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By D. Beneteau, L. Feldman, D. Milne, A. Hyett, G. Snell

"Behaviour of rebar bolts subjected to combined shear and bending in underground potash mining applications is not well understood. An experimental investigation compared load applied to resin-grouted No. 25 metric rebar to theoretical load, calculated using elastic bending theory. Distributed optical sensing (fibre optic) technology allowed axial strain measurements at 1.25 mm increments along the length of rebar. Experimental procedure, data processing methods, and equipment improvements are needed for field applications of optical sensing technology. Goals were to adopt procedures for instrumenting rebar bolts, conduct tests, and develop data interpretation methods to measure field deformations and loads. ¦ KEYWORDS Fibre optic, Potash mine, Rebar bolts, Transverse load testing RÉSUMÉ On appréhende encore mal le comportement des boulons d’ancrage pour barres d’armature soumis au cisaillement et au cintrage pour un usage dans des mines de potasse souterraines. Une étude expérimentale compare la charge appliquée aux barres d’armature de diamètre n° 25 (25 mm en mesure métrique) enduites de résine époxy à la charge théorique, calculée à l’aide de la théorie de la flexion élastique. La technologie de détection optique distribuée (fibre optique) a permis d’effectuer des mesures de la contrainte axiale à des différentielles de 1,25 mm sur toute la longueur de la barre d’armature. Pour des applications sur le terrain de la technologie de détection optique, il faut envisager une procédure expérimentale, des méthodes de traitement de données et une amélioration de l’équipement. Les objectifs établis consistent à adopter des procédures d’instrumentation des boulons d’ancrage pour barres d’armature, à effectuer des essais et à mettre au point des méthodes d’interprétation des données pour mesurer les déformations et les charges sur le site. ¦ MOTS CLÉS boulons d’ancrage pour barres d’armature, essai par charge transversale, fibre optique, mine de potasseINTRODUCTION Resin grouted rebar bolts are commonly used in potash mines in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada, in areas where shear deformation is observed in the rock, or where potentially unstable ground is present, including locations such as clay seams. Opportunities to observe deformations of rebar, as shown in Figure 1, are rare because it is unusual in underground potash mining to excavate supported ground. In this situation, a block of potash containing a rebar bolt had failed."

Jan 1, 2019

By E. V. Konopleva, H. J. McQueen

"The isothermal bainite transformation kinetics of low- and medium-carbon alloy steels after hot deformation and the rmocycling treatment (TC) has been studied by the magneto - metric method. Deformation was produced by rolling at 800°C-1000°C. TC included three cycles of rapid (30°C/s) electro-heating up to 900°C-1000°C followed by quenching.Hot deformation retards bainite transformation in the lower part of bainite range (<400°C) and accelerates it in the upper part (>400°C). The effect is greater for higher strain and lower deformation temperature. Deformation also diminishes the overall bainite fraction below 400°C and increases the completeness of reaction above 400°C.Thermocycling provides more uniform ultrafine austenite grains with average size of 3 µm -4 µm compared to 12 µm -14 µm after conventional heating. The transformation rate after TC was almost the same as after conventional heating in low-carbon steel but was faster in medium-carbon with no change in the completeness of reaction. The degree of acceleration increased with rise of transformation temperature.There are a number of factors which are responsible for a change in bainite transformation kinetics in austenite deformed at high temperatures or subjected to TC. One of the most important factors is the refinement of structure, another one is structural and chemical inhomogenity of austenite due to deformation or to rapid heating. To estimate the contribution of these factors, ?-transformation was studied after different austenitizing conditions (low-temperature heating at 850°C- 950°C; high-temperature heating at 1100°C; step treatment – austenitizing at 1100°C, then cooling to 950°C-850°C). The results obtained make it possible to conclude that the structural and chemical inhomogeneity of austenite activate the bainite reaction while the grain refinement retards it. Intensity of the effect produced by each factor depends strongly on the steel composition."

