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By W. N. Marchant, P. T. Brooks, P. B. Altringer, R. O. Dannenberg

The US Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines conducted laboratory tests to devise a process for recovering a marketable grade of tungsten from the brine of Searles Lake, Calif. The brine contains only 56 ppm W (70ppm WO3). Using ion exchange resins synthesized by USBM chemists, 98% of the tungsten was extracted from the brine and 92% of the tungsten was recovered as a marketable iron-tungsten concentrate containing 44% tungsten as tungsten trioxide. Although major technical problems have largely been resolved, research is progressing to escalate testing in a process research unit to provide more reliable data for an economic appraisal

Jan 1, 1980

Circuit alterations and adoption of more compact items of equipment have made it possible to increase the capacity of the King Island Scheelite concentrator, both with regard to head grade and feed tonnage, while at the same time increasing total recovery and reducing maintenance costs. The present operation is described, with particular emphasis being placed on alterations made during the last two years to achieve capacity Goals.

Jan 1, 1977

By Paul D. Conatore

INTRODUCTION There are important reasons for a discussion of tungsten resources, reserves, and production in the Circum-Pacific area. First, the world's chief tungsten deposits, as well as most of the world's tungsten reserves and production, occur in this region. It is well known that the world's largest tungsten reserves are located in southeastern China and that for many years, the largest individual mine in the world was there. Although China still has the world's greatest tungsten production, the very high-grade scheelite mine of Canada Tungsten Mining Corporation in the Northwest Territories is the largest producer of tungsten today. There is certainly a great quantity of tungsten in Asia, but the strategic importance of this fact is now offset by the wide distribution of mines and production facilities throughout the world, especially in other parts of the Circum-Pacific area such as Australia, Canada, and the United States. In addition, much of the Circum-Pacific area is comprised of Mesozoic-Cenozoic orogenic belts. These global tectonic units are regarded as very favorable for additional tungsten deposits, particularly scheelite-bearing tactites, and consequently, prospecting and exploration will most likely be concentrated in the Circum-Pacific area. Second, tungsten must be regarded as one of the, most important metals of modern industry because of its very special properties. It has the highest melting point, the highest tensile strength at elevated temperatures, and the smallest compressibility of any metal. The metal also possesses a very high density, excellent corrosion resistance, good thermal and electrical conductivity, and a low coefficient of expansion. As a result, tungsten has found increasing importance in a wide range of industries. From the filament in an electric lamp, to cutting tools and drilling bits, to the exotic radiation shields that protect supersonic aircraft and spacecraft, tungsten plays an indispensable role in our daily lives. The primary objective of this paper is to present an overview of important facets of known and suspected tungsten in the Circum-Pacific area. Resources, reserves, current production, planned capacity expansions, and new operations, as well as an assessment of the probability for development of deposits in the Circum-Pacific area, are discussed. RESOURCES The average crustal abundance of tungsten has been estimated at 0.0015 kilograms per tonne. A comparison of the abundance of various metals in crustal rocks to that of tungsten is presented in Table 1, which shows that tungsten abundance is similar to that of its commonly associated metals, tin and molybdenum. Table 1. AVERAGE CRUSTAL ABUNDANCE OF VARIOUS METALS (Grams per Tonne) [ ] With careful thought, it can be realized that tungsten ore deposits result from the concentration of the metal, through normal geologic processes, to levels substantially greater than its average crustal abundance. The minimum technologically and economically workable tungsten concentration, or cutoff grade, is a function of (1) deposit tonnage, (2) mining and milling methods, (3) production tonnage, (4) capital and operating costs, (5) tungsten market conditions, and (6) value of associated recoverable metals. The tungsten cutoff grade that is currently exploitable at a profit varies from 0.09% W03 to 1.55% W03, reflecting concentration factors from 470 to 8200, as shown in Table 2. Table 2. CURRENT TUNGSTEN CUTOFF GRADES [ ]

