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By A. David MacPhail

"Highland Valley Copper is a large volume producer of copper and molybdenum concentrates. Production is by conventional truck and shovel operation combined with an extensive ore handling in-pit crushing and conveying system.Grade of the two orebodies is low at 0.4% copper and 0.007% molybdenum and this demands a production rate in excess of 260 000 tpd at a stripping ratio of 1: 1. Mining cost has to be kept at minimum levels to keep the mine profitable and thus, it is necessary to keep in the forefront: of technology. As well as the in-pit crushing system, the mine has pioneered the use of shovel weighing coupled with a state-of-the-art dispatch system.Maintenance of the equipment is carried out at the on-site mine maintenance shop with assistance from local shops for engine and wheel motor rebuilds and other large jobs such as those requiring stress relieving. Shovel and truck rebuilds are undertaken by mine crews. Both long- and short-term planning is designed and scheduled in the mine engineering section. Outside consultants are used to assist in slope design, reclamation and blasting technology."

Jan 1, 1992

By Arthur R. Still, Paul Gilmour

The ore deposit of the Iron King mine occurs in a group of steeply-dipping metamorphosed eugeosynclinal volcanic and sedimentary rocks of Precambrian age. Within this sequence, the ore deposit lies at the contact of a unit made up of rhyolitic tuff and interbedded andesite and a structurally underlying series consisting of andesitic tuffs, minor rhyolitic tuffs, and argillaceous sediments. Field evidence suggests that these rocks have been overturned. The ore deposit is made up of a series of overlapping, conformable or bodies consisting of massive pyrite and associated lenses of massive quartz. These contain recoverable amounts of gold, silver, lead, zinc, and copper. A parallel zone of copper mineralization occurs within the hanging-wall rocks. The deposit is considered to belong to a large and important group characterized by mineralogical composition and the lithology and structural type of the host rocks. Evidence regarding the origin of the deposit is reviewed, and it is concluded that the ore bodies were formed through the agency of volcanic hot springs on, or near, a submarine surface of deposition

Jan 1, 1968

By Jeffrey B. Osmint

The Bureau of Mines Information and Analysis Directorate collects worldwide data on virtually every commercially important nonfuel mineral commodity. These data form the base for tracking and assessing the health of the minerals sector of the U.S. economy. The Bureau's data collection activity was instituted by the 47th Congress in an appropriations act of August 7, 1882 (22 Stat. 329), which placed the collection of mineral statistics on an annual basis. The most recent authority for the Bureau of Mines survey activity is the National Materials and Minerals Policy, Research and Development Act of 1980 (Public Law 96-479, 96th Congress), which strengthens protection for proprietary data provided to the U.S. Department of the Interior by persons or firms engaged in any phase of mineral or mineral-material production or consumption.

Jan 1, 1991

By R. C. Edwards, T. G. Kirkland, Will Mitchell

A scrubber of new design has been invented for the beneficiation of glass and chemical sands. The machine is described and its capacity and metallurgical efficiency compared with the performance of other sand cleaning devices. THREE years ago, when the Process Research Laboratory at Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Co. sought a remedy for the increasing cost of disposing of great quantities of spent sands from foundries, R. C. Edwards developed a continuous inclined paddle scrubber which removed a substantial amount of the charred coatings from the grains with a surprisingly small amount of degradation of the sand itself.' The satisfactory results obtained on foundry sand, using this piece of equipment in conjunction with classification, suggested that a similar procedure could probably be applied to the cleaning of other sands, such as those required by the glass and chemical industries. This paper describes the flowsheet and the results of tests performed on impure natural sands. The four materials tested were silica sands obtained from widely separated geographical areas. Three of the sands tested contained various amounts of iron oxide and the fourth an excessive amount of calcareous bonding material. The iron oxide was present predominantly in the form of grain coatings, which were scuffed by the paddle scrubber, and in all cases a product was manufactured which would meet one of the sets of specifications imposed by the glass industry.' The Edwards paddle scrubber used in these tests consists of a rubber-lined steel cylinder 18 in. in diam and 48 in. long, mounted on a frame so that its slope can be varied 5" to 35" from horizontal. This variable slope permits controlled flow of material through the machine. Rubber paddles rotate inside the cylinder and are secured to a center shaft 2 in. square, which extends through the entire length and is turned at both ends so that it can be supported by sleeve bearings centrally fixed in the end plates of the shell. At the upper or feed end it extends through the bearing on the end plate into a sheave, to which the motor drive is connected by means of Texrope transmission. The four sets of paddles mounted on the shaft, two in each set, are made of rubber belting, 1/4 in. thick, 9 in. wide, and 16 in. long. The two paddles in each set are secured on opposite sides of the square shaft, but in the same longitudinal position along the shaft axis. In other words, the two paddles in the set operate 180" apart. Each successive set is mounted 90" from the preceding one. One end of each paddle is bolted to the square shaft and the other weighted by a steel bar, lx1 1hx9 in. long, which is attached about Yz in. from the outer tip of the paddle. By centrifugal force at proper shaft speed, these weights force the paddle surface to rub smoothly against the rubber lining of the cylinder. During operation, the sand forces its way between the paddle face and the surface of the cylinder, providing the necessary abrading action as the pulp flows by gravity down the length of the cylinder. The capacity of the machine is limited by the amount and the hardness of the coating material and by the quality of product desired. The degree of scrubbing is governed by the retention time in the scrubber, which in turn may be changed by varying the feed rate, water content of the feed, and

