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By T. Johnson

Mining activity in a number of metal ores has been running quite high over the last few years. In particular, those metals that employ acid functional extraction processes such as copper, nickel, cobalt and uranium have been particularly active. The world?s largest nickel mine ? the massive $4.76 billion Ambatovy nickel mine on the African island nation of Madagascar is nearing completion. When it reaches its full production capacity in 2013, the mine will produce 60,000 MT/yr of nickel and 5600 MT/yr of cobalt. Coming on the heels of the Ambatovy project is the Long Harbour Processing Plant in Newfoundland, Canada which will process the ore from Vale?s Voisey Bay mine in Labrador. Voisey?s Bay is expected to generate more than 50,000 MT/yr of nickel ore when it starts up in 2013. Next up will be the Boleo project in Mexico on the Baja peninsula. When commissioned in 2013, the $1.4 Billion Boleo project is expected to produce 60,000 MT/yr copper, 3100 MT/yr cobalt, 36,000 MT/yr zinc and 100,000 ? 250,000 MT/yr manganese carbonate.

Feb 27, 2013

By Jerome P. Downey

Technologies developed within the field of extractive metallurgy to recover, concentrate, and purify metals and industrial minerals from ores, have served as the foundation for all of the subsequent environmental remediation, materials recycling, and waste management technologies. This paper discusses the application of classical extractive engineering principles to the development of a thermal process for the recovery of mercury from solid wastes. Process development is presented as a series of logical stages, which begin with a thorough characterization of the site-specific waste, move on to bench and pilot scale testing of the process options, and end with a functional process flowsheet. This paper also presents thermodynamic data on many mercury species of interest to the minerals, power, and chemical industries. These data can be used to model the speciation and recovery of the mercury as a function of various process parameters.

Jan 1, 2003

By Walter E. Lewis

The Cuyuna iron range in Crow Wing County, Minn., is the principal producer of manganiferous iron ore in the United States. The ore is mined from a manganiferous iron formation in the bedrock of the Cuyuna district. This iron formation is divided into two general lithologic types-thin-bedded and thick-bedded. The unoxidized, thin-bedded iron formation is composed of iron silicate with associated fine-grained carbonates of iron and manganese. The thick-bedded iron formation carries iron and manganese oxides with intimately associated silica. Oxidation and leaching of the original iron formation have been the most influential factors in producing manganiferous iron-ore concentrations in quantities large enough to exploit on a commercial basis. The unoxidized and the partly oxidized and enriched iron-formation materials are suitable as a source of ferrograde manganese ore. These materials have been classified according to their amenability to mineral dressing and degree of oxidation and leaching.

Jan 1, 1958

This publication contains four papers presented at a seminar on mine subsidence control held in Pittsburgh, PA, on September 19, 1985. The seminar was designed to keep the mineral industry informed of new technology developed by the Bureau of Mines that permits reliable and accurate prediction of mine subsidence. The papers describe actual field studies undertaken by the Bureau to monitor surface subsidence over longwall panels. Topics discussed include the efects of subsidence on water table levels, the development of subsidence pre calculation methodology suitable for use with the specific lithological conditions of the Pittsburgh coalbed, an engineering comparison of technologies used in surveying for longwall mine subsidence, and a comparison of the process of subsidence over two different longwall panels.

