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By Sehic OA

One aim of testwork and flowsheet development is to ultimately provide a reliable and flexible plant that is simple to operate and maintain. Testwork can indicate amenability of ores to CIP treatment and provide a basis for process design and economic appraisal. Batch cyanidation and CIP tests are often sufficient for small projects. Continuous multistage test rigs can be operated to simulate plant operation and to provide data for flowsheet optimisation. Operating requirements, gold recoveries and potential problem areas can be anticipated at an early stage with more confidence. Subsequent project development involving decisions on the basic flowsheet, equipment types and general plant arrangements are based on practical considerations and experience. Computer aided process modeling and economic appraisal can be useful in analysing various tradeoffs, firming up the flowsheet and equipment sizes, and in specifying operating targets for the future CIP plant. INTRODUCTION Carbon-in-pulp (CIP) technology which has developed rapidly since 1974 is now accepted as an economically and technically viable process for the efficient recovery of gold. This paper describes testwork and flowsheet development procedures used for CIP evaluation and design.

Jan 1, 1982

By Q. Xu

Adsorption of nonionic/anionic surfactant mixtures on kaolinite has been studied with sodium dodecylsulfate as the anionic surfactant and octaethyleneglycol mono-n-dodecylether as the nonionic surfactant. Synergistic interaction between these surfactant was found to cause adsorption of the nonionic surfactant with its hydrophilic chains protruding into the bulk, leading to substantial changes in wettability and dispersion characteristics of kaolinite. Similarly, hydrophobicity changes are observed also for silica particles upon adsorption of nonionic ethoxylated alcohols owing to possible changes in the orientation of the adsorbed surfactant molecules at the interface.

Jan 1, 1991

By Edward F. Divers

A new nonclogging water spray system for continuous-mining machines has been developed under contract with the Bureau of Mines. This paper presents installation and operating guidelines for the system, which consists of improved and easily maintained machine-mounted hardware, including an inline Y-strainer, a hydrocyclone, a backup filter, and two quick-opening valves for flushing particulates from the strainer and hydrocyclone. Underground tests with continuous-mining machines have shown that when properly installed and maintained, the new sys tern virtually eliminates nozzle clogging and thus greatly reduces spray maintenance. The sys tern is relatively inexpensive and has been installed on typical continuous-mining machines for a total cost under $1,000.

Jan 1, 1976

By G Veillette, B Parker, S Hart

This paper provides a history of the challenges that were experienced while treating both the clayey oxide gold ores and the supergene copper-gold ores at the Boddington Gold Mine during the period 1989 to 2001. However the bigger challenge was to find a process flow sheet that would allow the economic treatment of the large low-grade competent gold-copper resource that underlies the oxide and supergene gold resource. Metallurgical test work and engineering studies on this resource started in the mid 1990s and culminated in the approval in 2006 of the 35 Mtpa Boddington Expansion Project to treat this material. The process flow sheet provides the basis of an energy efficient comminution circuit that includes high pressure grinding rolls and a treatment circuit with gravity separation, flash and conventional flotation to produce a precious metal low-grade copper concentrate followed by cyanide leaching of the rougher-scavenger and cleaner tailings streams. The treatment circuit allows maximum removal of copper minerals prior to cyanide leaching and so provides an environmentally responsible tailings disposal circuit.

