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By J. Svoboda, W. J. C. Venter, R. N. Guest

SYNOPSIS Wet high-intensity magnetic separation was examined as a method for the recovery of copper and lead from Tsumeb flotation tailings. Bench-scale and pilot-plant tests were conducted and, despite the very low magnetic susceptibilities of all the complex copper and lead minerals, copper and lead recoveries of over 60 per cent and almost 50 per cent respectively were obtained at a combined copper and lead grade of up to 13,5 per cent. The recoveries were found to be practically independent of magnetic induction in the range 0,5 to 2,2 T, and the grade of the magnetic concentrate decreased with increasing magnetic induction. The grade of the magnetic concen¬trate improved when the flowrate of the slurry was increased, and desliming was found to have a profound effect on the. metallurgical process. Particles smaller than 10 µm were not recovered, and their presence in inefficiently deslimed samples impaired the overall performance of the magnetic separation

Jan 1, 1988

Prediction of the performance of explosives In bench mining by C. M. LOWNDS, B.Se. Hons (Rhodes), Ph.D (Cape) (Visitor) Some of the problems encountered in the calculation of the relative weight strength of explosives are discussed, and a realistic model of the behaviour of explosion products in a borehole is proposed. The heat flow from condensed to gaseous products is calculated as a function of time, and the relationship between the pressure and the volume of the product gases is found by a consideration of the compression of the rock between radial cracks. Work done on the burden is assumed to cease when the cracks first appear at the face. Reasonable values of burden and crack velocities are obtained from the model. Calculations of the relative weight strengths of aluminized mixtures of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil show that the increased density resulting from the addition of aluminium is the main advantage to be gained.

Jan 2, 1975

By J. H. Bulloch

The paper gives an assessment of the available data on the linear elastic fracture mechanics involved in stress corrosion cracking and in the behaviour of reactor pressure-vessel materials exposed to a simulated pressurized water-reactor environment. As a result of the different experimental techniques used in the various studies mentioned, only a few detailed conclusions can be drawn. The data from constant-displacement wedge-opening loading (WOL) tests, with the exception of one study, exhibited very limited or no crack extension during exposure periods of up to 14000 hours. The data from constant-load tests indicated evidence of crack extension, but the nature and extent of the crack extension are still unclear. When crack extension did occur, it was exclusively transgranular in nature. Certain differences in the available test data are tentatively explained in terms of the experimental procedures used, and the need for a consistent code of experimental techniques is highlighted.

Jan 1, 1987

By Jack Eloranta

Transmission of sound through the atmosphere is affected by local conditions. Anecdotal accounts of the sound of cannon fire traveling great distances go back to the Civil War. The Royal Society published a paper near the turn of the century concerning the reports from the cannons fired in London at the funeral of Queen Victoria. Early computers were used by the U.S. Army at Aberdeen in Maryland in the 1950’s to model airblast problems during munitions demolition. Today’s blaster has to have access to weather information beyond a simple local forecast. Surface winds, winds aloft and temperature profiles have a dominant role in neighbors reaction to blasting. Many ground vibration complaints are really airblast complaints. Blasters who maintain ground velocities under . 1 inches/ second are often perplexed by complaints from distant neighbors, even when local monitoring shows airblast to be under 110 dB. This paper will help the blaster identify warning signs of high airblast conditions.

Jan 1, 2000

By K. R. Vost

Variation in air temperature in a cross-section of an underground airway by K. R. VOST, B.Sc. (Glas.), M.Sc. (N.S.W.) (Visitor) Measurements of air temperatures in underground airways are normally made at only one point in a cross-section, and the air tem peratures at other points in the cross-section are assumed not to differ significantly from this. This paper discusses measurements made at a number of points in fifty crosssections in airways with different air velocities and wetness of floor. These measurements show that significant variations of air temperature can occur in a given cross-section at a given time. The effects of such variations on the accuracy of measurement of rises in air temperature as air passes along an airway are discussed. The importance of considering experimental error in the measured rises in air temperature when attempting to validate theoretical and empirical methods of predicting such rises is also discussed.

