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By W. E. Anable

The Bureau of Mines researched methods for recovering copper from cyclone and electrostatic-precipitator dusts of primary copper smelters as part of its program to maximize minerals and metals recovery from primary and secondary domestic resources. Small-scale studies showed that use of 110 pct stoichiometric sulfur and 123 pct stoichiometric carbon, based on producing a 40-pct copper-iron matte, resulted in the recovery of 95 pct of the copper contained in the dust. Typical mattes contained less than 10 pct of the arsenic, 30 pct of the bismuth, and 45 pct of the antimony and tin contained in the dust. Matte was converted to blister copper by injecting up to 200 pct of the stoichiometric oxygen requirement over a period of 2 to 3 hours. Up to 76 pct of the copper contained in the dust was recovered as a crude blister copper containing about 2 pct arsenic, 0.5 pct antimony, and less than 0.1 pet bismuth and tin. A matte-white metal product resulted from carbothermically reducing dust with coal, lime, and silica. Up to 95 pct of the copper was recovered in the combined product.

Jan 1, 1981

The treatment of beach sands in'' the Bunbury/Capel' area for the extraction of ilmenite is a very recent development in the mining industry in'J7estern Australia. Nevertheless since the commencement of production in 1956, ilmenite has become the sixth most important mineral produced. The increasing world recognition of W.A. as a major' Iiroducer of ilmenite is due primarily ' to its low chromic oxide. ; (Cr203 content,, 0,03% to 0.04%, combined with a medium to high grade TiO2 content, 54% - 6 , supported by large reserves, a'. stable government with close access to good shipping facilities.. Ilmenite is produced from-these deposits at low-costs, enabling the industry to compete on world markets despite high rates for sea freights because of the distance from.major markets.

Jan 1, 1964

By R. V. Ramani, S. Shankar

"Available literature on the effect of re-entrainment on overall airborne dust concentration in mine airways or the fundamental mechanisms of coal dust re-entrainment in mine atmosphere is scant (Shankar and Ramani, 1991 ). Therefore, as part of the Respirable Dust Center's ongoing research, the following three-part study was undertaken:• a study of the re-entrainment phenomena of anthracite and bituminous coal dust particles in a wind tunnel under the influence of varying air velocities;• a study of the same in the Lake Lynn Laboratory Mine of the USBM with both air flow and walking by personnel causing re-entrainment; and• the mathematical modeling and computer simulation of the re-entrainment phenomenon.In this paper, results from the re-entrainment studies in the wind tunnel and the Lake Lynn Laboratory mine are presented. Comparing the results from the two studies,it was observed that increasing the air velocity increased the rate of re-entrainment ( Shankar and Ramani, I 994a) and the rate of re-entrainment decreased with the time of exposure of the source dust to the flowing air. In addition, when the source dust was composed of particles of different sizes, the airborne dust concentrations due to re-entrainment were higher than when the source dust was composed of particles of the same size. The contribution of airborne dust concentration due to air flow was negligible compared to the contribution due to walking. IntroductionIn underground coal mines, dust is produced primarily during the process of mining and during such activities as pillar spall, loading, belt transfer and roof fall. The generated dust is entrained and then collects on surfaces through dispersion, diffusion and eventual deposition. Removal forces, such as flowing ventilation air or turbulence caused by walking and moving vehicles, can re-entrain the deposited dust (Hall, 1955). A portion of the re-entrained dust remains airborne and increases the concentration of airborne dust in mine airways.The presence of airborne coal dust in mine airways in large concentrations can be hazardous. Health effects include coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP) and silicosis, and it can be a nuisance affecting visibility. In addition, as is common during methane explosions, if the concentration of airborne coal dust becomes significant, there could be a coal-dust explosion (Singer, Cook and Grumer, 1972; Singer, Harris and Grumer, 1974; Edwards and Ford, 1988). Through concerned research efforts over the last decade, significantprogress has been made in reducing the airborne dust concentration in mine atmospheres. However, secondary sources, such as re-entrainment, have not been studied in-depth. It is important to understand the phenomenon of re-entrainment and its potential contribution to the airborne dust concentration in mine airways for further decreasing airborne dust hazards in mines."

Dec 1, 1996

By Chririnos. J.

Ante el desabastecimiento del método de explotación de tajeo abierto ascendente con sostenimiento de puntales, empleado en la mina Algamarca, Cajamarca, se sugirió la aplicación de dos nuevos métodos de explotación: almacenamiento provisional y corte de relleno. El primer método es aplicable en aquellos casos donde las rocas de caja sean consistentes y que la veta uniforme que no sea arcillosa, mientras que el segundo, es factible en aquellos blocks donde las rocas de caja sean poco consistentes. En este sentido, el objetivo del texto es señalar la factibilidad de ambos métodos sobre diversos aspectos de carácter técnico-económico, considerando que el ancho de la explotación sea de 0.94 m, para que la utilidad sea más provechosa.

