to the top of the fines ore bin in the concentrator. A separate conveyor belt running the full length of the fines ore bin and provided with a movable tripper of rugged design will discharge the sulphide ore into the bin. The concentrator bin is planned and designed so that the installation of this additional conveyor will not interfere with the operation of the two railroad tracks on which crushed ore is brought from the existing oxide plant. Thus when completed the bin can be filled simultaneously by ore from the new crushing plant and by ore from the existing leaching plant.

Jan 1, 1952

By H. G. Dwyer

CONSIDERATION for future expansion influenced the design of the new smelter at Chuquicamata. The section of the smelter now going into operation, while large, represents only little more than half of the ultimate plant. Equipment for the direct smelting of raw concentrates has been arranged in the conventional manner although needless details have been eliminated wherever possible while mechanical and electrical features not usually found in copper smelters have been incorporated. Access is afforded to all equipment but platforms and walkways have been held to a minimum. The poling and other platforms in the converter aisle, normally subjected to battering by ladles and other heavy equipment in transit, are of concrete construction with steel grid armor embedded in the exposed surfaces. Noticeably absent are the many platforms formerly required for the handling of converter flux since this material is charged to the converters through the side walls of the converter uptake hoods. Clear space with ample headroom is provided under each converter and converter puncher's platform to permit clean-up by small bulldozers. Remote controls have been introduced at many points. Electrical control rooms and control centers have been conveniently located. An electrical tunnel with cross tunnels and escapeways is situated under the entire length of the converter aisle for power feed lines. Skull breaking facilities are in a separate building near the smelter. A silica-slurry building with brick storage area is adjacent to the smelter building so that elevator service is available to both buildings. A smelter office, a change house and lunchroom are provided in convenient locations. Units of the smelter as presently constructed are shown in the plan and table on page 1194. The ultimate smelter will house 7 reverberatory furnaces, 14 waste-heat boilers, 9 Peirce Smith converters, 4 casting furnaces serving 2 casting wheels, and one holding furnace serving a straightline casting machine. Additional crane requirements in the converter aisle will necessitate the installation of special hoisting equipment in space already provided in a raised section of the roof over the casting end of the aisle. Thus a complete crane may be lifted high enough above the crane rails to permit the passing of another crane underneath thereby giving all cranes full use of repair facilities already installed. For the collection of gases, 2 dust chambers, each with separate stacks, will collect converter gases and 2 balloon flues with separate stacks will collect reverberatory furnace gases. Extensions necessary to complete the ultimate plant will be possible with little interruption to normal operations since the future converters and reverberatory furnaces will be added at the east end while additional casting facilities will be added at the west end of the present plant. The future units may be added singly or all at one time depending on requirements.

Jan 1, 1952

By Clarence W. Dunham

BECAUSE of the earthquakes that occur at Chuquicamata, the design of the smelter stacks constituted the most difficult structural problem of the entire sulphide ore project. Slight tremors occur almost daily and shocks of moderate magnitude are not uncommon. Naturally, the operation of the smelter depends upon the safety of these stacks, and their resistance to earthquakes was the critical feature of their design. Adequate data of the magnitudes of past shocks at Chuquicamata were not available. However, considering the information that was obtained from experiences in other parts of Chile, a period of one to two seconds was adopted as a basis for the design. To complicate the problem further, the stacks had to provide for operations under a wide variety of conditions ranging from the possibility of running one reverberatory furnace and two converters initially to perhaps five or six furnaces and eight or ten converters simultaneously in the completed plant. No one could tell for certain just what the ultimate capacity might have to be because the plans permitted a large extension beyond the first installation if this became necessary. Studies of the stacks were made for many conditions. At first it was thought that one stack 600 or 650 ft high should be used initially for both the furnaces and converters, with a second similar stack to be built for the future extension. This height would provide adequate draft in the rarified atmosphere at the plant's elevation of 10,000 ft. It would also disperse the gases high in the air. Preliminary studies of this large stack showed that such a structure was possible if made of steel but it would be exceedingly costly. Furthermore, the effects of the tendency for the top to whip under the action of earthquakes might be serious, and the design had to be based upon assumptions which might not be trustworthy. Such a tall stack was finally abandoned in favor of a larger number of smaller ones. Initially, one stack will service the first three or four furnaces. Another will handle the gases from four or five converters. The smelter has been located in such a position that the prevailing winds carry the fumes away from the remainder of the plant. A height of 300 ft for the stacks was finally selected. The top diameter is approximately 24 ft 9 in. clear inside of the lining. The converter stack is located upon a hill alongside the smelter. This provides an effective increase in height because its base is approximately 66 ft above the yard level. The base of the reverberatory stack is at the latter elevation. Stacks made of reinforced concrete or of steel were investigated, and so were many shapes for them. As these studies progressed, the lightness of a steel structure, and the ductility of the metal itself, led to the decision to use steel for the main part of the stacks. The fact that serious damage to one of the stacks would cause the plant to shut down, caused special studies to be made of the stress conditions that might exist around the breeching which had to be nearly 15 ft wide and 40 ft or more high where it joined the stack. This height was necessary in order to provide adequate transition from the horizontal flow of the gases to the vertical direction without undue eddies. This opening constituted a serious source of weakness in the structure. If made with sufficiently strong reinforcement around its edges, there would be a hard spot in the structure that might cause trouble because of shaft vibrations.

