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By Tim Hughes, A. H. (Sandy) Gray, Jennifer Abols

"The selective recovery of gold and silver from solutions containing other metals such as copper is possible using AuRIX®100 resin in conjunction with the Gekko Resin Column. Selectivity is driven by controlling the solution pH, which enables activities such as loading copper, gold and silver and then selectively stripping copper before gold and silver. Alternatively gold and silver can be loaded and the copper left in solution. The selective loading of gold while reducing the silver loading has also been demonstrated opening the possibility of producing high grade gold doré from high grade silver pregnant leach solutions. This paper reviews the AuRIX®100 resin and Gekko Resin Column Technologies, discusses the uses of AuRIX®100 in the recovery of gold and silver and the chemistry relating to several projects for which AuRIX®100 is being tested.INTRODUCTIONGekko SystemsGekko Systems specializes in the design, development and distribution of innovative mineral processing equipment and systems with a particular focus on gravity separation for the gold and diamond industries. The company, which has been around since 1996, has five main products: the InLine Pressure Jig, the InLine Spinner, the InLine Leach Reactor (ILR), Gekko Resin Column and Modular Systems.The InLine Leach Reactor is an intensive cyanidation reactor that uses high cyanide (0.5 – 2 % NaCN) and high oxidant (20 ppm dissolved oxygen as O2 or hydrogen peroxide) to dissolve gold from medium and high-grade gravity or flotation concentrates. The ILR, which typically replaces a shaking table in the gold room, is available in both batch and continuous models. There are 42 installations worldwide. Further details on this technology can be found in papers written by Gray et al (2003) and Longley, McCallum and Katsikaros (2003). By replacing a shaking table with an ILR, the overall gravity and plant recoveries can be increased significantly. Other advantages include reduced security risks, lower operating costs, reduced operator involvement due to the automatic process and increased safety for gold room operators."

Jan 1, 2006

By Brad Sampson

Project Ownership ?Discovery Metals Limited ?ASX (DML), BSX (DML), AIM (DME) ?Market Cap AUD 195M ?Key assets ?Boseto Cu ?Dikoloti Ni The Boseto Copper Project ?Location ?Setting ?History ?Status ?Future

May 1, 2010

By R. Venugopal, Saxena. V. K., U. Sankrityayan

"There is a dire need of a technology which can break the mineral interfaces to enhance liberation with minimum energy consumption in mineral beneficiation processes. Understanding of mineral crystal system and interfaces is essential to develop such methodology. So, this study is carried out to find out the role of mineral crystallography in milling and liberation. Data related of mineral crystallography, Vickers Hardness Number, Bond Work Index and beneficiation processes were collected from literature and detailed statistical analysis has been carried out to establish a correlation among these parameters. It was found that atomic weight and cell parameters shown statistically significant relationship with Vickers Hardness Number of minerals, which controls the milling characteristics of ores. Liberation characteristics of five different kinds of ores were analyzed considering the types of interfaces between valuable and gangue minerals. It was found that phase interfaces play vita role in liberation and coarser liberation can be achieved in the minerals of incoherent crystal systems like manganese and zinc ores. Study of this subject can help us to understand the effect of stress wave propagation in solids and its effect on crystal interfaces. It can also help us to design a technology of future to break the mineral interfaces.INTRODUCTIONCommunition is energy intensive mineral processing operation and consumes up to 2% of the total electric power generated in the world. Energy consumption due to comminution is increasing every year as there is growing needs to exploit lower grade ore bodies and process rejects (Blazy et al., 1994; DOE, 2005). Low grade ores require crushing and grinding to liberate the valuable minerals which are further separated from gangues by various beneficiation methods like gravity separation, floatation, leaching etc. Currently, comminution methods are selected based on the reduction ratio and energy consumption but effect of grinding methods on subsequent processing methods specially on liberation also need to be studied to optimize the entire beneficiation process. Most of the attempts made in past to minimize the energy consumption in milling to enhance the mineral liberation were focused on compression mechanism, chemical additives, thermal treatment, microwave treatment and electric disintegration (Kilpelm and Austin, 1982; Norgate and Weller et al, 1994; Bearman et al., 1997; Kumar et al., 2010; Wang el al., 2011; Singh et al., 2012). But the role of mineral crystallography on milling and liberation behavior of minerals not fully explored yet."

