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By Ed McConaghy, P. LaRochelle

The Ambatovy Nickel Project comprises the development of mine, hydrometallurgical processing facilities and necessary infrastructure in Madagascar, positioning Ambatovy as one of the world’s largest producers of nickel and cobalt from lateritic ore. SNC-Lavalin successfully provided comprehensive Engineering, Procurement, Construction Management (EPCM) services for this major capital project which, apart from its sheer size, scope, and engineering design, represented significant location, infrastructure, labour, environmental and climatic challenges. Today, the project has reached 90% of its nameplate capacity and is in its final performance optimization stage. This paper will discuss the significant project management effort that was required to successfully address the complexity of this major project. It will cover the main project management control systems and the engineering tools and processes used during the detail engineering, procurement, and construction phases to achieve optimum project execution.

Jan 1, 2015

By V. Lessels, D. J. Buckwalter, D. H. Rose

A cyanide leaching process developed at Michigan Technological University was tested in a 12 to 24 tpd pilot plant. Flowsheet layout and equipment are described. Cyclic operation of leaching, copper precipitation by acidification, and regeneration of the cyanide leaching solution are discussed. Copper extraction and reagent consumption were as predicted by laboratory tests, and the process was proven to be technically feasible. The White Pine Copper Co., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Copper Range Co., produces copper in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Production in 1965 amounted to 138 million pounds of metal. An expansion program now under way will increase this by approximately one half. The highly mechanized room and pillar mine produces 18,000 tons of ore per day, which is treated in a flotation plant. The concentrate is smelted in a reverberatory furnace, the matte is blown in converters to blister copper, and the blister copper is further refined to a uniformly high-quality Lake copper, which is 100% conductive and has a silver content of 25 to 40 oz per ton. The run of the mine ore averages 22.5 lbs of copper per ton with the ore mineral occurring in the form of chalcocite. The nature of the mineralization is such that the sand tailings average a little over 4 lbs of copper per ton. Intensive research has improved copper recovery in the flotation operation to some extent, but at the scale of present operation about 12,000 tons of sands containing over 48,000 lbs of copper go to the tailings pond daily. When the plant expansion is completed, the loss of copper will be somewhat greater. In 1959, the White Pine Copper CO, initiated a study of the recovery of copper in the sand tailings. Inasmuch as the flotation operation was considered to be optimized, a logical approach seemed to be leaching. For various reasons ammonia, ferric chloride, acid, and biological leaching were ruled out as impracticable. This led to a consideration of cyanide leach-

Jan 1, 1968

By S Prakash, P S. R Reddy, S K. Biswal, V N

The beneficiation potentials of two Indian iron ore slime samples by flotation technique using both cationic and anionic collectors are investigated. The direct and reverse flotation of slimes using oleic acid and dodecylamine as the collector have been studied using both conventional cell and flotation column to upgrade the iron content. The characterisation studies of iron ore slimes indicated that the samples are extremely fine in nature and contain substantial amounts of martite, magnetite, goethite, limonite, kaolinite and quartz beside hematite as the dominant iron mineral phase. The samples on average contain around 52 - 58 per cent Fe, four to seven per cent SiO2 and five to six per cent Al2O3. Taking into account the physico-chemical properties of the slimes, it is attributed that both the samples need to be deslimed by hydrocyclone before flotation. The results of both cell and column studies on sample I showed that a feed containing 57.5 per cent Fe could be upgraded to 65.5 per cent Fe at 50 per cent overall recovery with simultaneous decrease in SiO2 and Al2O3 content to 2.3 per cent and 1.8 per cent respectively by using oleic acid as the collector. In the case of sample II, it has been established that reverse flotation of silica is the better technique to improve both the grade and recovery of iron. Batch flotation studies in cell indicated that a product with 63.1 per cent Fe could be obtained at 40.0 per cent yield with 63.6 per cent iron recovery by the combination of reagents such as gum acacia, sodium hexa meta phosphate and dodecylamine. The performance of column flotation techniques is far superior to that of the cell with respect to both grade and recovery. The concentrates are found to be quite suitable for commercial exploitation as pellet feed.

