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By X. O. Xia

This paper introduces a kind of flotation machine for nonferrous metal, ferrous metal and non-metal minerals. With the application and development of flotation machine, researching the designment of master parts, including tank, impeller, stator, false bottom. Through the commercial run to validate the correctness of designment, achieving satisfied technical and economic target and supplying a kind of efficient and reliable flotation machine.

Jan 1, 2014

By Xu Wang, Bang Chen, Xiujian Luo, Wei Tang, Xiao’ou Xia, Fangming Liu

"The inertia cone crusher has lots of advantages, such as big crushing ratio, fine particle size, material layer crushing, good passing tramp iron performance and stable technical index, realized open crushing circuit and simplified crushing flowsheet. The crusher was input to China’s Beijing General Research Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (BGRIMM) from Russia’s Mekhanobr-Tekhnika Research & Engineering Corporation at the beginning of the 1990s. This paper introduces that after years of absorption and innovation how Chinese researchers optimized and creatively designed about transmission mechanism, bracing structure, kinetic parameters, lubrication system, dust sealing system, damping system and hydraulic control system etc on the basis of keeping its advanced theory and unique structure, therefore the crusher’s stability was raised and the usage cost was reduced greatly. Accordingly the inertia cone crusher in China has been widely used in many fields, such as mineral resources and the recycling of metallurgical slag. The achievement in cooperation was fully affirmed by governments of Russia and China, and cooperation of science and technology in the mining and metallurgy industry between Russia and China is promoted greatly. INTRODUCTION From the early 1950s, the former Mekhanobr Institite(now Mechanobr-Tekhnika Research & Engineering Corporation) devoted itself to the research of inertial cone crusher and put it into industrial application in the late 1980s. Inertial cone crusher is like a maverick flower in the field of crusher. With its excellent performance and excellent application effect, it shocks the world and is destined to shine with a bright future. In the early 1990s, the chief leaders of the Beijing General Research Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (BGRIMM), Academician Sun Chuan-yao and Professor Zheng Baochen, captured the extraordinary performance and strong vitality of inertial cone crusher with keen eyes. So the two big institutes started the cooperation to introduce inertial cone crusher to China. Since then, Inertia cone crusher has been able to flourish in China and have achieved impressive results with two institutes’ continuous effort."

Jan 1, 2018

By Bin Tang, Suping Yao

In the last decade, the copper industry in China has developed rapidly and attracted the world’s attention. The production capacity of refined copper has grown remarkably from 4.578 million tons in 2010 up to 9.029 million tons in 2018, accounting for about 40% of the global refined copper production. And now, China has become the biggest refined copper producer in the world. This paper summarizes the application of modern copper metallurgical technologies such as Outotec flash smelting/converting technology, Cyclone smelting technology, TSL (ISA/Ausmelt) smelting/converting technology, Jinfeng side blown smelting and Baiyin side blown smelting technology, Chifeng side blown smelting and continuous top blown converting technology, SKS bottom blowing technology, Dongying two-step smelting technology, copper electrorefining with high current density, etc. in China’s copper industry, analyzes and compares the characteristics of those technologies and presents the great efforts of China’s copper smelters in adapting to the increasingly strict emission standards and improving economic benefits of copper smelters. INTRODUCTION China has been the biggest refined copper producer in the world for many years. China produced million tons of refined copper in 2018, accounting for 40% of the copper smelting production in the world, and of which, roughly, 70% of the copper concentrate was imported, mainly from Chile, Peru and Australia. ICSG (International Copper Study Group, 2017) shows clearly the position of top 20 countries of copper production and copper mine production (Figures 1 and 2). Blast Furnaces, Reverb Furnaces and Electric Furnaces dominated China Copper Smelting for quite long time till 1980s. The first modern copper smelting technology (flash copper smelting) was introduced into China in 1980s, then followed by Noranda, Ausmelt and ISA. Since then, China copper smelting technology stepped into modern time. Since 2000, old processes (Blast Furnace, Reverb Furnaces and Electric Furnaces) were phased out and replaced by modern smelting technologies. China Copper Production has been increasing dramatically (Figure 3).

