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By Samuel M. Cassidy, George M. Rigg

During 1937 a program was begun to mechanize and modernize the then 28-year old Isabella mine of the Weirton Coal Co., which is on the Monongahela River, in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, at one edge of what is generally known as the Coke Region. Weirton Coal Co. is a subsidiary of the National Steel Corporation, and produces metallurgical grade coking coal for the Weirton Steel Co., Weirton, W. Va. Improvements subsequently made included a cleaning plant for washing the entire mine output, shovel-action track-mounted machines for mechanically loading all the coal, universal-type track-mounted cutting and shearing machines, post drills, 8-wheel mine cars of 10 tons capacity, cable-reel gathering locomotives and other auxiliary equipment. This paper presents the factors, reasons and results of decided changes from the mining system generally prevailing in the region, as well as abandonment of selective mining practices in favor of complete seam extraction. Coal-seam Conditions Fig. 1 illustrates the Pittsburgh coal seam on the property. Cover over the seam averages 450 ft., and 675 ft. is the maxi- mum. Main roof varies from very weak to medium strong; usually it disintegrates rapidly on exposure to air. The "wild" coal makes a fairly strong immediate roof if supported by crossbars and if unbroken affords a seal to the main roof. The draw slate is very weak and treacherous. The floor is characterized by numerous irregular bottom rolls, or "horsebacks," protruding from a few inches up to 3 ft. into the coal. Some are soft, but many are hard and flintlike. Although the bottom slate usually is hard, the underlying fire clay causes it to buckle and heave readily with any moderate increase in roof pressure or where damp. As a whole, the bottom is weaker than the main roof. The coal is characterized by numerous closely jointed face and butt cleats and a woody, springy nature when shot, both having a decided influence on face practices. As shown in Fig. I, at both the top and bottom of the main coal seam is a layer of coal of higher ash and sulphur content than the body of coal in the middle. Factors That Influence the Mining System Equipment was bought and organization for mechanical loading was made on the basis of working each mechanical unit as near its full capacity as possible, to lessen investment cost and obtain best operating efficiency. This led to combination double and triple-shift operation at the start, and, very shortly, to all sections being triple shifted.

Jan 1, 1947

By Patrick Pelletier Jr., Pierre-Alexandre Bossé, Gianni Bartolacci, Ian Orford, Steve Parent

"Over the last decades, many authors have shown the importance of froth in the flotation process. Mineral recovery is related to froth recovery and flotation. Selectivity is affected by froth characteristics, especially structure and loading. The characteristics of froth textures could therefore be used for diagnosing flotation.Machine imaging, especially image texture analysis, allows on-line measurement of important froth characteristics and process state classification. The measured characteristics include froth texture, loading and stability indicators. To extract information from images, texture analysis tools are used as well as a block-matching algorithm (BMA). For process state classification, images are analyzed with the same tools and clustering is done with multivariate data analysis algorithms.Two case studies, Brunswick Mine Concentrator Cu/Pb circuit and LaRonde Mine Zn circuit, are presented to show that these indicators may be used for diagnosis and control. The influence of manipulated variables on measured froth features is shown as well as the relationship between froth characteristics, mineral recovery and flotation selectivity.INTRODUCTIONImaging is a way to depict abstract characteristics of a scene or an object; it is often related to other types of scientific observations, chemical component concentrations, for example (Geladi and Grahn, 1996). In this paper, the scene is flotation froth. Imaging can be especially useful in applications where it is difficult to obtain the measurements needed for process analysis – froth flotation, for example."

Jan 1, 2006

By E. Nurminen

Thermal transport properties of copper flash smelting flue dust have been investigated. Such values of the dust are needed to correctly model the process and to optimize its heat recovery performance. Dust accretions on heat recovery boiler walls may have a significant influence on the boilers heat transfer efficiency. Measurements of the thermal transport properties have been made for industrial flue dust and for pure sulphate components. The measurements have been conducted at temperatures up to 400 °C and the effect of porosity on these properties has also been investigated. The results indicate that the flue dust and the sulphate components are effective thermal insulators and the dust build-up on the boiler walls is likely to greatly decrease the heat transfer efficiency of the boiler.

