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By M. H. Lampen

The SILAG Material Tracking System MTS monitors and controls the complete material flow throughout the plant - and even companywide. The customized system developed by Siemens especially for bulk material handling applications enables companies to track bulk material from the mine to the harbor, to the steel mill or to the power plant. All relevant material data is available at every single step of the material’s journey. SILAG is an open, scalable system based on Windows NT / 2000. Using standard interfaces of Windows NT, like API, ODBC, SQL and socket technology, the system is very flexible and can easily be tailored to meet different requirements. SILAG can be used as a stand-alone solution or - if complete plant control and visualization is required - as a component of a fully integrated automation system with the Win CC HMI system and the PCS7 process control. In contrast to conventional material tracking systems, SILAG offers many advantages. - The Material Tracking System is an object oriented, online to the process, linked system. All changes in the plant during operation e.g. selecting another conveyor route, start and stop etc. will be automatically detected and will influence the calculation. - The systems is able to split and blend material (quantity and quality).Measurements of tonnage, volume or quality analysis can be linked online to the system. Each movement of material is monitored by the system and leads to online recalculations of the images and databases. - All material data is based on 3D-stockpile images, which are calculated by an internal mathematical model based on quantity and quality information. - If a laser scanner is available on a stockyard machine it can be taken to update the profile directly from the piles. - Efficient control and report functions are available on each, free selectable point of the total plant.

Sep 1, 2001

By A. H. Mokken, G. K. I. Blendulf, G. J. C. Young

A study of the arrangements for pulp discharge on pebble mills, and their influence on mill performance by A. H. MOKKEN, B.Sc. (Eng.) (Rand) (Fellow), G. K. I. BLENDULF, M.Sc. (Stockholm) (Member), and G. J. C. YOUNG, B.Sc. (London) (Member) Although used for many years in the gold-mining industry, the conventional pan lifter at the discharge end of a pebble mill has hindered attempts at optimization of speed of rotation and pulp flow. A theoretical approach to flow patterns in pan lifters has pointed to limitations in the capacity of these lifters, with capacity decreasing as speed of rotation is increased. Complete elimination of the pan lifter by the adoption of peripheral or end discharge has resulted in a marked increase in pulp flow and an improvement in power utilization. Assays of the gold content of pulp discharged after a mill stoppage from mills fitted with pan lifters show values well in excess of the current milled grade, which indicates an accumulation of gold particles in the mill and, therefore, a longer retention period. The same could apply to other heavy minerals and metals present in the ore feed or worn off mill linings and metallic grinding media. Examples are osmiridium, fine iron and iron alloys, and copper and sulphide minerals. This phenomenon is attributed to the higher specific gravities of these metals and minerals, causing them to migrate towards the mill shell, from which position they are not readily removed by the lifters at the discharge end of the mill. The close association of gold particles with iron and sulphide minerals in the crevices of mill liners might be conducive to the formation of coatings on the gold. Assays of samples of milled pulp taken from a mill designed for end discharge show a lower accumulation of gold. The accumulation and nature of these gold particles are being studied at present. With increasing diameters of pebble (or autogenous) mills, peripheral or end discharge appears to be the preferred method of pulp removal.

Jan 5, 1975

By B. S. Xakalashe, M. I. Khama, Q. G. Reynolds

The carbonaceous reduction of manganese ore is an energy-intensive process that releases large amounts of pollutant gases. In an attempt to circumvent the greenhouse gas emissions, this research investigates hydrogen as an alternative reductant. The reduction of manganese ore with hydrogen results in the structural changes in the intermediate products, which might limit the diffusion of the reactant gases through the pores. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models capture the structural changes and predict the rate controlling mechanism and this is key in designing the prereduction reactors. The current work uses CFD models to predict the degree of reduction in a shaft furnace under hydrogen reducing conditions. Manganese ore is described as a collection of scalar and tensor fields such as thermal conductivity of the porous medium, density, and viscous resistance. The results indicate that advection contributes significantly towards the overall transport of hydrogen to the reaction sites. Porosity of the final product was found to be higher than porosity of the raw material.

