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By Michael G. Nelson, Amy Richins, Ashley Hodgson, W. Pratt Rogers

"Sociotechnical systems are everywhere in the modern industrial world. Sociotechnical systems describe how humans interact with technology throughout a variety of processes. These systems are prevalent in modern industrial settings, such as operating mines. Safety and health management systems (SHMSs) are complex sociotechnical structures designed with the aim of managing and reducing occupational risk. U.S. mining companies are voluntarily adopting SHMSs to supplement regulatory safety compliance efforts. Like all complex sociotechnical systems there are a wide variety of approaches and adoption philosophies around a SHMS. Many SHMSs suffer from high levels of redundancies, which manifest themselves in diverse ways: duplicate processes, forms, permits, and tracking mechanisms. These redundancies have severe impacts on the overall system and absorb critical culture and leadership “energy”. A recent study initiated by the University of Utah and sponsored by the Alpha Foundation is investigating the effectiveness of SHMSs across 15 different U.S. mining sites. A large amount of data has been captured to help characterize elements of SHMSs and correlate their impacts on safety outcomes. Many variables were assessed in the study. Those of importance to this paper are the variables describing the robustness of the sociotechnical aspects of the SHMS. Two such variables are the overall integration of the SHMS within the whole system and how data is managed. Data management in this context deals with the approach to capturing, analyzing, and acting on data within the system. As well, systems are integrated around controlled, data-sharing mechanisms. It has been found that wide variety of approaches has been taken to integrate the SHMS within the governing management philosophy at a given site. A series of case studies is presented that develop some specific best practices for proper data management and integration of SHMSs.Introduction and Project Background Managing occupational health and safety can be done in many different ways, and with many different approaches, but is often based on the host country’s regulatory and industrial culture. However, many companies have extended their effort beyond the regulatory requirements of their host nation and have implemented Safety and Health Management Systems. The goal of these efforts is to reduce and eliminate occupational risk. Many health and safety practitioners have a hard time justifying various elements of health and safety management. There is a lack of institutional knowledge that measures and assesses the effectiveness of these Safety and Health Management System (SHMS) elements. To better understand the effectiveness of SHMSs the Alpha Foundation has funded a research project with the University of Utah. The title of the project is “Characterization and Effectiveness of Safety and Health Management Systems in the U.S. Mining Industry.” The research team will assess the SHMSs of 15 United States mine sites. The outcome of the project will be a method to characterize the strength of the SHMS elements, assess a culture and leadership index, and finally establish correlations between elemental risk and safety outcomes. The study is currently in progress. However, many important outcomes have already been observed, particularly on the data management practices within an SHMS."

Jan 1, 2017

By Kenneth J. Miller

Froth flotation is one of the most actively pursued research and development areas in the coal preparation industry today. Many new types of flotation machines and processes are being developed and compared in an effort to handle the increased quantity of coal fines produced by finer grinding for greater liberation of ash- forming and sulfur-bearing mineral matter. Of the many new machines and processes under development for deep cleaning ultrafine coals, it is quite likely that many will not reach industrial use in the near future; in fact, it is quite likely that some never will. Therefore, it is the objective of this paper to select and describe a few of the new flotation machines and processes that appear to have reached a level of development that would suggest their eventual use on an industrial scale. It is probable, and doubtless will be argued, that some of the selections given in this paper should not have been included, while others should have, but the reader must understand that the author is restricted by the information available. And because most of the information available comes from those who are developing the equipment and/ or processes, it is often confusing and conflicting. Thus with a somewhat moderated plan, the author proposes to point out some in- congruities in the literature in the hope that such information might promote more independent study and perhaps explain the abundant promise versus the scant use of the new equipment and processes described.

