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By D Bertoldi, C Haines

"The Waihi Gold Mine (WGM) operated by OceanaGold New Zealand Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of the OceanaGold Corporation of Australia. Traditionally WGM has stockpiled and processed separate campaigns of open pit and underground ore. The ore is processed via a conventional semi-autonomous grinding (SAG) / ball circuit (SABC). The low aspect SAG mill operates in a closed circuit with two 20" cyclones, whilst the ball mill is also a closed circuit with a 10" cyclone cluster. A major wall movement in April 2015 ceased open pit operations indefinitely, 18 months ahead of the mining plan. This immediately reduced the forecast mill tonnage leaving two options: begin campaign milling or change the operating strategy and target lower throughput. Additional cost pressures necessitated improved milling cost efficiency. The immediate ore restriction limited processing alternatives to within the existing major infrastructure. Available comminution circuit survey data laid the foundation for developing a comminution model using the JKSimMet™ software package (version 6, created by KJTech). A number of flow sheet variants were then evaluated based on predicted throughput and efficiency. The comminution models suggested opportunities for improved efficiency lay in reducing throughput and increasing utilisation rather than on/off campaign milling under the existing operating philosophy. A series of process alterations followed, delivering new cost efficiencies that maintained the current $/t processing cost. This paper aims to review the change in circuit performance and examine the decisions and challenges faced following the transition from a high tonnage SABC circuit to lower tonnage SABC circuit.Citation:Haines, C and Bertoldi, D, 2016. The Transition from Semi-autogenous to Autogenous Milling at Waihi Gold, in Proceedings 13th AusIMM Mill Operators’ Conference 2016, pp 303–312 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne)."

Oct 10, 2016

By Saba Mohan

For the three full-scale pile installations, two different high-energy hydraulic hammers were selected for the installation. However, these hammers may not have sufficient energy to drive these large diameter piles at their ultimate capacity following long-term set-up. Nevertheless, these hammers were selected because, soil plug behavior, the generation of excess pore pressures and remolding of soil during driving were expected to reduce the shaft and end bearing resistance, and therefore reduce the energy required to drive these piles to design penetration. Data collected during continuous installation driving and after a series of re-strikes at different set-up times ranging from 1 to 33 days were used as input data for CAPWAP analyses. These results were used to estimate the soil resistance along the pile length and at the toe of the pile, and the soil pile set-up behavior. Validity of the procedures used to predict the soil resistance to driving and predicted blow counts were verified with the field observed blow counts and the energy that was delivered to the pile. Based on combined CAPWAP analyses, the soil pile set-up with time was predicted.

