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BP Minerals America (BPMA) has completed its $400 million modernization of Kennecott Utah Copper's Bingham Canyon mine. Modernized facilities include the in-pit crusher, conveyor, ore storage area, concentrator, ore pipe-line, and tailings pipeline. With modernization, Kennecott will achieve substantial cost reductions. Bingham Canyon is now one of the lowest cost copper producers in the world. And the mine will continue to provide jobs and income in Utah for another 30 years or more. The Modernization Project began in February 1986. The work took 33 months. In late 1987, the construction force peaked at 1100 workers. Kennecott Utah Copper now employs a permanent work force of 2100 employees. Less equipment and more efficiency The modernization work has increased the scale of the facilities that transport and process copper ore. A large, continuous transport system has replaced multiple haulage units. Fewer but larger pieces of equipment have replaced many crushing, grinding, and flotation units. The result is less maintenance, fewer employees, and improved metal recoveries. About one-third of the $400 million modernization project is directed at improving ore movement by eliminating rail transport. The new concentrator accounts for the remaining two-thirds of the modernization investment. The modernized plant was started up in stages. In February, ore was fed to the crusher. By the end of March, the three grinding lines were operating and the flotation circuit was producing copper concentrate. In July, the design through-put rate of 70 kt/d (77,000 stpd) was reached. October saw the achievement of targeted metal recoveries that corresponded to the fully modernized operation. It is estimated that Bingham Canyon will annually produce 181 kt (200,000 st) of refined copper, 9.3 t (300,000 oz) of gold, 71 t (2.3 million oz) of silver, and 5.4 kt (12 million lb) of molybdenite. Current Bingham Canyon production is about 97 kt/d (107,000 stpd) and a similar amount of overburden. Some 70 kt/d (77,000 stpd) of ore are processed through the in-pit crusher and 27 kt/d (30,000 stpd) of ore are transported by rail. The Bingham Canyon mine has yielded more than 11 Mt (12 million st) of refined copper. In 1863, precious metals - silver-bearing lead - were first discovered in Bingham Canyon. What was once a mountain is now a huge open pit. In fact, the mine is the world's largest man made excavation. The pit is some 4 km (2.5 miles) wide and 0.8 km (0.5 miles) deep. Since the pit began operating in 1906, more than 4.5 Gt (5 billion st) of material have been removed. Modernized facilities Electric 21 m3 (27 cu yd) or 23 m3 (30 cu yd) shovels are used to load the haulage trucks. Both 154 t (170 st) and 181 t (200 st) trucks are used to haul the ore to a mobile, in-pit crusher. The crusher replaces three crushers located at the old concentrators. There are two dumping locations at the new crusher, which can handle two trucks a minute. The 1.5 x 2.7 m (60 x 109 in.), 745 kW (1000 hp) Allis-Chalmers gyratory crusher reduces the ore to 254 mm (10 in.) size or less and delivers it to the conveyor. The crusher and conveyor systems are capable of handling 9 kt/h (10,000 stph) of ore.

Jan 11, 1988

By Gaither H. Kitchell

Introduction Fire assaying is an ancient method of determining the amount of gold and silver in geological materials. Today's commercial, mining, school, and private fire assaying laboratories still use this basic assaying method. One of the primary reagents used to collect gold and silver from the ore is litharge (PbO), or lead oxide. The Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) and the Nevada Division of Occupational Safety and Health's (OSH) have a lead standard. It states that a person exposed to airborne lead at concentrations greater than 50 µg/m3 (1.4 µg per cu ft) of air over an eight-hour period has gone beyond the permissible limit for health safety. It is not uncommon to get airborne lead concentrations of 1400 µg/m3 (40 µg per cu ft) in the flux/sampling area or 900 µg/m3 (25 µg per cu ft) around the gas/ electric furnaces during the fusion and cupelling phases. Therefore, any individual working in these areas for more than 30 days per year without proper protection is a likely candidate for lead poisoning. Lead In A Human Lead enters the body as a toxic substance by breathing it into the lungs and upper respiratory tract and by getting lead particles into the digestive system through ingestion. Smoking, eating, drinking, chewing tobacco and gum, or wiping a lead-contaminated hand across the mouth are all potential ways forgetting lead into the body. Lead taken in large quantities can actually kill a person in a matter of days. This is rare, however. The real hazard of lead overexposure is for the unsuspecting person who works in an unsafe lead environment for months or years. This individual can slowly receive damage, sometimes permanent, to the central nervous system, gastrointestinal tract, kidneys, blood, gums, and reproductive system. Safe Blood-Lead Level The Lead Standard states that the maximum safe blood-lead level is 40 µg/100 g (40 µg per 3.5 oz) of whole blood. It recommends 30 µg/100 g (30 µg per 3.5 oz) if a person is of child-bearing age. People not working around lead products normally have a blood level of less than 10 µg/100 g (10 µg per 3.5 oz). A person not adequately protected can exceed 40 µg/100 g (40 µg per 3.5 oz) in a few weeks by fire assaying only 100 samples per day per week. Studies show that some individuals have developed lead-related diseases with blood-lead levels less than 80 µg/m3 (2.3 µg per cu ft). Lead Poisoning Symptoms There is a long list of symptoms associated with lead poisoning. The most common are: a prolonged, sweet, metallic taste in the mouth; loss of appetite; anxiety and irritability; weakness and dizziness; nausea and tremors; and insomnia. Preventive Measures Based on the lead standard, a number of preventive measures can be taken to ensure that fire assay laboratory personnel frequently exposed to lead are protected against overexposure. First, the actual lead concentration within the assaying area should be determined. In Nevada, one can contact the Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Occupational Safety and Health for assistance in monitoring any laboratory. The agency will also recommend ways to protect against lead. This agency does the monitoring and provides an educational class on lead safety. This type of agency can be found in other states. Commercial consulting firms are also available, but they are expensive. Regardless of the technique used to determine lead concentrations, it is most likely that the average fire assay area exceeds the 50 µg/m3 (1.4 µg per cu ft) lead concentration limit. This is considered unsafe.

