Search Documents

By C. O. Anderson, W. M. Meyers

Since 1922, when a brief report3 on the production and utilization of garnet was issued by the Bureau of Mines, there have been a number of interest—in developments in the technology of that mineral. Greater activity has been displayed in mining, new mills have been erected, and more attention has been paid to improvements in milling so that a more efficient and economical recovery of garnet has been possible. These activities have resulted in larger production; therefore, attempts are being made to broaden the market for garnet abrasives, and to find new uses for the unusual combination of physical properties than this mineral possesses. The writers have recently completed a field study of the occurrence, methods of mining and milling of garnet, and the manufacture and utilization of abrasive garnet products. This preliminary report indicates the most important sources of garnet, the methods by which it is recovered, and the manner in which it is recovered, and the manner in which it is utilized.Chemical and Physical Properties.The term ""garnet"" is applied to a closely related group of minerals which crystallize in the caste forms and possess similar physical properties, although their chemical composition may exhibit greater variation. The chemical composition of the garnet group may be represented by the general formula 3R"" O.R""' 203.3S102, in which R represents the bivalent elements calcium, magnesium, in the manganese state and ferrous iron, R"" represents the trivalent elements, ferric iron, aluminum and chromium in the chromie state. An account of the amorphous substitution of the different bivalent and trivalent elements, specimens whose composition may be represented by a definite formula are rare, the composition of any given specimen generally exhibits treat complexity.

Jun 1, 1925

By Isadora Almeida Rosa

Aços baixo-carbono com microestruturas ferrítico-bainíticos, bifásico, ou multifásicos têm características apreciáveis para a indústria automobilística, pois, combinam resistência, ductilidade e conformabilidade, permitindo produzir chapas mais finas resultando na redução do peso. Com o intuito de avaliar as características mecânicas e microestruturais obtidas através da variação da temperatura de bobinamento, desenvolveu-se um estudo a partir de um aço baixo carbono com microadição de molibdênio e nióbio, onde se verificou a possibilidade de produzir um aço dual phase na forma de chapas laminadas a quente, em escala industrial. Pode-se verificar que para menores temperaturas de bobinamento, obteve-se melhor desempenho quanto ao aumento da resistência mecânica e garantia de uma alta ductilidade vinculados a um refino expressivo no tamanho de grão da matriz ferrítica em conjunto com uma segunda fase com evidência de ilhas de martensita.

Aug 16, 2017

By Roy L. Wilfong, LeRoy R. Furlong, Louis P. Domingues

The bulk and apparent densities , particle size , and surface area of ceria powders derived from the ammonium sulfate , carbonate , nitrate , oxalate , and sulfate salts and heated at 950 ° to 1,500 ° C for 1 to 24 hours were studied . The bulk and apparent densities and particle size generally increased , and surface area decreased with increase in temperature and time of heating ; surface area was more sensitive to changes in temperature and time than the other properties studied . These properties of the ceria powders had a marked dependence on temperature and a lesser dependence on duration of heating at a given temperature ; and the source of oxide and thermal treatment cannot be considered optional in the preparation of refractory powders by thermal decomposition . The ammonium sulfate and sulfate salts heated at 950 ° and 1,200 ° C produced oxide powders with the lowest bulk density , the smallest particle size , and the highest surface area . The highest apparent densities were achieved for oxides resulting from the carbonate and the sulfate but the carbonate - derived material was considerably coarser . The surface areas of ceria powders derived from cerium salts decrease in the order of sulfate , ammonium sulfate , nitrate , oxalate , and carbonate . The observation of these physical properties are useful in predicting the sintering behavior of various oxide powders .

