Search Documents

By R. Bainbridge

THE cinnabar deposits of the Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company's Pinchi Lake property, situated near Fort St. James, B.C., were discovered and reported on by a Dominion Government geological party in 1937. Claims were staked by a group of local prospectors and, later, the Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company of Canada, Limited, took an option on the property. By the fall of 1939, exploration work had indicated ore of commercial quantity and grade, and laboratory tests had shown that standard methods of reduction, namely, roasting of the ore, followed by condensation of the mercury vapour produced, would result in satisfactory recovery. In June, 1940, construction of a 50-ton unit arranged for wood firing was completed and operation commenced. The installation consisted of a 46 in. by 60 ft. rotary kiln (see Figure 1) followed by a 14-in. Sirocco cyclone, a cast-iron condenser unit, and a 1,700 c.f.m. fan, exhausting to a stack. Other equipment included a 9 in. by 18 in. Denver jaw crusher with the necessary bins and feeders. As the need for mercury was urgent, because of war requirements, construction of a duplicate unit was begun almost immediately. This first extension started operation in January, 1941, and the plant was then capable of treating about 150 tons of ore daily.

Jan 1, 1945

By Michael R. Yenchek

The U.S. Bureau of Mines investigated the performance of portable power cables under transient conditions. This research had a twofold purpose: (1) to define the thermal characteristics of electrically overloaded trailing cables, and (2) to conceptualize electrical protection for cables that allows maximum cable efficiency without diminishing electrical safety in underground mines. Several tasks were undertaken in support of these goals during the 3-year research effort. Overload tests ranging from 2 to 12 times rated ampacity were conducted in the Bureau's Mine Electrical Laboratory. Two thermal models of energized type G-GC trailing cables were constructed, one based on thermodynamic theory and the other using empirical data from previous Bureau load tests. The empirical model was then incorporated into an interactive computer program that can assist designers and approvers of mining machines in selecting the appropriate size trailing cable. This program can be the basis for a cable protection system that ensures that cables are not the source of fires, ignitions, burns, or explosions underground.

Jan 1, 2010

By John G. Reid

When the paper "Operations at the Greenvale Nickel Project Mine and Refinery" was delivered at the 1st International Laterite Symposium in February 1979, the Yabulu Caron plant had been operating for four years and production had just stabilized. The design had been based closely on the Caron plant at Nicaro, Cuba, built in 1944, also by Freeport. Yabulu had 10 Herreshoff ore roasters and production in 1978 was 18,682 tonne nickel as impure oxide sinter and 763 tonne cobalt in a mixed sulphide with a cobalt to nickel ratio of 1 :2.5. In the 25 years since the 1st Symposium, two more roasters have been added, but dry ore processing rate has remained relatively unchanged at 2.4M Uyr to allow a lower feed rate per roaster with associated higher recovery. The ore source has changed from the domestic Greenvale mine to imports from New Caledonia, Indonesia and the Philippines. Nickel production between 1978 and 2003 has risen by 67%, cobalt has risen by 146% and the products have changed to high purity nickel compacts and "ChemGrade" cobalt salt. The plant changes that have contributed to the increased recovery, production and product value are discussed. Keywords: Caron, Yabulu, nickel, cobalt, ammonia

Jan 1, 2004

By R. P. van Hille, N. Mooruth

Remediation of acid rock drainage (ARD) was performed within a linear flow channel reactor (LFCR) via a floating sulphur biofilm (FSB). A full sulphur species material balance was conducted in order to characterize the sulphide oxidation. The reactor was able to achieve an 82% and 93% conversion of sulphide with a hydraulic residence time of 2 and 5 days respectively. 92% and 55.5% of the converted sulphide reported to the biofilm as sulphur for the 2 and 5 day residence times respectively. The mass transport limitations within the biofilm were identified via a dissolved oxygen gradient profiling system.

