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By I. Iwasaki, K. A. Smith, X. Cheng

The reaction mechanism for the cathodic decomposition of pyrrhotite in deoxygenated solutions at natural, near neutral pH levels was studied using potential and cyclic voltammetric measurements. Reaction products on the pyrrhotite surfaces were examined by Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES), by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and by analyzing the voltammograms for the electron balance of the reactions. Surface properties of the pyrrhotite/solution interface were characterized using an ac impedance technique. The parameters of an equivalent circuit were determined by the nonlinear least-squares fit (NLLSF) technique. The effect of cathodic polarization on floatability was investigated by performing microflotation tests. Possible implications to the flotation separation of chalcopyrite-pyrrhotite ores are discussed.

Jan 1, 1995

By A. K. Anyimadu

Ongoing development work on ultra-fine grinding for various applications at the Group?s concentrators has been conducted by Anglo Platinum over the last few years. Current potential applications for mainstream grinding and concentrate grinding are the subject of a group-wide research and development programme. The first 10 000-litre 2.6 MW IsaMill was jointly developed by Anglo Platinum, Xstrata Technology and Netszch for installation at the Western Limb Tailings Re-treatment project in Rustenburg, South Africa. The unit was commissioned in late 2003/early 2004, and has operated in an intermediate concentrate regrind application successfully since. This paper describes the operational performance to date, as compared with the original duty specifications and objectives. The first mainstream M10 000 IsaMill with a 3 MW drive will be operational in November 2006 at the Potgietersrus Platinum (PPL)?Platreef? Sandsloot Concentrator in South Africa?s Limpopo Province. Keywords: Western Limb Tailings Re-treatment Plant, IsaMilling, Platreef, platinum, palladium, PGMs, tailings.

Jan 1, 2007

By Dimas Henrique Barros Andrade, Roberto Abreu Alencar

O algaraviz é uma parte importante do sistema de sopro de um Alto-Forno, utilizado para direcionar o sopro e combustíveis injetados para a ventaneira, por conseguinte o interior do forno. O algaraviz consiste em uma caraça metálica revestida de material refratário com resistência ao calor e uma camada de isolante térmico entre o refratário e a carcaça. Falhas em serviço de algaravizes costumam a gerar grandes danos materiais, financeiros e com grande risco à vida dos operadores, por isso o controle e inspeção da integridade estrutural e térmica dos algaravizes é de suma importância. A inspeção nos algaravizes é realizada a fim de se detectar precocemente pontos quentes que são indicativos de falhas estruturais no algaraviz. Portanto este artigo foi feito um modelo numérico de transferência de calor, a fim de se averiguar as condições do algaraviz, de forma a verificar se o algaraviz em condições normais de operação mantem as condições térmicas. O modelo revelou resultados satisfatórios de forma que em comparação com resultados de inspeções em peças em operação se obteve um erro de cerca de 8%.

Oct 1, 2019

By Michael A. Knott

Large lateral forces on bridge foundations due to extreme events such as vessel collisions, earthquakes, and wave forces on storm surges during hurricane events are often the controlling design condition for bridge foundations. A review of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) vessel collision analysis and design codes used in the United States for highway bridges will be presented. The paper includes the background and development of the AASHTO Guide Specification and Commentary for Vessel Collision Design of Highway Bridges (1991) and vessel collision provisions of the AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications (3rd Edition 2004 and the approved 2005 Interims). Experience in using the AASHTO codes will be discussed and observations on the adequacy and gaps, comparison with the European Standard Code, and recommendations for immediate and long term needs will be presented.

Jan 1, 2013

The dissolution of the naturally occurring mineral zircon (ZrSiO4) is examined after ball milling it with magnesium oxide for up to 100 hours in a laboratory mill. There was little effect on the solubility for the initial two hours where size reduction of the zircon was considered to be the dominant effect. Beyond two hours the dissolution increased as a function of the square root of milling time. X-ray diffraction of the powders did not reveal the identity of the soluble phase. However, a nanocrystalline phase was present after milling and this is thought to be the soluble phase.

