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By K. Adham, T. Buchholz

Debottlenecking of high temperature processes within an existing metallurgical plant can significantly increase the throughput to meet new production demands. Modeling and simulation can help to fulfil that aim through incremental changes and operational improvements, rather than the more expensive option of building new plants and facing new environmental and infrastructure challenges. This paper describes a methodology of how modeling tools can be used to simulate the processing steps, how to estimate their existing and ultimate capacities, and how to determine the minimum cost points for a plant capacity expansion. This technique is presented through a generic description that can be applied to different metallurgical processing studies. We start with heat-and-mass balances, draw a bottleneck diagram, brainstorm capacity increase options, and prepare a cost-capacity curve. Hatch has successfully applied this technique to a number of plant capacity studies, with great benefits to our industrial clients (Adhametal et al. in A Success Path from Process R&D to Commercial Plants, Montreal, Canada, [1]).

Mar 1, 2017

By Oliver Bowles

It is noteworthy that 80 to 95 per cent of the gross production of all slate quarries in the United States is discarded as waste . In view of the loss involved in handling so much waste , and the consequent added cost of the finished product , the Bureau of Mines has undertaken a study of the slate industry for the purpose of devising the best means of reducing the proportion of waste , and of utilizing the unavoidable waste . The utilization of waste has received special attention , and the cooperation of many prospective purchasers of waste slate has been enlisted in testing its adaptability for various uses .

Mar 1, 1921

By NA NA

Stamler Corporation manufactures of mining machinery and material handling equipment specialising in Feeder-Breakers to the mining and quarrying industries.

Jan 9, 1996

By A. M. Gaudin

In a recent paper we have reviewed principles and applications of measurement methods for contact angles and their hysteresis (22). In this paper we apply these methods to a system consisting of rutile, an organic liquid (benzene, decane, or dodecane) and water. Surfactant (dodecylamine hydrochloride) was used at various concentrations and various pH values.

Jan 1, 1964

By John Stubbles

Data are presented on the global warming issue to reinforce the decision by the U.S to reject the Kyoto protocol. The evidence that CO2 is a problem rather than a benefit is inconclusive and will be discussed in this paper. Nevertheless, for economic reasons alone, the US steel industry will continue to minimize CO2 emissions (and the release of real pollutants) per ton of steel through energy reduction programs. However, relative to inevitable increases in absolute CO2 emissions from the utility industry and the transportation sector, future reductions by the steel industry will be inconsequential in the "big picture."

Jan 1, 2004

By Qingxia Liu, Mingbo Zhang, Hongbo Zeng

The shortage of freshwater has been a major challenge for mineral flotation in arid areas. When using high salinity water, certain electrolytes are detrimental to flotation while others can improve the flotability of minerals. In this paper, the flotation behaviors and contact angles of pyrite in both Milli-Q water and high salinity water were investigated using different collectors at various pH levels. Results show that the thionocarbamate has a less affinity to pyrite in different solutions under mildly alkaline conditions as compared with potassium amyl xanthate (PAX) and N-isopropoxypropyl-N’-ethoxycarbonyl thiourea (iPOPECTU). At high pH levels, the slime coating on pyrite surfaces, which is caused by colloidal precipitates of magnesium and calcium ions in seawater, was confirmed by SEM, EDX and in-situ zeta potential measurement. The slime coating of colloidal precipitates on mineral surfaces led to low recovery of pyrite at high pH levels. The study of flotation behavior of pyrite in high salinity water improves our fundamental understanding of mineral flotation in seawater.

Jan 1, 2015

By C. Bachmann, M. J. Laurila, A. J. Widenman, A. Klein

Elemental analysis of slurry streams using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) has long been employed. However, detector technology has limited the application of XRF devices. Using detector technology employed on NASA's Mars Pathfinder to analyze soil samples, Process Control, Inc. has developed an on-line analyzer to mount on a sampling system. The prototype XRF elemental analyzer was installed at Detroit Edison's Monroe Power Plant in January, 1998 and has been employed to monitor feedstock quality. A slurry system has been developed for flotation control. This paper describes the testing of the analyzer using the new, draft ISO standard for evaluating the performance of online analyzers (ISO/DIS15239).

