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By G. W. Cutting

It is well known in both the research field and in commercial flotation processes that the grades and recoveries obtained from flotation plants are heavily influenced by the structure and height of the froths produced in the flotation cells. The development of steady-state mathematical models of flotation processes based upon practical and readily obtained parameters have demanded detailed information about the structure of flotation froths. The important parameters are the distribution of floating values, gangue and water in the froth with respect to froth height, cell pulp density, cell air flow rates and flotation inducing additives. Little work has been conducted in this field although considerable attention has been paid to bubble loading and other factors close to the cell froth/pulp interface. Laboratory batch tests are prefaced for the derivation of the above mentioned parameters for both practical and economic reasons. The standard laboratory flotation tests using a batch cell produces a froth of low height (1 to 3 cms generally) together with a varying cell pulp density as the test progresses due to the addition of top up water and the removal of froth from the cell. This form of test can be considered only as giving information about froth conditions close to the cell froth/pulp interface under conditions of widely varying cell pulp densities. In commercial processes the froth heights are much larger (frequently greater than 10 cms); therefore the laboratory batch test, although useful in many ways, does not directly yield parameters relating the state of the froth flowing over the cell lip to process operating conditions. To investigate flotation conditions, where more realistic froth heights are developed, an equilibrium type of batch cell has been developed at Warren Spring 1 Laboratory . In this a tank with high walls is used to contain the pulp and whole froth and, after a short period of operation, an equilibrium between froth

Jan 1, 1975

By Joseph Moses Botbol

Two methods are developed whereby; (1) mineralogic data can be arranged in order of typicality, and (2) mineralogic data external to a model can be compared with the model and the degrees of association computed. Thirty arbitrarily selected base metal mining districts in the conterminous United States were classified as copper, lead, or zinc districts on the basis of tonnage of the major base metal produced. For each of the copper, lead, and zinc districts binary-occurrence distributions were compiled for primary (unoxidized) and secondary (oxidized) minerals. Primary and secondary minerals were then arranged in order of decreasing typicality. Model copper districts are most typified by primary chalcopyrite, pyrite, and secondary malachite. Model lead districts are most typified by primary galena, quartz, pyrite, sphalerite, and secondary anglesite and cerargyrite. Model zinc districts are most typified by primary sphalerite, galena, pyrite, quartz, and secondary smithsonite and cerus-site. The Park City district was removed from the model and its primary and secondary mineralogy was compared with the model copper, lead, and zinc districts. The primary mineralogy of the Park City district is about equally associated with the model copper and lead districts, but the secondary mineralogy is much more akin to the model copper districts. Thus, with respect to the model data, the geochemical target presented by the Park City district resembles a copper district more closely than a lead district.

Jan 1, 1969

By Richard J. Leary

At the 1976 Annual Meeting of AIDE, Alan Merson reminded his audience that economic' success comes to those who understand things as they are, rather than as they have been or what ideology says they should be (1). He went on to say that, measured by this standard, the mining industry is in trouble. The mining firms had recognized long ago the importance of effective lobbying in Washington and the state capitals. But, he pointed out, those methods are nearly worthless anymore in coping with many land use problems because the critical decisions are likely to be made at the local level. There the tactics are far different as are the relations of the decisionmakers to the parties before then. Furthermore, in his estimation the trend is to leave land use regulation largely to the local level of government. All who are concerned for access to land for mineral development will be benefited by reading Professor Merson's paper lie is speaking effectively about the context of decisionmaking for specific cases, the shape of things in the here and now. There is, however, a longer-tern set of considerations that if pursued will be likely to foster the creation of public support for mining developments. At that sane meeting I spoke on two foundations of the long-term relationships: namely, the growth in requirements for minerals implied by projections of increasing consumption; and a rationale for fostering mineral exploration and development. I mentioned in passing the social decisionmaking process for public uses of land (2). This paper is intended as a complement. The growth of requirements for Minerals and the rationale for development based on the Entropy Law will be only mentioned. The main concern will be on the process of social decisionmaking in the context of access to land for mineral development.