Jan 1, 1953

By R. C. Edwards, Will Mitchell, T. G. Kirkland

A scrubber of new design has been invented for the beneficiation of glass and chemical sands. The machine is described and its capacity and metallurgical efficiency compared with the performance of other sand cleaning devices. THREE years ago, when the Process Research Laboratory at Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Co. sought a remedy for the increasing cost of disposing of great quantities of spent sands from foundries, R. C. Edwards developed a continuous inclined paddle scrubber which removed a substantial amount of the charred coatings from the grains with a surprisingly small amount of degradation of the sand itself.' The satisfactory results obtained on foundry sand, using this piece of equipment in conjunction with classification, suggested that a similar procedure could probably be applied to the cleaning of other sands, such as those required by the glass and chemical industries. This paper describes the flowsheet and the results of tests performed on impure natural sands. The four materials tested were silica sands obtained from widely separated geographical areas. Three of the sands tested contained various amounts of iron oxide and the fourth an excessive amount of calcareous bonding material. The iron oxide was present predominantly in the form of grain coatings, which were scuffed by the paddle scrubber, and in all cases a product was manufactured which would meet one of the sets of specifications imposed by the glass industry.' The Edwards paddle scrubber used in these tests consists of a rubber-lined steel cylinder 18 in. in diam and 48 in. long, mounted on a frame so that its slope can be varied 5" to 35" from horizontal. This variable slope permits controlled flow of material through the machine. Rubber paddles rotate inside the cylinder and are secured to a center shaft 2 in. square, which extends through the entire length and is turned at both ends so that it can be supported by sleeve bearings centrally fixed in the end plates of the shell. At the upper or feed end it extends through the bearing on the end plate into a sheave, to which the motor drive is connected by means of Texrope transmission. The four sets of paddles mounted on the shaft, two in each set, are made of rubber belting, 1/4 in. thick, 9 in. wide, and 16 in. long. The two paddles in each set are secured on opposite sides of the square shaft, but in the same longitudinal position along the shaft axis. In other words, the two paddles in the set operate 180" apart. Each successive set is mounted 90" from the preceding one. One end of each paddle is bolted to the square shaft and the other weighted by a steel bar, lx1 1hx9 in. long, which is attached about Yz in. from the outer tip of the paddle. By centrifugal force at proper shaft speed, these weights force the paddle surface to rub smoothly against the rubber lining of the cylinder. During operation, the sand forces its way between the paddle face and the surface of the cylinder, providing the necessary abrading action as the pulp flows by gravity down the length of the cylinder. The capacity of the machine is limited by the amount and the hardness of the coating material and by the quality of product desired. The degree of scrubbing is governed by the retention time in the scrubber, which in turn may be changed by varying the feed rate, water content of the feed, and

Jan 1, 1953

Develop methods of enhancing and measuring the high-temperature softening and melting properties of iron oxide pellets reduced under simulated blast furnace smelting conditions. Approach Add dolomite and Limestone flux and a low-cost organic binder, such as starch, carboxyl methylcellose (CMC), or waste papermill sludge, to the iron oxide concentrate to produce hematite (ferric oxide) pellets with superior high-temperature metallurgical properties. Simultaneous increases in softening temperature, gas permeability, and enhanced metallization rates are sought to improve blast furnace productivity and energy efficiency. Background In the past, bentonite, an inorganic binder, was the only additive (binder) used in the production of pellets made from iron ore concentrate. Research has shown that the reducibility of conventional (acid) pellets can be increased by the addition of flux or an organic binder. The increase in pellet reducibility results in less wustite in the center of the pellet at high temperatures, such as those obtained in the cohesive zone of the blast furnace.

