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By D. N. Madge

A description will be given of an approach to plant process automation based on the strategy of first developing an information system followed by later development of process models. The advantages of this approach over the unit process control will be outlined. Some insight will be given into the risks associated with this method. These risks can be shown to be primarily economic.' Some reference will be made to two Cominco installations in the interests of illustrating the generality of the information systems approach.

Jan 1, 1972

By Mariana H. Staia

Thermodynamic calculations based on the free energy minimization method were performed for the system Ti-Fe-Mn-0-C1-C in order to evaluate the chemistry associated with the chlorination of an ilmenitic concentrate using CCl4. In the calculations various weight ratios of FeTi03/ CC14, a , were considered, which varied between 0.32 to 0.98 at temperatures ranging from 673 K to 1273 K , at atmospheric pressure. The results obtained indicated that the operating conditions for a process in a packed bed reactor, which implies the chlorination of both Fe and Ti, are 0.39 < a < .49 at T 1173 K.

Jan 1, 1993

By Industrial Research Office

"The U.S. Bureau of Mines established on August 15, 1983, the Generic Mineral Technology Center for Respirable Dust within the Mining and Mineral Resources Research Institutes (MRIs) at The Pennsylvania State University and West Virginia University in association with participating MRIs at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Minnesota. The Center's research program has been developed with recognition of the stated objective of the Federal Mine Safety and Health laws which is to ""... permit each miner the opportunity to work underground during the period of his entire adult working life without incurring any disability from pneumoconiosis or any other occupation-related disease . . . ."" The Center's program is designed to permit an accelerated attack on the fundamental research problems for the control of respirable dust in mines.The primary goal of the Center is to reduce the incidence and severity of respirable dust disease through advancing the fundamental understanding of all aspects of respirable dust associated with mining and milling and the interaction of dust and lungs. The Generic Technology Center's research program explores these concerns with the objective of refining existing strategies and developing new respirable dust control techniques that are consistent with the fundamental dust-lung interaction processes that lead to mine worker disability. The work concentrates on: (1) control of dust generation; (2) dilution, dispersion and collection in mine airways; (3) characterization of dust particles; (4) interaction of dust and lungs; and (5) relationship of mine environment, geology, and seam characteristics to dust generation and mobility. The fundamental aspects of this work are applicable to the control of respirable dust problems in both hard rock mines and coal mines and to other dusts such as diesel-generated. The Center activities involve the training of engineers and scientists, graduate students and undergraduate students through their respective institutions, and the technology transfer to the industry. The Center also serves as the reference center for publications' in the respirable dust area.The Center is composed of faculty from the four universities/institutes listed above. The personnel, facilities and equipment that are available to the Center from these entities are diverse, complementary and comprehensive. More than fifty scientists, engineers; and medical personnel in the Center are engaged in respirable dust research. Additionally, the expertise and facilities of the NIOSH--Division of Respirable Disease Studies are available as a result of the existing relationship between NIOSH and West Virginia University.The breakdown of the dust research program into the five areas mentioned above recognizes the importance of an integrated fundamental research approach to the respirable dust problem compatible and complementary with the existing and ongoing U.S. Bureau of Mines activities. The specific projects in the research areas are a result of a careful evaluation of the past and ongoing research activities, the identification of areas where data and information are scarce, and awareness of the recommendation of the National Academy of Sciences Study on the Measurement and Control of Respirable Dust. Penn State is the administrative unit for the Center. Funding to date is nearly $6.5 million."

