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By M. K. Foster

Ten horizontal retort zinc blocks of a modified Hegeler design are in operation at Nueva Rosita, Coahuila, Mexico, and produce approximately 170 t of spelter daily, or 62 000 t/year. A block consists of two furnaces of 448 retorts each, making 8960 retorts as the plant complement. Each furnace block is fired with natural gas and air maintaining the combustion mixture in the furnace always slightly reducing. No attempt to recover energy through waste heat boilers is made. The spelter moves to market by rail and truck either in palletized bundles weighing approximately 1060 kg, as loose slabs weighing 26.5 kg each, or as 1088 kg ingots. At present 46% of the metal is exported and 54% is consumed domestically in Mexico. The present day trend toward equalized or alloyed spelter, as well as special shaped castings results in sales of 35% of the entire plant's production. Sulfuric acid is also produced by the Contact Process using vanadium pentoxide as the catalyst. The plant is basically a Monsanto contact system, producing approximately 68 t of 100% sulfuric acid daily. Both 98.5% sulfuric acid and 20% oleum are available. All of the acid made is consumed in Mexico. Shipments are made in 26,900 dm3 tank cars.

Jan 1, 1970

By A. Rubina P.

El presentre trabajo describe las propiedades del mercurio, usos, consumo, precios, reservas de producción, condiciones, así como el proceso que comprende su metalurgia y los factores que intervienen en los hornos rotatorios de la mina Santa Bárbara ciomo la velocidad de los gases, importancia de los refractarios, temperaturas, bafles, control de combustión, refinación y mantenimiento de operación. De otro lado, la Sociedad mineral "El brocal" enfoca el problema de la metalurgia de su mineral de arenisca a partir de la clasificación del mineral en grueso y fino. El primero, será beneficiado en las instalaciones de horno rotatorio, mientras que el fino se tratará a través de la flotación-retortas, flotación-briquetes-horno rotatorio y flotación, lixiviación, electrólisis.

Jul 20, 1960

By Shianny Cruz Vasquez

Peru is a country with a complex physiography due to the Andes uplift that expose the different ore deposits. Actually Peruvian mining produces a variety of metal commodities and has one of the world’s largest mining. It is the third-largest global producer of copper, silver, zinc and tin. Within Latin America is the largest producer of gold, zinc, tin and lead. The importance of this research was to determine the toxic elements source and the current state of surface water and groundwater all the way from the top until it empties into the Tambo River and assess their, that impact have the toxic contaminants on the environment and the human health of the surrounding Communities and provide a management and decision-making tool to prevent socioenvironmental conflicts.

Sep 1, 2017

By Robert A. Clifton

This Bureau of Mines report discusses the mineralogy of zeolites, the properties that make them commercially valuable, the conditions of formation of both natural and synthetic zeolites, and present and potential markets.

Jan 1, 1987

By J. Howard Bird

The purpose of this publication is to discuss grounding mediums and the phases of grounding related to corrosion and cathodic protection. The material presented is believed to contribute to a better understanding of this subject. It also indicates more effective methods of reducing corrosion damage to metal structures and equipment in the mining industry by cathodic protection. The authors do not intend to discuss technical aspects but rather to explain the general principles of this method of inhibiting corrosion. The relationship between soil resistivity, protective grounding, and corrosion is presented. Corrosion causes the annual loss of billions of dollars; which can be greatly reduced. Losses in the mineral industry can be excessive owing to the extensive use of direct-current power, the presence of considerable dampness, and the frequent, indiscriminate use of dissimilar metals.

Jan 1, 1958

By Stephen Gale, David Clarry, Edmund Smith, Jon Feldman

"In 2006, a Canadian steel maker embarked on an ambitious initiative to become “Best in Class in Energy Management”. This initiative provides the framework for this paper, with some augmentation from other energy management projects carried out by Hatch. The initiative focused on identifying energy/GHG management improvements leading to low-cost implementation of energy savings or GHG emission reduction. The key components of the approach were:• Review site energy management practices and benchmark internationally.• Review best technical practices and benchmark against public energy intensity data.• Conducted a site-wide Energy Assessment and physical review of operating areas.• Facilitation of on site-workshops with staff to prioritize savings opportunities, as well as identify and remove implementation barriers.• Development of an Energy Management Action Plan for implementation of improvements.Most organizations can produce, with relative ease, a list of ideas for saving energy, implementing them is the challenge. This paper addresses these issues as well as the profitability of the energy efficiency improvements and the consequences for GHG emissions.IntroductionWhen one of the authors was an undergraduate engineering student at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, the technical drawing instructor made a statement that was both humorous, and mildly profound. He claimed that the most successful engineer is one who is both lazy and diligent. Lazy, in the sense that the engineer is constantly on the lookout for an easier, more efficient, way to do something. Diligent, in the sense that the engineer will work tirelessly to come up with a good technical solution for the easier way. This paper, somewhat of an anomaly in a compilation of technical proceedings, hopes to break the mould a little, and to show a “lazy-diligent” way of reducing the carbon emissions from an industrial facility, using a steel plant as an example."