Jan 1, 2007

The cyclone, or centrifugal separator, ,is firmly established in industry as a low cost separator of solids from gases.While it will also separate fluids of different densities, and solids from liquids, its main use is to remove relatively fine dusts from gases whose pr~erties are generally not greatly different from those of air. This latter phase of operation is the one that will be dealt with here.The duty of such a cyclone separating system is to take in a supply of dusty gas and separate it into its components of dust and clean gas as perfectly as possible for the least consumption of pressure head. Any separation at all causes pressure loss and, in general, the greater the separation, the greater the pressure drop needed to effect it. The percentage of dust in suspension which is separated from the gas-dust mixture is commonly called the collection or separation efficiency. Overall or "true" efficiency must take pressure drop into account and may be considered as proportional to the ratio of the percentage of dust collected to the resultant pressure drop. For any cyclone It will vary with different dusts.Many commercial adaptions of the simple cyclone are made solely on the basis of pressure drop improvement, without taking into account the effect on separation efficiency, probably because the latter is so difficult to assess correctly. It appears unfortunate but true that the majority of such adaptions and patent gadgets fitted to cyclones which decrease pressure drop, do have an adverse effect on separation. In other' words, the true efficiency is seldom increased but often diminished.Without a knowledge of what actually goes on inside a cyclone, it is impossible fully to appreciate the real effect of a modification. For instance, it is on record that a cyclone...

Jan 1, 1949

By A. Poitras

The Cummings Complex consists of three superposed sills, exhibiting a differentiation pattern: the lowest sill being the most basic and the highest sill, the most acid. Each sill is also characterized by an internal petrographic and geochemical variation which is evidence of differentiation due to fractional crystallization. The REE concentrations in the different units of the complex indicates that the three sills are comagmatic. The interpretation of these results permits the formulation of an emplacement model not previously proposed for this complex.

Jan 1, 1984

By Tim O’Neil

Upbeat, surprisingly so, might describe the mood at the2002 SME Annual Meeting and Exhibit in Phoenix, AZ. More than 4,000 mineral professionals gathered for three days of education, networking and product perusal. The Annual Meeting featured the theme, “Minerals for the Future@ SME” at the Feb. 25-27 gathering. Meeting attendance reached 4,039along with 479 exhibit booths show-casing 325 companies. Exhibitors found a good mix of industry types:37% from mining, 19% from processing, 20% from manufacturing and 28% from environment, education and government.

Jan 1, 2002

By R. A. Crouse

The Tanco pegmatite at Bernie Lake, in the Lac du Bonnet mining district of southeastern Manitoba, is a unique deposit of Li, Rb, Cs and Ta, with substantial reserves of Be and several industrial minerals. This paper summarizes the present state of understanding the regional geology, structural setting, zoning, mineralogy and geochemistry of the pegmatite, and the mining and ore-processing methods used in its exploitation.

Jan 1, 1979

By Keith Jones, Michael Francis

Contract 240 of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link comprises construction of twin4.7 km long running tunnels through a densely populated area of East London. The tunnels were constructed by EPBM in Sands and Sandy Clays, passing 4.4 m below the existing London Underground tunnels, and at depths of 20–30m below ground level beneath the Great Eastern railway lines into London Liverpool Street and a series of railway bridges and hundreds of buildings. This paper describes how the project team managed the challenges relating to the issue of settlement: mitigating settlement effects, prioritising the structures to be assessed, controlling resource expenditure by incentives and flexible response to urgent work relating to unforeseen events such as ground collapse and discovery of unusual structures.

Jan 1, 2005

By Xu Z, Hu C

An attempt has been made to investigate the performance of green pellet formation of the Daye magnetite concentrate from the weak-magnetic separation plant. The optimum conditions for the commercial production of green pellets was found through experimental research. The satisfactory size range for balling is 75 ¦ 3 per cent -200 mesh. The suitable moisture content is between 8.7 and 9.1 per cent and the optimum amount of bentonite added is between 1.5 and 2.5 per cent. The emphasis is on the size of the feed materials since the grinding fineness, which can be obtained at the plant, at most is 78 per cent -200 mesh. If the optimum fineness for the pellet formation is above this value, this means that the concentrate must be re-ground before balling. The results from experiments showed that a good quality green pellet can be attained by using materials below 78 per cent -200 mesh, which provides a strong foundation for the commercial production of green pellets.

