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By P Luo, J E. Danoczi, P Nakutnyy

Sensor-based sorting methods to remove waste or for upgrading ore prior to downstream metallurgical processing is becoming more prevalent for mining operations. X-ray transmission (XRT) sorters are a popular choice for mineral processing plants since they can sort a wide variety of minerals. XRT sorters pass high intensity X-rays through particles to generate images of varying greyscale, based on their effective atomic density. The ore sorter then mechanically separates the particles using algorithms based on the images. A popular test currently used to evaluate the amenability of the ore to XRT sorting is to pass the particles through the sorter and obtain the greyscale images showing mineralogical differences. This test provides information on the mineralogical heterogeneity between ore particles for their separation. However, it does not provide an understanding of the actual mineralogical composition of the ore or information pertaining to which other minerals may respond in a similar manner, nor does it provide liberation information. This paper describes a test that combines high resolution X-ray micro Computer Tomography (CT) combined with QEMScan to obtain information about amenability of ore to XRT sorting and to obtain valuable information that can streamline metallurgical testwork programs. This test also provides information relating to particle thickness and associated X-ray attenuation coefficients, desired mineral presence and mineralogical information relating to associated minerals and clays to assist with developing sorting algorithms. Combining the CT and QEMScan can address many limitations of the current method to determine whether XRT sorting technology is appropriate for particular ores. Mineralogy information from QEMScan can identify incidences of; mineral encapsulation, problematic clays, detrimental minerals as well as calibrate the greyscale values of CT data. Additional 3D CT imaging carried out on cores provides spatial information of the minerals within the ore and mineral grades.

Nov 10, 2020

By Kimberly Conner-Mills

Due to increasingly stringent worldwide environmental regulations for gaseous, aqueous and solid waste emissions, conventional smelting technology cannot effectively process arsenic containing materials. Many globally significant copper properties have copper sulfide mineralogy that has a high arsenic content present as enargite with significant contained precious metals. As global copper, silver and gold demand increases while significant world resources decrease, treatment of sulfide orebodies with enargite is becoming increasingly important. Methods to selectively dissolve and fix arsenic, leaving behind clean copper and precious metals-bearing concentrates could effectively treat these ores.

By J. Petersen, S. W. Robertson

Heap leaching is used extensively for the processing of low-grade copper, gold, and uranium ores. The hydrodynamics is often the most important factor that limits the rate of metal recovery. Over the past decades the author has performed physical and hydraulic testing of a large number of ore samples considered for heap leaching. The data were reviewed to investigate the effect of physical properties such as particle size distribution (PSD) and bulk density on the hydrology. The unsaturated flow through the bed is traditionally modelled with soil science models such as Brooks-Corey (BC) and Van Genuchten-Mualem (VGM), which relate the hydraulic conductivity to the degree of saturation, also known as the hydraulic conductivity function (HCF). However, most authors found a disconnect between the saturated hydraulic conductivity (KS) and the rest of the HCF, which is explained as resulting from a transition from capillary-to gravity-controlled flow. However, the author found no such transition, and found the flow to be governed by capillary flow throughout. Traditional BC or VGM fits were found to be appropriate, however it was necessary to modify the model to include a point of inflection, above which the hydraulic conductivity remains constant while the moisture content keeps on increasing. It was proposed that this is the result of unconnected or poorly connected pores, which fill with solution but do not create additional flow channels. The point of discontinuity was also found to correspond with the air entry point, measured independently from the air conductivity curves. On average, the air entry point corresponds to the experiential rule that the void saturation should remain below 65% for aerated heaps.

Dec 11, 2024

Existing geological structures such as faults or shear zones can greatly influence the interpretations of amplitude or energy attenuations of measured blasting vibrations along both affected and unaffected orientations. Mineralisation in conjunction with large faults or shears is commonplace in the geology of steeply dipping metalliferous deposits, such as those found in the goldfields of Western Australia. Better understanding of the influence of faults or shear zones on blast-induced seismic waves can lead to more effective blast vibration monitoring programs and interpretation of the results measured along affected orientations.

