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By Anna Maria Venezia

Bimetallic Au-Pd catalysts supported on amorphous silica-alumina (ASA) with vary amount of alumina (0, 8, 14, 28 and 100%) were prepared by the simultaneous reduction of palladium and gold precursors by ethanol in the presence of the polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses indicated formation of alloyed Au-Pd particles. Ammonia temperature programmed desorption measurements were performed to monitor the acid strength and the amount of acid sites on the catalysts after their reduction with 10%H2/Ar at 573 K for 1h. The effect of the support acidity on the catalytic activity was investigated in the simultaneous hydrogenation (HYD) of toluene (T) and naphthalene (NP) in the presence of dibenzothiophene (DBT). Coke formation was also determined. Under the selected conditions (P = 5.0 MPa, T = 523 K, WHSV = 41.2 h-1), all the catalysts were resistant to poisoning with 113 ppm of S (as DBT). The hydrogenation activity of toluene and the HDS activity of DBT were found to correlate with the concentration of the medium strength acid sites. The enhancement of the HYD activity and the S- tolerance was related to modifications of the electronic properties of the metal atom upon interaction with the Brönsted acid sites and upon intermetallic interaction.

Oct 1, 2003

By Jose A. Caceres

Mine planning and mineral processing optimization are usually treated as two unconnected problems, especially at open pit and panel caving mines where the cut-off grade is practically the only variable optimized and analyzed for in the planning proposes. Using existing planning tool, the output is a reserve consumption strategy privileging higher grades. With the earlier consumption of the highest grades, every year produces revenues which are closer to the cost and potentially even below cost. However, there are other ore characteristics that can also affect the profitability of the operation. A new methodology has been developed, incorporating the grinding and flotation relationship into the mining economic models for the simultaneous analysis and optimization of the throughput-work index-recovery relationship through changes in the mining limits, sequence and redefinition of the reserve consumption strategy. A mine-site that implements this new planning strategy, can expect to increase the NPV from 5 to 15% depending on the actual operational settings. Two case studies have been developed, showing how the inclusion of the work index in the economic model changes the phase and mining sequence in an open pit mine and the caving sequence and the optimum column height in a panel caving mine.

May 1, 2004

By M. P. Tibbs

An autonomous spray application system for a structural Thin Spray-on Liner (TSL) is targeting productivity and safety on underground coal continuous miners by potentially replacing steel mesh, and has broader applications as surface support and confinement in metalliferous mines and civil tunnelling. Polymer chemistry, coating formulation, geotechnical assessment and the autonomous application system are being developed as an integrated package as part of a continuous miner automation project. This polymer-based TSL system has significant benefits over conventional steel mesh skin confinement, including being more automatable by spray application, providing complete skin confinement and active skin reinforcement as a fast-curing composite with substrate, and having effective fire retardant properties for the polymer and the underlying coal. This paper presents a preliminary assessment of distance sensing systems that would enable autonomous adaptation of a nominal spray path to spray a consistent thickness of TSL (nominally 5mm) over an irregular topography. Two alternate sensors are assessed; firstly, a 2D LIDAR mounted on a linear axis is used to produce a 3D surface profile for generating an adapted spray path; and secondly, a robot end-effector-mounted ultrasonic sensor is assessed for wall following techniques to dynamically adapt a nominal spray path.

Aug 1, 2013

By Z. D. Hora

Numerous asbestos occurrences are known, and the Cassiar Mine in Northern British Columbia has been a major producer since 1952. The Kutcho Creek deposit is a large medium-grade deposit of potential economic interest. OF THE numerous British Columbia asbestos occurrences, only one mine exists. Another property, at Kutcho Creek, may be commercially viable. Cassiar Mine, in the northern part of the province, has been producing high-quality asbestos since 1952 and is described elsewhere in this volume. The Kutcho Creek property is situated north of Letain Lake about 125 km southeast of Cassiar Mine. The Kutcho Creek asbestos deposit comprises zoned chrysotile fibre veins in a well jointed and locally sheared serpentinite sill. The sill intrudes, more or less concordantly, a sequence of Devonian to Mississippian argillaceous Industrial Minerals in Canada metasedimentary, calcareous, and volcanic rocks. The light to dark green serpentinite contains crossfibre chrysotile veins that are usually less than 1 cm in width but up to several metres in length. Typical sections in exploration drillholes grade between 2.5 and 3.0 per cent fibre. According to the last assessment report submitted, test results indicate that the Kutcho Creek property may contain a large, medium-grade asbestos deposit of potential economic interest.

