Search Documents

By R. B. Sudderth, A. Quiroz G., M. Torres M., C. Salgado Q., J. Fernández O., H. Bravo P., M. Torres B.

SNF FloMin, Inc. has introduced a complete line of extractants for recovery of various metals. Among them are the CuPRO MEX™ Brand of copper extractants that are based on the well- known 2- hydroxy 5-nonylsalicylaldoxime and 2-hydroxy acetophenoneoxime. This paper presents the laboratory and pilot plant trial results for SNF FloMin’s CuPRO MEX™ 3302 reagent, the equivalent to the wellknown ACORGA® M5640 extractant, and the composition of these reagents are described. Some examples of SNF FloMin’s CuPRO-Sim™ Advanced solvent extraction simulator are presented.

Jan 1, 2014

In this paper we present the results of preliminary investigations into the applicability of new laboratory scale tests for the prediction of operating gap and specific throughput in high pressure grinding rolls (HPGR). The work is a part of the CAMIRO HPGR research program being conducted at the University of British Columbia, which aims to develop a suite of small-scale tests and procedures for the selection and sizing of HPGRs. A focus of the presented study is to test sample types in terms of their terra-mechanics based characteristics and relate them to specific throughput and gap results from pilot HPGR testing on the same samples.

Jan 1, 2012

By Kenneth M. Haley

THE development of Reserve Mining Company's pelletizing practices began in 1949 in a pilot plant located at Ashland, Kentucky. Three years later the participating companies -Armco Steel Corporation, Cleveland Cliffs Iron Mining Company and Republic Steel Corporation concluded the work and the small plant was shut down. Oglebay Norton and Company was the operating manager and Armco Steel Corporation furnished labor and services. Arthur G. McKee and Company were the designers and constructors. The equipment flow sheet that was employed in that pilot operation is shown in Figure 1. This was Reserve's first step from the laboratory work per-formed by the Mines Experiment Station of the University of Minnesota in developing a commercial operation. The plant used New York state concentrate, purchased from Jones and Laughlin Steel Corporation's Benson Mine. This concentrate, minus 14 mesh, 64.3 per cent Fe, 5.7 per cent Si02, was processed at Ashland to 80 per cent minus 325 mesh in conventional ball mill, classifier, thickener, filtering

Jan 1, 1961

"The Cooperative Research Centre for Mining Technology and Equipment (CMTE) is funded by the Commonwealth Government, by its mining research members — the Universities of Queensland and Sydney and the CSIRO1, and by its industry members — BHP Coal, RioTinto R&TD, Hamersley Iron, Mining Technologies Australia, Pasminco, Shell Coal, WMC Resources, Advanced Mining Technologies, and Aberfoyle. The Centre conducts work aimed at improving the competitiveness of the Australian mining industry. The current work is focused in four areas: new mining and drilling systems, geological sensing, automation, and equipment maintenance and reliability. This paper describes much of the work in these program areas that relates to metalliferous mining. Mechanized Rock ExcavationThe disadvantages of the drill-and-blast excavation method are widely recognized and the last half of the 20th century has seen mining companies and mining research organizations aggressively pursue technology to excavate rock by other means. As discussed below, despite considerable effort and large amounts of funding, the quest for mining’s “Holy Grail” has been unsuccessful in all but the weakest rock types.COMRO (the Chamber of Mines Research Organisation) supported by the South African gold mining industry, spent three decades and (probably) tens of millions of dollars developing prototype drag bits and, later, impact breaking machines aimed at the mechanized stoping of narrow, tabular reefs. This work has not yet produced a commercially-attractive mining system. Work continues in South Africa to mechanize these stoping operations although now the emphasis is on the use of diamond-wire sawing techniques. This work remains in the experimental phase.Both British Coal and Germany’s Bergbau- Forschung spent many years developing techniques trying to extend the range of rock types which roadheaders could cut economically. Again, although new knowledge was produced, it is difficult to claim that any new commercial mining systems emerged from this work."

