Search Documents

INTRODUCTION From its beginnings in the first decade of this century, flotation has gradually moved to a predominant role in mineral separation. There are several reasons for this, the continuing trend toward treat¬ment of lower-grade and more finely disseminated ores being the major one. Not only has this been true for sulfide ores to which the process was first applied commercially, but also for most nonsulfide ores as well. A second factor has been the broad applicability of the process with respect to particle size; it is effective from 8 to 10 mesh to below 10m. Finally, more so than for any other separation process, flotation has almost no limitations in separating minerals. Gravity, magnetic, or electrostatic processes are either applicable to particular minerals, or to a restricted number of mineral combinations. Flotation, on the other hand, can utilize the wide range of surface chemical differences among minerals, and an equally wide range of reagents. The recent availability of selective flocculation capabilities on a commercial scale as an adjunct to flotation should remove one of the limitations to the process in the very fine particle range. History Although flotation was anticipated in a 19th century patent to Haynes, its first significant industrial uses were in the early 20th century in Australia. According to Hoover,' the Pottter-Del-prat pro¬cess had a "measure of success" at Broken Hill's Block 14 mine in 1905-1906, and was definitely successful at the BHP Mine, where it produced 80,000 tpy of zinc concentrates. Both the Mineral Separa¬tion and the Elmore processes had early trials in Australia also, with both successes and failures. The first application in the United States was in 1911, when the Hyde process was used by the Butte and Superior Copper Co. on a zinc ore in Montana. By 1916 Hoover could list 46 applications to copper, lead, and zinc ores, mainly in the United States. Ten years later Taggart2 listed almost a thousand patents covering processes and reagents which with few exceptions laid the foundations for modern practice. Included were: sulfidizing of oxides; leach-precip¬itation-flotation; cyanides, sulfites, sulfides, and oxidants for selective depression of sulfides; starch, tannin, and glue as depressants; and xanthates, dithiophosphates, and oleic acid as collectors. Within an¬other 20 years, all of these were in commercial use along with amines for floating silica from phosphates, and synthetic frothers were com¬peting with pine oil and cresylic acid. Flotation machine development followed a different course. Of the 170 patents listed by Taggart in 1927,1 those incorporating film and oil flotation-about a third of the total-were no longer then

Jan 1, 1985

By B. W. Clyburn

"Coals from the Corporation's Lingan and No. 26 mines are classified as high-volatile A bituminous, with a very low inherent ash and containing all essential properties to provide metallurgical coal, with the exception of a high sulphur content. Only through proper cleaning at low specific gravity can the pyritic sulphur fraction of the coal be liberated to an extent where final sulphur meets coking standards. This first section of the paper deals with the operation of a Dutch State Mines heavy-media cyclone circuit to achieve an actual separation in the region of 1.30 specific gravity. A discussion of the parameter of control which must be applied along with an appraisal of the results obtained is included in the paper.Introduction Very high fluidity and unusually low ash are the outstanding characteristics of coal from Devco's mines in the Harbour seam of the Sydney coal field. However, sulphur content, mainly pyritic, ranges from 1 to 2.50Jo. To obtain the low and consistent sulphur level required in metallurgical coking coals, preparation at low specific gravity is required. Metallurgical coke is used as the fuel in an iron blast furnace. Its sulphur content largely determines the quantity of slag required to remove it and therefore influences furnace productivity and unit costs. Typical data on the various coal properties of importance in the production of coke are included in Table 1."

Jan 1, 1985

By R. Altman

A Brookfield viscometer fitted with a stainless steel bob was used to measure the viscosity of industrial lead blast furnace slags between 1126 and 1298°c. Slag oxidation state was characterized by first annealing the? slag samples at 750°c in sealed copper tubes in order to precipitate magnetite crystals. The magnetite concentration was then measured on an Outokumpu Saturated Magnetic Analyzer. Using an Arrhenius-type equation, a viscosity model was developed by regression. The equation below accounted for 75% of the variability in the data used to generate the regression coefficients and, on average, could predict viscosity within ± 12% of the measured value. The greatest difficulty encountered in measuring viscosity was due to the occasional presence of solids in the slag which caused, at times, erroneously high viscosity measurements. Precautions to minimize this problem are outlined in the text.

