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By N. Dahata

B206 aluminum?copper alloy has a potential for wider use in the automotive industry due to its light weight and relatively superior mechanical properties as compared to aluminum-silicon alloys. The possibility of casting this alloy via Lost Foam Casting (LFC) has not been investigated in detail. Therefore, the effects of foam types (T170B standard untreated EPS and T175-brominated EPS), coating types (Styro Shield 5553 and Styro Shield 5554), copper level (4.5 wt % and 5.0 wt %) and titanium levels (0.5 wt % and 0.25 wt %) were related to fillability, microstructure and microporosity. The metal velocity in T175 EPS pattern was higher than that in T170B EPS pattern. For T175 EPS pattern, the total solidification time was 3% higher and the loss of temperature for decomposition of EPS was lower than those in the case of T170B EPS pattern. The grain size, porosity level and maximum pore size were quantified using Light Optical Microscopy (LOM) and image analysis. The casting with T175 EPS pattern showed larger grain size relative to that with T170B EPS pattern. The porosity level and the maximum pore size decreased significantly when the titanium level was increased from 0.05 wt % to 0.25 wt %.

Jan 1, 2007

By Gino Palarchio

Dofasco is Canada?s 2nd largest steel manufacturer producing 4.5 million tons of flat rolled steel per year. They have revenues of over $3 billion and employ 7,000 people in their Hamilton, ON plant. Dofasco is North America?s most profitable steel producer and were recently ranked as the #1 steel maker in the world by Dow Jones. Motivation to Improve In the 1980?s the steel business was good. However, in the late 80?s and early 90?s things began to change. Globalization was beginning to influence the market, imports started arriving at lower prices and higher quality, hangover from the 1970?s inflation saw costs rising and prices dropping, there was a shift from a sellers to a buyers market, and shareholder returns were beginning to erode. Dofasco took a step back and evaluated their maintenance performance and found that they were operating in an environment where 70% of their work was reactive and only 30% was proactive. They also found that the rate of product quality improvement was flat and their average equipment availability was only 78%. At that point they realized that Equipment Reliability was key to improving product quality, production output, costs and shareholder return. They initiated a project to research, develop, and implement the most advanced maintenance practices and information technologies to achieve maximum equipment reliability.

May 1, 2001

By P. Mageau-Béland, È. -M. Proulx, M. -C. Patoine

Over the past six decades, Hatch has helped several industrial processing facilities in debottlenecking their operations, allowing them to produce more with the same equipment, to reduce and even eliminate expenditure investments, or to increase the return value of their expansion projects. These successes result from the application of a proven analysis approach that can be applied to any industrial facility. A five-stage methodology is discussed and demonstrated with a specific example of a nickel concentrator optimization study. The first stage is an observation stage which allows to meet key actors at the plant, develop mutual understanding of problems, understand operating philosophy, and efficiently collect large amounts of operating and maintenance data. Following is a data compilation stage during which data is analyzed over a representative time period to identify parameters that significantly affect the production, to evaluate data reliability and to define the focus of the upcoming analysis. Quantitative metrics are defined using statistical tools such as pivot tables, histograms, percentiles and MDR (Maximum demonstrated production rate during 3 to 7 consecutive days). Then, the production bottlenecks are identified by a thorough analysis of the facility’s control philosophy, process throughput, equipment capacity, availability, downtime causes, and interaction between components of each circuit. Understanding the maintenance practices and frequency of planned shutdown is also critical to this analysis. Opportunities for improvement are identified in collaboration with the operation, maintenance and engineering teams, ranked as a function of their impact on the bottlenecks and prioritized. The final and most critical stage involves engagement with the plant stakeholders, namely the operators and the maintenance staff members, to present the results of the analysis and obtain their participation in the implementation of the solutions. The benefits of the case study translated into: 10% production capacity gain, improved maintenance planning and avoidance of several million dollars of investment.

