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By Terry McNulty

DOUG HALBE: I've decided that we're going to change tactics here and we're going to be nice to people from now on. [Co-chair makes gesture of intense disbelief; laughter] I've also decided who's not going to be a co-chair next year. [laughter] We thought we'd get a couple of experts for our next presentation: some people with a lot of experience. We've asked them to tell us some of the things that all of you operators out there might be able to apply immediately to your plant. Our next two speakers have a tremendous amount of experience, and I think you'll find what they're going to say is highly pertinent to most plants. I looked through their paper and found some things that I could have used in the plants I operated in the past. Our first speaker is Terry McNulty. A lot of you know Terry. He was with Anaconda for a number of years as director of research. He then was president of Hazen Research. I'm going to continue with our new custom of saying nice things. Terry is the guy that I call when I don't know something, and he's always got the answer. SPEAKER: Who do you work for, Doug? [laughter] DOUG HALBE: Remember that we're being nice to people here, Joe. I know that's a stretch. [laughter] TERRY McNULTY: Thank you, Doug. I'm a little bit mystified by this sudden switch of tactics just before I get to the podium. Doug's been a good friend for a lot of years so I guess I do have to be nice. I won't say anything deprecatory about him, but I would have to comment that the observations made by earlier speakers have been far too generous. [laughter] During nine years of consulting as a mineral processor and extractive metallurgist, I have often conducted audits of the performance of client's plants. Usually these audits have been ordered by the plant management in hopes of identifying opportunities for improving processing efficiency or reducing costs. Some of the audits, however, have been financed by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPFU) and member utilities with the objective of

Jan 1, 1998

By Jorgen Elbrond

The capacity calculation of complex transportation systems involving variable activity times such as encountered in the mining industry are often worked out by means of simulation, which reconstructs waiting times and cycle times. The queuing theory, which mathematically calculates waiting times, has been used mainly to describe the, phenomena. This is due partly to the difficulties encountered in modelling complex systems and partly to the difficulty of reconciling the required time distribution laws with the real phenomena by means of the queuing theory. It is, however, obvious that formulas for capacity calculations would be preferable to simulation procedures because of their higher calculation speed, shorter and more flexible programs and shorter programming work. The calculation procedure presented in this paper is composed of some rather simple models, which are based on the queuing theory, and on some probabilistic and some deterministic considerations. The models are supported by observations, and to some extent by simulations. It has been attempted to find all the components of the cycle time and to include them in a comprehensive model. It is the intention to demonstrate that even quite complex mine transportation systems can be treated by means of the queuing theory with the advantages mentionned above and, without sacrificing the precision of the estimates. The speed of calculation of a wide range of parameter combinations is such that the procedure can be used extensively by a project engineer in the search for optimal modifications of the entire transportation system.

Jan 1, 1979

By W. G. Davenport

Changes in copper extraction from 1960 till today are documented. The top ten changes have been: (a) replacement of reverberatory smelting by high intensity oxygen rich smelting (b) growth of the Outokumpu flash smelting to over 50% of the world's smelting capacity (c) successful development of single furnace coppermaking but only for low slag fall concentrates (d) replacement of the batch Peirce-Smith converter by continuous converting, but only in a few cases (e) increased SO2 capture throughout the industry, mainly-as sulfuric acid (f) development of low initiation temperature `big bight' Cs catalysts for treating the continuous high-SO2 strength gases from continuous smelting/converting (g) complete replacement of reverberatory anode scrap and cathode melting furnaces by the Asarco shaft furnace (h) adoption of stainless steel permanent cathodes and automated stripping technology for electrorefining and electrowinning (i) complete elimination of wire bar casting by continuous bar casting/rod rolling (j) development and adoption of extractants for turning weak impure leach solutions into strong pure electrolytes. It is postulated that the biggest possible change over the next 20 years would be complete replacement of smelting/converting by hydrometallurgical processing. However, this seems unlikely due to copper purity, precious metal recovery, and economic concerns. The increasing value of sulfuric acid to many copper companies gives chalcopyrite smelting/oxide-supergene leaching a nice synergy especially with the energy credits now coming from continuous smelters, and their acid plants.

