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By R. P. King, S. Middlemiss

A method is developed to convert a measured distribution of fracture energies to the equivalent work index. The method assumes that the energy required to grind the material from the feed size distribution to the product size distribution is equivalent to the sum of the impact energies that are required to reduce the feed material by successive single impacts to the required product size. The method was tested by measuring the fracture energy distributions for quartz and comparing the resulting calculated value of the work index with the work index for this material measured using the conventional Bond laboratory procedure.

Jan 1, 1998

By Douglas R. Cook

The Ertsberg East discovery was announced by Freeport in 1979 with proven geological reserves of 45 Mt (49.6 million tons) with a grade of 2.65% copper and recoverable gold values. This recently discovered deposit is one of a cluster of skarn-type copper occurrences found within the limits of Freeport Indonesia's mining con- cession at an elevation of about 3600 m (12,000 ft) in the extremely rugged Jaya Wijaya Mountains of Irian Jaya, the Indonesian half of the island of New Guinea. The Ertsberg East lies about 1.5 km (0.9 miles) east of the Ertsberg ore body, which is also known by the Indonesian name "Gunung Bijih" or "ore mountain." For general background, the original Ertsberg ore body was first discovered by the Dutch geologist Jacques Dozy in 1938 while on a mountain climbing expedition. It was mapped and sampled by Forbes Wilson and Del Flint after a two-week harrowing trek into the mountains from the coastal swamps. A drilling program in 1967- 1968 established that the Ertsberg was a viable mining venture, containing approximately 33 Mt (36.4 million tons) of skarn-type copper ore. The deposit averaged 2.5% copper, with significant values in gold and silver. The first shipment of copper concentrates was made in December 1972, following a capital investment of $200 million. Following the routine production of ore from this deposit, it became necessary to consider additional sources of ore to extend the life of the mining operation. An exploration program was thus started with the initial objective of finding shallow or surface ores which could be blended with the material being mined at Ertsberg. Project geologist Frank Nelson was transferred from Freeport Exploration Co. to the Freeport Indonesia organization at the Ertsberg mine. However, the exploration work was the functional responsibility of Freeport Exploration. Del Flint had overall responsibility for the program from the Reno headquarters office and provided liaison with management in the USA and Indonesia.

Jan 1, 1991

By D. A. Barr

The Galore Creek copper deposits lie in the Stikine River district of northwest British Columbia, a largely undeveloped region which possesses rugged mountain terrain with deeply incised valleys which support dense undergrowth. Timberline is normally at about 1300 m (4265 ft) and the higher levels contain glacial systems and large ice fields with peaks rising to 3500 m (I 1,483 ft). A location map of the Galore Creek area is given in Fig. 1. In the late 1920s, field parties under the direction of F.A. Kerr (1948) of the Geological Survey of Canada completed geological surveys of the district. Primary access for this work was provided by riverboats on the Stikine and Iskut Rivers. Kerr's party had to contend with extremely difficult travel conditions that required considerable backpacking, augmented by pack dogs in certain cases. Absence of ground control led Kerr to establish his own topographic maps. Among the geological data established was the recognition [ ] that small bodies of orthoclase porphyry in the district are often well mineralized with base metal sulfides. Copper mineralization in the upper Galore Creek valley, a tributary of Scud River which flows into the Stikine River some 80 km (50 miles) south of the small settlement of Telegraph Creek, was originally discovered during aerial reconnaissance by M. Morrison and W. Buckholz while prospecting for Hudson Bay Exploration and Development Co. Ltd. in 1955. Malachite- and azurite-stained out- crops in several parts of the Galore Creek watershed are clearly visible from distances of 500 m ( 1640 ft) or more. Claims were staked in 1956 and the copper showings were partly mapped, trenched, and investigated by shallow diamond drilling. Because of the remoteness of the area and higher priorities for expenditures elsewhere, no further work was undertaken and most of the claims were allowed to expire.

