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By Benoit Clermont, Jan Lux

"Magotteaux and Anglo Platinum started a co-operation program with the main aim of establishing the optimum milling configuration measured in terms of throughput, fineness and energy consumption.For this purpose, a fully instrumented pilot milling plant, supplied by Magotteaux (Pty) Ltd, and equipped with a 0.9 x 1.0 m ball mill, was erected at Frank concentrator (Merensky Pt ore). The primary ball mills at Frank concentrator were surveyed in order to set the conditions for the base case. This data was then replicated in the pilot mill under the same configuration. Thereafter, a series of different parameters were varied in order to attempt to optimize the milling system.Only grate versus overflow discharge and open versus closed circuit will be discussed in this paper.It should be noted that this paper does not attempt to give a universal solution as to what milling configuration is optimum in all cases. The conclusions apply for this particular case and probably most others, but it would be advisable to consider each case on its own.CONCLUSION• Overflow versus grate dischargeAn overflow mill has a “pool” of slurry around the toe of the ball charge, which creates a counter lever to the ball charge. This will reduce the absorbed power in the range of 10-15% (depending on the case) and will consequently result in a coarser grind. The tests found a 4% gain in grinding efficiency (Wio) with an overflow mill but this is probably not significant.This lower absorbed power and coarser grind can be counteracted by increasing the ball charge (if below maximum) and/or by increasing the mill volume when removing the grate discharge (a typical grate takes up about 300mm of the mill length).• Open versus closed circuit"

Jan 1, 2003

By Charles L. Thomas

A novel, highly sensitive, and reproducible nzetlzod for the determination of hydrogen in solid materials is presented. The procedure requires equilibration of the specimen with hydrogen gas, rapid quenching, and hot vacuum extraction of the dissolved gas with subse-quent quantitative analysis by mass spectroscopy. Good linearity is obtained for the Arrl~enius plots of the investigated metals. The advantages in the use of this method over that of Sieverts aye discussed. The solubility data for copper are in reasonable agveewzent with a considerable number of other inuestigations, wllile those fov silver are considerably lower than previously reported. The first known solubility data for gold are presented. Solubility equations and heats of MUCH of the data which are available on the solubility of hydrogen in various metals and alloys have been obtained by the classical Sieverts method.' The method involves the measurement of a decrease in pressure of a gas in a calibrated system, and the calculated contraction in volume is attributed to the solubility of the gas in the metal sample. The procedure requires several corrections, such as the solubility of the gas in the container walls and the diffusion of the gas through these walls, as noted by Steacie and .Johnson2 and others. In addition, errors may be incurred due to reactions between metal surface impurities, such as oxides, and the saturating gas. The precise calibration of the measuring system where large thermal gradients exist can present additional difficulties. Also, accurate volumetric measurements of small quantities of gas are difficult. Many of the objections to the Sieverts method were overcome on solid materials by Ransley and ~eufeld,~ who first saturated the metal with hydrogen and performed a subsequent extraction and measurement of the gas by chemical means. Eichenauer and pebler4 and Eichenauer, Kiinzig, and pebler5 measured the diffusion coefficient and solubility by following the degasification of a sample as a function of a rate of increase in pressure in a previously evacuated system. Here again, however, the procedure involves many of the corrections of the Sie-verts method. The present investigation deals with the solubility of hydrogen in solid copper, silver, and gold by a technique which eliminates many of the aforementioned corrections and possible errors. This procedure requires equilibration of the specimen with gas, rapid quenching, and hot vacuum extraction of the dissolved gas with subsequent quantitative analysis by mass spectroscopy. EXPERIMENTAL Two completely separate systems were employed to accomplish first, the equilibrium saturation of the sample and second, the extraction of the dissolved gas. Saturation Apparatus. The saturation apparatus, illustrated in Fig. l, consisted of a vertically mounted quartz tube with a three-way valve for vacuum or hydrogen near the top and an outlet near the bottom leading to a butyl phthalate seal. The bottom end of the tube was terminated with a joint accommodating an O-ring sealed "Asco Stirring Gland" (The Emil Greiner Co.). This gland facilitated movement of the thermocouple without introduction of air into the system. The upper portion of the tube (above the furnace) was water-jacketed. A Welsh 1405-B mechanical pump provided the necessary system evacu-

