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By William R. Yernberg

SME’s Arizona Conference was held at the Doubletree Hotel at Reid Park in Tucson on Dec. 4 and 5, 2005. The annual conference is organized by the Arizona Conference Board of Directors, which represents SME sections in Arizona and adjacent areas. The conference provides an opportunity for individuals and corporations associated with mining in the region to get together once each year to discuss the status of the industry. Important topics discussed among the attendees included the price of copper, community relations and education.

Jan 1, 2006

By Dennis E. Jensen

Field studies were performed during blasting operations for strip coal mining above the room and pillar workings at Jenny mine in eastern Kentucky. The study is part of the Bureau of Mines program to develop criteria for the proximity of surface blasting to underground mines. Measurements and observations were made to identify physical changes in the mine. No change in the frequency of roof falls or any other indication of apparent damage was noted. Recordings of blast induced vibrations were made using sensors on the roof and floor of the underground mine and at the ground surface. A maximum particle velocity of 17.5 in/sec was recorded on the mine roof. The vibration data were analyzed and comparisons were made between roof vibration levels and those recorded on the mine floor and at the ground surface. Results are compared with previous blast vibration studies. Recommendations are made for further study toward developing criteria.

Jan 1, 1979

By Michel Ruel

"PID loops – also known as base layers or regulatory controls – form the foundation of any plant’s control layer and it is generally accepted that PID loop health has a direct impact on the plant’s bottom line. Keeping these thousands of control loops in good health has a direct impact on the plant’s bottom line: it reduces variability, improves quality and throughput, and decreases energy costs and raw material usage. This has been well proven and documented in many articles. In the last ten years, technology has evolved: control engineers can now keep track of control loop performance and link it to the root causes of variability. However, they lack industry-wide best practices and criteria for determining what can be considered as excellent, good, fair, or poor performance. To ensure that PID control loops continue to perform well and meet their objectives, control engineers need a combination of (a) an appropriate monitoring technology and (b) best practices for doing the maintenance of base layer controls.Most plants have limited resources and operate with an increasing number of constraints; therefore, using the right tools and including reports in daily workflow is key for success. This paper suggests roles and responsibilities of key players needed to work toward control performance best practices and discuss organisational changes to succeed.INTRODUCTIONAlthough PID controllers are reliable workhorses in the process industry, they are often underrated. Since the 1980’s, computer control has evolved and the control algorithms used by control engineers have become increasingly complex. However, PID controllers still handle over 90% of the control loops in operating plants. Table 1 shows the savings that can be realized by achieving best-practice in several different process control categories (Brisk, 2004). The savings are expressed as a percentage of production costs."

Jan 1, 2011

By E. Wasmund

"Sandfire’s DeGrussa Copper-Gold operation in West Australia is a new high grade copper sulfide mine, which includes a 1.5 Mtpa concentrator which was completed in 2013.Early after commissioning, it was identified that the flotation capacity in the all-mechanical cleaner circuit was not sufficient. In order to improve recovery, the tail from the cleaner scavenger was sent back to feed the rougher scavengers. Test-work was done on-site to evaluate the possibility of using a flotation column as a pre-cleaner. A CavTube™ sparging system was selected, which is especially effective for fine ore particle flotation. Test-work was conducted at site using a 150 mm diameter unit, and then confirmed on a 500 mm diameter unit. A 4250 mm diameter full scale unit was installed in Q4 2014 and commissioned in Q1 2015. This unit gave some significant advantages including a reduction in re-grinding requirements, elimination of a circulating load and increase in the recovery of copper in the cleaner circuit and overall circuit.In this presentation, the benefits of columns and cavitation sparging for floating fine particles and rejecting fine entrained gangue will be explained. Also, the results from a lab unit and a pilot unit will be compared against the results of the full-scale unit. The paper will demonstrate the scalability of flotation columns, and which phenomena and scale-up criteria must be considered to be successful. Finally, some general observations will be made about the importance of columns in copper cleaning circuits.IntroductionSandfire Resources’ DeGrussa copper-gold concentrator is located approximately 900 km north-north-east of Perth in Western Australia. The project area landscape is scrubby mulga lands with few notable features. The climate is arid with high temperature and heavy summer downpours."

Jan 1, 2016

The individual or company director who ignores his or her obligations under the Resource Management Act 1991 and under the proposed hazardous substances legislation, ignores them at their peril. Two recent cases in Canada and the United Kingdom concerning environmental offences under similar legislation illustrate the risks well.

