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By W. L. Sherwood

Present conventional techniques for primary steelmaking in both integrated and non-integrated plants are outlined. 'Direct reduction' alternatives are reviewed and categorized according to the nature of the product produced, with particular emphasis on the limited number designed to yield steel as the end product. A proposed new technique, referred to as the Sherwood Process, is described in some detail as a new combination of selected features from the prior technology. This process is in-tended to realize, in integrated operations, the result of continuons steelmaking directly from the ore in a single plant and, in non-integrated operations, continuons steel-making from a metallic charge of scrap, sponge iron or pig iron. Prominent features are continuons processing in elongated, horizontal, rotary furnace equipment, controlled direct heating of each process stage and, for the over-all integrated process, a size separation for removal of excess solid reductant and other waste just prior to the melting step. Material and energy balances are presented as well as exemplary cost data. Reasons for selecting this particular combination of process elements are dis-cussed.

Jan 1, 1968

By Olaf Kessler, Jan Kalich, Michael Reich, Julia Osten, Uwe Füssel

Modern automobile bodies consist of different materials, e.g. aluminium alloys and high strength steels. Mechanical joining, e.g. clinching, is very suitable for joining aluminium and steel sheet. But clinching needs a sufficient ductility, which is no longer supplied by high strength steels. Laser-assisted clinching has been shown, to be able to join aluminium and high strength steel sheet successfully. Thereby the steel sheets were heated locally for short times to increase their ductility. Due to the thermal contact between steel and aluminium sheet the aluminium alloys also achieve a local short-time heat treatment. This fact may cause a significant impact, as aluminium sheet in automobile bodies is often used in T4 (or similar) condition and later artificially aged during the paint bake cycle. Aluminium alloys 6016 and 6181 have been short-time heat treated with heating rates up to some 100 K/s. Precipitation and dissolution processes have been monitored in-situ by calorimetry. Mechanical properties have been investigated on as well as after short-time heat treatment by deformation dilatometry. The results show, that suitable short-time annealing parameters during laser-assisted clinching can increase ductility and at the same time act as retrogression for aluminium sheets, resulting in increased strength after aging.

Jan 1, 2015

By A. Ignatieff

"Demonstrations of Automatic Coal Burning EquipmentAT THE 1951 and 1952 Annual Coal Research Conferences sponsored by the Dominion Coal Board and attended by delegates from the Dominion and Provincial governments as well as industry, the importance ,of encouraging the co-operative interest of Canadian coal and equipment industries in •promoting the use of equipment types best suited to burn given Canadian coals was emphasized. It. was suggested that this idea •be enlarged upon at forthcoming C.I.M. meetings that would be .attended largely by coal mining engineers.With this in view, a Domestic Heating Forum (1) was featured in the Coal Division programme at the 1951 Annual Western Meeting of the Institute in Calgary, and a much more ambitious programme, highlighted by live demonstrations, was •staged at the combined Annual Western Meeting and Fourth Meeting of District 4 held in Winnipeg in October 1952.With the excellent co-operation of a number of equipment manufacturers and coal companies, and with facilities kindly provided •by the University •of Manitoba authorities, burning demonstrations were• arranged in the Agricultural Engineering Building, on October l 7th. These demonstrations were a fitting sequel to the Coal Division sessions held in the Royal Alexandra Hotel on October 16th, at which the combustion of coal was specially featured in a series of papers by prominent Canadian and United States specialists.The primary purpose of the demonstrations was to •show that all coal, regardless •of rank, can be satisfactorily used provided that proper application is made with equipment suited to its purpose."