Jan 1, 1991

By E. P. Gustafson

Demand by precious metals explorationists for cost effective means to target subsurface geologic structures worthy of evaluation by means of drilling has led to the use of the predictor-correlator technique. To locate polarizable targets, the predictor-a localized inhomogeneity in electrical properties-is placed at various locations in the computer-simulated subsurface region, and correlated with the potential distribution observed in the field. The correlation coefficient obtained is assigned to the subsurface location. IP targets are extracted by calculating a second correlation section based on higher-frequency illumination and subtracting it from the first. The locations of correlation difference correspond to the locations of polarizable mineralization.

Jan 1, 1989

By André Vien, Robert Edwards, Rob Perry

A metallurgical control application can only succeed if the system's lowest common denominator, its instrumentation and regulatory control is implemented and maintained correctly. This paper describes the basics of regulatory control implementation including some practical guidelines for instrumentation installation, operator interface design, loop tuning, and continuous loop performance analysis. Tuning and analysis techniques are illustrated by step-by-step industrial examples. A small investment in basic control pays dividends in better overall plant performance and provides a solid foundation for advanced control efforts such as expert systems.

Jan 1, 2000

By Thomas C. Anderson, Terry Weiss

The Mount Gunnison No. 1 Mine of the West Elk Coal Company (wholly owned subsidiary of ARCO Coal) had secured contracts to provide low sulfur, high Btu steam coal to various utility companies. This called for the development of the B-Seam at the Mount Gunnison Mine located some 400 feet below the operating F-Seam workings being mined with conventional room and pillar techniques. The B-Seam, to meet production goals, will be mined by a new 600-foot longwall machine making a 13-foot high cut. American Mine Services was awarded a competitively bid contract to drive two 2000-foot, 13-foot by 16-foot slopes at -15 percent, sink a 16-foot diameter ventilation shaft 400 feet between the F- and B-Seams, install a 60-inch conveyor in one of the slopes, remove 7000 feet of existing conveyor and rehabilitate 7000 feet in two entries to accommodate the placement of the longwall machinery. The slope portals were located 7000 feet in by the surface portal. Unique to the project was the placement of work shops and other infrastructure 7000 feet underground with an entry height of 6 feet. The $7 million contract was completed in less than one year using a mix of permissible (Schedule 31) and standard (Schedule 24) LHD equipment, all pneumatic jumbos and shaft sinking gear.

Jan 1, 1993

By S. Behl

A major limitation in developing successful selective, flocculation schemes is the difficulty encountered in adsorbing the polymeric flocculant only on the desired substrate. In this paper, a correlation between selectivity of flocculant adsorption and separation efficiency is outlined, and a potential technique to achieve selective adsorption of flocculants is discussed.

Jan 1, 1994

By F. F. Peng, D. C. Yang, G. Yanief, E. H. Cho

This study deals with carrier flotation of cerium dioxide, a surrogate of plutonium oxide, which is the major contaminant at the Nevada Test Site (NTS). The objective of this study was to determine the feasibility of using carrier flotation for remediation of the site. In this study, a - 200-mesh fraction of pure cerium dioxide was used. Oleic acid was used as the collector, while calcium carbonate was used as the carrier. Mechanical-cell tests were conducted to float the surrogate from a mixture containing uncontaminated NTS soil, both in the absence and presence of the carrier. It was found that the addition of the carrier drastically enhanced the flotation recovery of cerium dioxide. The flotation recovery of the surrogate increased from 34% to 65% by adding only 0.5% calcium carbonate (-150 mesh). The recovery further increased to 95% by adding 10% calcium carbonate. The flotation method utilizing a carrier of calcium carbonate seems to have a high potential for the remediation of the soil contaminated with radionuclides at the NTS.

