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By Manisha Singh, Manikanchan Sarkar

"Presently the global steel production is mainly based on iron ore sourced from high grade hematite deposits. India has large deposits of good quality hematite ore but with the prevailing practice, such deposits are depleting fast and getting exhausted. However, apart from such high grade iron ores, India is also endowed with large reserves of low grade iron ore, such as BHQ (Banded Hematite Quartzite), BHJ (Banded Hematite Jasper), BMQ (Banded Magnetite Quartzite) and Magnetite. In the present situation, it has become necessary to focus attention on upgradation of these low grade ores to produce useable concentrate. It augurs well that already substantial investigation work has been carried out in this respect and a few plants have been set up in India and abroad. One important aspect in this regard is the process route options with optimum yield and grade. Some of these low grade ores, particularly magnetite, are found to contain high phosphorous level, removal of which poses a major challenge. Since the grade is low, substantial upgradation necessitates fine grinding for appropriate liberation. Fine grinding is energy intensive and needs attention to achieve economy in this regard. Large quantity of tailings is generated in the process, wet disposal of which gives rise to a lot of hassles and hence, possibility of dry disposal of the same needs to be explored. The experience of the authors, with regard to aforesaid aspects which has been gained in course of carrying out relevant assignments is presented in this paper."

Jan 1, 2014

By W. P. Roux

Owing to decreasing high-grade ore reserves, there is a need for better understanding of the jigging process to improve the recovery efficiency of finer, lower grade material. The use of positron emission particle tracking (PEPT) was examined as a technique to study the motion of iron ore particles inside a laboratory batch jig. PEPT is a non-invasive method that can provide three-dimensional kinetic data on a particle in laboratory-scale processing units and has been successfully used to study mills, hydrocyclones, and flotation. Experiments were conducted to determine whether PEPT would be a viable technique to study iron ore jigging and what valuable information could be obtained. The results indicated that detailed information on the stratification rate of a particle could be obtained, with adequate resolution to track the particle?s movement through an individual jig pulse.

Jan 1, 2014

By Joseph Carlston

With environmental regulations continuing to restrict the discharge of phosphorus from wastewater treatment facilities, traditional methods of phosphorus removal are proving inadequate. To achieve the phosphorus control necessary, a new coagulant used for phosphorus removal, cerium chloride, has been studied in several municipal and industrial wastewater treatment facilities that must meet a phosphorus discharge limit of 0.5 mg/L or lower. These studies demonstrated the high phosphorus removal capabilities of cerium chloride, with the results illustrating the ability for cerium chloride to reduce phosphorus to low concentrations in the effluent using a lower volume of product as compared to traditional coagulants, such as ferric chloride. This reduction is due to the unique ability of cerium chloride to remove phosphorus as cerium phosphate, whereas iron- and aluminum-based coagulants rely on adsorption and co-precipitation.

Jan 1, 2014

By A. T. Adema

The cohesive zone, where the ore fed into the blast furnace softens and melts, is critical to the blast furnace performance and stability due to its influence on the gas and solid flow. This paper de-scribes a project for the development of a process model to predict the cohesive zone properties and the results of its first step; the solid flow model. The process model is expected to describe a realistic solid burden flow and the formation of the cohesive zone, its shape, location, structure, permeability, and in particular the mineralogical changes within the cohesive zone. This will be achieved using various simulation and computing tools: a combination of the Discrete Element Method (DEM) and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), the DEM?CFD hybrid approach, together with models for the thermodynamics and reaction kinetics. The key benefits of the hybrid approach lie in the coupling of the continuous phase and the discrete particles, and the possibility of introducing thermodynamics and reaction kinetics into the system in a more realistic manner. Two DEM simulations are presented for a small scale blast furnace to investigate the influence of non-spherical particles on the solid flow. This influence can be observed from a more even solid flow pattern and a reduced deadman size. The results indicate the requirement to include non- spherical particles in a blast furnace simulation to achieve a realistic solid flow.

