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By David R. Cole

Before discussing some of the specific public relations issues in Colorado mining, I would like to define public relations, identify the "publics," review Colorado's population profile, and outline Colorado's mining history. Public Relations In describing public relations, a definition which is frequently quoted appeared in the PUBLIC RELATIONS NEWS, and is as follows: "The Management function which evaluates public attitudes, identifies the policies and procedures of an individual or organization with the public interest, and executes a program of action to earn public understanding and acceptance..' As you can see, this covers a "multitude of sins."

Jan 1, 1975

By Ernest E. Thurlow

"Western Coal" in this paper is limited to those deposits of subbituminous coal and lignite in the States of Montana, Wyoming, and North Dakota. The characteristics of the coal are discussed as well as the history of mining and current mining operations for steam coal. The future of the region is tied closely to the ultimate conversion of coal to oil and gas products. Problems of industrial water supply and environmental considerations are covered together with a brief review of current legislation's actions affecting strip mining.

Jan 1, 1973

By D. A. Ellis

This paper review s several new applications of solvent extraction developed in conjunction with a research project carried out under the AEC Raw Materials Division by the Dow Western Division laboratories during the last two years. A process for recovery of uranium from ores by contacting the solid directly with organic solvent without a prior aqueous leach and a process for uranium recovery by contacting thick, unfiltered leach slurry with the solvent were studied in an attempt to simplify ad reduce the cost of ore treatment procedures. Processes to produce pure UF4 products at the concentrate mills thus eliminating the production and subsequent dissolution of the concentrate were investigated. Since many of the leach liquors contained vanadium as well as uranium, solvent extraction processes for by-product vanadium were also studied.

Jan 1, 1958

By F. E. Lathe

RECENT events have emphasized with renewed force the well known fact that war greatly intensifies the demand for certain metals, particularly for iron, copper, and zinc. Any increase in the use of iron and steel, whether in war or peace, is also accompanied by increased consumption of those metals which find their chief application as ferro-alloys, such as nickel, chromium, manganese, molybdenum, tungsten, and vanadium. Further, since high temperatures are essential for the production of all these metals, activity in the metal industry is inevitably accompanied by an insistent demand for refractories. For example, in North American practice the consumption of magnesitic hearth refractories is frequently expressed in pounds per ton of steel. This quantity (not including straight dolomite) ranges on individual plants from about 7 to 12 pounds. When the industry is operating at approximately full capacity, the ratio of refractory to steel tends to increase, since the tonnage of steel produced is recognized as of paramount importance, and this leads to the harder driving of furnaces and less regard for the effect on refractories. It should also be observed that the cost of refractories per ton of metal produced is always so low, in comparison with other items, that it may even increase while the cost of metal per ton is being reduced through more continuous operation and the use of higher temperatures. As one prominent Canadian copper metallurgist has tersely expressed it, he is "not in business to save refractories but to smelt ore". The effect of war demands and of general industrial activity upon the production of basic and neutral refractories is clearly shown in Figure 1, which gives the value of chrome ore and magnesitic-dolomite produced in Canada during the period 1907 to 1937. Tonnages have not been shown, as these are not available for the full period; such figures as have been published from time to time are not strictly comparable, since both raw rock and finished products have on occasion been included. The preliminary figures for 1938, which are now available, have been prepared by the Dominion Bureau of Statistics on a different basis from those immediately preceding, and have therefore not been shown.