Jan 1, 1985

By Neil Campbell

Abstract Following discovery on the Giant property of very promising gold deposits, some of which terminate against the steeply-dipping West Bay fault, a geological study was initiated co locate possible faulted extensions of the ore. Geological mapping revealed that the ore and the shear zones to which the ore is confined are older than the fault and therefore subject co displacement by it. It also disclosed several diabase dykes which seem co provide the best basis for determining the fault movement. After applying various techniques co determine their strikes and dips, the dykes were used as structural markers and it was estimated that, subject co certain possible errors, the movement on the fault was 16,140 feet (3.06 miles) south and 1,570 feet (0.297 miles) down on the west side relative co the ease. Evidence supporting this conclusion was obtained when subsequent deep diamond-drill holes intended to test the hypothesis cut an ore-bearing major shear zone which, so far as can be determined, is nearly identical with its present correlative on the Giant property. Introduction The fault under consideration follows a northerly trend past the west side of the original settlement of Yellowknife, which is situated 600 miles north of Edmonton and 400 miles from the Northern Alberta Railway terminus at Waterways, Alberta. The mining properties chiefly concerned include the southern part of the Giant claims, on the east side of the fault, and the Con-Rycon-Demelt claims, on the west side, 3Y2 miles to the south. Geological data were also obtained from the eastern part of the A. Y.E. property, which lies south of the Giant claims, and from the Negus, Meg, Yellorex, and Kam properties, which are south and southeast of the Con-Rycon-Demelt claims. Recognition of the major faults in the Yellowknife Bay area, including the West Bay fault which appears to be the greatest, resulted from the work of Dr. A. W. Jolliffe (McGill University, formerly of the Geological Survey of Canada) in 1935 and subsequent years. It has been stated with little exaggeration that these faults rank with the largest known steeply-dipping dislocations of the earth's crust. In the winter of 1939, a mineralized shear zone named the Creek Vein was found on the Giant property. It was noticed that the space relationship between the new shear zone and a body of quartz-feldspar porphyry is roughly the same as that between the Con C-4 shear zone and a body of acidic flows lying north of the Con property. Coupling this relation with the assumption that the movement along the fault is dominantly horizontal, it was postulated that the Giant shear zone represented the faulted extension of the Con C-4 shear.

Jan 1, 1947

By Clarence A. Johnson

The discovery of the Prudhoe Bay field temporarily reduced interest in the development of coal conversion processes, but interest is being re¬newed by the current energy crisis. According to M.A. Wright, Chairman of the Board of Humble Oil and Refining Company(l), the reserve in the Prudhoe Bay bield has been confirmed to be about 10 billion barrels. At first glance this appears to be an extremely large reserve which will eliminate supply problems for the United States for some time. This feeling of security is lost when one realizes that by 1980 the world will consume the reserves of a Prudhoe Bay or a Libya, or Venezuela in less than a year, based on the recent predictions of U.S. and world reserves made by Eastman-Dillon, Union Securities Company(2). Recent forecasts of U.S. demand and source of supply made by Kenneth E. Hill of Eastman-Dillon are shown in Figure 1. This forecast shows a decline in domestic supplies (excluding Alaska) after 1973, with the total domestic supply leveling off in 1975 at about 13 million barrels per day. Since the predicted demand increases from about 14 million barrels per day in 1970 to about 20 million barrels per day in 1980, about 35% of domestic consumption must come from imports or non-conventional sources by 1980. More imminent is the shortage of low sulfur fuel oil which has been created by the new, tough air pollution regulations that are basically legis¬lating eastern coals out of the market. As an alternate to importing large quantities of low sulfur fuel oil or importing and desulfurizing regular fuel oil, one of two domestic solutions is possible: stack gas clean-up or solids fuel pretreatment. Stack gas clean-up may be the cheapest approach for old installations, but fuel pretreatment has real advantages for new installations. Coal pretreatment at the mine could eliminate all solids fuel handling

Jan 1, 1972

By Galen G. Waddell

Dilation and contraction of the rock surrounding horizontal access open-ings of a deep mine were analyzed during stope advance to determine what type of measurements, made with relatively inexpensive instrumentation, would best reflect the rock behavior. A variety of instruments, mostly mechanical extensometers, were used. Detailed descriptions are given of Down-the-hole extensometers, floating rockbolt clusters, transit surveys, and other instruments and measuring techniques. Although all of the radial-deformation-rate graphs illustrated useful rock behavior data, the most informative graphs were compiled from data procured with the radial extensometers that penetrated, to various depths, the rock around the access openings. An analysis is given of measurement data on the rock around lateral drifts and across and adjacent to the nearly vertical vein of the Star mine, Burke, Idaho. Several useful relationships were found between the rock deformation rate and the stoping process. Information was produced on the elastic state of rock around an underground opening, effectiveness of stope support, rheology of rock, zone of influence around stopes, effectiveness of rockbolts, axis of maximum strain in a plane perpendicular to the long axis of the lateral, and other phenomena. This information could be of particular value in determining location, design, and support of underground openings.