Jan 1, 1984

By H. C. Cooke

"This paper has reference in a general way to the region extending from the north shore of lake Buron to the northern limit of the elliptical-shaped area generally known as the Sudbury Basin, and more especially to the district lying south of the Basin (Fig. 3). Attention is concentrated mainly on the structure of the district and, as space does not permit of much geological description, it is assumed that the reader has some knowledge of the general geology. The accompanying table outlines the sequence of the rock formations according to the most recent available information; for further details the interested reader may consult the publications of the various authors mentioned in the paper.STRUCTURE OF THE SEDIMENTARY ROCKS SOUTH OF THE SUDBURY IRRUPTIVEThe rocks south of the Sudbury irruptive, excluding certain intrusives, are, in order from north to south:(1) A band of basic lavas.(2) A band of well-bedded greywackes and quartzites, long termed the McKim greywacke.(3) The Copper Cliff formation, with McKim greywacke' both to the north and south.(4) The Ramsay Lake conglomerate.(5) A thick quartzite formation.All these rocks strike approximately east-northeast, dip steeply south, and generally face south, though there are local exceptions."

Jan 1, 1954

By Laxman (Lucky) Amaratunga, Hisham Madi

Final disposal of mine wastewater neutralization sludge continues to be one of more pressing problems in the mining industry. The disposal of mining and metallurgical waste products into underground reduces the environment impact and improves the safety of the mining operation and the economics of the enterprise. This current research focuses on an investigation of utilization of mine wastewater neutralization sludge obtained from Kidd Creek Mine site, as a supplementary material for their proposed deep mine pastefill system. Their proposed pastefill consist of combination of rock aggregate in a matrix of imported sand and tailings with binder (Portland cement + Slag cement). Pastefill mixes containing various percentages of the waste sludge 0 (control mix), 1, 2, 3, and 5% by weight as replacement to the fine sand were prepared and tested with different percentages of binder. Hypothesis behind this approach is to study the behavior of sludge as replacement of sand in matrix as well as its ability to act as a binder. Compressive strength, percentage of sludge, binder dosage, slump, water to cement ratio, percentage of solid, and curing time are being observed. The results indicated that sludge can be incorporated into the pastefill and enhance its strength without compromising the pastefill quality and integrity.

Jan 1, 2004

By R. Ichimura

This paper summarizes the results of a five-year project, which aimed at improving the current method to process the arsenic-bearing smelter dust of El Teniente. This project, which was started in 2001, was carried out jointly by JOGMEC (Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation) and CIMM (Centro de Investigación Minera y Metalurgica, Chile), and was financially supported by the Japanese and the Chilean governments. In the new process, the smelter dust is leached with sulfuric acid to dissolve arsenic, which is subsequently precipitated as crystalline ferric arsenate (scorodite) at ambient pressure by controlling the crystallization and crystal growing stage. As a result, a stable form of ferric arsenate is obtained, which passes the U.S. E.P.A. TCLP limit of 5 mg/L As. Copper and zinc are subsequently recovered from the arsenic-free solution. The copper product can be fed into the main copper production circuit at the Las Ventanas Smelter and Refinery, whereas zinc is recovered as a marketable product. A demonstration plant was installed and operated at CODELCO's Las Ventanas Smelter and Refinery. The basic and detailed engineering design was prepared by Mitsui Mining and Smelting Co. Ltd (MMS) on the basis of a joint study done by JOGMEC, CIMM and CODELCO's Las Ventanas Division.

Jan 1, 2007

By Muhammad Zaka Emad

Cemented rockfill (CRF) plays a vital role in pillar-less mining. Many factors are associated with optimum design of a CRF material. Factors like strength, placement method, mixing, curing time, water content, binder contents, binder composition and additives require to be studied for appropriate rockfill design. The most important factor is strength of a CRF. The design engineer considers fill strength requirements (FSR) for the estimation of CRF strength requirements. Inappropriate CRF strength can cause excessive ore dilution. The recent studies on CRF practices at some of the Canadian mines revealed the most common flaws. Comparison of different types of fill determined that most of the failures occur in cemented rockfill, and the compressive strength can be improved by small addition of sand and mine tailings. This work discusses the studies on determination of unconfined compressive strength, Young?s modulus, density and water contents of CRF being placed in the excavated stopes. It was found that the CRF properties were largely influenced by the variation in gradation and curing time. The 7% binder content improved compressive strength of rockfill significantly but it has an influence on the economics, whereas 4% and 5% binder contents are better choices. The maximum Young?s modulus values were obtained at 28 days curing time for most of the samples.

