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By W. C. Sanborn

The Bureau of Mines program of investigation and development of domestic mineral deposits had as its wartime objective the most effective immediate utilization of these resources in the interest of National security. Since the war, the results of individual projects are being prepared for publication as rapidly as practicable. Numerous chromite deposits were examined, among them those of the French Hill Mine in northern California. Situated 16 miles east of Crescent City, 76 miles from the nearest railroad shipping point at Grants Pass, Oreg., this deposit had a recorded yield of about l4,000 tons of metallurgical-grade chromite to the end of 1943. By the end of 1946, total production was more than 25,000 tons, averaging 43 percent Cr2O3, with a chrome:iron ratio of about 2.5:1.

Jan 1, 1948

By Bruno Rodrigues Henriques

O entendimento, controle e otimização do rendimento de aço líquido, em uma aciaria LD, é uma tarefa complexa e desafiadora. Qualquer projeto que se disponha a otimizar o rendimento de aço líquido irá se deparar com enormes dificuldades técnicas e operacionais. A despeito de todas as dificuldades e em função da importância do rendimento de aço líquido, uma vez que o mesmo tem forte impacto no custo de produção, toda aciaria procura manter essa variável de processo sob estrito controle. Esse trabalho se propõe a mostrar todas as etapas da condução de um projeto, desenvolvido e implantado em 2014, que tinha como foco entender, controlar e otimizar o rendimento de aço liquido. Durante o desenvolvimento do projeto, foi encontrado um total de 19 desvios e foram implementadas 23 ações corretivas. O valor do rendimento, que antes do projeto estava em torno de 91,6%, evoluiu para uma média de 93,5% em 2015 e 2016. Esse aumento de 1,9%, em média, no valor do rendimento de aço líquido, proporcionou uma expressiva redução no custo de produção na aciaria.

Aug 17, 2017

By Sidney V. Gold

Should Gold Producers Hedge Their Positions Through : Sales on Forward Markets? Purchases of Put Options? Sales on Spot Market? Forward Markets Assumptions 1. Producer has a known amount of Gold to sell in year ahead. 2. Effect on price is the same whether sold Forward or Spot Market. 3. None of us have knowledge of Future Price Trend. 4. Contange Market prevails in which Forward price premium is approximately equal to rate of interest.

Jan 1, 1983

By R. Leiby

Prior to March 1992, the only component of the lead acid battery that was not recycled by East Penn Manufacturing Company was the sulfuric acid electrolyte. This acid was unusable in new batteries because the iron level was found to exceed new product specifications. The development of a liquid ion exchange process to remove the iron from the acid allows East Penn to currently recover over three million gallons of sulfuric acid annually. The process is based upon the use of an iron selective liquid ion exchange material or solvent to extract iron from the sulfuric acid electrolyte followed by regeneration of the solvent. Equilibrium and kinetic data for the extraction and regeneration steps were collected in order to scale up the process to commercial scale. An electrochemical process for the treatment of the acid used in the regeneration step was, also developed which significantly reduces the volume of strip acid required in the process.

Jan 1, 1995

By Lindaura de Souza Cândido d'Avila

O presente trabalho é parte de um estudo mais abrangente que busca o desenvolvimento da mistura de diferentes tipos de minérios de ferro para a maximização da produtividade na sinterização. Essa etapa do estudo teve o intuito de avaliar as diferentes características do minério de ferro itabirítico e sua influência na produtividade da sinterização em escala piloto. Inicialmente foi realizada a caracterização dos minérios de ferro hematítico e itabirítico oriundos do Quadrilátero Ferrífero. Em seguida, foram testadas em escala piloto misturas de minério de ferro com proporções variadas de minério hematítico e itabirítico. A partir dos resultados de produtividade e de qualidade do sínter obtido foi possível avaliar o efeito do minério itabirítico na mistura de sinterização. Tais resultados indicam diferentes desempenhos desses parâmetros na unidade piloto de sinterização.

Aug 16, 2017

By Henrique Severiano de Jesus

Para uma marcha estável do Alto-Forno é necessário o controle de inúmeras variáveis de sua matéria prima, no nosso caso a discussão é o Coque, elemento resultante de um processo Pirolítico do Carvão mineral, que tem um papel fundamental no processo de Redução do Alto-Forno, onde uma de suas fraquezas é a umidade, pois a sua eliminação propicia uma reação endotérmica, roubando calor do forno, com isso perde-se nos balanços de massa e de produção de Gusa. Mostrar de forma instrutiva o princípio de funcionamento de um Analisador de Umidade, Análise de Laboratório, entre outros.

