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By D. J. Scarpato

"Slope construction in shale can present some interesting challenges for geotechnical design engineers and contractors alike. There are challenges that can be expected and designed-for; however, all too frequently, such challenges manifest themselves as “surprises” in the field. Common constructability challenges can include those such as drill hole deviation during drilling for controlled blasting; and, excavation slope instability arising from inconsistent perimeter control drilling. Drill hole deviation results from the cumulative effects from both drilling mechanics and rock mass conditions. Once a hole has initiated the deviation trajectory, it is difficult to rectify drill steel position. Although such challenges are not necessarily unique to shale, they are often exacerbated by weak, weathered and transversely isotropic nature of bedrock conditions. All too often, the working assumption is that shale is “soft” and easily excavatable; however, this blanket assumption can prove to be costly. This paper is intended to provide design professionals and contractors with the practical considerations needed to avoid the “surprises” associated with drill hole deviation, and minimize the potential for costly claims.INTRODUCTIONFor all the slopes that have been excavated worldwide, and for such advancements in excavation technology and field characterization, one might be tempted to believe that the industry almost has slope development down to a science. This is frequently not the case, especially for weak/weathered and anisotropic bedrock. Excavation contractors are still pushed to the limits of what their technology can achieve, and engineers are all too often called to the field during construction, to make potentially risky onthe- fly decisions relative to excavatability, short and long-term slope stability, and project safety. Although there have been a host of other research papers and journal articles that have been written on the subject of deviation over the past 30 years (Brown, Geen, Sinha, 1981), the problems associated with drill hole deviation are still all too frequent. This fact is especially true for civil engineering surface excavations in bedrock."

Jan 1, 2015

By Rustu S. Kalyoncu

Rainbow colors of roofing granules, adorning the roofs of buildings from single family units to largest office buildings, have their origin in the roofing shingles as burlap soaked with tar appearing as early as the 1700s. Dusting of talc and mica on the coated surfaces, to keep roofing from sticking to itself in storage, represents an early improvement to the original construction product. Sometimes, colored, natural mineral dusts were added as color pigments within the dusting material, for initial color. Prolonged exposure to sun caused the asphalt to become brittle, and it eventually cracked and leaked. Search for solutions to cracking and subsequent leaking problems eventually led to the use of crushed mineral granules on asphalt coated shingles. This provided the impetus for further growth in the asphalt roofing industry. Application of a layer of crushed mineral on the asphalt coating minimized the coating deterioration from exposure to ultraviolet light, thus significantly improving the shingle life. In the 1900s, screened waste from slate quarries was the most commonly used granule in asphalt roofing products. Records indicate the use of coarse slate screenings for asphalt roofing as early as 1906. As the asphalt roofing industry further developed, other naturally colored minerals, such as silica sand, quartz, mica, feldspar, talc, slag, granite, rhyolite, and oyster shells were used on roofing surfaces. Later on, a number of manufactured granular materials, such as crushed brick and tile, fire clay, and white porcelain were used. The first artificially colored roofing granule was produced in 1914 by running molten slag into a solution of alkaline metal silicate, which was absorbed by the porous slag. Various colors were obtained by adding pigments to the silicate coating and by subsequently heat treating the granules. In 1922, another technique was developed in which green slate granules were saturated with copper sulfate solution and heated to 760°C to form copper oxide. Since then, many other granule coloring processes have been patented, one of the most significant being the sodium silicate coatings introduced around 1975. Granules as used in construction (specifically roofing materials) are defined as natural or synthetic-mineral grains smaller than gravel and larger than sand in particle size. They are used primarily for protective and decorative purposes on the weather- exposed surface of asphalt composition roofing. Development of artificial coloring techniques has made it possible for the roofing industry to provide asphalt roofing shingles in a wide variety of colors complementing the color and style of buildings. Roofing granules, as we see today, are the products of long technological evolution.