Jan 8, 1985

By Wallace W. Roepke, James C. Church

Introduction The history of mining machine development has been and is one of "bigger is better." While this may not always be true, it is currently the only approach open to machine designers without specific in situ cutting force information. The US Bureau of Mines has tried to modify this approach by supporting research, both in the laboratory and in field tests, that demonstrates that bigger is only better if the equipment is used correctly. In-house research has shown conclusively that deeper cutting reduces both dust and energy (Roepke, Lindroth, and Myren, 1976). This approach has been applied to a large Lee-Norse (LN456) continuous mining machine, which confirmed that slow deep cutting is beneficial and does not have a negative effect on production (Black and Rounds, 1977; Black et al., 1978). Specific in situ engineering data needed on coal cutting forces have not, however, been obtained by field tests with the LN456. Although the machine was instrumented to obtain data on one seam, it would be impractical to move the machine from mine to mine. It became apparent that a portable, easy to use device was needed for obtaining coal cutting forces in situ. Such a device could provide the engineering data needed by manufacturers, the site-specific cutting information needed by operators, and a field research tool to establish correlation with laboratory cutting tests. Design and Development According to a set of design guidelines established by the Bureau, the proposed device should be able to measure cutting forces directly with standard coal cutting bits, be transportable by two miners, and be self-contained. These guidelines were given to Ingersoll-Rand Research Inc. (IRRI). The contractor performed a rigorous review of 16 existing in situ portable tester designs, none of which could use a standard coal cutting bit to measure cutting force directly. These included a wide range of devices, all of which are discussed in the final report (Banerjee and Wisner, 1982). A series of design tradeoffs were established to satisfy initial design guidelines. The final deci¬sion was heavily weighted by an industry survey to determine the preferred concept from four man¬ufacturers and four operators. To assure ease of use with maximum information, all respondents wanted a linear cutting device that could work in seams down to 1 m (40 in.). The final design choice was between a linear and a rotary tester. The rotary tester would cut on an arc in the same manner as a rotary drum machine. It had several faults, however, that could not be resolved within the scope of this contract. The worst was related to arc cutting (Roepke, Lindroth, and Myren, 1976). Since any bit cutting on arc enters the coal at zero depth, goes to maximum depth only at the horizontal centerline, and exits at zero, maximum cutting force is obtained only at the instant the bit crosses the horizontal centerline. This centerline peak response would require that many replications be made with an arc-type cutter to get reliable force information. The arc-type tester would require extensive face preparation to establish the cutting path and extensive wasted clearing cuts to advance the device for additional layers of cuts. The linear tester could be mounted directly on any face or rib with only minor preparation. By its nature, a linear cut at a constant depth provides multiple peak force data over the length of the cut, thus reducing the required number of replications. The final review of these two major design concepts plus indus-