Jan 1, 2019

By Conny Postupack

To make money in mining coal you have to sell it for a lot more than it cost you to get it out of the ground. And yet, every year it cost us more and more to stay inbusiness, while the price we get for coal does not increase at the same rate.

Jan 1, 1990

By Richard Campbell, MEHMET KIZIL, Ismet Canbulat, Serkan Saydam

The design and effectiveness of ground consolidation to regain stability of longwall faces vary widely and are often based predominantly on-site precedence or what were considered successful applications at other sites in similar situations. Little is known regarding product migration characteristics or change in rockmass conditions as a result of the application of consolidation chemicals. This paper presents the in-situ testing rationale designed and implemented recently across several longwall operations in the Bowen Basin, Queensland, Australia to provide quantitative measurement of the actual zone of influence of various resin injection products. Product migra- tion was physically measured by monitoring the change in rockmass temperature as a result of the exothermic chemical reaction of the various strata consolidation chemicals used. In conjunction with strata coring and Lugeon transmissivity testing pre- and post-injection to characterise the improvement in rockmass conditions due to consolidation product injection. The results of the testing programme, migration measurements, and rockmass assessment are presented, along with a discussion on how site- based Rock Mechanics Engineers can incorporate the data into the design of strata consolidation plans.

Jun 25, 2024

By L. H. Smith, D. S. Taylor

"AbstractSherritt has been applying hydraulic drives to concentrator equipment since 1967. The initial application was made on a bank of 5- by 5-in. slurry pumps. This has now been extended to all slurry pumps requiring less than 40 hp and several conveyors which require variable-speed or low-speed/high-torque characteristics. The pump motors are directly connected through a flexible coupling, whereas the conveyor systems are directly mounted onto the head-pulley shaft extension.The different applications and design concepts will be described, with outlines of the operating and maintenance advantages and disadvantages and costs. The paper also outlines future possible applications, together with the limiting conditions, of such systems.IntroductionSHERRITT GORDON MINES LIMITED has been operating a mining division in Northern Manitoba for almost 50 years. The original mining operation was at Sherridon, Manitoba and was a copper-zinc producer. This mine was exhausted in 1948 and the mining plant was moved north to its present location at Lynn Lake, Manitoba. The Lynn Lake Mine is a nickel-copper producer. Since 1960, two new mines have been discovered and brought into production in the general vicinity of Lynn Lake. The first of these was the Fox Mine, a copper-zinc property operating at 3,000 tons per day from an underground operation. This mine started production in May 1970."

Jan 1, 1977

By T. Sun, J. Kou, C. Sun, China Railway Resources Group Limited

"The polymetallic sulfide ore in Jiama county of Tibet contains 0.78% Cu, 0.046% Mo, 0.31 g/t Au and 17.9 g/t Ag in average. However, heavy loss of valuable metals was observed using high-pH process and Butyl xanthate as the collector. In this paper, the flotation was optimized through the adoption of a novel collector C-7, which is a mixture of xanthate ester and thionocarbamate. This collector showed better flotation performance under weak base conditions. The recoveries of Cu, Mo, Au and Ag increased to 93.24%, 84.60%, 78.13% and 75.41%, respectively, under 15 g/t of C-7 at pH of 8.0. The adsorption mechanism of C-7 was investigated by micro-flotation tests, zeta potential measurements, FTIR analysis and adsorption quantity measurements. Chemisorption of C-7 on chalcopyrite surface is demonstrated with adsorption density 3.8 times higher than on pyrite.INTRODUCTIONXanthates are the most commonly used collectors of strong collecting ability for separating copper sulfide minerals from gangue in froth flotation. However, the selectivity of xanthates themselves is poor to realize separation of chalcopyrite and pyrite whose floatability are quite similar (Heyes & Trahar, 1977; Chandraprabha, Natarajan, & Modak, 2004). High pH process with xanthates as collectors is proved effective in copper-sulfur separation and is widely used in treatment of copper sulfide ore flotation (Smith, 1996; Valdivieso, Cervantes, Song, Cabrera, & Laskowski, 2004). This method could get ideal separation results, but large amount of lime must be added, and could bring about increased cost, device corrosion and environmental pollution. In addition, there could also be high depression and heavy loss of associated noble metal such as Mo, Au and Ag. Consequently, a large amount of research has been conducted on substitutions of xanthates for selective flotation of copper sulfide ores under low pH conditions (Gholivand, Khodadadian, & Ahmadi, 2010; Li, 2010)."