Jan 1, 1998

By H. Ouellet, J. Paraszczak

The pneumatic jackleg drill remains a widely used tool in development and production drilling in many small-scale and narrow-vein underground mining operations in North America. Several drawbacks of this technology (unsatisfactory drilling rate, noise, vibration, presence of oil mist, etc.) and the successful introduction of water-powered jackleg drills in South Africa have stimulated the interest of many mine operators. The performance of both drill types have been tested in a mine site in Northwestern Quebec, Canada. Results of the testing of penetration and advance rates as well as environmental aspects are presented. They show a superiority of water-powered drills, even though the difference in performance is less significant than that reported from South Africa. Further research avenues are proposed to better evaluate the potential of water drilling technology in North American metal mines.

Jan 1, 1995

By William H. Sutherland

INTRODUCTION Coal workers' pneumoconiosis and sili- cosis are only two of several diseases which are rlassed as pneumoconiosis. These are respiratory diseases caused by dusts which are inhaled and accumulated in the lungs. The individual particles of dust cannot be seen by the human eye. They are so small that they escape the natural cleansing mechanism of the nose and air passages and make their way down to the terminal air sacs of the lung where they injure the cells and cause the formation of scar tissue. Consequently, if there is exposure to high concentrations of dust over a period of time - usually, a number of years - the amount of scar tissue increases and begins to impair breathing. As a result, the miner develops shortness of breath, coughing and wheezing ad-if exposure continues - this progresses to permanent disability and frequently to death. Death is often due to pulmonary heart disease, the effect of stress on the heart 2s it tries to compensate for the weakened lungs. Specifically, silicosis is an occupational lung disease caused by the accumulation of free silica (quartz) in the lungs. Silicosis is considered the most important form of pneumoconiosis, not only because of its seriousness as a respiratory crippler, but also because of the large number of workers who risk contracting it in a variety of occupations. Quartz is one of the most common substances of the earth's crust, estimated at about 60 percent. Silicosis has been found in coal, metal and granite miners, as well as in other workers, such as sandblasters and pottery makers. Silicosis is also known to predispose the lung to tuberculosis and to increase the chances that a worker will contract chronic bronchitis and emphysema. The seriousness of silicosis was tragically brought to public attention about 50 years ago. During 1932-34, workers were involved in digging a tunnel through rock at Gauley Bridge, West Virginia. While their exposure time was relatively short, they developed silicosis because of the high concentrations of quartz. By 1936, 476 workers had died of silicosis and about 1500 were believed to have the disease (Washington Post, 1982). It is difficult to tell how many coal miners have silicosis. Because x-rays and breathing function tests do not show the difference the type of pneumoconiosis is generally diagnosed by the miner's work history. For example, if a worker

