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GOLD has played a part in the development of Australia. The total yield exceeds SIX hundred million pounds sterling, while the glamour of gold-mining and the unfailing demand for the product have enhanced its influence. The production is still considerable, but the yield is less than one-quarter of that twenty years previously, while the number of men employed has dropped from 70,000 to 11,000. Not only has there been a marked decline in production, but it is anticipated that thisdecline will continue, and continue more markedly. It is therefore desirable to ascertain the causes of the decline and inquire into means for diminishing or preventing it.The problem under discussion is far from being only local. Finlay states: The grand feature of the history of the business has been the progress of an economic cycle unfavourable to gold milling. The USA yield fell from $101,000,000 to $44,000,000.South Afriea has for some time produced one-half of the world's gold; yet in the Mining and Scientific Press of 11th February, IH22, General Smuts is quoted as saying that if the premium disappeared entirely 24 out of 34 mines would shut down. The solution, however, might be either general eg, a great advance in the metallurgy of gold; or local eg, a bonus; but before discussing any of the proposed solutions it will be advantageous to review the situation.STATISTICS OF THE PAST AND PRESENT PRODUCTION OF THE WORLD AND OF AUSTRALIAThe inquirer soon finds that there is a good deal of uncertainty, and that much care is needed in collating figures. In some cases a considerable part of the output is not officially reported, and returns...

Jan 1, 1924

By N J. Goodman

The HIsmelt technology was developed and proven in Western Australia (WA) after more than 30 years and several billion dollars of research and development. The HIsmelt technology was transferred to China and is now successfully operating at the Molong plant in Shandong Province, China using WA iron ore fines as the major feedstock. Several more plants are under construction in China, and the technology has been approved by the Chinese Government as an environmentally acceptable alternative to the blast furnace. The unique flexibility of the HIsmelt process offers multiple pathways to decarbonise the production of steel in the near future. These pathways include:  Use of sustainably grown biomass converted to Biochar to replace coal as the reductant.  Pre-reduction of iron ore fines using hydrogen or biomass to direct reduced iron (DRI) powder.  Capture of carbon dioxide from the HIsmelt off gas and geo-sequestration underground. These pathways are highly suitable for the Australian iron ore industry as they utilise:  The large areas of land and long growing season available in Australia for the production of large tonnages of sustainably grown biomass.  Coarse iron ore fines directly without the need for fine grinding and pelletising.  Existing oil, gas and other underground gas reservoirs to store carbon dioxide. The HIsmelt technology will allow Australia to transition from ‘Asia’s quarry’ to Asia’s supplier of low cost, low carbon and high quality metallics that are required to produce ‘green’ steel with net zero carbon dioxide emissions. In addition, HIsmelt pig iron can be converted locally into steel via electricarc or basic-oxygen steelmaking furnaces to supply all of Australia’s demand for green steel.

Nov 8, 2021

By F J. Kelly

A chemical process, based on laboratory investigations, is proposed for the production of high-purity niobium oxide from a pyrochlore-perovsk1te flotation concentrate produced from ore obtained at the Oka, Quebec property of Columbium Mining Products Limited. The method developed included the decomposition and dissolution of the flotation concentrate with hot, concentrated sulphuric acid. The dissolved niobium was purified and concentrated by a solvent extraction step, using methyl isobutyl ketone as the extractant. The niobium was recovered from the extractant with ammonium fluoride solution from which niobium oxide was precipitated with ammonia. Finally, the filtered and washed precipitate was calcined. Ninety-six per cent of the niobium was recovered in a product analysing 99.9 per cent Nzo.. The reagent cost was in the range of $1.00 to $1.25 per pound of niobium recovered. Introduction OVER the past few years, Columbium Mining Products Limited has been engaged in the development of a niobium-bearing mineral deposit in the vicinity of Oka, Quebec. One phase of this program resulted in a flotation process capable of producing concentrates containing up to 50 per cent Nb205? Flotation pilot-plant