Jan 1, 1976

By Duane B. Jorgensen

The two calcium sulfate minerals, gypsum and anhydrite, occur in many parts of the world, and gypsum has long been of economic importance in the family of industrial minerals. Gypsum, the dihydrate form of calcium sulfate (CaSO, . 2H20) and anhydrite, the anhydrous form (CaSO,) are frequently found in close association, and it is seldom that a calcium sulfate deposit will consist exclusively of one mineral or the other. Although known gypsum deposits are extensive, anhydrite makes up the larger part of total calcium sulfate resources. Although it has very minor economic use, it is important to the understanding of gypsum deposits and is referred to frequently in the following discussion. Calcium sulfate is one of the principal constituents of evaporite deposits, and when pure, has the following composition: [ ] Deposits of pure gypsum or of pure anhydrite which are large enough to be considered commercial have not yet been found because of both the metastable relationship between the two minerals, and the presence of impurities such as calcium or magnesium carbonates, chlorides, other sulfate minerals, clay minerals, or silica. Most gypsum produced ranges from 80 to 95% pure and beneficiation is normally limited to selective mining or quarrying or upgrading by crushing and screening during mill processing. END USES The largest use for gypsum is based upon the unique property which calcium sulfate has of readily giving up, or taking on, water of crystallization. With the application of a moderate amount of heat in a process known as calcining, gypsum is converted to plaster of paris, the hemihydrate of calcium sulfate (CaSO4 ½ H2O), which when mixed with water will set or harden as the calcium sulfate returns to the stable dihydrate form. This semifinished product, usually called stucco, is then manufactured into a large variety of plasters, wallboard, and block for construction use, or into plasters for industrial applications. About 75% of the gypsum used in the United States is calcined for these purposes. Uses of uncalcined gypsum are principally as a retarder for portland cement, as a soil conditioner, as a mineral filler, and other minor industrial applications. About 25% of the gypsum mined in the United States goes into these markets; however, in other countries with building practices different from those in the United States and Canada, relative usage varies widely. Calcium sulfate deposits are the world's largest sulfur resources; minor quantities of gypsum and anhydrite have been used to produce sulfur or sulfur compounds. This use is accompanied by a unique site-specific set of economics because sulfur is generally available from non-gypsum sources at lower cost.

Jan 1, 1994

By W. C. Hellyer

In an autogenous grinding circuit in which feed at approximately nine inches top size is reduced to a size suitable for subsequent processing, the build- up of a "critical size" fraction in the media causes problems. A "critical size" fraction has been defined as, "media too small to effect reduction by impact grinding of ore coarser than a quarter of an inch and too large to be broken by the largest size of media in the charge. 9, (1) The buildup of a "critical size" fraction reduces the capacity of the mill, increases the grinding power requirements per ton of finished product, and generally produces a finer grind than is desired. It is general practice to overcome this problem by the addition of large diameter steel balls to the grinding charge. This has certain disadvantages, such as; (i) an increase in mill liner wear; (ii) wear on the steel balls, and; (iii) some loss in flexibility in grinding circuit operations resulting from difficulties in removing the steel balls by means other than by grinding out.

Jan 1, 1970

By D. W. Frommer

Processing nonmagnetic taconites by selective flocculation-desliming and flotation requires large volumes of water. If impounded without treatment these off-process waters require excessively large areas for containment. To discharge the waste water into natural waterways would contribute to stream pollution and likely would not be permitted. In Bureau of Mines experiments conducted in the Twin Cities Metallurgy Research Center&apos;s 900-lb/hr pilot plant, approximately 85 percent of water requirements for the flotation-based treatment of a Michigan nonmagnetic taconite were met by reclaimed water. Water reclamation of the off-process streams from flotation was accomplished by controlled additions of lime, sodium carbonate, and a synthetic flocculant to reduce turbidities to <1,000 ppm equivalent Si02, while maintaining a Ca(II) content of 516 ppm in the finished effluent. Flotation concentrates of good quality were obtained using the reclaimed water. The cost of chemicals used in water reclamation was approximately equal to the savings in flotation reagents attributed to recycling of the water.

