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By Sami Makni, Ahmed Bouajila

"To remain competitive in an open market, mining companies are more and more requested to optimise their complex and highly multivariate processes. The increasing amount of process data, brought about by intensive use of instrumentation and the progress in computer data acquisition, enhances the need for more and more powerful and robust tools for the analysis and modelling of the process data. Now, with the emergence of multivariate data analysis (MDA) techniques, on-line clustering of mineral process behaviour is possible and could help in the extraction of valuable process operation indicators. MDA can be used in different mineral processes such as flotation, grinding, smelting etc.In this paper, we focus on grinding process considered as the most costly and power consuming node of the mineral processing scheme. Different objective-oriented levels of data clustering will be addressed.First, the evaluation of grinding operation taking into account data and constraints from all processes before (e.g. blasting, crushing) and after (e.g. flotation, leaching, etc.) the grinding node. The second level deals with process diagnosis by differentiating operation level and identifying behaviour drifts. Control and optimisation are two other levels concerned here with the selection of optimum trajectories in the drift correct.Industrial plant data are processed in order to illustrate the feasibility and the potentiality of MDA applications in addressing the clustering and interpretation of grinding mill behaviour."

Jan 1, 2003

By Gabriel Bartholazzi Lugão de Carvalho, Sergio Neves Monteiro, Fabio Da Costa Garcia Filho

The thermochemical treatment of Pulsed Plasma Nitriding is employed as an alternative to improve the surface properties of metals, such as: increase surface hardness, improve wear resistance, extend fatigue life and also create a barrier to the diffusion of hydrogen into the steel to reduce the susceptibility to hydrogen embrittlement. In this study, the effect of such treatment on ASTM A36 steel is analyzed through two different nitriding conditions: 5 h and 660 Pa for the first condition and 15 h and 720 Pa for the second one. In both cases, the temperature was held at 300 °C. Thus, in order to verify the results, Vickers hardness analysis and metallographic observation were carried out under an optical microscope. Only the second condition was able to achieve what was proposed, the formation of a uniform nitriding layer and an expressive increase of hardening on the surface.

Mar 1, 2018

By Gabriel S. Esterhuizen

This paper addresses the need for a method to compare the effectiveness of different support systems when designing ground support in coal mines. At present, support design methods include empirical methods based on observations of past performance of installed support systems, analytical methods where the roof is typically simulated by elastic beams and numerical model analysis. The approach presented in this paper estimates the relative stability of a support design through geotechnical evaluation of the rock mass and numerical model analysis of the interaction between the rock mass and the support system. Models are used first to simulate the design performance at the expected rock conditions. The rock strength is then reduced until collapse is indicated in the model. The stability factor is then calculated as the ratio of the expected rock mass strength to the rock mass strength at the onset of collapse, and is similar to the well-known factor of safety used in engineering practice. The stability factor can be used to assist in developing a final support design by comparing the effectiveness of various support systems and the stability of excavations under various geological and loading conditions. Examples of the method?s application in three different geological settings are presented.

Jan 1, 2012

By M. Visnjic

Open Pit Mine Production scheduling under commodity price uncertainty suffers from an exponentially increasing problem size as simulations and real options flexibility are used to generate and evaluate multiple production schedules. Robustness evaluation techniques attempt to evaluate a production schedule that is generated on a single set of economic parameters against several varying prices and sources of uncertainty. This approach is invalid as the corresponding optimal LOM mine plan will change for each set of evaluation parameters. Using commodity market futures and treasury bonds as production schedule economic input parameters provides fully price and time-value-of-money risked scheduling parameters that maintain a deterministic problem size. This paper will provide comparative analysis of project NPV’s coming from traditional price uncertainty evaluation based on a single fixed LOM mine plan using varying prices versus evaluation based on varying LOM plans that are both generated and evaluated using varying prices. When cross evaluating constant price mine plans against simulations, the upside potential and downside risk of a project are significantly misrepresented. INTRODUCTION The life of mine (LOM) production scheduling problem seeks to answer the question of from where and when to extract a given block within the ultimate pit limit as well as where and when to process it. Solving this problem takes into account the constraints of extracting any particular block while seeking to maximize the net present value (NPV) of the mineral asset as a whole. A direct driver of the value of a block, and there for the entire asset, is the market price of the commodity in question. Complications arise when an optimal production schedule is attempted to be solved under price uncertainty. Many solution methodologies have been proposed in an attempt to optimize under this criterion, yet there are three salient aspects that are overlooked during this process. They are: • Generating a single production schedule and evaluating it against many simulated price paths. • Failing to understand the mechanism describing particular commodity price behavior • Inappropriate risk adjustment In an effort to address these aspects of production scheduling under commodity price uncertainty, we propose a methodology to define the economic parameters as input that is applicable to most if not all production scheduling approaches. This methodology will not only simplify the production scheduling process in terms of establishing block value but utilizes the risk adjustment of real options valuation to avoid the arbitrary blanket risk adjustment of traditional discounted cash flow valuation. Our findings conclude that attempting to optimize around individual price paths is futile and using a market risk adjusted single price forecast provides a justified economic basis for production scheduling while maintaining the same problem size as a deterministic production scheduling problem.