Jan 1, 1986

By Earl G. Hoover, V. S. Znamensky

For most geologists and miners the term asbestos refers to a group of highly fibrous silicate minerals that readily separate into long, thin, strong fibers of sufficient flexibility to be woven; these fibers are heat resistant and chemically inert, and possess a high electric insulation and therefore are suitable for uses where incombustible, nonconductive or chemically resistant material is required. The US Mining Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) specifically refers to the naturally occurring minerals chrysotile, amosite, crocidolite, termolite asbestos, anthophyllite asbestos, and actinolite asbestos as asbestos if the individual crystal fragments have the following dimensions: length-greater than 5 µm; maximum diameter-less than 5 µm; and a length to diameter ratio of 3 or greater. Since asbestos has been identified as one of the ten most carcinogenic substances (a cancer-causing agent), it has become, for many government regulatory agencies, a major issue concerning banning emissions to the environment. Very few recent issues have caused as much concern for the crushed stone industry as asbestos. Complicating the problem is the fact that several federal and state bureaus have greatly compounded the confusion because each has become involved in the asbestos dilemma. Simple solutions to a very complex problem have been proposed by these various governmental groups. In addition to governmental bungling is the fact that public interest groups have been able to use federal and state laws that have been enacted with a strong environmental bias to foment even greater complexities. Such is now the state of the asbestos problem. No con- firmed health risk has been associated with low-level exposure, namely crushed stone in an unbound form; a methodology for sampling and analyzing for asbestos has not been developed; a precise definition of what is asbestos does not exist, nor does a concensus among the various government groups as to what course of action to pursue. Pure asbestos as it is mined for commercial purposes does not exist in the properties mined by the crushed stone industry. Where the six asbestiform minerals do appear (to date we've been referring mainly to chrysotile in serpentinite formations in Maryland) the amount of the asbestiform mineral present is generally quite small. They generally appear in scattered, miniscule amounts. In the case of Rockville Crushed Stone in Montgomery county, Mary- land, the chrysotile is less than 1/2 of 1% of the rock deposit. No health risk has been identified with such minute quantities of asbestos minerals. MSHA standards for the occupational health and safety of quarry workers are being met; and there is every indication that normal background levels of asbestos, throughout the surrounding countryside, are as high or higher than levels measured on roads where the rock is used in pavement or base. The problem and the controversy lie with improper terminology on the part of so-called public interest environmental groups, aided and abetted by some governmental agencies who, to be charitable, we can best describe as uninformed. The news media frequently has fanned the issue, unintentionally we'd like to think, by quoting these misinformed authorities and not bothering to question the facts or adequately report balancing information handed to them. It is much better copy to talk about an asbestos cancer scare, than to deal with rather mundane measurements and descriptions that are hard to understand. At the heart of the issue is the improper use of the word asbestos. Instead of being confined to the geological description of the six asbestiform minerals-chrysotile, amosite, crocidolite, termolite asbestos, anthophyllite asbestos, and actinolite asbestos-the word asbestos is also wrongly used, but too-frequently to identify many other minerals that happen to have elon-

Jan 1, 1986

By Dan Kump

This paper provides an overview of Barrick Gold's Bullfrog underground mine backfill program. The Bullfrog underground mine was a gold mine that primarily used the underhand cut-and-fill mining method. The first portal was established June 18, 1991, and mining continued until Dec. 29, 1998. This paper begins with a discussion of the events that took place to reach about 1.8 kt/d (2,000 stpd) of backfill. It ends with a commentary of what was learned. The Bullfrog experience suggests that there are two essential factors to a successful backfill program: a well-graded aggregate supply and proper placing procedures.

Jan 1, 2002

By Steven J. Van Kauwenbergh, Talaat A. B. Lawendy

Batch laboratory-scale beneficiation tests were conducted on four high-iron phosphate samples. These samples included sedimentary ores (Tilemsi Valley, Mali and Tahoua, Niger), a sample from an igneous phosphate deposit (Matongo, Burundi), and a fine-grained phosphatic iron ore processing residue from Chile. The Matongo phosphate deposit occurs as a thick (up to 80 m) residual blanket of P205-enriched soil over solid parent rock (carbonatite and associated rock types). Although the Matongo deposit is an igneous deposit, ore from the deposit can be subjected to beneficiation treatments commonly used to treat sedimentary rocks. The beneficiation flowsheets designed to process these diverse ore types involve attrition scrubbing, size classification, and flotation. At the best flotation conditions tested, phosphate concentrates assaying 32.0%-39.0% P205 and 1.0%-1.5% Fe2O3, were obtained at 64.2%-82.2% overall P2O5 recoveries from run-of-mine (ROM) ores containing 9.2%-28.6% P205 and 5.9%-16.1% F,20,. A cleaner phosphate concentrate assaying 33.1% P205, 1.8% A1203, and 3.3% Fe2O3 at 53.4% overall P205 recovery was obtained from the phosphatic iron ore residue that originally contained 4.5% P205, 8.0% A1203, and 17.6% Fe2O3.

