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By Chen Z, Dong H

This paper describes the autogenous carrier flotation of 0 - 20 ¦m ilmenite using 40 -- 80 }tm ilmenite as carrier. Investigation is made of the influence of main technological parameters on autogenous carrier flotation. The mechanism of autogenous carrier flotation is discussed using extended DLVO theory. The main conclusions are as follows: 1. the smaller the fine particles the more easily they adhere.to carriers; 2. the selectivity of autogenous carrier flotation depends on the selectivity of adsorption of collector. In the autogenous carrier flotation of ilmenite/plagioclase mixture assaying 15.35 per cent TiO2, a concentrate containing 47.17 per cent Ti02 can be obtained by primary separation with a recovery of 93.05 per cent. KEYWORDS: Autogenous carrier flotation, extended DLVO theory, ilmenite, styrylphosphonic acid.

Jan 1, 1993

By A Stasi, B Brice

Water is a limited and precious resource in Australia. Because of the increasing demand for water from all sectors of the economy and the variability in supply, efficient management of water resources is of vital importance. The national water reform agenda has provided a strong impetus to all states and territories to progressively move towards more efficient and sustainable water management. The Queensland Water Act 2000 is the legislative framework for providing water for the environment and for planning for the security of supply to water users. The comprehensive water planning process prescribed in the Act results in new tradeable water allocations that are separate from land. These water allocations are well specified and can be traded on a permanent or temporary basis. Trading of water allows it to move to its highest value use, thereby encouraging the most efficient distribution of this limited resource. In addition to transferring ownership of water allocations, it is also possible to change the attributes of the allocation, such as the location from which water may be taken. Changes to water allocations are subject to approval from the resource manager. Pre-testing allows for certain changes to be approved very quickly, making the trading process more streamlined and cost effective. Temporary trades, or seasonal water assignments, currently account for the majority of water trades in Queensland. However, permanent trading activity is expanding steadily as old water entitlements are converted to tradeable water allocations and as the market matures. The permanent trading market provides significant opportunities to the mining sector. It allows mining companies to buy water allocations at market prices without compromising environmental outcomes or causing third party impacts.

Jan 1, 2006

By B Mohanty, D Zwaan

Systematic near-field vibration monitoring of stope blasts was carried out in a large, deep underground mine. A total of 31 production blasts were studied in order to investigate the effectiveness of existing blast designs. This involved the vertical retreat mining method, which requires drilling a raise bore or blasting a slot raise (typically 1.22 m in diameter) using large diameter boreholes (165 mm). The diagnostic technique employed multistation near-field monitoring of blasts with high-g (100 g) and high-frequency (>10 kHz) triaxial accelerometers. The amplitude of the vibrations is correlated with the strain energy transmitted from each explosive deck. The results showed that more than 30 per cent of the explosive decks contributed little energy to the rock breakage process in these blasts, and an equal number contributed only inadequately. These findings are indicative of serious blast malfunctions. The problems can be traced to inadequate deck blast design and possibly to drill hole deviation. The various causes for such malfunctions are discussed and remedial measures suggested.CITATION:Mohanty, B and Zwaan, D, 2015. Assessment of underground production blast designs and blasting performance, in Proceedings 11th International Symposium on Rock Fragmentation by Blasting, pp 607–616 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Aug 24, 2015