Mar 4, 2025

By J. P. Dreyer

Note: The development of AGIT AIR flotation machines by J. P. DREYER HISTORY The first AGITAIR flotation machine was developed and patented in 1932. It has a capacity of 5 ft3t and was named the No. 20. Next in line was the No. 24. Built in 1933, it had twice the capacity of the No. 20 unit. Then, in 1934 and 1939 came the No. 36 (22,5 ft3) and No. 48 (40 ft3) respectively.

Jan 6, 1976

By O. K. H. Sheff

An editorial in the April 1990 edition of Mining Magazine is worth a wider audience in South Africa, particularly as the SAIMM enters its own centenary decade and the process of change in the minerals industry world-wide makes increasing demands on the professionalism of its leaders. The editorial considers the changing status of engineers, who up to the 1880s had been held in high regard by society. Alumina and bauxite Economists forecast a slower economic growth rate in 1990, but expect continued increase in demand for aluminum at a 3 per cent annual rate during the decade. Structural and numerical analysis Struceng & Femcad (structural analysis and finiteelement method) is a conference and exhibition that is to be held in Grenoble (France) on 17th and 18th October, 1990. It is sponsored by the Institute for Industrial Technology Transfer (ITT-International).

Jan 1, 1990

By J. Botha

There are many underground mining software tools available to plan and schedule the development of underground mines. A shortfall of these tools is the optimization of the underground equipment and strategy in order to maximize the development rate. This paper will illustrate how the SimMine® software was used to maximize underground development at Petra Diamonds' Cullinan Diamond Mine. It will also determine the effect of various development strategies and equipment capacities on the underground development rate and pinpoint potential bottlenecks in the mine development cycle.

Jan 1, 2010

By T. R. Marrero, J. W. Wilson

The transportation, by water that flows through a pipeline, of coals in the form of water-impermeable cylinders is discussed, and shown to have distinct advantages over other forms of coal transportation, including significantly reduced costs for larger throughputs. The description of the concept comprises various aspects of the system, such as methods for the manufacture of coal logs, their injection into the pipeline, the manner in which they are conveyed in the water in the pipe, and the methods used for their preparation as feed material to electric power stations at the end of the pipeline. It is pointed out that the technology involved in the transportation of coal in the form of logs via pipelines is applicable also to other minerals and commodities.

Jan 1, 1993

By K. R. Vost

"In situ" measurements of the surface heat transfer coefficient in underground airways by K. R. VeST,* B.Se. (Glas.), M.Se. (N.S.W.) (Visitor) Few "in situ" measurements have been made of the surface heat transfer coefficient in mine airways despite the importance of this coefficient in determining the heat flow into the ventilating air. In this paper, the values obtained at various air velocities and the comparisons of these values with theoretical values are given. Examples are also given ofthe errors which would result if rock surface temperatures were obtained by extrapolation from temperatures further into the rock without taking into account the time delay which occurs before a given change in air temperature reaches the points from which extrapolation is carried out.

By C. van Buuren, R. F. Sandenbergh, P. J. Pieterse

Gold extraction from double refractory ores using conventional cyanidation has proved challenging due to the presence of carbon within the ore. Carbon particles may adsorb leached gold resulting in gold losses to tailings, i.e. preg-robbing the gold. Some of the preg-robbed gold may be recovered by the application of the HiTeCC process on CIL tailings. The process developed by Metso Outotec involves caustic conditioning of the tailings followed by high temperature desorption and simultaneous adsorption onto virgin activated carbon of the aurodicyanide. The aim of this paper was to develop a model for the HiTeCC process which could be used to support design and optimisation of the process, based on the adsorption characteristics of the preg-robbing and activated carbons. It was found that accurate experimental isotherms can be used to predict the behaviour of preg-robbing adsorbents. Comparing the sorption isotherms for preg-robbing ores and activated carbon indicated similar dependencies on temperature and ionic composition. Applying boundary layer diffusion models coupled with experimentally determined isotherms for preg-robbing ore and activated carbon, the HiTeCC process was successfully simulated at experimental and plant scale. Gold recovery of the HiTeCC process is most sensitive to the temperature of desorption and gold loading of the activated carbon, with increased temperature improving recovery. The gold loading of the activated carbon in the process should always be maintained lower than that of the normalised pregrobbing carbon gold loading to ensure favourable conditions for adsorption onto the activated carbon. Caustic conditioning stabilises adsorption and is therefore not necessary during the desorption stages of the process, but potentially improves recovery during adsorption. Keywords: Preg-robbing, refractory gold ores, HiTeCC, aurodicyanide

