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By Abraham Lindo

Taboguilla is a small island located 10 miles outside the Panama Canal Pacific Entrance. In 2002 a fuel distribution facility was installed in order to supply fuel to vessels passing thru the canal. The current capacity of the tank farm is equivalent to 1,100,000 barrels. The demand for marine diesel at this location still exceeds the current capacity, thus an expansion project is currently underway to increase the available space for diesel tanks. There is a total of 800,000 cubic meters to be excavated in order to create the new space. 400,000 cubic meters of that total is basalt rock which will need to be blasted

Jan 1, 2011

By J. O. Costello

Marble is a preferred surfacing material in up-scale buildings. Its use increased in the 1870's with rising national wealth and declined in the 1950's when synthetic materials for these applications were developed. Natural marble is now limited to high-end domestic and commercial structures. Cultured marble is a paste of white marble dust and polyester resin cured in molds yielding fixtures of specific finished dimensions. Dyes incorporated at different stages in the mixing cycle mimic shades and veining of natural marble. This paper discusses the filler requirements for cultured marble production and reviews new techniques to cut and finish natural marble.

Jan 1, 1999

By Donald L. Katz

FIFTEEN years ago Dr. Manning published a paper in "Petroleum Development and Technology" on '.Fundamental Research Relating to Petroleum." He tabulated for several industries "the proportion of their present success which can be fairly attributed to the application of information and processes obtained by scientific research," giving petroleum a score of 7 compared to 100 for the electrical and coal-tar industries. Today the petroleum industry as a whole and the producing groups both have raised their score beyond the majority and are climbing toward the top. Present practices are being developed both by fundamental research and the application of the research method in field operation.

Jan 1, 1941

By B. VISWANATH

T HE Mysore iron works, at Bhadravati, about 2000 ft. above sea level in the Shimoga district of Mysore, British India, is served by a meter gage branch line of the Mysore State Railways. The works which were designed and erected by Perin & Marshall, who still act as consulting engineers, are surrounded by a thickly wooded country which sup- plies about 400 tons per day of wood for fuel. The ore deposits lie 20 miles to the south, and limestone quarries are close by the works. The Bhadra river sup- plies the works and the town with the necessary quantity of water. Dwelling houses for the employees

Jan 1, 1930

By V. F. Petrov

Cyanide is widely used gold lixiviant for hydrometallurgical processes. The resulting tails contain complex toxic compounds. With reference to this, the protection of the environment should be the major issue. A complete detoxification of cyanides before disposal, a partial detoxification to the allowable concentrations and a disposal of tails at a polygon followed by the detoxification of excess water into the environment are offered as an environmentally friendly way of disposal. However, a complete detoxification of the cyanidation tails does not give the required results due to the presence of toxic compounds, cyanides and thiocyanates in tailings ponds. This is due to adsorption-desorption process occurring between solid and liquid phases. A partial detoxification is used to down cyanide to the allowable concentrations, which are safe to the environment. The storage of tails without detoxification is mainly used at low concentrations of toxic compounds in the disposed tails. With reference to this, water recycling is practiced by Russian plants in order to reduce as much as possible or almost eliminate toxic effluents into the environment. Fresh water is applied if necessary and to make up for water losses, with 8-12% of total water supply. This allows for the stability of water balance and the decrease of consumption of the reagents applied. The conditioning technologies of water recycling followed by regeneration of free cyanide and metals recovery as saleable concentrates are specially developed due to adverse impact of water recycling on gold recovery processes due to high concentration of base metals (copper). These technologies are also profitable. In order to detoxify cyanide in the tails for tailings dam, effective and inexpensive technologies involving a seasonal use of detoxified reagents were developed. For example, a technology with aldehydes use which is applied by a series of operations. Effluents disposed to the environment are detoxified using chlorination followed by almost a complete destruction of toxic cyanides and thiocyanates. Before disposal, chlorinated water is settled to precipitate the resulting hydroxides of metals and complete chemical reactions such as a full decomposition of hypochlorite ions. In order to protect ground water, watertight screens from local water-resistant materials are used. The samples of these materials were previously tested and chosen according to their maximum ability to adsorb toxic compounds in the tailings pond. If local water-resistant materials are not available, whole welded impermeable polymer screens are used. The options mentioned allow the storage of cyanidation tails in accordance with national ecological standards. Keywords: cyaninides, thiocyanates, wastes, environmental safety, recycled water-supply, detoxification, storage

