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By Andressa A. Silva, Esperidiana A. B. Moura, Francisco R. Valenzuela-Diaz, Jorge N. Sales

This work aims to study the influence of the nanoclay Cloisite 20A incorporation on mechanical properties of ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene). The incorporation of Cloisite 20A was made in two steps; firstly,a masterbatch was preparated and then, it was incorporated in ABS. The Cloisite 20A masterbatch using 40 % of nanoclay and 60 % of SAN (Styrene Acrylonitrile) was prepared in an adiabatic mill. After that, Cloisite 20A masterbarch at 1 and 5 % (wt) was added in ABS. The resulting nanocomposites were characterized by tensile tests and the correlation between properties was discussed.

Jan 1, 2015

By E. Ozberk

The copper and nickel smelting industries are important contributors to the technical and economic well-being of Canada while some of the smelters are among the largest sources of sulphur dioxide emissions in Canada. A review of the operations in six smelters - Falconbridge Limited, Falconbridge, Ontario; Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Co. Limited, Flin Flon, Manitoba; Inco Limited, Copper Cliff, Ontario and Thompson, Manitoba; Noranda Mines Limited, Horne Division, Noranda, Quebec and Gaspe Mines Division, Murdochville, Quebec - have shown that about 80% of the total sulphur input to these smelters was emitted to the atmosphere in 1980. A simultaneous review of the existing and emerging technologies which can directly or indirectly reduce the sulphur dioxide emissions indicated that it is possible to reduce the emissions to below 20% of the sulphur input to these smelters. This can be achieved by varying degrees of modifications to the smelting operations and installing sulphur fixation facilities at significant costs which may increase the metal production costs. This would consequently make the competitiveness of the Canadian copper and nickel producers more difficult in the already tough world metals market.

Jan 1, 1983

By D. M. Fermino, C. G. Bastos Andrade, V. F. Justo, F. R. Valenzuela-Diaz, M. G. S. Valenzuela, C. Volzone

The present paper presents the study of light green smectite clay, from Paraiba, Brazil, submitted to mild acid attack under moderated conditions. Usually, clays are subjected to treatment with strong inorganic acids at temperatures near the boiling point and at high acid concentrations and then, widely used as bleaching agents. The treatment occurred under bellow boiling temperature and at short times of reaction (90°C, reaction times of 1, 6, 12, 18 and 24 hours in close reactor, concentration of the aqueous solution of hydrochloric acid 1.5 M, clay/acid solution ratio of 1g/10mL). The purpose of these attacks is to reduce the concentration of impurities providing color, with minimal change in the clay minerals structure, aiming at use in products of high value such as cosmetics and polymer/clay nanocomposites. The raw clay and the attacked samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), cation exchange capacity (CEC), stereomicroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray detector (EDS).

Jan 1, 2015

By J. L. Jambor, H. W. Nesbitt

Oxidative dissolution of pyrrhotite and pyrite is largely responsible for the sulfate-rich waters of the vadose zone in the Waite Amulet tailings. Although the shallowest of the sulfate-rich waters are of the Fe-SO4 type, they change to Mg-SO4-type, near-neutral waters within 1-2 m of the tailings surface. Phyllosilicates and amphiboles are the only minerals present in sufficient quantity to ameliorate the amount of acidity produced. X-ray diffraction and microscopic studies of bulk sample indicate that quartz, chlorite, talc, amphiboles, magnetite, albite, and micas are the major and minor non-sulfide minerals, but their variations with depth do not give clear indications of depletion in the vadose zone. Mineralogical and bulk chemical compositions of the tailings confirm that Fe2O 3 has accumulated in large quantity in the vadose zone, with the Fe having been derived from Fe sulfides. When the effect of Fe2O3 is accounted for, the bulk compositions suggest that SiO2 is slightly more abundant in the vadose zone than in the saturated zone. This may be the result of residual enrichment of siliceous minerals such as quartz and albite in the vadose zone. Weathering of the tailings since the cessation of deposition in 1962 has resulted in a well-defined zone of sulfide depletion and secondary sulfate-mineral development. Although some silicate dissolution is indicated by pore-water compositions, the role of silicates in providing neutralization seems to have been minimal. The contribution by silicate minerals in laboratory tests of neutralization potential may be excessive relative to that in natural settings.

