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By Vladimir G. Kochnev

An innovative AG and SAG technology aimed to be applied in grinding of ores and in the production of construction materials is described. A novel design of a cantilever-type mill capable to operate in autogenous, semi-autogenous and ball grinding mode ensures easy delivery and installation even in remote areas, and low capital and operating costs. Results of the tests of the new heel-shaped liners performed by TTD jointly with ALROSA, MINTEK and Anglo-American Corporation are reported. The approach includes also a novel discharge grid design and a technique of treating the material of critical size. These innovations make grinding in AG and SAG mills dramatically more effective, with an increase in the throughput rate and a reduction in power consumption ranging from 1.5 to 2 times.

Jan 1, 2003

By C. Laird, C. E. Feltner

An investigation into the effect of a material's slip character on its high strain fatigue properties has been carried out using copper and Cu-7.5 wt pct A1 as representative wavy and planar slip mode materials, respectively. In copper, the constant term and exponent in the Coffin-Manson equation, ?EpNf1/2 = const, are unaffected by the temperature of testing or the history of the metal. On the other hand, in Cu-7.5 wl pcl Al, while the exponent is invariant, the constant is increased with respect to copper and increased further with decrease in temperature. The life in Cu-7.5 wt pct A1 is double that of copper at room temperature and about four times at 78°K. Fractoflaphic studies indicate that these diffevences in life are associated with the early stages of cracking. In copper, severe surface rumpling provides crack nuclei at pain boundaries independent of' testing temperature or the history of the metal. In Cu-7.5 wt pct Al, the planar slip mode of deformation prevents grain boundary folding; crack nucleation is therefore mainly transgranular and the increase in life with respect to copper is associated with a prolonged linking-up stage of such transgranulay cracks. At the lower temperature the increased difficulty of cross slip inhibits multiplication of trans-granular cracks and retards the linking-up process, giving a further enhaancement in life. It is expected that such behavior will be found general in materials of wavy and planar slip mode, respectively. STAGE II crack propagation in high strain fatigue takes place by a repetitive process of crack tip blunting in the tension part of a fatigue cycle followed by resharpening of the crack in the compression part.1-3 This mechanism has come to be called the "plastic relaxation process".3 At very high strains (lives to failure less than 103 cycles), most of the life of a specimen is spent in crack propagation by the plastic relaxation process.4,5 Since the differences in the cyclic strain hardening behavior of metals and alloys are comparatively small in this strain range,6,7 the amount of blunting at a crack tip depends primarily on the applied strain amplitude. The rate of crack propagation in this life range is therefore nearly constant with respect to material and temperature of testing. In the longer life portion of the high strain fatigue range (l03 to 103 cycles to failure), a considerable fraction of the lives is spent in crack initiation and Stage I growth. Grain boundaries have frequently4,5,8 been found to be the sites for this growth which is also associated with a surface folding process.4'5 Such folding behavior may also be general in any material having a grain structure and capable of plastic deformation. It has therefore been suggested475 that the universality of the Coff in-Manson law,9'10 constant,* where ?Ep is the plastic strain range and Nf the number of cycles to failure, is reflected in the approximate invariance of both the crack initiation and propagation behavior. It happens that, in most investigations of the phenomena associated with failure,4,5,8 materials with a wavy slip mode have been used as vehicles for the studies, or else "normally" planar slip mode materials have been tested under conditions giving rise to wavy glide deformation, e.g., stainless steels cycled at high temperature.'' The purpose of the present investigation was to determine whether or not different cracking phenomena would occur when the slip mode of a material is planar and if the associated life to failure would be different than that of a wavy slip

Jan 1, 1968

By Virgil A. Bilyeu

The Pan American Mine, in southeastern Nevada, is about 26 miles west southwest of Pioche, Nevada, and about 266 miles southwest of Salt Lake City, Utah. The mine is located in the Comet Mining District, and since the ore occurrence is generally the same in the Comet and well known adjacent Pioche Mining Districts, the history of the two shall be considered the same. The Pioche District began about 1869 with the production of high grade gold and silver from fissure veins in the Cambrian Prospect Mountain quartzite. Peak production was reached in 1872 and then declined with sporadic production until 1924, when Combined Metals Reduction Co. shipped its first, complex sulphide ores mined from the CM bed at Pioche. Extensive ore bodies in this CM bed attracted interest in the same bed in the Comet District. Small pockets of high grade silver-lead were mined from fissures cutting the CM and other limestone beds above. Exploration in the CM beds at this time proved a large area of mineralization too low grade to be considered ore.