Jan 1, 1994

By Alten F. Grandt

Surface mining consists of the removal of the geologic strata overlying the coal seam usually with large electric shovels, draglines or bucket wheels. The method produces more or less parallel ridges or peaks of cast overburden, usually called "spoil banks". The mined lands vary widely in their inherent characteristics to produce a vegetative cover and thus can be put to a wide variety of uses. Use is the key to economic and social benefits. Physical and Chemical Characteristics of Soil Material of Surface Mined Lands after surface mining operations, the soil material is a heterogeneous mass whose physical and chemical properties are dominated by the character of the geologic strata overlying the coal. These strata are highly variable in thickness and character. They may include the surface soil, loess, glacial till, sands, shales, slates, limestone and sandstone rock. The method of mining with the several types of mining equipment will also affect the resultant mined area.

Jan 1, 1968

By Jewel Andrew Gomes

Arsenic is considered as one of the toxic materials being controlled by Environmental Protection Agencies in several developed and developing countries. It is found in the nature as constituents of the soil, minerals and also in various organic forms. It enters the air, water, and land from wind-blown dust and gets into water from runoff, leaching, soil erosion and anthropogenically from chemicals used for wood preservation, insecticides, medicine, military purpose, pigments, and electronic circuitries. There are several techniques available for removal of Arsenic, such as coagulation/filtration, lime softening, ion exchange, reverse osmosis, nanofiltration, wet chemical, and electrochemical. Electrocoagulation has been found as one of the most efficient techniques to remove inorganic arsenic with more than 99% efficiency. In this paper, we present our work on electrochemical treatment of both the inorganic and organic arsenic from water using various sacrificial electrode materials, i.e., iron, aluminum, copper, and combination of them. The floc produced by this method has been also characterized using XRD, SEM/EDS, FTIR, and cyclic voltammetry.

Jan 1, 2010

By V. G. Papangelakis, G. P. Demopoulos

"Recovery of gold from refractory ores and concentrates presently constitutes one of the most important, challenging, and exciting areas of R&D activity in the gold processing industry. New technologies are being tested for the treatment of refractory gold materials, some of which have been advanced to the level of commercial operation. In this paper, some recent technological developments in the hydrometallurgical processing of pyritic matrix-refractory gold ores are highlighted. Key operational steps of each of the alternate hydrometallurgical technologies are analyzed and potential advantages and drawbacks are identified. The processes which are reviewed are: hydro chemical oxidation, biochemical oxidation and pressure oxidation. INTRODUCTIONOver the years the term ""refractory"" has been applied in gold ore processing to denote situations in which straightforward cyanidation failed to yield high gold recoveries. A number of mineralogical and chemical factors may be responsible for this ""refractoriness"" problem. A systematic classification of the different options for their treatment has been discussed in a recent review paper. In this paper, the pretreatment of the submicroscopic gold encapsulated within the matrix of pyrite and arsenopyrite minerals is considered. This type of gold is the ultimate refractory material because complete breakdown by reaction of the host mineral structure is required.The method which has been traditionally applied for the treatment of pyritic-type refractory gold ores is an oxidation roast (single stage or double stage depending on the As content) of a flotation concentrate to produce a porous calcine, the latter being more amenable to cyanidation. Despite its established practice, oxidation roasting is not considered particularly attractive with today's standards for high product recovery and clean environment. Roasting is known to be very sensitive to heating parameters and feed composition and deviation from optimum conditions can result in reduction in permeability which is translated to incomplete gold liberation."

