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By J. R. Kiji

The Cerro Matoso S.A. mine and smelter, in the Cordoba lowlands of northwestern Colombia, consist of a dedicated laterite nickel mine, ore blending, drying and an RKEF process to produce high-quality ferronickel. At a project investment of $400M, first production of ferronickel was in September 1982, and in its inaugural year CMSA produced 6,150 tons of contained Ni from a mined ore grade of 3.2% Ni. Initial operational difficulties resulted in a number of furnace run-outs, which impacted ramp up to design ore throughput of 128 dry t/h Since then CMSA has steadily incorporated process improvements and initiatives to take the single line operation to an ore throughput of 175 dry t/h. A second 175 dry t/h line was added in 2001 (investment of US$ 300M) to consolidate CMSA as one of the world's lowest cost Ni producers with an installed annual production capacity of 50-55,000 tons Ni. The most recent addition is commissioning of Phase I of an ore-upgrading project to counteract the effect of declining ore grades. Keywords: Laterite, ferronickel, pyrometallurgy, smelter.

Jan 1, 2004

By S R. Williams

There is a sense of geometallurgy being new; a new methodology for mining project development and improved operational strategy. One of the main challenges that any ænewÆ technology faces is a validation of the value and the need to produce case studies. However, producing case studies can often be problematic particularly given the long cycle from mineral deposit project, through feasibility and construction to stabilised operation of a mine.However, the roots of geometallurgy go back quite some time. Successful practices with geometallurgy can be seen from as early as the 1980s. Many times those practices were not called geometallurgy but something else and, in other cases, what can be seen are various components of the geometallurgical ævalue chainÆ.This paper will analyse a selection of published past practices from a geometallurgical perspective to demonstrate the value realised from the application of this methodology. The paper will then make some general comments on where this history of work in geometallurgy has lead us to and what are the challenges today for the geometallurgical effort.CITATION:S R Williams, 2013. A historical perspective of the application and success of geometallurgical methodologies, in Proceedings The Second AusIMM International Geometallurgy Conference (GeoMet) 2013 , pp 37-48 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Sep 29, 2013

By David M. Abbott

This paper is a companion to, and amplification of, the ?History? section of the 2014 version of the SME Guide for Reporting Exploration Results, Mineral Resources, and Mineral Reserves (SME Guide). The need for the careful examination and evaluation of mineral deposits has long been recognized. In the book De Re Metallica, Georgius Agricola noted, ?Moreover, a prudent owner, before he buys shares, ought to go to the mine and carefully examine the nature of the vein, for it is very important that he should be on his guard lest fraudulent sellers of shares should deceive him? (1556, p.29). Agricola further stated, ?Now a miner, before he begins to mine the veins, must consider seven things, namely: the situation, the conditions, the water, the roads, the climate, the right of ownership and the neighbors? (1556, p. 30). The elements of Agricola?s seven things, much expanded, are incorporated into the 2014 SME Guide. As reflected in this quotation, veins were the primary concern of mining until 20th century technology permitted bulk mining techniques. The need for standardization of reserve descriptions arose along with the development of western mining in the United States and the concurrent development of mining engineering and mining geology as professions. By the turn of the century, debate about terminology of various classes of reserves was in full swing. Herbert Hoover noted in 1909 (p. 16-17), ?The old terms ?ore in sight? and ?profit in sight? have been of late years subject to much malediction on the part of engineers because these expressions have been so badly abused by the charlatans of mining in attempts to cover the flights of their imaginations. A large part of Volume I of the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy has been devoted to heaping infamy on these terms, yet not only have they preserved their places in professional nomenclature, but nothing has been found to supersede them. ?Some general term is required in daily practice to cover the available field of visible ore, and if the phrase ?ore in sight? be defined, it will be easier to teach the layman its proper use than to abolish it. In fact, substitutes are becoming as badly abused as the originals ever were. All convincing expressions will be misused by somebody.? Hoover (1909) noted that the common terms at the time were: ? Positive ore or ore developed: Ore exposed on four sides in blocks of a prescribed size. ? Ore blocked out: Ore exposed on three sides within a reasonable distance of each other. ? Probable ore or ore developing: Ore exposed on two sides, ? Possible ore or ore expectant: Ore in whole or in part below or beyond the range of vision. Hoover stated that these, and similar terms, overlapped and had the difficulty of failing to account properly for geologic variation in metal distribution beyond the exposed face. Certainly assuming extension of values along a vein is reasonable, but how far? Also, these definitions are for vein deposits, not all types of deposits are in veins. Hoover (1909, p. 19), therefore, defined the following terms. ? Proved ore: Ore where there is practically no risk in failure of continuity. ? Probable ore: Ore where there is some risk, yet warrantable justification for assumption of continuity. ? Prospective ore: Ore that cannot be included in the above classes, nor definitely known or stated in any terms of tonnage.