Jan 1, 2005

By Pekka Hanniala

The falling real price level of copper metal and changes in the treatment and refining charges has been characteristic to the copper industry during the last few decades. Outokumpu's continuous development of the Flash Smelting Technology and increased productivity of the smelters based on these improvements may be one of the basic reasons that have influenced to these trends. From the early beginning of the Flash Smelting Technology, it has been characterized by low operation costs and low emissions, and the vision has been to develop the technology towards Direct Blister Flash Smelting. In Direct Blister Flash Smelting, both smelting and converting are carried out in one furnace making it possible to reduce the number of unit operation steps and thus lower both operation and investment costs. The merger of large copper production companies taken place during the last few years is a sign of a new age in copper production business. Now, the aim is to increase the productivity of copper production not just by utilizing the economy of scale but also by increasing integration and optimization of the whole production chain from mine to refinery. This also means increasing win- win based cooperation between companies. A Production Network concept based on the Flash Converting process enables existing smelters to decrease the operating costs and expand the smelting capacity with minimum investment and at the same time to decrease the emissions of the smelters. The new structure in ownership and partnership between copper production companies makes it easier to adopt the Production Network concept to both new and existing plants, where there exists a lot of built-in capacity. The paper presents Outokumpu's prediction on how the new options for the smelters will contribute to further changes in the structure of copper production. These visions are illustrated by giving examples on how the combination of matte production, Flash Converting, and Direct-to-Blister Flash Smelting could be adapted in existing and new smelters.

Jan 1, 2002

By Herbert Hoover

This paper is in the nature of a rough preliminary report on the progress that has been made in the application of the mass spectrometer to various problems arising in the petroleum industry. A few years ago the authors considered a number of the problems that were arising in the qualitative and quantitative measurement of small amounts of hydrocarbons. The methods available of making analyses by chemical techniques appeared to leave much room for improvement. Without going into the reasons at this point, attention was turned to the possibility of employing physical instead of chemical methods of accomplish-ing the desired results. A preliminary investigation disclosed that the mass spectrometer presented a possibility of solving many problems which could not easily be accomplished by other methods. Work was begun in developing the necessary apparatus and technique. A great deal of encouragement and many valuable suggestions were received from Dr. Robert A. Millikan, Dr. W. R. Smythe, and Dr. W. N. Lacey, of the California Institute of Technology, and from Dr. E. 0. Lawrence, who recently received the Nobel Prize, of the University of California. The authors particularly wish to acknowl-edge the very great willingness of these out-standing scientists to be helpful in solving many of the problems that were involved. So far as the authors are aware, this was the first application of the mass spectrometer to commercial work. The results were considerably better than had at first been anticipated. Briefly, it is pos-sible to run a qualitative and quantitative analysis of an unknown mixture of hydro-carbon gases, with an accuracy of better than plus or minus 5 per cent of each of the various constituents. An exceedingly high degree of sensitivity has been obtained, and a relatively short time is required to com-plete an analysis. Furthermore, it is un-necessary to separate a mixture of gases into its various components in order to complete the analysis.

Jan 1, 1940

By M P. Schwarz

This paper describes modelling studies of the flotation cells used by BHP Billiton Nickel West Ltd in the slimes circuit at Mt Keith. The aim is to achieve a better understanding of the hydrodynamic limitations in the existing cells to improve nickel recovery. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations have been performed on the 100 m3 mechanically-stirred cells. The data produced by the simulations include velocity vectors, gas holdup distribution, solids distribution, bubble size, superficial gas velocity and turbulent parameters. These results have been checked and found to match hydrodynamic measurements at the plant. An analysis of the data found that one of the limitations in fine particle recovery was related to the air bubbles discharged with the tailing. The air in the discharge was caused by the high viscosity of the pulp. In the presence of fine particles, the pulp exhibits high viscosity with a yield stress. The increased drag due to high viscosity caused the bubbles to rise more slowly up the cell. This results in a significant hold-up of bubbles, some of which report to the tailing with associated loss of valuable minerals. A parametric CFD study of the operating variables shows that less air would be discharged in the tailing by decreasing the following: air flow rate,pulp density,stirring speed, andfrother addition. Simulation results indicate that these changes would cause a lowering of the air hold up in the cell especially near the discharge area. Predictions of the bubble-particle attachment rates under various operating conditions have also been calculated. Although it is possible to increase attachment rates by increasing stirring speed or by increasing pulp density, the amount of air discharged and the amount of nickel loss through the tailing will also increase. The project showed that CFD modelling is a powerful tool for studying hydrodynamic effects of bubble-particle interactions in flotation cells.

Jan 1, 2008

By F. Chevarin

The reaction of O2 with the carbon anode is considered as the main parasitic chemical reaction affecting Hall-Heroult process anodes. The current study aims at investigating the influence of the microstructure of baked anode on its overconsumption. Samples were removed from different positions of an industrial anode. Density, porosity, Lc and BET specific surface area were measured. The anode reactivity was evaluated based on the weight losses for the samples resulting from the reaction of anode with air at 550°C after 7h. The essential parameters determined to control the air reactivity are closed porosity, Lc and pores with a pore entrance radius of 1.5, 8.5 and 12 p.m. The knowledge of effects of these parameters allows better understanding of the reactivity of anodes and consequently reduction of their overconsumption in electrolysis bath.