Jan 1, 2007

By J. Leja, J. H. Schulman

FROTH flotation is usually effected by the addition of a collector agent and a frothing agent to an aqueous suspension of suitably comminuted mineral ores. The action of collectors is to adsorb onto the surfaces of minerals to be separated, sensitizing them to bubble adherence. The action of frothers has, in the past, been accepted as that of froth formation only, brought about by a lowering of the air/water interfacial tension. Substances capable of producing froth are classed1a,b according to their relative capacities for production of froth-volume and froth stability in the simple frother-water system. The purpose of this paper is to show that the surface active agents acting as frothers become effective only when there is a suitable degree of molecular interaction taking place between collector molecules and frother molecules at the air/water and solid/ water interfaces. Further, the discussion will demonstrate that the actual mechanism of adherence of an air bubble to a suitably collector-coated particle is due to the molecular interaction collector-frother. This leads to the formation of a continuous interfacial film of associated molecules, anchored to the mineral by polar groups of the collector, and enveloping the whole bubble. The tenacity of adhesion mineral-to-bubble results from the strength and the visco-elasticity of this mixed film. Some 20 years ago Christman2 postulated mutual dependence of collector and frother in effecting flotation. This view was, however, strongly opposed by Wark,3 who pointed out that an addition of frother had no effect on the value of contact angle once this was established in the solution of collector. More recent work by Taggart and Hassialis' indicated that the presence of frother, namely, cresol, leads to the immediate establishment of a contact angle on sphalerite, partially coated with xanthate, whereas an air bubble fails to make contact in potassium ethyl xanthate solution alone, even after 60 min induction time. Wrobel5 raws attention to the selectivity of frothers in flotation. Many instances of antagonistic effects of certain mixtures of frothers (or collectors and frothers) on flotation froth have been known to flotation operators and have been reported in literature. Taggart6 and Cooke7 give several examples of incompatibility of certain ratios of frothers and collectors, e.g., oleate and long-chain sulphates, pine oil and soaps. Monolayer Penetration. Properties of insoluble films produced by molecules of surface active agents orientated at the air/liquid interface are conveniently studied by the Langmuir trough technique, described fully by Adam.' Using the trough technique Schulman and Hughes" and Schulman et al.10a. b, c, d,e established the existence of molecular interactions occur- ring between certain types of surface active agents. Their experiments revealed the phenomenon of penetration of an insoluble monolayer (e.g., a film of a long-chain alcohol) by a soluble agent (e.g., sodium alkyl sulphate) injected into the substrate (water or salt solution). The degree of molecular interaction taking place on penetration is determined by changes in the surface pressure of the resulting film, changes of its surface potential and its mechanical properties (viscosity and rigidity). When the interaction takes place between both polar groups and both hydrophobic groups of the two participating amphipathic molecules a molecular complex is formed. Complexes formed on penetration of the monolayer at interfaces are not necessarily true chemical compounds: they are labile in solution, the activity and reactivity of individual components are greatly different from those of the molecularly associated complex, and on crystallization they usually separate out into components. However, when formed in the orientated state at interfaces they are found to be very stable, although some mixed films spread as monolayers of stoichiometric complexes can show further penetration by subsequent additions of the soluble component injected into the substrate.'" The degree of association between two or more types of surface active agents is very sensitive even to small changes in electric (dipole) moment of the polar groups of the amphipathic molecules as influenced by magnitude and position of neighboring ions or dipoles, their size, concentration, and stereochemistry. In addition, the molecular association is greatly influenced by concentration and type of inorganic salts in the substrate, by its pH, and by temperature. The nonpolar groups of interacting molecules greatly affect the stability of molecular complexes. Progressive shortening of the aliphatic chain of one of the reacting molecules weakens (at an increasing rate) its tendency to form stable complexes. Similarly, introduction of a double bond of cis-form into one of the reacting chains, which changes the straight hydrocarbon chain into a kinked one, or introduction of a branched chain, reduces the stability of the associated complex. Monolayer Adsorption. Using the trough technique and injecting metal ions into the substrate (water or salt solution) underlying insoluble films of fatty acids, alkyl amines, and sulphates, Wolsten-holme and Schulman11a,b,e. ' and Thomas and Schulman" have established conditions, namely, pH, concentration. and steric factors, under which molecular interactions take place between the polar groups of the surface active agents and the metal ions. These interactions are marked by great changes in the solubility and mechanical properties of the monolayer of the agent; no surface pressure increases are observed as in monolayer penetration experiments. The results of these adsorption studies, correlated with flotation experiments, indicated that in the case of fatty acids and alkyl sulphates their adsorption onto minerals of base-metals takes place by a similar

