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By V. M. Lovell, N. P. Finkelstein

The concepts involved in flotation research are discussed and aims are presented. Three different method. of investigation can be used, all of which are applied at the National Institute for Metallurgy (N.I.M.), and these are the empirical, trial and error method, the chemical engineering method, and the physicochemical approachs This paper is devoted to the last of these. Because of the complexity of the physicochemical interactions involved, the work has, to a large extent, been concentrated on only one aspect, viz. the interaction between the mineral surface and reagents in solution, which was considered of major importance in the understanding of the process. The aspects on which work has been done are the concentration of uranium, the reaction between salt minerals and fatty acids, mixed xanthate-cationic collector systems, and the reaction between sulphide minerals and thiol reagents. Selected problems from the first two of these are discussed in some detail and deal with the agglomeration flotation of uranium and the chemical control of the flotation process for phoscorite. A detailed discussion is also presented of the progress made in the understanding of the interaction between sulphide minerals and thiol reagents, which is of more general application. Finally, an indication is given of the future direction of physicochemical research at the N.I.M.

By A. G. Royle

The reasons for constructing a model of an orebody for which both the parent population and the sampling distribution are known are discussed and details of the model are given. A brief summary of Matheron's theory of regionalized variables is included, with particular reference to his kriging estimators and their variances. Using the model, a comparison is then made between these kriging estimators and other commonly-used estimators. These are compared to find the one with the minimum variance, and an analysis is included to investigate whether any of the estimators is biased. Also included is a comparison between theoretical and experimental variances for some of the estimators.

Jan 1, 2014

By J. A. C. Diering

The determination of stresses and displacements close to tabular excavations is of considerable importance in the planning of tunnels and of remnant and pillar layouts. This paper gives a description of a simple yet effective method for the achievement of improved values from an analogue or MINSIM type of analysis. Essentially, closures and rides (the movement of hanging-wall relative to footwall) in mined-out areas are assumed to vary in a piecewise linear fashion as opposed to a piecewise constant fashion. As the former fashion more closely resembles the true variation, it is possible for the stresses and displacements at points close to the excavations to be calculated with much better accuracy.

Jan 1, 1980

By W. C. Joughin

A risk evaluation model has been developed, that enables the quantification of expected injuries and economic losses resulting from rockfalls associated with a support system in a given geotechnical environment. This enables the comparison of different support systems based on the expected frequency of injuries and the total cost of the support system, including the expected economic losses. The model takes into consideration the variability in joint orientations and joint strength within the geotechnical environment and the variability and quality of support systems. The quantification of the benefits of other rockfall risk-mitigating strategies, such as the effectiveness of barring or monitoring, are also incorporated in the model. The risk model is described in this paper and the validation of the model and case studies are described in Part II.

Jan 1, 2012

By K. Böde

Hochtief AG Germany has developed a comprehensive management and information system for the construction industry named Aristoteles. This system is an efficient supporting tool to manage a variety of construction sites as well as operating business units with required economic targets. As such, Aristoteles offers wide-ranging control of complex economic processes in construction in a consistent manner. In this paper the process oriented functions of the system will be described with special emphasis on finance accounting and cost control. The basic elements in this respect are tender estimation, creation of initial project budgets and running budgets, regular determination of work done and result forecast to the end of the project. Further, cost accounting, monthly reporting, and all balance-related postings are included. On the basis of the extensive reporting (targeted/actual cost comparison, cost manager, project report, actual/targeted hours worked comparison, overhead cost report, amendment report or project (result) lists of all projects realized by one business unit), the responsible managers can make justified project evaluations, project controls and variance analyses during the project period and derive appropriate management measures. Thus, Aristoteles includes all substantial elements for the risk management of the operational business. In big construction joint-stock companies it is of crucial importance to satisfy the information requirements of the investors. In this respect the system provides a transparent presentation of the financial, investment and profitability situation of the company. In the international construction industry the balancing rules according to IAS (International Accounting Standards) have already been used to a larger extent. In accordance with these rules the partial profits of the work during execution can be shown as realized even before completion of a long-term contract. The validity of Aristoteles will be outlined briefly. Major advantages using the system are highly enhanced accuracy of project controlling, systematic overhead allocation to projects, change of attitude of the project personnel due to increased cost consciousness and improved flow of information within the company.