Ore textures in Australian BIF-derived ores are quite complex and have formed the basis for ore genesis models, which includes hypogene upgrading or supergene upgrading then regional metamorphism for the microplaty hematite ores and supergene upgrading for the martite-goethite ores. Despite a high level of ore texture knowledge, little is known about the spatial distribution of ore textures within deposits or their relationship to downstream processing. This paper describes a new iron ore texture classification system to better understand the vertical textural zonation characteristics of Australian BIF-derived deposits, the interpreted role of recent supergene upgrading processes on modifying primary ore textures and their implications for downstream mineral processing. The iron ore textural classification scheme presented uses textural groupings defined on the basis of similarities in mineralogy, ore texture, porosity, mineral associations and hardness. The scheme is non-genetic and has been successfully applied to deposits in the Pilbara, Yilgarn and Gawler cratons. The main ore texture groups include dense martite/hematite, microplaty hematite, microplaty hematite-goethite, martite-goethite, goethite-martite and goethite-rich. Each group can be further subdivided into physically hard to softer subcategories. The ore textural groups can be divided into those interpreted to be associated with primary replacement of BIF and secondary textures resulting from more recent modification by near-surface hydration or dehydration processes. A schematic vertical section through BIF-derived deposits consists (from surface) of detritals underlain by a carapace, both of which may have been eroded, followed by a hydrated zone with replacement of primary ore martite and microplaty hematite by vitreous goethite. The hydrated zone is underlain by 0.2 - 6 m thick zones of intense dehydration and textural infilling of porosity with hematite and hydrohematite. Immediately below the dehydration zone is a strong zone of leaching, where more porous and friable ore textures occur, followed underneath by a gradational contact with primary ore. Secondary supergene processes can impact on beneficiation with hydration and leaching resulting in more difficult density separations at the concentrator stage due to reductions in density differences between ore and gangue and loss of heavy media into pores. Supergene modification of primary BIF-derived ore textures can substantially change lump metallurgical properties, with hydration and dehydration favourably increasing lump yield but reducing resistance to thermal shock whilst leaching will give the opposing outcome. The lump properties of ore textural groups appear to be relatively consistent within and between the iron ore deposits examined.

Jan 1, 2002

By M Olsen

"Segregation of conveyor roadways is a ventilation practice that is being increasingly applied in Australia. It is largely driven by the legislated requirements in Queensland pertaining to separation of escapeways from the mine. This legal requirement was based on a recommendation from the Moura No. 2 WardenÆs Inquiry (Windridge, 1996) into the mine disaster that claimed 11 lives. The report recommended: ... the introduction of a requirement for all underground mines to have one intake airway that is completely segregated from other parallel intake airways so as to provide two separate means of egress from the mine via an intake airway.This recommendation seeks to assist mine workers in escape from a mine after a fire by providing them with an airway that is free from smoke or contaminants.The concept of an airway being æcompletely segregatedÆ is an ideal that is challenging to implement in practice when considering the effect of leakage. The practice of belt segregation is concerned with the potential for fires in the belt roadway although there are numerous other potential fire sources in underground coal mines. A review of segregation practices has been conducted applying ventilation engineering principles. Four different scenarios have been analysed with regard to the effectiveness of the segregation stoppings in preventing potential fire contaminants migrating to other parts of the mine. The results show that in some cases the benefits of segregation to a person evacuating a mine in the event of a fire range from beneficial to detrimental. This is influenced by many factors including the location of that individual in that particular mine. There is room for improvement in the design and implementation of escapeways in underground coal mines. Escapeways need to be planned and designated with regard to the potential sources of fire, pressure differentials between escapeways and the operational practicalities of maintaining the pressure differential between them.CITATION:Olsen, M, 2013. Belt road segregation and escapeways - Compliance or risk management?, in Proceedings The Australian Mine Ventilation Conference, pp 311-318 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne)."

Jul 1, 2013

By R R. Lovel

In this paper, life cycle assessment methodology has been used to assess the variations in water use associated with different metal production and processing routes and provide insights into the value derived from water usage in the minerals sector. Using water consumption data derived from the literature it has been shown that the æcradle-to-gateÆ water consumption (or embodied water) for production of the various metals considered in the study ranged from 2.9 m3/t for steel up to 252 087 m3/t for gold. The results largely reflect the grade of the initial ore used to produce each metal, and can be approximated by the following equation: W = 167.7 G - 0.9039 where: W = embodied water (m3/t refined metal) G = grade of ore used to produce metal (per cent metal) The study showed that indirect water consumption in the metal production life cycle, in particular that due to electricity generation, can make a significant contribution to the embodied water value, eg aluminium production. When expressed in terms of m3/t ore, the results for all metals considered indicated that the embodied water is roughly, on average, three times the water consumption of the mining and concentration stage. It was also shown that the economic value per m3 of water consumed for the minerals industry exceeds that for the agricultural and industrial sectors, supporting the view that allocating water resources to the minerals industry has a strong underlying economic basis. Water reforms currently taking place in Australia aim to address issues such as competition for water access, reduced security of supply and increase in cost. Consequently the minerals industry, along with others, can be expected to come under increasing pressure to reduce fresh or raw water use and to integrate water use across sectors. While water recycling is an obvious candidate to help reduce water consumption in the minerals industry, issues such as water quality, among others, will influence the extent to which this can be achieved. In addition, wastewater volumes can be minimised using techniques such as pinch analysis to establish and use the minimum water requirement for the process. The use of dry or near-dry processing technologies, for which the demand for water is small or zero, may be a more radical solution to the water consumption problem; however, it is possible that the introduction of dry processing would bring with it a new set of problems, including dust.

