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By M. McWha

Laboratory bias is a universal problem in all branches of analytical science. It results from differences in methods, techniques, equipment, and calibrations between laboratories. Notwithstanding that it is a property that can be measured by the use of standards or by inter-laboratory testing, laboratory bias remains a material issue for the mining industry. There is extensive literature and clear guidelines on measurement from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and its worldwide federation of national standards bodies (ISO member bodies) and from the science of metrology. ISO guides cover the manufacture and use of standards. An accessible source of literature covering laboratory quality control comes from the public health sector, particularly pathology. There is little doubt in financial reporting rules about the meaning of materiality. Public reporting guidelines are clear that material matters need to be disclosed for investors. Unfortunately there is currently no clear guidance what to do about biased assay results in mineral industry public reporting guidelines. This paper reviews the requirements for the manufacture and use of reference materials, public reporting requirements in the mining industry, and presents proposals to improve management and reporting of laboratory biases. Keywords laboratory bias, reference materials, ISO Guides, financial reporting, materiality.

Jan 1, 2014

By J. Zegarra

"Si bien el anhidrido sulfuroso es considerado como un contaminante atmosférico, puede ser utilizado en la concentración de minerales por flotación a través del reemplazo del NaCN/CaO. En ese sentido, el presente texto señala la aplicación de este reactivo en el proceso de flotación, así también como se presenta los trabajos realizados a escala de laboratorio con el objeto de determinar su aplicación a la flotación selectiva directa de mineralessulfurados y en el mejoramiento del grado de concentrados de zinc. "

Jul 1, 1976

By John Watson, Jay Rodgers

The world of blasting and explosive use continues to evolve into one which relies heavily on measurement, quantification, process control, and information feedback as a means of contributing to operational improvements. More than ever good blast performance, once thought to be a result of someone’s “artistic ability”, is giving way to “hard science” and measurement techniques. Variability in product performance and process control is becoming less tolerable with increasing environmental issues, regulatory pressure and public awareness.

Jan 1, 1998

By E. Machaka, A. Cornah

"Mineral resources are typically informed by multiple data sources of varying reliability throughout a mining project life cycle. Abundant data which are imprecise or biased or both (‘secondary data’) are often excluded from mineral resource estimations (the ‘base case’) under an intuitive, but usually untested, assumption that this data may reduce the estimation precision, bias the estimate, or both.This paper demonstrates that the assumption is often wasteful and realized only if the secondary data are naively integrated into the estimation. A number of specialized geostatistical tools are available to extract maximum value from secondary information which are imprecise or biased or both; this paper evaluates cokriging (CK), multicollocated cokriging (MCCK), and ordinary kriging with variance of measurement error (OKVME).Where abundant imprecise but unbiased secondary data are available, integration using OKVME is recommended. This re-appropriates kriging weights from less precise to more precise data locations, improving the estimation precision compared to the base case and to Ordinary Kriging (OK) of a pooled data-set. If abundant secondary data are biased and imprecise, integration through CK is recommended as the biased data are zero-sum weighted. CK consequently provides an unbiased estimate with some improvement in estimation precision compared to the base case."

Jan 1, 2015

By C. M. Rule

Stirred milling using either horizontal or vertical mills has made a rapid entrance into PGM ore and tailings concentrator flow sheets. Currently there are in excess of 40 units installed in either mainstream, ?MIG? or intermediate concentrate regrind, ?UFG?, applications in PGM, primary ore treatment plants or in tailings scavenging and reclamation treatment plants. This represents a total of approximately 70 MW of installed fine grinding equipment. This paper outlines the reasons why the technology take-up has been rapid and illustrates the advantages of this technology over conventional milling. Keywords PGM, platinum group metals, UG2, Merensky, platreef, stirred milling, MIG?mainstream inert grinding, UFG?ultra fine grindingof intermediate flotation concentrates, IsaMill?, Metso SMD?, Deswik, ceremic grinding media, QEMSEM, MLA.