Jan 1, 1970

By Daniel R. Walton

This paper covers several points of interest to mine engineers and planners involved in evaluating or conducting geostatistical coal reserve estimates. In particular, the ability to optimize borehole drilling locations and minimize drilling costs is addressed. Also discussed is the concept of confidence intervals for estimated coal characteristics obtained through geostatistical estimates and their importance in decision-making for mine planners. Finally, a discussion is presented on how geostatistics enables identification of invalid data points and actually forces strict attention to data editing and proper geologic interpretation.

Jan 1, 1982

By D. Robert Weir

The complex mineralogy of the Porgera resource has a pronounced effect on process selection for the recovery of refractory gold and silver. Intimate association of gold with pyrite necessitates a high degree of sulphur preoxidation in order to achieve acceptable levels of gold recovery. Acid pressure oxidation has been demonstrated to be the only commercially proven process capable of achieving the required level of pyrite oxidation. Gangue mineralization dictates preconcentration of the sulphides to limit the acid consuming capacity and carbon dioxide generation during oxidation. However, the relationship between concentrate sulphur grade and gold recovery to concentrate ultimately governs the optimum degree of sulphide preconcentration.

Jan 1, 1986

By A. T. Yu

The broken hill proprietary company Ltd., Australia&apos;s only steel producer, has come a long way. Since 1885 to reach today&apos;s. Capacity of 6.6 million long tons of ingot steel per year.* its Newcastle steel complex in New South Wales, located 100 miles north of Sydney and on-stream since 1915, has likewise shown continued impressive growth (fig. 1). The most recent expansion plans at Newcastle call for sub¬stantially increasing its production, with the help of some added facilities, but principally relying on the increase in efficiency of the furnace operation. Its modern raw materials blending system will playa major role in meeting Newcastle&apos;s new targets.

Jan 1, 1969

By G. H. Kuhnhausen

The Bear Creek Uranium Mill was designed in 1975 to process 909 tonnes per day (1000 STPD) of low-grade uranium ore from the Powder River Basin in Wyoming. The mill was expanded to 1818 tonnes per day (2000 STPD) in 1979. The Bear Creek Uranium Project is owned by the Bear Creek Uranium Company, a partnership of Rocky Mountain Energy Company and Mono Power Company. The original mill design contemplated processing ores from Bear Creek Uranium Company properties exclusively. The expanded capacity has been utilized for tolling ores from Kerr McGee Nuclear Corp. and other mining companies in the region. This paper describes the process of designing the original mill, the lessons learned from operation, and the design of the process modifications required for expansion. The project background, design philosophy, design basis, design criteria, actual flowsheet, special design considerations, and a comparison of assumed operating conditions and actual operating results will be presented. Bear Creek Uranium Company wishes to thank and acknowledge the help granted by the many operating companies who provided invaluable information, insight, and critique of the Bear Creek design through all the various stages and were instrumental in the successful completion and start-up of the mill. Without their contributions, the design philosophy used at Bear Creek would not have been possible and the results obtained would surely have been less satisfactory.

