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By Patridge A. C

Observations of coal stockpiles subject to unusual levels of instability showed that the particular coals exhibited 'gap grading', a relative lack of intermediate size particles. This led to a suggestion that fine coal particles within the pile might have been induced to migrate under the influence of water flow and to concentrate in relatively impervious layers, resulting in local water saturation and reduction of shear strength. To investigate this suggestion, a large test column has been constructed and washed coals with various levels of fines content have been subjected to a downward flow of water. Subsequent examination of the bed of coal within the column confirmed the percolation of fines and their concentration into horizontal layers, and showed the development of zones of saturation above those layers. Shear box tests showed differences in cohesion and internal friction angle between coals with different percentages of fines, supporting the hypothesis that fines percolation may lead to decreased stability.

Jan 1, 1995

By John Griffen

THE modern anthracite breaker or washery uses almost completely a wet method of preparation, which requires, roughly, 1 gal. of water per minute per ton of production per day. The entire anthracite industry uses about 320,000 gal. per min. of water for this purpose or 800,000 tons of water per day. As this water leaves the breakers, it contains fine solids-coal, slate, pyrite, and clay-and is then called silt or slush; as slush is the term most commonly used, it will be employed throughout this paper. The solid content of the slush will be referred to as solids. In the earlier days of anthracite mining, little coal was washed, less crushing was employed, and virgin coal was mined exclusively. As a result, the slush problem was not acute because of the relatively small quantity and the coarseness of the solids. Such slush as was produced could usually be easily impounded and retained or could be discharged into streams without any appreciable pollution being apparent. The character of the fine waste from the breakers, changed materially as its quantity increased until now about 40,000 tons of slush solids are produced daily. Second mining and robbing operations materially increased the quantity of fine solids delivered to the breaker in the mine car. The demand for chestnut, stove and egg sizes, to the exclusion of grate, steamboat, and lump sizes, require finer crushing of the mine-run coal with a consequent increase of fine solids in slush. The use of rice and barley sizes removed a considerable tonnage of coarser solids from the slush but left great quantities of fine solids difficult to retain completely and store and long considered of no possible fuel value. Despite the efforts of the coal operators, the slush solids have found their way into the streams causing, in some cases, serious pollution. The Water Supply Commission of Pennsylvania published, in 1916, a report on Culm in the Streams of the Anthracite Region,1 from which the following is taken: About 40,000,000,000 gal. of water carrying 10,000,000 tons of fine culm are discharged into the water-courses direct, flushed into the mines, or disposed of by various means on the surface. The extent to which the very small sizes of anthracite