Jan 1, 1955

By Leonardo Araújo Peruch, José Fagundes, Henrique Carneiro Pinto, Marco Túlio Costa, Nayara Coutinho, José Fabiano Martins Assunção

The objective of this project was to increase the hot charge by reducing reheating energy consumption and raising the productivity of ArceloMittal Tubarão's hot strip mill by changing the HSM’s schedule process with optimization of the relocation process of slabs after HSM’s chance with focus on slab temperature in reheating time. The project began with the revision of metallurgical rules for the relocation of materials, definition of criteria temperature setting (hot / cold), definition of restrictions of the process and review of modus operandi scheduling process. With the implementation of the process / system it is expected to achieve a 10% increase in the hot charge index in slabs reheating furnaces and increase productivity of the ArcelorMittal Tubarão hot strip mill

Oct 3, 2019

By Maria K. Kojo

The interaction between various slags and a nickel concentrate containing pyrite, pentlandite, and violarite were investigated by submerging concentrate pellets in molten slags. The slags were contained in MgO-A12O3 spinel crucibles. The slag oxidizes the iron sulfides in the concentrate, resulting in a nickel matte. The amount of S02 gas formed during reaction was measured to determine the oxidation reactivity of the slags. The experimental variables included temperature, the ferric/ferrous ratio of slag, and other slag properties such as the FeO/SiO2 ratio and the MgO and NiO contents. The reactivity of the slag depended in a complex manner on its oxidizing power, viscosity, and interfacial tension. The slag composition for the greatest reactivity was determined to be Fe3+/Fe2+ = 0.3, Fe/SiO2 = 1.3, and % MgO = 2. This slag, however, caused substantial foaming. Increasing the MgO content to 10% or replacing it by 5% MgO + 8% NiO eliminated at a slight decrease in reactivity. The implications of the findings from this work in the bath smelting of nickel sulfide concentrates are discussed.

Jan 1, 1995

By Thomas M. Barczak

With the development of the shield support, the primary requirement for successful ground control in longwall mining is to provide stable gate road and bleeder entries. Wood cribbing has been the dominant form of secondary support. However, the cost and limited availability of timber, along with the poor performance of softwood crib supports, has forced western U.S. mines to explore the utilization of other support systems. The recent success of cable bolts has engendered much interest from western operators. Several innovative freestanding support systems have been developed recently including: (1) "The Can"' support by Burrell Mining Products International, Inc., (2) Hercules and Link-N-Lock wood cribs and Propsetter by Strata Products (USA) Inc., (3) Variable Yielding Crib and Power Crib supports by Mountainland Support Systems, (4) the Confined Core Crib developed by Southern Utah Fuels Corporation; and (5) the MEGA prop by MBK Hydraulik. This paper assesses design considerations and compares the performance and application of these alternative secondary support systems.

Jan 1, 1996

By R G. Reddy

The complexity in treating environmentally harmful impurities such as As, Sb, Bi from the base metal matte or metal in the smelting stage are responsible for the high cost of the refining process. The impurity capacities (such as arsenic, antimony and bismuth) of slags were calculated a priori using Reddy-Blander (RB) model. The capacity predictions were for a wide range of matte and slag compositions in copper smelting conditions. The calculated impurities capacities and impurity distribution ratios results are in good agreement with the available experimental and industrial slags data. The a priori knowledge of impurities is useful for reduction of energy consumption and enhanced environmental control in the current and future non-ferrous metal processes.