Jan 1, 1997

By A. W. JR. Whitaker

Introduction Within the last quarter of a century the Lake St. John-Saguenay valley has been converted from a quiet agricultural district to one of the important industrial centres in the Dominion. First there was the expansion -of the pulp and paper industry, and then, starting a little over ten years, ago, the development, in large .blocks, of the enormous hydro-electric power resources of the Saguenay river. Coincident with this power development, the world aluminum industry was rapidly expanding and looking for a new source of cheap power. This was found in the Saguenay valley-and so, in 1925, Arvida was established by the Aluminum Company of Canada as a location for one of the largest aluminum plants in the world. Arvida, an incorporated city comprising an area of some ten square miles, is ideally located on a more or less level plateau about 350 feet above the Saguenay river. Seldom has industry stepped boldly forth and carved out of Nature a community with full city status. The process usually goes through the steps of camp, village, town, and city, involving improper planning or lack of planning; all of which has been avoided at Arvida by starting out in the right way. While this community has only a population of approximately 2,000 at the present time, it is carefully planned for a population many times this figure. Streets, city parks, business and residential sections, have been definitely planned, and, with a City government, proper ordinances were passed at the beginning to ensure the building and maintenance of a model industrial community. As the crow flies, Arvida is about 35 miles due east of lake St. John, and 0 miles west of the St. Lawrence river at Tadoussac. From a shipping standpoint, it is well served by the Canadian National railways, with direct lines to Quebec and Montreal, and by ocean shipping facilities at Port Alfred, which is about 15 miles to the east on the Saguenay river and is served by the Roberval & Saguenay railway. The latter has interchange connections with the Canadian National at Arivda, and also operates a branch line into the city of Chicoutimi.

Jan 1, 1933

By Mike Dry, Rod Dry

If humanity is truly serious about reducing emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, today’s power plants burning fossil fuels will have to be replaced by power plants that do not emit CO₂. Unless carbon capture/sequestration becomes practical, the new power plants will be hydroelectric, wind, solar or nuclear installations. Hydroelectricity requires the appropriate geography. Solar installations can only deliver power as and when sunshine is available, and wind installations when the wind blows. Therefore, power from these sources will be intermittent, but the demand for electricity does not follow the patterns of sun and wind. That will require large-scale electricity storage and/or load following by the remaining power suppliers, increasingly so as the use of fossil fuelled power generation declines. Modern nuclear power plants are designed for demand following. However, operating at lower than design output has a negative impact on the economics of nuclear power plants because the overall cost of the electricity they generate is dominated by capital cost. Primary (blast furnace) iron smelting is responsible for a significant part of global CO₂ emissions because the reagent used is carbon. Were it available in sufficient quantity (and at a low enough cost), hydrogen could replace carbon in the manufacture of raw direct reduced iron (DRI), using technology such as modified HYL (Tenova Hyl, 2018) or Midrex (Ravenscroft, 2017). This paper examines a scenario in which, instead of demand following, nuclear power stations are operated at their design capacities and surplus power is used to generate hydrogen in off-peak periods. This hydrogen is then used to replace carbon in the manufacture of raw steel.

Jan 1, 2020

By R. Rumpold, J. Antrekowitsch

"The continued increase of the automobile production leads to a higher platinum, palladium and rhodium (PGM) demand. Due to the high value of the PGMs the recycle of these metals from automotive catalysts is of special interest. Pyrometallurgical processes, which are only focused on the PGMs, represent the state of the art of automotive catalysts recovery. However, hydrometallurgical recycling processes offer additional recovery of other valuable metals and compounds. The method presented in this paper is based on a combination of hydrochloric acid and hydrogen peroxide to dissolve the valuable metal fraction which can be precipitated afterwards.INTRODUCTIONPlatinum and the corresponding metals from the PGM group, especially palladium and rhodium are well known as catalytic active materials. They support chemical reactions which are inhibited. This effect is used to decrease the amount of harmful compounds like hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide or nitrogen oxides in automotive exhaust gases. The generation of these toxic substances is based on incomplete combustion, which in turn is caused by non-ideal conditions in the combustion chamber. Catalytic converters minimize the harmful compounds by supporting the following Reactions 1 – 3 (Votsmeier et al., 2009).CO + ½ O2 ? CO2 (1)CnHm + (n + ¼ m) O2 ? n CO2 + ½ m H2O (2)2 NO + 2 CO ? N2 + 2 CO2 (3)Platinum and palladium are very effective for the oxidation (Reactions 1 and 2), while rhodium supports the decomposition of nitrogen oxides by carbon monoxide (Votsmeier et al., 2009). The classical three way catalyst was a platinum – rhodium combination with a Pt:Rh ratio of 5:1 (Hagelüken et al., 2005). Today the platinum, palladium and rhodium ratio is highly variable and strongly depends on the engine type as well as on the car producer. Diesel engines are operated with a super stoichiometric air addition in comparison to spark ignition systems. Therefore the exhaust gas composition and off gas temperature is different. Based on the high oxygen amount, diesel engines produce less carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons but more nitrogen oxide in contrast to gasoline engines. This leads to various requirements for the catalytic converters."