Jan 1, 1993

By S C. Dominy

Various styles of gold mineralisation pose problems during sampling because of their complex gold grade distribution and presence of coarse gold. Effective sampling and sample preparation forms the basis of resource estimates. The design of a sampling and assaying protocol must be based on a thorough understanding of the mineralisation in question, which should include consideration of gold particle size and mass distribution. The proportion of coarse gold within samples has a profound effect on the requirements for sample preparation and assaying. Choice of preparation procedure and assay type is of critical importance if sampling errors are to be minimised. Traditional fire assays, using small charge sizes, often understate assays gained from large charge sizes and techniques such as screen fire assay and LeachWELL. Proper application of the Theory of Sampling reduces errors during collection, preparation and assaying. A quality control/quality assurance program must be implemented and critically assessed. A case study from the Ballarat mine is presented, which is characterised by substantial quantities of coarse-gold hosted in quartz veins. Diamond core drilling is the key input into resource delineation. A number of different sampling and assay options have been trialled over the recent project history. The current sampling protocol utilises whole drill core, using LeachWELL assays after logging and photography.CITATION:Dominy, S C, 2017. Sampling coarse gold-bearing mineralisation – developing effective protocols and a case study from the Ballarat mine, Australia, in Proceedings Eighth World Conference on Sampling and Blending , pp 71–84 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

May 9, 2017

South Africa has joined the league of other major Western World countries by officially adopting its own code for public reporting of Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves. The recently published South African Code for Reporting of Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves (SAMREC Code or Code) (SAIMM 2000) is presented here in its local and global context. The main aspects of the Code are listed and elaborated upon. The Code has been written with the participation of the major South African stakeholders in the field including Government institutions, the legal confraternity and the mining industry. Relevant foreign organisations, such as the Australasian Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC) and the United Nations contributed to its compilation, and supported it. The Code thus enjoys endorsement both locally and, to a large extent, overseas. The Code is modelled on, and is 90 per cent compliant with, the Australasian Code for Reporting of Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (JORC Code) (AusIMM, 1999). The paper also elaborates on the duties and responsibilities of Competent Persons signing off resource and reserve reports and on the new listing requirements of the Johannesburg Securities Exchange (JSE), formerly the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, which has officially adopted the Code.

Jan 1, 2002

The Rosebery and Hercules mines, situated in the Rosebery-Williamsford district in western Tasmania, have a history of production dating back to 1896-7, although full scale production did not commence until 1936, following the development of a satisfactory process of selective flotation (Hall, Cottle, Rosenhain and McGhie, 1953). The mineral composition of the Rosebery zinc-lead ores was first described in detail by Stillwell (1934). The Hercules ore is generally similar, but as yet no descriptions of it have beenpublished.Since Dr. Stillwell's paper appeared, the management of the Rosebery and Hercules mines has from time to time submitted a number of interesting mineral specimens to C.S.I.R.O. Mineragraphie Investigations. Examination of these specimens brought to light eight minerals, some relatively uncommon, not previously recognized in these ores.They are cassiterite, molybdenite, stannite, electrum, meneghinite, boulangerite, pyrargyrite and pyrrhotite. Some of the specimens are also rich in tetrahedrite and gold. In addition each of the other ore minerals described by Stillwell, viz. pyrite, sphalerite, galena, bournonite, chaleopyrite and arsenopyrite, was detected in one or more of the specimens examined during the present study. The principal gangue minerals were found to be quartz, manganiferous carbonate, sericite and barite, agreeing closely with the observations of Stillwell.The present study was based on the examination of the following eight specimens.

Jan 1, 1960

No one process, product or effect of the minerals sector can be viewed in isolation when addressing sustainable development. Meaningful assessments of the minerals sector require that its processes and production are drawn together in a generic framework that gives a holistic view of its performance and progress. Lifecycle Assessment is increasingly accepted as an appropriate means of constructing such a framework. It is a step beyond using the simplistic concept of the triple bottom line of social, environmental and economic performance to drive and communicate sustainable development. However, fundamental questions need to be raised about the scope and purpose of lifecycle assessment, such as what effects and performances should be assessed, for whom should they be assessed, and what performance indicators should be used and how should they be selected. The principles of eco-efficiency, industrial ecology, The Natural Step (TNS) and other pertinent philosophies and initiatives driving mineral sector sustainable development are outlined to support a lifecycle stewardship vision for the minerals sector. Articulating this vision through a holistic lifecycle indicator system showing inputs and outputs, natural partnerships, effects on community, environment and economy facilitates recognition of problems, opportunities and partnerships that can be usefully pursued.

