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By C. C. Harris

The use of Alyavdin's equation Y(x,t) = 1-e(-bt) for describing the effect of grinding time on size distribution is discussed. The equation transforms into linear form by expressing it as log-log reciprocal (1 - Y) versus log t. For plotting, specially divided grids are available; Rosin-Rammler or Weibull charts may be used. The data of Herbst and Fuerstenau are especially useful for illustrating the Alyavdin-Weibull chart in two applications: (1) presenting data (which are relatively unaffected by experimental scatter) and comparing them with theoretical predictions, and (2) as a test for the zero-order kinetics production hypothesis. The chart based on the Alyavdin-Weibull equation is suggested as a useful aid in the analysis of kinetic data (/ versus f), though not as a procedure in its own right. Proposed applications are (1) displaying data with excellent clarity, since it avoids the kind of congestion inherent in some other plotting methods, and (2) as a test for assumed kinetic relationships. Sometimes, equation 1 describes the data quite closely, and in these cases the parameter values appear to be related to certain operating conditions.

Dec 1, 1971

By R. P. Foster, ed.

The short selection of papers in the special issue provides an insight into the level of exploration activity in Africa and the science and technology that are underpinning it. A country-by-country survey is followed by discussion of geochemical exploration in tropical soils, the Liptako region of Niger, structural styles of deposits in Zimbabwe's Bulawayo-Bubi greenstone belt, structural controls in Zimbabwe's Eldorado shear zone, the regional framework for deposits in the Odzi-Mutare-Manica greenstone belt of Zimbabwe and Mozambique, and the Iperindo deposit in Nigeria's Ilesha schist belt

Apr 1, 1996

By P. A. Wright

The note describes the steps involved in the combination of results reported by Shiraishi and Bell in 1968 and 1970 and by Mills and Turkdogan in 1964. Shiraishi and Bell derived from their vapour-pressure measurements an expression for the activity coefficient of tin implying that the miscibility gap in the two-liquid region is symmetrical about the N = 0-5 axis. The limits of the miscibility gap were reported by Shiraishi and Bell and measurements were reported graphically by Mills and Turkdogan. Least-square parabolas are fitted to the transformed results of Shiraishi and Bell and of Mills and Turkdogan for the miscibility gap in the liquid tin-iron system. Back-transformation from these curves gives limits at 1438 K and equations are derived that appear to be a fair average of existing data, although a third term for the activity coefficient equation needs to be investigated

Dec 1, 1971

By D. J. Spottiswood, R. K. Tuteja

Axial grade profiles were analysed for a pilot column operating in reverse flotation mode to float talc from a gold-bearing sulphide ore. It was found that concentration gradients in the pulp are very low. Most of the cleaning action, both upgrading of valuable minerals and rejection of gangue, occurs in the froth zone

Jun 17, 1905

By T. D. Jones

Describes the facilities in South Wales for routine control and research work on all the various aspects of the dust problem. Considers mining and medical research, inspection and control, education, and plans for the future.

Jan 1, 1947

By Black J.

Further discussion at the The Midland Counties Institution of Engineers' general meeting held in Nottingham on 6th May 1916, on the paper published in Trans. I.Min.E., vol.L, 1915, p.449, included brief oral contributions by Bragge G.S., Hepplewhite W.H. and Binns G.J.

Dec 1, 1916

By L. D. Smith

Paper presented at the conference: Risk assessment in the extractive industries, held in Exeter, UK, 23-24 March 1994, and first published London: IMM, 1994, preprint volume. 22pp., 15 refs. The concept of risk is well established in the mining industry but it is difficult to provide a quantitative assessment of risk. A discussion is presented of the significant sources of risk in a mineral project and how they are addressed. The discount rate is examined as a fundamental means of reflecting risk in discounted cash flow evaluations. Current industry practice is discussed and a methodology for the analysis of risk levels is proposed which assesses the constituent components of the discount rate (real interest, mineral project risks and country risk)

