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By Walters GW

A countercurrent method of metal refining using crystallization and reflux is discussed. 4n account is given of the development of this technique for the separation of silver and bismuth from lead using bench-scale studies to the present small pilot-plant unit (around one tonne per day) in the "Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO)" Division of Chemical Engineering.

Jan 1, 1975

By C. Dupuis, P. Waite, S. Leboeuf

Casthouses throughout the aluminium industry commonly use chlorine gas as a fluxing agent for furnace and in-line treatment of molten aluminium alloys. Its positive impact on the removal of alkali elements and non-metallic inclusions is well known. Nevertheless, the elimination of its use is highly desirable due to the safety and environmental risks associated with storage and handling. Over the past decade, the aluminium industry has significantly reduced its chlorine consumption. This has been achieved by maximizing the chlorine gas utilization efficiency during metal processing, and by the chlorine replacement for crucible and furnace metal treatment applications. Operation of sealed in-line treatment units without chlorine is now possible, but with lower or inconsistent removal efficiency penalties for alkali and inclusions respectively. This paper reviews the progress made at Arvida Research and Development Centre regarding the reduction of chlorine and the development of an alternative to chlorine for in-line metal treatment without penalizing the metallurgical performance.

Jan 1, 2006

By John D. Ridge

Here are summarized 162 papers, published between 1933 and 1967, that deal with various aspects of ore genesis. Emphasis is placed on additions to, or modifications of, ore-formation theory, no matter what type of deposit is discussed. More space is given to papers on the formation of base-metal sulfides solely because more papers are written on this subject. The final conclusion is reached that a chemically and geologically sound theory for the genesis of ore deposits can be built around the concept of concentration of ore e’ements in a magmatically produced ore fluid and around such surface processes as may act to concentrate economically valuable materials from rocks of any origin exposed at the surface.

Jan 1, 1968

By C Gunther

Many definitions have been advanced and many limitations advocated in the use of the terms, veins, lodes and ledges. The following definitions appear to follow the best usage. A fissure vein, according to Lindgren, is a mineral mass tabular in form as a whole, though often irregular in detail, filling or accompanying a fracture or series of closely set and intimately related parallel fractures in the enclosing rock, the mineral mass having been formed later than both the country rock and the

Jan 1, 1932

By John G. Henning

Unplanned ore dilution has a direct and large influence on the cost of a stope, and ultimately on the profitability of a mining operation. This paper presents results of a study on the influence of a variety of factors on ore dilution in a blasthole stoping environment. A series of 3-D numerical models were developed and analyzed to examine the effect of mining depth, stope geometry and stope setting within the orezone extraction sequence. To quantify modelled ore dilution from the three-dimensional simulations, the ore Dilution Density (DD) is a term introduced in this study to denote potential hanging-wall overbreak. It was found that hanging-wall overbreak is not significantly influenced by depth alone, and that stopes with large or small axial ratios are more stable than large rectangular stopes. It was also demonstrated that, in addition to stope dimension, the amount of unplanned dilution differed according to stope type. Five stope types were identified, based on their position within a tabular blasthole mining sequence. The methodology presented in this paper can be adopted to develop mine-specific design tools for the estimation of ore dilution associated with a proposed mine design. This can prove extremely helpful in the process of underground mine planning and optimization.

May 1, 2007

By Megha Patel

"The objective of this project was to investigate the application of Prompt Gamma Neutron Activation Analysis (PGNAA) technology to provide real-time on-belt elemental analysis of feed ore in base metal sulphide processing, in this case at the Mount Isa Mines Zinc-Lead Concentrator Heavy Medium Plant (HMP). After initial exploratory testwork proved successful, a Geoscan On-Belt Elemental Analyser was retrofitted onto the existing HMP feed conveyor. Dynamic calibration of the Geoscan was conducted based on laboratory XRF analysis results of the HMP feed conveyor hammer autosampler samples from May to November 2013. Comparison of the Geoscan results to the laboratory XRF analysis results during and after dynamic calibration indicated the technology had acceptable accuracy to be incorporated into HMP process control. The variation between the two sets of data includes all primary sampling, sample preparation and XRF analysis errors as well as the Geoscan errors themselves. The Geoscan instrument precision must be calculated separately through a duplicate sampling campaign and independent laboratory analysis before extending the scope of its range of application beyond HMP process control. The expected benefits of integrating the Geoscan real-time data into HMP process control are optimised HMP metal recovery, improved cost efficiency and improved stability of the downstream processes (milling and flotation). Utilisation of the Geoscan will also enable improved feedback to mines on grade control and dilution, and provide additional information on individual ore types when fed as campaigns to HMP."