Jan 1, 2014

By C. Martinez, S. Helle, M. Pincheira

We studied the feasibility of automated mineralogy to discriminate between tennantite and enargite, the main sulfosalts found in the Rio Blanco deposit, Codelco-Chile, in order to predict the content of minor elements (As, Sb, Ag, Pb, Zn) that impact on the process and concentrate prices. The identification of these minerals is feasible using traditional microscopy, however not possible by automated mineralogy. This drawback prevents comparing the databases generated in the past by means of conventional microscopy with the information obtained at present by QEMSCAN. To differentiate enargite from tennantite the mineral composition of both sulfosalts was studied by electron microprobe. The presence of associated minor element contents of about 8% zinc in tennantites and not exceeding 0.07% in enargites were used to modify the SIP database of QEMSCAN to enable the quantification of these phases in samples of head, residue and concentrate coming from As-bearing domains of the deposits. Detection limits allowed to determine the mineral species in the head, concentrate and residues. The integration of methodologies such as automated mineralogy and microprobe can be used successfully to quantify the presence of some ore forming solid solution.

Jan 1, 2014

By H. Z. Kuyumcu

Associated with the development of a novel microbiological oxidation process for the conditioning of iron hydroxide slurries from ferrous mine waters, there is a realistic chance to make the contained iron available for a material utilization. The transformation of ferrous into ferric compounds is coupled with the precipitation of iron hydroxisulphate mostly in terms of the mineral Schwert-mannite. The further treatment of the iron hydroxisulphate has to be aimed on the processing for product recovery and product refinement. For many potential applications, e.g. in the ceramic industry, the pigment industry or for metallurgical applications, the removal of sulphate is essential. For the dehydration of the iron hydroxisulphate and the sulphate removal, microwave heating technology is a beneficial method. In contrast to conventional thermal heating processes the supply of energy in microwave application takes place directly within the material through the dissipation of electromagnetic energy, i.e. no heating medium is needed. It is a volumetric heating process regardless of the surface of the material. The rapid and targeted energy supply and the good controllability of microwave heating systems are advantages which have led to a wide variety of applications in industrial processes. Among the diverse use for heating of temperature-sensitive, chemical and pharmaceutical products as well as foodstuffs the number of applications also in mineral and solid processing increases. At the Department for Mechanical Process Engineering and Solids Processing of the Technical University Berlin the use of microwave technology for the treatment of iron hydroxisulphates has been investigated systematically within the framework of a cooperative research project. The paper at hand shows results from material conversion tests subject to a variation of the relevant process parameters. The reaction products are characterized and the process is compared with the conventional heating in a rotary kiln.

Jan 1, 2014

By R. G. Coyle

"In an earlier paper the author explored the consequences of price-stabilizing effects, on an industry-wide basis, of various production strategies. These ideas have now been applied to an illustrative case of an individual mine. It is shown that the turning of production and financial policies can affect financial performance over a five-year period by as much as 22 per cent.No generality is claimed for the results and they would differ from mine to mine. It is, however, asserted that the results show that the proper turning of production, reserves and financial policies are more critical determinants of mine performance than has been realised. It is also asserted that the methods of dynamic analysis are the most appropriate means for studying this policy-design problem."

Jan 1, 2014

By Hai Rong

EH-4 Electrical conductivity imaging system has been playing an important role in prospecting, looking for water resource, and determining coal mine gob boundary by virtue of its significant advantages such as collection of large volume of data, light weight, fast analysis, high-precision, and low cost. However, it has little application in determining the overburden failure zone and development of water flowing fractured zone and bed separation space in complex extra thick coal seam conditions. In order to confirm the overburden failure range and evolution of water flowing fractured zone and bed separations in complex extra thick coal seam conditions the panel 63005 of Laohutai coal mine in China was selected for study in this paper,. EH-4 magnetotelluric method was used to determine the overburden failure zones and bed separations in the overburden. Theoretical analysis and numerical simulation were employed to verify the EH4 survey results. The results show that the failure height in the overburden of the three coal splits was 120m to 170m before panel mining, and increased to 150m to 220m after panel mining. The overburden failure height was on average 7.4 times the equivalent mining height in complex extra thick coal seam condition of Laohutai coal mine when the sand backfilling and fully mechanized top coal caving methods were employed. After mining of panel 63005 started, bed separations were found on the hanging wall and footwall of the F18 fault where water bodies existed. The results obtained in this research not only provide a theoretical guidance for safe mining at Laohutai coal mine but also serve as a reference for predicting and preventing water inrush accidents for coal mines under similar condition in China.