Jan 1, 1952

By R. M. Kuralt

CONCESSION from the Chilean government granting the company use of the Rio Salado water stipulates that a minimum of 35,000 metric tons of such salty water must be diverted from the Salado daily, and be disposed of in a manner not to contaminate the Rio Loa to the east of its confluence with the Rio San Salvador at Chacance, Fig. 1. Consequently, the selection of a suitable site for the sulphide plant tailing disposal had the additional problem of the disposal of excess brackish waters. Studies of the terrain in the area directly to the south of the plant indicated that construction of tailing ponds would be costly, and generally unsatisfactory due to excessive slope of the ground, lack of flanking hills, danger of raising the groundwater level thus causing springs along the Antofagasta-Bolivia railroad; and the possibility of creating a dust nuisance at the plant site or at Calama due to blowing sands. Further to the southwest the San Salvador river canyon offered some possibilities and surveys were made at sites A to D, inclusive, Fig. 1. Here again costly dams would have been necessary to impound the tremendous quantity of tailing produced by the new plant, and provision would have to be made to handle a considerable flow of water through the disposal area to the west of the Rio Opache. Additional surveys were made in the area to the southeast of the plant which brought to light the existence of a natural basin of about 14 1/2 square miles, flanked by low-lying hills, and requiring only the most rudimentary dams to close the outlets at the western end. It has been estimated that the Salar de Talabre, as this basin is called, has the ultimate storage capacity of 1 billion tons of tailing with dam heights of only 60 ft. Pipe Line Layout After the decision had been reached to use the Salar de Talabre for the main disposal area various methods were considered for transporting the tailing from the 300 ft diam thickeners to the disposal site, 17.7 miles away. The first plan was to construct a. concrete launder on a 11 pct grade but a survey of this grade line indicated it would not lead directly into the Salar but would terminate somewhat to the north, and from that point on the slope would be considerably less than 1 pct along a natural watercourse. A slope of 2 pct or even 2 ¼ pct in such a rough watercourse or ditch is the ideal, judging from the success of operations at Cananea. Since a simple ditch is the most economical vehicle for the transportation of tailing, it was decided to use one with a 2 ¼ pct grade for as much of the distance as was possible with the existing terrain and to construct a concrete headbox, or forebay, at the terminus of the ditch to supply a steel pipe line leading the rest of the way into the Salar. Referring to the maps of the Chuquicamata area outlining the tailing disposal system, Figs. 1 and 2, one can trace the flow of the tailing from the thickeners to the Salar as follows: The 8-in. spigot pipes from the thickeners (1) discharge into a concrete sump feeding a concrete launder with a 2 pct slope. The launder carries the tailing into a concrete junction box (2) located south of the sulphide plant. The purpose of the junction box is to provide emergency facilities for diverting the tailing flow from the main disposal area to the emergency area. It also provides a junction point for the launder from the sulphide plant's future east extension. The box is fitted with a pair of radial gates controlling flow into the main tailing ditch (6) or the emergency ditch (3) which terminates on the pampa. All ditches are of the same cross section, namely 4 ft wide at the bottom with 1 : 1 side slopes and with a minimum depth of 21/2 ft. Where the nature of the ground demands it, the ditches are lined with stone rubble. The overflow from the plant's 10 million gal reservoir (4) is led into the main tailing ditch by way of a spillway ditch (5). The main ditch terminates in a trashscreen fitted, concrete forebay (7) which serves as a headbox for a 24 in. O.D. x 3/8 in. wall, Dresser coupled, steel pipe (10) and a 12 in. x 8-gage spiral welded, wedge-lock coupled, steel pipe (8). The forebay is fitted with two compartments, one for each pipe, and flow into each is controlled by radial gates. Each compartment is fitted with a 6-in. drain pipe controlled by a rubber pinch valve. To protect the forebay from the abrasive effects of the tailing, the sides of the compartments will be lined with old