Jan 1, 2014

By Gungor Tuncer, Ali Kahriman

"In bench blast design, not only the technical and economical aspects, such as block size, uniformityand cost, but also the elimination of environmental problems resulting from ground vibration and airblast should be taken into consideration."

Jan 1, 1999

The mined-out Old Waite volcanogenic Cu-Zn deposit lies in the Noranda mining district of northwestern Quebec. The deposit has a distinctive pipe-like zone of alteration beneath the massive ore, extending into the stratigraphic footwall. The hydrothermal metasomatism within the alteration pipe produced a concentric zonation. with a peripheral quartz - sericite - chlorite mineral assemblage surrounding an axial core of magnesian chlorite - Phlogopite.

Jan 1, 1989

By Fernando Linares Quiroa

El diseño y operación de la mina es un proceso importante para la construcción de un modelo de cuerpo mineralizado. En este sentido, el presente texto describe la trascendencia del modelo geológico, construcción y uso de este para la extracción del mineral, donde este es una representación de la realidad que se genera a partir de la información predecible y proporciona a los geólogos e ingenieros de planeamiento los recursos más adecuados para una efectiva selección y extracción del mineral tanto física como económicamente. Asimismo estos bloques permiten la manipulación de la información contenida en estos a una escala local y describen contenido sobre las características tales como: leyes, dureza, peso específico, RQD, litología, mineralización, alteración, metalurgia, etc. Finalmente, los usos que se dan a los modelos de bloques se aplican al control del mineral, planeamiento a corto, mediano y largo plazo, el cáculo de los recursos geológicos y las reservas minerales, constituyéndose en la base para la optimización y del diseño del tajo.

Jul 31, 2003

By R. Karl Zipf, Kousick Biswas

The main objective of occupational health and safety research is to minimize or eliminate the events that may cause fatal or non-fatal injuries to human workers. A commonly used technique is to devise an “incident prevention plan”, which is more often the product of thorough investigations of past reported incident events. Incident documentation and methodical reporting and systematic and thorough data collection, often help identify the root cause of the incident – in other words, the etiology of the incident. These retrospective analyses of the incidents can efficiently identify the future steps to take to achieve the objective of minimizing occurrence of “events of interest”. This paper introduces a novel technique – “Taxonomic Analysis”, which identifies the root causes of an event (an incident in this case) and can provide future direction for corrective measures to reduce the probability of occurrence of the event. A taxonomic analysis involves systematic and organization of data based on observation, description, and classification. This paper utilizes the rock fall related incident narratives, available with the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) database (1984-1999), for a taxonomic analysis. The study found that 67.6% of groundfall incidents occurred in supported areas with the remainder (32.4%) in unsupported areas. Some form of rock mass failure appears to cause about 50% of groundfall incidents, although in 39.7% of the overall groundfall incidents or two-thirds of those involving rock mass failure, the exact nature of the rock mass failure could not be determined from the narratives. Human activities factors such as scaling or barring down, drilling or bolting, and setting timbers or cribbing accounted for another 34.5% of the groundfall incidents. Finally, support system failures made up the remaining 15.5%. Results from this taxonomic analysis may suggest focus areas toward which preventive measures and future research activities could concentrate.

