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By Jonas Addai-Mensah

Despite the fact that nickel (Ni) laterites accounts for about 60 % of the world?s nickel mineralization, commercial processing of complex, low grade Ni laterite ores by conventional beneficiation (e.g. magnetic, electrostatic and flotation separation) still presents intractable challenges, particularly in heap leaching. Invariably, low grade laterite ores require aggressive hydrometallurgical techniques (e.g., highly acidic lixiviant leaching at ambient or elevated temperatures) for Ni and cobalt (Co) extraction. As a precursor to heap leaching, agglomeration of the multi-mineral phase feed particles into robust and porous granules of 4-10 m permeable bed, is essential. In the present work, several basic and applied studies of the agglomeration behavior of real Ni laterite ores and selected oxides and clay minerals (hematite, quartz smectite and kaolinite) which constitute the predominant host gangue phases of typical laterite ores are performed. Isothermal, batch agglomeration tests involving sulphuric acid solution as a binder were carried out to produce coarse, narrow-sized (5 ? 40 mm) granules which were well characterized. The influential role of feed ore characteristics (e.g., mineralogy/chemistry and primary particle size distribution) and binder composition (30 vs. 44% w/w H2SO4) and dosage (15-25 wt.%) in agglomeration behavior and granule properties were examined through several characterization techniques including granule size, compressive strength, bed percolation and re-wetting stability and 3-dimensional micro-structure analyses. Links between feed mineralogy/chemistry and size, binder formulation, agglomeration behavior, curing conditions and final granule properties and structural characteristics are established. The implications of the findings to Ni laterite plant agglomeration for enhanced heap leaching are discussed. Keywords: nickel laterite, complex low-grade ores, agglomeration, heap leaching, micro-structure

Sep 1, 2012

By L. D. Jaffe

From the limited experimental data in the literature, preliminary values were derived for the thermal diffusivity of titanium alloys and for the quenching severity of various mediums used in heat treating them. The thermal diffusivity, under quenching conditions, was found to be approximately 0.006 sq in. per sec. The quenching severity H for brine is approximately 8, for water 4, for oil 0.9, for air 0.08, and for argon 0.02 in. -' The quenching severity of the Jominy-Boegehold end quench water jet against titanium alloys appeared effectively infinite. Using these results, graphs were prepared showing ideal round sizes and Jominy positions having cooled conditions equivalent to those at the center and surface of titanium alloy rounds, plates, and sheets quenched in various media. THE importance of proper quenching of steel parts has long been recognized, and much quantitative work has been done on the subject. Recently, it has become evident that for titanium alloys, too, the rate of cooling from high temperature is important in obtaining high strength and hardness. Maximum hardness and strength may not be attained in the as-quenched condition but rather after a subsequent tempering or aging treatment. Nevertheless, if cooling from temperatures near the ß transus is too slow, for the hardenability of the alloy used, a soft a-ß structure will be produced which will not harden on subsequent aging.'-" The quenching of parts of practical interest can usually be approximated by simple shapes, such as cylinders (rounds) and plates (or sheets) of various thickness and combinations of these. A standard that has been used extensively for comparison purposes is the center of an ideal round: a cylinder quenched in a medium that instantly cools its surface to room temperature." For steel, considerable practical use has been made of the Jominy-Boegehold end quench hardenability specimen,".' and its value for titanium alloys is becoming evident. It therefore appeared worthwhile to attempt comparison of cooling conditions in titanium alloy rounds and plates of various sizes quenched in various media with cooling conditions in ideal round and Jominy quenches. These comparisons are based upon measurements reported in the literature. Quenching Severity of Jominy Water Jet and of Brine As one starting point, there were available the data of Phillips and Tobin8 for positions on a Jominy specimen having the same hardness as the centers of round bars of various size quenched in 5 pct NaOH brine, shown in Table I. The Jominy speci- men is a round bar, normally 1 in. diam and 4 in. long, quenched by a water jet at one end and air cooled on the other surfaces.' After quenching, hardness is measured vs distance from the quenched end on longitudinal flats ground 0.015 to 0.10 in. deep. The data of Table I were based on a subsized specimen of 3/4 in. diam. Since the positions tested are close to the jet quenched end, cooling there may be taken as due solely to the jet, and air cooling can be neglected. These positions are then equivalent to various locations near one surface of an 8 in. plate jet quenched on both sides. Assuming that the thermal diffusivity is constant and that Newton's law of cooling holds, temperature vs time curves at corresponding positions in Jominy specimen and round bar then may be calculated for various assumed quenching severities of the water jet and of the brine. Cooling curves are generally taken to be metallurgically equivalent when they show the same time to reach a temperature halfway between the initial (heat treating) temperature and the final (quenching medium) temperature.5 On this basis, using Russell's tables,9 upplemented by heat flow tables derived in similar fashion by the author for positions near the surface of severely quenched plates, it was found that the experimentally observed equivalence, Table I, was best matched if the quenching severity H of the Jominy water jet was taken as infinite (H = co). This means that the jet quenched surface should be considered as instantly cooled to the temperature of the water