Jan 1, 2002

By Shail J. Butani

In 1986 the Bureau of Mines conducted a probability sample survey, Mining Industry Population Survey, to measure such employee characteristics as occupation; principal equipment operated; work location at the mine; present job, present company, and total mining experience; job-related training during the last 2 years; age; sex; race; and education. The population estimates are necessary to properly analyze the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) injury (includes illness and fatality data) statistics; that is, to compare and contrast injury rates for various subpopulations in order to identify those groups that are exhibiting higher than average injury rates. This report uses the survey's results to characterize the U.S. sand and gravel mining workforce from March through September 1986. Similar reports have been prepared for the metallic, stone, and nonmetallic mining industries, as well as for the entire metal and nonmetal mining (includes metallic, stone, sand and gravel, and nonmetallic industries) sector and the coal mining sector.

Jan 1, 1988

By Q. G. Reynolds

The presence of dust and fume suspended in the freeboard region is a common feature of the operation of direct current (DC) plasma smelting furnaces. This occurs primarily as a result of the use of fine feed materials together with the open-arc, open-bath operation of such smelters, and is exacerbated by the high velocities and turbulent mixing of the gas in the vicinity of the arc jet. Dust and fume losses into the furnace off-gas system can be significant in some cases and may have economic, operational, and environmental impacts on the process. A computational modelling study is presented in which the concentration of dust material was considered as a continuous field subject to a governing partial differential equation. Settling behaviour was calculated as a function of particle size, local gas/plasma temperature, and other physical properties. Development of the coupling between the concentration field and a magnetohydrodynamic description of the arc is shown, and the resulting models were used to compute various aspects of the behaviour of the concentration field in the arc region for a variety of furnace conditions. Time-averaged as well as transient models of the arc were used to generate the results presented. Qualitative case studies produced several practical suggestions for furnace operation, including increased dust capture by the bath when feed ports are located closer to the electrode, and the possible effects of feed segregation in the furnace freeboard based on dust particle size and density.

Jan 1, 2015

By Gilles Landry, Mohamed Ourriban, Pierre Pelletier, Ahmed Bouajila, Claude Gagnon

"This paper summarizes the work carried out to develop and implement the gold cyanidation by size class (CSC) process, a novel concept aiming to reduce cyanide consumption.First, the authors will present the methodology and results of laboratory tests conducted to evaluate the response and the expected gains for the selected ore when submitted to the CSC processing. In the second part, focus will be on the methodology behind the CSC scheme development prior to its implementation at Sleeping Giant Mine concentrator. Finally, the evaluation of the modified circuit performance (operating since July 2007) will be addressed as a reduction of cyanide consumption by more than 30% and of free NaCN in the tailings by more than 50% is confirmed.INTRODUCTIONCyanidation is the most widely used technique to extract gold from hard rock ore. Its use of oxygen as an oxidant still makes it the cheapest process available after more than a hundred years. Unfortunately, gold cyanidation is known to be a slow process that requires high consumption of cyanide. In fact, cyanidation plants are designed with very long residence times (Habashi, F., 1967). Drawbacks of long cyanidation times are, among others, loss of gold in tailings, high reagent consumption and high capital investment and maintenance costs.Responding to their members expectations for the improvement of cyanidation process, COREM undertook a challenging R&D program covering the development of alternative concepts (processes) and the understanding and solving of mass transfer, gold passivation and process water chemistry problems. One of the interesting findings of the R&D program is a patent pending process technology based on the cyanidation by size class (CSC) concept (Côté and Ourriban, 2004; Gagnon and Ourriban, 2007; Gagnon and Ourriban, 2004).The new technology was tested at the Sleeping Giant concentrator, a plant member of COREM. The existing flowsheet was modified in order to implement the CSC process in the full-scale plant. The plant has been operated using the modified CSC based process since August 2007. Laboratory testwork was conducted prior to the industrial application in order to properly design the new process scheme. The modifications included:1) Reclassification of the grinding circuit product through an hydrocyclone2) Leaching of the coarse size fraction3) Addition of the fine fraction to the coarse leaching circuit tails."