Jan 1, 2014

By Bruno Miotto, Rômulo Faria, Juliano Tessinari

Water has become a scarce resource in quality. Companies in the ornamental stones sector use water intensively in their processes. Given the current situation, it is imperative to rationalize this feature that at first is related to the reduction of consumption, through no waste. Considering the importance of environmental preservation of this resource and also to comply with the legislation that governs the procedure for processing of ornamental stones, new alternatives should be available for the maintenance of current activities and promoting the development / growth of the sector on the principles of environmental sustainability and economic in future scenarios. The ornamental stones processing industries, especially for micro and small enterprises, require the implementation of a management program that optimizes the use of this feature, since the techniques individually processed operate with three basic processes dependent on water use: split blocks, polishing and finishing slabs. This technology requires a large volume of water resources and control measures involving operating recirculation water can minimize power consumption, making the company more profitable and sustainable. This is a survey of literature, associated with technical reports provided by partner companies and government agencies. This study aimed to the organization and provision of theoretical knowledge about the subject matter coupled with management practices, which may be reproduced or re-purposed in ornamental stones processing companies. It should be noted that the industry in question is lacking in technical expertise for the implementation of sustainable attitudes relevant to water reuse.

Jan 1, 2014

By J. Lipp

The lion share of lithium produced globally originates from South American salars. The standard operation for lithium production utilizes an array of evaporation ponds. This process consume vast areas and is either very slow when relying on solar evaporation - roughly 18 months of residence time; or with very high energy consumption since over 90% of initial water volume needs to be evaporated. A new technology, based on solvent extraction was developed. Results indicate a distribution coefficient up to 30, and selectivity greater than 1,000 towards Na extraction. The loaded solvent is stripped using a strong mineral acid, and the product solution is the lithium derivative of that stripping acid. Utilization of this new LiSXTM technology results in reducing the area needed for a commercial plant as well as reduces the residence time. In addition applying different stripping acids can diversify the product line of such facility.

Jan 1, 2014

The value creation with kaolin clays depends on removing the colored impurities which manifests in to higher brightnessone of the most sought after properties on applications such as paper coating, paint and others. The processes for removing impurities include magnetic separation, froth flotation and selective flocculation. While the flotation and selective flocculation processes exploit the physico-chemical differences between the surface properties, the magnetic separation uses the bulk magnetic susceptibility differences between the diamagnetic clay and ferro- and para-magnetic nature of the impurities. The major advantage with magnetic separation remains high yield and no or low reagent usage. However, the magnetic separation technology suffers from low separation efficacy when finer colored impurities (<1 µm) are encountered in the feed. Use of stronger magnetic intensities during magnetic separation showed limited success; nonetheless the adverse effect due to finer size range remains a dominant effect even at 5 Tesla magnetic field. Furthermore, the presence of diamagnetic colored impurities irrespective of their sizes can not be removed. Cytec Industries has recently developed a ?bolt-on? chemical enhancement technology for magnetic separation that essentially embraces the best product performance attributes of flotation and selective flocculation while keeping the chemical usage to a minimum level and using the readily available magnetic separation equipment. The paper will outline the technology and illustrate optimization work at pilot plant magnet on a wide variety of crude accommodating the process needs and plant limitations. The major advantages of chemical enhancement technology to magnetic separation include: 1) simple extension to existing magnetic separation technology, 2) ability to produce comparable product in quality with cost effectiveness compared to flotation and selective flocculation, 3) removal of impurity minerals over wide size range, 4) removing non-magnetic impurities, 5) providing robust process with high process yield and 6) operation-friendly nature. Furthermore, chemical enhancement technology for magnetic separation has also emerged as a platform for re-moving impurities at low levels in other mineral systems as well.

