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United Engineering Trustees, Inc. H. G. MOULTON, 40 A. L. QUENEAU, '38 ALBERT ROBERTS, '39 The Engineering Foundation GEORGE D. BARRON, '40 A. L. QUENEAU, '38 Engineering Societies Library Board H. K. MASTERS, '38' A. B. PARSONS, Ex-officio F. F. SHARPLESS, '37

Jan 1, 1936

By W. C. Knopf, G. Samsel

For several years International Minerals & Chem-ical Corp. has used a radiation method to assay potassium content of products from potash and feldspar beneficiation. The procedure is rapid, accurate, and inexpensive and is easily handled, if necessary, by nontechnical personnel. Data are presented to show the accuracies that may be expected if the technique is used for control of pilot plants or large-scale plants. Natural potassium is composed of three isotopes —K, K and K. Five other isotopes, artificially produced, have been detected. In natural potassium only the K isotope, with a half life of 1.4x10 years, is radioactive. Its modes of decay are beta and gamma rays, positrons, and x-rays. Only the more abundant beta rays, however, are important in radiation measurements using geiger tubes. Barnes and Salley' measured radiation of potassium salts in solution in 1943. Gaudin and Parnell2 first reported the use of solid salts arranged in a vessel surrounding the ß counter in 1948. Later, Scheel used the method to assay potassium content of various crude and finished potash salts. Experimental: Dip-type Geiger-Muller tubes (TGC-5) supplied by Tracerlab Co. were used in all radiation counting measurements. The tube was encompassed by a glass container about M in. larger in diameter than the tube. This container, which served as a sample holder, was closed at the bottom with a rubber stopper to facilitate removing the samples. Samples were not weighed, but about 40 g of sample were needed for each test. Electrical impulses from the tube were counted on either a Tracerlab scaler or a rate meter. To obviate the need for constant attendance, preset features were incorporated into the scalers, so that at a predetermined time or count the units were automatically deactivated. When rate meters were used, counting rates were read directly from instrument or from a recorder used in conjunction with the rate meter. Each tube was calibrated, according to the manufacturer's instructions, to determine the correct operating voltage to insure reproducible results. A linear calibration plot of percent K2O vs counting rate was also obtained for each tube by recording the counting rate plus background count of several standards of different K2O content chemically analyzed by the chloroplatinate method.' These standards were of approximately the same particle size distribution as samples to be assayed. Specific background count caused by cosmic rays and other surrounding radiation was checked periodically by counting a sample of pure NaCl. Fig. 1 is a representative calibration plot. Assays were determined directly from the standard plot or calculated by subtracting the background count from the counting rate, then multiplying by the slope of the line. Chemical assays of the test samples were made by the Sherril method," a flame photometric technique, or the chloroplatinate method. Data: The radiation assay method has been used for three years by International Minerals & Chemical Corp. in the laboratory and in pilot plants processing ores containing potassium. These dry concentration plants process sylvinite and langbeinite ores at Carlsbad, N. M., and feldspar ores at Top-sham, Maine. Sylvinite ore is predominantly a mixture of syl-vite (impure KCl) and halite (impure NaCl). Contaminants include sulfates, such as langbeinite (2MgSO - K2SO4), kieserite (MgSO H2O), poly-halite (MgSO4.K2SO, 2CaSO, . 2H2O), and slimes. Langbeinite ore is predominantly langbeinite and halite with small amounts of sylvite, sulfates other than langbeinite, and slimes. Several variables, in addition to correct calibration and standardization of tubes, were found to be important in obtaining reproducible results. Particle size distribution of standard samples should be