Aug 21, 2024

By J. Janeson

Wall control at the Pipe Open Pit is of primary importance in ensuring the long-term stability of the operation, while keeping costs to a minimum. Blasting techniques have been adapted to the variations in competence and structure of the wall rocks. A portion of the perimeter wall is being developed in incompetent peridotite . A recent change in pit slope design provides a wide safety berm on alternate benches. A support program which consists of pinning the crests of wide berms with vertical reinforced concrete dowels and horizontal bolting of walls shows evidence of increasing the stability of the pit walls. This paper describes the blasting and support techniques which are contributing to successful wall control in the Pipe operation.

Jan 1, 1979

By Robert M. Adler

In order for a taxpayer to produce income, he may be required to exhaust his capital assets. With respect to the mining industry, those exhaustible capital assets may result in income tax deductions under the general categories of depreciation, obsolescence, losses and depletion. The percentage depletion deduct ion concept is not based upon "economic" depletion, or "geological" depletion theories. Instead, it is wholly an income tax concept created by Congress. This is significant in that, in its application, tax depletion has no adherence to traditional economic or geological depletion concepts For example, the Internal Revenue Code limits percentage depletion to 50 percent of the miner's net income for the taxable period.1/ Should a particular miner extract and sell 500,000 tons of material during the year, but at a loss, he receives no percentage depletion. The same would apply to an electric utility which mined its own coal. Should its mining costs exceed the "going price" for coal, as established by actual arm's-length sales in the market, the utility has no net income, and is therefore not entitled to percentage depletion.2/

Jan 1, 1973

In the late 1970's and early 1980's a considerable number of large scale open pit mines were developed in N.S.W. and Queensland. At the time these mines were planned, the industry was characterised by rising coal prices, rising fuel prices, and a host of other labour and government constraints different to the situation today. Yet some mines have clearly been able to cope with this change much better than others. While one mine may now be expanding and profitable, its neighbour may still be labouring under painful adjustment processes. This paper examines the major reasons for this difference. It suggests more robust criteria for assessment of future projects to reduce their sensitivity to changes outside management control.

Jan 1, 1990

By Albert J. Rambosek

The results obtained in a study of the stress conditions existing in a drill bit-point area and in the underlying rock, when the bit was in full but nonpenetrative contact with the rock, are presented. This investigation by the Bureau of Mines was the preliminary exploratory phase of a long-range program of research on rock drilling to establish criteria for the maximum economically feasible rate of rock penetration. The photoelastic technique of experimental stress analysis was the principal method used to obtain the data. Transparent models and transmitted light were employed to investigate patterns in drill-bit models and isotropic materials under the bit when subjected to a concentrated static load. Comparative stress data for anisotropic rock were obtained by the reflective photoelastic technique. Brittle lacquer and an extensometer were used obtain supplementary information wherever substantiating data were desired to check photoelastic results. The zone of maximum shear occurs along an arc near the contact face of the bit. The stress distribution pattern in an isotropic model rock near the area contacted by the bit was nearly a mirror image of that exhibited within a similar areal zone of the bit. The stress pattern in granodiorite specimens was similar, though not symmetric, to the pattern in the isotropic model rock. The asymmetry of the stress pattern in the granodiorite was attributed to the anisotropic characteristics of the constituent minerals of various sizes.

