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By G. D. Van Arsdale

This paper describes a series of experiments leading to the development of a method for leaching the mixed ores of the Inspiration Consolidated Copper Co., containing chalcocite and silicates of copper, by the use of solutions acidified with sulfuric acid and carrying ferric sulfate. Iron is added to the solutions and ferric iron is regenerated electrolytically to a percentage high enough to act as an effcient solvent. The decreased yield is partly compensated for by a higher current density. An important problem in modern copper metallurgy, particularly in the Southwest, has been to obtain good recoveries from what are commonly known as mixed ores; that is ores in which the copper occurs partly as oxide and partly as sulfide compounds. The dividing line between mixed ores and ores commonly accepted as concentrating is not definite. In other words, much ore now being concentrated carries considerable copper in non-sulfide form, on which recoveries are not so good as on ores carrying less of these constituents. While treatment by concentration may be commercially profitable on ores carrying oxide copper within certain limits, there are large deposits for which the application of concentration could not be considered, and yet which have not been considered amenable to leaching because they carried too much sulfide. The Inspiration Consolidated Copper Co. has large amounts of such mixed ores, and this paper is an account of the experimental work by which a method was developed for their treatment, and for which a large plant is now being erected by the Inspiration Co. It is not claimed that the method is a general solution of the problem of mixed-ore treatment but it is apparently well adapted for leaching the ores of the Inspiration Co., for which it was designed. The work done has covered preliminary laboratory and test-plant investigation, and a pilot-plant run, extending from March to the middle of December, 1923. Thoroughly consistent and satisfactory results were obtained continuously for more than six months in the pilot plant; and it is believed that the results and probable costs that can be had on a large scale have been definitely proved. The method, however, was designed for local conditions; and while the basic principles are general, there are ores on which it will not work and other ores for which considerable modification may be required.

Jan 1, 1926

By Vincent Canaguier

Methane is increasingly considered as a promising reductant for metal oxides, including chromite. To assess the possibilities of such reduction route, the gas-solid reactions between Ar–CH4–H2 gas mixtures and synthetic chromites are studied between 950 and 1050 °C. The influence of Mg and Al additions on the reduction-caburization of (Fe,Mg)(Cr,Al)2O4 solid solution is investigated thermodynamically, structurally and kinetically. The product phases are examined by x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and electron probe microanalysis (EPMA). The reaction rate is derived from real-time exhaust gas measurements and post-reaction product analyses such as oxygen analysis. Kinetic models are proposed based on the product phase morphologies and confronted with the empirical data.

By G. Wren

As base metal sulphide resources become increasingly challenging to process, producers seek alternative options to treat concentrates. This study considers the mineral, elemental, and leaching character of a West Australian nickel sulphide deposit (Cosmos Nickel Project). After a brief review of the published work bench top leach tests were conducted to examine the factors which impact the kinetics of nickel sulphide leaching such as particle size, temperature, acid strength and type, concentration of copper sulphate and sodium chloride, and oxygen partial pressure. The effect of sodium chloride was considered due to the common occurrence of hyper saline water at West Australian nickel sulphide mine sites. Ultrafine grinding to an 80% passing size of 10 µm resulted in high nickel leaching efficiency. Moreover, higher concentrations of acid, copper(II) and sodium chloride also gave higher nickel and cobalt leaching efficiencies but arsenic precipitated as FeAsO4. Under the most suitable conditions the extractions of nickel, cobalt and arsenic at 90oC after 6 hours were >95%, 90% and <5%, respectively. The comparison with results from high pressure operations indicates the possibility of using a hydrometallurgical flowsheet based on fine grinding and atmospheric pressure leaching and warrants further investigations.

Jan 1, 2014

By C. E. Ells

Current knowledge of the behaviour of inert gases in metals is reviewed, with particular emphasis given to the phenomenon of the growth of gas-filled bubbles.