Jan 1, 2013

By Deborah A. McCombe

"There are a number of important dates that must be disclosed when a Qualified Person (QP) is preparing a technical report for securities purposes. The dates are discussed in NI43-101 and the Form of the Technical Report, NI43-101F1. •,Effective date of the technical report •,Possible revision date of the report •,Effective date of mineral resources and mineral reserves •,Date of the personal inspection (site visit) •,Signature date of the date report (execution date) •,Date of the certificate of the QP •,Date of the consent of the QP The effective date of the report is basically the cut-off date for the information that is included in the technical report. The effective date should be close to the signature date. If there is too long a period between these dates, the QP runs the risk of new material information becoming available and then the technical report would no longer be current. The effective date is disclosed on the title page of the report and on the signature page. If a technical report needs to be revised to correct problems or disclosure deficiencies identified by the regulators, the QP will normally need to include a revision date on the title page of the report to distinguish the revised version from the original version. In these circumstances, the regulators will request that the original date of the report remain on the title page and the revised date will be below it. When a technical report must be revised, the QP must resign and date the signature page of the report and provide a new certificate and consent."

Jan 1, 2003

By Jim Wickens, Vince Lofftus, Mark Kravetz

"This paper discusses how Bald Mountain Gold Mine (Ely, NV) dramatically reduced mercury production by treating process solutions with a liquid reagent based on organic sulfide chemistry. Cherokee Chemical Co. Inc. (Vernon, CA) markets this reagent as UNR 81 1A.A summary of the bench tests comparing various reagents is given. The ensuing plant trial is discussed and successful mercury removal results are presented. Data is presented to show that early removal of mercury in the process reduces the amount of mercury collected at retort. Data is also presented to show that use of this reagent does not reduce gold recovery. Plant trial treatment costs are discussed. Finally, the potential of this technology to substantially reduce closure costs as compared to traditional mercury removal options is discussed.INTRODUCTIONBald Mountain Mine produces gold. Mercury is a costly by-product of gold production because no revenue is generated from mercury. Traditionally, mercury leaches out with gold and follows the gold throughout the processing circuit until it is eventually condensed and collected at Retort. Minimizing or eliminating mercury production minimizes worker health and safety risks, minimizes environmental liability, and reduces costs. In the long term, minimizing mercury production will make mine closure easier and less costly.Bald Mountain Mine dramatically reduced mercury production by treating process solutions with liquid reagents called UNR 811 and UNR 811A. Several reagents were bench tested before proceeding with a plant trial. The reagent complexes the mercury to form an insoluble organic sulfide precipitate. In independent tests, the precipitate passed acid mobilization tests and is considered stable."

Jan 1, 2001

By Mohsen Amir-Rahmat

The ore of Sarcheshmeh copper deposit that has been located in the south ?east of Iran, contains four type of rock that they have their specific hardness and strength according to their alteration type and mineralization. Blasting of these various types of mine rocks prepares various types of size for the product of mine as the feed of concentration. Along the crushing of this feed a few factors effect on the efficiency of the crushing unit. The aim of this project has been the consideration of the effect of ore size on the efficiency of crushing unit. For this investigation along the year 2000 A.D., six sample from feed and six sample from product of crushing unit have been prepared. The results of the screen analyze of these samples has shown that the size of feed has been lesser than the primary plan and the size rate of the product has been bigger than the primary plan. Also in this research the effect of feed size on the quality of product size has been considered.