Jan 1, 1963

By Adrian Daniel

"Dating back to 1934, Con Mine is located directly south to the city of Yellowknife in the NWT, Canada. With mill operations ceasing in 2004, a challenging surface remediation situation resulted which required the treatment of close to 40,000 m3 of Arsenic impacted material.Through much of the period of 1941 to 1970, Con Mine treated their refractory arsenopyrite ore through the use of an Edwards Heath roaster. With mounting environmental pressure and through Canadian governmental studies during 1950 to 1970, attention was directed to the Arsenic Trioxide material being collected by two Doyle scrubbers on the Con’s roaster stack. In 1970, the roaster was decommissioned leaving the resulting Arsenic material in two containment areas on surface.As a result of Con Mine entering into remediation in 2004, the Con’s autoclave, commissioned in 1992, was dedicated to the immobilization of high impacted Arsenic material through the combination of excess Iron under high temperature and oxygen overpressure. Examined, herein, is the history and chemistry of the Con Mine autoclave as well as the two stages of chemistry for the Water Treatment Plant used to remove arsenic, heavy metals and WAD cyanide from tailings water. Simplified capping plans of the tailing containment areas and a high arsenic impacted area are also presented.INTRODUCTION TO CON MINECon Mine (Con) is situated just south of the City of Yellowknife in the North West Territories (NWT) Canada and is bounded locally by Yellowknife Bay (North Extension of Great Slave Lake) to the east and Kam Lake to the west (Figure 6). The discovery of gold at Con was made in 1934 and mineral rights were acquired by Consolidated Mining and Smelting Limited (Cominco) and Falconbridge soon thereafter. Nerco Minerals Limited (Nerco) took control in 1986 and in 1993, was subsequently sold to, Miramar Mining Corporation which in turn was purchased by friendly takeover involving Newmont Mining in November 2007 as a result of acquiring the Miramar’s Hope Bay project. Con’s underground operations ceased in September 2003 and have since entered into the remediation of the site. The current surface lease holdings are about 340 Hectares (Table 1) which sits on top of the Archean-aged Yellowknife Greenstone Belt."

Jan 1, 2009

By M. J. Scoble, H. L. Francis, D. F. Salter, G. R. Baiden

Intelligent ore delineation refers to the ability reliably to characterize the geological setting of a mineralized body and its grade distribution. This necessitates using all available geological information in a timely and efficient manner, such that effective geological control is achieved. The importance of geological control is paramount to improving the efficiency and competitiveness of underground mines. As a result, the development of new geosensing tools designed to provide more reliable and timely information should be a priority. However, as the sensing tools advance then so, too, must the decision support system in order to allow the full benefits of these tools to be achieved. One potential system considered able to provide this architecture is ’true 3D-GIS’ (Geographical Information System). GIS promises to provide a seamless data flow and to connect information currently unavailable to the underground mine operations by bringing together previously disparate and spatial data sets in a visually effective and timely way. This paper considers the potential revolution GIS offers over the flow and use of data in mining by focusing on the integration of geosensing data and GIS to facilitate intelligent ore delineation.

Jan 1, 2000

By M .. Hori, H. Onishi, Y. Goda

The split-lining structure was newly developed for the air-tight lining of the underground compressed air storage cavern. This structure consists of separated reinforced concrete (RC) segments and air-tight membrane. It is most important for the Compressed Air Energy Storage Gas Turbine (CAES-G/T) system to develop the economical lining. In order to verify the applicability of split-lining structure, CAES-G/T pilot plant was constructed and operated for 6 months. We confirmed the practical usefulness and safety of this system through the operation. This paper presents the mechanical behaviour of surrounding rock mass and the lining structure observed through the operation of CAES-G/T pilot plant. Nous avons mis au point une structure de revêtement modulaire pour le revêtement des cavernes souterraines hermétiques à pression. Ce revêtement est composé de segments de béton armé et de membranes hermétiques. Il était très important, pour le CAES-G/T (Compressed Air Energy Storage Gas Turbine), de développer un revêtement économique. Afin de vérifier l’aptitude d’application de notre revêtement modulaire, nous avons construit un système pilote CAES-G/T et nous avons effectué des essais de fonctionnement pendant six mois. Ces essais nous ont permis de confirmer l’utilité et la sécurité du système. A travers le présent rapport, nous rendons compte de la structure de ce nouveau type de revêtement et du comportement mécanique de la masse rocheuse environnante que nous avons pu observer au cours desdits essais. Als luftdichter Druckbehälter wurde eine gegliederte Belagsstruktur für tief unterirdisch liegende Felshöhlungen entwickelt. Diese Struktur ist aus Stahlbetonabdeckung und luftdichter Plane aufgebaut. Bei der Entwicklung des Pressluftgasturbinen – Stromerzeugungssystems (CAES-G/T) war es die wichtigste Aufgabe, einen wirtschaftlichen Belag zu entwickeln. Deswegen wurde zum Nachweis der Effektivität der gegliederten Belagsstruktur eine Pilotanlage errichtet und 6 Monate lang betrieben. Durch den Betrieb konnten wir die Praktikabilität und Sicherheit des Systems bestätigen. Dieser Aufsatz ist ein Bericht über das Verhalten der durch Betrieb der CAES-G/T Pilotanlage beobachteten Belagsstruktur und umliegenden Felsmasse.