Jan 1, 1999

By Fernanda da Silva Machado

Em um mundo de recursos naturais decrescentes, com a intensificação das indústrias automatizadas de todos os tipos (I4) e contínuo aumento da população, é necessário desenvolver melhores caminhos para a geração e distribuição de riquezas. Uma das alternativas para este objetivo é o conceito da Economia Circular. Este artigo apresenta um exemplo focado na intensificação do uso de resíduos de biomassa na produção integrada de aço exclusivamente baseada na combinação de reatores industriais existentes em um layout que favorece o conceito da economia circular. O ferro também é obtido do processamento tradicional de sucata, reprocessamento de resíduos de ferro e óxidos de ferro, como a escória, pequenos óxidos de ferro, reversos metálicos, resíduos da indústria siderúrgica integrada tradicional. Os resíduos de biomassa são provenientes da demolição de casas de madeira, e outros resíduos de biomassa, como limpeza florestal para evitar-se incêndios, resíduos de moinhos, paletes usados e qualquer outra fonte de biomassa. As combinações dos reatores tornaram-se possíveis devido à nova versão do processo de Carbonização Contínua, Carboval, um reator especialmente projetado da tecnologia Lambiotte tradicional, para produzir, de preferência, o carvão vegetal que possui as mesmas características necessárias para alimentar o Mini Alto Forno tradicional a base de carvão.

Oct 30, 2017

By Gerald A. Zicg

The Sheep Creek project area lies between 15 and 20 miles north of White Sulphur Springs in west central Montana, on the southern flanks of the Little Belt Mountains. The Sheep Creek project is a joint venture in which Cominco American Resources, Inc., has a 50% operating interest and BHP-Utah International, Inc., has a 50% participatory interest. The property consists of over 40,000 acres of leased fee land and lode claims. Modern exploration of the Sheep Creek area began in 1973 and 1974, when Homestake Mining Co. examined the extensive Sheep Creek gossans with soil sampling, trenching, and drilling. Cominco American Inc. began exploration in the area in 1976. Between 1978 and 1985, Anaconda Copper Co., Exxon Minerals Co., and Freeport also conducted exploration programs in the area. In 1985, Cominco completed consolidation of the district, gained BHP-Utah International, Inc., as a joint venture partner, and the joint venture drilled the first significant copper mineralization on the property. Of six bodies of copper mineralization so far located, the best defined are an upper copper zone, which includes a probable resource of 4.5 million metric tonnes grading 2.5% Cu and 0.1 % Co, and a lower copper zone which includes a possible resource of 4.5 million metric tonnes grading 4% Cu. Exploration drilling of the property is in progress.

Jan 1, 1991

Geophysical methods are useful non-invasive means of collecting subsurface information on the environmental impacts of resource developments. Techniques such as seismic refraction, ground probing radar and magnetics are well established tools for environmental studies of waste disposal sites. Repeat resistivity surveys, gravity surveys, and infrared or multispectral remote sensing hold great promise for monitoring environmental changes. Examples from New Zealand include geothermal field monitoring, which may involve the use of geophysics for .detecting changes of surface thermal activity, hydrothermal eruptions, induced earthquakes, contamination or depletion of shallow groundwater, and subsurface fluid recharge. Other examples include resistivity monitoring of contained effluent disposal ponds, tailings dams and landfills. Experience has shown that care is necessary to identify the natural variability of the parameter measured before drawing conclusions regarding an observed change.

Jan 1, 1994

By S. N. Bhatnagar, S. K. Haldar

"Mineral exploration is an expensive speculative venture and calls for optimization of sampling. Exploration is generally planned in grid pattern to be conducted in phased manner. The objective of any such campaign is to assess the quality, quantity and its reliability. The traditional estimation methods are unable to provide a means of calculating the degree of reliability. Application of mathematical models can quantify the precision of estimation and bring forth decision-making criteria at any stage.In this paper three statistical and geostatistical models, viz., Frequency, Probability, and Semi-variogram, have been employed to evaluate sequential exploration data of RampuraAgucha zinc-lead deposit. The optimization in exploration for a specific objective has been highlighted.IntroductionAny exploration campaign demands heavy resource investment starting from the collection of the first sample to the production of the first ton of ore. The best estimation would be if the entire orebody is taken out and sampled. However, this is neither possible, nor desirable. Drilling is the primary tool of geological sampling. It shares the major portion of the investment and, thereby, warrants critical analysis at every stage during the ongoing exploration projects.The exploration program should be conducted as a well planned scheme based on a sequential evaluation approach in a phased way to achieve a specific objective. It would then be possible to evaluate exploration data at the completion of each phase by employing computer-based mathematical techniques to quantify the precision of the estimate for fulfillment of objectives. The subsequent drilling program should be modified accordingly."

Jan 1, 1987

By M. K. Matthews

The use of backfill has important environmental control implications which, although frequently overlooked, can be both beneficial and problematical. Where backfill is widely used, the reduction in stope heat load and improved air utilization influence the overall mine ventilation and refrigeration requirements significantly. A programme of work examining in detail all the environmental consequences of backfilling is currently underway at the Environmental Engineering Laboratory of the Research Organization of the Chamber of Mines. This paper gives an overview of the work and presents some findings. In so doing, the environmental implications to be considered when backfilling are highlighted.

