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By Charles C. Dahl, Gordon C. Presley, Andrew E. Nevin, Bruce A. Kennedy

How does SME-AIME cope with profound changes in technology, markets - and most importantly - in employment patterns facing its membership today? This is the question that prompted the Society's Board of Directors to appoint a Long-Range Planning Commission (LRPC) (see ME, Feb. 1984, pp. 118 and 128). This is also the question addressed most particularly by the LRPC's Scope Committee. The Committee started its deliberations by asking such basic questions as "Who are we?" and "What is our business?" The Scope Committee then reviewed the findings and recommendations of other more specialized committees to develop and integrate their concepts of the Society's business for the next 10 years. The policy-making suggestions of the LRPC were reviewed and acted upon by the Board of Directors at its open meeting in Los Angeles on Feb. 26, 1984. At the Oct. 23-26, 1984 SME Fall Meeting in Denver, the Board will again review LRPC recommendations. In answer to the question "Who are we?" the Scope Committee proposed description, which was accepted by vote of the board of directors: . . A technical and professional organization that consists of individual members, namely those mining engineers, metallurgists, geologists, earth scientists, economists, managers, educators, and other professionals concerned with all facets of exploration, production, distribution, and using of mineral commodities. "These mineral commodities include all metals; industrial minerals, including construction materials and fertilizers; coal, oil shales, tar sands, and other mined fuels. Among the earth's mineral resources, only wellpumped oil and gas lie outside the Society's specific purview. "Traditionally, SME members work in the fields of engineering, technology, exploration and discovery, development, construction, mining, quarrying, beneficiation and processing, handling and transport, equipment manufacturing, sales and marketing, data processing, safety, land reclamation, environmental protection, taxation, administration, and management of these elements. "Members practice their professions in industry, in universities and research institutions, and in government. They may be operators, manufacturers, sales persons, contractors, consultants, analysts, researchers, educators, advisors, regulators, or members of supporting staffs. "The members of the Society are leaders in dedication to their crafts, in innovation, and in the pursuit of excellence. Among their numbers they count the most distinguished of engineers, applied scientists, and managers. "The Society is based in the United States, is active on a worldwide basis, and is open to nationals of any country. Certain qualifications must be met for attaining and maintaining membership." Purpose of the Society As to the question "What is our business?" the Scope Committee restated our purpose in light of current practice and the constitution of AIME and the bylaws of AIME and SME. The Board of Directors accepted the following proposed purpose of SME: "To further the professional development and well-being of its members by publishing and distributing technical writings, news, and information; by sponsoring meetings of members; by providing forums for discussions and for continuing education; and by fostering communication on the subjects within its purview. "The Society assists educa-

Jan 4, 1984

By James P. Connell

The Berkeley Pit of The Anaconda Company is located on the southeast slope of the Butte Hill, the legendary "Richest Hill on Earth," and is one of the largest pit operations in the world completely dependent on truck haulage. Through October 31, 1968, the Berkeley stripping and mining operations have moved more than 442,589,000 tons of material. Present scheduled production is at the rate of 260,000 tons per day, with a record quantity of 306,900 tons having been hauled on September 23, 1968. Although the Berkeley Pit has been in production only a little more than ten years, it has been the proving ground for many of the presently used large trucks. Beginning with the original R. G. LeTourneau 75-ton electric truck in 1960, Unit Rig 85- and 100-ton electric drives, Haulpak 65- and 105-ton electric drives, and Caterpillar 100-ton electric drives have all been tested under production conditions. In addition, engine development has kept pace with both 1000-hp diesel and 1100-hp gas turbine engines now under test. As the size of the Berkeley operation has grown, the truck fleet has changed in size and appearance in order to maintain economic mining costs. The original fleet consisted of forty-three 36-ton trucks with conventional mechanical drives. The present fleet is made up of eighty-nine trucks: nineteen 85-ton Unit Rig electrics with 700-hp diesel engines; sixty-nine 100-ton Unit Rig electrics with either 700- or 1000-hp diesel engines; and one 100-ton Unit Rig electric with an 1100-hp gas turbine engine.