Jan 1, 2003

By S. Mohanty, K. Sarangi, S. Dash, P. P. Patra

Industrial effluent from various industries contains heavy metals that are a serious threat to humans, flora and fauna in water bodies, and the environment. The heavy metals are dumped after precipitation, which has serious environmental consequences. In this paper, a 2D axi-symmetry CFD model has been developed to study the extraction of chromium ion from industrial effluent, in a hollow fibre membrane, using Alamine 336 as the carrier and kerosene as the diluent. The Navier Stokes equation was used to predict the velocity profile of the aqueous and organic phases, and species transport equation, which considers both convective and diffusive mass transfer, was used to predict the concentration profile of the chromium ion in the computational domain. The distribution coefficient was experimentally determined at a pH 4, which was found to be the optimum pH. Numerical simulations were performed considering 11.11 mol/m3 of initial feed concentration for chromium ions and extractant concentration of 0.2 M. Simulations were carried out with various aqueous and organic flow rates, and validated with experimental data. Keywords: CFD, metal extraction, hollow fibre membrane, heavy metals

Jan 1, 2020

By G. L. Smith

[Research and development conducted by CSR.-Mining Technology in the areas of active continuous miner based coal dust/methane explosion suppression systems, passive 'bag based, atone dust barriers systems, din and positioning of refuge bays, integrated escape and rescue strategies, and neural network based coal dust/methane explosion risk assessment is briefly described. It is concluded that effective catastrophic risk management of coal dust/methane explosions is dependent on an integrated, systems approach drat encompasses fundamental understanding of hazard sources, qualitative and quantitative probability of occurrence, magnitude of consequences and efficacy of control and recovery measures.]

Jan 1, 1999

DECEMBER, 1971 The Wanders Club, Johannesburg Sunday, 9th April, to Friday, 14th April, 1972 The Tenth Symposium which is the first ever held outside the North American continent is being organised by the South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (with the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and the South African Council for Automation and Computation), in collaboration with the previous co-sponsors. '" The programme includes over 60 papers from thirteen different countries. Attendance promises to be good and interested parties who have not yet registered are earnestly requested to do so without delay. The closure date for registration application is 31st January, 1972. The objective of this symposium is to pool experience and knowledge and to discuss new and potential developments for the planning and control of mineral projects. The papers which are to be presented will indicate the progress which has been made in this direction through the successful application of operations research, mathematical, statistical and computer methods. The intention is to bring together those persons responsible for managing various operations in the mineral industry with those engaged in the development of such mathematical and computer techniques as could assist this management. All interested parties are welcome. PRE-REGISTRATION (please return enclosed form as soon as possible). Applications for registration close on January 31, 1972. The fee payable on application will be R70. Late applications may, subject to vacancies being available,

By M. Frenzel, K. Bachmann, M. Rudolph, R. Tolosana-Delgado, E. Schach, M. Buchmann, L. Pereiraa, K. G. van den Boogaart, N. Kupka

Geometallurgy - the science of predicting the behaviour of ores along the value chain based on their geological and mineralogical characteristics - has barely moved beyond process minerology studies. These studies typically link process behaviour to the mineralogical and microstructural characteristics of pristine or processed ores in a qualitative or semi-quantitative manner. Eventually, a trial-and-error optimisation of the operation is achieved. However, to deliver on its promise, geometallurgy should progress beyond this current approach to a fully quantitative understanding of process behaviour, including the various uncertainties involved, namely predictive geometallurgy. One of the barriers currently hindering this development is the neglect of most ore characterisation data obtained in geometallurgical studies. This is mostly due to the large extent of this information exceeding the capacity of conventional software. To address this challenge, we developed a data mining platform consisting of an SQL database, an R front-end in-house package, and back-ends to interpret data from several analytical instruments. This platform enables the use of the statistical and data mining power of the R open-source environment for any geometallurgical study. Potential applications range from ore characterisation to process understanding and forecasting, and from geostatistical prediction to operational control and optimisation. The scripting abilities of R allow for the: 1) processing of many streams in loops, thus freeing the user from repeating tedious click-and-drop tasks; 2) computation of virtually any derivate or aggregate quantity from the data; 3) distribution of the work among several processor clusters; and 4) keeping of a log file for the calculations done. This contribution presents the building blocks of this platform, and illustrates with several examples its potential to enable predictive geometallurgy. Keywords: Data mining, entropy, kernel methods, LASSO regression, predictive geometallurgy