Jan 1, 1960

By D. R. Spink

An historical background is presented to provide a basis for the lack of normally expected developmental effort over the first 20-25 years of viable zirconium production operations. This is followed by a description of developing technology, which is the result of years of research and piloting effort directed to the development of a more economical method to produce high-grade metallic zirconium. It is predicted that many of the process improvements described will have a significant impact on future zirconium production methods and consequently on future prices and markets.

Jan 1, 1977

By George J. Karcas

"Non-ferrous metals such as copper, nickel, lead, zinc and precious metals are produced via the electrorefining and electrowinning processes. Apart from controlling electro-chemical conditions for the production of these metals, there has always existed the challenge of controlling the corrosive effect of the electrolyte environment which serves as the medium for non-ferrous metal production.The practice of acid containment in electrometallurgical operations has entered the world of high technology with the advent of advanced acid resistant materials such as vinyl ester resin which is either combined with aggregate to form polymer concrete or used to line various acid containment vessels and ·surfaces. ill comparison to some Asian, European, and African copper refineries, the North and South American copper industry has recently embraced quite heavily in the use of polymer concrete electrolytic cells and process vessels, such as electrolyte storage tanks, and in the use of vinyl ester resin for corrosion protective surface sealing 'systems in lieu of epoxy, acrylic and other materials because of its combination of higher corrosion resistance and superior flexibility.Electrolytic cell construction has undergone a transformation from a multiple part configuration to a single piece moulded/cast unit. ·The one piece moulded polymer concrete cell, which has been patented by Corrosion Technology International, with the overflow, decant, inlet, fast fill and segregation systems integrally designed is now the industry standard.. The combination of a wood, steel, or concrete frame with a lining made of lead, asphalt, rubber or plastic has been historically successful in providing limited protection from chemical and mechanical attack in electrolytic cells and electrolyte storage tanks all over the world. These combinations have now become obsolete as materials such as polymer concrete provide exceptional corrosion and mechanical protection with greatly reduced maintenance requirements and improved efficiency and productivity for the tankhouse. ill addition, polymer concrete can be disposed of in a regular land fIll which is much less costly than disposing of contaminated concrete that is normally associated with conventional lined concrete cells."

Jan 1, 1997

By Robert L. Lagace

An investigation is made of the feasibility of developing compact transmit antennas and/or other means to efficiently couple VLF to MF band radio energy between portable wireless communication units in coal minus. The completely wireless communication ranges between two portable radios equipped with practically-sized reference loop antennas in representative coal mine environments are estimated. Antenna technology is assessed with respect to transmit moment, range, intrinsic safety, battery and wearability requirements to determine the most suitable antenna types for use by miners. It is concluded that air-core bandolier loop antennas, and perhaps ferrite-loaded loop antennas, having peak transmit moments of about 2.5 ampere-m2 will be the most effective antenna choices for portable units. This choice, however, will not allow the range goal of 1350 feet to he attained in mines having unfavorable signal attenuation and noise environments. Rectangular air-core loops are compared with grounded horizontal-wire and vertical-wire mode exciters for fixed station applications. The potential for significantly increasing the wireless communication range by inductively coupling to communications and power lines in a mine is evaluated and found to be considerable based on theoretical coupling equations. Lastly, the theoretical performance of a hybrid noise cancelling diversity receiving technique that utilizes both the electric and magnetic field components of the ambient noise to improve the receiver output signal-to-noise ratio under certain adverse conditions is estimated and shown to be favorable when the magnetic and electric field noise components are highly correlated.

