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By J. R. Walls

The United States potash industry had its beginning in the early Colonial days. Potash was initially manufactured by leaching of hardwood ashes in large iron pots. Production of potash was recorded as early as 1631 in New Hampshire, and in Maine a few years later. According to the census of 1850, the production of potash was America's most thriving chemical industry and, at that time, 569 plants were reported producing potash from wood ashes. Interest in potash was so great prior to the 1800's that the very first United States patent, signed by George Washing- ton, was granted for the production of potash on July 31, 1790. A new era for the production of potash began when potash was discovered by the analysis from a brine well in 1839 near Stassfurt, Germany while exploring for salt. The predominant use of potash at that time was in the chemical industry rather than agriculture. The discovery, by Justice von Liebig in about 1858, that potash salt contributed greatly to the essential plant food in soil opened up an enormous potential market for a suitable potash material.

Jan 1, 1985

By S. Kelebek, M. Davidson

"Flotation tests were conducted on a mixed copper ore sample containing bornite and malachite with trace quantity of other secondary copper minerals. The bornite component was very floatable, in sharp contrast to poor flotation characteristics of other copper minerals. A Box-Behnken experimental design methodology was used to study effects of three main reagents, namely potassium amyl xanthate (PAX), hydroxamate (Cytec 6494) and diethylenetriamine (DETA). Pine oil, as a frother, was used at a fixed concentration. Three main models constructed using a statistical software included malachite recovery, overall copper recovery, and copper grade. Bornite recovery was not modelled as its recovery was consistently over 99 % in the presence of hydroxamate and PAX. In each model, the hydroxamate dosage was the dominant parameter (at 95% significance level) determining the recovery of main components including that of gangue, which manifested itself by lowering the copper grade of the concentrate. In comparison, PAX was effective only at 90% significance level. DETA did not affect the overall recovery of copper or malachite significantly, but appeared to cause a significant decline in the concentrate grade, especially when used simultaneously with hydroxamate. Various quadratic models developed for the flotation system investigated are presented."

Jan 1, 2014

By S. Usui, Y. Shinohara, C. Tokoro, K. Horiuchi, S. Owada

Process optimization of heating and physical separation for Cobalt (Co) recycling from spent lithium ion battery (LIB) was investigated. LiCoO2 in spent LIB was transformed to LixCoO2 which was more easily decomposed than LiCoO2 by heating. Coexisting materials of aluminum and carbon, and sealed atmosphere of the LIB promoted LixCoO2 decomposition. In an atmosphere of Argon, 95 % of LixCoO2 in the spent LIB was decomposed to 76 % of Co oxide and 19 % of Co metal in 10 min at 823 K; a lower temperature than the theoretical value for LiCoO2. The Co oxide and Co metal exhibited magnetic properties and could be recovered by wet magnetic separation. Furthermore, slow heating was effective for grain growth of Co oxide and Co metal. At 2 K/min rate of heating, average grain size of Co oxide and Co metal were 239 µm and 28 µm respectively, whereas at 30 K/min they were 190 µm and 15 µm respectively. Therefore, separation efficiency for Co recovery by wet magnetic separation was increased when spent LIB was slowly heated at 2 K/min.

Jan 1, 2015

By Kurt Wiener

A major process control system is in some ways like a complex organism. The extremities, (that is, field instruments) are exposed to many hazards and suffer malfunctions of relatively minor and repetitive nature. Here I equate a stuck valve or dead transmitter with a skin abrasion or cut. The maintenance and repair of the extremities can be done by technicians with basic but thorough knowledge of relatively few problems and their solutions. Here I equate with administering Band-Aids and aspirin. On the other extreme, when the master control device (such as a computer) fails, one does not attempt home remedies. A "brain" specialist is called in. It is, however, crucial that the patient be able to clearly describe his symptoms. Getting down to the case at hand, a complex system consisting of field instruments, instrument racks, interface equipment, and perhaps a computer, may require maintenance at all levels. At the field equipment end where physical damage, corrosive atmospheres, reconfiguration, and routine calibration checks are common, the customer has the opportunity to develop a competent staff of maintenance people. The relatively high maintenance activity assures competence through repetition.

