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By Glen Robertson, Jeff McLaughlin

"The Clarabelle Mill rock tailings have the potential to generate sulphuric acid through chemical and biological oxidation of sulphide minerals. Current rock tailings assay between 0.80 -1.40 %S, with sulphur occurring principally as coarse pyrrhotite. Acid generation within the tailings area can be substantially reduced by segregating pyrrhotite rich tailings in a submerged storage area and by depositing only low sulphur rock tailings in exposed areas. Laboratory tests confirmed that low sulphur tailings could be produced by flotation at reduced pH with a small xanthate addition. A plant test was conducted to evaluate the production of low sulphur tailings in conjunction with INCO's continuing commitment to environmental protection and progressive decommissioning of the metallurgical site.During the plant evaluation, approximately 5% of the mill rock tailings were reprocessed in a line of 100 tt3 Denver flotation cells. Tailing grades below 0.40% S were easily achieved through operation at pH 6 -7, with xanthate addition (dosages up to 0.02 lb/ton) and 10 -15 minutes of nominal retention time. Froth depths between 1 -3 inches combined with relatively liberal amounts of frother were required to pull the lightly mineralized froth into the concentrate which averaged 11% sulphur and less than 5% mass recovery. In addition, three field lysimeters were each filled with two hundred.ton bulk samples of low sulphur tails (0.35% S), standard rock tailings (0.98% S), and mill total tailings (2.30% S) for long term monitoring. The implications for full scale plant design, tailings area decommissioning, the possibility of increased nickel recovery and preliminary field lysimeter data are discussed."

Jan 1, 1994

By A G. L Pratt

The record for autonomous haulage systems in underground mining over the past 15 years is patchy, marked by many trials and attempts, with few examples of sustained operation until relatively recently. The drivers for the introduction of this technology are variously listed as the occupational health and safety of people working in underground mines, reductions in direct operating costs and increases in productivity.This paper reviews the trends for operation of semi-autonomous and autonomous haulage achieved by underground mines and the defining features of the technology currently available. The inclusion of autonomous haulage as part of mining studies and the fundamental conditions for its successful application is discussed in the paper. The components required for an autonomous underground haulage system are outlined and the key aspects that need to support its effective implementation are examined together with their associated opportunities and risks. Special note is made of the critical role people, including executive leadership, have in ensuring the successful introduction of this technology.The paper draws on published case study material, equipment supplier information and research findings. The aim is to offer a high-level insight into what is required for the application of autonomous haulage technology and its successful implementation in underground mines.CITATION:Pratt, A G L, 2016. Autonomous haulage systems in underground mining – what is required for success? In Proceedings International Mine Management Conferenc, pp 35-52 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jun 22, 2016

By David Bequette, Ray D. Peterson, Cynthia K. Belt

"With a need to cut production costs in the metals industry, cost savings from energy efficiency improvements are critical. Opportunities can be found by reviewing furnace systems and practices so that the melting and holding processes operate at the highest energy efficiency. Many of the changes can be implemented with a minimum of expense or capital investment. This paper will review several low cost methods to optimize energy efficiency on reverberatory melting or holding furnaces. These five methods (furnace utilization, idle procedures, fire rate, controls, furnace pressure) will be explained and information given to implement these changes. Included are several rules-of-thumb and benchmarks for aluminum reverb furnaces.IntroductionEnergy can be a significant portion of the total manufacturing costs for metals and materials manufacturing involving thermal processing such as heat treating, melting, and high temperature processing. Natural gas prices have dramatically varied over the last few years. While no one can foresee the future, prices are expected to increase from the current low prices. More recently, emphasis is being put on the reduction of greenhouse gases with the potential of additional costs to industry.One of the first steps in an energy management program is to measure the energy usage of the process [1]. The results are typically understood in relation to the mass melted in kWh / mT [BTU / lb]. For the purposes of this paper, furnace energy efficiency is calculated over a month or even a year and thus includes hold times. This efficiency is typically different from the values quoted by furnace manufacturers. Those values are for limited short term tests at highutilization.Once you know the performance for your furnaces, these should be compared to industry benchmarks. For aluminum melt furnaces with cold air burner systems, a benchmark value or goal is 1800-2000 BTU/lb [1160-1290 kWh/mt], though some of the best have reached 1600 BTU/lb [1030 kWh/mt]. Furnaces with regenerative burners can attain 1100-1200 BTU/lb [710- 775 kWh/mt]. There are some designs of multi-chamber furnaces or oxygen furnaces that have improved on these numbers, perhaps as low as 950 BTU/lb [615 kWh/mt]. Typically, as the degree of sophistication and energy efficiency of the furnace increases, so does the cost."