Jan 1, 2016

By Ivo Filipovic

The steel melting process in an Electric Arc Furnace is a complex set of tasks, coping with highly dangerous hazards as fire, explosions, uncontrolled reactions, hot metal projections and gas or dust emissions. Melt shops are dangerous working areas for operators, recording statistics with a high frequency of injuries. In the past years, without dedicated safety equipment, there wasn't a real attitude to the risk prevention. The paper describes the available technological packages to eliminate the manned activities on the melting floor, with the aim to prevent accidents and keep furnace operators safe. The technological packages suite extends the automatic control of the EAF melting process to all the operations from charging phase to tapping. Plus, the integration of the most frequent operations by automated specialized tools effectively minimizes power-off times, enhancing reliability and improving the transformation costs.

Aug 17, 2017

By A. A. Terchick, J. C. Anderson, D. T. King

During 1972-1973, U.S. Steel acquired an existing southern West Virginia high volatile coal mine property including a 150 tph heavy media feldspar jig preparation plant. Expansion of production from the property required an increase in plant capacity to 300 tph, replacement of the feldspar jig with a hydrocyclone circuit, and inclusion of a water clarification thickener system. The rugged and restrictive nature of the terrain adjacent to the plant facility indicated prohibitive construction costs and severe site congestion would be encountered if a conventional water clarification thickener were installed. A high-loading, small-volume thickener, developed initially for the sugar beet industry by the Enviro-Clear Co. of New York, was investigated by U.S. Steel Research for possible coal preparation application, utilizing bench scale and small scale pilot plant evaluation methods. Results of testing at existing U.S. Steel preparation plants indicated predictable successful application of the Enviro-Clear thickener, so a 35-ft-diam unit was installed. The two-phase thickener system, utilizing presettled bottom sludge as a filter-clarification media, has successfully performed since commissioning in April 1973, producing clarified water competitive with conventional thickener systems with freedom from usual thickener operational problems.

Jan 1, 1976

By Franziska Günther, Helmut Mischo

The calculation of costs for an underground mine, as well as the planning of the equipment and materials to be used, is a complex and time-consuming process. The estimation depends on a multitude of parameters, and all mining processes are interconnected. A novel tool has been developed that enables automated calculation of underground mines and allows for the comparison of the effects of changing individual parameters. Previously, changing individual planning parameters often necessitated a complete recalculation of the mine. The newly developed calculation tool provides an innovative planning aid that allows for more efficient and accurate mine planning and cost estimation. The tool enables the user to implement continuously up-to-data costs and prices. This allows for more accurate planning data and results. The underlying concept of the calculation tool, its implementation at a planned quartz porphyry mine in Germany, and the verification of the tool at an existing underground mine will be presented.

