Search Documents

An essential tool for every step ? Early field survey ? Handheld satellite phones ? Portable satellite phones ? Exploration and Drilling ? Handheld satellite phones ? Portable satellite phones ? Production ? Handheld and portable ? Fixed Satellites systems ? Asset tracking systems Main applications via satellite ? Voice and Fax communication ? Internet access and E-mail ? Video conferencing ? Interconnection to mobile phones, 2 way radios, long range WIFI ? Equipment Tele-maintenance ? Telemedicine ? Crew and morale calling ? Vehicle and asset tracking

May 1, 2006

By John L. Lamont, Walter Crafts

SECONDARY hardening in tempering has long been recognized as a typical characteristic of steels containing large amounts of carbide-forming alloys. These steels, when quenched and tempered, tend to soften somewhat after tempering at low temperatures, and to reharden at intermediate tempering temperatures before finally softening to low hardness. This behavior in tempering has been studied by many investigators, chiefly with respect to the secondary hardening of high-speed steels. The initial softening has usually been ascribed to decomposition of martensite and growth of iron carbide particles. The secondary hardening has been explained by formation of fresh martensite from residual austenite, formation of very fine alloy carbide particles and by precipitation hardening of metallic compounds in the ferritic matrix. However, factors derived for the calculation of tempered hardness in low-alloy steels1 indicated only a tendency toward retarded softening rather than a discontinuous rehardening. A study was, therefore, made to determine whether fresh martensite from residual austenite and precipitation hardening are essential to rehardening and the degree to which tempered martensite could be rehardened by precipitation of alloy carbides. The mechanism of carbide rehardening was also investigated to determine the nature of the process. The causes of secondary hardening in high-speed steel have received serious consideration for about thirty years. Among the earlier workers Bain and Jeffries2 in 1923 recognized residual austenite as a significant factor, but in addition, emphasized the effect of the formation of alloy carbide particles of "critical" size. They conceived that freshly quenched martensite forms low-alloy iron carbide at low tempering temperatures; with further tempering the iron carbide is then modified by alloying elements that can diffuse most readily at intermediate temperatures (850°F); and that the iron carbides grow in size by coalescence so that the steel tends to lose hardness. At higher tempering temperatures carbide stability rather than alloy availability becomes the controlling influence and in high-speed steel "iron-tungsten carbide is the most stable one and forms to the elimination of the earlier formed carbides. . . . The iron-tungsten carbide particles reach approximately the size for critical dispersion after a short reheat at 1100°F." This concept, the formation of alloy carbide nuclei, redissolving of the iron carbide, and diffusion of carbon to the alloy carbide, was restated for vanadium steel in 1932 by Houdremont, Bennek, and Schrader.3 Subsequent studies have confirmed that iron carbide changes to alloy carbide at 1000 to 1100°F, but the mechanism of the process has received little consideration .

Jan 1, 1948

By J. G. Thompson

PROJECT 8411 of the U. S. Bureau of Standards, sponsored by the Iron and Steel Division of the A.I.M.E., is an attempt to define more concisely than has been possible heretofore the accuracy and the Limits ' of usefulness of the ' various methods now in use for the determination of oxygen as it exists in ferrous materials. It originated in correspondence between John Johnston and other metallurgists, and was brought to the attention of the Iron and Steel Division of the Institute at the Annual Meeting in February, 1933. As reported in MINING AND MET,ALLURGY, Vol. 14, page 152, March, 1933, "Dr. Johnston introduced, and those present adopted, a resolution that the Iron and Steel Division of the A.I.M.E., believing that a careful comparison of the several methods now in use for the analysis of steel for nonmetallic elements such as oxygen is highly desirable, heartily endorses the proposal that the U. S. Bureau of Standards act as a clearing house " in this matter, undertaking the final preparation and allocation of identical samples to those laboratories willing to collaborate in this important question, and collate the results re- ported back to the Bureau.'"

Jan 1, 1934

By James H. Russell

The Bureau of Mines, U.S. Department of the Interior, in cooperation with the Department of Energy, has attempted to increase the activity of nickel catalysts for converting synthesis gas, derived from coal, to a substitute natural gas. This report describes the effects of low-level additions of B, Ca, Ce, Co, Mn, Mo, Pd, Re, Ti, Y, Zn, and Zr on the methanation activity of Raney nickel. The methanation rate at 320° C and the resistance to poisoning by 2 ppm H2S were used to compare catalysts. The effects of the additions were small, and the experimental variances were large, necessitating the use of statistical methods to identify significant effects. Co, Ti, Y, and Zn improved the resistance to H2S poisoning, but only Co improved the methanation rate In some individual catalysts containing Ca, Mo, or Mn, both the methanation rate and resistance to H2S poisoning were improved.