Jan 1, 1988

By D. Legg

This is the first in a series of studies commissioned by the European Environment Agency that aim to raise awareness of the use of economic instruments and assess their effectiveness. The emphasis is on sharing good practice and increasing knowledge and understanding across European countries in this emerging policy area. A methodology for evaluating the effectiveness of economic instruments has been developed and this will examine whether the inclusion of economic instruments in complex policy packages can improve the overall performance, particularly as a prevention tool in terms of resource use and waste generation The focus for this initial study is the use of aggregate taxes in four EU countries which include the Czech Republic, Italy, Sweden and the UK so that a range of experiences (e.g. geographical, political etc.) can be included. The findings will be used to inform and influence future policy development in other EEA countries. The methodological approach is divided into two main sections: - Technical analysis, which covers quantitative and qualitative analysis. - Process design, i.e. who should be involved when, where and how. Process design is essential if the full learning benefits are to be gained from the technical analysis, which is the ultimate objective of these evaluations.

Jan 1, 2007

By J. Chipman, N. J. Grant, B. M. Shields

The vacuum tin-fusion method of analysis for hydrogen, developed by Carney, Chipman, and Grant, has been modified to permit the analysis of the evolved gases for hydrogen by means of a thermal conductivity cell. A properly prepared sample can be analyzed in 10 min with a probable error of ±0.12 ppm. A study of various methods for storage of hydrogen samples shows that samples can be safely held in a dry ice-acetone bath as long as six days. Storage in liquid nitrogen is necessary for samples to be held one week or more. HE vacuum tin-fusion method, as developed by I- Carney, Chipman and Grant,' is the only analytical procedure which has shown promise of being fast enough for use in the control of hydrogen during steelmaking. It was felt that further simplification and faster speed of operation could be effected by the use of thermal conductivity measurements for analysis of the gases evolved in the tin-fusion method. The application of conductivity measurements to the tin-fusion method is possible because: 1—the evolved gas is essentially a mixture of hydrogen, nitrogen and carbon monoxide with a hydrogen content usually over 50 pct, 2—the evolved gas is collected at a relatively low pressure, and 3— the thermal conductivities of CO and N2 are practically identical while that of hydrogen is very much greater. The major part of this research program was devoted to the construction and calibration of a vacuum tin-fusion apparatus which analyzes the evolved gases for hydrogen by means of a thermal conductivity cell. The second phase of the problem was associated with the development of a procedure for storage of samples prior to analysis. With the rapid quenching method for hydrogen sampling,' which seems to be the most practical for steel mill use, it is necessary that the samples be stored safely during the interval between sampling and analysis if the hydrogen content of the molten metal is to be maintained in the supersaturated solid samples. The thermal conductivity bridge has been used for a number of years in the analysis of certain gas mixtures. An elementary discussion of the theory and practice of gas analysis by thermal conductivity measurements is given by Minter.3 A more comprehensive discussion of the theory and of the various measuring circuits is presented by Daynes.' A complete knowledge of the theory and properties of the thermal conductivity of gases and gaseous mixtures can be gained by a study of the standard textbooks on the kinetic theory of gases."' The existing data on the thermal conductivity of single gases are reviewed by Hawkins: that for a number of binary gas mixtures by Daynes' and Lindsay." The thermal conductivity method may be applied to the determination of the composition of a binary mixture if: 1—the thermal conductivity of the mixture varies monotonically with composition, and 2— the two gases have measurably different thermal conductivities. The greater the difference between the two gases, the greater the sensitivity of the method.10 he method is applicable to the analysis of multicomponent mixtures when all of the gases in the mixture except one have nearly the same thermal conductivity. Fortunately, the mixture of hydrogen, nitrogen, and carbon monoxide evolved by the tin-fusion analysis' falls in this latter classification. The thermal conductivities of nitrogen and carbon monoxide are practically equal; and the thermal conductivity of hydrogen is approximately seven times that of the other two. Therefore, the thermal conductivity of a gaseous mixture of hydrogen, nitrogen, and carbon monoxide at known temperature and pressure can be related directly to the percentage of hydrogen in the mixture by suitable calibration. Usually the thermal conductivity of a mixture of gases is measured at atmospheric pressure where the thermal conductivity is independent of pressure over a wide pressure range. At very low pressures (below 1 mm Hg), the thermal conductivity of gases varies with the pressure. This phenomenon has been utilized in the Pirani vacuum gage for the measurement of pressures in the range of 10" to 10-0 mm of mercury.= Very little has been published concerning the variation of thermal conductivity with pressure at intermediate pressures between 1 mm Hg and 1 atm. However, preliminary measurements indicated that the thermal conductivities did vary with pressure over the range of pressures (up to 10 mm Hg) at which gases are delivered from the vacuum pump. Therefore, the calibration of the thermal conductivity cell had to be planned to include the effects of both gas composition and pressure. Such a calibration chart is shown in Fig. 4. Most industrial applications of the thermal conductivity method of gas analysis have used a compensated Wheatstone bridge circuit containing two

