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By Michel Lefebvre, André Piché

Every organization performing R&D is faced with the challenge of introducing new technologies to its operations. Difficulties must be overcome if companies are to realize the benefits anticipated from such developments. This paper outlines the difficulties encountered in transferring to operations various technologies developed at the Mining and Exploration Division of the Noranda Technology Centre. The approach used in the selection of a privileged partner for the technology transfer, the criteria motivating the choice and the process followed to establish the partnership are presented.

Jan 1, 1997

By D. W. Hutchinson

One of the most important problems facing the coal industry today is the disposal of refuse from the coal preparation plants in a safe, economical, and efficient manner while complying with all legal requirements. The most commonly used refuse disposal method has been landfill/impoundment. In this method, the coarser refuse fractions are disposed of by layering and compaction into a landfill. The fine coal slurry refuse fraction is impounded in a dam constructed of a portion or all of the coarser refuse fractions. The failure of an impoundment at Buffalo Creek, Saunders, West Virginia and the sliding failure of a coarse refuse pile at Aberfan, Wales, England, resulted in an evaluation of refuse disposal methods by various regulatory agencies as well as coal producers. The result of this evaluation was the promulgation of Federal regulations dealing with the preparation, operation, and final abandonment of coal refuse disposal areas. As a consequence of these regulations the use of the landfill/impoundment method of disposal became in some cases economically unfeasible or technically impossible. At the time of the promulgation of the new Federal regulations, United States Steel Corporation was in the process of designing the Cumberland preparation plant. As a result of the new regulations

Jan 1, 1977

By R. C. Wallace

Introduction At a time when the mineral-bearing areas in Manitoba are being fi very keenly explored because of the major developments which are now taking place in that Province, it may be timely to give an analysis of the mineralization in the two major types of deposits, with a view particularly to assist in the intensive prospecting to which the mineral-bearing areas in the Province are now to be subjected. As is already well known, there are two principal types of mineral deposits in the territory- copper-zinc and gold; and attention will be confined almost exclusively in this paper to these two types, with some indication of such modifications of the main types as may be found to be of economic value. The details of the paper are drawn from what is yet a small part of the area of the Province available for prospecting. Enough is now known of the types of mineral deposits which are described in the following pages to justify the expectation that these types may serve as criteria in the search in the newer districts. Doubtless new types will also be found as investigations proceed.

Jan 1, 1928

By R. A. Payant, J. A. Finch

Under certain conditions of air and moisture, sulphide materials can spontaneously heat, or selfheat. The reaction mechanisms of self-heating are not well understood. Most previous work has involved pyrrhotite because it is the most reactive sulphide. The current work investigates the self-heating behavior of sulphide mixtures composed of sulphides other than pyrrhotite. The four studied sulphides were pyrite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite and galena. The rest-potential was measured for each. Binary mixtures formed as a 1 : 1 weight ratio were pyrite-galena, chalcopyrite-galena, pyrite-chalcopyrite and chalcopyrite-pyrite. The four sulphides and the binary mixtures were subjected to standard self-heating tests. The four individual sulphides did not self-heat. However, mixtures of pyrite-galena and chalcopyrite-galena with rest-potential difference (?E) >0.3 volts did self-heat while the mixtures of pyrite-chalcopyrite and chalcopyritesphalerite with rest-potential differences (?E) = 0.1 volts did not self-heat. The results demonstrate that when certain non self-heating sulphides are combined they can self-heat. A possible explanation based on galvanic interaction and formation of hydrogen sulphide as an intermediate product is discussed.

Jan 1, 2009

Newmont Mining Corp. has been producing gold from the Carlin Trend for more than 45 years. Naturally, the focus, scale and complexity of the operations have changed considerably during this time. Newmont discovered and developed the Carlin Main orebody that is located about 32 km (20 miles) north of Carlin, NV. The property was developed as a one-mine, one-gold mill treatment plant operation, which produced about 6.2 t/a (200,000 oz/year) of doré gold bars. The initial mine, mill and gold refining facilities were relatively small in comparison to today?s standards. The milling circuit used the Merrill-Crowe zinc precipitation process to recover dissolved gold and prepare a concentrated precious metal ?precipitate? to be melted into a doré bar for sale.

