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By D. S. Rogers

"Throughout the history of mining at the Dome, gold has been found in a number of different rock types and in association with a number of different structural settings. Diamond drilling plays an important role in the evaluation of the stratigraphic and structural features which control ore deposition. The main function of diamond drilling is to locate favourable areas of mineralization.To date, over 20,000 diamond drill holes have been drilled from combined surface and underground programs. Needless to say, a great many significant intersections, carrying a wide range of gold values, have resulted from the total of over 756 miles of drill cores which these programs have produced.However, the term ""significant"" takes on new meaning in light of the experience of diamond drilling in a number of ore-type situations at the Dome Mine. Drilling through individual ore veins, such as the Fuchsite Vein or the Quartz-Tourmaline Vein, often intersect the vein structure; however, assays from the veins frequently fail to yield any ore grades. Similarly, drill cores through stringer-type occurrences such as dacite or conglomerate, when assayed, fail to indicate the true size or grade of the orebody ultimately mined.IntroductionOver the years, those who explore for gold and those who have the slightly less fickle task of actually mining gold have shared a common dilemma. That dilemma lies in the failure to relate the results of diamond drill information to a positive ore situation, or ultimately to reconcile ""diamond drill indicated ore"" to actual ore reserve tonnages.Drawing on the knowledge of more than 72 years of mining history at the Dome operation in the famous Porcupine Camp, this paper will review a number of drift and stope situations in which the grades of the ore material extracted will be compared with the anticipated grade of that same drift or zone as calculated solely on the basis of diamond drill assays."

Jan 1, 1982

By Ahmad Ghahremaninezhad, Rebecca Radzinski

Arsenic is a highly toxic compound that is naturally found in the environment and is released through the processing of sulphide minerals. Arsenate (As5+) is less toxic than arsenite (As3+) and is soluble in water but can form insoluble precipitates when metal ions are present. The arsenic removal processes used in industry assume that arsenic is in its pentavalent state. Hydrogen peroxide can be employed to oxidize arsenite; however, it is expensive. It has been shown that activated carbon can be used to catalyze the oxidation of arsenite with oxygen as the only consumed reagent at ambient conditions with an efficiency of 99% in less than 24 hours. The mechanism which oxidizes arsenite is not yet understood; however, this study shows that a strong oxidizing agent is formed in-situ. The species and amount of oxidant formed were determined via iodimetric titration and electrochemical methods. The production of oxidant was optimized by comparing the amount of oxidant formed in-situ to the relative amount of arsenite oxidized.

Jan 1, 2015

By Alfred H. Bell

The upswing in oil production and drilling activity in Illinois that began in 1937 gained momentum in 1938 and promises to bring a new and higher peak in the state's annual production in 1939. In 1938 the production totaled 23,929,000 bbl., as compared with 7,426,000 bbl. in 1937, more than a threefold increase. The number of producing oil wells in the new fields was 230 at the end of 1937 and it increased to 2157 at the end of 1938. Daily production for the whole state increased from approximately 35,000 bbl. at the end of 1937 to approximately 135,000 bbl. at the end of 1938, nearly a fourfold increase. Of a total of 2539 wells completed in 1938 in Illinois, 1984 produced oil, 26 produced gas and 529 were dry holes. Of the total, 377 are classified as "wildcat" wells, defined as wells drilled outside of proved territory and more than one mile from the nearest production. The remainder, 2162 wells, were drilled in or near proved fields. Of the 377 wildcat wells (Table 2) 32 were successful in discovering oil or gas in commercial quantities, either new fields or extensions of old fields. Four of these discovery wells mere gas wells, which are not yet commercially productive owing to lack of pipe-line facilities. A special effort was made to ascertain the reasons for the locations of as many as possible of the wildcat wells and the results of this investigation are set forth in the following table:

Jan 1, 1939

By Alfred H. Bell

The upswing in oil production and drilling activity in Illinois that began in 1937 gained momentum in 1938 and promises to bring a new and higher peak in the state's annual production in 1939. In 1938 the production totaled 23,929,000 bbl., as compared with 7,426,000 bbl. in 1937, more than a threefold increase. The number of producing oil wells in the new fields was 230 at the end of 1937 and it increased to 2157 at the end of 1938. Daily production for the whole state increased from approximately 35,000 bbl. at the end of 1937 to approximately 135,000 bbl. at the end of 1938, nearly a fourfold increase. Of a total of 2539 wells completed in 1938 in Illinois, 1984 produced oil, 26 produced gas and 529 were dry holes. Of the total, 377 are classified as "wildcat" wells, defined as wells drilled outside of proved territory and more than one mile from the nearest production. The remainder, 2162 wells, were drilled in or near proved fields. Of the 377 wildcat wells (Table 2) 32 were successful in discovering oil or gas in commercial quantities, either new fields or extensions of old fields. Four of these discovery wells mere gas wells, which are not yet commercially productive owing to lack of pipe-line facilities. A special effort was made to ascertain the reasons for the locations of as many as possible of the wildcat wells and the results of this investigation are set forth in the following table:

Jan 1, 1939

By Norman J. Sather

LOCATION AND HISTORY The Bunker Hill Mine is situated on the south side of the Coeur d’Alene River in Shoshone County of Northern Idaho near the City of Kellogg. Kellogg, the largest in the Coeur d’Alene District cities, is at an elevation of 2,300 feet and has a population of approximately 7,000 people. It can be reached by air, railway or highway. The history of the Bunker Hill Mine dates back to August 26, 1885, when Noah S . Kellogg found the outcrop of the Bunker Hill ore body on the hillside above the present town of Wardner, Idaho, in Milo Gulch. A small concentrator was erected in 1886. Before the railroad came, the mine output was transported by mule teams to the head of navigation on Coeur d’Alene Lake. After ten years of production, an interest was purchased in the Tacoma Smelter at Tacoma, Washington, to which the entire output was shipped. In 1916 and 1917 a modern lead smelting plant and refinery was erected and in 1927 and 1928, a modern Electrolytic Zinc Reduction Plant was built and put into operation by the Sullivan Mining Company which was 50% owned and now totally owned by The Bunker Hill Company. GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY The Bunker Hill ore bodies are found in gray and greenish gray quartzite and argillaceous quartzite of Precambrian age and are known as the Revett and St. Regis formations. Most of the ore bodies are found in the St. Regis formation.

Jan 1, 1970

By Wei Liu

A new process for extracting cadmium from the electric precipitated dust produced by ISP process was studied. A leaching rate of 89.1% of cadmium was attained by leaching the dust with NH3?H2O-(NH4)2SO4 system under the best leaching conditions: ratio of liquid to solid(l:s)=2.5, c(NH3):c(NH4+)=3:5, total concentration of ammonium and ammonia=8 mol?L-1, leaching time= 1.5h, temperature=35. The most troublesome impurity of lead could be deposited from the leached out solution automatically after put it static more than 15h when the total concentration of zinc and cadmium was up to 45gL-1 , and the final concentration of lead was 0.0047 gL-1, which meant 99% of it was removed. Metallic cadmium which contained cadmium more than 99% was prepared by electrowinning under the conditions: current density=750Am-2, total concentration of Cd2+ and Zn2+>25gL-1. The current efficiency was about 87% and the energy consumption for every ton of cadmium was about 548KWht-1. Main impurities of the metallic cadmium were copper and zinc and all of they could be got rid of in the following pyrometallurgical refining step.

Jan 1, 2006

By C. J. Liebenberg

This paper focuses on the application of ion exchange technology for the recovery of copper from a leach solution originating from a heap bioleach in which base metals are leached from a low-grade ore that bears platinum group metals. Screening tests indicated that Dow XUS43605 has high selectivity for copper over the other metals in the solution, namely nickel, iron, cobalt, zinc, manganese, and aluminium. Batch adsorption kinetic experiments showed that copper adsorption equilibrium is attained at a fast rate. The kinetics of adsorption increased as the temperature was increased from 25°C to 60°C due to the decrease in solution viscosity and the subsequent improved intra-particle mass diffusion. Single-component Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models were fitted to the batch copper adsorption equilibrium data, and a maximum copper capacity of 26 g/l was observed for Dow XUS43605. The effects of flow rate, temperature, pH, and initial metal concentration on the dynamic recovery of copper were investigated in fixed-bed columns, and it was determined that temperature and flow rate had the most significant impacts on the loading of copper on the resin at copper breakthrough. A 36% increase in copper loading at breakthrough was observed when the temperature was increased from 25°C to 60°C. Finally, it was determined that a split elution is possible by using different concentrations of H2S04 to first elute co-loaded nickel from the resin, followed by the elution of copper.