Feb 1, 2014

By George H. Willis

In the second half of the nineteenth century, bimetallism progressively replaced by gold standard. After World War I and 1931-33 depression, gold mainly reserved for official international transactions and internal use restricted. Changes since 1971 have shrunk official international use of gold. International payments deficits and surpluses now financed by private and official credit, rarely by gold. Historical review covers evolution of: (1) internal and external private use, (2) internal official use, (3) external official use, (4) role in IMF and (5) use as unit of account.

Jan 1, 1978

By K Afewu, R Dunne, W P. Staunton

The treatment of preg-robbing gold ores has always been a technical challenge in the gold industry. Early solutions included removal of preg-robbing carbonaceous material by flotation, the addition of kerosene to æblindÆ/passivate the surface of the preg-robbing component, and the most effective of all options, roasting the ore. Unfortunately gold ores have become more complex and roasting has environmental challenges, so other methods of treatment have had to be found. This paper will review methods of characterising preg-robbing gold ores, method of treatment and cite examples of actual application in the industry.CITATION:Dunne, R, Staunton, W P and Afewu, K, 2013. A historical review of the treatment of preg-robbing gold ores - what has worked and changed, in Proceedings World Gold 2013 , pp 99-110 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Sep 26, 2013

By Michael Jenkins

This paper reviews the history of rock burst research in the Coeur d'Alene Mining District of northern Idaho over the last 30 years. Rock bursting is a problem because of a combination of geological factors in the region--complex structure, high horizontal stresses, and strong, brittle rock that readily stores strain energy. The Bureau of Mines has cooperated with industry to study rock burst phenomenon for many years. Early work focused on methods to mitigate bursting problems within the context of existing mining methods. In the 1970's, researchers began investigating methods for altering or controlling conditions that lead to rock bursts. These control measures become part of the stope development that precedes mining or are changes in the mining process itself. Although, researchers continue to develop microseismic techniques, the major research effort focuses on developing a new mining method to reduce the number and severity of rock bursts in order to improve safety and increase productivity in the Coeur d'Alene Mining District.

Jan 1, 1987

By Paul Grady, Martin Froehling, Curtis Mohns, Eliab Roman

"Since the idea of processing rock to unlock the valuable minerals inside was put into practice, efforts to improve production began. Methods have been learned that allow for operation in environments and under circumstances where it would not have been possible until now. All existing operations have experienced at least some form of productivity improvement measures. The objective is simple: generate more product of better quality in less time and at lower unit cost. Since the year 2000, various modifications have been made at the Kemess Concentrator in efforts to improve productivity. The following is a discussion of these modifications and their contributions to the success of the operation.INTRODUCTIONThe Kemess South Mine, a major producer of gold and copper, is located in north-central British Columbia. Kemess was brought into production in May 1998 by Royal Oak Mines with a modern mill controlled by a fully integrated Foxboro IA DCS system and employing 134 people. On February 11, 2000 Northgate Exploration Limited (now Northgate Minerals Corporation) acquired Kemess Mine from receivership. Since acquisition in 2000, Kemess has seen many accomplishments, including the reduction of costs by 40% site wide.The mill has a nameplate capacity of approximately 56,000 tonnes per day which is processed through a Metso (Svedala) 60” x 89” Primary Gyratory Crusher and then conveyed by a 60” conveyor to a stockpile with 48 hours of total storage capacity. The nominal minus 6” rock from the stockpile is fed to two parallel grinding circuits (A & B). Each section consists of a 10.4 m F x 4.7 m SAG mill with dual drive motors (4,480 kW apiece) discharging onto a 2.4 m x 7.3 m Metso (Svedala) single deck vibrating screen to remove the coarse material for recycle to the SAG mill by a Continental 45º high angle sandwich conveyor. Screen undersize is pumped along with ball mill discharge to a cyclopac consisting of twelve Krebs 66 cm F cyclones to classify flotation feed to a size of approximately 65% minus 200 mesh. Cyclone underflow feeds a Metso (Svedala) 6.8 m F x 11.0 m ball mill, also with dual drive motors (4,480 kW apiece). The primary grinding circuit has 35,840 kW available for grinding."