By J. G. Mravec

The SO-called gas-tube method as developed by Hare, Peterson and Soler for determining the type and content of gases in molten steel is particularly adapted for determining the hydrogen content in molten steel. The development of this method has been quite completely discussed in a paper published by these co-workers in 1937.' The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to familiarize with this method those who arc not well acquainted with it. The principle of the gas-tube method is as fol1ows: One end of an evacuated gas tube is sealed with a very thin copper disk. when this end of the tube is immersed in a test spoonful of molten steel, the copper disk melts almost immediately, allowing a portion of the steel to be drawn up into the evacuated space. Any dissolved gases, and those produced by reactions between the components of the steel during freezing, are liberated into the unfilled portion of the sampling tube. A blob of steel that forms on the immersed end of the tube after the sample is drawn up seals up the end, making it airtight again. The evolved gases are subsequently drawn out of the gas tube through a suitable valve and analyzed by means of an Orsat apparatus. The volume of the sampling tube is sufficiently large so that a pressure considerably below atmospheric is produced after the gas evolution. The low pressure is necessary to effect a nearly complete removal of gases from the steel. Construction oF Sampling Tube The sampling gas-tube apparatus is illustrated in Fig. I. Seamless S.A.E. tubing used for section A is first cut into 7-ft. lengths. Through cxperiencc it was found necessary to use two sizes of tubing for this part, "is-in. and 3/4-in., respectively. The smaller tubing is generally used on the hotter or lower carbon steels. If the inside wall of the tube A is coated with grease or oil, it should be burned out before being machined as follows: One end is machined on the inside diameter to a depth of 34 in., so as to form a seat for a 7/8-in copper disk, which is stamped out from 0.005 to 0.007-in. thick copper sheet. The other end is machined on the outside diameter to a diameter of 1 5/16 in., to take a small reservoir or trap member I?. About 4 in. below the same end, a 1/2-in. hole is drilled to receive the 1/2-in. copper tubing leading to the large reservoir C. The inside of tube A is then thoroughly cleaned with a round wire brush, such as is generally used to clean out shotgun barrels. It is very important that the surface be absolutely free of rust or any nonmetallic coating. Next, the thin copper disk is soldered in place with low-melting silver solder.

Jan 1, 1945

By Francesco Montanari, Gianni Schena

"Recent improvements in X-ray computed tomography allow investigation of objects several tens of millimetres in dimension with spatial resolutions in the order of a few microns. These improvements are made possible by coupling the micro-focus technology adopted by some of the latest cone-beam X-ray sources with an increase in the efficiency of the detectors. The micro-focus technology allows the production of clearer images at high magnification by reducing the penumbra (fuzziness) associated with larger focal spot size.Even higher resolutions can be expected in the next few years with the commercialisation of nano-focus X-ray tubes. In practice one can inspect a system of fine composite particles and analyze the different mineralogical phases in each individual particle. Computed tomography allows accurate liberation studies, e.g. providing liberation spectra or washability data in tens of minutes. However, on-line application of micro-focus computed tomography is unlikely in the foreseeable future, despite rapid development.Dual-energy (DE) radiography is another X-ray technique, which allows retrieval of the volumetric content of valuable components in two-phase particles in a fraction of a second. A digital radiograph of a single two-phase particle produces a grey level image, where the luminosity of the pixels is determined by the sum of the attenuation levels of all the structures. Thus morphological and compositional effects concur to produce the radiographic image, which does not allow retrieval of the composition of the particle, as the 3D-structure of the particle is compressed into a 2D-image, with an obvious loss of information. Thus, in principle it is not possible to discriminate between thick, comparatively penetrable, and thin, comparatively impenetrable mineralogical components."

Jan 1, 2003

By George P. Demopoulos

In this paper the author will provide an overview of over 20 years of research & developments in the area of hydrometallurgical arsenic immobilization that culminated recently in the industrial implementation of the atmospheric scorodite process. The paper will consider various aspects of arsenic fixation in the non-ferrous metal industry from the iron-arsenic co-precipitation process employed to arsenic-bearing effluent solutions; to autoclave processing of arsenical copper and gold feedstocks and the fate of the in-situ formed iron sulphato-arsenate precipitate phases; the precipitation and stability of scorodite; the possible stabilizing role of mineral phases like yukonite, and the development of "scoroditeplus" processes employing novel encapsulation strategies. Emphasis is placed on the characterization and long-term stability of the various forms of arsenic-immobilized phases under either oxic or anoxic conditions over a wide pH range and the establishment of critical links between process parameters and hazardous material stability, contributing thus to advancement of new generation safe and sustainable waste management technologies.