Jan 1, 1989

By T. McCallum, C. Cooper, C. Lewis

"Following a successful solvent extraction (SX) pilot plant demonstration in 2016, CYANEX® 600 has been used commercially to recover molybdenum from concentrate leach liquor since March 2017. Consistent with the piloting results, the commercial plant has achieved expected molybdenum recovery, a significant reduction in base consumption, and a step-change improvement in physical performance. This paper highlights the optimization activities and plant performance from startup through normal operation. INTRODUCTION Historically, tertiary amines have been the most commonly used extractant for molybdenum and rhenium recovery. Tertiary amines utilize a protonation of the ligand combined with an anion exchange mechanism as proposed in equations (1-2). R3N + H+ ???R3NH + (1) 4R3NH+ + Mo8O264- ???(R3NH+)4Mo8O264- (2) In addition to the transfer of Mo and Re, the amine transfers acid and other anions to the strip liquor. The undesirable transfer of other species increases base consumption during stripping, impacting operating costs. Additionally, lower solubility of molybdenum-amine complexes create operational challenges, resulting in diminished physical performance. The presence of colloidal Si in concentrate leach liquors and the formation of Pickering Emulsions adds to the physical plant performance challenges with the amine extractant. CYANEX® 600, a phosphinic acid-based extractant, uses a cation exchange mechanism proposed by equation (3). 2(H2R2) + MoO22+ ??(HR2)2MoO2 + 2H+ (3) The cationic exchange mechanism eliminates chemical transfer of acid and other anionic impurities and avoids some of the physical challenges of the amine extractant (emulsion and 3rd phase formation). In addition, the reagent offers high selectivity for Mo over Re, which may be desirable in certain moly pressure oxidation (POX) flowsheets. Alkali base (ammonium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide, sodium carbonate, etc.) is used for molybdenum stripping. Therefore, reduction or elimination of chemical acid transfer from extract can significantly reduce base consumption in strip. Extensive laboratory and pilot plant testing was completed to evaluate the use of CYANEX® 600 for molybdenum recovery at Freeport-McMoRan’s Bagdad operation. The test work and pilot demonstration confirmed a reduction in base consumption along with improved selectivity. In addition, the evaluation highlighted a step-change improvement in physical performance over the incumbent amine extractant. The decision was made to convert the commercial operation to CYANEX® 600 in March 2017."

Jan 1, 2018

By F. M. Nakla

Various methods of Applied Mineralogy were used for determining the nature and composition of products yielded by flotation tests for Maghara coal beneficiation. Coal samples obtained from the Sa fa mine in Northern Sinai, Egypt, were crushed, sieved, &apos;and <32 mesh size fraction was cleaned by froth flotation. Experiments were conducted to determine the effect of certain parameters on beneficiation of Maghara coal by flotation. The investigated factors included nature of frothing and/or collecting reagents, pH value of the medium, particle size distribution in the head sample, and pulp density of the coal slurry. The quality of head samples, coal concentrates, and tailing products were determined by chemical analysis, microscopic study, x-ray diffraction analysis, and occasionally by infrared (IR) absorption spectroscopy.

Jan 1, 1989

By J. W. Stevenson

The Bureau of Mines investigated the influence that atmospheric pressure changes exert in a gassy coal mil on a ventilating air current with a system of bleeder entries. During the season when abnormal barometric fluctuations usually occur, recording instruments monitored the air current ventilating an active coal-producing area. It HL he rate of coal production caused a more significant change in methane concentration than did barometric change. The hazard that accompanies methane release due to expansion of the gob gases during atmospheric lows was minimized by the effective bleeder system.

Jan 1, 1966

By Allan F. Smith

The Bureau of Mines studied toxic products produced by burning eight fire-resistant mines conveyor belts, a brattice cloth, and an electrical cable insulation obtained from laboratory-scale burning experiments under various air-flow conditions. Generally, CO product concentrations for most materials were noticeably higher then the NO2 and HC1 levels that were measured; also, no phosgene was detected. However, several of the fire-resistant belt samples yielded HC1 concentrations that were above the reported lethal level for 1/2 to 1-hour exposures, although these data were limited to flow conditions where air dilution effects were small; the belt materials that showed this behavior included samples of polyvinyl chloride, styrene butadiene, styrene butadiene blends, and a British neoprene which yielded the greatest amount of toxic vapor. In addition, some results are presented on the phosphoric acid concentrations that may be produced from the decomposition of ammonium dihydrogen phosphate when dispersed on a burning coalbed.

