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By R. S. Dean

The function of the Metallurgical Division is to conduct investigations relating to the treatment of mineral products from the state in which they are mined to the refined metal or other unfabricated product. These investigations include scientific and practical studies of ore dressing, covering the crushing and grinding of ores, separation by gravity, flotation, and magnetic methods; the hydrometallurgical treatment of ores, including cyanidation and amalgamation of the precious metals; the smelting and refining of copper, lead, and zinc, as well as the rare metals; and steel-melting practices from the raw ore to the finished steel. The object of this work is to conserve natural resources and eliminate waste by furnishing information on current methods of metallurgical practice, making fundamental studies of metallurgical processes, and developing new processes to the point of demonstrating their practicability. The Division is made up of sections devoted to the several phases of this work, each section being beaded by an investigator capable of supervising his particular work. The work is carried on at the experiment stations and field offices or in the field, whichever seems test suited for the work in hand. The following projects should be mentioned as particularly outstanding among those consummated successfully during the year: 1. Application of the type of chemicals known in the textile industry as wetting-out agents to flotation and agglomeration of ores, particulary soluble salts such as sodium and potassium chloride which must be treated in saturated brine. 2. Demonstration of a linear relation between surface and coercive force in magnetic minerals and its application to magnetic separation and to the determination of grinding efficiencies and other metallurgical data which require surface determination at very fine sizes. 3. Pilot-plant demonstration of the practicability of the reduction of iron ore by natural gas and conversion of this direct iron into steel by direct melting and by forging and rolling before melting. The structure and properties of the iron so produced were studied in detail. This report covers the fiscal year July 1, 1934, to June 30, 193b.

Jan 1, 1936

THE Broken Hill mining field, approximately 31 miles in length, is at present being exploited by seven companies, viz. : North Broken Hill Limited, Junction North Broken Hill No Liability, Broken Hill Proprietary Block 14 Company, Broken Hill ProprietaryCompany Limited, Sulphide Corporation Limited, Broken Hill South Limited, and Zinc Corporation Limited.The variation in size and shape of the ore-bodies in the mines of these companies, together with the many alterations in pitch and dip, necessitates differences in methods of mining, each company working out its problem in its own particular way.In the matter of chute construction for the handling of the ore broken in the stopes, each mine belonging to the above companies has adopted a style particularly its own, though it may be said that one or two of the types approximate very closely to each other, slight minor differences only being noticed in the design. It is the purpose of this paper to give a brief description of the principal types of chutes now in use in th,e various mines on the field, and in doing so they may roughly be classified into three groups, viz:1. Bulk Chutes, 2. Circular Chutes, 3. Square-set Chutes.The Bulk type of chute is used in the North and British mines of the North Broken Hill Limited, the Central and Junction mines of the Sulphide Corporation, the South Blocks mine of the Zinc Corporation, and the Block 14 mine.The Circular type of chute is used by the Broken Hill South mine and the South Blocks mine.The Square-set chute is used in the Proprietary mine, the Junction North mine, and occasionally in other mines where the square set method of mining is a necessity, and more particularly as mullock passes.