Jan 1, 1965

By P. H. Jennings

Commercial tellurium commonly contains heavy basemetal impurities such as lead, copper, iron, etc., as well as selenium and oxygen. The base metals may be removed by vacuum distillation or by zone melting. Vacuum distillation is a convenient method for treating moderate quantities (~ 100 kg.) for the production of a material having a total content of heavy metals in the 10-30 ppm range. By zone melting, it is possible to lower all the heavy metal impurities tm below the limits of spectrographie detection. Neither vacuum distillation nor zone melting is effective for the removal of selenium, but treatment of molten tellurium with hydrogen converts selenium to hydrogen selenide. This procedure is too s low to be considered except as an adjunct to zone melting. In the course of air-melting, many of the more easily oxidized impurities form a dross and may thus be readily removed. Substantial refinement with respect to iron, tin, chromium, aluminum, sodium, silicon, magnesium, calcium and manganese can be achieved in this way. Although tellurium can be electrodeposited from either acid or alkaline solutions of the dioxide, various factors militate against successful electro-refining, amongst which may be mentioned the brittleness of cast tellurium anodes and the tendency for the metal to be deposited in dendritic form, even at low current densities.

Feb 1, 1966

By P. H. Jennings, J. C. T. Farge

Commercial tellurium commonly contains heavy base-metal impurities such as lead, copper, iron, etc., as well as selenium and oxygen. The base metals may be removed by vacuum distillation or by zone melting. Vacuum distillation is a convenient method for treating moderate quantities ( 100 kg.) for the production of a material having a total content of heavy metals in the 10-30 ppm range. By zone melting, it is possible to lower all the heavy metal impurities tm below the limits of spectrographie detection. Neither vacuum distillation nor zone melting is effective for the removal of selenium, but treatment of molten tellurium with hydrogen converts selenium to hydrogen selenide. This procedure is too slow to be considered except as an adjunct to zone melting. In the course of air-melting, many of the more easily oxidized impurities form a dross and may thus be readily removed. Substantial refinement with respect to iron, tin, chromium, aluminum, sodium, silicon, magnesium, calcium and manganese can be achieved in this way. Although tellurium can be electrodeposited from either acid or alkaline solutions of the dioxide, various factors militate against successful electro-refining, amongst which may be mentioned the brittleness of cast tellurium anodes and the tendency for the metal to be deposited in dendritic form, even at low current densities.

Jan 1, 1966

By E. H. van Niekerk

The production of high-strength Iow-alloy (HSLA) steels containing either niobium or vanadium as the principal micro-alloying element is discussed, including recent developments in steelmaking practice that have had a great effect on the development of HSLA steels; strengthening mechanisms, as well as the principles of thermomechanical treatment during controlled rolling on a hot-strip mill; and the results of production heats with various amounts of micro-alloying elements.

Jan 1, 1984

By G. O. Hiers

IN 1948 in the United States, 184,300 tons of lead was fabricated as coverings for electric power and communication cables. Such covering generally is called "sheathing" for the principal lengths of the cables, while the short lead encasements of the joints are called "sleeves." For the purpose of this paper, both lead sheathing and lead sleeving can fittingly be called lead tubing. In the United States in the same year, 34,262 tons of lead was consumed in making extruded lead pipes. Such pipe is employed frequently for water or chemical solution conveyance with gage pressures up to 100 psi. Consequently, the walls are thicker in ratio to diameter than is the case with the cable sheaths. For this discussion, lead pipes can be thought of as tubes or tubing. About 19 centuries ago, the Romans produced metallic lead of about 99.9 pct purity. Evidently this was cast in flat sheets of Y8-in. thickness, for instance. Such sheet of 10-ft lengths was bent around a removable core producing a tube somewhat oval in cross-section and with a typical internal diameter of, say, 3 in. This method of production necessitated a seam or longitudinal joint evidently made by casting the seam metal adherently. The seam metal, as analyzed recently, contains about 1 ½ pct Sn. Blow pipes were said to have been employed when the joint was made. Specimens of such pipe were found both in Italy and in the British Isles. It is believed the pipes conveyed water for drinking purposes and for baths. Numerous specimens are still in existence in a good state of preservation, due to lead's usual inertness in air or water. According to Claude E. Pearson,1 there were various stages in the evolution of lead extrusion presses for making tubes: I. First press by Joseph Bramah, 1797. 2-First successful press by Thomas Burr, 1820. 3-First bridge die press, J. and C. Hanson, 1837. In 1845, Wheatston and Crooke made the first lead sheathed electric cable. Flat lead strip was wound spirally around the insulated conductor. Overlapping edges of lead were soldered. Early cables were also made by pulling insulated conductors into 50-ft lengths of lead tube. Borel in France, and Wesselau are credited with devising the first presses for extruding lead sheaths directly on cables in 1879. In the United States, Eaton, in 188o, and Roberston, in 1885, introduced new presses of improved design. Following Cunningham's original idea of making lead traps and. bends in 1873, the presses apparently were improved and made successfully soon thereafter. Between the years 1930 and 1940, two continuous extrusion presses for lead were developed abroad. One apparently was originated by Dunsheath and made by the Henley Telegraph Works Co. The other was developed by the Pirelli-General Cable Co. CURRENT PRODUCTION In addition to the several descriptive chapters on lead extrusion in Pearson's book, the Metals Handbook2 recently described pipe, sheath, and collapsible tube production. The latter is by impact extrusion.