Jan 1, 2008

By Dan Witkowsky

In an increasingly environmentally conscious world, mining's importance to society has often been misunderstood and even maligned by the public. Extreme and impractical ideas have often been presented to children because of the lack of accurate, timely resource materials available to educators. In the late 1960s. two mining engineers, S.P. "Pi" Warren and C.L. "Lindy" Barker, became aware of this situation. They proposed to develop a summer field course to provide a factual overview of the minerals industry for teachers. The pair believed that teachers could become better informed to educate students, and future generations, about mining. These two Colorado Mining Association (CMA) members felt that such a course could reduce much of the misunderstanding about this vital industry. This could be done by providing a balanced perspective of mining, not only for kindergarten-through-grade-12 teachers, but also for the students they would be teaching during their careers. Students who better understood the minerals industry could better formulate an unbiased view of it. The course would seek recognized authorities from industry, academia and government who would lecture in their respective fields of expertise. The course would provide a total concept of the coal, aggregate, metals and industrial minerals industries. It would include geology, geophysics, exploration, mining, processing, marketing, product applications, economic, mining history, careers, and environmental responsiblity. When possible, site visits would permit educators to view operations and to meet the men and women who are industry leaders. Teachers would pay a small tuition fee. The balance of the program expenses for each teacher would be paid through scholarships provided by industry and individuals. The "total concept" idea obtained the support of the minerals industry. The support of CMA's Education Committee and the Colorado School of Mines (CSM) was obtained in 1968. Colorado's Commission on Higher Education approved teacher recertification credits through CSM's Office of Special Progams and Continuing Education for those successfully completing the program. The first six-week series of classes presenting the total concept of the indus¬try was held at CSM in 1969. In 1977, the CMA Education Foundation Inc. (CMAEF) was established as a Colorado nonprofit corporation. The "Total Concept of the Mining Industry" (Total Concept) course was placed under its sponsorship. CMAEF is dedicated toward this continuing education program (Table 1). In 1994, the course was streamlined to four-weeks for six hours recertification credit.

Jan 1, 1997

By Gerald A. Crawford

"1880s - Unmasking the Sudbury Basin Falconbridge Ltd. turned 60 in 1988 but its roots go back more than a century to the discovery and development of the mineral resources of the Sudbury Basin. Nickel was first identified in the area in 1856 but sustained exploration awaited the early 1880s and the advance of the CPR westward from Sudbury. Rock was laid bare in the right-of-way and by forest fires and logging. Reddish oxidized outcropping or ""gossan"" were exposed, heralding the presence of nickel as the shape of this astounding geological formation gradually began to emerge. Many great mines of the area were opened up in this period on the south rim of the Basin west of Sudbury. To the east the ore dips below overburden, however, and Falconbridge remained a mere dot on the map until the turn of the century when Thomas Edison detected a magnetic occurrence by dip needle."

Jan 1, 1999

By Cristiano José Scheuer

Experiments were carried out aiming to study the influence of micro-abrasive wear test variables and plasma treatment parameters, on the tribological characteristics of low-temperature plasma carburized AISI 420 steel. The first part of this study was conducted in order to evaluate the influence of abrasive particle size, normal load and counter body rotation speed on carburized sample wear behavior; and the second part was conducted in order to evaluate the treatment temperature and time effect on carburized samples wear behavior. Plasma carburizing treatments were performed at 8 and 12 h, for temperatures ranging from 350 to 500°C; and at constant temperatures of 400°C for times between 12 to 48h, and for 450°C for times of 4 to 16h. Micro-abrasive wear test were performed by mean of a calowear ball-cratering equipment using a polished ball of AISI 52100 steel rotating at 80, 120 and 160 rpm, for sliding distances from 2.6 to 104.2 m. Alumina abrasive particles with sizes of 0.05, 0.3 and 1.0 ?m were employed. The normal loads applied on this study were 0.1, 0.3 and 0.5 N. Carburized sample was characterized by mean of OM, XRD and hardness measurements. Worn crater characteristics were evaluated by confocal laser microscopy. Results showed that the transient wear regime prevails along the outer layer length (composed by Fe3C and ?’C), and the steady-state wear stabilizes in the diffusion layer region (composed by ?’C). It was verified that the wear rate and wear coefficient decreases with treatment temperature in the range of 350–450°C and increase for 500°C. It was also verified that the wear rate and wear coefficient decreases with treatment time in the range of 12–36 h (for 400°C cycle) and 4–12 h (for 450°C cycle), and increase for larger treatment times due the chromium carbide precipitation. It was also found that the wear coefficient increases with the increase of abrasive particle size, and decrease with the increase in counter body rotation speed and normal load. Lastly, the analysis of the worn craters indicates the occurrence of grooving and micro-rolling abrasion wear mechanisms.

