Search Documents

By Janine Acasi, Robert D. Rogers, Jonathan K. Trautman, Richard C. Cronn, James H. Wolfram

The demand for phosphate will continue into the future, because phosphate is currently irreplaceable as a plant nutrient and in many chemical applications. Phosphate is not recycled, so the supply must be replenished through a process of mining and purification. The most energy intensive part of the process, separation of phosphate from the ore, requires 54 to 78% (depending on the method used) of the estimated 0.5 quads of energy consumed by the U.S. phosphate industry. This paper provides data from a project designed to determine if a biotechnology can be developed to separate phosphate from its ore. Several hundred microorganisms (both bacteria and fungi) capable of solubilization of phosphate ore have been isolated from the environment. Work is ongoing to determine the mechanism for solubilization. In addition, how these organisms could be used in a bioprocess is being investigated.

Jan 1, 1989

By VIVEK KASHYAP, EVODY TSHIJIK KARUMB, PATRICK TAYLOR

Zinc ferrite is considered an integral phase of zinc residues as their presence can render the processing of zinc and critical metals difficult. It is a refractory phase, formed at high temperature in the presence of zinc (Zn) and iron (Fe) during oxidative roasting in zinc processing plants. Because it is refractory to efficient leaching, unreacted zinc ferrite gets concentrated in the final zinc residue, making it a viable source of zinc and indium extraction. The refractory nature of zinc ferrite makes the extraction of associated critical metals difficult. In order to explore a potential economic and carbon-neutral zinc ferrite processing technique, our previous study proposed the partial reduction of zinc ferrite followed by sulfuric acid leaching of the roasting product [1-3]. As demonstrated in our previous studies, partial reduction of zinc ferrite results in a mixture of ZnO, Fe3O4 and FeO, which can be further subjected to leaching for efficient extraction of zinc and critical metals such as gallium and indium.

Dec 1, 2022

By D Craw, J Pope

The Greenland Group, Westland, can be characterised with respect to environmental issues by the application of a GIS database (DAME), and specific sampling campaigns. Waters draining gold mineralised areas have a distinctive chemistry characterised by neutral pH and arsenic as a trace element. The acid neutralising capacity (ANC) from carbonates usually exceeds the maximum potential acidity (MPA) from sulphides resulting in circum-neutral pH. These waters are readily distinguishable from waters draining coal mine related areas, which commonly have low pH (~4) and low As concentrations (~0.1 ppm). In contrast, dissolved arsenic mobilised from Greenland Group historic gold mining areas is up to 2.4 ppm. This As mobilisation is controlled by the secondary As mineral, scorodite (FeAsO2+2H2O). Maximum dissolved As concentrations increase with increasing pH, corresponding to the increasing solubility of scorodite with increasing pH. Dissolved As is attenuated by dilution, precipitation of scorodite, and/or adsorption to iron oxyhydroxide (HFO). Adsorption to HFO is an important attenuation mechanism in and adjacent to many mine sites. HFO is abundant at mine sites where pyrite was abundant in fresh rock, such as where the mineralised zone is dominated by disseminated pyrite. Pyrite, and resulting HFO, are relatively rare where mineralisation occurred as well-defined quartz veins. Localised HFO occurs also where ankerite oxidises in host rocks. Arsenic output flux (ca. 25 g/day) from historic gold mine sites is commonly less than the natural background flux from mineralised rocks (>5000 g/day).

Jan 1, 2006

By Jack C. White

The purpose of this Bureau of Mines research was to determine the technical feasibility of direct sulfuric acid digestion of Florida land-pebble phosphate matrix. Preliminary tests in a continuous digestion circuit showed that 92 to 96 percent of the P2O5 contained in the matrix was extracted, while the P.05 concentration in the product acid ranged from 21 to 30 percent. The waste filter cake contained about 1 percent P205 and up to 18 percent water. These sandy compact filter cakes, comprised mostly of quartz and gypsum, appeared to be suitable for backfilling and reclamation of mined lands.