Nov 20, 1972

By R Heater, G Glynn

Various small diameter commercial grades of slurry and emulsion explosives were tested and compared. Velocity diameter curves for confined and unconfined charges were established and the effects of temperature and hydrostatic pressure on critical diameters and minimum primer weights were determined.

Jan 1, 1984

By Wang Jingsong, Ma Tengfei, Feng Fu, She Xuefeng

In this paper the direct reduction melting separation-leaching process is investigated on recovering rare earth from rare earth Bayan Obo complex iron ore (REBOCIO). The REBOCIO was reduced and melting separated to produce iron nugget and rare-earth-rich slag at 1400°C for 12 or 15 min. The RE2O3 is enriched into Ce 4.667(SiO4)O or Ca 3Ce2[(Si,P)3O4]3F, which closely depend on chemical components, especially basic. The optimal acid-leaching parameters of rare earth elements from the rare earth slag are suggested as the hydrochloric acid concentration, the ratio of solid to liquid, leaching temperature, and the leaching time are 1 mol/L, 1:14, 50 °C and 120 min, respectively. The rare earth elements leaching efficiency are more than 95%. Adding of calcium CaCO3 and sodium Na2CO3 in direct reduction process have great in fluence on leaching ef ficiency of thorium.

Mar 1, 2018

Six hundred miles inland from Australia's east coast Port of Townsville in Queensland's sea of rock and spinifex lies Mount Isa. The town, as in most mining towns, is dominated by its mine and the mine in turn is dominated by its 503 ft copper smelter stack. This candy and white painted stack is a striking introduction to one of the world's greatest copper producing mines and a town where people of over 40 different nationalities live remote but well. Mount Isa Mines Limited is surging into the ranks of' the world's great mines on the momentum of a relentless push begun in 1956. It is as if the time lost in the lean years of the past should be caught up in a hurry.

Jan 10, 1964

To gain further understanding of the operating efficiency of the BHP Slab and Plate Products Division (SPPD) RH vacuum degasser, physical and mathematical model studies of the process have been undertaken. The purpose was to investigate how the various process parameters affect the liquid circulation rate, to visualise the flow patterns, and to identify and eliminate the cause of localised wear in the downleg. In the physical model mixing times were measured using an acid tracer technique. The results were applied to predicting trends in times required to obtain homogenous melt composition under varying conditions. A 2-dimensional mathematical model describing the liquid metal flow has been developed using the PHOENICS fluid-flow package. The physical model results were simulated and incorporated into the mathematical treatment and an improved design for vessel geometry is proposed. The effect of rounding the downleg entrance or installing a baffle between the legs is discussed.

Jan 1, 1987

Traditional techniques for extracting pillars in thick underground coal seams in India are reviewed. Problems encountered are principally control of roof strata and low recovery. Recently developed mechanized methods and projected newer techniques are discussed.

Jan 1, 1986

By John C. Harkey

The paper shares programs that presently use the CDC PLATO System to train individuals in industry. A short history of PLATO development; as a training system is presented with reflection on the major training trends being used to improve training effectiveness. A discussion is offered to describe the benefits of using a system for individualizing instruction. An introduction; is offered showing how one can recognize' individual differences, with an explanation of how the strengths of a computer are used to deliver and manage the training. Simulations of hazardous processes are shown to be one of the most effective uses of the computer for training.

Jan 1, 1979

By R. K. Mehta, G. T. Adel

A review of the literature reveals that methods for simulating the coupled behavior of size reduction and liberation are limited to binary mineral systems containing one composite particle class. The aim of this paper is to describe the development of a mathematical model to simulate such behavior for binary and ternary systems containing multiple classes of composite particles. A modified Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm and a finite difference Jacobian are used in conjunction with the developed model and a set of constrained equations to estimate all kinetic parameters. This estimation scheme is validated far a binary ore (sphalerite-dolomite) with five composite particle classes using experimental data.