Jan 1, 1973

By Morris Beattie

Arseno Processing Ltd. has developed process technology for the extraction of gold from refractory ores and concentrates. These ores, which do not respond to conventional extraction processes, are rapidly becoming the primary targets for mining companies wishing to become significant gold producers. It has recently been estimated that by the mid 1990's, the annual gold production from the Pacific Basin Epithermal Arc in southeast Asia could be as high as 550 tonnes. Within this area the Porgera deposit under development by Placer, Renison and MIM, and the Lihir Island deposit under development by Kennecott have been shown to be refractory and require pretreatment before the gold can be extracted. The additional deposits which are now starting to be developed in this area are also expected to require such pretreatment. The Arseno process promises to be an economical pretreatment for these ores and to result in the maximum achievable gold recovery. Numerous refractory deposits are also known in Australia, North America, China and other parts of the world. Samples from many deposits throughout the world have been tested using the Arseno process conditions and the consistently successful results have demonstrated its widespread application. The samples which have been tested include ores in which the gold is locked in pyrite, marcasite or arsenopyrite. The process is insensitive to the sulphur content of the feed. Feed materials containing from 1 % to 50% sulphur have been tested successfully with the process. In the Arseno refractory gold process, sulphide minerals are dissolved so that the contained gold becomes accessible for subs7qu7nt gold recovery. This gold recovery is achieved by cyamdat1on of the process residue. For many of the materials which have been tested, gold extractions in excess of 95% have been achieved.

Jan 1, 1998

By Fernando Rodríguez, Jorge Chávez

En este artículo se revisan los principales aspectos relacionados con la gestión del agua en operaciones y proyectos mineros, se presentan importantes estándares y buenas prácticas internacionales (auspiciadas por el Consejo Internacional de Minería y Metales - ICMM), y se comparten éxitos y lecciones aprendidas de aquellas empresas que ven a este recurso como un activo en sí y un valor que puede generar múltiples oportunidades de beneficio colectivo.

Oct 30, 2020

By A. An. Mushketov, A. Al. Mushketov, N. A. Sopina

"INTRIDUCTION At present, more and more metallized raw materials with a metallization degree of not less than 80% are used in the smelting of steel. The main quantity of this raw material is produced in furnaces of mine type. Advantages of this type of raw materials for metallurgical processing are low levels of harmful and slag-forming impurities and a high content of metallic iron. At the same time, the cost of smelting raw materials and obtaining high-quality steels are reduced. In addition to the undoubted merits of metallized raw materials, there are high requirements for the quality of iron concentrates, which are the starting material for metallization: the mass fraction of acidic oxides should not exceed 3%; The mass fraction of iron should not be less than 69%, mass fractions of harmful impurities (phosphorus, arsenic, sulfur, copper, etc.) should not exceed 0.02%. These requirements are dictated by the fact that the recovery of burned pellets is carried out by gas in a solid phase. In this case, the empty rock and harmful impurities from the metal are not separated and sent to the steelmaking unit, increasing the heat consumption for heating and worsening the quality of the steel. The combined production of high-quality concentrate and metallized raw materials requires a large capital outlay from the enterprise, which in the future can be compensated for by increased profit from the sale of more expensive marketable products. At present, in the territory of Russia and the CIS countries Lebedinsky mining-and-processing integrated works is the only enterprise that carries out the entire chain of operations for the production of metallized raw materials, starting with the production of high-quality magnetite concentrate with a mass fraction of iron of 69.5% and ending with the production of a metallized product in the form of hot briquetted gland. JSC «SSGPO» is the largest iron-processing enterprise in Kazakhstan, which processes about 40 million tons of ore per year and receives 16 million tons of concentrate per year with a mass fraction of iron 66.0-66.5%. The technological scheme existing at the concentrator of JSC ""SSGPO"" includes the crushing of the feed ore to the size of 20-0 mm; dry magnetic separation operation; three reduction stages to a fineness of 90-95% kl-0.071 mm; operation of desliming, wet magnetic separation and filtration of the concentrate. Dry magnetic separation of the feed ore makes it possible to remove from the process of 19.6% of the tailings with a mass fraction of the total iron 12.5%, of magnetite 2.2%. The first reduction stage is carried out in rod mills with the volume of 40 m3 to a size of -1.6 + 0.0 mm. The first stage of wet magnetic separation is carried out in counterflow magnetic separators PBM-P-150/200L. The magnetic product of the first stage of WMS is classified in hydrocyclones; sands enter the second reduction stage into central discharge ball mill 3600 × 5000. Runoff of mills enter on the second enrichment stage in counterflow magnetic separators PBM-P-150/200L. The magnetic product enters the classification of the second stage, forming a closed cycle. Mass fraction of the class -0.071 + 0 mm in classifications runoff of the second stage is 70-75%. The second stage classifications runoff is transported toWMS-III operation in semi-counter separators PBM-PP-120/300. The magnetic product of the third stage enters the classification of the third stage. Granular residue are transported to the reduction of the third stage into central discharge ball mill 3600 × 5000. The mill runoff enters the third stage of classification, forming a closed cycle. Classifications runoff of the third stage enters on deslimation. Deslimed product is sent for fine screening to the crasher «Derrick» 2SG48-60W-5STK with a cell size of 0.1 mm. Top size of crasher is sent to regrinding. Undersize with a mass fraction of the class -0.071 + 0 mm 90-95% is fed to the wet magnetic separation of WMS-"