Jan 1, 2020

By E. Moosavi, K. Tolouei

In mine production scheduling problems are well-known, where most are categorised into deterministic and non-deterministic NP-hard problems because of their complexity. Many researchers have attempted to solve the problem by applying various optimisation techniques. While using traditional methods they observed extreme difficulty in solving highly complex problems. In the 1990s, many researchers addressed long-term production scheduling (LTPS) by using simulated annealing, the genetic algorithm, the tabu search algorithm, and the ant colony algorithm. These algorithms are known as the meta-heuristic algorithms, and have proved to be the most efficient algorithms for solving LTPS thus far. The firefly algorithm is one of the best methods for visualising problems related to LTPS, and provides the best possible optimisation. It is one of the simplest methods, and easy to apply to any NP-hard problem. The experimental, and comparison with other recently published algorithms shows that the proposed algorithm is feasible, and is an effective approach for long-term production scheduling problems. The results indicated that a better solution is obtained by the proposed method, compared to other methods in terms of cumulative net present value, and average ore grade. Additionally, the CPU time via the proposed model is roughly 2.52% higher than the other method.

Sep 1, 2021

By R. E. Robinson

On 18th November, 1991, the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, held a display of posters to review their R & D activities. Although not a new concept, this series of presentations was the first time that the Department of Chemical Engineering at Wits had undertaken as comprehensive a review in this particular format. It turned out to be a most worth-while exercise, and the many visitors must have been impressed with the quality of the presentations.

Jan 1, 1991

Colloquium and General Meeting A General Meeting and Colloquium was held on 'New Advances in Non-ferrous Pyrometallurgy' in Kelvin House, Johannesburg, on Wednesday, 17th March, 1976. The President, Dr R E. Robinson, opened the proceedings at 1OhOO,by welcoming the authors and delegates, who numbered approximately one hundred and twenty. Tinplate Conference The Tin Research Institute is organizing the 1st International Tinplate Conference, which is to be held in London from 5th to 8th October, 1976.

Jan 6, 1976

By B. M. Kunar

It is well known that job-related hazards and individual factors influence occupational injuries. However, research involving coalminers has been limited. This case-control study assessed the relationships of job-related hazards and individual/life style factors with injuries among underground coal miners. It compared 245 cases with at least one injury during the previous two-year period with 245 matched controls with no injury. The data were gathered via personal interview and analysed using the conditional logistic model. The significant risk factors were materials handling (adjusted OR 5.15), poor environmental/working conditions (2.63), geological/strata control-related hazards (2.35), lack of formal education (3.00), sleep disorders (1.86), alcohol consumption (2.32), disease (2.23), having a large family (5.40), and risk-taking behaviour (9.40). Machine-related hazards, sleep disorders and alcohol consumption primarily affected workers aged less than 45 years; whereas, environment/working condition-related hazards, presence of disease, smoking, risk-taking behaviour and large family size were more likely among workers aged 45 or over. Keywords: Occupational injuries, sleep disorders, job hazards, alcohol, coal miners