Jan 1, 2016

By S. Simukanga, J. Masinja, P. A. Bepswa, A. N. Mwale

Screening is an important operation in dry and wet closed circuit mineral processing applications. Most of the operations have seen the benefits of using fine wet screens in primary grinding sections where the product is relatively coarse, and screens can handle the tonnage. Although many models are available, most of them are confined to dry and wet coarse screening applications. Most models do not give good predictions for wet fine screening. To facilitate model development, pilot plant tests were performed using a single deck Derrick Screen at aperture sizes of 45µm, 75µm, 106µm, and 150µm. Experimental data for a range of feed solids concentrations and flowrates was collected and used to calibrate the performance of the screen under the different operating conditions. The results showed that the performance of the screen deteriorated with an increase in feed solids concentration, and, similarly with an increasing feed flow rate. The percentage of fines carryover also increased with the reduction aperture size. The carryover was even more pronounced at higher feed rates and solids concentrations. A model was developed for predicting the performance of fine wet screening. Data from the test work was used to compare the actual and predicted results, and to calibrate the model. Additional independent data was used to validate the model and assess its limitations. This model will give an expected screen performance based on the initial feed conditions. It incorporates screen design parameters that allow for an estimation of a suitable screen size for a desired performance based on given feed conditions. This paper discusses; the results from the test work performed, the model development and its limitations.

Jan 1, 2016

By P. Momni, D. Ersenkal

Equator Principles (EPs) are a set of guidelines developed and adopted by a series of financial institutions for assessing and managing social and environmental issues in project financing. Established in 2003, EPs are now adopted by some 68 financial institutions from 27 countries. As more and more financial institutions join this global initiative, it is important for project owners to have a logical framework embedded into the project lifecycle to reduce the risk of non-compliance which could result in costly delays. This paper outlines a proactive approach for project developers in order to integrate environmental and social aspects into entire project lifecycle.

Jan 1, 2010

By W. L. Uglow

In recent years, the microscope has come to be recognized as a valuable aid to engineers whose business is the discovery, development, concentration or reduction of metallic ores. In many of the large treatment plants microscopical research has already an important status; and in the hands of efficient operators the microscope has indicated methods of solving ore problems resulting in the saving of thousands of dollars that otherwise might have been lost in tailings, or expended in freight rates or smelter charges. Failure to procure all the information that the microscope can supply concerning the physical and mineralogical characteristics of complex ores has in many cases led to the construction of unsuitable concentrators, just as the failure to investigate in detail the geological conditions of an ore deposit has often results in the squandering of money on shaft sinking, and mechanical installations which subsequent development of the deposit failed to justify. The great progress recently made in the selective separation of minerals by means of the various processes of flotation and leaching brings strongly to our attention, the scope of the field in which microscopical methods may be advantageously employed. The microscope enables one to observe the minute details of rock, ore, gangue, concentrate, tailing, matte, slag and metal, that are invisible to the naked eye. Furthermore, the technique of microscopal research has been so highly developed that a microscopist can not only observe, but deter-mine the compositions and measure the diameters of the mineral constituents in the ore to be treated. Magnifications of these constituents up to 3,000 diameters may be produced by the proper combination of eyepiece, objective, and projection apparatus, and the images thus viewed may be photographed through the microscope, and permanent records made of them.

Jan 1, 1924

By J. C. Hampton, L. A. Matzar, C. R. Gamwell

In geomechanics, conducting uniaxial or triaxial compression tests require samples to be prepared to a certain length-to-diameter ratio. This ratio is typically defined as 2:1 (length to diameter) and is accepted as a common standard for all materials on which mechanical properties testing is performed. Variations in sample length can cause changes in measured strength properties across multiple material types, such as cement, rock, or soil. Within the oil and gas industry, it is not uncommon to receive samples for technical services work that are slightly under or exactly the length requirement before surface grinding and sample preparation. Many of these samples are discarded from uniaxial and triaxial compression tests and used in another manner; therefore, it is necessary to study the length-to-diameter ratio in efforts to understand the limits and validity of testing samples that are slightly out of the 2:1 ratio. This paper discusses uniaxial compression tests performed using Berea sandstone and a standard cement mixture of 2.54-cm diameter to study changes in rock strength and properties. Compressive strength for each lengthto- diameter ratio over a range of 0.5:1 to 2.2:1 was measured. The investigation was extended to study near-end effects, where the sample length is near, but not exactly twice the diameter. It was discovered that the cement samples conformed reasonably well to the suggested ASTM correction factors. The sandstone did not conform to the correction factors and further analysis is required to develop a correction factor unique to the material. Near end effects, in both the cement and Berea, were found to increase compressive strengths, especially when the L/D of the samples was increased slightly over a 2:1 L/D.