Jan 1, 2012

By R. L. Christie

"THE ISLANDS lying north of the Canadian mainland, and the large Boothia and Melville peninsulas, form one of the great archipelagos of the world; this sparsely vegetated and nearly unpeopled region extends about 1,500 miles east to west and 1,200 miles from the mainland to the northern tip of the northern-most island. Sea access to most of the islands is restricted by ice to the summer season, and the 'polar pack' ice of the Arctic Ocean presses the year round against the northwest margin of the archipelago. Although the region is remote, the accessibility has greatly increased through a network of weather stations, airfields and air routes connecting with southern centres.The area considered in this paper is that part of the island region underlain mainly by sedimentary rocks. In broad terms, this includes the land and sea areas of the archipelago and the adjacent continental shelf, but excludes the dominantly 'Shield' terrain of Baffin Island, and of Melville and Boothia peninsulas. An impression of the size and potential of this sedimentary region may be gained by comparing some areas: the land area of islands underlain mainly by sedimentary rocks is over 300,000 square miles or about 50,000 square miles greater than the area of Alberta. The total area of the region, including the continental shelf and the inter-island areas, may be double this figure, and may approximate one-seventh of the land area of Canada."

Jan 1, 1970

By D. Hongjun

In this paper, the flotation rule and behaviors of kyanite-group polymerphous minerals were studied in modified Hallimond tube in detail. Furthermore, the energy change of collector/mineral systems before and after adsorption and the net charge densities of the atoms on the minerals surfaces were calculated by use of quantum chemistry. The flotabilities in minerals were successfully explained.

Jan 1, 1995

New Mexico?s active coal mines have reclamation challenges that are being successfully resolved through the application of geomorphic grading methods. Soils and overburden material are often of poor quality, and annual precipitation is low. Revegetation on south and west aspect slopes often failed to persist. The New Mexico Mining and Minerals Division had therefore been encouraging topographic diversity on reclamation to improve water harvesting and reduce the percentage of south aspect slopes. Steeply dipping, multiple coal seams may be mined by open pit methods. Structurally-controlled trellis drainage patterns that exist premine have to be replaced with dendritic drainage patterns on reclamation where the overburden had been pulverized. Sodic spoil material is prone to differential settling and the creation of piping features in areas where runoff ponds, which may lead to downslope instability. In each of these scenarios, the approximation of natural drainage patterns on the reclamation has reduced erosion and sedimentation by creating shorter slopes with correct profiles, and by improving conditions for revegetation establishment.

Jan 1, 2010

By George S. Barnett

The Equis and El Roble projects are located in the Cordillera Occidental of Colombia. The Equis vein deposits have sulfide ore reserves of 95.9.5.5 mt (105.770 st) grading 8.51 g/mt (0.248 oz/st) gold and 12.4 g/ml (0.36 oz/st) silver with 0.94 % copper. 1.10 a lead and 11.06% zinc. Ore reserves at El Roble are estimated as 1.1% Mmt (1.21 million st) grading 4.89% copper and 3.39 g/mt (0.099 oz/st) ,old. Geologically possible reserves at Equis may total 1.6.Mmt (1.76 million it). El Roble has the potential to contain several tens of millions of metric tons. Exploration included diamond drilling, trenching, channel sampling, rock and soil geochemistry, geophysics and tunneling. Erratic high grade samples affect the weighting of channel and drill core samples. Secondary reconcentration of gold is also a factor. Sample maps and graphs show the distribution of values to be highly variable. Geostatistical treatment of some of these data gave important guidelines for parameters such as sampling densities, drill hole spacing and confidence limits.