Jan 1, 1977

By Gurinder Kaur

Selenium (Se) based materials find wide applications in rectifiers, solar cells, photographic exposure meters, data storage devices, xerography and anticancer agents. They are also used in the glass industry to eliminate bubbles and remove undesirable tints produced by iron. In addition, Se is highly reactive towards a wealth of chemicals that can be potentially exploited to convert Se into other functional materials such as CdSe, ZnSe, Ag2Se. Here, we report a review of structural investigations of Se based materials in glassy and nanostructured forms. Glasses having varying amounts of Se and Tellurium (Te) were doped with group IV and V elements such as antimony and tin. Structural changes accompanying the composition variation were characterized with x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and x-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy. At the same time Se-Te nanoalloys were synthesized in aqueous micellar phase using Na2SeO3/Na2TeO3 as the Se/Te source. Morphology change from nanoparticles to nanoribbons was investigated using Scanning and Transmission Electron Microscopy (SEM/TEM) techniques. Structural investigations were also done for well defined morphologies of Se based nano-biomaterials obtained in the presence of water soluble protein bovine serum albumin (BSA).

Aug 1, 2013

By Harley Cheema, Brandon Fryman, John Tatom

A new magazine propagation model has been proposed by the IMESAFR Science Panel for eventual implementation into the IMESAFR QRA program. Initial results from this QRA propagation model are now available.

Feb 1, 2020

By G. S. Victorovich

Technical progress in primary smelting has changed the face of the copper industry in the years since the Second World War. Much of this change has resulted from a wide acceptance of flash smelting technology. In addition, research has been directed toward devising converting processes to replace conventional Peirce-Smith converting technology. One major thrust has involved a revival of the old " ", idea of oxygen flash converting of comminuted mattes. This paper reviews the 60-year history of flash converting. Particular attention is paid to Inco&apos;s investigations into the processing of white metal containing significant amounts of nickel and, in some cases, iron. Thermodynamic analysis and laboratory experimental results are presented which throw light on the behaviour of nickel and other salient features of flash converting. The possible role of oxygen flash converting in the copper pyrometallurgy of the future is briefly discussed vis-a-vis direct production of copper.

Jan 1, 1993

By Robert F. Mehl

Jan 1, 1944

By Robert F. Mehl

Jan 1, 1944

By Reinhard Gertl, Maximilian Weithaler, Harald Kammerer, Juan Pablo Muñoz, Juan-Carlos Rueda

The Guillermo Gaviria Echeverri tunnel and its access roads project in Antioquia, Colombia is a mega infrastructure project that includes a road network with the longest tunnel in Latin America and several short tunnels, the latter being the focus of this study. The design of the project required careful consideration of several special factors, such as the tunnels’ steep slopes of up to 5%, high fire load of 100 MW, bidirectional operation, and short lengths that make it difficult to place ventilation equipment. The combination of all these parameters cause a challenging design problem for the ventilation systems and smoke control of the short tunnels. To address this challenge, a risk assessment study was conducted to support the design of a new and innovative ventilation strategy that deviates from relevant guidelines and standards, like the Austrian RVS [1][5][6] or the German EABT [8] in order to provide a customized solution for this particular project. This strategy resulted a cost-effective solution, that allowed a reduction in the number of required jet fans and at the same time reaches or reduces the risk level compared to traditional ventilation strategies.

Jun 13, 2023

By Thomas J. Peters

In 1978, the U.S. Bureau of Mines and the U.S. Geological Survey completed a joint mineral survey of the Chemise Mountain and King Range study areas as mandated by the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1916, Public Law 94-579. The U.S. Bureau of Mines examined all identified mineral prospects and deposits; the results of these examinations are included in this report. The U.S. Geological Survey studied the regional geology, geochemistry, and geophysics; the results of these studies are available in USGS Map MF-1196. No mineral resources were identified in either the Chemise Mountain or King Range study areas; however, a high-grade silver and base-metal occurrence, and minor manganese resources were identified in between the two study areas, within the King Range Conservation Area. The only mining activity in either area was a placer gold prospect on Honeydew creek in the northeastern part of the King Range study area. Three samples from this prospect contained no gold. The Chemise Mountain and King Range study areas are in a mountainous region along the coast of northern California, 230 road miles north of San Francisco, and 70 miles south of Eureka by way of U.S. Highway 101, through Garberville and Redway. The Chemise Mountain study area consists of 3,941 acres; it includes the 2,598-ft Chemise Mountain, and the cliff-lined seacoast southeast of Shelter Cove. a resort and fishing village. The King Range study area consists of 39.764 acres northwest of Shelter Cove, and includes the northwest-trending King Range with elevations above 4,000 ft. The Chemise and King Range study areas are underlain by deep-water marine sandstones, shales, and minor pillow basalts of the Late Cretaceous and early Tertiary Franciscan Subduction Complex. Mineral production was 1,650 tons of manganese ore within a manganiferous bed overlying pillow basalt at the Queen Peak mine southeast of the King Range study area. However, no significant manganese resources were found in the Queen Peak area. The Point Delgada area, directly south of the King Range study area, has prospects with high grade copper, lead. silver, and zinc. Exposures are inadequate to estimate resources; however, the metals may be associated with Franciscan volcanism (volcanogenic). The Chemise and King Range study areas may contain similar economic silver-rich, base-metal deposits.

