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By Q. C. Reynolds

Keywords: Pyrometallurgy, plant, photography, GIS, satellite images, Google Earth Google Earth is a piece of software able to display an interactive three-dimensional map of the world, combining aerial and satellite photography with maps, terrain, and user-generated geographical information systems (GIS). Many structural features of the planet, both natural and man-made, are of great interest to the mining and metallurgy field, and in this paper a study is made of the current state of the art of data accessible by Google Earth.

Jan 1, 2006

By Archer E., Wheeler

Producing copper companies were active during 1941 owing to the national defense program the United States and the requirements of the friendly belligerent nation. This activity extended to the American owned properties in South America, the major part of whose product was taken by the Metals Reserve Co., a U.S. Government agency. Anaconda Copper Mining Co. is building a new converter plant at Anaconda, with four units of the Peirce-Smith type. The addition is being built adjacent to the reverberatory plant so as to avoid the necessity of hauling matte and slag. It is expected to be completed this year.

Jan 1, 1942

By E. W. Rouse

THE year 1936 has seen rehabilitation of many plants which had been closed or severely curtailed. The Steptoe smelter of the Nevada Consolidated Copper Co. has been transformed by a rearrangement of the flow of material and utilization of mechanical handling to a maximum. The Phelps Dodge Corp. reports the construction of newer and better reverberatories at the Copper Queen smelter, and of particular interest, a single high-pressure waste-heat boiler placed directly over the uptake. There has also been a complete reconstruction of the smelter at the Laurel Hill plant of the Nichols Copper Co.

Jan 1, 1937

By P. D. I. Honeyman

DURING 1938 many copper companies again felt the economic pinch and smelter operations were often on a reduced basis which some- times resulted in intermittent operations and complete shutdowns. During the last half of the year production was stepped up and smelting operations resumed a more normal appearance. One of the present-day trends in reverberatory sme1ting is definitely toward high-tonnage operations. i\ t the Phelps Dodge Corporation's Douglas plant, the reconstructed 107 by 26- ft. reverberatory furnaces are operated at the rate of 1000 tons of solid charge per day. The arch, all of silica brick; is sufficiently high above the bath to give

Jan 1, 1939

By Joseph Newton

MUCH the same story can be told about the copper industry for the year 1944 as for the three preceding years. Operators report few or no technical changes at their plants and the main endeavor has been to maintain high production with existing equipment. No large new installations have been made to increase plant capacities and apparently over-all copper production has passed its maximum. The present decline in copper production results partly from the severe labor shortage. As is true of most industries; the outstanding fact about the copper industry during the past few years has been its tremendous and sustained production which has been maintained in spite of serious shortages in material. labor, and technical personnel. The figures in Table I give a concrete example of how production has been increased at one large smelter in the United States-the Garfield plant of the American Smelting and Refining Co. at Garfield. Utah. These figures, reported by W. G. Rouillard. superintendent. give the production of the Garfield plant for the five years 1940-44 inclusive. The total blister production

Jan 1, 1945

By Jerome Strauss

IN his review of developments in 1943, Gilbert Seil, Chairman of this Committee on Reduction of the Ferroalloy Ores, tabulated the consumption of the alloying metals in relation to the steel production of that year. In the year just closed the approximate tonnage was of the same order, differing only to a minor degree or suffering some correction with more precise figuses available, as indicated in the following estimates: Consumption Metals in Tons Steel 92,000,000* Manganese 700,000 Silicon 200,000 Chromium 200,000 Nickel 75,000 Molybdenum 20,000 Tungsten 8,000 Vanadium 1,700 Titanium 1.600 Boron 10 `Production figure. The technologic studies instituted during 1942 and carried forward with such great vigor during 1943 continued into 1944 although in some instances were brought to a close either by completion of the specific development

Jan 1, 1945

By Allan J. Clark

THE September issue of MINING AND METALLURGY might almost have served as a review of the advances in the metallurgy of gold during the current year. In addition to a scholarly article by F. W. Bradley, there were able descriptions by W. W. Bradley and W. F. Boericke of the methods followed in California and in Ontario. Considered together, the two last-named articles indicate the many possible combinations of flotation with one or more of the older processes. This, the prominence of flotation as an aid in the beneficiation of gold ores, is probably the most striking of the year's developments. It would perhaps be nearer the fact to say that the year has not been marked by the gold metallurgists' discovery of the flotation process, but rather by the flotation merchandizers' discovery of gold metallurgy. I say this because native gold was floated successfully more than fifteen years ago, and a reference to these results was published six years ago.

