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By L. C. de Kooker, K. Esmaeili, I. Musonda, M. Ferentinou

This paper presents the results of an investigation into the effect of pore pressure regime on the factor of safety (FS) and the anticipated critical failure mechanism for a fly ash storage facility. In this study, pore pressure measurements from standpipe piezometers and pore pressure estimated from seepage analysis were used for a comparison of the estimated FS for a fly ash slope. This comparison was applied for static and seismic scenarios. To account for the uncertainties resulting from the limited data available and support a qualitative risk assessment evaluation, a probabilistic analysis was performed. The slope stability analysis was conducted in 2D and 3D, adopting the limit equilibrium analysis approach, and a finite element seepage analysis. The results suggest consistency of failure surfaces for 2D and 3D and an increase in FS values of 5 percent for the 3D approach, limitations of standpipe piezometers. The study demonstrated the sensitivity of the FS value, and the implication of adopting representative material properties, and water table levels, especially in cases where limited data are available, and assumptions need to be made to assess the long-term stability of a fly ash dam facility.

Aug 1, 2024

By Bond. F. C.

Introduction Although autogenous grinding applications date back to the early years of mineral processing when tumbling-type mills were first used, there has been a renewed interest in this type of grinding over the past few decades. A review of the historical aspects of autogenous grinding is provided which follows the development of the various types of mills and processes. Wet and dry grinding operations using either autogenous or semiautogenous mills, including the Aerofall mill, are described. Em¬phasis has been placed on the test work required to evaluate the feasibility of using autogenous or semiautogenous grinding for a spe¬cific application. The factors which must be considered to establish the appropriate design criteria for these types of grinding circuits are discussed in detail. Successful application of these grinding circuits results from a thorough test program, a careful analysis of the test results, and a practical engineering approach to the design of the process flowsheet and milling equipment. Certain pebble milling applications, where the pebbles consist of the ore or rock itself, can be classified as autogenous pebble mill grinding, or better known as ore-pebble mill grinding. In the generic sense, pebble milling includes those grinding operations using a tum¬bling mill in which the grinding media consists of various types of pebbles, either ore or other pebbles, instead of metal balls. Conse¬quently, this subject is covered separately in Chapter 5, Pebble Mills. Operating data from many of the installations located throughout the world are included in this chapter. Our appreciation is extended to those companies who contributed this important information. History of Autogenous Grinding F. C. BOND Autogenous grinding, the grinding of ore by itself rather than by special metallic or nonmetallic grinding bodies distinct from the ore, has an old and honorable place in the art of mineral processing. It antedates the use of the rod mill and is only a few years younger than the development of the continuously fed rotating tumbling mill in which it is accomplished. Its history71, 72 is inextricably bound up with that of gold mining. Every important early development of autogenous grinding took place on ores of gold, except in one case of silver ore. In common with many other features of modern mineral processing, autogenous grinding would have been greatly retarded if the winning of gold had been so small a part of mining in the past as it is today. Gold unlocked the secrets of rock-on-rock grinding. In years past gold ores were crushed in stamp batteries and then flowed over copper plates covered with mercury which amalgamated the gold. The McArthur Forrest cyanide process for the dissolution of gold in a dilute alkaline cyanide solution appeared in 1890. With finer grinding it recovered more gold than could be won by amalgama¬tion alone. The first response was to stamp in cyanide solution and finer mesh screens guarding the stamp discharge. However, the fine screens greatly restricted the tonnage stamped, and they wore out rapidly. Rotating tumbling mills70, 73 were the obvious choice to grind the coarse product from stamps. Many of these were Gates tube mills; more than 1,000 of these were sold between 1907 and 1913. They were made in 6, 51h, and 5 ft diam, with lengths of 20 and 22 ft. The 5 x 22-ft size was the most popular. The term tube mill did not refer to the mill shape, but included all tumbling mills using grinding pebbles. The flint or chert rocks found along the coasts of Denmark and Normandy are probably the most durable and resistant to abrasive and tumbling wear of any on earth. They were much used in the early tube mills. The early linings were all silex or Danish flint blocks, cemented into place with portland cement. Local hard stones or cast iron blocks were also used later. The cast iron liners carried lifters and were not bolted to the shell, but were held in a tight circle against it by steel wedges hammered home between them. The first ribbed metal liners designed to hold grinding pebbles pounded into them by the mill action were developed at El Oro, Mexico, about 1905. These and the Forbes, Komata, and Tonopah types, as well as the Osborne type developed in South Africa within about five years, were very successful in reducing liner wear. They sometimes lasted two years or more, and equalled or exceeded the life of silex lining at a lower cost. Some of the types were patented. The pioneer name recorded in the history of autogenous grinding is that of Kenneth L. Graham. In 1907 at the Geldenhuis Deep Ltd. mine near Johannesburg, he ran a comparative test on two tube mills. One mill used pieces of the common gold ore, or banket, and the other used the customary imported Danish pebbles as grinding media. He published the first account of autogenous grinding.'' In a test lasting 81 days the ore pebbles showed a definite saving over the Danish pebbles. Graham's historic paper also describes the invention of B. Chew of the Crown Deep Mines of the first trammel to be attached to a grinding mill discharge. The first known account of autogenous grind¬ing printed outside of South Africa was the description of the Graham test in Mining and Scientific Press's The use of grate- vs. overflow¬discharge was also described at this time." The news of this successful test appears to have had immediate effect, for by the end of 1908 the number of tube mills on the Rand had increased from 72 to 120.76 Presumably, most of these mills were now using autogenous grinding. The ore was principally a hard conglomerate of quartz peb¬bles cemented by silica, and was eminently suitable for use as a grind¬ing media. It is unfortunate that in South Africa the new autogenous process continued to be called by its old name of pebble milling, since the name does not distinguish between grinding with ore and grinding with extraneous pebbles. For increased clarity the former is called rock pebble milling. The first historical stage in the development was what is now designated as secondary autogenous grinding, or rock pebble milling. It consists of grinding a feed all passing 'A in. or finer with ore pebbles about 2 to 4 in. in diameter. The next stage to develop was that now called intermediate autogenous grinding, where larger amounts of larger pebbles about 5 in. in size were used to grind ore which had been crushed to about rod mill feed size or somewhat finer. It was developed on the Rand and in other places where coarse stamp screens were used to increase mill tonnage. In many cases the early secondary and intermediate autogenous mills have now been replaced by conventional ball mills and rod mill-ball mill circuits, with the object of further increasing grinding capacity. The third stage to develop is designated as wet primary autogenous grinding, in which run-of-mine ore or a primary crusher product is all fed to the autogenous mill together. It developed many years later indepen¬dently in the United States and in South Africa. The fourth and most recent stage is that of dry primary autogenous grinding, which developed in the United States and Canada. All four stages originated in gold mining. The first use of commercial autogenous grinding outside of the Rand apparently took place five years later in 1912 at the Santa Gertrudis gold mine at Pachuca, 55 miles northeast of Mexico City. This was followed closely by an installation at Goldfields, Nevada, in 1914-1915. The first name associated with autogenous grinding