Jan 1, 2010

Workers at the Consolidated Aluminum Corp. primary aluminum smelter at Lake Charles, LA walked out at midnight March 31 when their contract expired. Management personnel operated the smelter and prebaked carbon anode facilities until an agreement for a new 3-year contract was reached April 18. The Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa) began operations at its can recycling facility at Taylor, MS. The facility can process 3 million pounds per month of aluminum and steel cans. Alcoa announced plans to increase the capacity of its aluminum paste and flake production plant at Logan's Ferry, PA by 50 percent. Completion was scheduled for mid-1980.

Jan 1, 1979

By Boyd Guthtrie

[Methods of distilling topped crude oils and distillates under vacuum, accompanied by good fractionation, have taken a place of major importance in the refining industry. In the refining of petroleum products it is generally desirable to produce a distillate of good quality, and this objective is attained by fractionation of a high degree. The laboratory and commercial practice have proved chat by varying the amount of fractionation the quality of the distillate car be changed, and refiners are cognizant of the advantages of good fractionation. Distillation-under high vacuum, however, is a relatively new practice in petroleum refining, and only during the last few years has there boon an indication that that this method ray become a general practice in the industry. Vacuum distillation offers many advantages over older methods of distilling petroleum products. Vacuum combined with steam distillation, for example, is replacing straight-stream distillation because the quality of the products of vacuum and, steam distillation surpasses that of those produced by straight-steam distillation. Although the injection of varying amounts of steam in a vacuum unit is common practice, the amount of steam used is becoming less as the vacuum within the unit is increased. This report describes tie construction of a visible-action laboratory batch still and fractioning; column and. gives curtain data pertaining to the operation of the apparatus under vacuum for the production. of lubricating distillates. The apparatus was designed and built to produce lubricating distillates under as nearly ideal conditions as possible, in order that a subsequent study of the characteristics of the distillates could be made.]

Jan 1, 1932

By E. Johansson, T. Siren, K. Kemppainen

"As part of the preparations for the design of an underground repository for radioactive waste at Posiva’s Olkiluoto site on the west coast of Finland, there has been considerable site investigation work. Except the extensive surface based investigations, Posiva started in 2004 the construction of an underground characterisation facility termed the ‘ONKALO’. The ONKALO has now been completely excavated to the anticipated repository depth i.e. -430–450 m. The research conducted in the ONKALO gives further information on the bedrock and groundwater conditions of the final disposal site, as well as on the impact of the construction. The ONKALO provides an excellent opportunity to investigate the rock at tunnel scale, to conduct in-situ testing in rock, to develop excavation and final disposal techniques in realistic conditions. The ONKALO has aided in collecting the data needed, supported by a Preliminary Safety Assessment, for the application of the construction license that was submitted in the end of 2012. The target is to begin disposal operations in 2022. According to current plans, the final disposal would end in 2112 and the repository would be sealed up by 2120. The testing in the ONKALO still continues several years. This paper presents the current characterisation and research activities in the ONKALO. INTRODUCTIONAfter the Finnish Government's favourable policy decision in 2001, Posiva Oy, which is an expert organisation responsible for the final disposal of spent nuclear fuel of the owners in Finland, has focused further investigations at the Olkiluoto site, western Finland (Figure 1) and has started in 2004 the construction of an underground facility termed the ‘ONKALO’. The ONKALO is not a nuclear waste repository, but more than just an underground research laboratory URL – it is an underground rock characterisation facility. The ONKALO has now been completely excavated to the anticipated repository depth i.e. -430–450 m. In addition to facilitating bedrock research, the ONKALO also provides an opportunity to develop excavation techniques and final disposal techniques in realistic conditions. Later, the ONKALO facilities can be put into use when building and using the repository. The construction methods and materials have been selected in order not to jeopardise the long-term safety of the repository site. The findings of the ONKALO and other investigations will provide the knowledge needed for an application, supported by a Preliminary Safety Assessment, to construct a final repository for spent nuclear fuel at the site. Posiva has submitted an application for the construction licence for a disposal facility in the end of 2012. The target is to begin disposal operations in 2022 and the repository would be sealed up by 2120."