Jan 1, 2018

By Clifford R. Porter

A 200 pound per hour Magnex Pilot Plant was designed and constructed. A non-compliance Eastern Coal which would generate more than 2.0 lb of SOZ per million Btu upon burning was brought into compliance (less than 1.2 lb of S02 per million Btu) during continuous operation of the pilot plant. Approximately 85 percent of the pyritic sulfur was removed while recovering 86 percent of the Btu of the feed coal. Pilot plant operation is summarized and preliminary economics presented. Present status of the Magnex Program is reviewed.

Jan 1, 1977

By Clyde E. Williams

[As a results of work conducted during the past three years, the Northwest Experiment Station of the Bureau of Mines, in cooperation with the University of Washington at Seattle, Washington, has developed a process for the production of sponge iron. Commercial operation of this process in a 3 to 4-ton scale has been so satisfactory that its use on a large scale (20 to 100 tons per day) can be safely considered. Description of Process. The process consists in passing a mixture of iron ore and coal through a rotating kiln heated at one end to a temperature sufficient to convert iron oxide to metallic iron, discharging, cooling, and separating the sponge iron from the residual coke and silicious material on a magnetic separator. Both the coal and the ore should be crushed to peso as 6-meth scream, tans producing particles finer then 1/12 of an inch. Seventy-five parts of coal or other carbonaceous material arc charged with every 100 parts of ore), This large amount of coal is required in order to supply sufficient carbon to maintain a strongly reducing atmosphere in the charge, but may be reduced to about 65 parts per 100 parts of ore by recovering and using tae carbon that remains in the discharge product. Large-scale operation and refinements in furnace design should lower this ratio to perhaps 56 or 60 parts of coal to 100 parts of ore.]

Jan 1, 1924

By V. V. Getman, V. A. Chanturiya, T. N. Matveeva

Most of the Au and PGM ores in Russia are characterised by a thin mineral impregnation of noble metals in sulfide minerals, and a large variety of mineral forms that lead to high loss of precious metals with fine fractions during flotation. In modern flotation technology, the rational choice of reagents is one of the main trends for selective separation of minerals and effective metals recovery. New data on the selectivity of the thermo-sensitive polymer with specific functional groups (TMPPh) as a flocculant and collector of Au and Pt fine fractions are available. The selective modified collector (DEDTCm) for the recovery of Au and Pt from complex ores is discussed in this paper. Scanning electronic microscopy (SEAM), laser SIM and AFM microscopy, UV and IR spectroscopy were applied to study the adsorbed layer of new reagents on the mineral surface. Flotation tests of TMPPh on the gold-bearing ore of the Olimpiada deposit showed an increase in Au extraction and Au content in the concentrate of the rougher flotation. Using a combination of reagents TMPPh and ButX, the quality of the Au and Pt concentrates increased in 1.7 time with an increase in recovery up to 15 % compared with the traditional reagent mode. Testing of TMPPh polymers in flotation of Pt-Cu-Ni ore at Norilsk Nickel has shown the ability to obtain a concentrate with a higher Pt content. Recovery of platinum is 17% higher than recovery in an experiment without polymer. Application of DEDTCm helped to achieve higher technological parameters in flotation of lowgrade Rt-Cu-Ni ore. Compared to the basic mode Pt recovery was plus 13%, Pd recovery was plus 9% and the content of precious metals in the rougher flotation concentrate increased in 2,5 - 4 times. The studies have been supported by Grants of the President of RF “Scientific School of Academician V.A. Chanturiya” NSh-220.2012.5, NSh-748.2014.5. Keywords: Au and Pt complex ores, flotation, flocculation, thermo-sensitive polymer TMPPh, modified collector