Jan 9, 1921

By M. R. Yalamanchili, C. A. Young, J. J. Kellar, W. M. Cross, J. D. Miller

Introduction Researchers have long speculated regarding the adsorption state of collectors on mineral surfaces. Only recently have analytical techniques become available that allow direct in situ analysis of adsorbed layers. With reactive internal reflection elements (IREs), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy coupled with internal reflection spectroscopy (FT-IR/IRS) allows for unobtrusive investigation of the adsorbed layer (Harrick, 1979). This technique has been used both for the in situ identification of adsorbed species and for the direct calculation of collector adsorption density in real time from infrared spectral data (Miller and Kellar. 1988). The reactive mineral IRE serves both to internally reflect the infrared light and to act as a substrate at which collector adsorption can be monitored. Shown in Fig. I is a schematic of light being internally reflected in an IRE. As the light is totally reflected at the interface, an evanescent wave propagates a short distance (typically a few microns) away from the IRE, and sampling of the interfacial region occurs. Because of multiple internal reflections, great sensitivity can be obtained. Flotation systems for which this method has been demonstrated include CaF2/oleate, Al2O3/dodecylsulfate, CaCO3/oleate, ZnS/xanthate and KCI/octylamine (Miller and Kellar, 1988; Kellar et al., 1989, 1990; Miller et al., 1990). Of particular interest to flotation chemists is the conformational behavior of the alkyl chain of adsorbed collector molecules. In the simplest sense, conformation can bethought of as the relative flexibility of the hydrocarbon chain caused by rotations about carbon-carbon single bonds. The flexibility is described by the amount of gauche/trans conformations in the alkyl chain. Figure 2 shows examples of gauche and trans conformations (rotational isomers or rotamers) in a hydrocarbon chain. These two conformations are observed when the terminal methylene groups in any four-carbon subchain are on the same side (gauche) or opposites sides (trans) of the plane of the middle carbon-carbon bond. A gauche conformer (rotamer) is thus a state of maximum potential energy, whereas a trans conformer is a state with minimum potential energy. The difference between these states has been found to be approximately 0.5 to 0.8 kcal/mole (Mead et al., 1986). The relative number of butane molecules present as gauche conformers with respect to trans conformers can be calculated from the Boltzmann equation (Mead et al., 1986). At 25° C approximately 66% of the butane molecules are trans rotamers. [ ] However at 100° C, only 33% of butane molecules are trans rotamers. Exposing the hydrocarbon chain to a polar, rather than an a polar, medium should also cause an increase in the number of gauche butylene groups in a hydrocarbon chain, although this effect has been difficult to observe experimentally (Mead et al., 1986). Forming a crystalline hydrocarbon is equivalent to decreasing the temperature, which greatly increases the amount of trans butylene groups present in the chain. From the preceding discussion, a picture of the solution species of concern can be developed. The collector monomer should exhibit the greatest number of gauche rotamers and most likely will look crumpled or balled-up to reduce the surface area in contact with water. The micellar form is expected to be aggregated, with the hydrocarbon chain existing in a less polar environment. These characteristic conformational features have been examined by FT-IR spectroscopy for various liquid phases of alkanoic acids (Umemura et al., 1981; Cameron et al., 1982a; Yang et al., 1986; Wong, 1987; Wong and Mantsch, 1983; Cross et al., 1992), phospholipid membranes (Fringe Ii, 1980; Casal and Mantsch, 1985: Wong et al.. 1988;

Jan 1, 1994

By J. P. Coughlin

Gypsum plaster is calcium sulfate hemihydrate (CaS04-1/2H2O). There are two varieties, commonly designated as a and ß. The hydration setting) of this plaster involves the chemical reaction: CaS04?1/2H20(c) + 3/2H20(l) = CaSO4?2H20(c); that is, the hemihydrate combines with water to form the dihydrate. Many substances, when present as impurities, either in the hemihydrate or the water have influenced the rate of the hydration reaction. The objective of the Bureau of Mines work described in this report was to investigate the accelerating or retarding effects of small amounts of dissolved substances and to attempt to classify these effects upon a chemical basis. To eliminate competing effects, the work was conducted separately on the two varieties of hemihydrate; both were in highly pure form. (Commercial plasters usually are a mixture of the hemihydrates, with other substances present as impurities.) As the hydration reaction of each variety of hemihydrate evolves heat in amounts known from previous work, 5,6/ the authors decided to use calorimetric methods to follow the extent of the hydration reaction as a function of time. Two calorimetric methods were employed. One was designed to study the hydration reaction with a large water to plaster ratio and the other with a small water to plaster ratio (to simulate commercial practice in utilizing plaster).

Jan 1, 1959

By Garland W

Access to geoscience reference informa- tion including mining and mineral processing has increased considerably in the last five years in Australia. This has been due principally to the use of computer-based information storage and retrieval systems. The main reference data base for the mineral and petroleum industries and disciplines in Australia is the Australian Earth Sciences Information System (AESIS), cooperatively developed and coordinated by the Australian Mineral Foundation (AMF). AESIS is created on the CSIRO computing network (CSIRONET) which has a CYBER 76 host computer located at the CSIRO Division of Computing Research (DCR) at Canberra. Data entry was until recently carried out by AMF using a dedicated line through the Adelaide CSIRONET node to the CYBER 76 interactive system. Data entry is now done directly at the AMF on a DEC PDP 11/44 mini computer that is also a host work station on CSIRONET. Data collection via magnetic tape media input from other computer-based systems is under development. The software used for data entry and management of the data base was developed by CSIRO CILES Systems Development Group. For public interactive online use the AESIS data base is transferred by tape to AUSINET - the Australian information net- work run by ACI Computer Services, Melbourne, where the data base is converted to a form suitable for the IBM STAIRS software. CSIRO facilities at DCR Canberra are used to produce computer type-set camera ready products and output in microform, on magnetic tape or as graphic display. Keywords: Earth sciences information, Computer applications, Information storage and retrieval, AESIS, Data bases, Australia.