Jan 1, 1999

Since I have had the pleasure of watching the development of this process very closely, I feel that I ought to say a few words on the subject, although I cannot add much to what Mr. Roe has already said. I wish, however, to bear witness to the hard work, persistence and skill which have been exercised during the past two years, and which have so well deserved the success attained. Those of us who remember the history of the past efforts in this line, such as the rotary puddlers, in which also some of us had a part, can easily appreciate the problems involved, and may well be skeptical as to the outcome. Such, at least, was my frame of mind when the process first came under my notice. Now, after having seen every heat, but three, of the many made, it really seems to me that a process and plant for the mechanical puddling of iron has at last been developed which is practical, economical and successful. Of course I do not mean by this that either the process or the machines are developed to their highest point, technically or economically, but that, in my opinion, these goals are in plain view, and that the difficulties which remain are such as will be overcome by developing the skill of the operator through practice ;

Jan 1, 1903

By B. Prof. Silliman

THE experiments detailed by Dr. Hunt,* having demonstrated the fact that the copper contained in the "clay ore" of Jones's Mine, was rendered completely soluble in the bath of ferrous chloride, used in the Hunt and Douglas process, after heating in contact with carbonaceous matter in a close vessel, I set myself to devise a form of muffle furnace adapted to the treatment of large quantities of these and similar ores by a continuous process. The result is shown in the diagrams on Plate X, reduced from the working drawings, after which this furnace was built early in 1876, at Phoenixville, by the Chemical Copper Company on their works at this place. The peculiar character of this ore determined the form, dimensions, and position, with reference to charging and discharging of these muffles. The ore arrived from the mine with from 20 to 25 per cent. of moisture, and when dried at 212° F., or more slowly at lower temperature, it falls to a light incoherent powder, with occasional lumps of undecomposed rock. In this condition it is readily mingled with coal-dust or any like reducing agent, and requires no other preparation for the muffle than the use of the shovel, to mix it well with the reducing agent. As it is a remarkably good non-conductor of heat, it was obvious that the mass, to be heated through in a reasonable time, must not be too thick, while the weight of the mass must be sustained in a way to avoid undue strain upon the walls of the muffle. These walls must be as thin as practicable, to favor the more rapid transmission of heat, and must, therefore, be so con¬structed as to admit of being stayed on the sides at frequent intervals to resist the lateral thrust of the very mobile mass of pulverulent ore, which, for obvious reasons, must be charged at the top and drawn from the bottom of each chamber. These considerations led to the form adopted, viz., two vertical muffles, standing upon very strong bridge tiles, seen in longitudinal section, on the line E, F, and in plan in Fig. 3, on the same plane. (Plate X.) The vertical section of the muffle is seen in Fig. 4, drawn in the plane G, H, of the longitudinal section, Fig. 6, which is the key to all sections. The walls of the muffles are built of the best firebrick, very care- * See paper by Dr. Hunt, page 325.

Jan 1, 1876

By Robert F. Calman

OUTLINE FIVE EXAMPLES OF GOLD-LINKED FINANCINGS 1. Financing the Lupin Mine • Sale of Cdn $40.0 million of 12% preferred shares and Cdn $40.0 million of Gold Purchase Warrants @ $595 per ounce. 2. Financing the Copper Range acquisition • Borrowing 100,000 ounces from a Canadian chartered bank @ US$307 for five years. 3. Financing the Round Mountain expansion • Borrowing up to US $80.0 million in dollars, convertible into gold, repayable over five years from a group of North American banks. 4. Financing the Tenneco Precious Metals Division acquisition •Sale of SFr 110.0 million of ten year 3-718% bonds with warrants to buy 132,000 ounces of gold at US $560. 5. On Forward Sales, Puts and Calls • Gold, Silver, Canadian Dollars, Swiss Francs THE FINANCIAL RULES AT ECHO BAY 1. Never bet the company 2. Equity is the primary form of capital for a gold mining company 3. On debt 4. The Yardsticks for Corporate Decisions 5. Financial Community Relationships 6. Dividend Policy No Text Available Tables Follow

Jan 1, 1990

Discussion of the paper of R. J. COLONY, presented at the New York Meeting, February, 1921, and issued With MINING AND METALLURGY No. 169, January, 1921. R. J. COLONY (author's reply to discussion).-The work of Sosman and Merwin on the system lime-ferric oxide, mentioned by Mr. Rankin, was not overlooked. When studying portland cements and portland-cement clinkers petrographically, however, the lime-iron compound was difficult to correlate with the very definite dicalcium ferrite described by those investigators, which possesses such well-defined optical properties. In portland cements, the calcium ferrite (or ferrate?) is an indefinite, fuzzy, and generally amorphous, or apparently amorphous substance that is distributed interstitially with respect to the other grains, from which it was very difficult to derive any satisfactory results. For this reason, the writer, tentatively, chose to regard it as related to the aluminate, and assigned to it the composition 3CaO.Fe203, which may be incorrect, however, as Mr. Rankin suggests.

