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By G R. Power

A useful way to assess potential productivity of SLC mines is by quantifying tonnes/drawpoint/day to be extracted from the mine. However limited industry information has been published to help mines benchmark this number. This paper assesses industry data which can be used to support estimates of potential productivity from new mines based on tonnes/drawpoint/day. The information used has been extracted from historical production schedules which indicate what was achieved, rather than what was planned. It has been assessed using an algorithm created for the purpose and is presented with discussion of varying definitions of active drawpoints, analysis of the data and inquiry into some of the underlying contributing factors.

Mar 15, 2021

By Janet S. Springer

Anomalous gold concentrations in carbonaceous material have given rise to misconceptions about the role of carbon in gold depo its. Some hydrocarbon and carbon-rich black muds may how gold contents raised to 100 time above background by mechanical entrapment. urface effect in fine ediments. and metabolic fixing of gold by micro-organisms. Such concentrates, however, are 10 times too low to be economic. Studie in the Archean of Ontario show that graphite schi t are not the protore to an economically workable gold deposit. A later event of gold introduction ha been uperimposed on the initial low concentrations. Gold enrichment i localized by reduction at vein margins where hear plane . the conduits of mineralization, cut carbonaceou horizons.

Jan 1, 1986

By K. Soldenhoff, D. Wilkins, E. Ho

In the processing of rare earth ores, a pure, mixed rare earth chloride solution is usually produced and used as the feed to solvent extraction circuits to separate the individual rare earths. Cerium(III) may be separated from the other rare earths by oxidising it to cerium(IV), which precipitates as cerium(IV) hydroxide in chloride liquors. This oxidation step may be inserted either before rare earth separation by solvent extraction or between solvent extraction circuits. Although oxidation of cerium by sodium hypochlorite has been known for many years, detailed conditions for oxidation are not readily available. The effect of hypochlorite addition, temperature, pH and cerium concentration on oxidation of cerium(III) from synthetic solutions was investigated

Jan 1, 2014

By L. J. Cabri

The level of mineral exploration activity for platinum in recent years, especially in North America, has ranged widely. Exploration programs have been based on a variety of ore deposit models and deposit types. These range from the classic magmatic model for sulfide/oxide deposits and their associated placers, through hydrothennal models for bonanza-type deposits, to low-grade mineralization potentially amenable to lower cost bulk mining methods. The platinum-group element (PGE) distribution in these different deposit types is not well-known however, and PGE determination is fraught with analytical difficulties. To properly assess a prospect or to achieve effective recovery by mineral processing, it is important to determine the mineralogical distribution of the PGE.

Jan 1, 1988

By I. S. Parrish

As noted by McKinstry (1948), "How to deal with erratic high samples is one of the knottiest problems in ore estimation." He described a variety of approaches and methods to alleviate the problem through the averaging and weighing of assay data and by "cutting" or "clipping" of the erratic assays. Bird (1991) elaborated on ways of dealing with the nugget effect (erratics). He listed several procedures for cutting. Bird's list has been reproduced and/or added to by several authors including Vallee (1992) and Stone and Dunn (1993). Missing from each of these otherwise excellent reviews is a definition, description or guideline to recognition of an "erratic," or just where or when cutting is warranted or justified.

Jan 1, 1997

By F. A. Charalambous

Brannerite is commonly referred to as a refractory uranium mineral as it is usually highly resistant to acid leaching. There is however widely varying literature data on brannerite leaching, with some studies reporting that brannerite leaching can be achieved under relatively mild conditions. The differences observed for brannerite leaching are most likely due to the high degree of variation in the composition and structure observed in natural brannerites. These aspects of brannerite chemistry however are not very well understood due to a lack of fundamental research. The aims of this study were to investigate and develop methods for synthesising brannerites of varying composition and to investigate the effects of composition on brannerite leaching in acidic conditions.

Aug 1, 2010

By Felipe Fardin Grillo

The aim of this work was to study the use of slags to desulfurization of cast iron. It was proposed to use alumina instead fluorspar. In addition, marble waste was used instead lime. Simulations applying Thermo-Calc software were performed in order to obtain the theoretical phases thermodynamic data. Then, a comparison between theoretical data and experimental tests were performed. The cast iron was melting in induction furnace at 1550°C. Slags composed mainly for CaO and Al2O3 were used to cast iron desulphurization. It was observed that increasing liquid phase, the desulphurization reaction was favored. Besides, it was found that cast iron desulfurization occurs by top slag mechanism.