Jan 1, 2010

By B. B. Mamba, J Ndalamo

The existence of an impressive reserve of oxidized cobalt-copper bearing ores in the African copper belt area lead the GECAMINES (DRC) to develop specific and adapted mineral processing routes (Mulaba-Bafubiandi, 2001). During the conventional diluted sulphuric acid leaching of oxidized cobalt-copper bearing ores commonly referred to as ?heterogenite?, more than 10% cobalt dissolution yield increase was observed in a plant situation (Mwema et al., 2002) when SO2(g) was flushed into the acidified cobalt leaching solution. The present paper attempts to elucidate mechanisms involved which lead to the increase of total cobalt as SO2 is flushed during the leaching of oxidized cobalt bearing minerals. The kinetics of cobalt dissolution as SO2 is flushed into the acidic solution as well as a full characterization, using UV-Visible spectroscopy, of Co2+ and Co3+ species present in the collected leachate are presented while possible effects of the presence of Cu and Fe on the leachability of cobalt bearing minerals present in the oxidised ore will be discussed. In the view of speeding up the leaching process, the mixed cobalt-copper oxidised ores were microwaves pre-processed. Preliminary results were also discussed.

Jan 1, 2007

By M. Khodadazadeh, K. G. van den Boogaart, T. Leißner, L. Tusa, J. Gutzmer, R. Gloaguen, M. Kern

Ore sorting is a technology that is increasingly used to process primary raw materials. Timeconsuming and expensive empirical state-of-the-art test work is carried out to assess whether the use of ore sorting for the enrichment of a particular ore makes technical and economic sense. With the innovative simulation-based approach presented here, it is possible to direct the selection of a suitable sensor based on quantitative mineralogical and textural data, thus avoiding much of the empirical studies. Required data can be collected quickly and cost-effectively using available methods of automated mineralogy. The obtained parameters such as mineral grain size distribution, modal mineralogy, mineral area and mineral density distribution have been utilised in this study to simulate the prospects of success of ore sorting, applying different types of sensors. Empirical tests with commercially available sensor systems have been conducted to experimentally validate the predictions of the simulations. The estimation of the target mineral grade can be further optimised by the use of machine learning algorithms for the integration of automated mineralogy data and sensor data. The approach can easily be adapted to other types of raw materials and thus has great potential to become a key technology for the optimisation of processing experiments. Keywords: Automated mineralogy, hyperspectral imaging, machine learning, ore sorting

Jan 1, 2020

By S. Banisi, A. Ghasemi, E. Nematollahi

Discrete element method (DEM) has been used as a popular simulation method to verify designs by visualising how material will flow through complex equipment geometries. Although DEM simulation is a powerful design tool, finding a DEM model which includes real material properties (e.g., shape, cohesion and friction coefficients) is not computationally feasible. In order to obtain more realistic results, particle energy loss due to rolling friction has been highlighted by many researchers. To implement a reverse torque to account for rolling friction, various models have been proposed. On account of the complexity of the problem, there is no unique model for all applications (i.e. dynamic and pseudo-static regimes). In this paper, an in-house developed DEM software (KMPCDEM ©) was used to assess the robustness of three commonly used models by comparing the repose angle of iron ore pellets obtained through the draw down test in a laboratory setup and then the elastic–plastic spring dashpot model was modified based on considering the individual parameters instead of relative parameters of two contact entities. Results showed that the modified model could produce higher repose angle. The modified model was used to calibrate DEM simulation of repose angle of iron ore pellets in a laboratory setup of the draw down test. Comparison of the calibrated DEM simulation and laboratory results showed 2° differences between the predicted and measured angle of repose. This difference was attributed to considering the particle shape effects by assuming a spherical shape for particles. Keywords: DEM, rolling friction,particle shape, repose angle