Jan 1, 2006

By J C. de Vries

When times are tough in the mineral industry û as they have been for some time û typical responses by mining companies are to cut costs and/ or increase production. The latter is seen to spread fixed costs, thereby also reducing unit costs per tonne mined. However, most mineral deposits respond to increased production rates by lowering ore grades, so the reduction in cost per tonne of ore does not necessarily result in a reduced cost per unit of metal produced. The authorsÆ experience is that this process often leads to a mine plan that is a long way from optimal. Producing to the point where marginal cost equals marginal revenue may work well in a manufacturing operation, but it is not necessarily the best strategy for a mining company with a depleting resource. Variations in tonnage and grade with depth, ore reserve optimism and a variety of other factors conspire to produce variations in production rates and grade that often result in suboptimal outcomes and potential mine failure. Added to this is the focus of industry analysts and senior corporate management on such measures as unit costs and ounces in reserves. This is perceived to have the perverse effect of driving the share price down when strategies are adopted that actually improve the value of the mining operation, and vice versa! Many mine failures can be prevented by a close examination of the tonnage grade curve and an understanding of how margins, net cash flows and resulting business risk change with cut-off grades and rates of production. A few relatively simple analyses early in the evaluation of a project can demonstrate the tradeoffs between the main decision parameters, leading to right-sizing of the operation. Once major commitments to major capital items have been made, and reserves have been publicly reported, optimisation of the operation becomes much more difficult than if it had been done earlier. Such investigations can also identify the upside potential and downside risks associated with factors outside the companyÆs control. Many strategies that may enhance value in the good times significantly increase the downside risk in the bad times. What is often called risk analysis typically looks at superficial issues, and does not evaluate the major factors leading to the potential for financial disaster. This paper illustrates some of these major risks, and demonstrates how they may be fully evaluated so that corporate decision makers can make fully informed decisions that take account of the real risks.

Jan 1, 2003

Recent analysis of backfilling material has shown that a finer size distribution is preferable for stope filling. In order to increase crusher throughput and pit productivity, a reassessment of the quarrying operation was conducted. Part of that reassessment was a review of blasting practice. Six means of reducing the average muckpile fragment size were examined. Different blast initiation and charging options were compared, and patterns using smaller hole sizes were designed, analysed with the JKMRC 3x3o software, then drilled and fired. The ground vibration and face movement was recorded and compared. To determine whether the Kuz-Ram model could be used in an economic analysis of the quarry operation, the fragmentation distribution of the small diameter hole blasts was determined. Photographs of the muckpiles were taken and digitised. However subsequent analysis indicated that a satisfactorily large photo sample was only obtained from the smallest diameter hole blast. The Kuz-Ram fragmentation model prediction was found to be within the confidence limits of those results. An engineering and cost comparison between the blasts was made.

Jan 1, 1995

By G Bournival, Y Pan, S Ata

A custom-made set-up that measures bubble coalescence time and the thin film balance (TFB) technique were used to explore the role of residual xanthate (potassium amyl xanthate, PAX) and salt (NaCl) on the adsorption of two frothers (methyl isobutyl carbinol-MIBC, and di-propylene glycolDPG) at the air-water interface. This paper is primarily focused on the comparison of these two techniques in studying the interaction between the flotation reagents and salt emphasizing their capabilities and limits. The results from the coalescence rig showed that the presence of PAX improved the stability of bubbles in both frother solutions and led to a bubble coalescence inhibition at 50–500 ppm DPG. These measures were compared with the results from the TFB. Findings from the TFB were overall in good agreement with the bubble coalescence time, but a higher stability level was observed in thin films under the same condition. The effect of salt on the frother and PAX mixture was also explored, and the results showed an adverse impact of the salt on the interaction of frother and PAX with both techniques. However, variations were found between them in some cases. The TFB is much more sensitive to the presence of dissolved gas and oil droplets.