Jan 1, 1956

By L. Garrigues, M. Jarvis, M. Halhead, O. A. Bascur

"Large variability of ore types, escalating variables operating costs and increased throughput require large investment in sensors and systems in mineral processing operations. Mining and mineral processing plants collect and manage more data than a small city with much in real-time. The data is changing rapidly as internal and external conditions evolve. As corporations buy and sell assets, and reengineer their staff, the structure and tools that were used to understand this data is lost. This results in significant deterioration in the ability to maintain a smart operation. When data is recognized as a critical asset and managed as part of an infrastructure, it become a key enabler to help transform the entire operations. In many situations, all partners in business collaboration—such as join ventures, contract manufacturer, expert service providers, and operations and maintenance companies—need access to production and asset data. The emergence and maturation of Cloud technologies make it possible to easily connect the plants to external equipment suppliers and operational support service.This paper will share examples of how mineral processors have adopted new data strategies such as self-service business intelligence, cloud computing and internal/external collaboration.INTRODUCTIONOne of the main challenges in mineral and metallurgical processing plants is effective energy and water management. The lowering of ore grades requires higher throughputs while the ores are getting more complex with variable mineralogical compositions. Electrical energy supply is becoming a restriction in many countries. Rising water management costs has a direct impact on the profitability of the operations. Grade recovery versus energy consumption in copper production for both open pit and underground mines has been described by Fuerstenau (2001). Comminution uses over 55% of the energy to produce nonferrous metals while other operations require much less energy (Nelson, Richins, & Lelinski, 2013)."

Jan 1, 2016

By Gino Palarchio

Dofasco is Canada?s 2nd largest steel manufacturer producing 4.5 million tons of flat rolled steel per year. They have revenues of over $3 billion and employ 7,000 people in their Hamilton, ON plant. Dofasco is North America?s most profitable steel producer and were recently ranked as the #1 steel maker in the world by Dow Jones. Motivation to Improve In the 1980?s the steel business was good. However, in the late 80?s and early 90?s things began to change. Globalization was beginning to influence the market, imports started arriving at lower prices and higher quality, hangover from the 1970?s inflation saw costs rising and prices dropping, there was a shift from a sellers to a buyers market, and shareholder returns were beginning to erode. Dofasco took a step back and evaluated their maintenance performance and found that they were operating in an environment where 70% of their work was reactive and only 30% was proactive. They also found that the rate of product quality improvement was flat and their average equipment availability was only 78%. At that point they realized that Equipment Reliability was key to improving product quality, production output, costs and shareholder return. They initiated a project to research, develop, and implement the most advanced maintenance practices and information technologies to achieve maximum equipment reliability.

May 1, 2001

By M. B. McClenaghan

"The Ontario Geological Survey completed a regional till sampling project between 1984 and 1988 in the Black River Matheson (BRiM) area of northeastern Ontario. The project was designed to aid mineral exploration in the area by documenting the Quaternary stratigraphy and by providing a database of till geochemistry. This paper summarizes the results from the sonic overburden drilling component of the BRiM project carried out in areas of thick drift (> 5 m). Results from till sampling in areas of thinner drift (<5 m) have been presented in a separate paper. Approximately 1100 till samples were collected from 225 sonic drill holes. For each sample, the non-magnetic heavy mineral (>3.3 S.G.) and fine (-250 mesh) till fractions were analyzed geochemically and visible gold grains were recovered by panning.Gold and other multielement geochemical data were plotted using proportional symbols to highlight anomalous areas and to demonstrate how to evaluate and interpret a very large geochemical dataset. Thresholds for identifying anomalous concentrations of Au in till samples, defined using the 95th percentile, are 1500 ppb and 12 ppb for the heavy mineral and fine fractions, respectively. The heavy mineral fraction of older ti1ls and to a lesser extent, Matheson Till, display a number of significant gold anomalies in the study area, which in a few cases, are associated with base metal anomalies. The vertical position of gold anomalies in Matheson and older ti1ls varies from directly on bedrock to several meters above the bedrock surface and can provide information of relative ice transport distances."