Jan 1, 2001

By C. R. Ross

"The purpose of this paper is to review the activities of international organizations concerned with the problem of dust hazards in mines and to indicate the extent of Canadian participation in these activities. The work of the International Labour Office in sponsoring conferences and reports on the appraisal and control of dust hazards and in the development of standard radio-logical classifications is considered in some detail. Also discussed are the role of technical societies, such as the American Conference of Government Industrial Hygienists, in the development of proposed standards for dust exposure and the functions of international committees concerned with particular hazards, such as the U.I.C.C. (Inter-national Union Against Cancer) Committee on Asbestos and Cancer."

Jan 1, 1969

By A. Shakoor, T. P. Gautam

The long-term slaking behavior of clay-bearing rocks in the field can be quite different than the short-term slaking behavior in the laboratory. To assess this difference, 12 replicate samples of each of 20 clay-bearing rocks, including 5 claystones, 5 mudstones, 5 siltstones, and 5 shales, were exposed to natural climatic conditions for 12 months. After each month of exposure, one replicate sample of each rock was removed from natural exposure and its grain size distribution was determined. Disintegration ratio (DR), defined as the ratio of the area under the grain size distribution curve of the slaked material for a given rock to the total area encompassing all grain size distribution curves of the tested samples, was used to quantify the amount of disintegration under natural climatic conditions. DR values of naturally exposed samples were then compared with the corresponding values of second-cycle slake durability index (Id2) determined in the laboratory. The relationship between Id2 and DR after, 1 month of exposure, exhibits an R2 value of 0.65 but the relationship deteriorates when DR values for 6 and 12 months of exposure are used, with R2 values of 0.63 and 0.25, respectively. However, when DR values for laboratory samples, computed from grain size distributions of slaked material after second cycle, are compared with DR values of naturally exposed samples for the three periods of exposure, the relationship improves with the corresponding R2 values being 0.61, 0.71, and 0.41. These results suggest that DR may be a better parameter for assessing the long-term disintegration behavior of clay-bearing rocks than Id2.

Jan 1, 2015

By Song Mao, Local Joint Engineering Lab of Efficient Util of Dominant Mineral Resources from Karst Regions, Guizhou Key Lab of Comprehensive Utilization of Non-metallic Mineral Resource, Xianhai Li, Qin Zhang, unjian Ye, Guizhou University, Wei Cheng, Zhihong Liu

"Phosphate tailing is a kind of industrial waste that emitted from separation processing of phosphate ores, which is usually discarged to the tailing pond without treatment. Recovery of phosphorus from tailings is of great significance for comprehensive utilization of phosphorus resource. Chemical composition of a micro-fine cryptocrystalline phosphate tailing was investigated by X Ray Fluorescence (XRF) and Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectrometry (ICP-AES), and mineral composition and occurrence of harmful elements were analyzed by optical microscope and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), X ray Energy Dispersive Spectrometer (X-ray EDS) and Mineral liberation Analyzer (MLA). On the basis of above, effects of those on mineral processing for phosphate tailing was analyzed. Chemical analysis results in combination with microscopy indicated that there is a certain amount of iron and aluminum and it should focus on the removal of them in separation processing. The cryptocrystalline structure, especially the micro banding structure and micro porphyritic structure indicated that there is quite amount of phosphate in fine particles and it should recovery the phosphorus as much as possible when designing the flotation technology for this difficult separation fine phosphate tailing. This study can provide theoretical guide for efficient phosphorus recovery of from fine phosphate tailing by flotation.INTRODUCTIONPhosphate rocks are vital nonrenewable resources and are essential components in agricultural fertilizers and phosphorous-based chemicals (Gharabaghi et al., 2009). About 95% of the phosphate produced around the world is consumed in the fertilizer industry (page 60 Abdel-Zaher, 2008; Jasinski, 2007). Froth flotation, a solid wettability based separation process is widely used in separation of phosphate rock and shown to be effective (Yehia et al., 1990; Singh et al., 1992; Elgillani and Abouzeid, 1993; Al-Fariss et al., 2013) .Poor selectivity and low recovery for micro-fine particles are hard issues in flotation of middle-low grade phosphate ore because Phosphate resources is becoming poor, fine and complex as the rich ores run out since the 1970s. The rapid depletion of high grade ores forces minerals industry to process low grade ores where finer grinding is required to achieve required liberation of the values, making the fine particle flotation inevitable. the performance of conventional flotation deteriorates rapidly as particle size decreases to below 10-20 µm, depending on the density of the particles (Feng and Aldrich, 1999). To date, fine particle flotation is still considered to be a challenge in mineral processing (Li et al., 2015) ."