Jan 1, 1951

By Robert H. Clark

Introduction During the last twenty years, science and industry have been strenuously endeavouring to discover new sources and new kinds of liquid fuels and to work out suitable chemical methods for their production. One of the new possibilities for the production of liquid fuel on a large scale is law-temperature carbonization of various grades of coal. The use of alcohol as motor spirit, in spite of its relatively low calorific value, is being widely investigated. Its production by fermentation of sugars, its recovery from the sulphite liquors of the paper industry, its production directly from wood and also from calcium carbide, have all been considered. At present the most promising line of investigation would appear to be the further development of those technical processes which yield liquid fuels from coal; since science has shown the possibility of preparing all kinds of liquid fuels and even the complete conversion of coal into oils. The present paper will consider briefly: 1. The production of primary tar by low temperature carbonization of coal. 2. The hydrogenation of coal. 3. The synthetic processes of Dr. Franz Fischer.

Jan 1, 1928

By J. A. M. van Liempt

SINCE the discovery of von Laue, that a crystal forms a natural grating for X-rays, our knowledge of the structure of solids has gone forward with rapid strides. This progress is not only of purely scientific interest, but has also yielded direct technological results. One of the most valuable results is the broadening of our knowledge of the structure of pure metals and alloys. To promote these studies it is often desirable to have at our disposal pieces of metal consisting of one single crystal. As is so often the case in the natural sciences, we obtain the best results by making our earliest experiments on pure, simple materials and avoiding unnecessary complications. The Cryogen Laboratory at Leyden followed this method with much success, because the work was done at such low temperatures that the heat movement of the atoms was almost absent. Similarly we can simplify the studies of metals by leaving out of consideration the influence of the grain boundaries and the mutual influence of the crystals by using unicrystalline instead of polycrystalline metal. Methods of making single crystals have been scientifically studied during the past few years. Some methods were already known in the arts, but these have been improved and new methods have been developed. The methods for making metallic single crystals may be divided into the following groups: A. From the liquid state B. From the gaseous state C. Electrolytically D. By recrystallization in the solid state METHOD A 1. Tammann's Method. 1-Tammann succeeded in making bismuth single crystals of a maximum length of 20 cm. by undercooling the molten metal 0.1 to 0.3° G. below its melting point in glass tubes of a maximum