Jan 1, 1980

By C. D. Rubert, W. J. Parton

A flotation plant was placed in operation in 1945 at the Tamaqua colliery of the Lehigh Navigation Coal Co. Inc., to recover fine anthracite which is discharged from the cleaning plant with the washery water.‡ In addition to the recovery plant, facilities were provided for the complete clarification of the washery water, recirculation of this clarified water for breaker use, and disposal of the refuse solids in a waste impounding dam. Fig I shows a view of the settling tanks and the flotation plant. Flow Diagram The flow diagram for the complete recovery project is given in Fig 2. All the waste water from the cleaning plant is collected in a sump A outside the breaker structure, from which a 7000 gpm pump B delivers it through a 16 in. line to a 75-ft diam hydroseparator C. The hydroseparator, acting as a classifier, is set to give a separation at approximately 200-mesh. The minus 200-mesh overflow is discharged by gravity into the 180-ft thickener D for final settling of the solids. The classifier underflow sludge is pumped to the flotation plant by a 6-in. quadruplex diaphragm pump E. A 10-ft diam hydroseparator F is used to make a second classification on the sludge solids at approximately 28-mesh. The underflow from this classifier containing the coarse particles is elevated by a 6-in. diaphragm pump G and is discharged on two 4- by 6-ft vibrating screens II. These screens are dressed with approximately 28-mesh cloth. Screen oversize product flows directly to the centrifuge that dewaters the cleaned froth. The screen underflow and the overflow from the 10-ft classifier flow to the flotation circuit. The flotation feed is conditioned in a 12 by 12-ft agitator tank J at a pulp density of I:2.33 (30 pct solids). Reagents are fed to the circuit by reagent feeder I. The conditioned pulp is then diluted to a pulp density of approximately I: 5 (18 pct solids) and is fed to two banks of four 100-cu ft froth flotation cells K for primary coal recovery and cleaning. Additional reagents from reagent distributor L are added to the feed weir-box of Nos. 2, 3, and 4 cells of each bank of flotation machines. Clean coal removed from these cells flows directly to the clean-coal sump. Dilute tailings from the primary cells is re-thickened in a 30-ft diam thickener M and is then retreated in a scavenger circuit for final recovery of coal. The scavenger circuit consists of a 6- by 6-ft agitator tank N and two banks of four 24-cu ft froth flotation cells 0. Coal froth from these cells flows to the dewatering equipment and the tailings flows to a vertical refuse pump which delivers it to the 180-ft diam waste thickener D. Dewatering of the coal products is accomplished in a 54- by 72-in Bird centrifugal filter P. The cake product is dropped onto a conveyor and is loaded

Jan 1, 1949

By Bush P. R, Hale M, Dixon C. J, Wheatley M. R

Barium anomalies in drainage sediments can act as indicators of barite mineralization and path- finders for lead-zinc mineralization. Their detection in an arid climate has been investigated in two areas of Saudi Arabia. At Rabigh, 150 km north of Jeddah, barium anomalies found in wadi sediments reflect barite veins which occupy Tertiary faults in Precambrian metavolcanics and granodiorite. In the Wadi ad Dawasir area, 650 km east of Jeddah, the sediments of wadis draining the Jabal Tuwayq escarpment have been found to contain anomalous concentrations of barium derived from diagenetic barite in the Sudair formation siltstones and shales. Barium dispersion in these wadis is predominantly clastic. Near to the source rocks, barium occurs in relatively coarse grains of barite. Owing to the three well-developed cleavages of barite, its crystals readily break into cleavage flakes during fluvial transport in flash floods; as a result, the longest anomalous dispersion trains are found in the 250 to 600 um fraction. Wadi sediments finer than 250 um have relatively constant and low barium contents, being dominantly composed of windblown sand.