Sep 1, 2012

By D. G. Wilder

D.G. Wilder I found the suggestion that the amount of displacement of a fault can be numerically related to the thickness of gouge or breccia to be both intuitively satisfying and intriguing. I have long agreed that there is some type of relationship between the amount of gouge and the amount of displacement of faults. I congratulate the author for developing a numerical relationship between them. However, I am concerned that the limits for applying this relationship be fully understood. An underlying assumption in this approach is that there is either a uniform thickness of gouge or breccia along a given fault or the thickness does not vary widely. Since it is not always possible to confirm this, the displacements derived by this method should be viewed with caution unless significant fault extent can be observed. At the Nevada Test Site, in drifts constructed in granite for test emplacement of spent nuclear reactor fuel, we found a fault with 0.3 to 0.4 m (12 to 16 in.) of clay gouge. Within a few meters of this location, the fault had no clay gouge, but rather consisted of a highly fractured zone with significantly altered rock and some slickensides. Based on Fig. 1, the 0.3 to 0.4 m (12 to 16 in.) thickness of gouge would indicate a displacement in excess of 30 m (98 ft). However, no gouge thickness would indicate essentially no displacement. Based on a quartz vein that terminated on the fault, and is not identified nearby, an estimated displacement of more than a few meters was made. This estimate is consistent with that obtained using the regression line proposed in the paper if the 0.3 to 0.4 m (12 to 16 in.) thickness for the gouge is used. However, using the regression curves with zero thickness would not yield results consistent with what was observed in the field. Therefore, it is important to recognize that the suggested procedure would properly yield a range of probable displacements. ? *Work performed under the auspices of the US Department of Energy by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract W-7405-Eng-48. Reply by E.C. Robertson It is certainly true that the t (thickness) of gg-bx (gouge and breccia) on a fault does vary along the fault. My observations have been that near the termination of a fault, the displacement d is small and the t is also small, whereas the maximum d and t will usually be found in the central part of the fault. The information on gg-bx and t of the fault found in granite in the NTS tunnel by Mr. Wilder could be interpreted somewhat differently than he does. He speaks of the fault changing within a few meters from 0.3 to 0.4 m (12 to 16 in.) of clay gg to "a highly fractured zone with significantly altered rock and some slickensides," but no gg. The highly fractured rock may be taken to be bx, rock not so finely ground as gg but still crushed by the fault movement, equivalent to the gg in my usage, and probably occupying about the same t. Mr. Wilder's estimates for the fault in the NTS tunnel for t of 0.3 to 0.4 m (12 to 16 in.) and for d of a quartz vein, in excess of "a few meters," would place the point on the low side of the central trend line in my Fig. 1, at the lower limit. There is, of course, a problem with determining d using displacement of only one planar surface. It would be greater or lesser depending on the rake of the movement. Finally, estimating the d of a fault from its t should be made with awareness of our present uncertainties, as pointed out by Mr. Wilder. Although the central trend line in my Fig. 1 has a ratio of d/t of 100, I have put the limiting ratios at 10 and 1000. Understanding of the values of the ratio will be improved only with collection of more data, for which the discussion of Mr. Wilder is much appreciated. ? G.C. Waterman E.C. Robertson's paper provides significant information to a geologist attempting to deduce fault offset by noting the products of structural dislocation. However, considerable mapping in underground and open-pit mines, and examination of structures produced in different geological settings, have convinced me that gouge and breccia thickness are controlled by geological conditions and fault movement. The following paragraphs suggest geological variables that control them. 1. Depth of Loading A near-surface fault resulting from tensional stress has more breccia/gouge than is produced by a similar stress at considerable depth. A deep-loaded compressional stress may produce a linear zone of schist, or structural dislocation may occur along an earlier formed belt of schist. Such "shear zones" are common in Canadian mines in precambrian rocks. In neither case can offset be directly deduced by an analysis of the minimal gouge/breccia in the shistose rocks. At greater depth, stress may be partially to wholly relieved by flowage. I vividly recall first noting the regional "Midas Thrust" in the Lark mine, Bingham Mining District, UT (where we called the structure the North Fault). My recorded notes, as I remember them, showed a narrow gouge streak separated the "Jordan" and "Commercial" limestone units from impure, muddy limestone beds of uncertain stratigraphic position. The visible structure did not indicate the great importance of this premineral fault