Jan 1, 2011

The recent mine disasters in Australian coal mines have initiated an introduction of Self-Contained Self-Rescuer (SCSR) as component in the development of new escape strategies for miners. These self-contained self-rescuers are closed circuit, demand sensitive breathing apparatus that make oxygen available to the wearer for a nominal period of time. Their operation is completely independent of the surrounding atmosphere. Once properly donned, the SCSR can assist a miner to escape from an area containing smoke, toxic gases or an oxygen deficient atmosphere. The duration of a typical SCSR is usually taken at the point of complete collapse of the breathing bag which is accompanied by an increase in breathing resistance and inhaled levels of carbon dioxide. Because the oxygen consumption (V02) and the heart rate are correlated, a prediction of V02 and consequently the duration of an SCSR can be made by monitoring the heart rate. Thirty-seven volunteers participated in field simulated escape trials at four underground coal mines. The results from the field trials suggested that oxygen consumption depends on the heart rate, the body weight and exercise rating of the miner. All the volunteers were asked to fill out the questionnaires to evaluate the performance of the units. The miners indicated that they could tolerate the inhaled temperature without any difficulty to breathing resistance. A complete statistical analysis of the field results is also presented.

Jan 1, 1997

By M. C. Flemings, R. Mehrabian, G. E. Nereo

Analytical expressions derived previously are used to describe quantitatively effects on macrosegregation of some solidification and mold design variables. Al-4.5 pct Cu alloy is used as example. It is shown that abrupt changes in heat transfer rate result in solute-rich or solute-poor "bands". Severe solute-rich bands accowzpany "reheating" that can result, for example, from abrupt formation of an air gap at a mold-metal interface. With planar isotherms, solute-poor regions also result from reduction in cross section through which fluid flow to feed shrinkage takes place. It is suggested that the negative "cone" of segregation often found at the base of large ingots results from this reduction in cross section for feeding. Consideration is given to the positive and negative segregation to be expected in laboratory ingots in association with changes in ingot cross section. Under-riser positive segregation is considered and it is concluded this segregation results when vertical temperature gradient is low in the region of the riser; the segregation is accentuated by the temperature gradient reversal which can occur in inadequately insulated risers ("'hot tops"). Finally it is shown for Al-4.5 pct Cu alloy that the assumption of constant k and p in analytic solutions gives calculated results close to those obtained for the case of ziariable k and 0. A basic "local solute redistribution equation" was derived earlier' for calculation of macrosegregation resulting from flow of solute-rich liquid to feed solidification shrinkage, thermal contraction, and/or other contractions occurring during solidification. This expression relates fraction liquid, g~, to liquid composition, CL, at a given position x, y, z, in a solidifying Eq. [I] is for the general case of three-dimensional heat and fluid flow assuming constant solid (but not necessarily liquid) density during solidification, negligible net solute change from diffusion, and no pore formation. In this paper we first demonstrate application of this equation for calculation of macrosegregation in several examples involving one-dimensional heat and fluid flow. Specifically considered are examples in which segregation results from sudden changes in heat flow conditions. Next, Eq. [I] is used to describe segregation in examples where isotherms remain planar but where fluid flow is no longer one-dimensional. Application of this expression illustrates the type of segregation to be expected in unidirectionally solidified ingots of gradually or abruptly varying cross section. For segregation calculations, A1-4.5 pct Cu alloy is employed with constant k and p Vz = 0.172, 4 = 0.055), eutectic composition (CE = 33 pct Cu). In all examples, fraction eutectic is neglected in velocity calculations; this was previously shown to introduce little error.' A linear distribution of fraction liquid in the liquid-solid zone is assumed. In a concluding section it is shown that the assumption employed of constant k and /3 gives results close to those obtained when the actual (variable) values of k and 0 are employed.

Jan 1, 1969

By D. Zhao

High temperature deformation characteristics of austenitic 304L, and martensitic 410 and 416 stainless steels were investigated by conducting compression tests over a wide range of temperatures and strain rates (950-1250 C and 0.001-20 s-1). Flow behaviors of the three alloys were characterized. Optical metallography was performed to determine the as-deformed microstructures. The flow behaviors were related to microstructural phenomena during high temperature deformation. Dynamic recrystallization was responsible for the flow softening. Both dynamic and static recrystallization were operating, and the recrystallized grain size increased with increasing temperature and decreasing strain rate. Strain rate sensitivity was found to increased with increasing temperature and decreasing strain rate. No defects such as cracking and shear bands were observed at those test conditions. Preferred processing conditions can be selected by considering as-deformed microstructure and strain rate sensitivity.

