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Compagnie Minière Espérance mines a primary gold orebody in an openpit. The ore is processed through crushing, primary gravity concentration, grinding and secondary gravity separation, generating tailings with remaining fine gold. Analysis of the material in the pond has indicated a residual gold grade sufficient to justify a chemical treatment process to recover the gold. However, direct cyanidation would require a prohibitively large installation for the site, which is located in a remote rainforest environment. It was decided to test the feasibility of preconcentration using flotation. As lab tests proved up the technical feasibility of the flotation process, an on-site pilot operation was carried out to assess the continuous circuit performances, define the best configuration and obtain enough data for industrial circuit sizing. Data collected during the pilot campaign was used for calibrating a process simulator built with the USIM? PAC software. The simulator validated the feasibility of upgrading the existing plant, including the reprocessing of tailings to obtain an acceptable fine gold recovery from a small amount of concentrate.

Jan 1, 2010

By Frank Cook

In this two-year study, an evaluation of mining and reclamation practices at 159 randomly sampled surface coal mines in the United States was conducted. It is concluded that reclamation practices in most of the 22 coal-producing states were adequate during 1975, but that improvement in reclamation performance was desirable in the acid area of the central U. S. and in mountainous southwestern Virginia. Productivity improvements should result from research to determine efficient or optimal operating procedures for dragline stripping of single and multiple seams, surface mining of lignite, multicut and multiseam haulback mining on steep slopes, mountaintop removal, and surface mining in swampy or deeply glaciated areas. Specific candidate research projects are discussed in this report.

Jan 1, 1976

By James F. Fraser

Construction of a major linear project in any environment is difficult, at best. Construction of a major linear project which includes major subway elements, both cut and cover and tunneling, in the center of an urban environment, approaches the impossible. I believe such a project would be impossible for a private company or a privately owned utility for a variety of reasons. The major two reasons are the funding necessary for such massive projects and the myriad of individual interests associated with private ownership of land. Such projects are possible in the public sector only because the need for the project... as is the case with mass transportation in Atlanta. . .overrides the profit motive. Without the profit motive, private companies, whether utilities or not, are precluded from practical interest in the development of any project. While it is safe to conclude that a profit-oriented business would have no practical interest in developing such massive projects as may include major tunnels, it would be useful, I think, to compare some of the significant differences between private profit-oriented businesses, and an agency, or Authority, such as MARTA, in building a major linear project. SLIDE 1. Comparison of a Private Company and a Public Agency [Item Private Company Public Agency Simplified To make a profit To provide a pre Purpose scribed service]

Jan 1, 1979

MR. SHUBART: Mr. Miller's paper mentioned the two processes that seemed to be a success, the Smith process and the Piron process. I suppose the main difference is this, that Smith's process is to furnish domestic fuel and the by-products while the Piron process that Ford is installing is for fuel for power plants. I would like to ask Mr. Miller something about the commercial cost of the process. With the briquette you must make it cheap enough to sell. What are the commercial possibilities of Smith's briquette? MR. MILLER: It is pretty hard to say what the cost would be at this time, owing to the fact that slack has advanced double, or even more at the time I was in New York with the plant, but at that time it was costing $1.10 for the operation. You can add to that, of course, the cost of the coke. One dollar and ten cents was the entire cost of plant operation. It takes about one and one-half tons of coal to make a ton of briquettes. One dollar and ten cents takes care of all the material, cost, labor, handling, etc. Labor was much cheaper then. I would say it would cost about $2.20 now. The cost of coal is what you can buy it for on the market. I don't think, however, that the carbocoal process will ever meet with any great favor for the simple reason that it is really a prepared fancy fuel. It is going to be nice for people in offices where they want a grate or for families where they want a nice clean fuel. It leaves no stain on the fingers, no odor to it. It seems in carbonizing coal we change the carbon molecule. For instance, we are all familiar with the diamond. It is carbon, yet it requires a tremendous heat to burn a common little diamond. But you can set a piece of charcoal afire, which is also carbon, with a match. The molecular form has been changed in carbonizing coal, i. e., it is larger. Carbocoal will fire very readily, it can be started with a piece' of paper. I think the Piron process will be the process, i. e., to simply take out the tars and light oils, then fire direct-have the distillate plants right on the job. CHAIR: Can Mr. Shubart tell us something of the mechanical part of the Piron process? MR. SHUBART: The Piron process is of interest because Mr. Ford is taking it up. He has made so few mechanical mistakes it makes us feel that it is a success. Piron is a chemist of high accomplishment and reputation. The thing about the proces is its simplicity. Mr. Smith's is a very elaborate process, but Piron has gotten around all that. Piron feeds the raw coal in at about one-half inch mesh or smaller. He feeds it into a retort about 55 feet long, 16 feet wide over all. He has a hearth about 6 feet wide and the length of the retort. The base of the hearth that carries the coal is a conveyor, a flat cast iron conveyor, a very massive affair, very accurately made, so that there is no loss of coal. Between the upper and lower strands of the ' conveyor is a bath of molten lead which gives an accurate control of temperature. For best results he must have temperature of not under 800 F., not over 1,300 degrees F., about 1,100 or 1,200 F. seems to be ideal for getting greatest yield of oils and the best tars and other by-products. This lead bath has a system of flues running through it that