Jan 1, 1993

By Richard R. Radel, Jack Barry

Contract required excavating 2,000 If of 14' horseshoe tunnel in rock, a 95' deep work shaft on shore, and a 50' deep intake shaft located in the middle of the Niagara River just above Niagara Falls. Large quantities of H2S were encountered in the range of 20 PPM with ventilation. Peak levels of 40 PPM were recorded. The original designed ventilation system required only a volume of 10,000 CFM to meet OSHA requirements. The volume of air was increased to 50,000 CFM to dilute the H2S to al- low workmen to work and comply with OSHA H2S action levels. The second phase of the tunnel consisted of placing 72" ID X 20 foot long concrete reinforced pipe in the tunnel. When the tunnel was holed through and both shafts were open, a substantial amount of work was required to take place in the shafts which eliminated the possibility of placing a bulkhead to secure proper ventilation. The ventilation team designed a jet system airlock. The design of this system was to bring fresh air down the work shaft in two duct systems; one 30" diameter and one 24" diameter. Following the excellent work of Jan Wolski (7th Mine Ventilation Symposium chapter 58) our design incorporated nozzles located approximately 100' in by the work shaft. The velocity of the 24" diameter duct was 6,365 FPMD2.2 MPH. The velocity of the 30" diameter duct was 6,117 FPMl69.5 MPH. Both systems were on blow and being that air expands at 3112 degrees per side this high velocity of air expanded and created an air bulk head through which men and the large sections of concrete pipe could be passed without any delay or additional cost to the project.

Jan 1, 1997

By S. Srinivasan

Traditional pit optimization techniques cannot take account of the requirement to blend ore in order to produce a saleable product, as is the case for iron ore, coal, limestone and other industrial minerals. Various techniques are proposed to overcome the deficiencies, many of which have been tested. The techniques in general involve the combined application of pit optimization and blend optimization techniques.

Jan 1, 1996

By Rick McGregor, David Blowes, Mike Choi, Ralph Ludwig

The oxidation of sulfide minerals at an ore transfer location in Western Canada has resulted in widespread contamination of underlying soil and groundwater. The oxidation of sulfide minerals has released sulfate [SO,] and heavy metals including cadmium [Cd], copper [Cu], nickel [Ni], lead [Pb], and zinc [Zn] into the groundwater. A compost-based sulfate-reducing reactive wall was installed in the path of the plume in an attempt to reduce the potential impact of the heavy metals on a down-gradient marine inlet. Monitoring of the reactive wall over a 21-month period has shown that Cu concentrations decrease from over 4000 ug/L to less than 5 ug/L. Cadmium, Ni, Pb, and Zn concentrations also show similar decreases with treated concentrations generally being observed near or below detection limits.

Jan 1, 2000

By V. G. Matziaris

The differentiation between saturated and un-saturated soils becomes necessary due to basic differences in their nature and engineering behavior. The most important difference is the existence of a suction zone, above the water table, in unsaturated soils. Pore water pressure in this zone is always negative and the shear strength is greater than the one in saturated soils. This is due to an occasional and apparent component in the Mohr-Coulomb equation, which appears in unsaturated soils. In slope stability analysis of unsaturated soils, the factor of safety increases due to this occasional cohesion component of the shear strength. However, the suction zone tends to disappear because of rainfall. In these cases the factor of safety decreases and eventually the slope may fail. In this article, a parametric study of the effect of suction zone fluctuation due to precipitation in slope stability is examined. For this purpose a Combined Hydrology and Stability Model (CHASM) has been applied.