Jan 1, 1928

By J. A. M. van Liempt

SINCE the discovery, of von Laue, that a crystal forms a natural grating for X-rays, our knowledge of the structure of solids has gone forward with rapid strides. This progress is not only of purely scientific interest, but has also yielded direct technological results. One of the most valuable results is the broadening of our knowledge of the structure of pure metals and alloys. To promote these studies it is often desirable to have at our disposal pieces of metal consisting of one single crystal. As is so often the case in the natural sciences, we obtain the best results by making our earliest experiments on pure, simple materials and avoiding unnecessary complications. The Cryogen Laboratory at Leyden followed this method with much success, because the work was done at such low temperatures that the heat movement of the atoms was almost' absent. Similarly we can simplify the studies of metals by leaving out of consideration the influence of the grain boundaries and the mutual influence of the crystals by using unicrystalline instead of polycrystal-line metal. Methods of making single crystals have been scientifically studied during the past few years. Some methods were already known in the arts, but these have been improved and new methods have been developed. The methods for making metallic single crystals may be divided into the following groups: A. From the liquid state B. From the gaseous state C. Electrolytically D. By recrystallization in the solid state

Jan 1, 1927

"The mines of Butte, in addition to the square timber used, consume each year large quantities of round timber, which are called stulls. The Stull business is an important industry, as will be seen from a brief description of the operations of the Mines Timber Co., which institution furnishes most of the stulls and lagging poles used in the Butte mines.Timber produced by the Mines' Timber Co. is mostly cut on the government forest reserve, on California gulch, American gulch and French gulch. To bring the timber to market, a flume 16 miles long has been constructed from Big American gulch to Mill creek. The flume, which heads on Big American gulch, on the Atlantic slope, crosses the Continental Divide at an elevation of 6,525 ft., and delivers timber at Mill creek on the Butte, Anaconda & Pacific railway, which is on the Pacific slope. Timber is loaded on cars at Mill creek and shipped to the Butte mines, a distance of twenty-six miles. There are 29 trestles on the flume line over 25 ft. high. The highest trestle is 78 ft. and the longest is 775 ft. The longest tunnel on the line of the flume is 565 ft. from portal to portal."

Jan 1, 1913

By Richard L. Gordon, William A. Vogely

In this chapter, the principles that determine the procedures selected to transform minerals in the ground into usable commodities are re¬viewed.a I argue here that straightforward mod¬ification of the modern general economic theory of production suffices to meet the practical needs of a mineral economist. Therefore, the chapter is largely a review of the general economic theory of production to which is added discussion of the special prob¬lems of the exhaustibility of mineral resources and the economics of finding and developing economically recoverable minerals. In many cases, propositions applicable to all industries are reviewed because they are not treated ade¬quately in prior texts. In the discussion, use is frequently made of basic concepts of differential calculus widely used in economics. However, this is supple¬mented by simpler verbal and graphical treat¬ments, so that those either untrained in the calculus or, as is often the case, whose skills have grown rusty, can still follow the discus¬sion. Where the argument depends critically on the mathematics, this is noted and the justifi¬cation for including the material is provided. In addition, an appendix outlines the critical mathematics and reviews some of the numerous books published that provide the most readable available introduction to the subject. Further¬more, mineral industries examples are used to suggest the relevance of the theory. THE RELEVANCE OF THE ECONOMICS OF PRODUCTION Three basic steps are involved in establishing the relevance of economic analysis to mineral ¬industries decision making. First, the general theory of production must be defined, and its relationship to the simpler models of production stressed in economics textbooks must be noted. Second, the critical modification-considera¬tion of the problems of discovering and devel¬oping mineral deposits-must be developed. It turns out this too involves a special case of the general theory of production. Third, the concept of an economics of exhaustible resources must be explored sufficiently to suggest why its practical relevance is doubtful (or at least far smaller than the numerous writers on the subject seem to believe). The present approach is heavily influenced by post-1945 developments in economic anal¬ysis. Particularly since World War II, economic theory has drastically changed its scope. First, stress has increased greatly upon viewing the economy as a network of intertwined markets known technically as the general equilibrium system.b In this view, not only is the economy viewed as an integrated system, but critical con¬cepts are viewed somewhat differently than was previously fashionable. Specifically, in general equilibrium models, the concepts of supply and demand are rejected as central concepts in favor of a distinction be-