Jan 1, 1988

By Eric Brandner

Expansive soil formations can be found throughout the United States. When subjected to wetting, many of these formations have the potential to swell and exert large uplift forces which can significantly damage lightly-loaded structures. Designing an economical foundation that can resist uplift forces is critical to prevent damage to these structures. The current solutions to control uplift due to swelling soils, such as over-excavation and replacement of the expansive material, or drilled shafts, can be costly and problematic. Piles made from recycled polymer materials may provide a solution. Due to a lower coefficient of friction along the interface than piles made from traditional materials, solid recycled plastic piles can allow expansive soils to move nearly independently from the pile when wetted. This results in a much smaller magnitude of uplift force being transferred to the structure which minimizes the risk of significant structural damage. This paper presents the preliminary results of research conducted on the use of recycled plastic piles in an expansive shale environment. The preliminary phase of the project involved the installation of six 13 in. (330 mm) diameter recycled plastic piles at a test site on the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology campus. The piles varied in length from 15 ft. to 25 ft. (4.6m to 7.6 m). Two of the piles were subjected to a full-scale compression load test in order to determine ultimate capacity, while the additional four piles are being subjected to long-term monitoring of uplift movement. A cast-in-place concrete pile, with a diameter of 6 in. (152 mm) and length of 15 ft. (4.6 m), was also installed at the test site for monitoring. The preliminary results indicate that the use of solid recycled plastic piles is a viable alternative for support of lightly-loaded structures in expansive soil environments.

Jan 1, 2009

By W. S. Sanner

Experiments were conducted to determine the quantity and purity of ultraclean anthracite that could be prepared in the laboratory, using conventional separating techniques. A low, a medium, and a high-volatile anthracite were studied. Specific gravity separation followed by grinding, screening, and refloating at lighter specific gravities yielded small quantities of material purified to 1.0% ash, as follows: from low-volatile anthracite, 0.7%; from medium-volatile coal, 1.0%; and from high-volatile coal, 2.3%. The reduction in ash had no appreciable effect on the volatile matter or sulfur content of the coal. The limited quantities of material containing 1.0% or less ash obtainable indicate that if ultraclean coal is desired, a practical approach should include the processing units as an integral part of a convc.ntiona1 dense-media washing plant. Anthracite preparation practices during much of the industry's history were geared to maximum recovery of the larger sizes, pea through egg, which were used in hand-fired, domestic furnaces. Those sizes were cleaned to meet trade requirements, and the smaller sizes were usually higher in ash content. The impression, thus, was that ash content of anthracite always increased as the sizes got smaller. It was presumed that it was impossible to wash the finer sizes to extremely low ash contents. Following World War 11, the classical domestic market began to decline and the finer sizes assumed an increasingly large share of the market. For example, in 1949l 61% of the production was still pea and larger. Fig. l2 shows that -by 1955 these sizes accounted for only 50%, and in 1965, they were only 39% of the total anthracite produced. With the reduction in the market, increased quality was demanded, especially in export markets, and an increasing number of dense-media magnetite washers were installed in new and existing cleaning plants. In 1965, the coarse coal prepared at 59 breakers in the anthracite fields was sampled by the U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM); approximately 50% of these plants were equipped with dense-media magnetite washers.3 Since 1950, more attention has been focused on the use of finer sizes for numerous industrial uses, including iron-ore sintering, pelletizing, foundry coke-making, cement manufacture, production of calcium carbide, and of carbon electrodes, etc. Most industrial uses require relatively clean anthracite, such as 10 to 11% ash for sintering and foundry coke, 7% for aluminum melting-pot cathode carbon, and 5% for carbide production. Hence, cleaning methods have been improved to the extent that dense-media washers, hydraulic cyclones, and flotation cells have been introduced as fine-coal-cleaning devices. It is now possible to wash the buckwheat, rice, and barley sizes (9116 X 3132-in.) to ash contents as low as 8 to 10% in dense-media devices, but washing the -3132-in. sizes to those limits presents more difficult problems, due mainly to the fineness of the material. This USBM investigation was conducted to determine the amount and purity of ultraclean anthracite that could be prepared in the laboratory, using conventional separating techniques. The goal was to reduce the ash content to a level acceptable for industrial carbon uses, including electrode manufacture, which generally requires an ash content of 1% or less. While low-ash content is of primary importance in selecting industrial carbons, the amounts of other constituents are also important, including iron, silicon, titanium, nickel, vanadium, and sulfur. They were not considered in this work, since their occurrence in deashed anthracite has been studied elsewhere.4 The results of the present investigation were used to design a flowsheet, suggesting a method for producing ultraclean anthracite as part of conventional preparation practice, using dense-media vessels, crushers, pulverizers,

