Search Documents

By Gus L. Maciula

Although I will briefly review the current status of coal slurry pipeline technology, I wish to make it clear that this is not a technical paper. It is intended instead to review the current situation on energy resources and requirements, and the environmental, political and economic considerations that mandate a serious consideration of Slurry pipelines as a viable mode of coal transportation into the Georgia and Florida markets. In order to more fully appreciate our current energy situation, it will be helpful to go back a few years and review the evolution of our so-called energy "problem." It was about two decades ago that the first and only major natural gas transmission pipeline was built into the State of Florida by Florida Gas Company. This line was conceived and implemented during a time when gas was plentiful and cheap, and it appeared at that time that unlimited gas reserves were continually being discovered, thus assuring the availability of a clean, cheap fuel and the ,viability of the pipeline system. One of the major factors justifying the original pipeline construction as well as subsequent expansions was a series of long-term commitments under which Florida Gas transported natural gas owned by electric utilities for use as boiler fuel. Thus for the past 20 years Florida industry, commerce, and domestic fuel requirements have been met either directly or indirectly through clean, cheap natural gas which would not have been otherwise available without the pipeline system.

Jan 1, 1978

By J. C. Stankus

In this paper, an innovative concept in longwall tailgate support is discussed. This new concept utilizes a new high capacity roof truss system in lieu of conventional wooden crib block. The first field test was conducted at Bailey Mine and was very successful. Similar tests have been installed in other mines and seams. An extensive instrumentation plan was designed and implemented in the truss test area. The test data has shown that the dynamic roof truss system effectively controls the various abutment pressures caused by longwall mining thus maintaining a stable tailgate entry.

Jan 1, 1995

By Gilles A. Tremblay

Acidic drainage has been long recognized to be the largest environmental liability facing the Canadian mining industry and to a lesser extent the public through abandoned mines. The Mine Environment Neutral Drainage (MEND) Program was the first initiative formed in 1989 to develop scientifically-based technologies to combat acidic drainage. This 9-year volunteer program reduced the liability by several hundreds of million dollars and established Canada as the recognized leader in research and development on acidic drainage for metal mines. MEND 2000 is a three-year program that started in 1998. The key to MEND 2000 is technology transfer- providing state-of-the-art information and technology developments to users. MEND-developed technologies are being verified by long-term monitoring of large-scale field tests. Maintaining linkages with a number of foreign government and industry-driven programs is also important to the successful completion of the program. Through these efforts a further reduction of the environmental liability associated with acidic drainage will be realized.

Jan 1, 2000

By J. Kretschmann, R. Amiri

"The Sangan iron-ore mines (SIOM) in Iran are located in a remote area, near the Afghanistan border. The deposit of SIOM is containing a geological resource of 1.2 billion tons of mostly magnetite with a Fe grade ranging from 27 to 61 %. The Iranian government plans a stepwise development of SIOM in cooperation with private companies to satisfy the growing demand of the Iranian steel industry. Sustainable development (SD) is an influential ethical concept in mining all around the world. However, a successful realization of a SD is not possible without a foundation on the core values and regarding the specific circumstances of the individual mining country. This paper introduces SIOM and describes SD activities undertaken during its development. From the early stages, these activities have been realized to secure the acceptance of the stakeholders in the region. To evaluate their effects, indicators could be filtered as the ones with the highest priority for the stakeholders. Moreover Islamic values and Iranian regulations and their influences on SIOM have been analyzed. Keywords: Iran, Sustainable Mining, SIOM, Evaluation, Islamic Values INTRODUCTION Mining Industry in Iran The Islamic Republic of Iran holds 68 types of minerals, including salt, sand and gravel, gypsum, chrome, lead, zinc, copper, coal, gold, iron etc., with 37 billion tons of proven reserves and more than 57 billion tons of potential reservoirs. Iran is ranked among the 15 major mineral rich countries (1). In accordance with the statistics published by Statistical Center of Iran (SCI), there were 5.316 active mines and 84.922 employees in the whole country in 2012-13 (2) and according to the statistics published by Central Bank of Iran (CBI) in 2011 the share of this sector in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country was 1.2 per cent (3). Sangan Iron Ore Mines (SIOM) The deposit of SIOM is one of the largest iron-ore deposits in Iran, also considered to be one of the Middle East’s richest deposits, which contains a total geological resource of 1.2 billion tons of mostly magnetite with a Fe grade ranging from 27 to 61%. It is located 300 km southeast from Mashhad, the capital of Khorasan-e-Razavi Province, and 18 km northeast of Sangan town, in Khaf County, at latitude N34°24’, longitude E60°16’ in the north-eastern Khorasan-e-Razavi Province, 30 km west of the Afghanistan border (4) (Figure 1). SIOM is owned by the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development & Renovation Organization (IMIDRO). IMIDRO intends to develop an open pit mine complex and supporting facilities in SIOM for the production of about 20 Mtpy of iron oxide concentrate and pellets in four developing phases (5)."