Jan 1, 1985

By R. G. Burn

"A brief outline will be given of the concept of risk and its implications with regard to investment in exploration. The relationship between risk and decisions under uncertainty will be examined as a prelude to identifying those factors which contribute to exploration risks:consideration of the effects of corporate objectives (e.g. survival, expansion, diversification) on exploration strategy and ultimately on success or failure, exploration and mining as an investment (the relationship between risk and reward) and the desired return on investment; exploration odds, funding levels, staying power, financial exposure and the concept of gambler's ruin;origins of uncertainty in exploration decision-making-man-made risks and natural hazards; the nature of introduced constraints at each exploration decision stage and their effect on the rate of success;improving the chances of success and the invest reduction of risk through sound exploration strategy, effective project generation and efficient target detection capabilities."

Jan 1, 1984

By Paul Semple

"In 2007, Noront Resources Inc. discovered the high grade nickel copper PGE deposit in northwestern Ontario in a region now known as the Ring of Fire. Since the initial discovery, Noront has advanced the Eagle¹s Nest Project and in September 2012 released a feasibility study for the development of the Eagle¹s Nest Project. This paper summarizes the results of this recent study and outlines additional work planned in the next stages of project development. INTRODUCTIONThe following paper summarizes the findings of the recently completed feasibility study on Noront Resources Ltd.’s Eagle’s Nest Project. The feasibility study was compiled into a NI 43-101 report by Micon International. This paper is intended to summarize the major technical findings and for complete information, interested parties can find the entire NI 43-101 report at www.norontresources.com or on SEDAR.LOCATIONThe McFaulds Lake project area, which includes the Eagle’s Nest deposit, is located at approximately UTM 5844000 N and 547000 E, and between approximately 52º42’ and 52º50’ N latitude and 86º06’ and 86º24’ W longitude, approximately 250 km west of the community of Attawapiskat on James Bay and 575 km northwest of Timmins. The closest all-season accessible community to the McFaulds Lake project area is Nakina, 300 km to the south, where there is a paved airstrip, in addition to all weather road and railroad access (see Figure 1).The First Nations communities of Webequie and Ogoki/Marten Falls are located 90 km west and 120 km south southeast of McFaulds Lake, respectively. Both communities are served by regularly scheduled air service, primarily from Thunder Bay; both Thunder Bay and Timmins serve as support centres for the James Bay communities and the exploration projects in the area."

Jan 1, 2013

By S. E. Jackson, L. J. Cabri

Quantitative determination of gold at sub-ppm concentrations in sulphide minerals is an important component of deportment studies for sulphide-gold deposits. Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) analysis is preferred for this application because it rapidly and cost-effectively provides spatially resolved (<20 pm), low ppb concentration data for gold and other elements in mineral grains. Recent advances in LA-ICP-MS analysis include the development and application of elemental mapping. Raw signals from multiple line scans or lines-of-spots are deconvoluted and calibrated to generate elemental maps which provide detailed information on spatial variations of gold and other elements within and between grains.

