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By Bernd Kopacek

"Nowadays more and more consumers substitute their conventional TV-sets and computer monitors by LCD panels. In the near future huge amounts of LCDs will start coming back to recycling. As LCDs with hazardous mercury backlight lamps are used an appropriate recycling technology has to be implemented.IntroductionLiquid Crystal Displays (LCDs) are widely used in notebooks, organizers, mobile phones, pocket calculators, measuring and control instruments, electronic games, hand-held miniature TVs, audio-video equipment, large signboards, automotive displays and more and more also for PC monitors and TVs.According to a study from Stanford Resources (San Jose, California) the annual value of LCDproducts reached 35 billion EUR in 2002, about 30% of this within the European Union, representing a total area of 2,1 million m2 Liquid Crystal Displays. An annual increase rate of about 15% is estimated for the next years (up to 4,1 million m2 in 2005).As LCDs are already on the market for several years, larger quantities of the more than 2,5 billion LCDs are coming into their End-of-Life stage for treatment. In 2005 this figure will become even more dramatic - 40.000 tons of LCD-modules contained in 2 million tons of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) or about 30% of total WEEE within EU. An amount which is representing 400 million EUR costs for incineration.Currently the only method used to deal with redundant LCD units is incineration or landfill. Both are expensive and causes emissions into the atmosphere (global warming) respectively water contamination (Class II) and difficulties in biodegradation. Up to now there is no recycling solution for LC-Displays available.As a consequence European Commission requests the disassembly of LCDs with an area bigger than 100 cm2 in the Directive 2002/96/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE Directive) of February 13, 2003."

Jan 1, 2008

By A. F. Colombo

The differences in starch demands that occur between ore types subjected to the anionic flotation of calcium-activated gangue and the range of residual starch contents expected to give the best metallurgical response were evaluated on a batch and pilot plant basis. A phenol-sulfuric acid procedure was used to determine the residual starch contents in the iron ore slurries. Three pilot plant campaigns on samples from a group of orebodies located on the Marquette Range, Michigan, showed that in the rougher flotation pulp, a residual carbohydrate range of 25 to 100 ppm, which is equivalent to a 0.5 lb/short ton spread, yielded optimum results. Concentrates assaying at least 65 percent Fe and less than 6.0 percent Si02 and containing more than 80 per-cent of the recoverable iron were obtained. Both batch and continuous research indicated that starch adsorption is calcium modulated and relatively unaffected by the fatty acid additions employed. Residual starch level is not a critical control factor, but the addition must be adjusted to about 25 to 50 ppm residual starch and kept in this range for most effective utilization of the added tapioca flour.

Jan 1, 1972

By Cao Shenggen

Experiences in the developed countries have shown that continuous increase of panel width (or face length) is one of the major technical trends for high production high efficiency mines. Increasing the panel width will increase not only the panel output, simplify the gateroad layout, facilitate high concentration of production, but also increase resources recovery and facilitate protection of surface structures. This paper uses the No.4326 super- wide panel, Wangzhuang Coal Mine as an example. This mine employs the fully-mechanized top-coal caving longwall mining method. Through surface subsidence monitoring, the dynamic characteristics of surface movement were obtained. The dynamic surface movement during mining and the final surface movement after mining were predicted using the Mining Subsidence Prediction System. The results indicate that after mining, the surface above the super-wide panel reached a state of full subsidence, So it can ensure the No.309 National Highway above is located in the flat bottom of the subsidence basin, and there is little impact on the national highways when panels on both sides of 4326 Panel are mined.

Jan 1, 2003

The results of studies to ameliorate acid mine drainage by retarding the rate of oxidation of pyrite at source are discussed. In the transpassive region, pyrite oxidizes by reactive dissolution, mass transfer through the product layer and diffusion in the bulk solution. One can decrease the rate of pyrite oxidation by inhibiting either oxidation reactions or cathodic reactions. It is demonstrated in this study that some surface active reagents extend the passive region by affecting both the anodic and cathodic processes. The extension to higher potentials occurs by inhibition of the anodic dissolution process whereas to lower cathodic potentials through decrease in the rate of reduction of molecular oxygen and/or ferric ions. To retard the oxidation of pyrite by ferric ions, which is considered to be the dominant oxidant under conditions of acid mine drainage, it would be necessary to restrict mass transfer or promote complexation of ferric ions at the surface. Imidazoline based reagents were found to be most effective in meeting this goal.