Aug 31, 1989

By R Markoski, P Grealish

The requirement for rapid vertical development for underground ventilation is often a factor when dealing with dynamic mine plans, with short vertical developments being used to optimise ventilation systems. In an effort to increase the safety and efficiency of the constructions, a simple and effective sinking methodology is required that is both adaptable and repeatable. A modified shaft construction methodology is proposed that attempts to minimise risk to the personnel as well as be cost-effective. Readily available equipment is used to ensure adaptability to the various environments and shaft parameters.One of the greatest risks of shaft sinking is having personnel working suspended over open cavities or underneath suspended loads. Removing this risk, by ensuring all construction is done from solid ground, allows for safer sinking operations. As the process is repeatable, familiarity and confidence in its construction sequence will increase with each successive sink.A trial sink is performed with a 3.6 m diameter, 20 m deep shaft. The shaft was excavated using a conventional strip-and-line philosophy, with the shaft then being lined from the collar via the use of large diameter corrugated steel culverts. The annulus between the steel culverts and shaft excavation is then filled with a concrete mixture to secure it in position.The new process was successful, with no personnel at any time during the process being suspended above an open excavation. The installation had relatively low capital and operational costs and was completed faster than an equivalent, conventional concrete-lined shaft construction. Therefore when compared to conventional shaft-sinking methods, this process can be considered safer, more efficient and relatively cost-effective.Further research is required to determine whether this method can be expanded to larger vertical developments.CITATION:Markoski, R and Grealish, P, 2014. A new method for rapid vertical development of underground ventilation shafts, in Proceedings 15th Australasian Tunnelling Conference 2014 , pp 603–606 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Sep 17, 2014

By AIME AIME

THE week, of April 5 will long be remembered by those that attended the Birmingham meetings of the Open-Hearth and Blast Furnace committees of the A.I.M.E. Iron and Steel Division. Birmingham iron and steel own received the 450 delegates with open arms; described and discussed their southern metallurgical practices and problems and compared experiences with their northern brother metallurgists in two days of technical sessions on Wednes-

Jan 1, 1937

By Tony P. Suckling

This paper describes an investigation into the bleeding behaviour of bentonite slurry observed on a trial diaphragm wall panel. The bleeding is thought to be due to the bentonite experiencing a chemical reaction leading to settlement of the solids within the fluid, possibly as a self-weight consolidation process. The trial panel was constructed in a busy airport environment where many different chemical products are used for de-icing the aeroplanes, runways, apron areas, vehicle access and pedestrian routes. The relationships between slurry contamination, bleeding, bentonite hydration time and filter loss behaviour were examined as no relevant published literature could be found. The results show that the amount of bleed strongly depends on both the degree of contamination and the hydration time. It is concluded that bentonite fluids should be allowed to sit in the storage tank for at least 24 hours after mixing, and that the filter loss test is a quick and effective method to determine the potential for bleeding of contaminated slurries.

Jan 1, 2011

By C. Strachan

This paper presents an evaluation of tailings dam incidents from the 1994 USCOLD Tailings Dam Committee report. Comparisons are also made with water storage dam incidents from USCOLD reports and recent tailings dam incidents. The evaluation results show that tailings dam incidents are due to a number of factors including overtopping, static and seismic instability, seepage and internal erosion, and foundation conditions, and that no particular type of tailings dam or operational condition is more susceptible to incidents. In addition, the results confirm that tailings dams should be located, designed, operated, and reclaimed with a thorough knowledge of site conditions, mill operation, site monitoring, and tailings characteristics.

Jan 1, 1999

By B Vorster, T Medhurst, A Huey

Roof conditions at Oaky North Mine can be prone to stress related damage and/or time dependent degradation. The ability to identify these areas prior to mining has proved challenging using traditional methods. To help alleviate this situation, a study was initiated to investigate methods for roof characterisation using geophysical logs. This involved the use of neutron log data to provide an indirect measure of the proportion of carbonaceous/micaceous laminae present in the immediate roof strata. Detailed analysis of the shale–porosity inter-relationships arising from this analysis provided a means to estimate the proportion of laminations for a given roof interval. This paper outlines the process and how it was used to improve the current GSR modelling and hazard mapping process.

Nov 29, 2022

By Jefferson Caponero

The tire is an expressive component of Municipal Solid Waste, manly when its occupied volume is considered. Its treatment by pyrolysis stands for a list of advantages, such as: landfill releasing and a production of a high quality fuel. The exploitation of new natural resources is becoming more difficult each day, basically due to the environmental damages caused by this type of activity. This work presents a study on the thermal behaviour of Brazilian tires using thermogravimetric analysis and differential thermal analysis, in order to optimise the pyrolysis process of tires. Samples of I to 2 mm were investigated at atmospheres of nitrogen, argon, oxygen and mixtures of these gases at temperatures up to 1273K, under heating rates between 1 to 50 Klmin . The results showed that the behaviour of each sample is related to both the atmosphere composition and the heating rate.