Jan 1, 1923

This report presents the results of a study of mill tailings disposal practices and potential tailings dam stability problems. Recognizing the long period of time that would be required to develop the technology and practices necessary to significantly improve refuse disposal safety, the Bureau initiated this research effort as a first step in that development. Volume 1 includes a summary of conclusions and recommendations resulting from the overall research effort; discussions of disposal systems and methods, geology, seismicity, hydrology, and materials characteristics; evaluations of investigational techniques; discussions of usable interim generalized investigational, analytical and inspection procedures; discussion of general principles and presentation of a tailings technology manual outline; and discussion of needed future research am recommended programs.

Jan 1, 1974

The 1967 Lignite Symposium was held at Grand Forks, N. Dak., on April 27-28, 1967. This was the fifth of these technical meetings and the fourth which was cosponsored by the University of North Dakota and the Bureau of Mines. These symposia have provided a meeting place where current developments concerning technology and utilization of solid fuels (lignite) are presented. There was a registration of 255 persons from 24 States, the District of Columbia, six Canadian Provinces, Germany, and India. Many segments of coal or energy oriented organizations at many levels were represented. During the meeting, 18 presentations were made covering developments in electrical power generation, mining, estimation of reserves, combustion, gasification, and chemical and speciality uses of low-rank coals; these are com-piled in this Information Circular to provide a record of the symposium and to permit wider dissemination of the information. Proceedings of the other meetings have also been published.3

Jan 1, 1968

By S. Norman Kesten

The Galena mine is located astride the Polaris fault in the Coeur d'Alene district of northern Idaho. The surface installations are about a mile up Lake Gulch, the mouth of which is about 2.4 km (1 112 miles) west of the old town of Wallace. The mine had its beginnings when the first claims were located in the early boom days of the district in the 1880s and when the first underground ore bodies were opened up in 1917. During the ensuing 14 years, ore was mined from which were recovered 5.4 Mkg (12 million lb) of lead and almost 14.2 Mg (112 million oz) of silver. Workings consisted principally of a vertical shaft from surface to the 800 level and an offset underground shaft to the 1600 level, together with extensive lateral openings. High-grade silver-copper ore was discovered near the Silver Standard fault in the Sunshine mine, a few miles to the west, on the 1700 level in 1930. By 1937, the Sunshine and adjacent mines were producing silver-copper ore on a regular basis. In 1943 additional ore of a similar type was found along the Chester fault, to the east of the principal Sunshine workings. The interest of American Smelting and Refining Co. (renamed ASARCO in 1975) was aroused and the company's geologists determined that the Galena mine, idle since 1931, provided a geological environment in which similar ore might be found. After negotiations were initiated with the owners of the property, Callahan Zinc-Lead Co., the property in question was deeded to Callahan's wholly owned subsidiary, Vulcan Silver-Lead.