Jan 1, 1999

By Bradley C. Bockrath

Some thirty coals were evaluated for liquefaction activity under a mixture of CO and H2 at 425° C. The viscosity of the liquid products was taken as an indicator of the degree of liquefaction. It was found that the direct liquefaction of a particular coal may be beneficially influenced by the presence of pyrite. Active pyrites are often found in the native mineral matter of the coal itself. For example, subbituminous and bituminous coals and lignites of relatively high pyrite content were found to liquefy more readily than similar coals or lignites which were poor in pyrite. The reactivity of inactive coals could be improved by using blends with active, pyrite-rich coals. In addition, pyrite was effective when added separately as pyrite concentrates obtained from coal beneficiation operations. Various other iron- and sulfur-bearing additives were also effective when used in combination as added slurry-phase catalysts, including iron oxides and mineral residues derived from liquefaction of active coals. Under liquefaction conditions, pyrrhotite ( Fe I- x5) is formed from pyrite or from the iron oxides and many sulfur containing species. Pyrrhotite was shown to be a hydrogenation/dehydrogenation catalyst for tetralin but is not active for initiating a variety of free radical reactions that do occur when pyrite is heated with tetralin. The role of pyrite in coal liquefaction is complex and still not well understood.

Jan 1, 1981

By Richard B. Stein

Bechtel's BEMSIM computer program is a useful tool for solvent extraction-electrowinning plant design optimization. Its power (up to 90 stream components, 240 process streams, 180 process steps) has been applied to investigate floweheet configurations in order to perform basic engineering, sizing of plant equipment and to optimize performance of commercial-size copper plants. Flowsheet variations presented include series, parallel and series-parallel extraction stages, while heat balances simulate operations in summer and extreme winter conditions. The BEMSIM program has also been applied to nickel-cobalt, gold and manganese extraction.

Jan 1, 1993

By P. F. Kerr

This is not a conventional professional paper. It deals mostly with personal experiences. These concern a background in applied mineralogy. Your committee asked me to do this. I accepted with a California enthusiasm which has since diminished with the approach of a Chicago winter. Nevertheless, I wish to thank your committee and also to apologize in advance for omissions and inadequate statements, as such a paper must possess. My introduction to applied mineralogy took place in 1922 at Stanford University. Physicists had recently demonstrated that crystalline powders would reflect x-rays in a systematic manner. Professor A.F. Rogers sug¬gested that significant x-ray reflections might be obtained from powdered opaque minerals. With the aid of Professor D.L. Webster in the Physics Department, I constructed an x-ray diffraction outfit. It was a crude affair, but it worked. Starting with 1924, we secured recognizable patterns of a goodly number of ore minerals (1,2,3). Today x-ray diffraction outfits are common, and a card system of mineral identification is constantly used.

Jan 1, 1981

By Magnus Ek, Peter Olsson

The Rönnskär Smelter has been faithful to Peirce Smith Converting during its 79 years of existence. Though a visitor to our smelter museum will easily find out that a lot has happened since the beginning – and development continues. In this paper an up-date on Converting and Casting at the Rönnskär Smelter is presented. Recent developments include an investment into converter process gas handling, but also day-to-day operational aspects such as converter aisle productivity and flexibility, but also minimal EH&S impact. 127

Jan 1, 2009

By C. Ramasamy

The tariff reductions on imports, as a part of on-going liberalisation process in India, has fueled competition within and outside India and has, in turn provided an opportunity to reach global markets. This change calls for quality upgrades and cost-competitiveness without impairing the environment. In this context, gas based processes, contributing to improvement in quality and environment as well as processes where controls are applied when gases inimical to environment are involved, are discussed in a remelt/cast-house scenario. The impact of such processes on fabrication cost of sheet ingot is seen alongwith consumption and cost of materials and compared with a world class standard plant in North America.