Jan 1, 1999

By W. P. Frey

The briquet plant of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Co., at Lansford, Pa., has previously been referred to.' It has passed the stage of experiment and now rests on a foundation practically and financially sound. The purpose of this' paper is to explain how success has been attained, and to set standards for the development of hard-coal briquetting which may eliminate future failures. All the conclusions are based on actual results, avoiding speculation and theory. Up to three years ago, the L. C. & N. Co. used coal-tar pitch as a binder in making hard-coal briquets. The plant operated with a monthly output of 300 to 600 tons and was unable to meet its own expenses. Naturally, no one was satisfied, especially as the ideals of a smokeless briquet were still unrealized. Then came the Dutch oil process, introduced in this country by the General Briquetting Co. of New York. This process uses as binder a small percentage of heavy residue of petroleum, which, being liquid, permits great economy of handling; it also did away with the most objectionable fumes of the former briquets. This oil2 is not absolutely smokeless; heating the fresh fuel to red heat liberates some low-volatile hydrocarbons, yielding a white smoke which is not objectionable. On the other hand, this oil adds to the briquet about 7 per cent. of volatile matter, giving the product a heating capacity equal to that of the best free-burning anthracite coal. The average silt used in the manufacture of these boulets averages 16.5 per cent. chemical ash, corresponding to 12,000 B.t.u. per pound of coal. The Hydrolene used as binder runs about 17,500 B.t.u. per pound, and approximately 7 per cent. of it enters into the mixture, hence 12,000 X 0.93..........................11,160 B.t.n. 17,500 X 0.07.......................... 1,125 B.t.u. Total.....................................12,385 B.t.u. per pound of briquets

Jan 1, 1918

By C. Nexhip, S. Sun

Critical to understanding and controlling phase mixing and separation in metallurgical processes, is the development of reliable experimental techniques to measure interfacial properties of melt systems. A series of experiments has been carried out to determine the effect of oxygen potential on the surface tension of liquid copper. Using an electromagnetic levitation method, a surface tension-oxygen chemical potential adsorption isotherm was produced for the Cu-O system at T 1400 K. The surface tension results show good agreement with the literature values e.g. within 3 per cent for pure copper. The Belton `ideal' adsorption isotherm was applied, and the following equation derived to best fit the experimental data ? =1251-77.5 1n41+ (2.79x105 . pO1/2)](mN.m Using this equation, the surface tension of copper was calculated/predicted as a function of oxygen potential at 1400 K, and showed excellent agreement with the experimental values. This confirmed that the adsorption behaviour of oxygen in liquid copper is ideal. The saturation coverage of oxygen on the surface of liquid copper was determined to be T0 = 6.65 µmoles.m,-2 corresponding to an area per adsorbed oxygen atom of ao ? 25 Å2. These values agree well with those cited in the literature, and our experimental data cover a very wide range of oxygen potential (10-5 to 10-17 atm). Keywords: levitation melting, surface tension, Cu-O alloys, oxygen potential, adsorption isotherm, surface coverage.

Jan 1, 2004

By James Kear, Romain Prioul, Robert G. Jeffrey, Andrew P. Bunger, Dimitry Chuprakov