May 1, 2003

By Dr. G. R. Hoey

"Abrasive wear and corrosive wear of carbon-steel grinding balls occurred simultaneously during the wet-grinding of hematite iron ore, and Ni-Cu sulphide ore, in laboratory ball mills. Two corrosion control methods, the use of corrosion inhibitors and pH control, were investigated and found to be effective means of reducing or preventing corrosive wear. Up to 50 % reduction of total ball wear resulted from the use of these methods.Corrosive wear is caused principally by the reaction of oxygen in air with the carbon-steel grinding balls, probably by the following reaction: 2Fe + O2 + 2H20 - 2Fe2 + 40H-.IntroductionA survey of corrosion problems in Canadian sulphide ore mines was completed and the findings were published in 197l(l). The corrosion survey was used to develop the present research program with the objective to find more economical and effective ways and means to reduce the corrosion that occurs in the mining and metallurgical industry. The purpose of this presentation is to review the projects being done by staff members of the Corrosion Section, Extraction Metallurgy Division, on corrosive wear and its control in wet-grind ball mills.Both abrasion and corrosion contribute to metal consumption during wet grinding of ores. The total wear of grinding media in this study is assumed to be equal to the sum of corrosive wear and abrasive wear. A great deal of research and development has been reported in the literature on ways to improve the abrasion resistance of grinding media but only a small number of studies has been reported on the corrosion resistance of conventional grinding media."

Jan 1, 1974

By Steve Wilson, Bern Klein, Jeff Drozdiak, Stefan Nadolski, Andrew Bamber

"In the adaptation of high pressure grinding rolls (HPGRs) to hard-rock mining applications, circuit development has mainly focused on placing HPGRs in the role of tertiary crusher in the preparation of ball mill feed. In order to take advantage of the potential energy benefits associated with HPGR and stirred mill grinding technologies, work was done to investigate the potential of and resultant energy benefits of placing the HPGR in series with a high speed stirred mill in replacement of the conventional cone crusher / ball mill arrangement. The proposed circuit was designed to operate with two stages of HPGR grinding followed by high speed stirred milling.Using a pilot-scale HPGR unit inline with a 20 liter stirred mill, the design criteria, circuit arrangement and consequent comminution energy requirements for a circuit processing copper sulphide ore from Teck Resources’s Mesaba Copper project were determined. These results were then compared to two other circuits, an HPGR / ball mill circuit and a conventional crusher / ball mill circuit processing the same ore.The testwork indicated at a proof-of-concept level that the HPGR / stirred mill circuit could potentially be appropriate for this duty and further work on the concept is merited. While the results indicate that the HPGR component of the circuit was more energy efficient than conventional cone crushing, the energy efficiency of the stirred mill was found to be lower than that of a comparable ball mill undertaking the same duty. However, increased energy efficiency of the stirred mill portion of the circuit is possible with further optimization and further work on the concept is indicated."

Jan 1, 2010

By L. Garycki, P. Poks, R. Urbaniak, T. Gabka

In 2016 at Głogów Copper Smelter KGHM Polska Miedź S.A., after shutting down the shaft furnaces new FSF was launched. Currently, it is the only smelter with two direct to blister flash smelting furnaces in operation. The main difference between the vessels are the dimensions and production capacity. The new furnace design output is about 30% higher compared to the old flash smelting furnace working for 40 years. The paper presents a comparison of both FSFs operation, differences in technology and the way to optimize the process to maximize efficiency. INTRODUCTION KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. is the only company in Poland (eastern part of Europe) that extracts and processes copper ores. It is located in the south west of Poland and this region is called the "Copper Basin”. KGHM PM S.A. consists of three underground mines: Lubin, Polkowice-Sieroszowice, Rudna, concentrator plants, a tailings pond plant, three copper plants: Legnica, Głogów and Cedynia wire rod plant in Orsk. The publication relates to the operation of the furnaces in Głogów (the plant in Głogów consists of Głogów 1 and Głogów 2 which form integrated smelting and refining facilities). In 2016, after closure of the shaft furnaces technologies in the Głogów 1, a new FSF commenced operation. The simplified process flow sheets are given in Figure 1 and 2. Technological schemes are similar, but due to the differences in them, they will be discussed separately. Głogów 1 Enriched ores are discharged and directed to the feed preparation plant. Delivered concentrates are built up on the three bedding aisles in appropriate proportions. The concentrates are distributed in even layers in one of the three aisles. Aisle emptying is done with a blending machine which cuts across the concentrate layers and collects thus blended material, sending it via belt conveyors to a storage bin. From the cross- blending machine and conveyor assembly, the mixture of concentrates is directed to drying in the steam dryer. Part of the charge is directed to the FSF and part to the roaster for carbon elimination. Known in the world roasters are used to eliminate sulfur compounds or arsenic. In the case of KGHM deposits, the aim of the process is to reduce the energy value of the feed by eliminating carbon and converting sulfur from sulfide to sulfate. Changing the nature of exothermic to endothermic material is crucial in the case of furnace operation with design performance. Roaster is a separate furnace with an innovative character.