Jan 1, 2005

By F. Habashi

Magnesium is the eighth most abundant element in the earth's crust, It occurs in nature in sea water, brines, and a number of minerals, Metallic magnesium was first isolated by Humphry Davy (1778-1829) in England in 1808 via electrolysis of anhydrous magnesium chloride with a mercury cathode, Antoine Bussy (1794-1882) in France extracted the metal in 1828 by reducing fused magnesium chloride with metallic po¬tassium vapour, The first industrial production of magnesium by electrolysis of molten carnallite began in 1886 in Hemelingen in Germany, In 1940 Lloyd M, Pidgeon (1903¬1999) in Canada pioneered the first industrial metallothermic magnesium extraction plant based on the reduction of dolomite with ferrosilicon under vacuum, Since then the magnesium industry developed further and a variety of processes are presently used.

Jan 1, 2006

By Robert J. Tuchman

This report presents the origins of the Bureau of Mines and the evolution of the Pittsburgh Research Center from its inception to its present form. Areas of major research emphasis over the years, as well as administrative reorganizations, are discussed.

Jan 1, 1998

By Nicholas Bonderoff, Amily Xu

The evaluation of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) in underground mines involves comprehensive business case analysis beyond just the capital and operating costs of the equipment itself. BEVs demonstrate benefits from an EHS perspective, reduced mine ventilation costs, lower energy operating costs, reduced overall GHG emissions (dependent on the source of electricity), elimination of DPM, lower equipment maintenance costs, and reduced cooling requirements in deep mines. When including batteries and supporting infrastructure, BEV capital costs are approx. 80% greater than that of diesel equipment. The project economics are highly dependent on the cost of electricity and diesel fuel, and these can vary widely depending on the location of the mining operation. Battery charging and swapping methodologies must be evaluated as there are a variety of approaches that can be employed which vary by manufacturer and type of equipment. Careful consideration of the cycle times, charging methodologies, and location of the battery charging infrastructure is necessary. Specific operating conditions must also be taken into consideration. For example, the time for blast gases to clear will be increased by reducing ventilation flow, and the potential impact on production needs to be evaluated. Similarly, the electrical distribution system needs to be evaluated for peak loading conditions when BEVs are charging. Criteria including maintainability, reliability, commercial availability, and performance need to be evaluated. BEVs have fewer components than diesel equipment and this correlates to lower overall maintenance costs, however, BEVs require maintenance personnel with specific skill sets in order to maintain the equipment. Battery lifecycle costs need to be considered as battery replacement incurs significant capital expense. Some manufacturers offer services to offset these capital costs through usage agreements. Recycling and disposal of batteries at the end of their lifecycles also need to be considered. With the increased selection of BEV equipment that will be available in the next 2-4 years, 100% BEV adoption is also possible. We recommend a holistic approach when evaluating BEVs for underground mines. This will ensure that everything is considered in order to evaluate the full impact of BEV implementation.

Jan 1, 2023

By D Genge, E Martin, T Goswami, M Rothery

Rio Tinto’s Hunter Valley Operations is a large open pit coalmine situated in the heart of the Hunter Valley in Australia. The Riverview West Pit has faced increasing production challenges in recent times due to decreasing dragline strike lengths and increasing environmental constraints on vibration, overpressure and fume generation. Conventional mining techniques would involve five to six production blasts per strip to recover multiple coal seams. Each blast event carries the risk of exceeding the strict environmental requirements. By working collaboratively with Orica, it was realised that the blasting method known as Stratablast™, in conjunction with advanced computer modelling techniques, could provide productivity gains whilst simultaneously providing more control over the environmental effects and the impact on nearby infrastructure.As a result of this change, the number of blasts per strip was reduced to one, with the implication that a great deal of care and forethought was needed to manage the increased challenge posed by multiple constraints in the proposed mining area. This innovative approach of combining throw and stand-up blasts allowed the extraction of all major coal seams in a single pass blast event. The blasts were initially designed with a large factor of safety to stay within environmental limits as they were over 1.1 km in strike length, with more than 800 holes and with a total charge weight of about 1000 t of bulk explosives. Furthermore, there were conflicting priorities around the desired blast outcomes. So far, 11 such blasts have been designed and successfully fired. After each blast, innovative design changes have been iteratively implemented to provide further control over environmental impacts, whilst continuing to improve productivity. As a result of these changes, blasts have progressively increased in complexity with the inclusion of features such as damage zones, mid-splitting, time gaps and different directions of firing. The consequence of this complexity is that the blast duration can be as long as 28 seconds to accommodate all components of the blast.This project has increased the productivity of the Riverview West Pit through blast design improvements and allowed the environmental impacts to be managed with far more control and predictability than would have been possible under a conventional blasting regime. There still remains room for further optimisation of mine productivity and this is being addressed through a process of continuous improvement.CITATION:Goswami, T, Martin, E, Rothery, M and Genge, D, 2015. A holistic approach to managing blast outcomes, in Proceedings 11th International Symposium on Rock Fragmentation by Blasting, pp 645–654 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Aug 24, 2015