Jan 1, 1968

By S J. Clarke, G Sieders

Double corrosion protection (DCP) rock bolts have evolved to become complicated assemblies comprising numerous components. This complexity is mainly associated with durability considerations including potential exposure to adverse groundwater conditions and ensuring separation of dissimilar metals within the bolt assembly itself.Recent progress in the construction of glass-fibre reinforced polymer (GRP) rock bolts have the potential to provide a viable alternative to conventional steel rock bolts in civil tunnelling applications. The durability of the material results in a much simpler bolt detail and permits the use of resin rather than solely cement based grouts.This paper presents the findings of the comparative structural testing of GRP bolts with conventional DCP steel bolts. The axial load performance, including stiffness, ultimate capacity and ductility of bolts are compared. Shear behaviour of bolts is considered, including durability issues associated with damage to the plastic sleeve used in DCP bolts.The paper also considers other issues which are relevant to the design of temporary and permanent rock bolts used in tunnel support, such as initial tensioning and grouting. Long-term performance, including durability and creep are also reviewed.CITATION:Clarke, S J and Sieders, G, 2014. Comparison of glass-fibre reinforced polymer rock bolts with double corrosion protection steel rock bolts for use in tunnel applications, in Proceedings 15th Australasian Tunnelling Conference 2014 , pp 237–246 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Sep 17, 2014

By Xuexin Ding, Weijie Wei, Jinwang Zhang, Yi Chen, Shengli Yang

"Many ultra-thick coal seams exist in Xinjiang and the northern part of the Inner Mongolia. These coal seams are more than 30-40m thick. This kind of the thick coal seam is too difficult to extract in one slice, so the top-coal caving longwall mining method was designed for this purpose. In order to study the movement characteristics of the overburden strata and the development of the ""three zones"" in ultra-thick coal seams, the physical and numerical simulations were carried out based on the in-site condition of Baiyinhua coal mine. The result shows that, when extracting the upper part of the l 5m thick coal seams, the first weighting interval was 50-58m and the periodic weighting interval was I 8-20m. The caving zone, fractured zone and bending and sinking zone were 38m, 92m, and 50m respectively in height. The fractured zone height increased with the advancing distance of the face, but in some localities, a ladder-like distribution due to the periodic weighting existed. When extracting the lower part of the 25m thick coal seams, the roof was extremely broken and the collapse range of overlying strata continued to increase in irregular form.INTRODUCTIONThe thick coal seams occupy 44 percent of coal reserves in China and account for 45 percent of the gross domestic coal production. There are three main methods for extracting the thick coal seams: sublevel mining, large height mining, and longwall top-coal caving (LTCC) (Wang, 2009). Due to the rapid development of LTCC in the past two decades, it has become the most extensively used mining method. It possesses the advantages of high-production, high-efficiency, low development ratio, and low-cost (Yang, Zhang, Chen, and Zhengyang, 2016; Wang and Zhang, 2015). Baiyinhua coal mine's coal reserves are full of uniformly distributed thick coal seams, with the minable thickness of the main coal seam between 25 to 40m, i.e. the main coal seam is an ultra-thick coal seam. Sublevel longwall top-coal caving (SLTCC) which is an efficient method for extracting the ultrathick coal seams has led to multiple disturbances Xie, Chen, and Wang, 1999; Singh and Singh, 1999; Xie, Chang, and Yang, 2009. Therefore, using the case of Baiyinhua coal mine, the movement features of overburden strata and development characteristics of the three zones in ultra-thick coal seams were studied by physical and numerical simulations (Qian, et al, 2003; Qian, 1994)."