Jan 1, 2019

By Rusdian F. Kayadoe, Michael B. Hutahaean, Sandi A. Firmanulhaq

Deep Mill Level Zone (DMLZ) mine is located in Papua, Indonesia operated by PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) with approximately 1,500m below surface. The ore body extend 1230m width from northwest to southeast by 300–400m length east-west. The mine currently produces at full production of 80,000 tons per day until 2041. Part of the extension of current active production block and mitigation sits 225 m above the production block 1 (PB1) and 2 (PB2A and PB2B) which located in 2590L, named production block#4 (PB4W and PB4E). As the mining continues at PB1N, PB2A, and PB2B, the cave growth vertically and laterally to south perimeter of the footprint affecting the integrity of PB4W/E footprint. Currently, PB1N and PB2N are in active production whilst PB4E development continues from South against PB1N cave, as can be seen in Figure 1. A slight overlapping between PB1E and PB4E intentionally to promote cave connections between the two caves. Despite low stress model in the PB4E near existing caves, the PB4E cave propagation expected by the large strain and will be propagating in tension failure to the PB1E cave. Hence, designing the drill drives edge and first drawbell location as close as possible to the PB1E cave is necessary to guarantee cave connection. Since PB4 footprint development commenced in December 2021, there have been a substantial cave propagation observed from existing downhole monitoring. As the PB4 footprint designed perpendicular to existing DMLZ PB1 cave, adjustment of the development edge design is necessary to reflect the progression the loosening zone propagation to the South. Final life of mine design for extraction, undercut and ventilation level were decided in October 2023 considering latest update cave (fractured/ yielded) boundary. Numerical model of potential rock mass damage also aids the decision to locate the drift edge design. Predicting the cave progression impact is critical to both production at the existing active blocks and development of the new area. The use of cave shape data from year 2021–2023 gives an insight of the cave shape estimation at the end of 2024 when the undercut drift will be developed. This paper presents actual cave growth of active production blocks and its relative vertical progression impact as the result of drawing in order to plan for acceptable rate and provide mitigation once the minimum acceptable rock mass condition and minimum pillar threshold achieved.

Feb 1, 2025

By Olav Rune Godø

We present a science-based infrastructure for continuous online monitoring of the ocean interior including benthic, pelagic and the demersal habitats. It will reduce expensive ship based monitoring costs associated to offshore and coastal industries. We combine established Norwegian cabled observatory technology and German mobile seafloor robotic technology and thus supports the transition from local to spatial ecological monitoring. Both technologies are developed through science - industry partnerships. In Norway, the Institute of Marine Research has worked with Statoil ASA and Metas AS to install and operate the LoVe cabled observatory. The German technology is developed by iSeaMC and Kraken Robotik, two spinoff enterprises of the Helmholtz Alliance “ROBEX”. GEOMAR has recently developed a lander-based deep-sea crawler that operates autonomously based on the original iSeaMC crawler system using the Kraken Autonomy. Combined with the Spanish image processing and modelling expertise in the SME Deusto Sistemas SA the consortium hosts the capacity to establishing a complete semi-autonomous real-time monitoring system. Merging of existing technologies into one operational autonomous product through the unique competence of partners’ support international ambitions (e.g. Blue Growth, GES, Horizon 2020), and renew monitoring that assess impact of human use of the marine environment. The consortium has been invited to contribute to technology/science programs for the Yellow Sea and for European mining and offshore decommissioning industries, which demonstrates the leading role of our consortium. The project is funded through the EU Martera program and started in June this year.

