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By W. P. C. Duyvesteyn, B. J. Sabacky

Reprinted with revisions from Extractive metallurgy of copper, nickel and cobalt, volume I: Fundamental aspects. ed. Reddy R.G., Weizenbach R.N. Warrendale, Pennsylvania: The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society, 1993. Development work on the Escondida process, concluding with the successful operation of an integrated leach-SX-EW pilot plant and a pilot flotation plant for the upgrading of leach residues, demonstrated that all major process objectives could be achieved. Extraction of 40% of copper in concentrates containing monovalent copper was achieved with essentially no oxidation of sulphide sulphur. The Cu contents of leach residues from four different types of concentrate were successfully upgraded to the original feed grades, giving a product that has potential as a high-quality concentrate for the smelter market. A compact solvent extraction section effectively recovered the ammonia lixiviant for recycling to leaching and selectively transferred Cu into a conventional acid sulphate electrowinning system. High-quality "six-nines" copper cathode was produced on commercial-scale stainless steel blanks, demonstrating that the process will be able to compete effectively in the premium cathode market

Dec 1, 1995

By P Stone, J. M. Cook, P. R. Simpson, C Mcdermott

Paper presented at the conference Economic geology in Europe and beyond II, models for mineral deposits in sedimentary basins, held in Keyworth, UK, 13-14 April 1994. The SW part of the Southern Uplands is a back-arc section of an accretionary thrust system, divided into structural blocks by major NE-SW shear zones and NW-SE faults forming the margins of Permian half-grabens. The highest arsenic levels in stream sediments (over 65 ppm) are associated with those blocks carrying brittle-ductile transition fabrics. Three factors combine to recomend the area as having potential for gold mineralisation: As-rich greywackes as country rock, felsic intrusions and a major shear zone. Selected stream sediments were analysed for gold using lead fire assay with ultra-pure flux and ICP-MS finish. Several localities showed over 15 ppb Au, the three most significant being within the hanging wall of the Orlock Bridge Fault and each having distinct characteristics

Aug 1, 1995

By D. M. A. Flight, G. E. M Hall, P. R. Simpson

theoretical viewpoints.

Apr 1, 1994

By T. M. Williams, P. M. Green

Paper presented at Mineralisation in the Caledonides, the Mike Gallagher memorial meeting held in Edinburgh, 27-28 June 1996. The sediment geochemistry of streams draining Southern Uplands and Lake District turbidites was compared with lithogeochemical data for the source greywackes, using stratigraphically defined catchments. Several systematic trends in element abundance variation between source and stream sediment can probably be applied more widely to interpretation of drainage geochemistry. Pb and Zr increase markedly from source rock to sediment, by adsorption on clay and zircon grain concentration. Variation of feldspar-related elements Rb, Sr, K and Ba appears to be controlled by source grain size and compositional maturity. Ni shows surprisingly little change and Fe and Co are only slightly raised. Cr is particularly useful, with variations superimposed in anomalously high regional levels. Abrupt changes in Cr distribution in stream sediment coincide with stratigraphical boundaries, allowing drainage data to be used as a surrogate for whole-rock values

Jun 19, 1905

By I. J. Brown

Paper prepared for presentation at Industrial minerals and the environment, held in Leeds, 24-35 September 1990. The need to submit an environmental statement (EIS) has certainly increased the workload of those concerned with both its production and assessment. However, there is now good evidence that the system is enhancing public confidence in the minerals industry in particular and improving relationships between the developer, planning authority and those consulted such as statutory bodies, parish councils, civic societies, nature conservation interests and ramblers