Jan 1, 2000

The dielectric properties of practically all oxide and sulphide ore minerals are such that they heat rapidly when irradiated with microwaves particularly at the standard frequency of 2450 MHz. The presence of carbon or low rank coal mixed with the minerals still further enhances the heating rate. Amongst the patented technologies being investigated are: (i) the direct reduction of oxides with or without carbon included in the pellets or briquettes; (ii) microwave precursor heating of composites ahead of smelt reduction; (iii) microwave smelting of ore or concentrate mixtures with carbon, sometimes assisted with oxygen. Microwaves appear to stimulate endothermic reduction reactions as readily as they do exothermic oxidation reactions. Being a method of achieving "bulk" heating, composites or columns of ore-char blends rapidly heat throughout rather than from the outside inwards as in conventional heating. The microwaves of themselves do not generate any gas - the only gases to be cleaned are the products of reaction in the composites or blends, plus the products of oxygen smelting. In the case of sulphide composites, depending on the quantity and type of low rank coal or char present, sulphur may be eliminated, and collected, in the elemental form. Furthermore, reactions seem to take place at lower temperatures than in conventional smelting but no doubt at the "points" where actual reactions are taking place the atomic or molecular vibrations are such as to satisfy the laws of thermodynamics. Examples are given of the production of unusual products of smelting sulphide concentrates and also the alloys produced from refractory minerals such as chromite and ilmenite. The techniques have been used to produce products with as wide a range of melting points as relatively pure tin and tungsten-molybdenum alloys. Special equipment is being designed and evaluated for these new fields of pyrometallurgy.

Jan 1, 1989

By G. P. Gladis, R. H. Atkinson

Palladium has been used for jewelry for many years, particularly in conjunction with gold. This use increased in amount during the war, as palladium and gold were only moderately used for war purposes while demands for platinum and some of the other members of the platinum group were so great that their use in jewelry was prohibited. Palladium hardened with a small percentage of ruthenium has the necessary technical properties and appearance for good jewelry, and it is sufficiently rare to be desirable for luxury items—at least I00 times as rare as gold. Although both visual and spectro-photometric examination demonstrated that the color of Palladium was almost the same as that of platinum, a few jewelers found the surface of palladium, even after some polishing, rather dark in areas that had been repeatedly heated during the soldering necessary to assemble certain types of handmade ornaments. This phenomenon is not to be confused with the thin, bluish oxide film that can be produced by heating in air over the range 400' to 800°C., as that film is easily reduced by dipping in warm 5 per cent formic acid or in warm methanol. It was suspected that the difficulty arose from heating in atmospheres that were alternately oxidizing and reducing, as Wise and Vines1 had found that this opened the grain boundaries of palladium and palladium-silver alloys in the same manner as in pure silver, as reported by Martin and Parker.2 This damage is caused by the reaction between oxygen in solid solution in the metal, acquired when heated under oxidizing conditions, and hydrogen diffusing in from subsequent heating under reducing conditions; the steam cannot diffuse out and therefore builds up sufficient pressure to disrupt the metal near the surface. Copper and various other metals can be damaged similarly, but platinum is nearly immune; therefore the problem was new to the platinum jeweler. Sulphur in the fuel gas also can cause trouble but did not appear to be dominant in the present instance. Metallographic examination of both pure palladium and ruthenium-palladium showed that the usual torch using oxygen and city gas as normally operated did in fact cause the surface and subsurface damage that had been observed, and also disclosed that a reducing flame caused more damage than an oxidizing flame and was very damaging even in the absence of any intentional swing in atmosphere from oxidizing to reducing (Fig. 7); besides the surface damage, there was serious loss of ductility. A full explanation of the mechanism of attack is not evident at the moment, but may be allied to the attack that occurs on heating catalytically active metals in nonequilibrium atmospheres.