Jan 1, 1994

By J. W. Lyman

The U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines, investigated methods to recover valuable rare-earth materials from NdFeB magnet scrap. Although several processing techniques were evaluated" the best separation of rare earths from the NdFeB magnet ,scrap was obtained by sulfuric acid dissolution followed by precipitation of recyclable rare-earth salts. Both sodium and ammonium intermediate double-salt precipitates' that can be converted to a variety of useful neodymium products were investigated. The sodium system showed a neodymium recovery of 98 pct, while the ammonium system yielded 70 pct during double-salt precipitation. The iron-rich effluent following the rare-earth recovery was treated to produce sodium and ammonium iron jarosites that can be disposed of or converted to hematite. By following this new procedure, many materials handling and economic disadvantages found with fluoride or oxalate direct precipitation were avoided.

Jan 1, 1992

By S. Eckert, M. Reuter, O. Keplinger, D. Obiso, N. Shevchenko, M. Akashi

We report on laboratory experiments focusing on bubbling phenomena arising from gas injection through a top submerged lance (TSL) in a liquid metal layer. The objective of this study is to reveal the characteristics of the formation and behaviour of the particular bubbles at different gas flow rates and submergence depths of lance. Visualization was performed in the eutectic alloy GaInSn using X-ray radiography. Argon bubbles were injected through the injection positions at three different submergence depths. Essential parameters such as the bubble size, bubble shape, detachment frequency and the two- dimensional gas distribution in the flat vessel were obtained by image processing. The results show that the deep position of the submerged lance causes an asymmetric large-scale circulation inside the fluid vessel. Bubble detachment frequencies were calculated by Fast Fourier Transformation from fluctuations of the image intensity in the vicinity of the nozzle injection point. This frequency does not show strong variations with respect to changes of the gas flow rate and the submergence depth of the nozzle. An increasing gas flow rate results in an increasing two-dimensional projected bubble area and the occurrence of a significant number of small bubbles being trapped by the strong fluid flow in the liquid metal layer. INTRODUCTION The Top Submerged Lance (TSL) process has been an essential component of the metallurgical industry since the emergence of first concepts about 50 years ago (Floyd, 2005). The process, which is characterized by blowing reactive gas through the submerged lance into a liquid bath, was developed mainly for improving the tin smelting process and has been applied for waste treatment or the production of several metals such as copper, lead, nickel and zinc. The productivity of the reactor is determined mainly by the efficiency of the chemical reaction between the gas or solid particles and the liquid. To achieve a high efficiency requires good exchange between the gas-liquid phase and therefore a large interface area. The efficiency changes greatly with the number and size of bubbles injected from the nozzle and the extent of splashing on the free surface. The degree of turbulence in the bath plays a decisive role here. For the reason, the design of an efficient TSL process requires a profound knowledge of the fluid dynamics especially for complex multiphase flows.

Jan 1, 2019

By G. E. McElroy, A. S. Richardson

"The Bureau of Mines, in cooperation with the Anaconda Copper Mining Co., has conducted a series of experiments an air measurement in fan-pipe installa¬tions in a Butte mine during the fall and winter of 1922-3. The chief purpose was to determine the friction factors for different types and sizes 3f fan piping, but much attention was devoted to methods of air measurement, not only with respect to the methods used for friction factor tests, but also to com¬parison with other methods.The air flow was measured simultaneously at two points 380.6 feet apart in six different fan-pipe installations, each over 500 feet in overall length, in a rock cross cut adjacent to an air shaft,The air pressure was regulated by two sinoco multivane fans, driven by 7 ½ h.p. motors, the fans being connected in tandem so that one discharged into the intake of the other through a short connector and the latter discharged into the line through a straight connection equipped with a honeycomb of 4-inch squares or S radial vanes to prevent spiral flow of air, At each point where it was desired to measure the air flow, measuring sections equipped with piezometer rings pierced for easy insertion of pitot tubes, thermometers, etc. Piezometer static pressures were used in all the tests as standard, and dynamic or total pressures only were obtained with the pitot tubes, except for purposes of comparison.The tubes had special guide blocks, designed especially for underground work. To insure greater accuracy two tubes were used simultaneously, in order to obtain the velocity pressure at the center of the section simultaneously with that nearer the circumference, so that the mean velocity would be determined as accurately as possible. The tubes were held in proper place by means of flat guide boards. Velocity pressures were measured in manometers."