"Unconventional gas and geothermal reservoirs are typically naturally fractured and therefore the challenging problem of hydraulic fracture (HF) growth through naturally fractured rocks is an important issue especially for the development of accurate predictive HF models. This paper presents results from laboratory experiments in which HFs have been created in both sandstone and crystalline (gabbronorite) rock specimens such that they impinge either orthogonally or at an oblique angle on an unbonded, machined frictional interface. Depending on the conditions of each experiment, the fractures either cross or are blunted at the interface. The growth behavior was ascertained for these experiments based on a synthesis of the injection pressure record, active ultrasound monitoring, and direct post-experiment inspection of fractured specimens. From these experiments we observe: 1) A contrast between direct crossing and crossing with an offset for orthogonal and oblique intersection, respectively, 2) Apparent independence of crossing/blunting behavior on the friction coefficient for orthogonal intersection, 3) Dependence of the stresses required to promote crossing on the intersection angle between the HF and NF, 4) Existence of cases in which the hydraulic fracture crosses but then essentially ceases propagation such that all fluid is diverted to the interface. INTRODUCTIONHydraulic fracturing is a vital technology used to increase the productivity of oil, gas, and geothermal wells. Predicting hydraulic fracture (HF) growth is, in turn, critical to design of hydraulic fractures that grow to the desired length, accept the desired amount of proppant, and remain contained in the reservoir without unwanted height growth into surrounding layers (e.g. Economides and Nolte, 2000). The importance of HF modeling has prompted 6 decades of research during which simulators have become more efficient, more accurate, and have addressed a growing range of complexities (see review of e.g. Adachi et al., 2007).One of these complexities is the interaction between HFs and mechanical discontinuities such as natural fractures (NFs). Efforts in this area have been mainly driven by development of unconventional (i.e. low permeability) oil and gas resources because essentially all viable low permeability reservoirs, including shale gas/oil reservoirs, are naturally fractured to some degree (King, 2010). One of the most important questions for developing effective HF stimulation strategies in these reservoirs is whether the hydraulic fracture(s) is/are expected to be single-stranded or whether interaction with the NFs will lead to network-like growth. The basic building block for numerical simulators that can address this question (such as Kresse et al., 2013 and Weng et al., 2014) is whether an HF that intersects an NF will cross the NF or whether its growth will be captured by the NF so that additional fluid injection pressurizes the NF but does not generate ongoing growth of a new HF. These scenarios, including subcategories such as crossing with an offset, have been recognized for several decades (Daneshy, 1974; Warpinski and Teufel, 1987, and as recently reviewed and expanded by Chuprakov et al., 2013)."

Jan 1, 2015

To provide accurate navigation and control of continuous mining systems.

Jan 1, 1996

By Frederick W. Horton

The lack of comparable and accurate statistics of coal-mine accidents in the United States as a whole led the Bureau of Mines in 1911 to undertake the collection of such data. The importance of such statistics as a basis for remedial legislation can not be overestimated, moreover they serve to indicate the results of the efforts made by the Federal Government, State mining departments, and mine operators throughout the country to lessen the hazard of coal mining. The mining departments of the leading foreign coal-producing countries have long taken cognizance of the importance of such statistics. In Great Britain, official statistics of coal-mine accidents have been collected and published since 1851, in France since 1853, in Austria since 1875, in Germany since 1852, and in Belgium since 1831. The United States not only leads these countries in the production of coal but the output of its coal mines is greater than those of Great Britain, France, Belgium, Austria, India, Japan, and New South Wales combined. Accordingly, it is proper that there should be some official record of the accidents in this, the greatest mining industry not only in the United States but in the world. It is especially appropriate that this work should have been undertaken by the Bureau of Mines, as, through its investigations of mine accidents in the field, it is constantly in close touch with coalmining conditions throughout the country. Its engineers are not only able to obtain first-hand information as to a great many accidents, but, through their special training and experience, are able to appreciate the significance of the figures reported by the coal-mine operators, thus aiding an intelligent and uniform classification 01 the accidents for the country as a whole. Further, the State mining dnpartments and State mine inspectors of every State in the country having a system of coal-mine inspection are cooperating with the bureau by sending it monthly reports of accidents in the coal mines of their respective States. The receipt of such reports places the bureau in a most advantageous position to publish promptly statistics of these accidents. Although a few years ago accurate statistics of c~al-mine accidents in the United States as a whole were entirely lacking this bureau was able to pubjiish the 1912 statistics within three n:onths after the close of the year and long before corresponding statistics had been issued by the mining departments of the leading foreign coal-producing countries. The cooperative agreement with the State coal-mine inspectors has not only made possible the prompt publication of the statistics, but it has also enabled the bureau to classify the fatalities by months and according to cause, showing the months in which the greatest and the least number of men were killed and from what causessomething that has never before been accomplished for this country.

