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By L. E. Krys, K. D. Harrison, S. M. Nordwick, C. G. Anderson

Since 1984, nitrogen-species catalyzed pressure leaching has been utilized at the Sunshine Mining and Refining Company for the recovery of precious metals from a refractory sulfide concentrate, The process operates without the use of cyanide. The plant is now the only industrial-scale commercial application of this technology. Since the inception of the process, changes have been implemented to improve efficiencies and throughputs. Two of these changes, the replacement of nitric acid by sodium nitrite and a concentrate regrind, have recently been implemented. This paper will discuss the outcomes of these recently patented plant-process changes. In particular, a comparison between the previously used method and the new leach method is made. Also discussed is the potential applicability of the process to other materials. A companion publication (Anderson, Harrison and Keys, 1996) indicates possible mechanisms responsible for the success of these process changes.

Jan 1, 1997

The amount of hydrophobic materials constituting the mineral froth strongly influences the froth viscosity. Higher froth viscosity on the other hand can retard the drainage of physically carried over hydrophobic particles. In phosphate flotation tests a direct correlation was observed between froth viscosity and recovery and an inverse correlation between froth viscosity and grade. Phosphate flotation tests in the presence of a silica depressant indicated that higher froth viscosity is an effect rather than a cause of silica particles reporting in the froth.

Jan 1, 1992

By R. J. Sweigard

The effects of postmining land use planning are addressed in this paper. These effects may include savings in reclamation costs and increased value of reclaimed land. However, this may result in greater planning costs and possible delays in production. Therefore, an economic analysis was undertaken in an effort to determine the importance of each potential result and to quantify the overall economic impact of postmining land use planning. A discounted cash flow analysis was performed using a surface mine cost model to analyze the sensitivity of selling price to changes in various postmining land use planning parameters. As a result of this analysis it was determined that the profitability of a project is most sensitive to delays in production, particularly, if the delay occurs after major investments have been made. Many methods have been proposed for evaluating postmining land use alternatives (Sweigard and Ramani, 1981). Both quantitative methods, such as benefit-cost analysis (Brock and Brooks, 1968), and nonquantitative methods have been proposed. The application of one specific analytical method is pursued in this paper.

Jan 1, 1985

By Stanley J. Gasior

Most bituminous coal mined near Eastern industrial areas requiring high Btu pipeline gas is caking and therefore unsuitable for fixed-bed pressure gasification by present techniques. If the caking property of such coal can be destroyed the resulting fuel can be gasified in a fixed bed at pressure with steam and oxygen as a preliminary step in making a high-Btu gas. To find a practical way to convert strongly caking coals of granular or small lump size to noncaking fuel was the object of this study. In previous work strongly caking coals of 1/8- to 1-1/2-inch size was converted to a noncaking coal char by treatment in a static bed in about 3 hours [1/]and coal of 18-100 Tyler mesh in a fluidized bed in about 5 minutes.[2/] An inert gas such as `steam, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, or a mixture of all three with a small amount of oxygen was used in both studies. In our work a strongly caking bituminous coal from the Pittsburgh seam of 4-8 Tyler mesh size was converted to a-noncaking form in free-fall in about 2 seconds by dropping it through a countercurrent flow of steam containing 4 to 7 percent oxygen at 1,150°-1,200° F and 300 psig. This method should also be applicable to smaller-sized material.

Jan 1, 1965

By R. L. Miller

Two samples of iron enriched basalt (IEB) containing simulated nuclear fuel and having two distinct microstructures were prepared and tested for uranium recovery. The IEBs are refractory towards leaching by ground water. However, the uranium content (15.8%) is high enough that if aggressive leaching techniques are used for uranium recovery, these materials could be considered as man-made uranium ores. The IEBs discussed in this report were prepared to simulate Three Mile Island-2 core debris. The crushed IEBs were treated using three different methods simulating potential industrial scale processes. In one method the IEBs were fused with sodium hydroxide then the cooled mass leached first with water then with dilute sulfuric acid; about 52% of the uranium was recovered in this case. In the second method the IEBs were treated with a sulfuric acid/hydrogen peroxide lixiviant and about 13% of the uranium was recovered. In the third technique the IEBs were leached with a sodium carbonate/sodium bicarbonate/hydrogen peroxide solution. Only about 0.1% of the uranium was recovered. The results of these screening tests suggest that the IEBs can be successfully treated for recovery of the contained uranium. Other studies would be required to determine if other values, such as zirconium or silver, could be recovered from the IEBs.