Jan 1, 2019

By Brad Simser

The Brunswick No. 12 Mine is a 10 000 tonne per day producer of lead-zinc-copper-silver ore that has been in operation since 1964. Mining of this multiple lens deposit is primarily by blasthole stoping techniques between 400m and 1200m below surface. The combination of a high overall extraction ratio and high horizontal stresses (twice the vertical) has elevated the induced stress regime to levels comparable to much deeper operations. Improved mine design, and a better understanding of how the rock mass responds to mining in high stress environments is essential to improve overall recoveries and maintain safety. Seismic monitoring has proven to be an essential tool at Brunswick, for both short-term safety of workers, and long-term strategic planning. Practical case studies illustrate how seismic data, particularly source parameter information, can be used to measure the rockmass response to mining and improve mining layouts in difficult regions. As the global trend continues towards mining in deeper, higher stress environments (e.g. South African Witswatersrand Basin, Sudbury Basin) and as local extraction and thus ground stresses continue to increase in existing deposits, seismic monitoring will play a critical role in mining safely and economically.

May 1, 2003

By Sanjeeva Latchireddi

"Deteriorating ore grade and high demand of metals has tremendously influenced the unit capacity of SAG mills. Pebble circuits have been added to the existing SAG circuits to increase their unit capacity. To make the pebble circuits justifiable, the grate openings are increased almost to 4.5 inches to draw large quantity of pebbles. The inherent transportation problems associated with SAG mills in closed circuit with pebble fraction are more complicated than the single stage SAG mill operation, because the coarse pebbles behave significantly different to that of slurry in pulp lifters. In addition, operation of mills at higher speed, to take advantage of precise design of high release angled shell lifters significantly reduces the discharge efficiency of the conventional pulp dischargers. The presence of a sizable quantity of pebbles in the pulp lifter limits the space available and reduces the flow gradient through the grate thus increases the load inside the mill and hence the mill power-draw. This paper analyses all the problems associated in discharge of slurry and pebbles in SAG mills with pebble circuits. The Outokumpu patented Turbo Pulp Lifter (TPLTM) aims at eliminating the inherent material transport problems to ensure good grinding conditions. Recent installation of TPLTM in a 26-ft SAG mill has proven these claims by reducing the specific power consumption while increasing the mill capacity.INTRODUCTIONThe conventional wisdom is to look at the semi-autogenous grinding (SAG) mill as just another grinding mill in which ball charge, mill filling, and mill speed are varied to attain maximum throughput. Liner design for the SAG was also approached more from a wear perspective rather than a metallurgical and hydraulic-flow perspective. The extensive research work carried out by Latchireddi and Morrell (1997,2003a and 2003b) has demonstrated to think of the SAG as more of a pump in which the grates and pulp discharger end (“impeller”) were designed to efficiently discharge the product sized particles smaller than the grate size with minimal recirculation out of the mill.The rock load in the mill is essentially depends on ore characteristics and the discharge rate of broken particles. The discharge rate of the product material depends on how efficiently the discharge pump (grate and pulp lifters) is operating. Similar to the impeller design affecting the pump capacity, the pulp lifter design affects the discharge capacity (or mill throughput) of the SAG/AG grinding mills. The general arrangement of AG/SAG mills discharge system is shown in Figure 1."