Aug 24, 2022

By R Higashi, D Maruoka, T Murakami, Y Iwami

The ironmaking industry consumes a large amount of fossil fuel derived carbon as heat source, reducing agent of iron ores and carburising agent of reduced iron. Although the demand for drastic decrease of carbon dioxide emission, carbon is an essential element for smelting process of molten iron. The carbon recycling ironmaking process by circulating CO has been already proposed to achieve carbon neutrality. However, the production of molten hot metal is not considered in this process because sufficient amount of carbon does not dissolve in reduced iron by CO. Therefore, our group has suggested a new carbon recycling ironmaking process which can produce hot metal. In this process, free carbon and iron carbides produced by carbon deposition reaction using metallic iron as a catalyst are used. It is known that only Fe3C is obtained as iron carbide by using CO gas, however, Fe5C2 is also produced by adding H2 gas. The composite agglomerated with these carbonaceous materials and fine iron ore (Deposited Carbon-Iron oxide Composite: DCIC) is reduced and melted in a furnace. It is reported that Fe3C in DCIC accelerates the reduction reaction and melting of the composite. In this study, the effects of iron carbides and free carbon on the melting behaviour of DCIC are investigated. Fe3C, Fe5C2 and free carbon were produced by vapour deposition using porous iron whiskers and CO-CO2-H2 gas. These were agglomerated with hematite reagent at a certain ratio to prepare DCIC samples with and without Fe5C2. The samples were heated up to 1300°C in inert atmosphere. The DCIC containing Fe5C2 completely melted and iron nuggets were obtained after the experiment. This behaviour was not observed in the composite without Fe5C2. This indicates that using Fe5C2 is more preferable than Fe3C for molten iron production using DCIC.

Jun 19, 2024

By T Perera, B Fan, S Thang, T Hsia

The mining industry is currently focusing to develop and adopt sustainable collector chemistry that can efficiently recover valuable minerals from their natural state. However, a limited number of research can be seen on the design and synthesis of polymeric flotation collectors. The focal objective of this research is to synthesise a more effective polymeric collector with advanced architecture to utilise in the mineral processing industry. Reversible Addition-Fragmentation Chain Transfer (RAFT) co-polymers with cardanol derivatives have the potential to selectively trap valuable metals in the flotation process in a more efficient way. Cardanol exhibits amenability to chemical modification for making tailor-made monomers that can further produce polymers with high value. The synthesis of a series of fit for purpose copolymers in this study was accomplished by RAFT polymerisation. The ability to design complex architecture is a significant advantage in engineering polymeric collectors by RAFT polymerisation. Initially, commercially available cardanol was converted to a cardanol based monomer and copolymerised with commercially available monomers to synthesise a series of novel cardanol based copolymers with predetermined molecular weights. The side groups of the copolymer were chemically modified to incorporate functionality that can be selectively adsorbed on the chalcopyrite surface.

Aug 24, 2022

By C Ausa, Nyunt Htay, A, L Deiparine

The main tectonic elements in Myanmar are a late Mesozoic and Cenozoic magmatic arc system in the west, repeated in northern Myanmar by more than 300 km of dextral movement on the Sagaing Fault, and the back-arc continental region affected by early and late Mesozoic orogenies, in the east. Historically most lode gold production has been from latest Cretaceous high-grade mesothermal veins and derived placers in the Wuntho and Tagaung-Myitkyina segments of the magmatic arc. Placer deposits in the Ayerwaddy River north of Myitkyina are currently worked by more than 100-bucket dredges. South of Wuntho, the magmatic arc and Pegu Yoma fold belt host epithermal gold with associated As, Sb and Zn in mid-Tertiary marine sediments. MyanmarÆs most productive lode gold deposit, the Kyaukpahto mine, lies within a north-trending district east of the magmatic arc and north of Mandalay. Here mineralisation and associated jasperoidal silica occur in Eocene sandstones and Permian and Triassic carbonates. Possibly this district continues southeastwards, across the Sagaing Fault, as sediment-hosted Sb Au and locally skarn Au mineralisation within a 1100 km long fold-thrust belt. Also present in the back-arc region are sandstone-hosted Au Cu in a Palaeozoic slate belt, and gold and stratabound gold-base metal mineralisation in the medial metamorphic belt. While untested targets remain in the magmatic arc, particularly for high sulphidation Au, the best potential is clearly within the back-arc slate and fold-thrust belts in the western part of the Shan Plateau and in northeastern-most Myanmar.

