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By Henry M. Howe

The object of the present paper is to suggest injecting into the hearths of iron blast furnaces, whose temperature has become unduly lowered, some form of fuel whose calorific intensity, under the peculiar conditions existing there, is considerably higher than than of liquid petroleum, the rose of this substance for melting out chills having grievonsly disappointed the high hopes which were at first entertained of it. A chill being a fall of the temperature below that needed for the complete liquefaction of the slag, which requires, according to Plattner, about 1800' C., one would suppose that the chief thing to be accomplished in curing it would be to raise the temperature in the crucible of the furnace. The most obvious ways of doing this seem to be to raise the temperature of the blast, and to increase the amount of fuel in the crucible itself. Simply increasing the rate at which the blast enters the furnace, if carried beyond a certain point, should lower the temperature in the crucible. The existence of a chill shows that the fuel is arriving too slowly at the tuyeres. If air be introduced so rapidly as to he in excess of that required for the combustion of the fuel, all that excess will simply lower the temperature around the tuyeres, carrying the region of intense heat upwards, and weakening its intensity by increasing its size. Up to a certain point, increasing the rate of introducing the blast will increase practically pari passu the rate at which the fuel reaches the tuyeres. But when mechanical obstructions, which so often accompany chills, retard the descent of the fuel, there must be a point beyond which this does not hold good, and beyond which farther

Jan 1, 1883

By V. B. Dale

This paper is one of a Federal Bureau of Mines series covering the mineral resources of the Nation. It briefly describes most of the tungsten deposits in Cochise, Pima, and Santa Cruz Counties, Ariz. Most of the descriptions are from field examinations by the two senior writers, prior to July 1957. Wolframite first was identified in Arizona in 1896 by W. P. Blake, Territorial Geologist. Tungsten mining began about 1900 in the Little Dragoon deposits of Cochise County, and about 1901 in Las Guijas district of Pima County. The price history of tungsten is an erratic one; consequently, production has been erratic. Prices rise during wars and periods of national preparedness. Production of tungsten ore was stimulated greatly by a Government purchasing program, announced on May 10, 1951, wherein the Government agreed to purchase standard-grade tungsten concentrates at $63 per short ton unit5/ for 5 years or until 1,468,750 units were purchased. This was later increased to 3,000,000 units, and after this amount had been purchased in June 1956, the purchase of an additional 1,500,000 units was authorized. Government purchase, however, was suspended in December 1956 before completion of this latter program, and the price of tungsten concentrates declined sharply. The price had dropped to $15 per short ton unit, duty extra,6/ by the last part of July 1957.