Jan 1, 1990

By F. L. Klinger

CRUDE OIL refining continued to be the foremost industry of Bahrain in 1963. This island, the largest of a group 30 kilometers off the Saudi Arabian coast, is the site of the first petroleum discovery in the Persian Gulf and in the Arabian peninsular region. The island's only oilfield was discovered in 1932; exports of crude began in 1934 and the refinery was built in 1936. Although its crude oil has been less than 1 percent of annual Middle East output in recent years, Bahrain has been an important refining center for many years, processing a substantial portion of Saudi Arabian petroleum as well as all local production. The Bahrain refinery annually accounts for 17 percent 0 the petroleum products produced in the Middle East and 25 percent of the exports. Bahrain's mineral resources consist of oil, gas, and basic construction materials. Petroleum production and refining are the important mineral industries and contribute most of the national income by payments for taxes, wages, and local services including construction and material supply. The petroleum industry has supported a large share of local business and extensive indirect employment, and its early establishment also helped Bahrain to strengthen its position as a trading center in the Persian Gulf. The country's entrepôt trade produces about 20 percent of Government revenue, and Bahrain is somewhat less dependent on the petroleum industry than are the neighboring States to the west.

Jan 1, 1964

By W. L. Dare

The Federal Bureau of Mines is publishing a series of studies on the methods and costs of mining uranium on the Colorado Plateau. This report describes the longwall-mining methods and techniques used at the Radon mine, Big Indian district, San Juan County, Utah. The tabular Radon ore body lies on the southwest flank of the Lisbon Valley anticline, strikes N. 10° W., dips 7° SW., and has an average thickness of 4-1/2 to 5 ft. The mine is developed by a three-compartment vertical shaft, a haulage level driven beneath the ore, and a system of drifts driven within and parallel to the strike of the ore.

Jan 1, 1961

By J. T. Eash, E. M. Wise

In a previous communication1 the improvement in slrength, harden-ability and color, occasioned by replacing gold in a typical gold-silver-copper alloy by various amounts of platinum, or palladium, was discussed. In the present paper the results of further studies upon the constitution and the nature of the hardening transformation in these alloys are presented. This research may be summarized as follows: 1. The liquidus and solidus have been determined for the alloys of the palladium and platinum series. Cooling curves were utilized for determining the liquidus of the palladium alloys but this method proved unsuitable for the platinum alloys so that a novel quenching method was utilized for the latter. Both the liquidus and solidus of the palladium alloys increase steadily with the palladium content. The liquidus of the platinum alloys increases rapidly with the platinum content, while the solidus temperature increases with the platinum content up to about 14 atomic per cent platinum, but suffers no further increase with additional increments of platinum up to 20 atomic per cent at least, owing to a peritectic reaction. 2. Palladium, and even more effectively platinum, reduces the rate of grain growth. Owing to this fact and to the increase in the solidus temperature, "overheating" does little or no damage to alloys containing reasonable quantities of these elements. This is confirmed both by tensile tests and metallographic examination. 3. The excess phase present in one of the high-platinum-content alloys has been isolated and chemically analyzed and was found to consist almost wholly of platinum, gold, and copper, evidently derived from the compound AuCu, by the partial replacement of gold by platinum. 4. The variation in the solubility of this platinum-content phase in the alpha solid solution with the temperature has been determined. This

Jan 1, 1933

By Samuel Senanu, Benjamin Agyei-Tuffour, Lifeng Zhang, Eivind Øvrelid, Adegboyega Nathaniel Femi