Jan 9, 1983

By J. E. Sherborne, P. H. Jones, E. C. Babson

A study of the Chapman zone in the Richfield field, Orange County, California, indicates that the quantity of oil recovered by present methods will be only a small portion of the oil originally in place. Since the volume of residual oil is believed to be of large magnitude, an experimental water-flooding operation has been initiated in order to determine whether water-flooding offers promise as an economical method of recovering some of this residual oil. A single injection well was drilled between old producing wells, and a water-treating plant using alum flocculation and chlorination was designed and built. Water has been injected into the input well for six months at rates in excess of 100 bbl. per day. Production from one of the neighboring wells has increased materially, the oil production having risen from 7 to 30 bbl. and the water From I to 40 bbl. per day. While definite conclusions regarding the economic success of water-flooding in the Chapman zone are not justified at this time, it has been demonstrated that water can be injected into the zone on a sustained basis and that this water will displace appreciable quantities of oil from the sand. Introduction As a result of an investigation of subsurface conditions in the Chapman zone of the Richfield field, it was concluded that ultimate oil recovery from this zone would probably be low and that natural water encroachment was so localized as to be of little importance from a recovery stand- point. Furthermore, it was found that in many portions of the zone the wells were approaching an unprofitable level of production. When these data were presented to the management of the Union Oil Co.; their reaction was that an attempt should be made to develop methods of recovering at least a portion of the large quantity of oil remaining in this zone. After some investigation, it was decided that wafer-flooding offered the most likely means of accomplishing this end, but reservoir conditions in the Chapman zone differ so widely from those encountered in any of the flooding projects described in the literature that it was difficult to evaluate the probability of success. Despite encouraging results from laboratory tests, it was not even certain that water would displace an appreciable volume of oil from the Chapman sand under reservoir conditions. Therefore, it was decided to initiate a small-scale project, for two purposes: first, to determine whether water would displace oil from the Chapmall sand and, second, to obtain information and experience for future operations if water-flooding appeared to be a promising method of secondary recovery. Reservoir Data The Chapman zone is the upper of the two producing zones in the Richfield field, being found at depths from 3000 to 3700 fi.. The productive portion of the zolle consists of a large irregularly shaped sand body, which is more than 400 ft. thick at the top of the structure. As the margin of the field is approached, the sand is replaced

Jan 1, 1945

By E. W. McAllister

THE decision of the California Oil Umpire's1 office to accept well potentials established from subsurface-pressure data has brought to the attention of many operators for the first time the application of such data to production problems. This paper reviews the development and application of subsurface-pressure data in Kettleman Hills, where these data have been used in production work since 1932. The Kettleman Hills field was discovered in October 1928. The first subsurface-pressure surveys were made early in 1932 and by the middle of 1933 the two major operators in the field were making routine pressure runs in their respective wells. Shortly thereafter, these companies agreed to exchange pressure data, and later a third company entered into the agreement. This made it possible to analyze the effects upon the reservoir pressure of past production practices, which are discussed in the latter part of the report. It is interesting that many of the applications of subsurface-pressure data discussed herein were anticipated by C. L. Clarks and C. B. Kimberlin‡ in a reports dated March 1933. PRODUCTIVITY INDEX In the majority of individual well problems involving the use of subsurface pressure data, it is necessary to use a factor known as the "productivity index," which indicates the ability of a well to produce and represents the number of barrels of oil or oil and water per day that will enter the well bore for each pound per square inch pressure drop made opposite the producing interval of the well. The productivity index may be determined from pressure and production data for one or more rates of flow and a static or shut-in pressure survey or from production and pressure data for two or more rates of flow. Productivity indices may be based upon either net oil or total fluid production. All indices referred to in this report are based upon net oil. The value of the productivity index for Kettleman Hills wells decreases generally with time and it is not uncommon for the index to vary in value at any specific time for various rates of flow. The decline of the productivity index may be attributed partly to the loss of reservoir pressure. As. the reservoir pressure decreases, gas originally in solution is released from the oil, congesting the flow of fluids through the formation and increasing the viscosity and surface tension of the oil; thus the flow resistance of the fluids through the formation is increased, resulting in a decrease of the productivity index. For convenient reference, the productivity indices for each well are plotted against time and a curve is drawn through the points showing the trend of the average index value. Plotted on Fig. I are index values for five

Jan 1, 1941

By Edgar Roque, Edwin Cereceda

El método de explotación por Bench and Fill tiene importantes ventajas como menores costos y mejores rentabilidades. Asimismo, entre los factores que caracterizan a este método son la dilución y la fragmentación con respecto a otros métodos convencionales como corte y relleno, shrinkage, cámaras y pilares, etc. Es por ello, que se le debe dar una importancia especial al control de la dilución y fragmentación, tomando en consideración variables generadas en la voladura. Normalmente estos controles se efectúan durante la voladura en Bench and Fill, generalizando los resultados para un nivel completo los cuales están sujetos a prueba y error, sin considerar ciertas características del macizo en diferentes zonas de ese nivel.