Jan 1, 1959

This talk was delivered in Kalgoorlie in April this year, to the Kalgoorlie Branch of The Institution of Engineers, Australia. We believe it is of such interest to members of our Institute and readers of this publication we believe it important to extend the audience who have the opportunity to read it. An edited version follows:"Why should we be so concerned about Mining Related Education; after all is said and done, the mining industry is not a great employer of persons?"The mining industry is capital rather than labour intensive. It employs only 2.7 per cent of the national workforce. However; the minerals industry is Australia's major exporter accounting for over 40 per cent of the nation's total export of goods.In Western Australia the value of minerals production in 1985 was about $5,000 million and consequently mineral exports accounted for about 53 per cent of the total value of overseas exports from the State. The diversity of the mining industry is also worthy of mention and produces iron ore, alumina, gold, nickel and mineral sands. That apart, our potential to become a major producer of diamonds, rare earths and petroleum products is considerable, not to mention base metals (copper, lead and zinc) and uranium.Our mining industry is of national importance and contributes in excess of 30 per cent of the total value of Australian overseas trade. Although the mining ind ustry does not employ many people, the people it employs contribute very much more, per capita, to the wealth of the nation than do employees in any other sector of our economy.No-one would deny that during the 20th century Australians have depended on the export earnings from the sale of relatively unprocessed agricultural products and more recently the sale of relatively unprocessed minerals for their standard of living.Not surprisingly, therefore, our economy is highly vulnerable to unstable world commodity market prices.The slump in trade we are currently experiencing (in first quarter 1987-Edition) was brought about by the over supply of the raw materials we produce. However, the recent downturn in world market prices is more serious than previous slumps because in part it is due to technological advances 'in other countries which could have a permanent effect on the world trade of primary products.

Jan 1, 1987

The Hall-Hoult process is likely to be the dominant method of aluminium production for the remainder of the century. The characteristics of the operation of a modern smelter are described and attention drawn to their disabilities which are due chiefly to the small production capacity of individual cells.The principal components of the Hall-H6roult cell - the electrolyte, the anode and the cathode - are discussed in order to identify the problems of scale-up. The factors influencing current efficiency and energy consumption are analysed and lead to the conclusion that the greatest potential for energy saving lies in reducing the anode to cathode distance (ACD).The most promising direction for major change is in the application of a new titanium diboride - carbon composite for coating of the surface of the cathode carbon. It improves the wetting of the carbon by aluminium and should permit the use of sloping cathodes and anodes. The deep metal pad would thereby be eliminated and, in the absence of magnetic perturbations, the ACD could be substantially decreased.The construction and testing of a full-size "Low Energy Cell" is scheduled for early 1986 and is expected to reduce energy consumption in aluminium production by about 15%.

Jan 1, 1985

By C. A. Robotham

The following; paper describes underground mining practices of the Riverside Cement Co. of Los Angeles, Calif., in the Stanley limestone deposit at Crestmore, Riverside County, Calif. It is one of a series of papers being prepared for and published by the United States Bureau of Mines on mining methods and costs in tae various mining districts in the United States. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Acknowledgment is made of the assistance received from E. D. Gardner, supervising engineer of the United States Bureau of Mines Experiment Station, Tucson, Ariz., in connection with the preparation of this paper and of the cooperation of John Treanor, president of the Riverside Cement Co. Valuable assistance in developing the mining methods was obtained from a study of similar practices in the copper-mining; districts of Ray and Globe-Miami, Ariz.