Jan 1, 1991

By Smith N. S, Rholl S. A, Otterness R. E

The Bureau of Mines is conducting research to develop blast designs for the control of fragmentation and rock displacement and the reduction of overall mining costs. This Bureau experiment, a program of 25 reduced-scale blasts conducted at the University of Missouri-Rolla's experimental quarry, determined the effects on fragmentation of changes in burden, spacing, explosive diameter, and stemming-explosive length. Combined with previous work at this experimental quarry examining air gap, delay, and decoupling effects, this experiment provided a data base of over 50 shots. The fragmented rock, 1000 to 3000 kg from each 3- to 4-hole blast in the 1 m bench of massive dolomite, was completely screened to assess fragmentation. The explosive used for all the tests was extra dynamite initiated by seismic caps fired from a sequential blasting machine with delays of 5.2- to 13-ms/m of burden. Empirical equations were developed which predicted the effect of shot design parameters on the fragmentation. These formulas predicted the average fragment size of each of the 25-shots to within 13 percent. For spacing to burden ratios of 1, 1.4 and 2, there were optimum burden to explosive diameter ratios (B/de) of 30, 26 and 20, respectively. Decreasing the B/d. ratio beyond these levels resulted in little or no reduction in the average size. For B/de ratios above these levels the average size increased but, at least a 15 percent reduction in the average size results when the shot design parameters are optimized.

Jan 1, 1990

By Nickelsen J, Theisen KG, Hansen PH

The use of stationary calciners in the processing of aluminium hydroxide has emphas- ized the importance of Bayer hydrate properties with respect to particle breakdown during calcination and subsequent treatment. Test results from calcination of several Bayer hydrates to sandy alumina in the FLS Gas Suspension Calciner (GSC) were obtained in a 250 kg/h pilot plant unit. Particle breakdown during calcination was influenced by content of solid sodium oxalate, trapped in the hydrate particles and operating gas velocities. Owing to the design and operational principles of the GSC it is possible to reduce particle breakdown to at least the same as what is found in long rotary kilns. Other major advantages reviewed are obtained through simplifications in plant design and operation, pointing to low specific power and heat consumption, and generally low production costs, thereby providing an attractive alternative to fluid-bed calciners.

Jan 1, 1981

By G. E. McElroy

[The ventilation of development faces In nines for diluting Gas or dist concentrations and, in hot nines for providing air-motion cooling effect, by fan-pipe units discharging high-velocity steams of air close to the face, is an important phase of mine ventilation. The effectiveness of such units depends largely on the air-flow distribution between the pipe discharge and the face, n subject on which little definite information is available. A study of the air flow from grills into rooms3/ has provided some basic data, but under conditions so different from mine fan-pipe installations in development ends that the data are of doubtful application to mine installations, owing to differences in air-flow conditions.]

Jan 1, 1940

By Xuexin Ding, Weijie Wei, Jinwang Zhang, Yi Chen, Shengli Yang

"Many ultra-thick coal seams exist in Xinjiang and the northern part of the Inner Mongolia. These coal seams are more than 30-40m thick. This kind of the thick coal seam is too difficult to extract in one slice, so the top-coal caving longwall mining method was designed for this purpose. In order to study the movement characteristics of the overburden strata and the development of the ""three zones"" in ultra-thick coal seams, the physical and numerical simulations were carried out based on the in-site condition of Baiyinhua coal mine. The result shows that, when extracting the upper part of the l 5m thick coal seams, the first weighting interval was 50-58m and the periodic weighting interval was I 8-20m. The caving zone, fractured zone and bending and sinking zone were 38m, 92m, and 50m respectively in height. The fractured zone height increased with the advancing distance of the face, but in some localities, a ladder-like distribution due to the periodic weighting existed. When extracting the lower part of the 25m thick coal seams, the roof was extremely broken and the collapse range of overlying strata continued to increase in irregular form.INTRODUCTIONThe thick coal seams occupy 44 percent of coal reserves in China and account for 45 percent of the gross domestic coal production. There are three main methods for extracting the thick coal seams: sublevel mining, large height mining, and longwall top-coal caving (LTCC) (Wang, 2009). Due to the rapid development of LTCC in the past two decades, it has become the most extensively used mining method. It possesses the advantages of high-production, high-efficiency, low development ratio, and low-cost (Yang, Zhang, Chen, and Zhengyang, 2016; Wang and Zhang, 2015). Baiyinhua coal mine's coal reserves are full of uniformly distributed thick coal seams, with the minable thickness of the main coal seam between 25 to 40m, i.e. the main coal seam is an ultra-thick coal seam. Sublevel longwall top-coal caving (SLTCC) which is an efficient method for extracting the ultrathick coal seams has led to multiple disturbances Xie, Chen, and Wang, 1999; Singh and Singh, 1999; Xie, Chang, and Yang, 2009. Therefore, using the case of Baiyinhua coal mine, the movement features of overburden strata and development characteristics of the three zones in ultra-thick coal seams were studied by physical and numerical simulations (Qian, et al, 2003; Qian, 1994)."

