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By D. Berman, A. Brodt

"Delivery of all volume of mined mass on the terrestrial surface results not only in irrational power expenses on moving of huge volumes of dead rock as a part of initial raw materials (especially vertically) on long distances, but also necessities of storing tailings in open-air. Thus, in bowels of earth, huge volumes of the developed space are formed. However, the nature doesn't suffer emptiness. As consequence, through the process of underground mining works, in earth bowels starts intensive development of rocks dislocation processes involving subsidence of terrestrial surface, and with it, begins irreparable damage every objects which are on that territory. Highly effective new methods of underground concentration of the various minerals, which deliveries of only target component on terrestrial surface integrally connected with transport process in stream and subsequent deliveries to destination in continuous mode by the long distance hydrotransport, allow not only to eliminate a construction of concentrating factories on the surface, but also storing of tailings of concentration process on open-air preventing dislocation of rocks, thanks to operative placing tails in the underground developed space. Surely, the main problem in the development of such gravity dressing technology is the problem of finding the optimal formula for the heavy liquid that will fill such system in close connection with the procedure of its full regeneration. The requirements for such liquid are being non-toxic and cheap. This question was solved successfully."

Jan 1, 2014

The Phoenix mine on the Mararoa Reef at Norseman, Western Australia, provides an outstanding: AUstralian instance of the recurrence of payable ore beneath the bottom of an abandoned mine, and an interesting and instructive example of the development ofideas with regard to ore recurrence in a particular district. The Mararoa Reef is the most productive of several hypothermal goldquartz vains in pre-Cambrian basic volc81olics which strike northsouth and dip on the average, 45 degrees east. The Phoenix minewas abandoned at 500 ft. vertical depth after producing 342,000 tons of 9.9 dwt. recovery grade (equivalent to nearly half of the total production of the Norseman field) from a 2,500 ft.. long, horizontally disposed oreshoot, which is reported to have had an ore outcrop only 30 ft. in length.Interest in the field was revived in 1933, and by 1941 new ore mined and developed on the Mararoa Reef by Central Norseman Gold Corporation N.L. amounted to approximately 700,000 tons of 6.7 dwt. recovery grade. In the same period another oreshoot of similar size and grade was developed by Norseman Gold Mines N.L., south of the old Mararoa company's site. As shown by the plans, the ore occurs in discontinuous shoots. The intervening area of shear is poor in quartz as well as in gold. Geological work on behalf of Western Mining Corporation Ltd., and Central Norseman Gold Corporation N.L. has been in progress in the mine and in the field more or less continuously from 1913 to 1941 and again since 1946. This paper describes the successive advances in the understanding of the exploratory problem up to late 1941, to which several investigators have contributed. It is published by permission of the Board of Directors of Central Norseman Gold Corporation N.L., owners and operators of the Phoenix and other mines.Development of the Prospect.In 1933 Western Mining Corporation acquired an option over the Phoenix property and adjacent leases. H. E. McKinstryl visited the mine and recognised that the ore occurred primarily on the flatly dipping sections of the vein, as distinct from the steeply dippingsections, in a wide shear zone with reverse movement. Many of the flatly dipping fractures were seen to exhibit tension phenomena and to link one shear plane to the next below on the footwall side. The flat links carried much more quartz than the steeper shears.Later, H. J. C. Conolly, assisted by J. D. Campbell, examined the prospect and by contouring the vein with reference to an inclined...

Jan 1, 1950

By Thomas Gales

Longwall mining has a high potential for producing bulk production from a single face. Production is interrupted for a considerable time when it is necessary to move the equipment to a new block of coal. The frequency of such moves can be reduced by increasing the dimension of the block to be moved. Merely doubling the tonnage in a block to be mined may increase production by more than 21,000 tons per year. The time taken to move the equipment can be reduced by careful preplanning, industrial engineering analysis, and specially designed equipment. Reducing its move time from 30 days to five days can increase production by more than 25,000 tons per year. Increasing the panel dimensions and reducing the move time can give an increase in pretax profits of more than $600,000. A comprehensive bibliography is included.