By Tom BoBo, Seth Gering, Jeff Loeb

Presenting a D&B feedback loop built on a well-designed blast, proven fragmentation analysis and blast monitoring solutions, underpinned by technology that not only increases profit from every blast, but also increases a mine’s purchasing power over one of the most expensive part of the process – explosives.

Feb 1, 2020

By K. Sample

Slope stability analysis plays an integral role in the design of various mining applications including waste dumps, heap leach piles, solution ponds, and tailings dams. Generally, limit equilibrium analysis using one of the several prevalent approaches is considered adequate. The density, saturation, and shear strength parameters of the materials forming the slope affect the failure mode and the calculated factor of safety (FS) against sliding. These parameters are generally based on laboratory tests. Field practices and construction procedures are often not completely simulated in the laboratory for various reasons (e.g. equipment limits, time and budget restraints, etc.). This paper presents a holistic assessment of slope stability analysis as practiced in mining applications, using example data from multiple heap leach projects. A sensitivity analysis is presented for variations in material properties, data interpretation, and computation methods. For each step in the design process, the possible variations in parameter values were identified and then used to perform traditional and probabilistic stability analyses. This simple, cradle-to-grave-type approach is used to evaluate the reliability of an example design, and the combined impact of multiple uncertainties on the factor of safety. Example Study The issue of addressing uncertainty in geotechnical design has been discussed in depth by numerous authors (Duncan 2000; Christian 2004; Whitman 1984; Christian et al. 1993). One may ignore the uncertainties involved in a design, take a conservative approach, rely on observational methods (Peck 1969), or attempt to quantify the uncertainty. Geotechnical projects in general, may include a combination of these methods. For important structures, such as heap leach pads, it is critical that sources of uncertainty in the stability analysis be acknowledged early on and considered in the overall design approach. As with any project, economics and other physical constraints, such as space limitation, often do not always allow for an overly-conservative, robust design. In an effort to quantify uncertainty and provide a sense of level of confidence in the safety and reliability of a design, probabilistic methods have been developed and implemented in many slope stability software packages. Reliability methods are often used in the design of open pit mine slopes, but not as commonly in designing heap leach pads and waste dumps. As an example, the stability analysis of a copper heap leach project is presented here to evaluate the effects of multiple sources of uncertainty and differing methods of data interpretation. Some of the parametric values, or the variation therein, are assumed on the basis of actual data from multiple heap leach projects, included in the paper as well. A generic representation of the example case study is shown in Figure 1. As depicted in the cross-section, the ultimate height of the design is 114 m (measured from the crest to the toe). The overall slope of the heap leach pad is 1.88 horizontal to 1 vertical (1.88H:1V), or 28°. The slope benches are considered in the overall slope. The example leach pad is founded on alluvial, colluvial and residual soils overlying weathered limestone. The ore to be placed on the pad is characterized as poorly graded gravel (GP) with average fines content (percent passing #200 sieve) of 4%. The liner subgrade is low permeability (fine) soil. The cover or the drainage material, placed directly above the geomembrane (between the liner and the ore), is crushed ore in this case. The phreatic surface was assumed to be 1 m above the base liner, which is what the collection system over the liner is typically designed for. [ ] In heap leach pads, typically, Linear Low Density Polyethylene (LLDPE) or High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) is used as the base liner. The decision is based on the elongation, strength and other requirements of the application as well as economic considerations. In this example study, the base liner was 80-mil single-side textured LLDPE. FIELD INVETIGATION AND SAMPLING When selecting appropriate values for the input parameters of the stability analysis, the level of uncertainty in the data and the assumptions that are made must be clearly identified and considered in the design. This concept has been emphasized through an extensive number of publications regarding geotechnical uncertainty and reliability (Christian et al. 1994; Duncan 2000; Christian 2004). The primary source of uncertainties involved in slope stability analysis for mining applications is inadequate geotechnical investigation, often lacking in a thorough assessment of in-situ material characterization and sampling disturbances. To emphasize this point, some background information is presented here. The tradeoff between the costs of a thorough site investigation versus the risks of design uncertainty has long been a challenging management decision in geotechnical projects. For mine sites, significant investment is typically made in exploration and estimating mineral resources and the geology of a mine site is often more thoroughly documented than other types of geotechnical projects. Nevertheless, the engineering properties of the soil and rocks relevant to slope stability receive less emphasis. Baecher and Christian (2003) observed that the areas of geotechnical concern, such as slopes and waste disposal facilities, are usually associated with mine costs rather than revenue, and therefore, significantly less money is devoted to their site characterization and laboratory testing. The expenditure for site investigations varies significantly from project to project, with higher levels of uncertainty and, therefore, the

