Search Documents

"Real-time, on belt analysis of minerals is becoming increasingly important and critical in modern operations, especially in the mine-to-mill. Prompt gamma neutron activation analysis has long been utilised for real-time elemental analysis in bulk materials, with Scantech's GEOSCAN being the instrument of choice in the minerals sector. Working in the minerals space for 15 years, the GEOSCAN has been successfully implemented in a wide range of minerals applications including iron, copper, lead-zinc, manganese, phosphate and more, and it caters for the very high demands and increasing requirements of a contemporary processing facility. An area of focus has been on increasing the analysis frequency to allow for rapid analysis results with the same high degree of accuracy typically expected of the GEOSCAN. This paper discusses the underlying research and technology that has enabled such rapid analysis and presents a range of examples using a thorough statistical approach on real production material, demonstrating achievable accuracy over a short analysis time, and dispelling common myths about the speed of the technique. Potential applications are discussed to conclude the paper.INTRODUCTION Technology and the information it can provide plays a critical role in the evolving modern mineral processing landscape. The importance of technology to analyse various features of ores and concentrates being processed is obvious, and recent years has seen the advance of numerous technologies to provide a variety of real-time measurements on conveyed material flows. From sampling apparatus to particle size analysis to weight and density meters to full elemental analysis, the availability of information enables a variety of improvements in the process leading to improved efficiency and increased revenue. To maximise the potential benefits, access to real-time information is imperative, and rapid updates of information become necessary to make appropriate process control decisions based on the most relevant and up-to-date information."

Jan 1, 2017

By D. Duffy, V. Papangelakis

"MgCl2 brines present a number of potential advantages for the processing of saprolite ores for nickel production. With a chloride system it is economically requisite to recover hydrochloric acid, which can be performed in a more energy efficient manner by precipitation and subsequent decomposition, as compared with conventional pyrohydrolysis. In addition, concentrated MgCl2 solutions enhance the activity of acid used, allow atmospheric leaching at elevated temperature and inhibit magnesium dissolution, which reduces acid consumption and increases metal selectivity. Leaching and iron control experiments have been conducted in concentrated MgCl2 brines, up to 4.5 m, to determine the most amenable process conditions. INTRODUCTIONChloride metallurgy has received an increasing amount of attention in recent years, especially with respect to the treatment of nickel laterites. Although the limonitic fraction can sometimes be economically treated by High Pressure Acid Leaching (HPAL), acid-consumption problems are encountered with the higher magnesium content of the saprolite fraction. As magnesium does not hydrolyze under HPAL conditions, as iron and aluminum do, any sulphuric acid used to leach magnesium is subsequently neutralized and wasted. In addition, this magnesium must later be disposed of in some fashion, further complicating the process. The most common method used to process saprolite is the Rotary Kiln-Electric Furnace (RKEF). This uses a kiln to dry and preferentially reduce nickel, before sending the calcine to an electric furnace. Although nickel recoveries are high, and the problems of acid consumption are avoided, the capital and energy costs associated with this process are high (de Bakker, 2011).The problems outlined above have led to the investigation of an atmospheric chloride process for the treatment of saprolite ores. The use of a chloride system presents a number of advantages, but also a few limitations. Metal chlorides tend to be very soluble, with a few notable exceptions (silver, mercury and lead), allowing for smaller processing equipment through more concentrated solutions. This solubility also serves to reduce the potential for scale formation. In addition, a hydrochloric acid leach is more aggressive than a comparable sulphuric acid system, and the activity of the hydrogen ion can be augmented by further chloride addition (Peek, 2011). This activity augmentation in concentrated chloride systems, first reported by Jansz, has repeatedly been referenced as a motivating factor behind chloride hydrometallurgy (Jansz, 1983; Harris and Magee, 2003; Harris et al., 2004; Demopoulos et al., 2008; McDonald and Whittington, 2008; Demopoulos, 2011; Peek, 2011; Verhulst and Lakshmanan, 2011). This activity increase allows a similar amount of acid to perform more in a concentrated solution than in a dilute solution, decreasing overall acid requirements. As such, much focus has been placed on leaching in concentrated chloride systems, or brines, using calcium, magnesium or sodium as the cation (McDonald and Whittington, 2008)."