Jan 1, 2002

By R. Tabanrad

This article examines the stability analysis of intake tunnels of Karun III dam & power plant. The tunnels have been excavated with a 3-dimensional and fairly complicated geometry in Pabdeh weak formation rocks at Zagros region. Due to the particular excavation geometry and inapplicability of plane-strain status, the stability of these excavations has been analyzed using both the 3D elastic software Examine 3D and the 2D non-elastic software UDEC simultaneously. The geomechanical parameters have been estimated by back analyzing the measured displacements from instruments, which were installed in the tunnels, and the parameters have been used in non-elastic numerical model. The results of the analysis show that the strains occurred in surrounding rock mass are less than the allowable failure strain and that the tunnels are stable. In addition, considering the results of non-elastic 2D analysis, the areas with unstable potentiality were identified and after the instability occurred at the areas predicted by the model , it was stopped up to the allowable strain limit through installing additional support . Bei diesem Artikel handelt es sich um eine Analyse der Festigkeit der Eingangstunnel des Damms und Elektrizitätswerks “Karoon III”.Die Tunnel haben drei Dimensionen und eine sehr schwierige Form und sind in brüchigen Felsen in “Pabedeh ,in Zagrossgebirge”eingebohrt.Aufgrund besonderer Form der Bohrung wurde ihre Festigkeit durch elastische dreidimensionale Soft-ware analysiert,die gleichzeitig die drei-und zweidimensionale unelastische Soft-ware UDEC benutzt hat.Die geometrische Parameter sind mit Ausnützung der Analyse berechneter eingesetzter Versorgungen,die in Tunnel aufgebaut sind,bewertet.Und diese Parameter sind in Zahlen-Analyse benutzt.Die Ergebnisse dieser Analyse zeigen,dass die Drücke an Felsen weniger als problematischer Grad der Drücke sind und die Tunnel fest sind.Ausserdem wurde mit einem Einblick auf die Ergebnisse der unelastischen zweidimensionale Analyse die eventuellen unfesten Teile bestimmt.Nach entstandener Unfestigkeit an diesen Teilen wurde die problematischeDrücke für Aufbau mehrere Anlagen gestoppt. Cet article examine l'analyse de la stabilité de tunnels de la prise de Karoun barrage III et centrale électrique. Les tunnels ont été excavés avec une 3 dimensionnel et compliqué géométrie dans Pabedeh que la formation faible balance à région Zagros équitablement. Dû à la géométrie de l'excavation particulière et inapplicabilite de statut de tension plane, la stabilité de ces excavations a été analysée en utilisant les deux le 3D logiciel élastique Examen 3D et le 2D logiciel non - élastique UDEC simultanément. Les paramètres du geomechanical ont été estimés en analysant le déplacement mesuré d'instruments qui ont été installés dans les tunnels et les paramètres en arrière a été utilisé dans les modèles numériques non - élastique. Les résultats de l'analyse montrent que les tensions se sont produites dans masse du roc environnante est plus petit que la tension de l'échec admissible et que les tunnels sont stables. De plus, les régions avec potentialité instable ont été identifiées étant donné les résultats de 2D analyse non - élastique, et après que l'instabilité se soit produite aux régions prédites par le modèle, il a été arrêté jusqu'à la limite de la tension admissible à travers installer du support supplémentaire.

Jan 1, 2003

By Tom Burleson

High-speed photography has proven to be an extremely valuable tool for the evaluation of blasting practices in the Warrior Coal Basin. A research project, coordinated by Nelson Brothers Inc. and The University of Alabama's Mineral Engineering Department, has centered on the use of high-speed photography to study and analyze blast performance. A large number of production shots in this region has been filmed and studied. The data obtained from the films have been used to establish graphical relationships between certain blast parameters and overall shot performance. These relationships will be used to develop a computer model that will estimate cast results from a given burden explosive energy combination. This paper describes the methods and procedures used to develop these relationships. The results of the research are discussed along with plans for continuing the research project.

Jan 1, 1988

By Thomas M. Barczak

Wood cribs are used extensively to stabilize mine openings by providing resistance to deflections of the immediate roof and floor and by supporting the weight of unstable rock masses. While the unit costs of these supports are relatively low, their extensive use results in significant costs to coal mining. The Bureau of Mines has developed a model that computes the load capacity of wood cribs as a function of the displacement of the crib structure induced by mine roof and floor convergence. This permits comparison of the loading characteristics of various crib constructions and enables systems to be designed with consideration of the load conditions imposed by the mine environment. The design method matches the stiffness, strength, and stability of the crib structure with expected rock mass behavior to determine a crib design and employment spacing that will provide the lowest cost support.

Jan 1, 1993

By Ellis Clark

THE mining town of Pribram is situated in Central Bohemia, on the western slope of the Heiliger Berg, 30 miles southwest from Prague. Birkenberg, the village in which most of the shafts and ore-dressing establishments are situated, is built on a mountain of the same name. It is about a mile from Pribram, is 1700 feet above the sea, and is surrounded by graywacke rocks of Silurian origin, which are intersected by greenstone dikes, and in the southerly, southeasterly, and southwesterly direction are bounded by granite. The graywacke formations consist on one side of graywacke sandstone and quartzite, and on the other of graywacke slates. These last are separated from the first in the immediate vicinity of the mines by a graywacke seam converted into clay. For many years this so-cal led clay seam (lettenkkluft) was considered as a boundary of the ore deposits in both zones of graywacke. The graywacke formation is divided according to its hardness, structure, texture, and color, into fine, coarse, compact, slaty, whitish-gray, reddish-gray, and black graywacke. The, miner divides the formation into four divisions. The first or lowest division, which is in contact with the granite, consists of a fine-grained dirty gray slate; the -second is a very fine to a very coarse schist, white to reddish-gray in color, and rich in quartz, but containing little mica; the third consists of a slate with a contused cleavage, which has a dirty gray, dark gray, and very often black color and is often graphitic in its composition ; the fourth consists of a fine to coarse-grained graywacke schist, of a grayish-white or reddish-gray color, and rich in quartz. The cleavage in all four divisions strikes from northeast to southwest, and the dip is sometimes northwesterly, sometimes southerly, and often vertical. All four zones are cut through by a great number of diorite and greenstone dikes and chimneys. The thickness of these dikes, which are of

