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By William H. Breeding

The remarks that follow are based substantially on experience covering 45 years, 80% of which has been in placer work, rather than on a review of available literature. Most commercial placers have been deposited by the action of water. The richer and more- difficult-to-mine placers are those in the headwater areas where gradients are steepest. The most lucrative placers are generally in inter- mediate areas where volumes are greater, fewer boulders are present, and gradients are from 3% to 1-1/2%. The higher volume, lower grade placers are in the lower reaches of river systems where gradients are lower. Where gold-bearing rivers have discharged into the sea, wave action can concentrate values on beaches, past and present. Most of the rich, readily accessible placers were mined by our forefathers. Current opportunities exist: (1) in remote areas where infrastructure has been absent in the past, or development has been prohibited by adverse ownership - political or commercial; (2) in deposits that could not be mined by equipment available to our forefathers; (3) in deposits unidentified by our forefathers; (4) where the-price-of-product/cost ratio is substantially better than in earlier years; or (5) a combination of those factors. When I entered the placer business in the late 1930s, and subsequently, a prevailing opinion believed that glacial deposits should be avoided as irregular in mineral content and composition, and unrewarding to explore and develop; yet an operator has been mining a fluvio-glacial deposit profitably for the past 17 years. Rich buried placer channels, of ten called paleo-channels were worked in the last century, generally by hand methods, and under conditions that would be unacceptable today. Exploration and mining equipment now available make some of these channels attractive targets. Well-known examples are in California and Australia. The formation of a commercial placer requires a source of valuable minerals. Above primary deposits, there may be eluvial deposits formed by the erosion of gangue minerals and the concentration "in situ" of valuable minerals. Down slope from these deposits are the hillside or colluvial deposits, and below them are the alluvial deposits of redeposited material. Most of the great placer fields of the world are the result of several generations of erosion and deposition. Well-known examples are in California and Colombia. Gold is a very resistant and malleable material, and gold placers may extend for 64 or 80 km (40 or 50 miles) along a river system. Platinum is less malleable, but is very resistant to disintegration. Diamonds are extremely hard, and (especially gem diamonds) may be found over great lengths of a river system. Cassiterite is less resistant to disintegration, and tin placers seldom extend over two miles without resupply from an additional source or sources of mineralizaton. Tungsten minerals are generally more friable, and within a few hundred yards of the source disintegrate to the point that they are uneconomical to recover. Rutile, ilmenite and zircon placers generally result from the weathering of massive deposits, and may be encountered over extensive areas; most are fine grained and durable. What does a geologist or mining engineer look for in placer exploration? The old adage to look for a mine near an existing mine is still valid. You need a source of valuable mineral. Then you require conditions for concentration, which means a satisfactory gradient and/or other conditions that will permit heavy minerals to settle. Nicely riffled gravel, often called a shingling of the bars, is conducive to placer formation. Coarser gravel is logically associated with coarser gold. Excessive clay and/or high stream velocities in narrow channels can carry gold far downstream and distribute it uncommercially over a large area. When material is extremely fine, in situ weathering and concentration become more important. Placers frequently occur distant from lode mines, and one must remember that in a larger watershed the exceptional floods that occur once in a hundred or a thousand years can move great quantities of material long distances. The carrying power of water is said to vary with the fifth or sixth power of its velocity. I am not ready to disagree with Waldemar Lindgren and accept that many commercial placers are substantially enriched by the chemical deposition of gold from solutions; however, I have seen crystalline gold in clayey material quite distant from known sources of primary gold that is dif-