Jan 1, 2012

By Shen Zhengchang, Dong Ganguo, Chen Dong, Zhang Ming

"It is advantageous to process low grade ores with large scale flotation cells. Large-scale flotation cells have been enhanced with effective volume scale-up. In this paper, the latest and largest flotation cell with effective volume of 680 m3 in China is investigated. The hydrodynamics and flotation kinetics characteristics are conducted using CFD simulation. The similar circulating flow is formed compared to the previous BGRIMM (Beijing General Research Institute of Mining and Metallurgy) flotation cell and it is a suitable fluid dynamics environment. It is demonstrated that the flotation cell produces good gas dispersion and solid suspension. It is indicated that kinetic eddy dissipation plays a key role on collision kernel and collision probability profile. The higher collision probability profile appears at the impeller and stator regions aiding good metallurgical performances. The properties of the large-scale flotation cell are assessed using hydrodynamic numbers. The variation of hydrodynamic numbers such as the power number Np, the Froude number Fr, the air flow number Na, etc with flotation cell volumes show similar properties to previous flotation cells proven to be good in engineering applications. This research would aid structure optimization of the 680 m3 flotation cell.INTRODUCTIONFroth flotation is one of the mains method used in the mineral industry, which is used to process the most of metallic minerals. The proportion of low grade ores has increased with the minerals exploited around world. The increased capacity of concentrators demands large-scale flotation cells. Therefore, flotation equipment has seen a significant increase in size, for which large-scale flotation cells have prominent advantages in improving metallurgical performances, reducing area of plant blueprint printer, lowering the power consumption of the unit ore, decreasing labor cost and overall capital cost. Since the end of 1940’s, flotation cell sizes have continuously increased. To the end of 1990’s, flotation cells with the effective volume of 200 m3 were developed. In the last two decades, flotation cells have achieved a dramatic increase in size. In 2003, an industrial experiment on 257 m3 Smart Cell flotation cells was carried out in Minera Los-Pelambres, Chile. In 2007, the first 300 m3 Tank Cell flotation cell was designed and obtained industrial application in Macraes gold ore, New Zealand. And 320 m3 BGRIMM flotation cells are also in good operation in Toromocho Copper Mine, Peru and Wunugetushan Copper Mine, China. However, flotation cells are conventionally designed using empirically derived relations and geometric similarity. The continual scale-up of flotation cells is still a significant developing process. A 500 m3 Tank Cell was designed for the industrial experiment in Finland and a 620 m3 Tank Cell have also been completed the design. A 660 m3 Super Cell also was manufactured for the industrial experiment released in IMPC 2014. So, the flotation cells with volume exceeding 600 m3 become a pioneering research field for researchers worldwide."

Jan 1, 2016

By Ausenco Engineering Canada

"This paper demonstrates the selection of grinding circuit technology for a number of recent projects including discussion of the key drivers and the role of energy efficiency. Decreasing head grades combined with a strong and sustained increase in operating costs has forced miners to examine increased project size, increased equipment capacity and efficiency improvements in order to reduce their unit operating costs and improve overall project economics. Comminution energy consumption, safety and capital cost considerations play a critical role in the success of projects. This paper presents some key guidelines for a successful and cost effective comminution circuit design and includes a case study on three projects, outlining the issues and the drivers which led to the ultimate circuit selection and the critical role that energy efficiency played.INTRODUCTIONComminution circuits for minerals processing are selected based on their suitability and efficiency in reducing run-of-mine ore to the desired feed size for the downstream process. The input material (ore) properties and downstream process requirements are the key determinants and there are standard approaches for each circumstance.The minerals processing industry has been a fast adaptor of efficiency improvements based on increasing capacity of equipment (e.g. trucks, crushers, mills, pumps) but less successful in adapting radically new technologies that disrupt incumbent flowsheets or processes.The installed power of grinding mills has increased linearly over the past 25 years (Meka & Lane, 2010) and pumps and classification equipment have kept pace. The autogenous grinding (AG) and semiautogenous grinding (SAG) mills displaced stage crushing as a dominant method of coarse rock breakage in many applications causing crusher manufactures to increase the capacity of cone crushers to meet the competitive demand.Examples of new comminution technology in the 20th and 21st centuries are the development and adoption of cyclone classification in the 1940s (Newtech, 2016), AG milling in the late 1950s, vertical grinding mills in the 1980s, high pressure grinding rolls (HPGRs) also in the 1980s and ultrafine milling technology in the 1990s (Meka & Lane, 2010)."