Jan 1, 2009

By R M. Krek

The haulage system used to convey ore from an underground mine to a surface stockpile at the mine process plant is a vital component of the mine’s overall infrastructure and economic viability. The system selected has a significant impact on the set-up of the mine and the access to the underground mine. In turn, the set-up of the mine and the access to the underground mine have a significant impact on the system.A number of haulage technologies are available to transfer the ore from the underground workings to the surface stockpile, including hoists, conveyors, rail and trucks.This paper focuses on the shaft hoisting and inclined conveyor haulage technologies. These technologies have been used consistently to deliver ore from at depth and/or at high tonnage. Previous reviews of the appropriate vertical haulage systems have nominally been restricted to the respective systems only, with no consideration for any other scope or issues that may affect the selection. The selection of the appropriate vertical haulage system, whether shaft hoisting or inclined conveying, needs to consider numerous key factors.CITATION:Krek, R M and Northcote, A E A, 2014. A holistic viewpoint for selecting the vertical haulage system – shafts and conveyors, in Proceedings 12th AusIMM Underground Operators’ Conference 2014 , pp 289–296 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Mar 24, 2014

By H Arvidson, Rondinelli Sousa, Nic Pollock, Cesar Carrasco, Boz Elloy

Global public mineral reporting codes have driven strong governance of public disclosures of minerals information. Recently, we have seen an increase in disclosure of information related to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues, and governance of ESG information in mining companies has arguably reached a similar level of governance and diligence afforded mineral reporting. We define Resource Governance as the conjunction of environmental, social and minerals governance. A modern systems approach to Resource Governance, which combines mineral and ESG information, would provide not only reporting and governance capability, but also has the potential to sense/respond, predict, and manage ESG risks.

Feb 1, 2024

By V. Labiouse, F. Orellana

"Hollow cylinder samples can be tested for both the characterization of rock properties and the physical modelling at reduced scale of engineering applications. Particularly, this type of experimental setup can be used to simulate different stress conditions around underground openings, as already developed in the petroleum engineering field e.g. to study the instabilities around deep wellbores during either drilling or the oil production phase. Some authors have also used this technique to successfully characterize the damaged zone around underground openings in the tunneling engineering field looking for an efficient design of their support.This article presents a new hollow cylinder testing device developed at the Rock Mechanics Laboratory of the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland. It allows a full and independent control of the confining pressure and pore water pressure conditions at both the inner and outer boundaries of Thick-Walled Hollow Cylindrical samples. In order to mimicking a tunnel excavation in a porous rock mass, after initial recovery of the in-situ stress and pore water pressure, the hollow cylinders are subjected to a decrease in the internal confining pressure. Moreover, X-Ray Computed Tomography scans of the specimens are performed through the testing cell before and after the mechanical unloading to monitor the displacements undergone and the sample damage. The equipment, testing procedure and data analysis techniques are briefly presented in the paper.The good performance of the apparatus has already been checked on weak rock specimens, among others on Boom and Opalinus Clay samples. In many configurations, the mechanical unloading is found to induce a Damaged Zone (DZ) around the central hole. Its geometry and extent show a great similarity with in-situ observations around tunnels driven in the Boom and Opalinus Clay formations. Such similarities contribute to increase confidence in the understanding and modelling of the ongoing processes."