Jan 1, 1966

"A carefully planned laboratory test program is the foundation for the successful development of a sulfide flotation process. In this paper, the development of a copper-molybdenum flotation process is described. However, the concepts discussed can be applied to most sulfide flotation systems and to many industrial minerals projects as well. Each step is examined, beginning with sample procurement and covering sample preparation, flotation test preparation grinding, scoping flotation tests for reagent scheme selection, rougher flotation parameter evaluation and cleaner circuit evaluation, through to locked-cycle testing and pilot plant design and operation. Ore variability and modeling to determine the response of various ore types to the optimum conditions established is also examined.IntroductionA carefully planned laboratory test program is essential for the successful development of any sulfide flotation process. These programs usually begin with a series of batch tests on several ore type composites to evaluate appropriate reagent schemes and delineate optimum rougher flotation conditions, such as primary grind size, flotation pulp density, flotation pulp pH and retention time. Cleaner parameters such as regrind size requirements, cleaner pH, pulp density and number of stages are then defined. Semicontinuous locked-cycle tests are performed using the parameters established in the batch tests to determine the effect of middling streams recirculation on flotation performance. The data generated and the experience gained in the locked-cycle tests may be used to design and operate a continuous pilot plant if relatively large amounts of concentrate are required for further process development, such as optimization of byproduct molybdenum production from bulk copper-molybdenum concentrate.A comprehensive ore variability program is undertaken to determine the response of various ore types to the optimum conditions established. These ore variability programs often test hundreds of samples in standardized batch rougher and cleaner tests to ensure that the orebody is well understood.This article describes the development of a copper-molybdenum flotation process, but the concepts discussed can be applied to most sulfide flotation systems and many industrial minerals projects. The block flow diagram in Fig. 1 provides an overview of the development process."

Jan 1, 2016

By R. H. Hanewald

The processing of EAF baghouse dusts from both the specialty steel industry and low alloy producers will be reviewed. In addition, the INMETCO process has been modified so as to recover nickel, chromium and iron from many other waste materials such as pickling solutions or filter cakes, spent nickel and chromium plating baths, carbon refractories from pickling tanks, and super alloy wastes including baghouse bags. INMETCO is the only North American company presently capable of recycling nickel-cadmium batteries by high temperature metals recovery. This, along with the details of INMETCO's BDAT Test Program and results performed to pre-agreed standards with the EPA will be discussed.

Jan 1, 1992

By E. Chin

Although Japan is a major producer of crude steel, it is poor in industrial raw materials. This Bureau of fines report describes Japan's raw material needs for chromium, cobalt, manganese, nickel, and tungsten to produce ferroalloys and alloy steels. Japanese imports of these ores or metals by quantity and source are given for 1972-81, inclusive, to indicate (1) the changes in the consumption and supply pattern, and (2) the degree of Japan's dependence on foreign sources. This report also describes measures implemented by Japan to reduce the risk- of supply interruption, and discusses the possible implications of supply shortages.

Jan 1, 1983

By Carl L. Bieniewski

U.S. molybdenum production increased fivefold from 18.2 million pounds in 1946 to 90.5 million pounds in 1966, and constituted 87.3 percent of the total free world supply in the 1946-66 period. Mining development in other free world countries in the next few years may reduce the magnitude of the U.S. position, although similar development planned for the United States may counteract some of the relative gains by those countries. In 1966 two-thirds of the reported molybdenum consumption in the United States by end uses was as an alloying element in steel. Molybdenum also has important use as an alloying element in iron and high-temperature alloys. Consumption of molybdenum metal for making fabricated parts has increased in the past few years, especially in the space and nuclear industries. Molybdenum compounds are used mainly for making pigment, catalysts, and lubricants. Based on producer reports of shipments of primary products to domestic customers, U.S. consumption of molybdenum increased from 16.5 million pounds of molybdenum in 1946 to 65.6 million pounds in 1966. U.S. molybdenum reserves are now estimated to be 5.9 billion pounds of recoverable molybdenum, an increase of 2.1 billion pounds above previous estimates. Molybdenum ores account for 71.4 percent of the reserves, copper ores for 22.3 percent and copper-molybdenum, tungsten, and uranium ores for 6.3 percent. Several methods for predicting future demand are illustrated and estimates of demand using these methods were made for 1975. Based on present capacities and announced company plans for future developments, estimates of annual production were made for 1967 through 1975 for the United States, Canada. Chile, Peru, and the free world. These data indicate that molybdenum production in 1975 for the free world is expected to be 246 million pounds with the United States producing 68.2 percent and Canada, Chile, and Peru 30.3 percent.