Jan 1, 1975

By A. Moskowitz, L. S. Redmerski

The corrosion resistance of stainless steels can be strongly affected by surface treatments. Changes in corrosion resistance can relate to surface composition, integrity and stability of the passive film, and to surface profile (roughness). Operations producing oxidation at the surface, such as annealing, heat treating, and welding, can result in a chromium-rich scale and a chromium-depleted metal surface. In order to restore full corrosion resistance, chemical or mechanical clean-up techniques must remove not only the oxide, but also a very thin layer of metal. Laboratory and field test studies show that these factors are particularly significant in less highly alloyed steels. Annealing stainless in a reducing atmosphere (bright annealing) avoids chromium depletion, but as-bright-annealed material does not display optimum corrosion resistance in certain environments. Electro passiva-tion can be applied to improve pitting resistance without significantly changing bright surface appearance. Potentiometric studies show that electropassivated material also displays significantly greater resistance to breakdown of passivity in acid solutions. The application of special surface finishes for appearance purposes can affect corrosion resistance. Roughness is a key factor. Samples of related appearance but with different surface profiles can show significant differences in corrosion resistance. Thus nonreflec-tive stainless with a relatively smooth surface produced by a special rolling process is much superior to material chemically etched to a similar low reflectivity. THE corrosion resistance of a stainless steel is affected by other factors in addition to its bulk composition and metallurgical structure. These other factors include those relating to the specific chemical and physical condition of the steel's surface. This paper will consider certain aspects of surface condition in relation to corrosion resistance. In particular, studies will be described on the effects of oxidation encountered in heat treating or welding operations, of passivation after bright annealing, and of different surface finishes. EFFECTS DUE TO OXIDATION When stainless steels are exposed to high temperature in an oxidizing environment, as in annealing or welding, the oxides formed are relatively rich in chromium. As a consequence of oxidation, the metallic layer directly beneath the scale may be low in chromium to some very thin but finite depth.1"8 Such a change in chromium content could lower the corrosion resistance at the surface, whether or not the oxide layer is removed. Studies were performed relating to the effect of oxidation and chromium depletion produced during annealing and welding on the corrosion resistance of stainless steels. The nominal compositions of steels used in this study and others are given in Table I. A) Annealing Studies on 17 pet Cr Steels. 1) Effects of Pickling Treatments. Studies were performed to investigate the corrosion resistance of air annealed type 430 stainless as a function of the amount of electrolytic pickling after annealing. The material used in this study had been air annealed and electrolytically pickled in the mill. All scale had been removed, and yet the material showed unusually poor corrosion resistance. Laboratory electrolytic pickling studies were performed to determine whether additional metal removal from the surface would improve corrosion resistance. Electrolytic pickling was performed in a sulfuric acid bath using various conditions of bath acidity, temperature, time, and current density. The samples were then rated for corrosion resistance in a ferric chloride spot test. For this spot test, a solution was prepared by dissolving 10 g of FeCl3 . 6H2O, 5 g of NaCl, and 2.5 ml of concentrated HC1 in 200 ml of water. An area on a specimen was cleaned and a drop of test solution was placed on the prepared area. After 5 min, the drop was rinsed off and the area wiped dry. The spot was then rated between 1 and 5 by visual comparison with standard spots. The numerical rating of the standard spots can be described as follows: 1—No clouding of surface; 2—very slight clouding of surface; 3—slight clouding of surface; 4—moderate clouding of surface; 5—strong clouding of surface. A rating of 1 or 2 was considered to have passed the test, a rating of 4 or 5 represented failure, and a rating of 3 was considered borderline. The severity of etching in this test has been related to the actual chromium content at the surface.4 Etching (clouding) occurs on type 430 stainless (rating of 4 to 5) when the surface chromium content is 14 pct or less. The effects of current density and retention time when electrolytically repickling this material in 6 pct sulfuric acid are shown in Fig. 1. Increasing the cur-rent density or retention time improved corrosion resistance as measured by the spot test. Similarly, increasing acid concentration of the bath or bath tem-perature was found to improve corrosion resistance. The conditions making for improved spot ratings resulted in increased metal removal, regardless of specific pickling conditions used, Fig. 2.