Jan 1, 2020

By J. H. van Laar, L. J. van der Walt, P. L. Crouse, H. Bissett, G. J. Puts

"SynopsisSilicon carbide nanopowders were produced using a microwave-induced plasma process operating at 15 kPa absolute and at atmospheric pressure. Methyltrichlorosilane (MTS) served as precursor, due to its advantageous stoichiometric silicon-to-carbon ratio of unity, allowing it to act as both carbon and silicon source. Argon served as carrier gas, and an additional hydrogen feed helped ensure a fully reducing reaction environment. The parameters under investigation were the H2:MTS molar ratio and the total enthalpy. The particle size distribution ranged from 20 nm upwards, as determined by SEM and TEM micrographs. It was found that an increase in enthalpy and a higher H2:MTS ratio resulted in smaller SiC particle sizes. The adhesion of particles was a common occurrence during the process, resulting in larger agglomerate sizes. SiC layers were deposited at 15 kPa with thicknesses ranging from 5.8 to 15 µm.IntroductionIt is well known that methyltrichlorosilane (CH3SiCl3 or MTS) decomposes to form silicon carbide (SiC) and hydrogen chloride (HCl) as shown in Equation [1]. The reaction kinetics and mechanisms for this reaction are thoroughly reported in the literature (Sone et al., 2000; Papasouliotis and Sotirchos, 1999; Kaneko et al., 2002; Wang et al., 2011)."

Jan 1, 2015

Recent advances in the design and performance of flotation equipment A General Meeting and Colloquium on the above topic was held on 12th March, 1975, at Kelvin House, Johannesburg. The Colloquium was attended by 250 delegates and was opened by the Immediate Past President, Mr P. W. J. van Rensburg, at 09h30. Obituary Mr Van Rensburg announced with regret the deaths of James Alfred Boyd, Life Fellow, and Jack Joseph Frankel, Fellow. Training of technicians The Institute has received a letter from The Federation of Societies of Professional Engineers pointing out that there is considerable opportunity for the training of Coloured and Bantu technicians and artisans, and that the existing facilities will be extended as the demand for them increases.

Jan 6, 1975

By S. N. Alecsandrov, BulgakovY. F.

Putting out fires in faces is an extremely complex and dangerous operation from the technological point of view which sometimes is accompanied by human victims. The new technology of fire-extinguishing sets giving directly into a mining face has been developed at the DNTU in order to put out such kinds of fires. The technique presupposes an availability of special installation placed on ventilation and conveyor mining drift. In case of fire a special fire-extinguishing powder is delivered with the help of remote control into mining face. Subjects, allowing to determine powder delivering distance in the frame of mining workings are presented in the report. The given technology substantially increases safety of accident work which are carried out in case of fire.

Jan 1, 2003

On 23rd October, 1969, 54 members of the Institute set out at an early hour from Rand Airport in two chartered Dakota aircraft for a visit to the Hendrik Verwoerd Dam site. The weather was at the start rather unpromising but after passing Bloemfontein the overcast cleared and it turned into a glorious day for a most memorable visit. The Institute is indebted to U.C-Dumez-Borie Dams Limited, the main civil engineering contractors, and Mr J. D. McNamara their executive manager, for the very excellent arrangements made for this excursion. From the time the aircraft landed till a slightly belated departure the organisation of the extensive tours arranged for the parties was quite outstanding and a matter for congratulation to all concerned. At each of the many places visited there was a senior official to give an authoritative and comprehensive description of the work under his control. In addition the guides on the buses, loaned by the Department of Water Affairs, kept up an interesting running commentary throughout the day. A further much appreciated facet was the introduction of many of the experts on the site and a brief talk by each after an excellent lunch served at the recreation club. Each visitor also received a brochure with a progress report and a detailed site plan, with various sections highlighted in colour, and obviously prepared at the cost of much time and effort. The visit included tours of the large dolerite quarry, where some 150 000 tons of rock are removed each month, the 42 in. gyratory primary crusher, the secondary crushing and screening plant, the rod mill plant for sand production, and the automated blending and concrete batching plant. The transport of mixed concrete by 'silobuses' to the 6 cu. yd buckets of four Blondin cableways, two of which are radially movable and two with buffing towers, and the placing of the concrete in the huge blocks of the wall was watched from a vantage point. The most interesting part of the visit was without a doubt the inspection of the wall itself and the explanations of the many intricasies of its design and care in construction, covering aspects such as positioning of galleys, interlocking of blocks, reinforcement, refrigeration, actual concrete placing, subsequent grouting, etc. Other points of interest were the very complicated design of the wall itself, the river diversion plans, with three stages of coffer dams, the spillways, and the very well cut penstock tunnels.