Jan 1, 2003

By Sii Smith-Gruner

Blasthole drilling by todays standards is not a mature operation. In most mining appli¬cations, the blasthole drill rig is the least understood piece of machinery. Draglines, mining shovels, and haulage trucks may have more charisma, but the entire mining process starts with the drilling of blastholes to facilitate removal of the overburden and/or the primary material being mined. There are two (2) principal drilling methods them being rotary and percussion. In certain situations, percussion drilling is the most practical method, but for most applications, rotary drilling using the rotary tricone bit is the common and accepted drilling technique. While the drilling rig is on the surface and quite visible to everyone, it is really the object at the end of the drill pipe, the tricone bit, that is doing the work and drilling the hole. The rig supplies power to the bit and air to clean the hole. In addition, it must be capable of providing certain other functions and should be properly outfitted to adequately support the rotary tricone bit.

Jan 1, 1988

By W. C. Baver

Even before the energy crisis developed in the early '70's, considerable research world-wide was being directed towards the development of schemes to both reduce the energy requirements and to reduce air pollution emissions associated with the manufacture of glass. In many cases the sought-for solutions would benefit both objectives. If, for example, the glass batch could be consolidated into such compact forms as briquettes or pellets, they could be preheated in a moving-bed heat exchanger with the high-temperature exhaust gases from the glass furnace. Lower furnace temperatures would thus be possible with a corresponding reduction in heat losses and total fuel consumption. Moreover, the lower temperatures would also reduce the amount of nitrogen oxides generated in the furnace and emitted to the atmosphere. Many tests on consolidated glass batch have been run in many countries. In some cases, extended tests on production furnaces have also been included in the programs. For various reasons, however, none of these has proved to be economically attractive. The current, but temporary lull in the rapidly rising cost of energy which has been with us in recent years, has reduced the push for research for energy saving means for melting glass. A few of the current programs will be discussed. Since raw material requirements, primarily physical in nature, are affected by some of these schemes, these will also be considered.

Jan 1, 1986

By Michael H. Wysockey

The load test program for the pile foundation at Soldier Field included static and dynamic load tests at four locations around the site. The dynamic tests were run with no knowledge of the static results, and comparison between the two is very good. It was necessary to use a special testing hammer (not the production hammer) to demonstrate capacity with dynamic testing. Over 90% of the piles were HP14x89 with a design load of 230 tons (18 ksi). The load tests showed a capacity in excess of 590 tons for all tests where sufficient set up time was allowed. The remainder of the piles were mostly HP 12x53 with a design load of 100 tons (13 ksi). The measured capacity of these piles was typically about 250 tons. One experimental HP12×74 pile with a nominal yield of 65 ksi held 730 tons (67 ksi) before failing.

Jan 1, 2002

Floor heave events in underground mining often happen suddenly and cause risk to workers and equipment. Reducing the risk of floor heave must be addressed in mining layout design. To improve that design one must understand the significant parameters that are correlated to the occurrence of floor heave. To accomplish that goal, researchers from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) completed a numerical study using FLAC3D, taking advantage of its strain softening and ubiquitous joint capabilities to better simulate the floor heave and caving mechanisms involved at an actual mine site.

Jan 7, 2020