Jan 1, 2013

By H. D. Jacobs

A process for recovering both iron and manganese from four manganiferous ores of the Cuyuna Range was evaluated. It comprised: (1) Low-temperature gaseous reduction to convert nonmagnetic iron minerals to magnetite and manganic minerals to manganous oxide, (2) acid leaching to extract manganese, and (3) magnetic separation to reclaim iron from the leach residue. Iron recoveries from the magnetic products ranged from 70 percent to 90 percent; manganese recoveries from leach filtrates ranged from 75 percent to 95 percent. Two ores, from the Hillcrest and South Alstead properties, yielded magnetic products considered adequate for use as blast furnace feed. Although good yields of manganese were attained on all ores, appreciable iron accompanied the manganese into solution. Previous work, however, has shown that this iron can be precipitated almost quantitatively under autoclave oxygen pressure with very little loss of manganese.

Jan 1, 1970

By H S. Ellis

Flow studies have been conducted on nickel-water suspensions in a 1in.-diam., 42-ft.-long transparent lab-oratory pipeline at concentrations of up to 25 per cent, by volume, and slurry velocities of up to 15 ft/sec. The average size of the nickel powder was approximately 150 mesh (106J.L). Three flow regime were noted. At the highest velocities, i.e., above 10 ft/;sec., where the concentration distribution through the vertical diameter was most uniform, pressure gradients could be correlated with the Durand-Condolios equation (7,8). An intermediate region, i.e., from 7 ft/sec. to10 ft/sec., could be distinguished, the lower velocity limit being that at which nickel particles began to deposit. This region was also marked by decreasing pressure gradients, for a given concentration, as the velocity was reduced. The upper velocity limit in this region was also uniquely defined in that the friction factor for any nickel concentration was the same as that for water. In the third regime, below about 7 ft/sec

Jan 1, 1963

By Wallace W. Roepke

The Bureau of Mines determined coal-cutting forces and primary dust generation of four styles of radial gage bits as used on end rings of continuous mining machines. Direct comparisons for reference were made with two widely used conical plumb-bob types having 60' and 90' (nominal) included tip angles. The cutting forces for all of the gage bits were similar to those of the 60°-tip plumb-bob bit. All bits except the RAD-3 gage bit generated similar amounts of primary total dust at shallow cutting, but during deeper cutting, the amounts varied and the gage bits produced as much as 2-1/2 times the dust produced by the 60° bit. This seems atypical since past experience has always shown differences in dust generation at shallow cutting. The specific energy was more like that found previously with other bits, since the values were spread at shallow cutting but became nearly similar at deeper cuts. The 90° bit and the RAD-3 gage bit are not recommended for use except in extremely difficult cutting conditions where dust and forces are of secondary importance. The choice among the remaining four bits can be made on the basis of dust, energy, forces, or cost, as circumstances dictate.

Jan 1, 1983

By A. J. Basu

An overview of the evolution of computerized mine planning and design has been given, emphasizing the need for a knowledge-based system for planning and design of underground coal mines. An outline for the development methodology and procedure has been provided. Problem structuring guidelines have been used to incorporate intelligence and integration to the design modules. A skeletal model for a mine planning and design expert system has been prescribed, and the development process has been documented in detail. A feasibility prototype has been developed to test the structure of the skeletal model and to ensure completeness of the design process. The feasibility prototype development and its contribution toward proto typing has been addressed in this paper. At present, prototype development is underway. The prototype is expected to be avail-able for testing and implementation in early 1991.

Jan 1, 1991

By Jun Li, Lingling Zhang, Daqiang Cang, Guizhou Zhao

Pilot trial of direct modification of molten blast furnace slag and production of high acidity coefficient slag wool fibers were investigated nearby a blast furnace. Molten blast furnace slag discharged from blast furnace and then directly flow into specialized modification furnace and quartz was simultaneously added into the molten slag as modification agent. The modified molten slag was electric heated to 1500–1550 °C and then the melt was produced into slag wool fibers through high-speed centrifugation method. Melt with acidity coefficient of 1.2, 1.4, 1.6 and 1.8 were investigated and fibers with corresponding acidity coefficient were produced. Slag wool fibers with shot content of 5.5, 5.8, 6.2, 6.8% and average diameter of 4.5, 4.9, 5.6, 6.4 lm for four samples were successfully produced, respectively. Total energy consumption and production costs decreased by 50–70% compared to traditional cupola furnace method. This method provides an energy-saving and emission-reduction technology for the direct utilization of molten blast furnace slag.