Jan 1, 1954

By Robert S. Hendricks

LOCATION AND HISTORY The Lakeshore Copper property is located on the Papago Indian Reservation approximately 30 miles South of Casa Grande, Arizona. This major porphyry type deposit was discovered by El Paso Natural Gas Company in 1966. Following an extensive diamond drilling program, El Paso invited several mining companies, including Hecla, to examine the property with a view towards participation. Hecla's examination, and the attendant feasibility studies, led to agreements, which were finalized in September 1969, whereby Hecla would acquire a 50% interest in the property, and would act as operator. The Lakeshore deposit covers an area approximately 3,000 feet in width by 6,000 feet in length. It consists of an upper zone of disseminated copper oxides, averaging approximately 100' in thickness overlying a zone of disseminated copper sulfides up to 1,000 feet thick. Near the base of the disseminated ore is a blanket like zone of high grade copper sulfides, referred to as the tactite ore body. The mine is being developed to produce approximately 6,500 tons per day of oxide ore and 9,000 tons per day of sulfide ore. This represents a total daily production rate of 15,500 tons per day, which will be achieved by underground mining methods using rubbertired dieselpowered mining equipment. DEVELOPMENT LAYOUT The mine is being developed by two parallel 15° decline tunnels. The declines were collared 5,000 feet southeast of the ore body, and are being driven in a northwestery direction, to pass beneath the tactite ore zone. The declines will constitute the primary means of access to the underground workings. One decline (north

Jan 1, 1997

By K Brand, M J. Ind, M Rynhoud

Water management at a tailings storage facility (TSF) presents one of the major risks to the safe performance of the facility. International and domestic dam safety guidelines assess a dam’s hazard category based on the consequences of a dam failure and the subsequent downstream damage to the environment and communities.Often a rigorous risk assessment is undertaken during the design stages to identify and control hazards associated with water management through life-of-mine (LOM) phases. However, as experienced during the recent downturn in commodity prices, early closure of a mine can occur rapidly and unexpectedly. Although guidelines such as the Australian National Committee on Large Dams Incorporated (ANCOLD) recommend that one of the key objectives of integrated TSF planning is to ‘plan all phases of a tailing dam’s life to ensure adequate storage capacity including early closure ’ (Australian National Committee on Large Dams Incorporated (ANCOLD), 2012) this is often overlooked by owners who are focused on fulfilling the mine’s potential and early closure is not on their radar.CITATION:Ind, M J, Rynhoud, M and Brand, K, 2016. Life-of-mine spillway strategy – managing risk associated with surface water at a tailings storage facility, in Proceedings Life-of-Mine 2016 Conference, pp 209–211 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jun 28, 2016

By J. Finch, R. McIvor

This paper presents the development of a new grinding circuit steady-state modeling system. It is fundamentally based on the “functional performance equation”, which has now been used to improve the performance of numerous grinding circuits. This equation characterizes the two distinct efficiencies that are at work in a ball milling circuit, and how these relate to overall circuit productivity. It does so based on the particle size chosen to distinguish between coarse and fine (product size) material. Now, by applying it to all the material size classes, a simple yet reliable ball mill model was created. Combined with cyclone recoveries, the complete, detailed grinding circuit performance can be exactly reproduced mathematically by the computer program. It can then be used with separate process equipment application engineering methods to systematically engineer grinding circuit improvements. The development, features, uses and limitations of the system are described.