Jan 1, 1967

By A. D. Mutch

IT has long been known that there are wide variations in the thermo-electric potential of pyrite. In the last few years a study of this variation and other properties of pyrite was carried out at the University of Toronto by F. G. Smith on specimens of pyrite from many localities.1-3 As a result of these studies the pyrite geothermometer was developed by Professor Smith. The calibration of the pyrite geothermometer is based on the assumption that "crystals of any one electronically conducting mineral species deposited at a high temperature have a more positive thermo-electric potential than crystals deposited at a low temperature, and the thermo-electric potential varies continuously between any given limits of the temperature of deposition." The cause of the variation was postulated to be crystal discontinuities, such as lineage boundaries. As yet this postulated relationship has not been established as fact. On theoretical grounds it is indicated that the thermo-electric potential of pyrite or any other partial conductor is dependent upon a number of factors as well as the temperature of formation. For this and other reasons there is ground for doubt as to the validity of the relationship postulated above. To date a large number of readings have been made with the pyrite geothermometer which have been recorded in terms of the calibration of the instrument in degrees centigrade. So far most of the pyrite tested by this technique has been in association with gold ore. The values for the temperature of formation obtained in these tests appear to be reasonable and, in relation to geological problems, to vary in the right sense. Determinations on some specimens not in association with gold ore have given readings that appear to be much too high, taking into account the probable maximum temperature of the host rock. To sum up, although many determinations made with the. pyrite geothermometer appear to give reasonable values for the temperature of formation of the pyrite, there are at the same time other readings which seem anomalous. On the basis of an examination of available results of work with the pyrite geothermometer, two problems must be considered: 1-the validity of the calibration of the pyrite geothermometer; and 2-the nature of the distribution of the thermo-electric potentials of pyrite in relation to the specific problems that have been examined. In this paper the academic problem relating to the validity of the calibration of the pyrite geothermometer will not be discussed. Instead, the variations of thermo-electric potential of pyrite in association with gold veins will be discussed with regard to specific examinations. The first of these two examinations deals with the distribution of thermo-electric potentials of pyrite in association with a gold vein and was carried out in the McIntyre Porcupine Mine, Schumacher, Ont., in the summer of 1949 as part of a study with this technique. The second problem deals with variations of thermo-electric potential of pyrite in gold ore specimens from all over the world. The specimens used in this study were part of the private collection of Frank Ebbutt, geologist for Howe Sound Exploration Co. Results of Detailed and Reconnaissance Studies In discussion of the results of determinations made in these two studies the values of thermo-electric potential in millivolts will be used. It will be noted that in some of the diagrams the determinations are recorded in terms of pyrite geothermometer temperatures. Fig. 1 is a calibration chart relating, pyrite geothermometer temperatures and thermo-electric potentials. A full discussion of the technique is given in the original paper by F. G. Smith.' Briefly, the determinations are made by placing two stainless steel probes, one hot and the other cold, against the surface of the pyrite crystal being tested. The thermo-electric potential that is developed is read with a null-point potentiometer that is calibrated in what