Jan 1, 1983

By E. Cameron

Yeelirrie lies toward the center of Western Australia, 650 km (404 miles) northeast of Perth (Fig. 1). The ore reserves have been estimated as 52.5 kt (57,871 tons) of contained U3O8, at an average grade of 0.15%, of which almost two-thirds average 0.24% U3O8. the ore body is a thin, elliptical, more or less horizontal sheet measuring approximately 9 km (5.6 miles) in length, between 0.5 and 1.5 km (0.3 and 0.9 miles) in width, and up to 7 m (23 ft) in thickness, extending from the surface to a depth of 8 m (26 ft). In spite of its near surface position, there is only one small outcrop of significant mineralization. Carnotite is the only uranium mineral recognized so far, dispersed through a calcrete horizon, and deposited from circulating ground water which was also responsible for the carbonation of the clays completely filling an Early Tertiary drainage system. Calcrete, as seen at Yeelirrie, is quite distinct from the widespread, thin pedogenic horizons, as it often forms bodies many kilometers in length and up to 20 m (65.6 ft) in thickness, elongated parallel to the drainage lines. It is variously referred to as "valley calcrete" or "ground water calcrete" to emphasize the occurrence and mode of origin. The discovery of Yeelirrie in mid-1971 was the successful culmination of a grass-roots exploration program initiated in 1968 as part of Western Mining Cop's program of diversification from its historical position as a major gold producer. The object was simply to find an economic uranium deposit - with no constaints other than those normally taken as applying in the mineral search. There was, therefore, complete freedom in the selection of the exploration model, or models, to be applied and the areas to be considered, though the choice was inevitably influenced by both the nature of world occurrences and the local geology. One of the options avail- able was the sandstone environment. Yeelirrie was the direct result of pursuing this line of investigation through three sequential, but quite distinct, stages: first, a regional study; second, establishing a case for exploring the inland drainage systems of Western Australia; and finally, an evaluation of the calcrete environment. An assessment of the potential for sandstone-type deposits in Australia necessitated going back to first principles, since there were no known precedents in this country for guiding exploration and, as a consequence, the search need not be influenced by established prejudices. Previous uranium exploration during the 1950s had been preoccupied with vein-type deposits, and, although the sandstone environment was undoubtedly being examined in 1968, no discoveries had been announced to that time. When considering the necessary ingredients -a source of leachable uranium, a circulating ground water system, and a suitable reducing environment - it could be argued that considerable areas in the eastern part of the continent were theoretically prospective, but basin depth and the extensive superficial cover of Mesozoic and Cainozoic sediments presented considerable practical difficulties.

Jan 1, 1991

By Ghose AK

Design and selection of support systems for longwall faces call for in-depth know- ledge of strata mechanics and in particular of strata-support interactions. The paper presents the results of field investigations and analysis of a difficult-to-cave roof using powered supports under a massive dolerite sill in Central India using a state- of-the-art datalogger system. The mechanised long wall face was equipped with 4/680 tons chockshields operated on the IFS mode using a 300 KW DERD shearer. The datalogger system was capable of storing data simulta- neously in 32 channels. The paper describes the monitoring system and the monitoring programme. The system provided useful information on support behaviour, build- up of leg pressures and face convergence during an intense dynamic periodic weighting phenomenon which destroyed the integrity of almost half of the face supports. At this point, the face had advanced by about 197 metres from the barrier. The paper outlines a post-mortem analysis of this dynamic event and provides a critical evaluation of the data collected for understanding strata support interaction and the behaviour of the massive sill in the overburden.