Sep 1, 1923

By Mingyang Li, Yan Lv, Xiaolong Ma, Xudong Gao, Jie Zhao, Yingyi Zhang

This study aims to investigate the reduction thermodynamics of ilmenite and pre-oxidized ilmenite, and reveals the isothermal reduction kinetics of pre-oxidized ilmenite concentrate by carbon monoxide. The results indicate that the ilmenite concentrate and pre-oxidized ilmenite concentrate can be selectively reduced by controlling the temperature. The pre-oxidation process leads to the breakage of complex mineral structure, and the formation of porous simple oxides, which is an effective method to increase the reduction and leaching rate. 

By R. J. Grissom

PHOSPHATE deposits have been worked in many countries of central and south central Tennessee, but only ht ebrown rock deposits of Maury and Giles Counties will be discussed at any length in this articles, as all of the major opeations are now located there. They are: Mt. Pleasant District-Federal Chemical Co., Hoover and Mason Phosphae Co., International Minerals and Chemical Corp. (Maury and Giles Counties), Virginia-Carolina Chemical Corp. (formerly Charleston Mining Co.), and Victor Chemical Co. Columbia District-Armour Fertilizer Works and Monsanto Chemical Co. In the near future, the well-known, extensive deposits of blue rock in Lewis and Hickman Counties,also the brown rock in Hickman, Willamson, Summer and Davidson Counties, will again come into production. Certain physical peculiarities of the Tenessee deposit have played an important part in the design and use of mining and milling equipment.

Jan 1, 1944

By R. E. Head

[This paper embodies the data obtained by a detailed statistical, microscopic analysis of the composite mill feed concentrate, and tailing from the Magne and Arthur mills of the Utah Conger Co. for 1 month in 1929. It is one of a series of papers by the same authors5 dealing with the mineralogical characteristics of the ore and concentration products from various well-known plants. The work was done in the cooperateive microscopic service laboratory at Salt Lake and represents the results of cooperation between the United States Bureau u of Mines, the Utah Copper Co. and the University of Utah.]

Jan 1, 1935

By R. E. Head

This paper embodies the data obtained by a detailed statistical, microscopic analysis of the composite mill feed concentrate, and tailing, from the Magne and Arthur mills of the Utah Conger Co. for 1 month in 1929. It is one of a series of papers by the same authors dealing with the mineralogical characteristics of the ore and concentration products from various well-known plants. The work was done in the cooperative microscopic service laboratory at Salt Lake and represents the results of cooperation between the United States Bureau of Mines, the Utah Copper Co., and the University of Utah.

Jan 1, 1935

By M. J. Klishis

This paper presents the findings of a study on roof bolters' hazard exposure. A "micro-analysis" of accident data was combined with ergonomic observations of roof bolter operators to categorize bolting-related injuries and a checklist was constructed. Bolting-related problems were identified as situations that could expose bolter operators to hazards. Approaches to avoid these situations were applied at six mining operations to evaluate specific problems in roof bolting operations. The re-search emphasized the importance of analyzing worker behaviors in the context of mining situations and equipment design problems that lead to human error accidents.