Jan 1, 1952

By C. B. Alcock, R. G. Hudson

Sulfur pressure measurements above FeS in equilibrium with iron have been carried out by the Knudsen orifice method. A comparison is made of the weight loss of the cell per unit time obtained in the above experiments, that calculated from Richardson and Alcock's measurements of the S2 pressure above FeS in equilibrium with iron, and the dissociation constant for diatomic sulfur from spectroscopic and thermal data. EXTENSIVE equilibrium measurements have been made to determine the sulfur potentials of a great many systems of metallurgical interest.' In order to confirm their reliability, to supply data which may be of use in further thermodynamic calculations, and to establish the reliability of the Knudsen orifice in obtaining accurate thermodynamic values at high temperatures, the present investigation on the pressure of the gaseous species above FeS in equilibrium with iron has been carried out. The Knudsen orifice method has been used for these pressure measurements. Experimental The apparatus and general technique for this investigation are the same as that reported for the determination of the vapor pressure of silver.' To reduce the residual gas pressure in the evacuated chamber, a titanium getter, maintained at run temperature, was introducbed. Several types of Knudsen cells were used—platinum, zircon, and fused silica. The orifice in the zircon cell was fashioned with a small diamond wheel. The same precautions were used in this investigation as were employed in the work on Mo2S2.3 The FeS-Fe mixture was prepared by heating a sample of pure FeS,, supplied by K. K. Kelley of the Bureau of Mines, with excess iron powder, cp grade, obtained from the Fisher Scientific Co. These two substances were heated in a closed Armco iron crucible at 960°C, held in a vacuum of less than 10" mm Hg for 24 hr. The mass was then removed from the cell and ground in an agate mortar. In this form it was charged to the various Knudsen cells. Heating the Knudsen cell for an additional two days was sufficient to obtain constant rates of weight loss of the cell. The data obtained in this investigation are recorded in Table I. To establish whether or not a sulfide of iron is volatile at these temperatures, 0.7646 g of the FeS-Fe mixture, described above and containing 69.2 pet Fe, was placed in the zircon Knudsen cell. Run Nos. 103 to 109 were performed on it. After the completion of these runs, the total amount of iron left in the cell was obtained by chemical analysis. It contained 0.537 g Fe, compared to 0.529 g in the original charge. Thus, there was an apparent gain in iron of 1.5 pet. This is attributed to unknown experimental error, and the conclusion is that no sulfide of iron is volatile. The vapor pressure of pure iron4 is about one thousandth that of the sulfur pressure' at these temperatures. The vapor pressure of iron inside the Knudsen cell will be almost exactly that of pure iron, since in the iron-rich phase the percentage of sulfur is of the order of 0.025 pet.At this low percentage of sulfur Henry's law is probably obeyed by the sulfur. Thus, the iron will obey Raoult's law. In any event, the vapor pressure of iron will be lower than that of pure iron and, since the vapor pressure of pure iron is negligible compared to the pressure of sulfur, the weight loss of the cell due to the vaporization of iron should be negligible. Since neither iron nor FeS is volatile to an appreciable extent, the total weight loss of the cell must be due to the vaporization of sulfur. Discussion and Calculations On the assumption that S, is the only gaseous species present in appreciable quantity, its pressure

Jan 1, 1957

By Gabriel S. Esterhuizen, Anthony T. Iannacchione

The roof rock in underground limestone mines in Northern Appalachia can be subject to high horizontal stresses in spite of the shallow depth of the workings. The high stresses can cause roof stability problems. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health staff have observed a distinctive asymmetrical mode of failure at the pillar-roof contact in two underground stone mines, which is different from the typical failure mode observed in response to excessive levels of horizontal stress. A dip of greater than 5° was identified as a possible cause of this mode of failure. Numerical model experiments showed that an increase in the dip of the workings can cause an increase in the stress at the up-dip corner of the roof beam. A case study is presented in which failure at the pillar-roof contact was observed where the dip of the workings was 7° in a high horizontal stress field. Numerical modeling showed that the relatively small dip of the workings could have induced stresses changes in the immediate roof that would explain the failures. The model results also showed that this mode of failure is less likely to occur if the limestone pillars contain weak bedding planes that provide stress relief. In addition, the results showed that for the conditions at the case study site, the stress in the roof beam was not sensitive to the thickness of the roof beam or to the excavation span. The high horizontal stresses at this site are an important contributing factor to the observed failures.