Jan 1, 1979

By Arthur B. Cummins

It is appropriate to discuss diatomite at an AIME meeting in San Francisco. California has led the nation, and the world, in the production of diatomite products for more than 40 years. It appears that our State will maintain this position for a long time to come. Diatomite today ranks high in the list of California mineral commodities, with a total value since 1889 well in excess of $100 million. California&apos;s production has more than doubled since 1942. In 1959, the value of diatomite production in California is exceeded only by the following industrial mineral materials-borates, stone, sand and gravel and cement20,28. Also, not unimportant is the production of diatomite in each of our other Pacific Coast States, including Nevada. First, let us define diatomite. It is a sedimentary siliceous rock of organic origin, which consists mainly of the fossilized remains of diatoms. Diatoms are microscopic aquatic plants which have the capacity of precipitating silica bio-chemically so as to form a part of their organized structure. In the economic sense, we are not concerned with the numerous types of sedimentary materials which contain minor amounts of diatom residues, or with impure or highly indurated siliceous materials, which may have been formed from diatomite2. Diatomite (synonyms--diatomaceous earth, kieselgurO is a term generally restricted to material of such qualities as to be suitable for commercial uses. Diatomaceous silica is a designation which is best used to distinguish the basic component of diatomite, that is, the substance of the silica shell itself, and which is the major&apos; constituent of beneficiated diatomite or processed diatomaceous products.

Jan 1, 1959

By Kenneth G. Colman

Even though wet processes were used in coal preparation plants prior to 1941, dewatering coal was not a problem then because the finer sizes were uneconomical to recover and were considered waste. However, during the war years the scarcity of raw materials necessitated the utilization of every pound of natural resources and coal plants began seeking an economical mans of recovering fine coal. Early efforts to this end concentrated primarily on centrifugal dewatering devices. Such equipment produced good results but was relatively expensive. In 1944, a method was devised utilizing a vibrating screen fitted with a profile wire deck rather than the standard woven wire cloth deck. This machine came to be referred to as a dewaterizer. Results obtained with the dewaterizer approached those of the centrifugal equipment, but at a lower capital cost, Their use reduced either the number of centrifugal units required to follow the dewaterizers or the required energy input to heat dryers, In some cases they eliminated the need for any further dewatering equipment.

Jan 1, 1970

By William I. Weisman

The annual consumption of fluorspar in the United States, in the last 10 years has doubled. In 1971, when 1,344,742 tons were consumed, almost 45 percent of this amount was used in the production of steel and nearly 50 percent was consumed in the manufacture of hydrofluoric acid. Of the hydrofluoric acid produced, about one-third was used in the manufacture of aluminum electrolytes for production of primary aluminum metal and the balance was consumed in the manufacture of a variety of fluorocarbons and other chemicals. A small amount of fluorspar, constituting less than five percent of total consumption, was used in the foundry industry, and in the manufacture of glass, enamel, cement and other products. It is apparent that a continuing supply of fluorspar will be required to meet the demands for these vital metals and chemicals in our expanding industrial society. Domestic fluorspar production meets only approximately 20 percent of our needs. Hence, it is essential that the United States maintain a healthy domestic fluorspar industry in order to have adequate domestic reserves available at times of emergency and to protect this country from becoming solely dependent on foreign sources for this strategic commodity.

Jan 1, 1973

By M. J. Shulman

The exploration geologist is frequently confronted with the problem of allocating his resources, i.e., exploration effort, among various areas. Although geologic, financial and logistic considerations influence the allocations, no objective criterion is usually given which determines the optimal allocation. Maximizing the gain in information, subject to the constraint of a limited exploration budget, is used as the objective criterion to allocate reconnaissance effort. The information function, I(x), quantifies the expected gain in information, where x is the scale of exploration. To calculate the information function the following data are necessary: 1. The probability that an area contains a target must be estimated. 2. For each scale of exploration, four probabilities must be estimated: the probability that an anomaly is produced by the target; the probability that an anomaly is not produced by the target; the probability that an anomaly is produced by a barren area (false signal); and the probability that an anomaly is not produced by a barren area. Alternatively, the barren area can be replaced by other targets. To illustrate the allocation model, the optimal number of line kilometers/line spacing per area is determined for an aeromagnetic survey for iron in Egypt.