Jan 1, 1992

By Dermot M. Ross-Brown

The more important factors controlling the design of pit slopes are related to the local geology over which the designer has little or no control. Nevertheless, there are some factors over which the designer does exert some control and these concern the say in which the rock is excavated and supported. They include blasting, face cleaning, water control, and the use of rock improvement techniques. The paper discusses these factors and relates the extra costs incurred to the steeper slope angles that can usually be obtained. It is demonstrated that even a modest increase in bench angle of 5° through improved excavation techniques can pay off in a single push-back.

Jan 1, 1975

By F. F. Aplan, G. Simkovich

"A review is given of the effects of solid state point imperfections upon a number of mineral benefication processes and a metal extraction process. It has been found in numerous flotation studies that small amounts of aliovalent impurities (dopants) in binary compounds may show major effects upon flotation behavior. Both semiconducting and ionic conducting compounds are affected. These effects are also seen in hydrometallurgical studies as well as in electrostatic operations. Additionally, de-copperization of lead melts appears to be strongly influenced by similar defects. It is hypothesized that the effects observed in these studies are present in actual operations and should be considered in designing processes. A few speculations concerning future efforts are advanced. IntroductionImperfections [point (e.g., vacancies, interstials, quasi-free electrons, electron holes, impurity ions), line (e.g., dislocations), two dimensional (e.g., grain boundaries) and three dimensional (e.g., 2nd phases) defects] are generally present in solid materials and these imperfections may, and often do, have important effects upon a variety of properties and processes. In general, one may, in most cases, attain elimination of three dimensional defects by a separation process of one type or another (e.g., gravity, electrostatic, magnetic, flotation, hydrometallurgical etc.,). Thus, this type of defect has rarely been investigated in a systematic fashion. Two dimensional defects are always present in non-single crystal materials but have also escaped systematic studies in processes primarily because the control of such defects is not easily attained. Line defects are non-equilibrium entities which are present in ill-defined quantities so that they present a variable that cannot be easily controlled although through careful systematic experiments one can attain some reproducible relations pertaining to this type of defect.Contrary to the lack of studies concerned with the effects of 1, 2 and 3 dimensional types of defects there has been some activity concerned with point defects and their effects upon a number of mineral/metallurgical processes, especially flotation processes. Thus, this article will present a review primarily of point defects in relation to their effects upon flotation although other processes and defects will also be mentioned."