Jan 1, 1934

By A. Gemperle

Electron diffraction and transmission electron microscopy on foils at room temperature were used to investigate the ordering of Fe-Si alloys containing 10 to 23 at. pct Si. A certain degree of DO3 order was found in all alloys. With the exception of the lowest silicon concentration for which the antiphase domains could not be clearly resolved, the alloys have a domain structure of two-domain type with boundaries having 1/4a01<111> displacement vectors for less than 12.3 at. pct Si and with boundaries having 1/2 a0<100> displacement vectors for more than 12.3 at. pct Si. The alloys with 12.3 at. pct Si have a domain structure consisting of fine domains with 1/2a&apos;o<100> boundaries within much larger domains with 1/4a&apos;o<111> boundaries. The development of these structures can be explained by transition of the alloy from the disordered state into the B2-type order and then into the D03-type order by the mechanism proposed previously for the FeSAl alloys. The existence of the B2 structure in the lower part of the investigated concentration range reported in some articles can be explained by fine domains with 1/2a&apos;o<100> boundaries formed by several disordered planes within large domains with 1/4a&apos;o<111> boundaries. The ordered structure predicted by the theory —with practically no domain boundaries —is found in the alloys having 12.3 at. pct Si where it develops in the B2 structure region. ORDERING in Fe-Si alloys was first studied by phragmenl who found that beginning with 13 at. pct Si the DO3 (Fe3Si) superlattice reflections appear in the diffraction patterns. The equilibrium diagrams constructed later by corson2 and Haughton3 from various measurements proposed the existence of a homogeneous solid solution (a phase) in the range from 0 to 25 at. pct Si. Jette and Greiner4 and Farquhar et al.5 measured the relation between lattice parameter and composition and they considered the break in the curve at 9 to 10 at. pct Si to be caused by the ordered solution a"(Fe3Si). Glaser and Ivanick6 Determined critical ordering temperatures of the alloys containing from 10.9 to 27.9 at. pct Si from the measurement of the electric resistivity of quenched samples. In all cases the critical temperature was lower than the melting point and it was highest for 25 at. pct Si. Lihl and Ebel7 measured the lattice parameter curves at various temperatures up to 1000°C. The region between two breaks on these curves, corresponding to 10 to 12.5 at. pct Si at room temperature, was considered by them to be two-phase (a + a"). They concluded by extrapolation of the measured values that a" in the alloy having 25 at. pct Si is stable up to the melting point. Davies8 studied superlattice reflections in the X-ray diffraction patterns of an alloy containing 8.7 at. pct Si. He found the B2 structure and short-range order in the slowly cooled samples and the DO3 A. GEMPERLE is Research Scientist, Institute of PhysicS, Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechoslovakia. __Manuscript submitted January 2, 1968. IMD structure in the quenched and annealed samples. This investigation first reports the presence of the B2 structure, phase a&apos;: in Fe-Si alloys. Meinhardt and krisement9,10 also found its existence in Fe-Si alloys by neutron diffraction. No order was detected by them in the alloy containing 8 at. pct Si. The onset of B2 order was observed at a composition of 9.2 at. pct Si. They found almost perfect B2-type order with partial DO3-type order at room temperature in the 10 to 12.5 at. pct Si range and almost perfect DO3-type order in the 12.5 to 25 at. pct Si range. They established the critical temperatures Tc of both the structures through measurement at higher temperatures. The critical temperature for the B2 structure was found to be always higher than the critical temperature for the DO3 structure of the same alloy. They extrapolated the curves of the critical temperatures and concluded that the alloys with more than 17 at. pct Si have the B2 structure up to the melting point and the alloys with more than 23 at. pct Si have the DO3 structure up to the melting point. The results of Meinhardt and krisement9,10 were confirmed by Dokken&apos;s measurement" of the temperature dependence of the electrical resistivity in the 10.8 to 15 at. pct Si range. On the other hand chessin12 detected by X-ray diffraction a considerably lower degree of order in the 12.7 at. pct Si alloy. ANTIPHASE DOMAIN STRUCTURE IN ALLOYS WITH B2- AND DO$-TYPE ORDER The ordered structures B2 and DO3 can be described in terms of a subdivision of the bcc lattice into four fcc sublattices with a parameter double that of the bcc lattice. Following Marcinkowski13 we will label them I. 11, 111, IV. The B2 structure in the AB alloy is formed by placing A atoms on sublattices I and II and B atoms on sublattices III and IV. In a non-stoichiometric perfectly ordered alloy having concentration (A) > (B), A atoms occupy sublattices I and 11. and A and B atoms distributed at random occupy sublattices III and IV. The DO3 structure in an A3B alloy is formed by placing A atoms on sublattices I, 11, and 111, and B atoms on sublattice IV. In a nonstoichiometric, perfectly ordered alloy having concentration (A)/3 > (B), A atoms occupy sublattices I, 11, and 111, and A and B atoms distributed at random occupy sublattice IV. As further shown in Ref. 13, two types of domains are possible in the B2 superlattice and the antiphase domain structure has associated with it boundaries with displacement vectors 1/4 a&apos;o<ll1> only. Four types of domains are possible in the DO3 superlattice and the antiphase domain structure has associated with it boundaries with displacement vectors 1/4a&apos;o<111> and 1/2a&apos;o<l00>. Bethe14 suggested on the basis of theoretical considerations that in a structure with two sublattices at low temperatures only one domain should be present in the whole crystal at equilibrium. Similarly Bragg15 concluded that at low temperatures the domain struc-