Jan 1, 1992

Underground space can be defined as space below natural ground level which can be used as an alternative to an above ground location. While many of our above ground structures inherently involve underground excavation for foundations and services, the term underground space specifically refers to organised development of underground openings and of the underground domain. For example, the services to a city such as power, gas, sewerage, water and communications are installed in a congested array which usually requires roads to be dug up when the services need to be accessed. An underground space installation of services would involve a well planned conduit which is easily accessed without any excavation. The concept of using this virtually untapped land resource to the advantage of our expanding cities is gaining considerable interest in Australia. Overseas, in the Scandinavian countries and some Asian countries, underground space has been used for centuries; in Great Britain, France and the United States of America over the last century and in Japan for over a decade. This paper focusses on the types of underground space usage which should be competitive with above ground use and suggests areas in which the competitive edge may be improved in favour of underground space. In particular, considerable advantage is seen by using well-planned underground space developments in major cities, where the strategic central location of the development takes advantage of proximity to potential users. However, the largest single factor affecting the acceptance of underground space is the high capital cost of construction, even though an underground space development may result in lower operating costs and reduced long-term maintenance costs. While excavation methods and associated costs are very much site-specific, the importance of applying the latest technology in rock breakage, with consideration of ground vibration, excavation rates and ground support, remains a major challenge to the development of underground space.

Jan 1, 1995

By Robert Linton

Tats paper deals with work that has been carried on for over three years by the management and staff of the North Butte Mining Co. in an effort to standardize mining methods, to eliminate lost motion in the operating organization, and to improve the efficiency of the individual workman. Naturally, much of this work is an adaptation of ideas suggested by other mining operations or by practice in manufacturing and other productive industries. The studies, however, have developed some features that it is believed are new. Both new and adapted features are given in detail. The normal capacity of the North Butte mines is about 2000 tons per. day. Hoisting is done principally through the Granite Mountain shaft, which is 3740 ft. (1140 m.) deep and equipped with an electric hoist capable of hoisting 200 tons per hour from a depth of 4000 ft. (1219 m.). The lowest stoping level is the 3400-ft. The Granite Mountain shaft is connected with the Speculator shaft, about 850 ft. (259 m.) south, and with the Gem, about 1150 ft. (350 m.) east, which are 3000 (914.4 m.) and 2000 ft. (609.6 m.). deep, respectively. These two shafts are equipped with reversible fans for ventilation. The Speculator has a; steam hoist with a capacity of 150 tons per hour from the 3000-ft. level. The Granite Mountain shaft is concrete lined from the 1600-ft. to below the 3000-ft. level and gunited with cement from the 1600-ft. level to the surface. Sections of the Speculator shaft with a total combined length of 500 ft. (152.4 m.) are also concreted. There are approximately 36 miles (58 km.) of drifts and crosscuts in the mine, in which there are 15.2 miles (24.5 km.) of track. At normal capacity, about 75 stoping faces, 20 raises, and 30 sill development faces are working. Stoping is usually by the standard square-set method. Where the size of the oreshoot and character of. the walls permit, the rill (or cut-and-fill) system is employed.

Jan 8, 1920

By H. A. Guess

Introduction. History and Production Statements. Southeast Missouri is the oldest of the large producing districts of the United States. The first recorded production from disseminated ores was in 1869, although for many years prior to that time lead had been milled from shallow pockets, and steady growth in production has been shown ever since, the greatest increases being during the past five years. The production by years for each of the operating companies from 1869 to 1907, inclusive, is given in Table I. In Table 11. is given the production by years from 1908 to 1912, inclusive, for the district as a whole, showing the tonnage of crude ore mined, yield in concentrates, average assay of concentrates; yield in metallic lead both per ton of crude ore and in total; also approximate value of the yearly production. It is interesting to note that the production for the 5-yr. period 1908 to 1912, inclusive, is practically equal to the total previous production, viz., the 39-yr. period 1869 to 1907, the summary being as follows:

Jan 1, 1915

During the past 18 months a rock mechanics project has been in operation at Renison Limited. The project was established to identify and investigate key problem areas that would affect future production at the Renison mine. An in-house approach was adopted, using shall compact equignent, to investigate ground behaviour. Information on the rock stress field was considered to be particularly important for an understanding of ground behaviour. A high horizontal stress component exists, which enables large flat dipping spans of hanging wall to be opened up, with support being provided by post pillars. The amount of support provided by these post pillars has been found to be low.