Jan 1, 1985

By Norman J. Gibbs, John Sroka

INTRODUCTION At the point a company decides to begin mine development and wishes to convince lending institutions that the proposed operation will return their borrowed funds, plus interest, over the terms of the loan, communications between lender and borrower are crucial. The importance of the mine feasibility presentation should not be underplayed, especially as new projects continue to increase in size, complexity, and cost. While the content and emphasis of a report to the lender will vary according to the particular project and type of debt financing sought, there is a general base of information upon which all such studies are built. THE PROJECT'S TECHNICAL ASPECTS Here, the object is to satisfy the lender that he will not be unduly exposed to technical risks as a result of the physical scope of the project. Reserves The feasibility report submitted to financial institutions should include an adequate description of the geologic setting, mineralogy, ore types, and reserves broken down into such recognized categories as proven/probable/possible or measured/indicated/inferred. Rather than a bald statement of reserves, lenders prefer to have detailed information on: History of exploration Drilling, both percussion and core, with core recovery, drill hole spacing, analyses, and continuity of mineralization Bulk sampling, with core assay comparisons Overburden, with stripping ratios Specific methodology of reserve calculation, and Geologic reserves vs. mineable reserves. As a rule of thumb, a lender would prefer to see that reserves in the proven class alone are sufficient to support operations at the design rates until the borrowed funds are repaid. (See also Schreiber above in this Chapter.) Mining The rationale for adoption of a particular mining technique should be presented as well as descriptions and justifications for: Preproduction development Preliminary mine plan, with forecasts of grades and material movements Geotechnical test work which influenced decisions Mining recoveries and efficiencies Major equipment, with type, model, rating life, spares, replacement schedules, utilization, and productivity Manpower requirements and work schedules Design assumptions Ore stockpiling and blending Environmental requirements, and Waste disposal Processing If a new ore body is to be developed or a new process used, it is important to provide details of test work, scale up, and extrapolation factors. A basic process description with a summary of the studies which justify the intended processing route should be included with the following data:

Jan 1, 1985

By S. E. Khalafalla

A method for preparing ferrochromium alloys containing less than 2 pct carbon has been devised in a single vacuum furnace reactor. This method can conserve chromium and should reduce the capital and energy requirements relative to chromite electrothermal reduction. Reduced products containing less than 2 and as low as 0.01 wt pct carbon were obtained by reacting pellets of chromite and carbonaceous reductant mixtures at pressures of 0.1 to 1 ton and temperatures of 1,230° to 1,320° C. The extent of reduction increased with increased temperature and decreased pressure; however, operating conditions were limited due to the onset of significant chromium vaporization at higher temperatures and lower pressures. Foundry coke, anthracite, and carbon black were found to be superior to graphite as reductants. The reduction of chromite to metallics was found to proceed via the carbide intermediates Fe3C or Cr3C2. Lime accelerates the. rate of solid state reduction of chromite and can shorten the furnacin1r time at 1,3000 C under vacuum from 13 hours to less than three hours. Additional lime and silica are added to the hot reduced chromite after releasing the vacuum and raising the furnace. temperature to 1, 700° C. Soaking the charge for about 20 minutes gave a button of low carbon ferrochromium alloy beneath a well-defined slag layer.

Jan 1, 1985

By Charles R. Garrett

The American Borate Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Owens Corning Fiberglas Company under a management contract to the Hanna Mining Company, owns and operates an underground borate mine in Death Valley, California. The mine, named the Billie Mine, is located 24 km (15 miles) southeast of Furnace Creek along Highway 190. The ore body is under Death Valley National Monument with the major portion of the surface facilities located just outside the monument boundary. (See Figure 1.) The Billie Mine produces approximately 227 000 metric tons of crude ore per year. About 65% of finished product is supplied to Owens-Corning, the remainder is sold to other fiberglass producers. Geology The borate minerals in the Billie ore body were deposited in the lower main member of the Furnace Creek Formation, which is Pliocene in age. The ore body is thought to have formed from volcanic springs in or near a small lake basin. The deposit is essentially a limestone breccia that is permeated with borate minerals and surrounded with limey lake bed mudstones and shales. The ore body is mineralized with two main borate ores, colemanite and probertite. A third borate ore, ulexite, mainly occurs in the upper part of the ore body. The original mineral of deposition is thought to have been ulexite. Ulexite is a sodium-calcium borate hydrated with eight molecular waters. Due to heat and pressure from burial by later sediments, the ulexite had water forced out of its structure and recrystallized as probertite. Probertite is another sodium-calcium borate, with five molecular waters. Colemanite formed when surface water seeped into the prober-