Feb 1, 2025

By Murray Wood, Michael Schaffer, Makat Katom

"An expert system applied to the control of mineral process unit operations is, by its nature, the site best operating practice, having been designed by the local experts in conjunction with consulting metallurgists. The “common sense” layer in a MET (MinnovEX Expert Technology) solution determines an appropriate action for the current operating conditions through a developed heuristic model of the process (expert system). The magnitude of the setpoint change that is made is proportional to the confidence that the system has in its interpretation of the current conditions (fuzzy logic). The solution is always striving to take the process to a constraint and thereby optimise the operation. An accepted limitation of the solution is that the only way the system can determine if a constraint has been reached is to exceed it and then withdraw – essentially “experimenting” with the process. By leveraging a model, which can accurately ""simulate"" the process, this restriction can be circumvented by pre-testing the set point change through a ""what if"" analysis and then modifying the solution as appropriate.At Ok Tedi, the introduction in 1999 of a MET expert system for SAG milling resulted in significant improvement in circuit throughput. Yet, with the additional inclusion of an accurate model of the process there was still more that could be achieved. Hence, in 2002 a MET Neural Network model was developed and deployed to enhance the existing expert system solution. The principal objective of this model was predicting the effect that changes in SAG tonnage and density would have on the power draw of the mill - essentially a power predictor. The results have seen a decrease in process variance with an associated increase in average circuit performance.This paper describes the methodology by which the Neural Network model was implemented, the considerations and limitations when applying this technology and ultimately the results that were achieved."

Jan 1, 2003

Choosing the right valve for corrosive, abrasive slurry applications requires exacting analysis and a comprehensive understanding of the complete slurry process. Within the realm of flow control in abrasive and corrosive slurry applications, there is no room for a one-size-fits-all approach. To ensure minimal maintenance, maximum uptime and the lowest overall cost of ownership, the slurry processing toolbox must contain countless alloy and elastomeric pairings ? each carefully targeted to the particular process medium and conditions. This materials selection process is best tackled by turning to expert slurry application engineers and valve product managers who work closely with customers to specify the optimal valve for the given parameters. ?When plant operators and design engineers apply conventional valves in abrasive applications or use metal seated valves or simply apply the wrong valve for a particular flow control situation, it typically leads to rapid valve failure, the potential for hazardous leakage, unexpected shutdowns and costly downtime,? said Cal Cobb, valve products manager for Weir Minerals North America, manufacturer of Isogate slurry valves for service in mining, minerals processing and metallurgical environments.

Jan 1, 2011

By Muhammad Yamani, Marsell Riviera, Herry Saputra, Rizky Amin

Drill and Blast processes in hot and reactive ground conditions are a severe challenge in mining, especially in the blasting process. Our main objective is safety issues without compromising the blasting outcome. Safety concerns include unexpected detonation, product damage, and misfire. However, apart from the issue of blasting safety, it is also crucial to maintain good results such as fragmentation, loader productivity, and ore dilution control. Therefore, we use a different product selection method to produce a safe and efficient blast. Pit Araren is one of the pits of the Tokatindung Gold Mine Project in North Sulawesi Province, Indonesia, classified as hot and reactive ground conditions that range from elevation of 25mRL temperature could reach to 98⁰C (208,4⁰F) based on actual measurement. The previous practice for blast holes with temperatures above 70⁰C (158⁰F) loaded with the primer that was specifically designed for hot and reactive ground conditions consisting of detonating cord and packages emulsion that specifically formulated to inhibit exothermic reaction then tied in with a combination of non-electric surface delay detonator and detonating cord initiator (short length non-electric surface delay detonator housed in plastic connector).

Feb 6, 2023

By Milance Mitovski, Milorad Cirkovic, Vlastimir Trujic, Dragana Živkovic

"In this article, it is analysed the possibilitis and the effects utility waste energy of process sulfuric acid production in the existing technical-technological conditions. The utility second process energy, reduction the fuels consumption, reduction environment pollution and its effects are shown, too. High heat quantity is produced as the result of exothermal reactions in the production process of sulfuric acid in Bor. A part of this heat is sufficient for the process development, and significant part of this heat presents low-temperature heat energy that is irretrievable lost. Investigations were carried out based on production of 485 t of monohydrate/day of sulfuric acid. By recovery of this heat quantity for heating purposes, about 20.000 – 25.000 t of coal/year would be saved, what would significantly improve the power efficiency of the smelter copper production. IntroductionTechnological process of copper production in RTB BOR (Serbia) produces a significant quantities of high temperature secondary (waste) heat energy that is uncontrolled “lost” in the vicinity. Secondary heat energy is produced in pyrometallurgical copper production in quantity of 1,621 kWth/kg of dry concentrate or existing heat (that presents a difference of heat at furnace outlet and heat at temperature over temperature of dew point of sulphuric acid gases) in quantity of 1,315 kWth/kg of dry concentrate. For designed capacity of Copper Smelter in Bor, the existing heat power of secondary energy is 92,111 MWt, what is an equivalent to the power of steam-turbo plant where the Rankine-Clausius heating cycle is done, and that is 28,334 MWe."