Jan 1, 1881

The 14MW SAG mill at Tarkwa, Ghana, experienced a frozen drop charge incident on 10 February 2010. This caused downtime of 112 hours, a repair cost of $200k and production loss of 162,000 tons, corresponding to a loss of $8.9M. A new locked charge protection system was installed on the two Tarkwa mills on 30 July 2010, mitigating this risk. This system calculates the ore angle in real time while the mill is starting up and trips the mill if the ore angle exceeds a trip angle setting. The calculation of the ore angle is derived from the mill motor rotor currents only - no mechanical transducers are required. The head of Gold Fields West Africa, Peter Turner, says of the new system: "This is excellent work and the type of technology that has had and will continue to have, major opportunity cost impacts on our business."

Jan 1, 2012

By Louis A. Panek

Tests of mine-roof models in a centrifuge show that the suspension effect due to bolting a horizontally bedded mine roof with frictionless surfaces of contact between beds depends principally on the number of bolted beds and their relative flexural rigidities, provided that sufficient bolt tension is exerted to prevent strata separations at the bolt locations. Strata separations tend to occur in the unbolted roof mainly because the beds have unequal thicknesses. "Suspension effect" refers to the transfer of part of the weight of weaker or thinner beds to the flexurally more rigid beds by roof bolts or by any other means. The factors investigated were number of beds in the bolted unit, bed thickness, modulus of elasticity of beds, length of bolts, spacing of bolts across and along the opening, bolt load, and intensity of roof load. The general principles of behavior of the bolted roof beds are explained by an approximate theory. Model test data are used to validate the theory and to obtain an expression for the "suspension efficiency". As the suspension effect actually observed in the models is smaller than that predicted by the approximate theory, the suspension efficiency in general is less than unity. Mathematical expressions are obtained for (1) the change in roof bending stress due to the suspension effect, which is needed for design of a roof-bolting system, (2) the change of roof deflection due to the suspension effect, which may be useful for evaluating the effectiveness of a roof-bolting system, and (3) the bolt load or pre-load that is required to achieve the desired reinforcing effect.

Jan 1, 1962

By James J. Guesk, Robert W. Reisinger, Timothy C. Richmond

A high-altitude (2,900 m [9,500 ft]) historic underground copper mine in Wyoming is discharging copper-laden water with a neutral pH into an otherwise pristine creek. The Wyoming Abandoned Mine Land program is reclaiming the site under a CERCLA deferral agreement. The clean-up goal is to reduce copper in the mine discharge so that the creek can eventually support a trout fishery. A pilot-scale passive treatment test utilizing sulfate-reducing bacteria has been conducted at the site beginning in summer 1997. Test results show significant reduction in copper concentrations in near-freezing mine water at flow rates ranging to 19 liters per minute (5 gpm)

Jan 1, 2000

By V. T. McLemore

Rare earth elements (REE) are becoming more important in our society. REE deposits are found throughout NM. Some REE past production (1950s), as bastnaesite, came from the Gallinas Mountains district, Lincoln County, NM. Several companies and the U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) have conducted exploration programs to identify REE potential. Four types of deposits are found in the district: epithermal REE-F veins, Cu-REE-F veins, REE-F breccia pipe and iron skarn deposits; all are associated with Tertiary peraluminous, alkaline to alkalic-calcic volcanic rocks. District zonation is defined by base metals (REE-F-Cu veins) that form center of the district, surrounded by REE-F veins. The magmatic-hydrothermal breccia pipe deposits form a belt partially surrounding the veins. Iron skarns formed at the top and edge of the trachyte intrusion and are likely the earliest stage of mineralization. In 1991-1992, USBM calculated an inferred resource of 0.487 million metric tons with a grade of 2.95% total REE. With the projected increase in demand of REE, areas such as the Gallinas Mountains district in New Mexico are being re-examined for additional REE potential.