Jan 1, 2015

Discussion of the paper of R. J. COLONY, presented at the New York Meeting, February, 1921, and issued With MINING AND METALLURGY No. 169, January, 1921. R. J. COLONY (author's reply to discussion).-The work of Sosman and Merwin on the system lime-ferric oxide, mentioned by Mr. Rankin, was not overlooked. When studying portland cements and portland-cement clinkers petrographically, however, the lime-iron compound was difficult to correlate with the very definite dicalcium ferrite described by those investigators, which possesses such well-defined optical properties. In portland cements, the calcium ferrite (or ferrate?) is an indefinite, fuzzy, and generally amorphous, or apparently amorphous substance that is distributed interstitially with respect to the other grains, from which it was very difficult to derive any satisfactory results. For this reason, the writer, tentatively, chose to regard it as related to the aluminate, and assigned to it the composition 3CaO.Fe203, which may be incorrect, however, as Mr. Rankin suggests.

Jan 8, 1921

By L. I. Kiss, A. Larouche, V. Dassylva-Raymond

Control of the quenching capacity of the cooling water is of primary importance for maintaining the quality and recovery rate of ingots produced by direct chill casting. Industrially, this can be done using a cylindrical metallic probe undergoing rapid quenching by direct immersion in a reservoir filled with casting water. Such a test rig originally developed at Alcan Arvida Research and development Centre was modified and used to assess the role of key parameters affecting the boiling heat transfer. During the tests, the probe of the instrument undergoes the effects of different heat transfer mechanisms. An experimental study was performed in order to clarify the details of the probe-water heat transfer during rapid quenching. The heat flux along the surface was determined by mathematical modeling using the measured temperature signals, while the corresponding heat transfer regimes like stable and unstable film boiling, nucleate boiling and natural convection were identified by the analysis of high-speed video recordings. Aluminium

Jan 1, 2006

By Mark Gilliam

Control of true steel level in the tundish during casting is desired in order to maintain the correct pressure head and thus provide a stable flow to the mold. Also the control of tundish draining prevents slag carryover and can increase yield at each end of cast sequence. At Steel of West Virginia (part of the SDI Group), it was understood that to be able to measure the true steel running level and control the drain level at the end of casting would be a great benefit during production at their three strand billet caster. This paper sets out to show how an evaluation process was started to find the best method to determine steel level in the tundish and to prevent the steel level dropping low enough to allow slag to enter the mold. Also how the decision was taken and a real time molten steel measurement system was installed and by utilizing the resulting data in the process, how slag in the mold was removed as an issue, how lost production was reduced and how consistent steel level has provided constant casting speeds and improved stream integrity, all leading to realized quality improvements. Other areas discussed within the paper will be the training of operational staff, the difficulties to be overcome when first installing new equipment and how these teething problems were cured by close co-operation between the steel plant and the equipment suppliers. In conclusion the paper will discuss the production improvements achieved, production cost savings at the plant and how the generated data was integrated into the plants process control system.

Aug 16, 2017

By Zhao Guangwen, Wu Tan, Qiuzhan Tian, Duan Shuzhen

"A thorough study of lost currents in bipolar cells has been made for the development of the great potential of bipolar cells in energy saving. A proper equivalent circuit for bipolar cells has been found, and mathematic methods for computing lost currents at all kinds of polarization have been developed.At linear polarization, the lost currents can be computed by solving either a tridiagonal matrix or an ordinary differential equation of second order. This kind of values can be used to evaluate the minimal lost currents at given conditions. At other kinds of polarization, the lost currents can be computed by the same methods as above if the necessary experiments of measuring the cell voltages of every electrolytic compartment have been made. This kind of values can be used to design bipolar cells at practical conditions.Extensive experiments have been made to evaluate the effects of electrode polarization, emf of galvanic cell for the formation of electrolyzed substance, gaseous products, geometric dimensions of electrolytic cells, special resistance of electrolyte used, and the total and ordinal number of electrolytic compartments on lost currents. It is the first time to make such a systematic research by experiments in the world. Experiments showed that theoretic models were in good agreement with measured data. Experiments also showed that D.C. energy consumption of 0.45 kwh/kg of Pb for lead electrolysis from molten chlorides could be achieved in a cell with 7 bipolar electrodes.IntroductionIt is very promising to apply bipolar electrolytic cells to electrolysis of aluminum, magnesium, lead, zinc and perchlorinates for their great potential of energy saving for example, bipolar cells had been used in the production of magnesium and saved more than 30% of energy, being one of the three main techniques of energy saving in the production of titanium sponge (1)."

