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By John W. Barnes

In seeking cost reductions, control methods are a fertile field because they significantly affect labor and other costs. While process control in uranium mills is excellent by the evidence of high recovery, the costs seem high to those familiar with extractive operations for other metals. To some extent this high cost is inevitable, because of exacting quality control-, the technically complicated recovery processes; poor control over grade and nature of mill feed- special problems arising out of the radioactive property of the material. Practices used in uranium mills and the limitations indicated for instrumentation and automation are discussed. It is concluded that any large investment in automatic controls should be preceded by a careful study of their reliability and maintainability, and an estimate of the net income after taxes smaller plants my find it more profitable, or at least less risky, to concentrate their efforts on the possible reduction of some control problems and to development of a stable force of skilled employees. The observed experience does not inspire optimism that ore-dressing plants can be extensively automated although certain unit operations offer a challenge for improvements in instrumentation and machine design.

Jan 1, 1960

By C. W. Armbrust

At FHC Gold Company's Paradise Peak Mine gold and silver are produced. Precious metals recovery rates are very satisfactory along with the recovery and production of a relative high volume of mercury. At Paradise Peak precious metals are recovered via the Merrill-Crowe process and delivered to the refinery area as a mercury-bearing precipitate cake. The recovery of mercury is then obtained through a vacuum retort system. The balance of the material is mixed with fluxes and then melted and cast into dore' bars for shipping. Issues of retort capacity and concerns over efficiency led to research into the retort process itself.

Jan 1, 1990

By Osvaldo A. Bascur

Most mining and metallurgical plants have developed predictive maintenance policies based on statistical analysis and special techniques, like vibration analysis, oil and lube analysis for critical equipment. Process control strategies have also been installed in several metallurgical sites. These control strategies require instrumentation maintenance from local personnel. The availability of real time and process history to identify the most critical part of the processing system from mechanical integrity is a must for global plant optimization. Specialized performance control monitoring algorithms are required to justify their existence and contribution to the bottom line. Emerging technologies are combining these techniques into a single total plant system. Tools are required to assist in troubleshooting and adapting these process control instruments and strategies. The key is the plant equipment and process control availability and utilization rather than just maintenance.

Jan 1, 1997

By William P. Shell

An important part of process control engineering is the implementation of the basic control system design through commissioning to routine operation. This is a period when basic concepts can be reviewed and improvements either implemented or recorded for application in future systems. The experience of commissioning the process control systems in the Homer City coal cleaning plant are described and discussed. The current level of operating control performance in individual sections and the overall system are also reported and discussed.

Jan 1, 1983

By V. de Ruiter

In the northwestern part of the Netherlands lies the deepest solution salt mine in the world. The company operating the mine is Frisia Zout bv (part of the K+S group). Extracting the NaCl from caverns at a depth of nearly 3000 m has a lot of challenges. Continuously monitoring, among others, the flows, pressures and salt concentrations is necessary to safely and economically mine the salt. A system has been set up at Frisia to be able to monitor the data from a distance. Data has been put in graphs to monitor the trends daily. All gauges are also continuously monitored to maintain accuracy. With this system a better understanding of the mining process has been made and has led to many optimizations.

Jan 1, 2008

By understanding the ore breakage characteristics and utilising comminution circuit modelling, the benefits of SAG mill feed size manipulation can be readily assessed. This paper looks at the benefits and problems of total secondary crushing of mill feed and advocates partial secondary crushing as a means of improving grinding efficiency for certain hard ores. Case studies are reviewed for new and existing SAG mill circuits.

Jan 1, 2007

By R. J. Sawyer

*An earlier version of this paper was presented at the IMM meeting, "Use of Cultivated Carbon in Extraction of Gold and Other Metals," held in London in January, 1983, and was subsequently published in Trans. IMM (Sect. C: Mineral Process. Extr. Metall.) in December, 1983. Reprinted with permission of The Institution of Mining and Metallurgy, London. INTRODUCTION This paper describes the development of the processing route for the Alligator Ridge Mine which commenced operation in 1980. It also reviews the modifications which have been made to improve operating efficiency during the three years that the mine has been in production. Alligator Ridge is located 70 miles Northwest of Ely, Nevada. The mine is a joint venture between Amselco and Nerco with Amselco acting as operator. The deposit consists of micron sized disseminated gold imbedded in siltstone. Although definitive conclusions have yet to be drawn as to the age and origin of the deposit, it is probable that it is young by geological standards, perhaps only 5 million years old. It is likely that the gold was brought to the surface by hot springs. As the superheated solutions rose through the porous siltstone, they redeposited minerals in the rock, forming the present ore bodies.