Jan 1, 1988

By Diana Drinkwater, Tim Napier-Munn

"This paper argues that, although specialist mineral engineering expertise is essential for the efficient design and operation of mineral processing plants, the environment in which these skills are supplied to the industry has changed forever, and not for the better. Most of the mineral engineering programmes in western universities have died or are dying. The long-service mine site mentors have gone, operations are run on a staffing shoestring so that there is no longer the time (or inclination) for considered decision-making, and the FIFO model has discouraged continuity of optimisation projects and communication between professionals. At the same time the technical challenges of designing and operating effective process plants are increasing. These trends are not going to be reversed any time soon, if ever. The ability to run efficient mineral processing operations has been materially compromised as a consequence. We propose that well-designed professional development can help to recover this situation, and it can be done easily and cheaply. The workplace is the best environment for such skills development. Professional development training should be integrated with normal duties throughout the early years of a graduate’s service (and probably beyond), and the cost should be regarded as non-discretionary expenditure for the business. If such programmes are properly resourced and managed and extended over longer time periods, there will be a measureable rise in the level of technical understanding and competence within companies and a resulting beneficial impact on resource utilisation and thus shareholder value. The paper outlines some of the approaches that we believe will work, and the benefits that we expect will accrue."

Jan 1, 2014

By M. G., Corson

1. In addition to the alloys of copper with iron previously found by Hanson and Ford to show an increase in the concentration of the alpha range with increase in temperature the following binary and ternary systems have been found by the author to exhibit: the same feature: (a) Copper-chromium. (b) Copper-cobalt. (c) Copper-silicon. (d) Copper-nickel-silicon and its pseudo-binary section Cu-Ni2Si (formula of compound definitely established). (e) Copper-cobalt-silicon and its pseudo-binary section Cu-Co2Si (formula of compound established with some probability but not as definitely as for Ni2Si). (f) Copper-chromium-silicon; formation of a compound definitely established (compare Figs. 1 and 2). The formula of this compound may be either Cr2Si or Cr3Si. (g) Copper-iron-silicon; presence of a phase containing both iron and silicon established in an indirect way only. No definite microconstituents observed. 2. RANGES OF SOLID SOLUBILITY (percentage at various tempera¬tures). (a) For copper-chromium: 0.8 at 1000° C.; 0.5 at 900° C.; 0.25 at 800° C.; 0.05 to 0.1 at 500° C. (b) For copper-cobalt: 3.4 at 1000&apos;C.; 2.4 at 900&apos;C.; 1.7 at 800&apos;C.; 0.9 at 600°C.; 0.35 at room temperature. (c) For copper-silicon (Fig. 3) : 6.8 ± 0.1. per cent. at 800° C.; 3 per cent. at 400° C. and probably below 2 per cent. at room temperature if sufficiently long annealed. (d) For copper-cobalt silicide: 3.3 at 1000° C.; 2.4 at 900° C.; 1.6 at 800° C.; 0.7 at 600° C.; 0.3 at 300° C. (e) For copper-nickel silicide (Fig. 4): 8.2 at 1000° C.; 5.5 at 900° C.; 3.6 at 800° C.; 1.6 at 600° C.; 0.7 at 300° C.

Jan 1, 1927

By Benoit Bissonnette

"The need for production of a competent fill was recognized early by the project partners. Consequently, a 4000 Ud paste fill plant was constructed and commissioned in early August 1994.In order to fine tune the process without risk to the underground workings, a closed pumping loop was devised on surface. After two months of this exercise, the first underground slope was filled according to specifications obtained from the pilot plant trials.This paper will focus on the operational problems encountered and the solutions adopted so far, and on a comparison between expected and actual fill production and characteristics.RésuméLa nécessité de produire un remblai de propriétés mécaniques suffisantes a été rapidement reconnue par les partenaires du projet. Conséquemment, une usine de production de remblai en pate, utilisant les residus du concentrateur d'une capacité de 4000 t/j a été construite et l'opération a débuté au mois d'aôut 1994.Dans le but de roder le précedé sans mettre en danger les installations souterraines, l'usine a été testée dans un circuit de surface. Après deux mois d'essais, le premier chantier souterrain a été rempli avec du remblai en pate selon les specifications dérivées de l'usinage pilote.Cet article présente les problemes d'opération rencontrés et leurs solutions, en plus de faire une comparaison entre les résultats prévus et ceux actuellement obtenus sur la production et sur les charactéristiques du remblai."