Jan 1, 1969

By Richard E. Ray, George N. Aul, Fred Garcia, William P. Diamond

Increasing longwall panel dimensions, particularly face width in gassy coalbeds, may result in unexpected increases in methane emissions. To investigate this problem, continuous longwall face emission monitoring studies were conducted at two adjacent mines operating in the Pocahontas No. 3 Coalbed, where longwall faces were to be extended from 229 to 305 m (750 to 1,000 ft). It was predicted by regression analysis of methane emissions data from 229 m (750 ft) wide longwall faces that extending faces to 305 m (1,000 ft) would increase methane emission rates by only 7 percent (0.6 m3/min (20 cfm)), to 8.6 m3/min (304 cfm) at the VP-1 Mine. In contrast, it was predicted that extending faces at the VP-3 Mine could increase methane emissions by as much as 13 percent (1.8 m3/min (65 cfm)) to 16.1 m3/min (567 cfm). The geologic and mine design factors influencing the variation in face emissions between the two mines will be discussed.

By G. D. Rieck, G. H. G. Vaessen, D. L. Vogel

Both doped and undoped tungsten single crystals exhibit hardness anisotropy with respect to the direction of testing in each of the crystallographic phes investigated. The hardness anisotropy of undoped single-crystal tungsten is rather pronounced in (001) and (110) planes but very minor in (111) planes. The anisotropy in (122) planes of the doped and drawn tungsten after recrystallization is in accordance with a previously published concept of a stringlike distribution of the doping material in the metal. ANISOTROPY in mechanical properties of single-crystal tungsten was investigated by Rose et al., Garlick and Probst,2 and Beardmore and Hull. 3 Although data on the Vickers microhardness of tungsten have been published (see, e.g., Boosz 4 and the references cited by him), no data on the microhardness anisotropy are available. We report, therefore, some of our own results on the microhardness and its anisotropy. The microhardness has been determined of the following samples. A) Polycrystalline tungsten samples taken from: 1) powder metallurgical tungsten "normally" doped with potassium-silicon-aluminum oxides (final contents inppm: K, 100; Si, 100; Al, 20; Cr, 20; Fe, 50; Mo, 400; Ni, 10) and in the form of: a) a 10-mm-diam swaged ingot annealed at 1600°C, the grain sizes varying between 15 and 250 p; b) a sheet rolled at about 800°C and recrystallized at 2000°C7 the grain sizes varying between 15 and 150 p; c) a 2-mm-diam swaged rod, as-worked, with elongated grains (average diameter of about 25 , lengths up to 1 mm); 2) undoped electron-beam-melted tungsten with very large grains (contaminations in ppm: K < 10; Fe < 20; Cr < 10; Cu < 0.1; Ni not detectable; inter-stitial~ not determined). B) Single-crystal samples taken from: 1) pure tungsten grown on a Pintsch wire by the van Arkel procedure (main contaminations inppm: Mo, 100; Si < 10; Cu and Fe, 2; A1 < 2; interstitials not determined); 2) zone-melted undoped tungsten (analysis as under A2); 3) large crystals in secondary recrystallized tungsten

Jan 1, 1969

By A N. Terblanche, D S. Smit

The paper discusses the improvements achieved after an external sparger flotation column, 1.42 m diameter by 9.5 m high, was installed as a re-recleaner unit at the Northam Platinum LtdÆs UG 2 plant in South Africa. The paper also evaluates the pilot plant data prior to the industrial size column installation as well as the accuracy of scale up from pilot to full-scale operation. Since the installation of the PrepQuip flotation column, the final concentrate upgrade ratio improved from 83 to 105, the 3PGM+Auå recovery improved from 79.7 per cent to 81 per cent and the Cr2O3 content in the final concentrate decreased from five per cent to 2.8 per cent. The upgrade ratio can be improved to 125 with an overall 3PGM+Au recovery of 80 per cent. Conventional mechanically agitated flotation cells achieved only 74 per cent recovery at an upgrade ratio of 125.