Jan 1, 2009

"The Detour Lake Mine is located in northeastern, Ontario, approximately 300 kilometres northest of Timmins and 185 kilometres by road northeast of Cochrane. The mill processes a free milling gold ore using both gravity circuit and leaching with a state-of-the-art carbon-in-pulp circuit. The grinding circuit is a conventional SABC circuit with a tonnage of 55,000 mtpd at 95 microns with the addition of pre-crushing upstream of the SAG mill.The present paper will describe the methodology used to successfully prove that gold of the Detour Lake Mine ore is mostly concentrated into the fine size fraction of the blasted rocks. It will describe the various options possible to create value from this ore property.IntroductionThe purpose of this test work was to determine the grade of the pebbles and consider if there was value into discarding the pebbles and replacing the material by fresh feed.1. Pebble samplingThe pebbles were sampled and assayed for grade every day for 3 months. After 3 months of sampling, the results showed that the pebbles only carried 28% of the fresh feed grade. This phenomenon can possibly be explained by the fact the gold is located into area of fracture in the rocks.January-March 2014 – Pebble assay average• Line #1 = 0.222 g. Au/t• Line#2 = 0.275 g. Au/t• Head grade = 0.88 g. Au/t2. Crushing and grinding circuit surveysWith the above information, a grinding circuit survey was planned. The purpose of the survey was to build a JKSIMMET model of the grinding circuit for mill optimization but also to understand the deportment of gold into various size fractions that may explain why there is so little gold in the pebbles. All streams and size fractions was analysed for particle size analysis and for gold.Since Detour has dual grinding lines, both circuits were sample at the end of May. Two supplemental survey of the secondary crushers were also done and a survey of the gyratory crusher."

Jan 1, 2016

By O. F. Ochonogor

Laser metal deposition (LMD) is an additive manufacturing technique whereby a stream of metal powder is consolidated by a focused laser beam on the surface of a substrate or engineering component. The interaction zone between the laser beam and powder particles is scanned superficially, generating tracks of deposited material. The tracks are overlapped in a deposition strategy in accordance with slices of a CAD model. Successive layers of material are built up to fabricate a near net shape part. In this work, the technique is used to fabricate metal matrix composites (MMCs) by using an elementally blended feedstock combining metal and ceramic powders in the melt pool, which melt and solidify to create the required morphology. Ti6Al4V + TiC MMCs were produced with 10, 20, and 30 vol.% reinforcing ceramic, and Zr + TiC MMCs were fabricated with 10, 20, and 30 vol.% TiC. The deposited thin walls were analysed using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and indentation testing. In both systems, the analysis revealed the presence of partially melted TiC particles embedded in the metal matrix along with fine dendrites of re-solidified ceramic. The dendritic structures in the Ti-based composites were confirmed as TiC, whereas in the Zr-based composite the Zr metal reacts with theTiC to form ZrC, leaving Ti in solid solution. Both the MMCs show an increase in microhardness with increasing ceramic (carbide)content, reaching a peak HV0.1 value of 500 in the Zr- based MMC and HV0.1 of 550 in the Ti based MMC.

Jan 1, 2012

By W. L. Garrison

Improvements continue to be made in rapid excavation and tunneling technology. There are several ways to examine the impacts of such improvements. The most common procedure is to monitor current developments and to evaluate prospects for expansion of present types of uses. Other approaches are called for, however, if the technology might be used in ways not now imagined, if the search is for information for managers of technology development, and if the issue is that of the wise use of the technology by society. The first section of the paper will pose these matters as questions. These questions will be examined from the point of view of the processes of technology development and utilization, and then further examined against the backdrop of processes at work within the urban area. Such an examination will provide insight into the way technology developments should proceed. The final section will present some comments that may be useful to those guiding the development of the technology and to those who might provide leadership for its wise utilization. THE QUESTIONS Three questions are posed: 1. Are there uses for the technology beyond further penetrations of its present markets? 2. Can information be supplied to managers of technology development so that they may improve the assignment of priorities among development choices? 3. How can society make wiser use of the technology?

Jan 1, 1974

By A. More, J. M. Míguez, J. Bullón

In 2000 Ferroatlantica started a project with the aim to develop a new casting machine for silicon and other ferroalloys. Until now, it has been cast more than 25.000 tons of silicon for the chemical and metallurgical market. This system has improved the process yield, productivity and product quality which place?s Ferroatlantica at the top of technology development in this field. After the first presentation of the Ferroatlantica?s casting machine at Infacon X, we would like to show the improvements in the control which have permitted us to increase the lifetime of the copper and to obtain, at the end of the machine, the right product size for the customer avoiding the current necessity of crushing and sizing the lumpy metal. Furthermore, we have improved the system in relation to the obtaining of smaller granulometries at the end of casting machine. Not only is this kind of machine cost competitive for special silicon applications but also for other normal ferroalloys with different specifications of size and thickness.

