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By G. Morin, F. Chiesa, B. Tougas, B. Duchesne, Jocelyn Baril, N. Giguère

"An aluminum A356 compressor impeller was sand cast using the Low Pressure technique. The casting was limited in size (170 mm in diameter, 1.2 kg in weight) and very intricate in shape thus making 3D mold printing particularly favorable; indeed, producing this part by the traditional pattern-core box route would involve mounting 12 cores inside the mold while stringent dimensional tolerances are required as the impeller blades are only 2 mm thick. Consequently the molds were produce on the X-One MFlex printer of Quebec Metallurgy Center - CMQ. A dozen castings were produced with different casting temperatures and filling times so that it was possible to assess under which conditions complete filling of the mold cavity would be achieved. Filling and solidification modeling allowed predicting misruns and metallurgical properties inside the A356 (AlSi7Mg04) casting.INTRODUCTION Recent advancements in additive manufacturing enable foundries to produce molds without the tooling (pattern and core boxes) necessary when conventional technology is used (Eyad, 2016). This is particularly advantageous when dealing with intricate shapes and/or when a limited number of parts must be produced within a few days rather than in 5 weeks. An additional advantage is gained when producing prototypes (Johnson, 2016) as changes are much less costly and time consuming when made on a numerical 3D drawing rather than on patterns and core boxes. 3D printing is normally economical for a small number of parts; however, if the part is not too big and very intricate in shape such as the part that will be studied in the present work, 3D printing can be economical even for an important number of castings to be produced. On the other hand, low pressure casting is a high integrity casting process in which the mold cavity is filled from the bottom via a transfer tube in which the liquid aluminum rises under the pressure applied at the surface of the melt as illustrated in Figure 1. The filling can thus be precisely controlled, eliminating the turbulence created when the mold is filled from the top (gravity casting). Also, the pressure applied on the melt during solidification results in excellent feeding of the casting when conditions of directional solidification are met. In the present work, the compressor impeller shown in Figure 2 will be sand cast by low pressure."

Jan 1, 2018

By Francisca San Martín, Martin Rudolph, Willy Kracht, Tomás Vargas

It has been shown that bacteria Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans can be used to depress pyrite in seawater flotation at natural pH, which opens the possibility for its use as an alternative to lime to depress pyrite in copper sulfide flotation. In order to have a better understanding of the mechanisms involved in pyrite depression with A. ferrooxidans, an exploratory experimental campaign was carried out, including attachment density and contact angle measurements, and the effect of adding bacteria before or after collector. Biodepression of pyrite improves when increasing pH from 3 to 8, with a decrease in recovery from 92% to 36%. This increase in depressing capability is accompanied by an increase in attachment density, from 2.58×108 bacteria/g to 1.99×109 bacteria/g at pH 3 and 8, respectively, suggesting that the mechanism of depression is related to the attachment of bacteria to the pyrite surface. It was observed that the conditioning sequence with collector and bacteria influences the biodepression capacity of A. ferrooxidans. Having as a reference a value of pyrite recovery equal to 97%, when using only xanthate in seawater flotation at pH 8, the effect of both conditioning with bacteria-followed-by-xanthate and xanthate-followed-by-bacteria were assessed. When bacteria were added before the collector, the recovery of pyrite decreased to 36%. On the other hand, when bacteria were added after collector, the recovery was 64%, showing that biodepression of pyrite with Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans is more efficient when the conditioning is carried out first with bacteria. The contact angle values show that there is little effect of the second component added to the system, i.e., if pyrite is first conditioned with bacteria, the contact angle does not change significantly once the xanthate is added (bacteria-followed-by-xanthate). The same was observed when the conditioning sequence was xanthate-followed-by-bacteria.