Jan 1, 1999

By C R. Fountain, R J. Sinclair

The zinc industry is dominated by the electrolytic zinc (EZ) process. The EZ process has a low tolerance for impurities, resulting in tight concentrate specifications. Many mining companies sacrifice zinc recovery in order to meet smelter specifications. Some have ore-bodies that cannot be economically developed because too much metal has to be sacrificed, or it is just not possible to meet the specification. The BUKA Zinc Process (BZP) has been developed as a method of producing high-quality zinc from a wide range of concentrates. It can have lower capital and operating costs than the conventional zinc and lead production routes. Advantages accrue from increases in metal recovery during concentrating, smelting and refining; the elimination of most of the capital and operating costs associated with lead smelting; reduced transport costs; lower zinc refining costs; reduced refinery residue disposal costs; and reduced future environmental liabilities. This paper describes results of testwork that has been undertaken to demonstrate the viability of the BZP on both test rig and laboratory-bench scale.

Jan 1, 1998

By J Shillabeer

Paste backfill has been adopted by many underground mines in North America and a growing number elsewhere. Paste offers a number of advantages. This paper suggests wider applications of paste technology to surface tailings disposal and water management. Advantages include improved overall stability, potentially easier permitting, smaller water inventory and earlier reclamation. It may be feasible to use the same plant to prepare backfill and to dispose of surplus tailings. Example cost models are given to illustrate potential applications.

Jan 1, 1998

By Stevak D, Plesingerova B, Ellias K, Tkacova K

This paper presents information on the processing of minerals by decrepitation that can be an integral part of their mineral dressing. In the case of carbonates, processing by decrepitation is a special operation that has its objective as concentration of the oxide. Selective fragmentation of magnesite brought about by decrepitation uses pseudomorphosis which was observed at thermal decomposition of carbonates. By decrepitation of magnesite high-grade MgO concentrates were obtained with MgO contents above 80 per cent. With the sideritic ores a very important phenomenon was observed consisting in the removal of quartz in the fragmented fine-grained product which favourably affect pelletisation of the fines. The selective concentration of the MgO product brought about by thermal decomposition of dolomite accompanied with decrepitation was negligible.

Jan 1, 1993

By Falbo A, Quarestima S, Cozza C, Barbaro M

A new synthetic reagent of the mercaptobenzoxazole class, 5- methyl-2-mercaptobenzoxazole, has been studied. This reagent exhibits powerful selective collecting action towards copper sulphides present in several complex ores, as demonstrated both by laboratory and pilot plant tests. Industrial production is expected to start in the near future. The way this reagent reacts with pure chalcocite has been studied utilising in situ FTIR techniques, adsorption tests, electrokinetic potential measurements and Hallimond cell flotation tests. The FTIR studies have indicated the nature of the surface phase. Adsorption isotherms obtained by the rest method have revealed the quantitative evolution of surface products, permitting the determination of surface coverage at various reagent concentrations. The electrokinetic potential has been utilised to verify the stability of individual species in diverse concentration ranges. Correlation of the results obtained has provided indications on the chemical interaction of this reagent with the surface and on the surface Arrangement.

Jan 1, 1993

By G J. A Dewar

The Australian Corporations Law generally requires Independent Expert Reports to be presented in support of capital raising or in defence of mergers and takeovers. The introduction of the VALMIN Code in 1995 (and its recent revision issued as the VALMIN Code, 1998) made Assessment and Valuation Reports in these circumstances much more comprehensible than before because of its key requirements for transparency and materiality. By forcing the Independent Valuer to provide an explanation of the reasoning behind the estimation of a particular resource asset, VALMIN allows the reader to clearly see any error or illogicality in the valuation methodology used and to seriously question or even reject the resulting value. Even though many elements of resource asset valuation practice are undeniably subjective, there must be some basis of objective rationality to it. Independent resource asset Valuers are the essential link between mineral explorers/miners on the one hand and brokers/analysts/fund managers/investors on the other. The minerals and financial industries both expect them to not use inappropriate or invalid valuation methods and illogical steps within these methods. This paper examines some of the less sensible ways in which some of the main techniques that Valuers commonly use to assess the fair market value of mineral properties have been applied in recent instances. The authors hope to discourage the adoption or perpetration of the æWhat-number-did-you-have-in-mind?' approach. It is MINVALÆs view that as many methods as possible should be used in any resource asset valuation. If any of the resulting estimates are in approximate agreement (particularly if they were derived using the less subjective of the available methods), ie if they cluster, they are probably more persuasive as being the Preferred Value of the asset than outlier values within the Valuation Range.