Jan 1, 1925

By Klaus M. Zeitler

INTRODUCTION One cannot discuss the subject of "Raising Capital in the 1990s" without having a crystal ball and a reliable fortune teller. This discusses "Raising Capital for the 1990sW, which is what Metal1 Mining Corporation did in 1987. We raised (3166 million in an IPO (initial public offering) that was originally planned for only some (375 million. Why did we raise this money? How did we do it, and why was this IPO so successful? The answer to the first question requires a description of the promoter and principal shareholder of Metal1 Mining Corporation, Metallgesellschaft AG. This West Germany company was founded over 100 years ago in Frankfurt as a trading house for non-ferrous metals. It has developed into one of the world's leading firms in the non-ferrous metals industry. The company's worldwide activities in all areas of that business include mining, smelting and refining, the trading of ore, base and precious metals, the production of semi-fabricated and finished metal products, and the provision of engineering, construction and transportation services. Metallgesellschaft AG has also diversified into many other areas, the most significant of which are manufacturing, the production of chemicals, the development and application of technical and chemical processes, the planning and construction of industrial plants, and activities associated with finance, insurance, shipping and freight forwarding, and the provision of barter and countertrade services. The company maintains a network of more than 100 offices around the world; it employs some 25,000 people in its worldwide activities. [Selected financial data, as of September 30, 1987: (MetaUgesellschafl AG) Working Capital DM 8%.6 million CDNS 672.8 million Long Term Debt DM 568.0 million CDNS 426.2 million Sales DM 14.9 billion CDNS 11.2 billion Net Income DM 87.7 million CDN$ 65.8 million Market Capitalization at April 27, 1987: (Metallgesellschafi AG) Outstanding Shares ~,6oo,o0o DM 1,875 million CDNS 1,407 million] For the fiscal year ended September 30, 1987, Metallgesellschaft AG had, on a consolidated basis, net sales of DM13.3 billion, net income of DM100 million and total assets of about DM7.0 billion. Metallgesellschaft AG established the American Metal Company, a predecessor of AMAX Inc. one of the largest ventures undertaken by Metallgesellschaft AG then was the acquisition, through the American Metal Company, of a majority share in the Mexican Penoles mine, a large lead and silver deposit. METALLGESELLSCHAFT AG Figure 1 depicts an overview of Metallgesellschaft AG before and at the time the initial public offering of Metall Mining Corporation's shares took place. It shows that mining was far from the centre of Metallgesellschaft's activities. Therefore, it could not expect to receive an extraordinary amount of board attention. Thus, mining investments not only had to compare well with other mining opportunities, but were in fierce competition with projects from other divisions. In addition, mining was sub-divided into two separate departments -- domestic and international. These two departments had different management styles and diverging interests which resulted in a minimum co-operation between them. The domestic mining department was primarily interested in the survival of the local mines. These mines were characterized by rising operating costs and declining ore grades. It took a special commitment and continued ingenuity to develop and adjust to local conditions, and modern mining and processing technology, in order to remain competitive, or at least survive within the international mining industry. Local management

Jan 1, 1990

By R. F. McFarlin, H. E. El-Shall

Since its inception, the Institute of Phosphate Research has examined every promising proposal in order to find an economical, practical and environmentally sound method of dewatering phosphatic clays. The in-house development of the FIPR/DIPR process (DIPR = Dewatering Instantaneously with Pulp Recycle) would appear to answer that quest. When small amounts of fibrous materials are mixed with clay slurries and flocculent, rapid dewatering occurs. Clay solids contents of 20 to 25% can be attained by simply rolling the clay mass down an inclined screen. Higher solids (>40%) are reached by physically pressing the cake; e.g., with a belt press. Because mechanical pressing devices are too expensive for phosphatic clay treatment, FIPR has developed the "sandwich" method of simultaneously dewatering the phosphatic clays and reclaiming the mine cut, as well as a second alternate, the "median strip" proposal. Economic projections of these bench-scale alternates suggest that the FIPR/DIPR process should be no more costly than present practice, when credit is given for the simultaneous reclamation accomplished.

Jan 1, 1993

By Willard S. Morse

The purpose of this paper is to record the results obtained in the use of the Russell process at Aspen, Colo., covering a period of fourteen months, from November, 1891, to December, 1892, during which time over 30,000 tons of ore, purchased outright, on sample and assay, were treated. No explanation of results will be attempted, nor will the chemistry of the process be discussed. The plant was designed by C. A. Stetefeldt, of San Francisco, and built by the owners by day-labor. The entire plant is run by water-power, supplied by a flume 3600 feet long, and a pipe-line 2200 feet long, with a head of 170 feet. A Pelton water-wheel, 8 feet in diameter, is used, from which power is transmitted by wire-rope to the main counter-shaft in the mill, a distance of about 250 feet. From the mill to the samplingworks, about 150 feet, power is also transmitted by a wirerope. A Pelton water-wheel, 3 feet in diameter, supplies power to the dynamo for lighting the plant. The works are located adjoining the Santa Fe railroad tracks, and all ore and supplies are unloaded directly from the cars to the works. The sampling-works are provided with crushers and rolls, the latter being used only on samples, and not on the entire ore. The Cornish hand-quartering method is used in sampling ore for purchase. After crushing and sampling, the ore goes to the bedding-floor, where it is made up into mixtures suitable for the mill. The drying-plant consists of four Stetefeldt double shelfdryers, six shelves high, and is provided with dust-chambers and a stack 65 feet high for draft. These dryers are fired with gas

Jan 1, 1896

By Charles H. Ricker

Simulation models have been widely used to analyze the operations and characteristics of a variety of systems. Such models mimmick a projected reality by analyzing the interaction of the events, transactions, and facilities which combine to make up the system. The models are structured as a computer representation of the system components and their logical, precedence and timing relationships. The operation of the system is then simulated over some finite time interval to gather analytical and staistical data. This paper presents a method whereby bulk handling systems, either actual or proposed, may be analyzed by means of simulation models to project the enconomic consequences which may be expected from the system over some future time interval. An example is given to illustrate the construction of bulk handling simulation models, the derivation of performance data, and the analysis of the information with an eye to effective decision making.