Aug 17, 2017

By Hal J. Kelly

A picture of the ceramic industrial potential of the Pacific Northwest States is presented by reviewing the present ceramic industries, raw-material resources, and current market demands. A resume is given of the industrial plants manufacturing ceramic ware as well as available information on raw-material resources. No attempt was made to prospect for new deposits but rather to evaluate, insofar as possible, those already known. Since much of the industry is concentrated on the Pacific coast, most of the information available on resources concerns deposits in that area. Large, undeveloped districts in Montana and Idaho, however, offer promise of larger reserves of ceramic raw materials. Average annual production, some operating costs, and annual power consumption are given for each of the plants. Production and some cost figures are listed to show the limited nature of the present industry and to suggest fields open for new development.

Jan 1, 1956

By AIME AIME

THE section delegates assembled Monday morning with the incoming president, W. H. Bassett, in the chair and F. W. Bradley as vice-chairman. The secretary called the roll and urged the delegates to become familiar with the activities of the Institute. He explained the allotment of funds to local sections and the uses to which these funds may be put. He also announced plans for travel by Mr. Bassett and asked the delegates to confer with him as to meetings en route. An invitation was extended for all section delegates to attend the Directors' dinner Wednesday evening. He suggested that local sections hold a meeting once a year under the auspices of each division of the Institute. He further explained the system of choice of publications by members. The question of licensing of engineers was brought up, and the consensus of opinion among the membership was asked for. Because the matter is controversial, no official action has been taken and it was suggested that the' local and State sections act separately in this regard. A. B. Parsons, the assistant secretary, next spoke. In his remarks he indicated surprise that many prominent mining men still did not belong to the Institute, and urged that section delegates make up a list of such prospective members and send it in to the office for study by the New York staff. He also asked that re- ports of all meetings be turned in for publication in MINING AND METALLURGY, and said that the reports