Jan 1, 1984

By J. T. Fyles, C. G. Hewlett

"THE TOWN OF Salmo, rail centre for the Salmo lead-zinc mining district, is in southeastern British Columbia 26 miles by road east of Trail an about the same distance south of Nelson. The belt in which the mines occur is a few miles east of Salmo and extends about 6 miles north of the town and 17 miles south and southwest to the International Boundary. The belt includes the H. B. mine of The Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company of Canada, Limited, the Jersey mine of Canadian Exploration Limited, the Reeves MacDonald mine, and the Jack Pot property of New Jersey Zinc Explorations Limited.Since 1949, the Jersey and Reeves MacDonald mines have produced most of the lead and zinc in the district. From 1949 through 1954 these two mines together produced a total of 233,134 ounces of silver, 87,659,399 pounds of lead, 215,708,856 pounds of zinc and 475,397 pounds of cadmium. This amounts to more than 80 per cent of the total production of lead and 95 per cent of the total production of zinc from the district since the first recorded production in 1906. Reserves at the largest properties amount to several million tons of ore containing 4 to 7 per cent combined lead and zinc. Several prospects are potential producers.Regional StructureThe main structural units in the Salmo area are outlined in Figure I, and the major rock units of the stratigraphic column are listed in the following table. The lead and zinc deposits are replacements in a highly deformed limestone formation near the base of the Laib group, and all mineralized zones are on the south and east side of structural unit 2 (see Figure I)."

Jan 1, 1949

"Virtual reality, a 3D computer-generated environment, has become a recognized delivery system for many forms of education. This paper describes the application of virtual reality to mineral processing education. An interactive mineral processing visualization module developed at the University of New South Wales, Australia, provides users with an overview of a base-metal concentrator and details about how the mined ore progresses through stages in processing. The module also involves developing instructional based plant layouts and flowsheets in the virtual environment. These assist the user in understanding the essential components of the base-metal concentrator.RÉSUMÉ La réalité virtuelle (RV), un environnement en 3D généré par ordinateur, est devenue un système de prestation reconnu pour diverses formes d’éducation. Cet article décrit l’application de la réalité virtuelle à l’éducation dans le domaine de la minéralurgie. Un module interactif de visualisation du traitement des minerais développé par l’université de Nouvelle-Galles du Sud, en Australie, offre aux utilisateurs une vision d’ensemble d’un concentrateur de métaux communs ainsi que des détails concernant la progression du minerai extrait à travers les différentes étapes de traitement. Ce module implique également le développement de schémas de réalisation et de traitement didactiques dans l’environnement virtuel, lesquels schémas aident les utilisateurs à appréhender les composantes essentielles d’un concentrateur de métaux communsINTRODUCTIONVirtual reality (VR) is the creation of an artificial environment that is experienced through sights and sounds provided by a computer (Squelch, 2001). The simulated environment is achieved through technologies such as 3D graphics, audio feedback, and special peripheral devices to produce interactive environments.Virtual reality has been used in diverse fields including medicine (Riener & Harder, 2012), entertainment (Hsu, 2011), military (Manojlovich, Prasithsangaree, Hughes, Chen, & Lewis, 2003), manufacturing (Zimmermann, 2008; Jiang, 2011), and chemical processing (Squires, Andersen, Reklaitis, Jayakumar, & Carmichael, 1992; Schofield, Lester, & Wilson, 2005). Virtual reality is also becoming the recognized delivery system for education in many fields, including engineering (Bell & Fogler, 1996, 1998; Shin, 2002). For example, VR laboratories have been designed and developed to teach users fundamental features of heterogeneous catalytic mechanisms and absorption columns (Bell & Fogler, 1995), the multi-phase and multi-component blast furnace iron-making process (Babich & Senk, 2009), and to guide users to identify various safety measures while working in a real laboratory (Bell & Fogler, 1996)."

Jan 1, 2017

By L. C. DeCory

"Concrete is a common denominator to the building process and portland cement is an integral and necessary component of concrete. The cost of portland cement is nominal and its cost comprises, in most instances, a small portion of the total cost of ""put-in-place"" concrete.The domestic demand for portland cement in Canada is projected to be slightly less than 11 million short tons in 1980. In order to achieve this projected goal, stabilization or lowering of the cost of put-in-place construction is necessary. This enhancement of the cost of building can be achieved by:(1) improving the building process;(2) refining and improving design techniques; and(3) developing improved and economical concrete products.Some of the techniques and materials that will lead to building cost stabilization include systems building in its broadest sense, slipforming, precasting, prestressing, computer design, lightweight aggregates, fibrous concrete and integration of building components."

Jan 1, 1973

By M. Greyling, C. Panaou, M. Bellino

Commonly the most frequent method of calculating the overall mass balance of a multi mineral platinum-group metal (PGM) concentrator circuit in Southern Africa has been through the use of spreadsheets, typically Microsoft EXCEL®. While there are some advantages in using spreadsheet based mass balances during the conceptual design phase of the project, their use becomes limited in the detailed design phase of the project. This paper discusses the successful application of METSIM® for mass balancing of a PGM concentrator and highlights the benefits gained during the conceptual and design phase of the project.

