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By J. J. Bean

The development drilling program of the Copper Cities mine indicated that the molybdenum content of the ore would be about 0.011% MoS2' The molybdenum content of the Miami mine at the same time was about 0.025% MOS2' The Miami mill had a very successful molybdenum operation which used bleeder turbine steam from the Miami power plant for the steaming operation. The much lower grade of the Copper Cities ore, the absence of a source of low cost steam and the use of sodium aerofloat as the copper collector which Miami experience indicated did not respono readily to the steaming technique made very doubtful the success of a similar operation at Copper Cities. However, the relatively few pounds of copper that could be recovered from the low grade Copper Cities heads made very desirable the recovery of the molybdenwa,as a source of additional revenue. Accordingly, shortly after the Copper Cities mill began operation, a research program was instituted to develop a suitable method of molybdenum recovery. This program explored first, the successful steaming process then in use at Miami and as expected, found it unable to decompose the sodium aerofloat copper collector. The known chemical depressants were then tried without much encouragement. Finally the copper concentrate was dried, not roasted, to 2-3% mOisture and this along with sodium ferro-cyanide and cyanide resulted in sufficient copper depression that a final molybdenum concentrate containing 1.0% CU could be made. The bench scale testing was followed by pilot plant testing. Sixteen

Jan 1, 1972

By Luigi Giacomini, Bruce Kiefer

A new plant for special steel long products was commissioned in recent years at Dangjin, South Korea, for Hyundai Steel. Two multi-line rolling mills can produce yearly 1 million tons of billets, straight and coiled bars, with dimensions from 5.5 to 350 millimeters. The products are used for manufacturing engine and transmission components used by Hyundai Kia Automotive Group. The processed grades include carbon, special alloy, spring, bearing and free-cutting steel. The first mill rolls blooms into finished large round and square products, as well as into intermediate billets. A 2-high reversing breakdown stand is followed by a finishing and sizing train with CGA stands equipped with an under-load roll parting system for automatic gap control. The second mill combines lines of small bars, rods and bars-in-coil. Billets are rolled in a continuous rolling mill with original RedRing Series 5 stands. The rod outlet features Morgan No-Twist and Rod Reducing/Sizing mills, Morgan High-Speed Laying Head and Stelmor conveyor. Advanced sensors and electronics integrate with mechatronic packages, thus equipping the mill for Industry 4.0 applications. Hyundai can meet the demanding requirements posed by the automotive industry and benefit from optimized conversion costs, the flexibility to meet market changes, achieve high product quality, and reduce floor personnel.

Oct 1, 2019

By Tim C. Webb

For almost 350 years, industrial rocks and minerals have been produced, used locally and exported from New Brunswick to markets throughout the world. Up until the early 1960s, commodities like grindstone, building stone, gypsum, and limestone served as the foundation of the province's non-fuel mining industry. The importance and high level of activity surrounding industrial rock and mineral development in New Brunswick is reflected in a multimillion dollar industry generating substantial revenue and providing a valuable service to its people. New Brunswick's varied geology is reflected not only by the diversity of industrial rock and mineral resources presently under development but also in several promising exploration and potential development opportunities. The province also hosts several industrial rock and mineral processing facilities, each with established technologies ensuring high-quality products and each with sufficient flexibility to supply customized products for various specialized niche markets. With the imminent availability of natural gas to parts of the province, the prospects for additional value-added processing and re-examination of known, yet presently undeveloped deposits, appear excellent. These variables coupled with the province's advantageous geographical location, highlighting tidewater access to global markets and within one day's trucking distance to a regional market of several million people, guarantee prompt delivery of high-quality products at competitive prices.

Jan 1, 2001

By Emily Rose

The concept of risk management is applied to multiple aspects of the mining lifecycle including safety, mine design, business plan—anything that affects getting the ore to the mill for production. However, risk management is not a topic that can readily be taught in universities. Many situations require knowledge gained from experience to know how this impacts current and future operations. Recent graduates, who must develop and apply decisions based on geotechnical monitoring, likely have not developed “operational experience” and may not be aware of options and typical applications. Thorough resources that explain different monitoring systems, and when and how to implement them, are available for geotechnical professionals. Accessibility to this information can often cause information overload, leaving one unsure of where to start, without knowing where to start. This paper is intended to serve as a high-level overview of development practices, levels of risk, and risk tolerance for entry-level geotechnical and mining professionals who do not come from a geotechnical background. Summarized detail on typical monitoring practices, types of instrumentation, and how to communicate what the data indicates to key stakeholders are provided.