Jan 1, 2012

By S. Fabich

Since the very beginning of Polish copper mining, special consideration of sink shaft techniques through highly saturated Cenozoic rocks was required. Shaft freezing has been chosen as a method to consolidate these rocks. Due to the rock mass structure and water inflow potential, shaft sinking without freezing was considered dangerous. In the course of time, rock mass freezing technology and experience were evolved and this technology became safer and more reliable. New techniques appeared not only in the technical method of freezing, but also in the matter of designing. Computer aided techniques allow engineers to make a detailed analysis and view of freeze wall development. Nevertheless it is important to determine basic thermal rock properties. In this paper, the evolution of knowledge and engineering experience taken in Polish copper mines and current knowledge level in that matter were shown.

Aug 1, 2013

By Joseph D. Martinez

"The benefits of modern technology can readily be identified with energy availability. A clear correlation has been established between per-capita energy consumption and the GNP for various nations. The United States is an outstanding example of a nation which has benefited from vast energy reserves. The nation is now challenged, how¬ever, by dwindling reserves and the need to develop new sources consistent with the preservation of environmental quality. The development of new, virtually inexhaustible and environmentally acceptable sources cannot be expected for several decades. Meanwhile, we will have to depend on coal, nuclear energy and/or rigorous conservation measures.The net effect of environmental considerations has been to delay and perhaps ultimately eliminate the nuclear energy option as a national energy alternative. This forces a more positive move toward coal as the next major source of electrical power. Our coal resources are large, but the use and production of coal is also a threat to the environment. Thus, we seem to be moving from one major accessible source to another due to environmental concern only to face the probability that the alternative is also environ¬mentally unacceptable.Controversies revolving about energy choices must be resolved by an analysis of the relative benefits and impacts of these two sources and others. The pattern of changing energy sources is not new. We have moved from wood to coal to oil and gas in the past and must learn to adapt in the future. Rational decisions must be made relative to the utilization of intermediate energy sources pending development of promising future approaches. A collapse of current levels of energy supply could threaten our technological society and the means to develop a new energy base."

Jan 1, 1976

By M. J. S. Innes

Abstract This paper is an account of an investigation made by the Dominion Observatory with a gravity meter and magnetometer over sulphide concentrations at East Sullivan, Val d&apos;Or, Que., in June, 1947. The topographic relief over the area does not exceed 20 feet. The overburden varies from 0 co 50 feet. The west orebody had been outlined by extensive drilling. The average density contrast between the sulphide body and surrounding rocks is 0.5. Two hundred and sixty gravity and one hundred and ninety magnetic stations were observed. The results are shown on contour sketches. A derailed account is given of the methods employed to reduce the gravity observations. The survey shows that both gravimetric and magnetic methods are useful in delineating sulphide deposits under the conditions in which they occur at East Sullivan. The results indicate that the buried contact of the syenite intrusive southeast of the orebody could be traced with the gravimeter and chat the magnetometer was of little value for that purpose. Gravity anomalies due to the varying depths of overburden are negligible as compared to the magnitude of the total anomalies. Introduction The project was first suggested at a meeting of the Associate Committee on Geophysics of the National Research Council in September, 1946. At that time it was pointed out that the accuracy and speed of operation of the new gravity meters made them of special importance for geophysical prospecting and it was highly desirable to have an objective test of the performance of an instrument of this kind in delineating an orebody of known dimensions and density characteristics. Several years ago, a private company did some work with a gravimeter over the Amulet deposits, near Noranda. Unfortunately, the topography there is rather rugged, with hills and ravines exceeding 100 feet, so that the topographical effects rendered it impracticable to distinguish between anomalies due to the sulphides and those due to surface irregularities. An orebody of a typical nature, where the disturbing topographical corrections were not excessive, was therefore sought.