Jan 1, 1990

By Ellsworth Daggett

THE system of pitwork used with the Cornish pumping engine, and which, for want of a better name, we may call the Cornish system of pitwork, consists essentially of a series of plunger-pumps, situated one below the other, in a shaft or incline, the plungers being operated by a rod called the pitman or pump-rod, which must, therefore, extend from the motor at the surface to the lowest pump. The subject will be best understood by reference to Fig. 1, in which k may be taken as typical of the ordinary plunger-pump, in which S is the suction pipe, u, the lower valve situated in the H piece T; v, the upper valve situated in the valve-box O; I, the mounting-pipe or column through which the water is carried to the surface; L, the plunger-barrel, and P, the plunger working through the stuffing-box, and actuated by the branch rod r, which is attached to the main pump-rod, R. The action of the pump is as follows : On the ascent of the plunger, acting now by suction, the water flows from the reservoir through the valve u, into the barrel, L. On the descent of the plunger, the water is forced up through the valve, v, which acts merely as a check valve, into the pipe, I, through which it is, at each successive down-stroke of the plunger, forced upward until it reaches the next reservoir, from which it is taken by another similar pump, and so on until it reaches the surface or drain-tunnel. The pump is obviously only single-acting, i. e., it acts only during one-half of its entire stroke. The weight of water raised during the up-stroke of the plunger is equal to the weight of a column of water whose base is the area of the plunger and whose height is the mean distance between the plunger-face and the surface of water in the lower reservoir, a distance not usually exceeding 12 or 15 feet, and which obviously cannot under the most favorable circumstances, exceed 25 or 30 feet. The water forced up during the down-stroke is equal to the weight of a column of water whose base equals the area of the plunger and whose height equals the length of the mounting column above the mean position of the plunger-face, say from 150 to 300 feet. Almost all of the useful work, therefore, is done on the de-

Jan 1, 1879

By T D. H McGrath, O Baker, W P. Staunton, C Ypelaan

"The carbon-in-pulp process has been used extensively in the gold industry since the late 1970s to recovery leached gold from solution. Despite more than 30 years of experience in operating carbon circuits, average gold solution loss has remained at an average of 0.02–0.03 ppm (mg/L), higher than the ‘best practice’ target of 0.01 ppm.Process modelling, such as SIMCIL developed by the Curtin Gold Technology Group (GTG), can provide information on optimum set points; however, manual control of the circuit limits the potential benefits.An automated carbon measurement device, the Scout Carbon Meter, has been developed to allow for automation of carbon concentration measurement, and automated control of the carbon transfer pumps. This paper describes the results from the evaluation of the first two prototypes of the meter.Citation:Staunton, W P, McGrath, T D H, Ypelaan, C, Baker, O and Eksteen, J J, 2016. Optimising Carbon Management - Increasing Gold Recovery and Decreasing Costs with the Carbon Scout, in Proceedings 13th AusIMM Mill Operators’ Conference 2016, pp 225–228 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne)."

Oct 10, 2016

By C. A. Rowland

The rising costs for and the possibility for limited availability of electrical energy are emphasizing the continual conflict faced in the selection of comminution circuits used in preparing ores for concentration, namely; capital cost vs. operating cost. Frequently, the circuit with the lowest capital cost is not the most efficient in the use of electrical power and wear resistant materials. The simplest circuit in terms of flow, pieces of equipment and capital cost is the single stage autogenous or partial autogenous circuit used to grinding primary crusher discharge or run of mine ore to the desired product size. (Fig. 1) From this circuit, complexity increases to multi-stage crushing circuits preparing feed for multi-stage grinding circuits. Fig. 2 showing a three stage rod mill ball mill arrangement is an example of a complex grinding circuit. Stage concentration further complicates the flow. Multi-stage circuits being the most expensive to install, often give the greatest operating flexibility and offer the best possibilities for the most efficient use of available power and wear resistant materials. Within available grinding circuits, other comparisons such as high speed vs. low speed mills, grate discharge vs. overflow discharge, metal liners vs. rubber liners, high charge vs. low charge, etc. all add to the conflict