Jan 1, 1982

By Clarke P. E

At the end of the recent war, reports became available from Europe of the use of tungsten-carbide inserts in percussion rockdrill bits. These bits were used with small size rockdrills, so that the only advantage gained from the use of the harder, abrasion resistant, tungsten-carbide appears to have been the greater life of the bit. Larger machines, such as used in Australia in conventional practice, had to be discarded to protect the relatively brittle tungstencarbide inserts and the vulnerable bonding with the bit body.As it had been found in machine shop practice that some grades of tungsten-carbide had been produced with considerably improved toughness, it was decided by Gold Mines of Australia Ltd. that drilling practice with tungstencarbide bits warranted detailed examination under Australian conditions, and that drilling tests should be undertaken at Morning Star (G.M.A.) Mines N.L., for which it acts as General Manager and Consultant.These investigations progressed through three stages:1. Preliminary Investigations and Tests.When the investigations were initiated no commercial bits were available in Australia, and manufacture was commenced with improvised equipment from virtual scratch. These early tests indicated that the use of 3 in. bore rockdrills in conjunction with tungsten-carbide insert bits was a 'possibility, and that it was unlikely that a small bore...

Jan 1, 1950

By Zay Jeffries

A. G. WORTHING, Nela Park, Cleveland, Ohio (communication to the Secretary*).-The paper by Mr. Jeffries is very interesting. He is to be commended for his pioneer work in the study of equilibrium systems at the very high temperatures which one obtains with tungsten and molybdenum. There is one statement, however, to which I must take exception. On page 1227, a statement is made which would seem to indicate that the Nela Research Laboratory joined Dr. Langmuir in the recommendation of 3,300°C. as the most probable melting point of tungsten. This is not the case. In. the paper referred to by Mr. Jeffries, I have given 3,630°K. or 3,357°C. as the melting-point temperature for tungsten. Confirming observations by other workers in our laboratory justify the belief that this latter value is correct to within a small part of the discrepancy between the two values quoted.

Jan 12, 1916

By Zay Jeffries

IN this paper, it is proposed to outline a method for the determination of melting points of those metals and alloys having high fusion temperatures. The application of the method as used to determine the melting points of alloys of tungsten and molybdenum will be given. It will be seen from these results that tungsten and molybdenum form a completely FIG. 1.-PARTIAL SECTION OF APPARATUS USED TO DETERMINE MELTING POINTS OF TUNGSTEN AND MOLYBDENUM ALLOYS. isomorphous series. This is also verified by the accompanying photomicrographs. Tungsten and molybdenum have been found to crystallize in the salve system, namely, isometric, and the crystal units are cubes. These determinations were made by examining etching pits in the pure metals.

Jan 7, 1916

By Zay Jeffries

J. W. RICHARDS, South Bethlehem, Pa.-I think that the diagrammatic results can be much more clearly set forth if they are plotted as follows: The present diagram, shown on page 1227 of Mr. Jeffries' paper, Logarithm of Per cent of Maximum Wattage Used plots the variation of wattage with temperature in a very inconvenient and uncertain-way. If, however, you plot as abscissas the logarithms of the wattage, you get very nearly a straight line, so that you can interpolate the values with much greater accuracy than you can by using

Jan 4, 1917

By Daniel Hodouin, Claude Bazin

"This paper examines the economic advantages of tuning the operation of a differential Cu-Zn flotation circuit as a function of metal prices. Three operating strategies are considered in the analysis: 1) the operation of the circuit at planned copper and zinc concentrates grade with maximum recovery of both metals; 2) the operation of the Cu circuit at maximum copper smelter return per ton of ore and of the Zn circuit at a maximum zinc smelter return per ton of ore; and 3) the operation of the circuit at maximum copper and zinc smelter return per ton of ore. The second strategy tunes the copper circuit independently from the zinc circuit, while the third strategy tunes both circuits simultaneously IntroductionMetal prices play a very important role in the mineral industry (Malhotra and Dowling, 1991). In many cases, metal prices can be the basis for the GO/NO GO decision of a mining project (Malhotra and Dowling, 1991; Apostolides, 1983; Davis, 1996). This direct impact of metal prices on company revenues is highlighted in many annual reports. The 1995 Noranda Annual Report indicates that a variation of 10% of the copper price impacts its yearly revenues by $25,000,000. Some mine operators claim to mine stopes as a function of metal prices (Liimatainen, 1996; Hartman, 1992). This impact of metal prices is also recognized by mill operators that seek strategies to tune ore processing circuits to maximize revenues from the concentrate they sell to smelters (McKee, 1991; Barker et al., 1989; Hales and Ynchausti, 1994; Cipriano et al., 1995). In many cases the problem of tuning the operation of an ore processing circuit is complicated by the fact that the ore contains two or more valuable metals which have to be recovered into separate products. The Agnico-Eagle (Robitaille and Cousin, 1995) and Barrick East Malartic (Pelletier, 1996) Cu-Au mines are examples, as well as the Cu-Pb-Zn Brunswick mine (Shannon et al., 1993) or the Cu-Zn Louvicourt (Whiteway, 1995) and Selbaie (Wright, 1995) mines."