Jan 1, 2016

By V. Gangrade

Recirculation is the major concern associated with the utilization of booster fans. In controlled recirculation, a portion of the return air is purposely mixed with the intake air and the mixture is directed towards a working district, while the air quantity and gas concentrations in the air are closely monitored and managed. The objectives of this study were to determine the gas concentration in intake and return airways during controlled recirculation, and to determine the recirculation fraction for multiple headings. Experiments were conducted in a laboratory model to determine the effect of controlled recirculation on the quality of air circulated through the working faces. Preliminary results showed that recirculation is beneficial to ventilation planning because it reduces the build-up of air contaminants at the working faces and reduces the overall power consumptions. The experimental results were used to quantify the recirculation fraction and to calibrate ventilation models of the laboratory model. These models are used to simulate the controlled recirculation and to predict the gas concentrations in multiple headings.

Aug 1, 2013

By B. Tiryaki, M. Ayhan, O. Z. Hekimoglu

Coal shearers are one of the major sources of dust and fines in underground coal mines. Despite considerable research investigations, no comprehensive in situ investigations coupled with extensive laboratory studies on the effects of drum design on generation of dust and fines have been found. It may be for this reason that many major shearer drum manufacturers persistently employ a certain drum-lacing pattern on current coal shearers, which is believed to cause excessive dust and fines in coal mines. This paper shows how respirable dust and fines are minimized under near-identical conditions when the drum lacing pattern was changed from a triple-tracking to a single tracking arrangement. A series of laboratory trials simulating in full scale the practical cutting action of tools was followed by extensive long-term underground trials during production operations in OAL (Cayirhan) Lignite mine in Turkey. The results are presented and discussed, and recommendations for proper drum-lacing in terms of respirable dust and fines are made.

Jan 1, 2002

By Warren A. Sheaffer

THE chief uses for copper are as a conductor of electricity and as the chief component in brasses and bronzes. For such uses, the copper must be of very high purity. H the impurities are zinc, iron, lead, arsenic, or antimony, they can be removed to a great extent by fire-refining. H, however, gold, silver, nickel, or cobalt are present, electrolytic refining is necessary. Electrolytic refining must be preceded by fire-refining and hence all impure copper must be fire-refined. The electrolytic refining of copper is most efficiently carried on when the impurities in the anodes are at a minimum. Some of the impurities tend to deposit with the copper at the cathode, while others remain in solution, decreasing the conductivity of the electrolyte and thus increasing the voltage necessary for refining. Since these dissolved impurities must be removed by continuous purifications, the amount of impurity in the anode copper should be reduced by furnace refining to some predetermined limit. Anode furnace operation aims to reduce these impurities to a minimum beyond which the cost of further furnace refining would exceed that of removing the remaining small amounts of impurities from the electrolyte. The anodes should have a fine-grain internal structure because any pieces of metal becoming detached from the anode during the electrolytic refining are inconvenient to remove from the cells and may cause short-circuits. Impurities tend to disrupt such a structure and thus form zones of weakness during corrosion. When the impurities are reduced to a satisfactory mini-mum, the anode, due to having a fine-grain structure, will corrode uniformly over the entire surface area exposed to the electrolyte. Oxides of the impurities may be volatile, in which case they pass off as flue gases, or they may form viscous slags having a lower specific gravity than molten copper, thus permitting their removal by skimming. Some impurities can be oxidized by introducing air into the bath. Due to the large solubility of oxygen in molten copper, oxygen is distributed uniformly throughout the bath and thus comes into intimate contact with all impurities. The oxides which are insoluble in molten. copper are removed either as flue gases or as slag.