Jan 1, 2018

By A. Gemperle

Electron diffraction and transmission electron microscopy on foils at room temperature were used to investigate the ordering of Fe-Si alloys containing 10 to 23 at. pct Si. A certain degree of DO3 order was found in all alloys. With the exception of the lowest silicon concentration for which the antiphase domains could not be clearly resolved, the alloys have a domain structure of two-domain type with boundaries having 1/4a01<111> displacement vectors for less than 12.3 at. pct Si and with boundaries having 1/2 a0<100> displacement vectors for more than 12.3 at. pct Si. The alloys with 12.3 at. pct Si have a domain structure consisting of fine domains with 1/2a&apos;o<100> boundaries within much larger domains with 1/4a&apos;o<111> boundaries. The development of these structures can be explained by transition of the alloy from the disordered state into the B2-type order and then into the D03-type order by the mechanism proposed previously for the FeSAl alloys. The existence of the B2 structure in the lower part of the investigated concentration range reported in some articles can be explained by fine domains with 1/2a&apos;o<100> boundaries formed by several disordered planes within large domains with 1/4a&apos;o<111> boundaries. The ordered structure predicted by the theory —with practically no domain boundaries —is found in the alloys having 12.3 at. pct Si where it develops in the B2 structure region. ORDERING in Fe-Si alloys was first studied by phragmenl who found that beginning with 13 at. pct Si the DO3 (Fe3Si) superlattice reflections appear in the diffraction patterns. The equilibrium diagrams constructed later by corson2 and Haughton3 from various measurements proposed the existence of a homogeneous solid solution (a phase) in the range from 0 to 25 at. pct Si. Jette and Greiner4 and Farquhar et al.5 measured the relation between lattice parameter and composition and they considered the break in the curve at 9 to 10 at. pct Si to be caused by the ordered solution a"(Fe3Si). Glaser and Ivanick6 Determined critical ordering temperatures of the alloys containing from 10.9 to 27.9 at. pct Si from the measurement of the electric resistivity of quenched samples. In all cases the critical temperature was lower than the melting point and it was highest for 25 at. pct Si. Lihl and Ebel7 measured the lattice parameter curves at various temperatures up to 1000°C. The region between two breaks on these curves, corresponding to 10 to 12.5 at. pct Si at room temperature, was considered by them to be two-phase (a + a"). They concluded by extrapolation of the measured values that a" in the alloy having 25 at. pct Si is stable up to the melting point. Davies8 studied superlattice reflections in the X-ray diffraction patterns of an alloy containing 8.7 at. pct Si. He found the B2 structure and short-range order in the slowly cooled samples and the DO3 A. GEMPERLE is Research Scientist, Institute of PhysicS, Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechoslovakia. __Manuscript submitted January 2, 1968. IMD structure in the quenched and annealed samples. This investigation first reports the presence of the B2 structure, phase a&apos;: in Fe-Si alloys. Meinhardt and krisement9,10 also found its existence in Fe-Si alloys by neutron diffraction. No order was detected by them in the alloy containing 8 at. pct Si. The onset of B2 order was observed at a composition of 9.2 at. pct Si. They found almost perfect B2-type order with partial DO3-type order at room temperature in the 10 to 12.5 at. pct Si range and almost perfect DO3-type order in the 12.5 to 25 at. pct Si range. They established the critical temperatures Tc of both the structures through measurement at higher temperatures. The critical temperature for the B2 structure was found to be always higher than the critical temperature for the DO3 structure of the same alloy. They extrapolated the curves of the critical temperatures and concluded that the alloys with more than 17 at. pct Si have the B2 structure up to the melting point and the alloys with more than 23 at. pct Si have the DO3 structure up to the melting point. The results of Meinhardt and krisement9,10 were confirmed by Dokken&apos;s measurement" of the temperature dependence of the electrical resistivity in the 10.8 to 15 at. pct Si range. On the other hand chessin12 detected by X-ray diffraction a considerably lower degree of order in the 12.7 at. pct Si alloy. ANTIPHASE DOMAIN STRUCTURE IN ALLOYS WITH B2- AND DO$-TYPE ORDER The ordered structures B2 and DO3 can be described in terms of a subdivision of the bcc lattice into four fcc sublattices with a parameter double that of the bcc lattice. Following Marcinkowski13 we will label them I. 11, 111, IV. The B2 structure in the AB alloy is formed by placing A atoms on sublattices I and II and B atoms on sublattices III and IV. In a non-stoichiometric perfectly ordered alloy having concentration (A) > (B), A atoms occupy sublattices I and 11. and A and B atoms distributed at random occupy sublattices III and IV. The DO3 structure in an A3B alloy is formed by placing A atoms on sublattices I, 11, and 111, and B atoms on sublattice IV. In a nonstoichiometric, perfectly ordered alloy having concentration (A)/3 > (B), A atoms occupy sublattices I, 11, and 111, and A and B atoms distributed at random occupy sublattice IV. As further shown in Ref. 13, two types of domains are possible in the B2 superlattice and the antiphase domain structure has associated with it boundaries with displacement vectors 1/4 a&apos;o<ll1> only. Four types of domains are possible in the DO3 superlattice and the antiphase domain structure has associated with it boundaries with displacement vectors 1/4a&apos;o<111> and 1/2a&apos;o<l00>. Bethe14 suggested on the basis of theoretical considerations that in a structure with two sublattices at low temperatures only one domain should be present in the whole crystal at equilibrium. Similarly Bragg15 concluded that at low temperatures the domain struc-