Jan 1, 1994

By Atul Kurnar

In the present research a two-cell polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell stack (PEMFCS) with SS-316 bipolar plates has been tested. Different flow field designs were studied and a modified multi-parallel channel design is proposed. The stack is stable within ±3 mV even after 1000 hours of continuous operation, indicating efficient water management and effective removal of any metal ions from the stack. Also no iron is detected in membrane electrode assembly (MEA) by EDAX analysis after 1000 hours of cell operation. Results indicate that high operating pressures beyond 138 kPa didn't significantly increase the performance of cell, however added much to the pressurization cost of the system. Tests at different temperatures showed that at temperatures below 80°C, external humidification could be completely removed. The prototype stack is also tested under variable load conditions simulating highway-driving schedule. The experimental efficiency of PEMFCS is 48%, which is in good agreement with the model predicted efficiency of 53.8 %. Results show that 59% of the total losses are due to ohmic polarization in the cell. Further analysis on applications of the stack in automotive transportation system is in progress.

Jan 1, 2002

By Peter Zhang, Daniel Su

Following the first longwall excavation at a deep-cover gas well site, the pre-mining modeling prediction of longwallinduced casing deformations in the fully cemented production casing were in excellent agreement with post-mining Caliper survey results. However, after second panel mining, the post-mining Caliper survey revealed a large plastic deformation near the top of the Pittsburgh Seam. The focus of this paper is to identify the possible cause of such an anomalous deformation. Very high longwall-induced casing stress near a thick claystone layer at 23 feet above the Pittsburgh seam horizon was identified as the primary cause. Leaving the production casing uncemented or using softer cementing material between intermediate and production casings is identified as the best practice.

Feb 1, 2024

By A. Mainza, H. Hill, L. S. Bbosa

"Impact breakage is the most elementary size reduction mechanism in comminution devices. In comminution research, characterization of breakage is primarily concerned with the energy expended to cause it. The main challenges of this approach have been quantifying the actual energy requirements of impact breakage and developing mechanistic models to accurately describe the process. For engineering load analysis, fracture is characterized in terms of strengths such as yield stress and ultimate tensile stress, which govern the maximum loads specific materials can be subjected to before irreversible inelastic deformation and subsequently complete fracture occur. With this approach, the main challenge has been to elucidate the underlying mechanism, in the means that the load causes weaknesses in the material microstructure to act as sites for stress concentrations, leading to crack initiation, propagation and eventual failure. Studies dedicated to investigating particle fracture under impact loading have led to the development of several devices for conducting breakage characterization tests. These devices include the drop weight tester, split Hopkinson pressure bar, rotary breakage tester and the short impact load cell. All these have different particle loading and breakage methods, and thus can yield distinct information which can be compiled together to study a material and the nature of breakage. This work analyses the single impact breakage data obtained across the listed devices. A homogenous ore commonly known as blue stone is used for all breakage tests. The work is conducted using standard procedures specific to each device as closely as possible. Drop weight and rotary breakage tests were used to obtain hardness parameters based on an existing t10 breakage model, while split Hopkinson pressure bar and short impact load cell measurements provided properties based on conventional engineering load analysis. The results were used to highlight the significance of the loading geometry, impact mechanism and impulse on the extent of breakage."