Jan 1, 2000

By M. Jackman

"Froth stability is critically important for an effective separation of fine and ultrafine particles using column flotation. While a desirable froth stability is required to facilitate the drainage of entrained gangue particles for secondary cleaning, excessively stable froths could create problems in separation efficiency and down-stream processing. In this work, we demonstrate that a stable foam was produced using a poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) solution at the temperatures below the critical solution temperature. In contrast, very little foam was produced at the temperature above the critical solution temperature (~32 oC) of PNIPAM. We can also tune the foam stability by changing the temperature of wash water. When warm water of temperature of 50 oC was applied, the foam collapsed and diminished. This is probably attributed to the switching of PNIPAM molecules from coiled to a globule conformation as the temperature is increased. Our results indicate that the foamability and foam stability can be tuned by tempartureresponsive PNIPAM. This is the first time that thermo-responsive PNIPAM has been shown to have potential as a modifier of froth stability in column flotation.INTRODUCTIONIn mineral processing, column flotation has become a more prevalent process in the separation of fine mineral particles (typically < 100µm). Traditional flotation cells are sometimes less efficient in selective separation of ultra-fine particles (Kohmuench et al., 2009). The efficiency of flotation columns is dependent on the froth stability at the top of the cell to drain the unwanted gangue particles entrained in the froth. The greater froth height in flotation columns, compared to mechanical flotation cells, gives a longer froth residence time, allowing more of the drainage process to take place before the froth reports to the launderer. Secondary cleaning, by applying a wash water shower to the froth, enhances drainage of gangue particles entrained in the froth, and improves the recovery of the targeted minerals (Finch et al., 2007).While a stable froth is desirable to facilitate drainage of entrained gangue particles, greater amounts of fine particles have been found to contribute to excessively stable froths which could create problems for down-stream processes (Bethell et al., 2012). Operators have tried spraying additional wash water on the froth, and reducing frother dosage to destabilize the froth and to prevent backup at the launderer. The former is sometimes inefficient, and the latter results in unacceptable recovery loss. Currently, the best practice is often the installation of larger froth launderers, adding expensive defoaming agents, and/or using deaeration tanks (Bethell & Luttrell, 2005)."

Jan 1, 2016

By Katherine (Kate) Bruce

Aurora College ? Yellowknife Campus, in partnership with the Northwest Territories Mine Training Society and industry partners, has developed a 6 ? week program on Underground Mining for delivery in Northern communities. The goal of the program is to inform and connect Northern residents to the career potential at existing and future mining operations throughout the Northwest Territories. The program content includes an introduction to the mine life cycle, basic underground mining methods, the use of technology in training via desktop simulators for underground mining equipment, safety in the workplace, and essential skills training (Ready to Work - North) and assessment. Students completing the short program may then choose to continue into a long (12-week) program to be offered at the Yellowknife Campus. This program expands upon the initial introduction and includes modules on NWT geology, environmental studies, underground mining processes and underground mining equipment operation using the larger enclosed cab simulator for a variety of equipment being used at northern mining operations. Success of both programs will depend upon a variety of factors, many of which are outside of the control of the developers of the training modules. These will be investigated throughout the presentation. Connecting northern employers with northern employees is a major concern. It is hoped that through the development and implementation of a program such as this, that the connection can be made and sustained allowing continued employment for the life of northern mining operations.