Jan 1, 1980

By W. Dingley, G. R. Hoey

"Thirteen Canadian sulphide ore mines were surveyed for corrosion control. The mines visited were a small, yet representative, proportion of this segment of the Canadian mining and metallurgical industry. Information on metallic corrosion and methods used to control it in underground workings and mills was gathered (a) by discussing corrosion problems with company personnel, (b) by examining equipment and structures during under-ground and mill tours, (c) by photographing corrosion sites, and (d) by collecting and analyzing mine water samples.The corrosion survey, which is summarized in the re-port, leads to the following general conclusions. Mine environments are corrosive, particularly when the mine w1a-ter is acidic. Because of a lack of good corrosion control measures, excessive deterioration of equipment due to corrosion occurs in mines. Mill environments are also corrosive, but in some cases good preventive measures are being taken to effectively control corrosion losses.Ways to reduce corrosion losses in sulphide ore mines and mills are discussed. The main areas for more corrosion research and development are selection of materials of construction, protective coatings, cathodic protection, inhibitors, equipment design, and mining and milling practices."

Jan 1, 1971

By Peng Gao

Coal-based reduction followed by magnetic separation is an innovative technology used in processing refractory iron ores. Given that size is essential to the separation of the metallic iron from the gangue, the morphology of metallic iron particles and their evolution during coal-based reduction are investigated in the present work. The size of the metallic iron particle increased from 128.76 µm to 565.70 µm when the reduction time increased from 20 min to 60 min at 1,225° C and C/O (i.e., the amount of coal addition in terms of the gram-atomic ratio of the fixed carbon in the coal added to the combined oxygen in iron oxides) of 2.5. Based on our microstructural and metallographic analysis, the iron ore reduction process can be divided into three stages: (1) metallic iron particle formation, (2) iron oxide reduction and metallic iron assembly and (3) metallic iron particle growth. Almost all iron oxides are reduced to metallic iron in the second stage. These newborn metallic iron particles are energetically active and able to assemble and grow, and are eventually separated from the gangue. The large metallic iron particles benefit the subsequent magnetic separation process.

By Keith S. Olson

During 1982 and 1983, the Bureau of Mines concentrated its fugitive dust control research on haulage road dust suppression by newer chemi-cals relatively unknown in the mineral industry, innovative dust control designs for haulage trucks, chemical tailing basin stabilization, and combined chemical and vegetation tailing basin stabilization. Relatively unknown dust suppression chemicals and innovative aerodynamic modifications to haulage truck fender designs were tested on a Minnesota sand and gravel operation haulage road. Magnesium chloride salt at 95-pct control efficiency and a petroleum derivative at 70-pct control efficiency were effective in suppressing dust generated by haulage vehicles; however, none of the fender modifications were successful. Commonly used dust suppressant chemicals were tested on a Minnesota taconite tailing basin to reduce the dust lift-off during the spring and fall dry seasons. The most successful chemical was lignin sulfonate with a seasonal cost of less than $200 per acre to achieve 90-pct dust control. When chemical treatments for immediate dust control were com-bined with revegetation for permanent control, the most promising chemical treatment based on vegetation response was lime-neutralized lignin sulfonate.

Jan 1, 1987

By Lawrence K. Requa

The property being worked by the Lewiston dredge of Placer Development (Ltd.) is on the Trinity River in Trinity County, Calif., about 9 miles north of the town of Lewiston (see fig. 1). The nearest rail point is at Rending, Calif., which is exactly 50 miles bar road from the dredge camp. Recently a very good section of State highway has been constructed from Redding to Weaverville, and it is now possible to use this highway for 35 miles of the distance between the dredging property and Redding. The remaining 15 miles, however, are over ordinary dirt road. No trouble is experienced in reaching the property except for a few weeks during the middle of the winter when snowstorms may make travel difficult but not impossible. At present the property consists of about 500 acres of patented land, which extends for about 3 miles along the main Trinity River and Stuart's Pork. It is being worked with one 7-cubic foot, Bucyrus-type dredge, which has an average monthly capacity of about 100,000 cubic yards. To the end of 1931 approximately 10,000,000 cubic yards of gravel had been dredged.

