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The quantity, quality and detail of project information increases as project development moves from initial scoping level studies, to pre-feasibility and option studies, then definitive feasibility study and basic engineering stages. Data accumulates from metallurgical and vendor testing from various ore types and composites carried out to assess physical characteristics and processing responses of the ore. Over-simplification or assumptions about the orebody for flow sheet development can result in using æaverageÆ information for design. Use of averages of data can have adverse implications on sizing of plant and equipment and consequently on definitive study cost estimates and detailed engineering. In practice, the treatment plant workforce is faced with managing a non-homogeneous or non-average orebody in a variable operating environment that is not always predictable. This paper presents views on how to use the data generated from testwork in project development and for process and plant design. Examples of process design risk or operating risk are presented. Although this topic is applicable to the broad range of process design decision making in the minerals industry, this discussion references comminution, flotation and extraction processes for gold and base metal ores.

Jan 1, 2004

By Christian Escalante

El presente trabajo señala los beneficios del uso de fractales para la detección de depósitos mineralizados en reemplazo de una definición matemática de la técnica. Está técnica permite detectar regiones geológicas prospectivas usando datos geofísicos y un modelo geológico de mineralización. De forma que el uso de fractales en conjunto con otras técnicas de procesamiento, tales como técnicas de simetría y visualización, proporcionan un medio confiable para identificar regiones con discontinuidades magnéticas y áreas con gran complejidad estructural.

Sep 14, 2009

By C. Wen

In Huoqiu region of Anhui Province, Fe2O3 occurs mainly in the form of specularite. Besides quartz, the gangue minerals include iron-bearing silicates such as chlorite and sericite which account for about 10% of the total gangue. The separation effect of conventional collectors is poor in the flotation of the minerals, that is, the average grade of iron concentrates is only 60-62%. Using the developed amphoteric collector can successfully realize not only the separation of specularite from various gangue minerals with results of iron concentrate grade above 65% and iron recovery of above 80% but also low temperature flotation at 15°C.

Jan 1, 2012

By Kelvin K. Wu

A coal waste disposal dam failed on Buffalo Creek near Saunders, West Virginia, on February 26, 1972. This accident resulted in the loss of 125 lives, left over 4000 people homeless, and resulted in millions of dollars in damage to several downstream communities. As a result of this tragic event, major changes occurred in the mine waste disposal practices used by the U.S. coal industry. This paper summarizes changes in U.S. coal-waste disposal practices in the nearly 35 years since the Buffalo Creek dam failure and identifies safety issues that need to be addressed for continued improvement. While many organizations and individuals have played roles in the improvements that have occurred, this paper focuses on the role played by MSHA and its predecessor agencies.

Jan 1, 2006

Jan 1, 1967

With the passing of Dr William Bleloch on 20th June 1991, we lost not only a colleague and a good friend but a man who made a very significant contribution to the industrial development of South Africa. He can rightly be called the father of the ekctrochemical and electro-metallurgical industries in this country, since his ideas and dedicated work were directly responsible for the development of these large industries as we know them today.

Jan 1, 1991

By C Adams

Reports of delays and cost blowouts in major study and construction projects are becoming increasingly prevalent in the resources industry. This is mainly being attributed to an escalating cost environment associated with the increased number of projects in the development to construction pipeline and a scarcity of competent skilled resources to deliver these projects. However, not all this effect can be directly attributed to the current environment. Historically the mining industry has not performed well in its ability to deliver projects according to the financial and physical parameters forecast in the feasibility study process. To manage the risks associated with delivery of major projects, resource companies need to ensure they use a standardised approach to management of their project development to satisfy project objectives and enable more efficient use of the increasingly limited available resources. Each discrete step in advancing the project from scoping study to operations needs to be integrated, reducing the amount of rework and duplication. This paper is primarily a consolidation of existing ideas on project management systems but also introduces new concepts to solve current issues. It describes the basic components of a typical mining project, the issues that commonly arise, the key attributes, and critical steps required for an effective integrated project management system covering projects from initial scoping studies through to project commissioning and operation. This paper focuses on technical study components of the mine development project with allowance for transitioning to design and construction and operation phases.

Jan 1, 2006

By S. Ersayin

In 1998, the Concentrator Modeling Center was established within the Coleraine Minerals Research Lab to develop models for simulation of iron ore processing plants, and to assist plant operators in improving performance of their aging plants. The short-term objective was to develop necessary models for reliable simulation using conventional techniques, while the long-term objective was set as liberation-based modeling and simulation of these plants. The short-term objective was achieved in 2002, after the development of models for magnetic separators, hydroseparators and fine screens. A project funded the US Department of Energy was carried out to demonstrate the capability in improving iron ore processing at the Mittal plant. As a result of this study, a 10% improvement in throughput at the plant was obtained, and simulation became a desired tool for plant operators. A significant step in the long-term objective was reached in 2005 with the development of a liberation model. This was followed by incorporation of models capable of processing liberation data into the software. By early 2007, the Center had the capability of performing liberation-based simulation of entire plants.