Jan 1, 1970

Coal has been mined in the central Appalachian coalfields of southern West Virginia, western Virginia, and eastern Kentucky for more than a century. The dwindling reserve base consists in large part of coal that would have been considered unmineable by earlier generations. Nearly every current operation is working on a property where coal has been extracted in the past, from seams either above, below, or both. NIOSH is conducting research aimed at helping mine planners prevent hazardous conditions due to multiple seam interactions. To-date, more than 300 case histories have been collected from underground mines, mainly from central Appalachia. This paper focuses on several of the more challenging situations that have been encountered, including: • Room-and-pillar development 20 ft (6 m) beneath full extraction workings at a depth of 1,000 ft (300m) of cover (Virginia) • Pillar recovery 45 ft above full extraction workings at 900 ft (270 m) of cover (Virginia) • Near-simultaneous room-and-pillar mining with pillar recovery with 40 ft (12 m) of interburden and 1,500-2,000 ft (450-600 m) of cover (Kentucky) • Longwall mining directly beneath main entries in overlying seams (West Virginia) • Some of these operations have been highly successful in overcoming the challenges, others less so. The lessons learned from their experience will help ensure that these and similar difficult reserves can be mined safely.

By W. S. CAYPLESS, H. O. Hofman, E. E. HARRINGTON

1. INTRODUCTION. AT the Lake Superior meeting, September, 1904, Messrs. A. Gibb and R. C. Philp presented a paper entitled " The Constitution of Mattes Produced in Copper Smelting,)' in which they concluded that ferrous and cuprous sulphides formed the chemical compound, 5 Cu2S, fee. They arrived at this inference from the observed fact that a matte containing Cu2S, 90.4, and Fee, 9.6 per cent (or, in round figures, Cu2S, 90, and Fee, 10 per cent.), did not contain any metallic copper, while one with more than 10 per cent of FeS readily dissolved copper, and with less than this amount retained copper in mechanical suspension. Although they determined the melting-points of five mattes containing from 32.6 to 80.1 per cent of copper, they did not draw a freezing-point curve, as the necessary apparatus was not available. A microscopical examination of 11 polished samples, gave them a grayish-black field of very uniform appearance, except that 5 of the specimens showed the presence of metallic copper. The object of the present investigation was to supplement the above paper by drawing the freezing-point curve of the series ferrous sulphide cuprous sulphide, and to see how the constitution could be further, revealed by microscopical work. The results obtained lead to conclusions very different from those of Gibb and Philp. While their paper bears the date 1904, it was published only in 1906.2 In the meantime, Bolles3 had presented his paper, "The Concentration of Gold and Silver in Iron Bottoms." The raw material which formed the basis of the research was a matte containing Fe, 61.68, and Cu, 11.20

Jan 1, 1907

By M. Fan, Z. Long

"This paper presents some studies on recovering valuable elements from Chinese coal by-products, including coal combustion fly ash, stone coal ash, and coal flotation tailings. Both commercialized technologies and economic potential recovery methods are described in this study. Magnetically stabilized air-dense medium fluidized bed separation, tribo-electrostatic separation, froth flotation, and hydrometallurgical methods are discussed in recovering various valuable elements in Chinese coal by-products from different coalfields. These valuable elements include iron, carbon, aluminum, rare earth elements, lithium, gallium, germanium, uranium, titanium, scandium, silicon, vanadium and phosphorus, etc. The ultimate goal is to fully utilize all valuable elements in coal by-product. Each component within coal by-product should be efficiently segregated to its highest value. INTRODUCTION Coal is mainly composed of energy-producing elements carbon and hydrogen. In addition to these elements, coal usually contains many other valuable elements, including iron, aluminum, silicon, rare earth elements, lithium, gallium, germanium, vanadium, uranium, titanium, scandium, and phosphorus, etc. These coal-associated elements are significantly enriched in coal combustion by-product fly ash because of majority of main components, carbon and hydrogen elements, being removed. Table 1 provides the chemical composition range of the main elements oxides in 12 Chinese fly ash samples collected from coal power plants located in Northeast China, Northwest China, Southwest China, and Southeast China. It can be seen from Table 1 that the major mineral components of different ashes are similar, but the bulk chemistry of different fly ashes may vary widely due to the changes of ratios of the mineral components in different coals. The major mineral components in various Chinese coal combustion fly ash are silicates, iron oxides, and unburned carbon."