Jan 1, 1988

By Theodore M. Katz, W. Stephen Brightwell, David E. LeGrande, Joseph J. Hurrell, Jane A. Lipscomb, Nancy Lessin, Lawrence R. Murphy, Michael J. Colligan, Steven L. Sauter, Richard A. Lippin

Revolutionary changes in the organization of work have far outpaced our knowledge about the implications of these changes for the quality of working life and for safety and health on the job. This gap in knowledge is one of the 21 priority areas for research under the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA)—a framework crafted by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and its partners to guide research into the next decade. This report was developed under NORA as the first attempt to develop a comprehensive research agenda for investigating and reducing occupational safety and health risks associated with the changing organization of work. Research and development needs identified in the agenda include (1) improved surveillance mechanisms to better track how the organization of work is changing, (2) accelerated research on safety and health implications of the changing organization of work, (3) increased research focus on organizational interventions to protect safety and health, and (4) steps to formalize and nurture organization of work as a distinctive field in occupational safety and health.

Jan 4, 2002

By Robert W. Thomas

LEACHING of mined-out areas at the Arizona property of the Ray Mines Division, Kennecott Copper Corp., was started on Jan. 20, 1.937, and by July 1, 1938, 10,000,000 lb. of copper had been produced by this method. Leaching operations at present are confined to the western portion of the ore body and over an area of approximately ten acres. The ore in this area was extremely high in pyrite and the copper content, which averaged slightly in excess of 1 per cent, was the result of incomplete secondary enrichment by solutions which apparently worked laterally from the main ore body. Above the ore was an unaltered zone of primary or protore averaging 125 ft. in thickness and containing approximately 0.6 per cent copper. Above this was the capping or leached zone averaging 50 ft. thick.

Jan 1, 1938

By Saghafi A, Kelly M, Williams R. J

A two year program of research into the feasibility of long-hole drilling for improved gas emission control has been undertaken at Appin Colliery. State of the art equipment was employed involving cableless electronic surveying and down-hole motor drilling. The project involved the drilling of 1000 m long, in-seam boreholes in the Bulli seam and boreholes of similar length drilled cross measure and then in-seam along the underlying Balgownie seam. A new concept for gas drainage was defined, employing long-holes for both predrainage and post drainage.

Jan 1, 1988

By Andreas Jungbauer

The Chinese steel producer Rizhao Steel is now focusing on the highly attractive local and export markets for high-quality, thin-gauge strip products. The first line of five Arvedi ESP plants began operations in the spring of 2015. The new casting-rolling complex is designed for a total annual production capacity of 11 million tons of highquality, ultra-thin, hot-rolled strip products with widths of up to 1,600 mm and thicknesses down to 0.8 mm. The energy consumption and related costs are reduced by up to 45% compared with conventional casting and rolling processes. This also means a major reduction in CO2 emissions. During the project phase, the plant personnel from China received extensive training at the licensor’s plant – Acciaieria Arvedi S.p.A. in Italy – to prepare them to deliver the best operational performance with the new state-of-the-art endless casting-rolling facility. The plant setup, the training and support program, as well as the latest results from the start-up are presented in this paper.

Aug 16, 2017

By L. S. Gertsch, M. Z. Abu Bakar

Linear cutting tests of a porous sandstone with a radial drag pick show that saturation of rock with water can increase the specific energy of fragmentation. This appears to be due, in this case, to a saturation-induced increase in the forces acting on the cutting tool without a concomitant increase of the fragmented volume. The mechanisms of this reaction are explored by examining various responses of the parameters controlled and induced during the linear cutting tests, such as cut spacing, cutter penetration, three-dimensional forces and muck production. A program of load-indentation testing is underway to evaluate the permeability threshold of this behavior. These findings are opposite from those made when the same rock is cut with a constant cross-section disc cutter reported elsewhere (Abu Bakar and Gertsch, 2011). Such results highlight the effects of different cutting tool designs, and indicate the need for a well-coordinated program of research to support effective excavator design and selection.