Jan 1, 2008

By W. H. Tomlinson

One of the more important functions of the Federal Bureau of Mines is conservation of the life and health of employees of the mineral and allied industries. Since its very beginning the Bureau has encouraged competition between mine rescue and first-aid teams as a means of stimulating interest in safety and accident-prevention work. In addition to sponsoring competition on a national and international scale during the past 45 years, the Bureau has also assisted State mining departments, mining companies, and mining organizations in holding State, district, company, and other local meets. This assistance includes providing instructors to train teams, judges, and other contest officials. The Bureau has also furnished problems and outlines for working them, judges I discount sheets (scorecards), contest rules, and problem judges. In fact, Bureau representatives participate in nearly all State, district, and company contests and have bad complete charge of some contests.

Jan 1, 1956

By C. P. Kelley, T. J. McKeon

Several recent developments in fine screening technology have been implemented at the DuPont Starke, Florida plant allowing enhanced zircon recoveries while minimizing operator requirements and total operational costs. The total design concept came about through the efforts of engineers at Derrick Corporation (Buffalo, New York), DuPont Titanium Technologies (Starke, Florida) and Roche Mining (Carrara, Australia). The use of the Kelsey Jigs for zircon recoveries from the tailings stream requires two wet sizing functions in order to operate properly. The first wet sizing is required on the initial mineral slurry feed to the Kelsey Jig. This sizing is intended to protect the Kelsey Jigs internal screen basket from plugging with nearsize particles, thereby keeping production rates maximized. The second sizing function is intended to recover properly sized garnet ragging material, which inadvertently ends up in the tailings stream leaving the Kelsey Jig. The unique machine design developed by the three partners in this project incorporated both wet sizing functions (protection and garnet recovery) into a single patented high capacity wet screening machine fitted with patented screen surface technology. This screen surface technology allowed for high capacity slurry handling capabilities at separations as fine as 230 microns while experiencing no nearsize blinding and extremely long screen panel life. The high open area urethane screen surfaces utilized in the application typically last 20 to 30 times longer than stainless steel wire surfaces. The stacked machine design minimized total equipment requirements and screen footprint requirements, and reduced power consumption and overall installation costs.

Jan 1, 2005

By Cem Colakoglu

In this study, nickel containing iron alloys were produced by carbothermal reduction of lateritic nickel ores obtained from Manisa - Caldag region of Turkiye in order to investigate the reaction mechanism of nickel and cobalt. In the experiments, the lateritic ore containing 1.58 wt.% Ni and 0.12 wt.% Co was calcined in a semi-pilot scale rotary furnace at 1100°C for 1 hour. Then, a mixture of calcined ore and metallurgical coke was reacted in sintered alumina crucibles using a graphite resistance tube furnace at different time (0- 60 min) and temperature (1500-1600°C).

Jan 1, 2009

By O. C. Blade

The use of Diesel fuel continues to increase. In the United States during 1951 over 120,000,000 barrels of Diesel fuel oil were sold. The railroads used approximately 43.5 percent of this volume; industries such as smelters, mines, and manufacturing plants used about 12 percent; trucks, busses, tractors and bulldozers 20 percent; water craft 14.5 percent; and the remaining 10 percent was consumed by gas and electric utilities, the military forces, and oil companies. These figures were calculated from data issued by the Bureau of Mines. 2/ Complete data for 1952 are not yet available, but it is known that by December 1952 over 13 3/4 million barrels of Diesel fuel per month were produced by the country's refineries and by April 1953 the monthly production had increased to 1 4,333,000 barrels.3/ Information on the properties of this type of engine fuel is very important to the petroleum industry, engine manufacturers, and consumers. To supply this information the American Petroleum Institute and the Bureau of Mines, United States Department of the Interior, under cooperative agreement, are conducting annual surveys of Diesel fuel oil produced in refineries in this country.

Jan 1, 1953

Phase equilibria have been determined experimentally for pseudo-ternary sections of the form ?MnO?-(CaO+MgO)-(SiO2+Al2O3) with a fixed Al2O3/SiO2 weight ratio of 0.17 and MgO/CaO weight ratios of 0.25 and 0.17 respectively for temperatures in the range 1473-1673 K. The primary phase fields present for the MgO/CaO weight ratio of 0.17 include manganosite (Mn,Mg,Ca)O; dicalcium silicate a-2(Ca,Mg,Mn)O?SiO2; merwinite 3CaO·(Mg,Mn)O·2SiO2; wollastonite [(Ca,Mg,Mn)O?SiO2]; diopside [(CaO,MgO,MnO,Al2O3)?SiO2]; tridymite (SiO2); tephroite [2(Mn,Mg)O?SiO2]; rhodonite [(Mn,Mg)O?SiO2] and melilite [2CaO?(MgO,MnO,Al2O3)?2(SiO2,Al2O3)]. For the section with MgO/CaO weight ratio of 0.25 the anorthite phase (CaO·Al2O3·2SiO2) is also present. The liquidus temperatures of ferro- and silico-manganese smelting slags have been determined. The liquidus temperatures at low MnO concentrations are shown to be principally dependent on the modified basicity weight ratio (CaO+MgO)/(SiO2+Al2O3).