Jan 1, 2014

By Gabriela Pino, Maurício Torem, Lorgio V. Gonzales

It has been long known that many microorganisms are able to interact with mineral particles to obtain a concentrate; thus, one possible technique is flotation and its related process. Biological process have been attracting attention in mineral processing due to lower operating cost and their possible applications to process low-grade and fine ores. The adhesion of microorganism to surface of mineral particles can alter the hydrophobicity of mineral markedly. Such surface modifications modify its hydrophobicity or hydrophilicity will be used to flotation of cassiterite fines. The major difficult to float fine particles is attributed to the low probability of bubble-particle collision, one characteristic of electroflotation process is the ability to create very tiny bubbles, which is known, improve the collision efficiency and flotation performance of fine particles. In this study, the electroflotation of fine particles using Rhodococcus opacus strain as bioreagent was investigated. Electroflotation experiments were carried out using particles of cassiterite around 8µm of mean diameter the adsorption of R. Opacus onto cassiterite particles was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), electrokinetic and contact angle analyses. The measurement of bubble size by laser diffraction showed a mean bubble size of around 26 µm, current density and bacteria concentration appear to be the main parameters affecting the mean diameter of bubbles, electroflotation tests reported recovery around of 64.5 % at pH 5, concentration of 2,87 x10¹² cells/ml (50 mg/L) and current density of 51,4 mA/cm2.

Jan 1, 2014

By Rodolfo Silva, Antonio Peres, Afonso Martins, Gilberto Ramalho, Mario Cabello

The consumption of aggregates in civil construction has increased considerably in Brazil for the last years. The extraction of sand and gravel generates significant environmental impacts. As the quarries and sand deposits are getting exhausted near the big cities, the price of aggregates is increasing. Meanwhile, the extraction of quartzite (dimensional stone) in the state of Minas Gerais has been done mostly in small quarries, with very low recovery, generating approximately six million tons of wastes a year, which causes pollution, increases final prices of products, decreases the life time of quarries and ends up in the closure of enterprises. The government agencies and the quarries’ owners understand that only by finding applications to wastes there will be development to the sector. The aim of this investigation was to study the application to the quartzite wastes as aggregate in the civil construction. Samples of quartzite wastes collected in a quarry were characterized by petrographic analyses. Laboratory tests of crushing and grinding were done to analyze the viability of reducing the size of coarse material to a finer one to be used as raw material in industrialized mortars and concrete pre-molded components.

Jan 1, 2014

By E. V. Konoplev

Russia is one of the largest manufacturers of potash fertilizers in the world. Processing of potash ores basically is carried out by a flotation way. Potash ores of the Verhnekamsky potash deposit contain sylvite (KCl), halite (NaCl) and water insoluble impurity (up to 8 %), presented silicate- carbonate minerals, easily slimed by ore crushing in rod mills. Ore of some deposit sites, developed by ?Uralkali? Co, contains a significant amount of a carnal-lite (KCl.MgCl2.6H2O). Work practice of flotation potash plants has shown, that increase of car-nallite content in ore leads to increase magnesium ion content in a circulated plant brine (saturated salt solution of potassium and sodium chlorides-sylvite brine) and to deterioration of indicators of ore processing. In the Paper we present results of researches of floatability of various size sylvite and influences silicate-carbonate slimes on sylvite flotation in brines with the various magnesium chloride content. It is established, that with increase magnesium chloride content in the brine mainly decreases the flotation of coarse sylvite and amplifies adverse effect of silicate-carbonate slimes on sylvite flotation. In this connection deterioration of potash ore flotation is caused not only decrease sylvite floatability but also strengthening adverse action of water insoluble impurity on potash flotation. It is shown that the application of frothing agents, which render the stronger dispersive action on the colloidal-micellar structures of amine in the salt solution increases the absorption of collector on the sylvite and improves the flotation of sylvite into magnesium the containing salt solutions. The application of an organic depressor to the greatest degree of decreasing the absorption amine on the slimes and to the smallest degree possessing anionic properties proves to be most effective with the flotation carnallite of the containing potassium ores. It is offered the application the frother on a basis of glycol ethers and organic depressor on a basis of urea-formaldehyde resin. Results of industrial tests developed reagent modes for flotation treatment of ores with the raised carnallite content (to 6 %) on ?Uralkali? Co plant have shown that their application has allowed to receive equivalent indicators potash flotations at change of magnesium chloride content in the brine from 0.7 % up to 2.4 % .