Jan 1, 2018

By Nagahiro Saito, Takahiro Ishizaki, Mituhito Hirota, Akio Fuwa

"Owing to their extremely high toxicity in the environment, the dioxins have been attracting social, technical and scientific attention in recent years. The authors theoretically had predicted the thermodynamic properties of all the dioxins via quantum chemistry and statistical thermodynamics and elucidated the generation-decomposition behavior of dioxins in the equilibrium calculation· of C-H-0-Cl system. In actual combustion processes, it is said that metallic compounds have much influences on the dioxins behavior. The aim of this study is to reveal the roles of metallic compounds the generation-decomposition behavior of dioxins is revealed from the viewpoints of quantum chemistry. Especially, the catalytic effect of copper has been investigated for the reaction, 2HCl(g)--H2(g}+Cl2(g) and for the etherification reaction from precursors, which is Phenol(g) here, to dioxins. The catalytic role of Cu is shown to have much influence on the generation -decomposition of dioxins.1. IntroductionIt is well known that dioxins are very harmful not only for our health but also for that of our children and grandchildren because they are very stable substance and their reaction rates of decomposition are considerably low. On the other hands, it is not well know how dioxins are generated and decomposed; the generation-decomposition conditions and paths as well as the catalysts to decompose them'1l. The authors believe that the thermodynamic and kinetic study of dioxins is useful to find a solution to these issuers. The authors have been investigating the following problems to reveal the generation-decomposition behavior of dioxins; (a) the prediction of the thermodynamic parameters of dioxins (2), (3), (b) the generation -decomposition behavior of non-chlorinated dioxins by the thermodynamic equilibrium calculations in C-H-O system(4) and (c) the generation-decomposition behavior of dioxins by the thermodynamic equilibrium calculations in C-H-O-CI system(5). Summaries of these thermodynamic researches are as follows.(I) The thermodynamic parameters for dioxins, which had been unknown and/or inaccurate'6 l, could be predicted and are available within the scientific accuracy."

Jan 1, 2000

By R. Y. Wan

Newmont Gold Company has advantageously used the capabilities of mineral oxidizing bacteria to develop a process for pretreatment of low grade sulfidic and carbonaceous-sulfidic refractory gold ores. The biooxidation process results in the oxidation of the sulfidic minerals with increased exposure of gold for subsequent gold recovery. The biooxidized carbonaceous-sulfidic ores cannot be heap leached with cyanide because of the "preg-robbing" characteristics of the carbonaceous matters in the ores. An alternative heap leach process using ammonium thiosulfate was developed to extract gold from the "preg-robbing" biooxidized ores. The ammonium thiosulfate leach process has been successfully practiced both in laboratory and pilot plant testing. Satisfactory test results encourage the continuation of process development.

Jan 1, 1996

THIS chapter and the one following deal with the heat quantities involved in open-hearth steelmaking, including the thermal efficiency of the furnace as a generator of high-temperature heat, the heat storage in the steel and slag produced and in the furnace walls, and the heats of the various chemical reactions involved in combustion, in the formation of slag, and the refining of steel. The fundamental laws to be considered are the simplification of the first two ' laws of thermodynamics as applied to problems involving sensible and potential (or latent) heat only 1. Heat input equals heat outflow plus storage. 2. Heat may be transferred only from a hotter body to a colder one. The first of these laws relates to the various heat quantities or the "heat balance" of the process. No one has as yet made an open-hearth heat balance that came out almost exactly balanced, and we assume that the cause lies in the difficulties of accurate temperature and flow-rate measurements at the high temperatures involved and the inherent complexities of flow distribution, air leakage, etc., present in any real, open-hearth furnace system. Some idea of the magnitude of the heat quantities involved can be obtained- by a brief, crude outline of the heat balance of a 90-ton heat of steel. We will assume a 60 to 70 per cent hot-metal charge in a fairly fast working and only moderately efficient furnace, burning fuel oil, with a fuel consumption of around 4 million B.t.u. per net ton. of ingots produced. The time from start of charge to tap is 9 hr. During this period, the oil burned represents 360 million B.t.u., and the sensible heat in the preheated air at the port ends is 117 million B.t.u. so that the total heat input at the ports is 477 million B.t.u. Heat stored in the steel and slag at the end of the heat, plus the various amounts absorbed by certain bath reactions, amounts to a total of 195 million B.t.u., but 120 million of this is supplied by the heat in the hot metal and by various heat--evolving reactions in the bath, so that only 75 million B.t.u. need be supplied to the bath by the flame.

