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By G. St John Perrott

"The United States Bureau of Mines is cooperating with the State of Utah and the City of Salt Lake in an investigation of methods of abating the smoke nuisance in Salt Lake City. In the course of this work samples of the atmosphere have been collected and analyzed in an attempt to determine the part played by sulphur dioxide or smelter gases in polluting the air at Salt Lake City.A fairly wide-spread opinion exists in Salt Lake City that the smelters contribute appreciably to the smoke nuisance. The gases discharged from the smelter stacks are believed (1) to float over the city in a heavy blanket which prevents the smoke from rising, and (2) to unite with the water vapor in the air to form corrosive fogs injurious to health and property.The first of these theories seems untenable. If the gas did not mix with air it would sink, owing to its heavier specific gravity, and form a blanket an the earth. Actually, the gas diffuses rapidly in air and any part reaching Salt Take must he thoroughly diluted. Perhaps sulphur dioxide in sufficient concentration might aid in fog formation. The more obvious nuisance, however, would be the injury to health and vegetation.The Garfield smelter is 16 miles west of the city, The Murray smelter 8 miles south, and the Midvale smelter 12 miles south. Under normal operating conditions, a relatively small amount of solid matter is discharged from these stacks. The toxic gaseous constituent of the discharge is sulphur dioxide, it is being discharged from the smelters the year round. If they are a factor in the city's smoke problem, the concentration of this gas in the air of the city should be appreciable and should increase toward the smelters, the con centration being highest with a south or a west wind."

May 1, 1920

By Baokuan Li, Qiang Wang, Zhu He

"A mathematical model has been developed to investigate the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD), thermal, and solidified behavior in electroslag remelting process. Based on the finite volume method, a multiphase coupling MHD approach is employed to investigate the droplet formation as well as movement in molten slag under the action of an alternating current. The VOF formulation is adopted for interface tracking. The electrical potential method is adopted for the electric current and magnetic field. The Electromagnetic force and Joule heating are recalculated at each time step and then is implemented in the momentum and energy equations as a source term, respectively. Moreover, solidification of the metal is described by an enthalpy-based formulation, while the mushy zone is treated as a porous medium with porosity equal to the liquid fraction. The model is used to investigate the effect of electrode tip shape on MHD, thermal, and solidified behavior and provide valuable information.IntroductionElectroslag remelting (ESR) process has been used widely to produce high-performance alloys dedicated to critical application, such as hot work tool steels, nickel base alloys, the manufacture of components in aerospace and landbased turbines, etc. Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of ESR process including a consumable electrode, a molten slag pool, a liquid metal pool, a solidified ingot, and a water-cooled mold. Alternating or direct current flows from the electrode to the water-cooled baseplate through the high resistivity calcium-fluoride-based molten slag which result in Joule heating and Electromagnetic force (EMF). Part of the Joule heating melts the electrode and the droplets travel through the slag and accumulate the liquid metal pool. The electrode is continuously advanced into the slag as it melts to build up an ingot of improved structure and composition by controlled solidification and chemical refinement. The metallurgical properties of the remelted ingot are really related to the solidification structure, which strongly depends on magnetohydrodynamic, thermal, and solidified behavior in the molten slag, liquid metal pool, and mushy zone."

Jan 1, 2014

By D. Zim

Mining activity in South America is a growing enterprise. One of difficulties found in many areas of the South American continent, especially in north Chile and south Peru, is the shortage of water supply. In order to overcome this difficulty some mining companies proposed to transport the water from Pacific Ocean up to the mountains. This can be accomplished by the use of stainless steel pipelines, but this is a cost prohibitive solution and is also subject to severe pitting corrosion in a saline environment. The use of mild steel may be a lower cost solution than stainless steel as the material of construction for pipelines but it is subject to corrosion anyway. The corrosion in this case can be internal or external corrosion although cathodic protection as well preventive maintenance usually is enough to mitigate external corrosion without the need to shut down the pipeline. The same is not true about the prevention of internal corrosion. It is not practical, sometimes not even possible, shutdown a pipeline to carry out an inspection and fix sections where potential failures are detected. It is possible avoid corrosion caused by sea water within the mild steel pipelines by applying a proper chemical program designed to virtually eliminate dissolved oxygen in the water commonly called deaeration.1 This type of treatment obviously involves additional capital investment since it requires the construction of one deaerator with the first pumping station and additional equipment at each point where the water can come into contact with oxygen. Deaerators will increase operational costs and subsequent injection of chemicals will be required in the case of multiple degasification facilities thus increasing the consumption of chemicals. grams based on oxygen scavengers, the objective of the present study is to develop a new water treatment capable of preventing mild steel corrosion in aerated sea water. The new treatment must be able to prevent both generalized and localized (pitting) corrosion and overcome the necessity to construct and operate deaerators.