Jan 1, 2016

By J. L. Feng, F. Zhang, S. K. Hu

"Cracking is one of the most serious damages in tunnel linings, which is often observed by in-situ inspection to tunnel engineering. It is difficult to better characterise for the deformations from continua to discontinua by the traditional continuum mechanics due to emerging of crack initiation, crack propagation, and coalescence, at several scales. In this paper, the process of failure that was from micro damage to macro crack in concrete tunnel linings under experimental load conditions, was quantitatively simulated by the combined finite-discrete element method (FDEM). Comparison of the simulating results with that obtained by the full-scale test of concrete lining under different loading conditions in the literature was respectively good agreed and shows that such FDEM technique is appropriate to model the continuousdiscontinuous problems. The present study indicates that the FDEM technique could be benefit to quantitatively evaluate the stability and damage level of tunnel lining system. INTRODUCTIONMost damage to tunnel linings is caused during the construction phase, which can emerge in a form of single macro cracks or even large-scale spalling. The cause of such damage is mostly the occurrence of, either impermissibly large contact stresses resulting from high thrust loads combined with production and installation tolerances in the segments resulting in a geometrical lack of fit (Maidl et al., 2012; Transportation Research Board, Basic Research and Emerging Technologies Related to Concrete Committee, 2006), or unallowable tensile/shear stresses appearing in the tunnel linings under complicated loading conditions (Ansell, 2010). Such a macro failure phenomenon may also be regarded to as a result of growth, coalescence, initiation of microcracks in tunnel linings due to the complicated loading action, and even potentially lead to an instability or collapse of the local or entire tunnel system. Much work has been devoted to investigate for the characters of micro and macro cracks, the influence factors of damage patterns, the settlement of a tunnel, the width, length and density of lining cracks, especially from classifiedly and qualitatively (Wang, 2010; Huang et al., 2013). However, the safety evaluation of tunnel is definitely required to not only inspect in situ, but further also quantify computing and analyzing for tunnel lining systems, so as to provide a global viewpoint of process of the tunnel deformation, which aims to help for subsequent decisions, e.g. controlling traffic flow or immediately repairing task. Additionally, the design of lining thickness and its structural analysis that is mostly determined by previous experience and similar construction examples is also needed to be improved."

Jan 1, 2015

By Omero Alonso-Gonzalez, Sergio Haro-Rodriguez, Ricardo Solis-Rodriguez, Francisco Alvarado-Hernandez, Juan Antonio Gonzalez-Anaya, Héctor Rene Vega-Carrillo

"Precious metals are currently associated with refractory minerals such as telluride (Calaverite, Sylvanite, etc.) and selenium (Naumannite Ag2Se), which are difficult to dissolve through traditional methods, therefore it is necessary to perform a pretreatment (oxidative or roasting) preceding the process of leaching by cyanidation. In this preliminary work the aim was to study the use of solvent extraction to remove tellurium and selenium ions from a synthetic cyanidation effluent, with the purpose of recycling the cyanide back to the process. For the extraction of these anions, TeO32- and SeO42-, tallow trimethyl ammonium chloride (Quatarmina TPR) and hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium chloride (Amine F) were studied as extractants, using nonylphenol as a modifier in the organic phase (trimethylpentane). The results show that it is possible to recover 82% of selenium and 10% of tellurium from synthetic solutions containing either 20 mg/L Se or 20 mg/L of Te, respectively The Se or Te mole ratio to cyanide was 1:4.INTRODUCTION In relation to extraction of precious metals, the cyanidation process has been in use for over a century and despite environmental and toxicological problems it remains the most widely used and economical process available. In the late 90s, there were great efforts to recover gold and silver from refractory ores, which is difficult to do by simple cyanidation. To improve gold recovery from tellurides and selenides that occurs in some new mines, the ores are pretreated by roasting. This is one of the most effective ways of rendering refractory gold ores leachable as well as being a fast pretreatment process compared with bio-oxidation or pressure leaching (Aylmore, 2001). The most important tellurides minerals are Calaverite (AuTe2) and, Silvanite (Au, Ag)2Te4). In the case of selenides, minerals include Naumannite (Ag2Se) and Aguilarite (Ag4SeS) (Ostroumov et al., 1989). Examples of deposits containing telluride include La Bambolla Mine (Sonora, Mexico), Cripple Greek (Colorado, USA), and Kalgoorlie (Western Australia) (Aguayo et al., 1996). The main purpose of this work was to explore the feasibility of using quaternary ammonium salts such as: tallow trimethyl ammonium chloride (Quatarmina TPR) and hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium chloride (amine F) to extract tellurium and selenium anions from aqueous synthetic cyanidation effluents, so that the cyanide solution could be recycled back to leaching process. The tests were performed on synthetic solutions similar to those found in a mine: 20 mg/L Te as TeO32-, 20 mg/L Se as SeO42- and mole ratio to cyanide was 1:4. using an alkaline medium with pH ranging from 8 to 12. Two aspects are evaluated in this paper:"