Jan 1, 1960

By A. McLean, D. W. Gomersall, R. G. Ward

An experimental study has been made of the solubility of nitrogen in liquid iron and liquid Fe-C alloys using levitation melting and a rapid quenching device. Iron alloy droplets were equilibrated with nitrogen gas at 1 atm pressure, quenched, and analyzed. Previous techniques for studying the Fe-C-N system have produced data which me in marked disagreement. This disagreement is due largely to errors caused by reaction between the molten alloy and the crucible material. With the levitation procedure, errors from this source have been eliminated and precise solubility data obtained for temperatures between 1450° and 1750°C. C-N interactions in molten iron have been expressed in terms of first- and second-order free energy, enthalpy, and entropy parameters. ALTHOUGH the solubility of nitrogen in iron base alloys is in general small, the effects of nitrogen on the properties of steel may be quite profound. For most purposes nitrogen in finished steels is undesirable, particularly in the low-carbon grades, since on cooling to room temperature the solubility limit of nitrogen in the steel may be exceeded and this can lead to embrittlement and loss of ductility on aging. On the other hand, nitrogen can improve the work-hardening properties and machinability of steels while in certain stainless grades nitrogen is important in order to stabilize the austenite phase. It is, therefore, desirable that one should be able to predict the solubility of nitrogen in liquid iron alloys. To do this, information is required concerning the interactions between nitrogen and the various alloying elements which may be present in liquid iron. There have been several investigations of these effects in recent years1"7 and the interactions between nitrogen and many elements dissolved in liquid iron are now known to a high degree of precision at steel-making temperatures. Unfortunately, a number of iron alloy systems which are of interest in steelmaking have been difficult to deal with by the experimental techniques generally used for this type of investigation. Among the most important of these are the Fe-C alloys. In the past, two methods have been widely used for determining nitrogen solubilities: the Sieverts' technique, in which the amount of nitrogen required to saturate a given mass of liquid metal at a particular temperature and pressure is measured volumetrically, and the sampled-bath technique in which liquid metal held in a crucible is equilibrated with a gas phase containing a known partial pressure of nitrogen, and samples drawn from the melt are quenched and analyzed. These two methods have been discussed in detail elsewhere.5,8 With the Sieverts' technique, errors may be introduced from the following sources: i) Gas adsorption on metal films which have condensed on the cooler parts of the reaction chamber. ii) Uncertainty in the determination of "hot volume" calibrations. iii) Crucible-melt interaction, particularly if a gaseous reaction product is formed or if the melt becomes contaminated with material from the crucible walls. The sampled-bath method may also suffer from errors due to reaction between the melt and the crucible material. In addition, there is the possibility that gas may be lost from the sample during solidification and cooling. In the present investigation, the solubility of nitrogen in liquid iron alloys has been studied by means of a new technique based on the use of levitation melting equipment and a rapid quenching device. In addition to the fact that problems of the type outlined above are avoided, this particular approach has the following advantages: i) The high-frequency current induces vigorous stirring within the levitated droplet so that gas-metal equilibration is rapidly attained. ii) The gas phase surrounding the melt can be changed very quickly and is easily controlled. For example, a droplet may be levitated in helium, deoxidized in hydrogen, equilibrated with nitrogen, and quenched, within a period of 15 min. ii) Melts can be readily under cooled or superheated, thus extending the effective temperature range of an investigation and allowing temperature-dependent data to be determined with a high degree of precision. Excellent reviews of levitation melting techniques and their application to physical-chemistry studies at high temperature have been published recently by Jenkins et al.,9 Peifer,10 and Rostron.11 In the present investigation a levitation melting technique has been used to obtain data for the solubility of nitrogen in pure liquid iron and liquid Fe-C alloys at temperatures between 1450° and 1750°C. The solution of nitrogen in liquid iron can be described by the reaction:

Jan 1, 1969

The Wednesday morning session started with a film "The Greatest Good" presented by the Colorado Mining Association, courtesy of A. George Setter. President Joe Taylor opened the business meeting at 9:30 a.m. He called for a report from the Auditing Committee. The report was read and a motion was made for approval. It was made, seconded and approved. The report from the Resolutions Committee was submitted by Mr. Robert Delaney, Chairman of the committee. It reads as follows: RESOLVED: Whereas, in the year since the last convention of the Rocky Mountain Coal Mining Institute, the Institute and the coal mining industry generally have suffered the loss through death of the services of:

Jan 1, 1968

By Robert Mehl

METALLURGISTS are properly interested in papers dealing with subjects ranging from the theories of the metallic state to very practical details on the use of metals. A review of theoretical metallurgy naturally excludes papers concerned with the usefulness of metals and limits itself to those concerned purely with the science of metals. Even in this more limited field the reviewer is confronted with thousands of papers dealing with facts and theories of metallic behavior, from which he can select only a few hundred. The selection is necessarily highly arbitrary. Certain classes of papers definitely fall within the scope of this review. Thus, papers on the deformation of metals, on the structure of alloys, on recrystallization, to select only a few, are fully represented. Other subjects, which verge on what is generally accepted as the science of metals, such as the magnetic properties of metals, the less familiar electrical properties and theories, adsorption of gases by metal surfaces, and the like, are treated scantily. Particular attention is given to reviews of subjects that fall with in the groups chosen; in a summary such as this, which is largely in the nature of a progress report, capably written reviews are of importance, particularly since the monograph and text book literature is so meager in this field.