Jan 7, 1976

By Boyd R. Davis

Like many pyrometallurgy researchers, Ralph Harris? work extended over both light metals (lithium and magnesium) and base metals. His work looked at feed preparation, primary production, and secondary treatment. The thermodynamic principles of chemical metallurgy allowed Ralph to move between these two groups of metals. However, these metals have few similarities when projects are being developed. The traditional ?deposit-based? drivers for base metal operations do not apply to the same degree with light metals projects. While high purity, low cost feed is important to light metals projects, it should not be considered as the main reason for a smelter project. While it is clearly understood that technology (energy costs) is the driver for aluminum production, it is less considered for other light metals. This paper will look at the break down of base and light metals? production costs to try to quantify the balance between feed costs and technology for each metal group.

Jan 1, 2013

IT is not very necessary for those who work ores to return the litharge to lead, because they use litharge in place of lead ore and they use it the more willingly when it still contains some trace of silver. For the cupeling hearth can never be so well made or so cleanly operated that some little bit of silver does not remain in it, and some particle of it is also necessary by its very nature. But for one who has to use very much lead at one time, like someone who smelts sweepings or cements, or for someone who wishes to bring his operations to a conclusion and withdraw his investment, it is possible to have the lead again. In order to do this, the litharge is taken and ground. Cupeling hearths are washed in addition to being ground. Then these powders are made into a paste by wetting them with salt water, and they are made into large

Jan 1, 1942

By Mark A. White

Surface mining of multiple seams by mountaintop removal and contour mining is complex in Appalachia. Arch of West Virginia, a division of Apogee Coal, has made its operations state-of-the-art to cope with this challenge. Arch of West Virginia moved into the heart of coal mining in Appalachia when Arch Mineral acquired coal reserves and coal operations in the southern West Virginia counties of Logan and Wyoming. These reserves were initially developed at the turn of the century as underground operations. Today, though, they are mined using mountaintop removal and contour mining. The steep slopes in the mountains of Appalachia generated a method of mining referred to as contour mining. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, contour mining was introduced at these operations using front-end loaders with bucket capacities of more than 7 m3 (10 cu yd) that could load 45-t (50-ton) end-dump trucks.

Jan 1, 1995

By Graham MacFarlane

The largest area of high-grade cannel coals known in America is doubtless found in eastern Kentucky. Notwithstanding the popular belief to the contrary, there is no reason to doubt that these eastern Kentucky cannel-fields, following the general rule, will be uncertain and treacherous. But, taken in the aggregate, their extent is very great. The principal service to which cannel coal can be put is enriching illuminating-gas. The electric light has, to a certain extent, created a demand for better gas, and has increased the market for gas-enrichers. Before the discovery of rock-oil, coal-oil was distilled from cannel coal and cannel shale. This business was getting fairly started when the cheaper rock-oil, or petroleum, overcame it, and the great distilleries went into disuse and ruin. Now, again, the chief competitor with cannel coal is oil, namely, the cheap oil of Lima, Ohio. Under proper treatment the vile odor of this oil can be removed.

Jan 1, 1890

By Michel Dagbert

"In their paper, Marcotte and Boucher (2001) cast some new light on the old problem of 2D estimation of vein-type deposits with thickness and grade of intercepts. Using a theoretical approach, some extensive simulation experiments and the Walker Lake data, they show that the direct approach (interpolation of grade at points on a regular grid) gives better estimates of the true grade at those points than the indirect approach (interpolation of grade x thickness or accumulation and interpolation of thickness) when there is some positive correlation between grade and thickness and that this better performance increases with the correlation of grade and thickness as well as the variability of both variables.We would like to bring some reservations to that conclusion by showing that even if direct point grade estimates are better than indirect ones, it is not necessarily true for block estimates and in particular for the estimated grade of the whole orebody itself."