Jan 1, 2008

By Wm. R. Webster

THIS is a contribution for the proposed new discussion on the physics of steel. The former discussion on the subject started with the consideration of five papers presented at the Chicago meeting in 1893, and continued for several years. The Suggested Lines of Discussion, prepared by Doctor Howe, covered a wide field and added greatly to the success of the work. Naturally, the first step in a new discussion will be to remodel and bring up to date the old Suggested Lines of Discussion so as to embody all the important advances in the metallurgy of steel that have a bearing on the physics of steel and keep the papers and discussions within the field of work undertaken. This paper will be devoted to the practical application, in rolling steel, of the effects of carbon, phosphorus, and manganese on its tensile strength, with some suggestions on further research work. Dr. J. E. Stead, in his paper Influence of Some Elements on the Mechanical Properties of Steel,1 gave a complete review of all that had been done during the past thirty years. He gave full credit to all investigators who worked on these lines, also their results, with his views on same, and in many cases his own results. All of this data and much new valuable information were put in convenient shape for reference and study. To do this required a great deal of work, which is fully appreciated by the steel manufacturers and investigators. The variations in the values given by the different investigators for the increase of the tensile strength of steel for each 0.01 per cent. of carbon, phosphorus, and manganese were largely due to the steels they worked on, the large or small variations in the amount of the elements present, and the omission to take into consideration all the factors, from the blast furnace through to finished rolled material, that affect the character of the steel. For instance, a poorly made dirty steel requires considerably more carbon to give the same ultimate strength than a well-made clean steel with the same phosphorus and manganese content.

Jan 3, 1921

By Paul C. Miclea

In case of a major fire in a tunnel between stations or ventilation shafts, if the buoyancy effect of the hot gasses is stronger than the airflow induced by the fans, the risk of backlayering could restrict the safe evacuation of people. Obstructions in the tunnel and alternate airflow paths can further reduce the air velocities past the fire. Currently there are two computer programs available to address the issue of underground fires: o "Subway Environment Simulation" (SES), Version 3.0, developed by Associated Engineers, a Joint Venture of Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade & Douglas, Inc., De Leuw Cather & Co., and Kaiser Engineers, Inc. for the U.S. Department of Transportation o "MFIRE", Version 1.26, developed at Michigan Technological University for the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines. As implied by its name, the SES program was developed specifically for the analysis of subway ventilation systems. It can be used to analyze the heat released into, and removed from, a subway or vehicular tunnel and to determine the effect of ventilation elements on airflows throughout the network of stations or other merging tunnels. It has a special feature allowing the user to predict the effects of a fire at any location within the subway system. Version 3.0 of the SES program is designed to be used with a "critical velocity" calculation in order to determine whether or not tunnel airflows can be controlled during a train fire emergency. The original version of the program was written in FORTRAN for mainframe computers, such as the IBM 4381. Recently ICF Kaiser Engineers has compiled a version of the SES program for PC use. The MFIRE program simulates the interdependence between a mine ventilation system, with its pertinent fans and structures, and changes in ambient conditions or a source of heat, such as a fire. It also accounts for natural ventilation. The program is written in FORTRAN 77 and compiled for 8086/8088 based microprocessors, allowing it to be run on an IBM PC or compatible computer with a 2.0 or a later version of DOS, 256K random access memory (RAM), and a text editor. This paper reports the comparative results of an application of both programs for the same network in a recent study.