Jan 1, 1985

By William H. Breeding

The remarks that follow are based substantially on experience covering 45 years, 80% of which has been in placer work, rather than on a review of available literature. Most commercial placers have been deposited by the action of water. The richer and more- difficult-to-mine placers are those in the headwater areas where gradients are steepest. The most lucrative placers are generally in inter- mediate areas where volumes are greater, fewer boulders are present, and gradients are from 3% to 1-1/2%. The higher volume, lower grade placers are in the lower reaches of river systems where gradients are lower. Where gold-bearing rivers have discharged into the sea, wave action can concentrate values on beaches, past and present. Most of the rich, readily accessible placers were mined by our forefathers. Current opportunities exist: (1) in remote areas where infrastructure has been absent in the past, or development has been prohibited by adverse ownership - political or commercial; (2) in deposits that could not be mined by equipment available to our forefathers; (3) in deposits unidentified by our forefathers; (4) where the-price-of-product/cost ratio is substantially better than in earlier years; or (5) a combination of those factors. When I entered the placer business in the late 1930s, and subsequently, a prevailing opinion believed that glacial deposits should be avoided as irregular in mineral content and composition, and unrewarding to explore and develop; yet an operator has been mining a fluvio-glacial deposit profitably for the past 17 years. Rich buried placer channels, of ten called paleo-channels were worked in the last century, generally by hand methods, and under conditions that would be unacceptable today. Exploration and mining equipment now available make some of these channels attractive targets. Well-known examples are in California and Australia. The formation of a commercial placer requires a source of valuable minerals. Above primary deposits, there may be eluvial deposits formed by the erosion of gangue minerals and the concentration "in situ" of valuable minerals. Down slope from these deposits are the hillside or colluvial deposits, and below them are the alluvial deposits of redeposited material. Most of the great placer fields of the world are the result of several generations of erosion and deposition. Well-known examples are in California and Colombia. Gold is a very resistant and malleable material, and gold placers may extend for 64 or 80 km (40 or 50 miles) along a river system. Platinum is less malleable, but is very resistant to disintegration. Diamonds are extremely hard, and (especially gem diamonds) may be found over great lengths of a river system. Cassiterite is less resistant to disintegration, and tin placers seldom extend over two miles without resupply from an additional source or sources of mineralizaton. Tungsten minerals are generally more friable, and within a few hundred yards of the source disintegrate to the point that they are uneconomical to recover. Rutile, ilmenite and zircon placers generally result from the weathering of massive deposits, and may be encountered over extensive areas; most are fine grained and durable. What does a geologist or mining engineer look for in placer exploration? The old adage to look for a mine near an existing mine is still valid. You need a source of valuable mineral. Then you require conditions for concentration, which means a satisfactory gradient and/or other conditions that will permit heavy minerals to settle. Nicely riffled gravel, often called a shingling of the bars, is conducive to placer formation. Coarser gravel is logically associated with coarser gold. Excessive clay and/or high stream velocities in narrow channels can carry gold far downstream and distribute it uncommercially over a large area. When material is extremely fine, in situ weathering and concentration become more important. Placers frequently occur distant from lode mines, and one must remember that in a larger watershed the exceptional floods that occur once in a hundred or a thousand years can move great quantities of material long distances. The carrying power of water is said to vary with the fifth or sixth power of its velocity. I am not ready to disagree with Waldemar Lindgren and accept that many commercial placers are substantially enriched by the chemical deposition of gold from solutions; however, I have seen crystalline gold in clayey material quite distant from known sources of primary gold that is dif-