Jan 1, 2017

By J. E. House, C. J. Lewis

In the solvent extraction process, also referred to as liquid-liquid extraction, the clarified uranium-pregnant sulfuric acid leach solution is contacted with an organic extractant dispersed in kerosene; the uranium enters the organic phase and associates itself with the organic extractants. Simultaneously an-ions or cations, as the case may be, leave the organic extractant phase and enter the aqueous phase. The two phases are then allowed to separate by virtue of their immiscibility. Based on the data available, a generalized procedure for the recovery of molybdenum from the sodium carbonate scrub liquor of acid leach uranium mills using secondary and tertiary amine extractants is presented, as is another generalized procedure for the recovery of molybdenum from the bleed stream of alkaline leach uranium mill circuits. Such economic appraisal as can be made at this stage of the development is also indicated. Molybdenum occurs in most uranium ores. Whether the uranium is solubilized by the acid leach route or by the alkaline leach process, some of the molybdenum present in the ore is solubilized along with the uranium. Molybdenum in uranium mill pregant solutions may cause processing difficulties, among which may be mentioned the poisoning of resins, the precipitation of organo-molybdenum complexes, or the build-up of molybdenum in recycle streams. While the uranium milling industry has been successful in applying measures to overcome the problems arising from the presence of molybdenum in the circuits, such measures nevertheless add to the cost of producing uranium yellow cake concentrate. Table I shows the analysis of typical uranium pregnant leach solutions. Uranium recovery by solvent extraction is presently practiced only in conjunction with acid leach circuits, and it may be noted that of about 16,000 tons of uranium ore daily processed by sulfuric acid leach, more than half of this tonnage follows the solvent extraction route. Uranium mills leaching ore with sodium carbonate-sodium bicarbonate solution (the so-called alkaline leach circuit) do not use solvent extraction. In this case the uranium pregnant solution is sufficiently pure to permit the direct precipitation of uranium concentrate with subsequent recycle of the alkaline leach solution. While solvent extraction procedures may be developed which are economically attractive for the alkaline leach uranium process, this has so far not been the case. The earlier uranium mill solvent extraction circuits used organo-phosphate extraction reagents, among which di-2-ethylhexyl phosphoric acid was popular. It should be borne in mind that uranium in its sulfuric acid leach solution exists in an equilibrium involving uranium in both anion and cation forms: uo + 2S0 = [uo2(so4)2] For this reason uranium may be extracted by either cation extractors or anion extractors and this is likewise true of molybdenum. However, the organo-phosphate extractants also load ferric iron which is usually present in the uranium acid leach solution. For this reason, it is necessary to reduce this solution substantially to the ferrous state ahead of solvent extraction using organo-phosphate reagents. The amines, being anion extractors, selectively reject iron and thus render the iron reduction step unnecessary. In the solvent extraction process, also referred to as liquid-liquid extraction, the clarified uranium-

Jan 1, 1961

Rheological Behaviour of Clay-Rich Gangue Mineral Dispersions During Hydrometallurgical Treatment Alumino-silicate minerals invariable may present an intractable challenge in hydrometallurgical operations employed in low grade nickel, copper and gold ore leaching or high level nuclear waste (HLNW) processing. The interactions and reactivity of alumino-silicate clay gangue minerals such as muscovite/sericite, chlorite, kaolinite and smectite under acidic (eg pH <3) or alkaline (pH >13) conditions can have a striking impact on the particle interactions. These may manifest in undesirable pulp rheology, poor extraction rates and challenges in the subsequent "handleability" and solid-liquid separation processes (eg dewatering). In the present work, a review of investigations involving the interfacial chemistry, interactions and rheological behaviour of aqueous dispersions of mica-group, layered alumino-silicate clay (muscovite / sericite) and chalcocite minerals as a function of pH in the range 2 - 9 and time at 25¦C, is presented. Particle zeta potential, reflecting interfacial chemistry, indicated a strong pH-history and particle volume fraction dependency. Pristine particles' zeta potentials measured from high to low pH indicated mineral-specific isoelectric point (iep) at pH range 2 - 5. Subsequent measurements from low to high pH showed pH-history dependency with iep shift to higher pH values, the extent of which also depended upon particle volume fraction and aging time. Pulp pH-mediated particle interactions revealed by shear yield stress analysis displayed a bifurcation behaviour and good compliance with DLVO theory. The maximum pulp yield values occurred at the iep whilst weak rheology was observed where the magnitude of the particle zeta potential was greatest. The pivotal role played by both pulp chemistry and suspension conditions in regulating the particle interactions and concomitant rheological behaviour is highlighted. The implications of the findings with regards to clay-base pulps' handleability and its control during aqueous processing are discussed.  