May 1, 2011

By Ferrin Prince

New Gold?s New Afton mine is an 11,000 tonne per day block caving mine, located 8 km west of the city of Kamloops, British Columbia. The reserve is estimated at 52.5Mt with grades of 0.65 g/t Au and 0.93% Cu. Block caving requires a considerable amount of infrastructure development before production can begin. Each excavation had its own challenges, often further complicated by interactions with the caving stresses and fault structures. The main areas of interest were: the production crusher complex, the surface to underground infrastructure, and the footprint interaction with the faults. The ore zone at New Afton is bounded by two very weak fault zones, with large fault affected areas and associated splays. The resulting rock mass rating (RMR) is 35-50, with some areas significantly weaker due to clay infill. These conditions created a unique and decidedly difficult environment in which to develop New Afton?s infrastructure. Despite these difficulties, the mine began production on schedule in July 2012. The main production crusher for the mine is a gyratory crusher that allows for direct truck dumping, with a smaller jaw crusher in series to facilitate the initial development and production. The crusher chamber was redesigned several times to minimize the chamber volume, resulting in a 40% decrease in volume without losing functionality. After drilling and geotechnical testing, the location of the crusher was changed to eliminate the threat of fault affected ground in the area; the entire complex moved a short time before mining began on the chamber. The mining techniques used enabled tight control of the crusher pocket excavation, while also allowing for the timely completion of the chamber. The locations of the surface to underground infrastructure were tightly constrained by geology, surface infrastructure, and an existing open pit. The VR5 raise was drilled and abandoned part way through the reaming process when the drill string became stuck in fault gouge material. It was relocated and successfully completed. The VR7 raise hit a region of poor rock strength and deviated more than 11 m. Poor ground conditions caused a 130m section of the raise walls to fail. An innovative rehabilitation program was undertaken to re-establish the raise for ventilation. A surface to underground slick line was also installed to ease the material movement underground. A layout of the Extraction level was changed from herring bone to straight through drawpoints that resulted in a net reduction of 1.3 km of development. The Apex level was added to aid in the breakage over the major apex pillar and allow for geological mapping. A portion of the caving footprint is located within the footwall fault. The low strength, high clay content, and small joint spacing of the material resulted in blast-hole cut-off and drift deformation. Drift rehabilitation was a key factor in the successful development of the cave footprint. Innovative drilling and loading techniques were used to keep the holes open and to impede movement along the joint structures.

Aug 1, 2013

By L. Gawlik

Since the beginning of the 20th century, coal has been the world?s main source of primary energy. In the last few decades, consumption of coal has gradually decreased in some European countries and elsewhere due to the introduction of other energy sources. Regardless, industry continues to use solid fuels for energy production despite of their association with carbon dioxide emissions (about 7 billion Mg). For global development going forward, it is important to estimate what level of energy consumption can be expected as far into the future as the next few decades. To answer this question, specialized global institutions such as the International Energy Agency, the World Energy Council, the World Coal Institute, the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, as well as oil companies (BP, Shell), conduct periodic forecasts of world energy consumption. The development of such forecasts is very complex because their reliability is influenced by many factors that are difficult to estimate, such as economic development, population growth, climate change, and public awareness. We are all aware that the global demand for electricity will rise significantly in the coming years as a result of anticipated population growth, industrial development, rising living standards, and the general development of civilization. The world?s mineable resources in 2010 were as follows: coal 665.6 million Mg, brown coal 195.4 billion Mg, oil 163 million Mg, and natural gas 185.5 billion m3. The annual global primary energy demand in 2008 was more than 12 billion toe (12,267 Mtoe). In 2006, electricity production in the world amounted to 18,921 TW?h. The structure of the primary energy mix in TW?h (2006) was as follows: coal 41.0%; natural gas 20.1%; nuclear fuel 14.8%; hydro energy 16.0%; liquid fuels 5.8%; and other renewable energy sources 2.3%. The European Union (EU) is one of the largest coal consumers in the world. In 2010, the EU-27 produced 396.1 million Mg of brown coal, and 132.9 million Mg of hard coal; 188 million Mg of coal was imported from outside the EU. The largest hard coal producers in the EU-27 are Poland, Great Britain, Germany, the Czech Republic, and Spain; major brown coal producers are Germany, Greece, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary. For many years, the Polish energy sector has been based on domestic fuel sources ? hard coal and brown coal. The characteristic feature of the Polish balance of primary energy resources is a very high share of coal ? much higher than the world average. Pursuing the decarbonisation of the Polish economy may jeopardize Poland?s energy security, leading to a significant increase in electricity prices, which would hamper the country?s economic development. Price volatility and supply uncertainty are now the dominant features of the international markets for oil and natural gas. The high share of these fuels in meeting energy needs is the reason for unrest in many countries, including those in the EU. Under these circumstances, coal may become the stabilizing element of EU energy security.