Jan 1, 2016

By D. Scott Scovira, Karl Dufresne

Blasting in geothermally high temperature ground and/or extremely reactive ground is an increasing common challenge for surface and underground mines. Many current PETN based non-electric and electronic detonators have manufacturer published in-hole temperature limits ranging from 55°C to 65°C (131°F to 150°F). When confronting blasthole temperatures above the manufacturer published limits, operations may request site-specific guidance and qualification for use. The advised safe loading window for in-hole PETN based detonators is often too short to be practicable for production blasting. To overcome limitations of PETN based initiation systems, surface mines with high temperature ground and/or reactive ground are known to load blastholes with a qualified high temperature bulk emulsion that are top primed with a cartridge of temperature qualified detonator sensitive emulsion plus an RDX detonating cord downline. As there is no in-hole delay detonator in this system, blasthole timing is accomplished with surface delays. Although this system is safe, top priming and surface delaying does influence floor quality and top size fragmentation, and safe loading windows times reduce blast block size and increase blasting frequency. A mining company with a site characterized by geothermally high temperature ground plus highly reactive ground employed a blasting system like the one described above. The site desires to improve blasting performance by moving to an in-hole delay initiation system that can withstand the site ground conditions. At the request of the mining house, DynaEnergetics developed an electronic initiation system for application in geothermally high temperature ground and/or extremely reactive ground conditions. The DynaEnergetics IGNEO high temperature electronic initiation system is rated for in-hole use in ground up to 150°C (302°F) for 48 hours. The detonator consists of a high strength detonator with an HMX base charge and thermally resistant downline. To make up a primer, the detonator is inserted into a booster charge assembly that is fitted with a small HMX shape charge. This high energy primer is designed to be compatible and reliable for firing bulk emulsions, including those with high percentages of urea inhibition to combat reactive ground. Up to 1000 detonators may be programmed in 1 ms increments up to 1500 ms. The system is controlled by a digital firing panel that can be used with either a wired or wireless trigger. The system enables high temperature and/or reactive ground sites to utilize in-hole delay initiation and realize the associated performance benefits.

Feb 1, 2024

By F. T. Cawood

Inauguration of the new political dispensation in South Africa in 1994 initiated a dynamic shift in the ownership, management and development of the country’s affluent mineral heritage. The process of substituting the old South African regime with a new equitable system, started soon after the 1994 election of the African National Congress (ANC) to parliament. The Congress’ Freedom Charter revealed the intent of the new dispensation when it called for radical transformation of mineral development. However, since 1955 there have been important changes affecting the rules of mineral development. These are: •Firstly, a drastic change in politics ushered in by negotiation, a spirit of reconciliation and a desire to settle disputes peacefully •Secondly, the globalization of the South African mining industry in tandem with the opening of domestic mineral resources to foreign capitalists; and •Thirdly, the introduction of sustainable development as a holistic approach to mineral development in order to replace traditional narrow-minded environmental management. Each of these significantly shaped the new mineral investment environment of South Africa. This paper represents a summary of the historical developments leading to the current Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act No. 28 of 2002, its Regulations, the much-publicised Broad-Based Socio-Economic Empowerment Charter and its associated Scorecard.

Jan 1, 2003

By M. M. Coleman

An investigation of the behaviour of sphalerite, chalcopyrite, galena and pyrite during flotation was conducted on selected circuits in the Brunswick Mining and Smelting Corporation Ltd. concentrator in Bathurst, NB. Samples were collected from 59 locations and analyzed for Zn, Pb, Cu, Ag, Fe, As, Sb, Sn, Bi and S. Metal balances were computed using the CAMP Material Balance Program (MATBAL 5) and the metal recoveries for each cell and circuit were calculated. An automated image analyzer interfaced with an electron microprobe was programmed to measure the size of sphalerite, chalcopyrite, galena and pyrite grains in each sample. The percentage of each mineral occurring as free grains and the relative amount of each mineral present in binary and ternary particles was calculated. The recoveries and losses of Pb, Zn and Cu are compared with the amount of liberated and unliberated galena, sphalerite and chalcopyrite present in the concentrates and tailings.