Dec 1, 1994

Paper presented at the conference Risk assessment in the extractive industries, held in Exeter, 23-24 March 1994. Sensitivity analyses based on financial variables are now routinely applied to the forecast financial results of mining projects especially during the feasibility stage. Risk analysis is gaining acceptance but is still almost universally confined to the effects of variations in financial variables. The single most sensitive factor in almost all mining projects is the ore reserve, but it is either ignored or improperly used in sensitivity and risk analyses. Unlike financial variables, the components of the ore reserve (grades and tonnages of mining blocks) are a function of location within the orebody. Physical (mining) access to these components is therefore a function of time which has a crucial effect on forecast cash flows. It is critical that these fundamental concepts are included in risk analyses of mining projects. The effects are considered of the uncertainty of the ore reserve on feasibility studies and open-pit mine design for a small gold mining venture. Geostatistical simulation is used as a method of quantifying the risk in using grades and tonnages estimated from sparse data

Jun 16, 1905

Further discussion at the North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers' general meeting held in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 3rd June 1916, on the paper published in Trans. I.Min.E., vol.L, 1915, p.179, consisted of the author's written response to Mr. Hare's comments at the April meeting

Dec 1, 1916

By Dean S.

Further discussion at the The Midland Counties Institution of Engineers' general meeting held in Nottingham on 6th May 1916, of the paper published in Trans. I.Min.E., vol.L, 1915, p.179, included brief oral contributions by Bragge G.S., Lewis W.H. and Hepplewhite W.H.

Dec 1, 1916

By NA NA

Background information on Exchem Mining and Construction and its products.

Jan 7, 1997

By A. M. Marabini, S. Battaglia, M. Ciriachi

A computer program has been developed that produces graphic representations of the atomic structure of any crystallographic plane of a mineral. The information provided by the program relates to a purely geometrical model of the crystal structure in which each atom is represented solely by the x, y and z coordinates of its centre. Despite its simplicity, the program can be used as a first approximation model in studies of the interaction between mineral processing reagents and the surfaces of mineral grains which are assumed to be coincident with cleavage planes.

Jan 4, 1992

By P. K. Kaiser, R. K. Brummer

Paper presented at the conference Risk assessment in the extractive industries, held in Exeter, 23-24 March 1994. A risk-based decision-making procedure has been developed for selecting rockburst-resistant tunnel support in burst-prone mines. The method is based on a risk-cost-benefit analysis and uses support cost data, costs associated with the risk of support failure or excavation loss, costs associated with accidents, injuries and deaths, and the benefits achieved by installing rockburst-resistant support. It takes into account the risk of damage to the support systems due to rockbursts, potential loss of production and the need to rehabilitate in the event of a damaging rockburst. A practical example is provided to illustrate the principles involved in the decision process

Jun 17, 1905

Jan 1, 1947

By A. J. Beer, A. Wetherelt

Paper presented at the UK minerals industry conference held in Leeds, UK, 3-5 April 1995. Camborne School of Mines has developed a simple, cost-effective light-sectioning method that has been used successfully in tunnels and small stopes. Light sectioning provides an almost visual examination of the stope's excavated profile. An illuminated section of walls, roof and floor is recorded photographically. Overbreak and underbreak can then be easily quantified by reference to the designed shape. The prototype rig is described. Use of a fish-eye lens to capture a greater field of view is discussed. Calibration was achieved by comparison with images made with a conventional wide-angle lens with nominal distortion. The system is reliable under a range of operating conditions including dust, heat and humidity. It is also simple and easy to use, does not require skilled personnel and is low cost