Jan 1, 2017

By S. Ando

The fatigue crack growth behavior of magnesium single crystal has been investigated, CT (compact tension) type specimens with different notch orientations were prepared. In the case of notch plane and direction are (1-210) and [10-10], fatigue crack propagates parallel to notch, From TEM observation, it is found that pyramial slips occures at the crack tip. When notch is normal to basal plane, a fatigue crack propagates [0001] and parallel to basal plane depending on stress intensity factor range, In the case of notch parallel to basal plane, a fatigue crack propagates through straight route with some {10-12} twin, Fatigue crack growth rate, da/dN of A- and B- specimen is lower than F-specimen with crack parallel to basal plane.

Jan 1, 2004

By Peter Hayes, Evgueni Jak, Taufiq Hidayat, Gary O’Connell, Denis Shishin, Jeff Chen, Francis Letarte

"Knowledge of slag properties is required for the optimisation of smelting operations. The phase equilibria and viscosities of the Al2O3-CaO-FeO-Fe2O3-MgO-MnO-NiO-Cr2O3-SiO2 slags at conditions of interest to Koniambo Ni-laterite smelting operations have been investigated. High-temperature re-equilibration phase equilibrium experiments of industrial slags followed by rapid quenching and direct measurement of phase compositions using electron probe X-ray microanalysis (EPMA) have been undertaken in the olivine and pyroxene primary phase fields at temperatures between 1475 and 1600°C and SiO2/MgO weight ratios between 1.57 and 2.09. Phase equilibria predictions were performed using FactSage thermodynamic software. A slag viscosity model available in the FactSage thermodynamic package has been used to calculate the viscosities of the liquid slags. The Einstein-Roscoe equation combined with the predicted phase equilibria data have been used to estimate the viscosities of the slag slurries (slag + solids). The information provided can be used to assist in the evaluation of the furnace performance, to assess further optimisation of slag composition and to explore possibilities of targeted feed changes.INTRODUCTION One of the key steps in the production of ferronickel from nickel laterite ore at Koniambo Nickel SAS involves reduction and smelting of pre-dried nickel-bearing saprolitic ore (high Mg and Si) in an electric furnace at temperatures up to 1650°C. The characterisation of the slag properties as functions of key operational parameters, such as, temperature and composition, including liquidus, the proportions of solids and viscosity, is essential for improving control and optimisation of the operations. The slag produced in the smelting process is a complex oxide system with the major chemical components including Al2O3, CaO, Cr2O3, “FeO”, MgO, “MnO”, “NiO” and SiO2. Characterisation of these multi-component systems using a solely experimental approach becomes increasingly complex as the number of components is increased."

Jan 1, 2017

By P. A. Crane, N. Shirley, Aung Moe, H. M. Nicholson, D. Kan

Kazakhstan’s first commercial copper-leach solvent extraction-electrowinning plant, Central Asia Metals’ Kounrad project, was commissioned in April 2012. Exploiting low grade waste stockpiles produced during Soviet era open pit mining, a 10,000 tpa copper cathode plant was designed, constructed and commissioned within 18 months. Overcoming initial challenges with a workforce unfamiliar with the technology and with extensive periods of sub-zero conditions during winter the project has consistently met targets and produced high quality copper cathodes at cash costs of less than US$1/lb. Challenges encountered during the first two years of operation are described and future plans briefly discussed.