May 1, 2008

By Gordon T. Clark, Stephen H. Gleaton

This paper discusses the conceptual design of cut-and-cover tunnels currently being considered as one of the replacement options for the earthquake damaged, elevated double-deck highway and seawall built in downtown Seattle 50 years ago. The 4.8 km (3 mile) long, 6-lane improvement consists of 1.6 km (1 mile) of at-grade roadway with aerial interchanges, 1.6 km (1 mile) of large two-level cut-and-cover tunnels along the Elliott Bay waterfront, and retrofit of the 50-year old, 1.6 km (1 mile)long Battery Street tunnel and north transition to grade. Construction of deep cut-and-cover tunnels, in complex glacial geology overlain by hydraulically placed fill immediately adjacent the existing sea wall, will require extensive use of concrete diaphragm walls, ground improvement and dewatering. The potential liquefaction and lateral spreading of the fill materials in this active seismic region pose significant design challenges and risk.

Jan 1, 2003

By L. A. Garfield

Since the start of mining operations at White Pine in 1953, over 22 miles of drifts have been driven for the purpose of developing the ore body. The drifts, normally driven in multiples of three or five headings, serve as conveyor belt routes, ventilation ducts, equipment and haulage roads, and initial access to mining blocks. Development openings in the flat-lying, bedded ore body are driven in rectangular section from 16 to 32 feet wide and from 8. 5 to 16 feet high. The floor level normally coincides with the bottom limit of the chalcocite values and the roof or back is carried at the most competent stratum adjacent to the top of the ore. A development front consisting of five headings and associated crosscuts is advanced at an average rate of about 100 feet per month using conventional drill and blast techniques and equipment. The cyclic nature of the functions involved in driving the openings and the need to include them in production schedules preclude significant improvements in advance rates using current drill, blast, muck, and haul sequencing.

Jan 1, 1969

By John V. Beall

What progress has been made in rapid excavation of tunnels and shafts? Where do we go from here? To get some answers to these questions was the reason that 500 tunnel men-contractors, geologists, professors, lawyers, mining engineers--came to the University of Minnesota May 15-17. The attendance of 500 astonished conference organizer Professor D. H. Yardley, who had anticipated half that number. They came from Japan, South Africa, Austria, Sweden, and Australia to name a few, and an officer of the Corps of Engineers thought all his people should have been there. The Civil and Mining Engineering Departments of the University combined for the program, which was staged by M. K. Cragun for the General Extension Division. The Saga of the Oso Tunnel The present state of the art of rapid excavation is "good." There is little controversy about where we go from here and what&apos;s more, this reporter finds that the technical know-how to automate excavation in any kind of ground is extant, even if it will take some years to achieve this state. In a nut- shell though, the present status can be seen in its various ramifications in the saga of the Oso Tunnel, as told by V. L. "Vic" Stevens of Boyles Brothers Drilling Co. :

Jan 7, 1968

By J. J. Scott, G. H. Bennett

INTRODUCTION Friction Rock Stabilizers, commonly called Split Sets,tm* have been under development since early 1973. Five years of intensive laboratory and field testing led to their introduction to the metal mines in the United States in the fall of 1976. Actual sales started in February of 1977 and, to date, over five million units have been marketed to metal mines. The present rate of useage is near 3 1/2 million units per year which is approximately 50 per cent of all roof fixtures used in the United States metal mining industry. Mr. Richard Hoppe, Senior Editor of Engineering & Mining Journal, in an article of the February, 1979, issue, entitled "Winning the Battle Against Bad Ground", said, "In hardrock mining operations in the western U.S., particularly underground uranium mines where exceedingly difficult ground is common, no roof support system has been accepted more quickly than the Split Set friction bolt invented by Dr. James J. Scott and developed by Ingersoll-Rand Co." This paper describes how Friction Rock Stabilizers function and presents technical data to show the uniqueness of the Friction Stabilizer system. SPLIT SET STABILIZERS The Split Set System is a revolutionary development in the field of ground control. The system produces an interior reinforcement to a rock mass which: *Trade Mark of Ingersoll-Rand Co.