"The solar grade silicon ingot produced from directional solidification process usually pushes the impurities to the top and finally cut off and discarded, which leads to material loss. The hard inclusions lead to wire breakages during the cutting of the ingot in wafers. The main kinds of inclusions found in solar grade silicon have been investigated using vacuum filtration: needle-like Si3N4 and lumpy SiC inclusions. Clusters of SiC inclusions and Si3N4 are also found. Surface observations of the scraps before polishing reveals that Si3N4 inclusions are usually bigger and in some cases can be about a few millimeters. SiC inclusions are usually smaller, ~200µm but can be ~500µm in some cases. Inclusions observed after filtration are mainly SiC with diameters ~10µm. Through the vacuum filtration, 99% inclusions can be removed 99%. The possible mechanisms of filtration are cake filtration for the larger sized Si3N4 and SiC inclusions and deep-bed filtration the SiC inclusions. For the directional solidified silicon ingot, an approximate distance of ~10mm gave an encouraging cutoff thickness. The inclusions sizes were below 10µm. Introduction The search for an alternative source of energy to fossil fuel has led to a dramatic increase in the demand for solar energy due to its high dependability (abundant in nature) and environmental friendliness 1). During the last 5 to 10 years, the annual worldwide production of solar cell by the photovoltaic industry has increased to an annual rate of 30 to 40 percent 2). A necessary condition for the maintenance and even an increase of this growth rate is a decrease in the cost of feedstock for the solar cell production 1). The total international production in 1997 was 130 MW worth more than $500 million. In 2004 the consolidated world total production of PV cells increased to 1146 MW or around. $7 billion (Figure 1) 3). Silicon is currently the most dominant semiconductor material used in the PV industry. As shown in Figure 2 3), solar cells consist of two types of material, often the p-type and n-type silicon. Light of certain wavelengths are able to ionize the atoms in the silicon (causing atoms to either gain or lose electrons) and the internal field produced by the junction separates some of the positive charges (“holes”) from the negative charges (electrons) within the photovoltaic device. The holes are swept into the positive or p-layer and the electrons are swept into the negative or n-layer. Although these opposite charges are attracted to each other, most of them can only recombine by passing through an external circuit outside the material because of the internal potential energy barrier. Therefore if a circuit is made, power can be produced from the cells under light because the free electrons pass through the load to recombine with the positive holes."

Jan 1, 2008

By J Addai-Mensah, W Skinner, C Kelsey, J R. Kelly, E Baawuah

Comminution continues to be the most capital-intensive unit operation in mineral processing. The fundamental purpose of comminution is to liberate the valuable minerals so that they can be economically concentrated into saleable products. Declining ore quality characterised by lower grade and increased complexity requires significant energy consumption for comminution. Low-grade magnetite ores are typically fine-grained and require fine to ultra-fine grinding (P80 ~ 30 - 40 µm) to enhance its liberation from the typically siliceous gangue matrix. Historically, this has been achieved using multi-stage crushing and grinding technologies, which require high energy consumption with low energy efficiency. This motivated innovations in energy efficient technologies for comminution. Such technology has been developed in the IMPTEC super-fine crusher. It is an innovative, dry (with the potential to be operated wet), media-free, energy efficient crusher that can to reduce 10 mm feed particles to 19 – 30 µm with very low recycle loads. In this study, the mineralogical and physicochemical characteristics of crushed magnetite ore using the IMPTEC super-fine crusher have been investigated in comparison with those of rod milling. The super-fine crusher generated higher liberated magnetite minerals in the – 300 + 212 µm and < 45 µm size fractions compared to rod mill. Both comminution devices generated large low-grade hematite and goethite middlings. However, the rod mill produced higher locked/unliberated hematite and goethite compared to that of the super-fine crusher. Quartz mineral had the highest liberation irrespective of the comminution device used. The super-fine crusher generated higher entrapment of other minerals within the silica matrix compared to the rod mill. The breakage mechanism of the super-fine crusher which is predominantly through high compression with shear, generated improved mineral liberation in the coarse size fractions compared to the predominant abrasion and attrition breakage mechanisms of rod milling. The higher mineral liberation generated by the rod mill is potentially due to the prolonged batch milling of the ore compared to the single-pass open circuit of the super-fine crusher.CITATION:Baawuah, E, Kelsey, C, Kelly, J R, Addai-Mensah, J and Skinner, W, 2018. Mineral liberation studies of IMPTEC super-fine crusher – 130 crushed product, in Proceedings 14th AusIMM Mill Operators' Conference 2018, pp 313–326 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Aug 29, 2018