Jan 1, 1982

By J. T. Kalala

Particles for heap leaching in conventional circuits are prepared using Cone crushers. Cone crushers are used to crush the ore to the size range between 12-25 mm for heap leaching operations. Leaching from these relatively coarse particles occurs only at the surface and in subsurface regions, which are accessible from the surface by cracks and pores. Since leaching is active in accessible areas, the method of comminution that forms multiple cracks and pores would offer an advantage for heap leach. An investigation was performed in this study to assess if the HPGR forms more cracks and pores than a Cone crusher. X-ray computed tomography (CT) was used to characterize the degree of cracks and pores formed by these two comminution devices that can be used for heap leaching feed preparation. In order to compare the effect of the comminution method on crack network generation, a bulk sample of the zinc ore was crushed by the HPGR at three different pressure settings (45, 95 and 120 bar), the sample ore was also crushed with a Cone crusher for comparison purposes. Products from the Cone crusher and HPGR experiment were then screened into five size fractions ((-25 +19), (-19+16), (-16+9.5), (-9.5+5), (-5+4.75) mm), Subsamples from the ((-25 +19), (-16+9.5), (-5+4.75) mm) size fractions were analysed. The spatial distribution of the crack network of sphalerite particles was characterized using a highresolution industrial X-ray CT system. This paper describes the use of image analysis techniques including image segmentation, which uses a combination of thresholding and other methods to characterize and quantify crack and mineral dissemination in the sphalerite particles after comminution with the HPGR and Cone crusher. The results are validated with those obtained using traditional techniques such as physical gas (with N2) adsorption, mercury intrusion porosimetry, SEM and QEMSCAN.

Jan 1, 2012

By C. F. Smart

SINCE their comparatively recent development, the alloys of cadmium with silver and copper or nickel, and of cadmium with nickel alone, have been used somewhat extensively as liners for connecting rod bearings and main bearings of internal-combustion engines. In applications where, owing to high hearing loads and elevated operating temperatures, the life of hearings made from tin-hale or lead-base alloys has been undesirably short, cadmium alloys have demonstrated considerable advantage. In applications where, because of deflection of the crankshaft or bearing supports, copper-lead bearing metals have resulted in scored shafts, cadmium alloys have been operated successfully. The somewhat serious drawback to these alloys in hearing service has been that they, in common with copper-lead and certain lead alloys, are susceptible to corrosion in the presence of lubricants containing organic acids. These acids may be fatty acids (such as oleic acid) derived from animal or vegetable oils that sometimes have been compounded with engine lubricants, or they may be compounds of an acid nature developed by the oxidation of some petroleum oils under operating conditions. The result of such acid attack on hearings is illustrated by the photograph, Fig. 1. The petroleum oils that are most readily oxidized to a corrosive condition, and the operating conditions under which such oxidation most readily occurs, are now rather well known among the technical organizations of both the petroleum and automotive industries. While means have been developed for inhibiting petroleum oils against such acid formation, the knowledge that this condition may be encountered has been a factor in restricting the wider use of cadmium alloys as engine bearings. It has appeared, therefore, that their value and use would be enhanced if they could be made corrosion-resistant to a degree compatible with the most severe operating requirements. Investigation, undertaken with this in view, indicated that the addition of fractional percentages of the metal indium to the cadmium bearing