Jan 1, 2016

By M. C. Mound

A recent development using XRD techniques, a unique fixed detector, specifically permitting full mineralogical information simultaneously for the first time, specially designed sample preparation and presentation system and Rietveld codes provide a continuous real- time analysis on the true contained mineral polymorphic composition of powder streams such as ore materials, cement, ground clinker or any other mineral stream conducive to XRD analysis. There are several COSMA systems currently operating in the US, Canada, Italy and Australia, proving service and reliability of this concept. The mineralogical information generated continuously in real time is used for automated efficiency, product quality and reduces costs. Quantitative Phase Analysis information is transmitted to the plant DCS via Modbus over RS422 or ethernet. Some limited information is stored in the on-board computers for optional future use at the operator?s option.

Jan 1, 2010

By Bruce McKinstry

INTRODUCTION In June of 1992, the Bureau of Reclamation, United States Department of the Interior, awarded the contract for construction of the Sixth Water Aqueduct to the Fedrick-Redpath Joint Venture. This aqueduct, a segment of the Diamond Fork Power System, Central Utah Project, diverts water from Strawberry Reservoir into Sixth Water Creek and, when complete, will replace the old Strawberry Tunnel which was driven in the early 1900's. The new aqueduct is being built primarily as a result of deterioration of the old tunnel, but will also have a higher capacity and more positive control than the old tunnel as well as the capability to incorporate a turbine into the system at a later date. The Fedrick-Redpath Joint Venture is comprised of C.R. Fedrick, Inc. of Novato, California and J.S. Redpath Corporation of Tempe, Arizona. Fedrick, with its experience in pipelines and heavy construction, will construct the 4200 ft surface pipeline and flow control structure; Redpath, the managing partner, performed the underground work consisting of a 600 ft vertical shaft and 3300 ft tunnel. The project is located in the Uintah National Forest, approximately 20 miles east of Provo, Utah at a mean elevation of 7000 feet above sea level.

Jan 1, 1995

Energold Drilling Corp. is a leading specialty drilling company servicing the mineral and energy sectors in the Americas, Africa and Asia. Energold specializes in mineral exploration in remote locations with limited infrastructure. Such locations require the smallest footprint possible going in, leaving as little or no evidence on their way out. Energold?s rigs can be transported by helicopter or manually on footpaths as narrow as 1 m (3.3 ft). They set up quickly and then are struck and packed out, with any sign of their presence quickly disappearing behind them. Energold has teamed up with Atlas Copco and its team of engineers in North Bay, Ontario to design small rigs capable of drilling to a variety of depths, as required for each project.

