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By C. Bucknam, M. McComb

Mercury and silver polythiocarbonate sludge that was generated from the pilot testing of optimized mercury removal from cyanidation pregnant eluate solutions prior to Merrill-Crowe recovery of gold and silver were tested for long term stability at Newmont Metallurgical Services. Sludge samples were mixed with heap leach residue to simulate disposal of the sludge in spent or active areas of the heaps and leached for twenty weeks with water and cyanide leaching solution, respectively. Leach testing results are presented as well as analysis of the sludge using scanning electron microscope techniques down to the <1000 nanometer scale.

Jan 1, 2007

This paper forms the second of a series, in which it is proposed to communicate the results of an extensive research into the influence of alloying elements on the physical properties of lead, now being carried out in the Metallurgy School of the University of Melbourne.Some general comments on this research were made by the present writer as an introduction to the first contribution by R. S. Russell*: It was there pointed out that it was the intention to prepare lead as pure as possible, to determine its properties and then to make alloys with the various elements added singly, and in various combinations, in order to determine the effect of each. This line of action is still being pursued.It occurred to the writer, however, that this fundamental attack might, with advantage, be accompanied by a parallel investigation in which lead of commercial purity would form the basis material. In this way, using a standard *Professor of Metallurgy, University of Melbourne.

Jan 1, 1934

The dissolution of the naturally occurring mineral zircon (ZrSiO4) is examined after ball milling it with magnesium oxide for up to 100 hours in a laboratory mill. There was little effect on the solubility for the initial two hours where size reduction of the zircon was considered to be the dominant effect. Beyond two hours the dissolution increased as a function of the square root of milling time. X-ray diffraction of the powders did not reveal the identity of the soluble phase. However, a nanocrystalline phase was present after milling and this is thought to be the soluble phase.

Jan 1, 2000

It is no longer satisfactory to assess the value of a coking coal on its intrinsic properties alone; its value depends upon its behaviour as a component in a blend. No single test can be used to make this assessment, it can only be made by carrying out a suite of tests. The quality parameters which are considered desirable, and which have widespread acceptance, have been discussed and their application to the blending of coals from New South Wales and New Zealand has been reported and discussed. Blending can be utilised to offset deficiencies, or capitalise on advantages, of the individual coals making up a blend. Coals can be blended, which alone are poorly, Coking, but which have compensating features. Blending also allows better exploitation of coking coal reserves. Several applications of blending have been reviewed with regard to coal producers and exporters, as well as coal users. The possibility of extracting a coking coal fraction from fuel coals is discussed. Blending systems and the coking of coal are also briefly reviewed.

Jan 1, 1971

By Joe Roby

Rolling disc cutters are the business end of hard-rock and mixed-face tunnel boring machines (TBMs). Since their first successful employment on a TBM more than 50 years ago, disc cutter technology has constantly evolved, allowing modern TBMs to excavate very hard and abrasive rock efficiently. Disc cutters have also been employed successfully on earth pressure balance (EPB) and slurry machines, cutting rock under water and ground pressure. The range of materials excavated by machines today is broader, excavation rates are higher and cutter costs are lower than ever before, proving the value of investment in cutter development. Disc cutters are used on a range of tunneling equipment, from pipe jacked slurry micro-TBMs less than 1 m (3.3 ft) in diameter to 15 m (49 ft) in diameter, hard-rock boring TBMs. The geological conditions under which they are employed range from sands and gravels, with several bar of water pressure, to extremely hard, massive rock with UCS up to 420 MPa. Regardless of the type of machine or geology, one thing remains constant: changing worn out cutters is costly. When cutters must be changed in the middle of a tunnel, the contractor incurs the cost of downtime as well as the cost of refurbishing or replacing the cutters. In the case of catastrophic cutter failures, the project can be stopped completely for long periods, and the costs mount up rapidly while tunnel production is at a stand still. Catastrophic cutter failures include the occasion when hard-rock disc cutters are failed in groups (called a ?wipeout? phenomenon) and the operator fails to stop the machine, which results in severe damage to the cutterhead. The cause of this can be either an undetected failed cutter propagating damage to surrounding cutters or operator error in steering. Regardless of the cause, the resulting damage can take days or even weeks to repair. When cutters fail prematurely on EPB or slurry machines in certain geological conditions, it is impossible to evacuate the chamber and, therefore, impossible to get [ ] into the chamber to change the cutters. The solution is frequently an unplanned intervention shaft that must be sunk at great cost. The importance of being able to predict cutter life accurately, and in all geological conditions, cannot be overemphasized. For these reasons, cutters have been developed for specific machine types and sizes, as well as for specific geological operating conditions. Different size cutters are required for different size machines. For example, while 483- and 508-mm (19- and 20-in.) cutters are used on large diameter TBMs, it is impossible to employ cutters so large on a small micro-TBM. Also, the cutter must be designed for the specific geological conditions under which it will be operating. The disc cutter rings required to bore extremely hard rock are the most expensive of cutter rings. However, they provide little advantage in weaker rock formations where less expensive rings will do the job as well. It is important to choose the correct cutter for the machine and the geological conditions in order to get the best balance of cost and risk.