Jan 1, 2005

By D. R. Kelland

A program has been carried out over the last two years to apply the technology of High Gradient Magnetic Separation (HGMS) to the problem of mineral beneficiation and specifically oxidized taconite iron ores. This program, supported by the RANN division of the National Science Foundation, has consisted of a laboratory program at the Francis Bitter National Magnet Lab- oratory at MIT and a pilot investigation at the Hanna Mining Company Research Laboratory. 1 The laboratory tests were conducted using several batch type high gradient separators and a continuous separator with a rotating matrix which was constructed at the beginning of the program. The high field magnets available at F.B.N.M.L. were used for investigations above 10 kG but most of the test work was performed in the range of this field value. Ore samples were contributed by several iron ore companies and consisted of oxidized taconites having goethite and hematite as their principal components.

Jan 1, 1975

By Han Jie

The results of full scale plate load tests on stone columns on soft clay in coastal areas are presented in this paper. Four load tests were made, two of which were performed on the ground treated with stone columns, one on an isolated stone column and the last one on the untreated ground. For a given stress range, the settlement of the rigid plate, the stress concentration factor, and the excess pore water pressure were measured. It is found that the distribution of vertical stress beneath the rigid plate supported by the composite ground of stone columns is very different in shape from the one by the untreated ground, that the stress concentration factor has a relation with the stress level and time, that the stone columns increase the bearing capacity up to by 2 times, and that the ground stabilized by stone columns is of great advantage to keep the foundation stable.

Jan 1, 1991

By Erle C. Donaldson

Bureau of Mines engineers examined the chemical and biological treatment of sewage water designed in one case for reuse and in another for subsurface injection. In the first case discussed, approximately 6 million gallons per day of sewage are treated by the activated sludge process followed by tertiary treatment that includes ion exchange. The renovated water is used in the industrial complex. Liquid industrial waste is sent to a waste disposal facility where it is treated for injection into a deep subsurface formation. In the second case, a community of 3,000 people is using a lagoon sewage treatment system followed by subsurface injection of t- treated effluent. Subsurface disposal is used to avoid growth of algae and weeds in a nearby lake to which the treated effluent was originally discharged. The renovation of municipal water for reuse provides a source of water for industries in a semiarid region and may also provide a source for domestic use in densely populated regions where domestic water requirements have priority over industry needs. In addition both waste treatment systems provide examples of the use of subsurface waste disposal to avoid pollution of surface streams.

Jan 1, 1971

By M R. Dehghan, H Mansouri, A Hakami, M A. Ebrahimi Farsangi, F Faramarzi

Today, it is accepted that rock fragmentation by blasting affects loading and hauling operations, and also directly influences on downstream processes such as crushing and grinding. In this research, the influence of rock fragmentation by blasting on the performance of three mills at Gol-e-Gohar iron ore mine No 1 was studied. Firstly, the fragmentation of conventional blast patterns in iron ore (5 &#215; 6 m) was studied using image analysis and the performances of three mills were monitored. Then, a new blast pattern (4 &#215; 5 m) was designed and nine blasts were carried out using this pattern. Increasing the powder factor form 1650 gr/m3 to 2480 gr/m3 by changing the blast pattern design showed that mill throughputs increase five per cent to 30 per cent for the new pattern.CITATION:Hakami, A, Mansouri, H, Ebrahimi Farsangi, M A, Dehghan, M R and Faramarzi, F, 2015. Study of the effect of blast pattern design on autogenous and semi-autogenous mill throughput at Gol-e-Gohar iron ore mine, in Proceedings 11th International Symposium on Rock Fragmentation by Blasting, pp 315–320 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Aug 24, 2015