Feb 23, 2014

By R. Angulo

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have recently emerged as materials with outstanding properties. This has promoted their consideration as reinforcements for other material systems, such as ceramics. However, one of the fundamental problems with producing CNT-reinforced ceramics is the effective dispersion of CNTs during processing. This has been successfully carried out recently using organic solvents. This paper is a preliminery investigation into the rheological behavior of aqueous CNT-alumina slips, with the objective of moving towards a more environmentally friendly aqueous tape casting process for the production of CNT-ceramic composites.

Jan 1, 2008

By Y. B. Zhang

China is rich in iron ore resources, but most of these ores are low-grade, polymetallic and refrac-tory ones. Furthermore, with the rapid development of chinese iron & steel industry, the comprehen-sive recovery of these ores is becoming more and more important. The tin, zinc-containing complex iron ores are typical polymetallic and intractable ones, and great reserves of them are found in China. At present, they have not been efficiently utilized. In this paper, based on the investigation of basic physicochemical properties of the tin, zinc-bearing iron concentrates, taken from a mineral processing plant, the mineralogy reason that these concentrates are so intractable and refractory is found out, using advanced microscopic testing methods, such as optical microscope (OM), Scanning Electronic Microscope (SEM), X-ray diffrac-tion (XRD), etc. It is found that the symbiotic relationship of iron, tin and zinc metallic minerals are very complicated, and magnetite in the concentrate is closely symbiotic or enwrapped by fine cassi-terite and sphalerite. So it is difficult to separate tin and zinc completely from the iron concentrates by simple regrinding and physical separation method. This investigation provides theoretical guid-ance for developing new approaches for utilizing these concentrates.

Jan 1, 2014

By Clyde N. Garman

Historically, Vanadium and Uranium have been precipitated together in carbonate sill circuits. A separation of the salts of the two metals was then made on the basis of the fact that the reduced, salts of vanadium are more solo to and those of uranium lose soluble than the respective salts of higher valence. In practice this was carried out by fusing the precipitated combined concentrate with salt, sodium carbonate and sodium hydroxide with oil soaked sawdust mixed into the charge as the reducing agent. Generally the fusion was carried out batch wise and the resulting slag or glass leached in water. A good, fusion and three or four decantation washes resulted in almost complete recovery of the vanadium in the liquid phase and a very high recovery of the uranium as a dense black U02 solid.