Jan 1, 2013

By R. Norman Holme

Sulfonate promoters and collectors were originally developed as relatively inexpensive anionic collectors to selectively concentrate the iron-bearing minerals in low grade iron ores and to remove iron and other mineral contaminants by flotation in the processing of glass sands, feldspar and other ceramic raw materials. The first reagents produced were effective collectors for such iron oxide minerals as goethite, hematite, limonite, magnetite and siderite. Further development has resulted in additional reagents with a broadened application to the selective flotation of a variety of nonsulfide and nonmetallic minerals. The products in this group are anionic sulfonate-type promoters, natural petroleum sulfonates, and synthetic modified sulfonates. Beyond their applications to iron-bearing minerals, the sulfonate collectors have gained commercial use in the flotation treatment of barite, celestite, fluorite, apatite, chromite, industrial garnet, kyanite, mica, rhodochrosite and cassiterite. in addition, extensive laboratory studies indicate their potential suitability for flotation of the following minerals: Anatase Anhydrite Bauxite Beryl Calcite Chlorite Some Copper Carbonates Corundum Dolomite Hornblende Huebnerite Ilmenite Lepidolite Magnesite Phosphate Minerals Rutile Scheelite Spodumene Sillimanite Talc Tourmaline Wolframite Zircon Sulfonate promoters are water soluble or dispersible liquids, syrups or pastes of varying viscosity with colors ranging from dark blackish-brown to clear. Customarily, they are fed to the conditioner or flotation as 5% to 30% water solutions or dispersions. In addition to their normal collector activity, certain of these products display notable frothing characteristics. Improved collector efficiency and adequate froth control can frequently be obtained by employing mixtures of sulfonate reagents, of ten with results quite markedly superior to those achieved with equivalent dosages of the individual promoter alone. Reagent requirements will vary with the type of mineral being treated; however, a general overall range of 0.13 to 2.0 kg/metric ton (0.25 to 4.0 lb/ton) of feed should cover most applications.

Jan 1, 1986

By J. A. Ober

"In 2015, the estimated value of nonfuel mineral production in the United States decreased by 3 percent from that in 2014 (Table 1), mainly as a result of decreased metal and metallic mineral prices, especially iron ore, copper and precious metals. Lower metal prices were attributed to decreased consumption, especially in China and increased global inventories. Several U.S. metal mines were idled in 2015, including the only U.S. rare earths mine at Mountain Pass, CA. Downstream processors also were affected, with smelters and refiners either shutting down or idling production lines. Increases, however, took place in the value and quantity of production of industrial minerals, especially those used in the construction sector, including cement, construction sand and gravel and crushed stone. Trends in mineral-related sectors of the domestic economy, except for iron and steel manufacturing, aluminum manufacturing, coal mining and metals mining, all experienced growth (Table 2).Discussion of mine production is frequently segmented according to the type of materials produced within the broad categories of metals and industrial minerals (also known as nonmetallic minerals). Industrial minerals can be further subdivided as construction aggregates and other industrial minerals. Metals tend to have higher unit values but very low production quantities compared with those of industrial minerals, which have higher production quantities but are lower-valued materials, such as crushed stone or construction sand and gravel. Therefore, for discussion and analysis of the performance of the nonfuel minerals industry, the value of production is used rather than the tonnage produced. Tonnages of construction aggregates are orders of magnitude larger than those for most other mineral commodities thus making direct comparisons based on weight meaningless (Fig. 1).Mineral industry performanceThe estimated value of domestic nonfuel mineral production, including metals ($26.6 billion) and industrial minerals ($51.7 billion), in 2015 declined to a total of $78.3 billion, from $80.8 billion in 2014 (Table 1). However, as shown in Fig. 2, minerals remained fundamental to the United States economy, contributing to the real gross domestic product at several levels, including mining, processing and manufacturing finished products. Net exports of mineral raw materials and old scrap were $14.4 billion. Domestic raw materials, along with domestically recycled materials, were used to produce mineral materials worth $630 billion. These mineral materials, including aluminum, brick, copper, fertilizers and steel, and net imports of processed materials (worth about $32 billion) were, in turn, consumed by downstream industries with a value added to the gross domestic product estimated to be $2,490 billion."