Jan 1, 1977

By R. S. Dean

The function of the Metallurgical Division is to conduct investigations relating to the treatment of mineral products from the state in which they are mined to the refined metal or other unfabricated product. These investigations include scientific and practical studies of ore dressing, covering the crushing and grinding of ores, separation by gravity, flotation. and magnetic methods; the hydrometallurgical treatment of ores, including cyanidation and amalgamation of the precious metals; the smelting and refining of copper, lead, and zinc, as well as the rare metals; and steel-melting practices from the raw ore to the finished steel. The object of this work is to conserve natural resources and eliminate waste by furnishing information on current methods of metallurgical practice. making fundamental studies of metallurgical processes, and developing new processes to the point of demonstrating their practicability. The Division is made up of sections devoted to the several phases of this work, each section being headed by an investigator capable of supervising his particular work. The work is carried on at the experiment stations and field offices or in the field, whichever seems best suited for the work in hand. The following, projects should be mentioned as particularly outstanding among those consummated successfully during the year: 1. Application of the type of chemicals known in the textile industry as wetting-out agents to flotation and agglomeration of ores, particulary soluble salts such as sodium and potassium chloride which must be treated in saturated brine. 2. Demonstration or a linear relation between surface and coercive force in magnetic minerals and Its application to magnetic separation and to the determination of grinding efficiencies and other metallurgical data which require surface determination at very fine sizes. 3. Pilot-plant demonstration of the practicability of the reduction of iron ore by natural gas and conversion of this direct iron into steel by direct melting and by forging and rolling before melting. The structure and properties of the iron so produced were studied in detail. This report covers the fiscal year July 1. 1934, to June 30, 1935.

Jan 1, 1936

By R. S. Dean

The function of the Metallurgical Division is to conduct investigations relating to the treatment of mineral products from the state in which they are mined to the refined metal or other unfabricated product. These investigations include scientific and practical studies of ore dressing, covering the crushing and grinding of ores, separation by gravity, flotation, and magnetic methods; the hydrometallurgical treatment of ores, including cyanidation and amalgamation of the precious metals; the smelting and refining of copper, lead, and zinc, as well as the rare metals; and steel-melting practices from the raw ore to the finished steel. The object of this work is to conserve natural resources and eliminate waste by furnishing information on current methods of metallurgical practice, making fundamental studies of metallurgical processes, and developing new processes to the point of demonstrating their practicability. The Division is made up of sections devoted to the several phases of this work, each section being beaded by an investigator capable of supervising his particular work. The work is carried on at the experiment stations and field offices or in the field, whichever seems test suited for the work in hand. The following projects should be mentioned as particularly outstanding among those consummated successfully during the year: 1. Application of the type of chemicals known in the textile industry as wetting-out agents to flotation and agglomeration of ores, particulary soluble salts such as sodium and potassium chloride which must be treated in saturated brine. 2. Demonstration of a linear relation between surface and coercive force in magnetic minerals and its application to magnetic separation and to the determination of grinding efficiencies and other metallurgical data which require surface determination at very fine sizes. 3. Pilot-plant demonstration of the practicability of the reduction of iron ore by natural gas and conversion of this direct iron into steel by direct melting and by forging and rolling before melting. The structure and properties of the iron so produced were studied in detail. This report covers the fiscal year July 1, 1934, to June 30, 193b.