Jan 1, 2020

By Jr. Pickering

Kaolin is mined from extensive sedimentary formations in the eastern Amazon River Basin of Brazil. Production began about 25 years ago from 30 meter thick beds of ultra-fine particle clay of superior viscosity along the Jari River north of the Amazon. Operated by CADAM S.A., capacity now exceeds 750,000 tonnes per year ot high glossing paper coating kaolin product. South of the Amazon on the Capim River are two new operations: Para Pigmentos S.A. and Rio Capim Caulim S.A. The purity , and large coarse plate-shaped particles of these Capim kaolins support production of superior brightness and whiteness paper coating and filling grades. Annual capacities are reported to be 150,000 to 300,000 tonnes each, with expansions planned. Most of Amazon area kaolin production is shipped to western European, Asian, and North American markets.

Jan 1, 1999

By D. A. Norrgran

The term "secondary recovery" has recently brought on a new meaning in view of the depletion of natural resources, energy conservation, plant optimization, and the environmental consciousness that has led to hazardous waste management, recycling, and secondary processing. Many secondary recovery processes are being developed applying mineral processing technology. Gravity separation, magnetic separation, and flotation have all emerged as implicit methods for recovering residual values from various process streams and hazardous constituents from waste streams. Recently, a technique for concentrating metallics has been successfully reintroduced. Although the concept of the eddy-current separator was developed over a century ago, (Patent 400317 issued to Thomas Edison on March 26, 1889) it was not until this last decade that it gained prominent acceptance. The evolution of permanent magnets has provided a cost effective alternative for the generation of high intensity magnetic fields. High energy permanent magnets have substantially reduced the capital and operating costs over the electromagnetic circuits employed in antecedent eddy-current separators. Specifically, in recent years, the strength of permanent magnets has increased several fold with neodymiun-boron-iron rare earth magnets now providing an energy product of 35 million gauss-oersted. Figure 1 shows the evolution in the strength of permanent magnets. The development of these rare earth magnets has led to the design of circuits possessing a magnetic force an order of magnitude greater than that of conventional permanent magnetic circuits.