Jan 1, 1935

By Player R. L

Measurements of the rate of PbO reduction from high lead metallurgical slags were made under laboratory conditions using graphite, a CO-50%CO2 gas mixture and metallic iron as reductants. The results show a transition in rate-controlling step at low PbO contents (i.e. 6 wt.% PbO). At medium to high PbO contents in the slag, the reduction rate was found to be strongly affected by the slag chemistry, temperature and reductant type. The effect of stirring and hence mass transfer in the slag phase on the reduction rate of PbO was found to be insignificant at medium-high PbO contents. Attention is drawn to the importance of chemically controlled reaction rates at the slag-gas interface. Parallels between these results and test work on a 5 tph scale have been briefly drawn.

Jan 1, 1989

By George W. Doffing

Numerous contradictory statements have been made in the past regarding the importance of the seasonal influence of demand for motor fuel on prices of oil securities. It has often been said that the time to buy oil securities is in the spring, or just prior to the heavy consuming season for gasoline. The fallacy of this argument is brought out in the following paragraphs. Seasonality of Oil-security Prices The indexes used in this paper as indicators of prices of oil securities and general industrials are those compiled by Standard Statistics Co. The oil producing and refining stock index includes 14 representative petroleum companies, while the all-industrials index is made up of 347 issues. All figures are stated as relatives, with 1926 = 100. The primary basis of the index, and one that gives a good weighting of the relative importance of the company within the industry, is the total market value of the stock issue outstanding; i.e., the market price times the number of shares outstanding. Adjustments are made for the addition or elimination of issues from the group index, for stock dividends, split-ups, stock rights, et cetera. At the present time the oil producing and refining index includes the following companies: Atlantic Refining Co., Consolidated Oil Corporation, Continental Oil Co., Gulf Oil Corporation, Humble Oil & Refining Co., Ohio Oil Co., Royal Dutch Co., Shell Union Oil Corporation, Socony-Vacuum Oil Co., Standard Oil Company of California, Standard Oil Co. (Indiana), Standard Oil Co. (New Jersey), Texas Corporation, Union Oil Company of California. In calculating the seasonal for oil-security prices several periods have been selected as indicat,ive of major changes in the industry, as follows: 1. 1918 through 1936. This gives an over-all picture of the industry during the motor-vehicle, motor-fuel era. 2. 1927 through 1936. This period includes the control stages, both voluntary and coercive. 3. 1927 to September, 1933. This is the pre-code period of control.

Jan 1, 1937

By Galecki G

The investigations conducted in the High Pressure Lab at the University of Missouri-Rolla demonstrated the ability of high pressure waterjets to excavate coal and minerals, disintegrate materials and as well as to comminute coal and minerals. Additional progress in comminution can be achieved if the compressive crushing principle commonly used at present is changed to one where particles are fragmented by the tensile growth of preexisting internal flaws or cracks, under internal waterjet pressure. This idea was studied in a number of tests. It covers tests with different jets imposed on coal and rock samples during compressive load as well as without any loading.

Jan 1, 1993

By Paul C. Merritt

Chrysotile asbestos producers in Quebec may soon experience a unique situation-i.e., strong competition from American ore sources for the short fiber market west of the Mississippi River. This com- petition will be forthcoming from Copperopolis and Coalinga, two deposits now being developed on opposite flanks of the San Joaquin Valley in central California. The combined output now planned from both deposits is 100,000 tons annually, equivalent to about 50% of the annual market demand in the western, central and Gulf States, and more than twice the tonnage sold in 1960 by all other American asbestos producers combined. The principal companies involved in these new undertakings are Jefferson Lake Asbestos Corp. (subsidiary of Jefferson Lake Sulphur Co.), Hidden Splendor Mining Co., Coalinga Asbestos Co. (Johns- Manville Corp. in conjunction with Kern County Land Co.), Union Carbide Corp., and Asbestos Corp. Ltd. Jefferson Lake's principal interest is at Copperopolis where the company's new 70,000-ton per yr mill recently went on stream. The company also holds some claims at Coalinga, but this latter area is better known as the site where Hidden Splendor, Coalinga Asbestos Co. and Todd Industries (a local company) have established operating mines and mills capable of turning out 30,000 tons of fiber each year. Coalinga is also the site of exploration by Union Carbide Nuclear and Asbestos Corp. Ltd.