Jan 1, 1984

By V. L. Zajakowski, J. D. Gargulak

The current political climate has forced multinational cement manufacturers to consider technology that minimizes GO, emissions. Along with this environmental issue, individual manufacturing facilities are under constant pressure to increase productivity and lower costs. The use of processing or functional additions can help address these difficult demands by maximizing the extender content in blended cements. Recently, cement standards have been modified such that additions can be employed to improve quality. By using these "cement performance enhancers," the cement manufacturer can maximize extender content of cement thus optimizing plant economics, while meeting local quality standards and minimizing greenhouse gas emissions.

Jan 1, 2003

By S. P. Liebenberg

During the past fifteen years significant progress has been made on carbon-in-pulp (CIP) technology for the extraction of gold. While most research on the mechanisms and kinetics of CIP sub-processes has focused on the adsorption step only, auxiliary unit operations such as elution have received less attention. The mathematical models which have been developed for elution at the University of Stellenbosch can be used for design as well as process optimisation by incorporation into an overall CIP simulation program. Except for these models, no other comprehensive models for the complex elution process are available. It is the aim of this paper to review recent modelling work on competitive elution from activated carbon.

Jan 1, 1995

By W. L. Hollinshead

For more effective and cost saving production in tunnels, the machinery used on construction sites will be equipped with guidance systems combined with working procedure management systems. This paper describes sensors for these systems and various system configurations. A project is described which uses a computerized guidance system on an underground mining machine for guidance and profile control.

Jan 1, 1999

By Frederico J. Price

This paper describes the production of a specific iron oxide pellet that has given very good and consistent results as feedstock for HYL-Process Direct Reduction Plants. The sponge iron originated from these pellets has been used for the economic making of almost 15 million tons of low carbon steel via electric arc furnace meltshops. An overview of mining, benefication, pelletizing direct reduction and steelmaking for this case is given with emphasis on the characteristics of the self-fluxing oxide pellets. HYL Operator and management training is described.

Jan 1, 1979

By T. E. Wilson

The length of Alaska’s coastline, combined with the presence of a significant number of fjords, encourages consideration of marine disposal of mine tailings. However, since various factors govern the viability of the submarine tailings disposal (STD) option, the decision making process is complex. An expert system, called Submarine Tailings Disposal Expert System (STADES) that will help mining project planners explore the feasibility of STD, was developed. Existing literature, supplemented by engineering recommendations, on the various aspects of marine disposal of tailings was reviewed and formed the knowledge base for the expert system. The shell used to develop the expert system was LEVEL5®.

Jan 1, 2001

By C. Cho

One problem with the application of neural networks to the multivariable control of mineral and extractive processing is deciding whether and how best to use them. The objective was to compare neural network control to more conventional strategies and find any advantages in terms of set point tracking, rise time, settling time, disturbance rejection, and other criteria. The procedure was to develop neural network controllers using both historic plant data and simulation models. We tried various neural network control patterns including both inverse and direct neural network plant models. These were compared to state space controllers that were, by nature, linear. For grinding and leaching circuits, a nonlinear neural network-based model predictive control strategy was superior to a state space-based linear quadratic Gaussian controller. We also learned the importance of incorporating state space into neural networks by making them recurrent--feeding certain output state variables into input nodes in the neural network. We concluded that neural network controllers can have better disturbance rejection, set point tracking, rise time, settling time, lower set point overshoot, and can be more foolproof and easy to implement in complex, multivariable plants.

Jan 1, 1996

By R. D. Peterson

Autocad has become the standard graphics package for the mining industry as well as the general engineering profession. This paper discusses the evolution that mine planning has undergone and the trend toward compatibility with Autocad. It discusses the common use of Autocad in mine planning and systems modeling using a program called ICAMPS developed by Ohio Automation. As an example of its usefulness the use of the interactive ventilation network modeling capabilities are discussed specifically and are applied to mine planning at an operating trona mine. The ventilation analysis feature of the ICAMPS software works from Autocad drawing of the as-mined map and the projected mine layout. Using on-screen displays of these maps and the snap-on feature of Autocad, the planner designates nodes in the ventilation network, connects them into branches and selects branch characteristics from a side bar menu. The color coded ventilation network appears with the branch parameters alongside each branch. The software calculates the length of airways, computes the branch resistances where needed, converts the input into the required format and passes this information as input data along to the PENNVEN simulation program written by the Pennsylvania state University. Output is available in graphical as well as report format. The color coded graphs include pressures at the nodes and flow quantities on the branches. Since the networks come from the mine maps, the ventilation schematic displays are to scale and can be plotted separately or superimposed on the mine maps.