Jan 1, 1996

By E. V. Verhoej

The proposed EU directive on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment promotes the substitution of lead in consumer electronics to reduce emissions from lead in the end of life phase. In this paper, the consequences of substituting lead in solders is assessed using the Eco-Indicator-99 method for the examples. The base metal production system is considered as an interconnected network modeled dynamically in Simulink 4 and Matlab 6 (Mathworks Inc 2000), where the recovery and production of metal components of the assessed product partially overlap. This approach requires global modeling of metal production processes and mass balances and resulting allocation choices. It also reveals the susceptibility of LCA scores to different choices in the modeling and data availability and uncertainty. Besides the comparison between lead-free and lead-containing solders, other side effects are revealed. Lead is carrier material for the recycling and production of many co-elements in the interconnected production and recovery system. Substitution may have adverse effects such as temporary shortages of other connected metals that are often not considered in normal LCA assessments, thus leading to erroneous results. The suggested approach provides directions for including these extemal effects and for further assessment of the environmental effects of substituting lead. This paper shows that in order to assess the environmental aspects of metallurgy, dynamic modeling of the total system is required based on the fundamental thermodynamics in each metallurgical reactor, the basis of this dynamic model. With this the true environmental impact of metallurgy can be explained. In the case of lead free solder, it is shown that the mining of substitutes has a very much larger impact.

Jan 1, 2003

By Markku Rytkonen, Shaolong Chen, Ilpo Kylmäkorpi, Hannu Mansikkaviita

Though the Peirce Smith (P-S) converter is a traditional type of furnace, continuous improvement in its mechanical and electrical design is still Kumera's approach. Efforts are made particularly on the following aspects: converter head shape for easy fabrication and structural strengthening, oxidation air swivel joint for low pressure drop and low noise level, wind box for even air distribution to tuyeres, drive unit and its control for reliable and handy operation. These improvements have successfully been applied in recent P-S converter deliveries.

Jan 1, 2009

By A. P. Paiva

With the aim of establishing a valuable alternative to the conventional methods, studies regarding the recovery of precious metals by solvent extraction have been increasing over the past few years. In this work, the selectivity of extraction presented by Cyanex 471X toward silver is investigated. Simulated chloride solutions considering contents of iron and copper usually present in actual leaching practice were used. The characterization of the aqueous solutions - in terms of the multiple equilibria established by the chlorocomplexes of the different metals and their relation to the total chloride concentration of the base-electrolyte - was successfully carried out by cyclic voltammetry. The results obtained support the important contribution of the electrochemical techniques for the understanding of the overall extraction phenomena.

Jan 1, 1994

First, a classification of the various primary sources of feed materials for the production of cobalt is presented from a mineralogical point of view : sulfides, arsenides, sulfo-arsenides and oxide minerals. Each of these cate- gories will be characterized by its behaviour towards concentration methods, taking account of the presence of the associated minerals of other metals and of the nature of the gangue minerals. Then, for each category of cobalt bea- ring ores, typical flowsheets of treatment will be presented and discussed and the characteristics of the cobalt concentrates produced will be under- lined having in view their subsequent processing by pyro - and (or) hydrome- tallurgical methods.

Jan 1, 1988

By William Petrul

Image analysis studies were performed on mill products from laboratory flotation tests of the Zn-Pb ore from the Faro deposit in Yukon, Canada, to determine mineral liberations at specific grinds and to predict recoveries at optimum flotation conditions. The minimum and optimum grinds for liberating sphalerite and galena were predicted from size analysis data for the minerals in large ore pieces, and determined by image analysis studies of the mill products. The determined optimum grinds are about 2 Tyler mesh sizes larger than predicted because sane of the fine grained sphalerite and galena occurs in interstices between coarser grained pyrite and is liberated when the pyrite grains are broken apart. Materials balance calculations were performed on the analyzed values for the liberated and unliberated sphalerite and galenaa to determine their distributions in the mill products. The laboratory flotation tests recovered 74% of the sphalerite and 83% of the galena in Zn and Pb concentrates respectively. The mineral evaluation study indicates that the optimum recovery for sphalerite and galena are 85 and 83% respectively. The company is currently recovering 80% 'of the sphalerite and 82% of the galena.