Jan 1, 1970

The weathering profile, in arid terrains, is commonly capped by different kinds of hardened crust, whose formation is related to recent or former climates. One may distinguish silcretes, calcretes and the ferruginous (or ferro-aluminous) laterites. the present keynote address mostly deals with the lateritic regolith and, moreover, the influence it has on mineral exploration. The lateritic regolith, also called "cuirasse", is a result of a massive accumulation of Fe (and/or Al) oxides on top of weathering profiles developed during former, probably seasonal humid, climatic episodes, and whose preservation depends on the characteristics of later climates. The total thickness of such weathering profiles commonly exceeds 50 m, with an almost complete substitution of the rock forming minerals by secondary minerals as kaolinite and Fe-Al oxi- hydroxides (hematite, goethite, boehmite, gibbsite). Such an alteration of the primary minerals assemblage is of course accompanied by significant changes of the chemical composition, as concerns major and trace elements. The latter are distributed amongst the main secondary mineral phases or trapped in some primary resistant minerals, but may also be leached, totally or partially. Gold is also affected by lateritic weathering, as shown for instance by morphoscopic and geochemical studies of gold grains collected in the different horizons of the profile, which indicates some dissolution followed by reprecipitation.

Jan 1, 1988

By O. C. Blade

The term "Ichtnyol" is a name applied loosely to certain preparations used in pharmacy. These preparations do not occur as such in nature but are manufactured by various chemical processes. Ichthyol is the name trademarked for a product manyfactured by the Irhthyel-Gescllschaft (Cordes Hermanni & Co.) of Hamburg, Germany, and marketed in thin, country by Merck & Co., Inc., (5, 86, 87)3/. Although used in the literature rather loosely, the correctly applied word refers to the product obtained by sulphonating and then neutralizing with ammonia a distillate from the oil retorted from a certain high-sulphur bituminous shale found near the village of Seefeld in the Austrian Tyrol. Due to the fact that fossils of fish and marine animals occur in the limestone associated with the bituminous shale, these deposits have long been known as, the "lchthyolite schistc of Seefeld" ( 55) . The Greek word "ichthys"" for fish and the Latin word "oleum" for oil are the words from which the term is derived. The crude, tarry shale oil, whose distillate is the raw material for the sulphonation process, has been referred to since the Middle Ages as "Dürsten" or "Tirschen" oil, and the term "ichthyel oil" has been used occasionally in the literature to designate the retorted crude oil (92, 93, 106, 117). The first application of the name "Ichthyol" to a particular product is credited to Schröter (35, 129). Various names for products manufactured by sulphonating bituminous distillates have been coined, and in some of these names the root from the word ichthys has been retained. Some of these names can be found in New and Nonofficial Remedies under the heading, Sulphoichthyolate Preparation, and Substitutes (5).

Jan 1, 1938

By S. O. Choi, C. Park, C. Sunwoo

Two methods of stress measurements have been executed on the surface and underground to con-struct an oil storage cavern using hydro-fracturing and overcoring method. The first measurement has been performed to make a design of the caverns before excavating and the second to confirm the stress state during excavation. Six measurements have been carried out in the hydro-fracturing test at the depths between –17.8 and 54.5m from the sea level and a single measurement in the overcoring test in a single borehole at the depth of –21m from the sea level. The ratios of the maximum horizontal to vertical stress measured using hydro-fracturing and overcoring method are 2.95 and 3.1, respectively. Also, the orientations of the maximum horizontal stress are N53E and N58E. These measurements show that both methods give almost same results and significant horizontal stresses are acting on this cavern. Deux méthodes de mesure de contrainte ont étè exécutées sur la surface de terrain et sous la terre pour construire une cavité de stockage de pétrole en utilisant l’hydro-fracturing et l’overcoring. La première mesure a étè faite pour le plan des cavités avant l’excavation et le seconde pour con-firmer l’état de contrainte durant l’excavation. Six measures ont étè faites dans le teste de l’hydro-fracturing à la profondeur entre –17.8 et 54.5m depuis l’élèvation maritime. Une seule mesure a étè faite dans le teste de l’overcoring dans une seule trou de songdage à la profondeur de –21m. Le ratios de la maximale contrainte horizontale à la contrainte verticale mesure par les deux méthodes sont 2.95 et 3.1, respectivement. Les orientations de la maximale contrainte horizontale sont N53E et N58E. Ce montre que les deux méthodes donnent presque m me résultats et la contrainte im-portante est activée sur ces cavités. Zwei Druckmessungen wurden durchgeführt auf der Erdoberfläche und im Innern von Ölspeicher-kavernen unter vergleichender Anwendung des Hydrofraktionierungs- und des Kernbohrungsver-fahrens. Die erste Messung wurde durchgeführt um einen Plan der Kavernen vor der Herstellung zu erstellen und die zweite um die Druckverhältnisse während der Bohrung zu überprüfen. Sechs Messugnen wurden mit der Hydrofraktionierungsmethode bei einer Tiefe von 17,8m und 54,5m unter dem Meeresspiegel und eine einzige Messung mit der Kernbohrungsmethode in einem Bohr-loch bei einer Tiefe von 21m unter dem Meeresspiegel vorgenommen. Das Verhältnis von maxi-malem horizontalem zu vertikalem Druck bei der Hydrofraktions- und der Kernbohrungsmedthode ist 2,95 bzw. 3,1. Die Bezugspunkte des maximalen horizontalen Drucks in beiden Verfahren sind N53E und N58E.