Jan 1, 2009

By D. J. Young

Alloys used at high temperature must resist both creep and corrosion. Design for corrosion resistance is based on the formation of a slow-growing, protective oxide scale by selective oxidation of an appropriate alloy component, usually chromium or aluminium. A successful scale will exclude other corrodents, notably carbon, which can otherwise cause extremely rapid corrosion at high temperatures. Selective oxidation of an alloy component necessarily lowers the concentration of that metal in the alloy subsurface region. Under thermal cycling conditions, mechanical damage to the scale leads to renewed oxide growth and accelerated alloy depletion. Eventually, a point is reached where diffusion of a corrodent into the alloy becomes competitive with the outward diffusion of alloy metal to repair the protective scale. Two examples of alloy failure by carbon attack are considered. In the steam cracking (pyrolysis) process, centrifugally cast tubes of heat-resisting alloy are exposed to a gas stream of hydrocarbon and steam, at a carbon activity of unity. Formation and repair of the surface chromia scale causes alloy depletion, Kirkendall void formation, and subsequent internal precipitation of chromium-rich carbides. Their formation makes chromia scale formation much more difficult, and generates internal stress. Eventually, the tubes fail by creep rupture. In other processes (e.g. steam reforming, heat treatment), synthesis gases are supersaturated with carbon at intermediate temperatures. Once the alloy&apos;s protective scale is breached, carbon attacks the depleted substrate. In the case of ferritic alloys, it forms a surface scale of Fe3C. As this scale thickens, the supersaturated carbon precipitates as graphite within its outer regions. The resulting volume expansion causes disintegration of the cementite in a process known as metal dusting. In the case of austenitic alloys, no metal carbide is formed. Instead, carbon dissolves in the depleted metal to diffuse inward and precipitate as graphite within the metal matrix. Again, volume expansion causes disintegration of the alloy, and metal dusting results. Dusting occurs at an extraordinarily rapid rate, and leads to failure by section loss or even penetration.

Jan 1, 2013

By Son Hye Jin

Abstract ? KHNP is participating in the construction of Nuclear Power Plant both in Korea and UAE. ? We want to improve our construction project management process. ? So we are now developing the process model on nuclear power plant construction management. ? For the effective adoption of this process, we are planning to develop IT system. ? For the first step, we were established the Information Strategy Plan

Aug 1, 2013

By S. H. Yi, J. R. Kim, Y. S. Lee

The viscosities of CaO-SiO2-Al2O3-MgO-FeO slags were measured under conditions ofCaO/SiO2=1.15–1.6, 10–13 percent Al2O3, 5–10 percent MgO and 5–20 percent FeO. Slag viscosity decreased with increasing FeO content at a fixed basicity (CaO/SiO2) of slag. Slag viscosity at low FeO (<7.5 percent FeO) exhibited a minimum value by increasing MgO content in slag. Viscosity decreased with increasing slag basicity up to 1.3 while it increased as slag basicity increased from 1.3 to 1.5. Thus, it was proposed that the driving force for the decreases of slag viscosity would be an increase in depolymerization of silicate network at C/S=1.3, while the viscous behaviour at C/S>1.3 would be increased with increasing the chemical potential of primary solid phase e.g. dicalcium silicate. A thermodynamic approach for the activity of primary solid phase in molten slags resulted in a reasonable relationship between viscosity and slag components. Therefore, it was confirmed that slag viscosity in basic slags system (C/S>1.3) could be determined by the chemical potential of dicalcium silicate. Keywords: viscosity, basicity, bosh slag, blast furnace, slag structure, FT-IR