Aug 17, 2017

By M. M. Fine

A preliminary mineral-dressing study of five samples of East Texas limonitic brown iron ores was conducted as part of the Bureau of Mines program to develop and extend domestic resources of iron ore. The samples were considered to be typical of ore currently being mined and beneficiated by the Lone Star Steel Co. and Sheffield Steel Co. The objective of the research was to investigate those mineral-dressing unit operations that might recover some of the fine iron lost in current industrial wastes or perhaps improve the recoveries when applied to the ores as well. Since current industrial beneficiation practice yields a washed limonite analyzing 41 to 45 percent iron, higher grade concentrates were not sought in this laboratory study. Laboratory investigation included washing and sizing, reduction roasting, and subsequent magnetic separation of the finely ground roasted materials. The results showed that laboratory recoveries of over 80 percent of the iron were possible, for the ores investigated, at concentrate grades comparable to those expected from cur-rent industrial beneficiation practice. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Acknowledgment is made to the Lone Star Steel Co. and Sheffield Steel Co. for supplying the brown iron-ore samples on which this research was conducted.

Jan 1, 1956

By Pedro Henrique Barbosa Souza

A Aperam é uma grande consumidora de gases do ar, principalmente Argônio. A produção de Argônio é feita através de coluna de destilação, onde são também extraídos Oxigênio e Nitrogênio. A modalidade de contrato adotada pela Aperam é do tipo take-or-pay para todos os gases, porém nem todo Oxigênio produzido era consumido. A Aperam então desenvolveu um projeto visando aproveitar esta “sobra” de Oxigênio no seu forno Walking Beam, para enriquecimento do ar de combustão. A utilização de Oxigênio permite reduzir, de maneira indireta, o consumo de Gás Natural neste forno. Após a implantação do projeto a Aperam está apta a consumir acima da capacidade de Oxigênio produzida, sendo necessário implementar uma estratégia de controle que permita limitar a máxima velocidade deste gás na tubulação (risco de explosões) e reduzir a interferência entre os diversos consumidores, o que poderia provocar desarmes ou oscilações na estequiometria dos gases. Para isto foi aplicado técnicas de controle antecipatório. Este trabalho irá abordar as estratégias de controle utilizadas, sua sintonia e os resultados obtidos.

Jul 30, 2018

By E. A. Devuyst

Metallurgical processes involving the use of cyanide such as gold cyanidation, metal plating and flotation, generate effluents containing cyanide and cyanide in complex combinations with heavy metals in quantities exceeding those regarded as being safe for discharge into streams. A new process for destruction of free and complexed cyanide and related-species in wastewaters has been developed at the Inco research laboratories using sulfur dioxide, air and lime. High reaction rates are obtained in the presence of a small amount of copper which acts as a catalyst. Cyanide species can be reduced to as low as 0.1 mg/L in a very short treatment time. Examples of treatment of gold mill effluents and barren slurries, plating rinse waters and flotation liquors or tailing slurries are given.

Jan 1, 1982

By Eder Lúcio de Castro Martins

A Mina de Morro Agudo da Votorantim Metais está localizada na cidade de Paracatu (MG). A mina compreende um depósito de zinco e chumbo e atualmente o método de lavra empregado é o de Câmara e Pilares. O estudo geometalúrgico empregado na unidade tem por objetivo avaliar a performance das câmaras de lavra submetidas a testes de bancada correlacionando características mineralógicas com as etapas de beneficiamento. O minério é constituído predominantemente pelos minerais minério esfalerita (ZnS) e galena (PbS). O trabalho vem sendo desenvolvido com amostras de testemunhos de sondagem e representam as câmaras de lavra dos diversos níveis e regiões da Mina. Além dos testes de bancada que compreendem etapas de moagem, granuloquímica e flotação, as amostras são submetidas às análises químicas e mineralógicas. Foram determinados estatisticamente as classes de teores de alimentação dos testes, com o objetivo de realizar comparações de indivíduos que pertencem à mesma população. As câmaras de lavra são classificadas pelo rendimento geometalúrgico de acordo com a performance da variável recuperação metálica. De acordo com os resultados dos testes em bancada e sua respectiva classificação geometalúrgica, é possível traçar estratégias para que o planejamento de lavras e a usina de beneficiamento possam trabalhar em sinergia, de forma a maximizar o valor econômico de determinada frente de lavra.