Jan 1, 1913

By Mikko Ruonala, Pertti Lamberg, Olli Hyvärinen

The smelting of copper sulphide concentrate is the dominant route in copper production (Figure 1). Heap leaching of oxidized copper ores with weak sulphuric acid together with copper solvent extraction and electrowinning has gained popularity during recent decades, and it accounts for close to 20 % of primary copper production. Heap leaching offers advantages such as lower costs and consequently the construction of a production plant at a mine site is made possible. Limited resources of oxidized copper ores, the long leaching time of chalcopyrite and inability to recover gold inhibit this growth. The HydroCopperTM process developed by Outokumpu Technology at the laboratories of Outokumpu Research, Pori, Finland, is a new chloride leaching technology /1,2/, which offers an alternative to smelting and heap leaching (Figure 1). In the HydroCopperTM process sulphidic concentrates with various mineralogy and grade can be treated at the mine site to produce high-quality copper. Instead of copper cathodes the HydroCopperTM end products are copper wire rod, copper bars or copper billets. One of the advantages of HydroCopperTM technology is that gold can also be recovered in the process simultaneously /3/. To confirm the functioning of the new process and to dimension equipment Outokumpu Technology built the HydroCopperTM demonstration plant in Pori, Finland /4/. It has a capacity of 1 metric ton of copper per day. After testing with Pyhäsalmi copper concentrate in 2003, the first commercial demonstration run with Erdenet copper concentrate took place in 2004.

Jan 1, 2005

By B. H. Eccleston

The effect upon automobile emissions in changing from leaded to lead-free gasolines was studied in experiments by the Bureau of Mines in cooperation with the American Petroleum Institute. Typical U.S. leaded gasolines and prototype lead-free gasolines of comparable octane quality were used in eight vehicles operated to simulate city driving. The experiments were run at 70° and 95° F. Exhaust and evaporative emissions were measured and the photochemical effect of the emissions was experimentally observed in an artificial smog chamber. Results of the study reveal the manner and degree in which the changes in fuel composition alter the amount and characteristics of both exhaust and evaporative emissions. Briefly, it is shown that the compositional differences between leaded and prototype lead-free fuels resulted in higher photo-chemical pollution potential of the emissions from the lead-free fuels. The effect is attributed to the photochemical characteristics of high-octane fuel components that are used in greater quantity in the lead-free fuels.

Jan 1, 1970

The value of U.S. mineral raw material output reached a record $63.1 billion in 1975. This high exceeded the 1974 value of $55.2 billion by 14 percent. Among the three major mineral categories -fuels, metals, and nonmetals -only fuels showed an increase in value. Both the metal and nonmetal categories showed declines in value. The significance of this nearly $63 billion mineral output can be noted in the fact that it is the basis for the subsequent production of over $270 billion a year in energy and processed materials. Of the 78 individual mineral commodities included in these 1975 totals, only 17 registered gains in output, while 45 registered value increases, reflecting higher prices.