Jan 1, 2018

By C. C. Hagenbuch

Machine loading of coal into mine cars is increasing rapidly. Particular reasons for its use frequently apply to certain localities, but in general, it is profitable to install mechanical coal-loading equipment: (I) when existing hand-loading contract rates prevent further cost reduction; (2) when the height of the coal bed requires that either top or bottom must be taken to place cars in rooms; (3) when labor shortage or limited house-plant capacity prevents the production of desired tonnage ; (4) when tonnage requirements are in excess of possible hand-loaded production from developed areas; (5) when working places are scattered and it is possible to concentrate production, and therefore supervision, by the installation of mechanical equipment; (6) when rapid development is essential. Having decided to install loading equipment, the problem then arises as to what type is best adapted for a particular mine or coal bed, the choice lying between mobile track equipment, pit-car loaders, scrapers, shaker conveyors, belt conveyors and drag conveyors. MajoR FactoRs Influencing Choice of Equipment In determining the type of equipment to be used, the following major factors must be studied: Grades.—Adverse grades, while permitting other types of loading equipment to work successfully, may prevent the success of a shaker conveyor installation. Thickness of Bed.—The thickness of coal governs the choice of equipment. A machine that requires 5 ft. of head room should not be selected for a 3-ft. bed where otherwise it would be unnecessary either to brush top or to lift bottom. Nature of Pavement.—Soft or scaly bottoms are unsuitable for the use of any type of digging loader, shaker conveyors or scraper loaders. nigging loaders and scraper loaders scale the bottom, mixing it with the coal and causing preparation difficulties; shaker-conveyor drives frequently work themselves loose, destroying the conveyor alignment and creating maintenance problems. Nature of Roof.—With any type of loading machine, it is policy to obtain the maximum possible tonnage per move per set-up. This must

Jan 1, 1931

By F. W. Brackebusch

Paste is a high density mixture of water and fine solid particles with a relatively low water content (10-25%) such that the mixture has a consistency as measured by the ASTM slump cone test from slightly greater than zero up to nearly 12 inches (305mm). Particles of different size classes will not segregate or settle when the paste is not being agitated or when it is stationary in a pipeline. Cement may be a component of paste. Larger particles of aggregate can generally be added to a paste without greatly changing the pipeline transport characteristics. A paste may bleed water slightly when it is allowed to be motionless for periods of up to several hours, but the solids do not become so dense that the paste cannot be easily re-fluidized. The dividing line between the definition of a high density slurry and a paste is not sharp. It is a practical matter that must be considered when designing a pipeline transportation system. If the pipeline is very short, there is very little risk of plugging the pipeline with a high density slurry when flow is stopped for short time periods. With longer pipelines the mixture must remain stable without motion for periods as long as several hours to avoid pipeline plugging. The fine particles in a paste mixture can be composed of mine tailings or naturally-occurring clays, silts and fine sands. The mineralogy of the particles thus can have a wide variety from quartz and feldspar to clays, micas and even salts.

Jan 1, 1993

By E. M. De Souza

"A scientific testing program, sponsored by the Mining Industry Research Organization of Canada (MIROC), was undertaken on the surface and underground facilities of Inca's Crean Hill Mine to investigate the effectiveness of using dry drilling with a dust control system.The surface test work consisted of the monitoring of advance rates and bit life white a series of 165 mm holes, wet and dry, were drilled at both mine air (0.69MPa) and high pressure air (1.72MPa). The results, based on statistical evaluations of field data, indicated that penetration rates can be increased by an average of 24% when drilling dry with high air pressure and by approximately 27.5% when drilling dry with mine air as compared with wet drilling under the same conditions. Dry drilling also has the effect of reducing button wear by approximately 69% using high pressure air. The underground test work employed a dust collection system developed for use with large diameter holes (165 mm) and high pressure drilling. The testing program has indicated that an average increase in penetration rate of 35% can be achieved when dry drilling in rock (waste) and of 49% when dry drilling in ore with high air pressure. Although preliminary dust monitoring did not indicate any appreciable increase in dust concentration during dry drilling, further dust monitoring is still required.A comparative cost analysis has indicated the potential for reduction in drilling costs when dry drilling is utilized. Further testwork is to be conducted to develop a reliable dust collection system for underground production."

Jan 1, 1992

By Wang Zhi

High-Mg-content concentrates are usually treated in Jinchuan flash smelting Furnace. Because the viscosities of high-Mg-content slag is very high, the operation of flash smelting becomes very difficult. To solve this problem, the viscosities of the semi-synthesized FeO-MgO-Si02 slag of different compositions were measured. The results showed that when in the slag the weight percentage of MgO [m(Mgo)] is 6-10%, the ratio of the weight percentage of iron to that of Si02, m(Fe)/m(SiO2) is 1.1-1.4 and the temperatures are within 1473?1773K, the slag viscosities increased with the increase of m(Mgo) and m(Fe)/m(sio,). When m(Mgo)<6%, the smelting temperature should be controlled at I 300°C in order to to keep the smooth operation. When m(Mgo» 10%, the temperature should be kept above 1633K. When the content of MgO is higher, a lower viscosity slag ean be produced by decreasing the ratio of m(Fe)/m(sio,). The appropriate ratio of m(Fe)/m(sio,) for Jinchuan flash smelting furnace is about 1.2.