Jan 1, 2011

By E. F. Schnitzer, P. J. Wampler

During 1996 and 1997, Oregon experienced flooding on a scale not seen in many years. Some gravel pits located near rivers experienced erosion and, in several cases, breaches between the gravel pit and the river. Initial evaluation of several sites that experienced breaches indicates that impacts to the river system are complex and vary significantly from site to site. The impacts to the adjacent river system may be viewed as both positive and negative. Several floodplain-mining sites in Oregon located in areas of historic river flow have reverted to active riverbed. In many cases, state and federal fisheries biologists and university researchers see the resulting increase in channel complexity and habitat as favorable. The Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries – Mined Land Reclamation Program (DOGAMI-MLR) is performing additional studies of the impacts to the off-channel areas that resulted from the 1996 floods. More data is needed to make sound floodplain decisions regarding mining.

Jan 1, 1999

By Bhawani Singh, A. K. Dube, B. Singh

At least three hydroelectric tunnels constructed during the last decade through the lower Himalayan region in India have met with serious problems of supporting in squeezing ground conditions. Steel ribs under went intolerable deformations requiring rectification to provide space for concrete lining which delayed the projects inordinately. In an attempt to choose a rational method of predicting rock load, the authors have compared rock loads estimated from various classification systems and elasto-plastic theory with observed values. The deficiencies of the classification systems have been highlighted to show that the combination of elastoplastic theory and tunnel instrumentation programme provides better guidelines for the design of tunnel supports in squeezing ground conditions.

Jan 1, 1981

By A. C. Richardson

The mine of the Porter Coal Co. is located at the town of Porter in the northwestern part of Jefferson, County, Ala., about 20 miles west of Birmingham. The operations in this mine are confined to the middle and bottom benches of the Mary Lee bed. The coal from the Porter mine is handpicked and washed before being placed on the market. The handpicked lump coal and the washed egg and nut, coal are sold chiefly as domestic and steam-raising fuel. The coal finer than 1 inch is washed in 2-compartment jigs and utilized in the manufacture of metallurgical coke. The coal company has found that, when coal ranging in size from 1 to 0 inch is washed in jigs, a considerable amount of high-ash material finer than 3/16 inch remains in the washed coal. This paper gives the results of an investigation which was conducted for the purpose of determining the washing characteristics of the through 316-inch raw coal and the extent to which the ash might be reduced by means of coal-washing tables. This investigation has been made in connection with an. extensive study of the coal-washing problems now being conducted by the United States Bureau of Mines and the University of Alabama, with the cooperation of the coal-mining companies of the State.

Jan 1, 1933

By Randall M. Wheeler

Many of us have used a seismograph to measure peak particle velocity and frequency. But do we really understand why? Also, why do we measure particle velocity instead of displacement and/or acceleration? What is the vector sum? How do these items relate? Where does frequency fit in? This workshop will attempt to answer these and other questions. Some of the answers may surprise you, others may not.

Jan 1, 1997

By Moorrees C, Koh P. T, Tsambourakis G

Calcination of samples from the Savage River region of Thsmania containing varying magnesite/dolomite ratios under conditions optimized for the magnesite component, followed by carbonic acid leaching at elevated pressures, leads to leachates of varying composition. For a 3 per cent solids slurry leached at 15.5°C and 700 k Pa carbon dioxide, the leachates have magnesium concentrations in the range 0.71 - 13.2 g/litre. The corresponding magnesium extraction data are 12.5 - 86.4 per cent. The variation in leachate composition would be unacceptable in terms of continuous processing, so that a feed of "constant" composition is essential. Selective mining and physical beneficiation to remove the bulk of the dolomite do not appear to be practical. It is concluded that the most appropriate method of feed preparation is to carry out extensive blending of the magnesite/dolomite ore and the resultant calcine.