Jan 1, 1942

By D. R. Reeves

This paper describes the geophysical Jogging of coal that is being carried out for the National Coal Board in the United Kingdom. An explanation of the technique is given and results are presented showing estimations of seam thickness to within ±0.5 in. and ash content to accuracies of ±2.5 per cent. The basic method of interpretation is outlined and some conclusions regarding the conditions of roof and floor material which may be deduced from the logs are explained. An indication of future developments in this field, including the identification of coal type and moisture content, is given.

Jan 1, 1971

By P. R. Geoffroy

Extensive and Intensive Prospecting As often pointed out, the search for new ore deposits may be carried on along two widely divergent lines. It may be either extensive or intensive. By extensive prospecting we mean a search for mineralized outcrops conducted over large and more or less virgin tracts of land, followed by a test of the practical value of any discovery made, the test being limited to the immediate vicinity of the outcrop. Extensive prospecting, was, in fact, the only policy known to the early prospectors. of the American continent and is still the rule in the remote sections of the Canadian Shield and in the African wilderness. It can be further characterized by the lack of emphasis placed on geological and other technical means as an aid to the search for ore. However, very little virgin ground is left, nowadays, for a man or a company to test their luck, and whatever is left is so remote from the necessary means of development that any new discovery will require considerable delay and expenditures to be amenable to profitable mining. On the other band, a great many of the favourable and still unexplored areas (and this is particularly true in Canada) are overburdened to such an extent that outcrops of bed-rock are extremely scarce and extensive prospecting is nearly impossible. Intensive prospecting, to the contrary, must be understood as a detailed search for ore carried on over limited areas in districts already known to be mineralized and covering regional structures whose relation to mineral deposits bas been estahlis.hed with a fair degree ot certainty. The search for deep-seated deposits in the vicinity of successful mines is a perfect example of intensive prospecting. As a matter of fact, the majority of the geologists employed by the mining industry are engaged in some kind of intensive prospecting.

Jan 1, 1950

By C. E. Ells

Current knowledge of the behaviour of inert gases in metals is reviewed, with particular emphasis given to the phenomenon of the growth of gas-filled bubbles.

Jan 1, 1960

By Balmer Neilly

In these days of arrested prosperity, when patience is tried and the future but dimly outlined, Canada's gold mining industry stands out as a beacon light shedding its rays of hope and confidence and demonstrating that there is still one product unaffected by Customs barriers and eagerly sought by all the people of the world. Some other forms of industry have hesitated and side-stepped. Some have cried for help, and in spite of public assistance, generously extended, they are still unable to demonstrate definitely their ability to resume the onward march. But gold mining has never hesitated. As an industry, it has bad an unique experience. When prices are high and conditions are generally referred to as prosperous, this industry is adversely affected. The cost of production goes up; profits are diminished; public sympathy is lacking; and, thrown upon its own resources, the industry tightens up its belt and throws its whole energy into an effort to improve operating conditions, and offset high prices by increased efficiency. When, in due course, depression follows inflation and prices ebb, the gold miner, through necessity, finds himself physically and mentally prepared to meet the situation.

Jan 1, 1932

By W. D. Robbson

DR. G. W. RAMSEY (l): A study of our non-treatment silicosis autopsy material for the years 1940-43 inclusive, in addition to the common findings of fibrosis, nodules, and emphysema, shows marked thickening of the alveolar walls. This change is due to one or more of the following factors: congestion, edema, accumulation of both small and large monocuclear cells within the interstitial tissues and large monocuclear cells attached to the lining membrane of the alveolar sacs. This alteration in the alveolar walls, we believe, is one of the most important factors in producing impaired pulmonary function. Comparison of our first autopsy material of a case receiving twenty aluminium treatments beginning June, 1943, shows a striking change in the alveolar walls. In all areas free of silocotic nodules and fibrous tissue, the alveolar walls approach normal thickness and are free of cellular deposits. No change was noted in the old processes and none was expected. We believe that these changes in the alveolar walls were brought about by the aluminium therapy and that they constitute a major factor in the improved pulmonary ventilation noted in treatment cases.