Jan 1, 2007

By M. R. Moon

The mine fire at Wilberg Mine in 1984 reached the surface resulting in the failure of the vertical ledge forming the roof and entrance for three main intake portals. The fallen material was covered with a concrete cap to seal the air from the mine. As the mine was recovered and ventilation pressure was placed on seals on the perimeter of the fire area, the concrete capped rubble proved ineffective. Due to the steep and rugged terrain and the inaccessibility to the portals from underground, horizontal holes were drilled into the portal entries and three seals were placed remotely. The seals in conjunction with pressure balancing the seals around the perimeter of the fire area resulted -in the control of the mine fire.

Jan 1, 1993

G. R. Compton (Gold Mines of Kalgoorlie (Australia) Ltd., Fimiston, W. A.) : In congratulating Mr. Hooker upon his resume of Mr Parry's paper I have in mind the fact that he carried out the research into pipe pressures. Hydraulic filling as practised in Kalgoorlie has created world wide interest, with these pressures and percolation being vital points.Early in the 1950s, representatives of the Kolar field were conduGted over the local mines where stopes at depths below 2,000 ft were being filled. The problems of pipe pressures were their main consideration since depths of up to 10,000 ft were envisaged.Mr Krishnaiah and Mr Murthy from the same field are with us today and perhaps we may hear of their experiences with depths of 6,000 ft and long lateral lines.J. Holly (Lake View and Star Ltd., Fimiston, W.A.): There is one phase, which I would like to mention myself, that has been very evident in Kalgoorlie operations. That is, we do not get the percolation properties that are obtained on many other fields in the world, and our tendency here has been to assess the quality of our fill more by its settling rate, i.e. the rate at which we can draw off clear water at the surface of the filling levels, rather than the rate that this water percolates down through the fill before it consolidates.We are tending now to measure the quality of our fill as a settling rate rather than as a percolation rate.Americans talk about percolation rates being the important property: If anyone has any experience on operating with fills with different percolation rates, I think their views would be very interesting to the meeting art this stage. Mr ...

Jan 1, 1965

By T. E. Scott, D. H. Sherman, C. V. Owen

It has been established' that vanadium exhibits a ductile to brittle transition temperature which increases with increasing hydrogen content. Optical microscopic examination at room temperature revealed no evidence of hydride precipitate in fractured specimens containing 100 ppm H, but hydrides were present in samples with 800 ppm H. More recently2 the strain rate and temperature dependences of the ductility drop in vanadium containing 6 ppm H were reported. It was argued that the ductile-brittle transition, while dependent on the presence of hydrogen, probably could not be explained by the precipitation of hydride. The bases of the argument were that 6 ppm H would not produce sufficient hydride to alter the ductility to the extent observed and no visual evidence of hydride was obtained. However, the data were not sufficient in these investigations 1,2 to define accurately the ductile-brittle transition temperature. Also, no information was available concerning the terminal solubility of hydrogen in vanadium at the low concentrations employed. westlake 3 has studied the electrical resistivity of vanadium at several hydrogen concentrations. He was able to detect the precipitation of hydride and to extend the hydrogen solvus to the composition and temperature range pertinent to the observed ductile-brittle transition behavior, Westlake compared his