Jan 1, 1985

By D. M. Wyslouzil

"Micron or sub-micron size gold inclusions in sulphide minerals cannot be extracted by conventional cyanidation. The gold surfaces must first be exposed by decomposition of the sulphides. As an alternative to roasting, pressure oxidation was found to be a most satisfactory method to decompose the sulphides and expose the gold particles. For cyanidation the pressure oxidation pulp has to be neutralized and stabilized with lime. It was found that thiourea can extract the gold directly from the pressure oxidation pulp without pH adjustment and oxidant addition. The main obstacles against the common use of thiourea are circumvented by a recently described control method of the emf during leaching.INTRODUCTION Amalgamation and cyanidation are the most conventional processes for gold extraction. The prerequisite for gold extraction is the possibility of gold surface to be contacted by mercury or by the cyanide solution. Encapsulated gold has little chance of contact and this leads to poor extractions.The reasons why a gold ore may be refractory are: micron or sub-micron size gold particles included in the sulphide minerals, such as pyrite and arsenopyrite; presence of and association with antimony, arsenic, tellurium and carbonaceous minerals. Some alternative processes, such as double oxidation(1,2), pretreatment with lime , H202, chlorine and Caro's acid, roasting and thiourea leach, have solved some of the problems of ""refractory"", but the sub-micron gold in sulphide minerals still shows little response. Roasting and the cyanidation of the calcine was one of the most successful approaches for this type of gold ore.There are two disadvantages to the roasting process: (1) the generation of sulphur, arsenic, antimony and mercury containing gases is undesirable and the control is extremely expensive; (2) gold particles might be fused in the roasted product and the oxidized base metals in the calcine might reduce the cyanidation efficiency. In recent years the pressure oxidation process has been considered as one of the more effective and satisfactory methods to decompose the sulphide minerals and expose the gold surface to the cyanide leach solution. The pollution problem could be better controlled and the gold extraction is more amenable."

Jan 1, 1985

Silica and limestone fluxing levels in copper smelting slags were studied. Copper concentrates with flux additions were smelted to matte (55.5 per cent Cu) and slag in a pilot scale submerged combustion furnace.Results indicated that oxidic and sulphidic copper levels in slags were minimised with a slag Si02 level of 36 per cent and a SiO2/CaO ratio of 5.5. Total copper losses in slags were 0.6 per cent under these conditions.To produce the desired slag chemistry, additions of bulk silica and limestone to copper concentrates of fluctuating grades were predicted numerically. The method employed the solution of two simultaneous equations, each respectively for silica and limestone calculations.The predicted flux additions were applied in a further series of tests and the resultant stages were found to be satisfactory. The method is applicable to smelting 'operations which employ two flux bins, with weigh feeders, so that slag chemistry may be controlled with the flux/concentrate feed mix.

Jan 1, 1985

By A. Bruynesteyn

It is well known that most North American gold deposits are of a hydrothermal origin and therefore they are often associated with sulphide minerals such as pyrite and arsenopyrite. When the precious metals in such ores are held captive inside sulphide crystals, the ores are called refractory because they do not respond to treatment by direct cyanidation. In these cases, it is necessary to recover the contained precious metals using high temperature treatments such as smelting or roasting, or high pressure leaching processes to break down the sulphide crystal matrices and thus liberate the precious metals for subsequent extraction by cyanidation. Sulphidic gold ores containing arsenic and/or antimony are considerably more difficult to treat because, in addition to their refractory nature, the arsenic and antimony content also prohibits treatment by direct cyanidation or amalgamation. These ores must be milled and their sulphidic gold values concentrated by flotation. The resultant concentrates must then be roasted to break down the sulphides before cyanide treatment can be applied.

Jan 1, 1985

By J. Menashi, D. A. Douglas, A. S. Rappas

A process has been developed for recovering the refractory metals chromium (Cr), vanadium (V), molybdenum (Mo), and tungsten (W) in mixed secondary source materials, such as contaminated grinding wastes. The wastes are calcined with sodium carbonate in air to yield water-insoluble oxides of the base metals iron (Fe), nickel (Ni), cobalt (Co), and copper (Cu) and water-soluble salts of the refractory metals. An aqueous leach separates these two classes of metal values. Cobalt, nickel, and copper can be recovered from the oxidic residue by conventional processing methods. The leach solution is purified and then treated to recover the refractory metals. The process can accommodate a wide range of feed compositions and generates a minimum of aqueous effluents.