Jun 18, 1905

By C G. Wall, T S. Daltaban

Three quarters of recent increases in world oil reserve estimates since 1990 have been attributed lo ‘better reservoir management' rather than to new discoveries. For the United Kingdom Continental Shelf (IJKCS), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has on 2.2 bn barrels of extra oil protection through effective reservoir management of existing producing reservoirs. Past practise has been to manage petroleum exploitation on a departmental basis, with exploration assessing and ranking prospects, reservoir engineering assessing development plans and production facilities implementing plans. Any reservations necessary might involve restarting the project evaluation from scratch. Current practice is to manage an operation through asset management teams involving all disciplines. It is hoped that this approach will not only eliminate fruitless directions of effort, but the quality of work in each discipline will benefit from interaction. That is, the result of a team effort is greater than the sum of individual efforts. To date, this is most apparent with the interaction between geology, reservoir geophysics and reservoir engineering through reservoir characterization. This is the current area of greatest effort, with improved geophysical technology and computer power leading to more and more detailed and complex simulation models. The equally important interaction of reservoir engineering and production and facilities engineering applied to fields in decline has not yet achieved the prominence that it deserves. Establishing priorities in reservoir management requires the very critical evaluation of the relative value of objectives. The fact that something can be done (3-D seismic, 4-D seismic, multilateral wells, or three phase multi-layer well test analyses etc) is not a good reason for doing it. Reservoir management should he a study of value added versus cost for any activity possible or proposed. Both in the areas of reservoir data acquisition and of assessing opportunities in the period of production decline, it is likely that expert systems will need to be developed with the associated base of experience, understanding and know ledge. A n other area for the future is the elusive target of ‘enhanced ’ oil recovery, as distinct from ‘improved’ oil recovery. The most likely route forward here is the incessant scrutiny of reservoir regions and units within fields for their suitability for pilot schemes for advanced recovery techniques implemented at a favourable time. Finally, the reduction of costs, the maintenance of low. but viable rates of production and the threat of abandonment costs will increase reserves. An increase which may have appeared insignificant in the past is now more valuable.

Jan 11, 1996

By D. J. Wall, T. D. Johnson, M. T. Parry, G. R. Heath

In coal-fired power stations coal is ground to a fine powder and then transported pneumatically at 25-30 m/s velocity to remote burners. Wear of the conveying pipework is a well recognised problem and traditional lining materials are Nihard and basalt. In many cases these are being replaced by alumina tiles in order to improve life and reduce the frequency of replacement. A programme of laboratory testing of candidate aluminas with AIO, contents between 85% and 99-5% has been undertaken and the results compared with field experience. This gives confidence in the erosion tests, which were designed to replicate most of the field conditions. However, it has not proved possible to draw correlations between the laboratory erosion rates and any of the materials’ bulk properties. SEM, TEM and microanalysis studies have therefore been made in order to look for microstructural aspects that could be influencing erosion rates and it has been shown that intercrystalline cohesion, the matrix phase and porosity appear to have most influence on wear performance. It is necessary to quantify these microstructural parameters if reliable erosion performance is to be obtained. This paper was read at the Institute of Ceramics Annual Convention at the University of Durham, April 1988.

Jun 12, 1905

By H. B. Bell, L. C. Smith

Measurements have been made of the activity of 'FeO' in 'Fe0'-Mn0-Ti02 melts at 1475 degrees C. The results obtained are discussed in terms of ideal mixing of titanates and in terms of a regular solution model. On the basis of the regular solution model activities of Ti02 and MnO in the Fe0-Mn0-Ti02 and Mn0-Ti02 systems have been derived. The data have been shown to be consistent with the liquidus lines in the phase systems. Examples are given of the application of the data to slag-metal equilibria, being used to derive slag-metal data between liquid iron and Fe0-Mn0-Ti02 slags

Dec 1, 1971

By C. R. Neary, R. A. Lord, H. M. Prichard

experimental results are compared and classifying

Aug 1, 1994

By F. G. Bell, S. E. T. Bullock

The investigation was undertaken as part of the environmental management programme that must be implemented on mine closure. It involved sampling and analysis of water from boreholes, the tin mine workings, trenches and pits as well as soil and dumps. Both ground- and surface water in the immediate vicinity of the mine was found to have been affected to varying degrees, mainly due to acid drainage from the pyrite dumps. Metal ions and toxic salts are taken into solution with increased acidity and precipitated in the soil when the pH rises again; there are concentrations of metal ions in the soils around the main dumps, but these do not seem to pose a major threat in a regional context. The low groundwater gradients, together with the dyke system in the vicinity of the main dumps and the impermeable nature of the Boschoffsberg rocks, make it unlikely that affected groundwater will migrate further than 1 000 m to the north and north-east. Nonetheless, it has been decided to remove the pyrite dumps

Dec 1, 1995