Jan 1, 2011

By J. A. Pusateri, M. A. Orehoski, N. R. Arant

Plant studies on commercial-size ingots and laboratory experiments with induction furnace heats have demonstrated that the major source of ingot cracks is associated with two conditions arising during top-pouring practice: 1—solidification during pouring, and 2—turbulence created by the impact of the stream. Methods of controlling the two factors were effective in eliminating or significantly reducing ingot cracks. BECAUSE the process of removing surface defects from hot-rolled product is so costly, the steel industry is striving constantly to develop methods of preventing, or at least decreasing, the occurrence of surface defects. Investigations have revealed steel-making and processing variables related to major surface defects, and controlling these variables has led to improvements in surface quality. However, the fundamental causes of major surface defects, such as ingot cracks, have not been determined; consequently such defects persist. At the Research and Development Laboratory of the United States Steel Corp. in Pittsburgh, a seam research program was initiated to determine the fundamental causes of certain major defects. As a part of the program, ingot cracks in killed, finegrained C1020 steel were selected for study. A cost survey indicated that, of the steels produced in sizable tonnages, carbon steels in the range of 0.18 to 0.23 pct C content require the most conditioning. Since this is particularly true of C1020, any im-provement of surface quality that might be effected from the study would be beneficial. Also, since the frequency of ingot cracks is exceedingly high for this grade, the steel would provide an excellent opportunity for a thorough study of the ingot-crack-ing problem. Why steels in this carbon range tend to exhibit more ingot cracks than do other steels was not considered in the investigation; the mechanism of ingot-crack formation was of paramount importance. Also, only the top-pouring practice was considered in the investigation, because this pouring procedure is used more extensively than others. In this study, ingot cracks are defined. as deep surface defects that sometimes are observed in an ingot prior to rolling but usually are observed during the initial stages of rolling on the primary mills. These defects may occur at any angle to the rolling direction but are most prominent in the transverse or nearly transverse direction. The appearance of ingot cracks on the rolled product varies with respect to their angle of formation and with the extent of rolling after their first occurrence. Ingot cracks are also termed "deep seams," "arrowheads," "irregular cracks," and "transverse cracks." Fig. 1 shows ingot cracks in a rolled bloom. This report summarizes: l—the exploratory investigation of commercial-size ingots; 2—the labor-atory investigations related to determining the source of ingot cracks and developing corrective methods; and 3—the plant evaluations of laboratory methods of decreasing ingot cracks. Exploration of lngot Cracks in Commercial Ingots Materials and Experimental Work: At the Du-quesne Works of the United States Steel Corp., five heats of killed, fine-grained C1020 steel were selected for the exploratory phase of the seam-research program. The heats were made by open-hearth practices that are considered most conducive to good surface quality. They were top-poured into 22x25 in. big-end-up hot-topped molds. One as-cast ingot and four other ingots rolled to the following cross-sectional sizes were set aside from each heat: 16x20 in.; 9 1/2x10 in.; 5x5 in.; and 2x2 in. The processing of the heats, from the time of charging in the open hearth furnaces to the end of the rolling operation on the primary mill, was observed carefully and recorded. The cast ingot and the four rolled ingots from each heat were examined for surface defects. The cast ingots were split longitudinally near the vertical center plane to expose the ingot structure beneath badly cracked regions. Also, a series of transverse sections was cut at about 1 in. intervals in a badly cracked area of one ingot. All sections were ground, polished, examined by sulphur printing and deep etching, and photographed. The rolled ingots

Jan 1, 1955

By J. C. N. Ashukem, F. Agyemang

One understudied area of environmental law is the socio-ecological impact of ownerless mines. This impact is particularly pronounced in resource-dependent regions like South Africa and Western Australia, creating significant rehabilitation challenges. This article hypothesises that effectively managed financial provision could be valuable for rehabilitating legacy mines. Using a qualitative, comparative methodology, the article analyses the financial provisions for mine rehabilitation in South Africa and Western Australia, focusing on statutory provisions, funding mechanisms, and rehabilitation outcomes. Key themes, such as context, measures, and outcomes, are explored to assess the effectiveness of each financial model. Purposive sampling is used to select case studies from both regions, and thematic analysis is applied to interpret the data. The analysis highlights the financial rehabilitation measures in both regions, providing a structured framework for ownerless mine rehabilitation. South Africa's approach, guided by the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) of 2002, depends on state budget allocations, leading to funding inconsistencies and slow rehabilitation progress. In contrast, Western Australia’s Mine Rehabilitation Fund Act (MRFA) of 2012 uses a levy-based system, ensuring continuous financial support for mine rehabilitation. South Africa's state-dependent model has led to delays in rehabilitating derelict and ownerless mines, while Western Australia’s funding model has facilitated steady progress. The article recommends that South Africa adopt a levy-based financial mechanism, strengthen legislative enforcement, improve financial oversight, and integrate proactive mine closure strategies to accelerate rehabilitation, reduce environmental hazards, and promote sustainable development in mining-affected communities.