By Cyril Wells, Robert F. Mehl

The purpose of this investigation was to prepare high-purity iron-carbon alloys, to determine as precisely as possible the A3(GOS), the Acm(SE), and the A1(PSK) transformation temperatures in the meta-stable iron-iron carbide system (up to 1.4 per cent C), and to study the influence of carefully controlled and constant rates of heating and cooling (1/8 to 2o C. per minute) upon the transformation temperature and upon the resulting microstructure. Apart from the general metallurgical importance attending the completion of such a task, it will be noted that highly precise transformation temperatures are of interest and importance in the thermodynamic study of this system1. Several determinations of the iron-iron carbide diagram have been made2. These suffer generally from the low purity of the alloys used, and from the application of methods of investigation of low sensitivity. Attempts to compare and weight the many data available in an effort to construct as accurate a diagram as possible have, in the main, been unsuccessful. In general, the wide differences in the results of different workers, the lack of complete analytical data, the omission of important details relating to the heat-treatment of the alloys, and the meager description of the methods of investigation applied, render such a process of averaging nearly meaningless. It may be seen from the summaries by Epstein2 and Körber and Oelsenl that variations as great as 30' C. exist in the reported data on the A3 temperatures in iron-carbon alloys. Fortunately, the Aa temperature in pure iron is now known to be 910" C. ± 1° C.3 The best recent work on iron-carbon alloys is that of Esser4 on hypoeutectoid steels and that of Sato5 on both hypoeutectoid and hyper-eutectoid steels. Esser made a dilatometric and magnetic study of iron and iron-carbon alloys containing 0.06 to 0.86 per cent C, for which a high purity is claimed. Presumably the electrolytic iron was reasonably pure, but the alloys contained considerable impurities, on the average totaling 0.35 per

Jan 1, 1937

By H. Dykstra

Calculated wellbore pressures were obtained for parameters of radilcs ratio and permeability. In all cases bur two, after-production was allowed to occur for one day. The calculated pressure build-up data were compared with actual pressure build-up data from a condensate well. The paper discusses the comparison, gives reasons for, inability to match calculated (2nd actual data, and presents conc1usions derived from the comparison. INTRODUCTION Considerable information has been published on the decline in wellbore pressure for oil and gas fields resulting from production of fluids. Considerable information also has been published on pressure build-up for oil fields, but relatively little has been published for gas and condensate fields. Perrine' summarized the equations derived for pressure build-up in oil wells and showed how the different methods could be applied. On the other hand, very little theoretical information has been published on pressure build-up in gas or gas-condensate wells.2-4 Tracy,' by pointing out the similarity between the equation describing oil wellbore pressure decline and the equation describing gas wellbore pressure decline, showed how methods of pressure build-up analysis could be applied to a gas well. In analyzing pressure build-up data for gas or gas-condensate wells, it would be very desirable to compare actual pressure build-up data with calculated pressure build-up data. Such a comparison would lead to a better feeling for the quantitative picture of gas-well build-up curves and would help to establish a degree of confidence in a given build-up curve. This paper discusses the comparison and presents conclusions made from it. Calculated wellbore pressures are given for parameters of radius ratio and permeability. In all cases but two, after-production was allowed to occur for one day. The work was done in an attempt to evaluate the reserves of a gas-condensate field. As will be discussed later, it was not possible to make an evaluation. METHOD OF CALCULATION The method used for solving the depletion and pressure build-up behavior for a gas-condensate well was that developed by West, Garvin and Sheldon.5 or the IBM 704 computer program used, it was assumed that liquid condensing out of solution would have only a minor effect on the flow behavior. Therefore, the field was treated as having single-phase flow, with the gas saturation S, remaining constant at unity minus the connate-water saturation Sw. As will be discussed later, this may not have been a good assumption. It also was assumed that oil production could be considered as equivalent gas production by using a conversion factor based on an analysis of the liquid produced. An outer boundary condition of no-flow was assumed. BASIC DATA The data required for the study were reservoir properties, fluid properties and production data. Reservoir properties included the following: thickness h, 179 ft; porosity, 0.194; connate-water saturation, 0.43; gas saturation, 0.57; permeabilities k, 1.0, 0.5, 0.25 and 0.15 md; radius ratios re/rw, 800, 1,000 and 2,000; wellbore radius rw, 5 in.; initial reservoir pressure P, 6,529 psia; and reservoir temperature, 272°F. The selection of permeabilities was based on core-analysis data showing an average air permeability of about 2 md. With a relatively high connate-water saturation, the average effective gas permeability would be about one-half, or less, of the air permeability. The selection of radius ratios was based partly on the observed rapid decline in wellbore pressure during production and partly on the fact that the well was believed to be located in a relatively small fault block. Reservoir fluid properties were obtained from a reservoir fluid study on a recombined sample of gas and condensate. Gas formation-volume factors were calculated from pressure-volume measurements made at reservoir temperature. Gas viscosities were calculated by the method of Carr, et al,G from an analysis of the re-combined sample. These data are shown as a function of pressure in Table 1. The production schedule from the gas-condensate