Jan 1, 1964

By C. K. Arthur, N. K. Dumakor-Dupey, B. A. Kansake, F. A. Kaba

Autonomous mining systems have been deployed for improving mine performance. However, there is a fear of job losses. Adoption of autonomous systems is envisaged to be resisted by major stakeholders in Ghana due to high illiteracy and unemployment. This paper assesses the preparedness of Ghanaian mining stakeholders for the adoption of autonomous systems to Ghana’s surface mining industry. Closed and open-ended questionnaires were administered to mine stakeholders. Respondents generally expressed unwillingness to accept autonomous systems into Ghanaian mines due to fear of increased unemployment. We propose setting up a mining education fund (MEF) for training stakeholders in autonomous mining systems. INTRODUCTION Mining contributes enormously to the sustenance and growth of global and national economies through the provision of raw materials, employment, revenues and foreign exchange (Carvalho, 2017; ICMM, 2017; Cordes et al., 2016; Solomon et al., 2008; Walser, 2000). The International Council on Mining & Metals (ICMM, 2014) reported that globally, formal mining employs approximately 2.5 million people. Many resource-rich countries, especially the developing ones, have experienced strong socioeconomic growth propelled by the discovery and extraction of valuable minerals. McMahon and Moreira (2014) reported a positive linkage between mining and sustainable development. They revealed that averagely, resource-rich countries have improved Human Development Index (HDI) scores than countries without mineral resources. Mining remains a crucial industry in Ghana’s economic development (Bermúdez-Lugo, 2016; Amponsah-Tawiah and Dartey-Baah, 2011). Over the years, mining has contributed significantly to the gross domestic product (GDP) of Ghana. In 2013, mining accounted for 1.7% of Ghana’s GDP and about 19% of government revenues (Ghana Chamber of Mines, 2015). The Ghana Chamber of Mines also reported that mining contributed over 50% of foreign direct investment, 37% of export earnings and 1.1% of direct employment revenues. The US Department of Energy (DOE) estimates that 65% of coal, 92% of metals and 96% of industrial minerals are mined using surface mining methods (DOE, 2007). Generally, mining is a capital-intensive venture, with high operating cost, hence there is a constant demand for mining companies to seek efficient cost reduction and production maximization strategies. One strategy being pursued keenly is automation, which is noted to improve productivity, and worker safety at minimal cost. According to Parreira (2013), mining automation involves direct teleoperation whereby workers remotely control the mining process using computers from a control room.

Jan 1, 2019

"One of the functions of the United States Bureau of Mines is to investigate the ability of electrical mining equipment to operate in a gassy mine without danger of igniting explosive atmospheres. To accomplish this purpose, tests are made in which mixtures of gas and air are ignited in the equipment while it is surrounded by explosive atmospheres of the same composition. In such tests, records of pressures developed by the internal ex-plosions are obtained and observations are made of any flames, sparks, or smoke which may issue from bearings and joints. Occasionally the explosion pressures in a mining machine rheostat or a compartment of some other machine reach a value which is judged to be excessive or abnormal.A number of factors are known to influence the explosion pressures, and both German and. British investigators have irate extensive research on their effects. Much of this work had been done with artificial compartment which certain conditions could c held, constant while others were being varied. The U. S. Bureau of Mines has not made any research on a scale to compare with that of the British or German investigators; however, special studies have been necessary from time to time to determine the cause and remedy for high pressures obtained in the routine test of some piece of mining machinery. Thus it has been possible to verify some of tee theories established on a purely experimental oasis by practical tests of machines as actually built for mine use.Some of the factors determined the pressure that will result when an explosive mixture in a compartment or connected compartment is ignited are: (1) The volume of explosive mixture ignited, (2) the percentage of as in the mixture, (3) the amount of coal-dust in the compartment or compartments, (4) the degree of movement or turbulence of the mixture at the time of ignition, (6) tightness of the joints and bearings, (6) the size of opening between, compartments, (7) the distance between the point of ignition and openings, and (8) the cooling, effect of surfaces and of material inclosed in the compartments."

Dec 1, 1929

By G B. Smith

Barrick (Australia Pacific) Limited initiated a trial of Caterpillar’s Minegem autonomous loader technology in 2009 at the Kanowna Belle mine in Kalgoorlie. Autonomous loader technology offers the potential to improve loader productivity, reduce operating costs and improve safety through removing personnel from the mine operating environment. This paper discusses the implementation of the technology at the mine site, the data collected during the trial and quantifies the benefits of using automated loader technology in comparison with teleremote loader operation. The lessons learned from the trial and work planned for the future in respect of this technology is also discussed.