Jan 1, 1995

By Kwadwo O. Adutwum, George M. Potter, Todd J. Harvey

Ashanti Goldfields Company (AGC) is the largest gold mining company in Western Africa. Their jewel operation is a highly inte­grated set of mines and plants situated in Obuasi, in the Ashanti region of Ghana. This operation is responsible for mining 5.5 mil­lion tonnes of ore at 4.6 git annually from a series of open pits and underground mines. The sulphide ore is highly refractory with untreated gold recoveries in the range of 30-40%. The milling facilities are quite varied and include an oxide treatment plant (OTP), a heap leach, a sulphide roaster circuit (PTP), a tailings treahnent plant (TIP) and the most recent, a sulphide treatment plant (STP). The sulphide treatment plant, the world's largest stirred tank biooxidation circuit, was commissioned in early 1994. This plant treats approximately 800 tonnes of refractory gold con­centrate per day with overall recoveries of75-85o/o(ll, Biooxidation was selected for its ease of operation and less exotic maintenance requirements as well as its ability to achieve comparable gold recoveries. Unfortunately, despite stirred tank biooxidation being one of the lower cost methods of treating refractory ores, it is still too costly for low grade refractory materials. GeoBiotics, Inc. has developed a proprietary technology that allows the economic treatment of lower grade refractory gold ores through heap biooxidation. AGC has a significant resource of low grade refractory sulphide ore. This ore is too low grade to warrant BIOX™ sulphide treatment and its oxide plant recov­ery is low at 35-45%. GeoBiotics and AGC have completed pre­liminary testing and economic analysis of heap biooxidation for this material. Additionally, the feasibility of producing a gravity concentrate from the tailings of the sulphide treatment plant has been explored. This concentrate would be coated onto the low grade sulphide and biooxidized concurrently. Gold recoveries for the biooxidized low grade sulphide have increased to 75% and the gravity recovery from the STP tailings has achieved 80% uti­lizing a Falcon concentrator. The preliminary economics of the proposed full scale plant are very favourable with a pre-tax IRR of 233% and a payback period of 6 months. This paper details the biooxidation testing, flow sheet devel­opment and preliminary economics of employing heap biooxi­dation for low grade refractory ore treatment at Ashanti Goldfields' Obuasi operation.

Jan 1, 1998

By David M. Parkes

Geology is frequently complicated, hence only more regular deposits are mined. Coal is generally thick, often steeply pitching and usually soft or well-cleated. Due to competition from open-pit mines, only two underground mines are operating, McIntyre and B.C. Coal. Several other mines are being planned, the method being evenly divided between hydraulic, longwall, and room and pillar. McIntyre mines in the flat part of their formation (up to 20 degrees) uses continuous miners and shuttle cars in the 3m and 6m seams. This company is considering a retreating longwall face. B.C. Coal operates a hydraulic mine in a 16m thick seam dipping at 10 to 55 degrees with a productivity of about 20 tonnes per manshift.

Jan 1, 1982

By J. Craynon, M. Karmis

Previous papers by the authors have presented a systems-engineering approach based on the premise that systems can only be optimized if all factors are considered and integrated into mine planning. This paper discusses the challenges inherent in optimizing the design of large-scale surface coal mining operations in Appalachia. Regulatory and permitting programs in the United States often focus on single parameters, rather than the full suite of desirable outcomes for sustainability. By utilizing geographic information system (GIS) tools to evaluate available data on environmental and social resources, the regulatory barriers which prevent operations from incorporating ecological and other sustainable development concerns into coal mine sustainability performance were identified. By analysis of the on-the-ground issues related to sustainability, the key parameters to be incorporated into an optimized coal mine design in Appalachia are discussed along with possible changes to the regulatory framework that would enhance incorporation of sustainability into coal mine design.

Jan 1, 2011

By John E. Roberts

People are not a novelty. But the phenomenal numbers thereof, who have approached, settled, and been born in California in the past twenty-five years, are such a problem as to be a novelty in the broadest sense of the word. California, with less than 7,000,000 people in 1940, and over 19,000,000 in 1966. In 5 1/2 years, (1960-65) the southerly 14 counties of California, which together comprise one-half the land area of our state, had an increase in population greater than Colorado, or Arkansas, or Oregon, or any one of 19 other states.