Jan 1, 1969

By Miklós Kovács

A new type of the cast in situ piles is introduced. The installation of the new pile is based on a pushing in/gaining back procedure. A temporarily closed tip element with square shaped cross-section being attached to an upper circular shaft tube is vibrated into the soil. The steel armature is embedded. Concrete is poured into the tube and, the whole structure is gained back while the tip is in opened position. The width of the tip is less than or equal to 40 cm. The maximum length of the pile is about of 14 m. Great bearing capacity is resulted from the double soil compaction effect. No spoil is generated and, the pile construction can be controlled. The paper presents the results of four loading test at three sites with some soil data.

Jan 1, 2002

(This list includes only those who have entered military service within the past month, or whose entry has only recently become known to us; it also includes a few names of those whose titles or assignments have been changed within the month. The last complete list was printed in Bulletin No. 131, November, 1917. A complete Honor List is maintained in the reception room at the office of the Institute.) BANKS, HAROLD P., 2d Lieutenant, Ammunition Train, 2d Division, U. S. A. BARKER, L. M., Co. B., 62d Infantry. BENHAM, W. M., Sergeant, Co. H, 158th Infantry. BOUDWIN, WALKER J., Co. C., 25th Engineers, Camp Devens, Ayer, Mass. BOWLES, MARTIN F., 2d Lieutenant, Co. B., 355th Infantry. BURG, ROBERT S., Instrument Sergeant, Headquarters Co., 340th Field Artillery, N. A. CHALMERS, JOHN W. P.; Signal Depot, Royal Engineers. CHETNEY, P. C., Corporal, 340th Field Artillery, Headquarters Co. CLARK,. WILL L., Federal Fuel Administrator for Arizona. COFFEY, George W., Lieutenant, Engineer Section, Officers' Reserve Corps.

Jan 1, 1918

By Marcos Paulo Kohler Caldas

Após a edição da RoHS Directive 2002/95/EC, diretiva que entrou em vigor em 1º de julho 2006 proibindo a utilização de seis substâncias perigosas: chumbo, mercúrio, cádmio, cromo hexavalente, bifenilos polibromados e éteres difenil-polibromados, fabricantes de equipamentos eletroeletrônicos passaram a utilizar soldas livres de chumbo (lead free) para montagem de suas placas de circuito impresso. A SAC 305 é um tipo de solda muito utilizada pelas empresas fabricantes de placas de circuito impresso. O presente trabalho visa caracterizar este tipo de solda verificando sua composição e identificar se a mesma se encontra livre de elementos perigosos ao ambiente. Avaliou-se a extração de metais como Ag e Sn através de digestão ácida em água-régia e rota HNO3 a temperatura ambiente. A composição do licor lixiviado foi caracterizada por espectrometria de emissão óptica com acoplamento de plasma induzido (ICP-OES). Os resultados indicam que a solda SAC 305 atende a RoHS, possui 2,7% Ag, 96,4% Sn e 0,9% de outros metais e a melhor rota para extração de Ag foi a HNO3 e para Sn foi a água-régia.

Aug 7, 2018

By E. D. Gardner

This is one of a series of papers written for the consideration of operators of small gold and silver mines in the West. The paper discusses smelting schedules, general smelting practices that have a bearing on rates, and the reasons for penalties or credits for certain constituents of ores. Crude gold and silver ores generally are shipped to smelters only when milling facilities are not available; however, high tailing losses in milling a high-grade or refractory ore or low smelting rates because of the fluxing value of an are may make direct smelting more economical.

Jan 1, 1936

Real economic growth for 1988 may fall short of the 3.3% projected by the Department of Commerce in August 1988 because the summer drought and intense heat in many areas curtailed output more severely than expected. The economy grew at an average annual rate of 3.0% for the first three quarters of the year, slowing in the second and third quarters. Export growth, which occurred even as the dollar edged up compared with other industrial country currencies, was an important factor in the expansion. Notable gains were posted in sales of machinery, computers, aircraft, chemicals, and telecommunications equipment. Imports increased, but not as much as exports, and the U.S. trade position was still much improved from that of 1987. Personal consumption expenditures grew slightly faster than the economy as a whole. Purchases of consumer durables showed notable strength in the first half of 1988, but slowed down in the third quarter. Despite the moderate rise in interest rates, business spending for new plant and equipment also rose and contributed to 1988 gross national product (GNP) growth. Both new business investment and export demand spurred orders for U.S.-made machine tools. Orders for machine tools for the first 8 months of 1988 were almost triple those in the corresponding period in 1987.