Jan 1, 1968

By P. C. J. Gallagher

A number of recmt determinations for the ratio of extrinsic to intrinsic stacking fault energy in fcc solid solutions are examined. Some of these arise from incomplete analyses which can yield only approxi?nate values for the ratio. Reliable results, on the other hand, obtained using extrinsic-intrinsic fault pairs, show that the extrinsic and intrinsic fault energies are essentially equal in several materials. There is some reason to believe that this finding is of general applicability to fcc elements and alloys. A wide range of values has been obtained for the relative magnitudes of the extrinsic and intrinsic stacking fault energies (yext and yint, respectively) in recently published studies in a variety of materials. In contrast, Hirth and Lothe' using a central force model have shown that out to tenth nearest-neighbor interactions the perturbation in energy caused by both types of fault is the same. Although the model used is not completely valid in metals, there is nevertheless some indication that marked variations of yext/nnt should not be observed from one material to another. In early work in Cu-A1, Cu-Ge, Ni-Co, and stainless steel all the deformation faults observed in the electron microscope were found to be intrinsic in nature, which led to an attitude that the extrinsic fault energy must be considerably greater than the intrinsic. Extrinsic faulting arising from deformation has, however, more recently been directly observed in Au-4.8 at. pct n;~ Ag-6 at. pct Sn and Ag-8 at. pct sn; Ag-7.5 at. pct In and Ag-11.8 at. pct 1n;"' pure silwer and Ag-0.5 at. pct ~n;' and Cu-22 at. pct Zn, Cu-30 at. pct Zn, and Cu-7.5 at. pct ~1.l' Multilayer loops containing extrinsic faulting have also been observed in quenched aluminum." While peak asymmetries in X-ray faulting probability studies were generally attributed to the presence of twins,Lelel2 has recently reinterpreted earlier X-ray data in Ag-Sb alloysU in terms of the presence of extrinsic faulting. The determinations of yeXt/yint made from the above studies are shown in Table I, with a brief description of the techniques employed. A number of the methods utilized are deficient in one or more respects, and the reliability of the values listed will be discussed. ~ele'~ recognizes that his approximate determinations of yext/yint assumes equal numbers of extrin-sically and intrinsically faulted dislocations. It is well-known, however, that such an assumption is not at all justified since extrinsic faulting has but rarely been observed in samples studied in the electron microscope. The only conclusion that should be drawn from the X-ray results at present is that the total intrinsic scattering cross section (i.e., the product of the width of the intrinsically faulted dislocations with their density) is approximately ten times greater than for extrinsic faulting in these particular samples. An important point is that the relative magnitudes of the energies cannot be inferred from results of this type, unless the intrinsic and extrinsic faults form with equal ease. One must recognize that, although a formation barrier may restrict the amount of extrinsic faulting which occurs, this in no way implies that the extrinsic and intrinsic energies should be different. It is unlikely that a worthwhile estimate of the relative densities of extrinsically and intrinsically faulted dislocations can be made at the high deformations present in X-ray samples. ~oretto,'~ from a statistical argument applied to the nonobservation of extrinsically faulted tetrahedra out of a large sample, concluded that yeXt/yint could not be less than -4.5. However, the present author feels that a high-energy formation barrier as just supposed also explains this finding satisfactorily and that no conclusion can possibly be drawn concerning the actual extrinsic stacking fault energy. The same argument also serves to explain the fact that extrinsic faulting has been relatively little observed in the electron microscope. Extrinsic-intrinsic node pairs and isolated extrinsic nodes were first reported by Loretto~ and subsequently by Ives and Ruff,' Gallaher,' and Gallagher and Wash-burn.' Ives and Ruff' found a wide spread in the ratio of extrinsically to intrinsically faulted area in the node pairs they observed, and drew the very tentative conclusion that yeXt/yint 2 2. They recognized that a straightforward comparison of the size of the faulted areas could provide no more than a qualitative result without a theoretical analysis of the dislocation geometry associated with extrinsic faulting. A theoretical

Jan 1, 1969

By R. Parada

In January 1995, Disputada Mining Company Ltd. (Compañia Minera Disputada de Las Condes) started up the Expansion Project for the Chagres Smelter, following an investment of US$M 2 15. The new smelter replaced the 44,000 tomes per year revervatory furnace with an Outokumpu Flash Smelting Furnace (FSF) designed to produce 118,000 tonnes per year of copper. Nowadays, this smelting unit has achieved a 40% over design performance. The landmarks of this modernization project are described. The start up period in 1995-1996 was characterized by the impacts of several restrictions that prevented the smelter from reach design production. The design performance was reached in 1997-1998 through the implementation of solutions designed to eliminate, or at least mitigate, the restrictions found early on. The smelter has been further optimized in the 1999-2000 period, leading to a new record anode copper production rate of 148,000 tonnes in 2000 while obtaining 98% approval for our different anode shapes. The objective of this paper is to discuss the consecutive processes of start-up, achievement of design capacity, and operational improvements to go well beyond the design capacity. These processes took place between early 1995 and late 2000, under the principles of Continuous Improvement that promotes the effective participation of the workers in the technology innovation and Enterprise Management.