Jan 1, 1985

By P. B. Altringer

Searles Lake, CA, contains the largest known domestic tungsten resource. The brines in this near-dry lake bed, located in the Mojave Desert 130 mi northeast of Los Angeles, contain an estimated 135 MMlb of tungsten. However, the low concentration of tungsten (0.080 g/L W03) in the supersaturated brine makes selective tungsten extraction very difficult. Although many brine chemicals are extracted from the lake, tungsten recovery was an elusive goal prior to Bureau of Mines development of an ion-exchange technique. This publication describes the Bureau process. The following subjects are ad-dressed: ? The Searles Lake tungsten resource. ? General problems associated with tungsten recovery. ? Bureau research objectives. ? Synthesis of ion-exchange resins. ? Development of a two-stage ion-exchange tungsten extraction and concentration procedure. ? Product recovery and purification. ? Economic evaluation. Flowsheets for recovering three products (calcium tungstate, sodium tungstate, and tungstic oxide) are presented and evaluated, as well as a summary of the research effort and potential applications.

Jan 1, 1985

By S C. Brashear, D A. Anderson, A P. Ritter, S R. Winzer, R Broughton

Results of quarry blasts can be quantified to show the effects of controlled variables. Two studies have been carried out: one to document the effect of delay on fragmentation and the other to show the effects of higher relief patterns and more accurate initiators. By using such techniques as highspeed photography and timing studies of mucking and crushing operations, subtle differences in blasting efficiency can be measured and quarry blasting can be optimized. Given the range of available and developing blasting technologies, quarry operators should resort to quantitative analyses of their blasting practices to get maximum productivity.

Jan 1, 1985

By David L. Anderson

"The objective of this paper is to describe the potential impact of inter-provincial competition f or new output capacity on the Canadian potash industry. It will be shown that the ramifications of such actions are potentially severe, especially since the potash industry is one of the few non-fuel minerals in which Canada purportedly possesses a significant degree of market power. More specifically, the paper addresses the impact of possible expansions in New Brunswick, Manitoba and, perhaps, Saskatchewan. The findings suggest that such initiatives could result in substantial excess capacity and the dissipation of monopoly rents. In summary, given the market structure of the industry, it is unlikely that the employment and economic effects associated with industry expansion will offset the loss in national welfare attributable to rent dissipation.IntroductionThe objective of this paper is to discuss the potential impact of inter-provincial competition for new output capacity on the Canadian potash industry. The ramifications of such competition are potentially severe: given that the potash industry is one of the few non-fuel minerals in which we purportedly possess a significant degree of market power(1), it is important that sound supply management practices are followed. However, possible initiatives by New Brunswick, Manitoba and, perhaps, Saskatchewan may initiate an inter-provincial competition which could result in substantial excess capacity and the dissipation of economic rents(2). Given the market structure of the industry, it is not intuitively obvious that the employment and economic effects associated with industry expansion will offset the loss in national welfare attributable to rent dissipation."

Jan 1, 1985

By R. D. Livingstone

"THE LETHBRIDGE COAL FIELD lies mainly .to the north and west of the city of Lethbridge. Mining carried on in this area for over eighty years until 1965. Before the building of a railway the coal was carried by bullock wagon to Montana for use in smelting, and for a while by river boat to Medicine Hat for railway use. The single, almost flat, worked seam is designated the ""Galt"" seam and is about 1.5 metres thick. It belongs to the Belly River formation and is under cover of 80 to 180 metres of weakly stratified sediments. A complex system of cross faults adds to the mining difficulties. Close timbering required in the entries and rooms reflected in a high timber cost and lower output per man shift. The coal is High Volatile"" C"" bituminous in rank with maximum gross calorific value of 11,200 Btu per pound and with a well defined cleavage. Roof conditions in the field range from very tender and very heavy on the south end of the field and west of the Oldman River to a more stable character to the north. Relatively speaking, the whole field would earn a rather tender rating and definitely so in relation to many U.S. fields. Floor conditions are characterized by a bentonitic type heaving in the south end of the field west of the Oldman river to a more stable situation in the north, which can tolerate shuttle car operation if kept drained. Water problems are minimal, except paralleling the Oldman River, where the seam dips below the river level. While vigilance is necessary to prevent accumulations of gas, the volume is rather limited. The seam was entered by shafts, except where small mines were located along the Oldman river banks and gained access by drifts. The coal seam was developed by driving either 3 or 4 Face entries 2 1/2 metres (8 ft) wide on 18-metre ( 60-ft) centres. Sets of dual butt entries driven at right angles to the Face entries completed development work. Normally rooms up to 8 metres wide were turned off the butt entries on up to 11 - metre centres. These were worked in groups of three to five, depending on the roof conditions, and normally advanced 60 m (200 ft). In some areas rooms had to be abandoned short of their objectives due to roof pressure, heaving floor and intermittent work."