Jan 1, 1996

By H. E. Cline

Calculations of the formation and growth of faults caused by a variation in lumellar widths were made for a two-dimensioml three-plate problem. The angle between the a-ß boundary and the growth direction was allowed to vary and the time evolution was studied using a quasisteady state approach. At spacings smaller than a critical spacing given by X V = AO variations in the larrlellar widths grow in time to produce faults that coarsen the structure, while at spac-ings larger than this critical spacing, variations in the lamellar widths decay in time. If small plates are introduced into the structure they may grow only at large spacings to refine the structure. The time evolution and shape of faults were calculated for the three plate-problem and then the three dimensional problem and rod-like eutectic were qualitatively discussed. UNDERSTANDING of the mechanism by which the spacing of directionally solidified eutectics is determined may allow one to control their structure better. Steady state solutions for the growth of lamellar structures have been found for a range of lamellar spacings A and growth velocities V. To obtain a unique solution for the isothermal growth of pearlite, Zener1 assumed that growth occurs at a maximum velocity, while Tiller2 assumed that a eutectic alloy, grown under an imposed velocity, will choose a spacing corresponding to minimum undercooling. These assumptions are equivalent and have been referred to as "extremum growth". The extremum condition predicts the observed relation between velocity and spacing as given by V = constant [I] but does not provide a mechanism for changing the lamellar spacing. Jackson and Hunt3 calculated the interface shape by using solutions to the diffusion equation for a planar interface and a relation of the interface composition to the local curvature. If the spacing is much larger than the extremum spacing, the interface breaks down catastrophically to form forked plates. However, the catastrophic breakdown cannot account for the small adjustments in spacing that must occur in practice..3 Direct observations during the growth of organic eutectics4 and the Pb-Sn eutectic5 show that spacing changes occur by the formation of faults. A fault in a plate-like eutectic is the edge of a plate. Once the faults form, they may move to make small adjustments in the spacing.6,3 The motion of faults intersecting the growing interface was shown by an approximate analysis to give Eq. [I].6 A perfectly regular lamellar structure should be able to persist over a range of lamellar spacings. However, during growth small perturbations in the structure may occur. If the amplitude of the perturbation increases in time the structure is unstable, while if all possible perturbations decrease in time the structure is stable. In a previous paper7 variations in the shape of the solid-liquid interface were considered, while this paper considers only variations in lamellar widths while maintaining a macroscopically planar solid-liquid interface. Previously, theories of lamellar growth1"3 have artificially contrained the growth to give a regular periodic structure. To allow for a variation in spacing, the three phase intersections and groove angles were allowed to change with time as determined by assuming local equilibrium. THREE-PLATE PROBLEM Since the spacing changes in eutectics by local formation of faults,4&apos;5 it is suggested that local variations in spacing are responsible. The interaction between neighboring plates will be greatest because they have the smallest diffusion distance. For simplicity, as a nearest neighbor approximation, a three-plate problem will be considered, as illustrated in Fig. 1. The structure consists of a periodic array in which all the plates are allowed to vary in width. As in steady state growth it is assumed that the average composition in the solid remains constant. A variation in plate widths, that maintains the composition in the solid, was introduced by making the first a-phase plate thinner by an amount A, keeping the width of the second B-phase plate constant, and increasing the width of the third a-phase plate. If the structure were not perturbed, as in the regular two-plate problem previously described,&apos; then the groove angles at the three-phase junctions are the equilibrium angles, 0, and ? B, and the solid-solid boundary is normal to the interface. In the three-plate problem with a variation in plate widths the phase boundaries are assumed to be related to the three-phase junction by equilibrium angles, but the a/B boundaries may be rotated by an angle 0 from the growth direction. The angle H be-tween the tangent to the a/B boundary and the growth direction may vary during growth and determine the —> — — —.A_ Q-0 / 0 x, X2 Fig. 1—Schematic of the three-plate problem showing a variation in the spacing and the effect on the angles at the three phase intersections.

Jan 1, 1970