Jan 1, 1985

By Wei Li

Carbothermic reduction kinetics of ilmenite concentrates catalyzed by sodium chloride and the microwaveabsorbing characteristics of the resulting reductive products were investigated; the reduction degree of the reaction was deduced to be . Results show that the activation energy is 112.03 kJ/ mol when NaCl is used as catalyst, lowering to 23.11 kJ/mol for the final stage activation energy using sodium silicate as a catalyst. There is a sharp change in the reduction rate constant at temperature ranges of 1,223 K - 1,273 K and 1,373 K - 1,423 K. Microwave-absorbing characteristics of reductive products were measured by the method of microwave cavity perturbation. It was found that microwave-absorbing characteristics of reductive products obtained at temperatures of 850° C, 1,100° C and 1,150° C show sharp changes. Through X-ray diffraction (XRD) characterization, it was found that the formation of Fe occurs at a temperature of 900° C during the reduction process of ilmenite concentrate. The decrease of FeTiO3 content results in the decrease of microwave-absorbing characteristics, while the increase of Fe content gives rise to the increase of microwaveabsorbing characteristics. The decreasing trend is larger than the increasing trend, which is the main reason for the sharp changes in the microwave-absorbing characteristics of reductive products at the temperature range of 850° C to 900° C. When the decreasing trend is smaller than the increasing trend, it becomes the main reason for the sharp changes in microwave-absorbing characteristics of reductive products at the temperature range of 1,100° C to 1,150° C. Kinetics results show that sodium chloride can catalyze the carbothermic reduction of ilmenite, and microwave-absorbing characteristic investigations indicate that microwave heating can be used in the carbothermic reduction of ilmenite.