Jan 1, 2014

By E. Van Der Lingen

This paper provides a review on coloured gold, platinum, andpalladium intermetallic compounds, and discusses the models thatwere developed to obtain these materials. These compounds have acrystal structure of high symmetry, such as the CaF2or CsClstructures, ensuring distinct electron band structures. Variousexamples of coloured gold, platinum, and palladium intermetalliccompounds are provided. More in-depth discussion is provided on thepurple gold (AuAl2) and yellow platinum-aluminium (PtAl2)compounds with CaF2structure, as well as the purplish-pinkpalladium-indium (PdIn) compound with CsCl structure. Precious metal intermetallic compounds are used in jewellery andprovide a new dimension to design. Some of these compounds havealso found use as barrier coatings on turbine blades for jet engines,and more recently, research has been conducted into their potentialuse as catalysts, electro-catalysts, sensors, capacitors, and fordecorative coatings.

Jan 1, 2014

By Steven W. Hunt

"A paper called “Global Experience with Soft Ground and Weak Rock Tunneling under Very High Groundwater Heads” was presented at the North American Tunneling 2006 conference (Holzhäuser et.al 2006). It summarized global experience with earth pressure balance (EPB) and slurry shield tunneling on nine projects that encountered groundwater heads ranging from 6 to 11 bar. Since then, additional projects have been completed with groundwater heads ranging from 7 to 15 bar. Of these, the high pressure tunneling experience on the Lake Mead Intake No. 3 project in Nevada and on the Eurasia Tunnel (Istanbul Strait Crossing) had the greatest lengths of tunneling at face pressure over 7 bar. Experience with sustained pressurized face tunneling at groundwater heads over 7 bar and risk management observations are the focus of this paper. INTRODUCTION High groundwater head, particularly at 7 bar or more, is a major challenge when tunnelling in high permeability ground and on drives long enough to require cutter changes. It has a strong impact on design and operation of Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) in order to protect the main bearing from contamination, prevent excessive groundwater inflow, ensure face stability and enable access to the cutterhead and excavation chamber for maintenance. During the past 20 years, TBM manufacturers and suppliers have made tremendous improvements that allow tunneling at groundwater pressures to 17 bar or more. The most significant risk with high pressure tunneling is generally that of excavation chamber access and potentially the cutterhead for cutter changes, cutterhead repairs and TBM maintenance. Hyperbaric interventions are possible and safety variances have been approved for saturation dive interventions at pressures as high as 17 bar (Lake Mead Intake No. 3). While high pressure hyperbaric intervention equipment is available and safety approvals can be obtained at many locations, few contractors consider the cost and risk of hyperbaric interventions over 7 bar to be acceptable as the primary means of excavation chamber access. Experience with high pressure tunneling prior to 2006 was summarized in a paper entitled “Global Experience with Soft Ground and Weak Rock Tunneling under Very High Groundwater Heads” (Holzhäuser et.al 2006). That paper provided information on 9 projects: South Bay Ocean Outfall, San Diego; Channel Tunnel (French Side), France; Storebaelt Tunnel, Denmark; 4th Elbe Tunnel, Germany; Wesertunnel, Germany; Westerschelde Tunnel, Netherlands; St. Petersburg Red Line, Russia; Nara Prefecture Water Conveyance Tunnel, Japan; and Tokyo Wan Aqua Line Tunnel, Japan – see Table 1."

Jan 1, 2016

By E. C. Lane

"INTRODUCTION The first important discovery of petroleum in New Mexico was near Dayton, Eddy County, where the Brown well was drilled in 1909, and small quantities of oil were produced. In 1911 and 1912 wells were drilled in McKinley County, but commercial production did not begin until the discovery of the Hogback field, San Juan County, in 1922. The discovery well in the Artesia field, Eddy County, drilled in 1923, gave impetus to active drilling in many areas. Since 1924 New Mexico has produced petroleum in commercial quantities and since 1930 the State has joined the ranks of the big produc¬ing States, being sixth or seventh in total production in recent years.Production by years. 1924 to 1940, inclusive, taken from annual figures in Bureau of Mines Minerals Yearbook, are given in table 1. The total production shown is 274,331,000 barrels. Andreas 3/ has published production figures for the year 1940 and a resume of all production to the end of 1940. Data from his report are presented in table 2 for each field sampled. The cumulative production, as given by Andreas, is 270,618,575 barrels."