Jan 1, 1995

By C. L. Monroe

It has been the custom in recent years to look upon Atlin as a worked-out placer camp. This is a conception, however, which is far from the real situation. The placer-gold deposits of Atlin are today, after thirty-one years of continuous working, a field well worth the attention of the mining world. It is true that the shallow diggings (the 'easy money') have been practically cleaned out, but although there have been perhaps ten millions, or more, in gold already taken from the district, there are still many more millions left in the creek beds . A conservative estimate of the gold still remaining in one creek alone, Spruce creek, for a long time known as the 'prospector's meal ticket', would place the amount at anywhere from fifteen to twenty million .dollars, and there are a number of other creeks that have never been thoroughly worked, and some only partially prospected. That the true situation is beginning to be recognized by those who are on the lookout for a profitable field for investment, is born out by the fact that, within the last few years, New York capital directed by Mr. Charles V. Bob, who is also responsible for the opening up of the Engineer mine, has installed on Pine creek, where the first discovery of gold in the district was made, one of the largest hydraulic mining plants on the continent, utilizing six miles of the old hydraulic ditch of the Discovery Mining and Power Company, and over two miles of pipe line. On Boulder creek, where already two millions have been taken out, the Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company are on their third year of development work in opening up the unworked ground, while on Otter creek a newly organized French company have started a plan of development which will involve an expenditure in the neighbourhood of $200,000, and two or three years' work, before they can hope to find gold in paying quantities. It is probably safe to prophesy that placer gold will be produced in the Atlin district for the next fifty years

Jan 1, 1929

By Lim Thi Duong, Du Duy Bui, Thuat Ngoc Pham, Chuc Ngoc Pham, Que Anh Nguyen, Hoa Anh Bui, Chi Thi Ha Nguyen, Hoan Thanh Nguyen, Bac Quang Nguyen, Kien Trung Nguyen, Dung Trung Doan, Nhiem Ngoc Dao

The microstructures and kinetics of a rich iron ore ( TFe = 65.84%) of Na Rua mine, Vietnam, used for the iron production were investigated in this study. Thermal behaviors of iron ores were well-examined by heating microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and differential thermal analysis. After being pelletized and then oxidatively fired at 500–1200 °C for 2 h, the pellets fired at 1200 °C (P1200) displayed a hard and dense structure with a decent compressive strength of 317.9 kg/pellet whereas those fired at 500 °C (P500) had a soft and spongy structure. The reduction of iron pellets conducted in a flow of a 60–100% CO2/ Ar gas mixture at 900–1100 °C showed significantly higher efficiency than the reduction using coal. The spongy pellets showed superior performance for the reduction in the CO/Ar gas mixture compared to the dense ones, compatible with the production of sponge iron. When mixed with an amount of coal, P1200 designed for iron production in the blast furnace demonstrated an impressive reduction activity compared to P500 and previous studies. The kinetics of pellet reduction was determined by the diffusion of substances through the solid product layers having the mathematical model of 1 − 2 3 f − (1 − f )2∕3 = kt . The microstructures of pellets during the oxidative firing and reduction were also examined by X-ray diffractometry; scanning electronic microscopy; energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy; and Brunauer, Emmet, and Teller method.

Jun 7, 2022

By Richard E. J. Putman

THE MINERALS INDUSTRY has always been a heavy user of energy in most of its unit operations: power in the mining, comminution, flotation and electro-winning processes; fuel in its smelting and other metallurgical processes; and, of course, fuel in the on-site generation of power and steam. Many of the techniques for using computers to perform energy management and conservation tasks have been known for some time, but they have not been widely implemented because the return on investment has hitherto been insufficient. Recent trends, however, have not only caused the dollar return to rise due to higher purchased energy costs, but the cost of the investment to fall. One trend has been the generally lower cost of computer control systems themselves, due to vendors having adopted the newer, lower-cost and more reliable electronic component technologies now becoming universally available. The second trend is the development of low-cost, but high-speed, remote multiplexing devices, which have reduced considerably the expense of bringing data from points scattered over a wide area, which is typically the case when applying energy management systems to a minerals processing plant. By taking advantage of these and related developments, computer control systems can now have a rewarding impact on plant energy management and conservation practices, and recent advances in application technology have opened up new and additional opportunities for energy cost reduction and control.