Jan 1, 1976

By J. Erik Loehr, Minh Uong, Andrew Z. Boeckmann, Sarah G. Myers

"The University of Missouri performed a lateral load test program involving 32 drilled shaft load tests for the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT). Tests were performed at two MoDOT geotechnical research sites, and all shafts were founded in shale. Shafts were instrumented to measure the displacement of the shaft head, and the structural response of each shaft was interpreted from strain gage data and from ShapeAccelArray (SAA) data. The SAA is a chain of rigid segments with sensors that use MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) technology to measure the tilt of each segment/joint. The measuring principle of the SAA is therefore similar to that of an inclinometer. The SAA device was placed in a casing installed in the center of each test shaft to provide a continuous record of deflection along the length of the shaft throughout each test.Bending moment profiles were calculated from strain gage data and from SAA data. Interpretation of bending moments from measurements of strain (via strain gages) and displacement (via SAA) is a nontrivial exercise, primarily because the bending stiffness, EI, is nonlinear and greatly influenced by concrete cracking, which is difficult to predict. The procedure used for this work predicted values of bending stiffness along the length of the shaft as a function of the bending curvature, which was interpreted from the SAA data. Values for bending stiffness as a function of curvature were computed using Ensoft LPile v2012. Bending moment profiles from SAA data were typically similar to those from strain gage data. The SAA bending moment profiles were often “noisier” than the strain gage bending moment profiles, but the SAA bending moment profiles had more data points since the SAA chain was continuous from the top to the bottom of each shaft."

Jan 1, 2017

Strategic Branding ? In 2006 Explore for More was created ? By industry, for industry ? Cohesive approach to career attraction ? Defines industry and employers of choice Career Kits ? Positive impression of mining: ? before seeing the brochure 31% ? after seeing the brochure 83% ? Likely to consider a career in mining: ? before seeing the brochure 12% ? after seeing the brochure 23% MARS ? Mining Attraction, Recruitment, and Retention Strategy (2007-2010) ? Attract, recruit and retain a skilled workforce ? Increase participation of under-represented groups ? Dispel myths and misconceptions of the mining industry ? Inform and educate Canadians of career opportunities ? Promote and build upon industry best practices in workforce planning

May 1, 2009

By Joseph L. Buckley

A total of 55 conveyor belt fire tests were conducted in the Bureau of Mines Fire Test Gallery, located at the Factory Mutual (FM) Fire Test Center West Glocester, R.I. The objectives of these tests were to: 1) determine the fire resistance and burning characteristics of various conveyor belt materials under simulated mine conditions; 2) provide essential data for designing a reliable bench-scale conveyor belt fire resistance test; and, 3) determine fire test conditions that will discriminate between low, moderate and high fire resistant materials. Belts, representative of those which mold he found in underground coal mines were examined under n umber of experimental conditions which included; ignition intensity; air flow rate; ratio of belt bright (h2) to overall gallery height (h1); exposure time; and, belt width. It was found that fire propagation could be achieved for some "fire resistant" belts (complying with the present Schedule 2G standard for approval) when exposed to an Ignition source of =6000 Btu/min for a 15-min period at a belt height ratio of 01.66. There appears to be a dependency of flame propagation on air flow rates and belt width, although the tests performed do not provide a quantitative trend. Recommendations are made for additional work to resolve some anomalous date and to fill voids in the rest program.

Jan 1, 1978

By Donald B. Gillies

THE great source of iron ore for the furnaces of this country has been the Lake Superior district. Ore was first discovered there in 1844, and the first shipments made via the Great Lakes in 1852 to a furnace at New Castle, Pa. The stream of ore from that region increased slowly to exceed a million tons in 1873, and did not reach 10 million tons until 1895. By 1901 it exceeded 20 million tons, and in 1907 over 40 million tons. Total Lake Superior output through 1948 was about 2500 million long tons. Outside the Lake Superior district are the Southern district, including mainly Alabama, Georgia, Missouri, and Texas; the Eastern district of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania; the Western district embracing Wyoming, Utah, and California.