Aug 1, 2013

By A. Monballiu, J. A. Martens, Y. W. Chiang, A. Van Audenaerde, R. M. Santos, T. Van Gerven, B. Meesschaert

In this work, bioleaching of non-sulphidic materials by applying chemoheterotrophic bacteria and fungi is studied. It was found that the tested fungus, Aspergillus niger, leached substantially more nickel from olivine than the tested bacterium, Bacillus mucilaginosus. A. niger also outperformed fungal species Humicola grisae and Penicillium chrysogenum in the leaching of olivine. Contrary to traditional acid leaching, the microorganisms leached nickel preferentially over magnesium and iron. On average, a selectivity factor of 2.2 was achieved for nickel compared to iron. This can potentially facilitate postprocessing of the leach liquor and reduce the cost. The impact of ultrasonic conditioning on bioleaching was also tested, and substantial increase in nickel extraction with A. niger was observed. This was credited to an increase in the fungal growth rate, the promotion of particle degradation, and the detachment of the stagnant biofilm around the particles. Furthermore, ultrasonic conditioning enhanced the selectivity of A. niger for nickel, resulting in a selectivity ratio for Ni/Fe equal to 3.5. The chemical resistance of the selected microorganisms to several heavy metal and metalloid (As(III,V), Cd, Cr(III,V), Ni, Pb, Zn) was evaluated. It was found that, with the exception of As(v) and Cd, A. niger has high tolerance to these components. Therefore, this biohydrometallurgical route can potentially be applied to non-sulphidic wastederived materials, such as industrial slags, ashes and sludges.

Jan 1, 2014

By J. Chao, C. Tan, N. Stubina

"Since J978, Falconbridge Limited has operated two electric furnaces at its nickel-copper smelter in Sudbury. As part of its S02 Abatement Program, the smelter has undergone many changes over the last seven years.This paper describes the impact of these changes on the operation of the furnaces. Some of the topics to be covered include: the installation of sidewall copper coolers; current operating conditions; and furnace heat and mass balances. HistoricalFalconbridge began smelting ores in the Sudbury area in 1930. The original smelter consisted of a 1.3 m by 3 m blast furnace and two 4 m by 6 m converters. The blast furnace was supplied with untreated mine are and molten slag/matte was discharged into a round settler.In 1933 the smelter began treating flotation concentrates. The concentrates were mixed with fine magnetic ore and flue dust, then sintered on down-draught Dwight Lloyd machines. This provided an agglomerate suitable for furnace burden which was charged to the blast furnace while still hot.Between 1930 and 1954 nickel production was increased by lengthening the 3 m furnace to 4.6 m, then to 6 m, and later by constructing additional furnaces. By 1958, the plant consisted of one 7.5 m blast furnace, a settler, and three 4 m by 9 m converters."

Jan 1, 1994

By F. P. Yungwirth

"IntroductionTrout Lake Mine is located about 5 km north of the Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Co., Limited complex at Flin Flon, Manitoba. The mine was brought into production in 1982at the onset of a severe recession in the base metal market. The mine is operated as a joint venture with HBM&S, MMR and SMS.During the first several months of operation it became evident that there were opportunities to reduce costs at the mine significantly, and a productivity improvement subcommittee was formed to make recommendations. The first committee met in January, 1983 and consisted of the mine manager from Hudson Bay Mining, a geological expert and a maintenance expert from Outokumpu Oy, Finland, and a mine manager from Granges, Sweden.Recommendations from this committee were implemented during 1983 and a new subcommittee was constituted in 1984 to continue the work begun the previous year. The committee remains as constituted in 1984 and meets quarterly.The committee consists of M.A . Kirby , manager - Flin Flon Mines, HBM&S; Gustav Hoberstorfer of Mindelco , a Swedish mining consultant retained by Granges; Eero Laatio, mine superintendent of Keretti Mine at Outokumpu Oy in Finland; and Bob Bray, a mining consultant retained by Manitoba Mineral Resources.Many productivity improvements made in the operation are attributed to the work of this committee and other experts retained at various times throughout the mine life."