Jan 1, 2001

By Julien Favre, Akihiko Chiba, Damien Fabregue, Yuichiro Koizumi, Eric Maire

"The mechanical behavior of Co-20Cr-15W-10Ni alloy is studied by compression tests at high temperature. Microstructures after deformation are evaluated using SEM-EBSD. Significant grain refinement occurs by dynamic recrystallization for high temperature and low strain rate (T>1100°C, <0.1s-1), and at high strain rate (~10s-1). Dynamic recrystallization is discontinuous and occurs by grain boundaries nucleation, leading to a necklace structure. The nucleation mechanism is most likely to be bulging of grain boundaries. However, recrystallization occurs also by rotation of annealing twins which can bulge as well. The modeling of mechanical behavior gives a fair quantification of flow softening due to dynamic recrystallization, indicating the progress of dynamic recrystallization with deformation.IntroductionCobalt-chromium alloys are used in biomedical applications for the elaboration of implants due to their outstanding mechanical properties and their high resistance to corrosion. For stent application a large ductile behavior is required in addition to the high mechanical strength. Indeed stents have to undergo a deformation until e˜40% during their expansion [1]. Conventional Co-Cr-Mo (CCM) alloys exhibit limited ductility (maximal deformation about e˜30%) [2]. Co-Cr-W-Ni (L-605) alloy is a better candidate for stent elaboration since its fracture strain can exceed 40% (comparable to nickel superalloys (Figure 1), while it keeps high mechanical strength. In spite of the presence of nickel element in this alloy, biocompatibility is sufficient for vascular implants, therefore L-605 alloy is extensively used for heart valves and stent elaboration [3]."

Jan 1, 2012

By T. Hollingsworth

The Boddington Gold Mine, located near Perth in Western Australia, has recently completed the construction of a new process plant. An overland conveyor system was installed to convey the ore from the primary crusher to the process plant. This paper will discuss the overland conveyor?s mechanical design including dynamic analysis and the selection of primary mechanical and electrical components.

Jan 1, 2010

By Lev Malytin, Alexander Dyachenko, Roman Kraydenko

"A new method of processing beryllium raw materials based on interaction of beryllium mineral with ammonium fluoride was developed. Possibility of extracting ammonium tetrafluoroberyllate from bertrandite and phenakite minerals is proved. The developed technology allows replacing the outdated sulfate technology developed by Materion Corporation. INTRODUCTION Beryllium is a strategic metal, which is produced only in three countries: the USA, China and Kazakhstan. The world production of beryllium amounts to only 300 tons per year. More than 75% of the world beryllium production is manufactured from oxide beryllium ores in the USA by Materion Corporation. In Russia there is a large-scale beryllium ore deposit «Ermakovskoye» containig over 1 million ton of ore. Concentration of beryllium in ore amounts to 1,2%. Since the mineral base of ore is calcium fluoride, the sulfate technology of Materion Corporation cannot be used. After alloying and sulphuric acid leaching the fluorine-ion found in fluorite and beryllium together evolve into the aqueous phase. At the stage of Be(OH) precipitation fluoride-ion prevents complete isolation of beryllium into the phase of hydroxide, which increases the loss of beryllium. A new ammonium-fluoride method for processing high-fluoride beryllium ores has been developed at Tomsk Polytechnic University. The ammonium-fluoride method involves fusion of ammonium fluoride (NH4HF2) with a beryllium concentrate. The concentrate containing 10% of beryllium oxide and 25% of calcium fluoride is produced by flotation from the ore of Ermakovskoe deposit. The main component of the ore concentrate is fluorite CaF2, which does not react with NH4HF2. Beryllium in this concentrate is represented by two minerals: phenakite Be2(SiO4)2 and bertrandite Be4[Si2O7](OH)2. Ammonium fluoride, unlike sulfuric acid, does not react with calcium fluoride and is not consumed for decomposing the mineral base of the concentrate. Ammonium fluoride is an accessible and environmentally safe reagent, worth up to $ 1,200 per ton. The total amount of ammonium fluoride is recycled and is used for decomposing a new batch of beryllium concentrate."