Jan 1, 1940

By Dean H. Ambrose

[Mining and processing earth's materials form the basic building blocks from which many technology advancements and products are made. Virtually all metallic and non- metallic products are derived from a substance found in our earth that we blend, mold, extrude, or pulverize into something useful, the mining industry is responsible for the first step of this process: extraction from the ground. Mining particularly coal mining. poses significant risks to both humans and machines. As raw materials are]

Jan 1, 2009

By A V. Ozsever

The selectivity in flotation columns involving the separation of particles of varying degrees of floatability is based on differential flotation rates in the collection zone, reflux action between the froth and collection zones, and differential detachment rates in the froth zone. Using well known theoretical models describing the separation process and experimental data, froth zone and overall flotation recovery values were quantified for particles in an anthracite coal that have a wide range of floatability potential. For highly floatable particles, froth recovery had a very minimal impact on overall recovery while the recovery of weakly floatable material was decreased substantially by reductions in froth recovery values. In addition, under carrying-capacity limiting conditions, selectivity was enhanced by the preferential detachment of the weakly floatable material. Based on this concept, highly floatable material was added directly into the froth zone when treating the anthracite coal. The enriched froth phase reduced the product ash content of the anthracite product by five absolute percentage points while maintaining a constant recovery value.

Jan 1, 2005

By Lester J. Crow

A preliminary survey was performed to investigate the impregnation of relatively weak, porous volcanic tuff and a relatively strong, dense sandstone with five different monomers. Increases in compressive strengths by factors of 2 to 5, and elastic moduli by factors of 2 to 3.5, are reported for natural rocks (tuff., sandstone, dacite), which were impregnated with five monomers (methyl methacrylate; chlorostyrene; 40 percent TMPTMA-60 percent styrene; 40 percent TMPTMA-60 percent chlorostyrene; 60 percent polyester-40 percent styrene); polymerization took place after monomers were forced into the rock. Impregnation was performed (1) by pressurizing rock specimens from one end, or (2) by a vacuum-soak operation. Polymerization was accomplished by either radiation or chemical initiation techniques. Strength improvement is dependent on (1) the type of monomer used, (2) the amount of polymer incorporated into the rock, and (3) the degree of water saturation of the rock. Water saturation strongly reduced the effectiveness of the method for the polymer systems tested. The more viscous monomers (for example, 60 percent polyester-40 percent styrene) were more effective in displacing the water from the rock, and compressive strengths of wet rock were doubled with these systems. Water saturations ranging from 25 to 100 percent of maximum saturation gave essentially identical results. Further tests on other types of mine rock; including shale and coal, are planned. Water-compatible polymer systems should be developed, or present systems should be suitably modified. For application to tunnel stabilization, design studies evaluating the improvement in rock strength and its influence on the support system are also recommended.

Jan 1, 1971

By Shreyas Giridharan, Fursan Hamad, Sujith Gowda, Christian Moormann

"Pile installation in soil is a dynamic process which exhibits large deformation in the soil region. Experimental investigation of pile installation is both time and resource intensive. Numerical investigation can be a helpful tool for the analysis of the installation process. Furthermore, numerical analysis allows simulating various soils and loading conditions with ease. Finite Element Method (FEM) – a widely used framework for numerical simulations - fails to perform well for soil mechanics where large deformation and heavy material movement exists. In order to alleviate this shortcoming, Material Point Method (MPM), advancement to FEM has been used. In MPM, material points (particles) are used to represent the domain which carry the information and move over a fixed computational mesh where the governing equations are solved.In the present work, a variation of MPM, called CPDI (Convected Particle Domain Interpolation) is utilised which handles large deformation problems better than the classical MPM. Here, the material points are represented by a spatial domain which deforms according to the particle deformation. This eliminates stress oscillations while particles cross the grids. Implementation is validated and applied to pile installation in dry and saturated soil conditions. A 2D axisymmetric model is chosen, with penalty function method being used for evaluating contact between soil and pile. Sand is modelled via the hypoplastic constitutive description that takes into account large deformation, as well as small strain stiffness. From these simulations, various parameters like stress, void ratio and friction angle are studied.INTRODUCTIONOffshore piling is challenging in terms of testing and execution. Before the execution, predicting an efficient installation method requires study of various parameters, like soil conditions, type of loading, force requirement etc., and are the minimum parameters to be known beforehand. To obtain these parameters, testing a real scale prototype under different conditions is not feasible. Scaled model tests in lab can support in making certain decisions, but fail to replicate real behavior fully. Therefore, the need for a numerical simulation technique emerges, which can provide early predictions easily and accurately. This later can be extended to real scale tests, reducing the number of experimental investigation required.Simulation of displacement pile installation in sand involves large deformation due to penetration process, thereby making the application of FEM impossible, where large deformation causes heavy mesh distortions. Due to this, meshless methods are developed to treat large deformation in a better way. Among various meshless methods, Material Point Method (MPM) shows more applicability to geomechanical problems. This is mainly due to the ease of handling soil, structure and water in a unified manner."