Jan 1, 1989

By Thomas Gliick, Jianming Lu, David Dreisinger

"The Boleo project of Baja Mining (Vancouver) will process a mixed oxide-sulfide ore using an acid oxidation and reduction process in seawater to extract copper, zinc, cobalt and manganese. Copper will be extracted via SX-EW as copper cathode, zinc will be recovered as a zinc sulphate monohydrate crystal and cobalt will be produced as a cobalt cathode product after phosphinic acid extraction. Manganese may be recovered from the final solvent extraction raffinate by precipitation as manganese carbonate.The development of the cobalt recovery process (solvent extraction and electrowinning) will be discussed. The pilot plant solvent extraction circuit and subsequent bench and small pilot testing of cobalt electrowinning will be discussed. The Boleo project will produce approximately 1708 tonnes per armum of cobalt metal when fully commissioned.INTRODUCTIONThe Boleo property is held by the Mexican company, Minera y Metalllrgica del Boleo S.A. de C.V. (MMB). MMB is owned 70% by Baja Mining Corp. and 30% by a consortium of Korean companies consisting of KORES - Korea Resources Corporation, LS Nikko Copper, Hyundai Hysco, SK Networks and Iljin Copper. The project is fully financed and is now under construction with an expected startup in early 2013 .Average annual production, for the first six years for each of the metals is forecast as: 56,697 tonnes of copper cathode, 1,708 tonnes of cobalt cathode and 25,364 tonnes of zinc sulphate monohydrate. The project has an average life-of-mine cash cost (based on the three year trailing average metal prices, as of December 31, 2009, in accordance with SEC guidelines) of -$0.29/lb Cu, net of by-product credits for cobalt and zinc and with no credit for manganese production. There is the potential to produce up to 220,000 tonnes per armum of manganese carbonate (- 100,000 tpa contained Mn) via the relatively simple addition of a small number of unit operations to the proposed plant. The recovery of manganese metals from the manganese carbonate intermediate material is discussed in a separate paper in this proceeding."

Jan 1, 2012

By Jan Vrestal, Josef Tomiska, Pavel Broz

"Thermodynamic investigations on fcc solid ternary Fe-Ni-Cr alloys have been performed by means of the computer-aided Knudsen cell mass spectrometry. Ternary T.AP.-series (Thermodynamically adapted power series) are used for the algebraic representation of the thermodynamic excess properties. At 1650 K the molar excess Gibbs energy GE is negative over the whole field of stable fcc phase. The molar heat of mixing HE is exothermic in the predominant part of the fcc phase field. Only between the section with a constant ratio of mole fraction Xcr/XNi = 0.64 and the fcc phase field boundary the HE values are slightly endothermic. The results of this work can be used successfully for phase diagram calculations.IntroductionThermodynamic investigations on multicomponent alloy systems such as the Fe-Ni-Cr ternary system including the three binary boundary systems are very time-wasting and usually beset with considerable experimental difficulties. Additionally, the required experimental equipment is very expansive and the obtained results are not always satistying. Therefore it is understandable that many phase diagram calculations are based only on few experimental values of the molar excess free Gibbs energy GE. Consequently, Kundrat and Elliott [1] as well as Hillert and Qiu [2] used in their reassessments of the phase diagram of the Fe-Ni-Cr system thermodynamic data mainly assumed and/or optimized by means of various reasoning.Lee [3] reported recently, a revision of the used thermodynamic description of the Fe-Ni liquid phase is necessary to obtain a better agreement with the experimental data on the bcc/liquid or fcc/liquid tie lines and liquidus temperatures in the Fe-rich region of the Fe-Ni-Cr ternary system than in the previous assessments. This is 'in full agreement with mass spectrometric investigations of Fe-Ni alloys in the liquid and in the fcc solid phase, published earlier [4,5]. Indeed, phase diagram calculations based upon the molar excess free Gibbs energies GE obtained in these studies yield liquidus and solidus lines in excellent agreement with experimental phase diagram data [5]. Nevertheless, these experimental data have not been considered later on any more, not even in the revision by Lee [3]."