Jan 8, 1921

By Rokot M

In a little over three years, Chevron Niugini has built up a team of relatively young, hard working men and women, mostly Papua New Guineans, who spend most of their working days out among people in the Southern Highlands and Gulf Provinces who are directly affected by the Kutubu Petroleum Development Project. These are Land and Community Relations officers, or LACROs. They take on a huge responsibility, not only representing Chevron but also being friend, advisor and negotiator, frequently dispensers of medicines, and agricultural advice and more. When things go well, others get the praise, when things go wrong, LACROs are the martyrs. Just as the geologists who locate the oil, the drillers who find it, the engineers who design the facilities, the construction gangs who build them, the landowners who claim it, and the Government who monitor it, so are the LACROs part of a team.

Jan 1, 1991

By Baker G

Chromite was recorded among the rare minerals in the natural beach sand concentrates on the coast of Northern New South Wales by Whitworth(l) in 1931, and the commercial production of zircon and rutile from these beach sands has yielded concentrates of ilmenite with small amounts of chromium. The chromite is a detrimental impurity in the utilisation of the ilmenite, and the difficulties that attend the separation of the small amount of chromite from the ilmunite have raised suggestions from time to time that chromite occurs with ilmenite in composite grains. The absence of such composite grains and the nature of the chromite grains has been indicated by the following mineragraphic examination of magnetic concentrates containing chromite which were prepared by the C.S.I.R. Ore Dressing Laboratory, Melbourne University, from ilmenite concentrates from beach sands at Norrie's Head, County Rous, New South Wales and Stradbroke Island, Queensland.The magnetic concentrates from each locality are divided into five fractions, and the No. 1 concentrate is the most highly magnetic and the tailing the least magnetic. Chromium assays as determined by the Ore Dressing Laboratory are as follows:-

Jan 1, 1948

By Eugene L. Foster

The engineering profession has traditionally devoted its efforts to understanding and modifying the Earth's environment in order to adapt it to man's needs. In appraising our overall performance, I would have to say it has been a mixed bag. In many areas, notably communications taken in the broadest sense, and development of creature comforts, we have done a good job. In others, we have failed, particularly in our assessment of the effect of our work on the environment. Our failures have been due in part to a lack of understanding or foresight, and in part to a disproportionate emphasis on lowest first cost. Now, with an increasingly large number of people living in a finite environment, there is an urgent need for reassessment. It is no longer possible to pursue a single objective without regard to its side effects. Our projects are too large, and there are too many of them. Environmental impacts must be taken into account in all important engineering decisions of the future. There are forces at work which will help to bring this about. Thinking people everywhere have realized that adverse alteration of our environment eventually affects every one of us. The majority of our citizens, who now live in cities, are beginning to appreciate the advantages of a good natural environment in a way which others who have been closer to the soil have appreciated for years. Our people have flocked to the cities because they wanted to be "where the action is." At the same time, there is a strong desire for what we have come to call the quality of life. Today, we all want the standard creature comforts. We want to be able to move freely

Jan 1, 1974

By Goerge F. Weaton

Since 1909, when an agreement between Minnesota's Tax Commission and the University of Minnesota's School of Mines was worked out, it has been the annual responsibility of the School to evaluate and classify the iron ore deposits within the State. These unique duties of an academic institution have provided School officials with an excellent view of the past, present and probable future of the mining industry in Minnesota as the average grade of iron ore (excluding taconite) * diminishes while at the same time it competes with beneficiated taconites and foreign high-grade ores for use in America's eastern blast furnaces. SYSTEM OF EVALUATION In the latter part of November of each year, the Mining Division of the Department of Taxation makes a preliminary study of the active mines which the Department wants the School of Mines to review. These are discussed with the engineers of the Ore Estimate Division of the School of Mines and with the mining companies. After these discussions, a list of the mines of each of the major operating companies is submitted to the Ore Estimate Division of the School of Mines with the request that these properties be reviewed by them as of the next assessment date (May 1st). At the same time, a letter is sent to the mining companies requesting that they submit to the Division their own estimates on the selected mines operated by them, together with all computations, drill records, maps and cross-sections. The mining companies are re- quested to send in this information during the first half of the year, and, as far as is possible, they have always complied with this request promptly. Much of this information received by the School of Mines is of a confidential nature and is treated as such.