Jan 1, 2004

By P. -É. Boileau, M. Smets, T. Eger, J. Boutin

Long-haul dump (LHD) vehicles used in underground mining are known to expose workers to important levels of whole-body vibration1. These vehicles are generally designed without suspension and may be categorized as small or large LHDs depending on whether their respective load capacities are lower or larger than 3.5 cubic yards. While the majority of older vehicles are equipped with a rigid or unsuspended seat, more recent LHDs often incorporate a suspension seat. The objective of this study was to define the vibration spectral characteristics of most commonly encountered large and small LHD vehicles operating in mining operations. This was done in an effort to categorize the vehicles in terms of vibration spectral classes to be reproduced on a laboratory whole-body vibration simulator to assess the vibration attenuation performance of a typical LHD suspension seat. Methods Vertical vibration measured at the seat attachment point of 8 small and 8 large LHD vehicles operating underground in typical mining operations under loaded and unloaded conditions was considered as the basis for defining the spectral classes. By regrouping the data collected for each LHD vehicle size and load condition, the overall distribution of acceleration power spectral density (PSD) of measured floor vibration was determined over the 0.5 to 20 Hz frequency range. Mean and envelopes of maximum and minimum values of PSD spectra were computed to define the spectral classes, along with the corresponding values of frequency weighted rms acceleration determined in accordance to the ISO 2631-1 standard2. These spectra were further used to calculate the displacements needed to drive a whole-body vibration simulator consisting of a platform supported by two servo-hydraulic actuators having a total stroke of ±100 mm. For validation purposes, the vibration acceleration spectra measured on the simulator were compared with the target spectra representing the spectral classes. Finally, the vibration transmissibility characteristics of a typical suspension seat were determined under sine sweep excitation using both a rigid mass load and a human subject having a mass of 62 kg and 85 kg, respectively. The SEAT value, representing the ratio of seat to base frequency-weighted rms acceleration, was further measured under each of the defined LHD vibration spectral classes by loading the seat with an 85 kg subject. Tests were repeated three times and the mean SEAT values were determined to assess the seat’s ability to reduce exposure to whole-body vibration in LHD vehicles. Results Three spectral classes applicable to both loaded and unloaded conditions were defined as shown in Figure 1: one for large and two for small LHDs. The influence of load on frequency-weighted rms acceleration was found to be negligible for large and Class I small LHDs, while a shift of the peak acceleration PSD to lower frequencies was noted for the loaded vehicles. The influence of load was found to be more important for Class II small LHDs. Table 1 provides a

Jan 6, 2006

Grey River Gold Mining Limited (GRGML) has constructed and largely completed the commissioning of an alluvial gold dredge designed to recover gold from a low grade gold deposit in the Grey River Valley, New Zealand. The most important resource that GRGML has are the people who are employed by the organisation. The low grade of the deposit necessitates the requirement to operate the dredge at optimum efficiency, which in turn requires the work force to be of high calibre and continually motivated. The primary prerequisite for employment at GRGML is for employees to be receptive to new ideas and have the adaptability to develop new skills and apply those skills to the changing demands of the workplace. &nbsp; A continually changing organisational structure is utilised to meet the needs of a changing work environment. The adoption of an innovative site employment agreement allowing for flexible working hours has aided the achievement of good employee productivity and attendance. &nbsp; Employees gain a higher quality of life by working a roster pattern involving twelve hour shifts and a four day on, four day off pattern. &nbsp; Employees and management are communicating very well and working together to achieve organisational goals which will ultimately benefit the employees, the shareholders, the local community and the mining industry generally.

Jan 1, 1989

By E. Pizarro, A. Videla, G. Compan

One of the main problems related to mining investment decisions is the use of accurate prediction models. Metallurgical recovery is a major source of variability, and in this regard, the Chuquicamata processing plant recovery was modelled as a function of geomining-metallurgical data and ore characteristics obtained from a historical database. In particular, the dataset gathered contains information related to feed grades, ore hardness, particle size, mineralogy, pH, and flotation reagents. A systemic approach was applied to fit a multivariate regression model representing the copper recovery in the plant. The systemic approach consists of an initial projection of the characteristic grinding product size (P80), based upon energy consumption at the particle size reduction step, followed by a flotation recovery model. The model allows for an improvement in the investment decision process by predicting performance and risk. The final geometallurgical model uses eight operational variables and is a significant improvement over conventional prediction models. A validation was performed using a recent data-set, and this showed a high correlation coefficient with a low mean absolute error, which reveals that the geometallurgical model is able to predict, with acceptable accuracy, the actual copper recovery in the plant.

