Search Documents

By Bernard Porter

The solubility of UO2 was determined at 1,250° C. in ternary melts of UF4 and BaF2 with CaF2, LiF, and SrF2. The solubility of Ce02 was measured at 800° and 850° C. in a solution of CeF3, BaF2, and LiF. The amount of La203 which dissolves at 950° C. in a binary mixture of LiF and LaF3 and a ternary of LiF, LaF3, and BaF2 was also measured. In each case, the amount of soluble oxide was mound to be less than 5 weight-percent. A procedure was developed for filtering fused, oxide-saturated fluoride melts in order to obtain a representative sample for chemical analysis. The oxide content of the samples was determined by an inert-gas fusion procedure.

Jan 1, 1961

By J. Herhold, S. Plaum

"Increasing worldwide energy demands, coupled with desires for cleaner energy, have led to greater research of renewable energies. Strongly weather-dependent energy sources, e.g. solar and wind energy, are unable to provide a constant control energy to withstand the fluctuation of the extensive power systems during peak hours. The pump storage plant Nant de Drance in Switzerland will not only have the capacity of a nuclear power plant, producing 900 MW, but will also combine the environmental aspect and the demand for controlled energy. Nant de Drance is one of the pioneer projects for upcoming energy challenges and serves as a model for future pump storage plants. This paper focuses on the planning process and the project execution of interdisciplinary large-scale projects such as Nant de Drance, including project related data handling, communication systems and project handling skills. Furthermore, the paper discusses mining excavation in the context of large scale projects and their regional environmental challenges, e.g. high alpine rock mass on the site of Nant de Drance. PROJECT BACKGROUND Project Overview Nant de Drance is a 900 MW pump storage plant located in the Swiss Alps. To provide such a high energy storage, six turbines (reversible Francis type), each with a capacity of 150 MW, were installed. Due to the efficiency factor of 80% the pump storage plant is able to provide an energy production of 2500 GWh per annum. Construction of the pump storage plant, which has been selected as “Major Tunneling Project of the Year” in 2014 by NCE and ITA-AITES, will be completed over 10 years. Therefore, the project has been divided in six major phases outlined below: - Launch: 2008 - Access Gallery: 2010 – 2012 - Excavation KMA, KTR: 2011 – 2014 - Concreting KMA, KTR: 2014 – 2016 - Installation of HEM equipment: 2014 – 2018 - Tests & entry into service: 2017 – 2018 Figure 1 outlines the single process phases of the project. For the construction of the shafts, galleries and caverns, 1.7 million m³ of metamorphic rock with sedimentary origin (mica schist & paragneiss of the massif „Aiguilles Rouges“) were excavated. A tunnel network with a total length of 15 km was created. The machine cavern measures 194 m long, 32 m wide and 52 m tall."

Jan 1, 2016

By Cristian Saavedra, Patricio Zarate

Flotation collectors play a crucial role in mineral flotation by selectively adhering to mineral surfaces and aiding in their separation from gangue material. They are heteropolar molecules, as defined by Sutherland and Wark (1955), featuring non-polar hydrocarbon chains and polar groups interacting with mineral surfaces to induce hydrophobicity selectively. The importance of collectors in mineral processing, as underscored by Lotter and Bradshaw (2010), lies in their ability to enhance recovery rates and improve selectivity, thereby optimizing the extraction of valuable minerals from complex ores. Collectors are classified based on their mechanism of action, as proposed by Laskowski (2010). This classification categorizes collectors into three groups: water-soluble compounds, water-insoluble “oily” collectors, and water-insoluble amphipathic compounds forming molecular films at the water/gas interface. This complements the chemical structure-based classification by Sutherland and Wark (1955) and Suoninen and Laajalehto (1993), offering a comprehensive understanding of collector diversity in flotation systems. Collector selection is an iterative process crucial for optimizing mineral processing efficiency, as emphasized by Lotter and Bradshaw (2010). Understanding the significance of collector mixing or synergy outcomes is paramount for enhancing mineral flotation efficiency and sustainability. Taguta, O’Connor, and McFadzean (2018) demonstrate that mixed collector systems enhance interaction enthalpies and microflotation recoveries, indicating improved performance. McFadzean, Castelyn, and O’Connor (2012), along with Critchley and Riaz (1991), delve into investigating synergistic interactions between collectors, offering insights for strategic selection. Observations from the study of collector synergy, as noted by Wakamatsu et al. (1980), reveal nuanced relationships surpassing individual collector behaviors. The methodology outlined in this paper provides valuable guidance for classifying and selecting collectors based on specific application needs, while also suggesting the potential for synergistically improving recovery across fine, intermediate, and coarse particles.