Jan 1, 1985

By F. K. McKean

Introduction The present paper may be considered as a sequel to a paper, A Process for Cleaning Molybdenite .Concentrate, which was presented by the author at the annual meeting of the Institute last year. In that paper, a description was given of the laboratory work leading up to the adoption of a new process for treating complex molybdenite ores of the Molybdenite Corporation of Canada. A bare outline of mill performance with the new flow-sheet was included. With this writing, the purpose is to describe the highly interesting work of translating laboratory experience into mill practice, to show what changes were required in design to put the scheme on an operational basis, and to point out the gratifying improvements in mill products which resulted from the new procedure. The process has been placed in operation at the La Corne mine of the Molybdenite Corporation of Canada. This mine was operated during the war by Wartime Metals Corporation, and, earlier, by the Molybdenite Reduction Company, which installed a small plant. The property is situated on the highway from Amos to Val d'Or, Quebec. The claims held by the Company are at the boundary between La Corne and Vassan townships.

Jan 1, 1947

By W. A. Dickinson, H. F. Hendershot

THIS paper is a brief discussion of the past and present methods employed by the Huntington Works of The International Nickel Co., Inc., in the production of nickel and high nickel alloy seamless tubing. The various operations for both hot and cold processing will be considered in their natural sequence, together with the processing characteristics of the high nickel alloys and some descriptions of the equipment used. The tools and lubricants currently in use will be described. This discussion will relate primarily to nickel, Monel,† and Inconel,† since these are the most common of the many alloys processed into tubing at the Huntington Works. The nominal compositions of the materials are shown in Table I. CONVERSION FROM SOLID BILLETS TO TUBE SHELLS History The commercial production of seamless nickel and high nickel alloy tube shells is a comparatively recent development, the first nickel shells having been produced in 1922, Monel in 1930, and Inconel in 1931 on rotary-type piercing mills. Rolled or forged billets, ranging from 3 ½ - to 7 ½ in. diam, were pierced to produce shells ranging' in size from 4 3/8 in. OD X 0.180 in. wall to 8 3/8 in. OD X 1.0 in. wall. After piercing, the shells. were further processed by hot rolling, reeling, and sizing. Subsequent to these operations the shells were either supplied to the trade as "hot finished" tubes, or were processed by cold drawing to smaller sizes at the Huntington Works of the International Nickel Co. The extrusion of nickel and high nickel alloys also may be classed as a relative newcomer to the field of hot-forming methods, for it was not until 1928 that the commercial extrusion of these alloys was begun on a 600 long ton vertical extrusion press installed at Zenith Works of Henry Wiggin and Co., Ltd., Glasgow, Scotland. This press did considerable pioneer work and the results were so favorable that in 1937 a -2200 long ton horizontal press was installed. The quality of the inside surface of the tubing produced on this press was superior to that produced by piercing on a rotary-type mill and, as a result of this experience, a 4000 ton horizontal extrusion press was installed at the Huntington Works in 1943. Billet Preparation The first step in the extrusion, process is the selection of ingots with good hot malleability, as indicated by the test described by Martin and Bieber.1 Ingots then are forged into rough rounds which are machined to the desired billet diameter on a "bar peeler." This machine consists of a rotary head which carries the cutting tools and is driven by a 200 hp, dc motor. The feed mechanism consists of hydraulically driven input and output carriages on the respective sides of the cutter head. The diameter of the forgings used and the machined size or "billet diameter" that corresponds to the four different sizes of

Jan 1, 1951

By G. Van Weert

The pellet reactor was developed approximately 20 years ago in the Netherlands for softening drinking water. Since then, some 35 plants have been built, ranging in capacity up to 8500 m3/h. Applications now also include removal of phosphates and fluorides and the production of metal carbonates and sulphides from waste streams. The pellet reactor consists of a fluidized bed, wherein the process solution is thoroughly mixed with the precipitation reagent at special inlet nozzles to give over-saturation of the compound to be precipitated. In water softening applications, the compound is CaCO,. In the case of nickel or other metal waste streams, Na2CO3 solution is added in sufficient amounts to precipitate metal (hydroxy) carbonate on the fluid bed particles. These grow typically to dense spheroids, which are removed when they reach 0.8 to 1.0 mm diameter. These spheroids are easily dewatered, free flowing and low dusting. The latter property is becoming an attractive advantage in connection with new plant hygiene regulations. The operation of a 60 cm diameter pellet reactor on nickel containing plating waste is described and the properties of the produced nickel carbonate spheroids are discussed.