By Jean-Marie Fecteau

The gold mine sector is presently facing low gold prices as well as technological challenges. Its competitiveness and survival will depend on new mining methods and equipment to improve ore extraction. In 1999, Natural Resources Canada has invested new funds over a period of three years at CANMET?s Experimental Mine to establish the Narrow-Vein Mining Project. A team of engineers and researchers specialised in mining, mechanics and electronics engineering are working to meet the critical need of ore-extraction technology. CANMET?s program in mechanisation and automation for narrow vein mining had, prior to 1999, realised several important achievements, many in co-operation with a consortium of mining companies (Soredem). The investment of new funds in this area will contribute to develop technologies to improve the productivity, as well as health and safety conditions of the narrow vein mining industry. Several important impacts of this project will be monitored. Specifically, a database of methods and equipment used in narrow vein mining is being developed. A key thrust is to identify operators? needs with respect to the development and automation of mining methods and equipment. Based on those needs, research and development projects will be created. The main problems identified following meetings with mine operators are described with a few elements of solution and the Web site created for the broadcast of the results is presented.

Oct 1, 2001

By Henry J. Miller, Marcella Linderman

During some experiments made by Henry J. Miller, partly in Germany and partly in the United States, in which it was found necessary to melt metals in quantities up to 60 kg. in a vacuum or under low pressures of hydrogen, molybdenum was tried as the resistor in the electric melting furnaces. Molybdenum ribbons 16 by 0.55 mm. and 18 by 0.45 mm. were used as resistors. The furnaces were of the type shown in Fig. 1. About the heating tube, Y, are wound parallel resistors of molybdenum ribbon from the water-cooled electrodes, El, Ez. The whole is within a copper container having outlets for the removal or introduction of gases and a window, W, for observation, the space about the heating tube and electrodes being filled with insulating material. The life of the molybdenum used as the resistor was found to depend very much on the manner of using it, its failure being due in some cases to thinning by evaporation or chemical reaction and in others to hardening, which prevented it from following the expansions and shrinking of the heating tubing without cracking. As such failures are often rather expensive in commercial work, it was thought worth while to determine the causes. The factors influencing the behavior of molybdenum resistors used in this manner may be briefly stated as follows:

By V. G. Leak, R. A. Swalin

The dilhsion of silver and trace concentrations of tin in liquid silver has been rrzeasured in the temperature range from about 975° to 1350°C. The difBsion dala. fil lhe following equations: fov self-diffusion of silver The ratio of DSn to DAg is found to be about 1.34. The higher diffusivity of tin is interpreted in terms of the coullombic repulsion which results from the fact that tin dissolved in silver has a valence of +3 relative to silver. THE phenomenon of diffusion has been well-described theoretically for hard-sphere gases and solids and found to be in good agreement with experimental data for certain gases and solids. Liquid-diffusion phenomena have not been well described theoretically and there is generally a lack of good experimental data. In this investigation self-diffusion and solute diffusion in liquid silver were studied. Silver was chosen as a solvent for two main reasons. First, silver is a noble metal and the atoms are considered to have a spherically symmetric charge field; hence the liquid may be considered to be a random array of approximate hard spheres. Mercury, gallium, and other lower-melting metals were eliminated from consideration since it appears possible that in their liquid states there is some residual long-range order and directional bonding. Second, silver behaves as a monovalent solvent and, while cadmium, indium, tin, and antimony all have nearly the same atomic size, they have chemical valences relative to that of silver of +1, +2, + 3, and +4, respectively. Slifkin, Lazarus, and coworkers1-5 investigated the diffusion of these solutes in solid silver and found that their diffusion rates increased with an increase of the excess valence of the solute. In the solid state the diffusion-rate increase was calculated to be due to a change in local modulus of the solvent caused by the excess valence of the solute.1"3 For the present investigation it was planned to determine the effect of valence upon solute diffusion in liquid silver. It was deduced that a coulombic repulsion between solute and solvent might be responsible for larger volume fluctuations in the vicinity of the solute thereby enhancing the diffusion of the solute atoms. Tin was the first solute investigated and was chosen for experimental convenience. If an excess-valence diffusion effect exists in the liquid state, the solute tin with its excess valence of + 3 might show a large enough effect to distinguish it from the self-diffusion of silver in silver. The silver self-diffusion data were obviously required as a base line for comparison. In addition silver self-diffusion was investigated with a view toward examining the data in connection with the Sutherland- Einstein: Coheen-Turnbull,7 and swalin8 theories of diffusion in liquids. I) EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES The diffusion coefficients for tin and silver in liquid silver were determined in separate experiments using the capillary-reservoir method of Anderson and saddingtono but following closely the experimental techniques outlined by Ma and Swa1in. The radioactive alloy bath was prepared by plating either tin-113 or silver-110 m isotope* onto 99.999 *Isotopes obtained from Oak Ridge National Laboratory. pct Ag rods.* The silver and isotope were melted *Silver obtained from Cominco Co. and mixed in a graphite crucible under a purified argon atmosphere, then outgassed for capillary filling. Some of the fused-silica capillaries were filled individually as reported by Ma and Swalin, but most were filled in a different manner. A long piece of capillary tubing was sealed off on one end and held in the system so that the open end was just above the surface of the molten alloy. The system was evacuated, the open end submerged into the alloy, and argon was admitted into the system up to atmospheric pressure. The molten alloy was forced up the capillary several inches where it solidified and was subsequently cut into segments of the proper length for diffusion annealing. The apparatus for diffusion annealing was the same as that used for capillary filling except that a Pt—Pt, 10 pct Rh therinocouple was placed in the solvent bath in order to accurately measure the temperature during the run. A diagram of the dif-