Jan 1, 2014

By Bai-ru Xia, Cang-qin Jia, Qi-wu Huang

Limit Analysis Theorems has revealed to be a powerful tool for the development of numerical models aiming the determination of the load bearing capacity of structures reached by plastic collapse. This work presents a numerical formulation for the computation of strict upper bounds of the collapse loads of rigid-perfectly plastic mechanical systems, derived within the kinematical theorem framework. A key advance of this present method is that the problem is described only in terms of nodes and discontinuities connecting those nodes rather than element or bodies. The alternative approximation procedure to the traditional finite element method might involve discretization of a given body using a suitably large number of nodes laid out on a grid, with the failure mechanism comprising the most critical subset of potential discontinuities interconnecting these nodes. Potential discontinuities which interlink nodes laid out across the problem domain are permitted to crossover one another, giving a much wider search space than when such discontinuities are located only at the edges of finite elements of fixed topology. Highly efficient interior point method solvers can be employed when certain popular failure criteria are specified (e.g. Mohr-Coulomb). By adopting this processing approach it is possible to solve very large problems which normally exceed the memory capacities of a single computer. The developed numerical tool reveals to be robust and versatile, able to solve a wide range of 2D problems. Velocity singularities are automatically identified and visual interpretation of the output is straightforward. Several numerical examples including rock slope are studied by the new method, and the results are very close to those calculated by using analytical method and FEM.

Jan 1, 2015

By Claude Hubert, Robert Sansfaçon

"The Malartic gold camp includes the Malartic Gold Fields, Barnat, East-Malartic, Canadian Malartic and Sladen mines. From 1935 to 1984, these mines have yielded 212 403 kg of gold. They occur within a 900 m wide belt of highly sheared, dislocated and faulted volcanic and sedimentary rocks (Piché and part of the Pontiac groups) herein named the Malartic Tectonic Znne (MTZ). The zone trends WNW-ESE and separates two lithotectonic sedimentary domains, the Cadillac to the north and the Pontiac to the south. The sedimentary domains are characterized by their coherent fold generations consisting of open to tight reclined and recumbent F1 folds that have been refolded into series of asymmetric upright F2 folds. A flat-lying schistosity (S1 ) and a vertical pressure-solution cleavage (S2) are ubiquitous throughout. Discrete sets of brittle and brittleductile faults are synchronous and parallel to each of these two fabrics.The MTZ trends N320° in the northwestern sector of the town of Malartie, changing to N2800 at its easternmost extremity. The Malartie and Sladen faults constitute its northern and southern boundaries respectively. These two faults also bound another set of faults oriented N305°. Throughout the MTZ, the faults at N280° and N320° and those at N305° outline a series of anastomosed motifs that constitute the principal structural feature of the Malartic district. Locally, a fourth set of minor faults at N065° combines with the other three prominent sets. All these faults have disrupted the gold-bearing volcanic, sedimentary and intrusive rocks encountered throughout the MTZ.The MTZ comprises numerous lozenge-shaped blocks of komatiites and basalts or greywackes and black shales which are cut by disjointed dikes, sills and small intrusions of felsic and mafic rocks. The latter includes gabbro, diorite, lamprophyre, monzonite and pegmatite. They frequently fill conjugate sets of fractures. In some areas, they are clustered into coalescent intrusions. The present morphology of these intrusive bodies( cube, chocolate-tablet boudin, parallel epiped and cigar) is not representative of their primary forms but the result of late shearing and faulting indicative of a major tectonic event subsequent to their emplacement. The intrusions were injected during a brittle stage of deformation related to the F1 folding but prior to the development of the F2 folds and subsequent tearing and shearing by late brittle and brittle-ductile faults . The ultramafic and mafic rocks are intensely altered to serpentine, tremolite, actinolite, carbonate, biotite, hematite and pyrite according to the nature of their proto/it h. In the vicinity of the MTZ, all lithologies exhibit mineral assemblages indicative of the upper greenschist or lower amphibolite facies of metamorphism.The structural evolution of the MTZ involved superimposed folding, shearing, transposition, mylonitization, brittle and brittle-ductile faulting. Each lenticular motif results from the combined effect of conjugate sets of shear zones that outline lozenge-shaped blocks where strain markers indicate different strain states from cores to margins. Bedding in ultramafic flows and/or sedimentary rocks is either NW-SE or NE-SW within the blocks but, in the vicinity of the Malartie and S laden faults, it has been rotated to become subparallel to the faults.Ore shoots are most commonly associated with altered and deformed bodies of diorite and monzonite, or some mafic and ultramafic schists and, at the Canadian Malartic, Sladen and East Malartic mines, with metasedimentary rocks. The shoots occur in close proximity to the various faults of the MTZ but the gold itself is intimately associated with pyrite, biotite and carbonate in halos bordering fractures crisscrossing the different host rocks. The density of fractures and the width of their altered zones have been significant parameters in the production of economic ore shoots. Grains of gold are visible in some veins of quartz a"