Jan 1, 1991

By B. W. Cavender

"World-class manufacturing" (WCM) techniques can be applied in milling operations to substantially improve productivity and reduce costs. Through the use of "just-in-time" and "total quality control" practices, WCM methods establish an environment for continual and rapid improvement in all aspects of production operations, with particular gains in product quality, costs, flexibility, employee involvement, and responsiveness to customers. This paper examines WCM techniques that can be utilized specifically in the mill, and their influence on plant configuration, organization, and scheduling practices; equipment selection and maintenance methods; training; the role of supporting staff; and methods of data collection and analysis.

Jan 1, 1993

By Ruilin Lang

This paper presents an application of 3-D plots and non-linear regressions to define a sitespecific form of the charge weight scaled distance. The PPV (PPA) of single hole blasts is normally considered as a function of two independent variables - the charge weight and the distance. It is of great importance to obtain the relationship of the function accurately for a concerned site in terms of blast vibration analysis and modeling. However, in pre-computer time it was difficult to plot 3-D graphs. Consequently, a charge weight scaled distance was used to plot the PPV (or PPA) against the scaled distance as 2-D graphs. Blast vibration investigators use several forms of the charge weight scaled distances to plot data. We can exemplify them with the cube root of charge weight scaled distance, the square root of charge weight scaled distance, and other forms (Hossaini and Sen, 2004). Each of these scaled distances assumes relative contributions of the charge weight and the distance to the vibration attenuation. For example, the charge weight is assumed to have a less contribution to vibration in the cube root scaled distance than it is assumed in the square-root scaled distance. In reality, for different sites the relative contribution of the charge weight and the distance may be different and site-specific. This may explain that in some cases, the blast vibration data plots using these charge weight scaled distances are scattered. This could be largely due to the fact that the definition of the form of the charge weight scaled distance is not adequate for the particular site condition.

Jan 1, 2006

By F. A. Molloy

As a result of feasibility studies made in 1975 a 3-0 seismic reflection survey was shot over part of the Veendam salt pillow during 1978-1979. The Zechstein salt pillow, located in the northeast of the Netherlands near the town of veendam, occurs at a depth of 1400 m and contains three carnallite rich horizons over an interval of 300 m below top salt. MgCl2 brines are produced from these layers as feedstock for a magnesia plant, which starts up in 1981. Prior to the acquisition of the seismic data four wells had been drilled. The thickness of the carnallitite layers encountered in these wells varied between 50 and 125 meters. In view of these variations it was necessary to obtain a reliable isopach of the different layers. The 3-0 seismic survey covered an area of ± 4x4 km with a sampling interval of 20 m in all directions. The data was recorded it an area array using a 120 channel instrument. Final presentation of the data was in the form of 3-0 migrated acoustic impedance cross sections. The quality and resolution of the seismic data allowed reliable structural and isopach mans to be made. It was shown that the carnallitite layers are continuous over the area surveyed, whilst local thickening is "fault" related. Having this information brine production locations could be choosen in the thicker parts, allowing maximisation of production potential whilst avoiding faults and fulfilling mining regulations. A subsequent benefit of this approach is the possibility of using the seismic data to predict ore grade. Using the available wells as calibration points the acoustic impedance response of the seismic at the well was matched to the ore grade found. From these points a synthetic section was made with varying ore grades. Pre¬liminary results are encouraging and the liability of this predictive tool will be evaluated in the light of future drilling.

Jan 1, 1981

By M. H. B. Nasseri

Barre granite?s samples have been tested for fracture toughness under mode I along two different directions with respect to microstructural fabrics were investigated. 3D objects counter algorithm technique is applied on micro CT images to identify physical properties such as crack induced porosity, crack density, generated total surface area and contribution of individual mineral grains within the damaged zone.The result obtained justifies very well the fracture toughness anisotropy in Barre granite, and explains the difference in the structure of the damage zone evolving as a result of test crack interacting with pre-existing microstructural fabrics. The present study has potential application in the fields of rock mass stability, oil reservoir stimulation, rock fragmentation and damage in blasting and emplacement of dykes.

May 1, 2009