Jan 1, 2016

By Bill S. Taylor

Dutch State Mines [D.S.M] introduced the Heavy Medium Cyclone into the United States for cleaning fine coal about three decades ago. Since that time the general industry practice has been to deslime the raw coal at 28 Mesh (0. 59mm) size. The plus 28M material is fed to the Heavy Medium Cyclone for cleaning, and the 28M x 0 fraction is processed by other means (e. g. flotation or hydrocyclones). This approach recognized that 28M was the smallest size particle that could be easily rinsed on vibratory screens without excessive loss of magnetite, and without blinding of sieve bend and vibratory screen decks. Another reason for the 28M de-sliming was to avoid excessive contamination of the media with non-magnetic coal, shale, or clay fines. The most undesirable of these contaminants is the sub-micron size clay particles (2) that greatly increase the viscosity of the media and reduce the numerical maximum level that the media specific gravity can obtain due to the lower specific gravity of clay with respect to magnetite. The higher the fugitive clay content, the more severe the preceding problems become. During the last 30 years, many conventional Heavy Medium Cyclone Plants have been built throughout the world. In the United States, the initial cyclone plants were confined to the production of high quality metallurgical coal where lower gravities of separation were required than could be obtained from the conventional hydraulic or air separation processes. In recent years a large and ever-increasing number of preparation plants producing steam coal have started utilizing Heavy Medium Cyclone technology due to the environmental pressures being encountered to produce low sulphur coal. Due to the inherent characteristic of many coals of having a lower pyritic sulphur content at lower specific gravity fractions, many applications and markets are appearing for separating steam coals at much lower specific gravities than have been historically normal in the United States. Therefore. Heavy Medium Cyclones are being utilized to a much greater degree in this field, due to the flexibility of low separating gravity ability coupled with high efficiency when high percentage of near gravity material is present.

Jan 1, 1978

By A. W. Fahrenwald

[In studying coarse sand flotation3/ the question of the relation between fineness of grinding and mill capacity logically arose. Everyone familiar with present fine-grinding practice knows that the capacity of a ball mill or similar mill is determined, among other things, by the fineness of the finished product. Undoubtedly a great many mining companies must have a good deal of data directly bearing on this point, yet no quantitative relationship between ball-will capacity and fineness of finished product has been established. The experimental study presented here is an effort to establish this relationship in a semiquantitative way. The subject is a tremendously large one and grows in complexity as the study becomes more searching. In this work the power consumed by the mill in the various experiments was not determined end neither vas the steel consumption measured; mill capacity only was considered.]

Jan 1, 1930

By Eric L. Christiansen

A dynamic simulation model for the iron blast furnace has been developed which predicts flow rates, compositions, and temperatures of the top gas, slag, and hot metal exit streams as a function of time from specification of the time-dependent tuyere inputs and raw material charges. As a matter of convenience, a previously developed steady- state model is employed to fix furnace-dependent parameters. It also provides initial conditions for the internal states of the furnace for subsequent dynamic solution of the simultaneous differential equations which describe the local rates of chemical reaction, heat transfer, and mass transfer in the stack, bosh, combustion zone, and hearth of the furnace. The dynamic model was tested by a demonstration of its ability to relax to steady-state representations of the time-averaged data from two separate industrial blast furnaces and of its ability to follow eight days of time-dependent operating data for one of them. Simulated responses to step changes in tuyere input and burden variables have been shown to be of the correct magnitude and duration. Although complex functions of many variables, a proper description of these responses is needed for the development of optimization and control strategies . The model correctly predicts the non-minimum-phase type dynamic response observed in real furnaces in which the output variables proceed through local minima or maxima, often including inverse responses (i.e., opposite signs from their final steady-state values ) .