Jan 1, 1952

By B. F. Koch

COPPER reverberatories develop large amounts of exit gases of a temperature in the neighborhood of 2000°F. The gases are not only of a noxious nature but must usually be disposed of at considerable heights above the yard level by a stack. Handling these gases at the temperature mentioned would require rather expensive construction of conveying flues and stack. Moreover, wasting such amounts of heat is certainly most uneconomical. Numerous investigations have indicated that waste heat boilers of the water-tube type are the most practical and economical means for utilizing that heat although the gases are heavily laden with rock dust and copper-bearing slag, which upon cooling form hard deposits on the surfaces of dampers or heat absorbing elements placed in the gas stream. Avoiding Slag and Dust Deposits Based largely on the experience of the paper industry in burning black liquor, a waste heat boiler design was developed a few years ago, providing not only extensive water-wall surfaces for cooling the gases below the fusing point of the slag but also settling out, as far as possible, the solidified particles of slag by creating low gas velocity. Matter carried in a stream of gases or air has a tendency to maintain its original direction upon a change in the direction of the flow of the conveying medium. Reverberatory waste heat boilers installed at Hurley and Morenci endeavored to utilize that tendency for the elimination of slagging particles at predetermined places and before they would strike the tube banks of the boilers. Both installations were successful in minimizing the slagging of boiler tubes and thereby minimizing the need for hand lancing. However, the low draft carried at the up-take of the reverberatory furnaces resulted in a positive pressure in the upper part of the furnace of the waste heat boilers, causing the emission of gases from lancing doors and making more difficult the already unwelcome work of cleaning the boilers by handlancing. Attempting to correct this nuisance as much as possible, the overall height of the Chuquicamata waste heat boilers has been reduced to the minimum considered necessary to obtain proper water circulation in furnace walls. Moreover, it is attempted to solidify slag and dust particles by providing large amounts of water-cooled surfaces before the gas stream reaches super-heater and convection banks of the boilers. The furnaces have been made as deep as an economical and practical arrangement of headers for water

Jan 1, 1952

By W. E. Rudolph, R. E. Baylor

DUE to its location in the Atacama Desert, one of the most barren of the earth's surfaces, Chuquicamata's water supply presents unusual problems. Yearly rain-fall averages less than one tenth of an inch at the plant. However, there are summer showers above 12,000 ft in the Cordillera to the east, the resulting run-off flowing through old river valleys buried beneath more recent volcanic formations, to be impounded within sediment-filled basins. This water emerges at springs where the outlets of these basins are blocked by lava flows, and here are formed the small streams which feed the only important river of the region, the Rio Loa. Chuquicamata's water is obtained from these springs and rivulets. [ ] The map above indicates four pipe lines from which potable and industrial water are supplied. Potable water, amounting to 4500 metric tons per day, is conveyed in the Toconce pipe line from springs 59 miles due east of Chuquicamata. This water is used not only for drinking, but also for boilers and other needs requiring high quality. For industrial water at the oxide plant, there are two 12-in. pipe lines from the Rio San Pedro, carrying a total of 17,000 metric tons per day of slightly brackish water. This water is at present used mainly for leaching and for hygienic purposes. Water Source Found For the present and future needs of the sulphide plant, it was calculated that at least 32,000 metric tons per day of make-up water would be required. For this purpose, a pipe line of 44 miles length was constructed to bring in the entire flow of the Arroyo Salado, one of the eastern tributaries of the Loa. The salt content of this water is so high (over 5000 parts per million of solubles, mostly chlorides) that it is highly detrimental to farming, and the Chilean Government had been studying projects to separate these waters from others of the Loa system in order to improve agricultural conditions in the fertile valley of Calama. So it happened that the Government was willing to award rights to the Arroyo Salado waters under agreement whereby the Mining Company removes waters from the Rio Loa system above Calama for all time. The outlet of these waters, after serving their purpose at the new concentrator and leaving the plant in tailing, is the Salar de Talabre, an old salt lake which presents fully ten square miles of surface to serve as an evaporating pan, the outlets having now been blocked by dams. Here the dry climate of Chuquicamata is a favourable factor, evaporation averaging slightly above 1/4 in. per day. The Toconce and San Pedro pipe lines have been functioning from 26 to 34 years, and through the use of special cleaning tools which were developed at the plant, as well as deaeration of the more active Toconce water, these pipes are now maintained at capacities which do not diminish as years go on. Constructing the Dam The Arroyo Salado pipe line design and construction involved certain special and interesting features, and inasmuch as this line and its intake works are solely for the needs of the new sulphide plant, more detailed description is given. The waters are impounded at a gravity dam constructed of concrete to a height of 100 ft above the river bed, keyed into the precipitous Dacite walls of the narrow canyon (barely 6-ft wide at the bottom, only 25-ft width at 50 ft above). A small secondary dam was built 100 ft down stream from the main dam, providing a pool of 15-ft depth to protect the main structure from flood flows over the spill-way during the rainy season. A system of four 36-in. syphons was designed for discharging these flood waters from the lower depths of the lake, in order to avoid eventual sedimentation behind the dam. The lake has a length of 3300 ft, and its water level is controlled by an adjustable spillway permitting draw-down of eighty inches, amounting to 41,000 metric tons of available capacity. This regulation is necessary because of wide fluctuations in stream flow between day and night due to freezing of feeders. During the construction of the dam the entire river flow was handled within a 36-in. pipe line some 2000 ft in length. As the excavations proceeded

