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By F. Crundwell, N. Steenekamp

"The leaching of sulphide minerals generates a significant amount of energy. There are three systems that might be used to remove this energy. These are: cooling coils, quench water, and flash recycle. Flash recycle is the recycling of slurry from the autoclave to the feed tank. Heat is removed in this arrangement when the slurry at elevated temperature and pressure is flashed to atmosphere, releasing steam. The slurry is returned to the autoclave at lower temperature, resulting in cooling. The cooling is directly proportional to the steam released from the recycled slurry. Design equations and results for the flash recycle system are presented. A fourth proposal for removing heat is to recycle slurry from the back of the autoclave. These four alternatives not only remove the heat, but also have an effect on the leaching efficiency. Amongst the four alternatives, design calculations indicate that the flash recycle option is the optimal solution in terms of leaching efficiency and heat removal, and recycling product from the back of the autoclave is the worst. In spite of its efficiency in terms of heat removal and leaching, the implementation of the flash recycle system is limited to a few operations in the platinum industry.INTRODUCTIONIn considering ways to improve leaching operations, focus is placed on the chemistry, on the kinetics, the agitation and perhaps even on the gas mass transfer conditions. Attention is less frequently placed on the removal of energy from these reactors and how this might limit performance.The pressure leaching of sulphides releases a significant amount of heat. For example, the reaction for the leaching of chalcocite, Cu2S, given by"

Jan 1, 2012

By T Niitti, J Turunen, P B, A Rinne

In todayÆs marketplace, with high metals prices, many operations are faced with the challenge of improving recovery in the particle size ranges which are normally difficult to recover. This presentation focuses on the various methods used to alter the flow dynamics in a mechanical flotation cell, thereby improving metallurgical results. Modern computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tools have been used in the design phase, with subsequent validation at the plant. Some of the validated variables include mixing profile, power draw and local air hold-up. This presentation underlines how modern CFD analysis can be used to screen and select different approaches before commencing costly trial-and-error experiments at plant scale. Two methods of affecting flow dynamics are discussed û firstly, by altering the geometry of the rotor-stator area and, secondly, by fitting additional features in the tank. The rotor-stator area can be modified to provide more concentrated turbulent kinetic energy or, respectively, to provide more pumping efficiency with less attrition. The tank can be fitted with various additional features, aimed to create different particle suspension profiles. The benefit of both methods is that they can be applied not only to newly installed flotation technology, but also to existing plant cells, thus enabling potential improvement in the mixing profiles, solids suspension, tank sanding and metallurgical performance. Results of several sitesÆ tests are discussed in terms of flow variables measurement as well as metallurgy. This paper demonstrates the effects of different flow dynamics on the mixing profiles and metallurgical results of existing mechanical flotation cells.

Jan 1, 2006

By Bern Klein, Randy Blaskovich, Reem Roufail

"Morphology is a tool that is rarely used for mineral breakage mechanism evaluation. Ground particles are typically assessed for their size distribution. They are also visually analyzed using image analysis. However, image analysis is not a comprehensive evaluation of the particle surface texture. It evaluates particle’s size parameters such as area, diameter, and perimeter amongst other features. On the other hand, morphology analysis takes the particle assessment to another level of detail. Morphology analysis evaluates particles’ roundness, elongation and angularity that would indicate the degree of roughness of the particle. According to Roufail and Klein (2009), rougher surfaces are generated due to breakage along grain boundaries – intergranular breakage. Mill operation, particularly mill speed, dictates the dynamics in the mill. Stirred mills are known to break the particles via abrasion under standard operation. However, if the dynamics of the grinding media in the mill are changed, the particles could be more exposed to impact and compression loading that would lead to a different mode of breakage.In this paper, the effect of material properties and mill operating conditions on particle morphology will be studied. Hard non-sulfide versus soft sulfide minerals are compared, namely quartz and galena, respectively. Extreme mill speeds are tested covering the range of 1000 to 2000 rpm for a 4-litre Netzsch (ISA) mill. In addition to particle size distribution, micro-analysis is executed in the form of morphological analysis using a tested manual roughness point counting technique.INTRODUCTIONGrinding in general and stirred milling in particular are processes that are used to break particles to liberate metal-bearing minerals for further separation downstream. The energy required to achieve the target particle size versus maximum possible liberation has been studied intensively and it is usually the breaking point for the grinding system chosen in a process flowsheet. Operating conditions are dictated by the energy consumption. Becker et al. (2001) related different forms of energy such as input, specific, volume/mass specific energies to stress intensities and final product fineness. Other research studies focused on energy input in a stirred mill (Zheng, Harris and Somasundaran, 1996)."