Feb 22, 2026

For effective backfilling, a system with the 13 features covered under the section: effective backfill systems, is required. Effective backfilling cannot be done with systems that are badly designed, outdated or overextended. But in cases where the requirements for effective backfilling are overlooked, the shortcomings of such systems may wrongly come to be regarded as limitations to the capabilities of backfilling per se. Mining is currently done to depths of 3500 m, and is to go deeper since the gold-bearing reef extends down to 4000 m and 5000 m below surface. Effective backfilling systems will be required at such depths, and with suitable design this can be achieved. Mining the narrow tabular orebody of a typical South African gold mine is described at the start of this paper, then cycloned backfilling is discussed in general, and its effectiveness (most of the fill placed in South Africa is cycloned backfill or ædeslimed tailingsÆ).

Jan 1, 1998

By Matthew Preedy, Brett Campbell, Jim Rush, Alan Howard, Derek Penrice

All Rights Reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Information contained in this work has been obtained by SME, Inc. from sources believed to be reliable. However, neither SME nor its authors guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information published herein, and neither SME nor its authors shall be responsible for any errors, omissions, or damages arising out of use of this information. This work is published with the understanding that SME and its authors are supplying information but are not attempting to render engineering or other professional services. If such services are required, the assistance of an appropriate professional should be sought. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any statement or views presented here are those of the authors and are not necessarily those of SME. The mention of trade names for commercial products does not imply the approval or endorsement of SME.

Dec 1, 2018

By Ernest L. Corp

First in a projected series on the use of flexible liners for support of underground mine openings, this report presents information obtained from an extensive review of the literature on this subject. It also includes results of some preliminary test work by the Bureau of Mines. Investigations thus far indicate that flexible liners offer numerous advantages over rigid-type sup-ports, By deforming in the direction of the applied stress, the stresses are redistributed from the liner to the surrounding material. The corresponding buildup of passive resistance in the direction of diametric extension causes an equalization of stresses around the liner, thereby enabling the liner to carry loads in a more efficient manner. However, additional experimental data are needed to establish design criteria that will permit maximum utilization of the flexible liner concept in mining. Testing of small-scale models, accompanied by measurement of free-field stresses in material surrounding the model, is recommended as the most suit-able approach to the problem. The experimental procedures necessary to such an approach are outlined in detail and a statistical design for the experiments is proposed. The report also describes a device developed by the Bureau for measuring free-field soil pressures to 1,000 psi and a technique for evaluating the response of the device.

Jan 1, 1967

By K Evtiminova, G Jobson, M Nolte, S Meik

Chelopech Mining EAD (CMEAD) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Dundee Precious Metals Inc (DPM) and operates the Chelopech underground mine and processing facility located in Bulgaria. The final product sold is a flotation concentrate containing copper minerals with associated gold and silver. The increase in production from 0.6 to 1.0 Mt/a by 2009 occurred with the original (1975) secondary/tertiary crushing, and primary/secondary ball mill circuits. As part of the mine/mill upgrade project to 2.0 Mt/a, a new single stage semi-autogenous (SAG) mill and ancillary equipment was installed, replacing the original circuits, with commissioning occurring during the first half of 2011. Aspects of the design, commissioning and operation of the new comminution facility are the subjects of this paper.An extensive program of comminution characterisation test work was completed in 2004/2005, which indicated moderate hardness and competency characteristics. The characteristics were considered suitable for a range of comminution approaches which were assessed with respect to power requirements and capital and operating costs. Retention of the existing primary crushing facility, and installation of a new single stage SAG mill located within the existing mill building, was selected as the design for the expansion.An extended ramp-up schedule for the overall concentrator upgrade turned out to be necessary as the comminution and flotation circuits were completed prior to several downstream unit processes (concentrate filtration and tailings thickening), which were required to reach the design mill feed throughput rate on a sustainable basis. This resulted in the opportunity to gradually increase the SAG mill ball charge as necessary, to obtain the throughput corresponding to the various downstream processing constraints.A relatively fine cyclone overflow stream particle size distribution is a feature of the Chelopech comminution circuit that has not been fully overcome with increasing ball charge conditions. However, design throughput has been met even under the finer product size conditions and will be consistently achieved following the commissioning of two further process improvement projects scheduled for late 2012.CITATION:Jobson, G, Nolte, M, Evtiminova, K and Meik, S, 2012. The modernisation and upgrade of concentrator operations at the Chelopech Mine, Bulgaria - Design, installation and operation of the 250 tonnes per hour comminution circuit, in Proceedings 11th AusIMM Mill OperatorsÆ Conference, pp 325-332 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Oct 29, 2012