Jan 1, 2003

By KENNETH CROPPER

USUALLY we forget about the things which move along smoothly. There are no causes for worry when there are no troubles. But when troubles arise we must put forth some thought and effort to alleviate them. No one "worries about his automobile until it begins to knock, develop flat tires, or refuses to start. However, when these ailments become apparent we get wide awake on the spot, and do our best to repair the car. So we find ourselves now. The old bus seems to hit all the ditches. There is rough ground on all sides and none of us is able to do anything toward improvement. A state of pessimism stares us in the face, and there is sufficient cause for it. With lead at 3.75 cents, copper about 8 cents, zinc under 4 cents, -and silver about 26 cents, one has a reason for grief. When we think of the 5000 or less men employed in Utah mines and smelters in 1931, as compared with about 12,000 in 1929, the calamity seems even worse. In view of the present economic crisis we cannot even think of new men getting a job.

Jan 1, 1931

By Masakazu Niinae, Tasuma Suzuki, Mai Moribe, Yohhei Okabe

Bench-scale electrokinetic experiments were performed to elucidate the electrokinetic remediation mechanisms of arsenate from artificially contaminated kaolinite. The electrokinetic experiments in which a constant voltage was applied demonstrated that high soil pH favored arsenate remediation with respect to both the remediation time and electricity consumption. It was also demonstrated that applying a pulse voltage (1 hour ON, 1 hour OFF) significantly improved the electricity consumption efficiency when the soil pH was maintained at the initial value during the experiments; this trend was not observed when the soil pH was gradually increased from the cathode side. These electrokinetic experimental results indicate that the remediation rate-limiting step varied with soil pH. When the soil pH was maintained at the initial value of 7.2 during the experiments, arsenate desorption was the remediation rate-limiting step rather than the migration of dissolved arsenate toward the anode. Conversely, when the cathode pH was not controlled and the soil pH was correspondingly increased gradually from the cathode side, the migration of hydroxyl and desorbed arsenate ions toward the anode played a more important role in the control of the overall remediation efficiency.

Jan 1, 2014

By CLARENCE WM. POY

THE most common difficulty faced by an engineer or mine operator when opening a new property in a new field is the lack of roads and of cheap transportation. This one item often swings the balance of success or failure in starting a project. In Alaska, as elsewhere, such problems are more or less serious. In the boom days around the Valdez district, as well as in other parts of this territory, freighting was accom¬plished by dog teams or horses, or even by men that were willing to put their shoulders into harness, because there were virtually no roads. More important, there was only one time when supplies could be transported, and that was when there was suffi¬cient snow on the ground following a heavy wind. Then, and only then, could one depend on the snow to support horses and sleighs, and be sure that the gulleys, streams, and crevices in the glaciers were filled with snow to avoid pitfalls. These methods were used when one had no roads, no streams in the summer to float a barge, or even a trail for a pack train. If the snow was deep and soft, trans

Jan 1, 1935

Percolation infers the passage of a liquid through, the interstices of any material or materials permitting it. Leaching is the process of extracting soluble matter by percolation. Lixiviation is analogous to leaching. Percolation and leaching may occur simultaneously. A filter may be used either to strain suspended or finely divided matter from a liquid, when it is known as a clarifier, or to separate a liquid from a solid. Clarification usually infers the addition d: some settling or flocculating agent which permits the decantation of the clear supernatant liquor. The simple separation of solid from liquid, such as occurs when a thickened flotation concentrate is filtered, is usually termed dewatering. The word filtration is used more to cover the complex process of separating, as far as possible, solid from liquid by vacuum or pressure, removing the residual solution by wash, and at the same time leaching any recrystallized, absorbed, or undissolved matter, by percolation with the solvent. The final product of metallurgical treatment should be reported as a recovery when the yield is refined metal. When the metallurgical operations are incomplete and a concentrated but not refined-product is obtained, the metal content should be reported as an extraction.