Jan 1, 1989

By Harvard Eng

An industrial survey was made for the Missouri Basin Field Committee of the Department of the Interior to determine the type and quantity of water-borne mineral wastes and the water requirements of metal-processing industries in the basin in Kansas and western Missouri. Data are presented on metal-processing plants visited through June 30, 1959. Most of the plants were in the greater Kansas City area. This report is to be supplemented with a similar publication on other industries, including those producing sand and gravel, coal, petroleum, and chemicals. In 1958, 19 million pounds of waste materials was discharged from metal processing industries. Approximately 14 million pounds of this waste was in the form of ferrous sulfate, and 2 million pounds was ferric phosphate. Galvanizing, other hot dipping, and automotive industries contributed the greater part of iron compounds wasted; some of this waste occurred as sludge that was not discharged to water courses but was hauled to refuse dumps, podium was present in nearly all industrial wastes, and the total of more than 900,000 pounds constituted one of the larger material losses. Although small in quantity, electroplating and allied coating wastes contained metals that were expensive when originally purchased.

Jan 1, 1961

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

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

Jan 1, 2003

By T. N. McVay, E. E. Creitz

Rather large amounts of titanium minerals and some zircon and monazite are being recovered from dune sands about I. miles west of Jacksonville Beach, Fla. The Mining Branch of the Bureau of Mines, Southern Experiment station, has been interested in developing additional large deposits of similar sands in other areas of Florida. The results of a field study have been published1 concerning the sands occurring on Trail Ridge which runs north and south about 30 miles southwest of Jacksonville. This investigation was undertaken in order to identify the opaque titanium minerals occurring in Trail Ridge and because of the economic importance of Florida titanium minerals. Nature of the Problem The minerals present in the heavy fractions (sp gr > 2.94) of the sands are principally opaque minerals; staurolite, zircon, sillimanite, tourmaline, kyanite, rutile, a small amount of corundum, traces of the zinc spinel gahnite and garnet. Epidote, monazite, hornblende and ti-tanite are present in other dune sands but these minerals were not noted in the samples collected on Trail Ridge. All of the minerals except those which are opaque can be readily identified by the usual petrographic methods. However, Opaque minerals cannot be examined satisfactorily by transmitted light. Polished sections of the opaque-mineral grains were examined but these sections did not furnish useful information. Consequently, it was necessary to use means other than the usual petrographic methods to identify them. Previous Investigations of Heavy Minerals in Florida Sands Martens2 has described the heavy minerals in the Florida beach sands and has classified the opaque minerals as ilmenite with minor amounts of leucoxene. Miller3 studied a number of sands collected by Ross and Mertie in Florida. He states that the material from the Florida beach and dune sands that commonly has been called ilmenite has essentially the chemical composition of the material that has been called arizonite.4 The x ray diffraction patterns of several samples indicated that the supposed ilmenite is essentially amorphous, with only weak lines corresponding to ilmenite, and hence the material is unlike the type of arizonite from Arizona. Opaque Titanium Minerals Rutile is essentially titanium dioxide. However, as pointed out by Dana,5 important amounts of Fe+2 and Fe+3 as well as Cb and Ta are reported in some analyses.

Jan 1, 1949

By M. E. Coleman, G. Money

"Clyde Materials Handling is an established customer-driven solutions provider, which utilizes its knowledge, expertise and technologies to transform the production processes of its customers, who operate in the ferrous and non-ferrous metals industries.With over 30 years experience in the process improvement industry, Clyde Materials Handling has helped their global customer base transform the way in which they operate their processes, which has enabled them to generate sustainable economic benefit and maintain their positions as leaders in their respective markets.Clyde Materials Handling has supported operators within the metals market by developing and deploying pneumatic conveying and pneumatic injection technologies. These environmentally supportive and sustainable solutions have been used to transport raw materials within operating facilities, from storage to silo, as well as injecting these materials directly into the heart of production processes.Clyde Materials Handling has worked closely with their customers, such as Codelco in Chile, where their pneumatic solutions have been used to inject a consistent, pulseless and accurate flow of copper concentrate into a bath smelter, which has helped to fuel the operational capacity, availability and productivity.This paper will discuss and highlight the ways in which pneumatic injection technologies, created by Clyde Materials Handling, and applied in partnership with their customers, have helped to improve the operational performance of the production processes of operators across the non-ferrous metals markets with specific reference to applications in the Peirce Smith Converter.Clyde Materials Handling has applications injecting Electronic Scraps, Dusts, Reverts, and other additives to the Peirce Smith Converter. They also have experience of modified PS Units used for Slag Cleaning. There experience with the Codelco Teniente Converter is also directly related to this area of operation."