Jan 1, 2011

By J. C. Barker

Alaska, with about 74% of the US continental shelf, is largely unexplored for placers in its vast shallow marine waters. Nevertheless, there are numerous occurrences of marine minerals including gold, platinum, and cassiterite. Offshore dredging has recently begun in the Nome area. State and Federal agencies are preparing additional acreage for leasing. With 76,200 km (47,300 miles) or 54% of the US coastline, Alaska is a vast, largely unexplored frontier for shallow-water marine placers. Despite the general lack of mapping and only sporadic past prospecting, many prospects are known and a major mining operation for gold has recently begun offshore of Nome. Due largely to the demonstrated success of the Nome operation, the US Minerals Management Service is preparing to conduct a lease sale of additional acreage further offshore from Nome. And future sales are being considered elsewhere by both the Federal and state leasing agencies.

Jan 1, 1990

By H. R. Hendricks

THE ore of the Iron King Mine, being very hard and having a very fine crystalline structure, presents many problems in milling that are not present in ordinary lead-zinc ores. This very fine crystallization causes much interlocking of minerals and is most prevalent between the gold and pyrite and the sphalerite and pyrite. The recovery of gold is extremely important in the economic value of the ore and therefore constitutes a large part of the metallurgical problem to be solved. All of the gold is free but it has not been observed in any of the mill products except under very high magnification. Some of the gold is tarnished, and this condition also makes recovery difficult. The gold values have been determined to be highest in association with chalchopyrite and arsenopyrite. The silver occurs mostly in association with galena and tennantite. A small amount of native silver has also been observed occasionally. The galena, being softer than the other minerals, frees much better in grinding. Some oxidation of galena is present in the ore, as the nonsulphide lead content amounts to approximately 10 pct of the total lead. Some oxidation of sphalerite is also present in the ore. Microscopic examination of the zinc concentrate shows many grains in the minus 325-mesh to be half pyrite, together with the fact that some of the zinc is marmatite, makes production of a high-grade zinc concentrate very difficult unless recovery is sacrificed. In the grinding, it has been determined that the flotation feed must be maintained at 85 pct minus 200-mesh to free the minerals sufficiently to make the best economic recoveries. Table I illustrates the effect of fine grinding. It shows that the bulk of the recovered minerals is in the minus 325-mesh size and is the part of the minerals that is more readily freed. The pyrite concentrate is not given in the table because it contains practically no minus 325-mesh. DEVELOPMENT OF PRESENT FLOWSHEET AND MILLING PRACTICE The first milling operation started in 1938, with a mill capacity of 140 tons daily, producing a bulk gold-silver-lead concentrate. After several stages of expansion and changes of the mill flowsheet, the mill is currently treating 380 tons of ore daily and three separate concentrates are produced. In order of their importance and value, these are: (1) lead concentrate, (2) zinc concentrate and (3) pyrite concentrate. The present average grade of mill heads is: gold 0.11 oz, silver 4.00 oz, lead 2.50 pct, zinc 7.60 pct, copper 0.22 pct, iron 22 pet and 30 pct insolubles. Specific gravity of the ore is 3.8. During the period when bulk flotation was practiced, the flowsheet was very simple. The ore was ground fine enough to liberate as much gold, silver and lead as possible. Necessary collectors and frothers were added in sufficient quantity

Jan 1, 1947

Mathematical modelling of continuous rotary vacuum filtration has been limited by the wide range of variables and the absence of connecting equations linking the variables. The filter type and size, mechanical design and predicted performance are generally determined by laboratory leaf tests on representative samples of slurry, or plant samples from an operating filter. A model has been developed which includes the major process variables such as slurry feed rate and concentration, cake thickness, wash water and air flow rates, to predict the filter production throughput, cake moisture and residual solubles. Where possible the model incorporates well established equations relating form filtration, washing and drying rates of the filter cake. Where an equation has not been formulated, standard curve fitting programs have been used to establish an algorithm. The theoretical equations and the derived algorithms are defined in the text. A major feature of the model is that operators, metallurgists, process, mechanical and instrumentation engineers become more aware of the interaction of process variables, the principles of the equipment design and its limitations when operating at peak performance. The model has specific application in the alumina industry where a high moisture content of the filter cake can increase chemical losses and energy costs, and in the coal industry where overseas companies are insisting on lower export coal moistures.