Sep 13, 2010

By J Schrank

Double-stack trains in the United States date back to the early 1980s, starting about the time deregulation of the rail industry occurred. Freight rail became increasingly more competitive to trucking and barge or ship, and led to major investments in railroad infrastructure. Since most railroad tunnels in the United States were constructed between 1880 and 1930, they were not built tall enough to accommodate modern double-stack intermodal railcars. Therefore, as double-stack trains became the norm, existing tunnels became bottlenecks, and railroads wanted the tunnels made larger without impacting traffic. This need to increase the clearance while not impacting rail traffic launched a very specialised industry: the design and construction of replacement lining systems in existing tunnels.Several large multitunnel railroad clearance improvement projects have been completed in the country in the last decade, and they have all been done under ‘live track’ conditions. Live track conditions consist of work windows, often anywhere from four to 12 hours, that are provided to the contractor to complete the construction work. By the end of each work window, the tunnel must be secured so that the railroad can run trains.In addition to improving the clearance, these projects provided the railroads with an opportunity to improve the general condition of the tunnels, including structural, seepage, drainage and icing conditions. This paper discusses the design considerations, tunnel assessments and construction methods used for these live track railroad tunnel projects. Seepage and drainage improvements that were incorporated into the clearance improvement projects are also discussed.CITATION:Schrank, J, 2014. Live track railroad tunnel repair and clearance improvement in the United States, in Proceedings 15th Australasian Tunnelling Conference 2014 , pp 619–628 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Sep 17, 2014

Effective control of respirable dust is one of the most serious problems associated with longwall mining in the United States. This report describes the development and laboratory testing of dust collectors for use on double drum shearers. Systems tested included: ? High Capacity Flooded Bed Scrubber ? Water Powered Extraction Cowls ? Water Powered Extraction Drums ? Water Powered spot Scrubbers. The systems were tested using tracer gas in a full-scale model of a longwall shearer face. This report provides a detailed description of the test facility, test methods, and system test results.

Jan 1, 1982

By Marvin P. Barnes, John G. Simos

The Park City District, Utah, is situated in the Wasatch Range at the intersection of the westward extension of the axis of the Uinta Range. Ore has been mined almost continuously from the first discovery in 1869 to the present day, with a total production of over 14 million tons. Sediments of Carboniferous to Triassic age have been folded into the northerly plunging Park City anticline and subsequently modified by thrust faulting, diorite and diorite porphyry intrusions, and strong east-west normal faulting during the Laramide orogeny. Younger andesitic volcanics partially cover the eastern edge of the district. The ore bodies occur as both lode and bedded replacement deposits over widely scattered localities. Near surface, high-grade silver "bonanza" ores were mined in early days from the Ontario and Daly Lodes, which occur along the east-west zone of faulting near the center of the district. Other lode or fissure deposits were found along the Mayflower and Hawkeye faults to the east and southeast. Large bedded replacement silver-lead-zinc ore bodies associated with east-west zones of fissuring, have been mined from favorable horizons in the Park City Formation in the Daly West and Judge mines. A series of long, narrow, high-grade, replacement ore bodies occur in the Silver King mine at a single horizon in the Park City Formation. Ore is currently being mined from strong bedded replacements in the Humbug Formation near the apex of the Park City anticline. Factors controlling ore deposition are: magmatic source, structural feeder systems, and favorable host rocks. Ore deposition along favorable beds is primarily a function of physical conditioning and secondarily of chemical composition.

Jan 1, 1968

By Arnold B. Hubbard

This report presents a hydrogenolysis study undertaken to obtain information on the constitution of the kerogen or organic material in Colorado oil shale and to determine some of the properties of the hydrogenolysis products. The high yield of hydrogenolysis products was separated, so far as possible, into type compounds; a number were identified. The results thus obtained were used as a basis for proposing the possible existence of certain structures in kerogen. To the authors' knowledge, few or no hydrogenolysis studies have been made of Colorado oil-shale kerogen by others. However, this method has been used in studying the constitution of coal. In general, the coal studies involved treating pulverized coal at different temperatures and hydrogen pressures with different catalysts. In some instances different solvents were used during the treatments.

