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By Thierry Bernard, Pierre M. Vuillaume, Michel Kiszlo

In the context of its studies for the french ministry of the environment and for the French national coal board, INERIS (the French institute for the industrial environment and hazards, formerly CERCHAR) has made a complete critical survey of the methods generally used to reduce the levels of blasting vibrations.

Jan 1, 1996

By J Zhao, C E. Loo

The flame front is a narrow region in the iron ore sintering bed where coke particles combust. The maximum flame front temperature is as high as 1400°C. At high temperatures, the sinter mix components react to form melts, which facilitates material coalescence and the formation of dense sinter particles. It is well-established that flame front speed is an important factor influencing sinter productivity, sinter quality and fuel rate. In this work, the effect of suction, coke addition and mix moisture on flame front speed was studied in a pilot-scale sinter pot and also using the outputs of a recently developed theoretical model, which takes into account most of the significant physicochemical processes in sintering. Airflow through the bed has a large influence on flame front speed. A power law relationship between these two parameters means that increasing sintering airflow rate will lead to increased flame front speed, but the increases become smaller at higher airflow rates. Sinter pot test results showed that increasing coke addition decreased green bed permeability and increased flame front temperature, which resulted in increased flame front resistance and decreased flame front speed. Studies also showed that green bed properties are sensitive to sinter mix moisture level. The changes in green bed properties further influence the flame front speed and temperature.CITATION:Zhao, J and Loo, C E, 2015. Dependence of flame front speed on iron ore sintering conditions, in Proceedings Iron Ore 2015, pp 83–90 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 13, 2015

By F. P. Dewey

The Falling Cliff Mine adjoins on the west the Bertha Mine, from which a large amount of first-class ore has been taken, producing the purest zinc known to commerce. The two mines are in the same hill, Bertha being on the northern slope and Falling Cliff on the toy and opposite slope. The formlation is No. 2 limestone. Although considerable exploration has been clone by numerous shafts and' tunnels (there being over six hundred feet of the latter), no satisfactory determination of the dip and strike of the vein could be made on account of its contortions, the ore descending from the top to the bottom of the tunnels and rising again in very short distances ; but enough has been done to indicate a very large mass of

Jan 1, 1882

By P Mulvey

"Currently mine process studies and geochemical waste characterisation are considered as two interdependent studies, necessary for the development of the mine and inclusion in the environmental impact statement (EIS). Geochemical waste characterisation will utilise the simulated tailings produced by the mine process studies team to understand the behaviour of the tailings, but the two teams rarely integrate these to develop a coherent and agreed final design.Thorough mine waste geochemical assessments can develop processes to minimise environmental harm, resulting in substantial savings in the decommissioning, closure and rehabilitation phases, and may also be able to address changes in mineral processing methods that can result in substantial savings in process inputs, or even recovery of metal concentrates.Based on geochemical waste characterisation, the full cost of waste management can be calculated and incorporated into the costing of milling.  This allows for a more effective evaluation of the metallurgy.  A number of examples are presented in which substantial improvements have been made from the collaboration of both the metallurgical and geochemical teams during planning and the metallurgical team and environmental team during operations.*This paper is only available for individual download. It is not included in the conference proceedings*CITATION:Mulvey, P, 2013. Optimising metallurgy at the planning stage to minimise environmental impact - a feedback loop from geochemical waste characterisation, presented to MetPlant 2013 Conference (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne)."

Jul 15, 2013

The income of the Institute is derived from dues, subscriptions to MINING AND METALLURGY and sale of publications. These sources are fortunately supplemented by the interest from invested funds now amounting to over $500,000, a considerable portion constituting endowments for especial purposes. Aside from the medal funds the principal endowments are the James Douglas Fund for support of the Library, the Rocky Mountain Fund and the Seeley W. Mudd Memorial Fund. The income from the two last named is available for the support of research and a variety of other purposes. It is allocated by the Board of Directors upon recommendation of standing committees in each case. An active effort is being made to increase the endowments of the Institute, it being felt that unusual opportunities exist for research and public and professional service through the organization and at a minimum of expense.