Jan 1, 1919

By X. W. Pan

It has been found that the MnO content of a slag decreases sharply when direct current is applied to a 1T1£tal-Slagsystem consisting of liquid Mn-Si-Ccsat metals and MnO-SiO2-CaO-AI203 slag in graphite crucibles. This paper reports a preliminary investigation into the electrochemical effects of direct current on the metal-slag system, the silicon content of the metals, and the MnO content of the slag. The results show that, when a direct current of 7 A is maintained, the MnO content of a metal containing 10 to 11 per cent silicon by weight is reduced rapidly from 26,5 to 17,2 per cent by weight. This reduction seems to proceed further when the process is continued. When the direct current and the voltage are kept constant at TA and 4 V respectively, the MnO content of a metal containing 1 to 2 per cent silicon by weight is reduced to 1 from 25 per cent by weight, which results in a manganese yield of 96 per cent.

Jan 1, 1995

By L. W. Saperstein, W. W. Kaufman

Stimulated by the hearing protection clauses in the 1969 Coal Mine Health and Safety Law, attempts were made to determine what safety hazards, in terms of warning signal discrimination, are attendant upon the wearing of hearing protectors. Warning signals of dangerous roof conditions were collected and analyzed from 11 different coal mines in four different coal seams. Primarily, signals of audible level emanating from roof, floor, or coal were recorded. The interpretations of these signals were seen to be very dependent upon coincident visual and tactile signals. Acoustic character of such signals is shown to be dependent upon the spectral energy distribution of the pulses. Roof talk signals generally have broad-band spectra concentrated below 5 kHz. Reverberation times of acoustic pulses are generally less than 0.5 sec in duration. Indications have developed which link the coal mine entry dimensions with the nature of noises recorded there. Related experiments suggest that roof talk can be discriminated from background noise equally well when wearing protection as when not. This conclusion is only appropriate when noise levels warrant the wearing of protection. When quiet, the wearing of protection somewhat reduces discriminatory ability.

Jan 1, 1976

By L. D. Patts, J. D. Noll, S. E. Mischler, G. H. Schnakenberg

In this study, we evaluated the ambient diesel particulate matter (DPM) concentrations (at the intakes and exhausts of the mine) as the entire vehicle fleet of a stone mine switched from using 35% biodiesel to using a water emulsified fuel (PuriNOx). Elemental carbon (EC) was reduced by 45% when a PuriNOx blend containing 10% water replaced 35% biodiesel and by 57% when a PuriNOx blend containing 20% water was used. Other factors such as engine duty cycle and production changes could potentially cause some day-to-day EC fluctuations, and no direct comparison to commonly used dieselfuels (No. 1 or No. 2) was achieved. Therefore, a second study was performed in a controlled “isolatedzone” environment to fametal mine, comparing PuriNOxto No.1 diesel fuel in a load haul dump vehicle. The EC fraction of the DPM was reduced by about 71% when the PuriNOx blend containing 10% water was used and by about 85% when the PuriNOx blend containing 20% water was employed. This study did not determine how the water emulsified fuel would affect the engine or power.

By A Gibbs

Culture and leadership go hand in hand, especially when it comes to investing in safety. But the reality is that most safety leaders haven’t been taught the fundamental soft skills needed to lead effectively. In fact, only one in four safety leaders demonstrate effective skills and behaviours. Furthermore, when compared to its peers in other high-risk industries, our research indicates mining has the most room for improvement when it comes to effective safety leadership. In this presentation safety culture, climate and leadership will be outlined. Additionally, research data collected from our clients, across a variety of industries, will be shared to inspire reflection on the value of safety leadership. Finally, strategies to empower leaders and increase safety leadership behaviours will be described.

May 5, 2022

By Wing G. Agnew

The first six Reports of Investigations in this series , pertaining to the investigation of stemming at the Mount Weather Testing Adit, dealt with ( 1 ) the dust produced by blasting , ( 2) the effect of stemming upon gases generated by blasting , ( 3 ) the relative advantages and disadvantages of different types of stemming and no stemming when used with 60 - percent ammonia gelatin dynamite , (4) the length of stemming material through which a primer will fire and detonate a charge of dynamite , ( 5) comparison of dust and gases produced when blasting charges of dynamite in drill holes , bombs, and mud - cap shots , and ( 6 ) the relative advantages and disadvantages of different types of stemming and no stemming when used with 40 - percent ammonia gelatin dynamite .

Oct 1, 1943

By W. E. Caspar, W. L. Eaton, W. M. Rohmiser, James Westfield, E. J. Podobrski, L. H. Johnson, S. H. Ash

A flood in mine workings is a crisis even if no lives are lost, and when the crisis is past and the excitement wanes there is usually a rapid return to unwarranted complacency in those regions where floods occur, even though the danger of imminent recurrence is known. Experience in flood control, regardless of its nature, has taught that in a flood the work does not cease when the emergency passes; rather, it increases as the water recedes. To do nothing, when it is known that a hazard exists, is inexcusable for those that should do something. To prevent floods in mines, data should be collected and something constructive done with those data, not alone for present conditions but for the future.