Jan 1, 1977

By Joseph T. Singewald

The possible value of the red hematite iron ore of the southern Appalachian States, if some practicable method of concentrating it could be devised, has long been recognized. The ore is very low grade, and although in enormous quantities, particularly in the States of Alabama, Tennessee, and Georgia, is only at a few points rich enough to work, and even the best of it ranks among the lowest grade iron ores being mined in the United States. A cheap method of beneficiating this ore would make enormous quantities available and vastly increase the iron-ore resources of the country. However, this low-grade ore in effect constitutes a potential iron reserve, and as long as ample quantities of ore can be obtained elsewhere the question of its utilization does not demand immediate notice. Where these ores are in part of workable grade, however, a problem of more immediate importance arises which, from considerations of economy and prevention of waste in their mining, ought to be solved or, at least, attacked as quickly as possible. Where these ores are being worked they are usually intimately associated with lowergrade material that in mining is left behind. The difficulty and expense of going into ground broken by old workings makes the recovery of this lower-grade ore practically impossible and it is lost forever. Success in concentrating the red ores, therefore, would save material that is now being irretrievably lost. The successful largescale concentration of low-grade ore in the last few years on the Lake Superior iron ranges should encourage the attack of similar problems in the Birmingham district. While studying iron-mining methods in the United States for the Bureau of Mines, Dwight E. Woodbridge, consulting mining engineer of the bureau, was impressed with the importance of this problem, and believed it merited the attention of the bureau. Accordingly, Mr. Woodbridge had Mr. W. J. Penhallegon, general superintendent of ore mines and quarries of the Republic Iron & Steel Co., of Birmingham, send the author of this report five samples of the unworkable siliceous ores of the district. The results of concentration experiments with these ores made a more thorough 'and systematic investigation desirable. In consequence, the author subsequently collected samples in the district, and these became the basis of the experimental work described in this report. The results are published by the Bureau of Mines as a part of its efforts to increase efficiency in the utilization of mineral resources. The experiments were conducted in the geological laboratory of the Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md., with the aid of Raymond Leibensperger, mining assistant. The chemical analyses were made by A. C. Fieldner, chemist, of the Bureau of Mines. The author wishes to express his appreciation of the courtesies extended to him by the mining companies of the district, and particularly to Mr. W. J. Penhallegon, of the Republic Iron & Steel Co. Thanks are also due Prof. W. B. Clark, director of the geological laboratory of the Johns Hopkins University, the unrestricted use of the facilities of the laboratory.

Jan 1, 1917

By J. A. Kost

A dust-control manual was prepared for use by mine operations personnel. The manual documents state-of-the-art control techniques, dust sampling, and use of personal protective devices. Content addresses advantages/disadvantages of control techniques, design and operating specifications, and implementation and maintenance guidelines. An indexed list of selected references is also included. In addition to the completed manual, this report documents work performed in the course of its preparation.

Jan 1, 1981

By M. Panayotova

Most of the quantity of the water soluble xanthates, used in mineral flotation, is consumed in the process. However, the residue amounts are water contaminants downstream the mineral processing operations and can be toxic to aquatic biota at concentrations of 1 mg/L. In order to be able to discharge water from tailing ponds to natural water bodies the concentration of xanthates has to be decreased. The present paper studies the uptake of potassium ethyl xanthate by directly modified with copper and lead ions natural zeolitic rock, without passing through zeolite transformation into homoionic form. Modified zeolite exhibits high, comparable with powdered activated carbon of chemical purity grade, capacity to remove potassium ethyl xanthate from model wastewater, with pH in the range of 7?9 and pollutant concentration in the range of 10-150 mg/L. The pollutant immobilization is fast. Both Cu and Pb modified zeolite behave as selective with respect to xanthate in the model wastewater, and Cu-modified zeolite possesses higher selectivity. The equilibrium is best described by the Freundlich equation. Keywords: xanthate, wastewater, modified zeolite