Jan 1, 2015

By George Efremidis, Markos Avlonitis, Elias C. Aifantis, Avraam Konstantinidis

"Nowadays, there is an increasing interest for realistic spring-block models capable of addressing precursor phenomena in catastrophic earthquake-induced landslides. By pre-defining the constitutive law between externally applied stress and induced local strain increments, the dynamic behaviour of the rock/soil slope can be studied by means of the distribution of slip events at the interface between the soil and the bedrock. It is shown that by relaxing the assumption of constant of externally applied stress rate and local strain increments, a robust 2D spring-block model can be formulated for studying triggered landslides. A cellular automaton is built in order to examine the dynamic behaviour and the stability of rock/soil slopes during the initiation of a landslide. The type and nature of the failure plane, as well as the triggering mechanism is studied. The different dynamic evolution modes of the slope can be mapped to specific shape parameters of the corresponding distributions of the incremental displacements. The proposed spring-block model can be used in order to understand, predict and minimize the impact of catastrophic landslides triggered by earthquakes.INTRODUCTIONEarthquakes have long been introduced as one of the major cause of landslides. Earthquake induced landslides are of great importance because they can cause considerable damage and life casualties. Existing analyses can provide landslide concentration, i.e. the number of landslide sources per square kilometer of surface area, as well as the distance from the earthquake source, which is related to the strength of shaking, the slope steepness, which is connected to shear stress, and finally the rock type, which is referred to material strength (Keefer, 1984). In spite of their great importance in social and economic life, earthquake-induced landslides are still considered as an open geotechnical problem. The dependence of the number and distribution of landslides on earthquake magnitude and ground shaking intensities is a crucial factor for the description and determination of the phenomenon. The hazardous types of earthquake-induced landslides, the most susceptible geologic materials and the reactivation of landslides originally triggered by nonseismic activity are some important topics for areas affected by landslides. Most of these areas present an irregular and asymmetric shape with respect to epicenters and fault ruptures, and also show a strong correlation with magnitude (Keefer, 1984, 2000). The number of landslides caused by an earthquake generally increases with increasing earthquake magnitude. Keefer (1984) presented a magnitude scale in order to quantify the number of earthquake-induced landslides. Malamud et al. (2004) have proposed an independent landslide-event magnitude scale on the earthquakes, based on the logarithm of the total landslides number associated with an event. The aforementioned studies try to relate the landslide magnitude scale to the visible effects of the triggering mechanisms."

Jan 1, 2015

By W. Kempson

"Mining Companies have producing assets in increasingly diverse portions of the world. It is not uncommon that the owner, the design team, the mine contractors and the operators are all based in different countries. While these assets are always subject to the regulatory requirement of those countries there have not been international standards available to review and evaluate these assets. This becomes particularly important when considering safety critical items such as tailings dams, vertical shaft systems and autonomous vehicles to highlight a few. The work currently being completed in ISO ensures these standards will be available and will be generated by and subscribed to on an international basis, thus removing the potential for patriotic partisanship and ensuring safe and predictable systems are installed. This paper will discuss the benefits of the international standards, the structure of the teams and working groups who are generating these standards as well as the process by which the standards are generated. This will allow insight into the creation of the standard and will aim to demonstrate the “neutral” and technically strong manner in which the generation of these standards is achieved. In addition, the paper will discuss the standards which have been produced in the last five years as well as the current standards which are in place. The finale will discuss upcoming work and the timelines in which it is anticipated these will be completed. INTRODUCTION Mining Companies have producing assets in increasingly diverse portions of the world. While these assets are always subject to the regulatory requirement of those countries, there have not been international standards available to review and evaluate these assets. This becomes particularly important when considering safety critical areas such as vertical shaft systems, tailings dams and autonomous vehicles to highlight a couple. The work currently being completed in the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) ensure these standards will be available and will be generated by and subscribed to on an international basis, thus removing the potential for patriotic partisanship and ensuring safe and predictable systems are installed. The ISO/TC 82 – Mining was founded in 1955. This was an active committee until it was thought that the standards at the time were adequate and the Technical Committee was put on “Care and Maintenance”. In 2012 countries lobbied ISO to pull this committee from dormancy and restart it, this happened in in the same year."

Jan 1, 2019

By Sudarshan Martins

The measurement of acoustic signals produced by a tumbling mill has been previously used to determine the operating state of the mill and correlate the variations of the sound intensity with the operating conditions of the mill. Separately, the discrete element model (DEM), a software simulation of the mill, was developed to provide insight into the operation of the mill. Presently, there has not been much work reconciling the DEM simulation of the mill with the acoustic signal. Working from basic principles of linear, time-invariant systems, agreement between an acoustic DEM simulation and the measured signal is sought. First, the impulse response function of the mill is measured. The DEM provides the forces applied to the mill shell as a function of time. A convolution of these simulated shell forces and the transfer function gives the simulated acoustic signal. This signal is compared to the measured acoustic signal, both in the time domain and the frequency domain. Finally, a discussion of the results is given.