Jan 1, 2009

By V Salamakha, K Tang, G Si, J Oh, X Wu, Z Yu

The development of machine learning (ML) algorithms has led to promising advances in lithology classification from geophysical logs, which is indispensable in various underground engineering applications. Due to the resolution and availability of logging data, ML models can recognise lithology change in a definitive form at a fine scale (0.01 m). While the results from previous models indicated promising performance in the classification, the robust capability of generalising lithology prediction to unseen data may not be true for those models due to: (1) data bias caused by borehole selections, and (2) logging data mismatches among boreholes. To this end, this paper aims to investigate the generalisability of ML models and seek potential improvements. Four ML models were selected to be trained on single reference boreholes to test the other (as unseen) in the same region, which includes Support Vector Classifier (SVC), Random Forest (RF), eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) and Residual Neural Network (ResNet10). The data set involves 11 boreholes from a coalmine in north-western Bowen Basin (Queensland, Australia): density, gamma ray, neutron, and sonic logs are selected as inputs. Additionally, a data adaptation method is applied for better generalisability. The results show that there is an accuracy trade-off between the same borehole and unseen boreholes across the models. It also indicates a 16–43 per cent reduction in model performance when generalising the predictions (in marco-F1 score), while the adapted data sets can contribute to a around 12 per cent improvement. This study provides a fundamental understanding of the model generalisability when using a single borehole, essential for further correlating boreholes for regional lithology classification; the adaptation method can improve the generalised accuracy, and reduces the labour to label lithology, which facilitates the identification of gas storage mechanisms, geological/geophysical modelling, and stratigraphic analysis.

Sep 1, 2024

By D. Gupta, S. Weinig

This investigation comprises the study of dislocation-oxygen interactions in a! titanium and its effect on the ductile to brittle transition in titanium. Internal friction techniques using a low-frequency lorsion pendulum were used to study the oxygen atom interactions with dislocations in "superpurity" titanium. A calculation of the interaction energy between an oxygen atom and a dislocation, based on the "breakaway" strain resulted in a value of 0.015 ev as compared to theoretical values of 0.022 and 0.035 ev for edge and screw dislocations, respectively. Both the saturation of the room temperature decrement and the transition from ductile to brittle behavior occurred at 1.5 at. pct 0. It was proposed that the embrittlement was due to oxygen atoms immobilizing the dislocations. It was possible to increase the ductility of the Ti-0 binary alloys by decreasing the oxygen pinning. The increase in uniform elongation was 30 pct for an increase in the preanneal temperature of 300°C. ThE room-temperature ductility of a titanium is significantly affected by interstitial solutes. Although oxygen has a solid solubility of 15.5 pct by weight, the room-temperature ductility extends only to 0.6 pct.' The ductility precipitously falls at this concentration and the fracture characteristics change from ductile to brittle.2 The small effective bulk composition of solute required to destroy the room-temperature ductility of the titanium must be indicative of an in-homogeneous distribution of solute atoms. Internal friction techniques were used in this investigation to