Jan 1, 1970

By M. Spangler

FirstMiss Gold installed a supervisory control system based on Pavilion Technology's Process Insights neural network software and Oil System's PI data historian. The primary goal of the system was to control the acid preconditioning circuit. However, our first successful control loop was on the limestone feed rate to the neutralization circuit. The information gained by modeling these circuits and the better control provided by the system has resulted in reagent savings of over $80,000 per month.

Jan 1, 1995

By Joan Weinberg

Seasonally adjusted new factory orders for primary metals declined in January, February, and March, especially in the steel industry. The decline was part of an apparent slowdown for the entire manufacturing sector. Orders for all durable goods, including not only primary metals, but also clay, glass, and stone products, fabricated metal products, machinery, and transportation equipment, fell in January and February. In March, orders rose a slight 0.8%. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, the downturns in durable goods orders in January and February were the first back-to-back declines in 3 years. They were largely attributed to a drop in orders for transportation equipment, mainly auto-mobiles and aircraft, while the small gain in March was due to a surge in aircraft orders. Higher interest rates may be partly responsible for the slowdown in durable goods orders over the past 3 months. The higher rates have also hit the construction industry--another major end-user of minerals. Construction of new homes and apartments fell by a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.4% in March, following a 12% decline in February.

Jan 1, 1989

By Q. G. Liu

New solid-state electrochemical sensors 1;.1sing Li2SO4-Ag2SO4 electrolytes have been developed to measure SO2 and/or SO3 in gas mixtures. Silver embedded in part of the electrolyte is used as the reference electrode. Although single-phase electrolyte sensors yield accurate results for one to two days, a two-phase electrolyte cell exhibits excellent long-term chemical stability. For example, stable and accurate potent iometric responses have been obtained over a six mo.nth period. The. advantages of the two-phase electrolyte ( 23 mol% Ay 2SO4 ) cell include excellent mechanical strength on temperature cycling and an insensitivity to compositional variations in the electrolyte and to temperature fluctuations. Experimental tests have shown excell.ent results in SO2-air. mixtures with the SO2 concentration ranging from 3 to 10,000 ppm (vol). However, the SO2 concentration range was limited by a lack of standard gas mixtures, and our sensor cells can be used to measure S02 concentrations significantly less than or larger than our experimental range. Results also indicate that the presence of significant concentrations of CO2 and H2O in the gas mixture has no effect on the sensor response. Thus the two-phase electrolyte ( 23 mol% Ag2S04) sensor has exceptional selectivity, reliability and long-term chemical and mechanical stability.

Jan 1, 1985

By J. Leonard Frame

A coal-fired fluidized bed combustion (FBC) system will be installed at the Owatonna Tool Company, Owatonna, Minnesota. Two FBC combustors will burn solid fuels: coal, petroleum coke, and wood and paper wastes. Crushed dolomitic limestone will be used to control sulfur emissions to EPA limits. The combustors will supply indirectly heated hot air and hot water for paint drying operations, washing processes, and space heating. The program is sponsored by the United States Department of Energy and the Owatonna Tool Company, and is one of five programs designed to demonstrate industrial applications of coal-fired fluidized bed equipment. The paper will describe the combustion system and the results of development tests with dolomitic limestone for sulfur emission control.

Jan 1, 1978

By T Zhao, K Wang, Z Zhang

Tailings pond safety monitoring is vital for preventing dam failures and ensuring environmental safety. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) can enhance tailings pond monitoring with flexible operational cycles and the ability to collect remote sensing data from inaccessible areas. While many mining operations have adopted UAVs for tailings pond management, their full potential in data acquisition and subsequent analytical processing remains largely untapped. This paper explores various case studies where UAVs have been utilised for monitoring key aspects of tailings ponds such as beach line indicators, dam displacement and erosion, slurry discharge processes, and tailings pond capacity. We also present examples where data derived from UAVs have been instrumental in slope stability analysis, seepage modelling, Tailings Dam Breach Analysis (TDBA), and risk prediction. By integrating UAV technology with traditional ground-based sensor techniques, this approach significantly enhances the precision and reliability of hazard prevention and management in tailings pond operations.