Jan 1, 1978

By M. Elmadagli

Wear mechanisms of two commercial aluminum alloys, namely a spray formed and extruded Al-25%Si alloy, and a sand cast A390 alloy (18.5 %Si) that are known to be successful in cylinder bore technology were studied to have a better understanding of the requirements for wear resistant aluminum alloy design. From durability point of view these alloys are known to be successful for engine bore applications. It is interesting to compare the wear mechanisms in these alloys because they have significantly different silicon content and microstructures, and were produced using different techniques. The wear tests were done using a block-on-ring configuration, in controlled air atmospheres (5 % relative humidity). In spite of the differences in silicon content and microstructure, the wear mechanisms were similar and consisted of formation and destruction of hard tribolayers that are either formed by either mechanical or chemical interactions on contact surfaces. The differences in the wear rates between the two alloys arose from the differences in the hardness of the worn surfaces, and the alloy's ability to sustain the tribolayers on the worn surfaces.

Jan 1, 2004

By William Firmstone

On the 19th December, 1833, a patent was granted to F. W. Geisenheimer, for smelting iron ore with anthracite. In his claim he says: " Sixthly, though I cannot, and do not, claim an exclusive right of the use of heated air, for any kind of fuel, nevertheless I believe to have a right to claim the use of heated air, applied upon, and in connection with, the said principle and manner discovered by me, to smelt iron ore in blast-furnaces with anthracite coal, by applying a blast of air in such quantity, velocity, and density, or under such pressure, as the compactness, or density, and the continuity of the anthracite requires, as above amply and fully described and illustrated." Dr. Geisenheimer made experiments in smelting iron ore with anthracite at the Valley Furnace, near Pottsville, but he failed to carry out to good practical results the principles enunciated in his patent. In the .Joozcrnal of the Franklin Institute for February, 1838, a communication was published that was made by Mr. George Crane, of the Yniscedwyn Iron Works, South Wales, to the British Association, in September, 1837. On the smelting of iron with anthracite coal, Mr. Crane states therein, that he began the use of anthracite with hot-blast on the 7th February, 1837, in a cupola blastfurnace, 41 feet high, and 10 feet across the boshes ; product, 34 to 36 tons a week. Mr. Crane goes on to say, "It may not be uninteresting to be informed in what matter the idea first occurred to me of applying a heated blast to anthracite coal. One evening, after I had placed a piece of it upon my parlor fire (which had before been made up with bituminous coal), arid had allowed it to arrive at a red heat, upon applying as fierce a blast to this piece of coal as I could raise from a pair of bellows, I noticed a black spot or mark

By Júlia Guimarães Sanches

O curso de Engenharia de Minas sofreu uma expansão, juntamente com todo o ensino superior no país, por volta de 2005. O objetivo do presente estudo é avaliar as características dos cursos do país e realizar uma comparação com cursos de outros países com grande produção mineral. Foi feito um levantamento inicial a partir de informações disponíveis nos sites do MEC, INEP e das universidades. Como complemento, realizou-se um questionário com os coordenadores dos cursos de Engenharia de Minas do Brasil. Foram compilados ainda dados relativos à estrutura curricular e carga horária dos cursos de Engenharia de Minas dos EUA, Canadá, Austrália, Chile e África do Sul. Em relação à comparação das grades curriculares com os cursos de outros países, observou-se que no Brasil o curso possui uma maior cara horária de Tratamento de Minérios em detrimento da lavra. Nos demais países estudados, o foco das disciplinas é a lavra, já que nestes países a área de Tratamento de Minérios é assunto de outras Engenharias.

Oct 30, 2017

By P. D. I. Honeyman

IN THE Southwestern copper region the event of greatest interest was the starting up of the new Hurley, N. Mex., smelter of the Chino Mines division of the Nevada Consolidated Copper Corp., which occurred in May. This plant, built as a wet-charge smelter for treating largely an all-concentrate charge, embodies in its de- sign the latest in materials-handling equipment. Noticeable around this smelter is the absence of tram cars and trackage for the handling of charge, dust and other materials. Concentrate from the mills is received in bottom- dump cars which are unloaded into a series of concentrate bins. Concentrate is then reclaimed through the bottom of the bins and discharged through a feeder on to a conveyor belt. Flux for the charge is fed on to the conveyor ahead of the concentrate charge. The belt-mixed charge is conveyed to the furnace building and discharged into the furnace charge bin ready for feeding to the reverberatory furnace. As in the McGill plant, the furnace is fed by vibrating conveyors, one down each side of the furnace.