Jan 1, 1960

By D. W. Mitchell

While pure magnesium does not corrode rapidly the presence of even very small quantities of certain other metals accelerates corrosion remarkably. Because magnesium is such an electropositive metal (E° = +2.34 volts)' the presence of substances that permit galvanic activity is extremely undesirable. It is stated that as little as 0.017 pct of iron in magnesium causes a marked increase in the corrosion rate.2 Magnesium and its alloys are commonly melted in iron or steel pots; consequently the commercial metal has the opportunity to pick up iron if it has that tendency. Quantitative data on the solubility of iron in magnesium are of practical as well as of academic interest. Some magnesium alloy castings tend to have large grain size unless suitable treatment is given to the liquid metal just prior to casting. One method of grain refinement consists of "superheating" the metal just prior to casting. "Superhcating" is heating to a temperature 100 to 200°C above the casting temperature and holding for a short period of time. Superheated metal has a much finer grain than unsuperheated metal. A satisfactory explanation of this phenomenon has not been forthcoming. One hypothesis attributes the grain refinement in the superheated metal to precipitation of some phase that is mis-cible at the temperature of superheat but not miscible just below the casting temperature and which is thought to provide nucleating centers for crystallization. This phase, if the foregoing hypothesis is correct, would probably be a metal or an intermetal-lic compound. Of the metals likely to be found in magnesium alloys, iron is one of the most likely candidates for the role of grain refiner for iron occurs in small quantities in all commercial magnesium and magnesium alloys. A. Beck³ states that magnesium, in either the liquid or the solid state, cannot dissolve iron and that iron exists as a finely divided suspension which does not settle out because of its extreme fineness. Beck also presents a micrograph showing a large iron dendrite in magnesium but does not comment on the crystallization of iron from a solution supposed to contain none. It is doubtful that dendrite formation from suspended iron -would be possible. This suspension theory is the basis of patents4 covering the removal of iron from magnesium by allowing the iron particles to act as nuclei for the formation of primary magnesium crystals which can be separated by segregation. Also covered by patents is the removal of iron by the addition of another metal to form an intermetallic compound with the iron which, because of its increased particle size, is able to settle out of the molten metal. Here, too, quantitative information on the extent of iron solubility in liquid magnesium is of more than theoretical interest. M. Hansen,5 in his critical collection of the data on binary alloys, states that iron is not soluble in liquid magnesium. W. R. D. Jones% ho studied the physical properties of low iron magnesium alloys observed a 57°

Jan 1, 1949

By W. H. MacLean, P. J. MacGeehan, A. J. Bonenfant

"The Norita deposit is an Archean volcanogenic-exhalative Fe-Zn- Cu sulphide accumulation of the distal type, consisting of six overlapping stratiform massive sulphide lenses, interbedded with exhalative cherts and thin pillow basalt flows, which formed down-topographic-slope from a mineralized hydrothermal discharge zone in the Norita rhyolite. The sulphide lenses are of two main types: channel-fill deposits such as the Main Zone and Main Zone West, composed of intricately layered pyrite-sphalerite-chert, which formed by the dynamic down-slope transport and re-deposition of sulphide exhaled from the vent zone; and stratiform lenses such as the Cu-rich A-Zone and A-Zone West, which formed even farther down-slope, in basinal depressions flanking the dome. Although rotated into a vertical position by folding, the sulphide lenses are otherwise essentially undeformed and contain a wide range of preserved primary sedimentary structures.Of prime importance in exploration has been the recognition that the formation of the distal sulphide lenses was controlled by submarine paleotopography, and that it is possible to approximate the sea-floor paleotopography using variations in the thickness and strike extent of the interbedded volcanic rocks. This has proved to be a major and successful exploration tool in the search for further sulphide mineralization in the mine, and offers prospects for use elsewhere in the district."

Jan 1, 1981

By A. Frank Alsobrook

DOUG HALBE: Thanks, Terry. And in spite of your introductory comments, I'm going to attempt to continue our hallowed tradition of saying nice things about the speakers. This is really a serious comment now. We, as mineral processing and mill people, don't often talk to people outside our general operating area. One thing that we've tried to do in this operators' symposium is get speakers from various types of plant operations to help illustrate all the things we have in common. Our next speaker is from the industrial minerals area. I think there's a lot to be learned from industrial minerals operations. Some of the people in the last session learned some things about fine grinding in industrial mineral operations. I was a little surprised to see people there grind to 2 microns. Our next speaker is Frank Alsobrook. Frank is another nonmetallurgical engineer. He has a degree in geology, a master's of science from the University of Wisconsin. He's had his own very successful consulting company for a number of years. This is your 11th anniversary, Frank? Very good. He's also the immediate past chair of the industrial minerals division. I think the folks at the speakers' table should be ashamed. You have been so rowdy that Frank chose to sit in the audience. [laughter] We'd like you to come up now, Frank, and tell us some things that you've seen that might be useful to us. INTRODUCTION FRANK ALSOBROOK: The three topics addressed briefly are (1) teamwork and operations modeling, (2) the pitfalls of capital conservatism, and (3) the potential for by-product recovery. Ideas for improvements in these areas are not unique to industrial minerals but apply to metal mining and processing operations, as well. Several additional topics are suggested at the end of the paper.