Jan 1, 1994

By David A. Grieve, David E. Pearson

"A rank-map of Crowsnest coalfield, showing the distribution of the bituminous coal measures and the locations of major structures, has been produced from vitrinite reflectance measurements on over600coal samples. The timing of coalification in relation to these major structures has also been determined.In the west-central portion of the coalfield a complete stratigraphic succession of coal measures which rides on major thrust surf aces is all of high-volatile bituminous rank, but despite the structural discordance no break in rank is discernible across these structures. The thrust faults therefore predate much of the coalification.Three major valleys expose cross sections of the folded coal measures and in each an increase invitrinite reflectance is demonstrable as individual seams are traced from ridge crest to valley floor. Thus, in these sections, a significant amount of coalification post-dates folding. The proportion of this post-folding coalification is found to increase toward the south of the coalfield.A late gravity-fault, exposed along the east crop of the coalfield, places high-volatile coal-bearing successions in contact with low-volatile coal and demonstrably is a reactivated thrust fault. Coalification at this locality occurred between these two different ages of faulting.The variations in rank and the subtleties of the coalification pattern have, together with systematic changes in the maceral composition of coal seams, had a profound effect on coal quality in the coalfield. Coking coals with a variety of properties occur together with some coals that have no caking capacity."

Jan 1, 1985

By Jeffrey Y. Foley

In 1980, the Bureau of Mines investigated the northern Darby Mountains on the Seward Peninsula, AK, for radioactive mineral deposits. Uranium is concentrated in silicified shear zones in biotite quartz monzonite of the Darby pluton. The shear zones are best exposed in steep, narrow, avalanche gullies; they are characterized by radiometric anomalies and by uranium and thorium geochemical anomalies. Radiometric and geochemical anomalies are also found over altered biotite quartz monzonite where there are no visible shear zones. The radiometric and uranium anomalies are often spatially, but apparently not genetically, associated with alkaline mafic and felsic dikes. Similar geochemical and radiometric anomalies over discolored altered zones and geochemical anomalies in sediments downstream from the altered zones indicate that additional areas may also be favorable targets for uranium deposits. Analyses of panned, heavy mineral concentrates show no significant concentrations of uranium or thorium in resistant heavy minerals. This indicates that radioactive elements in the Darby pluton are concentrated in soluble, nonresistant minerals that may constitute a recoverable uranium resource.

Jan 1, 1986

Primary roof support represents the first line of defence against rockrelated falls of ground in underground mines, and improper utilization or misunderstanding of the applicability and behaviour of primary support can be costly from a safety standpoint. This is a major concern for underground mines, as roof support is the single most costly expense from a mining operational perspective. This is further backed by the evidence that, in the USA, hundreds of injuries and fatalities still occur each year because of rib, roof, and massive roof falls. Additionally, the fully-grouted passive rebar, fully-grouted tension rebar, and resin-assisted mechanical anchor bolts, which constitute a large portion (89%) of the 68 million bolts installed each year in underground mines in the USA can vary in cost quite dramatically. To mitigate this concern a study was conducted in 2010 by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, in conjunction with Southern Illinois University of Carbondale, to assess the performance of primary roofbolts in underground coal mines for improved safety and cost. This was accomplished using underground roofbolt monitoring solutions, field data, and numerical modelling to better understand the quasi-static behaviour of underground coal mine roofs and the response behaviour of the bolts. In particular, over 170 instrumented extensometers, closure meters, shear meters, fully-grouted passive rebar, fully-grouted tension rebar, and resin-assisted mechanical roofbolts were installed at three coal mines across the USA. Of these three mines, two used the room and pillar extraction method and the other used the longwall extraction method. There was no evidence to indicate a difference in performance of the active primary roofbolts compared with the passive primary roofbolts. Additionally, in the initial loading phase, the active bolts showed no difference in loading, indicating that tension bleed-off is of more of a concern than originally thought. Lastly, for the initial computer modelling studies, challenges still remain in obtaining a good match to the in situ bolt measurements and replicating the discontinuous roof rock and in situ bolt behaviour over time.