Dec 15, 2025

By M. B. Royer

Sulfur is present in many ores and other raw materials that are used in the production of metals and alloys of industrial importance. Its presence, especially in ferrous-metal products, generally is undesirable because of its detrimental effect during processing and upon various physical properties of the finished metal. Therefore, various methods are resorted to for elimination of the element to some specified maximum final content. Such removal or elimination of sulfur is designated as desulfurization.

Jan 1, 1948

By Shuchen Sun, Ganfeng Tu, Chuan Liu, Xiaoping Zhu

The hydrometallurgical residue generated during the hydrometallurgical processing of waste automotive catalysts is valuable as a secondary resource. In this study, a process of platinum recovery from the hydrometallurgical residue by high-temperature smelting process was proposed. Results of lab- and pilot-scale experiments show a high recovery of more than 98% of platinum and glass slag was successfully obtained by controlling the Fe3O4 addition, C/Fe3O4 mass ratio, CaO/SiO2 mass ratio, smelting temperature, and holding time at 15 wt%, 0.4, 0.6, 1500 °C, and 120 or 60 min, respectively. Results from the pilot-scale show that the platinum contents in the glass slag and alloys were less than 4 g/t and more than 0.6 wt%, respectively. Therefore, the process proposed in this study is a prospective and effective approach for reutilization of hydrometallurgical residue containing platinum.

Oct 12, 2020

By P. L. Weston

The Bureau of Mines used high-temperature reduction roasting, magnetic separation, acid-leaching, and autoclave precipitation processes to recover iron and manganese from brown Cuyana range ores of Minnesota. Wet magnetic separation concentrated over 90 percent of the iron in 3 of 4 ores as high grade products analyzing 74 to 85 percent iron, 2.5 to 6 percent manganese, and 3 to 10 percent SiO2. The nonmagnetic fractions were leached with dilute sulfuric acid extracting 83 to 93 percent of the contained manganese and small amounts of iron. The leach solutions contained Mn-to-Fe and Mn-to-SiO2 ratios favorable enough for possible consumption in metallurgical mane operations. Exceptionally pure Mn solutions were achieved by pressure precipitation of the remaining iron in an autoclave followed by lime precipitation of silica and alumina.

Jan 1, 1966

The National Mining Association’s (NMA)MINExpo International ’96 is shaping up to be the organization’s largest. About 30,000 mining industry business and technical professionals are expected to descend on Las Vegas, NV Sept. 9-12 to take part in the 25 technical sessions and visit the more than 900 exhibitors who will be showing off their products and services. MINExpo will be the largest mining equipment and services exposition in the United States this year. Exhibits at MINExpo will fill the Las Vegas Convention Center, parking lots and part of the Hilton Center, located next door to the convention center. NMA estimates that this year’s show will cover more than 46,450m2 (500,000 sq ft) of exhibit space. Some of the exhibits on display will include haultrucks, hydraulic shovels and excavators, conveyors, continuous miners and tunneling machines. In addition, an array of computer equipment and software will be demonstrated. A new feature this year will be a helicopter pavilion, located in the Hilton Center. Helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft have become indispensable to many remote mining operations. NMA said that at least one full-size helicopter will be on display.

Jan 1, 1996

By J. Hadjigeorgiou, J. Wesseloo

Mining companies employ a multitude of risk management tools. The effectiveness of these tools for decision-making and communicating risk has not been addressed. This paper investigates the use of verbal probabilistic expressions in communicating geomechanical risk. Analysing survey data obtained from a group of mining geomechanics professionals, it identifies limitations of common probabilistic expressions. The paper concludes by making specific recommendations to avoid the use of certain expressions that may result in increased uncertainty, thus compromising the use of risk management tools.