Jan 1, 2003

By Adusumilli M. S, Subrahmanyam T. V, Rao V. D

Chance find of an economically important mineral on the sur- face and its exploitation without proper exploration work, has become the habit of humanity since the Bronze Age. The explora- tion and exploitation techniques have, however, been substan- tially improved in the technologically developed western world and system controlled major communist countries. Nevertheless, the greatest need is felt in the Third World countries where large mineral potential exists, but with inadequate investments in exploration and exploitation techniques, a handicap that has been beneficial to the more developed countries, since long. The great number of the Third World countries which are striv- ing hard to develop, need to formulate mineral exploration and exploitation strategies which could enable them to develop their resources. This requires planning and creating new concepts of ore deposit types and genetic models, rheology, economics and their innovation and integration. The following approach could help them to be economically "more independent" by the end of this century. 1. Bridging of pure and applied geology gap, and creating con- sciousness of research and development. 2. Revision of mineral resources concepts adopted to modern technological world. 3. Improved mineralogical research, and determinative miner- alogy as an important asset. 4. Creative research and establishing know-how, with philosophical base for regional exploration projects. 5. Indepth investigation into the origin and growth of earth as a system, and its importance in the association, quality, and quantity of metallic, non-metallic and energy resources con- centrations. 6. Mineral beneficiation, targets and strateties; methods of eco- nomic and improved recovery systems. Development of alter- native technology, and utilization of mineral technology strategies. 7. Theoretical and practical modelling by conventional and com- puter techniques of the existing and expected mineral resources, and mineral development. 8. Critical analysis of the status of mineral economics of the Third World and developed world with forecasts for the year 2000 based on problems faced by the developing world. 9. Minerals at cross roads of International Interdependence. 10. Philosophical, realistic, traditional and modern strategies for mineral development. The dynamic economic system opera- tion in national mineral sector.

Jan 1, 1988

By Timothy Nelson, Simon Burnworth

"The Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA), which currently resides in a 1970s-era post-modern concrete structure just south of the University of California, Berkeley campus, was in need of a new home after an engineering evaluation revealed that the building possessed seismic deficiencies. Pressed for space, the University looked within its portfolio of properties and identified the site of the former University Printing Press facility as the place to build BAMPFA’s new home.The site was perfect; located one block east of bustling downtown Berkeley and its rapid transit station, and directly across the street from the western entrance to the UC Berkeley campus. Thousands of pedestrians pass by the site on a daily basis, thus granting BAMPFA the opportunity to reshape the corner of Center and Oxford Streets with a building that would not only welcome visitors to campus, but also serve as a creative hub for both the City of Berkeley and the UC Berkeley institution itself 1.The original museum plans, drawn up in the mid-2000s, called for complete demolition of the existing abandoned facility and replacement with a visually stunning structure designed by renowned Japanese architect Toyo Ito. Even at this point, the shoring and means and methods requirements of the project were identified as a challenging component, incorporating a shored excavation bounded on three sides by busy city streets and a fourth side by an operating bank and occupied apartment building. Furthermore, a sequenced demolition would be required for the printing press facility’s three-story Administration Building (also known as the Admin Block), one-story printing press warehouse (also known as the Press Building), and an adjacent parking structure. Degenkolb Engineers was retained at that time as the shoring engineer to design the shoring to facilitate this work."