Jan 1, 1979

By J. Donovan Jacobs

An underground excavation project usually is a highly organized complex of different but interrelated construction activities. It is the whole effort, including the necessary tools, which will be referred to as the System. Tunnel-driving and shaft-sinking operations are among the most systematic of construction efforts. Systems are not new in the performance of construction. It is the Systems Concept which seems only recently to have been discovered and made the subject of much study and discussion. HISTORICAL From the seventeenth century, when explosives were first utilized for rock excavation, until the successful application of the rotary-head continuous tunneler in this decade, the cyclical drill-blast-muck-support method has been standard tunnel-driving procedure throughout the world. Whatever improvements occurred were the result of development of better tools for performing the various operations of the cycle. The electric locomotive replaced the mule and permitted the use of larger muck cars. The steam drill, which ended the day of the double jack, was itself quickly made obsolete when compressed air replaced steam as the source of drilling energy. Power shovels were introduced to save the time and money involved in the hand-loading of excavated materials. A cubic yard of rock tunnel muck can be excavated today for just half the man-hours of labor required in 1948. Developments over 20 years which cumulatively have resulted in this economy include: drifter drills mounted on hydraulically controlled booms and positioners; tungsten-car- bide-tipped bits; long feed shells on the drifters, making it possible to drill the full depth of a round without changing steel; better designed,

Jan 1, 1970

By Marco Sonnenschein

Belt conveyors for tunnelling are industry standard and key to high performance of TBM drives. Conveyors reduce traffic in the tunnel and increase safety in the tunnelling process. This paper will illustrate the state of the art of tunnel belt applications in very long and curvy tunnels like the Coxwell Bypass Tunnel Project in Toronto, Canada.

Jun 23, 2024

By G. Adderley, A. Wetherelt

The problems of poor drilling in underground operations have been highlighted on many occasions. Incorrect collaring and poor angular deviation can all lead to an increased block size, dilution, over-break adding to both cost and time, while in a tunnelling operation sidewall damage and a poor percentage pull from a blasted round has similar consequences. This paper sets out to further investigate the ability of the laser scanner method of obtaining drill hole deviations and collaring errors at the face as described by Wetherelt and Williams (2006). Tests were carried out to compare measured inter-hole burdens from this method in comparison to that obtained using a total station survey. To investigate the ability of these methods to accurately determine drilling errors, a field test was carried out through an analysis of a series of pre-drilled blast holes of known inclination and direction. A time-motion study was also conducted for a varied number of holes to assess the usability of each method. In line with current research into blast vibration being undertaken at the Camborne School of Mines, 6 cut blasts were carried out to establish the effect of poor drilling on a blasts success to see whether an increased burden at the toe of a hole had an influence on vibration.

Jan 1, 2009

By Clayr Alexander

Stillwater Mining Co. (SMC) is engaged in developing, extracting, processing and refining palladium, platinum and associated metals (PGM)from the J-M Reef. This geological formation is located in Stillwater, Sweet Grass and Park counties in southern Montana. Associated byproduct metals include rhodium, gold, silver, nickel and copper. SMC’s current mining operations are near Nye, MT. The company is currently developing a second underground palladium and platinum mine, the East Boulder project, about 21 km (13 miles) west of the Nye operations. A 5,650-m (18,550-ft) tunnel is required to gain access to the ore-bearing horizon (J-M Reef).

Jan 1, 1999

By Cherie M. Tilley

The Stillwater Mining Company has acquired a Tunnel Boring Machine to expedite the mine development operations at its Stillwater Mine. The machine purchased by Stillwater was previously owned by Melbourne Metropolitan Board of Works, Melbourne, Australia. The machine was manufactured by Robbins Co. of Kent, Washington. The Stillwater Mine has an extensive system of footwall laterals which are required by the mine development scheme. The initial mine plan called for in excess of 30,500 linear meters (100,000 linear feet) of footwall lateral drifts at a cross section of approximately 3.0 meters in width by 3.75 meters in height (10 feet x 12 feet). A Tunnel Boring Machine was selected for this work. The Robbins machine number is 146-193. This machine is approximately 4 meters (13 feet 5 inches) in diameter. The machine was modified extensively prior to commencing operation at the Stillwater Mine.

Jan 1, 1989

By M. Grun, A. C. Marlowe, I. Littleford

SYNOPSIS A Wirth tunnel borer owned by Anglo American Corporation completed a 1150m long tunnel some years ago and was subsequently extensively modified by Technical Development Services. In 1982 this borer provided new and particularly interesting information In the field of hard rock boring. The abrasive quartzltes traversed proved to be a challenge to the cutter manufacturer and the project team. This paper examines the problems faced, the solutions found and the lessons learnt.

Jan 1, 1983