By A. F. Kaczmarek

Cerro Negro is an undeveloped ore body located at the Cerro Verde mine near Arequipa, Peru. The mineable reserve contains 70 Mt of oxide ore grading 0.532% copper. Mineralization is hosted in three distinct rock types: tourmaline breccia, crackle breccia and granodiorite. Rock type effects copper recovery and acid consumption. The paper describes Cyprus&apos; testwork philosophy and the resulting four-phase metallurgical program used to define the commercial leaching parameters. Copper recovery and acid consumption were monitored as functions of crush size, heap height, irrigation rate and acidulation conditions. Single lift, on-off and permanent multi-lift heaps were considered. Leach cycle times were based on incremental copper extraction and acid consumption rates, with added constraints imposed by operational requirements. The optimum leach system involves an on-off pad using tertiary crushed ore acidulated with 20 kg/t acid and stacked to a height of 6.5 m. The active leach cycle is 82 days at an irrigation rate of 0.26 l/min/m2. Under these conditions copper recovery is expected to average 81% over the life of the mine.

Jan 1, 1999

By J. Frederick Stampfer

Current certification testing of self-contained breathing apparatus includes tests with human subjects wearing the apparatus while exercising. During these tests, certain apparatus variables are measured during rest periods. Because of concerns that the present tests may not accurately simulate the stresses to which an apparatus is subjected in the field, the Bureau of Mines proposed new human subject tests. It was also felt that different measurement techniques would supply more reliable data on the apparatus response to these stresses. The Los Alamos National Laboratory was asked by the Bureau to evaluate the proposed tests and monitoring techniques. The major conclusions derived during this study are these: (1) The proposed tests are not too physically demanding. (2) As long as human test subjects are used, a minimum subject weight should be required for certification tests. (3) Important apparatus variables are the breathing resistance, temperature, and carbon dioxide and oxygen concentrations of the inhaled gas. (4) Continuous monitoring should be used, rather than monitoring only during rest periods. (5) New pass/fail criteria based on realistic estimates of the user&apos;s physiological requirements, as tempered by present and future engineering limitations, are needed. (6) When available, breathing machines, rather than human subjects, should be used for most certification testing. (7) A more realistic ergonomics test than that proposed is needed. (8) A gas leak test for the system and a facepiece leakage test are also needed.

Jan 1, 1983

By John B. Mertie

More than 200 minerals are known that contain the rare-earths and thorium. Monazite and bastnaesite, however, are the principal commercial sources of the rare-earths, and monazite is the principal source of thorium. Monazite was in demand in earlier years mainly for its content of thorium, which was used in the manufacture of Welsbach gas mantles; but beginning in the latter part of the nineteenth century, the rare-earths became progressively more important than thorium. Recently, however, the tenor of thorium in monazite has again become a matter of commercial interest. Rare-Earths and Thorium The rare-earths proper are defined by spectroscopists as the oxides of 14 elements with atomic numbers ranging from 58 to 71; but more commonly lanthanum, with an atomic number of 57, is also included, in which case these 15 elements are often designated as the lanthanides. Chemists also include scandium and yttrium as elements of the rare-earths. A second group of elements, beginning with actinium and including thorium, protactinium, uranium, and all the transuranium elements so far produced, with atomic numbers ranging from 89 upward, are chemically and structurally related to the lanthanides, and are known as the higher rare-earths or actinides. Berzelius discovered that the lanthanides could be separated roughly into three groups, based upon the solubility of their double salts, R2(SO4)3-K2SO4-2H2O, in excess of K2SO4. This separation, with the substitution of sodium for potassium, is still used commercially. The double salts of the cerium earths were found to be almost insoluble; the terbium earths, partly soluble; and the yttrium earths, completely soluble. Based upon the degree of solubility, scandium belongs with the cerium earths; and yttrium belongs with, and gives its name to, the yttrium earths. These three groups with their atomic numbers are shown below. [ ] The prevailing state of oxidation for the rare-earths is R2O3, but cerium may readily be oxidized to the tetravalent state, in which condition it may be separated chemically from the other cerium earths. Praseodymium and terbium may also exist with the valence IV, and samarium, europium, and ytterbium may have the valence II. Most of the elements of the rare-earths, however, are very difficult to separate, and their initial isolation required the work of many chemists over a period of 150 years.20 Fractional crystallization, fractional precipitation, and ion exchange are the principal methods so far used, and fractional precipitation is now employed commercially on a large scale. Ion exchange columns are