Jan 1, 1932

By S. J. Thomas, P. A. Lilly

With support from the Australian mining industry and the Federal Government, three Australian universities are collaboratively developing flexible-format, web-based course content and delivery in rock mechanics for undergraduate mining engineering students. This paper describes the educational philosophy behind the development and summarises other salient features of the Program. Mit der Unterstuetzung von der austlalischer Bergbauindustrie und der Bundesregierung, drei austlalische Universtaeten in Zusammenarbeit entwickeln flexibel Netzgengruendet auf Lehrganginhalt und Lieferung in Felsgestein fuer Bergbaustudenten. Dieses Schreiben erlautert das Unterrichtsphilosophie hinter der Entwicklung und Zusammenfassung anderer Hauptpunkte von diesem Programm" Avec l'assistance de l'industrie miniere australienne et du gouvernement federal , 3 universites Australiennes collaborent a la mise en place d'un programme de mecanique des sols pour etudiants- ingenieurs en mines. Ce programme serait a la fois flexible et accessible par Internet. Ce document decrit la philosophie pedagogique de ce projet et en souligne les characteres importants.

Jan 1, 2003

By Brad Bulow

Blasting is an essentially violent process aimed to disrupt and loosen rock for productive excavation. Some dilution of any ore present is the inevitable result. This makes blasting a dirty word to most geologists, particularly in narrow vein gold mines. A 1% increase in gold recovery may be worth $1 M extra revenue to a large mine.

Jan 1, 2000

By Arun Appadurai

Pneumatic transport systems play a vital role in conveying discrete particles over a sizable distance with minimal energy consumption. However if such a system is not designed keeping particle physics in mind, it leads to intractable problems which could possibly assume dangerous proportions, including but not limited to expensive redesign of the entire system. This paper describes a novel method, which harnesses the powerful technique of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to investigate a problem occurring in rotary kilns using coal as a major fuel source. In some of the sites, a unique phenomenon of abnormally high CO emission was observed and owing to the highly random nature of occurrence, it was difficult to scientifically investigate the problem and its cause. Most of the published solutions for the high CO problem tend to concentrate on the incomplete combustion aspect of the kiln and resolve the situation by increasing the air supply thereby improving the stoichiometric ratio of combustion. This paper offers an alternate correlation that relates high CO emissions to the phenomenon of coal delivery fluctuations caused by the sub-standard operation of the coal transport system. A CFD model for the coal delivery pipe is validated by utilizing the actual process data sourced from the measurements taken from a functioning plant. The results of the model are used to derive correlative conditions that point to the unstable operating conditions of the coal delivery pipe prevalent in the industry. The conclusions are summarized into a series of recommendations for optimized design of coal delivery systems which are implemented in a pilot plant. The results irrevocably prove a statistically significant reduction in CO emissions without resorting to increased air supply and power consumption. Keywords:CFD, Pneumatic Conveying, Saltation Velocity, Particle Flow

Sep 1, 2012

The Wednesday morning session was opened by President Max Robb at 9:30 a.m. He thanked the various committees, speakers and all participants in making the 67th meeting a success. He called on David M. Lane, Chairman of the Auditing Committee, to give his report. He read the report and asked for a motion to approve it. Motion was made, seconded and approved. (See Treasurer's Report on page 5.) Walter E. Duncan, Chairman of the Resolutions Committee, gave his report, which follows: RESOLVED: WHEREAS, since the last convention of the Rocky Mountain Coal Mining Institute, the Institute and the Coal Mining Industry generally has suffered the loss through death of the services and fellowship of: Kenneth G. Eaton Frank Field C. M. McConnell George H. Smith Glen E. Sorensen Harry Tibbs Carl H. Zietz NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That this Institute does give recognition to the contribution of these outstanding men to the Coal Industry and to the programs and objectives of the Institute, in recognition of which a copy of this Resolution shall be included in the permanent minutes of the organization and transmitted to their respective families.