Sep 1, 2017

By John M. Crowl, L. E. Sawyer

5.3-1. General Public Resistance to Strip Mining. Surface (strip) mining is the oldest recorded method of extracting coal and other minerals from the earth. This method of mining completely alters the topography of the earth's surface, leaving an area of more or less parallel ridges or of peaked mounds of the materials which overlay the mineral seam. It destroys all original vegetation and provides materials for new type soil. During the early years the acreage mined by this method was small, land was plentiful, and with a growing young nation no thought was given to the restoration of the disturbed areas to some form of productive use. Early in the present century the development of steam shovels and drag-lines made it possible to remove thicker overburden to recover the products. With the deeper digging, the size of the disturbed areas increased. With this increase in the size of equipment and the improvement of blasting techniques, mining was expanded into more prominent locations and to areas of more valuable land. The more progressive operators became aware of the need to reclaim those areas for some productive use. Electric shovels with capacities of up to 200 cu yd and draglines with capacities of 145 cu yd, capable of uncovering products over 100 ft below the surface, are now in use. Combined with the increase in the size of equipment, the expansion of contour mining or rim stripping in the mountainous areas has focused public attention on the need for a sound reclamation program for all disturbed areas. APPEARANCE. After mining, the areas consist of varying percentages of rock, shale, slate, and soil material devoid of all plant and animal life. Unless a definite reclamation plan is carried out, many of the mined areas will remain bare for a period of years. The topography of the area is completely altered. What may have been level to rolling land in cultivation, in grass, or in timber is thrown up into a series of ridges or mounds.

Jan 1, 1968

By Floyd Kelley

THE literature of the last decade is rich with information relating to the cause and means of control of grain growth in pure metals, but is deficient concerning the role diffusion plays in grain growth, although during this period many new products that depend on diffusion for their properties and success have been developed. Among these are cementation products, produced by calorizing, chromizing, and carbonizing, or by mixing, pressing, and sintering powdered metals such as Syke's iron-molybdenum die material, Genelite, and Elcon Metal (copper, tungsten) etc. This is a fertile field for new developments, but before it can be util-ized to the fullest extent there must be a thorough investigation of the processes by which diffusion and grain growth take place. Grain growth plays no small part in the process and certainly the physical properties of these products depend largely on the grain size and state of equilibrium produced. The field of investigation does not end here, but may be extended to the effect of diffusion on impurities, segregations and dendrites in the broad field of ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy. A number of years ago the author investigated several of these cases and noted, with striking regularity, the pronounced effect of diffusion in promoting recrystallization and grain growth. An example of this phenomenon is given in his paper on chromizing1 which contained photomicrographs of large radial or columnar crystals produced by diffusion of chromium in the solid state. Another manifestation of this effect was discussed by Austen,2 who showed the part hydrogen plays in the decarburization of steel and the effect of diffusion upon the grain structure.

Jan 1, 1928

By Anton Sroka

The German hard coal production predominantly derives from underground multiseam mining activities. Beside common surface damages, ?inner mine damages? on underground infrastructures (i.e. main roads, cross cuts and shafts) due to mining excavations occur to an increasing extent. As these "inner mine damages" dramatically increased because of the development towards high performance longwall mining technologies, this matter raised to be a severe problem concerning mining economics. To protect durable and long lasting underground infrastructures, precautionary measures such as suitable mine layouts, adapted planning of mining operations and moderate face advances have to be considered. Some examples of "inner mine damages" recorded by means of mine surveying methods are given in this paper. An empirical-mathematical model based on the principles of mining subsidence engineering methods will be introduced. This model allows to minimize ?inner mine damages? and helps to support and optimize mining processes.

Jan 1, 1999

A variety of environmental financial assurance instruments are in use across the globe. This paper reviews some of the more common forms currently used in New Zealand, Canada, USA and Australia. In order to be effective, the form of assurance instrument selected needs to be aligned with a countryÆs specific environmental objectives, geography and political climates and also allow for a healthy investment climate. Industry and Government both have a strong interest in ensuring financial assurance criteria meet these objectives.   Recently Golder Associates have been involved in financial assurance assessments for various mining and quarrying companies across the South Island. Multiple stakeholders and regulatory agencies can make the setting of effective and fair financial assurance criteria a complex exercise for both regulatory agencies and industry.  The author relates experience gained in assessing financial assurance under current New Zealand legislation (RMA, 1991), effectively dealing with issues such as ôdouble bondingö and overviews potential approaches to dealing with transitional issues for historic and existing operating mine sites.

