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By G. S. Scott

[In the course of the investigation the Bureau of Mines is carrying on to determine the causes, behavior, and control of mine fires, the detection of incipient heating underground in the mines and above ground in refuse banks has received consideration. A report has been published5/ describing apparatus and tests made on anthracite to determine the amount and composition of the a oxidation products when normal dry air was passed through it at temperatures varrying from 100° to 350° C. These tests showed that the amount of evolved gases and their relative proportions varied with the temperature. From these results, graphs were prepared by which the temperature at which the coal was oxidized could be estimated thus giving a possible means of detecting incipient heating.]

Jan 1, 1938

By A. Kenneth Schellinger

IF the ball mill is considered only from an energy standpoint, it can be thought of as a converter of kinetic energy into heat energy and surface energy. The law of the conservation of energy must apply to the ball mill as it does to any machine or process in nature. The heat energy output of the ball mill is apparent to any casual observer of the operating mill since the outflow pulp will be appreciably warmer than the inflow water and rock. The rock in the ball mill is crushed by shearing of its ionic bonding caused by some impact-induced stresses beyond the elastic limit. As the bonds holding the mineral crystal lattices together are ruptured, new surface area is created on each unit of which a definite number of unsaturated bonds exist. Such unsaturated energy of bonding may be termed the "surface energy," and is a potential energy figure. This created energy was withdrawn from the ball mill system and represents an absorption, or disappearance of heat. To reduce the size of the rock, surface area must be created and with it the at-

Jan 6, 1951

By Enrique Hauser

FIRE-DAMP is a mixture of methane with other inert gases or combustible gases. The inert gases in question are carbonic acid, water vapor, nitrogen, etc. The combustible gases are hydrogen, ethane, etc. The study of the properties of fire-damp, therefore, becomes a study of the properties of methane and the influence on its properties of the different gases we have mentioned. Characteristic Properties of Methane 1. Respirability.-Methane being a paraffin is characterized by its weak chemical affinities. From the physiological, point of view one could substitute it for nitrogen of the air at least momentarily, without experiencing any difficulty in breathing the mixture consisting of 21 per cent. 02 + 79 per cent. CH4. I .have tried this on myself, making the gas exhaled -from the lungs burn subsequently in a Bunsen burner.1 From the chemical point of view, this weak affinity permits the gas to be burned in certain circumstances with hydrogen and oxide of carbon in an oxygenated mixture, with the result that the last two gases achieve only a fractional combustion. This practice has been utilized with success in the methods of analysis which I have perfected and which I describe later in this paper. 2. Retardation of Flashing Point.-A characteristic property of methane is its retardation of flashing point, noted by Davy in 1816 and studied by Mallard and Le Chatelier in 1883.2 Taffanel and Le Floch have recently confirmed these results.3 Let us recall the nature of this retardation:

Jan 2, 1916

By S. J. Hogan, T. William

"By the year 2000, the steel industry, not only in the United States but in the rest of the world, will undergo significant changes. On the other hand, there will be a number of areas in which change will be minimal.The current capacity of the industry worldwide is approximately 800-810 million metric tons. This may grow to some extent, as Third World countries install capacity. However, much of it will be neutralized as the industrialized countries shrink their current capacities.There will be several breakthroughs in terms of technology, some of which deal with the production of iron outside of the blast furnace. However, these processes will not be far enough advanced by that time to replace the blast furnace, rather they will supplement it.In terms of steelmaking and the subsequent rolling process, there should be a number of basic improvements. The strip mills will roll sheets with a very slight variance in gauge, which will give the customers a better product for automatic stamping machines. Ordinary carbon steel, in a number of instances, will be replaced by high-strength, low-alloy steel, which will reduce the tonnage necessary for present-day applications, such as construction.The corporate organization will be significantly changed as joint ventures and mergers will reduce the number of companies, as well as facilities in operation. This will enable the industry to reduce its capital investment and improve operating costs, so that it will be able more effectively to compete with other materials, such as plastics, cement, aluminum, etc."