Jan 1, 2018

By Lev Malytin, Alexander Dyachenko, Roman Kraydenko

"A new method of processing beryllium raw materials based on interaction of beryllium mineral with ammonium fluoride was developed. Possibility of extracting ammonium tetrafluoroberyllate from bertrandite and phenakite minerals is proved. The developed technology allows replacing the outdated sulfate technology developed by Materion Corporation. INTRODUCTION Beryllium is a strategic metal, which is produced only in three countries: the USA, China and Kazakhstan. The world production of beryllium amounts to only 300 tons per year. More than 75% of the world beryllium production is manufactured from oxide beryllium ores in the USA by Materion Corporation. In Russia there is a large-scale beryllium ore deposit «Ermakovskoye» containig over 1 million ton of ore. Concentration of beryllium in ore amounts to 1,2%. Since the mineral base of ore is calcium fluoride, the sulfate technology of Materion Corporation cannot be used. After alloying and sulphuric acid leaching the fluorine-ion found in fluorite and beryllium together evolve into the aqueous phase. At the stage of Be(OH) precipitation fluoride-ion prevents complete isolation of beryllium into the phase of hydroxide, which increases the loss of beryllium. A new ammonium-fluoride method for processing high-fluoride beryllium ores has been developed at Tomsk Polytechnic University. The ammonium-fluoride method involves fusion of ammonium fluoride (NH4HF2) with a beryllium concentrate. The concentrate containing 10% of beryllium oxide and 25% of calcium fluoride is produced by flotation from the ore of Ermakovskoe deposit. The main component of the ore concentrate is fluorite CaF2, which does not react with NH4HF2. Beryllium in this concentrate is represented by two minerals: phenakite Be2(SiO4)2 and bertrandite Be4[Si2O7](OH)2. Ammonium fluoride, unlike sulfuric acid, does not react with calcium fluoride and is not consumed for decomposing the mineral base of the concentrate. Ammonium fluoride is an accessible and environmentally safe reagent, worth up to $ 1,200 per ton. The total amount of ammonium fluoride is recycled and is used for decomposing a new batch of beryllium concentrate."

Jan 1, 2018

By V. K. Gupta

A detailed experimental study of the variations in grinding rate with particle size, particle load, ball diameter, ball load, mill diameter, and mill speed was carried out for a soft cement clinker and a hard cement clinker. The effects of the ball diameter, ball load and particle load were observed to be material (hardness) independent, and those of the particle size, mill diameter and mill speed to be material dependent. A sharp change in the grinding behavior was observed for both the clinkers at about 150 µm size. Below this critical size: (i) the hardness difference between the two clinkers became insignificant, (ii) variation in the grinding rate with particle size became markedly more pronounced, and (iii) mill speed had little or no effect on grinding rate. The importance of these results in the context of process optimization and control is discussed.

Jan 1, 1987

By H. E. Rudi

The advent of open nit mining permitted the development and processing of minerals never before thought possible. New equipment was needed; new techniques were devised; new methods were called for. This development and acquisition of new techniques, methods and equipment did not, however, stir the souls of our industry and educational leaders sufficiently to a recognition of the problem of people, especially the future development of the people needed in open-pit mining. The people problem has been and will be with us as long as there are two of them. The development of people will be required for the same reason. The problem of developing future personnel for open-pit mining is not what must be developed; that is known to all of us and can be briefly stated ashore and better of everything." As I see it, the real problem lies in determining (1) what personnel are really critical, (2) why are they critical and (3) how can we develop them.