Mar 1, 2018

By S Basu, S L. A Gowravaram

CaF2 has been a common constituent in a wide variety of welding fluxes, including those used for submerged arc welding (SAW). The widespread use of CaF2 stems from its role in lowering the liquidus temperature as well as the viscosity of the molten slag that covers the weld pool. However, the harmful effect of fluoride evaporation from molten flux, on the environment as well as the health of the users is becoming increasingly evident over the years. This has led to increasing attention towards reducing the CaF2 concentration in the fluxes. The fluoride-free formulations face the challenging requirement to maintain the thermo-physical properties (viscosity, liquidus temperature etc) like those observed in fluoride-containing fluxes. In the present work, three fluxes with compositions in the CaO-MnO-SiO2-Al2O3 system have been identified as promising alternatives to the CaF2-rich fluxes. However, the thermo-physical properties of any such flux need to be comparable to CaF2-based commercial SAW fluxes before it can be adopted for regular use. The single hot thermocouple technique (SHTT) has been used by several researchers in the past as a tool for observing the melting and solidification characteristics of fluxes. This device has been developed in the present work and is used to characterise the melting behaviour of the fluxes. The measured solidus and liquidus temperatures from SHTT were compared with the results from differential thermal analysis (DTA) and simulations using the FactSage™ software for a comprehensive understanding. In spite of having a slight deviation in the measured values from the multiple techniques, the results obtained from these multiple methods show that the selected compositions could be potential CaF2 free alternative welding fluxes.

Jun 19, 2024

By J. Jerome MacDonald, Stephen B. Flewelling

"In the base metals industry of today, operations required to continuously improve productivity and reduce unit production costs. Consistent with these goals is the improvement of the muck haulage cycle from open stopes with the No. 12 Mine.Existing haulage from open stopes occurs with LHD units experience at Brunswick indicates that LHD units have a higher unit cost per tonne mucked than loader-truck combinations when the haulage exceeds approximately 150 m.The reintroduction of open stoping at Brunswick made existing loader-truck combinations unsuitable. It was recognized that application of recent continuous loading technology could potentially result in significant unit cost savings and productivity increases.A review of the technology resulted in the testing of the Voest Alpine AL60 loader in the open stopes located on the 1000m Le vel. Testing began in January 1988 and finished in late November 1988. The test will provide experience as well as quantified production and maintenenace parameters f or the purpose of quantifying production unit costs and system productivity, ultimately resulting in a decision to further utilize or not utilize the loader as a primarymucking unit at Brunswick .INTRODUCTIONBrunswick Mining and Smelting Corporation Ltd. produces approximately 10500 tonnes per day from the No. 12Mine located 35 km southwest of Bathurst, New Brunswick Mining is the largest (single mine) producer of zinc in the world having mined over 52 million tonnes since 1964. Many years of production still remain with proven and probable reserves in excess of 90 million tonnes. Reserves grade at an average of 3.65% Pb. 8.99070 Zn, 99g/mt Ag and 0.32% Cu . The operation employs 1446 people with approximately 800underground including operations and maintenance staff.In the No. 12 Mine two major mining methods are presently utilized . The primary method is Mechanized Cut and Fill (MCF) accounting for approximately 6500 tonnes per day from four major areas. The remaining 4000 tonnes per day is produced from open stopes with the majority of 2800 tonnes per day being produced by the 1000 level.The 1000Level contains 30 million tonnes segmented into open stope blocks 30 m high, 15m and 30 m on strike , with a transverse width of 10m to 50 m (Fig. I). Stopes are organized on a primary secondary stope arrangement along strike. Primary stopes are undercut and overcut full size with the back fully cablebolted. All stope and lateral development is driven 4.0 m high. All stopes to date are flat bottom (Fig. 2). Primary stopes are filled with cemented rock- fill , secondaries with conventional rockfill, Haulage from the stopes is primarily with 8-yard LHD units ; mucking is approximately 50% conventional and 50% remote. Haul distance to date has averaged approximately 150m with current stope haul distances of approximately 300m. Haulage is presently to a small jaw crusher situated on the 1000 Level. From August 1989on, haulage will be to a set of ore passes feeding to a large gyratory crusher situated on the 1200 Level. Start up of the gyratory crusher corresponds to an increase in tonnage from 1000 Level to 4100 tonnes per day."