Jan 1, 1949

By R. P. van Hille, N. Mooruth

Remediation of acid rock drainage (ARD) was performed within a linear flow channel reactor (LFCR) via a floating sulphur biofilm (FSB). A full sulphur species material balance was conducted in order to characterize the sulphide oxidation. The reactor was able to achieve an 82% and 93% conversion of sulphide with a hydraulic residence time of 2 and 5 days respectively. 92% and 55.5% of the converted sulphide reported to the biofilm as sulphur for the 2 and 5 day residence times respectively. The mass transport limitations within the biofilm were identified via a dissolved oxygen gradient profiling system.

Jan 1, 2011

"In many gold deposits, a reasonable amount of the gold that remains in the cyanide leach tailing is associated with pyrite. Some gold plants have found it economical to incorporate gravity circuits on the cyanide leach tailing to recover the gold bearing pyrite before subjecting it to fine grinding, then recycling the ground pyrite back to the cyanide leach circuit. For low grade gold deposits the loss of gold bearing pyrite is exacerbated as the broader process economics normally favour a coarse grind (> 150 ?m). An option that has received attention over the last decade is to recover the gold bearing sulphides in the milling circuit by gravity, similar to the widely-practiced gravity recovery of free liberated gold. The modelling and simulation of a gravity gold circuit in a milling flowsheet is relatively simple compared with a gold bearing pyrite circuit, as the recycle advantages and breakage functions for gold and pyrite are quite different. This current work represents an attempt to simulate the gravity recovery of gold bearing sulphides in a milling circuit that also incorporates fine grinding, using relatively simple simulation models. The simulation results are further explored with reference to the economics of this type of circuit.INTRODUCTION It is well known that gold is associated with pyrite in most sulphide gold deposits and that the amount of gold associated with pyrite will vary from deposit to deposit. Most of the gold associated with pyrite is liberated in the grinding circuit during the processing of a gold ore. However, some gold remains occluded in the pyrite and is lost in the final leach tailings. Little information is available in the literature on methods to enhance gold liberation from pyrite by specifically removing pyrite, either in the grinding circuit or from the final tailings stream, and grinding it finer. One of the earliest record of this approach is described by King (King, 1949) where pyrite present in Witwatersrand gold ores was recovered by circular jigs and Johnson barrels followed by fine grinding of the concentrate prior to cyanide leaching. Dominy et al., 1970, provides information on the use of Yuba jigs to recover pyrite from the discharge end of ball mills. Again, the jig concentrate was ground to a fine particle size before cyanide leaching to recover the liberated gold. Unfortunately, no information is provided in these articles on the additional gold recovery from implementing these circuits in a flowsheet. Martins et al., 1993, provides details of a gravity circuit using Reichert cones and spirals to recover gold bearing pyrite from a cyanide leach tailings followed by fine grinding of the pyrite concentrate in a Tower mill. The ground concentrate returned to the front end of the already installed leach circuit. Overall recoveries were increased by some 2% to 4% depending on the amount of gold and pyrite in the plant feed."