Jan 1, 2005

By Dennis Nottingham

"Increased interest in seismic soil liquefaction and preventative soil stabilization sets the stage for improved deep compaction methods using pile driving techniques. In 1971, L.B. Foster Company personnel patented a method of deep compaction using a vibratory pile hammer and pile probe. The technique had some success, but did not produce consistent results and thus found its way to obscurity. Other patents attempted to modify the technique by various probe modifications, but again without measurable improvement from a practical point of view. Solutions to economical deep compaction up to 100-foot depths particularly in saturated granular soils would have a great impact on the construction industry and new bulkhead structures being developed, thus PND was prompted into related research and development. The advent of higher horsepower vibratory hammers, coupled with PND engineers’ experiments, observations and measurements, led to an “H” pile probe design which has produced measured soil density improvements up to 250% using SPT “N60” values as a measure. Case histories of two projects involving extensive SPT soil sampling comparative measurements will be discussed along with findings that led to the compaction success. Applications to numerous modern “Open Cell” bulkhead projects will be presented and discussed.INTRODUCTIONNecessity often is the basis for innovation and such was the case for needed cost-effective deep soil fill compaction in Open Cell bulkheads where granular fill below water levels was often placed.Open Cell bulkheads were developed by PND Incorporated starting in 1980, for the express purpose of meeting client demands for an economical, easily constructed, extremely strong structure. Earth-filled structures historically have had a long history of problems with stability, scour and settlement.Open Cells are flexible steel sheet pile membranes supported by soil contact with embedded tail anchor walls.This concept creates an integral reinforced soil system. The result is a structure that can withstand large settlement and support a variety of very large loads. In effect, viewed from above the structure becomes a series of U-shaped horizontal membranes that require no toe embedment for stability. The Open Cell bulkhead is constructed of only three components: flat sheet piles, fabricated connector wyes and anchor piles. Compared to alternative structures, several cost savings are realized from this land based construction such as, reduced sheet pile area, greater construction tolerance, minimal pile penetration, and simplified backfilling procedures. In seismic regions or weak soils, the tail walls can be extended as required to guarantee fill mass stability."

Jan 1, 2005

By R. H. Kuhlman

The purpose of this paper is to describe the roles of cement and concrete in construction in general and, more specifically, as construction materials of the Southeast. For purpose of this discussion, the Southeast will include the geographic area composed. of the following 13 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. In one sense, cement by itself is not a construction material. It is a finely ground manufactured mineral product, usually gray in color. Cement is mixed with water and sand, gravel, crushed stone, or other aggregate to form concrete, the rock-like substance that is the most widely used construction material in the world. Because cement is seldom used by itself for construction but is usually a component of concrete, there is no such thing. as a "cement" sidewalk, a "cement" highway, or "cement" building. Neither is "portland" a brand name. It is a generic term used to describe any cement that hardens in the presence of water and is made to standard specifications .. For all practical construction purposes, therefore, all cement is "portland." The name "port-land" was selected by the English inventor of the product in 1824 because concrete made with his product resembled natural building stone quarried on Portland, an English island. Although portland cement is not the final material which finds its way into completed construction, as the principal component of the most widely used construction material in the world, the location and process of its manufacture warrant some discussion

Jan 1, 1977

This paper details a brief history of the Australian gold industry from the 1980s gold boom to the present day, highlighting an industry characterised by innovation in plant design and junior companies prepared to "have a go", in contrast to the conservatism of many larger mining companies. Design flexibility, the innovation of new processes, the preparedness to exchange "process know how" and technology singularly differentiated the gold industry from other sectors during the 1980s to the present. The introduction of two stage crushing, semi autogenous (SAG) milling, and pebble crushing, mill innovations, carbon in pulp (CIP) and carbon in leach (CIL) and the North Kalgoorlie screen etc were all exciting changes in the industry.