Jan 1, 2011

By Ron Davidson

"The Utility Mine in southeast Saskatchewan is owned by Saskatchewan Power Corporation and operated by Mana/ta Coal Ltd. Up to 3.3 million tonnes of lignite is supplied annually to Saskatchewan Power's Boundary Dam Generating Station. The coal occurs in two predominant seams which are covered by up to 37 metres of saturated fine-grained overburden. Overburden is removed by two draglines working in two pits. Coal is hauled to the mine mouth power station. Comprehensive drainage and reclamation programs are integral parts of the operation. IntroductionThe Utility Mine is owned by Saskatchewan Power Corporation and operated by Manalta Coal Ltd. It is located in southeastern Saskatchewan, approximately 200 km southeast of Regina and 8.5 km southwest of Estevan (Fig. 1). The climate of the Estevan area is semi-arid with long, cool winters and short, hot summers. The mean annual precipitation is 42 cm and the mean summer temperature is 20°C; mean winter temperature is -10°C. The Utility Mine supplies coal to the adjacent Boundary Dam Generating Station. Increases in the station's generating capacity during the past decade have resulted in an extensive expansion program for the Utility Mine. This expansion program, the geological conditions present in the area, and the mining/reclamation operations will be highlighted in the following sections<1.2). History The Estevan area has a long history of coal mining. In the early years, coal was mined via entries into coal seam outcrops along the slopes of the Souris River valley. Surface strip mining was introduced in the late 1920s and progressed to the point where it totally replaced underground mining by the 1950s. Surface mining methods are currently used exclusively by all of the Estevan area operators."

Jan 1, 1985

By Edward F. Nagle

Instrumentation engineers have recently devised practical methods of metering the net solids flowing in a hydraulic mixture. The solids flow rate is determined by measuring the specific gravity and the flow rate of the mixture. T e specific gravity is measured by a variation of the bubbler system. The flow measurement is made by a somewhat unorthodox orifice requiring field calibrations. The linear mixture flow signal is then multiplied by the specific gravity signal, which is directly proportional to the percentage of solids in the mixture, to produce a linear solids Slow rate signal. The computations in this system are performed by Sorteberg pneumatic relays. Having obtained this measurement, integration and automatic control of hydraulic solids flow are available. This system is useful in mining, drilling and dredging industries. It provides maintenance of the net solids flow rate and reduces power consumption. Automatic control will provide rapid stabilization of net solids flow rate and release operators from making menual adjustments. The advantages of this application are economy of operation and increased pump efficiency, This paper describes a hydraulic solids flowmeter system installed aboard a dredge. Its purpose is twofolds:- 1. 20 provide a summation of the net solids flowing 2. To make available a practical guide for the drag tender operator. (Dwg. GSD-2219)

Jan 1, 1958

By Chr. Kersch

This project further develops supercritlcal fluid extraction as an industrial soil remediation process. Heavy metals are removed from sand using CO2, The effect of the type of complexing ligands, pressure and water content on the extraction efficiency is investigated.

Jan 1, 1999

By John Birkinbine

The following data concerning the general dimensions and district-location of the blast-furnaces of the United States are intended to supplement a paper of similar title, which appears in volume xiv., pages 561 to 577, of the Transactions, and bring the record to the end of the calendar year 1886. The reasons for presenting the figures at so short an interval since the former paper are that the American Iron and Steel Association has lately issued a new directory of iron and steel works (edition of 1886) from which many of the plants which have been inactive are omitted and new industries added, to such an extent as to materially affect the figures presented in the first paper; and also that the improvement in business has encouraged a production of pig-iron in 1886 in excess of any previous outputs, and the results obtained in the industry at large as well as at individual plants form a better index of what the American furnaces can accomplish than those heretofore presented. The statement will not be extended beyond the production of pigiron, although it could well be made to include the manufactured iron and steel; and while the data given have been verified as far as possible up to the close of the year 1886, no attempt, except in special cases, has been made to note the changes which have taken place since that time—changes which within the next twelvemouth will affect some of the figures here presented. At the close of the year 1886 there were 579 blast-furnaces reported on the active list—an apparent decrease, as compared with my former paper, of 97 stacks; but this was not an actual decrease, since most of the furnaces dropped from the Directory were those which, owing to location, inefficient equipment, or fake of ore-supplies, etc., were considered likely to remain inactive, although a number of them will possibly be temporarily put into blast with iron advancing in price. On the other hand the new plants added