Jan 1, 1974

By Raj R. Kallu

Underground gold mines in Nevada are typically hosted in geologic zones with a wide range of geotechnical properties ranging from blocky competent rock to faulted and highly altered soil-like material. Geotechnical engineering design in weak rock utilizes rock mass classification systems as inputs to both empirical and numerical methods. The most common rock mass classification system utilized in the gold mines of Nevada is the easy-to-use Rock Mass Rating (RMR) system; however, in practice it is difficult to apply in weak to very weak rock masses. This paper attempts to improve the sensitivity of RMR in weak rock masses by utilizing W-RMR?a modified procedure for calculating RMR?and evaluates its performance against other methods of determining RMR for predicting in situ moduli. In-situ rock mass moduli were determined using a portable plate loading device (PPLD), and these data were used to quantify the improved sensitivity of the modified RMR versus existing classification systems. The PPLD was designed for performing rapid and economical in-situ deformability tests in a mining environment. Tests were performed at eight sites yielding thirteen rock mass moduli measurements. Statistical analyses indicate Detailed-Discontinuity RMR-89 and W-RMR provide the best correlations to the in-situ moduli compared to other methods of calculating RMR.

Jan 1, 2014

By Robert T. Hill

The successful completion, January 10,1901, by Capt. A. F. Lucas, of a well, near Beaumont, Texas, whereby an enormous flow, estimated at '75,000 barrels a day, was obtained, opened a new oil-field in the United States, kindled a frenzy of exploitation and speculation, revolutionized the fuel industry of a large region, and brought gain to thousands of people. Even to-day, it is impossible to cast up the present results or to prognosticate the future influence of this event. It has caused the revival of attention in other localities where oil had been suspected, and exploration for oil throughout the Texas region. It has attracted notice to the mineral resources of the Texas region, and created an interest in the geological conditions of that great State. This State, which has increased in population and wealth, as recorded by every succeeding census, with leaps and bounds such as are exhibited by no other part of the Union, now stands fifth in population and first in productive wealth per capita. Its fields, pastures, forests and mines teem with raw material. The whole economic evolution of the State has gravitated toward a focal point where these products were available for the coming of the kiln, the machine and the factory. The only drawback to the prosperity of the State was the lack of an economic fuel, inferior coal costing an average of $5.00 per ton at the time of the Beaumont discovery. This

Jan 1, 1903

By T. D. Yensen, N. A. Ziegler

The elements aluminum,' arsenic,2 silicon,3 tin2 and vanadium,~.~ when used in relatively small amounts as alloying elements, seem to have a beneficial effect on the magnetic properties of iron—i. e., they increase the maximum permeability and decrease the coercive force—whereas there are definite indications that boron,5 carbon,6 nitrogen: oxygen," phosphorus16 sulfur6 and titaninum,~ as well as the metals of and adjacent to the ferromagnetic group, nickel,~ cobalt,1° copper," and manganese,% have a detrimental effect on these properties. The effects of calcium4 and magnesium4 are small, if any, while the effect of chromium12 in small amounts is unknown and in large amounts is generally detrimental. WeveR's Classification13 All chemical elements may be divided into three classes based on their effect on the allotropic transformation points of iron. Class 1 contains the nonmetallic elements (except phosphorus) and these lower the A3 point and raise the A4 point. Class 2 contains the common metals and

Jan 1, 1931

By H Jha, M C. Thomas, P Gupta, S K. Sit

The modern jig with a state-of-the-art control system is much more effective than its older version. This improved control system is used to modulate the amplitude and the frequency of the jig cycle. These two prime parameters are optimised with respect to feed characteristics for best jigging performance. Based on this understanding any jigging plant can be optimised. In addition to these established facts present study shows process efficiency improves further through optimisation of the feed quality.