Jan 1, 1987

The solvent extraction section of an old Uranium Plant in the Vaal River region (North West Province in South Africa) produced a substance called CRUD (Chalk River Unidentified Deposit) that formed within the aqueous/organic interface of the settler of the solvent extraction circuit. The CRUD was deposited together with gold tailings to the tailings dam many years ago. Previous research done on the CRUD confirmed that exposed CRUD leaches Mn and Ni at concentrations that are well above their acceptable risk limits as well as Zn that leaches at concentrations that are slightly lower than its acceptable risk limit. Soil washing and bioremediation technologies were employed to treat the contaminated soil.   Various laboratory test work and the pilot scale studies were conducted in parallel with each other and the results of the laboratory studies were used to determine critical parameters. Four lixiviants, ie sulfuric acid, acetic acid, oxalic acid and ethylene diamine acetic acid were tested at three concentration levels ie 0.001 M, 0.0001 M and 0.00001 M, respectively. Column tests showed that the leaching of the heavy metals increases as the soil porosity increases. Silica sand was added to increase porosity of the contaminated soil. Highest Mn removal was achieved mainly by sulfuric and oxalic acid at 0.001M at all soil levels. EDTA was significantly efficient in the removal of Ni and Zn. The recovery of heavy metals, particularly Mn, decreased as the depth of sampling increased.   Heterogeneous bacteria and filamentous organism plate counts were conducted to evaluate the growth of the bacteria and filamentous organisms in the soil. Results showed that more organism growth took place in the bioremediated soil with a fertilizer added to it. The leaching of metals from the soil that was bioremediated in the pilot study was generally higher than the extraction of the metals from the soil that was leached with no bioremediation carried out. The results from this study suggest that the leaching of heavy metals from the contaminated soil is to a large extent dependant on the pH of the leaching solution. By increasing the soil's porosity and bioremediating the soil, higher extractions of metals were achieved.

Jun 1, 2010

By A M. Purba and A Sjadat, A D. Wilson

Ongoing mining of the East Ertsberg Skarn System orebody below the Gunung Bijih Timur and Intermediate Ore Zone caves has been relatively successful and a ramp up to 80 000 t/d was achieved in the Deep Ore Zone Mine. However, the distribution of production, the overall drawpoint availability as well as the rate of change of the cave back profile has not followed the anticipated path. Several key factors influencing cave growth and progress, grade variation, fragmentation, wet muck and surface subsidence have been recognised over the life-of-mine that now have to be taken into account for planning the later stages of mining.The paper will discuss the influence of geological controls of lithology and structure – how this as well as other contributing aspects have impacted ore flow, contributing to some of the widespread panel damage, and been a key factor in compacted draw columns and caused an accelerated appearance of water ingress. This in turn has rapidly changed the distribution of wet drawpoints requiring remote mucking and special controls that also affect the call from the remaining dry drawpoints. Comment is also made on the potential final cave profile if it continues along the current trend and some discussion is offered about possible mitigation measures if this were to come about.CITATION:Wilson, A D, Purba, A M and Sjadat, A, 2016. Progressing cave performance into the later stages of the Deep Ore Zone mine, in Proceedings Seventh International Conference and Exhibition on Mass Mining (MassMin 2016), pp 285–292 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

May 9, 2016

By Wm. F. Netzeband

"The mode of ore occurrence and the methods and costs of mining at one of the zinc-lead mines in the Tri-State zinc and lead district, Oklahoma, are presented in this paper for the information of mine operators in other districts.No. 2 mine property was acquired by lease in 1918 after some 30 holes had been drilled and a shaft had been sunk to the 305-foot level by the first lessees. After acquisition of the lease, the present operating company drilled a rich ore body on the 260-foot level and in 1920 started sinking two shafts. Production was begun late in 1921, and the mine has been operated more or less continuously to the present time.The mill has a capacity of 400 tons in 10 hours, the usual length of the mill shift in the district.The geology of Mine No. 2 is very similar to that of Mine No. 13 except that the Cherokee shale is thicker, ranging from 80 to 160 feet, and all the formations are correspondingly deeper, the Short Creek oolite horizon here being at a depth of about 300 feet. The oolite has not been found on this property, but the lime comes in at about the level at which the oolite should appear.The ore deposits of Mine No. 2 occur in the brecciated and bowlder ground above the Short Creek oolite. The main or 260-foot level is about 40 feet above the oolite horizon, and the lower or 300-foot level is immediately above it.The ore deposition is controlled by a zone of shearing and fracturing, and the mineable areas are divided into two distinct runs which have a northwest trend with a lean or practically barren area dividing them. This characteristic has controlled the mining to a large extent, for it enables the mine superintendent to locate the large pillars in lean ore and leave only small pillars in the richer ore. Figure 1 shows the outlines of the ore body and the pillars.The ore on the main level occurs disseminated throughout the jasperoid breccia as patches or lenses in the jasperoid, or cementing massive bowlders of jasperoid breccia and chert. The ore of the lower level is more of the bowlder type than that on the main level and occurs chiefly cementing the bowlders but also with some disseminated ore in the jasperoid breccia.The gangue minerals are jasperoid breccia, chert, and dolomite. Calcite is found in minor quantities. Sphalerite is the principal ore mineral; galena is found only in minor quantities around the edges of the ore body. When galena is encountered in this ore body, the limit of the ore can be expected.The exploration and estimation of ore reserves at Mine No. 2 are similar in many respects to the methods used at Mine No. 1.4After the mine was opened up and the general character of the ore deposit had been determined, drilling operations were concentrated along the trend of the shear zone. Later drilling has proved what appears to be a parallel shear zone or an offset of the zone now being mined."