Aug 17, 2017

By Léo Daiki Shinomiya

O trabalho apresenta estudos de cenários técnico e econômico para a implantação de uma pequena fábrica cerâmica, através do estudo de caso de uma prospecção de argila vermelha no interior do Pará. O estudo consistiu na execução de sondagem à trado (ST) na área, para cálculo volumétrico da reserva, e recolhimento de amostra para caracterizações em laboratório. A argila coletada foi submetida a análises do teor de umidade, química (Fluorescência de Raios-X) e mineralógica (Difratometria de Raios-X). Um cenário para uma empresa entre micro e pequena produtora de cerâmica foi estabelecido visando estimativas preliminares para um possível empreendimento. A análise de cenários levou a uma possibilidade de implementação de uma unidade fabril de cerâmica com capacidade produtiva de até 140 mil peças/mês. Restrições quanto ao tipo de produto desejado e a característica da argila prospectada devem ser consideradas, podendo ser necessário a mistura de argilas de base “gorda”, com maior quantidade de argilominerais.

Aug 17, 2017

By H. M. . van der Donk

In this work an overview is given about the techniques available for the removal of metallic impurities from molten aluminium. The overview is focused on the removal of iron. Also, some experimental results are given about the creation of iron-rich intermetallic compounds in an aluminium system, which are subsequently removed by gravity segregation and filtration techniques. This work is part of an ongoing research project of three major European aluminium companies who are co-operating on the subject of recycling of aluminium packaging materials recovered from household waste by means of Eddy-Current techniques. Using this technique the pick-up of some contaminating metals, particularly iron, is almost unavoidable.

Jan 1, 1995

By ERIK CHARRIER, ADITYA JUGANDA, Jürgen Brune, Patrick Maier, Gregory E. Bogin Jr

Confined explosions are a major risk in underground coal mine operations. Depending on confinement, ignition location and obstacles in the flame path, methane explosions can transition to detonations. As a result, the severity of mine explosions ranges from minor damage to loss of lives and permanent mine closure. Experimental results have shown that the inclusion of obstacles can significantly increase the flame propagation velocity by inducing turbulence. This research focuses on explosion experiments in a 71 cm diameter, 30.5 m long reactor that includes rock piles as obstacles along with developing the corresponding CFD model that captures the observed flame behavior and interaction with the obstacles. The rock rubble increases the flame front propagation velocity by 500% compared to the maximum velocity observed in the empty reactor experiments. The 2D and 3D CFD models predict the experimental flame front propagation velocity, whereas the 3D model shows a more explicit conformity than the 2D model. Although the computational time to complete the simulation is much less for the 2D model than for the 3D model, the 2D model is not sufficient to simulate cases with rock rubble since it cannot capture the propagation of the flame through the small voids between the rocks with the same effective blockage ratio as the 3D model. The validated CFD model can be scaled up to simulate methane explosions in full scale mine and industrial settings.

Nov 20, 2023

By D. R. Wilburn

This summary of international mineral exploration activities for 2012 draws upon information from industry sources, published literature and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) specialists. The summary provides data on exploration budgets by region and mineral commodity, identifies significant mineral discoveries and areas of mineral exploration, discusses government programs affecting the mineral exploration industry and presents analyses of exploration activities performed by the mineral industry. Three sources of information are reported and analyzed in this annual review of international exploration for 2012: 1) budgetary statistics expressed in U.S. nominal dollars provided by SNL Metals Economics Group (MEG) of Halifax, Nova Scotia; 2) regional and site-specific exploration activities that took place in 2012 as compiled by the USGS and 3) regional events including economic, social and political conditions that affected exploration activities, which were derived from published sources and unpublished discussions with USGS and industry specialists.