Jan 1, 2006

By M. E. Wadsworth, J. R. Lewis, J. M. Quets

Samples of snythetic magnetite were reduced in hydrogen at various partial pressures and temperatures. The reaction mas found to be surface controlled and directly proportional to hydrogen partial pressure over the temperature range studied (400° to 1000°C). A transition in the mechanism occurred at approxirnately 590°C. This has been attributed to a change in the slow step of the reduction reaction resulting from the presence of stable wüstite at higher temperatures. Below 590°C the heat of activation for the reduction was found to be 14,700 cal per mole and it was 3,200 cal per mole above 590°C. THE reduction of the oxides of iron has been a subject of study and interest for many years. Edstrom1 has reviewed the work up to 1953 and his findings provide much basic information concerning details of the reduction of hematite (Fe2O3 ) and magnetite (Fe3O4) with both H2 and CO. He concluded that below 600°C the reduction of both hematite and magnetite was essentially identical, since the rate was controlled by a surface reaction at a magnetite gas interface and the iron formed was very porous. The decrease in the reduction rate for both hematite and magnetite immediately above 600°C was attributed to the formation of a stable wüstite phase across which diffusion was very slow. The wide difference in reduction kinetics for hematite and magnetite above 600°C was explained in terms of the character of the wüstite formed. The rate of magnetite reduction increased slowly with temperature beyond the minimum immediately above 600°C and rates equivalent to those observed at 550°C were not obtained until the temperature was increased beyond 850oC. Edstrom and Bitsianes2 studied the solid-state reduction of magnetite, the reaction of which can be written (4x-3)Fe + Fe3O4—4 FexO [1] where x is between 0.83 and 0.95. The rate was found to be controlled by the kinetics of transport of iron ions through the wüstite phase. Bogdandy and Riecke3 studied the kinetics of reduction of small grains of iron oxide in hydrogen and qualitatively attributed the slow step in the reduction process to the diffusion of hydrogen and water vapor through pores. McKewan4 has analysed the data of Joseph,5 Stalhane and Malmburg,6 and Lewis7 and has demonstrated that the kinetics of reduction of both hematite and magnetite are controlled by surface reactions and also that the variation in surface area during reduction must be accounted for. McKewan was able to correlate the reduction data by the equation rodo[1-(1-R)1/3] = Kt [2] where ro is the initial particle radius, do is the density of the iron oxide, R is the fraction reduced at time t, and K is a rate constant. The applicability of Eq. [2] for temperatures above 600°C where a stable wüstite phase is present, indicates the slow step in the over-all kinetics does not result from diffusion unless diffusion occurs laterally along the oxide metal interface or through a wüstite layer of constant thickness. Diffusional control through a layer of wüstite is unlikely, however, in view of the pressure effects demonstrated by Tenenbaum and Joseph,' Diepschlag,9 McKewan,10 and the results of the present study. McKewan has demonstrated a linear rate dependence on the hydrogen partial pressure over the temperature range 400" to 1050°C for the reduction of hematite.

Jan 1, 1961

By G. A. Croes, N. Schwarz

The dimensionless groups, to which the variables that govern the displacement of oil from reservoirs by liquids can be combined, are derived. Three types of displacement are considered, viz. cold-water drive, hot-water drive and solvent injection. The derivation of the dimerzsionless groups is carried out by means of the relevant basic equations (in-spectional analysis). The resulting sets of groups are afterwards completed by means of dimensional analysis. The form of the groups is given in such a way that they can be adapted to suit the various boundary conditions that are encountered in practice. The physical meaning of the groups is discussed. They have all been brought together on a chart, from which their mutual relation and their corresporzdence to related dimensionless groups in common use in other engineering sciences can be read off. The limitations of dimensionally scaled model experiments as a useful tool for studying liquid flow in porous media, as occurring in oil reservoirs, are discussed. The use of models to study fluid mechanics has an appeal for everyone endowed with natural curiosity. What active boy has not played with ship and airplane models, or crude models of dam and drainage systems Even in the most advanced technical engineering, such models play a fundamental and indispensable role. "And yet in few departments of the physical sciences is there a wider gap between theory and practice, between scientific knowledge and the state of art, than in the use of models to study hydrodynamic phenomena." Garrett Birkhoff1 INTRODUCTION Laboratory displacement experiments are extensively used to investigate, directly or indirectly, the production behavior of petroleum reservoirs. Such experiments are representative of the reservoirs as a whole, if they are carried out with models that are "properly scaled." The performance of oil reservoirs is governed by the values of a number of variables, which can be combined to dimensionless groups. Two general methods are available for the derivation of these groups. In the first of these, dimensional analysis, combination of the variables is done essentially by trial and error. Its only premise is knowledge of the complete set of relevant variables. In the second method, inspectional analysis, the dimensional homogeneity of the equations describing the behavior of the system to be studied is used. The resulting dimensionless groups can be divided into: (a) independent (variable) groups, such as dimensionless length, time, etc.; (b) dependent groups, giving the dimensionless form of the variables, such as recovery and pressure, that can, at least in principle, be measured during an experiment; (c) similarity groups, which are independent constant groups, such as ratio of length to height of the reservoir and ratio of