Sep 1, 2012

By A von Johannides, G J. van Hout, L F

In the past various systems have been used to plan the extraction of ore from block cave operations. These systems have varied from rather sophisticated models with empirical ægravity flowÆ rules applied to the very rudimentary models where only the recorded mined tonnageÆs have been accounted for against the available resource. The normal requirement of these models has been to only plan the movement of ground through the drawpoints. Little cognisance has been taken of the other parameters that affect the total mining operations. The intended purpose of the linear program planning system is to not only include the management, resource availability and geotechnical constraints, but to also include the mining rules. The paper will discuss the various constraints that have been considered, and attempt to illustrate where the system better serves the production system than previous ones. A brief technical discussion on the linear programming system is included.

Jan 1, 2000

By F. P. Haver

Because State and Federal agencies have limited the amount of sulfur oxides that can be discharged to the atmosphere, most copper smelters plan to convert the S02 in offgases to sulfuric acid. In some cases, however, it might be preferable to use a nonsmelting method to fix the sulfur in the form of a discardable product. Research by the Federal Bureau of Mines has shown that sulfur in copper concentrate can be converted into insoluble anhydrite (CaS04) by roasting the concentrate with lime (CaO). After leaching the calcine to recover metal values, the residue may be discarded without harm to the environment. The process can use a rougher flotation product, thus reducing separation costs and saving valuable minerals (for example, molybdenite) that are now lost in making cleaner concentrate. In tests, rougher concentrate was pelletized with the theoretical amount of lime and roasted for 1 hour in a 6-1/2-inch-ID by 11-foot-long rotary kiln at 700° C. Sulfur retention was about 97 percent. Leaching the calcine with 20 percent RCI extracted approximately 99 percent of the copper, 73 percent of the iron, and 91 percent of the molybdenum. After the molybdenum was removed from the leach solution by adsorption on activated carbon, copper with a purity in excess of 99 percent was obtained by cementation on sponge iron. The strip solution then could be spray-roasted at 500° C to recover the RCI for recycle and obtain F2O3 as a byproduct.

Jan 1, 1975

By H. R. Hardy Jr., E. J. Kimble Jr., H. W. Shen

"The primary objective of this research project is to study the character of the bit-coal interaction during coal cutting and its influence on the size and shape distributions of the generated dust. Secondary objectives include the investigation of the acoustic emission technique as an indirect method for coal dust characterization and remote bit wear monitoring. The results of the project will be useful in developing efficient coal cutting techniques which significantly reduce the harmful coal dust components, and in providing methods for remote monitoring of bit condition and associated coal dust character. This paper will outline recent experiments carried out on coal under uniaxial compression, linear single-bit cutting, and cutting using a laboratory-scale, single-bit shearer. During the experiments acoustic emission and a variety of other mechanical parameters were monitored. · A commercially available artificial intelligence computer package, namely: JCEPAK (Intelligent Classifier Engineering Package), has been utilized to provide a powerful and objective means for AE waveform analysis. This program is able to evaluate a number of features of each AE event and to make objective comparisons between AE signals associated with different loading or cutting parameters. Finally, the paper will discuss the results obtained from a variety of coal breakage tests.INTRODUCTIONStudies to date clearly indicate that the reduction of the severity, and eventual elimination, of Coal Workers' Pneumoconiosis (CWP) depends on gaining fundamental understanding in a number of major areas. These include dust generation and entrainment, transportation, suppression, medical effects of dust and possible treatment. At present a project is underway by the authors to investigate the character of the bit-coal interaction during coal cutting and its influence on the size and shape distributions of the generated dust. An important aspect of this on-going project is the development of acoustic emission (AE) criteria which will make it possible to carry out remote monitoring of coal cutting operations. Suitable on-line analysis of monitored AE data would allow engineers to evaluate factors such as shearer bit condition and cutting efficiency, and to quantify the particle size and shape distribution of the generated dust. The on-going AE studies are fundamental in form and were undertaken to evaluate the general feasibility of AE monitoring techniques using simplified coal cutting procedures. This paper will outline recent experiments on coal under uniaxial compression, linear single-bit cutting, and cutting using a laboratory-scale, single-bit shearer. Additional information on these studies are presented elsewhere [4]."