Jan 1, 1964

By Joseph B. Darby, Paul A. Beck

IN isothermal sections of several ternary systems, the a-phase was found1 to extend in the form of a relatively narrow elongated field, connecting the U-phases that are present in the adjoining binary systems. This was interpreted in accordance with the conception that the U-phase is an electron compound and the ternary U-phase fields were shown in several systems' to extend approximately in the direction of constant average d-shell electron vacancy number per atom. ' However, in the various isothermal sections of the Fe-Cr-Mo system" the ternary a-phase field was

Jan 1, 1958

By Trygve Høy

"Important stratabound lead-zinc deposits in southeastern B. C. occur in rocks that range in age from Proterozoic Helikian to Middle Cambrian. The Sullivan deposit, and similar but smaller deposits in the Sullivan area are the only important deposits that occur in clastic rocks with little carbonate content. The highly deformed and metamorphosed Shuswap deposits, of probable Hadrynian to Helikian age, are in mixed marble, calc-silicate gneiss and pelitic schist assemblages, rocks transitional between clastics and carbonates. Deposits in younger rocks, such as the Kootenay Arc deposits in the Lower Cambrian Badshot-Reeves Formation and the Monarch -Kicking Horse deposits in Middle Cambrian dolomite, are hosted by platformal carbonate rocks.An important regional control for the distribution of deposits appears to be a northeast-trending tectonic zone that crosses the Rocky Mountains and the Purcell Mountains just south of the Sullivan area, and projects southwestward toward the Salmo camp at the southern end of the Kootenay Arc. Pronounced northeast-trending gravity and magnetic anomalies, basic volcanism of Hadrynian age (the Irene volcanics west of Creston) and a preferred alignment of Mesozoic granitic rocks indicates that the zone coincides with deep crustal structures. Within the zone are dramatic and abrupt thickness and facies changes in Hadrynian Windermere rocks and lower Paleozoic rocks, and on the east side of the Rocky Mountain Trench in Helikian Purcell Supergroup rocks, indicating that block-faulting was active intermittently within the zone from Helikian through to lower Paleozoic time. Right-lateral and reverse movements occurred on northeast-trending tear faults within the zone in Mesozoic time."

Jan 1, 1982

By Fred C., Bond

DETERMINATIONS of circulating load in a classifier operating in closed circuit with a grinding mill are usually made from screen analyses of the mill feed and classifier products. The percentage remaining on someone selected screen size must be used in the calculation, and, because of the wide variation in average particle size between the mill feed and classifier overflow, an accurate and representative result at the selected mesh is often difficult to obtain. To overcome this difficulty and reduce the time required in making the determination, I have devised a method which uses the liquid-solid relationship in the circuit rather than screen analyses. The quantities required for the calculation include only the usual dilution and feed tonnage measurements, which should be made regularly in the course of ordinary mill operation and, in addition, the amount of new water added to the classifier, or to the head of the mill with the new feed. If measurements are obtained on both of these quantities it is possible to check the calculated circulating load, and to calculate the percentage of moisture in the new feed to the mill; or, if the latter is known, to check the feed tonnage.