Jan 1, 1985

By Kuiting Wang, Jinshan Liu, Ninglei Sun, Aiguo Dong, Yeda Lu

"Eliminating the environmental threat caused by waste effluent containing magnesium sulfate derived from the process of nickel laterite sulfuric acid leaching and subsequent nickel precipitation is always a focus in the metallurgy field. A new flowsheet whose procedures include vaporization, crystallization, two stages precipitation of magnesium, causticizing treatment of filtrate and ammonia recycle was investigated. Both the details of the flowsheet and its application are described in this article. It is confirmed to be an effective and economical method to prevent the pollution by the waste effluent, simultaneity, a series of magnesium products recovered during the process own good economic returns.IntroductionSulfuric acid leaching is the conventional procedure of extraction valuable metals from ores in hydrometallurgy field. During the process of nickel laterite sulfuric acid leaching, several metals, including Ni, Co, Al Mn, Fe, Mg etc., migrate into the leachate in the form of soluble metal sulfate. After subsequent procedure of purification, precipitation of Ni and Co and neutralization, an enormous stream of waste effluent which contains a concentration of approx. 15-40g/L Mg is exhausted. Such solution containing magnesium sulfate is toxic, which causes diarrhea for both human and animals. On the other hand, large amount of sulfate acid was consumed during the process of leaching by the compound of Mg, which increases cost of a hydro nickel plant.In arid areas, the waste effluent mentioned above is treated via evaporate pond owning large acreage, which needs not only the appropriate meteorologic condition, but occupies much land. In coastal areas, it is directly discharged to the sea, which probably deteriorates ecological system of offshore strip. The most widespread method to treat with the waste effluent is neutralization by lime cream, the residues of which containing magnesium hydroxide and gypsum are transported to residues pool. Neutralization is a simple process, but it never recycles the Mg and sulfate anion into new application, meanwhile, the residues are potential threat to the environment."

Jan 1, 2012

By Víctor Barúa R.

"La base de toda industria minera es el factor económico ya que se supedita a los costos de producción y la demanda en los mercados mundiales. Sin embargo, cuando el costo de producción sobrepasa el precio de la competencia del mercado, las utilidades disminuyen. En este sentido, el objetivo del texto señala la estabilidad económica de la industria como único medio posible para mejorar la producción a través la investigación, tecnificación y mecanización de métodos de trabajo en la minería de cielo abierto. La investigación permite que se reduzca los costos de producción que va desde el minado hasta la aplicación y uso de los metales por las industrias manufactureras. Asimismo el objetivo principal de la investigación es buscar nuevos métodos que mejoren la eficiencia de los equipos y mayor rendimiento en el trabajo. Finalmente, se hace una breve revisión histórica de la minería metálica donde se señala la función de la investigación y la técnica empleada en la mina a cielo abierto como parte del progreso de la industria. "

Aug 20, 1963

By Voorhees JS, Bureau G

To operate a mine in California requires compliance with State environmental regulations, including assessment of risks and associated financial assurances for postulated worst case catastrophic event scenarios. Carson Hill Gold Mine, an open pit, heap leach operation, completed new risk assessment catastrophic event analyses in 1988. The risk assessment was performed at the same time that a new leach site (Leach Site 3) was being designed. Leach Site 3 is located about 400 m upslope of New Melones Reservoir, which is a public recreation facility and a source of drinking water. Release of leachate (pregnant solution) or ore containing cyanide and metals from Leach Site 3 into New Melones Reservoir was considered to pose the largest risk of environmental damage.Flow failure of the ore heap, potentially induced as a result of liquefaction of the saturated portion of the ore, and/or overtopping of the leach site containment embankment due to excessive precipitation were found to be the most plausible leachate release scenarios. Yearly combined probabilities of various downstream release volumes were estimated. The release volume corresponding to a yearly probability of 0.05 percent was then used to estimate potential environmental impacts and mitigation costs. The costs include earthwork to restore the geometry of the ore heap and repair the fill slope below the Leach Site 3 containment, and impacts on New Melones Reservoir.

Jan 1, 1990

By Gregory Yates

INTRODUCTION Project Description The Silver Line is a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Line and is Boston?s newest transit service. Silver Line Phase I extends along Washington Street entirely on the surface in priority bus lanes from Dudley Station in Roxbury through the South End and Chinatown neighborhoods to downtown Boston. The Phase I opened in July 2002. Silver Line Phase II consists of an underground transit tunnel from South Station to the South Boston Waterfront with underground stations at Courthouse and World Trade Center to Silver Line Way east of D Street. Phase II continues through the Ted Williams Tunnel to all the terminals at Logan Airport, and on the surface to the Boston Marine Industrial Park and City Point. Phase II opened in December 2004. Silver Line Phase III is a one mile tunnel connection to the existing Phase II tunnel in the vicinity of South Station and will eventually portal on Tremont Street just north of Marginal Road. After leaving the portal, the buses will use dedicated bus only lanes on the surface roadway network to connect to the Phase I service. Figure 1 shows the alignment of the Silver Line upon completion of the Phase III project.