Jan 1, 2007

By M. J. Sapko

A moderately scaled apparatus was developed by the Bureau of Mines to determine the fire resistance characteristics of mine conveyor belts and similar type materials. The design of the apparatus was based upon data obtained in full-scale fire tests and features a radiant panel to preheat the belt and a methane-oxygen ribbon burner to ignite the sample under ventilating condi¬tions in a rectangular duct. The test method overcomes the limitations of existing laboratory-scale methods and provides a measure of both ignitability and flammability in quantitative terms. Flame propagation depended upon such variables as air velocity, ignitor heat flux, and belt width and height in the test chamber. Data are presented for nine belt materials and fire resistance ratings are proposed in terms of the flame spread rate, heat release rate, and the critical ignitor heat flux. The ratings discriminate between the fire hazard posed by different fire-resistant belts and tend to be in reasonable agreement with those obtained in full-scale fire tests.

Jan 1, 1981

By F. Dai

Granitic rocks usually exhibit strongly anisotropy due to pre-existing microcracks induced by geologic loadings. The understanding of the rock anisotropy in mechanical properties such as tensile strength is critical to quarrying and stabilization of underground structures. In this paper, Brazilian tests are conducted in combination with MTS material testing machine and split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) system to measure both static and dynamic tensile strength of anisotropic Barre granite. Samples are cored and labeled using the three principle anisotropic directions of Barre granite (BG). These directions are also chosen as the loading directions for the Brazilian discs. For dynamic tests, pulse shaping technique is used to achieve dynamic equilibrium in the samples during the test. Finite Element Method is implemented to formulate equations that relate the failure load to the material tensile strength employing a orthotropic model for Barre granite. For samples in the same orientation group, the tensile strength shows clear loading rate sensitivity. The tensile strengths exhibit clear anisotropy under static loading; while less anisotropy under dynamic loading. The tensile strength anisotropy of Barre granite is interpreted as interactions of the pre-existing microcracks.

May 1, 2009

By R. A. Gee, G. B. Ashton, S. T. Warren, P. N. Groves

Northside Storage Tunnel provides 500 megalitres (Ml) (130 million gallons) of storage capacity to capture stormwater/sewage overflows into Sydney Harbour. The6.6 m diameter TBM driven tunnel traverses Middle Harbour 85 m (280 ft) below sea level and through a sandstone/shale rock mass, highly disturbed by stress relief, 20 m(65 ft) beneath the base of the sediment filled palaeochannel. Target limits for inflow, groundwater drawdown and settlement of the valley beaches were achieved by systematic forward grouting from the TBM. Support included rockbolts, sets and shotcrete to carry rock loads, control block instability and spalling and to provide durability and serviceability. This paper describes the tunnelling and grouting works and their effectiveness.

Jan 1, 2001

By B Murphy, A Uliana, P STrgio de Oliveira, G Ara·jo de Souza Franco, T Miettinen

Outotec has performed numerous research and development projects and various surveys in the study of reverse iron ore flotation. Over the past four years their TankCell-70 and TankCell-160 flotation cells at the Germano concentrator of Samarco in Brazil were extensively surveyed. These surveys have revealed some extreme operating conditions in reverse iron ore flotation and are the subject of this paper. Some of the findings include large variations in the content of solids in the various flotation stages. At the bottom of the cleaner cells, the content of solids by weight reached over 60 per cent, whereas at the bottom of the scavenger cell this was less than 50 per cent. Froth carry rates were also significantly different in the various flotation stages. In the case of coarse material, the scavenger cells operated at a froth carry rate of over 40 t/h.m2. With fine material, however, froth carry rates of less than 10 t/h.m2 were measured. High froth carry rates caused significant changes in the residence times at Samarco. In the rougher cells, the fifth cell had more than double the residence time of the first cell. This was even more pronounced with the scavenger cells, where the second cell had more than triple the residence time of the first cell. High froth carry rates also caused losses in iron recovery. As a consequence of such findings, it appears that different rules apply in the sizing of reverse flotation circuits compared to direct flotation circuits. Different operating parameters (mixing intensities and air flow rates) must also be used in the rougher, cleaner and scavenger cells in order to optimise the metallurgical performance. Outotec has also been working on a number of new technologies aimed at improving the metallurgical performance of iron ore reverse flotation circuits by increasing froth carry rate and decreasing fine iron entrainment.CITATION:Miettinen, T, Uliana, A, Ara·jo de Souza Franco, G, STrgio de Oliveira, P and Murphy, B, 2013. TankCell flotation at SamarcoÆs Germano concentrators, in Proceedings Iron Ore 2013 , pp 441-444 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Aug 12, 2013