Jan 1, 2011

By G N. Musafer, M H. Thompson, R C. Wolff, E Kozan

The most important aspect of modelling a geological variable, such as metal grade, is the spatial correlation. Spatial correlation describes the relationship between realisations of a geological variable sampled at different locations. Any method for spatially modelling such a variable should be capable of accurately estimating the true spatial correlation. Conventional kriged models are the most commonly used in mining for estimating grade or other variables at unsampled locations, and these models use the variogram or covariance function to model the spatial correlations in the process of estimation. However, this usage assumes the relationships of the observations of the variable of interest at nearby locations are only influenced by the vector distance between the locations. This means that these models assume linear spatial correlation of grade. In reality, the relationship with an observation of grade at a nearby location may be influenced by both distance between the locations and the value of the observations (ie non-linear spatial correlation, such as may exist for variables of interest in geometallurgy). Hence this may lead to inaccurate estimation of the ore reserve if a kriged model is used for estimating grade of unsampled locations when non-linear spatial correlation is present. Copula-based methods, which are widely used in financial and actuarial modelling to quantify the non-linear dependence structures, may offer a solution. This method was introduced by Bßrdossy and Li (2008) to geostatistical modelling to quantify the non-linear spatial dependence structure in a groundwater quality measurement network. Their copula-based spatial modelling is applied in this research paper to estimate the grade of 3D blocks. Furthermore, real-world mining data is used to validate this model. These copula-based grade estimates are compared with the results of conventional ordinary and lognormal kriging to present the reliability of this method.CITATION:Musafer, G N, Thompson, M H, Kozan, E and Wolff, R C, 2013. Copula-based spatial modelling of geometallurgical variables, in Proceedings The Second AusIMM International Geometallurgy Conference (GeoMet) 2013 , pp 239-246 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Sep 29, 2013

By Wendell R. Peters

Shallow underground voids resulting from early coal mining and other resource recovery activities over the past several decades are now being recognized as a significant cause of ground subsidence problems. Uncertain knowledge of abandoned coal mines also imposes potential hazards in current mining operations since water inundation or the release of methane gas is a serious hazard when mine excavation operations break into an abandoned mine. Requirements for detecting and mapping subversive man-made tunnels in previous work has led to the development of a surface- operated automatic earth resistivity survey system and associated computer data processing system for military applications. Field demonstration tests of this system have resulted in successful detection of tunnels at depth-to- diameter ratios greater than ten to one. Under the sponsorship of the Bureau of Mines, a similar high-resolution earth resistivity system was designed and constructed for use as a potential means of detecting coal mine workings. The hardware and software aspects of the new system are described together with applications of the method to the survey and mapping of abandoned coal mine workings. Field tests are presented showing the detection of both air-filled and water-filled mine workings.

Jan 1, 1981

By W. Breytenbach

Traditionally, dithiocarbonates (xanthates) have been the preferred collectors for the flotation of platinum-bearing sulphides. However, collector development has led to trithiocarbonates (TTC), which have proven to be very effective bulk sulphide collectors. The interest in TTC flotation behaviour is currently focused on the interaction of these collectors with other collectors, specifically the dithicarbonates. Batch-flotation research has shown synergism to exist among dithiocarbonate, dithiophosphate and trithiocarbonate collectors. Increased sulphide recoveries, both for the first-minute and final concentrate, were realized using mixtures of these collectors relative to the standard.