Jan 1, 1989

By Paul E. Rosten

This paper describes some of the latest improvements that have been incorporated or planned by the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company to reduce operating costs and improve pellet quality. The Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company operates and manages mining, beneficiation, and pelletizing operations in Michigan, Canada, and Western Australia. This paper deals with the grate-kiln pelletizing operations at Republic, Humboldt, Tilden, Empire, and Pioneer in Michigan, and the Adams and Sherman in Ontario, Canada. Table I characterizes .each operation in regard to location, ore type, pellet capacity and date that pellets were first produced. All of the operations with the exception of Pioneer and Tilden, utilize downdraft-two-pass grate cycles of drying followed by preheating. Pioneer utilizes an all-downdraft, three-pass grate cycle which consists of three drying zones followed by the preheat zone. The Pioneer and Tilden cycles have been described previously. (1) (2)(3) Tilden utilizes a three-pass grate cycle with a stage of updraft drying, followed by two downdraft drying stages. Recuperation systems which supply hot gases to a drying zone from second stage cooling were designed and furnished for Tilden I. Tilden II will be identical. Empire IV will also be furnished with a recuperation system. The Adams grate-kiln system was retrofitted with a recuperation system. This paper will summarize some of the efforts that are in effect or planned for grate-kiln pelletizing systems to (1) reduce operating and maintenance costs, (2) reduce energy requirements, (3) improve product quality, and (4) meet environmental standards.

Jan 1, 1977

By H. J. Hager, B. W. Gandrud, G. D. Coe

"INTRODUCTION The reduction of washery losses of marketable coal is a phase of coal preparation important to many of the Alabama coal producers. The problem has wide scope, and this report deals with but one of its several aspects. The investigation on which this report is based was made by the Southern Experiment Station of the Bureau of Mines with the cooperation of the Alabama By-products Corporation and the University of Alabama. The Alabama Byproducts Corporation provided samples of table middlings from its Colta washery on the Mary Lee bed at Flat Creek, Ala.PRACTICE AT THE COLTA WASHYAt Colta run-of-mine coal is crushed in a hammer mill in closed circuit with 5/16-inch square-mesh vibrating screens and tabled without classification on eight rectangular-deck wet tables. The coal is more friable than the bone normally present, and hence the bone is concentrated in the coarser sizes. An unclassified feed of this character can not be tabled with high efficiency to low ash content because of the sizing action of a concentrating table, which is such that when the tables are adjusted to exclude the coarse bone from the washed coal, a large amount of fine coal is lost in the middlings. At the time this investigation was undertaken there was no market outlet for middlings, with the result that middling products had to be discarded with the refuse."

May 1, 1939

By Shenghua Yin, Xun Chen, Rongfu Yan, Zepeng Yan, Wei Chen

The application of cemented paste backfill (CPB) with alkali-activated slag and phosphogypsum (ASP) can contribute to the sustainable development of the mining industry. The effects of PG content, NaOH content, solid content, and waste rock-rod milling sand (W/R) ratio on workability, unconfined compressive strength (UCS), and setting time of ASP-CPB were investigated in this paper. The results showed that the workability of ASP-CPB decreased with PG content and NaOH content. Compared to OPC-CPB, ASP-CPB exhibited better workability and higher long-term (7 days and 28 days) strength at predetermined backfill formulations and curing times. The mid-term strength of ASP-CPB first increased and then decreased with PG content, while the short-term strength (3 days) decreased gradually due to the influence of soluble acidic impurities. Excessive NaOH will harm the strength of ASP-CPB, possibly due to the swelling effect of the reaction products (ettringite and sulfate). Strength and setting time increased and decreased with solid contents, respectively. Moreover, the compactness of the mixture has an important effect on strength and workability. The workability and strength of ASP-CPB reached the minimum and maximum values at a W/R ratio of 5:5, respectively. Pollutant index detection indicated that most of the pollutants in ASP-CPB leachate met the discharge standard, which proved that ASP-CPB is an effective method to recover PG. The results of the research will provide theoretical guidance for the efficient recovery of PG resources and support the achievement of safe, clean, and efficient mining.