Jan 1, 2011

By P. K. Arya

Huge quantity of copper is lost in Crown, Sill, Rib Pillars, hanging wall, foot wall and unexploited ore bodies in several closed underground copper mines and old worked out stopes of Hindustan Copper Limited at Mosaboni and other places. These mines might have been uneconomical to work with conventional mining methods. However, huge quantity of mineral reserves is lost due to their closure. Chemical and in-situ bio-wash leaching, if tried can provide an answer to facilitate the recovery of metallic values economically. Encouraging results were obtained during an experiment at North Badia Mines at Mosabani in the past. Though the experiments were not completed but whatever results obtained were very encouraging and can be successfully tried to make it viable. The results of the experiments are discussed here and a plan is suggested to recover copper from such mines.

Jan 1, 2014

By Sudarshan Martins, Peter Radziszewski

"Tumbling mills are machine, operating in non-equilibrium, capable of applying forces on the ore contained within, causing the ore to break down. The action of the mill on the ore is very inefficient, producing a large quantity of heat. The inefficiencies of the mill drive the desire for improvement, spawning research and development activities. Given the non-equilibrium nature of the mill, the theory of Large Deviations is proposed as the framework that captures the state of the mill. The theory of Large Deviations allows for the determination of the rate function and the scaled cumulant generating function (SCGF), for systems in either equilibrium or non-equilibrium. Powerful connections can been made between familiar concepts of statistical physics and the concepts introduced by the theory of Large Deviations: entropy can be associated with the rate function; the scaled cumulant generating function with the free energy. It is shown that observables, compatible with Large Deviation theory, can be identified for the tumbling mill. Here, the time series of the energy associated with an element of the charge is such an observable. Furthermore, using some experimental data, it is shown that the time series of the energy can define a rate function, thereby describing the system within the Large Deviation framework. Finally, a discussion of the results is given, particularly how this theory can be further developed for tumbling mills."

Jan 1, 2014

By R. W. Smith

A microorganism will function as a mineral flocculant if it is to some degree hydrophobic and can attach itself in some manner, such as through electrostatic interaction, to the fine mineral particles to be flocculated. The present paper concerns the use of a hydrophobic bacterium, Mycobacterium phlei, as flocculating agent for phosphate slimes. Experimental work on the flocculation of phosphate slimes and of dolomite and clay mineral suspensions was performed. It was found that M. phlei functions as an excellent flocculant for a dolomitic slime but does not function as well for mineral suspensions where large quantities of the solids are finer in size than the approximately 1 µm size of the bacterium.

Jan 1, 1992

By J. Castaneda, J. Schmidt

"INTRODUCTION Chino is an open-pit copper mining complex faced with intricate material routing requirements. Historically, this was challenging at the mine, in part because the shovel dig plan, haul plan, and dump plan were prepared completely separately. The mine now uses an integrated workflow for faster evaluation of schedules, which facilitates preparing balanced cutoff grade-to-equipment requirements, supports better mineral production, and improves schedule viability, while considering operational implications. Located in the state of New Mexico, Chino is one of nine Freeport-McMoRan mining operations in North America. This presentation discusses the benefits of implementing an integrated approach to tactical mine planning, and shares practical examples that were learned as Chino implemented an integrated tactical planning method. This includes improvements in completion time for preparing a schedule, minimal risk from manipulating Excel macros, data integration required to make short-term planning decisions, and better understanding of the mine plan’s effect in relation to the business’s key performance indicators. Ultimately, the integrated approach to tactical mine planning at Chino has led to production forecasts which are more achievable and reduced planning and execution variance. PROJECT OVERVIEW Chino mine is a porphyry copper deposit wholly owned by Freeport-McMoRan, the largest publicly traded copper producer in the world. Chino mine is located in Grant County, New Mexico, a short distance east of Silver City. Ore material mined from the pit today includes oxides, primary sulfides, and secondary sulfides. The mineralized material is sent to a mill, with a rated throughput of 42,000 tons per day, or to ROM leach pads with variable dumping capacities. At Chino, the short-range objective is to maximize total copper pounds sent to the mill, but no fixed cutoff grade accomplishes this for all periods. Instead, 12 different material classifications, including four sulfide classes that can feed either the mill or other destinations, and 38 cutoff bins, are aligned with the needs from operations, leaching, and the concentrator to create a schedule. Cutoffs vary from one week to another to cope with a highly intermittent ore body."

Jan 1, 2018