Jan 1, 1988

By Kenneth C. Stewart

This contract was directed toward a study of the attenuating properties of earmuffs as worn by miners. Two attenuation measurement procedures were utilized. Human subjects were tested in a diffuse sound field according to threshold shift procedures recommended by the American National Standards Institute and a physical measurement procedure was accomplished in the same diffuse field on the same human subjects with microphones placed simultaneously on the inside and outside of the muffs. All measurements were obtained in one third octave of random noise. The results of the study indicated that physical and psychophysical attenuation measurements are in essential agreement at frequencies from 125 Hz to 2 KHz. Above 2 KHz the psychophysical measurement demonstrates larger amounts of attenuation than the physical measurement. The difference in attenuation ranged from approximately 7.0 dB to 9.0 dB at frequencies of 4 KHz and above. A possible explanation for the observed differences in attenuation has been presented.

Jan 1, 1980

By J. Stuart Warner

The reaction COSO4(c)?CoO(c) + So3(g)was investigated from 950° to 1170OK by two different methods. The sulfate was decomposed in a previously evacuated space and Pso3 calculated from the measured total pressure on the assumption that Pso2 = 2P02. The sulfate was also decomposed under conditions of controlled oxygen pressure. The difference in the results obtained by these experimental techniques is attributed to the effects of thermal diffusion. The standard free energy change for the reaction is given by ?F° = 66,292 + 17.273T log T — 102.57 T (±300 cal/mole). It was found by DTA and X-ray diffraction studies that CoS04 undergoes a transformation at 617°± 4°C. THE metal sulfates may decompose directly to the oxide or pass through one or more intermediate basic sulfates. Provided the oxidation state of the cation does not change in the course of the reaction, the decompositions may be described in general as follows: One of the major objectives of this work was to determine the validity of Eq. [3] as much of the existing sulfate data has been calculated from decomposition pressures by Eq. [5]. The type of apparatus generally used for these measurements consists of a reaction vessel at high temperature which communicates with a manometer at room temperature. A temperature gradient is thus imposed on the gas phase causing thermal diffusion which brings about a partial separation of the different gaseous species present in an initially uniform mixture. The basic theory and experimental facts associated with this phenomenon are summarized elsewhere1 and it will suffice to state here that the heavier gaseous species diffuses down the temperature gradient. Since thermal diffusion destroys the homogeneity of the gas phase, it is not necessarily true that Pso2 = 2Po2 in any particular volume element of the gas phase even though there are twice as many molecules of SO, as of 0, in the gas phase considered as a whole. Under these conditions, the decomposing sulfate gives off SO, which dissociates to SO, and 0, and all three species are distributed throughout the system by thermal diffusion. However, the sulfate will continue to dissociate until the equilibrium value of PSo3 is established on the hot zone. Thermal diffusion may distribute SO2 and O2 throughout the gas phase in any way so long as Eq. [2b] is satisfied in the hot zone; i.e. Pso2(Po2)1/2=K3pso3. When a steady state is reached, we can characterize Pso2 in that