Jan 1, 2015

By James P. Sloss

A PERMANENT assay office is commonly established as part of the general plant equipment of operating gold and silver properties, but during the development stage of a mine, the cost of such an office is usually so assay work must be done elsewhere. In most instances only a few samples will be taken each day, but if the mine is to be developed scientifically, the analyses of those samples will guide further development. Under such circumstances, the time element in assay returns is important, since the lapse between the taking of the samples and the receipt of results may determine the success or failure of a small-mine operator. The following description of fur-

Jan 1, 1935

By T. S. Taylor

THE development of the linear hot-wire anemometer has been chiefly clue to the efforts of L. V. Kings1 and A. E. Kennelly and H. S. Sanborn.2 The anemometers used by these investigators consisted essentially of a fine heating wire having attached leads for resistance measurements at distances of 10 or more centimeters from each other. In using such an anemometer, the current is measured that is necessary to maintain the resistance of the wire, between the two leads, constant for different air velocities. Thus resistance is always so chosen that the temperature of the heating wire will be sufficiently high to make the observations practically independent of small variations in the temperature of the gas in which the anemometer is placed. The measurement of the resistance of the anemometer wire requires a Kelvin bridge set up, which for commercial work is not altogether desirable. The cooling effect clue to different air velocities depends on the temperature difference between the wire and the gas and the total quantity or mass of gas passing the wire per unit tine. Since the temperature of the wire is maintained constant, the effect observed in the change in the heating currentfor a given change in air velocity is a measure of the difference between the gas flow in the two cases. Such an anemometer, therefore, measures the average gas flow for a length depending on the distance between the two resistance leads. Therefore the instrument in the form used thus far is not very satisfactory for measuring gas velocities in small tubes or in places where the velocity varies rapidly across the line of flow. For the purpose of measuring gas flow through relatively small tubes, where the velocity changes rather rapidly across the tube, the hot-wire anemometer has been modified in the manner shown diagrammatically in Fig. 1. It consists essentially of a platinum heating wire H about 0.007 in. (0.178 mm.) in diameter and ½ to 1 in. (12.7 to 25.4 mm.) long stretched across a suitable framework, say of glass. This wire has

Jan 9, 1919

By T M. Campos, H A. Petit, L M. Tavares, R Olympio

Much practical experience has been gathered in the last 30 years of application of high-pressure grinding rolls (HPGR) integrated with ball milling in size reduction of fine iron ore concentrates. The company Vale S.A, in Complexo de Tubarão (Brazil), was one of the pioneers applying the technology prior to pelletisation with an outstanding size reduction energy efficiency in the circuit and a significant increment in the specific surface area of the product. Recent studies by the authors demonstrated benefits of modelling and simulation to improve the performance of HPGRs in this particular application, with the model being able to describe HPGR performance under different operating conditions and under variations of feed size distribution. Despite these important advances, this modelling approach has only been used offline and under steady-state conditions. The present work applies the modified Torres and Casali model proposed by the authors in pseudodynamic simulations. The ability of the model to predict the characteristics of the product in real-time is evaluated using data available online for the pellet feed preparation circuit. Results demonstrated the model capabilities to map the physical operation and give a realistic representation of the process. Additionally, the model is demonstrated to be able to support the pellet feed production by providing extended real-time information of the process, making it a useful tool for improvement of the operational strategies and process stability.

Aug 24, 2022

By Fathi Habashi

"On August 3, 1888, German Patent No. 43977 entitled ""A Process for the Production of Aluminum Hydroxide"" was issued*. The discovery which led to the patent was made by the Austrian chemist Karl Josef Bayer (1847-1904) (Fig. 1) who was at that time in Russia, and the process became known as the Bayer Process in his honour(1)(2)- The process imediately achieved industrial success, displacing the pyrometallurgical process that had been used until that time to produce alumina. The Bayer Process involved the pressure leaching of bauxite with NaOH solution to obtain sodium aluminate solution from which aluminum hydroxide was precipitated by seeding. Today bauxite is not only the principal source of aluminum but also of gallium, both metals being effectively recovered by the Bayer Process. The purpose of this paper is to outline the historical background of this discovery and its importance to hydrometallurgy."

Jan 1, 1999