Jan 1, 2011

By A. Mezei

A process has been developed to recover cobalt, gold and bismuth from the NICO deposit in Canada. The process consists of a bulk rougher flotation followed by an optional separation by flotation to produce a bismuth concentrate and a cobalt concentrate, grading on average 12.8 % Bi and 1.8% Co, respectively. Cobalt is leached by pressure oxidation at 97% efficiency, producing a pregnant solution suitable for further processing. Before optimization, about 38% of the bismuth is recovered in the selective concentrate, wherefrom it is recovered by ferric chloride leaching followed by cementation, at overall efficiencies exceeding 98%. The gold is recovered from the cobalt and bismuth leach residues by cyanidation, at 95% efficiency. Previous work described the results of the leaching of the concentrates, recovery of gold (Part I) and the recovery of bismuth (Part 11). This work describes the results of the cobalt recovery testwork and the resulting conceptual flowsheet. The sulfur dioxide-oxygen system was the most efficient for the oxidationlprecipitation of iron and arsenic from cobalt bearing pregnant leach solutions, producing purified solutions assaying <1 mg/L As and <8 mg/L Fe. The efficiency of cobalt solvent extraction (from the resulting purified PLS containing about 1 g/L Co) ranged from 9 1 to 98%; the co-extractions ranged from 88 to 100% for copper, from 28 to 33% for magnesium, from 6 to 7% for calcium and from 96 to 98% for zinc. Sulphide precipitation processes (using either sulfur dioxidelelemental sulfur or sodium sulfide) produced residual copper concentrations in the cobalt strip solution ranging from 0.1 to 2 mg/L Cu. About 90% of the calcium and magnesium were separated by scrubbing the organic with cobalt sulfate, producing residual concentrations of 12 mg/L Ca and from 180 to 330 mg/L Mg in typical feed solutions directed to cobalt carbonate precipitation tests. Cobalt carbonate precipitation efficiencies ranged from 75 to 78% when calcium and magnesium co- precipitations were restricted from 8 to 17% and 0.3 to 0.4%, respectively. The limits required by most stringent specifications on commercial grade cobalt carbonate products were met or exceeded.

Jan 1, 2002

By W. J. Tait, A. E. Craig, E. P. McCurdy

C. M. Marquard—The problem of the automatic control of a grinding-classification circuit is not nearly as simple as has been indicated and it cannot be universally solved through the application of this device. The sound emanating from a ball mill such as the metallic clink of the balls against the liners can at times be misleading. The fact that the sound level due to the balls hitting the liners may be at a minimum does not necessarily mean that the mill is properly loaded. I have in mind an ore we treat that has a soft talcy gangue. The soft fluffy nature of this material makes the sound from the ball mill a most misleading parameter that is worthless as a means for controlling the amount of ore fed to the mill. In every milling plant there are transportation lags due to the time it takes the ore to travel from the mill bins to the ball mill. In many plants there may be several different transportation lags due to varying distances of bins from ball mill. These transportation lags can most seriously affect the operation of a controller. It has been found that under many circumstances the transportation lags can be so bad as to cause the controller to hunt seriously. Hunting can and in many cases does become so serious as to render automatic control impossible because of the surges it causes. While it is possible to compensate for this type of lag, this apparatus does not lend itself readily to accomplish the required compensation. Further, if there are groups of bins at various distances from the ball mill, compensation for one may not be sufficient or may be too great for another. Each milling plant presents a separate problem. The apparatus as presently described does not appear sufficiently flexible to accomplish this. It should be noted that the load on the classifier rakes is determined by measuring the current input to the rake drive motor. Variations in line voltage will

Jan 1, 1951

By E. P. McCurdy, W. J. Tait, A. E. Craig

C. M. Marquard—The problem of the automatic control of a grinding-classification circuit is not nearly as simple as has been indicated and it cannot be universally solved through the application of this device. The sound emanating from a ball mill such as the metallic clink of the balls against the liners can at times be misleading. The fact that the sound level due to the balls hitting the liners may be at a minimum does not necessarily mean that the mill is properly loaded. I have in mind an ore we treat that has a soft talcy gangue. The soft fluffy nature of this material makes the sound from the ball mill a most misleading parameter that is worthless as a means for controlling the amount of ore fed to the mill. In every milling plant there are transportation lags due to the time it takes the ore to travel from the mill bins to the ball mill. In many plants there may be several different transportation lags due to varying distances of bins from ball mill. These transportation lags can most seriously affect the operation of a controller. It has been found that under many circumstances the transportation lags can be so bad as to cause the controller to hunt seriously. Hunting can and in many cases does become so serious as to render automatic control impossible because of the surges it causes. While it is possible to compensate for this type of lag, this apparatus does not lend itself readily to accomplish the required compensation. Further, if there are groups of bins at various distances from the ball mill, compensation for one may not be sufficient or may be too great for another. Each milling plant presents a separate problem. The apparatus as presently described does not appear sufficiently flexible to accomplish this. It should be noted that the load on the classifier rakes is determined by measuring the current input to the rake drive motor. Variations in line voltage will