Jan 1, 1952

By Arthur Notman

(San Francisco Meeting, September, 1915) SACRAMENTO HILL is a mass of granite porphyry intruded along a fault between Paleozoic sediments and pre-Cambrian schists in the Bisbee district, Cochise County, Arizona. The intrusion invaded both walls of the fault to a large extent, and the accompanying extensive mineralization of the Paleozoic limestones is the locus of the great high-grade copper orebodies of the Bisbee mines. Prior to 1909, although the presence of ore in the mass of the hill itself had long been suspected, systematic exploration had not been attempted. A few shallow pits on the surface here and there had disclosed some chalcocite with associated carbonates as stringers in a mass of strongly brecciated, silicified, and iron-stained porphyry. The workings in the surrounding limestones had penetrated the porphyry in a dozen or so places for some distance from the contact but had disclosed no ore. However, the rock had been largely altered to quartz and sericite and very thoroughly impregnated with pyrite and traces of the copper sulphides. A close geological study of the conditions, both surface and underground, strengthened these suspicions, and plans for prospecting the hill were made in 1909. Reference to the accompanying illustrations, Figs. 1 and 2, will give an idea of the general appearance of the surface. The mineralization is more intense in two main zones, one at the west end and the other at the east end of the hill. The outcrop of the hill is elliptical and approximately 3,000 ft. long by 1,400 ft. wide. The Sacramento shaft, which is the main hoisting shaft of the mine and situated at the east end of the hill, as shown by the accompanying map (Fig. 3), offered a convenient base for prospecting that end of the hill, while the workings from the Holbrook shaft offered a similar opportunity at the west end. The choice of level for the first work was determined by analogy with the most favorable depth for enrichment below surface observed in the other disseminated deposits of the Southwest.

Jan 8, 1915

By Luis de la Cruz Rengifo

El presente trabajo señala el tratamiento del concentrado gravimétrico con alta ley de oro en la planta concentradora Compañía de minas Orcopampa S.A. La aplicación del tratamiento se realiza a través del proceso de cianuración convencional y la implementación de la electrodisposición de las soluciones ricas. Como resultado del proceso, se obtienen barras de oro y plata metálicas puras y el concentrado cianurado sin presencia de oro grueso, eliminando el problema de ensayo y muestreo respectivos.

Apr 1, 1991

By H. Ahrens

El presente estudio refiere la importancia de los explosivos y detonaciones en el campo de la minería a través de una breve revisión historiográfica, legislación, problemas relacionados con la voladura y métodos empleados. Cabe sa señalar que la evaluación de estos explosivos, así como las pruebas características de estos conllevan una aplicación práctica, de forma que se pueda conocer la composición del explosivo y determinar una posible falla en los disparos.

Nov 20, 1972

By Félix Lewandowsky

El presente texto describe las actividades para corregir los pasivos ambientales heredados y asumidos bajo responsabilidad de la Compañía Minera Colquirrumi S.A. Para ello, se elaboró un plan de cierre de los cuatro depósitos de los relaves de Hualgayoc donde se busca mostrar los criterios utilizados, los estudios de ingeniería y la forma cómo se ejecutaron las obras de cierre definitivas de los depósitos de relaves.