Jan 1, 2017

By Shadia Ikhmayies

ZnO microprisms in thin film form were produced by the low cost spray pyrolysis technique at a substrate temperature of 350 ± 5 °C on glass substrates. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersion X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) were used to explore morphology and composition of the films respectively. The films were found to be oxygen rich and contain chlorine. ImageJ software was used to analyze the size of the prisms, where the diameter and length of the microprisms were estimated.

Mar 1, 2017

By D. Harrington

Probably over 95 percent of the coal production of the United States depends upon the use of explosives before it can be placed in the railroad car at the mine, and up to the present time it has been impossible to obtain Pry kind of practicable explosive that isn't dangerous unless handled carefully. In other words, no "foolproof" explosives have been found to date and inspection of the accident records of the coal mines of this country indicates that the use of explosives in coal mines has taken a sad toll of lives. ACCIDENTS PROM EXPLOSIVES IN COAL MATES Of the 2,000 to 2,500 persons killed annually in the coal mines if the United States, 100 to 125 have been killed from explosives without an explosion of gas or dust; these accidents have been due to misfires, hangfires, premature blasts, or accidental setting off of explosives through carelessness or otherwise (but chiefly through carelessness in some form). In this type of accident the flame character of the explosive is not necessarily involved, although an unexpected or premature blast is initiated much more easily with black blasting powder, which has a long flame, than with a permissible explosive, which has a flame much shorter and of briefer duration. By far the greater number of such accidents are caused by black blasting powder or dynamite rather than by permissible explosive.

Jan 1, 1936

By J. A. Matar

Mineralization features at the Bajo La Alumbrera porphyry copper-gold deposit are discussed as they affect gold leaching and copper flotation behavior. Alteration-mineralization geological blocks are assigned in the zoned body, and each required its own geostatistical model. They extend horizontally outward from potassic to the phyllic-propylitic boundary, vertically from surface down to 300 meters, and include oxide, secondary enriched, and hypogene mineralization. Copper and gold values are calculated geostatistically from assays and all available geologic-mineralogic information. Reserves are classified for each geologic block and for each open-pit bench into leach or float ore according to metal grades, geologic characteristics, and supergene-hypogene relations. Finally ore extraction behaviour is briefly described, grouping gold and copper reserves into metallurgical families.

Jan 1, 1986

By Mario Bergeron

L'exploration géologique pour les EOP (EOP: platine, palladium, iridium, osmium, ruthénium, rhodium) requiert avant tout des méthodes appropriees à la mesure de ces élémenIs. L'approche analytique choisie doit tenir compte de plusieurs facteurs, les plus importants étant: le type de materiel analysé, sa representativite, la sensibitite de la methode et les cotits reliés à son utilisation. Dans cette optique, plusieurs démarches ana/ytiquessont possibles, toutes requérant une étape de préconcentration. L 'une des plus adéquate consiste à effectuer une préconcentration par fusion plombeuse suivie d'une analyse par émission au plasma, cette procédure permettant de mesurer Ie platine, la palladium et Ie rhodium à des couts compétitifs (15 $/échantillon). Advenant 10 presence de teneurs appréciables de l'un ou plusieurs de ces éléments, une préconcentration par fusion au sulfure de nickel suivie d 'une analyse par activation neutronique assure alors la mesure de tous les EGP ainsi que celie de l’or (90 $/échantillon). Il est important de noter que Ie nickel, ades teneurs superieures à 4%, interfère au cours de l'étape de préconcentration par fusion plombeuse, ce qui se traduit pas sous-dosage des concentrations en platine, effectivement presentes dans l'échantillon. Ainsi, les géologues à la recherche d'EPG dans des environnements géologiques riches en nickel devraient s'assurer que l'analyse utilise, au cours de l'étape de préconcentration, une fusion au sulfure de nickel.