Jan 1, 2017

By Frederik H. Kriel, John Ralston, Craig Priest

"Stream-based microfluidic solvent extraction offers a novel alternative to bulk-scale mixer-settler operations. However present maximum throughputs are restrictive and there are engineering challenges that need to be overcome before the technology is robust. This is especially the case for mineral processing, where circuits must be able to handle variable feed streams with long retention times and where maintenance should be minimized. This paper highlights research directed at investigating and evaluating these challenges for actual mineral leach solutions of metal ions. Molecular and particulate channel fouling is discussed. Most extraction systems studied to date show no effects that would preclude use of the technology. For rare earth elements (REE) with fast extraction rates, scale-up of volumetric throughput to 100 L/h using suitable arrays of channels, microfluidic chips and modules is shown to be achievable using a small contactor (approx. 2 m3) platform. This requires only 2–3 % of the typical aqueous phase inventory and residence time used in an equivalent mixer-settler. For a circuit with 100 contactors, the overall residence time would be less than 1 h, using an aqueous inventory of 40 L.INTRODUCTIONHydrometallurgy is of pivotal importance in many mineral processing circuits around the world, with liquid-liquid solvent extraction (SX) a key step in the separation of many base metals (e.g. Cu and Ni), radioisotopes, precious metals, and the ‘technology’ metals, such as rare earth elements (REEs) (Ritcey & Ashbrook, 1979). The standard equipment for SX in mineral processing is the mixer-settler, in which liquid dispersions are created, by agitation, to increase the surface-to-bulk ratio and, thus increase the mass transfer rate between the liquid phases. In stream-based microfluidic SX (microSX), these high surface-to-volume ratios are achieved by contacting microscopic streams (Ciceri, Perera, & Stevens, 2014), rather than forming small droplets, so that phase disengagement can be accelerated (essentially instantaneous via branching of the two streams of liquid at a channel junction). MicroSX is profoundly different from bulk mixer-settler SX operations and offers exciting opportunities for processing hydrometallurgy solutions (Kriel, Holzner, Grant, Ash, Woollam, Ralston, & Priest, 2015; Priest, Zhou, Klink, Sedev, & Ralston, 2012). Nonetheless, the advantages of using microfluidic environments are presently balanced by very significant challenges relating to throughput, process control, coupling of stages, flow stability, and fouling. If these challenges can be met using smart chip designs, process control and clever engineering, high-value/low-volume SX processes stand to benefit greatly."

Jan 1, 2016

By S. Luidold, A. Poscher, H. Antrekowitsch

"The rare earth elements (REE) are nowadays mainly used for permanent magnets, catalysts, hydrogen storage alloys in rechargeable batteries, for glasses, ceramics, and polishing agents. Other important areas of application are phosphors in different types of lamps (fluorescent tubes, energy-saving lamps, etc.). These lamps are often collected and treated at their end of life by disintegration and sorting. However, the obtained fine fractions comprise not only REE-containing phosphors but also small amounts of mercury and are therefore disposed till today in special landfills. Due to the enormous price increase of the rare earths during the last two years, a lot of activities started for extracting these elements from secondary resources such as for example phosphors. All recycling concepts for this task mainly work with hydrometallurgical methods. The large number of different compounds in phosphors with sometimes very different behaviors with respect to their solubility in aqueous phases forms a major challenge to achieve good yields as well as acceptable purities of the produced rare earth concentrates by a process with a reasonable number of operation steps. Therefore, this paper gives at first a brief overview about the compounds, used as phosphors and about existing concepts or investigations. It further describes our own process design and the results, obtained on laboratory scale. INTRODUCTIONThe rare earth elements (REE) have a central position in the industrialised world despite their marginal production volume in comparison to common metals such as aluminium, copper, zinc etc., because they are essential for many applications. They often cannot be substituted without a considerable loss on functionality and quality. This group of metals comprise the lanthanoids (f–block elements, lanthanum–lutetium) as well as scandium and yttrium.The estimated world mine production of REE amounted to 133,000 t rare earth oxide equivalent in 2010, whereat China accounted for 130,000 t or 98 % (Cordier, 2012). The European Union (EU-27) imported 23,013 t in 2008 to cover its demand. The figure 1 shows the fraction of the European member states in terms of the total imports of rare earth compounds from outside the EU-27 (Schüler, Buchert, Liu, Dittrich, & Merz, 2011)."