Jan 1, 1965

THE question of dealing with the small quantities of copper found in a great many of the purchased ores became a factor of importance when the Sulphide Corporation decided to refine its own lead bullion, as the presence of this impurity has a marked effect on the efficiency of the de-silverizing operations of the Parkes process. Removal of the copper from the base bullion.The copper is removed from the base bullion by drossing, which collects the copper, and at the same time has considerable gold, silver, and lead values. The drassing of the bullion is done in two stages-firstly, at the smelters; and secondly, in thecopper kettles at the refinery. In both cases a "wet" dross is produced, which is subsequently "sweated" in a suitable type of furnace. When "dry" the dross is raked out and stored until enough accumulates to warrant a nUl on dross in the small blastfurnace kept for that purpose. A typical assay of the "dry" dross is as follows...WORKING THE DROSS UP TO LOW-GRADE CU-PB MATTEThe accumulated dross is treated in a small blast furnace with the necessary fiuxes, producing a low-grade Cu-Pb matte and base lead bullion.

Jan 1, 1920

E. T. Dumble, Houston, Texas (communication to the Secretary) : During the field-season of 1890 I had occasion to examine some of the salines of eastern Texas. As the result of my stridy of them I came to the conclusion that, together with the oil of Hardin county (since extended to Beaumont by the work of Capt. Lucas) and the rock-salt and gypsum-deposits of the coast country, extending southward to the Rio Grande, these were simply a continuation of similar deposits in Louisiana described by Hilgard, Hopkins, and others; and I recommended the sinking of wells wberever they were found.

Jan 1, 1902

By Denis Raymond, Yvon Trudeau

"Abstract-The Orion gold mine, located 7 km northeast of the town of Malartic, Quebec, was discovered in mid-1985. Underground exploration was undertaken in 1986Ieading to commercial production in 1988. The upper part of the orebody was exploited above the 125 m level and a total of 131 090 t at an average grade of 5.31 g/t gold were extracted.This paper describes the authors' current knowledge and interpretation of the geology, gold distribution, and structure of the Orion No. 8 ore zone deposit. The deposit is an epigenetic lode gold occurrence somewhat unique in that both quartz-vein type and pyritic type of gold ore occur side-by-side. It is located within the Marban-Norlartic Deformation Corridor (MNDC) formed during a first deformation stage (D1). The MNDC is a well-defined regional structural feature in the Val d'Or- Malartic mining camp. Primary gold mineralization is associated with the D1 event and is represented by pyritized , silicified and brecciated basaltic lavas enclosed by ultramafic flow units. The ore zone is concordant with the MNDC. Felsic intrusions are spatially related with the ore zone, but their role in the genesis of the ore has yet to be defined.A second deformation event (D2) resulted in local folding, a second schistosity (S2) and reverse faulting. Gold remobilization, the formation of the gold-bearing quartz breccia and the emplacement of the main quartz vein at the No . 8 zone deposit were associated with this event."

Jan 1, 1992

THIS excellent volumetric method commends itself as a means of estimating the fineness of silver firstly, owing to the large number of possible impurities which do not affect its accuracy (these impurities include Cu-up to 70 % Au, Ph, Zn, Bi, Cd, Fe, Mn, Sb, and As); secondly, the method combines accuracy with speed. The above impurities are the only ones likely to be present in the B. H. A. S. Pty. Ltd. refined silver, and, with the exception of Cu and Au, the others, if present at all, would be well under 0.1 parts per 1000.Briefly stated, the method consists in the solution of the refined silver in HN03 , addition of ferric alum (indicator), and titration with an alkaline (either ammonium or potassium) thiocyanate solution until the brown ferric thiocyanate is formed, and gives a definite tint to the solution. The method is used at the Port Pirie smelters, and the outstanding feature in the method as there applied is the type of burette employed. This burette enables the operator to read 0.01 of a cc. with ease, whereas, with the ordinary burette fitted with a float, 0.05 of a cc., when a number of readings have to be taken, becomes very straining to the eyes. Moreover, waiting for the float to rise, and dislodging air bubbles from it, hinders rapid working.A description of the burette and fittings is appended with fig. 2. DETAILS OF THE METHODSolutions required are:a) Stock Solutions:(1) Ammonium thiocyanate, 40 grm. per litre of water; 30 litres are prepared and placed in a carboy with glass syphon attached.(2) Ferric alum, 250 grnl. per litre; two litres are prepared.