By R Fleming, G Jones

An ocean outfall is currently under construction in Christchurch, New Zealand to transfer treated wastewater from the existing treatment ponds at the city wastewater treatment plant to diffusers located 3 km offshore. The New Zealand $85 million project comprises a new pump station and 5 km of 1800 mm diameter pipeline with a design capacity of 6.0 cumecs. The pipeline comprises 2.3 km of concrete pipe installed by microtunnelling and 2.7 km of polyethene marine pipe installed by dredge and lay. This paper describes the consent process, key environmental and community constraints, the tender process, risk provisions included in the contract, the type of contract, partnering provisions, geotechnical design issues and the pipejacking construction activities and issues.

Jan 1, 2008

ELECTROREFINING Canadian 1,023,691 -Removal of bismuth from slime filtrate in the Betts process refining of lead. The filtrate is subjected to electrolysis in a cell having an anode of crude lead and a cathode of refined lead under operating conditions to preferentially deposit bismuth on the cathode. The substantially bismuth-free filtrate is recycled for use in the process as the electrolyte for producing high-purity lead. S. Hirakawa and R. Oniwa, assigned to Mitsui Mining & Smelting Co., Ltd. Jan. 3, 1978. 8 pp. (204-73). Filed: 2-18-74 (192,810). Same: U.S. 4,026,776, dated May 31, 1977.

Jan 1, 1979

Australia contains a variety of iron ores, differing in grade, chemistry, size distribution and genesis. While a proportion of this ore is used world-wide as blast furnace lump, much of the material mined is high grade fines, requiring agglomeration (usually sintering) before blast furnace reduction. Sintering studies initially concentrated on the production of ferrous material of high iron content, coarse size and sufficient cold strength. In recent years research involving pilot plant sintering, precise test procedures and mineralogical analyses has focussed on the additional sinter properties of hot strength and reducibility. Aspects of mineralogical studies applied to iron ore sintering are described.

Jan 1, 1989

By E. H. Jr. Dix

DURING an investigation of high-strength manganese bronze by the Engineering Division of the Air Service, at McCook Field, Dayton, Ohio, particles of a "blue constituent" were noted in the microstructure of most of the bronzes examined. The constitution of the simple copper-zinc base alloy is still a matter of dispute in spite of the fact that the copper-zinc series is one of the oldest industrially important groups of alloys, and has received the early consideration of scientific research. The diagram, according to the most recent work,1 is shown in Fig. 1. The disputed questions involve the termination of the beta field and the line at 470° C. The earliest experimenter, Roberts-Austin, detected an arrest in some of his cooling curves at approximately this temperature and ascribed them to the formation of a eutectic; it has since been proved that there are no eutectics in this series. Shepherd2 was unable to detect any thermal arrests at this temperature; his diagram was essentially as shown in Fig. 1, except that the line at 470° C. was omitted and the beta phase carried down to normal temperatures. Later, Carpenter and Edwards,3 by a very painstaking research, definitely established the authenticity of the line but attributed it to the breakdown of the beta constituent into a eutectoid of alpha and gamma. Microscopic evidence of the formation of the eutectoid is doubtful and it seems more likely to be due to an allotropic change in the beta constituent as shown by Fig. 1. At least for practical purposes, it is more convenient to think of the structure of a 60-40 brass as a mixture of alpha and beta prime crystals rather than alpha plus an unresolvable eutectoid of "apparent beta" as it has often been called.

Jan 5, 1922

Jan 1, 1961

The key concepts relating to the calculation of recoverable reserves for selective mining in open pit gold operations are discussed. While the general concepts are relevant to a wide range of gold ore bodies, their application is specific to particular ore bodies.The important factors contributing to the recoverable reserves aregeology, mining method, dilution, ore loss, sampling methods and theultimate bench height used in production.The implications of current methods of computing recoverable reservesare reviewed and some alternative approaches to recoverable reservecomputation based on production experience are presented.