Jan 1, 1984

By Paul L. Bearden

The accumulation, handling, and utilization of sludges formed from wet process phosphoric acid is one of the major problems in the industry. The purpose of this paper is to explain some of the considerations and techniques that can be employed to provide some measure of control over the problem. An acid made from a Central Florida phosphate rock is used to illustrate the effects of one process design approach used to provide one type of control. Other approaches or techniques are discussed on a general basis. In every case, the discussion is purposely limited to conventional dihydrate processing in which phosphoric acid is produced from the filter at a strength of approximately 30% P205 and is subsequently concentrated to higher strengths such as 44 and 54% P205.

Jan 1, 1966

By J. T. Hanks

Process development is one of the principal tasks required in the course of turning an exploration discovery into a mine. Exploration geologists should have an understanding of the more important metallurgical processes and the test work required for each process. The paper discusses the important metallurgical processes, the test work and sample requirements for each, and the costs and time requirements to accomplish the testing. The limitations of reverse circulation drill samples for metallurgical testing are discussed. The level of process definition required to support engineering studies: scoping, pre-feasibility and feasibility studies are also described.

Jan 1, 1997

By Shijie Wang

The metals of value in tetrahedrite are copper, antimony and silver. A new hydrometallurgical process is proposed to recover these metals from tetrahedrite. The process consists of leaching concentrate with ferric fluoborate, solvent extraction, electrowinning and residue treatment. Products from this process are high-purity SX-EW copper and antimony and a high-grade silver residue that will be further treated in a hydrometallurgical process for early release of silver. The process has advantages, such as achieving rapid leaching rates at modest temperatures with high metal recovery. Most pyrite is not attacked. Thus, it remains in the leach residue along with elemental sulfur.

Jan 1, 2003

By J. L. Coburn

The Huari-Huari ore body is located in Southern Bolivia, at an elevation of approximately 3,800 meters above sea level. The ore is a complex massive sulfide, slightly marmatitic sphalerite, in a fault fissure filled hypo- thermal vein in Paleozoic shales and quartzite-altered sandstone. The sphalerite has common associations with pyrite and quartz and is frequently intricately intergrown with stannite, chalcopyrite, and pyrrhotite. The sphalerite also contains numerous inclusions of pyrite, marcasite, galena, boulangerite, jamesonite, quartz, arsenopyrite, and cassiterite. A research program was undertaken to develop a flowsheet for the recovery of separate silver, zinc, and tin concentrates by selective flotation. Based on this experimental work and subsequent flowsheet development, engineering and construction of a 500 metric ton per day concentrator was undertaken. This paper describes the process that was developed for the Huari-Huari ore and the unique aspects of the Huari-Huari concentrator.

Jan 1, 1977

By John Turney, John Gathje, Donald Gale

The Eskay Creek deposit, located in northern British Columbia, is a high-grade gold/silver ore associated with complex polymetallic sulfides. Process development began in 1989 and continued through 1993. Because of the refractory nature of the ore, options including roasting and smelting were investigated. The selected process of pressure oxidation was the basis for basic engineering design until a re-evaluation of economics and risk indicated a preference for toll smelting. Although well proven in many industrial applications, pressure oxidation of the Eskay Creek ore dictated several innovations to solve problems associated with silver jarosite formation, preg-robbing, and high soluble copper and zinc concentrations.

Jan 1, 1995

By Earl L. Rau

Although the Sagasca deposit has been known for 76 years, the property was never put into successful operation because of various adverse factors including low market price for copper, legal entanglements, unsuccessful financial arrangements, and an inadequate metallurgical process. Late in 1963, Continental Copper & Steel Industries, Inc., obtained legal control of this property. Since that time there has been a concentrated effort to complete the necessary mine appraisal, process development, and engineering design, and to solve the legal and financial problems to bring this property into production.

Jan 1, 1970

By M. S. Prasad

In earlier work it has been shown that paper filler clay products can be obtained from primary kaolin deposits of Minnesota. The objective of the current work was to reduce silica and iron contaminants and to maximize kaolin recovery to higher value products suitable for paper coating. This results in achieving a finer and cleaner product conforming to paper coating specifications. Cationic flotation and high gradient magnetic separation were used to remove free silica and iron, respectively, while attrition grinding and ultrasonics have been examined for particle size reduction. The results of this work are presented and discussed particularly with respect to application-oriented product properties. Budgetary estimates are presented for a 200,000 ton/year processing plant based on the process flowsheet developed and optimized by the study.