Jan 1, 1937

By Dumitru Mitrica, Vasile Soare, Elvira Alexandrescu, Mihai Ghita, Marian Burada, Petru Moldovan, Raluca Maria Florea

"Aluminum metal matrix composite Al-Si /SiCp was prepared by reactive gas injection and subsequent remelting. The influence of the remelting process on the microstructure and physicalmechanical properties of the resulted material was investigated. Samples resulted from the synthesis process contained silicon carbide agglomerations in the vicinity of primary silicon and large pore concentrations. In-situ formed silicon carbide presented mostly a polymorphic structure with particle sizes varying from 1 to lOµm. Physical and mechanical properties were largely influenced by the porosity distribution. The remelting process provided a decrease in the composite material porosity and pore size, with significant improvements in the particle distribution and physical-mechanical properties of the composite material. Additions of up to lwt.%Mg in the starting alloy improved the in-situ carbide formation and particles distribution in the solidified material. However, stable and large particle agglomerations were detected in the material in absence of conventional stirring or controlled solidification techniques.IntroductionThe remarkable properties of composite materials (yield strength, stiffuess, hardness and resilience at a reduced specific weight) make them attractive for applications in automotive, aerospace and military industries. Particle reinforced aluminum metal matrix composites (PAMMC) are known for their high strength to weight ratio. The recent development of P AMMC created the possibility to obtain large particles concentrations, exceeding 10% by volume ofreinforcement (SiC, AIN, Al203, etc.). The improvement ofhigh temperature strength and wear resistance made them appropriate for the use in automotive applications, such as the pistons, rotors, disc brakes, and propeller shafts [ 1]. The present main disadvantage of the P AMMCs is their high costs for obtaining and processing related to the final product performance. In order to benefit from the advantages that offer composite materials properties a reasonable production cost - performance ratio must be obtained [2]. Recent innovations in the manufacturing of aluminum-based metal matrix composites provided notable performance improvements but no feasible solutions were found for lowering their present high prices."

Jan 1, 2014

By S. Gheibi, H. S. B. Duzgun, N. Dadashzadeh

It is widely recognized that there are various uncertainties in the analysis of rock slope stability owing to inadequate information for site characterization and inherent variability and measurement errors in geological and corresponding parameters. Therefore, reliability-based approaches that allow the systematic and quantitative treatment of these uncertainties have become a topic of increasing interest in rock slope engineering. There has been extensive reliability analysis of rock slope stability in the literature. However, all of these analyses are based on the First-Order Reliability Method (FORM). The probability of failure of a rock slope in the First-Order Reliability Method is provided by a linear approximation of the failure function. The FORM is most commonly used because it is efficient; its accuracy, however, deteriorates when the nonlinearity of limit-state function increases. A better approximation of the failure function can establish a more accurate value of the probability of failure. The Second-Order Reliability Method (SORM) overcomes this drawback with a cost of lower efficiency in terms of the number of function calls and computation expenses. Despite considerable studies of the application of the SORM in other engineering fields, a few attempts have been made in the slope stability studies. In this study, a recently published Second-Order Reliability Method with First-Order Efficiency (SORM-FOE) is implemented on a selected rock slope in Amasya, Turkey. The SORM-FOE overcomes the low efficiency of the SORM by decreasing the number of function calls. The probability of failure of both FORM and SORM-FOE are obtained and the results are compared. It is shown that, in high value of failure probability, SORM’s do not significantly affect the analysis and design. However, in very low failure probability, the discrepancy between FORM and SORM-FOE becomes pronounced. It is also shown that, where the second order methods are required, the SORM-FOE is more efficient than the conventional curvature fitting methods in terms of computational costs.

