Search Documents

Electrowinning U.S. 4,066,520 - Recovery of copper from copper sulfide ore. Finely divided ore concentrate is leached with moderately strong sulfurous acid to solubilize copper ions, the leach solution treated with calcium sulfite to reduce the copper ion concentration by forming copper-precipitate solids therein, the solids filtered off, and and the filter cake dewatered to obtain a slurry of copper-precipitate solids amenable to direct electrowinning of copper therefrom using a described electrolysis apparatus which utilizes high current flow with a minimum of mechanical agitation. R. C. Emmett, Jr., J. K. Dicksa. B. C. Wojcik and F. A. Baczek, assigned to Envirotech Corp. Jan. 3, 1978. 14 pp. (204- 108). Filed: 9- 1-76 (7 19,867).

Jan 1, 1979

By Raivo Maripuu

The Boliden Group encompasses Sweden's foremost operations related to the mining and production of copper, lead, zinc, precious metals and metallic by- products. It is also the dominant swedish producer of sulphur-based heavy inorganic chemical products and fertilizers and has an international trading organization covering, in adition to the group's basic products, industrial minerals and oil. Boliden's activities in- clude the marketing of proven Boliden technique and know-how. Boliden Metall - the mining and metallurgical company within the Boliden Group - produces about 13 million mtpy of ores at mines in northern and central Sweden. Boliden has, over the years, become a specialist in processing poly- metallic sulphide ores and its eight concentrators presently serve 15 mines. Boliden has a long history of close cooperation with Swedish and foreign manufacturers in developing new products and processes.

Jan 1, 1979

By Francis J. Dennis

Many factors govern the value of dredging-ground, and much capital can be wasted by the mistaken policy of contracting for the purchase of property arid the installation of machinery before a thorough examination has been made. To the uninitiated investor the presence of gold is generally the criterion, and very superficial evidence is necessary to satisfy him as to this point. he couuiclers the comprehensive report of a competent engineer as a wasteful extravagance, aild cannot understand why the engineer requires so much time and money to ascertain the information on which to base his conalusions, when the promoter can furnish him such pleaaing and satisfactory data with but little expenditure of time aud money. The uninitiated investor will often optimistically risk capital for purchase and equipment, and riot uiitil the veuture comes to grief does he learn that the condition8 are wholly unsuited for dredging. In many instances, a short preliminary examination by a competent engineer would have disclosed these facts. The mere presence of gold is by no means suficient; sonie of

Jan 1, 1912

By Ronald L. Longwell

PROPERTY LOCATION Located in the Copper Creek area of the Galiuro Mountains, the Old Reliable is on ground first claimed for mineral value during the Civil War. The deposit was mined sporatically from 1880 to 1919 and again in 1953 and 1954, with a total of about 30,000 tons of ore removed. The ore body is a near vertical breccia pipe containing approximately 4,000,000 tons of 0.80% copper with mineralization occuring as chalcocite, chalcopyrite, malachite, chalcanthite, and chrysocolla. The host rocks are extrusive lavas of cretaceous age which were intruded and mineralized by Copper Creek Granodiorite, which is Laramide in age. The ore zone, which occurs on the toe of a ridge, is about 300 feet by 600 feet in plan, with the bulk of the deposit extending from the surface to a depth of 500 feet.

Jan 1, 1974

By John H. Bassarear, Harold W. Sorstokke

The fourth expansion within 10 years was completed at Pima Mining Co. during late 1971. The first three expansions increased capacity from 3000 to over 40,000 tpd. Conventional crushing and grinding practices were used in the original 10-section mill. Total capacity is now approximately 54,000 tpd. Expansion IV includes a new primary crusher and a radial stacker conveyor that feeds stockpiles for both concentrators. The -8-in. primary product is fed from the reclaim stockpile to the new mill by two pairs of pan feeders, each pair feeding a separate conveyor. The reclaim conveyors each feed 28 X 12-ft semiautogenous mills operating with an 8% charge of 4-in. balls. Autogenous discharge is screened, oversize recycling by conveyors, with -%-in. undersize feeding two conventional 161/2 X 19-ft ball mills in closed circuit with cyclones. Cyclone overflow is pumped to three parallel rows of 300-400 cu ft flotation cells. Rougher and scavenger concentrates produced are sent to the original mill for regrind, cleaning, and filtering.