Jan 1, 1991

By S. Acar

"In recent years the gold mining industry has been challenged by declining metal prices as well as having to treat ores that have low grades and are refractory in nature. Many factors must be considered when metallurgical studies are designed to develop process design criteria for these type of ores. These factors are mostly related to the mineralogical and chemical compositions of the ores, the geological setting of the deposit and how the ore/waste will be mined, such as whether openpit or underground, the mine schedule, and the mine fleet type and capacity. The purpose of this paper is to provide an experience-based practical approach to how to select and characterize test samples as well as devise process development metallurgical studies for both oxide and refractory gold ores, and to provide insight into some of the matters that might go wrong during the course of the studies. This paper is intended as both a guide for someone new to the field and also as a reminder for those familiar with the field. IntroductionThe recent decline in ore grades and metal prices have challenged mining companies to reduce capital and operating costs associated with developing new mineral resources. In some cases, metallurgical studies have been sacrificed to prevent cost overruns resulting in inadequate mineralogical, chemical and metallurgical characterization. Consequences have included longer construction schedules, higher initial and working capital, higher operating costs and less than desirable plant performance (Whincup, 2010; Torres, Chaves and Meech, 1999).Mineralogy, geology, mining type and sequence, and the metallurgy of an orebody will determine the process development metallurgical study requirements and eventual process plant design. Therefore, once the geologist has an early indication of a prospective orebody, geologists, metallurgists, mining engineers, and social and environmental responsibility scientists should convene and devise a plan on how to exploit the orebody economically (Lunt, Ritchie and Fleay, 1997).Geologists may find a prospective orebody solely based on grade. However, if the orebody cannot be mined and processed economically, then it is deemed not to be a deposit. An example of this could be a refractory gold deposit, either sulfidic, carbonaceous or siliceous refractory or any combination of those, that may not be mined and processed economically due to reasons such as the physical location of the deposit, depth of the ore lode, or social and environmental concerns. Therefore, an early collaboration between all disciplines must be established.Each orebody may have its own unique mineralogical, geological and chemical characteristics (Guresin et al., 2012). These unique characteristics should be effectively sampled to reduce risks associated with process design and engineering efforts for the process development metallurgical studies. If the sample or samples are not representative of these unique characteristics, then the studies performed will be pointless. The project metallurgist in charge of conducting metallurgical studies should also possess general geology, mineralogy and mine engineering knowledge. Recommended readings are a book on understanding mineral deposits by Misra (2000) and articles on heap leach development by Scheffel (2014a and 2014b)."

Jan 1, 2016

"Metallurgical process development in greenfield projects must define the comminution flowsheet and establish the equipment sizes that are required to deliver the project design criteria. These are critical steps that heavily influence the financial performance of the project, requiring a detailed understanding of the ore properties of the project resources and the best practice methods to size comminution machines. This paper reviews current practices for determining the ore characteristics relevant to comminution circuit design. Particular attention is given to the design of sampling and testing programs, and the methods commonly applied to size crushers and mills for conventional size reduction applications in mineral processing. IntroductionMetallurgical process development in greenfield projects requires the selection of a comminution flow sheet and must establish the equipment sizes required to deliver the project design criteria. This necessitates a detailed understanding of the ore properties that define the project resource. For brownfield projects the same objectives may apply for plant expansions, or the project objective may be simply to define the capacity and operating cost of an existing facility for a new ore source. The process development phase in either instance will typically comprise the following key activities:• Geometallurgical classification and sampling of the ore deposit or deposits.• Determination of comminution energy requirements.• Benchmarking similar projects.• Identification of flow sheet options.• Equipment selection and sizing.This paper is concerned specifically with process development testing and will as such focus on the first two activities on the list: sampling and testing of the deposit. The discussion will focus on testwork programs to support the design of comminution circuits commonly in use in mineral processing today, specifically crusher, tumbling mill and stirred mill technologies.It is important that any testwork program is designed giving consideration to the types of flow sheets that are viable for the project, and the data that will need to be generated to support the final equipment sizing. Designing a testwork program to only provide information about one particular type of flow sheet will not allow sufficient information to be generated for a rigorous trade-off analysis of options, and may therefore preclude financial optimization of the project. Testing programs should be designed to collect sufficient data to ensure that any backtracking at a later stage to fill in missing information is minimal."