May 1, 2013

By J. Richard Lucas

Today, the future of the coal industry is extremely bright because coal can be produced at a cost which makes it competitive with other energy sources. However, the industry has been forewarned that further cost reductions must be made if it expects to remain a serious contender in the growing energy market. Surface as well as underground operations must be improved. The very same elements which affected production a. few years ago still exist today and will continue to be present in the future. Improvement's in production mining equipment, mining methods, and auxiliary equipment have resulted in reduced costs over the past few years. Efforts must be continued toward further reducing costs in areas which have been improved previously, and new areas should be investigated for possible improvements. Therefore, new techniques must be developed which will enable the industry to augment its current efforts in reducing the cost of mining. The logical place to begin evaluating the factors affecting production and cost is in the immediate face area where a substantial part of the total cost of mining is incurred. The coal industry stands to gain much through the development of new techniques for analyzing the numerous variables affecting production and by establishing methods for eliminating or minimizing the adverse effect of those variables which can be controlled. Intuition and trial-and-error methods have been the standard means used to resolve many of the factors which influence production. As a result, many elements are overlooked or ignored because their effect on production is not pronounced and cannot be readily resolved. The need for a method of analyzing such factors was recognized by the Office of Coal Research. Therefore, in April 1962, under OCR sponsorship, a. research project was initiated at Virginia Polytechnic Institute (VPI). The objective of the project was to identify the factors which influence mining costs in the immediate production area, and to develop methods and techniques which will enable the coal operator to minimize production costs. The objective of the research at VPI has been successful, and techniques have been developed for establishing quantitative facts concerning the interrelationships of production activities.

Jan 1, 1965

By Jayme Alex Marques da Silva

A utilização de carvão vegetal na fabricação do ferro-gusa tem ganhado destaque devido a suas vantagens ambientais em comparação ao coque. A necessidade de suprir a demanda de consumo de carvão vegetal pelas siderurgias faz com que os produtores busquem maior produtividade e qualidade através da busca constante na redução do tempo de produção do carvão. O presente trabalho apresenta o desenvolvimento de um modelo matemático tri-dimensional transiente, para simulação da secagem, carbonização e resfriamento no interior de um forno retangular de alvenaria. Foi desenvolvido um modelo acoplado baseado na solução das equações de conservação da quantidade de movimento, energia e espécies químicas. As soluções das equações diferenciais que representam os fenômenos são obtidas através da técnica de volumes finitos. Ao longo do processo de carvoejamento, o modelo considera a transferência de massa e calor associada à cinética de reação de cada componente. O modelo é tridimensional e transiente, sendo capaz de prever detalhes dos fenômenos no interior do forno e sua evolução temporal o que possibilita o controle das fases de fabricação do carvão vegetal.

Aug 1, 2018

By Guilherme Vieira Braga Lemos

Uma superliga a base de Níquel, popularmente conhecida como Inconel 625®, foi estudada no presente trabalho. A Soldagem por Fricção e Mistura Mecânica (SFMM) aplicada a liga 625 foi realizada com velocidades de rotação da ferramenta entre 1200 a 200 rpm e velocidade de soldagem entre 1 e 1,5mm/s. O aporte térmico foi calculado como função dos parâmetros de soldagem empregados. Adicionalmente, análises metalográficas e de microdureza foram realizadas na seção transversal das juntas soldadas. A aplicação da soldagem no estado sólido foi efetiva e resultou em maiores valores de microdureza todas as juntas soldadas. Por outro lado, um aumento na velocidade de rotação causou um aumento do aporte térmico.