Jan 1, 1989

By J. Little

It is common practice for underground mine plans to be created sequentially, where results from one planning process form the input data for another. While this is practical for manual methods, computerized optimization techniques should consider an integrated approach to creating the global mine plan. This is because optimizing an individual mine planning process, such as stope layouts, introduces a likelihood of increasing costs or decreasing revenues associated with other areas, such as production scheduling, as harmful decisions must be balanced. Considering the interaction and influence that individual underground mine planning processes have on each other during optimization will provide more profitable results than if these are ignored. Optimization techniques for stope layouts and production scheduling are reviewed. An integer programming model is proposed that allows for either integrated or isolated optimization. Both approaches are separately applied to a block model. The results demonstrate the model?s ability to produce optimal long-term sublevel stoping mine plans and the benefits of using an integrated approach. Keywords underground mine optimization, stope layouts, underground production scheduling, integer programming, mathematical programming application.

Oct 1, 2013

By Thiago Ribeiro Abdou

O presente trabalho visa caracterizar um compósito polimérico de matriz epóxi reforçado com fibras de carbono HTS40 E13 3k TohoTenax® para avaliar o potencial de reutilização das fibras de carbono. As técnicas de caracterização utilizadas foram a microscopia eletrônica de varredura para análise superficial do compósito antes e depois da degradação térmica, análise por Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy para verificar os elementos químicos presentes no produto final e a termogravimetria para determinar a influência da temperatura e do tempo de tratamento na degradação da matriz polimérica. O presente estudo mostra que a matriz polimérica do compósito utilizado inicia o processo de degradação a 250°C e que a 500°C é possível obter um material de reforço intacto e livre da matriz polimérica com apenas traços residuais da resina e o tempo de tratamento térmico em um patamar isotérmico não influencia a taxa de degradação.

Aug 16, 2017

By A. R. Miller, M. C. Bétournay, D. L. Barnes

"A number of successful proof-of-concept projects have been carried out to replace conventional power application, such as diesel and rechargeable batteries, in underground mine vehicles. This has led to the development and testing of the world’s first fuel cell production vehicle, a mine locomotive. A fuel cell loader is being built and tested.This paper provides an insight into other projects that are being carried out. Some are related to further underground applications, and some to further research, such as refueling options, power plant durability, and vehicle automation.Also outlined is an evaluation of the overall mining applications and advantages this technology can bring to underground mining, including the facilitation of automation and tele-remote operation."

Jan 1, 2003

By B Mohanty, Y C. Lizotte

Optimization of blast fragmentation in underground hardrock mining requires analysis of its effects on loading and haulage equipment, together with the downstream materials handling system, with the objective of minimizing total mine operating costs. A methodology is reported which has been developed to quantify the actual fragmentation and equipment performance in the field. This is data which has seldom been practicable to capture nor received serious attention in mines. Based upon the experience gained in underground studies, a prototype standard is proposed which aims to summarize the pertinent data, collection and analysis for fragmentation assessment. This relates to parameters of direct measure, such as mean size and distribution, as well as muckpile and work environment. The paper concludes by defining the impact of fragmentation on the loading and downstream handling system.