By Lawrence E. Mannion

In southwest Wyoming lies buried the world's largest source of natural sodium carbonate, or soda ash. Perhaps a hundred billion tons of trona (sodium sesquicarbonate) are contained in ancient lake beds in the Green River basin'). There the Green River Formation encloses more than 40 extensive beds of trona. At least 25 of these exceed 3 feet (1 meter) in thickness and most of them are more than 300 square miles in extent. Five have been exposed in mines and lie between 800 and 1500 feet below the surface. Others lie at depths of from 400 to 3500 feet. Three companies have underground mines that supply trona to adjacent soda ash plants. These are the FMC Corporation, Allied Chemical Corporation, and Stauffer Chemical Company. A fourth, Texasgulf Corporation, has a mine under development. In 1974, annual soda ash capacity in the Green River area was approximately 4,300,000 tons, which requires the mining of about 7,500,000 tons of trona.

Jan 1, 1975

By D. Vavadakis

Abandoned bauxite surface mines in the Parnassos area may be rehabilitated using bauxite residues as filler. The objective of this study was to estimate the percentage of precipitation that may infiltrate through the bauxite residues to the lower geological formations when they are disposed off in mine open pits. Two scenarios were investigated simulating: a) available field tests, and b) a demonstration test that was planned to be performed in an abandoned open pit close to the Aluminium of Greece plant. It was indicated that the annual infiltration from bauxite residues disposed off in the demonstration test for the most probable scenario is very low, equal to 13.17mm corresponding to 3.1% of the annual precipitation. Furthermore, it was estimated that the annual percolation from the field tests is approximately 4.4%, very close to the infiltration values measured in the field tests for the same period.

Jan 1, 2006

By T. B. Jarboe, H. Wen

Introduction The 150 MW circulating fluidized bed (CFB) power plant described in this article is the product of recent Bechtel experience in the industrial power and steam market, where the economic feasibility of fluidized bed projects has been proven. The ability of CFB boilers to burn low grade fuels makes it possible to burn low ranking coals or coal wastes. These include anthracite culm, coal mine rejects, and coal wash-plant-waste slurries. This article also addresses the impact of fuel characteristics on plant design. This includes solids handling, steam generation, sulfur capture, and auxiliary load requirements. The uncertain economic environment in which utilities must now operate has shifted the industry's interest away from large, base-loaded generating units to small, more versatile installations. Utilities now consider purchasing new generating capacity in smaller increments and staging its deployment to correspond with demand increases. In this way, they lower their risk in the increasingly hazardous art of long-range load forecasting. This strategy has many advantages. Multiple, smaller units have inherently greater turndown capability and better availability than a single larger unit of the same size. In addition, the smaller units will each have better cycling capability. And, with CFB combustion, the smaller units will have greater fuel flexibility. General plant description The 150 MW powerplant described here is a grassroots CFB unit. Fluidized bed technology differs from conventional combustion techniques. With CFB, solid fuel, together with inert material such as sand, gypsum, limestone, or ash from the fuel, is kept suspended in the combustion chamber. This is done by using the action of the fluidizing air distributed below the bed. Fluidization promotes the turbulent mixing conditions required for good combustion. The turbulence causes the entire mass of solids to behave like a liquid. The result is improved mixing. This allows heat to be generated at a lower and more uniformly distributed temperature that is below the ash fusion temperature of most coals. The fluidizing mechanism offers several other advantages over conventional combustion. There is less volatilization of alkali compounds, which cause deposits on boiler tube surfaces. And there is less sensitivity to the quantity and nature of the ash in the fuel. The low combustion temperatures prevent vitrification of the ash particles and minimize problems associated with furnace slagging. The ability to select from many fuels is one of the major advantages of CFB combustor technology. Fuels that can be burned in CFB plants to produce steam and electricity include: low grade coals with high ash or sulfur, lignite, peat, wood and pulp products, biomass, refuse, anthracite culm, petroleum coke, and oil shales. The plant's turbine cycle uses superheated steam at 12.4 MPa (1800 psi) and 538°C (1000°F), with single reheat to 538°C (1000°F). Two high pressure and three low pressure, closed, feedwater heaters are furnished. So is a deaerator, which is an open, direct-contact heater. The CFB plant exceeds EPA's New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for air emissions. The design limits sulfur dioxide (SO,) emissions to 0.25 kg/GJ (0.6 lb per million Btu). SO2 reduction occurs in the combustor by reac-

Jan 11, 1988

By I. A. Molodkina, A. V. Kurkov, V. V. Shatalov

New compound classes previously unknown in flotation practice of non-sulphide ore beneficiation have been developed. The presented study results consider amine salts of alkyl sulphate and alkyl benzene sulphonic acid used as primary collectors, N-methyl amides of alkyl phosphoric acids - as auxiliary modifying collectors and pentaerythritole ethers of tall oil - as flotation accelerators. These reagents synthesized from accessible raw material are almost ready for commercial production. Efficiency of the new reagents for various non-sulphide ores has been demonstrated in a series of flotation tests.