Jan 1, 1936

By R. Y. Williams

The investigative work described in this report was undertaken by the Bureau of Mines under a cooperative agreement with the department of mining engineering of the University of Illinois and the Illinois State Geological Survey." The purpose of this agreement was to provide for a comprehensive investigation of coal-mining conditions in the State, with especial reference to the possibility of lessening waste in the mining and preparation of coal and of reducing the dangers to which miners are exposed. The Bureau of Mines paid particular attention to those phases of the investigation that were of general interest from their bearing on safety and efficiency in the coal-mining industry as a whole. Thus, it studied the occurrence of gas (methane) in the mines of the southern part of the State," tested the inflammability of the coal dust from many mines, examined the efficiency of the control of ventilating currents, and investigated the factors affecting the humidity of mine air with respect to their bearing on the occurrence of mine explosions. Following the establishment of the fact that under certain conditions dry bituminous coal dust is inflammable, there arose the problem of finding efficient methods of preventing or limiting coal-dust explosions. Experiments in the gas-and-dust gallery at the Pittsburgh testing station of the Bureau of Mines verified the fact that certain dusts that explode violently when dry are rendered inert by proper humidi- .fication of the atmosphere within the gallery, and the importance of humidity as a factor in limiting the inflammability of coal dust in a mine is demonstrated by the fact that there has never been in Illinois a dust explosion during the summer months, whereas the records show a number of dust explosions during cold weather. It is easy to see that the warm moisture-laden air that enters a mine in the summer must deposit moisture on cooling, whereas the cold and relatively dry air that enters in winter must take up moisture as it becomes heated in traveling through the mine.

Jan 1, 1914

By Kenneth G. Skinner

Diatomite, also known as diatomaceous earth, diatomaceous silica, kieselguhr, and moler, has been used extensively for many years, but only during the past two decades has it become an important industrial mineral. United States sales for 1.936-38 totaled almost 280,010 tons,7 but relatively little (with the exception of that sold by an Oregon company affiliated with a larger California company) was sold by Pacific Northwest producers. In attempting to develop some of the many Pacific Northwest diatomite deposits, these producers have been handicapped by lack of published technical information regarding processing methods and the suitability of different deposits for specific uses. To determine some of the physical and chemical properties of known Pacific Northwest diatomites, the present investigation was started in 1938 by the Bureau of Mines in cooperation with the College of Mines, University of Washington. Figure 1 shows the location of deposits sampled. Because most relatively pure diatomites can be used as concrete admixtures or as inert fillers in rubber, paints, and plastics, this investigation concentrated upon determining some filter-aid characteristics and their relationship to other physical properties. A filter-aid is a powdered material that, when added to solutions to be filtered, improves flow rate, filtrate clarity, or both. Some chemical analyses also were made.

Jan 1, 1944

By M. Grodner

Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) is an electromagnetic geophysical reflection technique that maps reflections associated with a change in electric properties of the target medium. It can thus be used to map the geometry of geological features and fractures as these can have different electromagnetic properties to intact rock. GPR was used successfully to determine the position and nature of the fractures in the tunnel sidewall, in the area of the simulated rockburst experiment. By comparing the radar scans acquired before with those acquired after the blast, it was possible to determine which fractures were reactivated by the blast and where new fractures were developed. It was found that the mining-induced fractures that formed during the development of the tunnel were re-activated by the simulated rockburst, as indicated by their increased reflectance on the radar scans. In addition, several new tunnel sidewall parallel fractures developed in the area of the blastholes. GPR thus clearly shows how and where the fracture pattern changed as a result of the blast and contributed to the understanding of the mechanisms of damage associated with the blast, and perhaps rockbursts in general.

Jan 1, 2001

By R. J. Evans

The generation and disposal of solid waste from electric utility plants using a lime or limestone wet-scrubbing system and the potential effects on the environment were estimated for 1975 and 1980. The study indicated that in 1975 approximately 5.8 million tons of desulfurization solid waste (50 percent solids) will be generated. In 1980, when it is estimated that desulfurization will become commercially accepted, approximately 71.4 million tons of this material will be generated for disposal and/or utilization. The desulfurization waste material when combined with lime, fly ash, and water may have potential for use as a roadbase material, landfill reclamation, and synthetic aggregate.