Jan 1, 2015

Amongst the unavoidable studies of the mining engineer who desires to reach the maximum efficiency, is the subject of patents. With the fundamental principles of the patent laws of this and other leading countries he should of course befamiliar, but still more should he keep abreast of that practical knowledge which will enable him to act or advise wisely when the patenting of a new invention, or the sale, purchasing, or adoption of a new patented machine or process becomes amatter for consideration. As every engineer worthy of the name is an inventor and more particularly every mining engineer he has a direct interest in watching the progress of legislation and administration concerning patent monopolies.His worldly prospects may indeed, to a considerable extent, depend upon the defeat of bad patent laws and the removal of incompetent officials, or the appointment of better ones. Better patent administration is always in Australia a valid requirement, and until engineers generally take up and press the demand, bad administration is likely to continue. Even though every engineer is not a patentee, nevertheless his interests in patents must always be direct and powerful, and ignorance or apathy in regard thereto must inevitably injure either his own interests or those of his employer. When we consider the tens of thousands of mines scattered through Australia alone, on everyone of which there is expensivepatented machinery, and when we consider the thousands of...

Jan 1, 1901

THE transformation, in a sample of levitation melted iodide titanium, has been studied with a Leitz hot-stage microscope. The specimen was etched in HF:HNO3: glycerine, (1:1:2) giving a structure shown in Fig. 1, and was then heated at approximately 5OC per min. At 870°C (±5OC) the etching product disappeared, the a-grain boundaries showed in relief, and some new grain boundaries (presumably of ß) appeared (Fig. 2, see arrow). Some evidence of ß-grain growth is indicated by the apparent longitudinal movement of a ß-grain boundary shown in Figs. 2 and 3 (see arrows). The specimen was later heated to 1000°C and then cooled at 2°C per min. At 845°C rumpling of the surface was first noticed, Fig. 4, and continued at constant temperature. The photomicrograph reproduced in Fig. 5 was taken 6 sec after Fig. 4, at 845°C. Fig. 6 shows the structure after cooling to room temperature. The room-temperature structure, showing a rumpled surface has been observed by previous investigators.&apos; These structures presumably indicate a sheer transformation ß - a, athermally nucleated, but capable of isothermal progression.

Jan 1, 1960

By T. T. Chen

The behavior of gold in a conventional copper electrorefinery anode slimes treatment process is expounded on in this study. In the raw anode slimes generated in a copper electrorefinery, gold occurs mainly as tiny particles of metallic gold, which are commonly attached to selenide particles. Some gold is also present in selenide form. Decopperizing the anode slimes retains much of the metallic gold, but also promotes the incorporation of gold in the structure of silver-rich selenide species. A greater fraction of the gold is converted to (Ag,Au)2Se or Ag3AuSe2 when high-Se and high-Ag anode slimes are decopperized at elevated temperatures and pressures. After pelletization and roasting of the slimes, the gold is converted to a (Ag,Au)-alloy and Ag3AuSe2. Smelting of the roaster products eliminates the selenium and converts the gold to a silver-rich (Ag,Au,Pd)-alloy in the dore metal. In the subsequent silver electrorefining process, gold collects as a gold-rich (Au,Ag,Pd)-alloy in the gold mud. Dore smelting rejects many impurities as a silica slag; minor amounts of gold are present as a (Ag,Au,Pd)-alloy in the silica slag. This gold is recovered by flotation and is recycled to the dore furnace. Gold is identified in both the tellurium caustic leach residue and the parting plant wash water mud as tiny particles of metallic gold. These products are also recycled to the dore furnace to recover their gold values.

Jan 1, 2008

By K. Mallikarjuna Rao

There are several methods available to estimate deflection and ultimate Capacity of laterally loaded piles. In this investigation an attempt has been made to verify the existing methods for prediction of ultimate lateral resistance and deflection with the laboratory and field test results reported in the literature. A 75 pile loading test data obtained from the literature was used to evaluate two methods designed to predict the ultimate lateral resistance of rigid piles and three methods designed to predict the lateral deflections of rigid piles and four methods designed to predict the lateral deflection of flexible piles subjected to lateral loads. The accuracy and precision of each method is quantified statistically. The statistical results of the overall analysis indicate that the mean values of the ratios of predicted to measured lateral capacities vary from 0.62 to 1.14 with an average of 0.88. However, the settlement predictions were much more widely scattered than the ultimate load predictions and in general all the methods have a tendency to under predict the deflections. A new method is proposed by modifying the Broms&apos;s method to estimate the lateral deflections of free headed rigid and flexible piles separately. The proposed modified methods were found to be reasonably good in comparison to existing methods and to overestimate deflections.