Jan 1, 1932

By W. A. Van Dyk

Hydrophobic particles with diameters between 1 and 3 mm are poorly recovered by conventional flotation techniques. A novel reverse flotation technique is described whereby coarse particles with surfaces rendered highly hydrophobic, repel the bubble films in a froth and thus drop through the froth under gravity, to be recovered as a sink product. Conversely, gangue or hydrophilic particles are supported by the bubble films in the froth and are therefore recovered as a floating product. Tracer tests were conducted in the cell in order to study the dynamic behaviour of solid particles in the froth. The effects of hydrophobicity, density, particle size and particle shape were investigated experimentally. The higher the hydrophobicity of the particles, the lower the recovery of particles as a floating product, while the recovery of particles as a sink product increases with an increase in particle density. Furthermore, a decrease in particle size results in an increase recovery of hydrophobic particles as a floating product. When treating particles of the same mass-to-surface-area ratio in the froth, flat particles would be recovered as a floating product in preference to cubic, disc-shaped, cylindrical and spherical particles, in that order.

Jan 1, 1995

By S. P. Sandoval

The U.S. Bureau of Mines investigated the separation of aluminum from copper dump leaching liquors using a supported liquid membrane. Aluminum was selectively transported through porous polypropylene impregnated with di (2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid in an aliphatic diluent. The effects of variables, such as solution composition, temperature, and extractant concentration, were measured with a three-level fractional factorial experimental design. Experimental results were used to derive equations for predicting transport rates for aluminum, iron, and copper. The major variables influencing aluminum transport were solution temperature, feed solution pH, aluminum concentration in the feed solution, and extractant concentration. Copper and iron transport rates were almost zero when aluminum transport rates were high. Measured aluminum transport rates under the best conditions of 55° C, pH 3.0, 16 g/L A13+, and 65 pct extractant solution confIrmed the predicted value of 210 f.'g/(cm2.h). Transport rates for iron and copper were less than 5 ug/(cm2.h) under these conditions. Aluminum was recovered from the stripping solutions by sparging with gaseous hydrogen chloride to crystallize aluminum chloride hexahydrate, which was calcined to alumina. Sparging crystallization regenerated the stripping acid for recycle.

Jan 1, 1989

By Iwasaki I.

This article discusses the effect of physical and chemical modifications of starches on the anionic and cationic flotation of silica from oxidized iron ores and magnetite-taconite concentrates, and the results of the interaction of starch, pH, and calcium ions on the flocculation, clarification, and filtration of iron ore slimes and magnetite-taconite tailings. Starches, particularly when anionically modified, were found to be effective depressants in anionic silica flotation. British gums and dextrins were beneficial for oxidized iron ores, but none of the starches or starch derivatives appeared to have any effect on magnetite-taconite concentrates. The flocculation and filtration of iron ore slimes were most strongly affected by the level of starch, to a lesser degree by the pH, and were virtually independent of the level of calcium chloride. The clarification of iron ore slimes was complexly dependent on these three factors. The flocculation of magnetite-taconite tailings depended mainly on the level of starch, whereas their clarification depended on the level of lime. As previously reported in the literature, selective flocculation and partial upgrading of a semi-taconite could be readily attained with starch and calcium chloride.

Jan 1, 1968

In 1962 and 1963, two in situ combustion pilot tests were conducted in the shallow Second Venango sand near Reno, Pa. Because of poor oxygen utilization and lack of production response, both tests were considered failures and were terminated. The area was then relatively inactive until late 1966, when a development well drilled near the 1963 test site had surprisingly good production in what was considered to be a pressure-depleted reservoir. Other wells drilled in and around the old thermal pilot areas also came in as good oil producers. This report presents a study of the increased oil production from the Second Venango sand in the Reno area, and the apparent connection of the present production response and the old thermal pilot tests. Apparently combustion occurred in the Second Venango sand after the 1962 and 1963 experiments were terminated and, supported by large volumes of air left in the reservoir after the 1963 test, generated carbon dioxide which helped repressure the formation. This field evidence of combustion warrants another pilot experiment to further explore the use of properly designed in situ combustion techniques in increasing production from the Second Venango sand.