Mar 21, 2011

By Andrew B. Cecala

As deeper seams are continually mined, methane liberation will continue to increase and must be monitored effectively. To effectively monitor and develop appropriate control technology, methane-liberation patterns must be known. The Bureau of Mines recently completed a study to identify specific patterns of face methane liberation during long- wall mining. Both of the longwall faces surveyed had high methane liberation rates. At one longwall face, most of the methane was liberated during cutting of coal by the shearer mining machine. At the second face, a significant portion of methane was emitted from the face and floor. An effective methane-monitoring system would be different for each longwall panel because of the differences in how the gas is released along the face.

Jan 1, 1985

By G. Atesok

Turkey?s EU affairs started in 1963 with the Ankara Treaty. On 31 December 1995 the Customs Union between Turkey and the European Union came into effect. In order to achieve the Copenhagen Criteria?s, Turkey, made laws parallel to the Framework Programs. On 3 October 2005, with the confirmation of ?Membership Framework Document? the negotiation process of Turkey has started. Coal had important role in the industrialization of EU and it is directly related to Energy and Environmental subjects. In this point many restriction became with the some protocols, in last decades. European Union composed Energy and Coal Policy, therefore engaged to reduce the emissions, and made new regulations. This regulations concern Turkey?s energy future, since large; but low quality of lignite reserves of Turkey, it is expected to have some difficulties with Union?s Environmental Legislation during Turkey?s congruity process. With the last natural gas import agreements of Turkey, the production and consumption of coal sunk in last seven years. However, considering environmental sustainability, the role of coal in energy production will rise up in the coming future. In this paper, in terms of Turkey Energy Sector, production and consumption problems of coal discussed and evaluated considering EU?s coal, energy and environmental rudiments.

Jan 1, 2014

Jan 1, 1984

By R. K. Jonas

"Pressure leaching and pressure oxidation in autoclaves are important alternatives in the extractive processing of gold, copper and nickel ores. The application of advanced control to pressure leach and pressure oxidation autoclaves could achieve significant benefits as has been shown in alumina pressure leaching. This paper compares and contrasts alumina digestion autoclaves to other mining autoclaves with respect to advanced controls. The application of advanced control in alumina with over 30 units controlled worldwide, and its benefits will be reviewed. The design and potential benefits from advanced control for pressure oxidation and leaching will be presented.INTRODUCTIONIt is this author's position and the purpose of this paper to propose that advanced control could be effectively applied to autoclaves in the nickel, gold, and copper mining processes. This is based on the proven effectiveness of advanced control on autoclaves used in the alumina industry for pressure leaching of bauxite ores. Incremental, but significant increases in production could be realized by applying advanced control to autoclaves, as evidenced by the alumina industry, and this not being implemented in other autoclaves in the mining industry.In addition, today the mining industry is being challenged to improve their production methods. In some markets like nickel, there is pressure to improve productivity and reduce the cash cost per ton. While in other markets like copper and gold, demand is vigorous with favourable pricing, and there are advantages to increase production and productivity given limited plant capacity. Advanced control has proven its capability to improve mineral processing operations through increases in throughput, recovery, as well as reducing variability. In today's mines, autoclaves are being used to a much larger scale and with much larger importance, thus it would be beneficial to improve operational performance through the use of advanced control.Accordingly, it is the author supposition that an opportunity exists in the mining industry to use a proven advanced control technology to improve the operations and financial performance of mines using autoclaves."