Jan 1, 1953

By K. A. Clark

SEPARATION of the oil from the bituminons sands of the Athabaska area of Alberta has been a subject of study by the Research Council of Alberta. The results of the study have been published in the Annual Reports of the Council. However, the last Annual Report in which there is mention of bituminons sand separation is that for 1934. The attention that is being directed toward the bituminons sands at the present time calls for an up-to-date summary of the work of the Research Council of Alberta on the hot-water separation process. STATEMENT OF FUNDAMENTALS OF HOT-WATER PROCESS Studies of the hot-water separation process have been largely empirical in nature. The objective sought has been a complete recovery of oil from the sand in the form of a separated oil which, itself, is free from mineral matter. Various procedures have been tried in the hope of attaining this objective and a very considerable mass of observations and background of experience have been acquired. lt is rime that a theory for hot-water separation should commence to emerge. As a start toward the formulation of such a theory, the statements which follow regarding the constitution of bituminons sand and its reactions with water and air are presented. It is not pretended that they are entirely correct, but it is believed that they lie not far from the truth. (1) Bituminons sand is an aggregate of sand, clay, oil, and water. The sand consists mainly of quartz particles of 100 ta 200 mesh size and smaller, but also of particles of other minerais including mica, rutile, ilmenite, tour-maline, zircon, spinel, garnet, pyrite, and lignite. Clay occurs interbedded with the bituminons sand, of which, also, it is a constituent. lronstone nodules of all sizes up to eight inches in diameter are likely to be present in the bituminons sand beds. The oil is viscous, naphthenic, and of a specific gravity slightly greater than that of water. The oil content ranges up to, and sometimes even exceeds, 17 per cent by weight. Rich bituminons sand from beds not invaded by water has a water content of 3 to 5 per cent by weight. The water is probably present as a film around the sand particles. The oil surrounds the moist sand grains as an envelope. (2) Water wets quartz and other siliceous minerals more readily than does mineral oil. Consequently, water tends to displace the oil film surrounding the quartz and other siliceous particles when the bituminons sand is mixed with water. Whether the oil is completely displaced depends on the properties of the water. That is to say, the materials dissolved or suspended in the water modify its wetting properties.

Jan 1, 1944

By C. Díaz, M. Barati

Prof. Torstein Utigard's untimely death, in the spring of 2012, put an abrupt end to a meritorious career in the field of high temperature chemical process metallurgy. As an academic in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering of the University of Toronto, Torstein made solid contributions to the advancement of knowledge pertaining to production and refining of both nonferrous and light metals, and to the development of inquisitive and innovative young people in extractive metallurgy. In this profile, the authors highlight aspects of Torstein's rich personality and of his contributions to his field of expertise.

Jan 1, 2015

By A. Mazhary

"Although sensor-based ore sorting has gained significant attention recently, sorting gold deposits still face a high level of skepticism by gold mining companies. In order to shed some light on the matter, this article looks at two different gold deposits that were examined using X-ray Fluorescence, Electromagnetic and X-ray Transmission sensors. The heterogeneity of each sample is measured based on the assay results of each particle and is related to its sortability. Multivariate linear regression analysis was also performed on the XRF results to find potential proxy elements for detecting gold. The results from these deposits were varied and each sample showed different levels of sortability. While both X-ray sensors proved efficient for different deposits, the electromagnetic sensor failed to produce any promising results. Despite unsatisfactory result for one sample, this technology can have significant advantages in terms of lowering the operational costs and improving head grades and recoveries providing that the deposit is amenable to such separation methods. Therefore, it is important to mention that sensor-based ore sorting is ore and sensor dependent, and as a result, it cannot be applied and be beneficial to all deposits. Therefore, amenability tests are required in order to examine the potential for sensor-based ore sorting before one can reject the idea.INTRODUCTION Although sensor-based ore sorting has gained significant attention recently, sorting gold deposits still face a high level of skepticism by gold mining companies. Except for a few cases presented previously, no new case studies have been published. Previously, mines such as Kloof Gold Mine in South Africa used an optical sorter to sort their waste stockpile in 2003–2004 (Von Ketelhodt, 2009) and then again in 2009 (Von Ketelhodt, Falcon, & Falcon, 2011). More recently, Coeur Operations utilized an XRT sorter for their Kensington Mine in Alaska (Lasley, 2014) and also Anglo-American Platinum used an XRF sorter to pre-concentrate Platinum Group Metals through an algorithm that used chrome, copper and nickel as proxies (Rule, Fouchee, & Swart, 2015)."

Jan 1, 2017

By M. W. Lewis

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

Jan 1, 2004

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

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

Jan 1, 2004

By Fathi Habashi

The year 1987 marked the centennial of the beginning of modern hydrometallurgy. On October 19, 1887 British Patent No. 14174 entitled Process of Obtaining Gold and Silver from Ores was issued*. The discovery was made by John Steward MacArthur (Fig. 1), a chemist-metallurgist, supported and assisted by Robert and William Forrest, two brothers practicing medicine in Glasgow. The discovery was made in the basement of their clinic. The process, which became known as the cyanidation process in reference to the alkali cyanide reagent used, immediately received industrial success in New Zealand in 1889 and in South Africa in 1890t. It displaced the chlorination method which had been in use. In 1903 MacArthur was awarded the first Medal of the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy in London1131 - The cyanidation process was responsible for the doubling of gold production in the world in the two decades which followed its first application (Fig. 2). To the modern metallurgist, it may be surprising to think of MacArthur coming across an obscure reagent such as an alkali cyanide as a leaching agent for gold ores. It is the purpose of this paper to discuss the background and the factors that led to this invention, the development of the understanding of the process, and the application of modern technology.