Jan 1, 1996

By Hongli Wen, Guangkun Shen, Qiong Deng, Xuling Chen, Min Gan, Xiaohui Fan

"In this research, pyrite cinder which contains 53.51% Fe and 0.54% Pb was processed by magnetic roasting separation to obtain a concentrate with 64.62% Fe and 0.56% Pb. The concentrate was then leached with hydrochloric acid to remove lead. Several technological parameters which may influence the removal efficiency were investigated: the mass fraction of hydrochloric acid, pulp density, the leaching time and temperature. On the conditions that the mass fraction of hydrochloric acid of 5%, pulp density of 30%, the leaching time of 30 minutes and leaching temperature of20°C, the lead content in the concentrate was reduced to 0.19%. The product was suitable for agglomeration and pelletization. Through the analysis of the lead distribution and phase change during the whole process, the mechanism of lead separation from pyrite cinder was analyzed.IntroductionPyrite cinder is rich in iron, which defines its most extensive and effective use as raw materials for iron making. However, some pyrite cinders contain much non-ferrous metals, which is detrimental for the iron making process. Lead, one of the harmful elements, will destroy the blast furnace lining. Besides, it causes pollution of the environment[1]. Therefore it is necessary to remove excessive lead before entering the blast furnace. To separate the lead from pyrite cinder, much research was done, including flotation, high temperature evaporation and leaching. High temperature evaporation consumed too much energy. The flotation was difficult to obtain high- grade iron ore concentrate[2]. Majority of the leaching was direct leaching of pyrite cinder, which was also difficult to get high-grade iron ore concentrate[3]. This article explored the magnetic roasting method to get high-grade iron ore concentrate, acid leaching method of the concentrate to remove excessive lead, providing guidance for the efficient utilization of pyrite cinder."

Jan 1, 2013

By Kafui Nyavor

Acid mine drainage (AMD) is presently the biggest single environmental problem facing the mining industry. New and expanding metal mines in most parts of the world have to demonstrate their ability to contain this problem to obtain operating permits. Conventional methods of controlling acid mine drainage have primarily been limited to collecting the drainage and neutralizing with alkaline materials which do not provide a permanent solution to the AMD problem. Since acid mine drainage results from the oxidation of sulfides in the presence of oxygen, water and iron-oxidizing bacteria, controlling any of these three factors contributing to pyrite oxidation provides a potential at-source remedy for reducing or preventing acid mine drainage formation. Physical properties such as hydrophobicity also play an important role in the attachment of bacteria, adsorption of oxygen, water, and other ions that subsequently lead to the oxidation of pyrite. In this communication, the suppression of pyrite oxidation by treatment with fatty acid amines (FAA) was investigated. The FAA treated pyrite samples were tested at various conditions of temperature and pressure. At an elevated oxygen pressure of 500 psi and a temperature of 600 C, less than 0.2% oxidation was obtained for the FAA treated pyrite samples, while over 1.2% oxidation was obtained for the untreated samples in 10 hours of oxidation time. Accelerated column oxidation tests at ambient condition showed that FAA mated samples reduced pyrite oxidation by at least 75% in 81 days.

Jan 1, 1994

HW Process Technologies, Inc. (HWPT) has developed a patented membrane-based ion fractionation system, which specifically separates copper from gold and silver species in a cyanide matrix. This Engineered Membrane Separation (EMS?) system was pilot demonstrated on the 82,000 liters of pregnant leach solution' (PLS) generated from tailings, via thin layer leaching, at a mine site in Durango State, Mexico. The EMS? recovered ~90% of the gold-silver cyano-complex to a 90% volume permeate (based upon an EMS? feed stream of 100% volume) while rejecting -90% of the copper cyano-complex to a \0% (by volume) concentrate. The EMS? technology combines pore-size specific electro-statically charged membranes with engineered materials of construction and application-specific operational design that reject multi-valent, ionically charged species to the concentrate and transmit mono-valent species through the membrane to the permeate. The 850 ppm Cu PLS contained approximately 0.8 gil free NaCN with, the copper cyano-omplex principally in the CU(CN)3 and CU(CN)4 forms. The gold grade of the PLS was -2 ppm Au. The ~LS calcium concentration at -700 ppm Ca was reduced to ISO ppm.Ca (± 50 ppm) by sodium cycle ion exchange pre-treatrnent prior to EMS? processing.

Jan 1, 1998

By Cynthia K. Belt

Improved energy efficiency has grown in importance within industry as energy costs have escalated. The analysis of trends and changes to a process is critical in making the best business decision in energy management. Frequently, energy use per day (Kilowatt-Hour or British Thermal Units) is used to track energy efficiency. Sometimes, the somewhat more complex method of energy per processed weight (Kilowatt-Hour per Metric Ton or BTU per Pound) is used to make this evaluation. Yet both methods ignore the effects due to throughput and weather. In this paper, different thermal processes and systems will be evaluated using statistical methods to highlight alternative methods to evaluate energy efficiency. Examples and potential problems will be discussed for both a single process and a collection of processes within a plant or corporation.

Jan 1, 2008