Jan 1, 1989

By Deborah A. Kramer

This Bureau of Mines report presents a cost estimate of the Bayer process, which is used for virtually all cell-grade alumina production. The report will serve as a reference point to determine the economic merits of processes that have evolved from Bureau of Mines investigations on technology for producing alumina from domestic nonbauxitic raw materials. The Bayer process involves dissolving the alumina present in bauxite in a caustic solution at high temperature and pressure. After the un- dissolved impurities are removed, the solution is seeded to produce an alumina trihydrate precipitate. This precipitate is filtered, washed, and calcined to produce the cell-grade alumina product. This cost estimate is for a plant producing 1 million tons of alumina per year. The estimated operating cost is approximately $250 per ton of alumina.

Jan 1, 1983

By S. K. Singh, J. Shepherd

"Feather edging"- a major source of injury and fatal accidents in Australia, South Africa and USA, refers to a phenomenon where the roof, at the goaf edge, falls as a thin wafer of rock often suddenly, over-riding conventional timber breakerlines. It may run down and affect adversely a working bord at distances of 15 metres or more from the goaf edge. Feather edging typically occurs in relatively massive, strong roof strata such as sandstone or conglomerate. This paper presents the results of a mine trial where a concentrated row of fully grouted bolts were able to resist the feather edging in the first comprehensive, monitored trial in an Australian pillar ('total') extraction coal mine.

Jan 1, 1999

By Shi Hongchao, Zou Zou Xinkuan, Zhang Jichun

As drilling and blasting is carried out in an urban tunnel, which is adjacent to an existing building or structure, the balance between blasting-induced vibration reduction and drivage efficiency is a most important issue that must be resolved properly. Therefore, a new cut blast method named Stepped V-cut millisecond blasting (SV-cut) was developed by optimizing the most common used Vertical V-cut blasting method (V-cut). The most significant features of SV-cut lie in the utilization of sublevel interval charging structure and millisecond delay blasting technology in cut hole and the cut-cavity formed from outside to inside sequentially. SV-cut provides advantages of high borehole using ratio, low vibration level, and satisfied advance per attack. Based on the principal of millisecond blasting, the rock fragmentation process and the vibration reduction mechanism of SV-cut are analyzed. Determining methods of blasting parameters, which do have significant effect on vibration intensity and cut-cavity formed quality, are proposed according to the forming requirement of both outer and inner cut-cavity and vibration reduction. In order to compare the performance between SV-cut and V-cut, field blasting experiments were performed in the blasting engineering of Yamalike twin-arc tunnel, which closely passes over aged parallel tunnels. Blasting results show that SV-cut blasting is proven as an effective tunnel blasting method for both increasing blasting effects and decreasing blasting vibration. Comparing SV-cut with V-cut, the SV-cut can increase blasting drivage about 8.5% and reduce the vibration intensity induced by cut hole blasting 30% at least.

Jan 1, 2015

By S. Mellgren, W. Opie

AN equilibrium state of importance in the process of electrolytically depositing titanium from fused chloride electrolytes is that which exists between titanium metal, titanium dichloride, and titanium trichloride. This can be expressed by the reaction titanium concentration of the solution, temperature, and the proportion of strontium chloride and sodium chloride in the solution. Procedure The general procedure used consisted of the following steps: 1) Development of an analytical method for determining Ti+2 and total titanium. 2) Preparation of batches of fused salt solutions containing various amounts of total titanium, Ti+2 and Ti+3 3) Blending of the prepared batches and excess titanium metal in Vycor tubes and allowing the solutions to come to equilibrium. By blending, solutions with different total titanium content could be prepared and equilibrium could be approached from the high Ti+2 and low Ti+2 sides. 4) Studying the effect of titanium concentration, temperature, and the mole ratio of the solvent chlorides, SrC1, and NaC1, upon the equilibrium.