Jan 1, 2012

By Suzie Poulin, N. Geoffroy, G. P. Demopoulos

Most metallurgical industries generate toxic waste that must be treated prior to being released to the environment. However, in a lot of cases, the waste materials are poorly characterized or the analytical results are not well interpreted. These shortcomings often result in the development of inefficient industrial procedures, thus causing economic waste and difficulty meeting environmental regulations. Fortunately, a wide range of analytical techniques are available to guide researchers and engineers into making sound process development decisions. In this work, an industrial selenium and mercury removal process is used as an example to illustrate the application of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) on solid waste. Furthermore, samples of analytical results are presented and interpreted and the modifications to the industrial process that resulted are explained. Finally, a brief description of the advantages and limitations of the aforementioned analytical techniques is given with an emphasis on industrial solid waste material.

Jan 1, 2011

By T. Imgrund, A. Bischoff, S. Spürk

"Specific conditions of underground coal mines at great depth, such as high temperatures, high rates of methane inflow and natural ventilation pressure provide considerable challenges for the reliable design of appropriate mine ventilation systems. For decades coal mining in Germany has coped with these extreme circumstances. Based on these experiences appropriate software tools for simulating mine ventilation networks have been developed and continuously enhanced. This paper examines differences in the simulation results and underlying calculation methods of two software solutions. The analysis is based on the comparison of FlowNetTM and VentSim DesignTM (Version 5.1) regarding the accurate prediction of fluid mechanical quantities and their validation with real measurements. A special focus lies on exceptional ventilation scenarios typical for deep coal mines, like gas inflows, fire events and buoyancy effects. The purpose of the comparison is the future utilization of the experiences gained during mining at up to 1,500 m depth for state of the art ventilation design. INTRODUCTION Ventilation is an essential component of mine operations—as providing fresh air to workplaces, diluting and removing explosive, toxic or asphyxiating pollutants and assuring sufficient climate conditions. On the other hand, the costs of ventilation contribute to a large extend to the overall operating costs of a mine, as the share in the energy consumption of a mine may be in the range of 25–50% (Belle, 2008). Accordingly, proper design of ventilation systems has been a task since early times. Consequently software for modelling of ventilation networks has been developed in order to improve efficiency and accuracy of calculations (Maleki, 2018). Compressible flow has not been considered by initial ventilation modelling software tools. In Germany, the consideration of changes in airflow density—depending on pressure and temperature—in the algorithms of ventilation simulation software has been started in 1974 by Duepre & Hofbauer. This development had been continued by the Pruefstelle fuer Grubenbewetterung (Test Centre for Mine Ventilation) and resulted in the release of a computer ventilation software named “Wetter”. The mine inspectorate of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, which supervises the major coal mining district in Germany, declared ventilation simulation based on compressible flow being “state of the art” in 1985 (Pollak, 1985). This pronouncement made allowance for assessing the consequences of underground fires and downtimes of main fans based on advanced software solutions."

Jan 1, 2019

By Hajime Miki, Gde Pandhe Wisnu Suyantara, Tsuyoshi Hirajima, A. M. Elmahdy, Keiko Sasaki

"Seawater has been reported to depress molybdenite in a copper-molybdenum (Cu-Mo) flotation process at high pH due to the precipitation of Mg(OH)2. Meanwhile, to improve mineral recoveries, collectors are usually added into the flotation cells, thus adding the complexity to the mechanism of bubble-particle interactions involved in Cu-Mo flotation. Therefore, understanding the interaction mechanism in seawater flotation and in the presence of collectors is important to explain the minerals depression. The present work investigated the effect of kerosene on the bubble collision and attachment to pure chalcopyrite and molybdenite surfaces in MgCl2 solution as one of the seawater major components at pH 6 and 11. Mineral surfaces were characterized using atomic force microscopy (AFM). In addition, minerals floatability in the same system were tested in a column flotation. The study of bubble-particle interactions shows that following several collisions, bubble could displace the intervening liquid layer on the mineral surfaces, forming a three-phase contact (TPC). A TPC formed more rapidly in the presence of emulsified kerosene in a 0.01 M MgCl2 solution at pH 6 for both minerals. The reason is kerosene increased the surfaces hydrophobicity and destabilized the intervening liquid layer on the surfaces. Moreover, the average time required to form a TPC was shorter on molybdenite surface. This can be attributed to the effect of adsorbed kerosene on molybdenite surface and molybdenite surface roughness.INTRODUCTIONIn froth flotation, bubbles are used to separate hydrophobic mineral particles from hydrophilic particles. In this process, bubble-particle interactions (i.e., collisions, attachment, and detachment) are crucial with regard to mineral recoveries. The effectiveness of froth flotation depends on the formation of stable aggregates between the hydrophobic particles and the bubbles, allowing the bubble to carry the particles to the froth layer. To form such aggregates, the bubbles and particles must collide, and the intervening liquid layer must be drained below the liquid layer critical thickness, forming a stable threephase contact (TPC) (Ralston & Dukhin, 1999). Particles detachment may take place if the particles still have sufficient kinetic energy and the TPC is not formed. Previous studies of bubble-particle interaction in electrolyte solutions have been conducted using atomic force microscopy (AFM) (Assemi, Nguyen, & Miller, 2008), and by approaching the bubble using mica plate (Pushkarova & Horn, 2008), however, these studies did not focus on the bubble-particle collisions. Bubble collisions and attachment to hydrophobic (Teflon) and hydrophilic (glass) surfaces in a a-terpineol solution have been investigated by Krasowka et al. (2003)."