Jan 1, 1988

By James P. Bennett

The Bureau of Mines is investigating the acid resistance of ceramic materials to identify construction materials for emerging technology in chemical and metallurgical processes. Eight commercial ceramic materials, were evaluated: two red shale, two fireclay, one silicon carbide, one silica, one carbon, and one high-alumina. Samples were exposed to 10 wt pct H2S04 at 50° C and 10, 30, 50, 70, and 90 wt pct H2S04 at 90° C for time periods of 110 days. Statistically significant changes in cold crushing strength were observed in the silicon carbide and car-bon materials. Weight changes and the leach rate of Al, Ca. Fe. K, Mg, Na. Si, and Ti were also monitored. The most severe corrosion conditions were at 90° C and 30 to 50 wt pct H2S04 for the acidproof and at 10 wt pct H2S04 for the acid-resistant materials. The silica and the high-alumina materials were the most acid-resistant, followed by the higher density red shale and fireclay.

Jan 1, 1986

The Howe Memorial Lecture, in memory of Henry Marion Howe, Past President of the Institute, was authorized in April, 1923, as an annual address to be delivered by invitation under the auspices of the Institute by an individual of recognized and outstanding attainment in the science and practice of iron and steel metallurgy or metallography, chosen by the Board of Directors

Jan 1, 1942

By I Douglas, L Allen

Localised indicator kriging was developed following a similar approach used by Marat Abzalov (2006) in his paper titled æLocalised uniform conditioning (LUC): A new approach for direct modelling of small blocksÆ. Abzalov introduced the idea of mapping panel distributions from uniform conditioning onto selective mining unit-sized blocks that were created using ordinary kriging. This concept of remapping panel distributions was applied to multiple indicator kriging histograms.At Newmont a program was developed that made the remapping of MIK histograms to SMU sized blocks extremely efficient and was subsequently tested on several gold deposits. The results have been encouraging as the localised indicator kriging (LIK) method has eliminated many issues that have plagued both ordinary kriging and multiple indicator kriging. Use of localised indicator kriging methodology limits the smearing of high-grade and the over-smoothing of grade that is common and difficult to control in OK but retains the ability for localising grades. LIK also simplifies change-of-support corrections, eliminates un-mineable slivers of low or high-grade when dealing with small tonnages, and allows for the mapping of linear and non-linear estimates into the same block.

Sep 26, 2011

By A. Chamaret

Minerals extraction is related to complex sustainable development issues that are subject to international and local controversies. Debates must be based on objective and comparative elements. Defining strong indicators for assessing impacts and performances of mining sites thus appears necessary to inform and support the decision-making process for stakeholders. Recently, many indicator sets have been developed on an international level based on top-down approaches, but they commonly lack legitimacy for stakeholders and adequacy to specific site issues. They thus need to be complemented by the consultation of local actors concerned by such mining activity, in order to define indicators that are closer to the needs and contexts of the specific sites. The question raised by this kind of top-down/bottom-up approach is how to organize and reveal the plurality of values and concerns associated with mining. Based on the principle of representative diversity, the approach undertaken at the Arlit uranium mines in Niger aimed at defining indicators that are understood and accepted by all actors. The aim was to measure the impacts and performances of mining sites in the four sustainable development dimensions, and at local, regional and national scales.

Jan 1, 2007

By I. Kairyakov

The present paper is about the restoration of the molybdenum production in the floatation plant of Ellatzite-Med AD in Bulgaria. The process, based on a working design, includes the construction of a new floatation molybdenum section in the existing molybdenum department of the Floatation Plant using the so called Vemco inert-gas floatation machines, made especially for the molybdenum floatation. While in the ordinary floatation machines, block impellers create suspension of the air, sucked from the atmosphere with the slime particles of the concentrate, which creates conditions for oxidizing the reagent, Vemco inert-gas floatation machines are covered with hermetic lids and the air inside the chamber is used. The technology, suggested by Geotechkoper Ltd. for making the working project, employs special machines from Dor Olliver Aimco, suitable specifically for molybdenum floatation in order to reduce the oxidizing of the reagent sodium hydrosulphate. Also the transport of the chamber product is done in hermetic conditions as the molybdenum flotation is done in two floatation rows and refining operations 3 to 8 are placed in the second row. Thus in the basic molybdenum floatation together with the first and second refining operations, which are hermetically closed, an ambient condition with low content of oxygen is created, that is about 8% for oxygen and about 92% of nitrogen, in which the oxidizing process is extremely reduced. This in turn results in reducing the consumption of the reagent depressor ? sodium hydrosulphate. In that way there is an improvement of the economical indices of the molybdenum production.