Nov 17, 2023

By A. Raman

The Nb-Co system was nuestigated in the range 10 to SO at. pct Co with X-rays. A pt phase with the W6Fe.r-type structure occurs in the system between 46 and 52 at, pct Co. Its unit-cell dimensions are nearly identical to those of the p Phases found in the Nb-Fe and Nb-Ni systems. Two Laves phases, one having the MgZnz-type structure and the other the MgCuz-type structure, already t-eported in the literature, are found to exist in the system. The ,l.IgZnz-type phase occurs between 62 and 64 at. pct Co. A MgNi2-type Laves phase, reported in the literature, is no! obtained. A binalry phase is found to exist belozv I000C around 82 at. pct Co. THE cobalt-rich side of the system Nb-Co has been repeatedly investigated by previous inestiators" and the following intermediate phases are known to occur: NbCo, which crystallizes in the MgCu2-type structure and Nbc03,' reported originally by Wall-bam, which has the MgNiz-type structre. Jordan and uwez' as well as lliott' were unable to find the MgNiz-type phase. Two phases, designated as x and y, were reported by Saito and eck.' The phase x was inferred to have a narrow composition range near 77 at. pct Co. No published work is known to the author which reports the investigations in the niobium-rich portions of the system. This paper presents the results of an investigation in the Nb-Co system between 10 and 80 at. pct Co. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Two or three grams of the alloys under investigation were prepared using niobium (99.9 pct +) and cobalt (98.8 pct + with 0.14 pct Fe and and 0.03 pct C) in a tungsten-electrode arc furnace under commercial argon atmosphere. They were then wrapped in molybdenum sheets and annealed for a period between 5 days and 1 week at 1300°C in high vacuum (10-" orr) or in evacuated quartz amules for 2 weeks at 1000°C. Powders of -325 mesh size were prepared for X-ray work by crushing and grinding the specimens. Subsequent reannealing of the powders was not undertaken since most of the alloys were brittle and broke easily. X-ray powder patterns of the as-cast and annealed samples were prepared in a Siemens cylindrical camera (57.3 mm radius) with Cr-K, radiation. A Siemens diffrac to meter was used to get the X-ray patterns of some new phases. Metal log raphic examination of the alloys supplemented the X-ray findings. RESULTS The results of the X-ray and microstructural analysis Of the alloys are in in Table I. The lattice parameters of the phases are listed in Table 11 for quick reference. A set of micro photographs in Fig. l(n) to (j) show the microstructures of some alloys. A probable equilibrium diagram is drawn in Fig. 2

Jan 1, 1967

By A. Jahedsaravani, M. Massinaei, M. Zarie

Deep learning is a subset of machine learning that uses artificial neural networks for extracting high-level features from image data. In the present study, a soft sensor is proposed for the prediction of the flotation performance through froth features generated by the use of pre-trained convolutional neural networks. Several state-of-the-art convolutional neural networks (AlexNet, GoogLeNet, VGGNet, ResNet, and SqueezeNet) pre-trained on the ImageNet database are used to predict the metallurgical performance of two flotation systems. The first case study is a batch copper flotation system video-captured over a wide range of process conditions. The second case study is an industrial coal flotation column equipped with a continuous video recording system. The pre-trained networks are used to extract features from the froth images, and these features are subsequently used to predict the flotation conditions and performance. The prediction results by the pre-trained algorithms were compared with the traditional image processing algorithms. This demonstrates the ability of the pre-trained structures to generalize to images outside the ImageNet database. GoogLeNet outperforms other network architectures and provides more accurate predictions of the flotation process behavior and performance.

May 5, 2023

By Brenton Fletcher, Yongjun Peng, Wonder Chimonyo

As a cheap, renewable and non-toxic material, starch can contribute to the sustainability of the flotation process, albeit in a minor way as one type of reagent in systems involving materials with far greater impact. But the physical and chemical versatility of starch can help address another issue, namely, that of processing complex ores with decreasing grades of valuable minerals and increasing mixtures of gangue. This paper compares the results of two lab scale flotation studies where starches (native wheat starch (NWS), dextrin and two oxidised wheat starches) were used to depress two common gangue minerals, copper-activated pyrite and carbon (graphite), over a range of dosages. The oxidised starch with the larger molecular weight structures depressed copper-activated pyrite best, and the oxidised starch with lower molecular weight structures was better at depressing graphite. In both cases, the oxidised starches allowed greater recovery of chalcopyrite, pointing to selectivity potential. The extent to which the carbonyl and carboxyl moieties of the oxidised starches contribute to depressant performance is difficult to quantify, but it should not be discounted. Importantly, the results demonstrate relatively simple modifications of native starch by oxidation can yield structures suitable for depressing gangue minerals with diverse surface properties. The challenge remaining for greater application of modified starch depressants is being able to replicate the desired structures at scale in cold-water-soluble form.

Jan 18, 2021