Jan 1, 1991

By A. F. van Everdingen

The pressure drop in a well per unit rate of flow is conrolled by the resistance of the formation, the viscosity of the fluid. and the additional resistance concentrated around the well bore resulting from the drilling and completion technique employed and, perhaps, from the production practices used. The pressure drop caused by this additional resistance is defined in this paper as the skin effect. denoted by the symbol S. This skin effect considerably detracts from a well's capacity to produce. Methods are given to determine quantitatively (a) the value of S, (b) the final build-up pressure, and (c) the product of average permeability times the thickness of the producing formation. INTRODUCTION Equations which relate the pressure in a well producing from a homogeneous formation with pressures existing at various distances around the well are generally used within the industry. The relation ii quite simple when the fluid flowing is assumed to be incompressible. It becomes somewhat more complicated when the flowing fluid is considered compressible so that the duration of the flow can he considered. In each case the major portion of the pressure drop occurs close to the well bore. However analyses of pressure build-up curves indicate that the pressure drop in the vicinity of the well bore is greater than that computed from these equations using the known, physical characteristics of the formation and the fluids. In order to explain there excessive drops it is necessary to assume that permeability of the formation at and near the well bore is substantially reduced as a result of drilling. completion and, perhaps. production practice. This possibility has been recognized in the literature. A method to compute the pressure drop due to a reduction of the permeability of the formation near the well bore. which is designated as the skin effect. S, is given in the following paragraphs. To start, equations normally used to describe flow in the vicinity of a well are given without considering this effect. These equations then are modified to include the effect of a skin on the pressure behavior. Finally a method is given to estimate the effect of the skin on the pressure and production behavior of a well. PRESSURE EQUATIONS Incompressible Fluid Flow If p is defined as the flowing pressure in a well of radius the pressure at distance r from the well has been shown to be:" The total pressure drop between the drainage boundary, and the well bore is given by These equations are valid only if the flow towards the well occurs in a horizontal homogeneous medium and the fluids are incompressible. The assumptions imply that all fluid taken from the well enters the system at r a condition rarely encountered in practice. Compressible Fluid Flow, Steady State A more realistic equation is obtained if it is assumed that the compressibility, c, of the flowing fluids is small and has a constant value over the pressure range encountered. After the well has been producing for some time so that its rate has become constant and steady state is reached, the pressures throughout the drainage area are falling by the same amount per unit of time, and the pressure differences between a point in the drainage area and the well are constant. When these conditions are met. the rate of production, q, from a well is equal to where dp/dt is the pressure drop per unit time. The fluid flowing at a distance from the center of the well is equal to From the last equation and from Darcy's law it can be shown that The equation holds for a depletion-type reservoir of radius drained by a well located in its center, provided the compressibility of the fluid per unit pressure drop is small and constant, and no fluid moves across the boundary Compressible Fluid Flow — Nonsteady State Table 111 of reference (5) shows the relationship between the pressure at the well bore and the reduced time, The pressure-drop function, p represents the drop below the original reservoir pressure, p caused by unit rate of production for several values of R, the ratio of drainage boundary radius to well radius, r In most reservoirs the values of approach infinity. and under these conditions the values of p shown in Table I of reference (5) can be used where p then signifies the difference between the pressure in the well and the prevailing reservoir pressure per unit rate of flow. The total pressure drop below prevailing reservoir pressure amounts to where the factor converts the cumulative pressure drop per unit rate of production to cumulative pressure drop for actual rate. q. For values of T > 100 the P function may be written (equation VI-15 of reference 5) as Using the time conversion the difference in pressure between reservoir and well becomes If values for the physical constants of the formation and the fluids are inserted, it is found that T exceeds 100 after a few seconds of production (or closed-in time), so that the approximation becomes valid almost at once. A simple relation between the pressure in the well and in the reservoir can also be derived by considering the well as a point source"" '" instead of a unit circle source, that is, by using Lord Kelvin's solution instead of the unit circle source

Jan 1, 1953

By WL Wagner

This report presents a quality control approach to the derivation of strategies for monitoring a work environment; specifically, the environment in underground mines where diesel-powered equipment and blasting agents are used. The approach is presented as a series of 22 steps called the Monitoring Strategy Development Scheme. The scheme is an orderly method for selecting from a number of options a strategy or tactics to cost effectively meet the requirements of a chosen objective related to the monitoring of breathing zone air quality. The scheme provides a format to quantify many of the factors that influence the selection of on strategy or tactic over another, and to ensure that important considerations are not neglected. The premise that breathing zone air in work environment can be considered to be manufactured product and that, therefore, conventional quality control approaches are applicable, is introduced. Typical approaches to the quality control of manufactured products and how these approaches can be applied to the selection of monitoring strategies are discussed.