Jan 1, 2007

By Lawrence Melis

Fission Uranium Corp.’s Triple R Uranium Deposit at its Patterson Lake South Project is located in northwest Saskatchewan in Canada’s Athabasca Basin. As part of pre-feasibility studies for the project a detailed metallurgical test program was completed to provide process design criteria. The testwork program encompassed preparation and analysis of test composites, comminution testing, uranium acid leaching, liquid-solid separation, solvent extraction of uranium, precipitation of uranium yellowcake products, tailings and effluent treatment, tailings physical and chemical characterization, and environmental testing of prepared tailings, as well as investigations of gold and silver recovery from the mineralization. The paper provides mineralogical information, testwork methodologies and test results which were used to arrive at process design criteria and the selection of the process flowsheet for the project.

Jan 1, 2020

By Polysius AG

"The Lone Tree demonstration was an important milestone in bringing High Pressure Grinding Roll (HPGR) technology into hard rock applications in the mining industry. HPGRs have become standard equipment in the cement, iron ore, and diamond industries over the past fifteen years, but their use in severe duties found in the hard rock mining sector has been restricted due to high roll wear and subsequent low availability. HPGR availability has historically been limited because of frequent downtime for edge weld rebuilding as the rolls wore and short tyre life from high roll surface wear rates.Recent advancements in HPGR wear protection are now being evaluated for commercial applications in the gold and copper mining industry where this technology may offer benefits in comminuting hard and/or abrasive ores and in improving metal recovery in heap leaching applications.Proving the feasibility of HPGRs for processing competent, abrasive gold ore, Newmont Mining Corporation, the world's largest gold producer, operated an HPGR demonstration plant employing a POLYSIUS (POLYCOM) HPGR incorporating some unique wear protection, at their Lone Tree gold mine near Winnemucca, Nevada. Results of the successful demonstration are presented and evaluated in this paper.The Lone Tree HPGR demonstration plant operated for three months, from April through June 2003. The HPGR operated for 1626 hours and processed 141,000 tons of ore. This technology demonstration focused on measuring operating performance, wear characteristics, and availability of today's HPGR technology.Polysius' innovative roll surface wear protection system eliminated edge-welding downtime. Improved surface wear protection extended tyre life to predicted durations acceptable for very abrasive service. The POLYCOM HPGR is now deemed suitable for selected hard rock applications."

Jan 1, 2005

By Janis A. Shandro

The mining sector is a major economic driver for Canadian, and British Columbian communities. In parallel strong commitments have been made by industry to the well-being and sustainability of associated communities. However, these dimensions are the least understood. Especially lacking are focused regional investigations that compare the well-being and sustainability of communities dependent on different resources sectors. It is hypothesized that this type of comparative analysis will help to foster a greater understanding of what makes a resource or mining community healthy and sustainable. This paper describes research that examined community-level indicators associated with well-being (e.g. education, income and employment) and sustainability (e.g. economic diversity). The indicators were derived from Canadian Census data for 31 British Columbia resource-based communities (with a focus on mining) during a period of time (1991 to 2001) when resource sectors experienced an economic downturn. Our findings identify that during this decade, mining communities differed significantly from other resource-based communities, and comparative analysis of census derived indictors illuminate challenges that mining communities in British Columbia face with respect to wellbeing and sustainability (such as economic diversity, unemployment, and population loss). To contribute to the mining sector?s efforts towards meeting their commitments to communities, this paper concludes by proposing strategic opportunities aimed at the enhancement of mining community sustainability for policy-makers, communities, and the mining industry to consider.