Jan 1, 1957

By J. C. Agarwal

Major scientific discoveries cannot be programmed. New or frontier technology, however, can and should be planned. It is the vital force underlying the business strategy of a vigorous and profitable mining and metals company. Generally, a radical departure from existing technology is required to 1) Enhance the competitive value of ore reserves, i.e., to turn low grade or marginal reserves into competitive reserves. 2) To increase yield and decrease costs. 3) To decrease investment. 4) To increase mine life. 5) To improve product quality to meet market demands. The very definition of frontier technology implies that it is so different that the old plant, if already in use, will not be directly suitable to use the new technology. Therefore, a priori, we know that the commercialization of frontier technology would very likely involve new investment. The recommended technique of economic and technical analyses, I propose to call "Success Analysis.'' Simply stated, it forces us, by step- by-step procedure, to ask "what is needed to succeed in this particular project." Therefore, the first step is to identify what is meant by "success." The definition of "success" requires an agreement with top management or sponsors of the project as to what constitutes "success" in their minds as contrast to the technical people perception of "success." In general, top management would define success as meeting: 1) The technical objectives, i.e., technology being developed would produce the desired product at the acceptable quality. 2) Financial objectives, i.e., when commercialized, the project's capital cost, operating costs and return on investment are better than the projects they would normally fund. The return has to be better because new technology is inherently riskier. 3) Marketing objectives in that the project will produce product of acceptable quality in timely manner, i.e., scale-up to commercial plant would not cause undue delays in start-up and that large fix-up expenditure would not be required to protect the projected return on the investment. Many projects are started in the laboratory to develop "Frontier Technology" in mineral processing. Most of these efforts are never commercialized. There are many causes of these failures. The major causes are listed below: 1) Inadequate communication with the sponsors of the project so that project objectives are defined and agreed to by all. 2) Ill-defined technical problems. 3) Incomplete development of technology. This has two major components: a. Incorrect scale-up and engineering. b. Inadequate start-up and maintenance planning. 4) Incomplete and over-optimistic process economics. 5) Lack of understanding of the future behavior of the marketplace. 6) Failure to complete R&D effort by the time it is needed. 7) Incorrect projections of human resources required; that is, technical, managerial and operating. 8) Lack of realistic forecast of the expenditures required for commercialization of the R&D effort. These pitfalls can be avoided by comprehensive planning and the use of success analysis technique. The major elements in "Success Analysis" are: 1) Identification of the "need" for new technology. 2) Unbiased and complete scale-up engineering. 3) Acceptable economic feasibility with enough margin of error in the sale prices and operating costs to justify the inherent risks in frontier technology. 4) Timing for availability of investment capital and markets. Many failures in the development of frontier technology are preordained because the initial selection of the research project has been without adequate attention to the needs of the industry. Many very innovative hydrometallurgical processes for recovery of copper from concentrates were developed in the past twenty years. They have not adapted except to a very minor extent because they did not satisfy the success analysis criteria. The copper industry in North America needed a process to compete against high grade ores and to avoid

Jan 1, 1985

By John B. Dilworth

In September, 1930, H. N. Eavenson, then Chairman of the Coal Division, appointed a Committee on Methods of valuing Coal Propelvties, with John B. Dilworth as chairman. The latter prepared a schedule' of features for consideration under the general headings of Undeveloped and Developed Coal Properties. These subjects were divided among the members of the committee and during the next year written discussions of his allotted subjects were received from each member. Mr. Grimes and Mr. Eavenson discussed the entire list,. These discussions were mimeographed and a set sent to each member before the meeting of the Institute in February, 1932. There was a general discussion at that meeting. At the meeting in February, 1934, Mr. Dilworth submitted a report12 which summarized the accumulated opinions and data and presented the conclusions of the committee as a whole on the subjects embraced in it's schedule. Members of the committee expressed the desire that some of the individual opinions be published for reference. Mr. R. Damon Hall's abstracts of these papers arc therefore presentrd herewith.3 Personnel of Committee John B. Dilworth (Chairman), Consulting Mining Engineer, Edward V. D'Invilliers Engineering Co., Philadelphia, Pa. Eli T. Conner, Consulting Mining Engineer, Seranton, Pa. W. G. Duncan, Jr., Superintendent, W. G. Duncan CoaI Co., Greenville, Ky. Howard N. EAveNson, Consulting Mining Engineer; Eavenson, Alford & Hicks. Pittshurgh, Pa. George Watkin Evans, Consulting Mining Engineer, Seattle, Wash. J. A. Garcia, Consulting And Constructing Engineer, Allen & Garcia Co., Chicatgo. III. John Alden Grimes, Valuation Engineer, Bureau of Internal Revenue, Washington, D. C. Otto Herres, Assistant Manager, United States Fue1 Co., Salt Lake City, Utah. J. R. Hicks, Consulting Mining Engineer, Eavensorl, Alford & Hicks, Pittsburgh, Pa. Robert D. Reeder, Mining Engineer, U. S. Bureau of Mines, Washington, D. C. Samuel, A. Taylor, Consulting Engineer, Pittsburgh, Pa. Bleeckee L.. WHeeler, Mining Engineer, Ford, Bacon & Davis, New York, N. Y.