Jan 1, 1971

By B. J. Bluck

Diamond mega-placers, in order to rank amongst the primary diamond deposits, are defined as => 70 m carats at =>95% gem quality. There is only one mega-placer known and that is found along the coast of southwestern Africa fringing the Kaapvaal craton. Placers are classified as residual when they are left on the craton, transient when being eroded into the exit drainage and terminal. Terminal placers, in being the final depositories of diamonds off the craton, have the greatest probability of being a mega-placer and such is the case in the placer deposits near the Orange River mouth, southwestern Africa. There are four main groups of conditions leading to the development of a mega-placer: the craton, the drainage, the nature of the environment at the terminus and the timing. The craton, in its role as the producer of diamonds is significant in respect to its size, diamond-fertility, the degree to which diamonds from successive kimberlite intrusions have been retained there and their availability to the final drainage yielding the mega-placer. Cratons in being buoyant have a tendency to leak diamonds into surrounding basins but in being incompressible often have orogens converge onto them resulting in lost sediment being returned as foreland basin fills. In order to concentrate a bulk of diamonds the drainage basin has to be large with a high proportion of it on the craton. The drainage yielding the mega-placer should ideally not have been preceded by older drainage and other systems that may have robbed the craton of earlier diamonds. The exits of diamonds from the craton need to be few in order to focus on their supply and the drainage network needs to be efficient in order to remove the maximum volume of diamonds off the craton. This efficiency and the focused termination is best achieved by the rejuvenation of a pre-existing drainage network. The drainage should be young enough to yield host sediments friable enough to allow brittle diamonds to be recovered from them.

Jan 1, 2004

By Andrew Hickinbotham

"A water well represents not only a significant investment but also is a key to making a living or sustaining a reasonable lifestyle. This naturally makes the water well a precious possession that needsto be protected.This paper describes the challenges that TransAlta Utilities Corporation faced and how it responded to the concern of residents that open pit coal mining would affect their water well supplies.BackgroundWells have a certain mystique. Tum on the silver tap and water flows at your command without you knowing how it got there and whether it will continue to flow.Each well is different and has a story to tell. Some wells have a lot of history and are described fondly and with pride (""Grandad built this place 50 years ago and she hasn't failed us yet""). Some are passed on from father to son, some are part of the pride of good farming, some wells are famous for tapping that huge underground stream or have been mysteriously witched or have been part of a rip-off by an unscrupulous well driller. Some have to be babied so that the cows can be watered, the children can have showers and the dishes can be done. All wells represent a significant $5,000 to $10,000 investment and is a key to making a living or sustaining a reasonable lifestyle.Most wells continue to provide water faithfully - until there is a problem. For those people living next to a mine, there is the additional concern that mining has or will affect their water well supplies. Water well problems reported to the mining company have to be dealt with promptly and responsibly. The mining company's groundwater specialist must gain the trust and confidence of well owners living in the area ."