Jan 1, 1991

By G. G. Barbante

The oxidation behaviour of selenide matte with a substantial Cu content and low Ag differs significantly from that of high-Ag matte. Low-Ag selenide mattes display a large oxygen solubility and the upper boundary of the miscibility gap in the Ag-Cu-Se-O system is depressed to quite low Se contents. As a result, the formation of Ag metal is considerably delayed. The oxidised selenide matte, low in Se and with a relatively high oxygen content, has previously been termed oxymelt. With further oxidation, its composition enters the misciblity gap and crude Ag is formed. The sodium silicate slag captures very little of the SeO2 and the dissolved Ag2O(s) content of the slag is relatively small, with a Raoultian activity coefficient of 0.57. This value was found to be independent of the slag's Cu2O content

Jun 19, 1905

By P. Golledge, A. D. S. Gillies

An investigation has been carried on samples of three Queensland coal dusts to determine the potential explosibility of dust-gas mixtures. The explosion potential of the samples was classified by the lean and rich limits of explosibility and the limiting oxygen concentrations for each sample. Plotting of these points showed 2-dimensional flammability limit surfaces for coal dust/oxygen, methane/oxygen and coal dust/methane mixtures. From these plots the 3-dimensional flammability envelopes defining the explosibility of the mixtures were defined. The explosion limits of the coal dust/methane/oxygen system were seen to be influenced most by the explosibility characteristics of coal dust. Methane exerted a stronger influence over the explosion limits when the coal had a low volatile content

Jun 19, 1905

By V. A. Melezhik, P. K. Skufin, L. P. Nilsson

these factors into account. Theoretical and

Aug 1, 1994

By R. H. T. Garnett

N.B. This paper provoked much (positive!) discussion in later issues, with responses from the author (and thanks also for the many private contributions he had received) - see under Garnett R.H.T. Expanded version of a paper originally presented at the Alluvial mining conference, London, 11-13 November 1991 and published in Alluvial mining, Barking: Elsevier Applied Science for IMM, 1991, p.115-156. The usual measure of performance in gold and tin dredging is the R/E factor. It compares actual production or recovered grade for a given period with that estimated from the original sampling. The factor is a multiple of four component factors, each ideally approaching 1.00. The factors are concerned with estimation, selection, excavation and treatment. The estimation factor reflects the errors involved in determining the grade and depth of single drill-holes or pits. An optimum selection factor is achieved by a higher drilling density. The excavation factor is affected by failure of the dredge to excavate the total volume contained within its course. The required dredge throughput rate influences not only the success in digging recovery but also the treatment factor. No two alluvial deposits are the same, but, in general, the greatest divergence from 1.00 is invariably demonstrated by the estimation factor. A major divergence in one of the other factors may also be the cause of the R/E factor being significantly different from 1.00. The component factors are examined in detail and historical trends in R/E factors are discussed

Sep 1, 1991

By R. Lahtinen, M. Tiainen, R. Salminen

The application of similarity analysis derived from regional geochemical mapping data to the location of Ni-bearing intrusions was tested in southwest Finland, where a well-known nickel belt is situated. Samples of till from the vicinity of the Vammala and Kylmakoski Ni-Cu deposits, which were collected independently of the Geological Survey of Finland's regional geochemical mapping programme, were used to provide geochemical modelling data. The data consist of the aqua regia-leachable concentrations of 20 elements from the less than 0.06-mm fraction of glacial till. The variables used in the similarity analysis were selected on the basis of a factor analysis in which the method of oblique rotation was used. A hierarchical clustering of the modelling samples produced two main groups. The first group was described as the "nickel deposit environment model" and the second as the "nickel deposit location model". The data for the standardised variables were compared sample by sample with the model data by similarity analysis using the Simana program with a cos theta measure of pattern similarity. The nickel deposit environment model delineated the known Ni belt and indicated an extension to the east. The nickel deposit location model identified target areas of reasonable size with the greatest potential for Ni ores within the nickel belt