Jan 1, 2003

By C Roche, G M. Mudd

The Morobe Province of central Papua New Guinea (PNG) has been mined for gold for nearly a century, although it is only in the past decade that large-scale modern mining commenced. The Hidden Valley gold-silver project began construction in mid-2006 and production by August 2009, and is located in the mountains above Wau in the headwaters of the Watut River. The mine is owned and operated by the Morobe Mining Joint Venture (MMJV), which also owns the Wafi-Golpu project, comprising the Wafi gold deposit and Golpu copper-gold deposit, situated in the Watut River Valley. Together they represent a potential mine of the scale of Ok Tedi or Bougainville or bigger. The MMJV is owned in equal shares by Newcrest Mining from Australia and Harmony Gold from South Africa. Although Hidden Valley was the first large-scale mine in PNG to engineer and build a tailings storage facility, poor environmental management during construction and early operations led to significant erosion of waste rock and sedimentation impacts throughout the ~200 km length of the Watut River. Since then, substantial efforts have been made to improve environmental management, especially waste rock placement and storage and water quality management. While the impacts from the Hidden Valley project appear to be reducing, the saga has heightened concerns by many along the Watut River and across PNG about ongoing impacts from mining.This paper presents the results of an ongoing project in the Morobe Province conducted by the Mineral Policy Institute examining the historical, current and future impacts of mining, including community views, social and environmental impacts and the monitoring and regulation of mining. Overall, there is a clear need to more fully integrate social and environmental issues into life-of-mine planning and go above and beyond regulatory requirements. In this way, some of the lessons learnt – by the community, MMJV and government – can be incorporated before, during and long after mining.CITATION:Mudd, G M and Roche, C, ?2014. Mining in Morobe, Papua New Guinea – impacts, assurance and self-determination, in Proceedings Life-of-Mine 2014 , pp 313–336 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 16, 2014

This paper examines the feasibility of combining network modeling and computational fluid dynamics for modeling of underground mine ventilation systems. Both simulation methods have specific advantages and disadvantages for analysis of mine systems. Network modeling is widely utilized by many operations and allows for assessment of current systems and simulation for planning purposes. Alternatively, CFD has been utilized only marginally by operations and is typically a research tool, requiring considerable computational power, complex models, and careful analysis and calibration of results. Network modeling allows for a holistic approach to the ventilation system, giving quantity, velocity and pressure in every branch, but CFD modeling can resolve the flow regime in 2-D or 3-D, which is idea when examination of an area on a more detailed basis is useful, such as dust and gas control. Integration of the two can allow for more flexible systems analysis. The feasibility of integration, along with application to limited underground mine data are examined.

Feb 23, 2014

By Rudolph H. Jacobson

The leaching of heaps or sub-marginal waste ore dumps as it is practiced throughout the Southwest as well as other parts of the world, is the major method of secondary recovery of copper. In 1970, twenty percent of all domestic copper was produced by dump leaching operations (l). In recent years, this method has been successfully extended on a limited scale, for the recovery of uranium from low-grade ores (2). It is inevitable that this technique will be increasingly employed in metal production to satisfy the insatiable demand of our mineral based society. Although dump and heap leaching has been used effectively for some time (3) , its application has been more of an art than a science. Therefore, it is essential that we learn about the important factors and parameters affecting this versatile process so that we may make increasing use of this technique in the future. The dump or heap leaching process encompasses the preparation of ore for-subsequent inplace leaching, the flow of solutions and ionic species through porous rock masses, the leaching of minerals with inexpensive and, if possible, regenerable lixiviants under prevailing conditions of the inplace environment, and the recovery of metals from the pregnant liquors. It is evident that this comprehensive scope of dump or heap leaching falls under the realm of interdisciplinary science and engineering requiring the application of the principles of physics, mineral engineering, hydrology, computer modeling, operations research, economics, and allied disciplines. An exhaustive study of the phenomenology of a leach dump or heap requires detailed knowledge of the simultaneous interaction of'