By A. D. Hahn

This report describes and gives the results of an examination by the Federal Bureau of Mines of ilmenite-bearing placer sand deposits in the 24-mile long valley of Otter Creek, Kiowa and Tillman Counties, Okla. Drilling and sampling was completed in three periods between October 1956 and September 1957. Mineralogic studies and mineral-dressing tests on recovery of ilmenite and other heavy minerals from composited samples of the sands were made in Bureau of Mines laboratories at Rolla, Mo., in 1957 and early 1958. Otter Creek rises in and drains the southwestern extremity of the Wichita Mountains, which are represented locally by knolls and ridges of gabbro and granite surrounded by plains floored with flat-lying Permian red beds. The valley fill consists of a basal sand-clay component, derived from weathering of the igneous rocks, and an overlying silt-clay alluvium. Ilmenite is present in significant quantity and recoverable grain size only in the basal sand-clay.

Jan 1, 1960

By Alfred Petrick

This study gives an analysis of the copper system byproducts and discusses the identification and classification of byproduct metals and their supply systems. Arsenic, platinum-group metals, silver, gold, selenium, tellurium, molybdenum, rhenium, uranium, aluminum, magnesium, and byproduct copper, lead, and zinc from complex ores are covered. The report describes several metallurgical systems, the marginal and incremental products costs of byproduct subsystems, industry structure and organization, and the historical data on price, consumption, and supply. Supply curves are presented for about one-half of the byproduct metals studied. The study develops a conceptual framework for analysis by reviewing the present concepts of byproduct supply and the related price theory. It gives the sources of supply of the individual byproduct metals to indicate the importance of the byproduct supply to the total supply. Mills, smelters, and refineries processing byproduct materials for their metal content are identified by geographic location and company ownership, The study also includes information on the reserves-resource base supporting byproduct output, reserve estimates, and the demand aspects of each byproduct metal.

Jan 1, 1973

By Hugh D. Pallister

Alabama probably has the most extensive deposits of high-grade flake graphite in the United States and was the largest producer during World War I. Therefore, with the outbreak of World War II, users of flake graphite turned again to Alabama to supply their requirements. Flake graphite is the most important ingredient contained in graphite crucibles used in melting crucible steel and special alloys essential for war purposes. Early in World War II the Army and Navy placed flake graphite on the list of critical war materials. During World War I, when the supply of Ceylon graphite (then in demand) was cut off, large quantities of flake graphite were produced in Alabama, and about 40 mills were built. Most of these were abandoned after the war when imports of the cheaper Madagascar flake (which gradually replaced Ceylon graphite) began to reach this country. With the beginning of World War II, the Madagascar supply was cut off', and consumers were again compelled to look to domestic sources for their supplies. They found only one small mill in operation, that of the Ceylon Graphite Co. in Coosa County, Ala. The Bureau of Mines made a preliminary examination of the Alabama flake graphite deposits in 1940. Samples were taken and tested at the Southern Experiment Station at Tuscaloosa.

Jan 1, 1948

By X. Zhou

In this study, the cyclonic static microbubble flotation column (FCSMC) was investigated for fluorite beneficiation. The structure and principle of the specially designed column are described. Fluorite samples from the tungsten separation tailings of the Shizhuyuan Mine, Chenzhou, Hunan Province, P.R. China, were tested using a small-scale continuous flotation test unit, and concentrates with a fluorite grade higher than 98% were obtained. One rougher and three cleaner stages in the FCSMC achieved the same separation performance as one rougher and eight cleaners in conventional flotation cells. This greatly simplified the flotation circuit and reduced operating costs.

Jan 1, 2007

By Felix du Breuil

Contract H0177044 included three objectives; (1) consolidate, maintain, and distribute information on STE approved lighting systems; (2) develop and present one-day seminars on underground mine lighting; (3) determine direct labor and hardware costs associated with the installation of mine illumination systems. All objectives were completed with results as follows: Task I - A file containing 1350 Statements of Test and Evaluation (STE) for all types of underground equipment was developed and publicized throughout the coal fields, A total of 40 requests for STE information was received and processed. Task II and III - A series of 50 seminars was scheduled and presented to 942 attendees throughout the coal fields. The seminars were well received and attendees indicated the information presented would be helpful in bringing their equipment into compliance. Holding a series of seminars in the coal fields, instead of a few in population centers, was favored by attendees. Task IV - Installation cost data obtained on 415 lighting systems indicate that the factors which most affect installation costs are higher hardware cost for DC powered systems and slightly higher manpower requirements for systems installed underground. Based on these data, the total cost to industry of retrofitting existing underground equipment could range up to $50 million.