Jan 1, 2012

By P. J. Oakley, W. M. Thomas, S. W. Kallee, D. G. Staines

A Friction stir welding (FSW) is now extensively used in aluminium industries for joining and material processing applications. The (FSW) technology has gained increasing interest and importance since its invention at TWI almost 15 years ago. The basic principle, recent applications and the continuing development of the FSW technology are described. The paper will introduce some of the variants of FSW, such as Dual-rotation, Twin-stir(TM), and the Stir-lock(TM) technique.

Jan 1, 2006

By K. Sakaguchi, T. Yokoyama

"In-situ rock stress measurement was carried out in the Kamaishi mine of Iwate Prefecture to quantify the variation of the shallow crustal stress field associated with the 2011 Tohoku-oki earthquake. Stress measurement was conducted by the Compact Conical ended Borehole Overcoring (CCBO) technique, which is one of the stress relief method. The CCBO technique is the one of the suggested method of ISRM. Measurement period is from 1991 to 2014. Main results obtained in this study can be summarized as follows.The direction of the maximum principal stress did not change much before and after the earthquake. However, the directions of the intermediate principal stress and the minimum principal stress of one year after the earthquake changed from those of before earthquake. Namely, the direction of intermediate principal stress was East-West horizontally, and the direction of minimum principal stress was vertically. This state of stress is reverse fault type and was maintained for three years after the earthquake.The magnitudes of principal stresses and the vertical stress of one year after the earthquake became more than the double before the earthquake. However, the magnitudes of the maximum principal of two year after the earthquake became smaller comparing with those of one year after the earthquake. Furthermore, the magnitudes of the intermediate principal stress and the minimum principal stress of two year after the earthquake became almost same as those before earthquake, and the vertical stress of two year after the earthquake became almost equal with the overburden pressure. And the magnitudes of three principal stresses of three year after the earthquake became the same level before the earthquake."

Jan 1, 2015

By T. Yalcin, S. Brunet

The flocculant-assisted hydrocyclone involves the addition of a flocculant to the cyclone feed for the purpose of obtaining a clear cyclone overflow, and thereby eliminating or reducing thickener requirements in tailings disposal operations. This paper describes the testing of this concept on the iron ore tailings of Quebec Cartier Mining Company's Mount Wright Concentrator. The current practice at Mount Wright makes use of conventional hydrocyclones and thickeners for the disposal of their tailings, which are generated in a spiral gravity separation circuit. The test work was conducted primarily on their cyclone overflow product which becomes the feed to the thickeners. A detailed study was carried out to determine the sedimentation properties of these tailings in terms of their response to a variety of flocculating reagents, and to varying conditions of pH, pulp density and flocculant dosage. The tailings were then processed in a laboratory hydrocyclone with the aid of flocculants. The use of a shear resistant flocculant, in particular, was found to yield cyclone overflows with low solids contents. Based on the test results obtained, a conceptual flow sheet has been proposed for the treatment of the iron ore tailings at the Mount Wright Concentrator.

Jan 1, 2004

By K. Bunney, R. Pleysier

The deportment of a suite of elements through representative gold ore processing unit operations in cyanidation has been investigated. Chromium and lead are not soluble in alkaline cyanide solutions. Arsenic, antimony, cobalt, molybdenum, selenium, tellurium and vanadium are soluble, but typically do not adsorb onto activated carbon to any appreciable extent. Silver, copper, cadmium, mercury, nickel and zinc to varying extents report along with the gold to the carbon eluate. Cadmium, mercury and zinc can report to the carbon regeneration kiln off-gases. Strontium is soluble and adsorbs on carbon where it remgins.

Jan 1, 2011

By Kazem Oraee

Implementing stable final pit walls in open pit mines during the open pit design phase and mine exploitation has become one of the most important concerns of mining engineers in recent years. Failure of mine walls can potentially cause loss of life, roads blocks, and damage to mining machinery, temporarily or permanently halt production at the face and in the worst case scenario, close the mine. Thus, the role of creating stable mine walls is crucial to safety and general operations of mines and any effort to optimize this process has great economic value for mine operators. This paper aims to illustrate the technical aspects of use of the successful presplit blasting method in metal open pit mines. It also shows that using this approach not only increases safety in mines through wall stabilization, but also will boost economic profits by savings in stripping ratio. In this regard, appropriate practical concepts for designing the drilling and blasting patterns and the role of selecting the correct drilling rigs are elaborated in detail through conducting a case study in Chador Malu iron ore mine in Iran.