Jan 9, 1962

Coal miners, especially roof bolter and continuous miner operators, work in a hazardous underground environment where they are often exposed to poor roof conditions. Nearly 500 rock fall injuries are reported each year, and 99% of them are caused by rocks falling from between the roof bolts. These loose rocks that injure miners are usually just a few inches thick, but on average weigh 280 pounds. NIOSH has found that most rock fall injuries can be prevented by installing roof screen during the bolting cycle. Roof screen is a sheet made of steel wires in a grid pattern. When screen is bolted up against the mine roof, it provides far more coverage than any common surface control used in the mines today. Because more mine roof is covered, there is less chance that a rock will fall and injure a miner. The facts about roof screen are shown in the new NIOSH video entitled “Make It Safer With Roof Screen.” Using extensive underground footage, the 7-minute video shows how well screen keeps loose rock from falling in difficult roof conditions. Techniques for installing screen from both outside-controlled and walk-thru roof bolting machines are shown. The video also provides safe handling tips, best practices, and information about machine technology that can greatly improve material handling. Throughout the video, a coal mine safety manager and a shift foreman talk about the tremendous difference that roof screen has made at their mines. An instructional booklet supplements the video with additional information. It presents compelling data from mines that have practically eliminated rock fall injuries with a roof screening program. Other sections of the booklet discuss in greater detail roof screen installation, tips for manual screen handling, a material handling system for roof screen, and use of the personal bolter screen, which can be easily handled by one person. Screen specification and custom ordering are described, including the sizes of screen, grid sizes, reinforcing (indicator) wires, edge cut options, and screen strength. A list of additional sources of information is also provided. Nearly every mine eventually encounters poor roof. Screen is one of the most powerful control techniques available. This new video will help make mine managers aware of screen, and it can help them in developing a roof screen installation program. It also serves as an information source and teaching tool for safety managers and trainers. The video can easily be integrated into new miner training programs or annual refresher training.

Mar 1, 2005

Provide the National Park Service (NPS) with guidelines for closing abandoned mine openings such as shafts and adits. Approach The NPS needed alternative methods of closing a variety of abandoned mine openings on National Park lands. Because the U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) has a long history of mining-related experience, the NPS requested that the Bureau provide them with technical mine closure information. USBM engineers compiled information on various types of mine closures and prepared technical illustrations of those closure techniques. Multiple closure options, by type of opening, were prepared as one-page field guides to assist NPS field personnel in determining the most appropriate closure method for a given situation and detailing the construction of the closure method. Results Guidelines provided to the NPS included a description of the method, use applications, construction techniques, technical illustrations, and technical support information. The following provides a brief description of 11 mine closure techniques identified for use by NPS personnel. Most of the closure methods, except the backfill methods, allow for construction that can provide access to the mine. However, providing access makes the closure susceptible to vandalism. Most closure methods require periodic monitoring for subsidence and corrosion or deterioration of construction materials.

Jan 1, 1994

By Harlan N. Barton

A commercially available, portable X-ray spectrograph, lightweight and rugged for vehicle or field camp use, was used to determine Ba, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb, Rb, Sr, and Zn in stream sediment geochemical samples. Investigations showed a relative standard deviation of 1-3%, detection limits of approximately 100 pg/g and significant matrix effects. Coefficients of correlation greater than 0.9 were obtained between portable X-ray and emission and atomic-absorption spectroscopy analyses. A geochemical map of a known mineralized area showed good agreement with maps prepared by other methods of analysis and sample media.