Jan 1, 1999

By R. S. Douglas

Introduction During the past few years, a number of changes in the mine operations at Copper Mountain have taken place. The modernization and mechanization were necessitated and given impetus by wartime and other conditions, which were: (1) The urgent need for copper for wartime purposes. (2) The scarcity of skilled labour for underground work. (3) The increase in labour and supplies cost. (4) The necessity of finding ways and means of increasing the output per man-shift, because of the scarcity of skilled labour and the rising cost of labour. (5) The desire to increase safety measures, reduce the silicosis hazard, and aid mine ventilation. (6) The desire to improve the general working conditions in the mine for all workmen. (7) The desire to reduce the amount of dilution in the ore stream by a more selective yet highly productive method of mining. To this end, mining with diamond drills, and transferring broken ore with slusher hoists, appeared to be the answer to the problem. After considerable discussion and estimation of costs for comparison with those of the operation as carried on at that time, the proposed methods were tried out and, in practice, gave very gratifying results. Reference at this point is made to the paper written by C. H. Brehaut, W. N. Taylor, H. A. Shannon, and R. S. Douglas, which was published in the September, 1945, issue of Mining Technology, by the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers, Inc., and subsequently in commercial mining journals. Since that time some improvements have been made in undercutting an orebody - the first through experiment and practice, the second through making use of the earth's barodynamic or gravitational forces. It is the purpose of this paper to describe and discuss these later developments.

Jan 1, 1947

By A. J. Monhemius

This paper reviews the history of modern iron-control processes in hydrometallurgy. Attention is paid to processes developed in the electrolytic zinc industry for removal of iron from zinc sulfate leach liquors and the problems faced by the industry in the safe disposal of the iron residues produced by these processes. Past lessons learned are projected onto current efforts to develop hydrometallurgical processes for treatment of copper sulfide concentrates. It is argued that any attempt to create a \u201chydrometallurgical copper smelter\u201d will fail, unless methods are developed that can recover iron in a form that can be directly used by the steel or pigment industries.

Jan 1, 2017

By D. M. Richards

"IntroductionThe Highland Valley Copper partnership was formed in July 1986 as a logical result of a mine with a large ore reserve but a small mill, and a mine with a large, modern mill but dwindling ore reserves. The original partnership of Cominco and Rio Algom was expanded in January 1988 to include Highmont Mining Company. During 1988/89 the Highmont mill was moved 7.5 km to adjoin the Lornex mill, becoming the Highland mill in the process, with a nominal capacity of 130 000 tonnes per day.The mine is located near the town of Logan Lake, 220 km northeast of Vancouver, British Columbia and 55 km southwest of Kamloops. The map in Figure 1 shows the general area. Kamloops is a major service centre and is served by two railways, two major roads and a regional airport. The mine site is situated between 1200 m and 1600 m above sea level on the Thompson Plateau. Principle activities in the area, in addition to mining, are cattle ranching and forestry. Ore reserves at the beginning of 1996 totaled 533 million tonnes at a grade of 0.42% copper and 0.008% molybdenum. Ore is mined from two pits — Valley, 3 km northwest of the mill; and Lornex, 1 km southwest of the mill. With 78% of the reserves, the Valley pit is the focus of activity.In order for Highland Valley Copper to remain competitive with a very low grade ore reserve, it has been necessary throughout the mine’s life for new technologies to be embraced as they become available. These have included such diverse technologies as in-pit crushing and conveying, large mechanical drive trucks, computerized truck dispatch and oneman survey instruments. During the next few years, it is planned to introduce two further technologies that are relatively new to both the world at large and the mining industry in particular. These are namely Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and Geographical Information Systems (GIS), both of which are expected to have a major impact on the way mining is carried out in the years to come."