Jan 1, 1990

By T. Wajima

"A novel carbonaceous adsorbent for recovery of nickel from nickel plating waste solution was prepared from rice straw using sulfur impregnation. The rice straws were cut to 1 cm pieces, and then immersed in 0.01 - 3 M K2S solution to prepare sulfur-immersed materials. The immersed-materials were heated at 100-700 ºC in nitrogen gas to produce the sulfur-impregnated carbonaceous adsorbent by pyrolysis. The contents of carbon and sulfur in the adsorbent and abilities of adsorbent to recovery nickel from aqueous solution were examined. The contents of carbon and sulfur in sulfur-immersed materials are almost same as those in raw material. In pyrolysis, with increasing the heating temperature to 200 ºC, the contents of carbon and sulfur are almost constant, and then above 300 ºC those increase. The recovery for nickel using raw material, sulfur-immersed material and the product pyrolyzed at 100 - 200 ºC are almost same, and with increasing the heating temperature to 400 ºC, that of the product increases, and above 500 ºC that of the product decreases. In immerse step, with increasing K2S concentration, the carbon content of the product at 400 ºC gradually decreases, the sulfur content of the product increases, and the recovery for nickel using the product gradually increases and then above 1 M K2S decrease. The product prepared from material immersed in 1 M K2S solution at 400 ºC indicates a maximum recovery for nickel ion. The product can adsorb nickel ion in nickel plating waste solution coexisting with phosphate ion, and adsorbed nickel ion in the product was deposited as nickel metal after heating at 1000 ºC under N2 atmosphere.INTRODUCTIONRice is the second world’s largest cereal crop after wheat, but produces large amount of straw residues, of about 330 million metric tonnes. Rice is a widely grown crop in Asia, and rice straw is produced as a by-product of rice production. In most parts of rice fields, open-field burning of rice straw is commonly practiced in the region when there is limited time to prepare a field for the next crop. However, open-field burning of crop residues is an uncontrolled combustion process during which air pollutants are emitted into atmosphere. These air pollutants have significant toxicological properties and are potential carcinogens (Gadede et al., 2009). Although wildfires are prohibited in cultivation fields of most countries, farmers usually keep on burning their crop by-products. Biomass burning is an important source of aerosol particles which may affect local and regional air quality (Gao et al., 2011), and also contribute to global climate changes."

Jan 1, 2016

By N. Valkanov

This paper presents results of an investigation into the connection between minerals liberation management and flotation, responding to lead-zinc concentrator ?Erma reka?, in Bulgaria. Monitoring of a Zn flotation circuit was carried out. The causes for the high silica content in the final Zn concentrate were established. Quartz is present mainly as liberated particles (> 60?80 %) in the fine fractions of the products; therefore the selectivity of the flotation process is not effective. Two approaches were tested to reduce the quartz content of Zn concentrate: froth washing in Zn cleaner flotation and new gangue depressants in the Zn circuit. Experimental results from bench-scale flotation and industrial tests show that it is possibile to reduce the silica content of final Zn concentrate more than 2 times without the need for extensive regrinding. The depression of liberated quartz particles on all operations of Zn circuit using stage depressant addition is the right solution to produce high-grade Zn concentrate that meets the metallurgical requirements.

Aug 1, 2013

By A. Pawelczyk, D. Hreniak, E. Zych, W. Strek, K. Grabas, A. Ostrowski

"Nowadays recycling became an important rare earth elements (REE) source, which allows to reduce their demand for extraction from natural deposits. At present, the used fluorescent lamps and old type TV or computer monitors kinescopes are selectively collected and undergo processing in the system of recycling. It has been estimated, that utilization of such waste would be sufficient to cover the REE demand for the next 5-8 years. In the developed process, the luminophores were separated from the electronic and electronic waste materials, and processed by hydrometallurgical methods to obtain concentrated REE in form of oxides. INTRODUCTIONInternational Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) defines the rare earths as a set of seventeen chemical elements, specifically the fifteen lanthanides plus scandium and yttrium. They are considered the most important indicators of the developed technologies and techniques. Rare earths are used, amongst others, for the production of magnetic and superconducting materials, ceramics, lighting, catalytic converters, advanced electronics and alloys. The demand for RE continually increases, similarly to many other primary raw materials. Globalization, the growing demand for limited resources of raw materials, the policy of the countries controlling the raw material market and the economic crisis became a spur for new programs of socio-economic development of the European Union (EU), with particular regard to EU safety for commodities in intermediary as well as long-term horizons (COM 2008), COM 2011).EU countries import most of metallic and chemical raw materials important for their economy. In 2008 a detailed program named Raw Material Initiative was announced. The increase in demand for most raw materials having special importance for the development of technology, and access to of raw materials security of supply affect the future economies of the UE member states and other developed countries."