Jan 1, 1934

By H. A. Wriedt

A method of calculating activities in binary systems having miscibility gaps is described. The method, which applies only to the phase in which the gap occurs, is exact when the function defined by the equation varies linearly with composition. Analytical and numerical solutions (as a function of the conjugate phase compositions) are presented for two coefficients A and B from which the thermodynamic activities can be calculated. Deviations from Henry's law, calculable by the method presented, are shown graphically for the particula~ case of the component i at the edge of the miscibility gap more remote .from pure component i. For symmetrical gaps, the deviation from Henry's law at this gap edge becomes smaller as the gap becomes wider, The interrelation of gap location, the direction of departures from Henry's law and the occurrence of maxima and minzma in these departures is discussed in some detail. Values for a and for activity calculated from phase diagrams show fair to excellent agreement with corresponding experimental values in the Al-Zn and CaO-SiO2 systems. WHEN structurally similar phases, B and 6, lie at the sides of a two-phase region in a constitution diagram, it can be assumed that, stably or metast-ably, they will become completely miscible at a higher temperature. The B and 6 phases are particular composition ranges of a single B6 phase region with a miscibility gap. Below, as above, the critical solution temperature, the free energy of formation of the 06 phase is a continuous function of composition through the range of the miscibility gap. It is the purpose of this paper to use this continuous free-energy function in order to develop a simple method for computing the thermodynamic activities in the B6 solution of a binary system. To make these calculations it is assumed that the function ai, familiar from Gibbs-Duhem integrations and defined by the equation

Jan 1, 1962

By D. C. Hilty, W. Crafts

The solubility of oxygen in iron containing aluminum has been determined at 1550°, 1600°, and 1650°C and found to be much higher than predicted from theoretical considerations, possibly due to equilibria with an iron-aluminum spinel phase rather than pure AI,O.. The presence of manganese greatly increased the deoxidizing power of aluminum. DEOXIDATION and inclusion formation in steel have proved to be elusive phenomena that are difficult to control in spite of much effort to understand and evaluate the reactions. Study of the problem indicated that more accurate data on the solubility of oxygen in iron containing deoxidizers were essential to further progress, and an empirical determination of oxygen solubilities has been initiated at the Union Carbide and Carbon Research Laboratories, Inc. The investigation has included the effects of aluminum, silicon, manganese, and combinations of these elements at 1550°, 1600°, and 1650°C. The equipment and experimental procedure as well as the results of a study of the effects of aluminum are described below. In general, it was found that the solubility of oxygen in iron containing aluminum is much higher than predicted, possibly because of the formation of complex nonmetallic phases, and that manganese greatly increases the deoxidizing power of aluminum. The generally accepted deoxidation curves for 1600°C are summarized in fig. 1, from "Basic Open Hearth Steelmaking"'. These curves are assumed to represent the solubility of oxygen in the presence of deoxidizers and should indicate the limits of mis-cibility gaps in the phase diagrams of the systems that control the formation and character of non-metallic inclusions as described by Benedicks and Lofquist'. They were derived mainly by application of the methods of thermodynamics to the available experimental observations, and by calculations based on the thermal constants of the pure substances when experimental data were lacking. Among the more notable researches contributing to the development of knowledge of oxygen solubilities are those of Korber and Oelsen8, 4, C. H. Herty, Jr. and associates5,6, Krings and Schackmann7, Went-rup and Hieber8 Schenck and Briiggeman9, Vacher and Hamilton'" and Chipman and co-authors 1,11,12,13 Practically, the deoxidation curves are of limited value in predicting oxygen content and rationalizing deoxidation practices. The reasons for this inadequacy appear to be error from inaccurate data, oversimplifying assumptions, interacting effects of combined deoxidizers, and possibly unknown extra-equilibrium and side reactions. Although inclusion formation is a very complex reaction it must be re-

Jan 1, 1951

By Brian Stump, Chris Hayward

Blasting operations at one copper mine are studied in detail to examine the relation between blast design parameters and near-shot, in-mine, and regional seismic and acoustic observations. Five observational experiments, namely collection of blast design data, near source recordings, GPS synchronized video, near mine recordings and distant regional observations were performed during one week in August. A variety of seismic and infrasound instruments were installed near the shot, on the perimeter of the open pit mine, and at several locations up to 500 km distant. Time tagged video recordings were taken of several shots. Three shots were used in the preliminary analysis, a 350,000 lb pattern with long delays, a 60,000 lb pattern with short delays, and a 256,000 lb pattern with short delays. Maximum peak-to-peak amplitudes of the seismic signals in the mine are not a simple function of the total size of the shot, but are related to the pattern timing. Peak pressures have a less clear relation to peak pressure but match the relative amplitudes of spectra modeled from the pattern design. The predicted spectrum based upon a simple impulse model fits the observed spectrum for ground acceleration measured near the pattern and explains why in this case a pattern of 60,000 lb results in the same seismic disturbance as the 350,000 lb pattern.