Jan 1, 1959

By R. J. Wensley

THE use of small substations for the supplying of 275-volt energy to the locomotive and cutting machines in coal mines is a well-established practice. A few years ago, when labor costs were lower, these substations were located as near to the load as possible, and an operator was provided for each station. This practice has now become so expensive that substations are being located with reference to other mining machinery, such as hoists or pumps, so that one operator can look after both. Some-times the substation is operated by one whose duties make him traverse quite a large area. In such cases the interruption of alternating-current supply may produce a long interruption in the direct current, as the station cannot resume service until this man reaches it. Such interruptions interfere seriously with production and may easily counterbalance the supposed saving gained by such operating methods. The grouping of substations for convenience in operating may also result in excessive copper loss and consequently poor trolley voltage, with its attendant evils of low locomotive speeds and increased locomotive motor maintenance. The speed of the coal-cutting machines will also be reduced. By relieving the substation of its, burden of the operating labor cost, the most economical location, from an electrical standpoint, may be chosen. The matter of machine insurance should also be considered. If an attendant is caring for several kinds of equipment, he cannot watch the machine continually for signs of trouble; therefore, continued overload, phase failure, low alternating-current voltage, bearing trouble, etc. may result. Some partly automatic equipments have been installed; these have protection against low voltage, reverse current, and bearing trouble and are provided with automatic reclosing circuit breakers. This is a step in the right direction but it does not go far enough to give first-class machine insurance.

Jan 9, 1921

By A. McQuillan, N. Bar

Geotechnical models developed during the planning stages of open pit mines are three-dimensional so as to capture the spatial variation in lithological, structural, hydrogeological, and geomechanical conditions. Geological models that describe the lithological and structural (faulting and folding) characteristics of a deposit are always 3D. Likewise, boreholes and piezometers used to develop geomechanical properties and groundwater models are drilled at spatial offsets across the deposit to understand the lateral and vertical characteristics. Yet when geotechnical analysis is completed, often the three-dimensional geological, hydrogeological, and structural models as well as geometrically complex 3D mine designs for optimizing economic mineral recovery and overburden removal are simplified to two-dimensional sections. In this paper we demonstrate that this simplification can lead to the wrong failure mechanism being identified, analysed, and/or a conservative factor of safety being calculated and hence an over-estimation of slope stability. Through case studies we show how three-dimensional analysis methods are more suited to rock slopes, particularly those with anisotropic material strength, when singularities such as geological faults are present, and nonlinear slope geometry. When the same slopes are analysed in two dimensions, the failure mechanism calculated is often fundamentally incorrect. The case studies further reveal that the factor of safety calculated in three dimensions is not always higher than the two-dimensional factor of safety.

Feb 6, 2023

By P. Botane, A. Cailleau

"Compagnie Miniere Esperance operates a gold primary ore body. The ore is processed through crushing, grinding and gravity concentration generating tailings with remaining fine gold. Analyses of the tailings proved a residual gold grade sufficient for a chemical treatment.As lab tests proved the technical feasibility of a pre-concentration using flotation, an on-site pilot operation has been carried out to assess the continuous circuit performances, define the best configuration and obtain enough data for the industrial circuit sizing.Data collected during the pilot campaign have been used for calibrating a process simulator built with the USIM™ PAC software. The simulator validated the feasibility of upgrading the existing plant, including the reprocessing of tailings to obtain a good fine gold recovery in a small amount of concentrate. A preliminary capital cost has been achieved to assess the flotation workshop profitability.INTRODUCTIONCompagnie Miniere Esperance (CME), a mining company based in French Guyana, operates a gold primary ore body in open pit. The ore is processed through crushing, grinding and gravity separation in two stages: a top plant and a bottom plant. A “coarse” pond contains tailings of the top plant; this product feeds the bottom plant. Tailings of the bottom plant are stored in the “fine” pond.Analyses of the fine ponds proved a residual gold grade sufficient for a chemical treatment. However, direct cyanidation would require a too large installation, regarding the local conditions (accessibility, supplying and meteorological conditions).It has been then decided to test the feasibility of a pre-concentration using flotation. Lab tests have been carried out by SGS Lakefield (Canada) in March 2007, which proves the technical feasibility."