Feb 1, 2025

By I. Matsunaga, K. Aoki, W. -j. Jung

Blasting is widely used in mining and basic construction because of its speed and economy to destroy the rocks. Blasting has the advantages of reduced excavation costs and shorted construction time when compared to the use of heavy machinery for excavation and cutting such as that with a tunnel boring machine. There are numerous problems with blasting, including the noise, vibration and fly rock. So it is necessary to accurately evaluate fracture mechanics of rocks on the dynamic loading condition to control the fracture process of the blasting. The tests using Hopkinson's effect for the dynamic condition using the precise detonators were performed for various strain rates on three different kinds of rocks. In the tests using Hopkinson's effect for the dynamic condition, the high-speed camera was used to observe the fracture process of the test sample rocks. As the results of experiments there was an increase in the tensile strength of rock with an increase in the strain rate for three kinds of rock on the dynamic loading. The tensile strength of rocks with high porosity on the water saturation condition was decreased on the both static and dynamic condition. It is clear that the strain rate and water saturation were influenced to the tensile strength of the rocks.

Jan 1, 2003

By J. D. Miller

Many factors -- political, environmental and technological -- will determine the extent to which the United States realizes the potential of its vast coal resources. Not the least of these factors is technogical development including mining, processing and transportation. With regard to processing technology, about 50% of the 800x106 tons of coal mined annually in the U.S. is processed in preparation plants. The purpose of the physical separations accomplished in these preparation plants is to remove ash (present as clays and other oxide minerals) and sulfur 'present mostly as pyrite). Coal flotation circuits for such separations are becoming more important in the processing of minus 28 mesh coal. (1,2,3) For example in the U.S. in 1960, 31 flotation plants processed 26,500 tpd; whereas in 1980, there were 80 flotation plants which processed 78,300 tpd. This corresponds to an annual growth in flotation plant capacity of 10 per year during the past two decades. Coal flotation is based on the natural or induced hydrophobicity of coal particles which are separated from hydrophilic ash and sulfur constituents by attachment to air bubbles. The coal particle/air bubble aggregates are collected in a froth phase which is created by the addition of a suitable frother such as MISC. Without exception, such separations are made in a conventional flotation cell, which, in essence, is a stirred tank reactor with a shrouded rotor to shear the air as it passes through a hollow shaft. The dispersed air bubbles (4.0 mm diameter) are stabilized by addition of the frother. Collision of the air bubbles with, and/or precipitation of the air bubbles on, the coal particles results in the formation of coal particle/air bubble aggregates which rise in the gravitational field and are collected in the froth phase developed at the top of the flotation cell. Restraints on successful separation by this conventional flotation technique are particle size and retention time. Generally it is found that effective flotation is only achieved for particle sizes between 10 and 1000 microns. Further, with respect to retention time, it is found that a nominal retention time of at least 2 minutes is required for successful separations. These facts limit the effectiveness of conventional coal flotation. Coal fines may be lost in the reject stream and disposal is frequently a problem. The retention time required for conventional flotation results in large floor space demands which limit the capacity of the plant.

Jan 1, 1981

By L C. Thompson

BioLix is the term for a new class of biologically-derived lixiviants for precious metals (gold and silver) recovery. BioLix can be used as an alternative to cyanide on virgin and spent ores. The BioLix process is based on inducing microbial enzymatic reactions that generate organo-lixiviant chemicals. The bioprocess involves a two-stage culture strategy. First, specialty microorganisms are cultured to generate a high biomass. Then, a food-grade quality amendment is introduced that forces the microorganisms to produce the organo-lixiviant. The second-stage culture is applied to the ore where the microbial/lixiviant system acts on mineral surfaces to extract precious metals. The process operates at ambient temperatures and near neutral pH. This paper will examine the BioLix process through an extensive laboratory development and demonstration project. Laboratory development consisted of identifying and isolating specialty microorganisms and inducing agents for the production of the organo-lixiviant solutions. A demonstration was performed on low-grade and high-grade oxidised ore from the Buffalo Valley mine in Nevada, USA. Results indicate that the BioLix process was comparable to cyanide in terms of gold recovery and operated at near neutral pH and ambient temperatures. Applications for the BioLix process will be discussed including spent-ore re-leaching, cyanide replacement for virgin ore, and in situ mining.

Jan 1, 2004

The impact of smoothing on the definition of ore and waste boundaries using linear estimation and conditional simulation methods is discussed. The nature of transfer functions is examined including their ability to incorporate categorical data (e.g. a dominant lithology code). An Ore Block Optimization (OBO) transfer function is presented that provides a clear guide for the mining geologist. Advantages are seen in defining stockpile cut-off grades and meeting production targets such as maximizing head grade, maximizing ore tonnes or minimizing ore loss or dilution. Each of these scenarios impacts on mine profitability and grade control.