Jan 1, 1962

By L. Filippov

"Nickel is an important metal with the total global consumption of about 2 million tons per year. It is sourced from both sulfide and laterite ore, but currently laterites are becoming more attractive for nickel production due to the depletion of high grade nickel sulfide ores. Laterites are generally processed by hydro or pyro-metallurgy and therefore, pre-concentration of nickel before such processes is very important. In this paper the effect different physical methods (including flotation) on the pre-concentration of nickel in laterite ores will be discussed. The ore used in this study was a laterite from South East Asia. Nickel was upgraded using different methods such as magnetic separation, flotation and sizing. The effect of ore mineralogy on choosing the best strategy to upgrade nickel will be discussed. The findings of this project will help to unlock a substantial volume of nickel with significant value from laterite ores.INTRODUCTION Nickel is an important metal with the total global consumption of about million tons per year which has grown rapidly during last decades (Mackey, 2011). Nickel is sourced from two different types of ores, sulfide and laterite. The majority (about 70%) of the world’s nickel resources occur as laterite ores which are often complex, and low grade, and therefore expensive to treat using conventional methods (Xu et al., 2013). Today, nickel laterites are more attractive for production of nickel as the amount of high grade nickel sulfide ores has diminished (Janwong, 2012). Therefore more economic processes to recover nickel from these resources should be developed.It should be noted that nickel laterite mineralogy is complex, and nickel often presents as ultrafine inclusions in a number of mineral phases. Because of the low nickel concentration and variable distribution in these phases, effective upgrading by physical separation processes would be challenging. Researchers have tried to improve nickel laterite flotation recovery by using a number of feed preparation techniques. A summary of the nickel grades obtained using flotation and magnetic separation as reported in the literature is presented in Table 1. It can be seen that only minor nickel upgrades have been reported. Quast et al. (2015) have concluded that the complex mineralogy of nickel laterite ores makes it difficult to achieve any significant nickel upgrading by physical techniques, including flotation. They achieved 40% increase in the nickel content (from 1.0% to 1.4%) at a nickel recovery of 43% (Quast et al., 2015). Various attempts in USA, New Caledonia, India and Australia, to upgrade nickel in laterite using magnetic separation have not been successful (Quast et al., 2015). A recent comprehensive review on topics influencing nickel laterite flotation has shown that further investigations in the flotation of laterite ores are undoubtedly warranted (Farrokhpay & Filippov, 2016)."

Jan 1, 2018

By George S. Barnett

The Equis and El Roble projects are located in the Cordillera Occidental of Colombia. The Equis vein deposits have sulfide ore reserves of 95.9.5.5 mt (105.770 st) grading 8.51 g/mt (0.248 oz/st) gold and 12.4 g/ml (0.36 oz/st) silver with 0.94 % copper. 1.10 a lead and 11.06% zinc. Ore reserves at El Roble are estimated as 1.1% Mmt (1.21 million st) grading 4.89% copper and 3.39 g/mt (0.099 oz/st) ,old. Geologically possible reserves at Equis may total 1.6.Mmt (1.76 million it). El Roble has the potential to contain several tens of millions of metric tons. Exploration included diamond drilling, trenching, channel sampling, rock and soil geochemistry, geophysics and tunneling. Erratic high grade samples affect the weighting of channel and drill core samples. Secondary reconcentration of gold is also a factor. Sample maps and graphs show the distribution of values to be highly variable. Geostatistical treatment of some of these data gave important guidelines for parameters such as sampling densities, drill hole spacing and confidence limits.

Jan 1, 1984

By M. S. Celik

Adsorption of sodium dodecylsulfonate (SDS) and dodecylaminium hydrochloride (DAH) on Buller seam coal, New Zealand, have been studied. Both surfactants adsorb effectively on the coal below pH 8, and the adsorption isotherms established at pH 4 are essentially the same at lower concentrations. These findings suggest that the adsorption of these two ionic surfactants on coal is controlled by a hydrophobic bonding mechanism. However, the results of calorimetric studies suggest that coulombic attraction also plays a part in the adsorption mechanisms. It has also been found that both the SDS and DAH adsorbed in the first monolayer are not removed by lowering the surfactant concentrations in the bulk solution.

Jan 1, 1993

By J. E. Dutrizac

Canada is currently the world's largest supplier of zinc concentrates and is also a major producer of zinc metal. This dominant position in the world's zinc market is a fairly recent circumstance and, in fact, the country's zinc industry was founded only in the early part of the twentieth century. By contrast, the American zinc industry was well established by the mid-nineteenth century, largely based on technology originally imported from the still older European practice. Initial attempts to create a viable Canadian zinc smelter were based on the traditional practice and were unsuccessful; success came only with new electrolytic technology, much of which was developed domestically. The purpose of this paper is to outline the early attempts to produce metallic zinc in Canada and to trace the gradual development of these first efforts into a viable zinc industry based on modern science and technology.