Jan 1, 1986

By A. F. Beck

Abstract Canada has opened up a geological province in ?Western Canada which offers a new .stimulus to oil exploration geophysics. The problems of instrumental technique, interpretation, and logistics involved in the exploration of this new territory are presented in this paper and some of the efforts being undertaken to overcome them are discussed. The scope of this programme, its possible trend and extent, especially when viewed .against the background of the exploration effort in the United States, is touched upon. Introduction The science of earth physics was first applied to the search for oil on this continent some twenty-five years ago when torsion balance and refraction seismic methods were initiated in the Gulf Coast area of the United States. Since that time advances in the various branches of the science have been sporadic as new fields for their use opened up in the search for deep salt domes as well as less well-defined geological structures; in the application to well logging as part of the exploitation of petroleum; and in underwater surveys, aerial surveys, etc. In the present paper, attention has been concentrated only on the Western Canada plains area because of the recent remarkable growth of geophysics as an oil finding technique in this region. The other prospective oil areas of the West Coast and the Eastern Provinces of Canada are at present of minor importance, although they will undoubtedly receive increasing consideration in the future as accessibility to markets becomes a major factor and more improved geophysical and geological techniques are developed. A vast province in Canada, covering some 655,000 square miles of prospective oil territory (approximately one-half of the prospective oil area in the United States), has provided the new sphere of activity for geophysics (see Figures 1 and 2). Included in this area are immense inaccessible, uninhabited frozen regions which pose a new problem in logistics and operational techniques.

Jan 1, 1950

By C. W. Spencer, Che-Yu Li, R. J. Knight

The usual reaction product for the monotectic reaction in the Bi-Se system consists of rod -shaped particles of selenium-rich liquid embedded in a single crystal matrix of At certain crystallo-graphic orientations of the matrix with respect to the reaction interface, more complex shapes are as -sumed by the liquid particles. This reaction has been examined at different growth rates and relative crystallographic orientations of the matrix with respect to the reaction interface. The uhriation in auerage particle size of the liquid phase with reaction rate has been determined at one crystallograpIzic orientation of the matrix. On a plot of logarithm of average particle diameter vs logarithm of reaction rate, data points for crystals grown at rates of 10- to 1.0 cm per hr fall near a curve of slobe -0.4. MONOTECTIC reactions in binary alloy systems are reactions of the eutectic class in which, as the system is cooled through the three-phase reaction isotherm, one liquid phase (L) decomposes to a solid phase and another liquid phase (LII).' A partial phase diagram, as taken from Hansen, showing the monotectic reaction in the Bi-Se system is given in Fig. 1. This diagram specifies the monotectic point at 618°C and 72 at. pct Se, and the monotectic reaction products as the intermetallic Bi Se3 and a liquid (LII) which contains approximately 98 at. pct Se. At a lower temperature, 217°C, this liquid may undergo a eutectic reaction in which the reaction products are BizSe3 and crystalline selenium. However, under conditions of rapid cooling, or quenching, from above 217°C, this selenium-rich liquid may be partially retained to room temperature in an amorphous or glassy state. The intermetallic BizSe3 is rhombohedral, of the space group jm;' however, for convenience it is usually represented by a hexagonal struture. A pronounced plane of cleavage, which lies perpendicular to the main axis of the rhombohedral unit cell or parallel to the basal plane of the hexagonal cell, exists in the structure. The usual monotectic reaction product consists of rod-like particles of LII embedded in a single-crystal matrix of BizSe3, although at certain crystallographic orientations of the matrix BizSe3 other more complex shapes are assumed by LII. A similar rod-like, or cylindrical, morphology for the carbide phase has been reported by westbrook7 in the a Cr-Crz3Ce eutectic structure. In this paper the morphological characteristics of the LII particles, as retained to room temperature, have been examined under conditions of varying growth rate and crystallographic orientation of the matrix BizSe3 with respect to the growth direction. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Alloy specimens corresponding to the monotectic composition, 72 at. pct, or 50 w pct Se, were prepared from 99.999 pct pure bismuth and selenium obtained from the American Smelting and Refining Co. The two elements, corresponding to a total specimen weight of approximately 30 g, were encapsulated in 13 mm OD Vycor tubing under a vacuum of 5 x X mm of Hg. The capsules were suspended on a fine platinum wire in a Bridgman-type furnace which exhibited a temperature gradient of