Aug 17, 2017

By F. X. Meyer

THE United States Smelting Refining and Mining Company maintains an ore-purchasing department for procurement of custom tonnages of milling and smelting ores and concentrates for treatment at its Midvale plant. Arrangements with other companies provide for treatment of Company and custom zinc concentrates. Location of the Midvale plant in the heart of the Western mining country makes it possible to serve shippers from these nine producing states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. Shipments from most of these states travel over main-line railroads, delivery being made at Midvale within a short time after billing of the shipment. Shipments varying in size from a few sacks to carloads can be handled at

Jan 1, 1948

By E. E. Harton

Bureau of Mines Information Circular 16, Bibliography of Investment and Operating Costs for Chemical and Petroleum Plants, was published in October 1949 as an aid in making estimates of investment and operating costs of processes for manufacturing synthetic liquid fuels. Development of such processes by the Bureau of Mines was authorized by Public Law 290, 78th Congress. This bibliography included refer¬ences to and abstracts of publications appearing from 1930 to September 1948 on all processes in general use in the petroleum refining and chemical industries. Publications in this field have been numerous since compilation of the above bibliography, and the present report was prepared to cover the field from September 1948 through June 1952.3/

Jan 1, 1955

By G. W. Douglas

The need for dimensionally stable filled polymer composites has spurred the quest for materials that possess a negative coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE). Finding minerals and materials with a negative CTE large enough to counteract the substantial CTE found in polymers proves challenging. Much research has been per-formed over the last decade to uncover various materials that possess this unusual behavior. A list of materials that have demonstrated negative properties are discussed, as well as the experimental use of one such material (ZrW2O8), in a polymer matrix composite. Other negative properties, such as negative Poisson?s ratio and negative stiffness, are also examined. Key words: Negative properties, Coefficient of thermal expansion, Zirconium tungstate

Jan 1, 2010

By Elton L. Litchfield

The techniques for direct initiation of detonation, developed by the Bureau of Mines, have been applied to gaseous mixtures of oxygen with methane, 'thane, propane, butane, or hexane. An exploding wire was used as the initiation source to determine minimum stored electrical energies required to effect detonation of mixtures between one-half and two times the stoichiometric fuel ratios. Detonations were obtained in the most easily initiated mixtures of ethane, propane, butane, and hexane for initiation energies between 24 and 33 joules at 1 atm and 28-43 joules at 0.5 atm initial pressure. Methane mixtures, at 1 atm, were not observed to detonate when initiated with up to 484 joules.

Jan 1, 1966

By S Vink, A Wolhuter

Increasingly the community and government regulators are calling for æzero dischargeÆ mines. Some mining companies are beginning to explore ways in which they can transition to zero discharge. When striving to attain zero discharge, mines must consider multiple variables in addition to water quantity. These include climate regime, water quality and regional water budgets. This paper explores the drivers behind the concept of zero discharge mines and will use examples to illustrate the feasibility of attaining this goal.CITATION:Wolhuter, A and Vink, S, 2013. Is zero discharge a viable or useful concept in mine water management?, in Proceedings Water in Mining 2013 , pp 329-334 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Nov 26, 2013

By D. A. Reynolds

The Bureau of Mines-American Gas Association survey of the carbonizing properties of American coals was begun in 1929, and has been continued almost without interruption since that time. Upwards of 100 coals have been carbonized at low, medium, and high temperatures in this survey, and about 200 additional coals have been carbonized at high temperatures only. All survey coals were blended with coal of different rank for carbonization at one high temperature (900° C,). During the past few years, 12-high-volatile A coals were blended with Pocahontas No 3 coal from Kimball, McDowell County, W. Va., and in this report the physical properties of the cokes from these high-volatile coals and their blends are compared.

Jan 1, 1949

High flotation of iron sulfide minerals at high pH values in copper ores is mainly due to the activation of these minerals by copper species dissolved from copper sulfide minerals during grinding. Several methods have been tested to reduce this copper activation during grinding and therefore to depress iron sulfide flotation. They include grinding the minerals at high pH values or with a less reactive medium such as high chrome, and addition of a thiol collector or copper complexant during grinding. The efficacy of these methods in the flotation of a copper ore was tested against more common methods of depression of iron sulfide flotation. The mechanism of iron sulfide depression in these methods was also investigated.