Aug 1, 2013

By Jaeheon Lee

"Biooxidation of gold ores or concentrates could be a very attractive alternative to pressure oxidation (POX) or roasting to liberate the gold grains from various sulfides. Crushed heap bioleaching was successful in US and many operations using tank bioleaching of gold concentrate are currently running around the world. Many parameters need to be considered during the project of sulfidic refractory gold ore process. Capital and operation costs are among the most important ones. Run-of-mine heap biooxidation could be very inexpensive and the smaller the crush size (particle size), the more expensive the capital and operating costs for biooxidation application are expected. The capital cost of biooxidation could be a fraction of the cost for building POX plant or roaster and the operating cost could be 1/3 of POX or roasting depending on the method utilized. A new biooxidation process, Sand Farming, is introduced as an alternative to POX and tank biooxidation process. A relatively coarser particle size (P80 = 650 µm) of the process benefits the low cost of grinding against the conventional grinding size (P80 = 75 µm) for other options. The cost of Sand Farming is less than 40% of that of pressure oxidation with comparable gold recovery from the downstream process. This paper will review the laboratory scale testwork for various biooxidation process of sulfidic refractory gold ores and concentrates and provide the economic evaluation showing the biooxidation could be the most economic method without much sacrificing the overall gold recovery. INTRODUCTIONThe decreased availability and lower grade of raw materials has motivated industries to consider recovering values utilizing low cost process options. The process may treat high grade concentrates or submill grade ores that cannot be processed economically by conventional milling-flotation or leaching. Sulfidic refractory gold ores/concentrates have been economically processed by roasting, pressure oxidation, and biooxidation in stirred tank reactor. The process selection is based on a series of studies including multi-year long ore characterization and metallurgical investigations."

Jan 1, 2016

By L. Yuan, J. H. Rowland, R. A. Thomas, D. Bahrami, G. P. Cole

"The past several decades have seen a steady increase in the use of atmospheric monitoring systems (AMS) in underground mines as sensor technology has advanced and costs for this technology have decreased. The AMS is a reliable tool for early mine fire warning by detecting gaseous products of combustion in underground mines. During a mine fire emergency, mine decision makers rely heavily on the prompt and accurate knowledge of the ventilation and fire situation in the mine, such as fire location, fire size, and the spread of smoke to make effective and efficient decisions on firefighting strategies and miner evacuation. Meanwhile, a prediction of the potential for fire development at a later time, such as whether the currently designated mine escapeways will be contaminated by smoke and toxic gases with the progress of the fire, is critical for effective decision-making to save lives that are in danger. The AMS monitoring data, including carbon monoxide (CO) concentration, airflow rate, smoke, etc., can provide information as to whether the smoke has reached the locations where AMS sensors are installed and if a mine-wide smoke spread has occurred. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has undertaken a task to integrate real-time AMS monitoring data with the mine fire simulation program, MFIRE, to simulate and predict the spread of smoke and toxic gas in a ventilation network based on the real-time AMS data. This paper reports the developed real-time method for characterizing the size and location of an underground mine fire and for predicting the spread of contaminants throughout the mine ventilation network using sensor data from the AMS.INTRODUCTIONNIOSH conducts research to develop workplace solutions to improve detection of and reduce the risk of hazardous conditions in underground mines. The advancement of senor technology and the increasing demand for real-time mine parameters monitoring have led to extended applications of atmospheric monitoring systems (AMS) in underground mines worldwide. In the United States, AMS is primarily used for early mine fire warning by detecting carbon monoxide (CO) in fire hazard areas, such as belt entries. Mine fires can grow rapidly, and time is the critical element. Prompt detection, timely and accurate warnings to those miners potentially affected, and a proficient response by underground miners can have a tremendous impact on the social and economic consequence of a small underground mine fire (Conti et al., 2005). The early detection of a mine fire could gain time for the first responders to put out the fire before it develops into a disaster. An AMS system with CO sensors has especially played an important role in the early detection of mine fires. The continuous monitoring of an underground mine atmosphere with an AMS could generate a large amount of data in a mine fire event. However, the current application of AMS is mainly limited to sending out an alarm when monitored CO concentration exceeds a certain level. An opportunity arises as to whether these data can be further used in fire emergency response. In order to make effective decisions on firefighting strategies, mine workers’ seeking refuges, evacuation and escape, and the timing on when to send rescuers, decision makers need accurate and timely knowledge of the ventilation and fire situation in the mine. Information about the fire intensity, where in the mine the smoke and toxic gases have spread, and whether designated mine escapeways have been compromised by smoke and toxic gases from the fire would greatly increase the effectiveness of these decisions. However, the monitored AMS data only provides atmospheric conditions in the vicinity of sensor locations. What is concluded from the monitored AMS data highly depends on the decision makers’ capability and experience. Predictive insight into fire growth and smoke transport would greatly help decision makers during a fire emergency."