Jan 1, 1974

By William E. Ford, Edward Salisbury Dana

436. Electrical Conductivity. - The subject of the relative conducting power of different minerals is one of minor interest.* In general most minerals, except those having a metallic luster among the sulphides and oxides, are non-conductors. Only the non-conductors can show pyro-electrical phenomena, and only the conductors can give a thermo-electric current. 437. Frictional Electricity. - The development of an electrical charge on many bodies by friction is a familiar subject. All minerals become electric by friction, although the degree to which this is manifested differs widely. There is no line of distinction among minerals, dividing them into positively electric and negatively electric; for both electrical states may be presented by different varieties of the same species, and by the same variety in different states. The gems are in general positively electric only when polished; the diamond, however, exhibits positive electricity whether polished or not. It is a familiar fact that the electrification of amber upon friction was early observed (600 B. C.), and indeed the Greek name

Jan 1, 1922

By D. T. Maiers, P. L. Wichlacz, P. A. Pryfogle, J. H. Wolfram

The effects of metal solution concentration, biomass density, length of exposure time, and pH were determined for biosorption of molybdenum (Mo) and chromium (Cr) by three organisms. Results indicate that it is possible to sorb Mo and Cr from dilute solutions. Differences were observed in the abilities of an organism to sorb Mo and Cr as well as among respective abilities of the three microorganisms. This suggests an inherent selectivity of the organism which may afford the means to control a sorption-based process. Results also indicate that the metal sorption abilities of these microorganisms depend on duration of exposure, biomass density, solution pH, and the metal concentration of the solution. Each of these parameters suggests an additional means of controlling the sorption process.

Jan 1, 1989

By Subash Chander, B. Arnold

Many developments have occurred in coal flotation with regard to increasing recovery from the flotation circuit and its impact on overall coal preparation plant recovery. This includes innovative design of flotation circuits, equipment modification and development, methods of enhancing the use of reagents, effect of slimes, and recognizing the effect of water chemistry. This paper will review recent advances and present some guidelines to improve process efficiency.

Jan 1, 2005

By Daniel R. Hack

Spatial relationships among physical 'and chemical properties pertinent to economic development of sand and gravel deposits have been little studied. Models need to address trends or zonation of material properties applicable to mine evaluation and planning or as a guide among deposits for use in regional assessment Models can then be utilized to design sampling programs to optimize additional data acquisition. Development of a preliminary methodology in the lower Boise River Valley, western Idaho, will utilize historical and recent data from a terrace-gravel deposit. Classical statistics and techniques of spatial data analysis will be evaluated as a precursor to formal geostatistical evaluation.

Jan 1, 2002

By G. J. Shiflet

This paper will review work done in our laboratory on the formation, thermodynamics and crystallization of aluminum based metallic glass with the addition of rare earth elements. The results demonstrate that the metallic glasses are truly amorphous and not microcrystalline and that they are unusual in their formation because the alloys contain 90 at. % aluminum and there is no deep eutectic present in the phase diagram. Tensile strengths that exceed 900 MPa are obtained for several of the compositions and exceed 1000 MPa after partial crystallization.

Jan 1, 1992

By Richard L. Ranich, Frank F. Aplan, J. B. Hiskey, Robert S. Thompson, B. J. Scheiner

Acidic waters typified by acid mine drainage, copper dump leach solutions and steel pickle liquors will typically contain SO4-2 and cations such as Fe+3, AI+3 and for the pickle liquors, sometimes Cr+3. These acidic waters will often react with limestone, present naturally or introduced for purposes of solution neutralization, to form reaction - inhibiting coatings of gypsum and gelatinous, metal hydroxide precipi¬tates. The coating thickness, as a function of pH, was quantified for both reactive (calcite, limestone) and non-reactive (quartz, barite, fluorite) minerals, and the data were related to the hydroxy species diagrams and to solution turbidity measurements. Coatings were found on the reactive minerals at a lower bulk solution pH than on the non-reactive minerals.

Jan 1, 1993

By T. W. Healy, D. R. Dixon

The mechanism of activation of ZnS by metal ions and the subsequent flotation induced by xanthate has been considered as a surface redox reaction. By ultraviolet (UV) irradiation of ZnS suspensions, the normally inert ZnS is caused to react with xanthate in the absence of activator. By similar UV irradiation, the rate of adsorption-exchange of activator ions at the ZnS-H2O interface is also increased. Mechanisms of these reactions are proposed and compared to current electrochemical and semiconducting models of sulfide flotation.

Jan 1, 1976

By L. Michael Kaas

The mineral industries are striving to expand their use of the computer's ability to process exploration, geologic, and mining data. Digital plotting programs and devices are continuing to gain wider use for lowering the cost and the time required to produce many types of maps and cross-sections commonly used by mining companies. Mineral engineers and geologists will soon be using a new tool, computer graphics, to greatly facilitate the use of computers to solve a large number of industry problems. By means of cathode-ray-tube (CRT) displays, an engineer can search large files of geologic data; display elevation contours, geologic structures, and ore grades; construct geologic and mining cross-sections; and compute tonnages for mining plans or ore reserve estimates. Examples of both digital plotting and cathode-ray-tube problem solving approaches are discussed in this paper.