Jan 1, 1983

By W. R. Foster, J. M. McMillen, A. S. Odeh

The complete equations of average linear momentum balance for a single-phase fluid in an incompreisible, homogeneous, porous medium are derived. The derivation begins with Euler's equation of motion for a continuum and uses an integral transform recently developed by Slattery. 7 For steady flow of a compressible, Newtonian fluid, the usual equations of motion result. For transient flow, the space-time description of the pressure is determined in the lowest approximation by the telegrapher's equation. From the analysis a new phenomenological coefficient results which connects the viscous traction to the deriv ative of the linear momentum density. The magnitude of this coefficient determines the velocity of sound through the pore structure in this approximation to the pressure field. INTRODUCTION The modification of Darcy's law of momentum balance for steady, single-phase flow through porous media has been discussed for many years. The first modification was suggested by Forcheimerl who added terms of higher order in the velocity. These can be expected to appear because the underlying microscopic equations of momentum balance are themselves nonlinear in the point velocity field. The Reynolds tensor pvv, which represents the convective flux of momentum density, appears in the momentum balance equation. Only in rectilinear flow (parallel stream lines) does the divergence of this tensor vanish. Since the steady flow stream lines in most porous media are not parallel, nonlinear dependence of the pressure gradient on the velocity should naturally appear. This nonlinearity has nothing to do with turbulence in the ordinary sense of random fluctuations in the pressure and velocity fields. It arises simply because the stream lines converge and diverge, even for steady flows. Klinkenberg2 demonstrated that the permeability coefficient in Darcy's law depends on the absolute pressure or, alternatively, on the density field. However, because he neglected inertial terms of the Forcheimer type, his correction coefficient could not be represented by a constant but tended toward a constant as the velocity decreased. Forcheimer's and Klinkenberg's modifications can be combined in a rigorous way to account for both inertia and slip during steady flow. This will be shown in a future paper. The transient change of pressure in porous media has been described by the diffusion equation.3 This form results from eliminating the velocity and density fields from a combination of the equations of motion in the form of Darcy's law, the continuity equation and an equation of state. Fatt4 suggested that the cause of deviations from the prediction of the diffusion equation for pressure transients lies not in the choice of Darcy's law as the equation of motion but on the existence of dead-end pores which might invalidate the averaged equation of continuity. On the other hand, Oroveanu and Pascal5 noted chat the time derivative of the momentum density must be included in the equations of motion since this measures the local rate of change of momentum density. Their differential equation for pressure is the telegrapher's equation (neglecting gravity). However, their form of this equation predicts that the speed of pressure propagation through the pore structure is the same as that through the bulk fluid. M. K. Hubbert6 attempted a derivation of Darcy's law by volume averaging the Navier-Stokes equations. Since these equations represent momentum balance at a point within an open set of points containing the fluid itself, Hubbert's volume averaging cannot lead to tenns involving transfer of momentum between the fluid and the walls of the pores. Once these viscous tractions are lost by choosing a control volume containing only fluid, they cannot

By George A. Page, Hewitt Wilson, Vance S. Cartwright

"Purpose of InvestigationThe process of removing solid material from liquid suspensions has been studied at the Northwest Experiment Station, United States Bureau of Mines, in cooperation with the University of Washington, as part of a general program to investigate the dewatering of Pacific Northwest plastic kaolins, which is difficult by ordinary filter-pressing methods. The present paper is a progress report of the work began by Vance S. Cartwright in 1928 and continued in 1931 and 1932. Spray evaporation is believed to be valuable for the following classes or grades of clay and clay mixtures:(1) Highly colloidal, plastic-type clays, which release their mechanically attached water with difficulty; (2) clays prepared for shipment in pulverized or powdered condition; and (3) synthetic, ceramic, porcelain, and tile mixtures prepared as aqueons suspension, dried and pulverized before molding. Dilute suspensions can be dewatered by spray evaporation to produce concen-trated casting slip or plastic clay with a lower water content.The most common dewatering method used in preparing powdered kaolin for the market comprises the following steps: Reduction of the water content by filter-pressing from approximately 75 percent in the thick ""slip"" condition to about 30 percent in the condition; further reduction of the water in the filter-press cakes by heat to about 5 percent; and pulverization of the dried cakes in hammer or dust. These three steps can be simplified to a single process by spray evaporation."