Jan 1, 2002

By Joseph J. Wallace

1. The investigation shows that there are two coal beds of major importance in Perry County from the standpoint of present production -Flag and Fire Clay -and two beds of minor importance -Haddix and Hindman. The Flag and Fire Clay beds contain the largest remaining known reserves. 2. Known measured and indicated reserves in all beds, based on a minimum thickness of 14 inches and 1,800 tons per acre-foot of coal in place, are estimated at 840 million short tons as of January 1, 1954. Of this total, 720 million short tons is in beds 28 inches and more thick. Areas in each bed were omitted from the estimate because available data relative to the bed characteristics are too meager for making an estimate that conforms with the definitions of measured and indicated coal adopted for this study. Should future drilling or development prove reserves in these areas, these should be added to the total estimated reserves.

Jan 1, 1954

AS you have seen, I have hitherto demonstrated to you the methods for bringing to their proper and pure bodies all metals of any kind of ore that you have found and mined. If these did not now serve human needs all these operations with so much expense and labor would have been profitless and in vain. Therefore I recognize that it is necessary in speaking to touch upon all their operations and to teach you to ma& use of the metals according to the works needed. There are, for instance, some metals that would serve poorly for certain works when reduced to their fineness and perfection. Also, many artificers, in order to avoid expense, are content with having a larger quantity of metals and do not care so much about their perfection. For this reason they willingly accept mixtures of one metal with another, for example, of silver or copper with gold, of copper with silver, and likewise of tin or lead with copper. Tin is accompanied by lead to avoid spoiling its nature completely. All this, however, is done with a definite proportion by weight and not by chance. These admixtures, as I have told you in another place, are called in gold, carats, and in silver, leghe. This, in fact, means nothing but the association of one metal with another, indeed, a soiling of their purity and fineness, to which they have been brought with so much hard effort and labor. But now leaving this discussion, I shall tell you in the present book as briefly as I can, in order, first of the alloying of gold with silver or copper, and then of that of silver with copper.

Jan 1, 1942

By C. J. Newman

Prior to 1995, the smelting process at the Kennecott Utah Copper Corporation (KUCC) smelter consisted of Noranda reactors and Pierce-Smith converters. In the consideration of expansion opportunities, the existing process did not lend itself to a program geared towards processing the total output of KUCC mining and milling operations. During 1989 and 1990, a number of smelting options were evaluated. The final selection was the Outokumpu flash smelting process, coupled with the new Kennecott-Outokumpu flash converting technology. Facilities were designed and installed to process 1:0 million tonnes per year of copper concentrate, with the ability to expand to 1.2 million tonnes per year. Following the shutdown of the smelter facility utilizing the Noranda technology in May 1995, the flash smelting, furnace commenced operation in June with the flash converting furnace startup following a few weeks later. The smelter has achieved design production targets and environmental goals. Current operating rates are at or above design rates for concentrate and matte processing. Emissions are lower than the permit levels and equate to less than 3.5 kg of SO2 per tonne of copper. This paper outlines the design, construction, startup and the first two years of operation of the modernized KUCC smelter.