May 1, 1929

By L. A. Cornish, L. H. Chown, M. Matema, R. Süss, L. Glaner, A. Douglas

Mintek has been developing Pt-based alloys for high temperature applications in aggressive environments, for example, land-based turbine engines, to replace the currently used nickel-based superalloys (NBSAs). The Pt-based alloys have a similar structure to the NBSAs, and since Pt is more chemically inert and has a higher melting point, the Pt-based alloys can potentially be used at higher temperatures. The greater chemical inertness of the Pt-based alloys compared to the NBSAs means that coatings can be simpler, or perhaps not even used at all, depending on the environment. TEM work was done at NIMS, Japan, to investigate the changes in the microstructure o f Pt-Al and Pt-Al-Ir alloys at elevated temperatures using in-situheating up to1100°C. Initial casting trials showed that work needs to be done to optimise casting parameters before commercialisation can take place. Room temperature tensile tests were performed and results were variable mainly due to microstructural differences. The alloy hardnesses were in the order of 300-350HV with ultimate tensile strengths of ~800 MPa and elongations of less than 10%. These results are comparable to other alloys used at high temperatures, which is very encouraging. Keywords: platinum, super alloys, hardness, tensile

Jan 1, 2006

A pilot steel ladle injection facility designed to assist in the production of high quality steels suitable for use in pipelines has been built and commissioned at the Basic Oxygen Steelmaking (BOS) plant at Port Kembla Works.The plant design and the injection procedure are described.The performance of the unit and some metallurgical results are discussed in terms of the addition to the steel ladle of various quantities of calcium silicide and a lime based material. The effects of these additions on sulphur content and inclusion morphology and hence on steel ductility are also presented. The influence of ladle lining on desulphurisation is illustrated.On the basis of the experience gathered in the pilot plant a permanent and more sophisticated injection facility has been designed.

Jan 1, 1983

By Américo Pérez

La política ambiental de Centromin Perú S.A. promueve el aprovechamiento de los recursos minerales sin comprometer la capacidad de las futuras generaciones para satisfacer sus necesidades y desarrollo. En ese sentido, los objetivos de la empresa comprenden la protección de la salud y seguridad pública, la prevención del medio ambiente a largo plazo y el uso productivo de las áreas afectadas, retornándolas a su estado inicial. Por ello, el presente trabajo señala los avances en la resolución de los pasivos ambientales de la ex unidad de Casapalca y el Programa de Adecuación Ambiental de la unidad de Morococha, en actual operación.