Jan 1, 1988

By Roy T. Bowles

This paper focusses on technological developments which occurred in the village of Deloro, Ontario between 1868 and 1919. These developments illustrate the manner in which improved metallurgical processes linked Ontario mineral resources to industrial expansion. Overview of Deloro The village of Deloro is in Hastings county, about 5 miles from the village of Marmora, the site of the old Marmora iron works and the more recent Marmoraton iron mine. In this area, the Canadian Shield meets the Great Lakes lowlands. The first settlement in the vicinity occurred in the 1820s and was associated with the Marmora iron works. Settlement grew around agriculture. Gold was discovered in Hastings county in 1868. Deloro - the name derives from gold - developed as a concentrated settlement in proximity to several gold mines and the related processing activities. By 1901, substantial smelting works were successfully producing gold and arsenic from local ores. The village was developing as a company town within the framework of benevolent paternalism. For reasons associated with markets and with local ore supplies, the Deloro mills were idle for a period beginning in 1902. Developments in later periods connected Deloro to world events. In 1903, silver was discovered at Cobalt, Ontario. By 1907, M.J. O'Brien, who owned mines at Cobalt, had purchased the Deloro works and was using them to process Cobalt-area ores*.

Jan 1, 1999

By Gino Palarchio

Dofasco is Canada?s 2nd largest steel manufacturer producing 4.5 million tons of flat rolled steel per year. They have revenues of over $3 billion and employ 7,000 people in their Hamilton, ON plant. Dofasco is North America?s most profitable steel producer and were recently ranked as the #1 steel maker in the world by Dow Jones. Motivation to Improve In the 1980?s the steel business was good. However, in the late 80?s and early 90?s things began to change. Globalization was beginning to influence the market, imports started arriving at lower prices and higher quality, hangover from the 1970?s inflation saw costs rising and prices dropping, there was a shift from a sellers to a buyers market, and shareholder returns were beginning to erode. Dofasco took a step back and evaluated their maintenance performance and found that they were operating in an environment where 70% of their work was reactive and only 30% was proactive. They also found that the rate of product quality improvement was flat and their average equipment availability was only 78%. At that point they realized that Equipment Reliability was key to improving product quality, production output, costs and shareholder return. They initiated a project to research, develop, and implement the most advanced maintenance practices and information technologies to achieve maximum equipment reliability.

May 1, 2001

By W. H. Mathews

"The Hardie group of cinnabar claims is in the interior of British Columbia; 25 miles northwest of the city of Kamloops. It is one of a number of mercury; properties scattered along a north trending belt 20 miles long and up to 5; miles wide. In all but one of these properties cinnabar is associated with; dolomite veinlets in zones of carbonate alteration in bedded rocks of Triassic; and Cretaceous (?) age; or in intrusives cutting these bedded rocks. No dolomite alteration or cinnabar mineralization is known in the undoubted Tertiary rocks adjacent to the mercury belt.The mercury showings of the Hardie group lie for the most part in a granitic stock cutting Cretaceous (?) volcanics. The rock in this intrusive shows marked variations in texture and has been described in earlier reports as granite and granodiorice, granite porphyry, and trachyte or dacite porphyry. At Hardie mountain the cinnabar mineralization, unlike that of the other properties, is associated with a fine-grained, almost chalcedoni c, quartz; carbonates, though present, are of minor importance. Some of the most interesting showings are found in an adit in the southeastern part of the property where cinnabar mineralization shows a very distinct structural but not a genetic relationship to a brown porphyry dyke 2 to 8 feet wide cutting a phase of the stock that may best be described as aplitic"