Jan 1, 1983

Brand se Baai, on the North-Western Cape Coastline of Southern Africa, is the site of the Namakwa Sands Limited Heavy Mineral Sands Mining Operation. The mine is a 14 000 000 tonnes per annum open-cast strip-style mining operation using truck and excavators to mine the sand. The orebody consists of relatively unconsolidated sands reworked by fluvial, marine and aeolian mechanisms. The total orebody includes three primary ore types, namely the Red Aeolian Sands, the Dorbank (a hardcap layer) and the Orange Feldspathic Sands, which forms the bulk of the resource. Mine planning and scheduling is done using a 50 m + 50 m variable bench height system with three primary bench heights. The Aeolian and Dorbank each have a bench that varies with their thickness of up to a maximum eight metres and the Orange feldspathic sand, a standard bench height of eight metres. For a number of years Namakwa Sands used a complex 2D, Datamine Based, macro system to perform the resource evaluation and mine design. As the mining operations expanded it became clear that a complete system redesign was required to cope with the increasing operational pressures coming to bear on the old system. The biggest challenges facing any replacement system are the sheer scale of the mining operation (16 km long and 7 km wide resulting in a minimum of 30 000 individual 50 m + 50 m mining blocks), the size of the geological data files (up to one gigabyte) and representing the benching system accurately (as the benches follow the topography and are not horizontal). In addition to these large-scale issues, the ability to run multiple mine design scenarios was required, an aspect which the old system was unable to perform adequately. Based upon these primary difficulties, a new business process was developed which required a complete rethink of the mine design methodology as well as the creation of a new system to deplete the resource model, produce monthly reconciliation evaluations and create a ultimate pit limit based on the operations mining cost model. Using a system based on the Earthworks Mine2-4D Mine Design and Scheduling System (with its mine design and scheduling specific tools), as well as a small, customised program, massive time-savings have been made. It is now possible to run several life of mine scenarios in the same timeframe that a single life of mine run took under the old system. This paper will present the methodology and business decisions behind the new Namakwa Sands system, and detail the restructuring and development used to deal with the large data set sizes and long processing times inherent in the old system. Future enhancements to the system that will make it more generically applicable to open-cast mining scenarios will also be dealt with.

Jan 1, 2003

By L. D. Schmidt, H. G. Graham

Several processes for the production of ultra-clean coal for electrode carbon were developed in Germany prior to and during World War II . These processes have been investigated since the end of the war by the British and U. S. Government missions . As the reports of the investigations are not readily available to the public , it is the purpose of this paper to present the information which has been obtained regarding the methods by which ultraclean coal was produced . Almost all the ultra-clean coal was used in the manufacture of electrodes for the production of aluminum and magnesium . Standard raw materials for making these electrodes are pitch coke and petroleum coke , which are nearly ashless . The inclusion of ash in the electrode carbon results in lowered efficiency and impure metal from the reduction process . Petroleum coke and pitch coke were in very short supply in Germany during the war , so that it was necessary to augment the supply with carbon produced from coal . In the emergency , methods were developed to clean coal which had never before been economically feasible . However , a demand for nearly ash-free coal might develop in the United States if a shortage of petroleum coke were to occur at the same time as a strong demand for light metals . Other uses of ultraclean coal are in direct hydrogenation of coal , in production of activated carbon, and for special fuels . Specifications for electrode carbon are rather severe owing to the necessity for producing pure metal . Maximum amounts of impurities allowable in American practice are as follows : Total ash , 1.0 percent ( in finished coke , 0.7 percent ) Silica , 0.08 percent Ca or Na, or their sum , 0.12 percent Sulfur , 2.0 percent Ba , Ni , Cr , Mn , Co , and V are objectionable in very small amounts . The most important process for ultra cleaning of coal in Germany was froth flotation . Froth flotation had been used widely there to process washery -water sludges and to recover coking coal from high - ash fines . Its use was indicated , therefore , when the demand for ultra low-ash coal arose . In two plants the coal cleaned by froth flotation was treated with acid or caustic to lower further the ash content . Another process used on an industrial scale was that of dissolving the coal substance in the middle oil from direct hydrogenation of coal under controlled pressure and temperature . The resulting paste was heated, filtered , and the oil distilled off . The residue was a low-ash organic material that could be carbonized for electrode carbon or could be hydrogenated directly . Several other processes had been developed to the laboratory or pilot - plant stage but had never been used on a commercial scale . These processes included cleaning by centrifugal action , cleaning by electrostatic action , and cleaning by forming a paste with oil in water . The coal-preparation plants at the Carl Alexander mine , Augusta Viktoria mine , and Kőenigin Elisabeth mine are described in Bureau of Mines Information Circular 7389 : " Coal Preparation Practice in Western Germany" , by Thomas . Fraser and M. G. Driessen . Most of the special equipment used at these plants is described in the above publication .