Jan 1, 1999

By Albert E. Long

By the USB of X-ray diffraction methods, scientists have learned how the atoms in a diamond crystal are arranged and how the atoms are tied together by chemical bonds. They have found that, even though the bonds between all atoms of the diamond have equal strength, they are so distributed that there are more bonds in certain layers or directions through the crystals than in others. The unequal distribution of the bonds in certain directions creates planes, within the diamond, of unequal strength and resistance to abrasion. The location and disposition of the directions that are relatively harder than the others were determined by Slawson and Kohn 3/ in 1950. By plotting these directions on stereographic projections they delineated the hard regions on the surface of the diamond, but only those trained in the methods of crystallography can readily interpret their diagrams. The principal purpose of this report is to present information that will help individuals without previous training in crystallography to learn to recognize the special features of the surfaces of diamond crystals that are definite guides to the location of the various hard directions of the stones. A crystallographer trained in using various precise laboratory instruments might consider such rudimentary criteria as rather unscientific, but these simple characteristics of diamond crystals are practical clues which anyone equipped with a magnifying lens can find and recognize. The use of the special faces, points, edges, and growth lines as a gui.de in orienting a diamond will allow it to be placed in a position reasonably close to the optimum. Preliminary results of experimental work conducted by the Bureau of Mines indicate that this is all that is necessary in setting diamond-bit crowns. This experimental work demonstrated that setting bits with the hard vectors of the diamond as cutting points greatly reduces the diamond loss and increases the efficiency of the bit.

Jan 1, 1952

By I. H. Warren

Hydrometallurgy has a well-known and established role in the production of manganese metal (1) and manganese compounds, including battery grade manganese dioxide (2). Also, several leaching processes have been developed and applied at various times for the recovery of manganese from low grade ores (3). Recently, interest in the hydrometallurgy of manganese has been stimulated by the problems presented in the processing of sea nodules (4). Fumes and dusts from the ferro-manganese furnaces also offer a potential field for the application of manganese leaching techniques (5). In treating low grade manganese ores a major requirement of the leaching process is that it should dissolve manganese from a mixture of manganese and iron oxides. The most selective reagent for this purpose is ammonium carbamate applied after preliminary pyrometallurgical reduction of the ore (6). Since soluble carbamate complexes of the postulated type (7) are formed by both manganous and ferrous, but by neither manganic nor ferric, ions, selectivety of manganese leaching is achieved by control of the reduction operation to yield, essentially MnO and Fe304? A potential improvement to this two step process would be to simultaneously reduce and selectively leach the manganese in one hydrometallurgical operation. This possibility has been experimentally studied and the results are described below. During the preliminary study of the stability of solutions of ammonium, ferrous and manganous carbamates at elevated temperatures, it was observed, contrary to the observation of Welsh (8) at lower temperatures, that

Jan 1, 1971

By J. B. Cocanour

Pioneering work at the U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) has produced a personal computer (PC)-based, software-driven video photometric color sensor for real time process control of metallurgical streams. The video photometer is an inexpensive optical sensor which operates in the visual area of the electromagnetic spectrum and collects color information through plastic optical fiber. The red, green, and blue (R/G/B) voltage components of the color video signal are digitized and characterized through software and then presented as the control variable for software-based proportional-integral-differential (PID) control. This sensor has been successfully employed in the control of a laboratory copper electrolytic circuit. With this sensor, copper solutions were analyzed on-line without the need for sample removal, dilution, mixing or reagent addition, thereby allowing for the real time control of the circuit.