Jan 1, 1997

By F. D. Aaring

"IntroductionTHE PINCHER CREEK gas condensate field, in Township 3, Range 28, and Townships 3 and 4, Range 29, West of the Fourth Meridian, was discovered in 1947 by the Canadian Gulf Oil Company with the completion of Pincher Creek No. 1 well in the Madison lime-stone of Mississippian age.This discovery was the result of a great deal of detailed seismic work in the area and is a credit to the geophysical personnel of the Company. The depth of the reservoir varies from 7,400 feet to 8,200 feet subsea, with the established water level at -8,200 feet. The predicted depth was but a scant 100 feet from that found in the discovery well, at 11, 705 feet. Since the discovery of the reservoir, three additional wells have penetrated the Madison limestone and have further verified the original •seismic interpretation of the limits of this reservoir.To date, •only a very small amount of gas has been produced from this field. Consequently, the reservoir studies that have been made so far are predominantly based on investigations of the phase behaviour of the fluid and physical characteristics of the reservoir rock. In view of the above limitations, it has been necessary to set up and perform model reservoir studies with the fluids and to recover as much core from the productive Madison limestone as possible in order that it might be analysed by conventional laboratory technique and be subjected to detailed microscopic geological examination."

Jan 1, 1952

By Sejong Kim, Younghoon Moon, Youngseon Lee, Eunyoo Yoon, Yonghyun Song

"Mg alloy has a high specific strength, however, their thickness reduction was limited on most parts because of their poor stiffness. Since the modulus of rigidity is an intrinsic property, improvement of modulus of rigidity to the enhancement of stiffness is impossible. Therefore, the modification of shape and structure is available method to enhance the stiffness of real part fabricated by Mg alloy sheet. There are many thin walled parts which are located in outer section of electromagnetic system.Poor stiffness is often shown on wide surface area part with steel sheet, which has also high modulus of rigidity. In these cases, various groove patterns are used to increase the stiffness of part. However, some different methods have to be used when general groove pattern can’t be used. So, we would like to propose some new method to high stiffness on thin walled precision forging of Al or Mg alloys.An effect of proposed method on stiffness enhancement can be confirmed by fabrication of prototypes as well as structure and forming analysis based on FEM."

Jan 1, 2015

By B. W. Smee

Glacial lake sediments or glaciolacustrine deposits form a significant portion of the Canadian, Scandinavian and Russian landscapes. Furthermore, 50 per cent of the Archean volcanic belts within the Canadian Shield area are covered wholly or in part by these deposits. Because of the high electrical conductivity and low hydraulic conductivity of these compact sediments, the application of geophysical (electrical) and geochemical techniques in such areas becomes a difficult task. The presence of these sediments has therefore hampered exploration for metallic sulphide deposits in some of the most important metallogenic environments of Canada. Similar problems exist in some tropical countries, such as Australia, where the overburden may be very conductive. In this paper, the extent and provenance of the glaciolacustrine deposits within the Canadian Shield are described. The geochemical and geophysical factors that hinder exploration in the clay belts are reviewed, with case histories of successful and unsuccessful applications of some of these techniques. The most successful geochemical technique used within glacial clay belts is the sampling of lodgement till beneath the clay cover, and the analysis of the heavy mineral fraction of that till. Surficial sampling has not been successfully applied. Some geophysical techniques, more specifically electromagnetic and magnetic induced-polarization techniques, have detected mineralization beneath substantially deep clay or saline overburden layers. Some suggestions have been made, such as the use of anions in hydrogeochemical surveys and the use of wide-band multi-frequency EM systems. When implemented, they will hopefully make the current geochemical and geophysical methods more effective in exploration for base metal sulphides within clay-covered terrains.

Jan 1, 1979

By C. M. Diaz, P. J. Mackey

Since its inception, in 1987, the Copper-Cobre series of conferences has established itself as the prime world forum for discussing advances in copper process metallurgy, in particular copper sulfide smelting, copper recovery by leaching and electrowinning and copper electrorefining. All copper producing countries have actively participated in the pyrometallurgy symposia held in the framework of these conferences. In 1999 and 2003, the close to 100 pyrometallurgy papers that were presented had to be accommodated in two volumes. In the present paper, the authors firstly provide a brief historical sketch of the Copper-Cobre conferences and then focus on providing a retrospective look at the dramatic changes that have taken place in copper smelting in the last few decades, primarily as discussed in the Copper-Cobre and precursor conferences pyrometallurgy proceedings. Topics include: the development of autogenous, increasingly more intensive, environmentally sound and energy efficient smelting processes; significant improvements in Peirce-Smith converting practice and at the same time the commercialization of alternative continuous converting routes; the consequent expansion and modernization of smelters; the increasing compliance with strict government environmental regulations in most copper producing regions of the world; the realignment of the copper smelting industry throughout the world; and trends in copper smelting R&D. A look at the future closes these reflections on the contribution of the Copper-Cobre conferences to the advancement of copper smelting technology.