Jan 1, 1971

By Philip C. Tully

These modifications to the Redlich-Kwong equations for pure hydrogen and neon were developed after an unsuccessful attempt to generalize a modification technique previously developed for helium. New coefficients of the B terms were developed by minimizing the residuals. No changes were made in the coefficients of the A terms. For normal hydrogen, B was changed to [0.08063Tc PcT] for temperatures from 980 to 423° K and pressures up to 1,050 atm. The average deviation in Z was 0.36 percent with maximum deviations less than 1 percent for all but a few low-temperature points. For neon, B was changed to [PCT 0.1025T], for temperatures from 120° to 973° K and pressures up to 1,500 atm. The average deviation in Z was 0.34 percent with maximum deviations less than 1 percent for all but a few high-pressure and low-temperature points. Efforts to attain a lower temperature range to comparable accuracy with this type of modification were unsuccessful. In the range of applicability, these equations should be used with caution when calculating derived thermodynamic functions, such as the isobaric specific heat.

Jan 1, 1968

By C. F. Giermak

Over a considerable period of time great interest has been shown in selective dry concentration of fine ferromagnetic particles, although it is only recently that new permanent magnetic materials have been made available to permit building of such permanent magnetic separators. It is well known that the conventional drum separator does' not efficiently separate fine materials. The centrifugal force on any drum acts in accordance with the particle size and gravity, which may beat varying magnitude-.opposite to the magnetic force, especially when the material is not closely sized. The Magnetic-Mechanical Separator (MMS) is designed for the concentration of fine, unsized magnetic materials where the percentage composition of magnetics to nonmagnetics, or the nature and texture of the materials, is such that its unique agitation and shake-out action with no centrifugal force provides greater efficiency than is obtainable by conventional magnetic separation equipment. This machine consists of a complete double belt conveyor unit with a premagnetizing Axial Pole Agitating Pulley at the feeding end of the lower conveyor belt and a special agitating concentrator magnet above the lower belt of the upper conveyor.

Jan 1, 1965

By Fred C., Bond

IN CYANIDE milling, little attention has been paid to the effect of the viscosity of the mill solution on the extraction speed. The viscosity of the solution varies with the amount of dissolved salts present as impurities. These salts build up to a maximum depending on the character of the ore, the grade of cyanide used, the lime and salts added, and the impurities originally in the water. The viscosity will change from month to month and week to week as these factors vary; and that this variation affects the extraction is unquestioned, although methods for calculating it are lacking. The character of the ore is probably the most important of the four factors, as the amount of minerals present that are soluble in cyanide solution will vary constantly, and each variation affects the viscosity of the mill solution. When the cyanide consumption increases as the character of the ore changes, the viscosity of the solution will increase and the extraction will decrease, for the cyanide consumption is usually a measure of the impurities dissolved from the ore. In other words, as the difference between the total and free cyanide increases the extraction will decrease, other factors remaining constant.

Jan 1, 1926

By Ralph Arnold

LESS than eight months ago at the annual meeting of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers, attention was called to the demoralizing effect of the abnormal oil production of Mexico on the oil situation in the United States, and it was predicted that this unstabilizing influence would probably become impotent in 18 to 24 months through ' the exhaustion of the principal producing fields of Mexico, unless new fields were found in- the meantime. When this statement was made, the daily production of Mexico was about 600,000 bbl. of crude oil; now it is about 350,000 bbl. No new pools of consequence have been opened, although extensions have been made to two old pools. Over 200,000 bbl., or more than half of the present daily production, comes from Los Naranjos, Amatlan and North Zacamixtle fields, in which practically every well is so affected by salt water that the potential production dropped 50 per cent. in the month of September, clearly indicating that these fields are moving rapidly toward extinction. How much longer the one remaining important pool will last is a matter of conjecture.