Jan 1, 1992

By M. S. Burton, G. V. Smith, A. Rosen

The kinetics of re crystallization and the effect of recovery on recrystallization of pure iron were investigated within the temperature range of 517" to 632 OC. Grain growth and activation energies were also studied. Two stages can be distinguished during recrystallization; the first is gvowth-controlled and the second is nucleation-controlled. The extent to which the first stage succeeds before the second stage begins depends on both temperature of recrystallization and temperature of recovery. The softening of cold-worked metals and alloys due to transformation of the deformed crystals to strain-free equiaxed grains during annealing is well-known, and early inestiators established that recrystallization kinetics is strongly influenced by minute quantities of impurities. Generally, it is believed that impurities decrease the rate of recrystallization and the rate of grain growth. To understand the basic phenomena of recrystallization, investigations should be on pure materials. Most of the research on high-purity materials has been on metals having the fee Bcc materials, and especially high-purity iron, have been studied only in recent years. It is known that recovery may influence recrystalliation;" however, no general description of the influence, applicable to all materials, has been presented. This paper presents results of a study of the recrystallization kinetics of high-purity iron, after 60 pct cold deformation by drawing, with particular reference to the influence of recovery on the rates of recrystallization and grain growth. From observations of these rates, conclusions are drawn concerning nucleation. MATERIAL AND EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Preparation of Material. High-purity iron, prepared by zone refining of vacuum-melted electroiytic iron at Battelle Memorial Institute under sponsorship of the American Iron and Steel Institute, was used in this study. Table I gives the reported chemical analysis of the material, taken at a point near the last molten zone and thereby rep- resenting the maximum impurity level for the entire bar. Prismatic specimens, approximately 10 x 10 X 50 mm, were sawed from the 50-mm-diam bar, perpendicular to the zone-refining direction, and turned to cylindrical shape. These specimens were sealed in quartz capsules under vacuum, approximately 10"e mm Hg, austenitized at 930° C for 15 min, slowly cooled, removed from the capsules, and cold-worked in air by swaging to approximately 20-pct reduction of area. The encapsulating, austenitizing, and swaging operations were repeated two additional times, after which the samples were encapsulated, austenitized, and cold-drawn to 60-pct reduction of area. A further vacuum anneal at 630°C for 120 min and cold drawing to 60-pct reduction of area produced wire 2.8 mm in diameter. The drawn wire was electropolished to remove deformed material on the surface, after which it was sawed into 4-mm-long specimens for the recrystallization study. Microscopical examination before the final cold reduction revealed equiaxed grain structure with very fine grains in a thin layer near the surfaces of the specimen and nearly uniform ASTM 3-4 grain size in the center. Recrystallization Heat Treatment. a) Direct Recrystallization of Cold-Worked The 60 pct cold drawn iron specimens were recrystallized at five temperatures, 517, 556, 590°, 612, and 632C, in a lead bath covered with graphite (the temperature was controlled to 1°C). Specimens were treated for twelve different times at each temperature, and all were water-quenched after heat &eatment. b) Recrystallization Following Preliminary Recovery Heat Treatment. After cold working, specimens were sealed into quartz capsules under vacuum, 105 mm Hg, and recovery-annealed at 362", 400", and 440°C for 20 hr prior to recrystallization. No evidence of recrystallization was found

Jan 1, 1964

A new concept central to the search for sample correctness is presented. In spite of its simplicity, this concept has already unknowingly formed the implicit basis of already established, current limiting rules of use for certain types of samplers, used as mere examples in this paper. Once explicitly enunciated though, this fundamental principle gives immediate, simple and new practical rules for the design of predictably correct sampling equipment and for sampling device auditing. Examples of application are offered as an illustration, including an earlier, important, albeit unpublished, idea found in Pierre GyÆs earlier works.

Jan 1, 2005

By T. H. Janes

NATURAL abrasives of some type are found in all countries of the world. In order of their hardness the principal natural abrasives are diamond, corundum, emery, and garnet, which are termed high grade, and the various forms of silica, including pumice, pumicite, ground feldspar, china clay and, most important, sandstone. The properties qualifying materials for use as abrasives are hardness, toughness, grain shape and size, character of fracture, and purity or uniformity. For manufacture of bonded grain abrasives such as grinding wheels, the stability of the abrasive and its bonding characteristics are also important. No single property is paramount for all uses. Extreme hardness and toughness are needed for some applications, as in diamonds for drill bits, while for other purposes the capacity of the abrasive to break down slowly under use and to develop fresh cutting edges is of greatest importance, as with garnet for sandpaper. In dentifrices, soaps, and metal polishes, of course, hardness and toughness are objectionable.