Jan 1, 1949

By R. S. Wagner, W. C. Ellis

A new mechanism of crystal growth involving oapor, liquid, crnd solid phases explains many observations of the effect of implurities in crystal growth from the vapor. The role of the impuuitq is to form a liquid Solution with the crystalline tnalerial to be grown from the vapor. Since the solution is n prefevred site for deposition firorti the uapor, the liquid becorrles supersaturated. Crystal growth occurs by precipitatzon from the supersaturated liquid crt tlie solid-liquid zntevfnce. A crystalline defect, such as a screw dislocation, is not essetztial for VLS (vapor -liquid-solid) growth. The concept of the VLS mechanism is discussed in detail with reference to tire controlled growth of silicon crystals using gold, platinum, palladium, nickel, silver, or copper as an implurity agent. RECENTLY a short communication' described a new concept of crystal growth from the vapor, the VLS mechanism. In this paper we present a detailed description of the process and its application to the growth of silicon crystals and we discuss its relevance to existing concepts of .'whisker" crystal growth. Crystal growth from the vapor is usually explained by a theory proposed by Frank2 and developed in detail by Burton, Cabrera, and Frank.3 In this theory a screw dislocation terminating at the growth surface provides a self-perpetuating step. Accommodation of atoms at the step is energetically favorable, and is possible of much lower supersatu-ration than required for two-dimensional nucleation. Crystals of a unique form resulting from aniso-tropic growth from the vapor are "whisker" or filamentary ones. Such crystals have a lengthwise dimension orders of magnitude larger than those of the cross section. For most filamentary crystals both the fast-growth direction and directions of lateral growth have small Miller indices. The special growth form for a whisker crystal implies that the tip surface of the crystal must be a preferred growth site. sears4 proposed that, according to the Frank theory. a whisker contains a screw dislocation emergent at the growing tip. Such an axial defect provides a preferred growth site and accounts for unidirectional growth. The hypothesis was extended by Price. Vermilyea. and Webb," still implying the presence of a dislocation at the whisker tip. They postulated that impurities arriving at the fast-growing tip face become buried while those arriving on the surface of slow-growing lateral faces accumulate and thereby hinder growth. These considerations led to a whisker morphology. There is increasing evidence that most whisker crystals grown from the vapor are dislocation-free. Webb and his coworkers6 searched for an Eshelby twist7 in zinc? cadmium, iron. copper, silver, and palladium whisker crystals. They found unequivocal evidence for an axial screw dislocation in only one element, palladium. However, not every palladium crystal examined contained a dislocation. Observations with the electron microscope have failed to show dislocations in whisker crystals of zinc, silicon.9 and one morphology of AlN.10 Since many whiskers are completely free of dislocations, an axial dislocation does not appear to be required for whisker growth of many substances. A significant advance in understanding whisker growth has been a recognition of the need for impurities. This requirement has been clearly demonstrated for copper,11 iron,13 and silicon9-1 whiskers. For silicon, detailed studies proved conclusively that certain impurities, for example, nickel or gold, are essential. Another pertinent phenomenon which has received little attention is the presence of a liquid layer or droplets on the surface of some crystals growing from the vapor. Crystals in which this has been observed include p-toluidine,14 MoO3,15 ferrites,16 and silicon carbide.'" The liquid layers or globules were considered to be metastable phases, molecular complexes, or intermediate polymers originating from condensation of the vapor phase. The possibility has been suggested that the halide being reduced is condensed at the tip18 or adsorbed on the surface11 of a growing metal whisker, for example copper. The literature on whiskers discloses illustrations of rounded terminations at the tips. These appear. for example, on crystals of A12O3,19,20 sic,21 and BeO.22 For BeO, Edwards and Happel suggested that during growth of the whisker the rounded termination consisted of molten beryllium enclosed in a solid shell of BeO. A recent paper9 on the growth of silicon whiskers contains many observations pertinent to an understanding of the mechanisnl of whisker growth. These observations are summarized as follows. 1) Silicon whiskers are dislocation-free. 2) Certain impurities are essential for whisker growth. Without such impurities the silicon deposit is in the form of a film or consists of discrete polyhedral crystals.

Jan 1, 1965