Jan 1, 1946

By G. P. Gladis, R. H. Atkinson

Palladium has been used for jewelry for many years, particularly in conjunction with gold. This use increased in amount during the war, as palladium and gold were only moderately used for war purposes while demands for platinum and some of the other members of the platinum group were so great that their use in jewelry was prohibited. Palladium hardened with a small percentage of ruthenium has the necessary technical properties and appearance for good jewelry, and it is sufficiently rare to be desirable for luxury items—at least I00 times as rare as gold. Although both visual and spectro-photometric examination demonstrated that the color of Palladium was almost the same as that of platinum, a few jewelers found the surface of palladium, even after some polishing, rather dark in areas that had been repeatedly heated during the soldering necessary to assemble certain types of handmade ornaments. This phenomenon is not to be confused with the thin, bluish oxide film that can be produced by heating in air over the range 400' to 800°C., as that film is easily reduced by dipping in warm 5 per cent formic acid or in warm methanol. It was suspected that the difficulty arose from heating in atmospheres that were alternately oxidizing and reducing, as Wise and Vines1 had found that this opened the grain boundaries of palladium and palladium-silver alloys in the same manner as in pure silver, as reported by Martin and Parker.2 This damage is caused by the reaction between oxygen in solid solution in the metal, acquired when heated under oxidizing conditions, and hydrogen diffusing in from subsequent heating under reducing conditions; the steam cannot diffuse out and therefore builds up sufficient pressure to disrupt the metal near the surface. Copper and various other metals can be damaged similarly, but platinum is nearly immune; therefore the problem was new to the platinum jeweler. Sulphur in the fuel gas also can cause trouble but did not appear to be dominant in the present instance. Metallographic examination of both pure palladium and ruthenium-palladium showed that the usual torch using oxygen and city gas as normally operated did in fact cause the surface and subsurface damage that had been observed, and also disclosed that a reducing flame caused more damage than an oxidizing flame and was very damaging even in the absence of any intentional swing in atmosphere from oxidizing to reducing (Fig. 7); besides the surface damage, there was serious loss of ductility. A full explanation of the mechanism of attack is not evident at the moment, but may be allied to the attack that occurs on heating catalytically active metals in nonequilibrium atmospheres.

Jan 1, 1946

By Orr C. W

Continuing the systematic investigation of the influence of elements on the properties of lead(1). If the effects of additions of copper (up to 0.3%) on Port Pirie lead have now been determined in so far as creep rate is concerned.The results in the present paper contain also a survey of the influence of copper on the micro-structure of lead, a feature which has not appeared in the previous papers of this series. Further, it has now become known that creep is but little related to the more usually determined properties such as hardness and tensile strength. Since, however, these properties are of considerable importance in connection with the fabrication and use of this metal. Brinell hardness determinations have also been made and are here included.It is becoming more and more realised also that to be useful, creep data should refer to stresses of the order of those used in practice. This is due to the fact that as soon as deformation takes place, the properties of the metal are automatically changed. Lead does, of course, creep during industrial use, and probably (in lead chamber construction for example) extensions of the order of 5%...

Jan 1, 1938

By Chris D. Shewmaker

So you want to install 2,600 augered cast-in-place piles, about 155,000 lineal feet, in 33 working days? It can be done. The Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) decided to build a combined cycle power plant in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. PSEG selected Fluor Constructors Indiana, L.P. to design and build the plant. Fluor Constructors, in turn, selected Richard Goettle, Inc. to install the piles. The initial plan was to install the 2,600 piles in 33 days, working six (6) ten hour days per week. After successfully installing and performing four pile load tests - up to 300 ton capacity - we set out to complete the work and meet the aggressive schedule. After three weeks of installing an average of 75 piles a day with three drill rigs, Fluor relaxed the schedule because we were so far ahead of their projected construction sequence. We elected to continue drilling on a ten-hour day, five days a week schedule. In all, we installed nearly 2,800 piles, totaling 175,000 lineal feet, in about 47 days.

Jan 1, 2004

Recent data contributions to New Zealand Mesozoic terrane geology confirm the consensus interpretation thatNew Zealand grew by the progressive addition of material by plutonic and accretionary processes along the Gondwana margin. The data also: 1. emphasise the discontinuous but inter-related nature of these processes of continental growth, 2. better establish a direct Gondwana correlation of the Western Province and probable Gondwana provenance of at least some of the Eastern Province, 3. suggest specific times and places when passive or strike-slip rather than subduction regimes are recorded along the south Gondwana margin, and 4. potentially lead to interpretations emphasising parautochthonous rather than far travelled relationships between many New Zealand terranes.  