Jan 1, 1951

By Chee S. Theng

As the 2017 president of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration Inc., I am pleased to present the 2017 issue of the Transactions of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration Inc., Vol. 342. A significant portion of the contribution that we make as a professional society is the publication of professional and technical papers that accelerate the advancement of scientific knowledge and enable the transfer of technology. Communication within the mining community is the key to a successful society. This technology exchange continues a tradition that dates back to the 1871 meeting of 22 mining engineers in Wilkes-Barre, PA, that resulted in the founding of the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers (AIME). Those individuals envisioned that these transaction volumes “would form a most valuable and greatly needed addition to our professional literature.” This volume fulfills that pledge. The 2017 Transactions contains some of the most interesting research and insights from the past year and features an international slate of authors spanning industry, academia and government. Papers include the latest findings from the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), a special review article on Heap Leach Modeling, and articles from two Special Issues on Rare Earths. The 2017 Transactions consists of a total of 54 technical papers, encompassing all 21 papers published in 2017 in the Technical Papers Section of Mining Engineering (Vol. 69) and all 24 papers published in 2017 in Minerals & Metallurgical Processing (Vol. 34). Additionally, this volume contains 9 papers that are being published for the first time in this issue. The papers presented in this volume were written by some of the most distinguished professionals in the industry worldwide. All of the technical papers were peer-reviewed. The process of review and publication requires much hard work by authors, reviewers and our Publications staff. As the 2017 president of SME and on behalf of all our members, I would like to extend our gratitude to all whose volunteer efforts contributed to the publication of this volume.

Jan 1, 2017

By J. A. Brierley, S. R. Hutchins, C. L. Brierley

Introduction Many gold and silver ores are refractory to conventional processing technologies. Thus, precious metals recovery is uneconomic. These resources can consist of ores, flotation concentrates, mill tailings, and other reserves. The refractory nature of these materials can be ascribed to such components as iron sulfide minerals, silica minerals, tellurides, organic compounds, and sulfosalts. Precious metals locked within iron sulfide minerals account for a large number of refractory gold ores. These minerals consist principally of pyrite or arsenopyrite. They must be oxidized to liberate the encapsulated precious metal and allow its contact with the leaching agent. Carbonaceous gold ores represent a unique class of refractory precious metal ores in general. Not only does gold encapsulation by iron sulfide minerals occur (Hausen, 1985), but these ores also contain organic matter that interferes with gold recovery by cyanidation. Direct interference can be attributed to either occlusion of gold within organic matter or formation of a stable gold-carbon complex. The magnitude of this problem is debatable. Wells and Mullens (1973) examined two carbonaceous gold ores and found no association between the gold and carbonaceous material. A more common problem is indirect interference, whereby the aurocyanide complex formed during cyanidation is sorbed by the native organic matter and is not available for recovery. This phenomenon is referred to as "preg robbing" (Osseo-Asare et al., 1984; Hausen and Bucknam, 1984). Guay (1981) summarized various methods that can reduce preg robbing during processing of carbonaceous gold ores. However, some are not applicable to carbonaceous ores that have significant amounts of gold locked in iron sulfide minerals. Several methods exist for oxidizing iron sulfide minerals and rendering refractory precious metal ore amenable to conventional recovery processes. These include various embodiments of roasting (Jha and Kramer, 1984; Brown, 1984; Arriagada and Os-seo-Asare, 1984; Smith, 1986), pressure oxidation (Muir et al., 1984; Beattie et al., 1985; Thompson, 1986; Weir et al., 1986; Argall, 1986), and chemical oxidation (Scheiner, 1971; Jackson, 1983; Van Weert et al., 1986). Each process has been successfully used for refractory precious metal ores. In many instances, however, their use is precluded by capital and operating costs relative to the value of the ore. An alternative to these methods is microbial pretreatment - a biological process whereby iron sulfide minerals are degraded and the liberated precious metal values can be recovered by conventional technologies. Bioleaching refractory precious metal ores is a relatively new concept compared to roasting and chemical oxidation. It is rapidly becoming established as a viable pretreatment alternative. Numerous studies have been conducted in the laboratory and on a pilot scale (Yudina et al., 1979; Lawrence and Bruynesteyn, 1983; Pol &apos;kin et al., 1985; Marchant, 1985; Livesey-Goldblatt, 1985; Gibbs et al., 1986). Comparative tests have demonstrated that bioleaching can be equal to or better than roasting or pressure oxidation in terms of product recovery and process economics (Fridman and Savari, 1983; Livesy-Goldblatt et al., 1983; Karavaiko et al., 1985; Gilbert et al., 1986; Hackl et al., 1986). Bioleaching&apos;s main drawback is that pretreatment requires days rather than hours. This can lead to excessive operating costs for difficult-to-treat ores. In all of the tests reported thus far, the leaching microorganism used has been thiobacillus ferro-