Jan 1, 1944

By Howard W. Kilau

The U.S. Bureau of Mines is investigating surfactants added to water sprays to enhance the control of dust during coal mining operations. The objective of the present work was to establish the general applicability of adding sulfate ion to anionic surfactant solutions in order to improve wetting action. This was pursued through laboratory wettability testing of four anionic surfactants and one nonionic surfactant in combination with various concentrations of sulfate ion. The experimental results demonstrated that the addition of sulfate ion enhanced the wetting characteristics of all the anionic surfactants when applied to hard-to-wet coals, while easy-to-wet coal showed more complex wetting behavior. Sulfate ion in the presence of nonionic surfactant enhanced wetting only slightly or not at all. Surface tension measurements of the dilute aqueous surfactant-sulfate anion solutions indicated this property was not important in coal-wetting phenomena, as long as the value was below the critical value for coal. Sulfate ion helps surfactant reduce surface tension but primarily appears to affect wetting action by altering the adsorption characteristics of surfactant on the coal surface.

Jan 1, 1990

By Cláudio Antunes de Oliveira

O objetivo deste trabalho é utilizar o vasto banco de dados de informações de processo armazenadas pelo InfoPlus.21, que é um exemplo de sistema PIMS - Plant Information Managment System, para implementar um sensor virtual a partir de um modelo neural visando obter a tendência de resposta da variável consumo específico de uma caldeira. Propõe-se também, extrair diagnósticos do processo através do emprego da Lógica Fuzzy. As etapas de treinamento da rede neural e o desenvolvimento do diagnóstico envolveram simulações no software Matlab. Os resultados obtidos demonstraram-se bastante satisfatórios. Destaca-se a tendência de resposta do sensor virtual que apontou 97% de confiabilidade. Por fim entende-se que as propostas deste trabalho foram alcançadas, principalmente pela implementação inovadora do sensor virtual no InfoPlus.21 por meio da ferramenta SQLPlus, a qual possibilitará novas aplicações no meio industrial.

Jul 30, 2018

By Daniel W. Kappes, Pierre F. X. Mousset-Jones

"In this paper a discussion is presented of a program designed to produce a 40-day production forecast for an underground stoping system.The program is intended to be a tool for the operations department in an underground mine, and is designed to utilize data readily available from production reports. Brevity of data input, ability to revise slope conditions easily and the accuracy of starting stope status are stressed. Applicability of the program to a wide variety of sloping methods makes the program potentially useful in a large number of mines.The general functions of the program subroutines, and input and output lists are discussed. An example is also given of a stope in operation for a three-day period, which shows how the program can handle production irregularities as they arise."

Jan 1, 2014

By S. E. Stallibrass, A. M. McNamara, J. P. Panchal, Leonardo M. LaLicata

Urban development in congested cities requires a better exploitation of the available surface, leading to taller structures. These buildings are usually founded on piles that have to be increased in dimension to accommodate the larger loads. Consequently, both the cost and the carbon footprint of the pile foundations rises. An alternative option is to improve pile performance by enhancing shaft capacity, which is commonly the most important factor in determining the ultimate capacity of a pile constructed in a clay soil subjected to axial load. For piles in stiff clays, such as London Clay, the soil/pile friction may be increased by profiling the side walls of a bored cast in situ pile with small discrete “impressions” such that the latter form nodules on the shaft of the concreted pile. The results from centrifuge and full scale field tests showed that the impression pile represents a viable technology to enhance the shaft capacity as they provide an increase in capacity of 40%. Alternatively, reduced length impression pile can be used. This paper explores the implications of the impression pile technology on the potential carbon saving.

May 1, 2022

By Leila Figueiredo de Miranda, Leonardo G. de Andrade e Silva, Anderson dos Santos Mesquita

ThisworkseekstounderstandifPETcompoundswithcarbonblackcan be uses to replace polypropylene and polystyrene for anti-static packaging mate- rials. PETcompoundswerefabricatedcontaining10.0;11.0;12.0and15.0weight % of carbon black with a particle size 325 mesh. We determined the thermome- chanical properties (Dynamic Mechanical Analysis—DMA, Tensile Properties, Fracture Toughness, and Hardness) and Electrical properties of the compounds. In conclusiontheresultsshowthecompoundbased onPETfilledwith 15.0% carbon black might be used in the handling, transportation and storage of electronic components because their mechanical properties, thermal and resistivity are satis- factory for this purpose. (cid:1) (cid:1)