Jan 1, 1995

By J. M. Mutmansky, A. Wang

This paper defines the elements of a basic economic model for decision making when considering a methane drainage system for an underground coal mine. A drainage system entails significant capital and operating expense; hence the decision to utilize drainage must be made carefully. The model outlines the basic structure of decision making and considers the costs and benefits when the methane is marketed and when the methane is vented to the atmosphere. The effects on mine safety and the dust levels in the mine are also considered, both in a general format and as economic variables. Sources of information for executing this decision making are provided for an actual mine decision.

Jan 1, 1999

By Tracy E. Chantson, Brian R. Green, Kenneth G. Ashurst

Work that has culminated in the manufacture and testing of a old-selective resin on a pilot-plant scale is dcscribed. Following a brief discussion about the nature of commercially available resins which identifies them as poor candidates for a gold extraction application, the improved properties of the new type of resin are illustrated using results from comparative loading tests. Further results from continuous countercurrent extractions using synthetic leach liquors and elution work using thiourea as the eluant demonstrate the superiority of the new resin over commercial resins and hence, its potential for use in a resin-in-pulp process for gold.

Jan 1, 1989

By Nes?e Çelebi

It has never been easy to finance within mining sector. Leasing may be an alternative source of finance for mining investments. Leasing is acquiring the right of usage for an asset for a definite period of time without having the ownership of it. In this study, a model for analyzing the lease financing opportunities for mining investments under risk and suitable for establishing a satisfactory leasing policy for both lessee and lessor is developed. Using the model, it is possible to obtain an expected equilibrium lease amount acceptable by both lessor and lessee and also the expected range of the equilibrium lease amount as a decision tool. First the existing leasing policies are mentioned, then the developed model is described. A case study is presented to illustrate the use of the model in establishing a leasing policy. In conclusion, the usefulness of the model is discussed.

Jan 1, 1992

By E. W. Cokayne

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE METHOD The original application of sublevel caving was in ground so weak that it would collapse even in small headings when the support was removed. Heavily tim¬bered drifts were driven across the ore body; the timber was removed at the end of the drift, and the ore caved and slushed out. When dilution became excessive the next set was removed and so on. This method gave high dilution and poor recovery and was slow, but it was the only way to mine this type of ore body at that time. In more recent times the method has been adapted to stronger ground which needs to be drilled and blasted, so it is not a caving method as far as the ore is con¬cerned. However, the method does rely on the walls to cave and so the name sublevel caving has been retained. The method as presently generally applied is shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3. Sublevels are established at approximately 7.6 to 12.2-m (25 to 40-ft) vertical intervals. They are usually accessed from a ramp system. A haulage drift is driven down the strike of the ore body, but in the waste. Production drifts are turned off the haulage drift and driven across the ore body on about 10.7-m (35-ft) horizontal centers. This divides the ore body into a geometrical pattern. Slot raises are driven at the end of the drifts near the ore-waste contact and the slot is expanded to the shape of the fan drilling. Up holes are drilled to break towards the slot at burdens of 1.2 to 1.8 m (4 to 6 ft). They are drilled past the next sublevel to the production drift im¬mediately above. When a sufficient number of fans has been drilled, production can start by blasting one or two fans at a time towards the slot. Load-haul-dump (LHD) units are used to muck the ore, which rills out into the drift. At first, when only a small area is mined, the walls may not cave, and the operation will be similar to open stoping. Later, sloughing from the walls will fill any voids created, and the ore after blasting will be con¬tained by the caved waste and gravitate downwards as mucking proceeds. This process is repeated in each of the production drifts as the face is retreated towards the haulage drift. When the top level has been retreated back a safe dis

Jan 1, 1982

By A. Peppas

Perlite is a naturally occurring siliceous rock, which can be expanded from four to twenty times its original volume when heated at a temperature close to its softening point. The expanded perlite is characterized by increased sound and thermal insulating properties. However, the conventionally expanded perlite products have high porosity and low mechanical properties that limit the range of their applications in the construction and chemical industry. The present work aims at the development of new closed porous microcellular material from perlite with enhanced mechanical and physical properties to be applied in new applications, like joint compounds, functional fillers for special paint types, special blasters and mortars, artificial marble. For the production of these new materials a vertical electrically heated furnace with six different heating zones and controlled gradient temperature profile was used. The effect of major process parameters, like temperature and air flow, on the quality of the produced materials was studied using Greek perlite from Milos Island. The quality of the new products was evaluated in terms of their bulk density, compression strength, water and oil absorption, surface area and pore volume. The experimental results show that the produced materials are characterised by improved mechanical and physical properties compared to the conventionally expanded perlite products.