Jan 1, 1972

By M. Bouchard et G. Martineau

In the Chibougamau area, a large portion of the glacially tranported boulders which were deposited at the surface were later partly remobilized by the waters of Glacial Lake Ojibway. In the dispersal studies of these boulders, it is sometimes difficult to discern the effect of this reworking process. In addition, depositional processes in the lake contributed material to the original block deposits through the formation of boulder lag by littoral wave action and through direct sedimentation in the form of deltaic deposits. In spite of these complicating factors, dispersal studies at carefully selected sites which were unaffected by the above processes make it possible to unravel the general patern of glacial dispersion. In this study, indicator lithologies of the Albanel and Chibougamau formations were used. They give a coherent image of dispersal throughout the area showing transport toward the southwest. Considering the particular geological context of the region, and in view of the extensive mineral exploration studies which are being carried out, the results of this study are encouraging for the tracing of source areas of glacially transported mineralized boulders.

Jan 1, 1984

By Clyde E. Williams

DESPITE the confusion resulting from the depression and the beginnings of recovery, important progress in all branches of iron and steel metallurgy has been accomplished during the year 1933. Research work has been intensive and highly technical, with increasing attention paid to fundamentals. Plant application of research developments has been rapid. Highly specialized laboratory methods were used for the study of iron-ore concentration methods. More attention has been given by the blast-furnace operator to the sizing of ore and the elimination of fines from the charge by the use of sinter. Combustion in the open-hearth has been placed under better control and the insulation of open-hearth furnaces has spread rapidly, with resultant higher fuel efficiency and better control of the melting and refining operations. Control of iron oxide content in the slag and the determination of iron oxide and other inclusions in steel received great attention during the year.

Jan 1, 1934

By Margreth Tadie, Chalwe Chibwe

Physicochemical properties of copper electrolytes are a strong fundamental consideration in electrodeposition processes during electro-purification and recovery of copper. Their influence extends to mass transfer as well as energy consumption during the electrodeposition process. In this study, the influence of electrolyte composition on electrolyte physicochemical properties was investigated to review the existing literature data. This review of data is considered necessary as more and more electrowinning models are being developed for process prediction and optimisation and a need of such data is required for accurate prediction of physicochemical properties. The major components of importance to the formation of smooth high-quality and high-purity copper cathodes at optimum current efficiency are considered the species in solution. These include Cu ions, Fe ions (major impurity), H2SO4, and a smoothing agent additive. A 5-factor, 2- and 3-level experimental design was employed to determine the effect of copper (35 and 45 g/l), sulphuric acid (160 and 180 g/l), iron (1, 3, and 6 g/l), polyacrylamide additive (2, 5, and 10 mg/ l), and temperature (45 and 55 °C) on electrolyte density, conductivity, and the diffusion coefficient in synthetic copper electrowinning electrolytes. The major species in a copper electrowinning electrolyte are found to be the most relevant for prediction of physicochemical properties. These results indicate that relatively simple empirical models are sufficient for modelling of the electrolyte domain in electrowinning, without the need for the generation of vast amounts of complex experimental data.

Feb 1, 2021

By Messervey, J. P.

NOVA SCOTIA is sharing in the rapid advance of the mining industry that is one of the remark- able features of Canada's recent progress. The production of coal and gypsum has increased rapidly, and there has also been a marked development in the mining of gold, salt, zinc, copper and other minerals. Coal, the basis of the principal mining industry in the Province, was discovered by the early explorers on the shore of Cape Breton Island, and used by the garrison at Halifax as early as 1749. The first government record shows total annual sales amounting to 1668 long tons in the year 1785, while last year production was 6,643,000 long tons. The principal mines are discussed in a separate paper by Alexander L. Hay1.