Jan 1, 1969

By Lev Filippov, Vyacheslav Severov, Inna Filippova

"Reverse cationic flotation is a very efficient method of beneficiation of oxidized iron ores when you need to separate hematite and quartz. This method can be also applied to reduce silica content in the magnetite concentrates obtained by wet low-intensity magnetic separation. However, cationic flotation in this case is less effective due to the presence of Fe-Mg-Al-bearing silicates as amphiboles in magnetite ores. These silicates are concentrated in magnetic products and determine the difficulties of their separation from iron oxides when amines and starches are used as collectors and depressants, respectively. The recalculation of the results of the electron microprobe analysis of three calcic Fe-Mg-Al-bearing amphiboles used to characterize cation distributions in structural units and to obtain structural formulas in accord with stoichiometric limits was conducted. The Mössbauer spectroscopy was used to examine the validity of the empirical estimation of cation distributions in amphiboles. The studied samples are metamorphic pargasite and ferrotschermakite and volcanic magnesiohornblende. The crystallographic analyses of the amphibole samples exhibited their heterogeneous surfaces explaining worse floatability of amphiboles with dodecylamine at pH 10. The electrokinetic measurements showed that the position of the isoelectric point of amphiboles is related to a substitution of Al3+ for Si4+ in tetrahedral sites and to an amount of Mg2+ cations in octahedral sites. Thus, the dodecylamine adsorption onto amphiboles through electrostatic interactions is mainly affected by a distribution of these cations in tetrahedral and octahedral sites of amphiboles. In addition, the effect of starch on the depression of Fe-Mg-Al-bearing amphiboles during flotation can be attributed to the presence of metal ions on the amphibole surface, which are capable of forming strong chemical complexes with starch molecules."

Jan 1, 2014

By Maíra de Paula Pereira de Lucena

Revestimentos de conversão nanocerâmicos são obtidos pela imersão de peças metálicas em soluções contendo íons de titânio, zircônio, cério entre outros. Esses revestimentos vêm sendo estudados como uma alternativa a outros processos de conversão que possuem inconvenientes ambientais, como a cromatização e a fosfatização. No presente trabalho foram formuladas diferentes soluções a base dos ácidos hexafluorozircônio e hexafluortitânio para a deposição de revestimentos nanocerâmicos sobre substratos de aço galvanizado. O objetivo é mapear os efeitos dos parâmetros de processo de obtenção do revestimento quanto ao desempenho contra corrosão. Os parâmetros estudados foram a concentração, o pH e o tempo de imersão nas soluções formuladas. Para avaliar os revestimentos obtidos foram realizados ensaios eletroquímicos de espectroscopia de impedância complexa. Os resultados indicam uma forte interação entre o pH e a concentração dos ácidos em solução e que concentrações mais baixas geram uma proteção mais eficaz O melhor conjunto de parâmetros foi para menor pH, concentração e tempo de imersão.