Jan 1, 1999

By E S. Bernard

Toughness testing of fibre reinforced concrete (FRC) at 28 days age is typically undertaken as part of quality control for the many applications where fibres are used in concrete, including shotcrete, tunnel segments, and cast-in-place tunnel linings. The performance achieved at 28 days is usually assumed to be retained with increasing age. However, as the average strength grade of concrete used in most tunnelling applications, including tunnel segments, has steadily increased over the last 20 years, this assumption is becoming increasingly unviable. This is because for some types of fibre the mode of post-crack fibre behaviour depends on the strength of the concrete and can change from a desirable high-energy pull-out mode to a low-energy rupture mode as the strength and age of concrete increases. This paper describes a series of trials performed over two years in which the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) C1609/C1609M beam tests were used to assess the performance of FRC reinforced with two widely used brands of steel and macro-synthetic fibre. The hooked-end steel fibres used for half the beams exhibited a dramatic fall in performance beyond 56 days age as the mode of failure changed from pull-out to rupture. The other fibre did not exhibit a fall in performance with age. This phenomenon highlights the need to quantify performance of FRC at much later ages when long-term performance is required, for example, to resist seismic events or changes in ground stress due to nearby excavations. As an alternative, a reduction factor may be applied to the performance of FRC mixes for which evidence of satisfactory long-term performance is not?available.CITATION:Bernard, E S, 2014. Age-dependent changes in post-cracking performance of fibre-reinforced concrete for tunnel?segments, in Proceedings 15th Australasian Tunnelling Conference 2014, pp 229–236 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Sep 17, 2014

By Zichenko ZA, Volkov SV, Shaluhina LM, Emelyanov AF

A method of selective gold recovery from black sands has been elaborated which is based on the liquid phase low temperature chlorination of materials. A liquid agent mixture of sulphur monochloride S2C12 and sulphur dichloride SC12 is used. This method ensures the gold extraction either in the state of AuC13.SC14 complex salt solution or as metal. The kinetics and main physico-chemical parameters of the process (eg density, solid: liquid ratio, temperature) have been investigated. The materials investigated were quartz-insipid ride samples with low sulphur and high iron (up to 70 per cent Fe2O3) contents. Gold recovery is 96 - 99 per cent at temperatures not exceeding 100¦C. Most of the associated minerals remain in the cake. To obtain metallic gold, the resulting solution of the AuC13.SC14 salt after leaching is reduced by hydrazine with subsequent annealing. The elaborated method is remarkable for small energy expenditures owing to low process temperature and a high gold dissolution rate. The solution of sulphur chlorides and other reagents are used in closed cycle.

Jan 1, 1993

By Mez W

the German ruining industry uses different residues for hackfilling and stowing. A hydraulic pipe conveying technology for these materials has shown advantages for the transportation into the mine. Pipeline conveying systems are able to bridge long distances, they save room within the underground workings and they save staff and costs. Absolutely necessary for successful use of the hydraulic conveying technology is the knowledge about the unusual non-Newtonian flow properties of solid/liquid mixtures like pastes and slurries. The flow resistance of these materials cannot be described easily by one viscosity. Owing to a yield point and a pseudo-plastic behaviour the viscosity changes with the shear rate and with the streaming velocity inside the pipe. Also these flow behaviours depend very sensitively on the liquid/solid-ratio, often so dramatically that gravimetric or volumetric dosing equipment is not in a position to control the production of backfill pastes. Quality changes of the solid raw materials (particle size distribution, density, mineralogical composition) lead to additional difficulties. The first experiences with hydraulic backfilling plants were troubled by plugged pipes. a bad backfill quality caused by unnecessarily high water content and high costs for chemical binders to solidify the backfill. The installation of viscosity controlled paste production leads to success with the hydraulic backfill technology. A development of the l)MT, a bypass pipe-viscometer, has been the key technology. The system is able to analyse on-line, difficult, sticky and abrasive substances and determine their non-Newtonian flow properties. Because the system measures real physical values it is in a position to pre-calculate process relevant parameters like the pressure drop of the backfilling paste in the conveying pipeline. Newer types of the viscometer system also measure the slurry density and calculate its composition. These systems have proven a success controlling backfill paste production plants. They offer it secure prevention of pipeline plugging and a production of high quality backfill pastes with a water content as low as possible.

Jan 1, 1998