Jan 1, 1990

By S. M. Purdy

Under certain conditions of hot rolling and air cooling from the hot-rolling temperature, bars of a high carbon (0.40 pct C) chrome-nickel austen-itic alloy were found to show magnetism even though no ferrite or martensite could be detected by microscopic or X-yay methods. The appearance of magnetism in such alloys may come from chromium impoverishment of the austenite grains near the precipitated carbide particles. SPORADICALLY, hot-rolled bars of Silchrome 10, an exhaust valve steel, have been found to be magnetic. Because of the analysis of the alloy—0.40 pct C, 18 pct Cr, 8 pct Ni, 3 pct Si —magnetism is unexpected. Preliminary investigation showed neither martensite nor ferrite to be present; only austenite and Cr23C6. Since a literature search was fruitless, a brief study was made of the appearance of magnetism in this alloy. The only basic difference between the two heats is the nitrogen content. Permeability was measured using a Severn magnetic gauge. This instrument consists of a magnet mounted on a counterbalanced arm. A set of calibrated plugs is placed in contact with one pole of the magnet. The specimen is placed close to the other pole of the magnet. If the specimen pulls the magnet away from the plug, it has a permeability greater than that marked on the plug. This technique is swift and reproducible. Previous experience has shown that the permeabilities obtained corresponded to those obtained on a permeater with a field strength of 100 oe. Specimens from both heats were annealed at temperatures between 1700 and 2300°F. One set of specimens was water cooled and another furnace cooled. All the water-quenched specimens were non-magnetic; the furnace cooled ones were magnetic as shown in Table I with no difference being observed between the two heats. Microstructural examination of the specimens showed the expected increase in carbon solubility with increasing temperature. Carbide solution was complete at 2200°F. The specimens heated to 1900°F or below showed some carbide precipitation from the hot-rolled structure. A furnace cooled specimen from a given temperature showed less carbide out of solution than the water-quenched specimen from the next temperature below; e.g., the specimen furnace cooled from 2100°F showed less carbide out of solution than the water-quenched specimen from 2000" F. These studies indicated that the appearance of magnetism was not related to the quantity of carbon in or out of solution and it was related to precipitation at temperatures below 1700" F. A set of samples annealed and water-quenched from 2100° F was aged for 4 hr at temperatures between 1000" and 1600°F; all were non-magnetic. A second set of samples, similarly annealed, was aged 1 to 24 hr at 1200°F with the results shown in Table II. None of the latter set of specimens showed magnetism until they had been aged about 8 hr. Magnetism was quite strong after aging 24 hr. X-ray diffraction studies on several of the magnetic specimens showed that the austenite had a lattice parameter of 3.58A and that the carbide was Cr23C6. Several of these samples were electrolytically digested in 10 pct HCl in ethanol, with a current density of 0.1 amp per sq cm. None of the particles in the residue were magnetic. Accidentally, one cell was run at 1 amp per sq cm; e.g., magnetic particles were found in this residue. After careful separation, the magnetic particles were mounted on a quartz fiber and their diffraction pattern determined using a 5.73-in. Debye-Sherrer camera with CrK radiation. These particles showed a fcc structure with a lattice parameter of 3.57A. Prolonged exposure, up to 16 hr, produced no other lines on the film. The following facts seemed to be established at this time: 1) Austenite was the magnetic phase. 2) Neither ferrite nor martensite could be detected. 3) Magnetization could be produced by aging at 1200°F. One explanation of these data is that the carbide precipitation impoverishes the region immediately around the carbide particle of carbon and chromium and increases the proportion of nickel. All of these serve to increase the Curie temperature of the region around the carbide particle. If the composition change is enough, the Curie temperature will rise above room temperature. If the volume of the affected region is great enough, the magnetism will become detectable. At low aging temperatures, composition changes are great enough but the overall volume of impoverishment is quite small