Jan 1, 2007

The Cooperative Research Centre for Mining Technology and Equipment (CMTE) is funded by the Commonwealth Government, by its mining research members Ñ the Universities of Queensland and Sydney and the CSIRO1, and by its industry members Ñ BHP Coal, RioTinto R&TD, Hamersley Iron, Mining Technologies Australia, Pasminco, Shell Coal, WMC Resources, Advanced Mining Technologies, and Aberfoyle. The Centre conducts work aimed at improving the competitiveness of the Australian mining industry. The current work is focused in four areas: new mining and drilling systems, geological sensing, automation, and equipment maintenance and reliability. This paper describes much of the work in these program areas that relates to metalliferous mining.

Jan 1, 2001

By M. Tiedtke, T. Crary, P. MacPhail, M. Ounpuu

"The SGS carbon-in-pulp (CIP) / carbon-in-leach (CIL) model was used to evaluate and optimize the carbon circuit at Alamos Gold’s Young-Davidson Mine. Plants samples (pulp and carbon) were tested in a series of small scale batch experiments to determine rates of gold leaching and adsorption on carbon from a combined flotation concentrate/tailing product. The testwork data, along with existing plant data were then used to model the performance of the existing CIL plant and optimize the circuit to improve performance and overall recovery. The primary purpose of the modelling exercise was to determine the most cost effective way to lower solution losses at the plant. The modelling was also used to learn how the various parameters in the CIL circuit affect solution losses and the gold inventory tied up on the carbon. This resulted in recommendations for minor changes in the CIL flowsheet, which were successfully implemented in the plant. The approach, results and plant changes are presented.INTRODUCTION This paper presents the details from testwork conducted on samples from Alamos Gold’s Young- Davidson gold mine which is located near the town of Matachewan, approximately 60 km west of Kirkland Lake in Northern Ontario, within the southwestern part of the Abitibi Greenstone Belt. The objective of the test program (completed by SGS Canada in 2013) was to investigate and model the combined flotation concentrate / tailing carbon-in-leach (CIL) circuit and suggest ways to improve gold recovery. The metallurgical test program included mineralogy, rheology, and carbon modelling testwork. Plant information was provided during the test program and used in the optimization process. Upon completion of the testwork, plant changes were recommended and implemented at site (October 2014). Plant results from 2014 to 2017 confirmed the modelling results."

Jan 1, 2018

By J. Chelsey Dawson

In presenting a thesis on this subject it is advisable to explain a few of the reasons for its seeming incompleteness. World progress has brought us to a position where approximations are not only to be condoned, but regarded as absolute essentials. Production in anticipation of demand is always accompanied by mistakes on the part of the producers. Only through trial and sometimes erring hypotheses may there be evolved the true course and theory upon which the steady triumphant march of world-wide industry depends. The average person likes to have everything placed ?before him in a clear and convincing manner. It is the impossibility of doing this which, in many cases, arises to confound the writer on shales. All that one can do is to present, as lucidly as possible, the known hypotheses' and theories on the subject and leave the reader to study and work out the truth for himself. Many theories have been advanced on the origin of oil-shales ; some may be correct in certain instances and not in others; however, the writer will attempt no decision as to which are and which are not correct, but .will merely point out the relative merits of each. The figures given for reserves of oil and shale in different countries are only approximations and give but a rough idea of the true conditions.

Jan 1, 1925

By K. Purazrang, P. Musavi Garavi, P. Sh. Naseri, P. Abachi

The fracture behavior of high strength Al7050 alloy was investigated at room and elevated temperatures using small size, V-notched tear (called Kahn specimen) and compact tension, CT, specimens, respectively.To study the elastic-plastic behavior of the alloy, the tensile test was also performed on the sub-sized cylindrical tension test specimen. The microstructure of the alloy was examined using optical- and scanning electron- microscopy. The rupture mechanisms and crack path were also studied by examination of specimens' fracture surfaces using SEM. The microstructure examination revealed equiaxed grains and some elongated grains in rolling direction, with the areas of partial re-crystallized grains where coarse intermetallic particles are mostly found.In general, fracture surfaces were indicative of dimpled ductile type. Considering the fractographs of tensile specimens, the void growth mechanism is also dominant in fracture of these specimens. Nevertheless, in some regions, smooth areas can be observed due to the friction during rupture process. The results of mechanical tests at RT made the evaluation of tear strength to 0.2 % tensile yield strength ratio, as a measure of notch toughness, available. According to elevated temperature, 150°C, test results and plots of log da/dt vs. log KI , the crack propagation behavior over discrete ranges of crack growth rates could be assumed linear and then be obeyed as a power law equation in the form of da/dt = A (KI)n .

Jan 1, 2015