Jan 1, 1998

By S. Uddin

Microsegregation manifests its effect on microstructural evolution of cast or welded alloys which in turn influences their important mechanical and electro-chemical properties. In the above context, mathematical models of microsegregation have proven to play an important role in estimating the nature and predicting the effects of this phenomenon in wide varieties of solidification processes. Microsegregation models are useful in designing new commercial alloys, in estimating the homogenization time for the post-process heat treatments and in many other practical applications. In this study, two semi-analytical models of microsegregation were developed to predict the concentration field of solute in the liquid and solid regions for dendritic solidification of binary metallic alloys. Both models assume that the growing dendrites are cylindrical in shape. This assumption is more realistic compared to the common assumptions of plate like dendrites that most of the earlier researchers employed in their microsegregation modeling study. The solute redistribution profile, in the developing solid layer, necessary to determine the back diffusion parameter was derived from Fick's second law for the model without coarsening. The application of this parameter in a wide range of conditions and the use of its basic form in the model with coarsening has been verified. The concept of coordinate transformation and enhancement of back-diffusion Fourier number were used in deriving the model which took into account the coarsening of dendrites. The models are then extended to deal with rapid solidification and peritectic transformations and the results were compared with relevant experimental data for Aluminum and other alloys. A good agreement between model predictions and experimental results was found.

Jan 1, 2007

By J. Donald Rimstidt, Jeanette K. Jerz

Acid mine drainage is a major environmental problem worldwide. A key to remediating this problem is understanding the rate and mechanisms of the complex, multistep pyrite oxidation reaction under geologically relevant conditions. Because many waste piles are not submerged, a large amount of pyrite oxidation actually occurs in air. We have designed a Barcroft-manometer reactor to measure the rate of pyrite oxidation in air as a function of relative humidity and oxygen partial pressure. The reactor consists of two chambers joined by a manometer. Each experiment occurs at constant temperature, initial oxygen partial pressure, and relative humidity, although these variable can be changed between runs. Oxygen consumption was measured and pyrite oxidation rates were calculated from those data. Initial data indicate that rate of pyrite oxidation by oxygen in humid air is much faster than the rate of oxidation by oxygen in solution. The rates determined by this study can be used to develop better remediation techniques for acidic mine waters.

Jan 1, 2000

By Austin Park

More metal at a lower profit continued to be demanded from the mining industry during 1969. Correspondence with U.S. and Canadian mining districts and a study of the mining literature indicate that, a large majority of the mines are keeping pace and rising to the challenge. Continued research and better understanding of pneumatically applied concrete for roof and wall support was of top interest. Many mines are changing mining methods for the adaptation of load-haul-dump units. The most recent adaptation being the use of these units in cut- and-fill stoping and in various types of development headings. Boring methods and use of two- or three- boom drilling jumbos mounted on rubber tires for versatility continues to be the favorite approach to the demand for rapid excavation.

Jan 1, 1970

By R. J. Kuczynski

The U.S. Bureau of Mines operated a 2,000-g (4.4-lb) batch process development unit for recovering platinum-group metals (PGM) from automobile catalysts. Virgin monolith, used pellet, and used monolith catalyst samples were tested. Leaching twice with 1-pct sodium cyanide (NaCN) solution at 1600 C for 1 h dissolved more than 95 pct of the PGM from virgin catalysts and more than 90 pct from used pellet catalysts. More than 85 pct of the PGM was dissolved from used monolith catalysts when a third autoclave step was added. Solid PGM concentrates containing more than 99.8 pct of the dissolved PGM and analyzing greater than 70 pct PGM were recovered by heating the pregnant leach solutions from virgin catalysts to 2500 C and used catalyst to 2750 C for 1 h. The solution after heating contained less than 0.2 ppm. total cyanide. The virgin residues passed the EPA Extraction Procedure Toxicity Test (EP Tox Test), the EPA Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP), and the California Waste Extraction Test (WET) for all elements except Ba. Adding sodium sulfate (Na2S04) to the virgin leach residues reduced the amount of Ba dissolved to an acceptable level. The used leach residues passed the EP Tox Test for all elements but failed the WET and TCLP for Pb.

Jan 1, 2010

By Kenneth R. Farley

The Bureau of Mines developed a rapid and accurate flame photometric procedure for determining cesium and rubidium in ores and in products associated with the extractive metallurgy of these elements. The effect of associated ions is neutralized by addition of buffer solution; alkali metal effects are neutralized by parallel analyses made on standard solutions similar in composition to the sample being studied. The overall accuracy of the method is within 2.5 pct of the amount of cesium or rubidium present; the range from 1 to 25 pct is the most accurate.

Jan 1, 1966