Aug 7, 2018

By G. E. Karantzavelos

Introduction Pure alunite (KAl3 (SO4 )3 (OH)6 ) contains 37% A1203. In the alunite ore found on Milos Island, Greece, opal is the principal gangue while some aluminum, iron, and titanium oxides are also present. Processing of alunite ore leads to the recovery of potassium sulfate, alusil (alumina-silica mixture), and sulfur dioxide. An interesting process has been developed in Greece (Svoronos, 1977) consisting mainly of roasting the alunite ore mixed with KCl to disrupt the mineral lattice in preparation for separating its components. The thermal decomposition of alunite at approximately 600°C occurs by the reaction: KAl3 (SO4)3 (OH)6 + nSiO2 + 6KC1 - 4 K2SO4 + 3 A1203 . nSiO2 + 6 HCl + 3H20 According to the process pure alunite mixed with 543 kg KCl, 840 kg K2SO4, 370 kg alusil, 264 kg HCl, and 65 kg H2O are produced. The roasted calcine is leached in hot water. The potassium sulfate leach slurry is then thickened and washed to obtain a solid residue (alusil) plus a solution rich in potassium sulfate. Assuming the alunite ore feed consists of 50% to 60% alunite, the solid residue might consist of approximately 22% to 27% A1203, silica, iron, and titanium oxides. This leach residue could be digested in a hot sodium hydroxide solution to dissolve alumina. An amount of the alumina (approximately 10%) would not dissolve. In addition, part of the silica would dissolve requiring removal from the solution in a subsequent desilication operation. The same leach residue could be attacked by mineral acids such as a diluted hydrochloric acid to extract aluminum chloride (Sawyer et al., 1983). Alumina and aluminum are presently produced from bauxite of which Greece has important reserves. If this aluminous material (alusil) could be beneficiated by any physical process, then it would be considered as a raw material for the production of fire-clay refractories instead of an alternate source of alumina. Experimental procedure Extensive laboratory work (mineralogical and chemical analyses) indicates that alusil is a mixture of liberated (mostly) alumina and silica particles, not a natural silicate mineral. Table 1 shows the chemical assays of two alusil samples that were obtained from a roasted alunite ore leaching pilot plant. The samples used for the experiments were a very fine alusil powder (K80 = 400 mesh, 38 µm). These were pulped in tap water. Desliming of the pulp before each flotation test was ineffective. Flotation tests were performed in a 2000 ml Denver cell. A standard 500-g sample was first conditioned at a pulp density 50% solids for 5 min with hydrofluoric (HF) acid solution (40%). The temperature of the conditioned pulp was measured and kept nearly constant at 50°C. The pH of the conditioned pulp was also regulated to 2.5-3 with HF solution. Then ARMAC C solution (2%) as well as two drops of fuel oil and one drop of AEROFROTH 65 were added and the pulp was reconditioned for 2 min. After conditioning, the viscous pulp was transfered to the flotation cell. It was then diluted with warm water to about 15% solids and floated to separate silica from alumina particles. A rougher froth product that was cleaned and recleaned was obtained from the flotation tests.

Jan 1, 1987

By R. Wild

[When a blast furnace has a certain defined burden and is operated under fixed conditions of blast temperature, etc., the fuel efficiency is determined by the extent to which the reducing gases can remove oxygen from the burden in the furnace stack. This is determined by two distinct factors: 1) The uniformity of gas-solid contact, and 2) The ease with which oxygen can be removed from individual pieces of burden. This latter is often called burden reducibility. When burdens were poorly prepared the first factor was by far the most important and a study of the reducibility of individual lumps was of rather academic interest recent years good burden preparation with emphasis on sized material has led to greatly improved gas distribution in the stack, and thus the second factor has become much more important and there has been a marked increase in interest in methods of measuring reducibility.]