Jan 1, 2015

By L. Xia, B. Hart, J. Nigim, Z. Chen

"Grinding ore is an important step in the flotation process. Not only does grinding reduce particle size and liberate minerals, it also creates conditions for reactions to occur on particle surfaces that can aide or inhibit flotation. There have been numerous studies examining various grinding regiments and the effect on flotation pulp chemistry, including autogenous grinding and using media of variable composition. There have been however, few studies looking at the effect of variability in grinding media size on pulp chemistry and subsequent flotation. This study attempts to link changes in pulp chemistry in response to variations in grinding media size to flotation recovery. It uses probes mounted in the grinding chamber (pH, Eh, DO, and conductivity) to monitor pulp chemistry changes during grinding of a Cu-Zn ore. Surface chemistry analysis by ToF-SIMS was performed on sphalerite from the mill discharge. Activator and depressant species were monitored on the mineral surfaces and their presence was evaluated in the context of variability in pulp chemistry linked to differences in grinding media and its ball size.INTRODUCTIONIt has been widely recognised that not only does grinding reduce particle size and liberate minerals but the grinding environment has a large effect on the flotation of sulphide minerals. This effect is attributed to Eh change, iron hydroxide coating on surfaces, oxygen reduction, precipitation from solution and galvanic coupling (Grano, 2009). As early as 1960, it was reported that after grinding the ores in an iron mill the natural floatability of sphalerite was reduced significantly (Rey and Formanek, 1960). Kocabag and Smith (1985) studied on the industrial circuits showing that the depression of sulphides flotation in a steel mill is possibly due to the coating of iron oxidation products. Peng, Grano, Fornasiero, and Ralston (2003a, 2003b) found that iron contamination from grinding media plays a dominant role in depressing galena and chalcopyrite flotation. Huang, Grano, and Skinner (2006) reported the same observation in the flotation of arsenopyrite."

Jan 1, 2016

By J. Chipman, J. A. Cordier

Equilibrium in the reaction H2 (g) + 2 = H2S (g) was studied at 1600°C for sulphur dissolved in Fe-Ni alloys of 0 to 100 pct Ni. Within experimental accuracy, the equilibrium ratio pH2s/pH2 [pct S] is independent of the Fe-Ni ratio. Its variation with sulphur content is the same in nickel and the alloys as in iron. Recent data on dissociation of S2 into atomic sulphur are used to apply a small correction to earlier equilibrium data. Equations are presented which define the thermodynamic properties of sulphur in liquid Fe-Ni alloys. ACTIVITY of sulphur in liquid iron was determined by Sherman, Elvander, and Chipman.' The effects of a number of alloying elements on the activity of sulphur also have been determined, that of silicon by Morris and Williams,2 that of carbon by Morris and Buehl,8 and the effects of manganese, phosphorus, and aluminum by Sherman and Chip-man.' The data of Rosenqvist and Cox5 have been used to establish the effect of copper. A summary of all of these data is included in the paper by Sherman and Chipman. In each case, the experimental method depended upon the study of equilibruim in the reaction of sulphur in the liquid metal with hydrogen gas to form H,S. Despite wide differences in the design of apparatus used by the several investigators, all of the results are in excellent agreement. Experimental Study Since the experimental method has already been described,' it will be sufficient to mention its general

Jan 1, 1956

By E. T. Turkdogan

The activities of SiO2, FeO, and Fe2O3 are calculated from previous experimental data on the activity of oxygen in Fe-Si-O melts at 1550°C. Using the oxide-activity data, the free energy of formation of fayalite from its oxides is evaluated for 1550°C. A number of investigators1-4 contributed to the study of the state of oxidation of iron in SiO,-FeO-Fe,O3 melts and the phase equilibria in the system Fe-Si-O. In a more detailed study, Schuhmann and Ensio5 and Michal and Schuhmann% easured the state of equilibrium in the SiO,-FeO-Fe,O3 melts saturated with y-iron or silica or both under low-oxygen potentials and within the temperature range 1250" to 1350°C. Similar measurements were also made by Turkdogan and Bills7,' over wide ranges of composition and oxygen potentials at 1550"C. Using the experimental data on the oxygen activities in the ternary system, Schuhmann' calculated the activities of silica and ferrous oxide in Si0,-FeO-Fe2O3 melts for 1350°C. Adequate knowledge on the activities of the constituent oxides of melts is essential in the study of reaction-equilibria and reaction-kinetics in oxide-melts. With this in view, the activities of oxides in SiO2-FeO-Fe2O3 melts at 1550°C are computed using the experimental data of Turkdogan and Bills7'8 on the oxygen activities in these melts.