Jan 1, 1995

By R. N. Zitter

PRESENT work was done in connection with a program for obtaining a low energy gap semiconductor suitable for photodetection. The inter-metallic compound InSb, which is now being in-

Jan 1, 1959

By V. Kondic, W. M. Rumball

HUNT and Jackson' have recently suggested that binary eutectics might be classified according to the entropy of fusion of the component phases. Such a classification was in fact proposed2 some time ago by the authors and the purpose of this communication is to present some supporting evidence. As pointed out by Hunt and Jackson' typical metals of low entropy of fusion, ?S, tend to form normal eutectics (using Scheil's terminology3). Where one phase is metallic (low ?S) and the other nonmetallic (high AS) then anomalous structures are formed. These anomalous structures may either be regular (e.g., Bi-Sn)or irregular (e.g., A1-Si). Finally Hunt and Jackson suggest that where both phases are of high ?S regular faceted structures are formed. In the proposed classification2 the ratio of the entropies of fusion is taken as the quantitative parameter, i.e., ?Sa/?SB = E, where e > 1.0. An extensive literature survey has been carried out2,4 for reliable photomicrographs of eutectic structures. The structures, numbering 151, have been classified into two classes, viz., normal (i.e., lamellar and rodlike) and anomalous. The latter group has been arbitrarily subdivided into regular and irregular anomalous eutectics. Details and sources of the structures are given elsewhere.2,4 In the absence of better thermodynamic data the value of E has been determined for each of the systems making the following assumptions and approximations: l) The entropy of fusion of solid solutions may be calculated additively;5 ii) Inter metallic compounds are treated similarly but with the addition of the following term for fully ordered structures.5 -4.573(Ni lOg10 Nl + N2 log10 N2) where Nl and N2 are the atomic fractions. It might be argued that the entropies of fusion are meaningless as the eutectic phases form at some temperature (T,°K) below their true melting point (Ta or Tb). As AS, = Lo/To if La the latent heat of fusion of a, is assumed independent of temperature, the actual entropy change AS& is given by La/Te. The ratio of entropies of fusion then becomes Fig. 1 shows E' plotted against cumulative totals for normal and anomalous systems from which it is seen that normal eutectics predominate at low values of E'; e.g., some 90 pct of normal systems lie below E' = 1.5 with 65 pct of anomalous systems above this value. Fig. 1 also shows that the regular anomalous structures occur mostly at low values of c' possibly suggesting growth more akin to normal than anomalous growth. The choice of c as a classification parameter was based on nucleation concepts, it being observed that metals widely separated in Sundquist and Mondolfo's8 nucleation series were anomalous and those close together normal. The basis of these classification views is really outside the intended scope of this communication but it is hoped to explain them fully in the near future.7 Having arrived at this entropy of fusion classification by nucleation considerations it is interesting to note that Hunt and Jackson's ideas are based on growth considerations. Elsewhere one of the authors4 has shown that an even better classification of the metallographic structures reviewed is obtained from purely conventional heterogeneous nucleation concepts. It has been found that systems having a value of the parameter +b less than 0.28 are almost certainly normal and above this anomalous: V, is the gram atomic volume. This parameter is nevertheless closely related to c and c', these being an approximation of p. The parameter is also related to the other classification3,8,9 which have met with any success in the past. All these classifications are to be reviewed shortly by the authorsU7 A significant thing about the classifications based on

Jan 1, 1968

By David De Lemos Pires

Mining is essentially a materials management process where materials are classified, excavated, moved to a desired location, processed at a cost and sold for a price hopefully to generate a profit. ?How much is that cost and can it be reduced?? is the age-old question. The requirement for a paradigm shift with regard to materials movement in search of low-cost production has not just happened by chance but, rather, has been driven by agents of change that include mining companies, consultants, governments and equipment suppliers. During the past 100 years of mining, surface mining technology has involved humans with hand tools, humans with machinery and unmanned automated equipment. In the past 50 years, surface mining technology has evolved and now takes the form of trucks and loaders (TL), in-pit-crushing conveying (IPCC) and autonomous haulage equipment (AHS).