Jan 1, 1964

By Laurence Delisle, Aaron Finger

THE alloys formed by the addition of nickel to iron by convelltional metallurgical procedures show physical properties that differ widely from those of the individual metals. The effect of alloying on the mechanical properties is most pronounced in alloys containing between 15 and 25 per cent nickel. The tensile strength of an alloy containing, for example, 20 per cent nickel and 80 per cent iron (with 0.06 per cent carbon), in an annealed condition, is above 150,000 lb. per sq. in.? owing to a martensitic type of transformation, as compared with about 50,000 lb. per sq. in. for pure iron in the same condition. The object of this work was to determine whether the same beneficial alloying effect could be obtained in alloys of iron and nickel prepared by powder metallurgy technique. PROCEDURE Bars and pellets for tension and compression tests, respectively, were made. Two groups of specimens were prepared: (I) by cold-pressing the powders and sintering; (2) by cold-pressing the powders, sintering, repressing and resintering. Raw Materials Nickel powder supplied by Metals Disintegrating co., marked MD-151, was used. A typical analysis of this powder was as follows: sulphur, 0.040 per cent; copper, 0.18; iron, 0.23; manganese, 0.002; magnesium, 0.001 5 ; lead, 0.035; tin, 0.025 ; silicon, 0.08; chromium, 0.008. Electrolytic iron powder supplied by Plastic Metals Inc. was used. A representative chemical analysis for impurities other than gases, supplied by the vendor, gave the following results: carbon, 0.005 per cent; manganese, 0.002; silicon, 0.003; phosphorus, 0.001; sulphur, 0.004; nickel, 0.008. The fractions from these powders passing a 3 2 5-mesh sieve were reduced in hydrogen at 600°C. for one hour, to clean the surfaces of the particles. The reduced powders, slightly caked, were ground in a mortar and screened again through a 325- mesh sieve. Mixing The proper proportions of the powders were mixed overnight on rolls, in glass jars fitted with iron-wire baffles to break aggregates of particles that might form. Pressing All specimens were compacted on hydraulic presses. The pellets were compacted in a cylindrical die, ½ in. diameter. The ratio of thickness to the diameter of the pellets was maintained as nearly as possible at 0.9, as specifed for standard short compression pieces. The tensile bars were made by compacting 30 grams of powder. Their shape is shown in Fig. I. The compacting pressures for the pellets and the tensile bars were:

Jan 1, 1946

By James Gibbs

In order to provide an initial approach to the deposits of oil shale, nahcolite, and dawsonite in the central area or the Piceance Creek Basin in northwestern Colorado, the U.S.B.M. and associated contractor personnel drilled and cased a 96-inch ID shaft to a depth of 2,371 feet. The shaft was constructed using ?big hole? drilling techniques and succeeded in giving access to previously inaccessible deposits of the above minerals. This report documents the construction from its beginning in January 1977 to its completion in January 1978. Procedures used and problems encountered are discussed in detail.

Jan 1, 1978

By Ian Orford, Peter Radziszewski, Lud Strah

"An autogenous grinding circuit was commissioned at the Brunswick concentrator in October 1998. The AG mill was subsequently converted to SAG operation in May 1999 for a number of reasons. The mill had 48 rows of the NORCAST top-hat integral lifter/liners configured in Hi-Lo mode. A charge motion simulation study, the results of which are the subject of this presentation, was initiated to develop a better understanding of SAG mill behaviour. Using a design of experiments approach, a lifter face angle was determined that would increase mill power draw. Once determined, lifter profiles were modified and installed in July 2001, and a second set installed in February 2002. Resulting changes in mill power consumption are presented.INTRODUCTIONThe Noranda Inc. Brunswick Mine, located near Bathurst, New Brunswick, is a large lead/zinc mine and began milling ore in 1964. The ore is massive sulphide with approximately 20% valuable minerals, 60% pyrite and 20% silicates. In October 1998, an autogenous grinding circuit was commissioned at the Brunswick concentrator (Cooper, Orford, Larsen, 2001).At the time, the autogenous grinding circuit replaced existing surface crushing plants, fine ore storage, rod mills and primary ball mills. The 8.54 m diameter x 4.27 m long (EGL) ANI mill was subsequently converted to SAG operation in May 1999.The mill had 48 rows of the NORCAST top-hat integral lifter/liners and was operated initially with all shell lifters at the same height. Following problems with packing and abnormal wear pattern, the profile was changed to a high-low configuration.Further, it was found that over the life of the lifters, mill power draw and throughput varied considerably. Although a change in mill power draw was expected following lifter replacement (predicted during mill design to be in the order of 300-400 kW), the replacement of the worn lifters with new high lifters resulted in mill power draw decreased by some 1000 kW."