Jan 1, 1994

By D. Izerdem, S. L. Ergun

"Beneficiation of the finely disseminated valuable minerals has been an important issue in the mineral processing field for decades. Treatment of the fine materials becomes difficult with using traditional gravity concentration equipment. To investigate particles behavior in a commonly used conventional gravity concentration equipment, a comprehensive study was undertaken in a plant, which only consists spiral concentrators as concentration units. Spiral concentrators require relatively coarse material to effectively concentrate valuables as well as offering greater simplicity for especially higher grade feeds. In the current work, chromite ore (d80 = 290 µm) was treated using spiral concentrators and the performance of spiral concentrators was examined. The design of the separation circuit comprised of rougher, cleaner and scavenger stages. The resultant fractions produced by each separation unit and feed samples were analyzed to identify the particle sizes, mineral liberations and chromite content. Grade and recovery comparisons were presented in size-by-size manner and the separation tendency of the particles were determined in varying feed rate conditions. The overall results indicated valuable mineral loss of the plant and alternative suggestions were pointed to reach the target values.INTRODUCTION Spiral concentrators are simple low energy consuming devices, which are generally used for pre-concentration of the minerals. They are cost efficient equipment separating minerals mainly based on density differences of the minerals. The adjustable splitters remove the concentrate as the remaining stream continues to move down the spiral. Separation on a spiral is achieved through a combination of forces that act on particles as they move down the trough of the spiral. The main forces known to act on the particle on a spiral are the gravitational force, centrifugal force, hydrodynamic drag and Bagnold force (Atasoy and Spottiswood, 1995; Burt, 1984). Since the classification in a spiral concentrator depends on particle specific gravity and size, the operation of spirals can be analyzed using size recovery or partition curves (Bazin et al., 2014). Spiral concentrators possess multiple design parameters for a variety of applications. The design parameters that govern the performance of the spiral can be identified as the diameter, number of turns, slope, pitch and the profile of the trough. For an efficient separation on a spiral concentrator, the properties of the slurry flowing on a spiral, ore texture, percent solids and flow rate play important roles."

Jan 1, 2018

By Yuanbo Zhang, Guanghui Li, Zhenyu Fan, Tao Jiang, Xiaohui Fan

"Iron ore sintering process is the main source of SO2 generated in the steel industry, of which the discharge amount of SO2 emission accounts for about 60% of the total. Aiming at the features of sintering flue gases and existing problems during the flue gas desulphurization, a technical route of flue gas circulation sintering (FGCS) for iron ores has been put forward. Under the simulated experimental conditions, effects of FGCS process on the main output and quality indexes and SO2 emission rule are researched using simulating flue gases. Compared the novel FGCS with conventional sintering process, SO2 in the final sintering flue gas is obviously enriched and the total exhaust gases can be reduced evidently. The decreasing of oxygen content in circulating gases has bad effect on the sintering indexes. Increasing the oxygen potential is beneficial to obtain high quality sinters. This investigation shows that the FGCS process is promising.IntroductionSteel is a kind of essential material for modern society, but steel-making process is characterized by high energy-consumption and emission as well as heavy environmental pollution. Chinese steel industry has developed rapidly in the last decade, and the environmental problem caused by ironmaking and steelmaking have also aroused the greatest concern, especially the atmospheric pollution caused by SO2, CO2, etc. Iron ore sintering process is the main source of SO2 generated in the steel industry, of which the discharge amount of SO2 emission accounts for about 60 % of the total. The development of the desulfurization process for sintering flue gases to reduce SO2 emission in sintering process is not only the requirements of sustainable development but also the most important environmental tasks for steel industry [1-5]."

Jan 1, 2011

By Fathi Habashi

In the past five years Cuba has been attempting to more than double its nickel production by constructing two new ammonia leaching plants. No metals are yet produced on commercial scale but a variety of oxides and sulfides. This report updates the Cuban nickel industry as a result of two visits : one at the invitation of the Cuban Ministry of Basic Industries in 1987 and the other as a consultant to the United Nations for the Cuban Laterite Project in 1989.

Jan 1, 1993

By T. A. Gray

There are several potential large-volume uses for coal ash in mining-related applications that could be environmentally and economically beneficial to mining companies. Actual usage, however, may be constrained by regulations or by perceptions of coal ash and the potential uses. To identify currently allowed uses and to assess constraints to coal ash use in the eastern coal fields, questionnaires were sent to state coal mining agencies to determine their policies on coal ash utilization and to mining companies to solicit their viewpoints on coal ash utilization. Identifying and understanding the constraints will allow for the development of a coordinated and consistent approach to remove or reduce these constraints and possibly allow for increased utilization of coal ash by the mining industry. This paper summarizes the findings of our investigation.