Jan 1, 1938

By M. J. Spendlove, H. W. St. Clair

An automatic surface-follower mechanism was used to measure the surface temperature and the rate of evaporation of molten zinc while undergoing distillation at low pressure. At pressures of 50 to 100 microns Hg, the rate of evaporation may be 60 to 80 pct of the theoretical maximum corresponding to the measured temperature. The rate decreases rapidly at pressures above 100 microns Hg, to only 7 pct of the theoretical maximum at 2000 microns Hg. Measured temperature gradients at the surface are in agreement with theoretical gradients calculated from the heat of vaporization, rate of evaporation, and thermal conductivity of molten zinc. THIS paper covers a series of careful measurements of the rate of evaporation of molten zinc at low pressures, undertaken as a part of a general investigation on the separation of metals by distillation.' Preliminary results on the rate of evaporation of zinc were described in a previous publication.' The results of the preliminary study are as follows: 1—The observed rates of evaporation of zinc were as high as 0.60 g per sq cm per min, corresponding to 75 pct of the maximum rate as determined by the temperature of the metal. 2—The evaporation rate was decreased from 0.30 g per sq cm per min at a pressure of 25 microns to only 0.09 g per sq cm per min when the pressure was increased to 5 mm. 3—The temperature of the surface during rapid evaporation may be 35" to 100°C less than the main mass of metal. Observed temperature gradients at the surface are consistent with those calculated from the heat of vaporization and the thermal conductivity of liquid zinc. In the preliminary experiments, the rate of evaporation was determined from the loss in weight of the metal in the crucible during the test. This was compared with the weight of the condensate. Obviously, this method was subject to error because of some uncertainty as to the period of evaporation that should correspond to the loss in weight. Furthermore, this method did not permit taking into account probable variations in the rate of evaporation during the test. A more serious shortcoming was that the temperature at the evaporating surface was not known, so the maximum theoretical rate of evaporation could not be calculated accurately. To improve the precision of rate measurements and to allow accurate measurements of the surface temperature, a refined experimental technique was developed whereby the temperature and position of the surface could be measured accurately. This was done by an automatic surface-follower mechanism that gave a continuous record of the surface temperature and the amount of zinc evaporated. These data permitted an instantaneous determination of the actual rate of evaporation and the surface temperature throughout the test. Pure zinc (99.99 pct Zn) was used in all experiments. Description of Distillation Furnace The details of construction of the distillation furnace are shown in Fig. l. The furnace is enclosed in a large quartz tube open at one end. The open end of the quartz tube is sealed by means of a water-cooled head. The entire enclosure is vacuum tight. The connection between the water-cooled head and the quartz tube is sealed by means of a rubber gasket which fits tightly against the smooth end of the tube. The metal is heated by induced current set up in the molten zinc and the walls of the graphite crucible by means of a water-cooled induction coil outside the quartz tube. High frequency current is passed through the induction coil from a 6 kw mer-

Jan 1, 1952

By Warren E. Morrison

Demand for energy in the United States in 1965 was stimulated by the continuing expansion of the economy. A gain of 5.9 percent in gross national product for the year was accompanied by a 4.4-percent rise in energy consumption. Domestic energy resources met about 93 percent of the nation's requirements. The remaining 7 percent consisted of imported fuels, mainly of crude petroleum and residual fuel oil. The major fossil fuels-natural gas, crude petroleum, and coal, in that order-contributed 96 percent of all commerical energy utilized, with the balance of 4 percent being primary electricity from hydropower and nuclear power plants. Production was up for all of the major mineral energy resources in 1965, with the single exception of anthracite, output of which continued to decline. Bituminous coal output for the year was 512 million tons; marketed production of natural gas, 16,039 billion cubic feet; and crude petroleum output, 2,848 million barrels. Among the secondary products processed from primary energy resources, the most significant gains were in coal carbonized for coke which increased 6.7 percent to 95 million tons, and in the output of liquefied gases from natural gas which rose 4.8 percent to 11,257 million gallons (268 million barrels). Within the latter category, the off? take for petrochemical feedstocks continued to rise at a very rapid pace.