Jan 1, 1967

By J. H. Hill

The globalization of mineral markets and intense competition in downstream mineral-consuming industries such as transportation, agriculture, and construction are requiring raw materials suppliers to innovate, improve quality, invest in new technology, and control costs. Mineral specifications are becoming more refined, and pressure to improve products is felt from increasing numbers of competing producers, substitute materials, customers, and regulators. As a result, engineered mineral products are becoming more like manufactured ones in terms of cost structure, differentiation, and the importance of market driven, customer specific product development. Engineered mineral products are defined as those where the costs of refining and upgrading outweigh those of conventional mining activities (blasting, crushing, classification, haulage etc.), and where close control of physical and chemical parameters is required for customers' processing and manufacturing applications. This includes industrial minerals such as calcium carbonate, kaolin, mica, specialty oxides, talc, and some metal powders. It excludes most metals and bulk commodity materials such as gypsum, lime, sulfur, and soda ash. Engineered mineral products are utilized in common household goods, and are at the forefront of industrial materials engineering in plastics, ceramics, composites, glazes, coatings, and construction materials. As a group, they introduce interesting questions to the minerals firm. Advanced materials or basic? Diversify or specialize? What are the implications of advanced materials and for mineral markets, and most importantly, where can the producer look for long-term value, volume, and profits?

Jan 1, 1993

By I. E. Odom

The physiocemical properties and industrial uses of the clay mineral montmorillonite are reviewed. Montmorillonite is the most abundant species of the smectite clay mineral group and is the predominant mineral composing bentonite deposits. The crystal structure, chemical composition, exchangeable ion type, and small crystal size are responsible for several unique properties, including a large chemically active surface area, a high cation exchange capacity and interlamellar surfaces having unsual hydration characteristics. The type of exchangeable ion Na, Ca and/or Mg has a major influence on industrial and chemical uses of montmorillonite because of their hydration characteristcs. Natural occurrences of Na montmorillonite in commercial quantities are geographically limited, but Ca-Mg montmorillonite deposits are known world wide. Foundry, well drilling, pelletizing and civil engineering constitute the major uses of montmorillonite, but the total array of uses of montmorillonite exceeds that of any other mineral.

Jan 1, 1986

By Robert L. Vines

"What is past is prologue" - motto of National Archives The question of past, present, and future safety performance in the coal mining industry is not merely an academic one, or one which arises from soul-searching curiosity. It is a question involving pragmatic ramifications, and the answers, or perhaps the public perception of the answers, will have a strong impact on the public policies which influence the course of meeting the Nation's future energy demands. Those of us in the coal industry are keenly aware of the significant impact of the public reaction -- in the form of the 1969 Health and Safety Act -- to -past performance of the coal industry which it found unacceptable. That Act was revolutionary -- and it was expensive. But in finding the industry's past performance unacceptable, the public also recognized its own contributory role through having enjoyed a "buyer's market" forced on a highly competitive industry. One result was to limit the industry's resources and restrict its ability for self-improvement of its safety performance. In acknowledgement of that role, the public picked up the tab for Black Lung disability incurred prior to that time.

Jan 1, 1985

By B. I. Pålsson, H-Å. Häggblad, J. F. Stener, P. Jonsén

"Understanding mill charge motion is important. In the charge, the center of gravity is shifted from the rotational center of the mill system, and its motion is induced by rotation of the mill. At the same time, the charge creates a torque in the mill system. Breakage of ore particles and wear of liners/ball media are closely linked to this motion. To study these phenomena in a physically correct manner, numerical models for different parts of the mill system are needed. Validations of such models are scarce, because of the difficulty of measuring inside a tumbling mill. Experimental measurements in a lab mill were done for a number of load cases: varying feed material, mill filling, mill speed and pulp liquid. The mill is set up to measure the charge-induced torque. The accuracy is good, with relative uncertainty less than ± 2% for relevant load cases. A full three-dimensional numerical model of the whole mill is used to predict induced torque. Agreement between predicted and measured torque at steady-state is good. In addition, the model can accurately predict the mill startup behavior for torque and mill power. This proves that the model is physically correct, and can be used for modeling large-scale mills.IntroductionUnderstanding of the charge motion within the mill is of importance in mill optimization. The breakage of ore particles and the wear of liners/ball media are closely linked to the charge motion. To study these phenomena in a physically correct manner, appropriate numerical models for different parts of the mill system must be used. Validation of these models is of major importance. This has led to an increased interest in obtaining an accurate and direct measurement of mill load and the behavior of the mill charge.For structural analysis, the finite element method (FEM) is the most developed and most frequently used numerical method. FEM is a numerical solution method based on continuum mechanics modeling. A constitutive relation for the actual material is described, and the governing equations are solved in Zienkiewicz and Taylor (2000). Varieties of different constitutive models for a large number of materials are implemented in modern FEM code. The computability of nonlinear problems in solid mechanics is investigated in Belytschko and Mish (2001), among others."

Jan 1, 2015