Jan 1, 2014

By P. Somasundaran, I. J. Lin

There are several methods described in the literature for the determination of the order and the rate constant for the flotation of minerals. These often involve some type of computational or graphical procedures. A relatively simpler method developed on the basis of a technique used by Chang" in chemical kinetics is described in this paper. Chang&apos;s technique, like most others in chemical kinetics," is based on the law of mass action which states that the rate of a chemical reaction is proportional to the active masses of the reacting substances at any given time. Application of this law to the flotation of minerals would involve the adaptation of the terms "flotation" for "chemical reaction" and "floatable amount of the minerals" for "the active masses of the chemical reactants." There are indeed a large number of physical processes controlling the actual flotation rate. The most inefficient one of these could be considered equivalent to the slowest reaction in a series of chemical reactions. If variables such as aeration rate and agitation are kept at constant levels, the rate of flotation under free flotation conditions (i.e., conditions under which the suspension is dilute) will be given by the following equation: where C is the concentration of the floatable minerals in the pulp at any given time t, K is the rate constant, and n is the order of the reaction. If we represent the floated fraction of the floatable mineral at time t as m (0 m - 1) and C at t = 0 as Ca, integration of Eq. 1 yields

Jan 1, 1974

By Peter G. Chamberlain

The surge in gold and silver prices during the 1970&apos;s attracted many new mining operators and has rekindled interest among experienced ones. With its low capital investment requirements and fast payout, leaching has attracted many operators--particularly those with small or low- grade deposits. Although in certain situations leaching offers many advantages over conventional mining methods, many operators are uncertain how these relatively new techniques should be implemented. Consequently the Bureau of Mines has prepared this circular to disseminate information on gold and silver leaching practices, techniques, and problem. Engineering data gathered from 26 operations indicate that most ores are leached in heaps following crushing and distribution on pads. Metal values are recovered from cyanide leach solutions using either zinc precipitation or charcoal adsorption. Potential problems that my hamper on block development of a leaching operation are poor percolation characteristics of the ore, calcium salt buildup, low temperatures, and solution losses. An extensive bibliography on gold and silver leaching is appended.

Jan 1, 1984

By V. Jiricny

The novel spouted-bed electrode (SBE) is a cathode system where copper is deposited at a high current density in a moving bed of copper particles. Preliminary results on the deposition of copper from acidic sulfate electrolytes using this novel cathode system were described during Copper &apos;95 conference. Despite a high current density, the electrical energy consumption was equal to or lower than that in the conventional electrowinning. The present paper describes more investigations on SBE. The SBE consists of copper particles with approximately 1 mm diameter onto which copper is deposited from acidic sulfate electrolyte whose composition is similar to conventional electrowinning. Three types of anodes were used in conjunction with the spouted-bed cathode, namely, DSA anode for oxygen evolution, and two novel anodes. One anode is less expensive than DSA; however it showed much promise in energy consumption. At a superficial current density of 2200 A/m2, the energy consumption was around 1.0 kWh/kg copper. The research activities described in this paper were supported by BHP Copper.

Jan 1, 1999

By K. G. Philo, R. C. W. Webber-Youngman

mining, where data-driven decision making optimizes resource extraction, enhances safety, and ensures sustainability. The adoption of digital technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things has amplified the importance of digital information. However, the integrity and security of this information are paramount, leading to the exploration of blockchain technology as a potential solution for secure digital value exchange in mining. This research examines blockchain's capabilities, drawing insights from its applications in sectors like banking, government, healthcare, and entertainment, and evaluates their relevance to mining's core value chain processes. The study identifies blockchain's distributed ledger technology, cryptographic security, and decentralization as unique advantages that can revolutionize mining by enhancing transaction speed, reducing costs, and improving supply chain transparency and compliance with sustainability standards. Blockchain's transparent and auditable records can enhance business transparency, fostering trust among stakeholders, including investors and regulatory bodies. The technology's consensus mechanisms and smart contracts further promote trust in collaborative ventures. This research provides a foundational understanding for decision-makers in the mining industry to evaluate blockchain's feasibility and potential return on investment, guiding strategic planning and resource allocation for blockchain applications. By leveraging blockchain, mining companies can optimize operations, improve sustainability practices, and establish a robust foundation for future growth, positioning blockchain as a transformative technology in the sector

Jul 10, 2024

By Young C. Kim

A proper economic analysis of pit slope design must reflect the trade-off between the benefits and the increased risk of slope failure inherent in steeper slope angles. However, no formal framework for a proper analysis has existed to date. This paper summarizes the material contained in the Design Chapter Supplement (5-3) of the Pit Slope Manual. The supplement describes the results of the research effort in which a formal economic analysis framework was developed and tested through a case study. The case study results have demonstrated the practicality of the developed procedure and the availability of required data under "real-life" conditions.