By M. R. Anderton

"A hierarchical four-character code designed for geological and allied data may be used to log exploration drill-holes and store the information on magnetic media. The code is intended for use in semi-free format and permits the collection of as much, or as little, data as the geologist may require for the purpose in hand. A method of data storage by variable length records is discussed.Information may be retrieved by means of a simple enquiry language. Optional output facilities could allow the retrieval of data in a form suitable for direct input to a contouring package. The enquiry parameters and interrogation program can thus provide the interface between the data bank and associated application systems."

Jan 1, 2014

By W. Soetaert, P. Dhar, H. R. Kota, M. Thornhill, S. Roelants, I. V. Chernyshova

Yeast-derived bola-amphiphiles have attracted considerable attention for their applications in various industrial sectors in recent years. However, only a few studies on this class of surfactant were reported to be relevant to mineral processing applications. In this paper, one of the novel surfactants, acidic glucolipid obtained from Candida bombicola sophorolipids and modified by using Penicillium decumbens naringinase substrate has been evaluated for its interaction with chalcocite and calcite minerals because of a new Cu-ore Nussir deposit in Norway containing calcite impurity. The interaction of glucolipid biosurfactant with copper sulphide and carbonate minerals was investigated with zeta potential, adsorption and FTIR studies, and also by Hallimond tube and bench scale flotation tests using pure minerals and Nussir copper ore, respectively. The results illustrate collector adsorption and flotation of copper sulfides at neutral pH. The bench-scale flotation results demonstrate that copper sulphides can be selectively floated from carbonate and silicate gangue minerals. This study underlines the glycolipid’s high potential for its use as collector for flotation of valuable copper sulphide minerals. Keywords: Flotation, biosurfactants, adsorption

Jan 1, 2020

By L. E. Salinas-Farran, S. J. Neethling

Key variables in heap leaching include permeability, mechanical stability and mass transport. All of these properties can be manipulated by agglomerating and curing the ore before stacking it into heaps. The chemical and structural evolution of the agglomerates during curing is key to improving agglomerate properties and, ultimately, heap performance. It is possible to image the internal structure of agglomerates using SEM/EDX (e.g. QEMSCAN or MLA), although these methods are destructive and do not represent the 3D structure of the agglomerates. A non-destructive alternative is to image the agglomerates using X-ray Microtomography (XMT). Not only does this provide 3D information, it also allows the same samples to be repeatedly scanned, allowing the time evolution of the agglomerate structure and chemical composition to be tracked. In this paper we compared the behaviour of ores agglomerated using a combination of sulphuric acid and ferric sulphate with ones in which chloride ions are added to the recipe, since chloride leaching is gaining in popularity as a chemical alternative to bioleaching for sulphide ores. We tracked the curing process beyond the typical time scales to see the impact that this has on both the agglomerate structure and the subsequent leaching behaviour. Keywords: Heap leaching, curing extent impact, leaching kinetics, ferric-chloride leaching

Jan 1, 2020

By A. J. Reynolds

In recent years, rapid depletion of the higher grade reserves, allied to decreases in paylimits, has led to the exploitation of secondary, erratically mineralized placer horizons on various marginal and low grade gold mines. On Blyvooruitzicht Mine, the rich Carbon Leader Reef has limited reserves, necessitating exploration of the lower grade Middelvlei Reef. This placer has always presented evaluation and exploration problems, to such an extent that it was, at one stage, considered uneconomic. Despite an extensive underground drilling programme no ore reserve targets of reasonable size were apparent. However, when a certain degree of parallelism between sedimentological trends in the Middelvlei Reef and the underlying Carbon Leader was recognized, a meaningful exploration model could be developed. Firstly, all historical sampling records for the Carbon Leader were entered into a computerized system; the database comprised in excess of 340 000 data points. Variables captured consisted of gold value, uranium value, con- glomerate thickness and total reef thickness. The raw data were then averaged into blocks, and plots of different variables were computer-generated for further analysis. This enabled the Carbon Leader to be modelled sedimentologically and, thereby, exploration targets for the Middelvlei Reef were generated, based on the Carbon Leader facies trends. Geostatistical analysis of sampling data in exposed areas of the Middelvlei Reef underground has confirmed the sedimentological breakdown of the placer into distinct facies areas. A facies model relating value distribution patterns to depositional trends, both for the Carbon Leader and the Middelvlei Reef, has thus been incorporated into a mine planning strategy.