By J. Cilliers, R. Seitz, D. Drinkwater

Mineral processing produces a saleable product from high-cost ore. The Mineral Processing Engineer must constantly improve the separation to create the most value from the ore and reduce the associated costs. Graduate Metallurgists (or Chemical Engineers) have had the university theoretical training required, but often are illprepared to perform their plant roles. The in-work Metcelerate programme was designed specifically to develop the practical skills that Mineral Process Engineers require, by combining three key elements: 1. Knowledge transfer through self-paced, on-line training; 2. Practical skills acquisition through assessed, practical plant exercises; 3. Skills development through online tutorials. A final process improvement project adds significant value to the operation that far exceeds the training cost. Experience from Metcelerate clients has indicated improved staff retention, greater confidence, and pro-active process intervention.

Jan 1, 2023

By R. C. Edwards, T. G. Kirkland, Will Mitchell

A scrubber of new design has been invented for the beneficiation of glass and chemical sands. The machine is described and its capacity and metallurgical efficiency compared with the performance of other sand cleaning devices. THREE years ago, when the Process Research Laboratory at Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Co. sought a remedy for the increasing cost of disposing of great quantities of spent sands from foundries, R. C. Edwards developed a continuous inclined paddle scrubber which removed a substantial amount of the charred coatings from the grains with a surprisingly small amount of degradation of the sand itself.' The satisfactory results obtained on foundry sand, using this piece of equipment in conjunction with classification, suggested that a similar procedure could probably be applied to the cleaning of other sands, such as those required by the glass and chemical industries. This paper describes the flowsheet and the results of tests performed on impure natural sands. The four materials tested were silica sands obtained from widely separated geographical areas. Three of the sands tested contained various amounts of iron oxide and the fourth an excessive amount of calcareous bonding material. The iron oxide was present predominantly in the form of grain coatings, which were scuffed by the paddle scrubber, and in all cases a product was manufactured which would meet one of the sets of specifications imposed by the glass industry.' The Edwards paddle scrubber used in these tests consists of a rubber-lined steel cylinder 18 in. in diam and 48 in. long, mounted on a frame so that its slope can be varied 5" to 35" from horizontal. This variable slope permits controlled flow of material through the machine. Rubber paddles rotate inside the cylinder and are secured to a center shaft 2 in. square, which extends through the entire length and is turned at both ends so that it can be supported by sleeve bearings centrally fixed in the end plates of the shell. At the upper or feed end it extends through the bearing on the end plate into a sheave, to which the motor drive is connected by means of Texrope transmission. The four sets of paddles mounted on the shaft, two in each set, are made of rubber belting, 1/4 in. thick, 9 in. wide, and 16 in. long. The two paddles in each set are secured on opposite sides of the square shaft, but in the same longitudinal position along the shaft axis. In other words, the two paddles in the set operate 180" apart. Each successive set is mounted 90" from the preceding one. One end of each paddle is bolted to the square shaft and the other weighted by a steel bar, lx1 1hx9 in. long, which is attached about Yz in. from the outer tip of the paddle. By centrifugal force at proper shaft speed, these weights force the paddle surface to rub smoothly against the rubber lining of the cylinder. During operation, the sand forces its way between the paddle face and the surface of the cylinder, providing the necessary abrading action as the pulp flows by gravity down the length of the cylinder. The capacity of the machine is limited by the amount and the hardness of the coating material and by the quality of product desired. The degree of scrubbing is governed by the retention time in the scrubber, which in turn may be changed by varying the feed rate, water content of the feed, and