Dec 1, 2013

By Neil H. Brown

Outline ? Cameco - Cigar Lake ? Cigar Lake Mine Development ? MDS #1 ? MDS #1 Improvements ? MDS #2 ? MDS #2 Improvements Pending ? Acknowledgements Mine Development System ? Mining methods tested and developed over the years ? Construction began officially in 2005 ? Water inflow events in 2006 and 2008 ? Successful dewatering and re-entry in 2010 ? Remediation continues ? Production target is mid-2013

Oct 1, 2010

By A. V. Bogdanovich

Until recently, in consideration of fundamentals of gravity concentration theory, all computations have been based on determination of particles? fall velocity in an unrestricted medium (hydraulic size). Meanwhile, gravity separation processes are realized under conditions of particles? restricted fall, when important and sometimes decisive role is played by interacting forces of particles, dependent on their varying size, density and shape, i.e., segregation forces. We have developed devices and methods for measuring segregation velocities of fine particles of various size, density and shape during their loosening in air or aqueous medium. Besides, to exclude influence of medium upward flows, loosening was provided by superposition of vertical harmonic oscillations on measuring cell. It was established, that maximum segregation velocities are observed at certain optimal acceleration values and amplitudes of oscillations; excessive loosening leads to mixing and worsening of segregation. Velocity of some particles segregation through others depends on particles? size, density and shape, as well as nature of medium (air, water). Absolute segregation velocities of particles in air medium may reach 1~2 mm/s, in aqueous medium such velocities are by an order smaller. Analysis of rare-metal sands material gravity concentration results showed, that owing to segregation process during gravity separation, fine-size isometric particles of heavy minerals are recovered into gravity concentrates more actively, than larger ones, but more elongated in shape. It is convenient and simple to estimate mineral grains? shape by extent of their oblongness, described as ratio of particle minimal dimension to maximum. Besides, mineral mixtures gravity separation results are directly related to extent of oblongness of heavy particles, recovered in gravity separation process, and also to root-mean-square coefficient of their shape variation. The performed research showed that particles segregation in gravity concentration process plays not a lesser role, than hydrodynamics parameters, and demands further theoretical inquiry and experimental studies.

Jan 1, 2014

By J. S. Phipps, D. R. Skuse

"Aqueous slurries of fine particle size calcium carbonate are used in a diverse range of end-use products. In many cases, the end use performance is governed by the fineness of the particle size distribution. In turn, the maximum fineness of the particle size distribution is primarily determined by the efficiency of the dispersants used during the production process. Here we report the sodium polyacrylate mediated dispersion of calcite and kaolin. Firstly, we report a colloid chemical description of the dispersant behaviour and attribute the stabilisation to both steric and electrostatic mechanisms. Secondly, we describe how the understanding developed in the first part of the study can be utilised to produce more effective dispersant systems which allow the preparation of, added value, higher solids and finer particle size calcium carbonate slurry products.INTRODUCTIONConcentrated aqueous dispersions of fine, particulate kaolin and calcium carbonate are used extensively in the coating of paper. Currently more than 10 million tonnes of such dispersions are used annually in North America and Europe alone, and worldwide consumption is growing at around 3% per year.Generally, paper is coated to enhance its visual appearance. Firstly, coatings improve the optical properties of the blank sheet, i.e. its brightness (or whiteness), opacity and gloss. Secondly, they improve the physical properties of the sheet that will influence the quality of the final printed image, such as surface smoothness, porosity, and ink absorption. In order to achieve these aims economically, paper coatings must be applied at high speeds and with minimal drying costs.Kaolin and calcium carbonate pigments are the major components of most paper coating formulations. Particle size distributions are chosen to maximise the optical benefits that they confer, and to allow the production of formulations that can be easily pumped, handled and coated. Coating pigments are generally produced and transported as slurries, and so it is important to obtain dispersions with the highest possible solids content, both to minimise drying costs and the quantity of water transported. This paper examines the dispersant technology that is currently used in the industry and the mechanisms by which it functions, and illustrates ways in which this technology has developed and could be further improved in the future."