Jan 1, 1974

By Arnold O. Tanner

Tables based on 1985 data, which were not available in time for publication of the "1985 Minerals Yearbook," are included in this chapter; corresponding tables for 1986 are not yet available. Raw nonfuel minerals produced in the United States during 1986 had an estimated value of $23.5 billion, an increase of $0.25 billion over the 1985 value. This is the fourth consecutive year that the value has increased, and except for a de- crease in 1982, the value each year has increased since 1971, or 14 out of 15 years. Industrial minerals growth slowed from a 3% increase in value in 1985 to a 1.5% increase in 1986, reflecting the slow growth in the domestic economy. The value of industrial minerals, more than three times larger than the value of metals, easily offset the less than 0.5% decline in the value of metal mine production. Although the decline was small, this decrease makes 1986 the fourth year in the past 6 years in which a drop in the value of metal mining production occurred in the United States. U.S. production continued to lag behind the growing world production. Overall, the estimated raw nonfuel mineral production rose 1% over that of 1985. Domestic mine production of ferrous metals declined as follows, in decreasing order of production: nickel, iron ore, tungsten, and molybdenum. All remaining domestic primary nickel and tungsten mines had closed down by yearend. Nonferrous metals that similarly declined included titanium, rare-earth metals, lead, silver, zinc, and magnesium. For the second consecutive year, aluminum, produced predominantly from imported bauxite, declined in production, while imports reached record-high levels. Somewhat modest gains were made in beryllium and copper. As has been the case for a number of years, gold was a bright spot in the domestic and internation-al metal mining industry. Gold production was spurred on by the increasing usage and development of heapleaching techniques that make lower grade ores, which were previously uneconomical, profitable. Additionally, various mining companies, the U.S. Mint, individual States, and a number of foreign countries began production of gold bullion and commemorative coins. Gold output in the United States increased from 2.43 million troy ounces (revised) in 1985 to about 3.73 million troy ounces in 1986, a dramatic 54% rise.

Jan 1, 1988

Many USBM research and information products are available through the systems or formats listed below: Mines FaxBack: Return fax service. 1. Use the touch-tone handset attached to your fax machine's telephone jack. (ISDN [digital] telephones cannot be used with fax machines.) 2. Dial 202/219 3644. 3. Listen to the menu options and punch in the number of your selection, using the touch-tone telephone. 4. After completing your selection, press the start button o your fax machine. Mines Data: Computer bulletin board. Log on via modem through 202/501-0373, or call 202/501-0406 for technical assistance. CD-ROM: This USBM disk is updated quarterly and sold by GPO's Superintendent of Documents. For information on the latest product, please contact Rodger Wedgeworth, 202/501-9557. Internet/World Wide Web: Text and graphics. Access via PC-based browsing software such as Netscape or Mosaic. Universal Resource Locator (URL) is: http:/www.usbm.gov Internet/Gopher Server Text and tables only. Using Gopher client software, access via port 70 as follows: gopher.usbm.gov Internet System Administrator: webmaster@usbm.gov (or contact your local System Administrator).

Jan 1, 1995

By A. Schaum

On average, there are approximately 10 fatal haul truck accidents per year. The most common causes for haul truck accidents include mechanical problems, inadequate training and insufficient road/berm maintenance. Due to the frequency and magnitude of haul truck accidents, new training methods are being investigated. With the widespread availability of computers and new technology becoming more reasonably priced, the ability to incorporate computer-based training for miners is becoming more possible. It has been shown that computer-based training is just as effective in knowledge acquisition as traditional lectures, and computer-based training can lead to a significant increase in the retention of material (Williams and Zahed, 1996). Studies have also shown that more engaging training methods lead to more effective knowledge acquisition (Burke et al., 2006). A supplemental system for current and new miner training to address the common causes of fatal accidents was developed. The training system is a virtual preshift inspection of a haul truck, and it can train new haul truck operators to identify parts that look defective. The training will increase an operator?s ability to recognize problematic parts and correctly identify the corrective action needed. Increasing the quality of training by providing an engaging, simulated hands-on environment will lead to safer behaviors by trainees, which will ultimately lead to fewer accidents and fatalities.