Jan 1, 1960

By V. E. McKelvey

Any discussion of growth and future requirements has to begin with people--both their number and their needs. Both have been rising ever since any American can remember. Together, the number of people, which has been increasing rather modestly, and their wants and desires for material things, which have been increasing very sharply, seemed to have comprised a growth imperative in mineral consumption in the United States, especially during the last several decades. While the Nation&apos;s birthrate is now well below the replacement rate and still falling, the built-in momentum of the post-World War II population boom will continue to be felt well into the 21st century. Even using the modest projection of a 0.8 percent yearly increase, we are still looking at the possibility of 265 million Americans being around by Year 2000.

Jan 1, 1975

By G. Bezuidenhout, N. C. Steenkamp

Buying centres are the first point of contact that determines whether ore will be considered as having sufficient provenance to be considered ethically sourced. The information that needs to be captured on the blockchain platform ranges from reports on in-loco inspections and audits of mining and purchase sites. This will guide passive and active monitoring of mining activities, trade-offs for identification systems, including biometrics for the registration of artisanal sellers, scrutiny on the selection of security measures and companies for buyer centres and stockpiling warehouses, evaluation of active and passive infrastructure security, and remote monitoring applications. Assistance with selection and training in geochemical testing instruments to determine the grade of ore material or concentrates and sorting, on-the-ground investigations, guidance on monitoring methods from stockpile and packing area along the transport route to the final destination are required.

Jan 1, 2023

By G. P. Demopoulos

"The recovery and separation of platinum-group metals (PGM) from primary and secondary materials currently attracts a lot of interest due to the high value of the metals and their increasing demand for high-tech applications. Thus, the traditional refining processes are gradually replaced by newer more efficient separation techniques such as solvent extraction and ion exchange. In this paper the classical and modern refining techniques are reviewed and the pertinent solution chemistry dictating proper processing strategies in each case is discussed. The technological advantages of the modern separation methods are emphasized and reference to the recovery of PGM from primary as well as secondary materials is given. INTRODUCTIONDue to their outstanding physicochemical properties, such as catalytic activity, conductivity and corrosion/oxidation resistance, precious metals now find extensive usage outside of the traditional jewellery and investment industries. The increasing use of precious metals in such areas as electronics and catalysis, as well as their increasing high value, has led to a growing interest in their recovery and separation from primary and secondary materials.Quantitatively the demand of platinum metals in the western world by area of application is described in Table I. Platinum and palladium represent 90% of the total demand, Rh and Ru 8% and the remaining is taken by Ir and Os. In terms of value the following were the average prices (US$/oz) of the metals in the second half of 1986: 500 Pt, 125 Pd, 1200 Rh, 650 Os, 400 Ir and 80 Ru. Due to these prices, exploration, mining, reclamation and refining activity were very high in South Africa, the biggest producer of Pt metals in the world, as well as in other areas: United States (Stilwater deposit), Canada (Sudbury, Marathon and Lac des Isles, Ontario; Kenly Lake, Quebec, etc.), Australia, Europe and elsewhere"

Jan 1, 1989

By Eddie Woods, Jon Hurt, Roger May, Paul Watson

The Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) will be Britain’s first major new railway for over a century—a high-speed line running for 109km (68 miles) between St. Pancras station in London and the Channel Tunnel. The new line has been under construction since October 1998 and the first phase will open in October 2003. The project includes22km of twin 7.15m ID TBM bored tunnels under London and the River Thames, and the 3km North Downs Tunnel, the first major NATM tunnel to be constructed in the United Kingdom since the collapse of the Heathrow Express Tunnels in 1994. This paper will discuss the design of these tunnels and describe the construction progress to date. The discussion will include details of segmental lining design, TBM specification, and sprayed concrete lining design.

Jan 1, 2003