Jan 1, 1921

By J. Gustavson, E. Mallard, F. Pirkle

The Sales Comparison Approach to estimating the value of a mineral property must always be attempted1 . In addition to other parameters, the approach depends heavily on the availability of transaction data. The consideration for the mineral property must be in form of cash, cash equivalent or other consideration. In other words, “What dollar amount did the property sell for?” Mineral properties are generally real estate, albeit frequently buried deeply under the overlying surface real estate, unless the property may be a quarry. In some states, transactions must be recorded in county courthouses, and the sale consideration must be included. In such cases, the appraiser’s job is made easy. In other locations, the sale considerations are withheld in the courthouse data; but occasionally a local transfer tax is collected and recorded. Again, the appraiser’s job is made easy by back calculation with knowledge of the legislated transfer tax percentage. The worst problem occurs when the consideration for a mineral real estate sale is totally withheld. That may occur in so-called nondisclosure states. A recent map2 of ten non-disclosure states in red is shown below. For the full color code, please refer to the footnote

Mar 2, 2022

By George C. Gibbons

ALMOST everyone in any of the five counties embracing the great East Texas field depends heavily upon oil for his living whether or not he actually owns a well or piece of royalty himself. Oil is a natural resource that, when utilized, spreads its benefits over a vast area and into many channels. Depending then almost entirely upon agriculture: what is now known as the East Texas oil field a decade ago had a scattered farming population. For many of its people, tomatoes and other vegetable crops coupled with the old southern stand-by of cotton, furnished an adequate living and a small cash surplus. Some farm families on the red hills, however, were not far re- moved from the sowbelly and black- eyed peas, or cornpone and potlikker, standard of living. Kilgore of that day, was a village of less than 850 per- sons. Longview, with just over 5000, apparently had reached the limit of its growth. Tyler was an overgrown farming town of around 17,000 persons, de- pending largely upon the agricultural income of Smith County and surrounding territory for which it was a trading center.

Jan 1, 1941

By Chen Zhang

Polycrystalline Ti-rich NiTi thin films have been deposited from a single NiTi target using a DC magnetron sputtering system. Free standing film was obtained by using a single crystal silicon substrate. Thickness ofthe thin films is controlled at around 12 pm. In this investigation, the effect of deposition temperature on the microstructure and transformation temperatures of the thin films is studied. Influence of post heat treatment temperatures on the properties of the thin films is also investigated. Transformation temperatures of the thin films are determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The surface microstructure of the thin films is studied using a scanning electron microscope (SEM), and the crystallinity is determined using x-ray diffractometry. It is found that the thin film deposited on a hot substrate is crystalline even when the substrate temperature is as low as 300°C, while the normal crystallization temperature for an amorphous thin film is around 500°C. The microstructure of the film deposited on a hot substrate shows a very fine grain size. The grain size increases with increasing substrate temperature during deposition. The effect of post deposition heat treatment on grain size is minimal.

Jan 1, 1999

By Akihide Nagao

The behavior of impurity hydrogen that is contained in starting material or picked up during processing has been little investigated up to now. The hydrogen microprint technique is applied to determine the microscopic location of impurity hydrogen during deformation in aluminum without hydrogen charging. Three kinds of pure aluminum of 99.99% are prepared, in which hydrogen content is varied by changing the atmosphere when they are melted and heat-treated. After rolling, tensile specimens with a gage size of 4 x 4 rnm and 0.5 mm in thickness are stamped out from these three kinds of aluminum sheets. These specimens are covered with a liquid nuclear emulsion of silver bromide crystals, stretched by 5,10 and 15 percent plastic strain or fractured, developed and fixed. SEM micrographs reveal a number of silver particles on the slip lines and on the grain boundaries. Also shown is that the more hydrogen present in the specimen, the more silver grains appear on the slip limes and on the grain boundaries. Consequently, it is concluded that impurity hydrogen is transported to the surface with gliding dislocations during deformation.

Jan 1, 1998