Jan 1, 2008

By J. Kunze, R. Degal

During the last 100 years, the submerged arc furnace has been one of the most amazing diversified melting units. These furnaces have found their application in more than 20 different main industrial areas such as iron, ferro alloy, chemical industry, lead, zinc, copper, refractory, titanium oxide, recycling, phosphorus etc. Such an evolution was only possible because of tremendous efforts in research and development and due to the large range of design solutions. The worldwide strong competition also forced the industry and plant suppliers to develop highly efficient, economically balanced units in optimized sizes and with long lifetimes, to adapt to the market conditions. Regarding the environment, the plants improved significantly in terms of water treatment plants and off-gas treatments as well as on site recycling units. This paper will give a short overview regarding the history of the furnace and the latest developments in today?s main application fields: ferro alloys, non-ferrous, special application and recycling. In addition new activities in research and developments are briefly discussed.

Jan 1, 2004

By L. Salnais

"Aluminum alloy structural components f or aircraft designed prior to the early 1970s, were machined from 2024, 7075 and 7079 plate, bar and forgings in either the T3xxx of the T6xxx tempers. Protective treatments for these parts consisted of chromic acid anodizing and alkyd zinc chromate primer, plus a nitrocellulose lacquer for exterior parts.The major service problem with these parts was the frequent occurrence of exfoliation corrosion and stress corrosion cracking (S. C. C.). Therefore, 2024 and 7079 alloys, with min or exceptions, were not used in aircraft designed after the early 1970s. Replacement materials were 7075 and 7050 alloys in the overaged, exfoliation corrosion and S. C. C. resistant, T73xxx tempers.The use of improved materials together with the upgrading to chromated epoxy primers, polyurethane enamels and the introduction of water displacing corrosion inhibiting compounds have significantly reduced corrosion in aircraft. IntroductionThe prevention of corrosion in aircraft has been a challenge to aircraft designers for many decades. With the design of the first all-metal aircraft, the designer and builder were thrust into the relatively new field of protective treatments as corrosion started to become more prevalent. This resulted from the continually increasing importance and wider utilization of aircraft, and their exposure to a wider variety of ho stile environments such as urban industrial pollution, high humidity tropical areas and salt ladened marine environments.Corrosion advanced another significant step when, after World War II, designs of new and larger aircraft utilized larger and thicker metal sections in the manufacture of structural components. With thicker mill products came higher residual heat treat, fabrication and assembly stresses resulting in an increased number of stress corrosion and exfoliation corrosion problems.Apart from the exterior environment, aircraft interior s can be exposed to a number of fluids which are either directly or indirectly responsible for corrosion. The most common of the fluids is water which is usually introduced as a result of condensation, especially in pressurized fuselages, and spillage from lavatories, galley s and electrolytes from batteries. These fluid s have a degrading effect on protective treatments and are also corrosive to the substrate metal. Fluids such as phosphate ester hydraulic fluids and ester based turbine engine lubricating oil s are not corrosive to the substrate metal, albeit they do contribute to corrosion by the degrading effect on protective treatments."

Jan 1, 1988

By M. J. McLeod, D. R. Lux, R. P. Taylor

"The Mount Douglas Granite constitutes the eastern part of the Saint George Batholith and contains the youngest, most differentiated phases of the batholith. It also contains extensive endogranitic, low-grade. Sn- W-Mo-bearing sheeted vein systems. Early phases of the Mount Douglas Granite are coarse- to medium-grained, seriate granites that represent the slowly cooled carapace of the intrusion. Late phases are medium- to fine-grained, equigranular and porphyritic granites that were accompanied by repeated and widespread fracturing of the carapace and injection of mineralizing fluids. These granites represent a highly differentiated suite with ""A "" type affinities developed in a ""within plate"" transitional to ""syn-collision"" tectonic setting. 4oAr/ 39Ar dates for biotites from the various phases indicate emplacement circa 367 Ma.The linear distribution of some phases in the Mount Douglas Granite and the systematic orientations of sheeted veins along tensional fractures indicate structural control on granite emplacement and vein distribution. This type of relatively passive endogranitic mineralization is unique in the granites of southern New Brunswick and contrasts markedly with highly fluidized systems operative elsewhere in the area. IntroductionInvestigation of Sn-W-Mo occurrences in New Brunswick has shown that most of this mineralization is associated with late, highly differentiated phases of post-orogenic (Acadian) granitoid magmatism that occurred during Devonian and Early Carboniferous time (Ruitenberg and Fyffe, 1982; Taylor et al., 1988). The polymetallic Mount Pleasant Sn-W-Mo deposit (Ruitenberg, 1967, 1972; Kooiman et al., 1986)and the Burnt Hill W deposit are two orebodies of this type in New Brunswick. Numerous smaller deposits associated with these granitoid rocks in southwestern New Brunswick have been documented in previous investigations (Ruitenberg, 1967, 1968; Ruitenberg and Fyffe, 1982; Taylor et al., 1985; Lentz, 1985)."