Jan 1, 2014

By H. Z. Liu

An extra-refractory gold ore in China belongs to Carlin Type Gold Ore which is not only submicroscopic but also rich in arsenic and organic carbon. They have been proved that its floatability is not good enough and the gold in the ore could not be leached almost if it was not pretreated. The tests for the ore were carried out in accordance with flotation-concentrate preoxidation-cyanidation(or CIL) processes in order to exploit the mine. Two new depressants were discovered in the flotation tests and improved concentrate grades from about 20g/t to 32~50g/t. The methods of the concentrate preoxidation tests were alkaline atmospheric oxidation, acidic atmospheric oxidation, acidic pressure oxidation, roasting oxidation?biooxidation. The cyanidation tests after the concentrate preoxidation have proved the gold extraction of the pressure oxidation to be the highest(92.5%) and that of roasting secondary(89.3%). After fuller techno-economic comparison, it is suggested that the flotation-pressure oxidation or roasting-CIL process should be the most optimal for treating the ore. The gold recoveries of the ore were 83% for the pressure oxidation and 80% for the roasting respectively.

Jan 1, 2014

By B. Roy

The Somita plant processes low sulphide gold ore in Burkina Faso with a CIL process. After experiencing recurrent low gold recoveries, Somita undertook an investigation on the source of the problem. COREM conducted a mineralogical study on different pit samples. A series of tests was also conducted on a composite sample from the plant which shows a content of 3.4 g/t in gold and 0.48 % in graphite. A reference test in laboratory resulted in a recovery of gold of 75%, similar to plant recoveries for the evaluated ore. In these tests, even if cyanide is not deficient, it was diverted mainly into iron cyanide complex, copper cyanide complexes and by graphite adsorption. Causes of low recovery were also identified and quantified. Solutions to increase gold recovery were suggested such as increasing gold dissolution kinetics by O2 or by lead nitrate addition, change in activated carbon addition point location to the 1st cyanidation tank and finer grinding to increase liberation. Increase in the pH could also contribute to reduce cyanidation consumption. Following these recommendations, Somita changed carbon addition from tank 2 to tank 1 in the CIL circuit. This change led to an increase of more than 5% in gold recovery. A system for the addition of lead nitrate is also under implementation at the plant and benefit will be evaluated in 2013. Finally, pit management for cyanidation will be done based on mineralogy instead of gold content in the future.

Jan 1, 2014

By J. C. van Dyk

In a previous study by Van Dyk, et al., (2006) and Van Dyk et al. (2006), a FactSage model was developed to understand the chemistry and interpret mineral matter transformation during a fixed bed counter-current gasification process. It was concluded that the FactSage model developed, compared with HT-XRD experimental results and that the FactSage thermodynamic modeling sup-plies insight into specific mineral reactions and slag formation. The specific value for Sasol in using FactSage, in combination with HT-XRD is that it can be used to analyze equilibrium conditions for reactions occurring between inorganic and organic materials together, as well as to provide insight into mineral transformation and slag formation. The purpose of the present study was to improve the current FactSage modeling approach, by combining specific zones in the gasification process. This can improve and speed-up the interpretation of mineral matter transformations and flow properties of reacted mineral matter in coal and assist in identifying and quantifying slag formation in the gasifier operation at temperatures not reflected by normal AFT analyses. The updated and improved FactSage model compared favorably with the original model as well as with HT-XRD results and thus will be able to supply results in a faster and more convenient manner. In the new FactSage model, supported by HT-XRD experimental findings, it is indicated that feldspar formation (including anorthite) correlated with slag formation at temperatures around 1000°C and no slag formation in the base case coal was observed in the drying and devolitilization zone, as was to be expected. Feldspar is one is the mineral species which has the lowest AFT causing the most slag-liquid formation and forms probably as a product between the SiO2, Al2O3 and Ca-containing species. In the gasification zone it was clear that slag-liquid formed at a temperature of 1000°C, with a decrease in the feldspar content. Mullite formation was also observed in the base case sample in the temperature range 1000°C and 1100°C. The decrease in the amount of SiO2 at 1100°C is related to the formation of mullite, but also that the slag-liquid phase also contains an amount of SiO2 in the molten form.