Jan 10, 1954

Executive Committee, Board of Directors C E Reistle, Jr, Chairman, H DeWitt Smith, Vice-Chairman, T B Counselman, Grover Holt, A W Thornton Finance Committee, Board of Directors Andrew Fletcher, Chairman, R B Caples, C R Dodson Investments Erle V Daveler, '57, Chairman, Henry Krumb, '59, John E Warren, '57, G F Moulton, ex officio as Treasurer, Andrew Fletcher, ex officio as Chairman, Fi¬nance Committee Endowment W W Mein, Jr, Chairman, N G Alford, E V Daveler, W J Coulter, J V N Dorr, R B Gilmore, J B Haffner, 0 H Johnson, Henry Krumb, D H McLaughlin, J R McMillan, J B Morrow, L F Reinartz, Wilfred Sykes, C E Weed Honorary Memberships Andrew Fletcher, Chairman, L F Reinartz and H DeWitt Smith, ex officio as Past Presidents, C E Reistle, Jr , ex officio as President, M L Rai¬der, '60, Henry Krumb, '58, D H McLaughlin, '57, P D Merica, '59

Jan 1, 1956

By W. J. Theron

The purpose of the paper is to give an introduction to the concept of fatigue and its causes in the mining industry. By knowing the fundamental role it plays, together with its dynamics, can positively contribute to a mine?s safety management system. The difference between physical and psychological fatigue will be addressed with a possible range of causes that could trigger fatigue. There are two main sources of fatigue: firstly, work-related fatigue which is associated with activities at the workplace; and secondly non-work-related fatigue. The shared responsibility between the employer and employee is also discussed as it involves factors that occur both in and outside the workplace. Employers have the responsibility to manage fatigue through using a risk management approach. Employees have the responsibility to ensure they get enough sleep, take sufficient and regular nutrition, are healthy and physically fit and come to work fresh and alert. The impact of the implementation of a fatigue management plan and procedures has the potential to eliminate employee fatigue or its causes, reduce the likelihood of fatigue occurring in the workplace, and counteract the effects of fatigue when it occurs. Factors considered when implementing a fatigue management system include: extended hours of work, shift work, time of day and work design. Fatigue is one of the major role players (either causal or contributory) when it comes to causes of fatalities in the mining industry. Our main challenge in identifying whether fatigue played a role is the fact that it cannot be tested in post-mortems like drug or alcohol abuse. It is an aspect worth understanding and getting an organization sensitive to managing it properly to benefit both organizational as well as employee needs. Keywords Signs of fatigue: Causes of fatigue, circadian rhythms, the fatigue equation, fatigue management, fatigue affecting safety, fatigue fighting tips, lifestyle suggestions.