Jan 1, 1988

By Oliver C. Fursman

These investigations were conducted to determine conditions for recovery of nickel and copper from Funter Bay, Alaska, sulfide ore and recovery of nickel from nickel-silicate ore, Nickel Mountain, Riddle, Oreg. Samples of Funter Bay cupriferous and nickeliferous pyrrhotite ore, were treated by beneficiation, roasting, electric smelting of roasted are for matte production, chlorination, leaching, and sulfatizing roasting with subsequent leaching. Funter Bay and Nickel Mountain ores were smelted together to produce matte. Total sulfide flotation, followed by magnetic separation of the tailings to recover entrained nickel-bearing pyrrhotite, resulted in the highest nickel recovery in beneficiation tests on Funter Bay are. Overall beneficiation resulted in recovery of 98.5 percent of the copper and 95.4 percent of the nickel in the concentrate that contained 3.5 percent copper and 1.7 percent nickel.

Jan 1, 1962

By Henry Kreisinger, John Blizard, B. J. CROSS, C. E. Augustine

This report gives the results of 26 tests of a four-pass Edgemoor boiler fired with powdered coal at the Lakeside station of the Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Co. The tests were made by the fuel section of the Bureau of Mines in cooperation with the research department of the Combustion Engineering Corporation and the operating department of the Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Co. The object of the tests was to determine the thermal efficiencies and capacities obtainable by burning powdered coal under large central-station boilers, and the possibility of operating such boilers continuously at high efficiency and capacity without destructive effect on the furnaces and without difficulties in refuse removal. In any system for burning pulverized coal the furnace is the most important part because, to justify the cost of pulverizing, the powdered coal must be burned with higher efficiency than coal fired with mechanical stokers. In other words, it is the furnace that by giving higher thermal efficiency must pay for the installation, maintenance, and operation of the pulverizing equipment. No matter how simple the apparatus for the preparation of pulverized coal may be, or how simple the pulverizing process, unless the furnace is so designed that it can be operated continuously with high thermal efficiency, the whole system is a failure. For high thermal efficiency the coal must be burned almost completely with low excess air. But low excess air and complete combustion give high furnace temperature, which in turn causes erosion of the furnace lining and fusion of the ash; and removal of the fused ash is difficult. The necessity of complete combustion with low excess air thus brings with it these two important problems in the design of a furnace for burning powdered coal: 1, Prevention of erosion of the furnace lining; 2, easy removal of refuse from the furnace. For the purpose of solving these problems, the boiler tested was equipped with a furnace having hollow walls, through which about 60 per cent of the air needed for combustion passed before it entered the furnace. By passing through the hollow walls, the air cooled the furnace lining and prevented excessive erosion. A water screen was placed in the furnace about 3 feet above the bottom to keep the refuse deposited at the bottom from fusing and to make its removal easy. The design of the furnace, water screen, and burners was based on the experience gained in the previous cooperative tests1 with a smaller furnace, experimental water screen, and burners at the Oneida Street station of the Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Co. The boiler tested had 13,057 square feet of heating surface. It was one of eight boilers fired with powdered coal, and was designated as boiler No. 8. The Lakeside station is the largest central station in the world that burns powdered coal exclusively. The coal used in the first five tests came from Illinois. The fuel in the other tests -:vas a mixture of Illinois and Pittsburgh coals.