Jan 1, 1963

By Dirk van Zyl

The paper describes the construction of a clay pad in Southern California. The pad consisted of a mixture of in situ soil and imported clay products. The paper summarizes design considerations. Laboratory permeability tests performed on samples removed from the pad formed part of the quality control requirement of the State of California Water Quality Control Board. The paper presents statistical analysis of the data (about 70 permeability tests in total) and their significance in controlling seepage losses. The results obtained from an investigation of the first pad-area after completion of the leach cycle are presented and discussed. Results from visual observations and laboratory tests are presented.

Jan 1, 1984

By F. D. Rosi

IN the production of single crystals by the Bridg-man method of solidification from the melt in vacuum at a crucible lowering rate of 0.25 in. per hr, a cellular structure was frequently observed in copper and copper-base alloys at the terminal surface of the as-cast crystals (i.e., the surface representing the last portion of the crystal to solidify). The geometrical form of this structure varied from crystal to crystal, but, in general, could be classified as either hexagonal or quadrilateral. Fig. 1 shows examples of this cellular structure, which is similar to that reported by Buergerl and, more recently, by Pond and Kessler&apos; and Rutter and Chalmers. In the micrographs of Figs. lb and c, the cubic structure in the alloy crystals is obscured somewhat by excessive surface evaporation in the final stages of solidification. X-ray orientation studies indicate that the traces outlining the various geometrical forms correspond to octahedral planes, which are the planes of greatest reticular density in the face-centered cubic lattice. It would appear from this that the view first propounded by Bravais,4 that the surface energies and normal growth velocities of the different crystal planes are inversely proportional to their reticular densities, applies to this cellular structure, since those surviving are the planes of greatest atomic density. Thus, the observed variation in the geometrical form of this structure in crystals of different orientation is readily understandable from the distribution of the (111) planes in the standard {111}, (1101, and (1001 stereographic projections. Depending upon whether the crystal axis (i.e., the direction of crystallization) coincides with a <111>, <111>, or <100> direction, the cellular structure viewed from a surface perpendicular to the crystal axis will consist of a network of regular hexagons, skewed hexagons (with interfacial angles of 110" and 125"), or cubes, respectively. It follows, moreover, that off-orientations from these principal directions will yield modifications of these three basic geometric configurations. In this connection, it is interesting to note that the bounding planes of the hexagonal structure observed in tin by Rutter and Chalmers3 showed no preferred orientation.

Jan 1, 1954

By D. M. Buck

greatly restricted and every effort is being made to do away with it where possible, and to substitute a lead-base babbitt or a babbitt with 50 per cent,. tin. The amount of solder having the composition 50 lead, 50 tin, used by the Pennsylvania Lines East, during 1917, was approximately 100,000 lb., but there is reason to believe that a large portion of this can be replaced by a 60-lead, 40-tin solder with satisfactory results, and instructions have been issued to this effect. Inregard to the quantity of new tin used, it is not possible to give the amount, except approximately and from calculations based on the 1917 consumption of bearing metals by the Pennsylvania Lines East only, it is estimated that about 770,000 Ib. of new tin were required in a total of about 21,380,000 lb. of all kinds of bearing metals turned out by the foundry or purchased in the market. No change has been made in the specifications for bearing metals for some years, as the metals used have been satisfactory. A large proportion of the bearing metals are made up from old material re-melted and brought to standard composition by some addition of new metal, and every effort is being made to utilize old material to the best advantage and reduce the amount of new metal of all kinds purchased. For a number of years no tin has been used in the lining metal of either passenger or freight car journal-bearings, except such small amounts as come in from re-melting old linings. No change has been made in phosphor bronze used for rod bushings, as we should expect some trouble from bushings pounding out of shape if a phosphor bronze were used which contained less tin or more lead than the present specifications call for. In this, as well as in the case of all other bearing metals, we expect to use our utmost endeavors to economize and to substitute for tin wherever possible. The Tin-plate Industry D. M. Buck,* Pittsburg, Pa.—During the first 5 months of 1918, approximately 11,000,000 Ib. per month of pig tin were consumed in the United States. Solder, bearing metals, bronzes, etc, used about 5,500,000 lb.; collapsible tubes a little more than 250,000 lb.; tin-foil about 500,000 lb.; and the tin- and terne-plate industry somewhat less than 5,000,000 Ib. In an effort to reduce this consumption and thus conserve our tin supplies, several methods of procedure suggest themselves: 1. Salvage. The most careful and systematic collection and re-use of tin and tin-bearing materials is economically important, in that we thus