Jan 1, 1922

By D. Randall Crooke, Ron R. Jorgenson

Many coal combustion products (CCPs) have historically been unsuitable for placement as mine backfill because of their physical and geochemical properties and/or regulatory status. However, innovations in paste production and transport of CCPs utilizing the high, fine particle contents of these fine-grained waste materials and their water retention colloidal properties produce a non-segregating, self-cementing material that may be environmentally suitable for placement as mine backfill. Both industry and the regulatory agencies are enthused by the possible cost reductions, both in design and construction of disposal sites, and the reduced environmental impacts of CCP realized by implementation of this new use/disposal technology.

Jan 1, 2001

By J. Edwards

A new, world class dump leach, solvent extraction, electrowinning plant for the recovery of copper comes on line in Chile. CODELCO-Div. Chuquicamata has added a new facility to their operations located in northern Chile. The plant demonstrates many unusual features including: underground collection of leachate, high copper tenors, extensive use of plastics and special corrosion resistant alloys.

Jan 1, 1989

By G. L. Wilhelm

Prior to the construction of a 450 tpd concentrator at the Mayflower mine, owned by the New Park Mining Co. and operated by the Hecla Mining Co., the common mining methods were cut and fill, with waste or gob filling and square set timbering with waste fill. Stoping operations were beset with the usual problems related to waste filling methods- storage and handling of fill material from development, costly waste excavations necessary to obtain a portion of the needed waste rock, slow mining cycles due to filling and inefficient ground support. After Hecla Mining Co.'s successful utilization of sandfill in its mines in the Coeur d'Alene district, utilization of hydraulic fill in stoping operations at the Mayflower was a logical development of the modernization plan then in progress. The mine, located in the southeasterly part of the Park City mining district, Utah, is a medium size producer of lead and zinc ores, with gold, silver and copper as secondary minerals. The mine has been producing commercial ore since 1939 from a dual vein system which outcrops at an elevation of 7200 ft in the Wasatch Range. Access to the present mining areas is gained by a 7200-ft haulage tunnel and by an interior, three-compartment main shaft. The present mining horizons are about 2400 ft deep. The average horizontal cut and fill stopes, ranging from 3-15 ft wide and up to 120 ft long, can be classed as small.

Jan 5, 1968

By Leo J. Miller

It is both an honor and a pleasure for me to be the keynote speaker for the Paul F. Kerr's Symposium on Applied Mineralogy. Professor Kerr was a man for all seasons to his students, and he treated all students as distinct individuals. Philip Bethke in his memorial to Dr. Kerr summed up our remembrance best by stating that "We have lost our most successful educator-administrator-scholar, who was our steadfast teacher-counselor-mentor-friend." His unique trait was the ability to bring out the best in a variety of individuals In order that their performance was at the peak of quality.

Jan 1, 1985

By Gerardo Muñoz

All along this century CODELCO's smelters have been operating on conventional technology, which Codelco has streamlined by using oxygen, developing oxy-fuel burners for reverberatory furnaces and introducing oxygen smelting of concentrates in converters (Teniente Converters). Chuquicamata began capturing sulfur from its first Teniente Converter in 1985. Since then, it has implemented a program allowing to gradually increase such capture. In 1994 a Frame Law on the Environment was enacted in Chile. By virtue thereof and of CODELCO's corporate environmental policy, an investment program aimed at capturing more than 95% of gaseous pollutants in all its smelters in a term not exceeding twelve years was established. The above entails a substantial improvement of the operational management as regards fugitive gases capture and treatment. This paper describes the way CODELCO is to deal with this challenge with a view to fully complying with environmental regulations and obtaining the required environmental certifications of its operations.

Jan 1, 1996