Jan 1, 1965

By J. B. Stephenson

The Bureau of Mines, under an interagency agreement with the Department of Energy (DOE), investigated the feasibility of hardfacing the critical surfaces of valves and similar devices by chemical vapor deposition. The purpose of this research was to increase the wear resistance of these components for use in the abrasive and erosive environment of coal gasification units. Tungsten and molybdenum coatings were produced on nickel-plated carbon steels and stain-less steels by hydrogen reduction of the metal hexafluoride at 325° to 600° C. Titanium nitride coatings were produced on low-carbon steels by the reaction of titanium tetrachloride, hydrogen, and nitrogen at 1,000° C. Titanium carbonitride coatings were produced on low-carbon steels by the reaction of nitrogen, hydrogen, and methane at 900° C. Tungsten, molybdenum and titanium nitride coatings were formed on 6-, 10-, and l2-inch (0.15-, 0.25-, and 0.30-meter) ball valve seats for evaluation in the low-Btu coal gasification pilot plant at the Morgantown Energy Research Center, Morgantown, W. Va.

Jan 1, 1979

By Patrick R. Taylor

Glass is used for immobilization of radioactive and hazardous wastes due to its durability and ability to accept a variety of waste constituents into its network structure. Alternative high temperature vitrification techniques have the advantage of increased throughput, increased waste loading and being applicable to variable and heterogeneous waste streams. However, the increased processing temperature places further concerns on the increased volatilization of contaminants, and increased corrosion and erosion of me Iter components. A database of melt properties at higher temperatures, such as partitioning, viscosity, density and electrical conductivity, in the temperature range of 1400-20000 K are being developed.

Jan 1, 2000

By B. R. Rakishev

Balanced development of mining works at all the benches of a working zone by use of the excavator-automobile complex is achieved by transition to the technology of the bench excavating with cross panels by the two-sub-bench scheme with the changing levels of the working platforms (is patented in Kazakhstan). In deep quarries realization of this technology will allow to reduce the current volumes of the stripping ore excavation by 10?15 % and more, to increase the opened reserves of minerals by 20?50 % to decrease volume of mining-capital works for construction of stripping excavations by 2?4 times and to provide efficient use of powerful excavator-automobile complexes.

Aug 1, 2013

By R. M. Kleine

In the fall of 1968, Sheridan Geophysics leased the Renzy Mine property 50 miles northwest of the town of Maniwaki, Quebec. A 500-tpd flotation mill was dismantled at Belleterre, Quebec, trucked into the mine over a winter road and re-erected during extreme winter conditions. Approximately one billion gallons of water were removed from Renzy lake to expose the orebody. A 3,000-hp diesel generating plant and a self-supporting community were set up during the early part of 1969. This was a remark-able achievement considering that most of the work, including the pouring of foundations and the draining of the lake, had to be done during the winter months. Despite this, the project was completed ahead of schedule and one million dollars below budget. The mill is now treating an average of 800 tpd.

Jan 1, 1970

By B Howard, M Jones, D Pershke

"Current closure objectives and criteria are often difficult to achieve and are not delivering value for money outcomes at closure. Current mine closure processes tend to focus on rehabilitation and revegetation of landform structures to as close to premining condition as possible, rather than focusing on the functions of those structures and values they provided. Because mining has highly disturbed the environment, premining conditions and vegetation are often not achievable and objectives and criteria aimed at achieving close to these conditions have been shown to be very costly.The authors have developed a broader approach to developing mine closure plans that is based on environmental risk and gaining post-closure social, environmental and economic value. We think the focus should shift from trying to return the original landscape to returning functions and values provided on- and off-site. If it is not possible to return values on-site in a cost-effective manner, investment should be provided to deliver equivalent values elsewhere.This process can provide better stakeholder acceptance, deliver better environmental outcomes on the tenement and within the catchment and significantly reduce costs, whist fulfilling closure obligations.This framework should enable closure teams to: focus on the functions and services that are important to achieve as outcomes post-closure, rather than a focus on revegetation and replacing the premining biophysical structure engage meaningfully with stakeholders regarding closure outcomes and link outcomes to stakeholder values conduct transparent option evaluations that enable stakeholders to clearly understand the costs and benefits associated with each option and to participate in dialogue on option selection.We present examples of how the framework could be applied to identify alternate closure options that achieve equivalent value outcomes while reducing the costs of closing the mines.CITATION:Howard, B, Pershke, D and Jones, M, 2014. Achieving better mine closure outcomes for less money, in Proceedings Life-of-Mine 2014, pp 615–620 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne)."

Jul 16, 2014