Jan 1, 2012

By B Clements, R Dunne, J Dioses, S Hart

In April 2003 plant upgrades in the æLow GradeÆ Cadia Hill circuit were undertaken in order to improve concentrate quality and metal recoveries from the flotation circuit. The major changes involved: circuit reconfiguration to allow all concentrates to be reground to less than 38 ¦m prior to final cleaning; increasing ball charge in the regrind mill to fully utilise all of the installed power; desliming of the cleaner scavenger concentrate to improve the circuit water balance; and the inclusion of a gravity concentrator in the regrind circuit to recover more free gold to bullion.Once the flotation circuit had stabilised under the new operating conditions concentrate launder modifications and increased froth crowding on the scavenger flotation cells permitted the introduction of stronger collectors without compromising concentrate quality or circuit stability.Twelve months on, the copper concentrate grade has increased by two per cent and metal recoveries increased by three per cent and seven per cent for copper and gold respectively. The project capital outlay of approximately $2.0 million has been repaid in less than three months. This paper will review the project from the design, construction and commissioning perspective as well as the subsequent debottlenecking exercise that was required to eventually yield the full benefits of this upgrade.

Jan 1, 2005

Since its creation in 1910, the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Mines has pioneered in the development of mineral technology, through research. From the very beginning, research on mine health and safety has been a dominating concern, and a responsibility that expanded markedly as a result of the Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969. Until the mid-1970's research on fuel technology and coal production also was an important part of the Bureau's work. But in the four years following the 1973 oil crisis, Congress established a reorganized Federal energy research apparatus in which all fossil fuel research-encompassing extraction, use, and conservation-was centralized. Today, the Department of Energy houses Federal research on coal mine production technology, while research on coal and noncoal mine health and safety and environmental technology, and on noncoal mine production technology, remains in the Interior Department as a continuing responsibility of the Bureau of Mines. In carrying out its authorized research programs, the Bureau conducts both short- and long-term re-

Jan 1, 2012

By J. Kallioinen

Flotation of low grade Ni ores with serpentinite host rock tend to yield low recoveries of Ni With high MgO contents in the concentrate. The recovery can be enhanced by optimizing the sub-processes in the pulp and in the froth. The new OF-100 flotation cell has been designed to be adaptable to different feed fineness (Coarse, Fine). The losses can according the research conducted at Outokumpu's Hitura plant be substantially decreased by OF-100's new rotor and stator design and froth zone geometry. The froth residence time is used to adapt for feed particle size changes measured by the Outokumpu PSI- 200. Models for the behaviour of different particle Sizes in the sub-processes have been developed. The modified froth zone geometry and the capability of maintaining a froth of desired thickness allows efficient washing of the obtained concentrate producing low levels of MgO.

Jan 1, 1994

By Osvaldo Bascur, Barun Gorain, Jaco Steyn

"The last few decades have seen some remarkable advancement in information technology, but recently various digital technologies have resulted in several synergies to deliver innovation in diverse applications. The mining industry has been relatively slow in adopting these technologies compared to the other industries, but this scenario is changing fast.Challenges. Mining companies globally are going through a series of challenges such as declining ore grades with complex metallurgy, increasing depth of ore bodies, high capital and operating costs, lower productivity, shortage of technical resources, significant pressure from stake-holders to deliver, along with growing environmental and corporate social responsibility issues. Improvement in profitability would need significant improvements in operational performance.Consequently, over the last few years, there has been a major focus among some mining companies to imbibe operational excellence. This has been only possible because of the replacement of a silos-based approach by an integrated view of the organization. Such an integrated view is now possible via the evolving digital technologies. Even so, such a transformation calls for a change in culture, which, for most organizations is not trivial. Attempts in the past to integrate functions, such as through mine-to-mill initiatives in the mining industry, have demonstrated significant benefits to many operations (McKee, 2013). Still, sustaining these benefits has clearly been a challenge due to manpower turnover and lack of proper systems and structures that integrate information between business functions within an operation and between operations and the corporate level.Opportunities. The advent of digital technology has opened up opportunities to integrate interdepartmental information for a unified understanding across an entire organization. The advances in instrumentation, equipment control systems, supervisory control systems (SCADA/ Historian) and industrial networks have helped in the direction of enterprise- wide integration. The availability of real time information across an enterprise has given rise to numerous possibilities to improve organization performance. As suggested by Seshan and Gorain (2016), some of the potential opportunities are as follows:"

Jan 9, 2018

By J. E. Zeilinger

This Bureau of Mines report describes the preparation characteristics of the significant coalbeds of Clay, Gilmer, and Lewis Counties, W. Va. In 1966, almost 1.3 million tons of coal was mined in these counties, of which more than one-half was from the Pittsburgh coalbed. Washability analyses were made of 16 coalbed samples. Of these, only 11 samples could be upgraded to metallurgical quality. For steam or power generation five of the coals were of low sulfur content as received. The remaining samples were generally of medium sulfur content even after upgrading.

Jan 1, 1969