Jan 1, 2016

By T. R. von Ow

The method of powering mills such as AG, SAG and Ball has a long and technically interesting history. It can be said that almost every decade in the last half century had its own trend. The trends were dominated by the market demand, the advanced process development and requirement of the mechanical and the electrical technology but mostly by the price of the applied technology. The increasing size of the ring geared mills in the last years requires more awareness on the drive train solution. Special attention must be paid to the mechanics and the requirements of the power grid. Operational challenges such as soft starting and controlled operation as well as the protection of the equipment have gained importance. Frequency converter drive solutions dedicated to single or dual pinion ring-geared mills offer significant advantages over conventional drives due to their application specific features and controls. Solutions with low speed motors as well as high speed motors cover all possible configurations available for ring geared mills.

Jan 1, 2010

By T Baumgartl, T Huynh, K Tungpalan, E Wightman, M Edraki, M Tayebi-Khorami, L Huang, S Palaniandy, E Manlapig

With the increasing rate of tailing production worldwide there is a growing concern about the hazards of tailings storage facilities (TSF). Past and current mining, processing and waste disposal strategies that focus on the extraction of the valuable minerals, and an economic assessment only, are no longer suitable. Social implications and environmental legacies must be included for effective evaluation. This is possible by using an integrated assessment framework to evaluate more alternatives, including the production of additional saleable and benign streams, alternative tailings treatment and disposal as well as options for reuse, recycling and preprocessing of existing tailings. Tailings are not viewed as a final waste product but as part of the resource. From the sustainability perspective the models developed in integrated research programs will contribute to more effective methods for assessing different scenarios and potential processes and lead to better environmental management, increased production of benign tailings and improved efficiency of water and energy use and thus more responsible resource stewardship of the ore resource.This paper presents preliminary results from a multiyear research program on integrated tailings management at the Sustainable Minerals Institute (SMI), The University of Queensland, called ‘Designer Tailings’. The project involves the gathering of experimental and observational information on tailings biogeochemical processes to design and modify the range of activities within mineral processing plants, upstream characterisation ore and gangue, and downstream tailings management for desired tailings properties and outcomes. This information will assist the development of new total integrated value chain CITATION:Edraki, M, Huynh, T, Baumgartl, T, Huang, L, Andrusiewicz, M, Tungpalan, K, Tayebi-Khorami, M, Wightman, E, Palaniandy, S, Manlapig, E, Evans, C, Farrokhpay, S, Bradshaw, D and Vink, S, 2014. Designer tailings – an integrated model for tailings management, in Proceedings Life-of-Mine 2014 , pp 599–608 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 16, 2014

By S. A. Ford

I would like to call the attention of our Bessemer steel manufacturers to a few facts in regard to the action of the manganese in the spiegel with the oxide of iron in the blown iron. The oxygen is united with the iron as a magnetic oxide, as Gautier asserts, and this oxide is reduced to a protoxide by one atom of the manganese uniting with one atom of the oxygen of the magnetic oxide of iron. This oxide of manganese and the protoxide of iron thus formed unite with the silica which has been formed by the oxidation of the silicon in the pig iron. Mr. Snelus and others