Jan 1, 2015

By Ezequiel Pomachagua Quijada

En el Perú, el cierre de yacimientos es una etapa nueva de la vida productiva minera, pues a partir del año 2005 la norma rige y se les otorga un plazo de un año para elaborar y lograr la aprobación del plan de cierre de todas las unidades mineras. Sin embargo, en el año 2008-2009 se iniciaron las actividades de rehabilitación en unidades mineras que no habían logrado su aprobación. En ese sentido, el presente artículo señala la experiencia sostenida por la empresa C.M Centauro como ejemplo de cierre progresivo en botaderos de desmonte. La restauración se inició con el botadero suroeste a través de tres etapas: cierre progresivo, cierre final y postcierre. Así también planificó el cierre de los componentes desde el diseño mediante actividades como la estabilidad física, remoción, perfilado y conformación de banquetas, estabillidad química, extendido de caliza, batido de caliza, compactado de sustrato estabilidad hidrológica, biológica y revegetación.

Aug 1, 2015

By Carol Harrison

"Diseñar, implementar y evaluar un proceso de adquisición de tierras y reasentamiento ha sido un reto para los proyectos mineros en el pais, pues es un tema fundamental para el desarrollo del proyecto y reviste al mismo tiempo una alta complejidad en contextos sociales como el nuestro. Asimismo, no existe una reglamentación clara al respecto ni una institucionalidad que permita enmarcar el proceso, que al final resulta en una negociación directa entre dos partes. La presentación profundiza en ejemplos de experiencias de reasentamiento rural, particularmente en la definición y monitoreo de indicadores."

Sep 1, 2017

By Martin Wacker

Cameco Corporation, on behalf of a joint venture, is preparing surface and underground facilities at their northern Saskatchewan property in preparation for the future operation of a high-grade uranium mine. The Cigar Lake orebody is situated about 430 metres below surface at the unconformity between metamorphic basement rocks and flat lying sandstone. Major technical factors influencing the mining method selection include ground stability, control of ground water, radiation exposure and ore handling and storage. A decade-long test mine program resulted in the selection and validation of ?jet boring? a non-entry mining method. Cigar Lake?s jet boring mining method involves several major steps; artificial ground freezing of the orebody and surrounding rock, TBM (tunnel boring) type development of access crosscuts below the orebody, installation of cased pilot holes upwards through the ore, and ore extraction using a rotating high pressure water jet within the pilot holes. The resulting cavities are surveyed and backfilled with concrete. The ore slurry will be processed underground and pumped to surface. This paper discusses the jet boring mining method in general terms and includes highlights of the Cigar Lake test mine program completed in 2000.

Apr 1, 2005

By G. Van Weert

In the spring of 2010 double refractory ores from historical stockpiles were processed through Barrick's Goldstrike pressure oxidation facility, thereby providing preg robbing feeds for a variety of metallurgical testwork. This paper describes the effects of amount, type, place and time of addition of activated carbons on CIL gold recovery and shows that native carbon in plant PDX'ed discharge solids can still preg rob gold loaded activated carbon.

Jan 1, 2011

By Peter Dunn

London Mining Plc. is developing an iron ore project in Sierra Leone. The Marampa mine is a brownfield development effort, having been operated by others since the 1930?s until low iron ore prices forced closure. Peak production of the prior operations was approximately 2.5 Mt/a in the 1960?s. Following civil war In Sierra Leone, London Mining obtained the mining license in 2006 and commenced activity to redevelop the Marampa mining and processing operations. There are two ore deposits of interest for development as well as a resource comprised of tailings from previous operations. Phase 1 will be the mining of the tailings resource with a 1.8 Mt/a plant producing 66 per cent Fe sinter feed, expandable to 3.6 Mtpa. The first phase is currently under construction with start-up expected in the third quarter of 2011. Phase 2 will include development of the two ore deposits. These deposits are weathered secondary ore and the main primary ore resource. Phase 2 is currently under prefeasibility study and targets a final 16 Mt/a concentrate production in 2016. Outotec partnered with London Mining on testing efforts to develop the magnetic separation flowsheet using SLon VPHGMS machines to process the Marampa material. This paper explains the flowsheet development process for the weathered and primary ores commencing with sample characterization and detailed parametric investigations to evaluate SLon performance. The final flowsheet configuration is explained, including expected circuit recoveries and concentrate quality, clearly demonstrating the performance of the SLon VPHGMS circuit in iron ore tailings treatment applications.

May 1, 2011