Jan 1, 2012

CONTENTS PAGE BARTON, D. C.-The Eötvös Torsion Balance Method of mapping Geologic Structure (T. P. No. 50) 1 GEORGE, P. W.-Experiments with Eötvös Torsion Balance in the Tri-State Zinc and Lead District (T. P. No. 65). 15 LANCASTER-JONES, E.-The Computation of Eötvös Gravity Effects (T. P. No.75) HEILAND, C. A.-A Cartographic Correction for the Eötvös Torsion Balance-(T. P. No. 52) 17 SLICHTER; L. B.-Certain Aspects of Magnetic Surveying (T. P. No. 120). . . . 18 WEAVER, W.-Certain Applications of the Surface Potential Method (T. P. No.121) LUNDBERG, H.-Recent Results in Electrical Prospecting for Ore (T. P. No. 98). . 20 HOTCHKISS, W. 0., ROONEY, W. J. and FISHER, J.-Earth-resistivity Measure-ments in the Lake Superior Copper Country (T. P. No. 82) 21 LEONARDON, E. G. and KELLY, S. F.-Some Applications of Potential Methods to Structural Studies (T. P. No. 115) 23 MASON, M.-Geophysical Exploration for Ores (T. P. No. 45) 25 The Eötvös. Torsion Balance Method of Mapping Geologic Structure Discussion of the paper of D. C.. Barton, issued as Technical Publication No. 50 with Mining and, Metallurgy, February, 1928. D. C. BARTON.-The field surveys which I have been privileged to use as illustrations for this paper were done for Mr. DeGolyer's companies and were released through his favor. W. J. MILLARD, Tulsa, Okla.-Has any oil been found by the torsion balance in West Texas? D. C. BARTON.-NO new oilfield has been discovered on the basis of torsion balance work. It has had some part in controlling the policy of certain companies in playing the extension of known oil fields. A number of "T. B." structures have been drilled and dry holes obtained. Of those known to the writer, one apparently was a structural high, one is a broad general high but locally low and probably is a deep-seated structural high, one seems normal although the control is poor, and one was considered structurally low but is now suspected by some geologists of being structurally high. E. L. DEGOLYER, New York, N. Y.-A large gravity structure, generally referred to, I believe, as the Crosby County Structure, has been found in West Texas. This structure is perfectly symmetrical with the arrows all pointing toward a common center, very much like the Nash salt-dome pattern in Dr. Barton's paper (Fig. 9). One of the peculiar things about it, from the standpoint of the gravity high, is that it is so

Jan 1, 1928

By L. J. Lindsay

Kaiser Resources Ltd. operates a coal mining complex in Southeastern British Columbia. A large surface mine, a conventional underground mine, and an innovative hydraulic underground mine are presently in operation. The products of these mines are fed to the Elkview plant. This coal has to be prepared to 9. 5% ash and 6'o total moisture for export from the port of Roberts Bank near Vancouver, British Columbia to Japan at a rate of 4. 5 Mltpy. The moisture requirement for the coal product was recently increased to 8. 0% total moisture. The entire operation has been described in various publications (1), (2), (3). Details of the venture will not be repeated in this paper. In this paper we hope to describe the modifications made to the original coal preparation plant in order to satisfy market requirements for quality and quantity of coal.

Jan 1, 1974

By Patricio González Santis, Jacopo Seccatore

This paper documents drilling and blasting activities from gold mining in Ecuador and Chile. First, are described the outdated and often non-rational techniques employed by miners, to provide a general framework of the current methods. Then, it is shown what can be improved and how the current methods can be modified. Finally, are shown some field applications and the comparisons of the results obtained

Feb 1, 2020

By Lang Tao, Jun Wang, Wei Xiao, Wenqing Qin, Pan Cao, Guanzhou Qiu, Key Lab of Biohydrometallurgy of Ministry of Education, Central South University

"The effect of metal cations on the rutile flotation using styryl phosphoric acid (SPA) as the collector was investigated by micro-flotation test, bench scale flotation test, zeta-potential measurements and adsorption measurements. The micro-flotation results indicated that Fe (?) and Al (?) ions in low concentrations had obvious activation on the rutile flotation, and Pb (?) ions in low concentrations had smaller activation of rutile, but Fe (?), Al (?), Pb (?), Ca (?) and Mg (?) have strong inhibition of rutile flotation in high concentrations. The bench scale flotation results indicated ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA), boracic acid, and sodium hexametaphospate can decrease the metal ions concentrations, and increase the recovery of rutile flotation. Adsorption measurements and zeta-potential measurements revealed that Fe (?), Al (?) and Pb (?) ions were adsorbed on the rutile surface, and had interaction with SPA. But when these ions concentration were over the largest adsorption capacity, residual metal ions could occur chemical reaction with SPA.INTRODUCTIONRutile is one of the favored minerals for production of titanium dioxide white pigment, primarily through the chloride manufacturing process (Stanaway 1994; Hou et al., 2013) However, the majority of rutile ores belong to refractory ores, while flotation is one of the most efficient methods to separate fine rutile from gangue (Dolbear et al., 1937). With the flotation development, many effective collectors were successfully applied in the oxide ore. Many reviews have indicated that organic phosphonic acid collectors showed good selectivity on oxide ores such as ilmenite and rutile (Bulatovic & Wyslouzil 1999; Liu & Peng 1999).It is inevitable that many types of metal cations are present in ore pulp. These metal cations significantly influence the flotation of minerals. Liu et al. (2015) showed that Ca2+ and Mg2+ could improve the floatability of spodumene at pH 12.5 and 10.0, respectively. The authors proposed that Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions readily form hydroxy complexes (CaOH(l) and MgOH(l)) and precipitates as (Ca(OH)2 and Mg(OH)2) in strongly alkaline solutions. Fan and Rowson (2000) investigated the effect of Pb(NO3)2 addition as an activator on ilmenite flotation and showed that it could improve ilmenite floatability. The addition of Pb(NO3)2 resulted in an increase of ilmenite zeta potential in both weakly alkaline and acidic aqueous solutions. Mehdilo, Irannajad, and Rezai (2015) studied three kinds of ilmenite of different origins and discovered that both Mg and V had a negative correlation with ilmenite flotation, while the Mn content seemed to correlate positively with flotation efficiency. A number of studies have also showed that Fe3+ can improve the floatability of ilmenite (Fan et al., 2009; Nuri, Mehdilo, & Irannajad, 2014)."