Oct 1, 1948

By W. J. Kroll

Despite the fact that barium minerals are plentiful and widely distributed in nature, this element is one that we do not yet know how to prepare cheaply in metallic form. This is due to its chemical activity, as evidenced by its great affinity for fluorine, chlorine, oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, and sulfur. Furthermore, it forms a very stable subchloride and subfluoride, which prevents isolation of the metal by fusion electrolysis from a halide bath. A good survey of the metallurgy of barium calcium, arid strontium has been made recently in Light Metals (54,55).3/ Metallic magnesium (46), calcium (83), barium, and strontium (27) reduce each other's oxides. Proof of this can be found in the activation of BaO after reduction with Mg, which leads to the formation of so-called "Maquenne" mixtures (58) used for absorbing gases. However, it is impossible to extract the reduced metal- from the residue, a fact that Guntz (25) attributed to the formation of barium suboxide. There is no necessity for presuming the formation of such a compound, as it has boon established that in the reduction there is always formed an alloy of the alkaline-earth metal with the magnesium, which is capable of producing hydrogen when brought into contact with water. The reduction of alkaline earth-metal oxides with aluminum was observed by Mallet (57) in 1877, but recent investigations have shown that the end product of the reaction is an alloy of aluminum with the alkaline earth metal (1,2). Silicon also has been suggested as a reducing agent, and the results obtained are the same (84,85).

Jan 1, 1945

By Donald O. Rausch, William E. Hawkes, Odin Jr. Strandberg

INTRODUCTION Kennecott Copper Corp.'s Tintic Div. Burgin mine is a 725 t/d (800 stpd) lead-zinc producer, located in the east Tintic mining district, 5.6 km (3.5 miles) east of Eureka, and 130 km (80 miles) south of Salt Lake City, UT. The Burgin mining complex includes three shafts, shop, dry, and office facilities, and a 454 t/d (500 stpd) flotation concentrator. Production and ser¬vice entry to the mine is through a 4.26-m (14-ft) diam concrete-lined production shaft, and a three-compart¬ment rectangular shaft. A connection with the Apex No. 2 shaft and the Burgin mine provides a second exhaust airway. Bear Creek Mining Co., Kennecott's exploration sub¬sidiary, began exploration of the Burgin mine area in 1957 with the sinking of the 335 m (1100 ft) deep No. 1 shaft. A station was cut at the 320-m (1050-ft) level of the shaft and extensive drifting, diamond drilling, and some winzing and raising confirmed the presence of a major lead-zinc ore body, the main portion of which oc¬curred below a hot saline water table. Surface facilities and the 4.26-m (14-ft) diam concrete-lined production shaft were completed in 1966. Ore production has been steadily increased to 725 t/ d (800 stpd) since 1966. The collar elevation of the No. 2 production shaft is 1731 m (5678 ft) above sea level. The mine's three levels, the 1050, 1200, and 1300 are at elevations of 1414.6, 1356.4, and 1338.1 m (4587, 4450, and 4390 ft), respectively. The approximate elevation of the hot saline water table is 1382.6 m (4536 ft). The earliest production on the east Tintic mining district was from the Eureka Lilly mine in 1909. Later, in 1916, the Tintic Standard mine was discovered, and pro¬duced ores with a gross value of $80,000,000 through 1956. The Eureka Standard mine located 1.6 km (1 mile) southwest of the Burgin mine produced ore worth $12,000,000 from fissures in the Tintic quartzite along the Eureka Standard fault. Ores produced from the east Tintic mining district through 1971 are valued at $151.3 million. The production from the entire Tintic district is approximately $500 million. GEOLOGY The Burgin ore deposit occurs as replacement bodies in limestone, dolomite, and shale. Numerous fault struc¬tures and rock formations make the mine geology com¬plex. The mineralization is strongly associated with sev¬eral major geological features, which include the Ophir formation, consisting of limestone, dolomite, and shale as the favorable host rock, and the structural influence of the east Tintic thrust, the Eureka Standard and sev¬eral other significant faults. Fig. 1 depicts the Burgin 1300 level workings, a generalized configuration of the ore body, and the main geological features. Covering the quartzite, limestone, dolomite, and shale facies enclosing the Burgin ore deposit are 183 to 274 m (600 to 900 ft) of andesite. The Burgin ore consists of massive sulfide and oxide lead-zinc ores with significant silver and cadmium val¬ues. The main ore minerals are galena, cerrusite, and spalerite. Extensive manganese oxide deposits are associated with the lead-zinc ore occurrence. A limited