Jan 1, 1987

By N. A. Barcza

This paper describes the development of large-scale thermal-plasma systems, which was motivated, in general, by the potential cost savings that could be achieved by their use as a replacement for the more conventional methods used in the generation of thermal energy. The anticipated cost savings arise not only from the use of plasma-generating devices but from the manner in which they have been interfaced with a furnace to process particular materials, mostly as fines. Thermal-plasma systems fall into two categories: non-transferred-arc and transferred-arc devices. In general, transferred-arc devices have been interfaced with open-bath furnaces in which melting or smelting processes carried out, while non-transferred-arc devices have normally been applied to shaft furnaces. Water-cooled transferred-arc devices are somewhat limited in power (about 5 MW) because of the relatively voltages (300 to 500 V) that can be attained in open-bath furnaces, where very long arcs are undesirable, and because only relatively low levels of current can be carried. Graphite electrodes can overcome the restriction current, and power levels of 30 to 50 MW seem feasible, even with one electrode, if direct current is used. Multiple water-cooled devices are capable of attaining similar power levels, but the capital costs are much higher. Costs due to electrode wear are lower for water-cooled systems, but expensive gases are needed for transferred-arc devices. Mintek conducted extensive pilot-plant work in which water-cooled devices were used initially but graphite electrodes were used subsequently to produce ferochromium from fines. Transferred-arc open-bath configurations were used. This work led to a decision by Middelburg Steel & Alloys (MS&A) to install a 16 MVA furnace of semindustrial scale to produce ferochromium aloys based on the ASEA d.c. arc furnace developed for the Elred process. Non-transferred-arc devices have atained reasonable scale-up to the 6 to8 MW power level, and high-voltage operation, which is inherent in such devices, has enabled lower currents to be used. Nevertheless, multiple systems are still necessary to accommodate large-scale applications, and this can be costly from a capital point of view. The cooling requirements are large, and can represent a considerable loss of electric energy. Shaft furnaces equipped with non-transferred-arc devices are suitable for the processing of materials that have volatile species, e.g. silica or manganese, or where the shaft is used to prereduce oxides that are amenable to gas-solid reactions. It is probably in the treatment of light and refractory metals that plasma technology will achieve its greatest development in the years to come. The energy requirements for the production of these metals are high, and very low oxygen potentials are necessary. These are factors that favour thermal plasma. Much developmental work is still needed in this interesting field. It should be remembered that electrically generated thermal energy is a unique temperature source that, in many instances, cannot be replaced technically or economically by the combustion of a fuel.

Jan 1, 1986

By J. G. Goodey, G. J. van der Linde

This paper describes pilot-plant tests on the recovery of apatite from a hitherto untapped material. This materialhydro- separator overflow-is very fine (80 per cent smaller than 45 µm and 32 per cent smaller than 10 µm). . The pilot-plant tests proved that the recovery of apatite from this material is economically and technically viable. This was confirmed by plant trials, which, in the early stages, produced concentrate assaying 36,6 per cent P2O5 at a recovery of 65,5 per cent.

Jan 1, 1983

By M. H. Moys

A method of estimating the percent solids in the discharge from a grinding mill is described and tested on both pilot and industrial scale. It involves the use of energy and mass balances around the mill discharge sump, requiring measurements of the flowrate and density from the sump together with temperatures of all streams flowing to and from the sump. Accurate estimates of the dynamic variation of mill discharge percent solids are made available, provided that occasional manual sampling of the stream is done to cope with drift in instrumentation. The use of a computer in this application was essential; the various advantages associated with its use are discussed. It is anticipated that this estimate of discharge density can be controlled at a set point by manipulation of the water fed to the mill, resulting in significant decreases in specific power consumption and media consumption.

Jan 1, 1987