Jan 1, 2003

By A. C. Callen

This, report represents the comments of the individual members of the A. I. M. E. Sub-committee on Physics of Mine Ventilation on the proposals of a special committee of the Institution of Mining Engineers (London). As might be expected, there is a certain diversity of opinions, for owing to the shortness of time- it was not possible for the sub-committee to get together for informal discussion. The report is presented in this form in the hope that it will bring out a full discussion by other members in the Institute. OLE SINGSTAD?, New York, N. Y.-The Atkinson formula, P =SV2 K a is quoted and it is stated that this formula is especially applicable to mine galleries but is unwieldy in application, as in many problems the value of K, S and a are assumed not to change. This is the same formula that was used during the preliminary calculations for the ventilation of the Holland Tunnel, and where the above-mentioned values were constant for a number of cases, it was a very simple matter to rewrite the equation n the form P = K1V2 and avoid the repeated use of identical figures. The Atkinson formula assumes 1. That resistance to flow is independent of the pressure. 2. Changes in volume due to change in pressure may be neglected. 3. Changes in density and viscosity may be neglected. 4. That the coefficient K is a constant. 5. That P is proportional to V2. We found, from our experiments in connection with the ventilation of the Holland Tunnel, that all the above assumptions could be safely made, with the exception of No. 3, and No. 4 at, very low velocities. In mine work, where many assumptions must necessarily be made, it would seem inconsistent to attempt to make any allowance for the other factors, which are so small that they can be determined only by the most careful experimental work. However, P does depend directly on the density of the air, and to that extent the Atkinson formula is incomplete.

Jan 2, 1926

By J. H. Tylczak, R. Blickensderfer

Impact and abrasion properties of various commercial US grinding halls were evaluated and compared by the Bureau of Mines, US Department of the Interior. Laboratory tests were conducted on balls obtained from eight major US manufacturers. The halls included forged steel, cast steel, and alloyed white cast iron and were subjected to repeated impacts until they broke or until 300,000 impacts were exceeded. Pin abrasion tests also were conducted. The results showed wide differences in impact lives, ranging from a few thousand to over 500,000 impacts. The life of inferior commercial halls was increased five to six times by a laboratory tempering heat treatment. For halls that did not break, the major impact wear mode was spalling and ranged from an average rate of 0.28 to 4.46 mg per impact. The softest halls (steel) had excellent impact resistance but low abrasion resistance. The abrasion resistance of the steel halls generally increased with hardness. The alloyed white cast irons had about twice the abrasion resistance of the steel halls. Users should become aware of the wide variations among commercial halls, and ball manufacturers should be aware that their product can he improved.

Jan 1, 1990

By W. L. Maxson

GRINDING is one of the major problems in present-day milling practice, and in many cases, it represents one of the main items of expense. It becomes necessary from time to time, to compare grinding practice in one plant with that in another plant, and in making such comparisons, it would be very desirable were there available accepted standards of grinding resistance for the materials involved. Such a set of grinding constants would also be of considerable value in planning new grind-ing installations. There have been some tests published, notably those of Lennox,1 which have been generally cited as a basis for such comparisons. Most of the tests made have been based upon open-circuit grinding, in which a weighed sample of the ore was crushed to pass a certain mesh, and was .then ground under certain conditions, either wet or dry. Grinding was continued until a certain desired fineness was attained, and the compari-sons based on the grinding time, or the samples were all ground for a certain specified length of time and comparison based upon the screen analysis of the products. Such methods have been acceptable where the ore was to be ground in open circuit. However, in modern milling practice, many grinding problems involve closed circuits wherein the oversize returns to the mill and a large circulating, load builds up. A method of testing that does not take the circulating load into consideration might yield results quite different from those to he expected in practice, because the minerals in the ore that offer maximum resistance to grinding will accumulate in the circulating load up to an equilibrium value. Thus the nature of the ore charge in the mill at any instant may differ greatly from that of the new feed, with a consequent error in the rate of grinding determined by such a method.