Jan 1, 1962

By Luiz C. Correa da Silva, Robert F. Mehl

A. D. Le Claire and R. S. Barnes (Atomic Energy Research Establishment, Harwell, Didcot, Berks., England)-—This much awaited paper admirably confirms that the Kirkendall effect is a true diffusion phenomenon and likely to be found in all diffusing systems. The most likely explanation put forward so far to account for the shift of interface is that the two components of the system, diffusing in opposite directions, do so with unequal rates so that there is a net loss of material from that half of the diffusion zone rich in the more rapidly diffusing component. This loss is accompanied, and at least partly compensated for, by a closing up or decrease in volume of this latter half of the diffusion zone and an expansion of the other half so as to tend to keep constant the overall volume per atom. This is manifest as a movement of the original interface. If this is a true picture of what is taking place then there are at least two important matters requiring further study."1—The quantitative relating of the observed shift with the independently measured separate diffusion coefficients of the two diffusing species."2—A detailed study of the mechanism and characteristics of the closing up process."We would like first to make a few remarks pertinent to these topics. In connection with the first of these, it is a pity that more and detailed measurements were not made on the Au-Ag system, the only one for which the separate diffusion coefficients of the two species have been measured.'" One of us (A. D. Le C.) has calculated from Johnson's results the shift to have been expected in samples D.2 and D.3. Darken4 showed that the velocity v with which the markers move is related to the separate diffusion coefficients Dau, Dag, by the eauation:"dN"v = (Dag — Dau "dx"dN"where .is the concentration gradient at the mark-ax"ers. Under certain conditions,4, 20 it can also be shown that:"Xm"v = "2t"where x, is the total marker shift after time, t:"dN". . xm = 2t (Dag — Dau) [9]"dX"Johnson measured Dag and DAu in a chemically homogeneous alloy and so his reported figures represent the true or ideal diffusion coefficients"; the same quantities in eq 9 represent the actual diffusion coefficients as would be measured in the presence of a chemical concentration gradient, so we need to multiply Johnson's reported values of Dag and Dau by the"1 before insert-dlogN "ing them in eq 9. 7 is the activity coefficient of Ag at the concentration prevailing near the markers which we shall assume to be - 50 pct. The values of the thermodynamic factor for N = 0.5 and the temperatures at which D.2 and D.3 were annealed were obtained from thermodynamic data quoted by Darken.' aN/ax was computed from the coefficient of inter-diffusion of Au and Ag given by Johnson on the assumption that in the samples D.2 and D.3, the concentration distance curve could be represented by the standard equation:""No is the original difference in concentration between the two halves of the couple, and + is the error or probability function."aN/ax at x = 0 is then given by:"adN/dx "2/nDt"and we assume that this represents the concentration gradient at the markers, although it is probable that the figure is slightly high."When all the appropriate quantities are inserted in eq 9, we find that the expected shifts are: for D.2, 0.0134 cm and for D.3, 0.0119 cm."The agreement between these results and those

Jan 1, 1952

By F. Yang, S. S. Long

Mixed fatty acids, such as oxidised paraffin soap, are frequently used as a substitute for oleic acid in flotation of scheelite in China. Not only because it is cheaper than oleic acid, but also because it is superior in flotation performance to oleic acid. This superiority is generally attributed to the mixed fatty acids' synergistic effect. In this paper, the synergistic effect of oxidised paraffin soap was investigated. We found it mainly consists of a series of saturated fatty acid salts, with six to nineteen carbon atoms. All the contained fatty acids were classified into four groups based on their chain length to make the research work practical. Also, the groups were labelled as 1, 2, 3, and 4 in order. The research was simplified into studying the synergistic effect of four equivalent collectors, instead of fourteen fatty acids. It is justified by the fact that neighbouring fatty acids are expected to have a similar flotation performance. The synergistic effect of the four groups of fatty acids was studied by single-mineral flotation with single groups, binary mixtures, ternary mixtures, and the full component, as collector respectively. The flotation performance index and synergy value were introduced to evaluate flotation performance and synergistic effect of groups, respectively. The results show that the mixture 1+2+3 has the strongest synergy of all followed by the mixtures 1+3 and 2+3. The mixture 3+4 and 1+2, on the other hand, have negative synergy. The synergistic effect of mixtures of groups indicate that being consecutive in length and a broad range of lengths are vital for fatty acids to enhance synergy. Group 3 is fundamental for the collecting action of 733 oxidised paraffin soap in the flotation of scheelite. The fatty acid soap in group 4 is not suitable for flotation due to its low solubility. Keywords: Mixed collectors, synergistic effect, scheelite

Jan 1, 2020

By M. A. Kessick

Current treatment and disposal procedures are compared for clay slimes resulting from the extraction of Alberta oil sands, the extraction of Florida phosphate matrix, the recovery of diamonds from kimberlite deposits in South Africa, the recovery of kaolin from clay deposits in southwest England and the upgrading of bauxite ore. Published research in the area is reviewed, and common trends which are emerging in the disposal of clay slimes are discussed.

Jan 1, 1978

By H. Lowers, P. Hageman, S. Diehl, D. Fey

Understanding relationships between mineralogy, texture, microstructural features, and element distribution and residence in minerals, is critical for accurate modeling of mineral weathering in waste-rock piles. The morphology of minerals and deformation structures, such as veins and faults, are important factors that control: (1) fluid access to the mineral surface to initiate dissolution, (2) the distribution of trace elements, and (3) formation of secondary minerals. We characterized the mineralogy, textures, and chemical properties of waste-rock material at three sites at scales ranging from outcrop to micrometer scale. A comprehensive hand-sample to thin-section scale methodology utilizing light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, electron microprobe, and laser ablation ICP-MS was used to thoroughly characterize the waste-rock material.

Jan 1, 2007