Jan 1, 1933

By R. Ordóñez Olivares

This manuscript focuses on the design and development of steels for the railroad industry and methods of testing them. Here are summarized the results of research focusing on alloy development and design, with particular focus on advanced rails and wheels. The high-performance steels are characterized for their mechanical and service characteristics. The relationship between properties and cleanliness is discussed and compared to the regular railroad steel. Some of the tests presented are standard tests that are complemented with the nonstandard test recommended by the Association of American Railroads (AAR) and recommended modifications of this. The paper presents the results of metallurgical analysis, mechanical, and residual stress tests. The laboratory methods include microstructure, residual stresses, tensile, hardness, fracture toughness, and microcleanliness tests.

Jan 1, 2013

By Carle R. Hayward

LEAD ore smelting plants have been operating in general at reduced capacities and secondary lead has assumed relatively more importance during the last year. Present smelting practice results in a large amount of dross, often over 25 per -cent, from blast-furnace lead. This is usually treated at a fairly high temperature in a reverberatory furnace to remove part of the lead and produce a matte-speiss product which is shipped to a copper plant. Few smelters are satisfied with this 'treatment. The fume losses are high and the matte-speiss contains considerable lead. It would seem that a fruitful field for research was open here.

Jan 1, 1934

By E. P. Fleming

COMPARED to the situation abroad, the domestic industry continues to lag both as regards the production and consumption of newly mined lead. During 1938 we produced and consumed slightly over 20 per cent of the world output, whereas ten years ago the figure was nearly double this pro- portion. Labor difficulties and absence of demand were chiefly responsible for the general inactivity. In the foreign field, in spite of low metal prices, production and consumption of lead equaled or exceeded all previous records. Practically all the large companies, with the exception of those in Spain, increased operations, though it should be noted that the foreign lead mines have higher-grade ores than domestic mines. In view of the rapid expansion of the foreign industry, it is natural to expect greater progress abroad, particularly in process metallurgy.

Jan 1, 1939

By Carle R. Hayward

THOUGH recent months have seen a rapid decline in lead-smelting activity and consequent uncertainty as to the future, the first half of the year showed progress in keeping with similar activity in other metals. Demand for scrap increased and various lead-bearing materials found their way to plants producing secondary lead. Some of these materials introduced complications into normal smelting procedure and were the cause of many conferences among plant officials attempting to find the most satisfactory method of treatment. If a blast furnace is to do itself justice it must be run with an open charge. Troubles inevitably result when materials are added to a charge which tighten it up and pre- vent free burning of the coke and con- sequent rapid smelting with a clean hearth This fact has long been recognized by plants producing primary lead, but only recently only it received the attention it deserves.

Jan 1, 1938

By T. D. Jones

MUCH the same story can be told for the lead industry for the year 1945 as for the three previous years. In response to inquiries as to new developments, invariably the answer has been, "No new developments-our men either too busy with the man-power problem or trying to get production out." Time and efforts of industry have been concentrated for the most part on war or readjustment problems. Now that V-E and V-1 day have passed, the lead industry can justly be proud of its record in World War II. As in previous wars, lead played an important role and one of its most spectacular uses was in the production of the atomic bomb. We read that the part lead played was rather obscure, but as a protective agent, lead played a most significant role. "Since the materials in the Pile Plant are intensely radioactive, all storage and handling must be done behind thick concrete walls or lead shields. The material is never seen and all operations are auto matically controlled by a foolproof remote control system especially designed for this purpose." (Chews. & Met., Sept. 1945.) When our armies invaded the European theater of war and made a landing on Normandy beach, gasoline and oil for the motive power were furnished through miles of armored lead pipe. This amaz-