Jan 1, 2020

By W. Gabryk

A large new underground platinum mining project required that all different mining options were investigated during an option study before proceeding to the prefeasibility stage of the project. The capital project team identified 21 different options requiring investigation. These options considered 10 different access methods and 4 different mining methods. Each of the 21 options required a mine design, a valid production schedule, and the associated economics in order to facilitate a comparison on project Net Present Value (NPV) and other metrics. The project sponsors required this work to be completed in 3 months and therefore the project team decided to adopt an object-oriented modelling approach as implemented by Cyest Corporation. This would allow all 21 options to be valuated within the tight time frame due to the generation and re-use of templates. Standard objects were configured into templates containing the mine layout, design, and scheduling logic. These templates could then be assembled into a model to represent the option being investigated. The adoption of rules-based design and production scheduling then allowed for the rapid generation of a valid production schedule for each option with different iterations of varying production ramp-up and mining efficiency assumptions. The activity-based operating costs, labour, and capital were also linked to the standard templates such as a half level or barrel, which were then replicated to represent the overall mine structure for each option under consideration. Using this approach for each option, a full production schedule was produced per mining activity, the operating costs were calculated using activity-based costing, an infrastructure capital expenditure estimate was determined, the development capital requirements costed, and an overall NPV determined. This options study was completed in an unprecedented 10 weeks and a recommendation was put through to the Business to take three of the options to the next study phase.

Jan 1, 2012

By S. Fuchida, Y. O. Zubair, C. Tokoro

Mining of As-bearing minerals had resulted in the release of arsenic species predominantly As(III), which is known to be more toxic, and undue exposure to it is detrimental to human organ systems. Many materials have been examined for As(III) removal, but it is still challenging to advance sustainable materials for effective removal of As(III). In this paper, a more eco-friendly and superparamagnetic Fe0-Fe3O4 composite was synthesised and evaluated for heterogeneous catalytic oxidation and removal of As(III) with peroxymonosulfate (PMS, KHSO5). The kinetic removal studies showed that removal of As(III) was probably through a chemical process and the Elovich model best represented the experimental data. The removal capacity for As(III) on Fe0-Fe3O4 with PMS (1.76 mmol/g) is superior to that without PMS (0.83 mmol/g). Combined results from XPS and ESR showed that As(III) was fully transformed to As(V) through catalytic oxidation by Fe0-Fe3O4/PMS and afterwards enhanced its removal. The removal mechanism of arsenic was ascribed to the formation of outer-sphere (electrostatic attraction) and inner-sphere complexes. The adsorbent can be separated easily from water due to its excellent magnetisation (64.5 emu/g) and also has good reusability potential as more than 85% of the initial concentration of As(III) was immobilised after five consecutive cycles. Keywords: Arsenite, Fe0-Fe3O4 composite, catalytic oxidation, removal mechanism

Jan 1, 2020

By L. E. Salinas-Farran, S. J. Neethling

Key variables in heap leaching include permeability, mechanical stability and mass transport. All of these properties can be manipulated by agglomerating and curing the ore before stacking it into heaps. The chemical and structural evolution of the agglomerates during curing is key to improving agglomerate properties and, ultimately, heap performance. It is possible to image the internal structure of agglomerates using SEM/EDX (e.g. QEMSCAN or MLA), although these methods are destructive and do not represent the 3D structure of the agglomerates. A non-destructive alternative is to image the agglomerates using X-ray Microtomography (XMT). Not only does this provide 3D information, it also allows the same samples to be repeatedly scanned, allowing the time evolution of the agglomerate structure and chemical composition to be tracked. In this paper we compared the behaviour of ores agglomerated using a combination of sulphuric acid and ferric sulphate with ones in which chloride ions are added to the recipe, since chloride leaching is gaining in popularity as a chemical alternative to bioleaching for sulphide ores. We tracked the curing process beyond the typical time scales to see the impact that this has on both the agglomerate structure and the subsequent leaching behaviour. Keywords: Heap leaching, curing extent impact, leaching kinetics, ferric-chloride leaching

Jan 1, 2020

By A. D. Pienaar

The aqueous chemistry of niobium and tantalum compounds with hydrofluoric acid is a mature field of investigation. In contrast, very little attention has been paid to reactions of these compounds in non-aqueous environments. Similarly, reactions of elemental fluorine with niobium and tantalum compounds have received little more than cursory attention in literature. This work discusses the isothermal reaction kinetics derived from thermogravimetry, using a less redundant approach than is currently the standard. We also discuss the most likely kinetic models for this reaction.

Jan 1, 2012