Jan 1, 2002

By M. C. Mound, L. Fradette, C. Colbert

Metallurgical Accounting in the mineral processing industry transforms accumulated process data, including flow rates and assays, into a coherent information format. This is used to rapidly provide production reporting and key performance indications. A fully comprehensive and coherency of available data must be a component of any system expected to accomplish reconciliation in the mass balancing process. Quality issues are thus improved with such desired methods via a mass-balancing engine utilizing the results of measurements acquired by various on-line sensors, analyzers, and sophisticated laboratory equipment. Metallurgical Accounting, when accomplished through such an engine, provides high value information in a simple, straightforward, and simplified manner. Exceptional utility is then transparently available to authorized personnel for access to metallurgical accounting reports, production reports, mass balance results, performance indicators, and so on. This paper discusses how such information can be used to "drilldown" into each result set by consulting the data hierarchy to evaluate and validate calculations and input data used to produce the specific results being queried. The power of such a system resides in the full and true integration of all production and laboratory data. What is integrated are the data thus acquired via a single user interface, a single database, a single configuration tool, etc. From this comes the derivation of contextual information and its maintenance. It is possible to reduce metallurgical accounting and production reporting from possibly hours or even days to a matter of minutes. The result is maximization of information reliability and availability from masses of otherwise discrete and difficult to access key data.

Jan 1, 2003

By H. N. Eavenson

EaRly in 1917, the United States Coal & Coke Co. secured options on several tracts in Harlan County, Ky., aggregating about 19,000 acres in area, and after careful prospecting by outcrop openings and diamond drilling, completed the purchase late in July of that year. This property is situated in the eastern end of Harlan County, south of the Poor Fork of Cumberland River, and extending across Big Black Mountain to the Clover Fork of Cumberland River, a distance of about 7 mi. (11.3 kg.). It extends from the Kentucky-Virginia line westward for about 6 mi. Looney Creek, which empties into Poor Fork, crosses the property for about 4 mi. (6.4 kg.), and as several of the seams within the property outcrop along this stream, it afforded an easy, and the logical, place for development. The property is on the northern side of the geological trough formed by the uplifting of Stone Mountain, on the southern, and Pine Mountain, on the northern side; the northern boundary along Poor Fork is practically at the base of Pine Mountain. This area has been described in various geological reports. The main seam on this property is the one known variously as the "C," Benham, Keokee, Taggart, and Roda; it is also called, by the Kentucky Geological Survey, the Kellioka seam of the western portion of Harlan County. This seam averages, in this property, about 5 ft. (1.5 m.) in thickness, although local rolls reduce this thickness considerably over small areas, and at the extreme western end of the property the seam splits. It is usually clean, although occasionally a small parting occurs within a few inches of the bottom of the seam; it is one of the best coking and gas coals in the United States. The average analysis of this coal is given in Table 1.

Jan 1, 1922

By F. V. Lenel

Two years ago in Chicago a seminar was held on the theory of sintering of pure metal powders. As an introduction to this seminar D,.. Rhines1 gave an excellent survey of the literature on this subject, His method of presentatioll was to summarize the experimental observations on sintering and from them to develop a composite theory of sintering in which he combined all the important contributions to the theory into one organic whole. In contrast to the mechanism of sintering of pure metal powders, which, of course, al\vays takes place in the solid phase, sintering j,, the presence of a liquid phase, cannot be treated as one unified mechanism, such as the sintering mechanism of pure metals. The reason is that there are really several mechanisms depending upon the type of alloy system which is sintered and the field of its con. stitutional diagram ill which the sintering takes place, Two mechanisms have heen investigated and will be reviewed in this paper. Ill the first lnechanism the liquid is presellt during the entire time while the compacts are at the sintering temperature, In other words they are sintered between the liquidus and the solidus of the alloy system and are ~e~erogelleous during the entire sintering cycle. The second mechallism applies to alloys in which the liquid phase is formed during the sintering process, but disappears before the sintering process is completed through diffusion and formation of a solid solution. These alloys are therefore homogeneous at the end of the sintering cycle. This second mechanism is more complicated because of the two stages of sintering, the liquid and the solid, as they may be called. It is therefore not surprising that the few detailed investigations of sintering in the presence of a liquid phase have been concerned with heterogeneous sintered alloys, namely the tungsten-nickel-sinter ing which is the so-called "heavy alloy," and the cemented carbides. The mechanism of sintering of these systems is characterized by the fact that theoretical or near theoretical density is attained during sintering, while simultaneously a distinct grain growth takes place through solution of the smallest grains of the solid phase in the liquid phase and reprecipitation on the larger grains. In the first part of the survey this sintering mechanism which is called for short the heavy alloy mechanism is treated in detail. In the second part Of the survey experimental observations for the sintering of homogeneous sintered alloys where the liquid phase disappears before the completion of sintering are discussed. Much less systematic work has been done on these alloys to which the conlmercially important Porous bronzes and the iron-nickel-aluminum permanent magnet alloys belong. Emphasis will be laid throughout this survey upon the microstructural and density changes during sintcring because the Sintering mechanism can usually be described directly by these changes. Other

Jan 1, 1949