Jan 1, 1958

By C. Graeme-Barber, R. L. Bell, T. G. Langdon

An analysis is made of the formulas and ,methods used to estimate the contribution of grain boundary sliding to the overall strain of a polycrystal. The errors involved in the approximations and/or ,mistakes in earlier work are assessed quantitatively so as to make possible the critical use of previously published data. SINCE it has been found that, under conditions of very slow creep, the strain due to grain boundary sliding (?gb) may contribute as much as 80 pct of the total creep strain,1,2 it is obviously important to have reliable methods for estimating this grain boundary strain. In two recent papers Stevens3,4 has drawn attention to the pitfalls encountered in assessing ?gb. He criticizes 1) the assumptions made in the derivation of some of the formulas for ?gb, and 2) the indiscriminate averaging procedures used for obtaining the quantities substituted in these formulas. These and further criticisms of earlier work are mostly valid. Unfortunately the only formulas and procedures recommended are either impossible or very difficult to apply in practice. Furthermore no attempt is made to assess the errors involved by the earlier approximations or mistakes, and so it is not possible to make critical use of any of these early dab. The present article attempts to improve on these shortcomings by reference to empirical verification of easily applied formulas whose theoretical derivations involve some otherwise unjustifiable assumptions, and by a quantitative assessment of the errors in previous work. DEFINITIONS First it is necessary to define the terms and symbols to be used. The choice of symbols preferred here is a logical combination and extension of the v introduced by McLean5 and the u by Brunner and rant.' In Fig. 1 the two grains X and Y are displaced by the sliding vector AC. u is the component of sliding resolved along the stress axis, v is that measured perpendicular both to the stress axis and to the specimen surface, and w is that measured perpendicular to the stress axis but in the plane of the surface. Two angles define the orientation of the grain boundary: 8, between the stress axis and the surface trace of the boundary, and +, the internal angle on a longitudinal section cut perpendicular to the surface. In computing the strain resulting from the boundary displacement at all the in- dividual boundaries in a polycrystal the components u, v, or w are sometimes averaged along a longitudinal line (i.e., parallel to the stress axis), sometimes along a transverse line, and sometimes at randomly chosen boundaries. Averages obtained in these three ways are given subscripts 1, t, and r, respectively. Stevens rightly calls attention to the possibility of non-equiaxed grain shapes either at the start or at the end of deformation. In this article all values of numbers of grains per unit length will refer to measurements made before deformation. The subscripts 1 and t will be used for the number of grains per unit length obtained along longitudinal and transverse lines, r for that obtained by averaging along a number of randomly directed lines. FORMULAS FOR ?gb ?gt, as a Function of u. An obvious truth is that cgb can, in principle, be obtained by summation of all the v components at the boundaries intersected by a longitudinal line of known length I, viz.: where nl is the number of grains per unit length, parallel to the stress axis, in the unstrained specimen. There are assumptions in the analytic derivation of Eq. [I] due to Brunner and rant' but ~achinger' arrived at Eq. [la] by a rigorous method. Unfortunately the experimental procedure required by Eq. [ la] proves very difficult as boundary migration tends to obscure the points at which the longitudinal line meets the grain boundary and the errors on such measurements tend to be large, see Fig. 2. For example, on a specimen of Magnox AL 80 at a creep strain of 9.7 pct, 300 measurements of u obtained from the points of intersection of a longitudinal line with the grain boundaries gave ul = 8.95 ± 3.58 pm, or an error of ±40 pct, at the 95 pct confidence limit. These large errors due to migration may be avoided by measuring u from the separation of the segments