Jan 1, 1969

By T. M. Campoy, J. R. Jones

When extending the life of an existing mine in Appalachia, it is common to acquire the adjacent reserves and extend the existing mine into it. The existing mine is often renovated to accommodate the new conditions. The existing mining system and the track and belt haulage systems may he modified while the new property is integrated into the old one. All of these changes create new constraints for the mine ventilation system (MVS) that require proper planning and control procedures. This paper presents a study that was carried out for the ventilation system of a newly expanded underground coal mine in the Appalachian region. The process of correcting the ventilation system of the existing mine is discussed. That is followed by a discussion of some of the stages of controlling the expanded system. Numerical data for these steps are also presented.

Jan 1, 1994

By J. H. Wernick

IN a study of the rate of decomposition of %-in. cubes of limestone, dolomitic limestone, and dolomite in a sweeping nitrogen atmosphere, Joseph, Beatty, and Bitsianes' found that the zone of calcination advanced at substantially a constant rate at a given temperature. The purpose of this paper is to show that their data indicate at least two processes occurring when the above carbonates decompose. It is suggested that there are two processes occurring consecutively, one the limiting process in a given temperature range and the other the limiting process over another temperature range. The data of Joseph and co-workers have been extended by use of the Arrhenius equation, Eq. 1, a relation beween the velocity constant k of a reaction and the absolute temperature T. d In k A ' dT Rr2 A is the activation energy in calories per mol (additional energy that must be added for an average molecule to react), and R is equal to 1.986 cal

Jan 1, 1955

By M Devia, J Rapkoch

This paper is intended to help design engineers, operating staff and plant managers understand the principles of metallurgical gas handling systems design. It also explains operating, safety and energy savings issues that the designer should take into consideration in the design of process off-gas systems for sulfide smelters. Primary smelting reactors, converters, and other off-gas sources impose challenging duty requirements on the various components of the gas handling systems. This paper reviews the design of common system components including the hood for gas capture at the system inlet, gas conditioning, gas cleaning, ductwork, dampers, hot gas fans, and the appropriate use of instrumentation and controls. The engineer must also be aware of how ductwork system effects and heat losses influence system performance. Also, the analysis of a recently-designed gas handling system will be reviewed, which includes high-strength SO2 gas from a smelting reactor, asymmetrically located Peirce-Smith converters, and a gas mixing chamber to mix the gases before they are sent to two acid plants of different sizes.

Jan 1, 2005

By P J. Mathew

Quality and process control in the iron ore industry is based on measurements of ore grade from blast holes through to shiploading. Traditionally this has been carried out using conventional sampling, sample preparation and analysis methods, but on-line analysers are now being introduced for monitoring the grade of important process streams. Once a conventional sample has been collected, it can be analysed for a wide range of elements. On the other hand, on-line analysers measure only a few selected elements, but they provide rapid feedback on grade, which is important for effective quality and process control. In both cases, the linkage between mining, processing and final blending operations at the port is crucial to ensuring that product quality is maintained while production targets are met and the life of the resource is maximised.

Jan 1, 1998

By Jan M. Mutmansky, Y. J. Wang

In the mathematical analysis of electrical networks, the electrical devices are often modeled using idealized network elements such as current sources, voltage sources and resistors. An analogous approach is outlined for the modeling of mine ventilation networks, which can be considered nonlinear resistive networks. The proposed modeling technique uses the following five basic (nonreducible) elements: H, Q, D, R and N. These elements are characterized by their pressure gain or loss, their air quantity and their pressure-vs.-quantity relationships, each of which may be known or unknown. In addition to the definition of the basic elements, the necessary conditions for which there exists a unique solution are discussed. This is performed using theoretical developments derived from electrical circuit theory and illustrated in example networks. The proposed procedures are useful in the solution and characterization of mine-ventilation networks.

Jan 1, 1998

By J. B. Novak

The program describes preventive maintenance practices and controls applicable in situations where maintenance actions are triggered primarily by breakdown or part failure and specification and documentation of detailed maintenance practices are minimal or nonexistent. The presentation describes requirements of organization structure, program administration, implementation and operation, type of benefits expected, and actual benefits derived in selected areas. The principle objectives of the program are to provide quick, inexpensive, and effective controls over maintenance practices and requirements and to establish a nucleus of controls that subsequently can be expanded to cover all maintenance activities.

Jan 1, 1973

By A. Unal

Coal resource characterization usually calls for estimating more than one variable over a block or node simultaneously. Within the realm of geostatistics, each variable has been evaluated independently from the others assuming a lack of significant correlation. Research conducted with coal seams, however, has shown that the variables of immediate interest, such as seam thickness, ash, sulfur content, and density depict some correlation schemes in distinct zones, if not throughout the entire area. The above findings have two immediate consequences : (1) correlation analyses provide guidelines to determine the geologically distinct zones, and (2) where possible, cokriging should be used instead of kriging. This will maximize data utilization decreasing the frequently criticized high estimation errors. The cokriging formulation will also provide more accurate estimates for under sampled variables using better-sampled ones. This is a common case with coal with regard to the non-cored reconnaissance drill holes for which only very few variables were recorded. A case study illustrates the improvements that may be obtained by taking advantage of the intervariable correlations.

Jan 1, 1986