Jan 1, 2011

By L. H. Robinson

Triaxial compression tests have been performed to determine the strength characteristics of limestone, sand-stone and shale rocks subjected to controlled stress conditions. This control tuns exercised by varying the liquid pressures within and around a plastic-encased rock specimen. The pressure in the pores of the rock was varied throughout the range from atmospheric to 15,000 psig; the external pressure was changed over the same range with various positive pressure differences between is and the intertnal pressure. The data show that the rock strength increased and the mode of failure changed as the pressuire. surrounding the rock became greater than the pressure in the pores of the rock. These observations and the resu1ts of microbit drilling experiments indicate that the increased rock strength under pressure may bc an important effect in reducing drilling rare, but that other factors are probably of even greater importance. INTRODUCTION A large part of the research conductcd to reducc thc cost of drilling is directed toward improving present drilling technology and dcveloping new drilling methods. In spite of the fact that drilling is essentiaIly the act of making rocks fail, many details of the mechanism of failure are not known. It seems probable, therefore, that continuing studies of the fundamentals of rock failure can lay a foundation for future improvements in drilling technology. One of the factors which affects rock failure is the stress applied to the rock. This effect has been known for many years.'.'.; As an example, stress studics have been published by engineers' concerned with the strength characteristics of concrete in large dams. More recently, a number of investigators4-12 have explored the effects of stress on the strength of geologic formations and the geologic implications of their findings. During the last few years some research'" on rock strengths has also been conductcd in an attempt to gain additional insight into the factors which affeet rock drillability. In detcrmining the strength characteristics of rocks under different stress conditions, investigators have conventionally used triaxial compression equipment. wherein a jacketed rock cylinder is uniformly loaded from all directions and then compressed longitudinally. The results of this work have demonstrated that the mode of failure (brittle or malleable) is dependent upon the loading pressure, and that the strength of the rock increases as the loading pressure increases. These results clearly manifest that the stress, which is determined by the loading pressure, affects rock strength, and this implies that rocks under stress should be stronger and hence harder to drill. During the drilling of a porous rock the stress conditions are determined not only by the pressure surrounding the portion of the rock undergoing failure (confining pressure) but also by the pressure of the interstitial fluids within the rock (pore pressure). The importancc of both these pressures on the drilling rate of rocks has already been demonstrated by a number of investigators. Murray and Cunningham" found in microbit drilling expcriments that at constant pore pressures the drilling ratc decreased as the hydrostatic pressure surrounding an unjacketed, impermeable rock increased. Later Eckel" found that for jacketed Iimestone specimens the differcnce between hydrostatic (wellbore) pressure and formation (pore) pressure had an important effect on drilling rate. These observations of the effect of pressure on drilling rate emphasize that for drilling studies triaxial compression tests should be conducted under conditions of confining and pore pressure which simulate conditions underground. In the past, triaxial tests have been made under conditions which do not reproduce those underground. In particular, most of the tests on porous materials have keen made at varying confining pressures but with atmospheric pore pressures. In only one group of tests' was any data on the effect of pore pressurc reported, and these few data were on materials not representiltive of those encountered in drilling earth formations. The research described herein was initiated to deter-mine the importance of both internal pore pressure and confining pressure on failure characteristics of limestone. sandstone and shales. Triaxial loading equipment was used to obtain strength data at pressures up to 15,000 psig. An additional objective of this research was to apply these results to drilling rate studies by comparing them with the previously published drilling data of Murray and Cunningham" and of Eckel12. The work reported here is but one step in determining and evaluating the fundamental mechanisms which control drilling rate. Additional research is needed to clarify other aspects of the drilling process. The better

By Walter B. Lenhart

Introduction and Importance of the Industry Sand, as described in this chapter, is a crude product used for ballast on railroads and highways, and as the fine aggregate in concrete, mortar, plaster and in asphalt paving materials. The sand used in glass, as a molding sand, and as a source of silica is described in Chapter 43. Sand and gravel together constitute the mineral raw materials of largest volume produced from the earth. In 1958, as reported by the U.S. Bureau of Mines,21 680,080,000 tons of sand and gravel (including industrial sand) were produced in the United States. The nearest competitor was crushed rock of which 532,818,000 tons were produced. Coal, both bituminous and anthracite accounted for only 431,616,689 tons in the same year. In dollar value, sand and gravel were exceeded only by cement, crushed rock and fuels. Hence it is a major unit of the mineral-producing industry. As an example, one plant in California operates around the clock at an average rate of 1,500 tons per hour, and at peak intervals has shipped over 4,000 tons per hour, all by trucks. Nevertheless, it is controlled by one man through a panel of push buttons that control the crushing, screening, washing, grading, stock piling, and reclaiming of the products. Because sand and gravel are low-valued commodities, but are used in every construction undertaking in every city, village, farm, dam and highway, they are produced in almost every county in the United States and southern Canada, by thousands of individual operators, very few of whom operate in more than one community. Many operations, particularly those established to supply the needs of major dams that are under construction, or of major segments of new highways, are temporary in nature, and the equipment installed is more or less portable. Because of the bulky nature of sand and gravel, there is very little interstate movement, and almost no exports or imports, except a little movement back and forth across the border of the United States and Canada. First, the material needs definition. Definitions Sand and gravel have been defined as continuously graded unconsolidated materials that appear in the earth's surface as a result of the natural disintegration of rocks. Both normally appear together, but in a wide variety of sizes, types and range of size classification. The American Society for Testing Materials has tentatively revised its definition of "sand" as: granular material passing the 3/8-in. sieve and almost entirely passing the No. 4 (4760-micron) sieve and predominantly retained on the No. 200 (74-micron) sieve, and resulting from natural disintegration and abrasion of rock or processing of completely friable sandstone (ASTM Designation C 58-55T). The Society's tentative revision of its definition of "gravel" is: granular material predominantly retained on the No. 4 (4760-micron) sieve and resulting from natural disintegration and abrasion of rock or processing of weakly bound conglomerate (ASTM 125-55T). Sand and gravel deposits contain materials from the finest silt to the largest boulders. Chemical definition of the two materials is nearly impossible. Sand and gravel always are