Jan 1, 2014

By P. Woo, N. Brodusch, R. Gauvin, H. Demers

The scanning electron microscope (SEM) was primary developed for imaging applications. With the introduction of the Si(Li) energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), simultaneous imaging and x-ray microanalysis became possible. However, long working distance and high current were needed because the position and small solid angle of the EDS detector. The high spatial resolution is generally obtained at short working distance with a SEM. Unfortunately x-ray microanalysis is never performed in the best imaging conditions. The annular silicon drift detector system is inserted below the objective lens which gives a higher solid angle (up to 1.3 sr). In consequence, a lower working distance and probe current can be used. An improved spatial resolution becomes possible during x-ray microanalysis. With this x-ray detector installed on a cold-field emission scanning electron microscope, quantitative x-ray microanalysis with high spatial resolution at low beam energy and low current becomes possible with the possibility of using the various different type of imaging at the same time. Also, since the count rate can be as high as 1,500 kcps, which lowers significantly the detection limit of elements as well as the minimum feature sizes of different phases that can be distinguished.

Jan 1, 2014

The original and most basic relationship between mining company and explosive supplier was a simple one of consumer and product supplier. The divide between the two was quite clear-cut with neither taking much interest in the activities of the other. The explosive supplier had little understanding or share in the outcome, efficient rock breakage and therefore impact on mining and milling. Likewise, the mining company did not encourage the improvement or development of products. The transactions were limited to product and funds. This environment does not encourage any form of knowledge sharing, trust or optimisation of the mining process.Conversely, there are now a variety of relationships to the point that the mining company may simply be an asset manager whereby all æoperationalÆ aspects are contracted out. For the drill and blast aspect this takes the form of a æRock-On-GroundÆ contract whereby the explosives company takes on design, drill, load and fire responsibilities and is paid a rate per volume of broken rock. This removes the majority of risk to the mining company derived from having to produce broken rock and guarantees the cost of a portion of the overall unit cost of mining. The onus is now on the explosives supplier to break rock to a specification as efficiently as possible.There exist a number of variations between the æbasic supplyÆ and æRock-On-GroundÆ. These contracts may also include value sharing to encourage the explosive supplier to optimise the mining operation to maximise profit.This paper looks at some of the drivers for the change in explosive supplierûconsumer relationships and examines the æprosÆ and æconsÆ of a few of the options.

Jan 1, 2004

By T. C. King

AT the new Graham-Central Mill of Eagle-Picher, near Galena, Ill., material is simultaneously dewatered and introduced into the ball-mill scoop boxes by the use of variable-speed, 24-in. spiral classifiers. This arrangement has proved satisfactory in that the moisture content of the wet feed is reduced, thus allowing maintenance of density within the mills, and a constant feed at any desired rate to the mills is provided. In this mill the primary feed is wet crushed to minus 1/2 in. and preconcentrated by jigs to produce a bulk lead-zinc-iron concentrate and a waste tailing. The jig concentrate is then dewatered by a conventional dewatering classifier and stored in bins ahead of the ball mills. Even though this material is well dewatered, the discharge at the bin bottom is sloppy because of the gradual drainage of the water from the surface of the particles. Conventional belt feeders with vertical cutoff gates are unsatisfactory because of the flushing characteristic of the wet sand. The new installation employs 24 in. x 10 ft, 9-in. Simplex double-pitch spiral classifiers for feeders from the bin bottoms to the ball mill scoop boxes (fig. 1). These units are arranged with straight tanks and are driven by 5 hp motors through a U. S. Vari-Drive to provide a 4 to 1 speed ratio. Each bin discharges through a chute into the rising side of the spiral. The flushing characteristic of the material from the bottom of the bin is utilized to maintain a steady feed. A small amount of water tapped into the bottom of the bin insures uniform feed to the classifier. Excess clear water drains over the weirs. Feed rate to the mills is controlled by the variable-speed drives. The feed delivered by the spiral at a given speed setting is relatively dry, uniform, and steady, and as such is easily controlled by the operator. The classifiers are set on a pitch of 5 in. per ft and have a sand-raking capacity of from 8 to 32 tons per hr. It is believed that the solution of this problem offers possibilities for the storage of deslimed rod-mill sands and other similar products of the industry.