Aug 1, 1947

By G A. Streltsova

In the paper the main concept of qualitative simulation is determined when computer-aided designing and forecasting of designs of robotised continuous-flow working face complexes for underground mining of hard ores. The parametric model æunderground ore mineÆ and its components û composite models are considered. Frame description of structure of working face complex and methods of organising of rule-oriented representation of knowledge when itÆs operating are given. The architecture of the developed prototype of expert system æworking face complexÆ and construction of a knowledge base for it are described when solving problems of multi-criteria optimisation of computational parameters of the working face complex under conditions of uncertainty. The guidelines for further development of knowledge base and expert system are given.

Jan 1, 2003

Many different types of structures and materials have been used to build mineral processing facilities throughout the years. Although structure type and building material were not viewed as significant factors affecting the health of employees in these facilities when they were built, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has found that building type can impact respirable dust and noise levels. NIOSH performed a study in which it evaluated three building types: masonry, an open-structure design, and a steel-sided design. This study indicated that an open-structure design (no walls) was superior from both a dust and noise (health) standpoint when compared to the other two structure types. Therefore, companies may want to consider this design when building new structures.

By T. N. Singh, M. M. Singh, R. B. Singh

Fly rock is common when blasting shallow holes and during secondary blasting. Although the required quantity of explosives for secondary blasts is less, noise and fly rock can have an enormous environmental impact. This paper mainly deals with field experiments on blast-design parameters and addresses some precautionary measures that can be taken when pop shooting.

Jan 1, 2000

By W. M. McCardell, W. O. Winsauer

The abnormal conductivity found in shaly reservoir rocks containing an electrolyte is shown to be a consequence of the electrical double layer in the solution adjacent to charged clay surfaces. This increased conductivity results from a higher concentration of ions in the double layer than in the solution in equilibrium with the double layer. It is shown that the magnitude of the increased conductivity of a shaly reservoir material is influenced by the concentration and type of ions in the equilibrium solution as well as by the colloidal nature of the rock. INTRODUCTION An important factor in the quantitative interpretation of the electric log is the resistivity factor of reservoir rock. The resistivity factor is defined as the resistivity of the rock when completely saturated with an electrolyte divided by the resistivity of the electrolyte itself.&apos; In the normal case, the resistivity factor for a particular rock sample is independent of the resistivity of the electrolyte and reflects the pore geometry of the rock.&apos; In 1949. Patnode and Wyllie&apos; showed that in some cases the resistivity factor is not constant, but instead varies with the resistivity of the electrolytic solution. It was shown that clean sands behave normally—i.e., that the resistivity factor does not vary with resistivity of the electrolyte — but that sands con- taining shale and clay may exhibit abnormally low resistivity factors when the solution used to saturate them is of fairly high resistivity. At low resistivities of the electrolyte, the resistivity factor for a shaly sand appeared to approach a normal behavior. It is evident that the resistivity factor of a shaly sand is dependent upon factors other than pore geometry when the solution used to saturate it is of high resistivity. Patnode and Wyllie, and later de Witte,&apos; assumed that the conductivity of a shaly sand saturated with an electrolyte could be represented as the sum of two quantities. One of these was assumed, in effect, to be the conductivity which would be expected if the sample were a clean sand. and the other was assumed to be a conductivity inherent in the sample itself. The latter was supposed to be constant for a given rock sample regardless of the solution used to saturate it. The source of this added conductivity was ascribed to "conductive solids." In actual practice: the effect of the abnormal behavior of shaly sands is of minor importance except when the resistivity of a formation such as a sand is high. Thus the effect is more important when the sand is saturated with a dilute brine than when it contains a more concentrated electrolyte. The effect is also more important when the sample contains oil or gas than when it contains only saline water. Recently it has been suggested that the porosity of a stratum may be estimated from the electric log by use of the resistivity of the invaded zone." This is the zone flushed with the filtrate from mud used in drilling the well. which is ordinarily very dilute brine. When the method is applied to shaly sands, the effect of abnormal conductivity becomes of importance. This report describes an investigation of the mechanism responsible for the abnormal behavior of the resistivity of shaly rock saturated with conducting solutions. The investigation

Jan 1, 1953