Jan 1, 1960

By Ronald W. May

The Lower Cretaceous McMurray Formation in northern Alberta contains bituminous sands interbedded with other sediments which form the reject encountered during mining operations. Grade prediction is based on a combination of geological interpretation, computer modelling and past mining experience. In addition to estimates for ore, an accurate estimate of "waste" or "reject," are required for Mine Planning. This study investigates the ability of point-kriging using geostatistics, to augment the existing data base of drill-holes in a study area on Syncrude's leases. This approach enables the assessment of potential "worst" case - "best" case scenarios within the context of Mine Planning.

Jan 1, 1985

By P. van der Westhuyzen

Gone are the days of stock-standard diamond beneficiation and final recovery circuits that could, with minor modifications, be adapted to treat any diamond-bearing ore source. A new era has dawned, offering the opportunity to streamline existing diamond processing operations or develop simpler, more efficient, and economical diamond processing plants, with the focus on more efficient comminution, beneficiation, and final recovery. This change in scene has been brought about by: ? The introduction, rapid development, and maturation of multiple comminution, sorting, and recovery technologies ? The need to adapt to a new standard of project approach post the commodity super-cycle phase, where optimizing existing operations and developing scalable, ?fit for purpose? new mines are fast becoming the norm in diamond processing plants in both primary and alluvial operations ? The quest for energy efficiency and lower labour costs ? More remote and inaccessible reserves (under lakes, tops of mountains etc.). This paper serves to identify some technology advances and demonstrates how these could be considered as replacements for or in combination with conventional technologies to arrive at an optimum techno-economic solution. To name a few applications/technologies: ? Comminution: conventional cone crusher, modified/specialized cone crusher, and the high-pressure grinding roll (HPGR). Although significant advances have been made in recent years, this paper only briefly covers comminution within the beneficiation circuit design ? Waste sorting: NIR (near-infrared) sorting, optical (colour) sorting, XRF (X-ray fluorescence) ? Primary concentration by combining dense media separation (DMS) with either XRT (X-ray transmissive), pulsed X-ray, jigs, or pan plants depending on the application, scale, and economics ? Final recovery of diamonds with either conventional X-ray technology, pulsed X-ray technology, or XRT. From recent studies, it can be concluded that there is no longer a standard solution, but rather the ?right? or appropriate solution. Through combining a sound knowledge of the ore source (ore dressing studies or onmine data gathering) and leveraging off the advances in technologies, one is able, through trade-off studies, to arrive at the ultimate techno-economic configuration, the ?right? solution. Emphasis is placed on maximizing diamond recoveries through appropriate technology selection and minimizing the associated costs in an effort to de-bottleneck or improve efficiencies of existing diamond processing plants, or to arrive at the ideal new diamond process plant design..

Jan 1, 2014