May 1, 2016

By Elif Emil-Kaya, Bernd Friedrich, Merve Papakci

Samarium (Sm), one of the rare earth elements (REEs), and cobalt (Co) are used in the production of SmCo permanent magnets, which have excellent temperature stability, corrosion resistance and oxidation resistance. Of the two types of SmCo magnets, one contains a high amount of iron, approximately 15.2 percent. This paper focuses on the recycling of iron (Fe)-bearing SmCo. In this study, an oxidative leaching process with nitric acid was developed to eliminate iron through in situ hydrolysis and to dissolve REEs and Co. The influence of experimental conditions on the formation of an amorphous iron compound through the hydrolysis of Fe3+ in a nitric acid environment was thoroughly examined based on a Taguchi orthogonal array. The optimal parameters for oxidative leaching were determined to be an acid concentration of 3 mol/L, a solid-to-liquid ratio of 1/10, and a process temperature of 60 °C.

Jul 1, 2024

By Milton E. Jennings

On May 11, 1977, the SAMARCO 20-inch, 396-kilometer (246-mile) Pipeline was placed in service. This system represents the latest thinking in slurry pipeline design and is one of the main contributors to the viability of the SAMARCO Project. This paper presents the background, description and latest information on the system's operation. Special attention is given to the handling limitations of the slurry and to the unique hardware requirements.

Jan 1, 1978

By N. A. Abdel-Khalek

Laboratory flotation tests were carried out on six Polish samples of different rank. Each coal sample was screened into 7 size fractions. The floatability of size -by- size for various size ranges for different samples was investigated as: well as the original samples. The results showed that in flotation of size -by -size, the intermediate size had the maximum floatability. The range of this intermediate sizes varied with the rank of the coal. Entrainment was shown to be an important mechanism to the recovery of fine particles in flotation of the original samples".

Jan 1, 1989

By Yoshinori Shimada, Oleg Kotiaev, Hiroaki Sakamoto, Toshihiro Asakura, Naotoshi Yasuda, Norikazu Misaki, Masahiro Shinoda

"To ensure that trains run safely, the performance of railway civil engineering structures is checked by periodic inspections. General inspection method has merits and demerits, but none of them offers the combination of high accuracy and quick inspection. In an effort to resolve this problem, West Japan Railway Company, the Institute for Laser Technology and the Railway Technical Research Institute jointly developed a remote laser sensing system as an alternative to the impact acoustics method for detecting defective concrete elements in tunnel linings. The proposed remote laser sensing system has two lasers, one to apply an impact to the concrete surface and the other to measure the vibration of the concrete generated by the impact laser. The impact laser is a high-energy pulse laser that induces vibration in the concrete. The detection laser has a signal beam and a reference beam. The signal beam reflects on the concrete surface and goes into the dynamic hologram crystal. The reference beam diffracts in the dynamic hologram and enters the detection sensor with the signal beam. The vibration of the concrete surface can be measured to detect the movement of an interference pattern. A prototype of the remote laser sensing system was developed as shown in Figure1. A vibration and acoustic insulators are equipped to remove a noise generated from a maintenance car or electric generator in this system. The proposed laser remote sensing system and the detection algorithm were verified with the help of field test conducted in a tunnel on the Shinkansen. An impact test using hammering was applied to obtain the accurate response acceleration on the surface of the concrete before application of the proposed method. In this test, the result obtained from the proposed method has good agreement with that obtained from the impact test by hammering. Consequently, it is verified that the proposed method can be used as an alternative to the standard impact acoustics method."

Jan 1, 2016

By Manuel S. Rivera

Abstract. Instrumentation in concentrators has evolved from a few isolated indicators to compu- terized control within twenty years. This evo- lution has caused a drastic change in the phil- osophy, personnel and equipment used in a pro- gram of servicing and utilization of present day automation.

Jan 1, 1980

By David S. Bolin, Gary R. Peterson

INTRODUCTION In both the United States and Canada, a company making a public offering of securities must comply with regulations which have been promulgated by Federal and/or Provincial Legislatures. This paper focuses on the regulations pertaining to reserve reports required by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). SEC RESERVE FILINGS Reserve reports made to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission are the only reserve reports which are directly regulated by the United States government. The requirements for SEC reserve reports are set forth in the filing forms as shown in Appendix A, from Item 17A of SEC Form S-18. These reporting requirements, which are intended to protect the investing public from inaccurate or misleading claims, are primarily oriented to S-1 or other filings for new stock issues but must also be followed for annual 10K reports which must be filed annually by U.S. public corporations as part of the Corporate Annual Report. These undertakings require independent audits of reserves, mine designs, plant facilities and a general economic evaluation of the planned or existing operation as part of the backup documents for filing. An ore reserve is defined by the SEC as "That part of a mineral deposit which could be economically and legally extracted or produced at the time of the reserve determination". This definition is unchanged since it was last