Jan 1, 1999

By Daryl R. Tweeton

The Bureau of Mines has developed PC-based tomographic computer programs for geophysical applications, and is making them available to potential users as part of a Bureau plan to facilitate the transfer of technology to industry. These programs were initially developed for predicting and monitoring the flow pattern of leach solution during in situ mining. Seismic crosshole tomography has located fractured zones of low seismic velocity and saturated zones of high seismic velocit above the natural water table. The Bureau has applied tomography also to assessing high-wall blast damage, and examining the integrity of mine-related geological structures. The tomographic programs include the straight ray pro ram BOMTOM (Bureau of Mines Tomography? and the program BOMCRATR (Bureau of Mines Curved Ray Tomographic Reconstruction) that can be run with either curved or straight rays. Both programs provide optional mathematical constraints to help counteract the nonuniqueness of reconstructions that occurs with crosshole data. They are available from the Bureau free of charge. With typical data sets, they can be run on a 386 microcomputer with 640 Kb RAM. BOMTOM was described in the Bureau Report of Investigations 9159, so this report emphasizes BOMCRATR. Curved and straight ray reconstructions using seismic field data collected while simulating injection of leach solution were compared. The curved and straight ray tomograms were quite similar even with velocity variations of more than 50 percent.

Jan 1, 1992

Opening AddressThank you for inviting me here today to open what promises to be a significant conference on the technological aspects of extractive metallurgy. I would especially like. to welcome delegates who have travelled great distances in order to contribute to, and be participants in, this examination of the technical innovations which have always been a crucial part of our industry.

Jan 1, 1992

By William I. Weisman

Natural sodium sulfate is obtained from both brines and solid deposits. The brines almost always contain other salts with sodium chloride predominating. They may be obtained from surface occurrences, such as Great Salt Lake or from shallow subterranean deposits. Althought many sodium sulfate minerals are known to exist, only three are of commercial significance. These are thenardite, the anhydrous salt; mirabilite, the decahydrate; and glauberite, the double salt of sodium and calcium sulfate. The reader is referred to Weisman (1983) for details on mineralogy and geology of sodium sulfate minerals. Sodium sulfate deposits, either in the form of brine or solid minerals, are found in many parts of the world. Natural sources, by far, provide the primary supply of commercial grades in Canada, Mexico, Spain, and probably in the U.S.S.R., Chile, Argentina, and Turkey. In the United States, production of natural material and synthetic (including by-product) are about equal in volume and have been for many years.

Jan 1, 1984

By E. J. Gleim

A list of permissible mine equipment, tested and approved previous to January 1, 1942, was published In Bureau of Mines Information Circular 7207.3/ The present list covers additional equipment approved during the calendar year 1942. The items have been numbered to indicate the order in which each type of machine or device was approved in its particular classification. Thus, Information Circular 7207 gives four air compressors on the Bureau's active list, and the present circular gives the fifth to be approved. Items 90 and 94 under Loading; Machines land Conveyors also appear in Information Circular 7207. These numbers are repeated hero to show that approval was granted during 1942 for additional voltages on machines previously listed one voltage only. Equipment listed in these circulars is approved by the Bureau of Mines only when found upon inspection and test to comply with minimum standards of safety as outlined in schedules prepared on the basis of many years of experience in dealing with safety problems of the coal-mining industry. The use of such equipment in mines known to be gassy, as well as in those which may become so, is earnestly recommended in the interests of safety. This circular is published so that the industry may be kept informed as to the many types of machines, devices, and lamps that arc available for reducing explosion and other hazards incidental to coal mining. The present paper and Information Circular 7207 together give the complete list of all available permissible .Mine equipment.

Jan 1, 1943

By Arthur M. Whiteside

Discussion of the laws bearing upon the economics of mining in this province at once resolves itself under three headings: (a) The rights and obligations of holders of mineral bearing lands; (b) Taxation of mines; (c) Regulation of methods adopted in financing mining operations. Titles: The law relating to titles is contained in the Mineral Act, Placer Mining Act and Coal Mines Prospecting Act. Origin: Mining laws in force in this province and elsewhere on the continent had their origin in the rule-of-thumb regulations adopted by prospectors themselves, when, far from the centres of civilization and the seats of the courts of justice, they found it necessary, for mutual protection, to fix the conditions of possession by right of location, and to prescribe the duties to be performed in order to enable the individual to maintain his ground against all comers. These regulations have been codified and added to by legislatures, until we find adequate protection and safeguard to property in the laws of this province.