Jan 30, 2026

By R. M. Douthwaite, G. Birkbeck

The effect of grain size and specimen dimensions on the occurrence and magnitude of a yield point drop in pure iron has been examined. The tests were done at room temperature. The results indicate that gain size is the critical factor determining whether a yield drop occurs. The specimen diameter:gain size ratio does not influence the magnitude of the yield drop for the range of gain size and specimen diameters investigated. HUTCHINSON,' petchY2 and worthington3 have investigated the grain size dependence of the upper yield stress (uUYP) and the yield point drop, ouyp - aLYP, in Armco iron, mild steel, and Si-Fe, respectively. These authors used center-annealed wires to avoid stress concentration from specimen shoulders and to ensure uniformity of the applied stress. Coarsegrained specimens show no yield point drop; the yield point drop then increases as d-'I2 increases (where d is the grain diameter). These results can be understood in terms of Petch's analysis2 in which the magnitude of amp depends on the strain rate in the (limited) number of grains deforming plastically at the upper yield point. If N grains per unit volume are undergoing plastic deformation, the strain rate in the deforming grains is l/Nd3 times higher at the upper yield stress than when the whole specimen deforms homogeneously. If N is constant and independent of grain size at uUyp, then all the grains are deforming when ~d~ = 1, so there is no yield point drop. At finer grain sizes, the yield point drop is given by: where AU, is the friction stress increase corresponding to a tenfold strain rate increase. Christ, Smith, and Burton studied the upper yield point in 0.050-in.-diam wire specimens prepared from zone-refined iron. Each end of the 2; -in. specimens was soldered to a & -in. diam steel ball and the load applied through the two balls. There was a yield point drop in specimens with grain diameters less than 0.1 mm; no drop was observed in specimens of grain diameter greater than 0.1 mm that were free from veining substructure, but specimens of grain diameter 0.129 mm, annealed in the y range, showed an upper yield point. and this was associated with the presence of a veining substructure in these specimens. Christ et al. suggested the upper yield point occurs when more than a specific number of grains fill the specimen cross section so a multiplicity of slip is required to initiate plastic deformation. Table I summarizes the published data on the grain size at which the yield drop disappears. On the basis of this data the ratio of specimen diameter:grain diameter = 5 to 27 appears to be the critical value for the occurrence of a yield point drop. Thus, petch2 interprets the appearance and magnitude of the yield point drop in terms of the limited number of grains deforming plastically at uuyp, whereas Christ et a1. consider that the occurrence of the yield drop depends on the ratio specimen diame-ter:grain diameter. The published data cover a wide variety of materials so some variation between the results is to be expected, but the size range covered in the data of Table I is rather limited. In an attempt to discover whether the specimen diameter:grain size ratio or the grain diameter is critical in determining

Jan 1, 1969

By Flávia Tereza dos Santos Fernandes Tolomelli

Este trabalho teve como objetivo estimar as temperaturas de transformação de fases por meio de termodinâmica computacional (A1 e A3), dilatometria (Ac1 e Ac3) e monitoramento do resfriamento ao ar após passes de laminação a quente em escala piloto (Ar3 e Ar1). Objetiva ainda descrever a evolução microestrutural da austenita em um aço baixo C microligado ao Nb onde se almeja a produção de um aço ferrítico-bainítico, coletando-se amostras após cada passe de laminação através do congelamento da microestrutura por intermédio de resfriamento em salmoura com o objetivo adicional de verificar a ocorrência de recristalização entre passes.

Jul 30, 2018

By Eduardo Gimenes Jabes, Thiago Pires Nagasima, João Ricardo Filipini da Silveira, João Batista Ferreira Neto, Marcelo de Aquino Martorano

Foi implementado um modelo matemático para simular a solidificação de ligas do sistema Nd-Fe-B no processo de lingotamento de tiras. O modelo foi baseado na aplicação da equação de condução de calor unidimensional através da espessura da tira e da parede do rolo refrigerado da máquina de lingotamento. A resolução numérica dessas equações permitiu o cálculo do perfil de fração de sólido através da espessura da tira e dos perfis de temperatura através da tira e da parede do rolo. A temperatura de um ponto da superfície do rolo oscila em ciclos formados pelo contato com o metal líquido (vazamento) e pelo destacamento de um pedaço da tira. A temperatura média do rolo aumenta continuamente, diminuindo a taxa de resfriamento nas tiras. Mesmo no início do processo, os pedaços de tiras que se destacam ainda não estão completamente sólidos.