Jan 1, 2005

By James S. Browning

This article describes research conducted by the University of Alabama's Mineral Resources Institute on removing sulfur from coal using a combination of gravity concentration and flotation methods. The research used the gravity and centrifugal force capabilities of Humphrey's spiral to remove part of the pyritic sulfur and ash. Flotation of the Humphrey's spiral coal concentrate removed additional sulfur and ash. In addition to obtaining good recoveries of high quality coal, the tests demonstrated that pyrite in the wastes could be isolated as enriched flotation products by the combined gravity-flotation approach. Domestic coal production in 1980 reached a record 757 Mt (835 million st). Forecasts are that coal production and use will approach 907 Mt (1 billion st) by 1985, with much of the increased production being used for electrical generation. Of current production, it is estimated that about 454 Mt (500 million st) of coal nationwide are subjected to some degree of cleaning, ranging from crushing and screening to gravity concentration and flotation. With expanded coal production and more rigid controls placed on coal combustion, it is reasonable to assume that the tonnage subjected to some form of preparation will increase, with time, thereby adding to the burden of coal rejects being generated. A major problem associated with increased coal use for electricity generation is the need for utilities to conform to emerging federal air quality standards for sulfur oxide emissions from power plants. To a lesser extent, other industrial operations burning coal face a similar situation. Controlling sulfur oxide emissions by using low-sulfur coal or resorting to stack gas desulfurization are two recognized approaches, but removing sulfur from the coal, if possible, by physical beneficiation before combustion is preferred because of its simplicity and lower cost. Reducing the inorganic sulfur in coal to tolerable limits by physical beneficiation, including flotation, as now practiced, is still relatively inefficient and has not kept pace with the more sophisticated physical beneficiation approaches generally employed by the nonfuel minerals industry. As one phase of a broad program conducted by the Mineral Resources Institute at the University of Alabama on sampling and evaluating impounded fine size waste coal, tests were made using samples from two impoundments to determine the quality of coal recoverable by a combination of Humphrey's spiral concentration and flotation. Particular attention was given to organic and inorganic sulfur deportment and distribution in the various products. Another objective was to determine if pyrite in the waste could be recovered for possible marketing. The use of Humphrey's spirals to concentrate fine coal was practiced as early as 1947. At that time, the Hudson Coal Co. used spirals to concentrate anthracite fines. In 1950, spirals were used to treat fine-size bituminous coal and later, in 1976, spirals were reportedly used for removing pyrite from fine-size coal. More recent investigations have discussed the use of Humphrey's spirals for treating fine-size waste coal in Alabama. Samples Description Washer waste samples were obtained from two impoundments. One sample was representative of waste generated during washing steam coal from the American, Pratt, and Nickel plate seams in Alabama. The other sample represented metallurgical coal washer waste from processing coal from the Carter, Johnson, and Milldale seams. Partial samples analyses are shown in Table 1, and screen analyses of the samples are given in Tables 2 and 3. Screen ana¬lyses showed that one sample contained about 4% of material coarser than 2 mm (10 mesh) and the other contained about 13% of plus 2 mm (10 mesh) material. Also, the analyses indicated that ash and sulfur increased as the material's particle size decreased. Experimental Laboratory Tests Sink and float tests using a heavy liquid (1.4 specific gravity) were made on the different screen sizes shown in Tables 2 and 3 to determine the effectiveness of gravity concentration for separating coal from pyrite and other gangue constituents. Tests indicated that gravity separation, under optimum conditions, could be expected to yield coal products containing 10-12% ash, and 0.2-0.3% pyritic sulfur. Good coal recoveries could also be expected. Using sink-float tests as a guide, tests were made in a Humphrey's spiral by a procedure in which a 90-135 kg (200-300 lb) portion of the

Jan 8, 1982

By T. S. Golosinski

Most of the 154 t (170 st) truck fleets that were predominant in large surface mines in the 1970s and 1980s are approaching the end of their economic life. One replacement option considered by mine operators is a change to the 2 18 t (240 st) trucks. A comparison of load capacities between the 1.54 t (170 st) and the 2 18 t (240 st) trucks indicates a large productivity advantage in favor of the 218 t (240 st) trucks. This advantage, however, is often reduced by a number of site-specific factors. Therefore, a careful evaluation is required to define the actual benefit of changing to the large trucks. This article discusses some important factors that have an impact on truck size selection, based on several different studies. 218 t (240 st) trucks The 2 18 t (240 st) rear dump trucks were first introduced for surface mine service almost 10 years ago. However, it is only during the last few years that this equipment has gained acceptance in the surface mining industry. About 250 units were employed in surface mines worldwide at the beginning of 1992, and further purchase commitments are being made. Encouraged by the mining industry’s interest, all major off-highway mining truck manufacturers now offer 218 t (240 st) models (Table 1). At present, the existing 218 t (240 st) truck fleets are dominated by electric drive trucks. However, recent introduction of a 2 18 t (240 st) mechanical drive truck rounds out the development of this truck size.