Jan 1, 2009

By A G. Mitchell

Stream sediment geochemical analyses were collated from open-file mining company reports and assembled in the REGCHEM computerised database at the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences Limited. The database operates on an IBM-compatible PC microcomputer using an application programmed in dBASE IV and termed GEOEXPL. By August 1992, data for 6383 stream sediment samples from 6335 different sites in the Coromandel Peninsula region (Hauraki Goldfield) were entered, giving a total of 29 292 separate elemental analyses. Preliminary statistical analysis using PROBPLOT on a set of data collected by AMOCO from the Mahakirau-Whangapoua area shows that these data are a complex mix of subpopulations related to mineralisation and different source rock types. Thresholds of 37 ppm copper, 31 ppm lead, 112 ppm zinc, and 2.3 ppm molybdenum, defmed by arithmetic models for the combined data set, separate the individual element sets into 'first order anomalous/lesser anomalous and background' subpopulations as follows: copper five per cent/95 per cent, lead five per cent/95 per cent, zinc one per cent/99 per cent, and molybdenum 15 per cent/85 per cent.

Jan 1, 1992

By Gregory M. Molinda

Coalbed discontinuities historically have been hazardous to mining as well as obstructions to efficient production. An effective means of mapping these features is needed in order to plan safe and efficient mine development. This Bureau of Mines report discusses the use of surface seismic techniques for this purpose. At a southwestern Pennsylvania mine, a system of coalbed discontinu-ities (paleochannels) was accurately mapped by the Bureau of Mines using borehole log methods and underground observation. This site was chosen to test the value of a high-resolution surface seismic reflection on technique for coalbed mapping. A statistical study performed at this mine indicated that the probability of accurately delineating this paleochannel system with conventional borehole methods was remote. A total of 1.47 miles of high-resolution seismic survey, comprised of four seismic profiles, was conducted in known and suspected coalbed discontinuity areas. Several test holes were drilled on the seismic lines in order to evaluate the interpretations. It was found, based on these and other existing boreholes, that it is possible to predict these dis-continuities. Paleochannel washouts were correctly predicted in several instances but in other instances were either incorrectly predicted or not predicted in areas of known discontinuities.

Jan 1, 1988

By J. H. Starkey

SAGDesignTM Testing for grinding mill design was introduced commercially in 2004. Up to January 2008, 18 projects have been completed and 99 samples have been tested using this method. Two papers have been published describing the patented test procedure and one of these shows how the results compare with other grinding test methods. This paper will briefly discuss the theory on which this technology is based, and explain the procedures used to develop the calibration equation. Case studies are also included to demonstrate the effectiveness of the test work being done. These case studies show how the SAGDesign test is being used today: to design new grinding circuits for commercial full scale use; to calculate throughput in existing mills for production planning; and to accurately define grinding mill requirements at the scoping, pre-feasibility or feasibility study stage of project development, in order to economically identify the size and cost of the grinding mills that will be needed for the project. This is important because if the full rec-ommended SAGDesign testing program is done at an early stage in the project, the definitive cost for a guaranteed throughput, grinding mill design (by Outotec if their mills are purchased) is available. New grinding mill design for final engineering will be represented by the test work done on the Climax Molybdenum Project for Phelps Dodge (now FMI) in Colorado, USA. The SAG mill and ball mill for Climax are now in fabrication with project start up in late 2009. Next, the sizing of grinding mills at the scoping, pre-feasibility or feasibility study stage of mine development will be represented by a large metal mining property in Russia. Finally, calculation of the throughput for existing mills will be represented by work done at a base metal mine, in eastern Canada. Test work for designing SAG mills is now done in four laboratories at the time this paper was written. One in the USA at Dawson Metallurgical Laboratories, Inc. in Salt Lake City, two in Russia at the TOMS Research and Design Institute and at the Irgiredmet Research Institute, both in Irkutsk, and a fourth mill has been installed in Australia at AMMTEC Limited?s lab in Perth. A fifth SAGDesign test mill for radioactive ores has been built by Starkey & Associates, specifically for testing uranium ores and can be moved to any licensed lab in the world on a project basis.

Jan 1, 2014