Jan 1, 2007

By G. K. Derby

Five different types of drilling systems were developed under the flexible drill program that was initiated by the Federal Bureau of Mines to protect roof bolter operators. The systems were designed for underground coal mines with seams as low as 30 inches, and with roof bolts longer than the height of the seam opening. Four of the developed systems were true flexible drills; the fifth was a remote-controlled, automatic rod changer concept. Only two of the five firms successfully completed testing requirements under the original contracts: BendixCorp.,4 with a true-flex drill; and Ingersoll-Rand Research, Inc., with the rod changer concept. The Bendix drill was rated best, and the Ingersoll-Rand drill was rated second. Because of the closeness of the ratings and the vast differences in the two development concepts, both systems had sufficient potential to justify further development funding for design updating and testing. Also, both systems warranted consideration for inclusion into other ongoing development projects under both safety and energy directed programs.

Jan 1, 1978

By Emil H. Geus

A process has been developed to recover aluminum from dross which does not require the use of salt flux as commonly employed, This results in a salt-free residue which has potential industrial uses or alternatively can be safely land-filled. The dross is first heated by an air-fuel or oxy-fuel burner in a sealable rotary furnace. At a suitable temperature the burner is turned off and the temperature of the dross thereafter controlled by means of an atmosphere of oxidative and inert gases. When the free metal has agglomerated it is first discharged from the furnace, followed by the residues.

Jan 1, 1995

By Charlie Yates, Max Ramey, Kurt Nielsen, Michael Hardy

The Yankee Gulch sodium minerals project (YGP) is a solution mining project operated by American Soda. The mine operates on a federal lease administered by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Commercial operations began in November2000. In 1964, Irv Nielsen discovered nahcolite mineralization where the YGP pilot plant is now located near the Piceance Creek in Rio Blanco County, Colorado (Nielsen, 1969).Development of the project accelerated after Williams Corp., of Tulsa, OK, joined with American Alkali in1996 to form American Soda. Pilot testing by American Soda led to commercial permitting, plant design, construction and startup. Figure 1 shows the location of the Yankee Gulch leases and the location of the upper and lower plant sites.

Jan 1, 2003

By Gary W. LaChapelle

Cyprus Miami Mining Corp. has a history of overcoming adversity through innovation and adaptation to changing conditions. Requirements to remain profitable in the 1990s include a combination of advanced technology, employee involvement and training, attention to customer satisfaction, environmental awareness and quality management. The Miami property is located in the Globe-Miami area of Arizona, 130 km (80 miles) east of Phoenix and 160 km (100 miles) north of Tucson. The complex is located in a high desert environ¬ment at an elevation of 1065 m (3500 ft). The region receives about 480 mm (19 in.) of precipitation annually. History Mineralization at the Miami property was first discovered in the 1880s, which led to underground mining of copper by the 1890s. In 1911, the Inspiration Consolidated Copper Co. was formed by combining the Inspiration and Live Oak Mines. Full-scale production began in 1915. Block caving methods were used at both mines. Open-pit mining commenced in 1948. Underground mining had ceased by 1954, and all production was obtained from surface operations. Innovation has been the key to Miami's success. Development of sulfide flotation and the ferric cure process for vat leaching were advanced at Miami. In situ leaching of oxide material, remaining after block caving had removed the sulfide ore, was also used.

Jan 1, 1993

By Oswaldo Bustamante

El presente texto describe los resultados de medición de energía libre superficial a través del Microscopio de Fuerza (MFA) y su relación con la hidrofobicidad y posterior flotación de partículas de oro. Para ello, se evalúa la adsorción específica de los colectores sobre partículas de oro, el cual permite medir la diferencia de energía libre superficial y su relación con la recuperación del oro en la flotación espumante.

Nov 1, 2014

By John H. Nicholls

In this paper, Imperial Oil Limited reports briefly on the drilling by contract rigs of twenty-nine slim holes in the Virden, Smiley, and Souris Valley areas. The investigations showed that slim-hole penetration rates, as a result of careful control of drilling variables, can approach those achieved with 7 7/8-inch bits. It is concluded that slim-hole drilling is acceptable for development or exploratory work. Imperial also reports on the completion techniques and equipment that have been developed on twenty-seven tubingless 2 1/2-inch casing completions. Indications are that the method is economically desirable where excessive gas or water production is not anticipated.