Jan 1, 1992

By B. A. Hancock

It is not at all surprising that causticized potato and potato derived amylopectin starch solutions performed much better than their parent starches. Some preparation is required to rupture the starch granules to effect the polymeric adsorption and interparticle bridging necessary for selective flocculation. In laboratory work comparing the deslime performance of causticized and autoclave cooked laboratory corn starch solution preparations, it was found that higher deslime weight rejections, with attendant proportionally greater iron unit losses, occurred with the causticized starch. These results may be specific to the ore involved but they do suggest that cooking and causticizing cause different starch granule rup- ture and/or starch breakdown, which have an effect on desliming response. I calculated from the data in the article that the slimes product grades were high - 24.3% and 20.3% Fe when 53.7% and 54.5% Fe concentrate products were obtained, respectively, in Table 4, and 21% Fe with a 62.6% Fe concentrate in Table 5 - using the natural tailings sample, which had a head of 34.3% Fe. It may be advisable for the authors to consider different starch preparations in future investigations. The combination of upgrading and selectivity results presented in Table 4 are not as good as the authors suggest. The authors' claim that a system has been developed to produce saleable concentrates from the Kudremukh tailings is quite disconcerting. There are many hurdles yet to be crossed before commercial application of selective flocculation becomes possible because differ- ences between the very small-scale laboratory tests conducted and commercial application are rather large. Among the many differences are varying circuit feed grades that will occur from use of tailings, the apparent face that much lower tailings grades will be encountered in practice (it is much easier to achieve a high concentrate grade with reasonable recoveries using 34.3% Fe tailings as in the study rather than 25.3% Fe tailings grades that the plant apparently averages), the hydraulic nature of the thickeners used in operations compared to the static system used in laboratory tests, the different size distributions that will be obtained from a plant closed grinding- classification circuit, and differences in water used in a plant operation and the laboratory. The authors wrote that it was necessary to overgrind to be sure that the coarse gangue would not settle with the iron oxide floccules. This situation is likely to be exaggerated in commercial operations where it is assumed cyclones would be used for classification. Because cyclone classification is greatly influenced by particle densities, there will probably be an even greater difference in size between the iron and gangue particles in the plant, which would make the gangue slightly coarser still in relation to the iron. This would make the selective flocculation-desliming separations using the procedure employed by the authors even more difficult and, using the dispersant system the authors employed, greater overgrinding would be required. To grind finer to minimize the coarse gangue in the flocculated iron oxides is quite inefficient and appears not to broach the problem. The actual problem appears to be insufficient dispersion of the ground pulp. In this situation, addition of a dispersant would likely be required to attain a sufficiently high pulp dispersion level to efficiently effect a selective flocculation-desliming separation. Although the very coarse particles would still have a tendency to settle with the floccules, it probably would be found unnecessary to overgrind as much as indicated. Use of an optimum combination of dispersant and pH modifying reagents may also significantly improve the selectivity of desliming. Additionally, although it is possible that sufficient dispersion may be obtained by pH control alone in some situations, it is quite probable that added dispersity was obtained in the reported work from using distilled water. It is research experience that distilled water enhances dispersion. In commercial operations it may not be expected that sufficient dispersion will be obtained by pH control alone, unless the water used in the process is by nature quite dispersive. Overall, a change in the Kudremukh tailings dispersant scheme appears necessary where a dispersant is used in conjunction with a pH modifying reagent. With this change, different dispersion-flocculation responses will result that would have to be further evaluated. Therefore, it is still an open question whether an efficient and effective selective floccula- tion separation using Kudremukh tailings may be obtained that will produce saleable concentrates.

Jan 1, 1987