Jan 1, 1951

By Patrik Fredriksson

Thermodynamic data concerning FeO-containing slags is of importance in ladle refining of steel. With a view to generate a set of reliable and self-consistent thermodynamic data for these slags, experimental determination of the activities of FeO in binary and ternary slags was carried out using the gas equilibration method involving CO-C02-Ar gas mixtures at steelmaking temperatures. The slag samples in Pt crucibles were quenched after the equilibration and subjected to chemical analysis. The thermodynamic activities of "FeO" in the slags were calculated from the experimental data. The results are incorporated into a thermodynamic description of silicate melts in the present laboratory. The model is based on a Temkin-Lumsden approach and is able to compute the thermodynamics of higher order systems from the lower order ones.

Jan 1, 2003

By Philip H. Porter

Ammonium nitrate blasting agents continue to be the work-horse of the explosives industry. The versatile, low-cost, anfo products, whether packaged, poured, or bulk, continue to produce superior results for the explosive consumer who understands their limitations and capabilities.

Jan 1, 1984

By Stanley M. Moos

In reviewing available vacuum filtration equipment in this paper, several types of filters have been included which are probably not familiar to operators in the mining industry. However, it was felt that these units might be of interest in the event that an application should arise for the filtration of a product in the future that does not exist today. In addition, exposure of our industry to equipment used in other industries might have a tendency to be thought provoking and perhaps lead to the development of equipment and/or applications in our industry which do not necessarily exist at this time. Most innovations in filtration equipment have been confined to the improvement or design change of components and accessories, particularly reflecting the availability of materials of construction that have been developed. Recent developments in the application of horizontal belt filters have been innovative. The application of this unit as a substitute for or an adjunct to thickeners in a CO circuit can certainly be innovative and perhaps provide a basis for reduction in capital and operating costs in this area. For example, mill tails are generally pumped at the highest possible density that will adequately flow. Tailings ponds and dams with their attendant design requirements are based upon this estimated water volume. Availability of a much dryer, non-flowing filter cake opens up several new options for disposal. Considerable cost savings could result in the design and planning of disposal areas for containing dryer material. . No attempt has been made in this paper to provide a manual for the operation of all of the many types of equipment that are available. Rather, the paper tries to present an overview.

Jan 1, 1978

By D. Bienstock

The use of alkalized alumina in removing sulfur dioxide from a coal-combustion flue gas at 625° F was investigated on a pilot plant scale. The absorber was 26 feet long and 1.6 inches ED. Counter-current gas-solids flow at gas velocities of 8 to 15 ft/sec in the presence and absence of baffles, as well as solids entrainment at gas velocities of 20 to 23 ft/sec with solids recycle, were employed. The spent absorbent as regenerated as fixed bed with the reducing gases--reformed natural .7.7d hydrogen. Of absorption-regeneration were successful completed using the alkalized alumina rolled into spherical granules 10 to 16 mesh. There was no loss in activity of absorbent toward SO2 with a modest attrition equivalent to 0.l percent of the solids feed. Supporting studies were conducted on the effect of the sodium content in the absorbent, the composition of the reducing gas, thermal treatment to increase absorbent hardness, and removal of absorbed chlorine from the absorbent. A mathematical model was formulated to describe the removal of SO2 by alkalized aluminum from fixed and falling beds.

Jan 1, 1967

By Charles H. McGuirk

The Port of Conneaut, the largest bulk material handling and storage facility on the Great Lakes, is using the latest electronic and visual testing devices to augment and enhance its well established computerized preventive maintenance system. The results of this comprehensive program have been impressive. The remaining life of components can be accurately forcast, and replacement can be programmed around operations, resulting in a significant improvement in system availability and reduced costs for the dock operator and its customers.