Jan 1, 2016

By B. van Beek, T. Goff, P. Gebski, P. Szyplinski, W. L. Ying

"Monitoring the refractory lining integrity is essential to assure the safety of the operators and to determine the remaining campaign life of a furnace. Early detection of refractory lining degradation is essential to avoid sudden furnace failures and prevent unscheduled shutdowns. In the mid-1990s a stress wave propagation technique was developed and since then it has been utilized by Hatch Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) Group to evaluate furnace linings. For the last 17 years the AU-E technique evolved in terms of hardware, software and signal acquisition and interpretation. Most importantly, based on more than a decade of commercial applications, an extensive database of various failure modes, refractory deterioration trends and material properties has been created. This knowledge base is an integral part of AU-E which progressed from a NDT technique towards a comprehensive approach for furnace condition monitoring. All of the improvements introduced over the last several years have greatly improved the accuracy of the measurements. The data analysis process has also become more time efficient making the critical results available to the furnace operators in a more timely manner. Today the AU-E technology is used on a variety of process vessels in non-ferrous, glass, chemical and iron and steel industries.In this paper we are reviewing the available techniques for furnace refractory lining measurement and discussing the pros and cons of each method. The need for continuous improvement and development of new techniques for refractory monitoring is also emphasized. Finally, we are presenting a number of case studies and comparisons between the physical verifications and the AU-E measurements."

Jan 1, 2015

By Andre L. De Vegt

Hydrogen sulfide is an expensive chemical used in nickel, zinc and copper mining and metallurgical operations for selective recovery and concentration of metals, from leach water streams, acid plant blow down streams, refinery electrolyte bleeds and precious metal, plant bleeds. Hydrogen sulfide is either produced on site by catalytic reduction of elemental sulfur or transported to the site as liquefied hydrogen sulfide (H2S) or as a sodium sulfide solution (NaHS) Biologically produced hydrogen sulfide has economically very interesting, application possibilities in the mining and metallurgical industry. Converting sulfates from waste streams into usable hydrogen sulfide by biological reduction results in operational cost savings in existing lime treatment systems. H2S can be produced biologically for less-than $500/ton S. For the past ten years Paques has been engaged in the development and installation of treatment systems based on biotechnological processes to remove sulfur compounds from water, air and gaseous streams. Paques has designed and installed a groundwater treatment system for the Budelco zinc refinery in the Netherlands to remove sulfate and heavy metals. The hydrogen sulfide produced is used for recovery of metals,, mainly zinc, from the ground water stream. The system has been operating since May 1992 treating a flow of 5000 m3/d. At Kennecott's Bingham Canyon Utah copper mine, a pilot plant started operation in November 1995 to develop the process for selective recovery of copper from leach water using biologically produced hydrogen sulfide from sulfate containing groundwater. Other pilot plants are operated at DOE's Pittsburgh Research Center and at Cominco Research focusing on selective recovery of metals.