May 1, 2011

By V. Prostakova, M. Shevchenko

The copper smelting gas / slag / matte / metal / solids system with the Cu-Fe-Ca-Si-O-S major elements has been a long-term focus of the present overall research program using integrated experimental and modelling approach for the phase equilibria characterisation and development of a thermodynamic database. A systematic investigation of phase equilibria of slag systems in equilibrium with Cu metal is providing information for systems where copper coexists in slag with lead, zinc, and aluminium oxides as major components. Experimental studies involve high-temperature equilibration of synthetic samples; rapid quenching; and measurement of the compositions of equilibrium phases using electron probe X-ray microanalysis (EPMA). Particularly important feature of the present study a wide range of temperatures (660-1670°C) being characterised that reveals major inconsistencies in the existing thermodynamic description of the multicomponent system, and allows to establish the thermodynamic properties from phase equilibria in a reliable way. FactSage-based thermodynamic modelling is integrated with experimental research. Initial thermodynamic assessments are used to identify priorities for experiments, planned to provide specific data for thermodynamic optimisation. Significant improvement in the accuracy of the phase equilibria description is achieved, in particular in the PbO-Cu2O-SiO2, ZnO-Cu2O-SiO2, and Cu2O-CaO- Al2O3 systems in equilibrium with metallic Cu. INTRODUCTION Slags high in lead and copper are generated in primary metal production in the smelting of lead sulfide concentrates and in pyrometallurgical metal recycling systems. The compositions of these slags are varied due to increased fraction of recycled materials in the feed as well as introduction of previously unused chemical elements to modern technology. Therefore, their processing becomes chemically more complex; in that way they contain a large number of different metals. These slags form complex non-ideal solutions (with possible formation of several immiscible slags) that can coexist with stoichiometric solids, solid solutions, mattes and molten metal depending on the bulk composition and process conditions. Predicting the outcomes of smelting and refining processes is becoming increasingly difficult. To assist in the optimisation of these metallurgical processing operations, a comprehensive research program is underway to develop accurate thermodynamic databases for these non-ferrous process systems.

Jan 1, 2019

By M. W. Lewis

A mine's inherent capacity is dictated by factors such as equipment, design, people, processes, and environment. Actual production may approach, but never surpass, the inherent capacity limit. The inherent capacity ceiling can only be increased through re-engineering. Autonomous haulage systems have the potential to significantly increase a mine ’s inherent and realized capacity. Realized capacity may be maximized through the optimization of soft factors such as the processes, behaviours, and organizational systems, controlling asset utilization, availability, and performance. Truck shovel dispatching systems revolutionized the utilization of mobile assets. High-precision global positioning systems (HP-GPS) are increasingly being adopted to optimize equipment performance. Real-time maintenance management systems have the potential to revolutionize equipment availability and significantly reduce cash costs. This paper explores some of the solutions available to mines to increase their inherent capacity and maximize their realized capacity.

Jan 1, 2004

By M. W. Lewis, B. Sambirsky, J. Werner

A mine’s inherent capacity is dictated by factors such as equipment, design, people, processes, and environment. Actual production may approach, but never surpass, the inherent capacity limit. The inherent capacity ceiling can only be increased through re-engineering. Autonomous haulage systems have the potential to significantly increase a mine’s inherent and realized capacity. Realized capacity may be maximized through the optimization of soft factors such as the processes, behaviours, and organizational systems, controlling asset utilization, availability, and performance. Truck shovel dispatching systems revolutionized the utilization of mobile assets. High-precision global positioning systems (HP-GPS) are increasingly being adopted to optimize equipment performance. Real-time maintenance management systems have the potential to revolutionize equipment availability and significantly reduce cash costs. This paper explores some of the solutions available to mines to increase their inherent capacity and maximize their realized capacity.