Jan 1, 2019

By K. Robertson, K. A. Scalise, K. C. Kocsis, M. B. Teixeira

"Many deep and highly mechanized underground metal mines require cooling. In many cases, appropriate working conditions might be fulfilled by ventilation alone, but some require the implementation of cooling systems. The most common cooling systems are bulk air cooling and localized cooling. These systems are effective, but they use considerable amounts of electricity. Ground source heat pumps (GSHP) can supplement existing cooling and heating systems, while geothermal systems can cool the mines in their entirety if there are significant sources of geothermal energy are present. A major advantage of geothermal and GSHP systems are their renewability, which reduces the carbon footprint of the mine.INTRODUCTIONThe western United States has abundant alternative energy sources including a high potential for geothermal energy. Geothermal utilization is a viable energy alternative that many areas throughout the world have access to because high geothermal potentials are located near areas of volcanic activity such as along plate boundaries, mid-oceanic ridges, rift valleys and hot spots (IRENA, 2017). There is significant potential to use geothermal energy for many applications. With constantly evolving and innovative technologies being developed, an increasing number of geothermal applications are becoming feasible. The western United States is an ideal candidate for alternative energy applications due to the geothermal availability and the emergence of modern technology. This paper investigates the incorporation of renewable methods and the alternative energy possibilities of Barrick Goldstrike, located in northern Eureka County, NV and Rio Tinto/BHP Billiton’s Resolution Copper mine located in Superior, AZ.RENEWABLE SYSTEMSGeothermal SystemsGeothermal temperatures are typically defined as either high or low temperature systems(Shengjun, Huaixian, & Tao, 2011). The high-temperature reservoirs (>220°C / 428°F) are feasible forlarge, commercial production of electricity with dry stream and flash stream systems (Shengjun, Huaixian, & Tao, 2011). Low temperature systems, below 220°C (428°F) (Shengjun, Huaixian, & Tao, 2011), aremuch more difficult to use for energy production. Low-temperature reservoir heat can be harnessedthrough the implementation of a binary cycle plant. The working fluid for a binary cycle plant is eitherorganic (Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC)) or an ammonia-water mixture (Kalina cycle). Organic fluids andammonia-water mixtures have low boiling points that allow for the recovery of heat from low-temperaturesources (Eymel Campos Rodriguez, et al., 2013). The efficiency of the binary cycle plant varies depending upon the fluid, thus the proper selection of the fluid is critical for maximum energy output"

Jan 1, 2019

To determine the optimal circuit configuration for gravity gold recovery consideration should be given to a range of factors in addition to the efficiency of the gravity circuit, including capital costs, ease of operation and impact on comminution. The most common gravity gold circuits utilise a centrifugal concentrator treating a portion of the hydrocyclone underflow. This paper will examine this option and alternative circuit configurations to illustrate the effect of various gravity circuit feed and tailings configurations on the equipment sizing, capital costs, operating costs, water balance, comminution efficiency and gravity gold recovery. The optimum circuit configuration can provide reduced capital and operating costs, maximise gravity gold recovery and improve comminution efficiency.

Jan 1, 2011

By J. Kouam

Al-Si-Cu and Al-Si-Mg alloys are widely used in several applications. Although they can be produced near-net-shapes, products made of these alloys very often require some machining. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the machinability of A319 and A356 under TO and T6 conditions. The machinability was assessed using during dry drilling machining process and the machinability indexes used are the chip form, the chip breakability and the cutting forces. It is found that 319 and 356 exhibit different machinability behaviors, especially in the T6-condition in terms of forces requirements, chip breakability and chip segmentation. It is also found that both the microstructure of the workpiece materials and the machining conditions significantly affect the chip formation mechanism, and therefore, the machining parameters could be selected to promote a chip form that is easily manageable in production.

Jan 1, 2011