Jan 1, 1985

By R. W. Salmi

The authors discuss the cooperative efforts by Minnesota Ore. Operations and Research; from the earlier development, testing and installation of fine shear screens in the Minntac Step III concentrator to the most recent testing and operating data that has resulted in the installation of Derrick Multifeed sandwich deck screens in Minntac Steps I and II. Pilot-plant test results that were obtained at the Coleraine, Minnesota Research Laboratory are also reported and demonstrate the effects of feed rate and feed percent solids on sandwich screen performance with two sizes of Minntac fine screen feed.

Jan 1, 1984

By R. H. Sergent

The interest in using halogens for extracting precious metals from ores has increased due to changes In ore characteristics, environmental concerns and regulations. The rediscovery of halogen leaching capability has been the topic of these and other writers1-30. Much work has been done on the performance of bromine, chlorine and iodine5-29. Of these, bromine and chlorine look most promising. Iodine is quite expensive and sometimes forms an Insoluble film on a precious metal surface22,23. Little experimental work has been published on the relative performance of bromine versus chlorine. The Pourbaix diagrams for the halide leach system (see Fig. 1-4) Indicates a significant stability advantage for bromine In forming complex ions with gold. This should result In greater extraction of gold under similar leach conditions and Is evaluated In this work. The regeneration of halogen from a spent leech solution is a critical requirement for an environmentally acceptable halogen leach process. Bromide can be oxidized In-situ to bromine ~ adding chlorine or ozone2,31. Bromide like chloride can be oxidized In an electrochemical cell to produce halogen on demand 13,15,17. Bromine clearly offers a number of possible regeneration pathways. This work strives to compare the relative ability of chlorine and bromine to extract gold from partially and fully oxidized ores. A commercially pressure oxidized sample was evaluated under a number of experimental conditions. The autoclave feed ore from the same mill was also evaluated after complete oxidation In a laboratory autoclave.

Jan 1, 1993

The concept of "classification is expanded beyond the performance of the classifying equipment to include all aspects of the fines removal system of the grinding circuit. Design and operating parameters which affect fines removal are identified and discussed, and a quantitative index for circuit fines removal effectiveness is defined. This approach lends new interpretation to certain observed phenomena, and suggests useful guidelines for circuit design and operation.

Jan 1, 1985

By Paul Eimon

The 1981 Fall field trip of the Denver Region Exploration Geologists&apos; Society focuses on Creede. That is appropriate - because significant mining history has been made and is being made in this off-the-beaten track, high-country mining district. Creede is one of the few Colorado bonanza towns which was big in the 19th Century, had its ups and downs, and produced almost continuously since its discovery. Creede is important to geologists for its: precious and base metal production, current exploration activity, and research into near-surface hydrothermal systems. United States Geological Survey research and field geologists zeroed in on Creede some 25 years ago and their steady, consistent work is now being spotlighted and appreciated.

Jan 1, 1981

By Alain A. Sonntag

The MBS Solvent Extraction System utilises a unique design of mixer- settler having very high capacity per unit area and great flexibility. The development of the mixer-settler is traced through its various stages wherein the independence of mixing and pumping, reduction in settler area requirements and simplicity of plant layout were achieved. The laboratory, pilot plant and full scale tests contributing to the development of the machine are described. The existing KREBS SX plants in Europe and Africa are described as well as the plants presently under design. Results of recent testwork are also given.

Jan 1, 1981

By Dan Nilsson

Rock from underground mining has a size-distribution, that varies from mine to mine, depends on rock conditions and mining method and on how much explosives etc, that is used. Because at the high costs, associated with full-scale studies of the size-distribution of blasted rock in a mine, detailed information is seldom published about such size-distributions. However, some facts can be noticed. Rock from tunnelling and other types of development work has a fine fragmentation. Cut-and- fill mining is a method that normally results in blasted rock with an advantageous size distribution. Block caving on the other hand often results in large amounts of boulders, since blasting of the rock is normally not used.

Jan 1, 1985