Jan 1, 1962

By Ernest F. Burchard

Fluorspar is found in most of the states from the Rocky Mountains westward, and commercial production of the mineral has been reported from Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Washington. The map in Fig. 1 indicates the general distribution of many of these deposits but it is by no means complete. In the summer of 1926 the writer examined certain deposits of fluorspar in Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico and Washington; in November, 1927, revisited the Jamestown, Colo., district, and in earlier years examined deposits in Colorado and New Mexico. Based on notes of his own and on descriptions and other data by H. A. Aurand, H. W. Davis, R. B. Ladoo, V. C. Heikes, W. D. Johnston, Jr., and by producers of fluorspar, he prepared the following brief descriptions of deposits and estimates of reserves of fluorspar, originally for the use of the subcommittee on fluorspar of the Joint Committee on Foreign and Domestic Mining Policy and on Industrial Preparedness respectively of the Mining and Metallurgical Society of America and the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers. Descriptions of many fluorspar deposits in various western states and districts have been published. It is not feasible to summarize this literature here, but the appended bibliography will indicate to the interested reader what papers are available. Arizona Fluorspar has been reported as occurring in Arizona in the following localities: near Duncan, Greenlee County; near Naco, Tombstone, and Paradise, Cochise County; Black Mountain, Mojave County; 25 miles southwest of Tucson, and at Helvetia and Silver Bell, Pima County; near Mammoth mine, Pinal County; in Yavapai County, 7 miles from Aguila, and in the Bradshaw Mountains; and near Dome, Yuma County. Production has come principally from the Castle Dome district, Yuma County, with minor quantities from Greenlee, Pima and Yavapai counties. The writer examined deposits in the Castle Dome district, Yuma

Jan 1, 1934

By W. B. Plank

RETURNS already received from a current survey of the enrolment of students in the mineral technology schools indicate a degree of activity and prosperity in those schools never before equalled. The returns are as yet too meager for accurate analysis, but those at hand point LO considerable increase in the metallurgical and petroleum engineering groups, and indicate that the total of 5011 two years ago in the United States schools will be substantially increased. Generally speaking, the enrolment is not only maximum in quantity but optimum in quality. Better income has sent the boys back to school, but the improved employment conditions have somewhat reduced the number of graduate students. Laboratories are commonly filled to capacity, in some instances overcrowded. Increased enrolment of foreign students from both Canada and South America is noticeable.

Jan 1, 1937

By C. Feliciano, M. Cavalcante

A large iron ore open pit mine in Brazil operates with reduced blast sizes, due to the imminence of red alerts in the rainy season and the proximity of plant and dam structures that demand control of the maximum load of fired explosives. Blasts are currently not allowed to remain loaded with explosives due to the risk of red alerts, limiting mine operations close to them. There is a need to increase the blast sizes, reducing the number of events required to obtain the planned mass and, consequently, the unproductive operating hours lost with mine evacuations. The WebGen™ wireless electronic initiation system is a technology for firing detonators via lowfrequency magnetic induction that propagates through the medium, without physical connection. A blast was carried out with 406 holes divided into 4 panels, aiming to validate the preloading technique with wireless detonators and its performance in safety and productivity. The absence of lead wires in the system eliminates the risk of interaction between vehicles and detonator cables in stemming and loading operations, which can result in unplanned detonation or misfire. By eliminating the need for a spotter, it reduces people's exposure to dust and the risk of human-machine interaction. Furthermore, it eliminates the risk of unplanned detonation caused by lightning strikes. The pre-loading technique with wireless detonators enables flexibility and efficiency in planning through temporary accesses over loaded areas. In the demonstration, driving over the loaded area was essential to avoid jams and excessive wear on equipment due to the narrow berm and very friable material. Another gain in productivity was optimizing operational stages, since detonators were programmed in parallel with loading, anticipating process stages, in addition to eliminating the need to connect detonators. Considering the average handling and savings in downtime due to the reduction of blasting events, a potential increase in movement of 49,000t (54,013 short tons) in 3 months was estimated, keeping the vibration results within the required limit. The trial with wireless detonators demonstrated the feasibility of carrying out blasts with preloaded panels, without restrictions on the number of panels or detonators, enabling vibration control, innovating mine planning and increasing safety and productivity

Jan 1, 2024