Jan 1, 1991

By R. K. Buhr, H. Thresh, M. Bergeron, F. Weinberg

The microsegregation of nickel and chromium in directionally solidified AISI 4340 steel castings has been measured using electron probe microanalysis. Minimum concentrations were observed to occur at the center of the dendrite stalks, as reported previously. However, the position of the maximum concentrations could not be determined from the dendrite configuration. An etching technique has been developed which shows the position of maximum concentration. Measurements were made of the distribution of nickel and chromium in the dendritic structure. The ratio of maximum to minimum concentration was determined as a function of primary dendrite arm spacing for both as-cast and partially homogenized materials. The results are compared with observations reported in the literatuve. A S part of an investigation of solute segregation in directionally solidified AISI 4340 steel casting, electron probe microanalysis was used to measure the distribution of nickel and chromium in the dendritically segregated material. This complemented the observations on the segregation of radioactive phosphorus obtained by autoradiographic techniques in the same castings.&apos; Kattamis and I?lemings2 have reported similar measurements, using electron probe microanalysis, on dendritically segregated AISI 4340 steels. They found minimum solute concentrations occurred at the center of dendrites, maximum concentrations occurred in the center of interdendritic regions, for symmetrically oriented dendrites, and a regular variation of concentration within dendrite arms. The ratio of maximum to minimum concentration was found to be essentially independent of position in the castings, except near the chill surface where it was somewhat higher. Assuming complete diffusion in the liquid and no diffusion in the solid during freezing, they considered that isoconcentration curves in the steel were homothetic. As a result, isoconcentration curves of the various elements, contour surfaces of dendrites produced by isothermal-transformation studies, and the contour of the solid-liquid interface would all be similar, and could be superimposed by a uniform expansion or contraction of the contours. Preliminary results of the present investigation suggested that isoconcentration curves were not homothetic. It was also evident that points of maximum concentration could not be predicted from the dendrite configuration. Since the ratio of maximum to minimum concentration appeared to be an important parameter in defining the overall segregation in a casting, other techniques for determining the point of maximum concentration were investigated. In addition the overall solute distribution associated with the dendritic structure was examined for both nickel and chromium, and the consistency of the distribution for neighboring dendrites was determined. METHOD Fifty-pound heats of AISI 4340 steel were cast in a manner similar to that used by Flemings et al3 with a water-cooled copper base plate and exothermic sides and top. The nominal composition of the material was C, 0.41 pct; Mn, 0.66; Si, 0.35; S, 0.012; P, 0.010; Ni, 1.88; Cr, 0.95; Mo, 0.28. The steel solidified directionally from the chill surface, with a dendritic structure which increased in dendrite arm spacing with increased distance from the chill. Results of the general investigation of the cast structure and segregation of radioactive phosphorus in these castings have been reported elsewhere.&apos; For the present measurements, sections were cut from the casting at several distances from the chill surface. The sections were subsequently heat-treated, mounted, and then polished on a plane perpendicular to the general freezing direction of the casting. Electron probe microanalysis was carried out with the JEOL-JXA3 microprobe using a voltage of 25 kev and beam current of 0.15 µa. The take-off angle is 22 deg. Quartz crystals were used in the spectrometers and measurements made for Ka radiation from both nickel and chromium simultaneously. A thin layer of carbon was deposited on all specimen surfaces prior to examination in the microprobe. Early measurements were made on polished surfaces, with indentation marks produced by a hardness tester to indicate the area of interest. It was found desirable to use etched surfaces, as opposed to polished surfaces, to reduce sample preparation time and more readily relate the microprobe scan to the structure. To determine if this could be done, without introducing significant errors, a series of measurements were made on polished and etched surfaces of the same specimen. Both polished and etched surfaces produced similar results within normal scatter as shown in the observations. Subsequent measurements were then made on etched surfaces. Measurements with the microprobe analyzer were made by point counting, for periods of 100 sec, at 10-µ intervals. Ten-second counts were made on pure nickel and chromium standards, incorporated in the specimen mount before and after each set of measurements. The results were adjusted for background, then corrected for dead time using the expression:

Jan 1, 1969

By Shu Yan

The high resolution resistivity method (HRRM) is developed specifically for detecting underground cavities and tunnels. HRRM has a special feature in that it can recognize and cancel static shift, which makes it different &om the high density resistivity method (HDRM). In searching for various means for detecting underground cavities, we found that the detecting depth of the transient electromagnetic field method (EM) depends mainly on the measurement duration, not the loop area. In addition, TEM can also be used to locate the high-resistivity bodies. In order to use them for local working site conditions, we combine HRRM with TEM to become a combined electromagnetic method. Since the late 1980&apos;s this method has been used to locate abandoned mines and air passages and burning centers of mine fires with great success. This paper cites case studies for which this technique was successfully used.

Jan 1, 2005

By S. Kashani-Nejad

The formation of oxides during the dehydration of MgC12,6H20, Bischofite, was studied by heating the bischofite over a range of time and temperatures in ambient atmosphere. Using a methanol-leaching technique developed by authors, the oxides that formed were isolated, identified and assayed. Three distinct regions of oxide stability were identified. The oxide produced at dehydration temperatures less than 300 °C was Mg2(OH)3C1,2H2O; at 300 °C, mixtures of MgOHC1 and Mg2(OH)3C1.2H2O were formed and at 400 °C, MgOHC1 was the only oxide produced. The presence of MgO observed in the products of the dehydration of bischofite at temperatures above 400 °C was due to the thermal decomposition of the MgOHC1 that was formed while the sample was heating to over 400 °C.

Jan 1, 2006