Jan 1, 1935

By L. Grånäs, B. Aronsson

In a recent study of Fe-Si alloys Walter and Koch' observed pairs of dislocations in Fe-6.25 pct Si crystals rolled to reductions of 10 pct and subsequently annealed for 1 hr at 650°C. They interpreted these pairs as being due to stacking faults. From the spacing of the dislocations a stacking-fault energy of 15 to 19 ergs per sq cm was calculated. These authors did not pay any attention to the order -disorder phenomena in Fe-Si alloys. It is the purpose of this communication to report some preliminary results from a study of ordering and its influence on the plastic deformation of Fe-6.0 pct Si alloys. Our results suggest that the dislocation pairs observed by Walter and Koch may have been due to long-range order rather than to stacking faults. The alloys used in this investigation were prepared from pure electrolytic iron and silicon and were melted in argon. After hot working, strip tensile specimens were machined to a gage length of 70 mm and a thickness of 1 mm. The specimens were heat- treated for 2 hr at 1000°C, furnace-cooled, and subsequently deformed 2 pct in tension at 400°C. The strain rate was 5.6 X lo-' sec-'. Thin foils of the deformed specimens were prepared by means of the Bollman technique and examined in a Siemens Elmis-kop I at an accelerating voltage of 100 kv. In the Fe-Si system long-range ordering occurs at a silicon content of about 6 pct Si. In our alloys evidence for ordering is given by selected-area diffraction patterns which show extra reflections consistent with a super lattice of the D0 9 type. In addition, the dislocation arrangement in deformed specimens indicates that long-range order is present. A typical mi-crophotograph of a thin foil is shown in Fig. l. The dislocations are usually straight and parallel and laying in distinct directions. In the commonly observed (111) zone the projections of the dislocations are close to (113) and (oil). Observation of the image position indicates that the two dislocations in a pair have the same Burgers vector and hence constitute a superlattice dislocation.~ According to theory3 a superlattice dislocation in the DO3 structure consists of four ordinary dislocations connected by two types of antiphase boundaries as shown in Fig. 2. In our specimens only two dislocations in each pair have been observed, Fig. 1. The problem is to decide whether the area between these is a NN or a NNN antiphase boundary. Dark-field images using the (200) reflexion (the indices are defined with respect to the DO3-type superlattice) can

Jan 1, 1968

By Jacob Mathis, Mark Bradford, Alston Noronha, R. M. True

In June 2022, Louisville MSD completed a 6.5-km (4.0-mi), 6.1-m (20-ft.) diameter CSO conveyance and storage tunnel system located along the Ohio River in downtown Louisville, Kentucky. For large diameter shaft and tunnel construction, drill-and-blast operations among other methodologies were used in close proximity to federal, commercial, and residential properties with no impact to stakeholder infrastructure. s one of the rst maor tunneling proects in Louisvilles metropolitan area, this paper explores Black & Veatchs rigorous geotechnical instrumentation monitoring program that provided uality assurance for local stakeholders and afrmed innovative tunneling solutions can be successfully executed in an urban setting.