Jan 1, 2006

By P. V. Avotins, D. R. Nagaraj, S. S. Wang

Xanthates and dithiophosphates are the most commonly used collectors in the flotation of sulfide minerals. Other reagents such as thionocarbamates, mercaptobenzothiazoles (MBT), mercaptans and xanthogen formates occupy niche positions in industrial collector use. Over the last ten years there has been much activity by chemical companies to develop new collector compositions. The new collectors are aimed at meeting specific process needs such as recovering an increment of valuable metals, improved sulfide separations, increased flotation kinetics, and reducing reagents costs. A review of the patent literature shows that American Cyanamid (Cytec), Dow Chemical, Phillips Petroleum, Sentrachem Ltd., Henkel, Montan Chemicals and Elf Aquitaine, among others, have been active in sulfide collector research. Several companies have achieved considerable success in laboratory and plant tests of the new collectors; however, commercial acceptance for plant usage has been slow. Those most advanced have been plant tested extensively and some are in day-to-day use. The new collector types in this category are: Modified thionocarbamates, dithiophosphinates, organic sulfides, trithiocarbonates, monothiophosphates, and modified thioureas. Others such as substituted mercaptobenzothiazoles and monothiophosphinates have been tested in the laboratory. The chemistry of collectors developed in the last 10 years, their preparation, physical properties and their potential for commercial use are reviewed in this paper.

Jan 1, 1994

By V. I. Ryaboy, V. A. Luknitsky, V. V. Zuyev

The action has been studied of three types of reagents used as intensifiers in grinding copper-molybdenum, sulphide-sheelite, polymetallic and other types of ores, namely N-donor, dispersant, and surface-acting agents. It has been proved that, depending on the type of ore treated, the C (N-donor) and C-170 (dispersant) reagents increase the yield of the principal size fraction of 0.074mm by 8-16% (relative). Consequently, the specific mill capacity improves by 13-21 %. The C and C-170 reagents activate the subsequent flotation stage and are thus beneficial to the mineral recovery. The surface-acting reagents affect the mineral grinding process to a lesser extent. The intensifying action of the reagents is attributed to the effective crushing energy decrease (lower crack-resistance factor) or else to the slime-dispersing effect of the reagents. The pilot-plant test results for the C reagents are given. Both C and C170 reagents are commercially produced and recommended for use at a number of concentrators in Russia, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.

Jan 1, 1995

By J. C. Yingling, V. Badaker, R. J. Sweigard, P. W. Conrad, J. M. Ringe, D. H. Graves

The University of Kentucky has developed reclamation cells at a surface mine in southeastern Kentucky to evaluate the impact of spoil handling (reclamation methods) and compaction alleviation methods on the physical properties of replaced growing media and on tree survival rate. From 1997 through 2001, penetration depth, penetration resistance, bulk density, and tree survival data have been collected at the reclamation cells and correlated to determine the relationships that exist between the soil physical properties at the site and tree survival. Regression models have been developed for each reclamation method evaluated using the collected data to predict tree survival rates on reclaimed surface mined lands as a function of the soil physical properties of the replaced growing media. Procedures have been developed for handling soil/spoil during reclamation that can minimize compaction in the replaced growing media. Procedures have also been developed for alleviating compaction in growing media on reclaimed and orphaned surface mined sites. These procedures, if implemented, will increase the potential for reforestation success. Finally, procedures have been developed for collecting soil physical property data for use in evaluating the suitability of spoil conditions for reforestation.

Jan 1, 2003

By F. L. Pierson

Since the discovery of 'potash in the Carlsbad area in 1926 and the start of mining operations in 1931, "first mining," operations have been carried on. This is a room and pillar system in which approximately 62% of the total ore is removed. Or the basis of ore reserves and rates of extraction, the life of the mine in the early; days was estimated to be well over 50 years, however, even with an increase by additional ore reserves, it became increasingly apparent that the life of the mine was being shortened considerably by increased production. Further cause for the shortening of mine life was due to the exceptionally weak back over the northeast quadrant of the main orebody which had .caved in on first mining up to a height of 8 feet. Thus, in 1953 the decision was' made to begin pillar pulling, also called, second mining or final mining, and in December of 1953 this program was started after much discussion.