Jan 1, 2012

By K. Forsberg, A. Rasmuson, R. Rodriguez Varela, J. Martinez De La Cruz

"This study analyzes the separation of rare earth elements by means of a supported liquid membrane (SLM) with the final objective of recovering REE from an apatite concentrate (Alemrajabi, Forsberg, & Rasmuson, 2015; Mohammadi, Forsberg, Martinez de la Cruz, & Rasmuson, 2015). In this study, the feed phase consists of an aqueous phase containing REE, the membrane phase contains the organic solvent and carrier (D2EHPA and EHEHPA), and the stripping phase is a hydrochloric acid solution. An evaluation of mass fluxes, separation efficiency, and membrane performance is conducted. In order to analyze the suitability of liquid membranes in the extraction of REE, a deeper insight into the mechanisms causing instability is needed. In this study, surface tension is considered as the key factor of Marangoni instabilities and spontaneous emulsification.INTRODUCTIONThe demand of REE and their compounds has increased considerably due to their special physicochemical features that make them crucial elements for numerous high-tech applications, including wind turbines, hybrid cars, mobile phones, and defense technologies. They are also extensively utilized in traditional industries such as nuclear energy, petroleum, metallurgy, agriculture, and textiles (Xie, Zhang, Dreisinger, & Dyole, 2014; Zhang, Wu, Bian, & Zeng, 2014).Solvent extraction is widely used for the separation of REE (Xie et al., 2014; Zhao, Huo, Pan, Li, & Liu, 2014). Di-(2-ethylhexyl)-phosphoric acid (D2EHPA) and 2-ethylhexylphosphonic acid mono-2-ethylhexyl ester (EHEHPA) are two of the most effective extractants for the separation of rare earth elements among organophosphorus extractants (Gupta & Krishnamurthy, 2005). However, the difficulty in stripping loaded D2EHPA extractant, especially for heavy REE, has limited its utilization. Yttrium can be stripped at lower acidities in EHEHPA systems compared to D2EHPA systems (Gupta et al., 2005), but the extraction efficiency is lower. Conventional solvent extraction by mixer-settlers is restricted by its large solvent inventory and loading limits, and suffers from phase disengagement, emulsification, loss of solvent, and flooding problems (Swain, Jeong, Lee, & Lee, 2007). In this context, supported liquid membranes (SLMs) present a potential alternative due to their advantages, being low solvent inventory, process simplicity, low energy and operational costs, great enrichment ratio, and combination of extraction and stripping into one single step. A SLM is a system in which two aqueous phases are separated by an organic liquid membrane suspended in the pores of a porous support by capillary forces. One of the aqueous phases is the feed solution with the solute and the other is the stripping or receiving solution. The solute diffuses through the liquid membrane and then is extracted into the stripping solution (Kislik, 2010)."

Jan 1, 2016

Aur Resources is Canada's leading copper mining company with producing mines and development projects in North, Central and South America. Copper production from Louvicourt Mine in Quebec, Quebrada Blanca and Andacollo Mines in Chile was a record 245 million pounds in 2001. Located 600 km North of Montreal, Louvicourt Mine is a joint venture between Aur Resources (30%), Novicourt Inc (45%) and Teck-Cominco (25%). Aur Resources is the mine operator with 280 employees working to produce a copper and zinc concentrate. In operation since 1994, the mine has produced a total of 12,606,000 metric tonnes of ore grading 3.6% Cu, 1.5% Zn, 26 gr./m.t. Ag and 0.9 gr./m.t. Au. This highly mechanized mine reached full production in August 1995 at 4,000 tpd. From 1996 to 2001, the average mine production rate was more than 4,300 tpd. The Louvicourt Mine continued its record of solid performance in 2002 and is expected to continue to do so for the balance of its 2.5 years mine life.