Jan 1, 1982

By Willy Persson

A common feature of the kinds and amounts of impurities present most pyrometallurgical, processes is injection of oxygen to, remove various in the feed. The degree of success of a specific process step relies critically on control of the instantaneous oxygen potential/oxidation stage, throughout the step as well as upon termination of the step. This will, for instance, determine the distribution of impurities between metal and slag. As long as the operation is perturbation free -detailed analysis of all additions and application of advanced models often yield satisfactory control means However, a pyrometallurgical process is seldom free from disturbances, which reduces the accuracy of the static models and leads to inconsistencies in scheduled route might be uncontrollable changes in quality and quantity of feed, operator interventions and shift changes, timing of cranes, lining wear and accretions etc. The implementation of dynamic, control to correct for disturbances and, more generally for process optimization, requires continuous on-line information on, the actual status of the process. The implementation of sensors for continuous process monitoring, e.g., as regards the instantaneously prevailing oxygen potential or oxidation stage, has been hampered by the highly aggressive environment in smelters; This is. where remote-sensing techniques based on optics and spectroscopy, have proven to form invaluable, tools towards the realization of dynamic production control. Since about 15 years Semtch has developed and industrialized a remote-sensing technology, based on ,optics and spectroscopy, for continuous on-line process monitoring and production control of various pyrometallurgical processes. The presentation will discuss applicability aspects with examples and experiences from installations and tests in ferrous and non-ferrous industry. Keywords: Applied spectroscopy, Metallurgy, Process monitoring, Production. Control