Sep 1, 2024

By H. W. Gillett

Unlike most previous Howe lecturers, I had not the good fortune to be associated with Henry Marion Howe, nor to be directly one of his students. Yet, through his writings, he has been my teacher, as he has of all American metallurgists. Instructive as his writings are—I use the present tense because Howe thought so keenly and reasoned so surely, seeing clearly, as if by intuition, what was hazy to lesser minds, that his writings are still vital—it is not those books and papers, nor even the minds he trained in his classes, that were his most outstanding service. It was the spirit of Howe in his approach to the problems of metallurgy, his broad-mindedness and fairness, his recognition of the need for theories and hypotheses to explain metallurgical phenomena, his willingness to use them as servants, as well as his questioning attitude—his refusal to accept them as masters—that comprise his greatest service. This most thoroughly warrants the honor the Institute pays each year to his memory. These traits I so respect and honor in any man that I glory in this opportunity to do reverence to him in whom they were so notably united. Howe's Discussion of a Creep Problem I have often wished that Howe were still with us to turn his keen insight upon the problems of the use of metals at high temperatures, a field much studied but still very hazy. Indeed, 53 years ago, in a paper1 before this Institute, Howe stated a problem closely allied to some that still perplex metallurgists and engineers dealing with the high-temperature field. Howe was intrigued by a report2 from another old master, Robert Henry Thurston, on the behavior of annealed vs. cold-drawn iron wire, and in order to broaden the foundation for metallurgical generalization, Howe made experiments of his own on copper and silver. In these tests by Thurston and by Howe, the wires were rapidly loaded to determine the

Jan 1, 1939

By E. J. Lintner

This paper is one of a series being prepared by the United States Bureau of Mines describing clay mining, crushing and grinding methods, and costs, at various operations throughout the United States. These papers are designed to disseminate technical information regarding methods used. The, cost tabulations represent local operating expenditures only and not total production costs. It is recognized that publication of total production costs may in many instances cause embarrassment to the individual operator as well as to the industry as a whole. On the other hand, operating costs are essential to the technical discussion and study of the methods employed. The attention of the reader is specifically called to this differentiation in order that no misunderstanding of the scope of the cost tabulation shall ensue. The following report deals specifically with the methods employed by the Evans Pipe Co., Uhrichsville, Tuscarawas County, Ohio. The author wishes to acknowledge the assistance of the following company officials: T. J. Evans, II, president; T. J. Evans III, vice president and general manager; and L. P. Young, general superintendent.

Jan 1, 1936

By W. Ellison

Worldwide development of commercial markets for FGD (flue gas desulfurization) gypsum is described and used as a basis for assessing potential overall market growth and regional demand foreseen in the U.S. during the 1990s. Diverse strategies are outlined for cost-effective substitution of this major supply from acid rain control retrofits (power plant scrubbers) for natural gypsum in the principal, existing markets: gypsum board and portland cement. Another focus of utilization forecasting is a key group of related. new-product advancements including floor screeds, mining mortars and various types of innovative construction products.

Jan 1, 1993

By U Singh

This paper presents the evolution of the studies and strategic plans to extend the life of operations at the Savage River iron ore project in north-western Tasmania. The current Life-of-Mine (LOM) plan for the Savage River operations is based on a series of open pits. Drilling has confirmed high-grade extensions of the magnetite resource at depths that exceed practical limits for open pit mining. Grange Resources Limited, the owner of the operation, is investigating underground options – not only to extend the LOM plan but also to maintain peak production at a reduced operating cost while reducing greenhouse gas emissions into the future. What makes this project unique is that it requires introducing a productive and cost-effective mining method to exploit a challenging geotechnical and geometrical orebody in an area of high rainfall. To support the study efforts, the development of an exploration decline, underground drilling programs, and an exploratory drive excavated into the orebody for geotechnical investigation was key to providing the necessary data for a pre-feasibility study (PFS). This paper describes the pragmatic approach and processes to developing the underground mining options study through data collection and then integrating these options into the open pit plans to optimise an overall strategic plan for the Savage River operations. The learnings for operators from this experience are how the technical and pragmatic approaches were aligned to develop the strategic plans, and the importance of timely investment in gathering the necessary data.

Mar 29, 2023