Jan 1, 1924

By Charles H. Rawlins

Reported is work done on processing of steel mill effluents in the areas of dewatering and separation. Much of the waste from these operations is in the form of sludges from scrubbers, in which the primary constituent is iron oxide. Recycling of the sludge&apos;s magnetic fraction has become economically attractive in order to reduce the overall volume placed in landfills. The objective of this research is to determine the effectiveness of combining magnetic and cyclonic forces, to recover iron oxide particles from waste water stream, while decreasing the volume to be disposed. Three different size hydrocyclones, operating within the field of a quadripole magnet, were tested using varying feed pulp densities of magnetite, magnetite/dolomite, blast furnace (BF), and basic oxygen furnace (BOF) slurries. In the first three cases, the percentage of magnetics recovered increased to greater than 95%. The limiting operational factors are; high pulp density for small cyclones, which can cause flow blockage within the magnet field, and extremely fine particle sizes (<2 microns), which cannot be recovered. The results indicate this technique can remove virtually all the magnetic particles from some steel effluents to a 40-50% weight percent solids pulp, on an in line continuous basis.

Jan 1, 1994

By M. S. Borges

The need for the waste management industry to reach environmental patterns, technological innovation, and a technological demand of the productive sector is covered by this study. The environmental care and responsibility in the industrial sector and the necessary cultural changes for companies and entities is also emphasized. A collaborative tool was developed to help all partners involved in the environmental administration. This tool focuses on the interaction among residue generators in the productive chain. It was developed for a vehicle assembler company supported by entities or institutions with emphasis in the research, development and innovation, with expertise and capacity for new products creation, as well as reuse, recycling and reduction of by-products generation. The work aims to establish a tool for socio-environmental management, focusing on promotion and interaction between industrial waste generators sectors.

Jan 1, 2010

By Paul A. O’Brien, Gary A. Chapman, Thomas G. Cuniowski

"The new Amcor B9 paper mill in Botany, NSW, Australia, involved the design and construction of a new paper mill founded within the Botany Basin Sediments. There were numerous design and construction challenges to address, including tight settlement tolerances for the paper machine footings (6 mm total and 1/2000 mm differential limits), high variable and cyclic loads, deep (>25 m) bedrock and uncontrolled fill material across the site. The mill structure design incorporated a deep driven precast and CFA piled foundation solution, with a comprehensive swathe of testing to validate pile capacity and expected settlements. The pile design for the mill structure included the installation of approximately 1000 piles, with pile testing comprising dynamic testing and a static load test on precast piles. With consideration of Sydney’s increasing demand for development space in relative close proximity to the city’s CBD, industrial areas in the Botany Bay area are likely to make way for heavy or complex commercial and residential structures. Therefore, a better understanding of the engineering behaviour of sediments underlying these areas would allow for efficient foundation solutions. This paper presents a discussion on effective foundation testing techniques and the effects that the behaviour and characteristics of the Botany Bay sediments impose on deep piled solutions.2 PROJECT DETAILS2.1 New paper millThe project involved the construction of the largest recycled paper machine in Australia. The paper machine is 330 m (1080 ft) long, 22 m (72 ft) high, and capable of producing 1.6 km (1 mile) of paper per minute. Construction commenced in early 2011 and new paper mill officially opened in early 2013. The early works contract was awarded to Baulderstone Construction Pty. Ltd. (Lend Lease Corp. Ltd.), with the D&C contract awarded to a consortium headed by Leighton Contractors Pty. Ltd. (CPB Contractors Pty. Ltd.), which included Golder Associates Pty. Ltd. as the geotechnical designer and reviewer.2.2 Site history and effect on local topographyThe site has been used as a paper mill since 1902, and as such, has layers of uncontrolled fill and buried objects within the upper fill materials associated with historical industrial use. The fill material generally comprised of loose and very loose sands, with isolated pockets of cohesive materials, peats, pulped paper and general construction waste. In addition, during construction, underground storage tanks were identified at depth, indicating the historical extent of filling across the site was extensive. The presence of this generally uncontrolled fill was a factor for determining that the most cost effective foundation solution for the paper mill was piled foundations, to bypass these materials."