Jun 23, 2024

By S. H. Lorain

Tin mining on Seward Peninsula, Alaska, has been intermittently active since the early 1900's. Most of the recorded production (over 2,200 short tons of metallic tin) has been obtained from placer deposits, but recent production also has resulted from development of lode deposits associated with intrusive rocks occurring in the western part of the peninsula. Generally, the lode deposits containing tin minerals (principally cassiterite) are found in dikes, in granite masses, and in silicate zones in limestone overlying the granite. Both the placer and lode deposits have been of considerable strategic interest to the Government because of the almost total absence of a domestic supply of tin. The most important tin-lode deposit discovered to date is in the Cassiterite dike at the Lost River mine, on Cassiterite Creek about 85 miles northwest of Nome. This highly altered, rhyolite porphyry dike averages 12 feet in thickness, strikes N. 75° to 85° E., and dips steeply to the south; it can be traced on the surface for about 8,000 feet. Throughout its explored length of about 2,200 feet the dike everywhere contains some tin and tungsten in veinlets and disseminations; economic concentration of the are minerals, however, is confined to definite shoots. The ore minerals include cassiterite, stannite, hulsite, paigeite, wolframite, scheelite, and base-metal sulfides; gangue minerals include fluorite, boron silicates, and lithium-bearing minerals. Some ore minerals also occur in the numerous other dikes and in the granite and intruded limestone in and adjacent to the mine.

Jan 1, 1958

By John C. Taylor

A resource document, prepared for the Royal Commission on the Health and Safety of Workers in Mines, which outlines aspects of occupational health and safety in the Canadian metallurgical industry has been expanded to provide examples of some practical solutions. General process descriptions are provided in conjunction with some of the major potential hazards associated with each step. Emissions to the working environment, particularly around converters, are discussed. Newer metallurgical processes, the role of automation and other advances in the metallurgical industry are described with respect to their impact on the work place. The role of staff and unit employees in providing safe working conditions in the complex metallurgical plant of today is outlined and the need for close cooperation within the human sector emphasized. The technology is available and is being applied to integrate the complex process requirements with realistic regulations to control emissions and provide a safe, healthy environment in metallurgical plants.

Jan 1, 1978

By C. H. Lee, K. Adham, D. Lemieux, J. P. Mai, A. M. S. Hussein, S. Francey

Copper concentrates contain an increasing amount of arsenic, as the older sources of cleaner ores are depleted. At the same time, the market-determined price penalties on arsenic rich concentrates are rising due to limited arsenic treatment capacity at smelters and increasingly stringent environmental emissions limits, necessitating arsenic removal from the copper concentrates. Heating the concentrate to about 700°C can remove significant amounts of arsenic (as elemental and/or sulfide); however, it is important to achieve that removal economically and with due consideration to post-roasting arsenic (toxic waste) treatment. A comparison is made among different roasting options (kilns, multi-hearths and fluid beds) to qualify their potential application to arsenic roasting of copper concentrates. Both direct and indirect methods of heating as well as inert, air and oxygen atmosphere options are considered. Technology comparisons are made with respect to the roaster’s operation, its off-gas treatment and arsenic stabilization. INTRODUCTION In the last twenty years, the arsenic content in globally produced copper concentrates have risen steadily due to the depletion of cleaner ores and the increase in complex concentrate production. Smelter contracts typically limit arsenic to less than 0.5wt%, with a penalty paid per unit of additional arsenic and other contaminants such as antimony. While penalties can vary, they can be on the order of $70/dry metric tonne of concentrate per 1% of arsenic. Strategies used by miners to avoid the price penalties have been to blend clean and complex concentrates, and to remove arsenic from complex concentrates to achieve smelter limits. Arsenic can be removed from copper concentrates by the heat-induced decomposition of the predominant enargite mineral (Cu3AsS4) at ~700°C. Roasting at such elevated temperature is a commercially proven option, but still suffers from process, cost and environmental challenges. After roasting, the released arsenic sulfide fumes can be separated from most of the entrained concentrate dust in cyclones. Then, the As2S3 laden off-gas can be oxidized to generate a still volatile oxide (As2O3), which can be further separated from the residual concentrate dust in a hot electrostatic separator. Next, the off-gas can be cooled with air or water, to either deposit the arsenic oxide in a dry or dissolved state. Dissolved arsenic acid can be oxidized to As(V) and reacted with iron to yield a stabilized ferrihydrite precipitate or scorodite that can be safely disposed. In the case of dry arsenic trioxide, it can be mixed with reactants (e.g. iron) and fluxes before thermal stabilization in a glass matrix, thus eliminating the need for costly oxidation.

Jan 1, 2019