Jan 1, 1979

By B C. McLellan

The decline of ore grades on land, increasing demand and high prices for various minerals have led to an increased interest in mining the deep ocean sea floor. The potential deep ocean reserves are vast and in some circumstances the grades are high enough to consider mining. However, the consequences of such mining are as yet uncertain. This paper will present the results of a comparative assessment of life cycle impacts of deep ocean minerals. Two alternative extraction technologies from different deep ocean resource types were examined and key commodities are considered. Initial results indicate that the energy requirements will be higher than the average land-based resources, but may fall within the range of the deepest terrestrial mines.CITATION:McLellan, B C, 2015. Comparative life cycle impacts of deep ocean minerals and land-based counterparts, in Proceedings Third International Future Mining Conference, pp 253–260 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Nov 4, 2015

By W. R. Smith

Introduction No commercial deposits of silica sand are known to occur in British Columbia, so all requirements for foundry and other uses must be imported. During the war, nearly 5,000 tons per year were used, all originating in Illinois and delivered to local consumers for about $12.00 per ton. Present requirements are somewhat less, but the cost is still of the same order. The relatively high cost of silica sand in British Columbia is not only a serious item for present consumers, but might be a deterrent to the establishment of a glass industry, should this be contemplated at any time. The present investigation was undertaken in an attempt to provide a cheaper source of silica sand within the Province. In 1936, a large number of beach and bank sand deposits in the lower coastal region of British Columbia were examined by the British Columbia Department of Mines, and samples were analyzed chemically and mineralogically. The deposits over the whole area proved remarkably uniform in mineral composition, consisting essentially of quartz, feldspar, ferromagnesian minerals, rock fragments, and various accessory minerals, and differing only in the relative proportions of the various constituents. In no case did the quartz content of any sand exceed about 40 percent and the average was of the order of 20 to 30 percent.

Jan 1, 1947

By Z. A. Zhou

In Canadian oil sands processing, flotation is used to recover liberated bitumen droplets from oil sands slurries. Similar to conventional mineral flotation practice, a fundamental limitation of recovering bitumen from low grade oil sand ores is its slow and ineffective aeration of the liberated small bitumen droplets. Gas nucleation and cavitation could provide better mechanisms for accelerating bitumen-bubble attachment. A research program was undertaken to examine factors affecting spontaneous bubble nucleation on bitumen surfaces. The results demonstrate that surface hydrophobicity and existence of gas nuclei in process water play a critical role for bubble nucleation. While there are more bubbles nucleated on highly hydrophobic silanated glass surfaces than on moderately hydrophobic bitumen, bubble nucleation on clean hydrophilic glass surfaces is negligible. Heating process water up to 85 ~ 95oC (as used in commercial operation) or boiling tap water prior to gas nucleation tests is shown to remove sufficient amount of gas nuclei existing in the water, thereby drastically reducing the number of bubbles nucleated on bitumen. Enhancing gas nuclei formation in hot process water is identified as a promising strategy to improve bitumen-bubble attachment during oil sands conditioning, and hence to increase bitumen recovery from low grade ores.

Jan 1, 2014

By D. W. Frommer, M. M. Fine

"INTRODUCTION Laboratory mineral-dressing investigations covered by this report show that ores from Montgomery County, Ark., and Morgan County, Mo., are potential sources of barite and zinc. Fine grinding and froth flotation yielded drilling-grade barite from the former and chemical-grade barite and zinc concentrates from the latter.Samples from these deposits were subjected to a laboratory investigation to develop an economic and feasible treatment. The Arkansas ore, submitted by the Husky Refining Co., consisted of an intimate mixture of the economic mineral and quartz. Fine grinding and fatty acid flotation were utilized to effect a good recovery of a drilling-grade product. The other was a zinc-barite ore submitted by the Rocky Ford Mining Co., Stover, Mo. There was no problem in the recovery of zinc (most of which occurred as sphalerite), but the recovery of barite by flotation was complicated by the presence of gangue carbonates. Ultimately, an excellent recovery of barite was achieved with a relatively new type of flotation promoter, petroleum sulfonate.In recent years, barite has become one of the major industrial minerals as an essential ingredient in heavy drilling fluids, pigments, and chemicals. New sources of this important commodity are always interesting; thus, it is the purpose of this report to present information that may permit commercial exploitation of two deposits not in production."