Jan 1, 1958

By M. N. Shetty

LARGE copper whiskers were grown from cuprous iodide by reduction with hydrogen at about 500°C. Carefully selected single-crystal whiskers of [loo], [110], and [Ill] orientations were used and the whisker shapes and cross sections are shown in Fig. 1. Spec-trographic analysis of a typical batch of whiskers showed that the composition was better than 99.9 pct with iron and silicon as the major impurities. The test specimens varied from about 70 to 400 u in diam and they did not show a conspicuous yield drop as observed in very fine whiskers (diam <25 u), tested by Brenner.1 The characteristics of the stress-strain curves were similar to those of bulk single crystals, even though the maximum flow stresses reached in some orientations were comparable to the yield stresses observed in fine whiskers. Mechanical properties of whiskers of different materials and copper whiskers up to about 100 u in diam have been reviewed,&apos; and a mechanism of slip band propagation in fine whiskers has been recently suggested.3 Whiskers in this work were tested in a floor-model Instron testing machine using low strain rates. (Details of the testing procedure, diameter dependence of the yield stress, and the characteristics of the load elongation and stress-strain curves have appeared esewhere.4) Due to the extensive deformation, >50

Jan 1, 1970

STANFORD UNIVERSITY, CALIFORNIA Our activities for the year 1918-19 have closed with the coming of summer. It has been a most successful year in many respects, especially in the reorganization necessary after the war conditions had passed. An INITIATION SCENE AT STANFORD UNIVERSITY. "old-days" initiation was held on the Stanford campus by the Society a few weeks ago. The accompanying picture explains some of what took place when the following men were taken into the membership: W. P. Winham, Salinas, Calif. ; T. L. Wark, Long Beach, Calif.; P. L. Henderson, Greeley, Colo.; T. E. Bassett, Palo Alto, Calif.; and R. G. Wheelton, Long Beach, Calif. CHAS. A. DOBBEL, Secretary.

Jan 8, 1919

Dilution in underground coal operations can be underestimated by up to five times during feasibility studies, with disastrous economic consequences. Every one per cent of stone waste introduced can reduce an in situ specific energy of 25 MJ/kg by some 0.25 MJ/kg and increases the abrasiveness of the run-of-mine coal. Where a wash plant is not in place, penalties imposed for not meeting contractual specifications alone can amount to some $A 1 million per year. This paper presents a method for monitoring, reporting and ultimately controlling dilution in an underground coal mining operation and presents the dilution trends from a continuous miner/longwall mine over an eight year period. The overall dilution level for the mine can be back-calculated by comparing the run-of-mine coal quality to the predicted in situ, undiluted quality. However, this will not identify the actual contaminant types, areas of the mine responsible for the dilution and the reasons for the dilution. This additional information is essential for controlling dilution to acceptable levels. Quality and horizon control using existing sampling information is generally only adequate for longer-term control purposes, and is not suitable for monitoring mining-induced dilution. The cost of close-spaced surface drilling to collect the information necessary for short-term control is prohibitive, particularly for deeper mines. However, much of this data can be collected through underground channel sampling and horizon control measurements taken during continuous miner development and longwall extraction. The mine runs the risk of not meeting contractual quality specifications and of increased equipment wear if this additional information is not available and the sources of dilution cannot be controlled. The information can also be used to plan longwall extraction heights on a short-term scale with resulting improvements in productivity.

Jan 1, 2003

By A. Oja, M. Lahtinen, P. Salonen, B. Saxen

Most of the secondary and low grade zinc raw materials cannot be treated successfully by either conventional roasting - leaching - electrowinning (RLE) process or even by atmospheric direct leaching process. The problems arising especially from high impurity content of these raw materials can be effectively solved by implementation of the solvent extraction process. The utilization of solvent extraction process has been demonstrated by Outotec with raw materials like Waelz oxide, crude zinc oxide and zinc containing concentrator tailings. Based on batch and continuous test work it has been shown that SHG quality zinc can be produced even from the lowest grade raw materials. Impurity control in the solvent extraction process has been examined. The solvent extraction process is the key feature of the whole zinc plant for such raw materials. However, design of the entire zinc process including neutralization and bleed treatment is important for optimization of investment and operation costs of the plant. Very careful evaluation of the zinc process with modern simulation tools is essential. The optimized Outotec zinc process ensures a sustainable and profitable process containing minimal effluent and requiring little residue treatment.

Jan 1, 2014