Aug 1, 1942

This manual provides instructions for installing, operating, and maintaining a protective canopy on the Galis Mfg. Co. face drill. The instructions are based upon an actual installation made in the mine on face drill model 460-S. The parts list and engineering drawings for the protective canopy are included at the end of the manual. And a discussion of some alternative design concepts is also included. The manual can also be used for retrofitting other face drills with similar protective canopies. Skilled mechanics can determine if the instructions herein would be applicable to the other face drills and can determine any necessary modifications if they are not.

Jan 1, 1973

By T Sprague, D Pateman

"The Gosowong Gold Project is owned and operated by PT Nusa Halmahera Minerals (PT NHM), an Indonesian company 75 per cent owned by Newcrest. It is located on Halmahera Island, in the North Maluku Province of the Republic of Indonesia, approximately 2450 km north-east of the national capital, Jakarta (Newcrest, 2017).Kencana is one of two underground gold and silver mines at the Gosowong Operation where ground conditions vary from competent to very poor. Development headings occurring in poor rock mass conditions require high capacity ground support including long tendon cable bolts. Manual installation of cable bolts in these development headings has been a time consuming process due to borehole collapse, blockages requiring subsequent re-drilling and a minimum eight hour grout curing time interval. The installation of cable bolts including the setting, plating and tensioning can impact the critical path for development heading advance resulting in development cycle delays.A review was conducted by PT NHM on current industry practices for alternatives to manual cable bolting. PT NHM subsequently approached Minova to assist with the development and trialling of self drilling anchors (SDAs) installed using jumbos with a rapid setting pumpable resin, CARBOTHIXTM. A series of system development trials were conducted and a reliable bolting system was developed utilising the existing jumbo drilling fleet with minimal required modifications.The system developed was a ‘one pass’ bolting process to install and grout SDAs using a two component resin with a remote, mechanised system. Improvements achieved from the system include: eliminating hole closure issues and more immediate support in poor rock mass effectively reducing personnel exposure to poor ground conditions by removing the requirement to access the drive backs reducing grout set time with full installation times for 6 m SDAs averaging 25 min.The resin grouting system has now been successfully implemented to effectively manage areas of poor ground conditions and to accelerate advance rates in high priority headings.CITATION:Pateman, D and Sprague, T, 2017. Development and implementation of a long tendon bolting system utilising resin grouting technology, in Proceedings 13th AusIMM Underground Operators’ Conference 2017, pp 79–84 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne)."

Oct 16, 2017

By P. K. Arya

Huge quantity of copper is lost in Crown, Sill, Rib Pillars, hanging wall, foot wall and unexploited ore bodies in several closed underground copper mines and old worked out stopes of Hindustan Copper Limited at Mosaboni and other places. These mines might have been uneconomical to work with conventional mining methods. However, huge quantity of mineral reserves is lost due to their closure. Chemical and in-situ bio-wash leaching, if tried can provide an answer to facilitate the recovery of metallic values economically. Encouraging results were obtained during an experiment at North Badia Mines at Mosabani in the past. Though the experiments were not completed but whatever results obtained were very encouraging and can be successfully tried to make it viable. The results of the experiments are discussed here and a plan is suggested to recover copper from such mines.

Jan 1, 2014

By Fathi Habashi

New technology first introduced by Nippon Steel Corporation at Kitakyushu in Japan in 1976 now used at a number of plants in other countries, known as dry quenching of coke, uses nitrogen in a closed circuit to avoid environmental emissions. In addition, heat is recovered in the form of steam, from the red-hot coke. In steel plants oxygen is used extensively and therefore by-product nitrogen from air liquefaction can be effectively utilized in this way.

Jan 1, 2014