Jan 1, 2014

By Patrick M. Eduafo, Brajendra Mishra, Mark L. Strauss

Direct acid leaching of rare earth metals (REMs) from waste lamp phosphors is non-selective, leading to co-dissolution of impurities mainly calcium, phosphorus, silicon, iron and zinc. Calcining the phosphor powder at different temperatures followed by leaching with HCl isn’t efficient for the extraction of all the chief rare earths especially cerium (Ce), lanthanum (La) and terbium (Tb). Therefore, multi-stage leaching operations are required for the separation of the REMs in phosphor dust. This paper will outline a new process for extracting Ce, La, Tb, Eu and Y from waste fluorescent lamps using a three-stage leaching and separation process. A flowsheet has been developed which shows this process is selective and efficient.

Jan 1, 2015

By Ender Keskinkilic

Continuous casting of slabs is conducted with two successive steel flows: first from ladle to tundish, then from tundish to mold. There are certain process abnormalities related to ladle, tundish and mold. For example, change of submerged entry nozzle (SEN) is the one encountered during steel flow from tundish to mold. Tundish exchange is the abnormality taking place due to replacement of processed tundish with the new one at rest. Another example is the flow of steel from ladle to tundish without a ladle shroud. In this study, a statistical analysis was conducted related to the process abnormalities in slab casters of a steel plant. Slab surface defects observed in slab yard was incorporated in this analysis.

Mar 1, 2018

By Edward F. Divers

A new nonclogging water spray system for continuous-mining machines has been developed under contract with the Bureau of Mines. This paper presents installation and operating guidelines for the system, which consists of improved and easily maintained machine-mounted hardware, including an inline Y-strainer, a hydrocyclone, a backup filter, and two quick-opening valves for flushing particulates from the strainer and hydrocyclone. Underground tests with continuous-mining machines have shown that when properly installed and maintained, the new sys tern virtually eliminates nozzle clogging and thus greatly reduces spray maintenance. The sys tern is relatively inexpensive and has been installed on typical continuous-mining machines for a total cost under $1,000.

Jan 1, 1976

By Charles J. Kucera

Today's highly publicized issues of resource development and environmental protection are not new. But recently these issues have been played one against the other, and some would have us believe they are mutually exclusive. Why? Because modern man has realized that the shortest route to achieving economic progress is to subdue nature. He extracts mineral resources from the earth to provide the raw materials upon which other processes and services are based. But often in his search for economic progress he finds that other highly- held values (e.g., an unspoiled environment) have been violated. The natural response is a counter action - to attempt to protect nature. But this response is basically unsatisfactory because it is reactive.

Jan 1, 1979

By R. K. Singhal

Canada is a world class producer and exporter of minerals and mineral products. It is also a major exporter of minerals. Canadian open pits are highly mechanized and use state of the art equipment and support technology. During the past few years significant productivity improvements have been achieved by taking advantage of larger equipment; in pit crushing and conveying; truck dispatch systems and electronic management tools. The most recent developments in Canadian Open-pit Mining are related to hydraulic transportation and the application of Global Positioning Systems. Mine planning is computerized; environmental issues are dealt with in all phases of planning; equipment modifications are pursued with vigor to keep them functioning in the hostile Canadian North.

Jan 1, 1999

By Shuichiro Okada

Various efforts to reduce energy consumption and smelting cost are made at Tamano Smelter. Production of anode copper has been increased by about 30 % and energy requirement has been decreased about 50 % respectively. Challenges toward more higher goal are being continued. Details about the following are described in this paper. 1 Waste heat recovery Steam recovery at up-take of FSFE Heat recovery from waste gas of anode furnaces 2 Application of tonnage oxygen 3 Application of pulverized carbonaceous fuels to the flash smelting furnace with furnace electrodes ( FSFE ) 4 Application of computer control system to copper smelting 5 Improvement of the fugitive gas collecting system 6 Improvement of the mechanical tuyere puncher for the converter furnace

Jan 1, 1983