Jan 1, 1967

By C. Scala, F. Bernstein

General expressions are derived relating the streaming potential to the electrochemical potential of a permeable junction separating two electrolytic solutions. By the methods of irreversible thermodynamics, these potentials are related to the flux of mobile species arising from differences in pressure and chemical composition. The flux is conveniently expressed as a transference number, the equivalents of a mobile species transferred through the junction per faraday of electricity. At constant pressure, the flux equation gives the electrochemical potential across the permeable junction. The streaming potential across the junction is obtained by imposing the condition of constant chemical composition. The familiar expression for the borehole SP is shown to be a particular solution of the general flux equation. The derived exprersions were verified in experiments with seven shale samples. Both the theory and experimental data provide additional proof of the presence and magniturle of the streaming potential in shales. INTRODUCTION In the interpretation of electric logs, there has been much concern over the correction to be made to the recorded SP for an electrokinetic or streaming potential originating from the difference in pressure between the mud column and the formation. It was long recognized by M. R. J. Wyllie that such an electrokinetic potential source mas in the mud cake opposite permeable sands.' More recently, M. Gondouin and C. Scala2 showed an additional but opposing electrokinetic source of potential to be in shale beds. Their work was supported by the very extensive and excellent work of Hill and Anderson.3 n the present contribution, the general relationships between the electrochemical potential and the corresponding streaming or electrokinetic potential are examined and clarified. A notable advance towards understanding the relation between the various sources of electrical potential in a borehole has been the application of the now common methods of irreversible thermodynamics to describe the passage of ions and water through charged electrolyte junctions such as in shales.' The advantages of these methods are twofold. Unlike classical thermodynamics, they can be applied to non-equilibrium sys- tems, i.e., systems in which flow takes place, provided the flow processes have reached a steady state. They also permit conventional thermodynamic properties to be related to the steady-state dynamic properties. These methods arc used here specifically to derive expressions relating the potential behavior of shales in terms of ion and water transport. Experimental verification of the expression for the shale streaming potential is given which in turn offers theoretical support to the existence of a streaming potential in shales.' Importantly, the relative contribution of transport parameters to the SP is clarified. The theoretical treatment is essentially that of Lori-mer, Boterenbrood and Hermans3 ut has been extended to derive the general expression for the SP.

Mining software systems have provided a basis for integration of resource, survey, and design functions. They can similarly provide a basis for incorporating ground conditions into the process.Exploration and mine geologists have a prime role to play in this process, extending their responsibilities further across the geological spectrum, into exploration of ground conditions, analyses of results, and assessments of their implications for mining. Ground conditions are as much a part of the geology of a prospect or mine as its mineralisation, and can have critical imnlicationa for mining.

Jan 1, 1993

The Namakwa Sands heavy mineral deposit is located along the West Coast of South Africa and the mine is a world class producer of high quality zircon, ilmenite and rutile concentrates from essentially unconsolidated marine and aeolian sands of Cainozoic age. The objective of this study was to characterize rutile with respect to distribution, grain size, textures, colour and mineral chemistry within the Namakwa Sands orebody with the aim to explain its overall poor recovery. A representative suite of heavy mineral concentrates from various sections of the orebody and stages in the recovery circuit has been investigated microscopically and by means of SEM-EDS and LA-ICP-MS. The rutile grain size distribution displays a wide range and is directly related to its variable chemistry and consequently density. In placer deposits such as Namakwa Sands, mineral sorting is a function of hydraulic equivalence, and high density grains are smaller than the lighter grains when deposited under similar conditions. Grain size is also a function of sediment maturity, and the highly mature red aeolians and (RAS) component of the deposit has a coarser grain size than the less mature orange feldspathic marine sands (OFS). The above primary characteristics of rutile are responsible for the loss of the coarse-grained fraction during screening and, given the empirically determined relationship that increased substitution elements reduce conductivity, also during electrostatic separation. Provenance studies using geothermometry have shown that the heavy mineral suite has been sourced mainly by the proximal medium-to high-grade Namaqualand Metamorphic Complex. The positive relationship between substitution elements and temperature of formation explains their high concentration in rutile of this deposit. The heterogeneity of rutile, produced by the combination of a high temperature primary source and the typical marine-aeolian placer genesis is deposit specific and unfortunately not conducive to high recovery levels in the current Namakwa Sands beneficiation circuit.