Jan 1, 1984

By Akira Kaneda, Nozomu Hasegawa

"In the Mitsubishi Continuous Copper Smelting and Converting Process, slag/matte mixture overflowed from the smelting furnace is separated continuously in an electric furnace (slag cleaning furnace, CL-furnace). In order to improve the separation efficiency of slag and matte and to minimize power consumption, the design and the operating conditions of the CL-fumace should be optimized. In the previous study, the authors developed a mathematical model for simulating phenomena in the CL-furnace. The model consisted of 3 modules, electric field analysis, heat and fluid flow analysis and the particle tracking method. In this study, the model was partially modified: k -E. model was adopted, and the effects of various conditions, such as furnace shape (including accretion) and scale, electrodes configuration, immersion depth of electrodes, and thickness of slag layer, were evaluated. And the optimum design and operating conditions were discussed.IntroductionUnder the recent environmental restriction, advantageous features of the Mitsubishi process have attracted much attention. The process uses 3 furnaces connected by launders. Mixture of matte and slag formed in a smelting furnace flows continuously to a slag cleaning furnace (CL-furnace), where the matte is separated from the slag. The matte is continuously siphoned out to a converting furnace and converted to blister copper. The slag overflowed from the CL-furnace is discarded. Because the slag contains about 0.6 % copper, improving slag/matte separation efficiency and decreasing copper loss make a great profit. Moreover the process requires a large amount of electric energy, so reduction of electric power consumption brings in enormous benefit.The objective of this study is to optimize the design and the operating conditions of the process, especially the CL-furnace. This will be achieved by developing the mathematical model and clarifying relations between the design or the operating conditions and various phenomena in the furnace. Fig. 1 shows an outline of the CL-furnace. The mixture entering through an inlet is separated to slag layer and matte layer . In order to maintain the temperature of the melt at a predetermined level, 6 electrodes are immersed into the lag and Joule's heat is generated by 3-phase alternating current flowing."

Jan 1, 2000

By R. D. Pehlke, W. M. Small

The effect of added alloying elements on the solubility of nitrogen in a liquid alloy of 74 wt pct Fe. 18 wt pct Cr, and 8 wt pct Ni has been studied. At 1600°C and 1 atm nitrogen pressure, aluminum, chromium, columbium, manganese, molybdenum, tantalum, and vanadium increase the solubility of nitrogen in the liquid 18 Cr-8 Ni alloy, whereas additions of cobalt, copper, nickel, silicon, tin, and tungsten decrease the solubility. Interaction parameters based on a constant ratio of iron, chromium , and nickel have been used to quantitatively define the changes in nitrogen solubility. INVESTIGATIONS on the solubility of nitrogen in liquid iron have usually treated the pure metal, and often the influence of a single added element. Pehlke and Elliott1 carried out a comprehensive study on the influence of alloying elements on nitrogen solubility in liquid iron, and compared their results with previous studies. Turnock and pehlke2 have recently reported a study on the solubility of nitrogen in multicomponent liquid iron alloys. The original interaction parameter proposed by wagner3 was successfully employed in these studies. The need for obtaining information on the gas solubility in more complex alloys is indicated by the increasingly significant role played by dissolved gases in the processing of iron-based materials. The commercial stainless steels, for example, represent an area where data on nitrogen solubilities are required as a function of composition, temperature, and gas pressure. The nitrogen solubility in liquid Fe-Cr-Ni alloys has been studied by Humbert and Elliott.4 Their investigation covered the entire ternary system, and attempted to use data from binary alloys to predict nitrogen contents in liquid ternary alloys. Langenberg,5 using a method developed by Morris and buehl,6 calculated the nitrogen solubilities in multicomponent iron alloys from data available on binary iron alloys at 1600°C. Nelson,7 using a regular-solution model, extended this prediction to include the effect of temperature. Chipman and corrigan8 and Turnock and pehlke2 also employed empirical methods to calculate nitrogen solubilities in liquid multicomponent iron alloys. In order to provide a basis for predicting nitrogen solubility in liquid stainless steels, and to extend the data available for thermochemically modeling systems of this type, the following investigation was carried out. The study involved measupements of nitrogen solubility in a nondilute alloy and examination of the influence of a small addition of an alloying element on the nitrogen solubility. The study was focused on a very narrow range Of composition in the vicinity of 18 wt pct Cr-8 wt pct Ni (herein referred to as 18-8) with special emphasis on the change of.nitrogen solubility with the addition of a fourth metallic element. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE A Sieverts' apparatus, described previously,1,2 was used in this investigation. The charge materials were contained in a recrystallized alumina crucible and inductively melted. Additions were dropped from a glass side-arm. All materials were hydrogen-refined and vacuum-treated to eliminate or minimize the oxygen content. The source and purity of materials is given in Table I. The initial metallic charge was heated to approximately 1000°C and held under vacuum for 30 to 45 min as a means for removing hydrogen and adsorbed gases. Argon was used as the calibrating gas to determine the "hot volume". The average hot volume of the system was approximately 50 cu cm STP and a few experimental runs were made using a reaction bulb with a hot volume of 80 cu cm. The temperature range studied was from 1550° to 1700°C and the temperature was measured optically. THEORETICAL PRINCIPLES General Discussion. Nitrogen dissolves in liquid iron alloys according to the reaction: 1/2N2(g) = N (wt pct in solution) [l] The equilibrium constant, K1, for this reaction is written as:

Jan 1, 1969