May 1, 2003

By E. B. Wilson

"Although the Operations Research technique of Reliability Theory has been applied with marked success in many fields, including the Apollo spaceship programs, the concept of reliability has not been generally adopted in mining and other heavy industries. Of course, reliability, or the probability that a system will be able to operate without a failure for a given interval of time, does not require the same emphasis in mining as in the aerospace industries. Nevertheless, certain aspects of Reliability Theory can be followed advantageously. For example, reliability calculations can determine the best time to overhaul and whether to retain stand-by units.The usefulness of the pseudo-operations research technique known as Replacement Theory is more readily re-cognized by the maintenance engineers in mining and other heavy industries. One of the least complex models enables the optimum Lifetime of an asset to be determined."

Jan 1, 1970

By J. Ambrose, R. W. Zimmerman

"Shales are highly anisotropic in their mechanical behavior. The strength ( ??1) of anisotropic shales depends not only on the magnitude of the other two principal stresses ( ??2, ??3), but also on the bedding plane orientations (?) relative to the principal stresses. In this study, the role of the intermediate stress ( ??2) on the strength of shale is evaluated using new data from triaxial compression and extension tests. To understand the failure behavior of shales, we have carried out triaxial compression tests ( ??1 > ??2 = ??3) on two organic rich mudstones, at different confining stresses and loading angles. We first fit the triaxial compression data with Jaeger’s plane-of-weakness model, and find that the model is able to represent the strength behavior of anisotropic shales reasonably well. We then carried out five triaxial extension tests ( ??1 = ??2 > ??3) for a high strength-anisotropy shale, and two extension tests for a low strength-anisotropy shale. Results from the compression and extension tests for failure along the weak plane shows that the role of ??2 is not significant for weak plane failure. However, for the low strength-anisotropy shale, the failure strength of the intact rock (i.e., at ??= 0o and 90o) for compression and extension tests were significantly different. This indicates that for intact rock failure, the role of ??2 is important and cannot be ignored.INTRODUCTIONFor many years, various researchers have studied the roles of ??2 for failure of isotropic rocks. (Mogi, 1967 and 2007; Colmenares and Zoback, 2002; Al-Ajmi and Zimmerman, 2005 and 2006; Haimson, 2009; Ma and Haimson, 2012). The findings from these studies show that the effect of ??2 on the strength of isotropic rocks is generally significant, and cannot be ignored.Since the role of ??2 in the failure of isotropic rocks was recognized, other researchers attempted to extend some of these isotropic failure criteria to anisotropic rocks, but with limited success (e.g., Tiwari & Rao, 2007; Singh et al., 1998; Zhang and Zhu, 2007; Pei, 2008). Smith and Cheatham (1980), on the other hand, conducted true-triaxial experiments on the Green River Shale and used a J2-I1 type relationship to predict the strength behavior, but without considering the effect of the three-dimensional orientation of the weak plane on strength. Therefore, unlike for the case of isotropic rocks, additional studies need to be done to determine the role of 2 on the failure of anisotropic rocks."

Jan 1, 2015

By Robert J. Mitchell

A general approach to mine backfill design, including laboratory testing procedures, is outlined in this paper. Relationships between certain design parameters are developed and the effect of other factors is discussed. It is concluded that the inclusion of backfill design calculations at an early stage of mine design can often produce over-all design economies. Not only are the data needed for backfill plant and tailings disposal area design, but also the pillar recovery method and over-all mine stability are dependent on the attainable fill properties.

Jan 1, 1979

By I. Spector

A SHORTAGE of cement in the Prairie Provinces, together with an aggressive policy on the part of the Saskatchewan Government in bringing new industries to the province, combined to create a favourable set of conditions for the establishment of Saskatchewan's first cement plant on the outskirts of Regina. Built by Saskatchewan Cement Corporation Limited, this single-kiln plant, tl1e latest addition to cement producers on the Prairies, began operations in the Fall of 1956. Location of the plant followed the trend of building cement manufacturing facilities in market areas rather than at raw material sources. In 1957, all assets of the Corporation were taken over by Inland Cement Company Limited and the plant and quarry now operate as Saskatchewan Cement Company, an Inland division. The Regina plant's production makes up approximately eleven per cent of the productive capacity of all plants in the Prairie Provinces. At present, two types of cement are manufactured -normal portland and sulphate resisting.

Jan 1, 1960