Jan 1, 1962

By R. J. Schaefer, M. E. Glicksman

Direct, in situ observation of metallic alloys during solidification reveals that in some systems crystal multiplication occurs by means of a dendrite remelt-ing process, without the necessity of independent nu-cleation events. The solidification is observed on optically clean surfaces of supercooled molten alloys. In one system (Sn-3 wt pct Bi) , a fine-grained equi-axed structure is produced by the complete disintegration, via remelting, of transient initial dendrites. In contrast, several other metallic systems show little or no evidence of remelting activity. The behavior of these metallic systems is consistent with that expected on the basis of published observations of dendrite remelting in transparent organic alloy systems. It is concluded that dendrite remelting is an important crystal multiplication process in some metallic alloys, but is velatively unimportant in some other alloys. The detachment of dendrite branches from the primary stem by a remelting process has been observed by Jackson, Hunt, Uhlmann, and seward1 during the solidification of some transparent organic alloy systems. The branches released by this remelting process can drift free of the primary stem and serve as seeds for the formation of numerous independent crystals. This proliferation of new crystals does not require repeated independent nucleation events, but only modification of the initial solidification structure. The mechanism of dendrite remelting, as described by Jackson et a1.1 and by Tiller and O''Hara,2 is dependent on the transport of both heat and solute and is, therefore, expected to operate only in alloys, and not in pure substances. It was found in the transparent organic alloy systems that remelting occurred primarily in the constricted regions near the base of dendrite branches, where the branches had grown through the solute-rich liquid layer surrounding the primary dendrite stem. It was suggested that impure solid had formed in these constricted regions at a relatively low temperature and had later become unstable as further solidification of purer material raised the temperature. Jackson et al. proposed that the equiaxed zone of metal alloy castings originates from a similar remelting process, and they demonstrated the operation of this mechanism in "ingots" poured from saturated salt solutions. Although these substances were especially selected to show solidification behavior similar to that of metals,3 the remelting mechanism has, until now, been subject to the objection that its operation has not been directly observed in a metallic system. Considering the fact that thermal properties such as diffusivity may differ by as much as two or three orders of magnitude between metals and organic compounds, this objection was considered to be possibly serious. A method has now been developed by which it is possible to make direct optical observations of metals during solidification. This method has revealed transient solidification processes which would not be detected by metallographic examination of totally solidified specimens. In particular, a grain-refinement process in a metallic alloy has been observed to be a direct consequence of the total disintegration of an initial dendritic structure. The influence of an initial, transient solidification structure on the final solidification structure is demonstrated here for the first time in a metallic system. I) EXPERIMENTAL The technique of using a transparent flux to maintain an optically clean metal surface during solidification has been described by us elsewhere.* The

Jan 1, 1968

By Robert J. Brennan, Edward R. Navrocky, John W. Buch

In an effort to establish a highly productive mechanized mining system for anthracite beds pitching between 10 ° and 20 ° , for which conventional mobile equipment is not adaptable , the Bureau carried out an experiment in longwall mining using an Anderton- type drum cutter loader and friction - type yielding steel roof supports . The roof- support system proved to be inadequate for breaking the overhanging roof at the break line supports , with the result that the roof broke over the solid coal . The accompanying subsidence destroyed the continuity of the roof in the work area , and the project was discontinued .

Jan 1, 1964

By V. A. Leão, V. S. Coimbra, V. A. A. Oliveira, R. F. M. de Souza, G. M. de Lima

A willemite concentrate consisting mainly of willemite (55.3%) and dolomite (15.6%) was reduced in a tube furnace with charcoal as reductant. The effects of temperature and varying reductant additions on zinc extraction were studied. A zinc recovery of 86% was achieved with 20% reductant in the charge at 1100°C. During reduction, the calcium oxide generated through calcination of the dolomite promoted decomposition of the willemite, thus lowering the temperature at which reduction took place. The presence of CaO improved the zinc recovery at all temperatures studied. The best zinc recovery (93%) was obtained in the presence of 5% CaO, 20% charcoal reductant, and at a temperature of 1100°C. The results show that the willemite concentrate studied has great potential to be used as a raw material for the Waelz process.