Jan 1, 1887

By Owen Rice

CHANGES in coke hardness affect the working of the blast furnace, for soft coke is an obstacle to proper furnace operation. Soft coke is due to a low hydrogen-oxygen ratio in the coal charged; increasing this ratio increases the hardness of the coke. The best means of determining the hardness of coke is the combined tumbler and ball-mill. Soft coke is a great hindrance to proper blast-furnace operation and changes in coke hardness affect the working of the furnace. The best method of determining the hardness of coke is by using a combination tumbler-ball-mill. Soft coke is due to a low hydrogen-oxygen ratio in the coal charged. An increase of this ratio improves the hardness of the resulting coke. WHAT IS GOOD COKE? It is not always appreciated that the correct answer may be such a reliable forecast to the physical condition of the blast furnace, and incidentally its entire operation, that among the ordinary variations in other raw materials and also in operating conditions, it assumes a position of primary significance. Inasmuch as coke forms two-thirds of the total bulk of material charged, this assertion will not seem exaggerated, and in the subsequent discussion its applicability will be presented. Coke is the ideal blast-furnace fuel because it is strong and hard enough to resist the crushing and grinding effects of the furnace burden, and its porosity allows the ready passage of gas upward through the charge, and rapid combustion before the tuyeres. Coke deprived of its strength and with a cell structure physically frail and chemically susceptible to solution by carbon dioxide, has its chief asset eliminated. When the melting zones are approached the fluid cinder trickling toward the hearth will envelope the small pieces of coke and form a sticky mass that will retard the free passage of gas. Blast pressure will then rise, driving

Jan 1, 1921

By J. T. Hayward

Studies of the forces and conditions governing the recovery of petroleum from natural reservoirs indicate that a low gas-oil ratio increases ultimate recovery, retards the encroachment of water and tends to reduce lifting costs. Methods for controlling and reducing gas-oil ratios in producing wells consequently have been given considerable attention during the past few years. However, during this same period, the production from wells in nearly all fields has been fixed by proration agreements and it is the opinion of the writer that where a well is required to produce steadily at a predetermined rate, less than its "potential" or maximum capacity, the gas-oil ratio will depend only upon the rate of production, and will be independent of the method of production and of the design of equipment in the well. If no change in the rate of production is contemplated, efforts directed to improving the gas-oil ratio by altering the diameter of the flow string, changing the position of the choke, assisting the flow with gas-lift or pump, etc., will be unsuccessful. This viewpoint is not new. It was presented by H. N. Marsh and B. H. Robinson in 1929,&apos; but it has not been generally accepted. Although engineers believe that the rate of withdrawal and not the equip ment used governs the water-oil ratio, a similar opinion regarding the gas-oil ratio is not so commonly admitted. The rates of flow of oil and gas into the base of an oil well depend upon the following conditions: 1. The characterist-ics of the oil and gas. 2. The characteristics of the underground reservoir. 3. Temperature and pressure conditions in the reservoir. 4. The back-pressure held against the face of the sand. In operating a well, the only one of these conditions over which control may be exercised through operating procedure and the use of equipment above the sand is the back-pressure at the face of the sand. Strictly speaking, the back-pressure varies over the face of the sand, owing

Jan 1, 1932

By John J. Reed

Great strides have been made during the past few years in the field of rock mechanics, and steps have been taken to implement our newly acquired knowledge to advance the mining industry and improve the lot of the miner. This article is a summary of the latest progress in those areas of rock mechanics indicated by the subtitles. Let&apos;s look at these new tools for mining men. GROUND STABILITY DETERMINATIONS Much valuable information in the field of rock mechanics can be obtained by relatively simple, inexpensive measurements and observations, and this kind of investigation can be classed under the general heading of "Ground Stability Determinations." The instrumentation involved in this type of work is relatively simple and inexpensive, and its operation is not difficult to understand.1,2 Precise deformation measurements accurate to a few thousandths of an inch are very helpful in detecting stope convergence, pillar compression, floor heave, etc. Such measurements recorded over a period of weeks and months will detect and forwarn against failure of the overall mine structure long before any other visual evidence can be observed. Such advance warning then permits the introduction of sufficient artificial support in time to do some good. Instead of precise measurements which must be made with a special instrument, sensitive warning lights can be used which will flash red upon sensing movements as small as .002 or .003 in. These devices are well received by miners, and very practical under noisy conditions. High precision is important tit this area, but in large openings, engineer&apos;s tapes plus machinists scales reading to .01 in. may be sufficient. Uniform tensioning of the tape is of course essential. Long term, precise measurements have shown repeatedly that opening convergence lends to be slow and uniform except when accelerated to sudden large displacements by blasting, rock bursts or other sudden large scale failures. It is interesting to note that measurements in South Africa in very deep mines have shown 40% of the closure was footwall rise, and only 60% was hanging-wall sag.