Jan 1, 1900

By S. Le Fevre

The application of electricity to the mining and beneficiation of the magnetic iron ores of the Mineville, N. Y., district, on Lake Champlain, has resulted,in economies and enhanced quality of product, without which only a comparatively small quantity of the present output could be marketed. The output of the Witherbee, Sherman & Co. mines is about 700,000 tons per annum, and of this about four-fifths is treated by magnetic separation to increase the iron content and reduce the phosphorus. The use of electricity for the magnetic separation of the ore from the gangue is therefore of primary importance, and makes possible the application of electric power for mining and preparing the ore for concentration. The fact which speaks loudest in favor of the application of electricity is this: It is possible for about 25c. per ton of shipping ore to furnish all the power required to put the ore on cars. This includes mining a hard ore underground, from a depth of 900 ft., hoisting to surface, crushing to $ or 8 in. in size, and separating from the gangue. This also includes lights about the works, and all miscellaneous power, such as about the shops. The first plant for the generation of electric power for use at Mineville was completed in 1903, and was one of the first for the application of electricity to mining iron ore. This was a Nordberg compound condensing steam engine, direct connected to a 750-kw. alternating-current generator, 3,300 volts, 3 phase, 25 cycles. All the plants added later use the same current but with higher voltage. The map, Fig. 1, shows the power plants and the transmission system; Figs. 2 and 3 are views of the shaft houses and the mills. The power from the first plant was distributed to Mills 1 and 2, one 2,500 cu. ft. compressor, and to the Harmony hoist, which was driven by a 300-h.p. motor operating four 10-ft. drums. Our experience with the hoist covers largely the development of electric hoisting from 1903 to date, and in some cases improvements were worked out to satisfy our needs. The motor is still operating as installed, but the control apparatus has been radically changed several times. When installed, the iron re-

Jan 1, 1915

By Arthur V. Abbott

In a few places attempts have been made to introdnce some means of delivering heat from a central station. Probably Pittsburgh, through the advantages derived from its almost inexhaustible supply of natural gas, has made a more wide-spread success in this direction than any other city. From the gas-wells in the vicinity of that town an enormous supply of natural gas can readily be obtained at a pressure sufficient to force it many miles from its source and to distribute it to all consumers. Obviously, very few places have such natural advantages, and some other means must be devised, if it is desired to furnish heat in a location not supplied with gas-wells. Several plants have been introduced to deliver heat by

Jan 1, 1888

By M. F. Ameur, M. Habak, H. Aouici, M. Kenane

Present study interest by aluminium alloy (Al 7175-T5173) drilled without cooling fluid. The influence of the machining parameters (spindle speed and feed rate) on the holes quality was analyzed. Drilling tools are made of carbide (WC); high speed steel (HSS) and TiN coated carbide (WC-Ti).The Experiment design was reinforced by the application of statistical analysis of variance (ANOVA).The results show that the thrust force is influenced principally by the spindle speed and feed rate. Though, both feed rate and tool materials have statistical significance on the surface roughness. In addition, the objective of correlations between spindle speed and feed rate with the evolution of the machining parameters was established. These correlations were obtained by quadratic regression using the response surface methodology. Finally, useful to select optimum values of drilling parameters, that would minimize thrust force, torque, cutting temperature and surface roughness.

Jan 1, 2015

By S. Chatterjee, S. Bandopadhyay

A spatial modeling technique based on the Bayesian neural network (BNN) is proposed. Incorporation of the Bayesian method for posterior probability of the output parameter helps calculate the uncertainty associated with the estimate. Parameters of the BNN model were selected using a grid search algorithm. The expected value and the variance of block support were calculated by Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling of the posterior distribution at discretized points within the block. The BNN model was validated by applying it to the Walker Lake data set and comparing the results with ordinary kriging results. The comparison revealed that the proposed BNN method performs marginally better than ordinary kriging. The variance map is less smooth than with ordinary kriging, and the proportional effect is less in the BNN-based model than in the ordinary kriging model. The developed BNN model was applied to the Coho block of a placer gold deposit in Nome, AK. Results reveal that the BNN model is globally biased for the Coho block and underestimates the sample mean. The grade volume curve was developed by calculating the block mean and block variance after discretizing the block into a number of points and applying the BNN model to each discretized point.

Jan 1, 2011

By Anna Carolina Cerqueira Neves

Fibras naturais estão cada vez mais sendo empregadas como fase de reforço em materiais compósitos com matriz polimérica, pois estas apresentam vantagens ecológicas e econômicas quando comparadas as fibras sintéticas. São fontes renováveis de matéria prima, são biodegradáveis e utilizam menos energia para sua produção. Foram avaliadas propriedades de tração de compósitos de matiz polimérica epóxi reforçada com altos volumes correspondendo a 40% e 50% de volume de fibras de juta contínuas e alinhadas. Os testes foram realizados na maquina universal Instron. A resistência à tração apresentou um aumento crescente com a adição da fase de fibras de juta na matriz.

Aug 16, 2017