Jan 1, 1998

By Arnulf Muan

PHASE relations in three isothermal sections (l000°, 1100°, 1200°C) of the system Ag-Fe-Pd have been determined as part of a program to develop improved crucible materials for containing low-melting iron silicates at low oxygen potentials. The following experimental method was used: Two- to 3- g samples of each of forty different alloys within the system Ag-Fe-Pd were made up from metals of 99.9 pct purity. The mixed metal powders were contained in a 1-cc crucible of dense recrystal-lized alumina and heated in a protective atmosphere (90 vol pct A, 10 vol pct H2), first to complete melting for approximately 30 min and subsequently at the desired equilibration temperature (1000°, 1100°, or 1200°C) for approximately 24 hr. The samples were then quenched rapidly to room temperature and examined metallographically as well as by X-ray techniques. Unit cell dimensions were compared with standards obtained by study of one-phase alloys of known compositions. The results are summarized in diagrams (a), (b), and (c) shown in Fig. 1. Heavy solid curves outline areas comprising compositions of mixtures consisting of the phases labeled for each area. Mixtures in which liquid is the only condensed phase present are confined to very narrow areas adjacent to the Ag-Pd join at high silver contents. An enlarged, distorted picture of the phase relations prevailing in these areas is shown in the upper-left circular insert. Particular attention is directed toward the misci-bility gap which occupies major parts of the composi-

Jan 1, 1962

By Richard P. Taylor, Rod Henham

Abstract - Newly discovered pegmatites distributed throughout the sub-surface environs of the Musselwhite Archean gold deposit occur as narrow dikes that intrude most of the major lithological units. The mineralogy and textures of the pegmatite dikes are characteristic of granitic pegmatites of the "Rare-Element Class"; more specifically, they closely resemble varieties of the "Complex-type" granitic pegmatites that are commonly associated with zones of tantalum mineralization. The essential minerals in the dikes comprise albite, quartz, and K-feldspar, together with lesser amounts of mica (including lepidolite), spessartine, tourmaline, and locally, spodumene. Fine-grained (30 µm to 300 µm), tantalum-bearing minerals occur in the quartzo-feldspathic matrix of the dikes as disseminations, in interstices, and in small vugs. The nature of the tantalum-bearing mineral assemblage present in individual pegmatite dikes varies from a simple mineral assemblage composed of ferrocolumbite (with around 39 wt% Ta2O5) in the most northerly dike, to more complex assemblages comprised of manganotantalite (with up to 75 wt% Ta2O5), ferrotapiolite (with up to 79 wt% Ta2O5), and microlite (with up to 76 wt% Ta2O5) that are present in dikes located several kilometers to the south and southwest. The compositional characteristics and textural relationships of the tantalum-bearing minerals in the dikes provide evidence of igneous fractionation trends that are typical of rare-element granitic pegmatites. Such trends suggest that the newly discovered pegmatites represent part of a more extensive group of cogenetic, tantalum-mineralized dikes.