Jan 1, 1968

By G. A. Vissac, R. G. Minet, N. E. Sylvander

R. G. Minet—The authors' description of the remarkable progress made in the last few years in applying the fluidized solids technique to the problem of lignite drying and carbonization clearly demonstrates that engineering techniques available today may make many processes practical and profitable which a few years ago were considered otherwise. As pointed out in the article, the future of the carbonization step hinges on the value and utilization of low temperature tar. On paper, at any rate, this tar looks like a valuable raw material for the chemical industry to use. Some 50 to 60 pct may be converted to pitch for electrodes, roofing, road tars, and other valuable products; the 25 to 30 pct tar acids could conceivably form a basis for a new low cost resin or plastic of the phenolformalde-hyde type. Yet these materials are so new and dissimilar from available sources that much work must be undertaken by the chemical industry before they will be accepted. Now that the work of Dr. Perry and his colleagues has made a large supply of low temperature tar a real possibility, I would expect the chemical industry to accelerate its work in this field. On the basis of certain data available in the literature it appears possible to produce a more aromatic tar, although in smaller yield, by operating at temperatures in the range of 1300" to 1500°F. Operating a fluidized bed process for lignite at these conditions should be technically possible, at least, and could produce a tar having more familiar characteristics. I wonder if Dr. Parry would care to comment on such a possibility. Incidentally, in our own work on carbonizing coking coals in fluidized beds, using Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia high volatile bituminous coals, we have obtained yields which agree with the correlation given for tar yields vs moisture and ash-free volatile Btu. Our data are slightly under the line, but certainly in the range of the correlation. We have also obtained evidence in support of the authors' statement as to the effect of air on the process. In our pilot plant all the heat required for carbonizing is released by internal combustion of char in the fluidized bed in normal operation. We are also equipped to obtain all carbonization heat by external electric heaters on the shell of the carbonizer while introducing only an inert gas to the process. We note no difference in tar yield or characteristics between the two operations. In the case of the gas, however, it appears that some hydrogen is consumed by the air combustion. We would be interested in hearing in a little more detail about the hot dust and char handling problems at Sandow. Have the authors found char subject to spontaneous combustion? Have they ever tried a coking coal in their pilot plant? V. F. Parry (author's reply)—Production of a more aromatic tar by operation of the carbonizer at 1300" to 1500°F does not appear to be economical. 1) The capacity of a reactor operating at 1500°F would be 30 to 50 pct less than the capacity at 932 °F and the cost of processing would increase materially. 2) The cracking of tar vapors in a reactor requires appreciable time to complete the reactions and it is doubtful that considering the very short time of residence of tar vapors within the reactor (4 to 10 sec after evolution) the basic character of the tar would be changed significantly. This is indicated from the data reported in Table XIV. 3) General studies have shown that it is advisable to operate at the minimum temperature to produce the maximum tar and minimum gas. 4) Operating problems and the maintenance of vessels and reactors, and the hazards of handling hot char, increase with the temperature of carbonization. It is technically possible to operate at temperatures as high as 1500°F, but in my opinion it is not economical or desirable. We believe that the primary tar must be won in the simplest way and then processed alone to change its character for production of desired products. It is interesting to have confirmation of our observations on the reaction of air with the products of carbonization. The major reaction is with the char, fol-

Jan 1, 1957

By O. F. Brown

The use of quality materials (aggregates and asphalt binder) in optimal proportions is the key to producing optimally performing hot mix asphalt (HMA). The Superpave mix design standard in the US introduced specific volumetric and binder property requirements in HMA design. Different methods for HMA constituent proportioning have been proposed in various guidelines. The design process to determine the HMA blend is currently iterative and engineers rely almost exclusively on experience. This approach is time consuming and often does not result in cost-optimal HMA mixtures. This paper introduces a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) optimization model for hot-mix asphalt constituent proportioning. The MILP model minimizes the total mix cost while satisfying all the volumetric, binder and mix property specification requirements. The model has been successfully validated with real-life example. The aggregates and binder ratios from the model were in close agreement with those from the contractor. The Bailey ratios and the gradation constraints were also satisfied. The cost of the optimal mix was $0.804/Mg less than that of the contractors?. This marginal reduction might make all the difference in an industry that is highly competitive. The MILP model also demonstrated that adding RAP to the contractor?s design would reduce the cost of the blend by $5.74/Mg. The virgin binder content was reduced by 1% because of the recycled asphalt contained in the RAP. This work represents the first successful attempt in incorporating both aggregate and asphalt performance requirements into the optimization formulation. Applying these models will ensure the minimum cost mix that meets all constraints and will increase profit margins for plant operators.

Jan 1, 2012