Jan 1, 1998

By R. Hurman Eric

The dew-point technique of activity measurements take advantage of the volatility of a component in solution. The pressure of the volatile component over a sample is determined from observations of the temperature at which condensation of the vapor occurs. The method is applicable best when the vapor pressure of the components would differ by about two to three orders of magnitude. Experimentally, this is a closed system involving the use of evacuated and sealed transparent quartz sample probes. Furthermore reliable vapor pressure data of the volatile component is essential along with a specialized high temperature furnace capable of giving reproducible results. In this context, the vertical Dew-Point Furnace (DPF) was designed and built after elaborate trails until enough proficiency was gained for reproducible results. Over the years the DPF was modified and improved. The DPF developed was versatile and could easily be used for activity measurements in the isopiestic mode (another method of measuring activities of a volatile component in a solution). The necessary ancillary systems; namely evacuation-flushing-evacuation followed by sealing of quartz sample probes under vacuum were also perfected over the years. As and when necessary the dew-point technique was supplemented by classical equilibration-quenching method employed on the sealed quartz sample probes to reveal necessary phase equilibrium information. The following were studied utilizing the above technique: (i) Activities in CU2S-PbS and FeS-PbS binaries and CU2S-FeS- PbS ternary at 1200°C; (ii) Activities in Cu2S-SnS and FeS-SnS binaries and Cu2S-FeS-SnS ternary at I200°C; (iii) Phase equilibria and thermodynamic in Cu-Pb-S, Fe-Pb-S, Fe-Sn-S, Cu-Sn-S and Ag-Sn-S systems. Most recently the following systems have been tackled: (i) Phase equilibria and thermodynamics in the Ag-Pb-S and Sn-Pb-S systems; and (ii) Activities in Ag2S-FeS-CuzS-PbS quaternary at 1200°C.

Jan 1, 2003

By John Jiang, Brian R. Hart, Stamen S. Dimov, Aparup Chattopadhyay, Barun K. Gorain

"This paper presents a systematic approach to metallurgy diagnostics using an integrated gold deportment methodology developed for complex refractory gold and copper-gold ore bodies. Quantification of gold deportment for these ore bodies is a challenging task due to reasons such as lower grades, high variability of visible and invisible gold content in different sulphides and iron oxide phases, significant presence of disseminated and composite carbonaceous matters along with associations of various copper sulphide phases. Some case studies are presented in this paper to demonstrate the value of a high confidence gold deportment methodology in developing insights for problem diagnostics and to identify opportunities for metallurgical improvements. A holistic approach involving different fields of expertise is critical for successful development and delivery of solutions for complex ore bodies.INTRODUCTION Studies were initiated on various ore complex ore and also on samples representing various process streams. These complex copper-gold single refractory, double and triple refractory gold ores are mainly composed of silicates and/or carbonates with moderate amounts of clay and mica, along with minor amounts of sulphides and organic carbonaceous matter. Variable proportions of visible gold and “invisible gold” (sub-microscopic gold) were noted in different mineral phases for various ore types and process stream samples. Invisible gold commonly occurs as solid solution or as colloidal-sized particles in different sulphides (pyrite, arsenopyrite, pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite and galena) and other phases (including hematite, magnetite and goethite) for different refractory ores. The dominance of invisible gold and presence of highly preg-robbing along with finely disseminated carbonaceous matters adversely affects gold recovery in flotation and leach circuits for most of these double and triple refractory ores. This paper discusses applications of an integrated gold deportment technique developed for different types of gold and copper-gold ores, namely, complex copper-gold, double and triple refractory gold ores (Chattopadhyay and Gorain, 2014; Chattopadhyay et. al., 2016). Various process streams from flotation and gold leaching circuits were investigated. Different concentrates and tailings samples from flotation circuits whereas feed and discharges from pressure oxidation (POX) and carbon-in-leach (CIL) residues were used from gold processing circuits."