Jan 1, 1946

By A. B. Cron, R. MacPhail, L. Melis, K. Armstong

"Mt. Milligan is a porphyry gold/copper deposit in north-central British Columbia. Diluted and mineable drill-indicated reserves total 449 million tons at an average grade of 0.013 oz gold/ton and 0.19% copper. Large-scale commercial development of the deposit will make Mt. Milligan Canada's third largest gold mine.Metallurgical investigations for the Mt. Milligan project were done in three phases: scoping tests in the first half of 1989; bench-scale work from October 1989 to April 1990; and a pilot plant program in May and June 1990. Various process alternatives for the recovery of gold and copper are described and results are presented. Net smelter return evaluations led to the selection of optimum process conditions for maximizing revenue from gold/copper flotation concentrates.The selected flotation circuit and basic design criteria are described. Forecast average recoveries over the presently-defined 20-year project life are 75.2% for gold and 90.5% for copper in a copper concentrate averaging 17.6% copper and 1.0 oz gold/ton. 1.0 PROJECT LOCATIONThe Mt. Milligan porphyry gold/copper deposit is located in northcentral British Columbia, 150 km north of Prince George, British Columbia. The site is at an elevation of 1,100 m in an area of logged, gently-rolling topography. Nearby communities include MacKenzie and Fort St. James. Climate in the area is moderate and there is direct road access to the property. A location map is presented in Figure 1-1."

Jan 1, 1991

By E. H. Bunce

CONTINUED progress in zinc metallurgy has been shown during 1933 by the adoption of new methods as well as the modernization of old processes and equipment, and by the initiation of new fields of activity for future advancement. The use of suspension roasting continued to grow as its advantages and adaptability became increasingly, apparent. The process developed by the National Smelting Co., Ltd., several years ago, of completely roasting on large sintering machines with utilization of the gas for acid manufacture has worked so successfully that an additional machine was installed during the year. At both the Swansea and the Avonmouth Works all of the ore for smelting is now roasted on the large sintering machines, thereby completely eliminating the old hearth-roasting furnaces. Work continued on obtaining partial purification of zinc ores from lead and cadmium by close control of conditions on the sintering machine, and in a few instances by chlorine additions to the ore before sintering. Ores so treated were either partially roasted or com-

Jan 1, 1934

By U. C. Tainton

IN reviewing progress in zinc metallurgy during the last year or so one is reminded of the premise on which H. G. Wells based his "Food. of the Gods," namely that growth does not and cannot take place smoothly and steadily, but occurs in a series of bursts and intermissions: "It is as if every living thing has to accumulate force to grow, grows with vigor only for a time, and then has to wait for a space before it can go on growing again."

Jan 1, 1937

By Arthur Zentner

THE PAST YEAR saw important developments in all the main branches of zinc metallurgy, which can only be douched on briefly here. Vertical Retort Smelting-The New Jersey Zinc Co. reports their operations to be about as last year when the number of vertical retorts at the Palmerton plant was increased from 16 to 28. The first unit of eight vertical retorts at Oker, Germany, to treat the Rammelsburg complex ore was completed early in the year. A second unit has been under construction and is probably ready to start operations about this time. Each unit is rated for 10,000 metric tons of zinc per year. A plant of 40,000 metric tons annual capacity is the goal. A reflux plant was also built to make high-grade zinc. The plant program is being -carried forward with government finan¬cial assistance, as was the case with the electrolytic zinc plant at Magdeburg. Government subsidies cover mining and 'smelting, and allow for depreciation and reasonable return on invested capital, according to U. S. Bureau of Mines reports.

Jan 1, 1938

By Francis P. Sinn

LOW prices have made 1938 a difficult year for the zinc industry of the world. Particularly in the United States, output had to be radically curtailed to bring production into line with consumption. Despite these unfavorable conditions, some additional plant construction is contemplated. In Jugoslavia, through co-operation with the Government, Trepca Mines is lo build a zinc plant to produce 10,000 metric tons annually, the plant to be ready for operation in July, 1941). Cerro de Pasco is proceeding with its plans for an electrolytic plant in Peru. A pilot plant, to be ready next summer, is under construction. In eastern Canada an electrolytic plant is planned in Quebec to treat concentrates from Yoranda and other mines but no defi-