Jan 1, 1919

By E. Motica

Ores containing uranium and vanadium minerals have been mined from the Salt Wash Member of the Morrison Formation from many localities in the Colorado Plateau region since about 1900. The most productive deposits are in a relatively small area in Southwestern Colorado referred to as the Uravan mineral belt. The mineral belt is a narrow elongate area in which uranium-vanadium deposits in the Salt Wash have a closer spacing, larger size, and higher grade than those in adjoining areas. Pre- 1948 ore production from the mineral belt was 655,000 tons averaging 1.91 per cent V2O5 and 0.28 per cent U3O8. Production during the 1948 to 1964 period was 7,900,000 tons of ore averaging 1.46 per cent V2O5 and 0.27 per cent U3O8. The ore deposits occur principally in the uppermost sandstone unit of the Salt Wash. This unit consists of sandstone lenses formed by a system of aggrading braided streams flowing in an easterly direction generally normal to the mineral belt. These lenses, referred to as channels, are as much as one mile in width and average about 50 feet in thickness and can be traced for several miles along their courses. Areas favorable for one deposits are recognized principally by the following criteria: ( 1) a host sandstone thickness of over 30 feet, (2) the presence of carbonaceous material in the host sandstone, and ( 3) gray mudstones and clays associated with the ore-bearing sandstone. The ore minerals are believed to have been precipitated from laterally migrating solutions; there is no apparent genetic relationship between ore deposits and tectonic structural features. Exploratory and development drilling from the surface is conducted in three phases: first, wide-spaced drilling to find and outline favorable channels; second, moderate-spaced drilling in favorable ground to locate ore deposits; and third, close-spaced drilling to block-out ore. Long-hole drilling from underground stations is used to find and delineate extensions of ore bodies being mined. Due to intense production since 1948 from shallow deposits, best potential for new deposits exists in areas where the ore-bearing unit is 600 to 800 feet deep.

Jan 1, 1968

By K. E. Harley, M. J. Whiting, T. J. Sabin, E. M. Ryan, J. F. Watts

"Wire and Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) has the potential to enable a very significant reduction in buy-to-fly ratio compared to conventional manufacturing through the ability to build near-net shape components. Components manufactured from AA 2319 by WAAM can exhibit significant levels of porosity. There is also a variation in the physical appearance of the surface deposit sometimes found on such components. This deposit is similar to those observed on aluminium joined by MIG and TIG welding processes. It has been suggested that both the bulk porosity and the surface deposit are caused by hydrocarbon-based lubricant on the feedstock wire. An established correlation between surface deposit and porosity would offer valuable insight into WAAM products and enable early interventions in quality control or process monitoring based on visual examination. The relationship between the nature of the surface deposit and porosity has been studied for AA 2319 WAAM components manufactured using different wire batches. Evidence is presented to support the assertion that (i) there does not appear to be a relationship between surface deposit coverage and porosity, (ii) batch-to-batch variability in feedstock wire affects porosity. This study has led to a better understanding of the cause of porosity in WAAM components.INTRODUCTION There is a high cost associated with conventional, subtractive manufacturing because of the high ‘buy-to-fly’ ratio, a measure of the initial material bought compared to the material found in the finished part (Allen, 2006; Yilmaz & Ulga, 2016). A typical aerospace product may have up to 90% of the purchased billet of forging machined away which is cost inefficient and high in material waste. Wire and Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) has the potential to reduce costs and lead time. Robotically controlled weld torches rapidly deposit feedstock wire in layers to build large near-net shapes with mechanical properties similar to those of conventional manufactured parts (Sequeira Almedia & Williams, 2010; Martina et al., 2012; Ding et al., 2015; Williams et al., 2015). A high level of porosity variation has been observed in aluminium WAAM parts (Cong, Ding & Williams, 2014; Gu et al, 2016) which can result in a range of material properties (Rudy & Rupert, 1970). This leads to difficulties in regards to standardisation and qualification of process and parts. In order for WAAM to be used commercially, porosity will need to be understood, monitored and reduced to a reproducible acceptable level or eliminated."