Jan 1, 2018

By P de Caritat, A Davidson, A Mann

Top outlet sediments from the National Geochemical Survey of Australia have been extracted by a partial extraction method for over 50 elements including gold. The partial extraction results from this low-density survey show discrete coherent anomalies for Au in the vicinity of many of AustraliaÆs known goldfields, and in the vicinity of some minor gold occurrences. In several instances catchment outlet anomalies for Au have been recorded from areas not known to contain significant economic gold. Several large economic goldfields are shown to not produce anomalies in catchment outlet samples. A survey of overbank samples in the Swan Avon catchment of Western Australia at double the sampling density shows that low level anomalies (>1 ppb) can be traced back to source using overbank sediments. Follow-up of one of the Au anomalies at Kent River in previously regarded non-auriferous terrain (western Albany-Fraser Belt) indicates a non-economic, but perhaps geochemically significant, Au anomaly with associated pathfinders including palladium. This may indicate that further exploration of the western part of Albany Fraser Belt for Au is warranted. The combination of catchment overbank samples and partial analysis technique has been shown to be effective at locating the source of gold anomalies from initial low-density continental and regional surveys.CITATION:Mann, A, Davidson, A and de Caritat, P, 2013. High resolution soil geochemistry for gold exploration at the continental, regional and prospect scale, in Proceedings World Gold 2013 , pp 167-174 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Sep 26, 2013

By Run Huang, Xuewei Lv, Lei Lei, Guibao Qiu, Chenguang Bai

"The TiO2-rich slag and pig iron can be produced from ilmenite concentrate by the electric furnace process. In this study, ilmenite concentrate was reduced in a vertical furnace equipped with a weighting data acquisition system. The effects of reducing agent (carbon) amount on the iron reduction were studied. The phase transformation, morphology and chemical compositions of reduced samples were investigated by X-ray diffractometry (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), respectively. It was found that the reductive degree of ilmenite concentrate increased with the increase of reducing time. The phases of reduced samples were mostly iron, rutile, Ti3O5 and Fe2TiO5. The mass loss percentage increased with increasing the carbon amount from 8% to 12%. When the carbon amount exceeded 12%, the mass loss percentage decreased with the increasing of carbon amount.IntroductionIlmenite and rutile are the main raw materials for producing titania pigment and titanium metal. With the development of the titanium industry, huge amounts of titanium resources are needed. As sources of high-grade titania mineral decrease worldwide, more attention should be paid to the processes involving low grade mineral such as ilmenite ore. In ilmenite, MgO and CaO are the gangue parts. Therefore, the ilmenite refining becomes more and more popular. In the previous studies, the methods of ilmenite refining are electric furnace smelting, direct acid leaching, selective chlorination and thermal reduction [1]. Electric furnace smelting method is widely used in the titanium industry, however, which consumes a great deal of energies and has a high CO2 emission. Its essence is to remove iron oxides and obtain a high titania slag. So the thermal reduction of ilmenite concentrate is an important step in titanium industry, which can decrease carbon reagent consumption and save energy.Over the past several decades, many studies have been carried out on the mechanism and kinetics of the reduction of different ilmenite ores, which are as follows: The carbothermal reduction of Panzhihua ilmenite initiated at about 860 oC. In the temperatures ranging from 900 oC to 1400 oC, the reaction rate was changed like a shape of “M”. That was to say that the reaction rate increased with the growth of temperature at first, then decreased, afterward increased again and at last the reaction was arrested [2]. The Mohammad A.R group [3, 4] showed that the carbothermal reduction of primary ilmenite concentrate was faster in hydrogen and initiated at a lower reduced temperature than in argon and helium. The reduction in argon and helium had about the same rate and extent. Titanium oxycarbide started at 1000°C in hydrogen. The conversion of primary ilmenite concentrate to metallic iron and titanium oxycarbide at 1200 °C was completed in 300 minutes. Monoxide as the reductant to reduce ilmenite had been studied intensively by a few research groups [5, 6]. The rate and the degree of reduction depended on the formation of a metallic shell of iron which inhibited the transfer of CO to the reaction zones; titanium had a strong effect on the mechanism and rate of reduction of iron oxides. Wang and Yuan [7] studied the reductive kinetics of the reaction between a natural ilmenite and carbon. At temperature below 1100°C, chemical reaction was the rate controlling step, at 1100 to 1250°C mixed controlling was rate controlling step, above 1250°C diffusion through the product layer controlled the reaction. Zhang [8] investigated the reduction of natural, sintered and preoxidized ilmenite concentrates in hydrogen methane mixtures. Preoxidation and sintering of ilmenite concentrates changed their phase composition and caused a sharp decrease in specific surface area of raw materials and an increase in carburization temperature. Sintering also increased the metallization temperature of iron."

Jan 1, 2011