Jan 1, 1928

By J. H. Nixon

A three phase program evaluated commercial proximity warning devices, developed and designed a microprocessor-based electrostatic field measurement instrument, and utilized this instrument to investigate the electro-static fields about power lines. The Phase I program consisted of test and evaluation of these commercially available proximity devices. The evaluation results were reported in the Phase I report entitlted "Evaluation of Proximity Warning Devices II dated 22 February 1980. The Phase II program resulted in the design and development of a microprocessor-based Distributed Sensor A.C. Electrometer which measures the electrostatic field present at 17 discrete locations along a crane boom. Operator control of the measurement system allows simultaneous electric field measurements from 17 probes, print out of the electric fields measured, and data archiving on magnetic tape for post measurement analysis. Under the Phase III program, electro-static fields around a crane boom were measured by the instrument at 17 high voltage power lines of various voltages and geometries. The electric field data was processed and plotted versus boom distance from the power line. Analysis of the electric field data indicate that the distances at which a single sensor alarm will activate, vary by a factory of 3 to 1. This is due primarily to variations in boom orientation. The results also indicate that in the case of multiple power lines, a single electrostatic field sensor cannot reliably be used to determine the distance from a power line.

Jan 1, 1982

By Jim Henry

I would say mainly the cost. I showed only 3 cases. One of them was the one that Allen just described and there were two other cases. In those cases it was fairly easy to develop a solution using limited mobility grout to treat the soft soils suitable for the limited bearing pressures required by the structures. LMG readily provided a fairly reliable system for the foundation support at a reasonable cost.

Feb 10, 2003

By Donald B. Gillies

PROBABLY the most critical and difficult period in an engineer's career is that between the completion of his college work and his attainment of professional recognition and accepted status in the industrial world. Upon leaving school the young graduate breaks his immediate ties with his educational institution and in a sense finds himself adrift. At this time in his life a society like our Institute has both the responsibility and the privilege of meeting a vitally important need in his professional life. Some of these young men are Student Associates, in the year after graduation, and some are Junior Members, but all need advice and assistance. In some respects this situation will be accentuated by the war. Not only will thousands of young engineers be mustered out of military service but the process we describe generally as industrial reconversion will make necessary many readjustments in personnel. About two years ago the Institute recognized the opportunity of helping the younger member to help himself by appointing a new standing committee to be known as the Committee on Professional Development of Junior Engineers. Herbert Hoover is Honorary Chairman and it is my privilege to serve as Chairman. The name of the Committee is not entirely satisfactory but it expresses the general objective. The present article is in the nature of a progress report of the work of this Committee.

Jan 1, 1945

By Brommerm Tracey, Britt Elin Gihleengen, Elsa Olivetti, Hans Ole Riddervold, Randolph Kirchain, Geir Øyen

"Compositional uncertainty in secondary materials and variable processing conditions inhibits secondary material utilization in the production of aluminum alloys. Efforts to implement optimization models that direct batch planning have limited industrial presence due to factors such as the insensitivity of these optimization models to dynamic plant circumstances. This paper describes a chance constrained model formulation that generates lower cost, robust batch plans with significant flexibility towards changes in processing conditions. The principal attribute of the chance constrained formulation is its inherent mitigation of risk by diversifying the batch plan. This paper compares aluminum remelter batch planning using the chance constrained formulation with a traditional deterministic model and a manual batch planner. With the expectation that volatile material prices, restricted scrap material availability, and pressure by consumers and legislation for increased recycled raw material input will continue in the future, batch planning tools that inherently diversify a production portfolio will become increasingly advantageous for industrial aluminum remelters.IntroductionAluminum remelters must develop strategies to incorporate lower cost secondary materials into finished alloys to remain competitive amidst increasingly demanding market and regulatory conditions. Determining the optimal combination of incoming raw materials to produce an alloy that meets compositional specifications presents remelters with a complex problem that has driven the development of computational tools commonly referred to as batch planning or blending algorithms. The ubiquity of the ingredient or raw material blending problem in production has motivated ongoing development of batch planning algorithms since the classic nut-mix problem in the 1950's [1]. The most common model formulation for industrial aluminum remelters are deterministic, linear optimization programs [2]. These blending problems determine the optimal combination of raw materials by minimizing cost subject to constraints around demand, availability, and compositional specification. Despite extensive research and moderate computational requirements, batch planning algorithms are inconsistently used in industry. Insufficient incorporation of the complexity of real world remelting conditions into these models provides an obstacle for their implementation [3]. For example, many batch planning algorithms do not explicitly incorporate the impact of compositional variation of the raw materials on overall batch cost. Additionally, they do not allow for endogenous specification of tolerance to error in batch planning, so provide little flexibility where a batch planner would like to incorporate materials of greater uncertainty. Incomplete accounting for quality variability undervalues secondary materials leading to overly conservative use [ 4, 5]."