Jan 4, 1988

By Morris J. D, Baldwin Z., Wiltcher P. M

21 Moorfields is an oversite development in central London spanning Moorgate tube station. It required the installation of both the highest loaded bearing piles and the highest top loaded static pile test ever undertaken in the UK, at 50.5MN (5,680 tons). The 17-storey building is founded on only 15 large diameter bored piles installed through the roof of the live station. The piles are located in two parallel rows 50 m (164 ft) apart, bridging the underlying train lines and the Crossrail tunnel below. This unique project required a diverse cross-section of skills and experience from the Project Team as we not only pushed the boundaries of design but also those of construction practices. Our team therefore needed to be made up of members from multiple businesses and disciplines. The team worked together, in a highly collaborative environment, for around two years before any work started on site. A key challenge for this project was that there was only one opportunity to construct each pile. If a position had to be abandoned there were no alternative locations and the impact on the project would have been catastrophic. It was therefore vital that all events that may have led to the abandonment of a pile were investigated ahead of commencement on site. Risk elimination and mitigation strategies were developed for all eventualities whether they be associated with the design or construction processes. The successful pile load test, coupled with all contract piles being fully instrumented with state-of-theart fiber optic (CemOptic) cable along their full length, has improved our understanding of the performance of such large and heavily loaded piles. The works piles will all be monitored during the construction of the new building, providing new insight into their real-world performance. Such groundbreaking work has never been undertaken before in the UK and has the potential to significantly influence the industry’s understanding of pile behavior, and design, in the future. This paper will discuss the challenges the team encountered during the design and construction of this highly complex urban project, particularly when adopting, by necessity, a pioneering approach.

By Henry Kreisinger, WALTER T. RAY

The investigation of the transmission of heat into steam boilers is one of several researches now being carried on by the Bureau of Mines that have for their object the testing of methods by which the mineral fuels in this country may be used more efficiently. A better understanding of the laws governing heat transmission into boilers will result in the design of more efficient boilers, and more efficient boilers will reduce waste in the use of fuel. The results of the investigations described in this report indicate that the conductivity of the heating plates of steam boilers is so high that the present steaming capacities can be tripled or quadrupled by forcing over the heating surfaces three or four times the weight of gases now passed over them. With well-designed mechanical-draft apparatus this greater weight of gases can be forced through the boilers at a small operating cost. It is possible to increase the capacity of many of the present boilers in this way without reducing their efficiency much; in fact by a proper arrangement of the heating surfaces the efficiency can be made higher than the present rating. The efficiency of any boiler can be increased by arranging its heating surfaces in series with respect to the path of hot gases. New boilers of high efficiency can be constructed by making the cross section of the gas passages small in comparison with the length. In Bryan Donkin's book, entitled "The Practical Physics of the Modern Steam Boiler," it is stated that James Watt obtained nearly as good an evaporation per pound of coal and per square foot of heating surface as is obtained now. The remark is probably true. At any rate, about the only decided superiority of the modern steam boilers over older types is in mechanical construction, and for this superiority credit should be given to the designers of machine tools quite as much as to the boiler engineer. The main reason for tardi- ness in boiler improvement probably lies in the reluctance of educated engineers to do the dirty and disagreeable work involved in boiler tests.

Jan 1, 1912

By H. H. Murray

Industrial usage of clays for current and new applications will continue to grow into the next century. The rate of growth will be highest in the less developed areas of the world. Transportation costs are a significant part of the delivered price, so the location of reserves and processing facilities for kaolin, bentonite, and palygorskite (attapulgite) are reviewed relative to serving these emerging markets. New value added applications will increase in the more developed areas which will require high quality raw materials, more sophisticated processing, and rigorous quality control.