Jan 1, 1881

By Jeffrey Shepherd, Scott R. Smith, Eduard Guerra

"Electrochemical and spectroscopic evidence for the dissolution of a Au electrode by meso-2,3- dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) from an acidic LiCl04 electrolyte is presented. Near the potential of zero charge, DMSA was determined to form a stable layer on the metal surface but at more anodic polarizations, DMSA was displaced from the metal through an oxidative process. The anodic displacement of the layer from the electrode resulted in a small amount of Au that was detected in the electrolyte using atomic absorption analysis. The extent of Au dissolution, was monitored while holding the potential of the electrode for 24 hours at the thermodynamic Eo/H,O in LiCl04 electrolytes containing 10 mM DMSA. This routine resulted in detectable quantities of a soluble Au-DMSA complex in the electrolyte and the greatest leaching was observed at a pH = 2.0. At room temperature, the leaching rate was stable at 10.9 µg cm·2 hr·' however, upon increasing the temperature to 50.0°C, the rate of Au dissolution increased yielding an average rate of extraction of 40.1 µg cm·2 hr- 1. Interestingly, after the first 12 hours of leaching at 50.0°C, the leaching current decreased dramatically suggesting surface passivation which prevented further Au extraction. The implications of this process in the industrial leaching of Au will be discussed.IntroductionThe use of cyanide in the industrial process of leaching Au from ores has raised concerns regarding both operational safety and environmental issues surrounding the disposal of spent leaching eftluents in tailings ponds. Depending on the chemical nature of the processed ore, the spent solutions that are released into the tailings ponds can contain toxic cyanide, either dissolved or complexed with different metals and may pose serious risk to wildlife as well as freshwater contamination to nearby water systems. Because of these issues, some recent studies have focused on the exploration of more environmentally-friendly molecules to selectively leach Au with appropriate kinetics. However, to effectively leach Au into an aqueous solution, a suitable ligand that reacts to form a stable chemical bond with Au is needed to form soluble Au complexes that can be later recovered [I]. Recently several sulfur bearing alternatives have been shown to leach significant quantities of Au in aqueous solutions. These include thiourea [2], thiocyanate [3], and thiosulphate [4]. However, alkylthiols are also known to quickly form a stable covalent Au-S bond [5], but have been relatively understudied in term of their ability to leach Au in solution, even though some short chain thiols are water soluble and relatively nontoxic."

Jan 1, 2012

By John Petersen

Heap bioleaching technology has become well established for the exploitation of copper sulfide ores. Still, in many operations the rate of copper extraction is rather slow, often taking two years or more to recover 80% of the copper. Chalcocite, the most common secondary copper sulfide, leaches by a two-stage mechanism. The first stage is rapid, whereas the second stage has a high activation energy and proceeds slowly at ambient temperatures. Nonetheless, this rate is still considerably faster than what is typically realized in a full-scale heap. A comprehensive column bioleaching study of a chalcocite ore has shown that the chalcocite columns are leached in a zone-wise fashion. The first zone corresponds to the first stage of chalcocite leaching, where all ferric produced by the bacteria is immediately consumed and all acid entering with the feed solution is consumed within a relatively narrow band. The second stage of chalcocite leaching proceeds much more slowly in the wake of the first stage, within a zone that grows gradually over the entire length of the column. The overall rate of leaching is thus determined by the rate of acid supply into the column rather than by mineral or bacterial kinetics, at least until the entire column is engaged in second-stage chalcocite leaching. In full scale heaps, there is evidence to suggest that solution distribution favours channelling between relatively large clusters of material which are exposed only to stagnant solution. Reagents have to migrate into such clusters by diffusion, which retards the delivery of acid dramatically. Thus, we believe that the rate of chalcocite oxidation in heaps is governed by sideways diffusion rather than downward migration. Column experimental results have been reproduced with a comprehensive heap-modelling tool. The model predicts that by simply changing the length of the average diffusion channel from column conditions (a few cm) to heap conditions (tens of cm), extraction times can change from weeks to years under otherwise identical conditions.

Jan 1, 2003

By T. E. Gray

This report describes the preparation characteristics of the significant coalbeds in Boone County, W. Va., as determined by the Bureau of Mines. It is one of a series describing the coals suitable for producing metallurgical coke, either as mined or after beneficiation. Over 6.3 million tons of coal was produced in Boone County, W. Va., in 1959, of which almost 5.5 million tons was mechanically cleaned in eight preparation plants. On December 31, 1959, it was estimated that almost 8 billion tons of coal remained in the county in beds 24 inches or more in thickness. Thirteen samples were collected from nine coalbeds and washability tests were made on these samples.

Jan 1, 1961

By Ross W. Smith

Many studies have been made of the microflotation of quartz (1,2,3,4,5,6) and alumina (3,5,6, 7,8) using various anionic and cationic hetero- polar hydrocarbon surfactants as collectors. A few studies have been made on these minerals using amphoteric hydrocarbon collectors ( 9,10, 11,12) and only a few studies have been made on the use of fluorocarbon surfactants as flotation collectors (13,14). The present investigation compares microflotation response of the two minerals in hydocarbon and fluorocarbon collector systems of the anionic, cationic and amphoteric types. An attempt is made to relate flotation response of the minerals to their electrokinetic behavior and the pKa values of the collectors.

Jan 1, 1979