Jan 1, 2016

By L. V. Chugaev, Y. M. Shneerson, P. V. Zaytsev, I. V. Fomenko, M. A. Pleshkov

"Pressure oxidation (POX) is one of the most common and reliable methods of processing gold-bearing sulfide concentrates. However, when processing concentrates that contain natural carbonaceous matter, substantial gold losses occur due to autoclave preg-robbing. The latter involves formation of gold chloride complexes under typical POX conditions (high temperatures, high acidity and high ORP) and subsequent sorption of these complexes by carbonaceous matter. Naturally, chloride ion plays a significant role in the process of autoclave preg-robbing; its concentration in POX solution has a well-marked effect on subsequent gold recovery during cyanidation of POX residue. The previous research done by SRC Hydrometallurgy showed that autoclave preg-robbing of gold could be significantly inhibited by the addition of mercury(II) compounds to POX slurry. The positive effect of mercury(II) was well pronounced both at high (>20 mg/L) and low (<5 mg/L) Cl concentrations in POX solution. The successful bench-scale laboratory testing was followed by pilot plant trials at Ore Test Facility in Blagoveshchensk, Russia. The present paper provides the results of these trials. The bench-scale testing results were verified; the optimum oxidizing parameters and reagent dosage were specified. The behavior of mercury (II) at POX pilot plant was found to be in good consistency with industrial practice described in the literature.INTRODUCTION Pressure oxidation (POX) is one of the most common, reliable, and commercially proven methods of processing gold-bearing sulfide ores and concentrates. However, when processing double refractory materials that contain natural carbonaceous matter, POX technology advantages are compromised by autoclave preg-robbing of gold. The latter occurs when natural organic carbon and soluble halides are both present in autoclave feed. Strongly oxidizing conditions of POX (high temperature, oxidation-reduction potential or ORP, and acidity) favor formation of gold-halide (mostly, gold-chloride) complexes, which tend to bond with carbonaceous matter. The exact nature and mechanism of this bonding is unknown, but as the result of this, cyanide is unable to leach gold from POX residue and the precious metal is lost to the tails (Axenov et al., 2014; Dimov, Chryssoulis, & Sodhi, 2003; Fomenko, Zaytsev, Pleshkov, Chugaev, & Shneerson, 2013)."