Oct 1, 2019

By Manqiu Xu, Pete Winn, Steve Wilson

"In the flotation of ultramafic ores at Thompson mill, Inco Limited, CMC is used as both a floatable rock depressant and electrostatic serpentine slime dispersant. CMC, being a high molecular weight polymer, creates a serious handling problem in its introduction into the flotation processes. Typically, it is added as a 1-3% solution. This requires an enormous handling facility and makes its metallurgical gains uneconomical.Laboratory studies have shown that dry CMC addition as opposed to wet addition is feasible, as long as sufficient conditioning time is provided. Dry CMC addition into the grinding mill is also possible but its effectiveness is slightly reduced as compared to dry addition after grinding mills. Dry CMC addition using a vibratory feeder into the mill discharge is successfully applied in the treatment of ultramafic ores at Thompson mill.INTRODUCTIONManitoba Division MineralogyAt Inco’s Manitoba Division, two distinctly different sulphide ores are processed at the Thompson mill - primarily by froth flotation. The Thompson and Birchtree mines are both located within the Thompson Nickel belt. Sulphide mineralogy is relatively simple and includes both hexagonal and monoclinic pyrrhotite, pentlandite and minor chalcopyrite hosted in metasedimentary and metavolcanic rocks. The significant difference between the two mines is the amount of ultramafic rock associations in the host material. Increasingly, more of the ultramafic associated ores from the Birchtree mine are being processed through the mill with a characteristic poor metallurgy."

Jan 1, 2000

By Roland B. Hoag, Roger G. Webber

Sulphate concentration in groundwater is a good measure of the extent of oxidation of sulphides, provided that sulphide minerals are the primary source of the sulphate. A study was conducted near the Eustis Mine in Quebec to determine where and how the sulphate in groundwaters originated. Atmospheric precipitation is the only source of sulphate other than oxidation of sulphides, and in this study area it is equal to 0.01,. millimole per litre. The oxidation of sulphides can be divided into subsurface oxidation (mainly inorganic processes) and surface oxidation (including both organic and inorganic processes) . The maximum sulphate concentration due to subsurface oxidation of sulphides depends on the solubility of 0 2 in water and is 0.25 millimole per litre. Surface oxidation is, therefore, responsible for any amount greater than atmospheric plus subsurface contributions (0.29 millimole per litre). Surface inorganic oxidation occurs in waters with a pH greater than 15 and is controlled by the kinetics of the oxidation processes. Organic (bacterial) surface oxidation is dominant only in acid (pH< 1.5) waters. The bacterial action accelerates the oxidation of sulphides, and large quanttties of sulphate may be introduced into solution.

Jan 1, 1976

By J. B. Moritz

From the beginning, man has concerned himself with the task of controlling the elements and forces about him so as to provide a better and easier life. In the accomplishment of this task, he is required to utilize in the best way possible the resources which are available to him. In many cases, the available resources must bee refined before they are in a useable form. Many products in the mining industry fall into this category, as some form of refinement is generally needed to produce a saleable product. Over the years man developed more efficient ways of extracting the resources from earth through the use of electrical and mechanical devices. A reduction in manual labor, which is a by-product of increased efficiency through machines, has also been enjoyed. The combination of man&apos;s senses and new devices has also enabled man to reach a high level of control in the refinement process. Control of a process through machinery and man&apos;s senses has been termed an "art." Until recently man&apos;s senses (sight, feel) were the only method available for making measurements simply because suitable measurement devices (instruments) were not available. Even today some items cannot be measured and man&apos;s senses must be used. However, the development in our instrument laboratories tends to indicate that time will eliminate this. In recent years, control of many processes has been reduced to a science and part or all of the art eliminated. This does not imply that process art should be degraded; however, when a process is reduced to a science, uniformity of the product from day to day is attained. Decreased processing time and more efficient use of additives and raw materials are other benefits that result from control of a process when it is reduced to a science.