Jan 1, 2003

By John R. Eckel

A Iaboratory drilling rig has been devised and placed in operation which permits the application of hydrostatic, terrastatic, and formation pore pressures to a rock sample for drilling under controlled conditions. Calibrated rests of this equipment in-dicate qualitative agreerment with field results on the effect of weight on bit, rotary speed, and rate of circ~~lation on drilling rate. Tests under pressure, using water and air as the drilling fluids, indicate that when drilling saturated limestone samples, a pressure differential between hydrostatic and formation pressure is the only pressure which affects drilling rate. A differential in either direction causes a reduction in rate, but the same diflerential from the wellbore into the formation causes the greater reduction. Also, in lime.stone, air favorably affected drilling rote only when compared to water at high hydrostatic pressurre, all other conditions remaining constant. Large increases in drilling rate with air could be obtained in the laboratory only while drilling a shale, which offered a limited permeability to nitrogen and which could be drilled with a differential from the formation into the wellbore. In general, the magnitude of the changes due to the pressure effect were small compared to changes in drilling rate obtainable by changing either bit weight or rotary speed. INTRODUCTION In the course of Humble's drilling research program, the desirability of investigating several factors which lend themselves to laboratory rather than field study became obvious. Principal reasons for this are the expense involved in field studies and the difficulty of exercising the required degree of control. Of primary importance are investigations of the effect of fluid pressure on rock rate, the effect of pressure on rock drillability, and a study of the fundamental mechanics of rock failure and chip generation. Several years ago some work in the laboratory on the effect of mud properties on drilling rate was re- ported to the API', but the completion of this work and the investigation of the other variables affecting drilling rate required equipment somewhat more elaborate than that used on these earlier tests. This equipment has been assembled to form Humble's Drilling Engineering laboratory. To date only the effect of pressure on rock drillability while using water and air has been investigated, and this work is not yet complete. Facilities are available to investigate the effect of fluid properties on rate of penetration, and information is being assembled on a current basis on the mechanics of drilling. The sequence of presentation in this progress report is somewhat different from that in which the data were obtained since the order of ex-

By N. E. Hanna

To be authorized for use in coal mines, explosives and blasting devices must pass certain safety tests prescribed in schedule 1F,3/ on the basis of extensive practical and theoretical research by the Explosives Testing Station of the Federal Bureau of Mines. An explosive or blasting device that passes these tests is placed on the active permissible list. As this list is constantly revised, it has been the practice of the Bureau of Mines periodically to publish the names of explosives and blasting devices that have been added to the active list, as well as those that have been transferred to the inactive list; changes in brand names also are reported. This circular covers all permissibles including additions, transfers, and changes made between December 31, 1945,4/ and December 31, 1951.

Jan 1, 1952

By V. Králová

The TESCAN Integrated Mineral Analyzer (TIMA), an automated mineralogy system, enables fast and quantitative mineral analyses of rocks, ores, concentrates, tailings, leach residues or smelter products. It combines BSE and EDX analysis for identification and measurement of mineral concentrations, particle size distribution, and liberation/locking parameters. In addition, it can provide bright particle searches for PGM, gold-silver ores, and/or REE. With the newly developed Automated Loading System (AutoLoader), the TIMA has become the world?s first automated mineral analyzer which permits robust, continuous and unattended sample loading. With the AutoLoader (robotics) system, the TIMA has emerged as a powerful plant support instrument. It increases the sample throughput, minimizes manual labor and enables 24/7 operations. As such, it can be used in daily, continuous mineralogy for mine geology/ore control, concentrators, leach operations, and smelter support. It will also increase the capabilities of technical service centers for mining companies, commercial laboratories, large drilling programs or pilot test campaigns. In combination with a highly automated sample preparation lab (sizing, potting and polishing), TIMA technology can establish high-throughput and fast-turnaround automated mineralogy lab modules for mine-site production support.

Feb 23, 2014