Jan 1, 1930

By E. Amott

A test is described in which the wellubility of porous rock is measured as a function of the displacement properties of the rock-water-oil system. Four displacemet operations are carried out: (I) sponlaneous displaceti?ent of water by oil, (2) forced displacement of water by oil oil in the same system using a centrifuging procetllrre, (3) spontaneous displacement of oil by water. and (4) forced displacment of oil by water. Ratios of the spontaneous displacement volumes to the total displucenlent volumes are used as wettability indicates. Cores having clean mineral surfaces (strongly preferentially water-wet) show displacement-by-waler ratios approaching 1.00 and displacement-by-oil ratios of zero. Cores which ([re. strongly preferentinlly oil-wet give the reverse resu1ts. Neutral wellability cores show zero values for both ratios Fresh cores from different oil reservoirs have shown wettabiltties in tlris te.st covering rrlti~ost 111e conlplrtt, range of thr: te.st. Notvever, nlo.s/ of tlle fresh California cores tested were slightly prcfere111icrlly wclter-\vet. The chrrnge.~ in coro u ('liabilities, as indicated hy this te.st, r~.sril/ing from various CO~P hanrlling procedures tt,ere oh.served. In sonie ca.sc,s /Ire ~,cttahilitio.c. of fresh cores were changell by drxi:~g or 11y e.x/rclct ing with iolcreiii~ or. dioxunc~; in o/h~r cases they were 1101 changed. Co~ltrrc/ of cort,.s ~.ith filtrc~t~c. from water-base rlrilling rilrrrls crlrc.sed littlc change in we/ /ahility ivhile contnct with filtrates frorii oil-hus~ ri1rlcl.s tlecrrascrl the prefcrerlcc, of the, cores for )I.NI Usitig thi,s test to ri.crl~lute n~r~ttubili~y, N .vt~ldy was iilarle of /lie correlmtio~i of wettability with wa/erfloocl nil recovery for orttcrop Ohio sand.stone and for Al~ln-tlunl. Resul/.v indicate thml no single correlatioti between these factors applies to different porous rock syste~n. It is thought that diflerences in pore gen~netry resrrlt in diflrrerrce.~ in this correlurio~z. INTRODUCTTON Most investigators who have reported on the wettahility of porous rock have described such rock as prcferentially water-wet or preferentially oil-wet. In some cases a third classification, neutral wettability. has been used. The efficiency of water floods in each of these wettability groups has been described in numerous publications. Several methods for characterizing porous rock wet tability more precisely have been reported,' " but it appears that because of one weakness or another. none of these has been generally accepted. Early in our studies in this field, it was found that the displacement efficiency of oil by water in a particular porous rock having a strong preference for water was quite different from that in a similar rock having only a moderate preference for water. Thus, there appeared to be a need for a practical, reasonably precise wet tability test. one which could classify porous rocks into 10 to 20 different groups rather than the two or three broad groups listed above. The test developed to meet this need is described in this paper. Also, changes in wettability, as indicated hy this test, resulting from various core handling procedures are discussed. Finally, data showing the corrclation of wettability with waterflood oil recovery for two different types of cores are presented and discussed. Some confusion has resulted from the failure of certain writers to define clearly some of the wettability terms they have used. Accordingly, the following commcnts concerning definitions are offered. The wc t ta-hility of a solid surface is the relative preference of that surface to be covered by one of the fluids under consideration. It is felt that this is the generally accepted definition. The fluids being considered must bc specified (or understood) before the term wettability has any significance. In the work reported here these fluids are water (3 per cent brine) and oil (kerosene). The term preferential wettability is sometimes used, but we think that the word preferential is redundant here and should not be used. Tn line with the definitions of Jennings', a preferentially oil-wet solid surface is regarded as a surface which will show an oil advancing contact angle less than 90" (measured through the oil) in the water-oil-solid system. Oil will spontaneously displace water, if both are at the same pressure, from such a surface. A preferentially water-wet surface is analogous. This is consistent with the wettability definition above. As Jennings has said, frequently the term oil-wet is used to mean the same thing as preferentially oil-wet. However, oil-wet also has been used occasionally referring to an oil-covered surface when the availability of water was limited. To avoid confusion from this source, we do not use the terms oil-wet and water-wet. DESCRIPTION OF WETTABTLITY TEST The following points were considered desirable in a wettability test for our purpose. 1. The test should be a displacement test resembling

By R. S. DeCesare

Operation of the Bureau of Mines raw refuse continuous separation pilot plant is described, including modifications made to plant equipment for improved performance. Products recovered from refuse, many of which have been evaluated by other laboratories and private firms, are discussed. Sampling procedures used in the pilot plant and detailed data obtained from processing refuse from 13 municipalities are presented in appendixes. Fuel evaluations made on combustible fractions of refuse from the various municipalities are also presented. Information and data obtained at the pilot plant have been used to assist many municipalities in solving their urban refuse problems.

Jan 1, 1980

By RUSSELL C. FLEMING

THE important advances that have been made of recent years in mining and milling methods and in mechanical equipment at mines need no re- telling, but there has been a remarkable growth in one type of equipment which has gone nearly unnoticed. That is the increasing use of storage-battery locomotives underground. Since the war the number of these locomotives and their field of use have increased tremendously; their growing acceptance represents an al- most complete reversal of opinion from an earlier period when they were generally looked upon as in- adequate for the strain of mine service. At the time when storage-battery powered units were first making their bid for recognition, the use of power in haulage had already passed through several phases; hand tramming, rope haulage, compressed air locomotives, even gasoline locomotives, had all been used, ending finally in the general adoption of the electric trolley locomotive for practically all power-haulage requirements. It was, and is, conceded that the trolley loco- motive met more adequately the varied and severe conditions of mine service than any previous type of haul- age unit. Subsequent developments have had to endure comparison and surpass in performance that type of haulage before changes would be considered.

Jan 1, 1930

By Paul M. Tyler

The alkali metals , sodium and potassium , and more particularly sodium , occur abundantly in chemical combination with other elements . The elements themselves are available in metallic form but are so active chemically that they oxidize rapidly in contact merely with the air . Potassium will even catch fire spontaneously in air , and both the metals will decompose water with explosive violence . Inasmuch as they are almost as soft as wax they are not suitable for the structural or other mechanical uses characteristic of ordinary metals , and consequently the uses of these elements even in the metallic condition are based upon chemical rather than physical qualities . Sodium metal is used largely as a commercial reducing agent , but potassium metal is rarely found outside of chemical laboratories . Numerous salts and other compounds of these elements enter largely into world trade and are commercially very important , but none of these compounds except sodium peroxide and sodium cyanide are made economically from the metals . Sodium is generally considered as rather an uncommon metal , but in point of annual tonnage produced it is far more important than mercury , magnesium , molybdenum , bismuth, cadmium, cobalt , gold , silver , or the various rarer metals .