Aug 17, 2017

By H. R. Manouchehri

The importance of the grinding environment and its effect on sulphide minerals flotation behavior has been known for many years. The grinding environment may play a role in controlling fine and coarse particle flotation along with dissociation of different chemical species in grinding environment. Dissociation of different chemical species and ions within the process water may result from changing the grinding environment. The mining and mineral processing industry undertakes activities that may impact on water resources. These include use and storage of chemical storm-water management, process water management, mine dewatering and management of tailings. In mineral flotation understanding and controlling water quality is paramount important not only because of its effect on flotation but also with respect to control the quality of the water which is released to the environment. Releasing of different anionic and/or cationic chemical species in the process water results from the interactions among different mineral within the ore, process water, and the milling environment. In fact grinding mill acts as an electrochemical reactor which affects the flotation performances of different value minerals as well as the quality of the tailing products. An increasing in antimony content in process/discharge water at Boliden?s Tara processing plant in Ireland to above limitation level was reported in April 2010 which needed to be controlled. An increase up to 6 times of the permitted level was reported which needed an immediate action to control due to environmental considerations. Therefore attempts were made to detect why this higher amount of Sb is released and how to control and minimize its release to the process/reclaim water. This paper discusses how/why Sb content in process/reclaim water was increased by changing the mill electrochemistry and the strategies were taken into considerations to control it. Different strategies, including electrochemical controlling of the milling section, Fenton process, using Bauxsol in treating the process water, etc., have been considered and tested which are described herein. All strategies taken into consideration for solving the problem were successful which indicated good understanding of the issue and good decision making. Furthermore, for each solution the capital and operational costs were roughly estimated. Accordingly, the Sb content in process/discharge water was controlled to a value lower than allowed limitation, i.e., 1 ppm. Keywords: antimony, water contamination, mill electrochemistry, ag milling, grinding media, eh-ph, sulfide minerals, fenton process, bauxsol, lime addition

Sep 1, 2012

By J Folwell, G Phillips, F Gassner

Geomembranes selected for various applications often start with considering target properties developed by industry organisations such as Geosynthetic Research Institute (GRI), and test methods developed by ASTM and other Standards organisations The geomembrane types are typically, initially selected based on manufacturers recommendations and chemical resistance data from the manufacturer or industry knowledge. Geomembranes considered for this project included materials with material properties that exceeded the minimum target values of various test methods. The difficulty is in selecting which parameters are most important for a particular application and also what service life can be expected for the geomembrane under various chemical and environmental exposure conditions. Accelerated aging testing of candidate geomembranes in simulated exposure conditions can be useful to select the preferred geomembrane and predict the service life of the geomembrane under different exposure conditions. The exposure conditions of immersion in acidic tailings liquor, splash zone and freeboard zone were considered for evaporation ponds on a site with significant heat and UV radiation. Candidate geomembranes considered a range of different types of polyethylene liners. The results of the accelerated aging testing have allowed the selection of the geomembrane for the range of exposure conditions and evaluation of the expected service life of the geomembrane.

Jul 1, 2021

By Warren D. Stanford Stanford

Introduction The Sleeper mine is a near-surface gold mine located in a remote area 56 km (35 air miles) northwest of Winnemucca, NV (Fig. 1). The deposit was discovered in 1984 by an Amax exploration geologist. Favorable drilling results led to feasibility studies and metallurgical testwork. Final evaluation of the mine potential proceeded very quickly. The project received Amax board approval in July 1985. Eight months later, the process plant was fully operational. The first gold ($1 million) was shipped one month later, in March 1986. Total plant capital was $27 million. Payback was achieved in six months. The Sleeper mine was expected to produce 1.6 t (53,000 oz) of gold and 1.3 t (41,000 oz) of silver annually. However, the ore body exceeded all expectations. Production for the first 10 months of operation amounted to 4 t (128,000 oz) of gold and 2.9 t (94,000 oz) of silver. Direct cash operating costs are in the $1.77/g ($55 per oz) range. Amax is actively conducting exploration nearby for additional reserves to extend the mine's life. (See update on page 242.) Geology The Sleeper gold deposit is located on the northwestern flank of the Slumbering Hills and in the Awakening Mining District. Rocks exposed in the vicinity of the deposit are interbedded siltstones, sandstones, and limestones of Triassic age. They are overlain by latite lava flows and tuffs of Tertiary age. Dikes and sills of latite and andesite intrude the sedimentary rocks. Quaternary deposits of mostly sand with minor gravel and clay cover a pediment containing the gold deposit. The sedimentary and volcanic rock units have been transsected and offset by extensive north- northeast trending faults and less abundant northwest trending faults. Both fault systems fractured and prepared the ground for subsequent invasions of mineral-bearing hot spring geothermal waters. The hot spring systems produced widespread hydrothermal alteration and gold mineralization at silicified centers near feeder fault structures. The deposit is hosted by siltstone and latite that have been hydrothermally brecciated. The main breccia is elongated north-northeasterly. The hydrothermal breccia zones appear to dip steeply to the west. Gold mineralization consists of native gold and electrum deposited in two or more high-grade quartz-breccia veins. Lower grade gold mineralization occurs

Jan 4, 1987