Jan 1, 1985

By M. M. Singh

Coal mine operators are obligated to mitigate or plan for subsidence under the new regulations. This paper presents the types of subsidence control measures that may be employed to meet these requirements, which include: changes in mining methods, strata stabilization after coal extraction, construction of specially designed surface structures and foundations to accommodate ground movements, and comprehensive planning and coordination of surface land use with underground mining. The basic principles of these techniques, along with specific procedures that may be followed to implement them, are briefly discussed. Subsidence control methods that are currently being investigated are mentioned.

Jan 1, 1985

By Daryl R. Tweeton

The Bureau of Mines is investigating possible applications of geophysics to monitor leachate during in situ mining. Tomographic reconstruc-tion of seismic or electromagnetic crosshole data appears applicable. The tomographic program BOMTOM (Bureau of Mines tomography) was written and then used to investigate reconstructions with synthetic travel time data. The calculations confirmed that without constraints, crosshole data do not provide unique solutions. The solution is not determined solely by the data, but is also influenced by the velocity guesses starting the iterative solution procedure. The effectiveness of constraints in combatting nonuniqueness was examined. The requirement that the velocity not vary laterally at the top and bottom of the pixel grid was effective. This constraint is realistic when the top and bottom of the grid represent dry and saturated re-gions, respectively. Limiting the maximum velocity improved reconstructions, but may not be applicable in practice. BOMTOM uses the simultaneous iterative reconstruction technique (SIRT) with straight ray paths. The program is efficient in use of memory, and can be run on a personal computer. A source code in FORTRAN is listed. A source code in BASICA and compiled executable codes in both languages are available from the Bureau's Twin Cities (MN) Research Center.

Jan 1, 1985

By Kenneth G. Arne

INTRODUCTION The real problem is finding the "appropriate" financing sources by matching the risk and reward expectations of the various classes of investors and lenders. Generally, lenders who advance funds temporarily are interested in assuming only limited risk and conversely expect to earn only a limited reward. The equity owners on the other hand, are expected to take most of the risk of the enterprise, but should receive a reward commensurate with that risk. In particular they will receive the benefit of the company's increase in net worth over time. MINE DEVELOPMENT CYCLE Consider the development cycle of a mining project beginning with rank wildcat exploration (Figure 1) [ ] Just as different professionals must be utilized at different stages, so must different funding sources be used at different points in the pipeline. Figure 2 shows the general sources of funding: [ ] This concept can perhaps be better understood if we compare the risk with the capital requirements. Suppose each area within a triangle is proportional to the risk taken (see Figure 3): [ ]

Jan 1, 1985

By Andrew P. Ritter, James W. Reil, Douglas A. Anderson, Stephen R. Winzer

We have developed a method for predicting and controlling ground vibration from blasting using a rigorous scientific approach. The method is based upon the superposition of seismic waveforms generated by a single-hole free-face shot, recorded at seismographs deployed in an array that includes environmentally sensitlve locations. Waveforms generated by single-hole shots are shown to be reproducible. The waveforms for each of the sites are used to construct synthetic seismograms for delayed shots based upon linear superposition. A computer code systematically constructs the seismograms for the delayed shots, with incremental delays between holes of 1, 2, or 3 milliseconds (ms). A Fourier amplitude specs-rum is calculated for each synthetic seismogram and the spectra are plotted on a map in delay-frequency space, i.e., each row of the map represents the Fourier spectrum for a blast with a particular delay interval. For single-row shots, the delay between holes in a row is used; for multiple-row shots, the delay between holes In a row is kept constant and the delay between rows is incremented. Predicted vibration varies strongly as a function of delay and h

Jan 1, 1985

Stringent controls now placed on the quality of coal make it important to be able to predict not only the tonnage and the grade of the coal in situ, but also the recovery factory and average grade after the coal has been washed. The established techniques of linear geostatistics (ordinary kriging) can be used to estimate the total tonnage and the grade of the coal in situ, but more sophisticated techniques are required for predicting the characteristics of washed coal. Two approaches are currently being investigated at Fontainebleau. One involves a parametric model of the washability curves and disjunctive kriging. This is described in Armstrong (1980(a) and (b)). The other is similar to the service variable approach used for estimating recoverable uranium reserves. The method is described in this paper.

Jan 1, 1985