Jan 1, 1965

By S. Bentley

"Everyone has a general idea what mixing means, but describing the mixing process is not so simple. The objective of any mixing process is to distribute and blend the materials with different characteristics, different quantities as evenly as possible resulting in a homogenous mixture. Introducing proportional movement with the optimal intensity into the materials achieves effective homogeneous mixing results. A simple one directional movement with inadequate acceleration of the materials would obviously not achieve the same mixing results. This would be more like stirring than mixing. The amount of relative movement that is introduced is a decisive factor. Circumstances for successful mixing involve distribution of all materials, and achieving the highest probability that all recipe particles located in a specific position at the beginning can be found at any random location in the mixing chamber at the end of the process. This is the only way to ensure that a consistent result is achieved every time mixing is repeated.THREE-PART CYCLE The mixing cycle occurs in three phases; charging the mixer, the mixing process, and discharging. The sequence in which the individual materials to be mixed are filled into the mixer can have a huge impact on the efficiency of the mixing cycle. The mixing cycle overlaps the charging process and the discharge cycle follows the mixing cycle. To achieve optimum results, effective discharging methods should be taken into consideration to avoid risks of segregation. Costs for energy and wear should be as low as possible and finally, it is very important that the mixing cycle takes place as quickly as possible. In concrete or paste backfill production, selecting the best mixing technology is crucial for both the quality of the final product to be blended and the efficiency of the production process. The optimum mixing system is one that rapidly disperses all ingredients evenly throughout the mixing trough and completely surrounds all the course or fine aggregate particles with the slurry cement particles. Specific for paste production it’s the mixers job to also break-down unconditioned tailings to achieve consistent paste viscosity or measured spread. Many paste and concrete formulas also involve small quantities of chemical additives which also must be evenly distributed effectively. The time required per mixing cycle as well as the costs of energy, wear and maintenance will determine the economy of the concrete production."

Jan 1, 2015

By Jon Y. Kaneshiro, John S. Griffith, Anthony F. Stirbys, Mauricio Andrade

This paper presents an overview of the New Mississippi Tunnel Outfall for the Transportation Expansion Project (T-REX). The Outfall conveys highway and other urban drainage to the South Platte River as well as provides long needed relief from flooding problems in the southeastern portion of the Interstate 25 highway corridor. The Outfall tunnel incorporates a one-pass precast concrete segmented liner to convey storm water under I-25 then under Mississippi Avenue to the river. The Outfall crosses both the existing I-25 as well as the future improvements including under the Light Rail Transit, a new bridge abutment, widened lanes, and new retaining walls. The Outfall also crosses adjacent to several buildings and five bridges, under major traffic and utility intersections, and through difficult geology.

Jan 1, 2003

By John E. Litz

Since the 1974 introduction of catalytic converters to automobiles in the United States, more than 150,000 kg (5,000,000 oz) of platinum, palladium, and rhodium have been used in the converters. An estimated 8 to 10 million converters are being used annually in the United States, each containing from $5 to $15 of PGM metals. In addition, use of converters is beginning in Europe which will significantly increase the quantity of PGM used. Two basic types of catalysts for converters are being used: pellet and monolithic. The pellets are small, discrete spheres or cylinders of gamma-alumina coated with platinum group metals, Figure 1. The monolithic are honeycombs of a cordierite, A13(Mg,Fe)2Si5AlO18, base coated with gamma-alumina and subsequently with platinum group metals, Figure 2. Pellet catalysts are being used by General Motors and American Motors; whereas Ford and Chrysler are using monolithic catalysts. The table below compares the PGM content and value of the catalysts.

Jan 1, 1986

By John W. Trammell

The White Pine Mine is situated in Ontonagon County, approximately six miles south of Lake Superior, in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (Figs. 1 and 2). The ore body mined by White Pine Copper Company occurs in the lower - most 20 to 25 feet of the Nonesuch formation, a series of middle - to upper Keweenawan shales, siltstones, and sandstones. This paper elaborates on the solution of problems in ore grade control and mine planning arising from the presence of an essentially barren sandstone stratum within the ore body.

Jan 1, 1964