Jan 1, 1940

By Sven Fornander

L. F. Reinartz (Armco Steel Corp., Middletown, Ohio) —I would like to know, in the practical application of the Kalling process, what kind of a lining was used, how thick was the lining, and how much metal was treated at one time? S. Fornander (author's reply)—The rotary furnace is lined with a course of fireclay bricks 6 in. thick. This course is backed by 5 in. of insulation. The furnace has a capacity of about 15 tons. Mr. Reinartz—How was the ladle preheated? Mr. Fornander—As pointed out in the paper, the furnace was heated by a gas flame in the beginning of the experiments. During these first tests, however, the desulphurization was inconsistent. We think that this was due to the fact that iron droplets sticking to the furnace walls were oxidized by the gas flame. Now, the furnace is operated without preheating of any kind, and the results are much better. T. L. Joseph (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minn.)—I might add one comment. This furnace was heated with a flame and for a time they had a little difficulty due to some residual metal in the rotating drum that would oxidize in between treatments and they found therefore, that it was very essential to drain the drum completely of metal so that they would not build up any ferrous oxide between treatments and they eliminated some of their erratic heats by maintaining those more reducing conditions. It was interesting to watch this operation. As soon as the drum started to rotate there was considerable flame, at least, at the time I saw it, that came out around the flanges, indicating there was quite a little pressure on the inside of the drum. W. 0. Philbrook (Carnegie Institute of Technology, Pittsburgh)—Is the reaction slag in the Kalling process liquid or solid, and how is it separated from the metal? Mr. Fornander—In the process there is no slag in the usual sense of the word. The lime powder does not melt during the treatment. After the treatment the lime is still in the form of a fine powder. It is separated from the metal by means of a piece of wood of suitable size placed within the furnace before it is emptied. D. C. Hilty (Union Carbide & Carbon Research Laboratories, Niagara Falls, N. Y.)—Dr. Chipman has given us some of his ideas in connection with a specific effect of silicon and silica on sulphur elimination and how silicon might interfere with desulphuriz- ing in the blast furnace. I wonder if he would like to elaborate on the possibility of a similar effect of silicon in the Kalling process? J. Chipman (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass.)—Silicon does not interfere with the Kalling process. Anything that has strong reducing action is good for desulphurization. In these tests where the temperature was low compared to blast furnace temperatures, the silicon that is in the metal is a better reducing agent than the carbon. At high temperatures, carbon is the better. It is not the silicon in the metal that interferes with desulphurization, it is the silica in the slag. Mr. Joseph—I might add that the metal that was tapped from the drum after desulphurization was really at quite a low temperature. It was not measured, but I think it was well under 1300 °C, probably 1200" or a little above that. That was one of the difficulties, and I think there is no question about the fact that the Kalling process—in that it affects desulphurization between powdered lime, solid and liquid iron— is a reaction definitely between the solid lime and the liquid iron. E. Spire (Canadian Liquid Air, Montreal, Canada) — This Kalling process seems very interesting to us and after all it is only a mixing action that is taking place between the iron and the slag. We have attempted to do the same thing in another way. We have placed at the bottom of the ladle a porous plug through which we injected an inert gas. It can be nitrogen or argon. This plug is placed at the bottom of the conventional ladle and gas injected through the plug. That has appeared in our patent. To define this new type of treatment, I use the word gasometallurgy. I do not know if you like it, but it is a way of defining methods of treating metal using gases. What we do is exactly what is done in the exchange process in another way. We have a porous plug at the bottom with a high lime slag on top of the metal. Using this method, we have very good agitation of metal and slag, and with a small flow of gas, we can achieve a very strong agitation. For instance, in the 500 lb ladle, we use only 5 liters of gas a minute. We have an agitation compared to very rapidly boiling water in a pail. Moreover, the agitation can be controlled to create any amount of mixing desired. In a few minutes, with this method, the sulphur dropped from 0.58 to 0.11. These results have been improved since, and we have obtained results like 0.08

Jan 1, 1952