Jan 1, 1979

By Walter Renton Ingalls

IN SEVERAL papers and addresses during the past two years, I have dwelled upon some of the economic consequences of the war. The fundamental thought that I have sought to convey is that the world became immensely poorer by the war, not only in material wealth and population, but also in the psychology and morale of the people. I do not see how there can be any intelligent dissent from that statement. All the ideas of post-war prosperity were manifestly fallacious, manifestly fallacious from the outset. If there had been any truth in them it would have followed logically that a great war, with all its destruction of wealth, health and life would be a good thing. Therefore, let us have a great war every ten years or so. Such an idea would be both monstrous and absurd. Assuming then the acceptance of my premise, I have tried to show that the losses by the war could be made good in a short time, i.e., in a relatively short time, only by doing things a great deal better than formerly, and that the accomplishment of such a result called for greater transparency in industry, for industrial cooperation, for thinking in terms of industries as a whole, and for the greater exercise of engineering functions. All of this introduced, of course, the position and psychology of labor. I say frankly that I do not look for labor to contribute any constructive thought to the upbuilding. I neither expect it nor hope for it. This is a pity, for it could do so much for its own economic advancement if it would. However, it never has done so, but rather has benefited only from the exercise of the talents of the few, and the main hope now is to bring it into a passive state, dispelling the resistive fallacies that developed during the war. Let us briefly examine the nature of these.

Jan 1, 1921

By Douglas A. Donato

This Information Circular presents the MULSIM/PC system of numerical modeling computer programs developed by the U.S. Bureau of Mines. This system consists of four programs: PREMUL, the preprocessor or mesh generator; MULSIM/PC, the actual numerical modeling program (number cruncher); MUL3D, a three-dimensional postprocessor; and MUL2D, a two-dimensional postprocessor. These programs were specifically designed to operate on IBM-compatible (MS-DOS-based) personal computers for easy transfer of this technology to the mining industry and academia. MULSIM/PC uses a subvariation of the boundary-element method, namely, the displacement-discontinuity technique, for linear-elastic geomechanical analysis of mine plans in one or two parallel underground tabular deposits. Results calculated by this technique include stresses and displacements as they relate to changing mine geometries and materials. In addition to describing the MULSIM/PC program and its features, and providing a detailed example model, this report also documents the associated preprocessing and postprocessing programs that are part of the MULSIM/PC system. User&apos;s guides for all the programs are contained in the appendixes following the main report.

Jan 1, 1992

[Officers and Committees of the Society of Petroleum Engineers 1 Officers and Staff of the AIME 2 . Officers of AIME Sections Predominantly Petroleum in Membership 3 AIME Local Sections and SPE Regional Organization Maps 5 Alphabetical List of Members 7 Geographical List of Members 102 Advertisers&apos; Index 133]

Jan 1, 1961

By J. A. Vallejos

Re-entry protocols are a tactical approach for controlling risk after blasts or large events in seismically active mines. Based on the results of a survey on 18 seismically active mines, mostly in Ontario, current re-entry practices are summarized. Over half of the mines in Ontario use event decay rate analysis as their primary re-entry decision making parameter. We study in detail the applicability of the Omori?s law as an equation for describing the event decay rate for more than 250 mining-induced aftershock sequences in seven different environments. Practical guidelines for the use of the Omori equation as a re-entry criterion are proposed.