Nov 6, 2023

By C. L. Schneider

The calculation of the liberation spectrum in the product from continuous milling operations is a problem of considerable importance and is difficult to solve because the population balance equation must be integrated in two-dimensional space. Complete solutions require the estimation of a large number of parameters unless a structural model of the ore texture can be used. A very simplified textural model based on the use of the modified Andrews-Mika diagram and the PARGEN simulation of multi-phase particles has been formulated and is used to simulate the behavior of a continuously operating laboratory ball mill. A sensitivity analysis for this mill has been done to show the likely effect of model approximations on the predicted liberation spectrum which will be measured.

Jan 1, 1992

By A P. Tinnelly

This paper explores the structural/physical and policy based issues that have lead to the apparent resource conflict between Forestry and Mining on the West Coast. Both industries are important to the West Coast and bear many similarities, particularly at the corporate end of the mining scale. However there are very distinct structural differences which set the scene for friction at the boundaries. Examples of how mining impacts upon forestry illustrate where some of the friction arises and provides some insight as to where some solutions are or may be found.

Jan 1, 1996

By Richard D. Hagni

Reflected light microscopy is routinely applied to the study of ore minerals and textures in polished sections prepared from a wide variety of ore specimens. With the increasing interest in environmental problems, the important role of the reflected light microscope in the precise phase identifications and the determination of the textural relationships between those phases needs to be recognized. Among other environmental applications, the microscope has been applied to the recognition of lead smelter particles from remote collect sites in Missouri and those particles have been compared to dust particles from specific localities at the nearby lead sinter plant and lead blast furnace. Dust from a secondary copper refinery has been studied for its mineralogy. Soils in the vicinity of a Missouri lead smelter have been studied for their mineralogy in preparation to the clean up of those soils. Electric arc furnace (EAF) dusts, recently classified as hazardous waste by the EPA, have been examined for their mineralogy and textural intergrowth in order to better evaluate proposed metallurgical treatment procedures to render the dust non-hazardous. The initial products from experimental metallurgical treatment of EAF dusts also have been studied to aid in determining the effectiveness of those treatment procedures. Refractory gold sulfides that have been roasted in the presence of lime to retain environmental objectionable sulfur and arsenic while recovering the gold have been studied by RLM to determine their mineralogy, porosity, and permeability for cyanide leach solutions. These case histories illustrate the applicability of ore microscopy to the study of problems related to environmental concerns.

Jan 1, 1995

By T Perera, B Fan, S Thang, T Hsia

The mining industry is currently focusing to develop and adopt sustainable collector chemistry that can efficiently recover valuable minerals from their natural state. However, a limited number of research can be seen on the design and synthesis of polymeric flotation collectors. The focal objective of this research is to synthesise a more effective polymeric collector with advanced architecture to utilise in the mineral processing industry. Reversible Addition-Fragmentation Chain Transfer (RAFT) co-polymers with cardanol derivatives have the potential to selectively trap valuable metals in the flotation process in a more efficient way. Cardanol exhibits amenability to chemical modification for making tailor-made monomers that can further produce polymers with high value. The synthesis of a series of fit for purpose copolymers in this study was accomplished by RAFT polymerisation. The ability to design complex architecture is a significant advantage in engineering polymeric collectors by RAFT polymerisation. Initially, commercially available cardanol was converted to a cardanol based monomer and copolymerised with commercially available monomers to synthesise a series of novel cardanol based copolymers with predetermined molecular weights. The side groups of the copolymer were chemically modified to incorporate functionality that can be selectively adsorbed on the chalcopyrite surface.

Aug 24, 2022