Jan 1, 2018

By E. G. Williams

Conveyors were first used underground at Miami Copper Co., in the latter part of 1947. At that time some of the stoping area was too heavy and too close to the haulage level to use conventional haulage. To get the haulage drifts out from under the stoping area belt conveyors were used for the additional lateral transfer. Since 1947 more than 8 million tons have been mined in this manner, with as many as four belt type stopes in production at one time. When the mining plan for the new low grade was worked out, it was decided to use belts on what otherwise would have been short train haulage transfers to move the ore laterally to centrally located concrete ore passes. One group of these stopes has grizzly levels on the 570, with a belt level on the 670; the other group has grizzly levels on the 720 and belt levels on the 820, with the concrete ore passes bottoming on the 1000, or the existing train haulage level.

Jul 1, 1956

By E. Ghali, W. Zhang, M. Robichaud, G. Houlachi

"The performances of six mesh and one plate dimensionally stable anodes have been investigated in the zinc electrolyte at 38oC and compared to conventional silver-lead alloy anodes. The electrochemical behaviour of these anodes was studied by cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic, potentiodynamic, open circuit potential and electrochemical noise measurements. It was observed that at the end of 24 h of galvanostatic polarization at a current density of 50 mA/cm2 in the zinc electrolyte at 38oC, the mesh V had the lowest potential followed by mesh III, mesh VI, plate-V, mesh IV, mesh I, and mesh II electrode. When the potentials for mesh I, mesh III, mesh IV, VI and plate-V, mesh V were compared with that of the Pb-0.7%Ag anode (1920 mV/SHE), they were found to be 6%, 16%, 7% 10%, 17% lower, respectively.After 16 h decay following the 24 h polarization, the mesh III had the lowest corrosion rate (51 mS/cm2) among the seven specimens, followed by the plate-V, mesh V, VI, IV, I and II (221 mS/cm2). For the fresh surface as received, after two hour open circuit potential measurements, mesh I had the most positive (noble) potential (1382 mV/SHE) among the seven electrodes followed by the plate-V electrode, mesh V, mesh IV, mesh VI, mesh III and mesh II (751 mV/SHE). After consecutive series of electrochemical testing, mesh V, mesh III, mesh VI had lower corrosion rates (~ 343± 6 µA/cm2) than that of mesh IV, mesh I, plate-V, and mesh II (~ 644± 143 µA/cm2).INTRODUCTIONThe continued use of lead based anodes in the electrowinning process has been mainly due to their relatively low cost as compared to other materials (Msindo, Sibanda, & Potgieter, 2010). They have good electrical conductivity, stability during electrolysis, very good corrosion and wear resistance (Ivanov, Stefanov, Noncheva, Petrova, Dobrev, Mirkova, Vermeersch, & Damaerel, 2010). However, lead-based anodes give their high energy consumption and low corrosion resistance for electrowinning. To overcome these problems, Dimensionally Stable Anodes (DSAs) has been chosen (Msindo et al., 2010). Comparing to the traditional lead anodes, the DSA anodes have many advantages: (1) no contamination; (2) no loss of anode material, pure electrolyte; (3) lower gas bubble effect through special anode designs; (4) use of higher current densities (Msindo et al., 2010). The success of DSA anodes has been attributed to their chemical stability that allows them to maintain nearly constant dimensions during the life of the anode even when operating in environment with low pH values. Due to their stability, the consumption rates of DSA are as low as 1 mg/amp.y (Alfantazi & Moskalyk, 2003)."

Jan 1, 2016