Jan 1, 1945

By M. Boher, J. Lehmann, M. C. Kaerlé

"In the production of high quality steel, the understanding of the interactions between liquid steel and refractories and of their effect on steel purity and cleanness are becoming more and more important.An experimental study has been per-formed in order to estimate the importance of the reaction between a MgO-based tundish refractory and an Al-killed steel. The results show a pollution of the liquid steel:•the silicon content of the liquid steel increases due to the reduction of the silica of the refractory by the aluminum contained in the steel; and•a reoxidation of the steel occurs and the formation of an oxide layer on the refracto-ry, mainly composed of spinel crystals and of Ca-aluminates is observed.The transfer mechanisms of the various elements are analyzed."

Jan 1, 1997

By J. O. Pitts

"Background The preponderance of Canada's coal resources is located in areas remote from high demand domestic users and at some significant distances from deepsea ports. This places great demands on the transportation system and has forced the coal and the transportation industries to adopt highly efficient methods of handling the product and hauling it to market position. Most of the coal not consumed in minemouth thermal power stations is carried by rail over lines operated by the two transcontinental railway systems, Canadian National and Canadian Pacific. These rail networks are extensive and have the advantage (as compared to most other North American railways) of being able to handle coal movements from origin through to destination without interchange to other rail carriers. Coal SourcesWith exception of the coal produced in Cape Breton, Nova iScotia, all the significant shipping volumes in Canada emanate ifrom mines located in the three most westerly provinces. Figure I ishows the geographic distribution of the major mining operaitions shipping coal to domestic and export markets. The prinicipal routes and the tonnages carried (1980 calendar year) are ialso indicated. iThe 1980 shipping data are summarized in Table I. Saskatchewan lignite began moving from Bienfait to Thunder Bay by CP Rail unit trains in mid-1981 at the rate of one million tonnes per year. The product is handled through Thunder Bay Terminals and delivered directly to a nearby Ontario Hydro electrical generating station."

Jan 1, 1985

By G. H. Agnew

When water floods are initiated after gas-oil ratios have increased, the transition period from the start of injection until" the gas-oil ratios are returned to the solution gas-oil ratio may be important for either economic or technical reasons. The transition period is longest, and consequently most critical in water floods where injection is equal to withdrawals. This paper describes a theoretical basis for predicting the behavior of such a system and outlines a procedure for making the necessary calculations. The calculation procedure is illustrated for two actual cases: a line drive water flood and a five spot water flood. In each case there is a reasonable similarity between the actual and calculated performance.

Jan 1, 1960

By C. C. Li

Traditionally, strong and stiff devices, such as fully encapsulated rebar bolts and concrete lining and arches, are preferred for underground rock support. The attention is paid to the strength of the devices in such support designs. It has been observed in engineering practice that support systems composed of stiff devices are often subjected to premature failure in high stress rock conditions. In the past decade, yield support devices have been employed to improve the performance of rock support systems. A rock support system usually consists of both internal and external devices that are installed within the rock mass and on the free surface of the rock, respectively. Great efforts have been made to make support devices yieldable in the past years, but the efforts are focused on different aspects in the tunneling and mining branches. In the tunneling branch, the focus has been put on the development of external yield devices, such as Lining Stress Controller (LSC), Honeycomb element and compressible concrete, which are embedded in shotcrete liners, while in the mining industry the efforts has been on the development of yield rockbolts, such as the cone bolt and the D-Bolt. The internal and external support devices are not compatible in their deformation capacities in the current rock support systems even though yield devices have been employed. All the devices in a support system should be deformable and compatible in deformation capacity. With such a support system, premature failure of individual support devices could be avoided and the service life of the support system is prolonged. It is a trend at present to take into account the energy absorption capacity, instead of simply the strength, of support devices in rock support design.

Jan 1, 2015

By Andrew R. Marchbank

The application of biologically assisted methods for metal extraction in the mining industry has a long history, but development of modern techniques has been relatively slow. There is, however, a resurgence of interest in the industry with the recent development of methods to successfully treat base metals concentrates. Two major pilot plant programs for treatment of chalcopyrite concentrates have been initiated in the past year and results from one are beginning to be released. This paper provides an overview of methods that have been applied in the past; from the earliest deliberate applications of the technology, through the copper and uranium heap and dump leach applications, the more highly engineered agitated tank leach gold applications and the developments currently taking place in the industry.

May 1, 2002