Jan 1, 1983

By R. F. Hehemann, R. H. Goodenow

Thermal arrest, hot-stage microscopy, and transtnission electron microscopy techniques have been employed to study the transformations in low-carbon iron and Fe-9 pct Ni alloys. In continuous cooling experiments, each alloy transforms at an essentially constant temperature for cooling rates below the critical rate required for martensite formation. However, high-tenzperature transformation in pure iron takes place by a different mechanism than that in the 9 pct Ni alloys. Pure iron exhibits an equi-a a structure with a low and random dislocation density while the 9 pct Ni alloy exhibits a cell or lathlike substructure analogous to that of low-carbon martensite. This same substructure characterizes upper bainite in higher-carbon inaterials. UNTIL relatively recently, diffusionless transformations have been considered to take place by the same mechanism and have been termed mar-tensitic transformations.l-3 The most characteristic feature2 of this mode of transformation is the shape change produced by a shear deformation and growth of the product phase frequently occurs at an extremely high velocity approaching that of an elastic wave.4'5 A different mechanism of diffusionless transformation was recognized first in Cu-Ga and other copper-base alloys.6,7 From the absence of surface tilting in these alloys, it has been concluded that transformation is not accomplished by the cooperative shear displacements that occur in mar-tensitic reactions. Transformation presumably takes place by the rapid movement of an incoherent interface which is capable of propagating across parent grain boundaries. Although the transformation is diffusionless in the macroscopic sense, advancement of these interfaces is accomplished by an atom by atom rearrangement. Transformations of this type therefore require thermal activation and are generally operative only at high temperature. Although requiring short-range diffusion at the interface, propagation still occurs so rapidly that the reaction cannot be suppressed with normal cooling rates.7 The resulting microstructures exhibit large, irregular-shaped regions of the product phase, which are essentially free of crystallographic features. Consequently, these reactions have been termed massive transformations. Transformation by the massive mechanism has been reported to occur in ferrous systems involving pure iron and binary alloys of iron with nickel, chromium, and silicon by Gilbert and owen.' The Fe-Ni system is of special interest in that the massive transformation was observed in alloys with less than 15 pct Ni while alloys having more than about 28 pct Ni transformed by the conventional mar-tensitic mechanism. By employing cooling rates substantially higher than those used by Gilbert and Owen, Swanson and Parr have been able to suppress the massive transformation in alloys with 0 to 10 pct Ni9 and produce martensite as revealed by surface relief. The massive transformation in the alloys having less than 15 pct Ni was identified by the lack of surface relief and an irregular rather than clearly acicular microstructure.' Speich and Swann, using thin-foil electron microscopy, identified three distinctly different structures10 in quenched binary Fe-Ni alloys. From 0 to 4 pct Ni the structure consisted of blocky grains of a with a low and random dislocation density. Alloys with 4 to 25 pct Ni exhibited a cell structure with a high dislocation density; and at greater than 25 pct Ni the structure consisted of internally twinned plates. The structural change at approximately 4 pct Ni suggests that alloys with low nickel content transform by a different mechanism than those with intermediate nickel contents and the transition from the cellular to the internally twinned structures at approximately 25 pct Ni is analogous to the transition from needles to internally twinned plates that occurs over a narrow range of carbon contents in Fe-C martensites.11,12 Conventional bainitic and martensitic modes of austenite decomposition operate in ternary Fe-C-Ni alloys having less than 10 pct Ni. This investigation was conducted in order to explore the conditions under which the massive, bainitic, and martensitic transformations occur and the relationships between these modes of decomposition.

Jan 1, 1965

Fiabilité Totale d?Usine (FTU) Plan de la présentation ?Théorie de l?entretien ?Analyse comparative juin 2005 ?Session de travail 2005-2006 ?Suiviet Résultats(IndicateursdePerformance)

Feb 1, 2008

By D. Sbarbaro

In many modem concentrators the use of supervisory systems in their grinding circuits has meant more consistent operations and increases in capacity. These systems rely on a series of specific algorithms that uses different pieces of information and drives actions over the process. One of these algorithms is the ball mill overload detection, which plays an important role in any supervisory strategy designed to maximize ore feed rate in wet grinding circuits. This paper introduces different overload detection algorithms, and compares them in terms of the time taken to detect the overload condition. This comparative analysis is based on highly noisy power draw measurements obtained in an industrial plant.

Jan 1, 2007