Jan 1, 2014

By R. D. Alorro

Melting has become a popular pre-treatment method for municipal solid waste (MSW) incineration residues in Japan. Although the method is effective in stabilizing the hazardous organic sub-stances such as dioxin, it concentrates the heavy metals such as Zn, Pb, Cu, and Cd in a newly formed fly ash (melting fly ash). Melting fly ash is classified as a hazardous waste because of the leaching potential of these heavy metals in landfill environment. Extraction and recovery of these metals seem to be more environmentally and economically attractive than disposing the material to landfill after immobilization process. This study proposes a Carrier-in-Pulp (CIP) method as a new hydrometallurgical route to reject and recover heavy metals from fly ash. In this method, a carrier material which recovers the extracted metals is added simultaneously with fly ash to leaching solutions and is harvested from the pulp by physical separation method like magnetic separation or sieving. To demonstrate the effect of CIP method, shaking flask experiments were conducted under various conditions using NaCl solution as lixiviant and iron powder or granular activated carbon as carrier materials. In the CIP method using iron powder, more than 97 wt% of Pb and Zn were extracted from the ash to the solution phase. However, the iron powder which was harvested from the pulp by magnetic separation, recovered only Pb (more than 94%) through cementation, leaving behind Zn ions in the solution phase. Due to this problem, granular activated carbon (GAC) was considered as an alternative carrier material. Single- and multi-metal adsorption experiments using granular activated carbon were conducted as a preliminary study. Around 85% Pb and 88% Zn were recovered by GAC in the single-metal adsorption experiment, while 60% Pb and 70% Zn in the multi-metal experiment. These results showed that activated carbon was superior to the iron powder since it was able to recover both Pb and Zn through adsorption. The leaching test conducted on the residue after the CIP-Fe treatment revealed that the solubilisation of Pb was successfully suppressed to meet landfilling guidelines.

Jan 1, 2014

By S. Shairp

At the Hudbay zinc pressure leach plant, filtration and washing of the second stage leach slurry takes place on a vacuum belt filter prior to disposal to tailings. Due to periods of poor filterability, laboratory studies were undertaken to investigate the effect of temperature of the filter feed slurry, and to compare filterability to the resulting cake particle size distribution.

Jan 1, 2014

By N. I. Tyushkova

This is a brief survey of the technological solutions for deep cleaning of baddeleyite?s concen-trate. Baddeleyite is part of kamaphorite of composite apatite-magnetite ore in alkaline-ultrabasic mountain range of Kola Peninsula. Baddeleyite?s concentrate, which is being produced by Kovdorsky GOK (ore mining and processing enterprise) contains 97.5%~98.5% (Zr?2 + ?f?2) and also scandium oxide (0.05%). It is usually used without any chemical processing. World demand for zirconium oxide is constantly on the rise. Its consumption grows in ceramic industry and in high-tech spheres. That?s why the demand for its purity is very important nowadays (additional cleaning from phosphorus, silicon, iron, aluminium). The mechanism and kinetics of interaction of activated bad-deleyite with sulphuric acid has been studied as well. While applying method of mathematical mod-eling it was confirmed that the mechanical activation is effective for the intensification of sulphation process of baddeleyite?s concentrate with the aim of purifying it from dirt. The use of the calculated optimal regimes allows to reduce such technological operation factors as: temperature, the du-ration of process, the sulphuric acid consumption. It also allows to determine the conditions of anticipatory abstraction of scandium and main dirt in solution in comparison with zirconium oxide.

Jan 1, 2014