Dec 1, 1996

By F. P. Haver

A method to recover copper and elemental sulfur from chalcopyrite concen¬trate, using a ferric chloride leach, CuFeS2 + 3FeCl3 ? CuCl + 4FeCl2 + 2S, was reported by the Federal Bureau of Mines in 1971 (Report of Investigations 7474). Since that time, additional work has been done to improve certain steps in the procedure; that is, the recovery of sulfur from the leach residue, the recovery of copper and iron from the leach solution, and the regeneration of the leach solution. It was determined that over 99 pct of the elemental sulfur in the leach residue could be extracted at ambient temperature with an ammonium sulfide solution. Heating the pregnant solution precipitated crystals of rhombic sulfur (99.5 pct purity) and liberated ammonia and hydrogen sulfide for recycle. Copper with a purity in excess of 99 pct was obtained from the leach solution by electrolysis, using a diaphragm cell, with an energy requirement of less than 0.7 kW-hr/lb. Metal was deposited as a weakly adherent powder that could be easily dislodged from the cathode and withdrawn continuously from the cell in the form of a slurry. During electrolysis, part of the Fe(II) was oxidized to Fe (III) at the anode so there was no chlorine evolution. The leach solution was regenerated by direct oxidation of the spent electrolyte with air or oxygen in a turboaerator at 80° C. This precipitated the iron dissolved during leaching in an easily filterable form, Fe203.xH20, and converted the remaining Fe(II) to Fe(III).

Jan 1, 1975

This paper discusses the requirements for a successful simulation modelling study, and the steps involved in the modelling process. Advantages and disadvantages of simulation are described, and a case study highlights how not to go about it. Two other case studies, for a decline truck haulage and a block caving production operation, are used to illustrate the types of variables whose impact may be investigated. Typical results are presented to indicate the sorts of presentation styles the author has found useful for conveying study results to project sponsors. Standard spreadsheet charting techniques can be very useful in this respect, but the possibilities are limited only by the imagination of the study team.

Jan 1, 2000

By O Omidi

Selection of delay times to optimize fragmentation has been a controversial topic among researchers and blasting practitioners. This paper reviews previous experimental information and presents the results of new tests conducted in small blocks constructed using a commercial grout. The effect of the delay on the average fragment size, coarse fragmentation and uniformity of fragmentation is discussed. Fragmentation was coarser at extremely short or extremely long delays, while a fairly constant average size was obtained at a variety of intermediate delays. Uniformity, defined as the slope of the fragmentation distribution through the average fragment size, was poor at short and very long delays and relatively constant at the intermediate delays. Some tests attempted to minimize the effect of gas penetration by lining the boreholes with copper tubes. When this was the case average fragmentation changed marginally, while uniformity was significantly affected by delay and was typically smaller than in the unlined tests.

Jan 1, 2014

By G. Bonifazi

Mining activities belong to human history, they are lost in the mists of time. They usually impact on large portions of the territory, both directly (exploitation areas and logistic activities directly related to exploitation) and indirectly (exploited material handling, processing and storage areas). As a result, at the end of mine life cycle, dismissed areas usually cannot be directly re-utilized without efficient and well addressed rehabilitation actions. Main goal of the proposed approach was to analyze the results obtained when a set of procedures, based on the collection and the analysis of remote sensed data, is developed to evaluate the effect of rehabilitation of land contaminated by extractive industry activities and to perform a monitoring and registration of the environmental impact of such operations by the application and the integration of modern information technologies, as Earth Observation (EO) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The study was developed in the framework of the EU-Asia program of the European union (EXTRACT-IT Project-Contract No: CN/ASIA IT&C/006 (89870): Application of Information Technologies for the sustainable management of Extractive industry activities) and it was addressed to three different dismissed mine areas in India, Thailand and China, respectively. The results, in terms of methodologies selected, strategies applied and results obtained, are described with particular reference to Fuxin coal mine area in China.

Jan 1, 2014