Jan 4, 1962

By AMAN SONI, JONATHAN G. BAGGETT, Nino Ripepi, JUAN J. MONSALVE, Richard Bishop

Underground stone mines are vulnerable to karst void formations due to the erosion of carbonate rocks by groundwater flow. The voids or cavities may lead to hazards including ground collapse and sudden outflow of clay-rock sediments during the development of the mine. This study evaluates the effect of karst voids on the strength of pillars in an underground room-and-pillar limestone mine. Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) surveys were interpreted to map the void boundaries inside a karst-affected pillar. A combination of LiDAR scanning and virtual discontinuity mapping is used to formulate the discrete fracture network (DFN). Discrete element modeling (DEM) helps simulate the effect of karsts and discontinuities in the pillar models with varying stress. It is observed that the cavities may lead to a significant reduction in pillar strength. Apart from posing a hazard to miners and machinery, any advance into these cavities may disrupt mine operations. This research serves as an initial step toward understanding the importance of pillar design in underground stone mines affected by karst voids to prevent local instability or pillar failures.

Sep 1, 2022

By Vic Briccardi

Energy Management Challenges The Holistic Standard to Energy Management Energy Management Information System (EMIS) "Best Practices?: Energy Management Maturity Curve De Beers Canada Profile & Mine Locations Significant ROI Driven by Real-Time Energy Visibility Mining Energy KPI?s Summary: What Does EMIS Deliver? Q&A Session

May 1, 2013

By FHATUWANI SENGANI

The understanding of yielding pillar behavior has been well documented in terms of pillar strength using numerical simulations and empirical formulas, but the understanding of how fracture propagates in a matured yielding pillar is not well established. A new empirical summation chart of fracture distribution along the matured yielding pillar is presented in this paper. The chart was developed using ground penetrating radar (GPR) supported by borescope observations, focusing on monitoring the distribution of extension fracture.

By R. D. Brown

"Taxation tends to be a depressing subject. Taxes are unfair, taxes are too high and, above all, taxes are too complicated.In a recent address to the Canadian Tax Foundation, the author discussed in a rather more lighthearted way the possible causes of the complexity of the present Canadian taxation system. In order to provide an element of relief in this series of articles on taxation matters, extracts from these remarks are quoted below :"

Jan 1, 1976

By Joseph W. Richards

(New York Meeting, February, 1912.) THE Ashio copper-mine of the Furukawa Mining Co. is situated 18 miles from Nikko, and 109 miles north of Tokyo, near the center of Japan. The mine-waters are run over scrap-iron, whereby most of the copper is precipitated as cement copper, leaving iron sulphate with some copper sulphate in solution. After using in the wet concentrating ore-dressing plant, the waste water contains clay and ore-slimes. The only avenue of disposal of this water is the Watarese river; but as this flows through valleys in which the water is used for irrigating the rice-crops, it is necessary to purify and clarify the water before discharge. The water amounts to from 600 to 700 cu. ft. (from 17 to 20 cu. m.) per minute, and averages about 0.00025 per cent. of copper, representing more than 18 tons of copper per month. The water carries H2SO4, FeSO4, Fe, (SO,),, CuSO4 and other metallic sulphates in solution, and clay, ore-fines, slimes and basic. iron sulphates as suspended matters. To purify and clarify the water, precipitation by milk of lime has been used, in three different ways, as follows: I. First Method, Copper not Recovered. Milk of lime was run into the water, and the mixture run through six settling-ponds, and then through a sand filter into the river. Fig. 1 is a view of the settling- and filtering-ponds. In the first pond, sand and metallic hydrates free from copper collected; in the next five ponds, slime, calcium sulphate, and metallic hydrates carrying copper settled out. The effluent carried from 0.1 to 0.05 mg. of copper per liter

Jun 1, 1912

By G. W. Weems

The Bureau of Mines combined preconcentrating techniques and mass spectrometry to develop a parts-per-billion general analysis of impurities in helium. The impurities are preconcentrated using a Bureau trace-impurity analyzer; 35-mm Hg pressure of helium is left in the concentration trap to sweep the impurities into the mass spectrometry and provide a 10-mm Hg sample pressure.

Jan 1, 1966