Jan 1, 2001

By R. J. Marcotte, C. T. Eddy, R. J. Smith

The objectives of the investigation herein reported were to determine: (I) the S-curves for certain selected cast steels, (2) whether or not the published S-curves for wrought steels are satisfactory for use on cast steels of similar composition, and (3) to prepare hardenability curves of the selected cast steels. In order to make the final comparisons between cast and wrought steel more completely tangible, it was deemed advisable not only to determine S-curves for the steels submitted in the cast condition but also to roll some of the cast-steel test bars and determine comparison S-curves on such wrought material. This procedure eliminates the composition variable and makes it possible to reveal the differences resulting from plastic deformation of the cast structure in addition to providing the comparison with published data on wrought steels. Cast Steels The cast steels selected for the preparation of S-curves, or time-temperature transformation curves, were similar to S.A.E. series 1030, 2330, 4130 and 4330. Of these the 1030 was supplied by The Crucible Steel Casting Co., Cleveland, Ohio, and the other three by The Sawbrook Steel Castings Co., Lockland, Ohio. The steels were furnished in the as-cast condition. The manufacturers supplied the chemical analyses and the properties that could be obtained in the heat-treated condition—all of which is summarized in Table I. The metallographic and dilatometric procedures and equipment were in general standard. The specific technique employed was described in a report of the Steel

Jan 1, 1945

By R. W. Kraft

A back- reflection precession-type X-yay camera for determining the crystallographic orientation of the crystallites of both phases in small areas of thick specimens of polyphase alloys is described ad the geometry, advantages, and limitations of the apparatus are discussed. Metallographic obseg-vations of interfacial angles (or habit planes or growth direction are made on the same specimen so that the crystallographic and metallographzc orientation data call be directly correlated. An example of the application of tile technique to a unidi-~~ectionally solidified CuA12-A1 eutectic specimen is presented. The interfacial planes ad growth directions of each phase were established, and the orientation relationship between the phases was observed and found to be approximately intermediate between two previously reported relationships. The crystallographic interfacial relationship between two solid phases is an important parameter in a variety of metallurgical phenomena because of the energy associated with the interface and because this energy is at least partly associated with the way in which the two space lattices are in contact along the interface. In order to describe the interfacial planes in the crystallites of both phases it is necessary to determine the crystallographic orientation of each phase in a specimen relative to each other, and to directly correlate these data with met-allographic measurements from which the interfacial planes can be determined on the same specimen. The back-reflection Laue technique is the easiest way to determine the orientation of thick single crystals or large grains and the method can be combined with metallographic techniques to provide the necessary data, provided the reflections from each phase can be distinguished from one another. However, if the crystallites are small or of varying orientation or if one or both phases has a unit cell with less than the maximum symmetry, many overlapping and complex Laue patterns are recorded simultaneously and it becomes impractical if not impossible to interpret the photographs. All of these complexities were present in a unidirectionally so- lidified A1-CuA12 eutectic alloy1 for which a crystallographic analysis was desired. Consequently the method described here was developed since no known X-ray or electron diffraction technique had all of the following attributes which were required. 1) Method should yield data from which the crys-tallographic orientation of every crystallite or diffracting unit in the irradiated area can be determined. 2) Method should be adaptable to the study of small areas. Depending upon the degree of preferred orientation in the specimens, it should be possible to obtain reliable data in a reasonable length of time on irradiated areas as small as 1.0 or even 0.1 mm in diam. 3) Method should permit direct correlation of crystallographic data with microscopic orientation data pertaining to crystallite axes, habit, morphology, and growth directions as determined by optical microscopy. 4) method should be such that selected areas of large specimens can be easily studied. Trepanning of a small specimen (such as an electron microscope specimen) from larger specimens was undesirable since it would greatly increase the problem of correlating the crystallographic and microscopic directional data. Requirements 3 and 4 dictated that an X-ray back-reflection pinhole technique should be used on large samples, such as metallographic specimens which had previously been examined and analyzed for their microscopic characteristics. Similarly, requirement 2 could be satisfied by choosing a collimator of appropriately small diameter. Exposure times would not be excessive provided the detector were close enough to the specimen. Because of space limitations film was chosen in preference to a Geiger counter. Requirement 1 was fulfilled by using monochromatic radiation and providing enough additional degrees of freedom in specimen rotation to compensate for Bragg law restrictions on diffracted beams. DESCRIPTION OF APPARATUS The apparatus shown in Fig. 1 consists of a pin-hole collimator, (a), projecting through a rotatable circular film in a holder, (b), which records X-ray reflections in the back-reflection region. The specimen, (c), is mounted on the end of a shaft, (d), which is provided with an adjustment, (e), so that the specimen surface can be placed accurately on

Jan 1, 1962