Jan 1, 1954

By R. Maxwell

"At Opemiska Copper Mines we have, over the past four years, operated 300 cu. ft. and 700 cu. ft. flotation cells as roughers, scavengers and cleaners and found them competitive with conventional flotation cells on a cu. ft. basis on all phases of flotation.The economics are very much in favour of the large cells for the following reasons:Power consumption is 35 to 40%, of conventional machinesMaintenance cost is about 20 to 25% of conventional machinesSpace required is about 30 to 35% of conventional machinesInstallect cost is about 40%, of conventional machinesTo put the above in more concrete terms below is what we are doing at Opemiska:1. Increasing mill capacity from 2000 to 3000 T.P.D. and will use only 5Cff, of the flotation space for 3000 tons that we used for 2000 T.P.D. with conventional flotation machines.2. Will require only 10 flotation cells for 3000 tons against 85 conventional cells for 2000 tons.3. Cells will be, one 2000 cu. ft. rougher, six 700 cu. ft. scavengers (2 banks of 3 each) and one cleaning circuit using three 300 cu. ft. cells.You will note that in this 3000 ton per day plant, we are going to have only ten cells. Had we put in conventional cells for this tonnage, we would have needed 120 cells."

Jan 1, 1970

"ChairmanThis part of the discussion is intended as an exchange of information between those who have installed rubber liners in their mills and a means of others to get information that may help them decide if rubber liners would be applicable to their mills.To start the discussion and to relate it to the previous section of this symposium Mine Equipment Co. Ltd. have supplied some graphs that will give some idea of the noise suppression that may be expected from the u.se of rubber liners instead of steel. The figures used in preparing the graphs came from installations of rubber liners in Sweden.L. Strah - Mine Equipment Co.The graph, Figure 1, shows on the bottom the octave band range. The noise level generated by the steel liners is represented by the dotted line and lies within the shaded area where it is considered that hearing damage may result. The solid line represents the noise level generated by rubber liners in the same mill and you will see it is below the shaded area. Although it is not marked on the graph I think the decibel range is from 7 5 to 115. The next one, Figure 2 which shows the relative noise levels generated by steel balls and pebbles with both steel and rubber liners shows the decibel range."

Jan 1, 1968

By Michel Guillot

Gaz metal arc welding is commonly used for producing large frames and assemblies. Even for light aluminum and thin wall assemblies, the GMAW technique is increasingly preferred over the GTAW technique. This is particularly true where the welding gun motion is achieved accurately with automated or robotic systems and when using pulsed or regulated metal deposition. In this study, butt joints in floor welding position are tested at speed ranging from 1.5 to 16 m/min. Attempts are made of find parameters providing good and repeatable joint quality with minimal distortion and good appearance even at high travelling speeds. Taguchi experimental plans are proposed with different parameters tested with sheet metal samples. The parameters include typical GMAW machine settings, joint preparation geometries, wire gages, gun angles, wire feeds, and more. The robot motion speed and the proximity of the part are also considered. Direct monitoring of machine welding current and voltage is achieved. Once is found the best set of parameter settings, additional tests are carried out to verify the repeatability of weld quality. Secondly, these conditions are applied for joining and testing a floor panel made of several extrusions. Weld quality is established with Vickers micro-hardness measurements, cross section geometries of the weld pool including penetration, tensile tests and metallographic observations to establish the amount of porosity and weld microstructure in the HAZ.

Jan 1, 2011

By K. Oishi

We have developed a 76Cu-3Si-21Zn alloy "ECOBRASS®" containing no lead. When 3% Si is added to a 78Cu-22Zn alloy, kappa and gamma phases participate uniformly in the alpha matrix. When being machined, stress concentrates on these hard phases, namely kappa and gamma, and thereby lowering the required cutting force and yielding segmentalized chips without lubricant. Kappa and gamma phases transform into beta phase under high temperature, which makes it easier to extrude and/or forge the alloy. When 0.08% P and 50 ppm Zr are co-added, the grains of ECOBRASS® castings are refined significantly to become as small as several dozens of micrometers. The grain refinement by the co-addition of P and Zr improves castability, tensile strength and elongation of ECOBRASS® castings. Meanwhile, the lead leachate from an ECOBRASS® water meter, field-tested in pH 6.8 drinking water for one year, was less than 5 ppb without correction. No indication of dezincification corrosion was observed, either. ECOBRASS® is equally suitable for rods, forgings and castings, and makes it possible to produce a complete set of plumbing parts (valves, faucets, etc.) by its own. This way, not only improving recyclability, ECOBRASS® also realizes size and weight reduction due to its good corrosion resistance and high strength.

Jan 1, 2007