Jan 1, 2011

By M. J. McPherson

Having worked on the thermodynamics of air/liquid-water mixtures passing through the surface fans of deep mines, I find this paper of great interest and congratulate the authors on producing it. There are two matters, however, deserving discussion. First, the authors have described the classical theory of fog formation with fogging occurring at "supersaturation." In fact, the process of fog formation begins well below 100% humidity. The more strongly hygroscopic nuclei in the atmosphere will attract water molecules and begin to grow at a relative humidity perhaps as low as 70%. The process is a dynamic one with both condensation and evaporation taking place throughout the mixture on microscopic liquid surfaces. As saturation is approached, the rate of condensation accelerates rapidly producing the familiar reduction in visibility. Hygroscopic nuclei are present in all natural atmospheres and under the appropriate conditions of pressure and temperature, will produce clean fogs. However, if the air is polluted by particulates from combustion or other processes then the resultant coagulation with growing liquid particles may produce dense (and sometimes photochemical) smogs. It is this process that is likely to occur in underground mines when moist air is cooled below dew point. Second, the authors have summarized very well the individual measures that might alleviate the problem. In particular, I agree that neither heating nor refrigerating the air, by themselves, provides a satisfactory solution. However, there is a combination of these that provides a neat and effective control of fog formation. This involves a small, self-contained refrigeration unit within a duct but without the usual external heat rejection facility. The air is cooled below dew point and, hence, dehumidified on passing over the cold evaporator coils. The heat from the condenser is rejected back into the air down-stream from the water eliminator, as shown in [Fig. 1]. The duct configuration can be designed to create good mixing at the outlet.

Jan 1, 1984

By Zhuokun Cao

Manufacture of aluminum foams still suffer from nonuniformity and poor reproductively for there is lack of basic knowledge of foaming process. In this paper, carbon fibers are used as novel stabilizing additive for aluminum foams, and the structure evolution of aluminum foams with different fiber content was studied. A laser rangefinder was used to detect the expansion rate of different al foams. Al foam samples are solidified at different foaming time to determine its relative density and cell size distribution. Results indicate that the cell size of foams linearly increases with the decrease of density, and the slope of the line is influenced by fiber content. The relationship between expansion ratio, density and cell size of the foams is discussed. It is concluded that the density of resulting foam is influenced by the rate of gravity driven drainage, and its cell size is determined by expansion ratio and foaming time.

Jan 1, 2010

By N Pranoto, E Lawell, T Dean, M Grant

The Goonyella Riverside Mine is located 30 km north of Moranbah in Central Queensland, Australia. Recent mining activities have exposed the north–south striking Kenya and Zimbabwe thrust Faults. These faults vertically offset coal seams by up to 25 m and locally thicken coal packages through imbrication of coal seams. The presence of back-thrusts add to the geotechnical complexity of maintaining highwall stability. The Kenya and Zimbabwe Faults have provided multiple challenges to the mining operation, with an unplanned additional 240 kt of coal tonnes being mined from imbrication of coals seams or from the refinement to local scale geological models. These additional coal tonnes have been either identified during the mining of the coal seam or just prior to overburden removal above the coal seam. These faults can also negatively impacted highwall stability with highwall failures, lowering the overall slope angle for pit designs and increasing stand-off distances for hazardous highwall conditions. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles are used to scan exposed highwalls and enable geological mapping via high-quality 3D images. Measure while drill data from drill and blast rigs can provide local-scale intersections of the faults and coal seams. Mine Geologists utilise these and other data sets to create localised geological models refined position of the fault planes and coal seams. These models are utilised by relevant mine site teams to ensure the safe and efficient mining of coal around these faults.

Mar 22, 2022