Sep 13, 2001

Rutile Beach Sand from Hard Rock

Sep 13, 2010

By L. B. Davidson

The petroleum literature contains many reports on the relative permeability properties of porous media. However, only recently have studies of relative permeability at elevated temperatures been made.1 -5 Each of these studies presents relative permeability data on water-oil systems in linear sandpacks or sandstone cores under isothermal conditions. The results of these investigations are dissimilar. Edmondsonl found that in Berea sandstone a temperature-dependent effect was present, while Shilobod,2 using the same material, found no temperature dependence after normalizing for initial water saturation. Workers at Texas A&M U.3-5 found that the ratio kw/ko was temperature dependent in an unconsolidated system. The differences in results of these studies are probably a consequence of differences in the material employed, in the experimental procedures followed, and in the properties of the porous systems used. This paper describes an experimental investigation of permeability ratio temperature dependence, conducted to clarify some of the results obtained by previous workers. Each experiment described in this paper involved the isothermal displacement of Chevron No. 15 white oil by either nitrogen, steam, or distilled water and displacement of water by nitrogen. All permeability ratios were calculated using the Welge procedure. Values of the water-oil permeability ratio were obtained over the temperature range 75OF to 540°F. Results indicate the ratio is temperature dependent at low water saturations, probably due to interfacial effects. However, as the saturation is increased, temperature dependence decreases until, above some minimum saturation, the ratio becomes insensitive to temperature. Previously published work indicates that the dependence reappears at very high water saturations, a region of the ratio curve not completely examined in the present study. It appears that water-oil permeability ratios are temperature dependent at the extremes of the ratio curve where changes in interfacial tension with temperature induce variations in residual saturations. Between the extremes, there is a region in which the permeability ratio is insensitive to temperature. The size and location of this region is probably a function of the characteristics of the porous system. Gas-oil permeability ratios calculated from nitrogen-white oil displacement experiments indicate a definite temperature dependence over the range 75OF to 500°F and over the entire gas saturation range studied. Evidence discussed in this report indicates that this dependence is a consequence of molecular slippage in the gas phase. This is an extension of the Klinkenberg effect6 to two-phase systems at high temperatures (the existence of slippage in two-phase systems at room temperature has been demonstrated7). Evidence for a similar source of temperature dependence in superheated steam-white oil experiments

Jan 1, 1970

By J. Härkki, R. Hiltunen

The Akanvaara intrusion (surface area 50-55 km2) in Savukoski, Northern Finland, hosts 23 distinct monocumulate layers of small euhedral chromite crystals enclosed in a silicate matrix. These chromitite layers have been divided into four groups; UC (upper chromitite), ULC (uppermost lower chromitite) LC (lower chromitite) and LLC (lowermost lower chromitite). The driving force for investigating the Akanvaara chromites and their reduction behaviour originated from their very low MgO content and relatively low Al2O3 content, giving them a unique quality which based on thermodynamics should facilitate the reduction. Another interesting feature is the high amount of V2O3 present especially in the upper chromitite. The chromites included in this study are from the UC and ULC layers (24.9 and 22.7 per cent Cr2O3 respectively). To obtain a better understanding of the reduction behaviour of Akanvaara samples in comparison to MgO-bearing chromitites, Kemi chromite from the ferrochrome works in Tornio, Finland, was included in the study as a reference sample. The reduction experiments were isothermal in a temperature range of 1000-1400°C in CO atmosphere. Experiments were also conducted with coke addition in pellets and briquettes in CO/Ar/H2 atmospheres. The results of the reduction experiments complemented with microanalytical research indicate that the Akanvaara chromites do reduce to a higher degree than the Kemi chromite. Although the aim was to characterize the mechanisms of reduction focusing on gas-solid reactions, the nature and amount of the gangue minerals was such that a considerable amount of slag phase was formed, which affected the reduction mechanisms extensively. The structural features together with low MgO and high FeO content in both Akanvaara chromites are important factors resulting in better reducibility than in the Kemi chromite.

Jan 1, 2004

By Bradley V. Johnson, Robert J. Timko, Edward D. Thimons

Water-jet-assisted cutting involves the use of a mechanical cutting bit in combination with a high-pressure water jet directed just in front of the bit tip. Such a jet can offer benefits in terms of improved cutting, reduced dust and fines, and improved bit wear. The Bureau of Mines, through a contract with the British National Coal Board, has researched the use of water-jet-assisted cutting on roadheaders. After several engineering design problems were overcome, this program led to the successful underground testing of these roadheaders. Today, more than 60 water-jet-assisted roadheaders are in operation around the world and numerous others are on order. This paper details the evolution of these machines and the benefits to be gained by their use.

Jan 1, 1987