Jan 1, 2001

By Chelesa C. Woodward, Gregory G. Miller, Walter K. Utt, Wayne L. Howie

The process of drilling and bolting the roof is currently one of the most dangerous jobs in underground mining, resulting in about 1,000 accidents with injuries each year in the United States. Researchers from the Spokane Research Laboratory of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health are studying the use of a drill monitoring system to estimate the strength of successive layers of rock and assess the integrity of a mine roof so that roof drill operators can be warned when a weak layer is being drilled. Measurements taken during drilling can be converted to suitably scaled features so that a neural network can classify mine roof strata in terms of relative strength. The feasibility of this concept has been demonstrated in the laboratory. The research project was undertaken in order to increase the safety of underground miners, especially those involved in roof bolting. The system should be applicable to the mobile drills used in underground mining and would likely find wider application as well.

Jan 1, 2002

By Zhang Shixun, Wang Xuguang, Wang Guoli

A massive millisecond blast at an open-pit mine of large scale can be realized by using the blasting technology of pre-loaded explosives, which can enlarge production scale, reduce the frequency of blasting and of large production equipment movement, and raise the production efficiency. The reason why application of this technology is restricted at high sulfide ore deposits of variable and complex geological conditions is that an exothermic reaction will take place when explosives contact sulfide ores, which could lead to accidents such as spontaneous burning and detonation of explosives pre-loaded in boreholes, influencing blasting and production safety. The thermal decomposition reactions of emulsion explosives of different prescriptions in contact with pyrite have been studied by differential thermal analysis (DTA), kinetics parameters calculation and accelerating rate calorimetry (ARC), and on the basis of the above studies, the safety of emulsion explosives used in sulfide mines has been evaluated with the safe contact time of different emulsion explosives with pyrite determined.

Jan 1, 1998

By Steven G. Vick

Not too long ago a mill superintendent, when asked where his tailings were being disposed, could simply shrug his shoulders and point to the open end of the thickener discharge pipe. This “out of sight, out of mind” approach to tailings disposal is a practice of the past. Today there are very few planned hardrock or energy-related mining facilities where tailings disposal has not been identified as the major area of impact and controversy. In fact, development of some ore bodies has been stymied altogether by lack of suitable sites or methods for tailings disposal. The bottom- Iine result is that tailings disposal often controls the permitting lead time and has a significant influence on construction cost (up to 2070 in some cases) of new minemill complexes. The following article, the first in a series of three, explores technical background and historical perspectives on siting and design of tailings impoundment facilities.

Jan 6, 1981

By Marco Antonio Falquete

Conventional detonators and blasting caps make use, as igniters, of flame-shock-, andfriction-sensitive primary explosives, such as lead azide, lead styphnate, mercury fulminate, etc, most of them severe toxic and environmental contaminants. Sensitivity of primary explosives is one of the main causes of injuries and fatalities in explosives industry and in field applications. Intense research for a reliable, safe, and environmental-friendly non-primary-explosives detonator was conducted by the industry in the last years. A new detonator is presented, containing no primary explosive, employing only environmental-friendly substances while keeping reliability of performance. A series of performance tests is executed in prototypes of different output energies, including initiation by flame, shock tube, thermo tube (IBQ’s proprietary spark-generating tube, presented at 2005 ISEE Conference), energy transfer reliability, and extreme environmental conditions (according to MIL-STD 331B, test C1 standards). Results are compared, when pertinent, with standard blasting caps of different energy outputs, and with standard primary explosives.

Jan 1, 2007

By Pekka Parvinen, Saija Luukkanen, Pentti Pirkonen, Väinö Hintikka, Hannu Sekki

In the study was developed a new method for the treatment soils contaminated by polychlorinated dibenzodioxin and dibenzofuran. The method is based on attrition of soil so that the contaminants absorbed on the particle surfaces are liberated with the fine fraction formed in the attrition process. Same the attrition process produces active surface which can absorb the free contaminants. Before starting the remediation process must be decided the limit value under which the residual concentration must lie. Then in the laboratory is performed an experiment in the base of which is determined the grain size level; material under which much be removed together with the contaminant. In the real sample has been found that after the attrition the limit value 0.5 ng/g (I-TEQ) is obtained when the fine under 0.1mm fraction (20% of the original soils amount) is removed together with the contaminants 96% (original level 10 ng/g; 100%).

Jan 1, 2008

By K. Madi, E. Yeugo Fogaing, S. Forest, M. Boussuge, L. Massard, M. Huger, Gaultm C.