Dec 1, 1991

By P. E. J. Pitfield, S. D. G. Campbell

The regional shear zone runs along or near the southern margin of the Chinhoyi greenstone belt. It hosts four of the seven mines in the southern part of the belt with recorded production above 100 kg Au, including the top two current producers. Displacement occurred in the late Archaean, producing a shear zone with a trend ranging from northeast at Golden Kopje to east at Muriel. The orebodies at the two mines formed synchronously with the shearing and show strong but contrasting structural controls on mineralisation. The Golden Kopje orebodies plunge to the southwest, parallel to the intersection of curved foliation with discrete shear planes and sub-perpendicular to local stretching lineations. The Muriel orebodies plunge steeply west but parallel to local stretching lineations. The greatest fluid flow during mineralisation of the shear zone was along either the intersection of fabrics (Golden Kopje) or the extension direction (Muriel). There is no unique relation between the orebodies and the extension or shear direction. Where earlier mining has not established the directions of the oreshoots it is essential to understand the possible structurally controlled geometries of orebodies before planning a drilling programme to evaluate their potential

Apr 1, 1996

By F. C. Gennari, D. M. Pasquevich

With the gradual exhaustion of natural rutile, there has been extensive research into its synthesising from lower-grade titanium minerals. The removal of Fe from pseudobrookite (Fe2TiO5) by chlorination was studied, using both isothermal and non-isothermal thermogravimetric measurements. Correlation of the results obtained from element distribution maps, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray analysis and phases detected by X-ray diffraction in the chlorinated samples showed clearly two associated processes. First, the pseudobrookite particles reacted with chlorine and iron was removed selectively as FeCl3(g), leaving a solid residue rich in the TiO2 phases anatile and rutile, separated from an inner layer of unreacted pseudobrookite by a distinct interphase boundary. Second, chlorine allowed TiCl4(g) to form in the reaction bed, where it removed iron from the Fe2O3 crystals as FeCl3(g) and substituted Ti through a pseudomorphic reaction

Jun 21, 1905

By S. Al-Hassan

The deposit has been exploited for Mn oxide and carbonate since 1916. Known reserves of MnO, however, are almost depleted and the survival of the mine will depend on the exploitation of the carbonate. Kriging, inverse distance weighting (IDW) and cross-sectional methods have been applied to the evaluation of the carbonate resources and reconciliation of the estimates obtained shows that kriging and IDW give almost identical block values. A comparison using conditional probability indicates that there is virtually no difference between the global reserve estimates derived from the cross-sectional and kriging methods. The physical causes of these similarities are highlighted and the problems of dealing with multimodal distributions are discussed together with the difficulties of semi-variogram modelling

Jun 19, 1905

By J. A. Every-Brown

Case studies are presented of three derelict sites in Kent and Essex that provide a good cross-section of opportunities for second-generation commercial uses of former chalk, limestone, clay and gravel workings. A 240 ha abandoned chalk quarry at Grays in Essex, now known as Chafford Hundred, is undergoing mixed development to include leisure facilities, a range of housing and commercial areas and an enhanced environment. The 120 ha of Stone Marshes now comprises the Crossways business park and the Dartford international ferry terminal. Reclamation and servicing required more work than had been anticipated and the fact that the area was within the green belt added to the delays, but Blue Circle was eventually able to provide a comprehensive development of the entire area to a high environmental standard. Stone Pit 1 landfill, at Dartford in Kent, is a former chalk quarry 40 ha in area and with an original average depth of 35 m. Landfilling commenced in 1976 and during the period 1979-1984 the site operator designed, developed and installed a gas collection and flaring system. From 1986 a gas plant supplied up to 5 000 000 therm/yr of landfill gas to a local cement works and in 1989 a 1 MW power generation scheme, later expanded to 3 MW, was commissioned. Gas is currently also supplied to a metal refining company for use in internal combustion engines

Aug 1, 1994

By B. R. Reddy, Y. V. Swamy, B. V. R. Murthy, H. S. Ray

The Ni oxide was reduced with a CO-CO2-N2 gas mixture and the effects were observed of process variables such as roasting temperature, time and CO partial pressure. Extraction of over 90% of Ni was achieved by ammoniacal leaching of ore that had been reduced for 1 h at 760 degrees C under a gas mixture with a volumetric CO/(CO+CO2) ratio of 0.57. The kinetic data were found to conform to the Ginstling-Brounstein equation. The applicability of this model was confirmed by evaluating the apparent activation energy with the use of independently constructed differential and integral plots, which showed an excellent match