May 1, 1952

By Jay F. Colinet

Longwall mining in lower seam heights may necessitate the use of single-drum shearers to overcome size constraints associated with standard double-drum shearers. To avoid the operational problem of clearance in the tailgate entry with one single-drum shearer, two single-drum machines can be operated on the same face, with each shearer responsible for mining a predefined portion of the face. However, utilization of two shearers on the same face necessitates the positioning of one shearer operator and a jacksetter in the return air of the upwind shearer, thus complicating respirable dust control on the longwall. In an effort to evaluate the unique dust control problems associated with this type of mining, the U.S. Bureau of Mines conducted dust surveys on two multiple-machine longwall operations. Sampling was done to quantify major sources of respirable dust and to identify potential solutions to problem areas. Sampling results indicate that the cutting sequences utilized on multiple-machine faces may have to be designed to minimize dust exposure, as opposed to optimizing productivity or facilitating operational requirements. Also, state-of-the-art dust control techniques typically found on double-drum shearer longwalls must be employed to help minimize the exposure of all face personnel to traditional dust sources.

Jan 1, 2010

By M. M. Fine

A laboratory mineral-dressing investigation of manganese ore from the Martin mine, Independence County, Ark., succeeded in recovering ferrograde manganese products. Sintered flotation concentrates analyzing 40.7 and 41.4 percent manganese at overall recoveries of 54.6 and 47.7 percent, respectively, were produced from preconcentrated feed, Preconcentration of the ore for flotation included treatment by magnetic separation and by a combination of magnetic separation and heavy-medium processing. The mineral-dressing study of the Martin mine rhodochrosite ore was part of a general program of the Bureau of Mines to develop domestic sources of strategic minerals, including manganese. Several such potential sources of manganese exist in the Batesville, Ark., district, one of which is represented by the Martin mine. Although the Martin mine area has not been delimited with respect to total reserve tonnage, it is considered to be one of the more important occurrences of manganese in the district. It is estimated that several 100,000 tons of manganese carbonate ore are present in this and similar properties.

Jan 1, 1954

By I. Silin, H. Wotruba, J. Huben, A. Ognyanova

"With increasing shortage of raw materials, the beneficiation of ultra-fine ores will play a larger role in the near future. Many established process technologies do not yield satisfactory separation results for ultra-fine materials. Without selectivity, high-grade concentrates cannot be produced. The material at hand is a taconite which had to be ground to d(90) = 25 µm to guarantee liberation of the iron oxides. The comminution was done by High Pressure Grinding Roll (HPGR) and resulted in smooth surfaces and clear grain boundaries. This is an indication of selective grinding and mineral liberation. Further processing steps included selective desliming, magnetic separation as well as reverse flotation. INTRODUCTION During the last centuries, the processing of iron ores became increasingly important. The coarse-grained, so-called lump ores that are ready for direct usage in blast furnaces without further processing are becoming gradually less abundant. The processing of ultra-fine-grained ores, which in addition require a complex ore beneficiation due to the composition of the material, will progressively gain relevance with increasing resource shortages in the future (Arvidson, 2013). The term “ultra-fine” does not hold a precise definition in mineral processing. In this paper, “ultra-fine-grained” ores are defined by the required grind size for full liberation smaller than 20 µm. Many established mineral processing technologies do not yield satisfactory separation results for ultra-fine materials. Thus, they are limited in their application to produce high-grade concentrates suitable for sintering and pelletizing for direct reduction processes. The production of a high-grade iron concentrate (over 68% Fe) with low silica content (under 2.5% SiO2) is possible from both magnetite and hematite containing ore. In addition to the mineral processing technologies (magnetic and gravity separation, flotation), technologies for the liberation of fine-grained iron ores need to be developed and improved. In contrast to the conventional wet grinding circuit by means of tumbling mills, several future trends in dry and wet grinding and regrinding are already in use. These include technologies such as vibration mills (Palla®Mill), stirred media mills (Vertimill®), vertical roller mills (Loesche) and high-pressure grinding rolls (HPGR) (Jankovic, 2015). This study preliminary investigated the mineral processing of a low-grade, ultra-fine-grained, complex iron ore in a laboratory scale after dry grinding by HPGR to 90% < 25 µm without consideration of the grinding, milling, energy and classification cost."

Jan 1, 2018