Jan 1, 1965

By Armstrong M

The Clermont Coal Mine will export steaming coal from the Wolfang Basin in Central Queensland, Australia. It is expected to be developed in the mid-1990s.The majority of the reserves lie in the 30 m thick Wolfang Seam. Overburden depth varies from 80 m at the subcrop line to 190 m in the centre of the basin.

Jan 1, 1992

By Y. R. Murthy, S. Angadi, A. K. Bhatnagar, S. K. Tripathy, L. O. Filippov

Dolomite is an essential raw material for the refractory industry, a flux in the iron and steel industry and also for the extraction of magnesium metal. Generally, particle size reduction, screening and classification are used for the preparation of the high-grade sized material for different applications, whereas low-grade fine fractions are not utilised. These fines or low-grade overburdens are dumped at the mine site for future utilisation, which creates environmental issues along with inadequate space management. In the present investigation, a detailed study was carried out to decrease the silica content of the low-grade dolomite fines from Gomardih , India, containing 28.6% CaO and 20.1% MgO along with 8.3% silica. Different process flow sheet options were evaluated with a combination of dry classifier, wet classifier, gravity concentrators as well as flotation. Different process variables were assessed along with mineralogical characterisation to optimise the process for efficient rejection of siliceous gangue minerals. Results indicated that dolomite, calcite and quartz are the major mineral phases present in the ore along with other minor minerals. It was concluded that two-stage flotation was an effective process for the reduction of silica up to below 1% after grinding to a particle size below 212 μm. A process flow sheet with a combination of gravitation air classifier and flotation can produce a concentrate with silica content below 4.5%. Keywords: Dolomite, flux, dry classification, flotation, characterisation, beneficiation

Jan 1, 2020

By G. Coetzer

"Prior to operating a non-recovery coke pilot plant, it was critical to ascertain coal cake stability during the loading of a 1 m3 coal cake into the oven. Various compaction parameters were verified and established on a small laboratory-scale compaction machine to obtain a coal cake of acceptable stability. These parameters include cake density, cake surface moisture, transverse strength (force applied perpendicular to the original compacted coal cake layers), and applied force to the coal cake. This work determined the behavioural characteristics of the coal while being compacted either with a full-sized or a 1/3-sized compaction plate in a 9 kg capacity mould. Two different coals were evaluated, namely Waterberg semi-soft coking coal (sscc) and Oaky North hard coking coal.The target wet cake density of 1 100 kg/m3 (79% of 1 400 kg/m3 relative density) was achieved for Waterberg sscc, with a particle size d50 varying between 0.6 mm and 1 mm, utilizing the 1/3-sized compaction plate in the laboratory-scale set-up, with 11.6% surface moisture and 92.2 t/m2 commercial equivalent applied force. For Oaky North hard coking coal, a wet cake density of 1 189 kg/m3 (85% of 1 400 kg/m3 relative density) was achieved at a surface moisture content of 12.3% and at a lower applied force than that for Waterberg sscc, i.e. 78.5 t/m2.Coal cakes of acceptable strength, and therefore sufficient stability for further processing, were obtained for all materials evaluated during this study.Further studies should be conducted to determine the effect of zeta potential during the compaction of coals.IntroductionExxaro Resources has successfully installed and commissioned a world-class stamp-charging horizontal 1 t electrically-heated pilot-scale coke oven at its Metallurgy Services facility. Prior to operating the coke non-recovery pilot plant, it is essential to ascertain coal cake stability during the loading of a 1 m3 coal cake into the oven. The design of Exxaro’s pilot plant is such that the coal cake is pushed inside the oven by means of a pusher plate, rather than through a ‘spoon’ feed mechanism, such as is found in industrial horizontal coke ovens. The pusher plate loading mechanism dictates that the coal cake should possess high stability and inherent strength during loading into the oven, owing to frictional forces exerted by the oven floor. In order to obtain a coal cake of acceptable stability, various compaction parameters needed to be verified and established on a small laboratory-scale compaction machine."

Apr 1, 2019