Jan 1, 2017

By E. L. C. Martins, M. J. Nicol, D. Majuste, A. D. Souza

The effects of organic compounds on the current efficiency (CE), morphology, crystal structure and mechanical properties of the metal deposited during the electrowinning of zinc are described. A flotation collector and lubricating oil were selected based on observations made during the industrial production of zinc from silicate ores, in Brazil. The analysis by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy of these compounds, which may be present in minor amounts in the electrolyte solution, indicated the presence of a polar amine group in the collector, while the lubricating oil is a non-polar compound. The average CE value obtained from organic-free industrial solution was 91.15 ± 0.26 %. The CE dropped to 54.35 ± 0.73 % in the presence of 100 mg·L-1 of collector in the solution, and a negative effect was also observed in the presence of similar amounts of oil (88.84 ± 0.61 %). The characterization of the deposits by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction revealed the formation of pores in deposits obtained from solutions containing the oil, while a different growth pattern (perpendicular zinc platelets) was identified when the flotation collector was added to the industrial solution. In the presence of these contaminants in the solution, guided-bend tests revealed that the deposits have a higher resistance to deformation, but lower ductility, properties that may affect the performance of the stripping stage. As a result of this work, simple control and optimization actions were applied in the industrial plant, which resulted in important improvements in the electrowinning process.

Jan 1, 2014

By Haibin Ma, Jie Song, Qingyou Han, Xiaoming Wang, Wei Vian

In the grain refinement of aluminum, Al3Ti and TiB2 particles are introduced to reduce the casting grain size down to 200 micrometer level, which makes cold working possible. The particles are brought in by the addition of Al-Ti-B type master alloys. It is generally believed that TiB2 particles are stable and nucleate a-Al grains in solidification in the presence of extra titanium than the stoichiometry of TiB2 from the dissolution of Al3Ti particle in the master alloys. Titanium in solution either form Al3Ti layers on the surface of TiB2 particles or as solute to promote the nucleation and to restrict the growth of a-Al grains. However, a consensus on a grain refinement mechanism is still to be reached due to the lack of direct observation. This paper presents finding on the TiB2/Al3Ti interfaces in an aluminum matrix. It demonstrates a strong epitaxial growth of Al3Ti on the surface of TiB2 particles, a sign of the formation of an Al3Ti layer on the surface of TiB2 particles in grain refinement practice. The Al3Ti layer has a crystal coherency with a-Al and hence offers a substrate for heterogeneous nucleation of a-Al grains.

Jan 1, 2015

By Jochen Franke, Derek D. Lichti

"This paper gives a brief introduction and presents recent enhancements in the MillMapper technology developed for thickness gauging and condition monitoring of liners in grinding mills used for mineral comminution. It also introduces the recent expansion of MillMapper functionality aimed at mill operational optimization. MillMapper uses calibrated laser scanner data captured inside a mill to determine thickness at several million points on all liner surfaces at feed, shell, and discharge ends with millimeter accuracy. Data capture takes nominally 5 minutes, hence interruption to mill operation is negligible.The paper is structured as follows. First, a review of the technology and discussion of recentlyimplemented innovations such as liner change out forecasting, automatic ball charge volume and weight measurement, and automatic mill liner volume/weight measurement for mill operational control or load cell calibration are presented. Combined weight information provides control over load related issues such as load fill levels for relining, or start-up load after reline. Feature descriptions are followed by a listing of the numerous advantages over existing techniques and the benefits to operations. Results from the application of MillMapper are presented throughout.INTRODUCTIONThe need for thickness gauging of liners of grinding mills used for mineral comminution is well known but the task is rarely completed to a satisfactory standard. Liner failure resulting from excessive wear can have expensive consequences. Furthermore, mill performance as well as liner wear are known to be correlated to lifter bar geometry (Napier-Munn et al., 1999; Rajamanni et al., 2005). At present, the following techniques are routinely used to gauge the thickness of mill liners:1. Visual inspection;2. Ultrasonic thickness gauging (for steel liners); and3. Physical inspection (e.g. nail inserted in rubber liners)"

Jan 1, 2008

By M. H. B. Nasseri

Barre granite?s samples have been tested for fracture toughness under mode I along two different directions with respect to microstructural fabrics were investigated. 3D objects counter algorithm technique is applied on micro CT images to identify physical properties such as crack induced porosity, crack density, generated total surface area and contribution of individual mineral grains within the damaged zone.The result obtained justifies very well the fracture toughness anisotropy in Barre granite, and explains the difference in the structure of the damage zone evolving as a result of test crack interacting with pre-existing microstructural fabrics. The present study has potential application in the fields of rock mass stability, oil reservoir stimulation, rock fragmentation and damage in blasting and emplacement of dykes.

May 1, 2009