Jan 1, 1996

By J M. Laboz Bernard

Among the numerous technical evolutions in the blasting environment we are going to describe below the concep

Jan 1, 1995

By M. Mikhaylenko

The most common methods of processing of uranium ores is sulfuric or carbonate leaching with conversion of hexavalent uranium to uranyl carbonate or sulfate anionic complexes followed by sorption of the later by strong base anion (SBA) exchange resins. It is known that chloride anion has high affinity for SBA resins so that it depresses sorption of anionic complexes of uranyl. Application of the SBA resins becomes impractical for recovery of uranium when chloride concentration in pregnant leach solution exceeds 3-5 g/l [1-3].

Jan 1, 2012

The prevention of silicosis by metallic aluminium has been reported by Denny, Robson, and Irwin in two papers. The first was published in 1937; the second in 1939. The results definitely established that silicosis was prevented in animals by the inhalation of small quantities of aluminium. The present communication records subsequent progress in this field of research.HARMLESSNESS OF ALUMINIUMAnimal experiments having served their purpose, it became necessary to consider means to test the discovery on humans. A question for immediate consideration was: Is aluminium harmful to man when inhaled as a fine powder? While the animal experiments were reassuring, since they conclusively showed the powder to be innocuous when breathed by animals, it was, nevertheless, desirable to have additional reassurance with regard to its effect upon human beings.Through the courtesy of the Aluminium Company of America and especially the valued interest in this problem displayed by that Company&apos;s Director of Research, Dr. Francis C. Frary, a study was made of the records pertaining to the health of a group of 125 employees who had for many years been engaged in the manufacture of finely powdered, metallic aluminium for the paint and ink industries. The conditions were such that these employees had inhaled varying and oft-times very dense concentrations of this powder daily over periods ranging from 6 to 23 years, the average 101 the group being 12 years. X-ray pictures of their chests showed no abnormalities attributable to aluminium. Their general health seemed better than that of the 3,000 workers in other sections of the plant. In fact, the early films of three employees in this group of 125 showed shadows suggestive of minimal tuberculosis, which shadows were not discernible in films taken after considerable periods of exposure to aluminium powder.The harmlessness of aluminium was; by this study, reasonably well established at the outset, a finding subsequently verified by Ontario research on humans.PROPOSAL TO TREAT HUMAN SILICOSISBased upon these findings, a proposal to treat silicotics with aluminium was discussed by officials of the Mclntyre Mine and the Banting Institute.

Jan 1, 1945

By Howard A. Perko, M. Mae Benvenga, Heather H. Trantham

Displacement of soil and groundwater during helical pile installation can produce excess pore water pressures (PWP) in fine-grained soils. Pore water pressure reduces effective stress in the soil immediately adjacent to the helical pile shaft and near the helical piles. Previous studies have shown generation of PWP may affect the capacity to torque ratios of the helical bearing elements. Large diameter helical piles that generate much of their torque and capacity from shaft adhesion are affected by PWP and therefore exhibit significant pile "freeze" after installation. Computer modeling is used herein to evaluate PWP immediately adjacent to helical pile shafts during installation in various soil types. The models show the degree and distance from the shaft that is influenced by PWP during installation and the amount of time required for the PWP to dissipate. Pile freeze has been measured on several project sites by re‐torque measurements. These re-torque data are compared with computer modeling and correlations between saturated hydraulic conductivity and dissipation time are presented and discussed. INTRODUCTION Helical piles are full-displacement piles, meaning installation does not produce drill spoil. Soil is displaced laterally as the pile progresses into the ground. This displacement of soil causes an increase in PWP, which reduces adhesion between the pile and the soil. For helical piles with small-diameter shafts, adhesion contributes little to the overall capacity and torque of the pile, so PWP changes are not typically considered in determining pile capacity. In modern construction, the use of larger diameter helical piles has become very common. For large-diameter helical piles, changes in PWP immediately adjacent the shaft can be quite large during installation. Increased pore water pressure and reduced adhesion can have a temporary effect on pile capacity and installation torque.

Jan 1, 2018

By A. M. Tonnos

Underground mining has yet to see an industry wide solution for control of their ventilation systems due to the complexity and sensitivity of the underground environment. Complexity arises from multi-level, multi-zone operations and sensitivity is associated with the impact that changes in equipment status and output have on air flows and quality throughout the mine. Our approach to solving this challenge incorporates system modeling and industrial control systems in a unified architecture. Although this approach can be applied to other processes and industries, this paper will cover the theoretical and practical aspects of an integrated model-control system (MCS) as it applies to underground mining ventilation.

Jan 1, 2009