Jan 1, 1998

By H. R. Babitzke, H. Kato, R. E. Siemens

An investigation was made to provide further information for evaluating columbium- hafnium alloys for use as high - temperature structural materials . The columbium- hafnium system was investigated between 700 ° and 2,400 ° C by melting point , thermal analysis , X - ray diffraction , electrical resistivity , and metallographic techniques . The equilibrium diagram is the beta isomorphous type , with columbium tending to stabilize the beta phase . Addition of 60 atomic percent columbium stabilizes the beta phase at 700 ° C. The allotropic transformation temperature of hafnium is 1,750 ° ± 20 ° C. A minimum melting point occurs near 75 atomic percent hafnium .

Jan 1, 1964

By David Lin

"Modal data from Red Dog Main Pit ores were collected and analysed on a size-by-size basis. The Main Pit data were compared to data from composite samples of Red Dog Aqqaluk ores. The data revealed that a large fraction of the sphalerite in the Aqqaluk baritic ore was tied up in sphalerite/galena binaries. This provided an explanation for its poor leadlzinc selectivity compared to Main Pit ores. The Aqqaluk vein ore exhibited levels of sphalerite/galena binaries comparable to that of Main Pit ores resulting in comparable lead/zinc selectivity.An attempt was made to correlate the modal and metallurgical data for Main Pit stockpiles. It was found that there was moderate correlation between the percentage of sphalerite locked in binaries with galena in the <C5>C6 size fi-action and sphalerite deportment to the leadconcentrate.INTRODUCTIONTeck Cominco’s Red Dog Mine in northern Alaska is one of the richest zinc districts in the world. Red Dog Mine has been in operation for over ten years and produces nearly 1 million tonnes of zinc concentrate per mum. Red Dog Mine is an open pit operation and current mining is conducted in the area known as the Main Pit. The Main Pit contains proven reserves of about 41 900 000 tonnes of ore grading 19.2% Zn and 5.2% Pb (Cominco 2000). To the north of the Main Pit is the Aqqaluk deposit. It contains probable reserves of 56 100 000 tonnes of ore grading 16.6% Zn and 4.1 % Pb. After the Main Pit has been exhausted, the Aqqaluk deposit will be exploited.The Aqqaluk deposit consists of three main geologic ore types: baritic, siliceous and vein. The siliceous ore type is dominant, representing 64% of the mineralisation. Composite samples of these ore types were created from drill core and batch flotation tests were performed on them. The flotation tests indicated that there were significant metallurgical differences between Main Pit ore and the Aqqaluk siliceous and baritic ore. The siliceous and baritic ores were found to suffer from poor lead/zinc selectivity (Lin 1999, G&T 1999). It was suspected that there were problems with the original Aqqaluk composite samples, thus a new set of composite samples were created and batch flotation tests were conducted again. In this set of tests, the new baritic ore still suffered from leadlzinc selectivity problems, but the new siliceous ore provided excellent metallurgical results. A summary of the flotation results is given in Table 1. Stockpile 132, which is typical of Main Pit ore, is given for comparison purposes. The mineral suite at Red Dog is relatively simple. The ore consists of galena, sphalerite and pyrite in a silicate matrix. The low zinc recoveries of the baritic ore were largely due to sphalerite losses to the lead concentrate."

Jan 1, 2002

By J. F. Shultz

The Bureau of Mines investigated the hydrogenation of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide over Raney nickel catalyst and nitrided fused-iron catalyst using both a single-pass and a recycle system. Activation energy over Raney nickel catalyst is 29 to 32 kcal/mole for synthesis from either CO or CO2, Pressure dependence of the gas conversion is to the 0.3 power for synthesis from CO and to the 0.5 power for synthesis from CO2. Nitrided fused-iron catalysts were tested using high recycle rates and 3H2+lCO, 2H2+lCO, and 1H2+lCO feed gas at 21.4 atmospheres absolute pressure. The relative usage of hydrogen (moles H2 consumed per moles Ha+CO consumed) was larger than in corresponding single-pass tests, and the relative usage of hydrogen approached the feed gas ratio monotonically as conversion increased. Activation energy was found to be 12 or 13 kcal/mole fresh feed gases of 3H2+lCO or 2H2+lCO. For single-pass operation the activation energy under the same conditions was 19 to 21 kcal/mole.

Jan 1, 1967