Mar 1, 2018

By Shiou-Chuan Sun

THE presence of an excessive amount of tough froth in the flotation of minerals, particularly coals, may create trouble in dewatering, filtering, and handling. Froth is also a nuisance in many chemical industries.' This paper presents a study on the destruction of extremely tough froths with intense high-frequency sound. The data indicate that sound waves can be employed for continuous atandsoundwavescan instantaneous defrothing. A powerful high-frequency siren was used in obtaining the data. Also tested was an ultrasonorator of the crystal type with a frequency range of 400, 700, 1000, and 1500 kc per sec and a maximum power output from its amplifier of 198 w. The results, not presented, indicate that as now designed this machine is not suitable for defrothing. Although the sound generators of the magnetostriction type2,3 and of the electromagnetic type'.' were not available, it is beelectromagneticlieved they are capable of producing the required sound intensity for defrothing. The use of ultrasonics for defrothing was suggested by Ross and McBain1 in 1944. Ramsey8 reported in 1948 that E. H. Rose mentioned a supersonic device that broke down flotation froth but with low capacity. The writer has not been able to find any published literature containing practical experiments. Theoretical Considerations The mechanism of defrothing by sound is attributed to the periodically collapsing force of the propagated sound waves and the induced resonant vibration of the bubbles. The collapse of froth is further facilitated by the sonic wind and the heat of the siren. Sound waves can exert a radiation pressure'," against any obstacle upon which they impinge. When a froth surface is subjected to the periodic puncturing of sound waves, the bubbles are broken. According to Rayleigh9 and Bergmann,12 the radiation pressure of sound, P, in dynes per sq cm is given as: P = 1/2 (r+1)i/v where r is the ratio of the specific heats of the medium through which sound is traveling and is equal to 1 on the basis of Boyle's law; i is the sound intensity in ergs per sec per sq cm, and v is the sound velocity in cm per sec. In this case, the accuracy of the formula is only approximate, because a perfect reflection can hardly result from a column of froth. In addition to the radiation pressure, the propagated sound waves cause the bubbles of the froth to have a resonant vibration.'" he vibratory motion of the bubbles causes collision and coalescence, thereby weakening if not breaking the bubble walls. Sonic wind and heat were also generated." The sonic wind can exert pressure on the froth surface, and the heat can evaporate the moisture content of the bubble walls as well as expand the enclosed air. Apparatus The defrothing apparatus, shown in Figs. 1 and 2, consists of a powerful high-frequency siren, a glass or stainless steel beaker of 2-liter capacity with 12.4 cm diam and 17.1 cm height, and a metal reflector. The beaker was placed 2 in. above the top point of the siren. The metal reflector was adjusted to reflect and focus the generated sound waves into the central part of the beaker. Fig. 2 shows the crystal probe microphone used to measure the acoustic intensity and the mandler bacteriological filter employed to introduce compressed air into the beaker for frothing. The apparatus was enclosed in a soundproof cabinet equipped with a glass window. The siren, shown in Fig. 3, consists of a rotor that interrupts the flow of air through the orifices in a stator. The rotor, a 6-in. diam disk with 100 equally spaced slots, is driven by a 2/3 hp, Dumore W2 motor at 133 rps. The frequency of the siren can be varied from 3 to 34 kc. The maximum chamber pressure is about 2 atm, yielding acoustic outputs of approximately 2 kw at an efficiency of about 20 pct. The siren itself is relatively small and can be operated in any orientation. A detailed description of the siren has been given by Allen and Rudnick.11 Collapse of Froth To study the sequence of the collapse of froth, the glass beaker was partially filled with 920 cc water, 100 g of —150 mesh bituminous coal, 0.3 cc petroleum light oil, 0.2 cc pine oil and 1.54 cc Pyrene foam compound. This mineral pulp was agitated for 5 min and then aerated through a mandler filter until the empty space of the beaker, approximately 9 cm high, was filled completely with min-

Jan 1, 1952

By John Brennan

Necessity, they say, is the mother of invention. Certainly that sentiment held true during the early stages of explosive engineering. While seaside forts were concerned over static ignition of their black powder caches in the 14th century1, the mining industry in the 1800s were plagued by accidents surrounding the ignition methods for their black powder blasts.

Jan 1, 2011