Jan 1, 2004

Located in Timmins, Ontario the Porcupine Joint Venture, a pooling of assets between two existing operations (the Dome Operation of Placer Dome (CLA) and the Hoyle Pond Operation of Kinross Gold Corporation) came about on July 1st, 2002; Placer being the manager of the Joint Venture with 51% ownership and Kinross with 49%. The formation of the Joint Venture was the realization of the dream of many who could envision the benefits of the whole area being operated as one entity ? the combination of the majority of assets in the Porcupine Camp into one venture containing tremendous synergistic potential of manpower, infrastructure, land tenure and exploration development. The name Porcupine in the gold mining industry brings with it the legacy of world class gold mines; the Hollinger, McIntyre and Dome with a proud tradition of excellence. The name Porcupine brings with it the legacy of over twenty individual mining companies in operation at any one time, producing over 65 million ounces of gold.

May 1, 2003

By Steve McAlister, Colin Sprake

"Enhanced gravity concentration machines have been applied successfully in the following areas of precious metal recovery flowsheets:1. Primary Grinding Circuits2. Shaking Table Tailings3. Pre-Concentration of Leach Feed4. Flotation Concentrates -•, Flash•, ConventionalAlthough great progress has been made, the ability to produce directly smeltable concentrates still remains elusive. Even without this ability, centrifugal concentrators are finding wideningapplications in precious metal concentration:1) PRIMARY GRINDING CIRCUITSEnhanced gravity concentration technology has largely replaced jigging as the technology of choice in precious metal grinding circuits worldwide. The benefits of using a centrifugal field to concentrate both coarse and fine gold are well documented but the placement of these machines within grinding circuits is still evolving. Conventional wisdom dictates that the best location for enhanced gravity machines is cyclone underflow on account of the elevated grade found in this stream when compared to cyclone feed or overflow. Plant operating experience at both large and small scale indicates that there are compelling arguments to place ENHANCED GRAVITY MACHINES on cyclone feed instead. At least two new plants, presently in the detailed design stage will incorporate gravity circuits that treat mill discharge or cyclone feed, Teck Cominco’s Pogo and Newcrest’s Telfer Expansion.Current Conventional PracticeThe current stream of choice for enhanced gravity concentration within grinding circuits is cyclone underflow although recent information indicates a swing toward cyclone feed. Here are some of the arguments for treating a portion of cyclone underflow:"

Jan 1, 2003

By J. Eric Nylund

"Intensive mechanization and automation in the LKAB, Kiruna Mine in Sweden have resulted in substantial rise in productivity and decrease in production cost. Capital investment in a modern mine today averages a considerable amount per miner and costs increase with requirements for more efficient methods and equipment. Equipment reliability becomes more and more important. Equipment maintenance requirements are directly proportional to equipment reliability and grade of availability. Weaknesses in the equipment result in unnecessary costs with regard to maintenance which can add up considerably per year, but of more importance are the costs caused by equipment breakdown. These breakdowns disturb or interrupt the production and often cause damage to other parts of the system. This paper discusses the important parameters involved in mine car wheel wear and the design principles of wheels, axle suspension and track.IntroductionTrains operating in an underground mine do not follow the same standard of performance as trains operating on surface railways. The differences in speed, curve radius and environment require different methods of calculation for underground train systems, and when judging the parameters involved one must keep in mind these differences at all times.While surface railway technology was given all possible attention over the last century no one was seriously looking into underground rail haulage in the sense of rail vehicles performance on the track until LKAB in 1975 started to question the methods of calculations used. Even though LKAB by then attained mine car maintenance cost that was 1/6 to 1/10 of other mining companies they were not pleased with the situation. The objective for the ensuing engineering work was to derive the reasons for wear and breakdowns. Once those reasons were established, the design of a completely new generation of mine cars could start. The result of these efforts were beyond all expectations. The maintenance cost on mine cars had been reduced to 1/15 of prior car generation which already had comparatively low cost.The most significant cost savings were made on wheel maintenance, which earlier represented 50% to 55% of car maintenance. Wheel life was increased from an average of 3 to 30 years or more.The LKAB theories around wheel wear are described in the following report."

Jan 1, 1987