Jan 1, 2004

By G. Naranjo

Dada la demanda de nuevos materiales como su resistencia a altas temperaturas, la empresa minera del siglo XXI se perfila no solo a la producción de metales, sino a la extracción de sustancias no metálicas. En este sentido, la actividad minera no metálica en el Perú, se encuentra en un estado incipiente de desarrollo, en tanto existe una desinformación sobre la tecnología empleada en la extracción y las especificaciones para la industria minera. Por tal motivo, el objetivo del presente texto es el desarrollo de la minería metálica a través de la evaluación de las características de los recursos no metálicos, selección de métodos, técnicas apropiadas y control de calidad, a fin de difundir la importancia de dicha actividad y la competencia a nivel internacional.

Nov 24, 1993

By Rodney K. Morrison

MARTA, The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, is building a 53 mile heavy rail transit system to serve the City of Atlanta. Phase A of the Rail System, consisting of approximately 14 miles of at-grade, aerial and subway construction is underway. Metropolitan Atlanta lies in the Piedmont Geologic province of Georgia and is underlain by rocks of essentially granitic and gneissic nature. The soils encountered are primarily silty sands which are in-place weathering products of the parent rock and exhibit their relic structure. In general, these materials have presented no unique construction problems other than those created-by proximity of manmade structures, local availability of ground water, and top of rock elevation. The subway sections of primary interest in this paper consist of hardrock and soft ground tunnels and extensive cut-and-cover sections. The cut-and-cover construction includes excavations as deep as 80 feet. Temporary support systems in these deep excavations consist of soldier pile-timber-lagging or soldier pile-tremie concrete (SPTC) walls with internal bracing or tiebacks. In shallow cut-and-cover sections, where right-of-way economics permitted, slopes were laid back partially or fully to reduce or eliminate the need for bracing systems. Dewatering systems were required in most open cut excavations. Due to the close proximity of utilities and existing structures to the MARTA

Jan 1, 1979

By Jhon F. Quijano

En el presente artículo se documentan los trabajos realizados con el objeto de mostrar las técnicas de análisis, diseño y optimización de las mallas de sostenimiento activo, logrando con ello grandes e importantes resultados en las condiciones de seguridad y reducción de costos de sostenimiento en las labores de la Unidad Minera Iscaycruz.

Sep 1, 2017

By J. R. Thoenen

This circular is the third of a series summarizing the technical problems involved in the production and preparation of sand and gravel. The first, Information Circular 6668, published in December 1932, discussed the problems involved in prospecting and exploration. The second, Information Circular 6689 (March 1933), dealt with the development of gravel deposits. This is part I of a paper designed to present a study of problems arising in the excavation of sand and revel and their delivery to the treatment plant. Other circulars are planned which will discuss preparation of the material for market, plant storage, and miscellaneous subject. Definitions For the purpose of this circular, excavation is defined as the recovery of sand and gravel from developed natural deposits and their delivery to a plant for market preparation.

Jan 1, 1934

By Mario Samamé Boggio

El presente texto describe la importancia de la minería como actividad económica peruana -en tanto esta contribuye con el 49% de las divisas indispensables para importar los alimentos que faltan y la maquinaria para nuestra industrialización. Asi también aporta a las necesidades fiscales con sustancial aporte, producto de los impuestos, gravámenes y arbitrios que paga la industria extractiva.

Sep 1, 1961

By Michael Rieber

In this study a generalized specification and costing model for high tonnage coal carrying conveyor belts of 3.5 to 100 miles is presented. These belt systems, in modular units or flights, of up to 9 miles in length can be considered in terms of gathering systems. The study format is sufficiently open to allow users to insert their own requirements and parameters. A specific case study is provided. Because conveyor belts are feasible almost anywhere, this study has not investigated any specific route or geographic location. Rather, it has concentrated on setting up an heuristic programming model for conveyor belt facility optimization and cost minimization. The analysis starts with the principle factors involved in the design of the system and their optimization for various cases. This is followed, in Section 5.4, with a factor by factor cost analysis based on industry data and the preceding optimization. The next step is the development of both facility and costing models suitable for computer analysis. Logic flow diagrams are presented at each major analytic step.

Jan 1, 1977

Claims of 16 gold mining companies seeking damages from L-208 will be heard in Court of Claims starting Jan. 26. Earlier this year, judges ruled that 3 gold mining companies could sue for damages from the wartime order closing their mines. Congress later waived the statute of limitations thus permitting other gold miners to get in their claims. Despite power shortages third quarter production of aluminum exceeded that of the previous period by 2.2 pct. However, September production was 16 million lb less than in August. Hewitt-Robbins, Inc. dedicated a new $1 million addition to the company's Buffalo, N. Y. belt conveyor plant. New equipment, including a $220,000 press, will make belts up to 70 in, wide, compared with the former limit of 60 in. Charges of a tin cartel in Malaya are not backed up in the latest U. S. Government report according to the Malayan Tin Bureau. The U. S. mission reported that it "did not discover any evidence of curtailment of tin output by the mining and smelting industries." It noted that guerilla activity had halted exploration and expansion attempts by producers.

Jan 1, 1952