Jan 1, 1995

By George W. Bain

The area in Quebec immediately north of the Ottawa river is underlain by a large area of granite gneiss intruded in lit-par-lit fashion into Grenville sediments and low silica intrusives of the Buckingham Series. This complex of metamorphic rocks is intruded by a much later magma found, chiefly, as a very large stock about 20 miles in diameter and extending from Brownsburg to Grenville, and as dykes and small outliers at various places adjacent to its outer margin. 1A similar stock at Rigaud, Quebec, is situated south of the Ottawa river and has been described by O. E. Le Roy. The earliest representatives of the later magma are a series of granodiorite dykes characterized by abundant hornblende, along with primary magnetite and subordinate sulphides scattered as roundish grains through anorthoclase and aligoclase feldspars and subordinate quartz. The rock is found as narrow dykes and shows no prominent secondary structures, either in the field or in thin sections under the microscope.

Jan 1, 1926

By Joel K. Waterland

The Homes take Mining Company at Lead, South Dakota has a yearly production of 1,868,741 tons of ore produced from horizontal cut-and-fill stopes and timber cut-and-fill stopes. This production, in addition to the necessary development (drifts and raises), requires 5,168,271 feet of drilling annually. The rock for the most part consists of quartz; mica schist; and cummingtonite schist; and must be considered as relatively hard. Penetration rates average about 15 inches per minute using an operating air pressure of 100 psi. The rock is tough, rather than brittle, and dulling occurs quite rapidly. The average regrind period is approximately 19 feet per regrind using a 1-7/16 inch carbide bit. At the present time, all drilling is accomplished with 2-5/8 inch bore airleg mounted drills, and 2-3/4 inch and 3-inch diameter bore -stopers (raising only). These machines are all direct striking, with 4-1/4 inch chucks. 7/8-inch hexagonal carbon drill steel with forged collars are used in conjunction with 1-7/16 inch multi-use, threaded, carbide bits. 62,793 rods, and 16,234 bits are used to maintain the yearly production. The number of rods noted are the rods that were sent: underground, both new and reconditioned.

Jan 1, 1963

By Michael Hughes, Selva Selvamohan, Ray Costa

"Cutoff walls are commonly used to mitigate underseepage problems for levee remediation projects. At abrupt changes in seepage cutoff wall depths there is a potential for water to flow around the back of the deeper cutoff wall leading to elevated seepage pressures on the landside that could result in exit gradients exceeding design criteria. This condition is referred to as end-around-effects and is a complex problem that requires detailed and time consuming 3-D numerical modeling to represent accurately. This paper presents a simple approach for assessing end-around-effects using the results of 2- D seepage analysis to determine if lateral extension of the deeper portion of the cutoff wall is required. This simplified approach provides a pragmatic solution to a complex 3-D problem. The presented procedure was used as part of the Feather River West Levee Project in Yuba City, California, to assess end-around-effects at 26 locations. The results showed that wall extensions of up to 100 feet were needed at only 2 locations.INTRODUCTIONAs the lead geotechnical consultant for the Feather River West Levee Project, AECOM were responsible for designing levee remediation works for approximately 35 miles of levee protecting the area around Yuba City, California, and communities to the north and south. Due to land use constraints, seepage cutoff walls were the main remediation alternative selected to address underseepage issues for the project.As part of the design review process, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) requested AECOM to look at 26 locations along the levee alignment where the depth of cutoff wall changed abruptly from shallow to deep, or vice versa. At these locations there was the potential for seepage pressures to pass behind the deeper section of cutoff wall and stress the blanket layer landward of the cutoff wall. A condition referred to as end-around-effects.End-around-effects involve complex 3-D ground conditions that have traditionally been addressed by laterally extending the deeper section of cutoff wall an arbitrary distance based solely on engineering judgment. In discussions with DWR, AECOM developed a simple procedure to provide a more objective assessment of end-around-effects without the need for detailed and time consuming analysis. This procedure allows the engineer to make an informed decision of whether end-around-effects are a problem at the location of a cutoff wall transition rather than laterally extending the deeper section of cutoff wall an arbitrary distance based on engineering judgment alone."

Jan 1, 2015