Jan 1, 1953

By R. C. Edwards, Will Mitchell, T. G. Kirkland

A scrubber of new design has been invented for the beneficiation of glass and chemical sands. The machine is described and its capacity and metallurgical efficiency compared with the performance of other sand cleaning devices. THREE years ago, when the Process Research Laboratory at Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Co. sought a remedy for the increasing cost of disposing of great quantities of spent sands from foundries, R. C. Edwards developed a continuous inclined paddle scrubber which removed a substantial amount of the charred coatings from the grains with a surprisingly small amount of degradation of the sand itself.' The satisfactory results obtained on foundry sand, using this piece of equipment in conjunction with classification, suggested that a similar procedure could probably be applied to the cleaning of other sands, such as those required by the glass and chemical industries. This paper describes the flowsheet and the results of tests performed on impure natural sands. The four materials tested were silica sands obtained from widely separated geographical areas. Three of the sands tested contained various amounts of iron oxide and the fourth an excessive amount of calcareous bonding material. The iron oxide was present predominantly in the form of grain coatings, which were scuffed by the paddle scrubber, and in all cases a product was manufactured which would meet one of the sets of specifications imposed by the glass industry.' The Edwards paddle scrubber used in these tests consists of a rubber-lined steel cylinder 18 in. in diam and 48 in. long, mounted on a frame so that its slope can be varied 5" to 35" from horizontal. This variable slope permits controlled flow of material through the machine. Rubber paddles rotate inside the cylinder and are secured to a center shaft 2 in. square, which extends through the entire length and is turned at both ends so that it can be supported by sleeve bearings centrally fixed in the end plates of the shell. At the upper or feed end it extends through the bearing on the end plate into a sheave, to which the motor drive is connected by means of Texrope transmission. The four sets of paddles mounted on the shaft, two in each set, are made of rubber belting, 1/4 in. thick, 9 in. wide, and 16 in. long. The two paddles in each set are secured on opposite sides of the square shaft, but in the same longitudinal position along the shaft axis. In other words, the two paddles in the set operate 180" apart. Each successive set is mounted 90" from the preceding one. One end of each paddle is bolted to the square shaft and the other weighted by a steel bar, lx1 1hx9 in. long, which is attached about Yz in. from the outer tip of the paddle. By centrifugal force at proper shaft speed, these weights force the paddle surface to rub smoothly against the rubber lining of the cylinder. During operation, the sand forces its way between the paddle face and the surface of the cylinder, providing the necessary abrading action as the pulp flows by gravity down the length of the cylinder. The capacity of the machine is limited by the amount and the hardness of the coating material and by the quality of product desired. The degree of scrubbing is governed by the retention time in the scrubber, which in turn may be changed by varying the feed rate, water content of the feed, and

Jan 1, 1953

By W. G. Jeffery

"The mining and mineral industries have been, and remain, a major component of the Canadian economy. There are approximately 560 producing mining establishments of which there are some 130 metal mines and an equal number of non-metal mines, the balance being quarries for stone, sand and gravel. For 17 metals and minerals, Canada ranks within the top five as a world producer. There are 29 metallurgical plants. Employment in mining, smelting and refining was about 150000 in 1990. Mineral production, including coal, is about $20 billion. Exports up to the metal stage amount to $15 billion providing a positive trade balance of some $10 billion.The producing industry has a wide diversity of products. The companies range from small single mining operations to large multinationals. In terms of technology the industry has always been in the forefront of cost-effective practice, either using home-grown innovation or freely importing technology from around the world,The Mining Industry Technology Council (MITEC) makes an annual survey of the exploration and R&D expenditures of the senior mining industry that is the mining companies that are involved in mineral production from their existing mines. It does not include those companies solely involved in exploration using funds raised through equity sales.Table 1 shows the actual R&D and exploration expenditures as a per cent of sales. R&D shows a rising trend since 1988although the drop in value of output due to lower prices must be recognized as contributing to the increase. The point about this compilation is that the mining industry re-invests some 4070 of its sales in both exploration and R&D in order to sustain itself. Exploration for the renewal of metal inventories for future mining is a process unique to mining. It is not classified as R&D, and the necessity for this investment goes unrecognized by those who state that the industry does not do enough R&D."