Jan 1, 2010

The Indonesian province of Papua is a remote jungle-clad region covering the western half of the mountainous island of New Guinea. Despite being relatively under-explored to this day,Papua is home to the greatest mineral success story of the 20th century. The Grasberg/Ertsberg minerals district atop the central dividing range contains the worldÆs largest reserve of both copper and gold (Freeport-McMoRan Copper and Gold, 2002). With large mines at Ok Tedi,Por gera and Lihir,and many well-delineated resources such as Frieda River,Wafi and Hidden Valley, neighbouring Papua New Guinea,the eastern half of New Guinea has enjoyed sustained exploration campaigns for gold and copper since the mid 1960s. The combined Grasberg and PNG exploration successes can be measured in terms of ounces of gold produced over the last decade versus available landmass,conf irming the island of New Guinea and surrounding islands as a world-class destination for gold explorers. Yet despite this obvious regional prospectivity and the profitability of the Grasberg operation, a sustained exploration effort in the Papua province in Indonesia has not been achieved. Periodic political constraints, poor infrastructure, high costs, operational challenges, social and environmental concerns and lack of immediate exploration success often impact exploration investment decisions. Accordingly a lesser number of mineral occurrences have been documented in Papua compared to those seen along tectonic strike in geologically similar Papua New Guinea.

Jan 1, 2004

By E. A. Gulbransen, W. S. Wysong

THE behavior of tungsten and its surface oxides in oxidizing and reducing atmospheres and in high vacua at elevated temperatures is a question of considerable technical importance. The use of tungsten as a metal or as an important component in alloys in high temperature oxidizing atmospheres has been limited because of the unprotective nature of its oxide film and the volatility of its oxide. This paper will present results of a microbalance study1,2 of the following problems: (I) the oxidation behavior in the temperature range of 25 to 550°C (2) the reduction with pure hydrogen of thin oxide films formed on tungsten, and (3) the volatility of thin oxide films on tungsten. Tungsten is an interesting metal to study for the following reasons: (1) although the oxide to metal volume ratio is greater than one, the oxide is not considered protective, (2) the metal readily oxidizes at temperatures from 300° to 550°C (3) the oxides W02 and WO3 are reduced at temperatures as low as 500°C. by hydrogen, and (4) the oxide W02 is volatile at temperatures from 800 to 1100°C. LITERATURE The oxidation of tungsten in its thin film range has not been studied critically. In the thick film range Dunn3 has made the only systematic study. He found the oxidation rate to obey the parabolic rate law in the temperature range of 700 to 900°C. The temperature variation of the oxidation rate constant was found to follow an exponential law of the Arrhenius type. An inflection was noticed in the temperature plot of the rate law constant at 850 to 900°C. This was attributed to a phase change in the oxides. Scheil4 has studied the oxidation rate at 500 and 700°C over long periods of time and found a linear rate law. This result was interpreted as evidence for the presence of a nonprotective film. Pilling and Bedworth5 analyses of the oxide volume to metal volume ratio would indicate that a compact protective film should form. McAdam and Geil6 have studied the oxidation of tungsten in the thin film range using the interference color method. A parabolic rate law was found. Their curves showed that tungsten oxidizes faster than nickel but more slowly than iron. The lattice structures found in the oxidation of tungsten surfaces have been studied by Hickman and Gulbransen.7 They have reported that W03 is the stable oxide in contact with the metallic substrate up to approximately 600°C while W02 forms first at 700°C. Hägg and Magneli8 have recently reported a study of the lattice structures observed in the tungsten oxides using the X-ray diffraction method. In addition to an a-phase W03 and a d-phase W02, they reported the existence of two new phases. A ß' phase, homogeneous between

Jan 1, 1947