Jan 1, 2003

By G. W. P. Rengstorff

In an effort to find an oxidation-resistant alloy of molybdenum, binary and ternary alloys containing aluminum, chromium, cobalt, iron, nickel, silicon, titanium, tungsten, vanadium, and zirconium were screened. Fourteen other alloying additions were also tested. Many of the alloys were more oxidation-resistant than molybdenum, but none were entirely satisfactory. MOLYBDENUM oxidizes extremely rapidly above 1450°F in air. At 1800°F, a loss of metal at the rate of 0.1 in. in 4 hr is typical. The high speed of this oxidation may be judged by comparison with the oxidation rate of 0.1 in. per year (0.00005 in. in 4 hr), sometimes taken as the maximum permissible oxidation rate at 1800°F for a satisfactory Fe-Cr-Ni alloy. Great strides have been made in the development of coatings and cladding to protect molybdenum from oxidizing atmospheres. These developments in surface protection will undoubtedly make it possible to take advantage of the excellent hot strength of molybdellum and its alloys in many new applications. Still, even the best coating can protect molybdenum only as long as the surface layer is unbroken. Research was undertaken to determine whether an alloy of molybdenum could be found which would resist oxidation. Such an alloy would not deteriorate suddenly when the protective surface layer was destroyed in a small area. In seeking an alloy of molybdenum to resist oxidation, the physical properties of molybdenum could not be sacrificed entirely. The development of an alloy with the desired resistance to oxidation was not achieved. The information obtained on the effect of a large number of elements on the oxidation of molybdenum is, however, of value in the development of coatings. Indeed, many of the alloys tested for oxidation resistance were already known to have poor mechanical properties but were tested to aid in the development of coatings. Oxidation of Molybdenum The rapid oxidation of molybdenum is usually attributed to the volatility of Moo,,. Gulbransen and Wysong have shown that molybdenum oxidizes very slowly up to 850°F, the temperature at which the oxide film begins to evaporate. Melting as well as evaporation of molybdenum oxides promotes the oxidation of molybdenum. MoO melts at 1465°F. MOO, the oxide which is believed to form at the metal-oxide interface, combines with MoO, to form a eutectic having a melting point of 1432°F.' The liquid oxide, even if nonvolatile, could cause poor resistance to oxidation by allowing easy transport of molybdenum and oxygen ions through the oxide. Actually, a sudden increase in the rate of oxidation of molybdenum at 1460°F has been observed to coincide with the appearance of a liquid phase. The formation of a volatile oxide is not unique with molybdenum. The problem is also encountered with vanadium, tungsten, and some of the Pt-Pd group of metals. Vanadium not only forms the volatile V2O3 but, like molybdenum, forms a liquid oxide coating. Few attempts have been made, however, to prevent the rapid oxidation of these metals by alloying. Oxidation of Molybdenum Alloys At the beginning of this work, very little was known of the oxidation resistance of molybdenum alloys. It was known that molybdenum disilicide (with 37 pct Si) has extremely good oxidation resistance,' but this compound is so brittle that it has few uses. It is an effective protective coating for molybdenum when allowance can be made for its brittleness. Chromium was known to retard the oxidation of molybdenum,' but at least 50 pct Cr was necessary to have an appreciable effect. Other, unpublished, reports show that a few other alloys have been given preliminary tests, but the results have not been promising." Choice of Alloys to be Investigated An alloying element might be expected to protect molybdenum in either of two ways: Its oxide might combine with molybdenum oxide to form a stable, nonvolatile complex oxide (a molybdate); or the oxide of the alloying element might form in preference to molybdenum oxide, developing an impervious layer which would prevent the formation of a volatile molybdenum oxide. The knowledge available about the formation of molybdates was meager. Therefore, the initial study was made on alloys of molybdenum with elements having especially stable oxides. On this basis, binary and ternary alloys containing the following six elements were investigated: aluminum, chromium, titanium, zirconium, silicon, and vanadium. Nickel was also added as an alloying element. Although it does not form a more stable oxide than molybdenum, it does impart some oxidation resistance to copper and iron. Its inclusion in the study was fortunate because its alloys proved to be the most promising of those first tested. Apparently nickel formed a stable molybdate. Because nickel was effective in reducing the oxidation rate of molybdenum, the elements iron, cobalt, and tungsten were added to the list. The ten alloying elements mentioned form ten binary and 45 ternary alloying systems with molybdenum. A series of alloys was tested in each of these systems. In addition, at least one test was made on the effect of each of the following alloying elements:

Jan 1, 1957

By Terrill JE, Fergusson LJ

In the last decade of precious metal exploration, several important gold discoveries have conclusively demonstrated that epithermal gold deposits formed in what were once active geothermal areas. A significant deposit in this category is the Lihir Island discovery in the Tabar-Ferri volcanic island arc off the coast of New Ireland, Papua New Guinea. Within that arc are the Feni Islands where exploration by Esso PNG Inc. and City Resources Ltd. has been carried out since early 1984. On Ambitle Island in the Feni Group, an epithermal gold prospect located within a young caldera has been tested by diamond drilling. The drillholes intersected a boiling zone at depth beneath acid altered 'cap' rocks. The zone is 30-60 metres thick and comprises hydraulically fractured and mineralised lavas with gold grades of 1-7 g/t. The prospect is still an active geothermal area with current boiling in the zone tested. As on Lihir, the recent epithermal alteration and mineralisation overprints a relict prophyry system. On Ambitle and the adjacent Babase Island several other, cooler exciting gold prospects are currently being tested.

Jan 1, 1987

By Michael G. Nelson

Underground coal mining practice often requires that some coal be left in place at the seam boundaries after mining, for purposes of ground control, quality control, machine guidance, or good operating practice. Many methods for measuring the thickness of boundary coal have been developed, but only the natural % R gamma background method as bee used in routine operations. Use of this method is constrained by the level and consistency of the natural gamma background in the bordering strata, the accuracy of the gamma detection instrument, and the elevation profile of the seam boundary being detected. Computer simulations for three commercially available gamma detection instruments, designed for mine use, showed that measurement of boundary coal thickness by the natural gamma method can provide satisfactory input for horizon control systems when the gamma detector is large, when the sensor is mounted on the mining machine, and when the elevation profile of the seam boundary does not change rapidly in the direction of advance.

Jan 1, 1993