This study has been carried out owing to the French research program PROMETHEREF, which aims to improve the knowledge of thermal and mechanical properties of industrial refractories at high temperature. In this frame, this paper relates a collaborative study between Saint-Gobain CREE, R&D Centre for Saint-Gobain Ceramics & Plastics in Europe (Cavaillon), the Materials Center P.M. Fourt of Ecole des Mines de Paris (Evry) and the Research Group on Heterogeneous Materials (GEMH) of ENSCI (Limoges). Data collected at high temperatures by using different means (bending tests, ultrasonic measurements,...) allows the identification of the high temperature behavior of two fused cast materials, produced by Saint-Gobain group for the glass manufacturing industry. The results emphasize the importance of the transformation of zirconia and of the viscosity of the glassy intergranular phase on the mechanical behavior. Damage under the form of microcracking caused by thermal expansion mismatch between the phases is also observed during cooling down at low temperature, when the material is elastic.

Jan 1, 2004

By K. Tajrych

Time and again, lives are lost in underground cave-ins only be- cause there is no quick, sure way of locating the victims. When such accidents happen, rescuers must usually depend on the testimony of eye- witnesses for information on the whereabouts of trapped miners. Seldom is this information reliable. The witnesses themselves have just been through a traumatic experience that has distorted or destroyed their sense of time and place. A far more reliable method of finding men underground has recently been developed by the Coal Mining Research Institute of Ostrava, Czechoslovakia. With this system, a miner can be located with adequate precision even if he shows no sign of life. For the system to work, the miner need only have his electric cap lamp somewhere nearby. The system consists of a minute radio transmitter operated by the lamp battery (Fig. 1). This tiny transmitter continuously emits high- frequency electromagnetic waves that can be picked up by a sensitive direction-finder receiver in case of accident.

Jan 8, 1969

By Allen R. Rowen

One of the greatest deterrents to more widespread use of manufactured lightweight aggregate is the fact that no industry-wide standards for its application exist. It is true that ASTM has specifications covering lightweight aggregate, but they are so broad as to be of little assistance in mix design work. Today even an engineer who has worked with one lightweight aggregate may be faced with re-education on his next light- weight concrete job if he is in an area served by another producer. Manufacture of lightweight aggregates has grown with the country, appearing in the patent literature at least as early as 1875, when a patent was issued covering use of burnt clay aggregate as an admixture in manufacture of artificial stone. The widely known Haydite came into the picture prior to 1920 as a result of work by Stephen J. Hayde, and there have been many others since who have contributed significantly to the growth of the industry and its technology.

Nov 1, 1956

By E. R. Slatick

The northern and central Appalachian coal basin in the eastern United States has been the source of about two-thirds of the nation's coal output during the 20th century. This region includes parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia and eastern Kentucky. It covers about 130,000 km2 (50,000 sq miles) of the Appalachian coal basin and ranks as one of the world's most important coal production regions (Fig. 1). The coal industry's heyday in northern and central Appalachia has passed. This was due to competition from other fuels and low-sulfur coal produced in the West and because of the declining use of coking coal for steelmaking. Nevertheless, the region still plays a vital role in US coal production. It currently produces about 40% by weight of the nation's coal (its share is about one-half when measured by the energy content of the coal), contributes substantially to electricity generation and serves as the mainstay of US coal exports.

Jan 1, 1995

By P. J. Potter

PRACTICALLY all tin-base babbitt metals used in engine bearings are made to customers' specifications, which are many and varied. The copper ranges from 3 to 8 per cent. and the antimony from 4 to 13 per cent.; generally, the babbitt with lower copper content will contain from 4 to 8 per cent. antimony and that with higher copper will have from 7 to 13 per cent. antimony. The allowable lead content varies from 0.20 to 2.00 per cent. If a solder is used as a bonding material instead of tin, the resulting material in the finished bearing will have a higher lead content, but it would not be enough to bring the lead above specificational limits. Impurities such as iron, arsenic and bismuth should be determined in the tin before using to insure a uniform and high-grade product. These points must be considered when segregating and grading the waste that comes from the finishing operations on lined bearings.

Jan 1, 1929