Apr 1, 1932

By Satyam Tiwari, Sarat Kumar Das

Tailings from mines and industries impose danger to the environment as evidenced by the recent failures of tailing storage dams. The tailings are mostly non-plastic with silt-size particles, but their behavior is largely dependent on the extreme void ratios of the material. Hence, the critical state provides an appropriate perspective in explaining the behavior of these geomaterials. Based on a comprehensive dataset of non-plastic tailings and non-plastic soils, an attempt has been made here to correlate critical state parameters to extreme void ratios and stress parameters. A hybrid algorithm with multi-objective feature selection (MOFS) and extreme learning machine (ELM) was used to establish the correlation and to identify the most influential input parameters. Based on the information from the proposed hybrid algorithm, a comprehensive prediction model is proposed using multi-gene genetic programming (MGGP) algorithm to facilitate quick estimation of critical state parameters. The performance of both models has been assessed using several performance metrics. The results from the study indicate that hybrid MOFS algorithms perform very well in the prediction of critical state line parameters and the identification of influential features. The findings of the study have significant implications for future research on the safe management of tailing storage facilities.

Dec 22, 2023

By C Dick

Over the past three decades, mining operations have seen a significant increase in the use of contractors for mining, camp management and catering, recruitment, maintenance, power management, and commissioning. More recently contractors have been engaged for stores and logistics, OH&S, environmental, exploration, training etc. In some countries, such as South Africa, the trend is towards total outsourcing of all aspects of a mining operation which is coordinated by the owners’ management team.During the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) more Australian companies considered and/or took on this approach to recruiting for both projects and operations as mining companies were forced to rethink their corporate strategies as commodity prices plummeted to low levels, pushing operations and projects into potentially financially unviable territory.This paper discusses the labour recruitment, commissioning and operating strategy of Western Areas NL (WSA), with the assistance of Independent Metallurgical Operations Pty Ltd (IMO), as it progressed construction, commissioning and operation of the Cosmic Boy nickel concentrator at the Forrestania Nickel Project during and post GFC. The use of IMO contractors allowed Western Areas to mitigate labour cost risk during the uncertainty caused by the GFC and let their management team focus on the task of bringing a new operation into viable and profitable production.

Aug 8, 2011

By Robert C. Steckley

The Bureau of Mines performed a fragmentation experiment in cooperation with Duval Corporation in a porphyry copper-molybdenum deposit near the Sierrita pit south of Tucson, Ariz. This experiment evaluated the fragmentation created in a 10-hole test blast having blasthole spacings of 25, 20, and 15 feet. The 10 blastholes were 9 inches in diameter and contained a total of 17,400 pounds of aluminized slurry blasting agent in 50-foot columns with 60 feet of stemming. Diamond drill core examination was the primary method used to determine the condition of the rock before and after blasting. These core examinations included study of length recovery, rock quality designation (RQD), weight recovery, and size distribution. Topographic surveys were used to measure the rock swell produced by the blast and a fragment size distribution was obtained for the broken material on the surface. Fragmentation to depths of 110 feet was excellent from the 15-to 20-foot blasthole spacing patterns. Good breakage was also produced by the 25-foot pattern although the effects of the blast were not so obvious. In situ leaching tests were not conducted. However, based only on size consideration, all three blasting patterns produced adequate breakage for successful leaching.

Jan 1, 1975

By J. Wiebmer

Some thoroughbred racehorses are great routers (distance runners), others are sprinters. Some racehorses perform best on turf, others on dirt, and some in mud. To be a winner, you have to choose the right horse for the course. It's no different when looking at an electric cable shovel, a hydraulic shovel/excavator, or a wheel loader. Each loading tool has its own zone of application. To be a winner, you have to choose the right horse for your course.

Jan 1, 1993

By Fearnsides W. G.

The second part of the paper, presented at the Midland Institute of Mining, Civil and Mechanical Engineers' general meeting held in Doncaster on 27th May 1916, addresses the post-Carboniferous and pre-Permian movements which brought about the partition of the area and gave to the North Midland district its individuality as a separate coalfield. As earth-movements of several ages subsequent to the Carboniferous have played a part in the formation of this particular coalfield, the aim is to elucidate the effects which belong to the post-Carboniferous and pre-Permian Period and to disentangle them from those of later date. This is done by comparing the geometry of the folded surface of one of the more important horizons in the Coal-Measures with that of the surface of unconformity which divides the Permian from the Carboniferous rocks in South Yorkshire, Derbyshire, and Nottinghamshire

Dec 1, 1916