Jan 1, 2016

By T. C. Crosby

Grinding has a marked effect on concentrator recovery and opera- ting cost, improved operation through automatic control can enhance plant performance. The correct application of automatic control can only be accomplished after the basic process variables and their effect on mill operation have been defined. This paper develops a control system for a closed circuit grinding system. Typical control systems such as feed, water flow, level and circulating load are discussed. A method of determining controllability is outlined using the calculated reaction curve technique. Various successful methods of automatic grinding control applications are discussed and future possibilities are outlined. Although this paper primarily deals with closed circuit wet grinding circuits, the principles involved can be readily applied to other processes.

Jan 1, 1966

By Stuart K. Nicol, Malcolm D. Engel, Neville T. Moxon

Ion flotation of gold is a process continuing to be developed to selectively beneficiate dilute aurocyanide liquors using a novel surface­active complexing agent. Aeration of these liquors causes accumulation of the precious metal species in the froth concentrate produced in a flotation column. Successful development of ion flotation for concentrating solids-free liquors would offer a low--cost method for recovering specific metals from heap leach runoff or waste tailings solutions. The cost of constructing and operating a 100 tph gold ion flotation facility has been compared with the relevant carbon adsorption plant costs. Reductions in operating costs of 25% and installed capital of 40% are possible in relevant expenditure areas. For an 'average' processing plant, this equates to annual operating savings of A$ 170 000 and a capital saving of A$ 515 000, with a three-point increase in total (mine and plant) site DCF ROI. High gold inventories are eliminated and the number of processing steps is reduced. The application of gold ion flotation will initially be confined to heap leach operations in the western U.S.A., although use of the process in mine abandonment programmes elsewhere is also an area of future development.

Jan 1, 1992

By G. T. Adel

Hindered-bed separators are often used in the minerals processing industry to classify particles according to size and density. A new technology, known as the Eriez CrossFlow, was recently developed to overcome some of the limitations associated with hydraulic separators. The innovative feature of this unit is a novel feed presentation system that improves separation efficiency and capacity. In the present work, a detailed process engineering evaluation was conducted to determine the basis for the improved performance of this unit. The evaluation included controlled separation tests using well-characterized feeds, particle and liquid tracer experiments and mathematical modeling studies. Data obtained from this work show that the new separator is capable of maintaining good separation efficiencies at higher solid feed rates than traditional designs due to improved hydrodynamics in the separation zone. This paper reviews the operating principle of the Eriez CrossFlow separator, discusses the results of the tracer experiments and modeling studies and presents test data obtained from recent laboratory and plant trials. Key words: Size classification, CrossFlow separator, Hindered-bed separator, Hydraulic separator

Jan 1, 2003

By J. Herbst, J. Groppo, A. Noble, R. Q. Honaker

"Coal and coal byproducts produced annually contain a sufficient amount of rare earth elements (REEs) to meet current U.S. demand. The REEs exist in the form of minerals, ion-adsorbed elements associated with clays, and chemically bonded elements within the organic coal matrix or host mineral. Researchers at three universities collaborated to evaluate the effectiveness of existing physical and chemical concentration processes for the recovery of the REEs. The efforts found that physical separation processes can increase the total REE content in the thickener underflow material collected from a Central Appalachian coal cleaning facility from around 300 ppm to values greater than 17,500 ppm on an ash basis. Leaching followed by solvent extraction was found to be the most effective to recover the REEs from coarse middlings materials collected from multiple coal basins, as indicated by recovery values exceeding 80 percent. Based on material characterization data and process evaluations conducted for several potential feed coal sources, economic recovery of the REEs will require byproduct production of both clean coal and REE concentrate using a process flowsheet that is unique for each source. IntroductionRecent studies initiated by the National Energy Technology Laboratory showed that U.S. coals contain significant amounts of rare earth elements (REEs), suggesting that rare earth minerals (REMs) and/or REEs can be produced as byproducts (Ekmann, 2012). According to the report, the richest source of REEs is the Central Appalachian coal. At present, there are 208 coal preparation plants located in the region consisting of areas within the states of West Virginia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Alabama and Tennessee, with a total capacity of 166,495 t/h, or more than 1 Gt/y (Fiscor, 2014). If only a portion of these plants are retrofitted with advanced separation processes, the U.S. coal industry would become a significant producer of REE concentrates as byproducts. An inherent advantage of becoming a byproduct producer of REEs is that no mining cost needs to be part of the production cost."

Jan 1, 2017