Dec 1, 1995

By S. J. Parry, D. M. Evans, D. L. Buchanan

The reef is a PGE-enriched sulphidic zone, stratigraphically associated with and overlapping the C1d chromitite layer, that was formed by magmatic processes at the 1e-1d subunit boundary. Two distinct patterns of PGE enrichment are related to the presence or absence of Cr2O3 oversaturation during sulphide liquation that occurred during a complex sequence of changes at this boundary

Apr 1, 1996

By V. A. Melezhik, A. H. Green, L. N. Grinenko

Finally, a theoretical model is constructed that takes

Aug 1, 1994

By N. B. J. Kieser

Paper presented at the IAGOD international symposium on mineralization related to mafic and ultramafic rocks, held in Orleans, France, 1-3 September 1993. Platinum-group minerals (PGM) in the enriched zone at Dust Mountain occur in two separate parageneses, the first representing primary magmatic PGM and the second primary magmatic PGM that have been reduced to alloys during serpentinisation. Minerals in the first group were unaffected by hydrothermal alteration on account of their textural setting or stable chemical composition. Despite substantial alteration of the serpentinised assemblage, most evidence points to the dominant role of primary magmatic processes in determining PGM occurrence. Several base metals have nevertheless been introduced hydrothermally. With respect to surficial dispersion the single most important paragenetic factor was the reduction of sulphides to alloys, rendering them more susceptible to mechanical erosion and less so to chemical leaching. The different textural setting of Pd-group and Ir-group phases results in different dispersion characteristics, with major implications for stream sediment sampling

Apr 1, 1994

By F. M. Vokes, P. M. Ihlen

Paper presented at Mineralisation in the Caledonides, the Mike Gallagher memorial meeting held in Edinburgh, 27-28 June 1996. Ore deposition was related to three major stages: continental rifting and separation (Vendian-Late Cambrian), convergence (Late Cambrian-Early Silurian) and collision (Early Silurian-Devonian). The first stage included deposition of volcanogenic massive sulphide Zn-Cu and stratabound or stratiform Fe and Zn-Pb(-Cu) on continental margins, as well as less economic Nb and Fe in carbonatites, U, Mo, Ni and V in Alum Shales and orthomagmatic Cr, Fe-Ti and Ni(-Cu). The numerous volcanogenic massive sulphides formed during convergence included Early Ordovician Cu-Zn, mature-arc Cu, Zn, Pb and Fe-oxide deposits, Besshi-type deposits dominated by Cu or Zn in gabbro-intruded sediments and minor Cu-Ni(-PGE), Cu-Mo and skarn deposits. The collisional stage is represented by epigenetic deposits including sandstone Pb deposits (Pb, Zn, Ba, F and Cu) and minor vein deposits with variable Au, Ag, Pb, Cu, Zn, Fe, As, Sb, W and Mo

Jun 19, 1905

By F. Tailoka, G. Zhao

Pb is an unwanted impurity in Al for which there is no established method of removal. As it interacts strongly with alkali metals, separation was achieved by adding Na or K to molten Al at 953-1 003 K. Direct Na addition led to considerable evaporative loss but in-situ addition by electrochemical titration from a eutectic NaCl-KCl or KCl-BaCl2 mixture was found far more effective, in some cases reducing Pb content below detection levels within 2 h of titration. K appeared more effective than Na at low Pb concentrations but the use of Na was preferred as it is less toxic and explosive. Na removal from Al-Na and Na-Pb alloys was also carried out electrochemically, the use of these two alloys rather than the eutectic salt as a source of Na avoiding liberation of Cl2 at the anode

Apr 1, 1995