Jan 1, 1993

By C. S. Simons

This paper presents a review of the extractive processes used in the production of nickel, with emphasis on developments since the beginning of the Second World War. Attention is given to the factors, many outside the nickel industry itself, which determined the direction of process research and strongly influenced the ultimate commitments to industrialize the resulting developments. An example of such a factor is the sudden surge in demand, far exceeding the then available nickel production capacity, that was caused by the advent of World War II; the result was the first serious consideration ever given to low- grade laterites as a viable source of primary nickel. Other factors discussed include such items as process development in the extraction of other metals - particularly copper; the availability of increasingly sophisticated materials of const- ruction; the advent of the "environmentalist" and related political developments; the massive escalation in the price of energy - particularly oil. The paper concludes with an attempt to forecast the nature of the most effective nickel process of the future, based on extrapolation from the economic and political situation that exists today.

Jan 1, 1988

Most types of nuclear power reactors use uranium dioxide fuel. Power reactors using natural uranium dioxide'fuel are of special interest to countries such as Australia that have their own uranium supplies. A wide range of uranium dioxide powders can be fabricated and the ideal one flows readily, presses without the need for binders or lubricants, sinters to the required density and gives low reject rates at all fabrication stages. Sinterable uranium dioxide is usually produced via the ammonium diuranate route. The A.A.E.C. is aiming to demonstrate production of nuclear grade uranium dioxide from Australian concentrates, improving technology where possible. Details are given of the dissolution, solvent extraction, precipitation, filtration, drying, and calcination-reduction steps. Solvent extraction from sulphate media is also under study with a view to developing a process to produce a nuclear grade product at the mine treatment plant site,

Jan 1, 1969

Most types of nuclear power reactors use uranium dioxide fuel. Power reactors using natural uranium dioxide fuel are of special interest to countries such as Australia that have their own uranium supplies. A wide range of uranium dioxide powders can be fabricated and the ideal one flows readily, presses without the need for binders or lubricants, sinters to the required density and gives low reject rates at all fabrication stages. Sinterable uranium dioxide is usually produced via the ammonium diuranate route.The Australian Atomic Energy Commission is aiming to demonstrate production of nuclear grade uranium dioxide from Australian concentrates, improving technology where possible. Details are given of the dissolution, solvent extraction, precipitation, filtration, drying, and· calcination-reduction steps. Solvent extraction from sulphate media is also under study with a view to developing a process to produce a nuclear grade product at the mine treatment plant site.

Jan 1, 1970

By Roberto Pimentel de Souza

CURD started producing pellets in 1969, with one two-million ton straight grate plant. In the beginning of April '73, the second unit came on stream with an additional capacity of 3 million TPY of pellets. In January '77, the third unit started, bringing the annual capacity to 8 million TPY. For the present year 3 more units, 3 million each, are expected to begin production. CVRD's experience is given about the use of different binders and additives. Over the years several kinds of pellets have been produced to satisfy the market requirements. General quality information is given regarding each.

Jan 1, 1978

By C Carbonneau

In order to successfully produce columbium pyrochlore concentrates, St. Lawrence Columbium and Metals Corporation had to face two principal problems met in several new operations but possibly made more acute than usual owing to the newness of the project. 1.-The ore is particularly complex, as it is made up of an elaborate intermingling of carbonates and discontinuous ultra-alkaline rock bodies of various ages and types in which no less than seventy mineral have been re-ported. Obvious petrographic or structural controls are lacking. Ore boundaries have to be defined on the basis of assay results and the determination of several minerals which occur in trace amounts. 2.-The pyrochlore concentrates produced had to com-ply with a set of stringent specifications. This fact, combined with the low Cb205 content of the ore, necessitated the use of a beneficiation process that would have to operate at a concentration ratio greater than 100:1. A brief description of the mill circuit is given. Mill stability was obtained through extensive mineralogical study of the mill feed coupled with close geological and engineering control of the mining operations.

Jan 1, 1965