Jan 1, 1925

By Amy McBrayer, Andrea Brickey

Area mining is a surface mining method that allows for efficient mining and contemporaneous reclamation of tabular or bedded deposits, e.g., coal. Mine planning methods for area mines differ from those of open pit metal mines. Area mines in the Powder River Basin (PRB) use various processes for mine planning at both the strategic and tactical stages. With the ever changing commodity markets, it is becoming increasingly important for mine operators to be able to react quickly to the changing business environment. Tools that allow for the development and rapid comparison of production schedule scenarios are key to ensuring agile mine operations. A survey of mine engineers responsible for mine design and production scheduling at coal operations provides clarity on the current mine design and production scheduling processes in the PRB, as well as a discussion on potential solutions to upcoming challenges. In this article, we describe various mine planning processes used by the coal producers in the Powder River Basin. The survey identifies a clear gap in the ability to create comprehensive schedules associated with limited tools and lack of engineering labor needed to frequently conduct the mine design and scheduling process.

Jul 8, 2023

By Steven W. Wilson, Brigitte Lacouture, Nichola A. McKay

"The Aqqaluk deposit is a lead-zinc ore body that lies immediately north of the Main Pit at Teck Cominco’s Red Dog Mine in Alaska. It is scheduled to begin production in 2011 or 2012. A project team was formed in late 2004 to plan and implement an ore characterisation and metallurgical evaluation on the Aqqaluk ore. The main objective of this program was to facilitate the transition from Main Pit to Aqqaluk ore in the Red Dog concentrator. The program will develop a detailed, spatially-oriented characterisation of the Aqqaluk deposit attributes including lithology, ore geochemistry, bulk mineralogy, ore texture, as well as evaluating the metallurgical characteristics of ore hardness, process water geochemistry, bench-scale floatability and mineral liberation in ground feed, concentrate and tails. Developing correlations between the metallurgical response and the ore characterisation data is key to the emerging science of geometallurgy. This on-going program is a technical due diligence study that aims to reduce the risk associated with processing a new ore and to provide predictive information for mining and stockpile preparation.The test work to date has focused on characterising the five ore zones currently identified in the Aqqaluk deposit, namely: Siliceous (sub-divided to High Zn:Fe and Low Zn:Fe), Vein, Median Plate and Baritic ores. It identified a number of challenges associated with surface oxidation, or weathering, of the core samples and outlined a program for future sample collection and storage. Metallurgical testing evaluated ore hardness by a variety of methods. Preliminary floatability studies have been completed and some initial links have been established between the ore characteristics and the flotation response. Soluble mineral weathering products, the relative abundance of pyrite and marcasite and the iron content in the sphalerite grains have all shown a correlation to mineral recovery.As new core is received, both the ore characterisation and the metallurgical testing will be continued with a view to strengthen the existing correlations and develop new links."

Jan 1, 2007

THE following notes were accumulated during the years 1905 to 1911, when the writer was employed at Stannary Hills. The writer's duty took him over the underground workings daily. In odd moments the geology of the surrounding country was worked out. As the time for this purpose was limited, many interesting points had to be left, untouched. The faulting system in the mines was of such a puzzling character that it seemed as if the geology of the surrounding district might throw some light on it. Dr Jack, in 1907, reported on these mines for the shareholders, but came to no definite conclusions. Unfortunately, the writer has not had access to this report for many years. At the time of his visit the larger develbpments in the Ivanhoe and, Kitchenen orebodies (see Fig 1, B2) were only being opened up. Mr. H. Herman mentions Stannary Hills on p 320, Proceedings Aust Inst ME, new series, No 14, and on p 326 expresses the opinion that the pipe or joint-veins (as at Irvine bank and Stannary Hills) were more valuable to follow than lodes in the granite in that district.GEOLOGY OF DISTRICTThe main feature of the area mapped is a band of altered sedimentary rocks which carry no fossils. It is a mile wide, and consists of a hard band of greywackes 200 ·t ·300 yds. wide, flanked on both sides by contorted shales which become more micaceous as the granite-area to the east is approached. The strata have a general strike of N. 30° W., with a steep westerly dip. A large area of acid intrusive rocks occurs to the west of this band. The outstanding feature of the district is a fault which cuts the sedimentary series in two, to the...

Jan 1, 1918