May 1, 2009

[NOTE.-The names of authors of papers are printed in small capitals, and the titles of papers, in italics. Casual notices, giving but little information, are indicated by bracketed page numbers. Large Roman numerals are volume numbers; small Roman numerals after volume numbers following titles indicate the page on which the presentation of the paper is mentioned; Arabic figures refer to the text of the printed papers.] A Use Classification of Coal, (ASHLEY) LXII [xiv]; LXIII, 782; Discussion: (HALL), 794; (ZERN) , 795; (ASHLEY), 795 Absorbent material, liquid-oxygen explosives, LXXI, 1251. Absorbents for liquid-oxygen explosives, LXIX, 292, 299. Absorption : cupellation : gold, special cupels, LIX, 194. primary and secondary, LIX, 213. ratio of silver to gold, LIX, 212. silver, specla1 cupels, LIX, 195. Absorption method, gasoline from natural gas, LIX, 584, 585. Absorptzon of Sulfur from Producer Gas zn Open-hearth Furnaces (NEAD), LXX, 176; Discussion: ( WATERHOUSE), 184 ; (REYNDERS) , 184; (KINNEY), 184 Accelerated wearing tests, bearing metals, LXIX, 973. Accident prevention, results, Utah, LXVIII, 360 Accident Prevention, 1919 (SINN), LXIII, [xiii] Accidents: causes in coal mines, LXXI, 1229. classification, Anaconda Copper Mining Co., LXVIII, 9. coal mining: comparison with metal mining, LXVIII, 360. pillar mining, LXVIII, 323. relation to method, LXVIII, 323 shafts, LXVIII, 207, 209 Utah, LXVIII, 363 - concentrating mills, Utah, LXVIII, 362 liquid-oxygen explosives, LXIX, 330, 339 losses through, LVIII, 65 metal mining, LXVIII, 361, 363. mine: causes, LIX, 652. curve of decrease, LIX, 655 days of greatest frequency, LIX, 657 human element as cause, LIX, 652, 653. intemperance as cause, LIX, 658 labor relation, LIX, 652 prevention, LIX, 653. record, New Jersey Zinc Co., Franklin mine, LIX, 655 time of greatest frequency, LIX, 657, 658 Utah, LXVIII, 360 prevention, LVIII, 65 report blanks, Anaconda Copper Mining Co, LXVIII, 13, 15. statistical base, Anaconda Copper Mining Co, LXVIII, 9 time lost, LVIII, 70 transportation, Clifton-Morenci district, LXX, 851.

Jan 1, 1926

By A. L. Hinde, A. A. Bradley, K. H. Stanton, P. J. D. Lloyd, G. K. Schymura

As part of its programme to develop methods for concentrating minerals underground, the Chamber of Mines of South Africa in conjunction with Lurgi evolved and tested a I MW centrifugal mill. The machine is capable, in the autogenous mode, of grinding more than 25 t/h of minus 75 plus 44 mm hard quartzite to a minus 3 mm product containing over 50 per cent minus 75 µm material, and as a ball mill of grinding more than 60 t/h of minus 19 mm quartzite to a minus 3 mm product containing over 35 per cent minus 75 µm material. Extrapolation of computer models of the process suggests that these limits can be comfortably exceeded. Long-term continuous testing is in hand, aimed at proving that this I m in diameter by I m long mill is in every respect the equivalent of a conventional 4 m by 6 m ball mill.

Jan 1, 1982

Homestake&apos;s Bulldog Mountain Operation near Creede, Colorado, in the San Juan Mountains at an elevation of nearly 2,750 m (9,000 ft), is subjected to short summers and long cold winters. Creede’s history dates back to 1889 when silver ore was discovered; and by 1892 production of over a million dollars per month was being shipped from mines located along the Amethyst Fault. The Bulldog Mountain Fault remained relatively untouched by the early prospectors. The United States Geological Survey recognized the potential of this fault in 1960, which led to the staking of many claims over the structure. Homestake leased properties in 1963 and in mid- 1964 a tunnel was started at the 2,956 m (9,700 ft) level with encouraging mineralization being encountered. In 1968 a decision was reached to build a flotation mill of 318 mtpd (350 stpd) capacity. The erection of the mill was completed in early 1969, six years after the first exploration was begun. Since initial start-up, extensive drifting has been done on several separate levels. Two underground hoist installations serve the various levels and many thousand feet of vertical mining operations. Due to the unconsolidated nature of the vein, a new unique underhand cut-and- fill mining method was developed. This procedure is the reverse of the normal cut-and-fill and proceeds from the top down under cemented sand fill, which, while expensive, has greatly reduced s toping hazards. Prior to 1977, a considerable quantity of silver was lost in the slime fraction of the ores processed because of oxidation and other inherent characteristics of individual minerals. Due to Homestakefs favorable experience in treating the slime fraction of the Lead, South Dakota gold ores, experiments with leach methods to recover silver from the slimes by Carbon -In -Pulp offered&apos; the potential for additional silver recovery. Work was begun on the Carbon-In-Pulp plant in April 1976 and completed in December of that year at a cost slightly exceeding $2 million. The C. I. P. plant was designed for 136 mtpd (150 stpd) of current plant slimes plus 227 mtpd (250 stpd) of slimes dredged from the old tailings during the summer season. The sand fraction of the flotation

Jan 1, 1981