Jan 1, 1993

A mineralogical study was conducted on the feed (3.51 g/t Au and ~90 g/t Ag) and four leach residue samples (assaying 0.09 to 0.19 g/t Au and 30.0 to 61.5 g/t Ag) from the Pinos Altos silver-gold deposit in Mexico to determine the cause for gold and silver losses. A comprehensive mineralogical and analytical approach including fire assay, gravity pre-concentration, ore microscopy, mineral liberation analyser (MLA) and electron microprobe was used for the current study. Results showed that gold and silver lost in the leach residues occurred mainly as inclusions in quartz and silicates (accounting for over 80% for Au and 92% for Ag of the head assays, respectively), with a minor amount in iron oxide and other minerals. The amount of liberated gold and silver is negligible. Results also showed that gold and silver particles in leach residues are mainly ranged from 1 µm to 5 µm in size, which implies that ultrafine grinding is required to improve the recoveries of these two metals. Keywords: mineralogy, gold deportment, silver deportment, silver-gold ore, leach residue, recovery improvement.

Jan 1, 2009

By Yuting Xue, Todd Minoski, Daniel Su, Mark Van Dyke, Mark Mazzella, Steve Hicks, Zoheir Khademian, Nicole Evanek

Design of chain pillars in a longwall mine setting is one of the main engineering controls on the global and local stability of the mine. Challenges with roof instabilities, floor heaves, and pillar failures can be alleviated, to some extent, by careful design of gateroad configurations and chain pillars. This work investigates three different alternative designs in a three-entry-system gateroad configuration with an inter-panel barrier in a longwall mine in Virginia. Starting with the current design, which has faced challenges such as excessive floor heave, a geomechanical model developed in 3DEC software is validated by monitoring in-situ pillar stress in the yield, abutment, and barrier pillars in the mine. Next, three different chain pillar designs are evaluated in the model with a focus on roof sagging, floor heave, and pillar average stress. Results show the relationships among the alternative designs and instabilities associated with roof, pillar, and floor in the study mine, providing insights for optimizing longwall mining designs in deep-cover settings.

Feb 1, 2025

By C E. Loo

The cohesive zone has a significant influence on blast furnace operation and performance. The high-temperature behaviour of the reducing ferrous burden determines the properties of the cohesive zone and is studied in a laboratory using a softening and melting test. This paper summarises recent work aimed at better understanding the physico-chemical changes in a ferrous bed during softening and melting. Using a combination of standard, non-standard and quenched tests supported by optical image analysis, this work has highlighted some important differences in behaviour between lump, pellets and sinter as well as between the two lump ores and two acid pellets. As with the two lump ores, one pellet is denser than the other and the denser ore/pellet is also higher in silica.Within the cohesive zone, densification of the ferrous layer leads to reduced permeability and greater pressure drop. From the work presented in this paper, two key mechanisms of ferrous layer densification were identified. Firstly, the formation of fayalite, which melts at low temperatures, can act as a lubricant between particles and lead to densification of the ferrous layer under load. Secondly, reduction to metallic iron is topochemical and fayalite in the outer shell of the particle restricts gas flow to the centre and results in the formation of a wustite core. As temperatures rise, the wustite melts and eventually exudes out of the shell, occupying void spaces between particles and further reducing layer voidage and permeability.This work has shown that density and silica content are two key factors that result in increased densification of the ferrous layer. For porous Australian lump ore, the higher porosity and lower silica reduces the formation of fayalite and limits the formation of the wustite core, ultimately leading to a more permeable bed. The difference between the porous and dense ores was more pronounced with the introduction of prereduction to better simulate blast furnace conditions. This suggests that a porous ore gives significantly better cohesive zone permeability and blast furnace operations than a dense ore.The behaviour of fluxed sinter particles is different in that the silica reacts with lime to form dicalcium silicate. Minimal wustite core forms because relict hematite particles in sinter are only small and reduction occurs uniformly throughout the particle. Even with significant loss of material through prereduction, beds formed from sinter remained comparatively rigid. Studies using a typical blast furnace burden mix of 80 per cent fluxed sinter and 20 per cent porous ore showed that the structures of these beds at softening and melting temperatures are very similar to the sinter-only test. Measurements of bed contraction and pressure drop also confirmed that the introduction of 20 per cent porous ore into a sinter bed did not alter its properties. This is an indication that 20 per cent ore can be easily accommodated by blast furnace burdens.CITATION:Loo, C E, 2015. Important acid ferrous burden properties in the cohesive zone of a blast furnace, in Proceedings Iron Ore 2015, pp 367–376 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 13, 2015