Jan 1, 1988

By L. Hales

Neural networks are a generalized, multivariable non-linear modeling technique that can be used to model mineral processing operations. Neural networks will be described as will their use in modeling column flotation. Optimization of column flotation will be explored and discussed by using the neural network column models.

Jan 1, 1996

By Peter Bryant

"The case for innovation in the mining industry has never been more compelling—whether you believe the industry is in a sharp dip in a significant ‘sawtooth’ cycle or in the midst of a bust — the imperative is the same. Despite record production levels and still above-average prices compared to the lows of 2000, the industry is struggling to make profits and provide the returns on capital that investors are seeking. This represents a large-scale destruction of value over the last 15 years.The last 10 years have seen a sustained rise of operation expenses and capital development costs while there has been a rapid decline in productivity. This trend is unsustainable especially against other key structural challenges and forces shaping the future of the industry:1. Despite short-term fluctuations, there is longterm sustained demand for commodities.• Demand is driven by relentless urbanization, population growth and a rapidly growing middle class.2. Environmental concerns continue to mount.• Existing mining methods and their environmental footprint are becoming increasingly unacceptable to society.3. Geopolitical pressures and community activism are growing.• An estimated $25 billion worth of projects are on hold due to community activism.• Increasing nationalism tendencies and government expropriations of close to $30 billion.• Social license to operate is being challenged.4. Finding, building, operating and closing a mine just keeps getting harder and more expensive.• Costs have been increasing at an annual rate of 10 to 15 percent for the last 10 years.• More assets are stranded as they become uneconomical to mine under current mining methods, e.g. Olympic Dam.• Ore grades continue to decline.• Declining productivity at an annual rate of more than 10 percent for the last 10 years.5. The industry has consistently underinvested in technology and innovation."

Jan 1, 2015

By Terry I. Mudder, Michael M. Botz

In general, the cyanidation of silver ores requires higher con­centrations of cyanide in comparison to gold ores to affect simi­lar leaching rates and metal recoveries. The requirement for high cyanide concentrations in a silver ore leaching circuit may translate into higher operating costs, however with operation of an acidification-volatilization-reabsorption (AVR) plant to recover and recycle tailings cyanide, cyanide consumptions can be significantly reduced. At each of the currently operating AVR plants in the world, overall cyanide consumptions have been reduced by approximately one-half by recovering and recycling tailings cyanide. In addition, the AVR plants have reduced tail­ings cyanide concentrations to less than 20 to 30 mg/L WAD cyanide and reduced potential adverse impacts to wildlife in the tailings impoundments. This paper presents an analysis of the application of A YR to a silver ore leaching operation which has a CCD/Merrill-Crowe circuit included in the metallurgical plant.

Jan 1, 1998

By E. Woodburn, R. P. King, R. Putman

Flotation plant simulation, a relatively recent methodology in mineral processing, is defined and corresponding uses are discussed. Typical simulation structures are compared. Current problem areas exist although these are not insurmountable. Following a brief state of the art discussion, the N. I. M. simulation program is reviewed. In general, digital plant simulation is expected to be of substantial benefit in the near future.

Jan 1, 1976

By A. Raviprasad, B. Das

Copper ore from the Rakha Copper Concentrator (India) was successfully floated using LIX-65 NS as the collector. The beneficial role of this reagent was clearly demonstrated in hatch-flotation tests. From a feed containing around 1% Cu, it was possible in a single-stage flotation to obtain a 23.7% Cu concentrate with a recovery of more than 90%. The plant now uses rougher, scavenger and a two-stage cleaning process. The tests demonstrated that LIX-65 NS is superior to conventional xanthate for the recovery of copper from the Rakha ore.

Jan 1, 1997