Jan 1, 1939

By R. Thorpe, M. Dosbaba, A. Kopriva, A. Niiranen, J. Ruokanen

"Automated Mineralogy (AM) is an important diagnostic tool in flotation plants as it adds ore and particle mineralogical properties to traditional mass and chemical data. AM is used in project development, for future ore studies and for diagnosing concentrator operations. With the exception of operations who own central laboratory or on-site systems, the use of AM is often limited to the analysis of a comparatively small set of samples. Metrix Plant Technologies has partnered with TESCAN to integrate TIMA AM technology into the implementation of Performance Assessment Campaigns (PAC). Routine daily composite samples from the mill are analysed mineralogically on a size-by-size basis over several weeks. All the relevant metallurgical, process control and mineralogical data is combined into a single large database for mass balancing and interactive examination. This paper describes the implementation and results of a PAC at the Agnico Eagle Kittilä gold mine in Finland. Although challenging, the addition of mineralogical data as dependent variables in multivariate analysis leads to a much deeper understanding of the root cause effect of events driving the flotation performance. INTRODUCTION TO STUDY The Kittilä mine, owned by Agnico Eagle, is Europe’s largest primary gold mine, with annual production of approximately 180,000 Oz. The operation is located in Lapland in northern Finland, and is currently expected to operate until 2035. The location of the operation is shown in Figure 1. Historically, the mine was an open pit, although in recent years ore is sourced solely from underground operations. The processing plant features crushing and grinding, followed by carbon flotation and sulphide flotation. Carbon concentrate is a waste stream, and sulphide concentrate reports to pressure oxidation (autoclave) and CIL circuits for gold extraction. The final flowsheet is shown in Figure 2. Following commissioning in late 2008, the operation achieved commercial production on May 1st 2009. Gold recovery in flotation gradually increased to a 92-96% range at a throughput of ~3500-4000 tonnes per day. In late 2014, the operation commissioned a plant expansion to ~5000 tonnes per day. Following a commissioning period, the operation stabilised with recoveries in a 90-94% range, which over any given period was determined to be ~2% lower with statistical significance. The trends from start-up of gold recovery in flotation and throughput are shown as follows in Figure 3. In early 2016, Agnico Eagle Kittilä mine, along with Agnico Eagle Technical Services (AETS) partnered with Metrix Plant Technologies and TESCAN, to perform a Performance Assessment Campaign (PAC) at Kittilä, involving automated mineralogy on five key streams at Kittilä on 40 days selected from a 50 day period between February 15th and April 4th 2016, when plant operations were stable. In addition to the mineralogical data, metallurgical and operational data were pooled into a single, powerful database to explore opportunities for the operation to improve recovery in a sustained manner, ideally to the levels pre-expansion."

Jan 1, 2017

By Pedro Hugo Tumialán

El presente texto señala la composición metalogenética de la Cordillera de Huayhuash (Ancash). La Cordillera de Huayhuash que es parte de la Cordillera de los Andes, es una importante provincia metalogénética polimetálica del Perú. En este sentido, dicha Cordillera constituye una franja de yacimientos polimetálicos de zinc, oro, plomo, plata y cobre, los cuales se estructuran sobre yacimientos filonianos y tipo estrato ligado. Asimismo, los filones no tienen preferencia de roca para su minetalización, los mantos se ubican en horizontes calcáreos del Cretáceo. Asimismo se describe la extensión, fisiografía, estratigrafía y los yacimientos de contacto.

Mar 1, 1980

By Pedro Hugo Tumialán de la Cruz

Dado que el Perú ocupa el segundo lugar en la producción de plata a nivel mundial, el presente estudio describe la metalogenia de este metal. Respecto de su fisiografía y geología, se tienen rezagos de la Cordillera con rocas metamórficas del Pre-cámbrico, rocas metamórficas y sedimentarias del Paleozoico y Mesozoico en el suroeste del Perú y noroste del Perú en Paita, Illescas y Amotape. Mineralización de platacomo un subproducto se encuentra en los siguientes yacimientos: exhalación volcánica marina, yacimientos relacionados a diques de inyección magmática félsica, yacimientos tipo pórfidos de cobre, yacimientos tipo skarn, yacimientos de reemplazamiento y relleno en calizas, yacimientos de oro y plata en areniscas-cuarcitas-pizarras, yacimientos tipo cordillerano, yacimientos de oro y plata de baja ley de alta sulfuración y yacimientos tipo Mississippi Valley.

Aug 1, 2012