Jan 1, 1933

By John C. Machisak

THE INJURY data and related employment experience of the coking industry in the United States for 1955 arc presented in this publication under the following general sections: (A) General Injury experience: Tables 1 to 9: Contain current and comparable data on operating statistics, number and classification of injuries, injury-frequency rates, and accident agencies involved in causing injuries. Data are tabulated for the industry as a whole, for each typo of oven: and for the States in which coke is produced.

Jan 1, 1958

By Clark A. Sumner, D. Arthur Burnham

A process for recovery of greater than 99% of the copper contained in acid leach solutions by sulfide precipitation using hydrogen sulfide as a hydrometallurgical reagent has been developed. The process incorporates the concept of hydrogen sulfide addition to recycled copper sulfide solids in a turbulent flow area where further precipitation or agglomeration occurs to increase the effective particle size of the copper sulfide precipitate. Because the recycled solids provide a larger number of particles upon which momentary excesses of hydrogen sulfide are absorbed, oversulfidization of the product is prevented. Copper sulfide precipitates produced in this manner in a laboratory test reactor showed greatly improved physical characteristics compared to copper sulfide precipitates obtained by conventional direct precipitation in which H2S is bubbled directly into acid leach liquor. Copper sulfide precipitates were evaluated and compared by use of filtration tests and settling rate studies. Electron microscopic examination of the solids confirmed the presence of larger particles in reactor-precipitated copper sulfide. Flotation was examined as an alternative to filtration for recovery of CuS precipitates and was found to achieve complete CuS removal without addition of collector or frothing reagents in a period of 2 min. In the same test reactor, a rapidly floatable CuS precipitate was also formed by mixing H2S with acid liquors used to leach crushed copper oxide-copper sulfide ore (LPF process). In the presence of gangue from the crushed ore, flotation of both natural and reactor-produced copper sulfides resulted in recovery of better than 90% of the copper contained in the crushed ore.

Jan 1, 1974

Acid mine drainage (AMD) forms when sulfide minerals are exposed to oxidizing conditions in coal and metal mining, highway construction, and other large-scale excavations. Iron sulfides common in coal regions are predominately pyrite and marcasite (FeS2), but other metals may be complexed with sulfides forming chalcopyrite (CuFeS2), covellite (CuS), galena (PbS), and sphalerite (ZnS). Pyrite commonly occurs with these other metal sulfides thereby causing AMD where Cu, Pb, and Zn are mined. Upon exposure to water and oxygen, sulfide minerals oxidize to form acidic, sulfate-rich drainage. Metal concentrations in AMD depend on the type and quantity of sulfide minerals present. The drainage quality emanating from underground mines or backfills of surface mines is dependent on the acid-producing (sulfide) and alkaline (carbonate) minerals contained in the disturbed rock. In general, sulfide-rich and carbonate-poor materials produce acidic drainage. In contrast, alkaline-rich materials, even with significant sulfide concentrations, often produce alkaline conditions in water. Approximately 20,000 km of streams and rivers in the United States are degraded by AMD. About 90% of the AMD reaching streams originates in abandoned surface and deep mines. Since no company or individual claims responsibility for reclaiming abandoned mine lands (AML), no treatment of the AMD occurs and continual contamination of surface and groundwater resources results. The oxidation of iron disulfides and the generation of acidity occur through several reactions (Stumm and Morgan, 1970). The chemical equations can be found in Caruccio and Geidel (2000). If any of the processes represented by the equations were slowed or altogether stopped, the generation of AMD would also slow or cease. The equations show that 1000 Mg of rock containing 1% sulfur, all as pyrite, would yield upon complete reaction 31.25 Mg of acidity. Therefore, 31.25 Mg of 100% CaCO3 would be required to neutralize the acidity. The alkaline content of overburden determines whether there is enough neutralization potential (NP) to counteract the acid produced from pyrite oxidation. Of the many types of alkaline compounds present in rocks, only carbonates and clays occur in sufficient quantity to effectively neutalize AMD. A balance between the acid-producing potential and neutralizing capacity of an overburden sample will indicate the ultimate acidity or alkalinity that might be expected in the material upon complete weathering. Accurate prediction and control of AMD before surface mining require an understanding of three important factors: 1) overburden geochemistry, 2) method and precision of overburden handling and placement in the backfill during reclamation, and 3) the postmining hydrology of the site.

Jan 1, 2002