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By James V. Thompson

SINCE it was introduced in 1943 to recover chromite from Oregon beach sands, the Humphreys spiral concentrator has proved successful in several fields of wet mineral beneficiation. By the end of 1957, 9390 Humphreys spirals had been manufactured. Most of these are still in service. The spiral does not offer a panacea for all mineral dressing problems. Its proper application can best be determined by test work. Spirals present a unique advantage for the metallurgist to make tests in a full-size machine rather than a miniature model, without the risk involved in scaling up results. With only 10 to 40 lb of sample, the operator of a closed circuit test unit employing a full-size Humphreys spiral can conduct preliminary tests with full-scale loadings of 0.5 to 2.5 tph. With larger samples, from 300 to 500 lb, he can run longer multi-stage tests to obtain reliable data for the next step-pilot plant design. The manufacturer of the Humphreys spiral concentrator maintains a fully equipped ore dressing laboratory and by insisting on test work prior to sales has largely prevented misapplication of the spiral.

Jan 1, 1958

By Cadwallader Evans

THE American Institute of Mining Engineers was organized in the anthracite region of Pennsylvania by men who were primarily interested in anthracite. Its first meeting, at Wilkes-Barre, Pa., in the Northern Anthracite field, on May 16, 1871, resulted from a call sent out by three outstanding men of the anthracite .industry: Eckley B. Coxe, R. P. Rothwell, and Martin Coryell. The best known of these was Eckley B. Coxe, who was the manager of large hold¬ings operated by him and his family,. and who is remembered as the inventor of a special grate for burning very fine anthracite, known as the Coxe traveling grate, which is still very widely used. R. P. Rothwell was a well-known consulting engineer of the region, as was Martin Coryell, who was associated with another well-known anthracite family, the Pardees. There is no record of the discussions that resulted in this initial meeting, but it is safe to assume that the formation of the Institute was largely influenced, through appreciation by the founders, of the necessity for a free exchange of information covering the whole of the mining industry. One of the rules adopted at the first meeting was:

Jan 1, 1947

Blast Engineers frequently use the terminology "the blast showed good heave", or even "the heave was better this time". It is reasonably obvious that "good" and "better" are not the best terms to use. It is also noted that any variation in the data can be misleading. The author proposes a more precisely defined and objective set of measures as tried and tested in a project in 1988. Simple objective measurements of a muck pile profile can measure 1. distance thrown 2. spread of material 3. heaping of material 4. skewness, or bias in the heaping 5. rotation of the mass This technique enables one to compare the profiles from different blasts without relying on subjective experience or judgement. Simple, artificial profiles will be presented to illustrate the problems of description; and then application of the measurement techniques to these profies will be discussed with physical interpretations. The mathematical techniques will be presented, and results of the application of the techniques to real data collected during research carried out at Baimsdale in Victoria, will be presented as illustration. The use of these techniques in mathematical modelling will be discussed.

Jan 1, 1990

By C. Greimel

Modern roadheaders provide a safe and cost-effective, yet very flexible way of mechanical tunnel and roadway excavation. In the last years, SANDVIK Mining and Construction has developed a NEW ROADHEADER GENERATION, which incorporates new features, allowing significant improvements of underground excavation. Partial face cutting machines such as roadheaders excavate the desired profile by means of a cutter unit mounted on a swiveling boom. This flexible method for mechanical excavation makes the roadheader suitable for a large range of profile varieties and most rock characteristics. Over 1,250 roadheaders have been delivered since the 1960s from the Zeltweg plant of Sandvik Mining and Construction, with the current products ranging from the light-duty, 130kW MR220 machine, widely used in the tunneling and coal industry to the heaviest 300kW tunneling and hardrock mining roadheaders. Roadheaders are generally used in coal mine development, salt/potash mining as well as construction and hard rock mining. This paper describes the technology behind the succesful introduction of hard rock cutting with roadheaders, and aims to offer best practise operation experiences from various hard rock cutting sites.

Oct 1, 2010

By Frank H. Armstrong

All the mining machinery of the Penn Iron Mining Co. has been operated by electric power for several years and when another shovel for stockpile loading was required the advantages of an electric shovel were naturally considered. After considerable study, serious objections suggested themselves the use of a shovel operated directly by electrical apparatus by reason of the complicated control, severe service on the motors and the heavy surges of current required from the line. It was finally decided to construct an electro-hydraulic shovel using water under pressure to perform all the necessary operations except that of propelling, for which a separate motor was best suited. A car body with boom, dipper handle and dipper of late design, but without any of the steam machinery, was purchased. A motor-driven centrifugal pump, a pressure tank, an air tank, a small air compressor and water cylinders with plungers, pistons and valves, were installed in place of the steam equipment. Fig. 1 shows this shovel under construction and Fig. 2 shows it as it was operated during the first year, the summer of 1914. The large tank at the back of the car, in Fig. 1, carried air under

Jan 1, 1916

By H. E. Perlee

Mathematical expressions are derived for the histories of the pressure, flame radius, mass fraction burned, and burned and unburned gas temperatures associated with a spherical flame propagating concentrically in a spherical vessel. The equations are solved numerically for a 9.5 pct CH4/air mixture using the best available information for the burning velocity, expansion ratio, and specific heat ratio. Calculated histories are in complete accord with experimental measurements. The accuracy of calculated histories is determined relative to errors in the system parameters, and it is found that 10 pct errors in either the burning velocity or the expansion ratio results in a 40-pct error in the pressure history. A 10-pct error in either burned or unburned specific heat ratio results in a 22-pct error &apos;in the pressure history. It was further established that the usual assumption of constant specific heat ratio is unacceptable, but equating the burned and unburned specific heat ratios result in no apparent error in the histories. The cubic law (P = Kt3 + Po) is derived and discussed, and it is found that the law is valid only during the early period (P<2 atm) of flame growth.

Jan 1, 1974

The treatment of nickel ores and concentrates and the subsequent processing to recover separate products of nickel and cobalt is one of the major interests at present in the mining industry. The increasing demand for nickel, and more recently also cobalt, has led to increased exploration for ore sources. Major discoveries have resulted in Canada and Australia. These deposits, as well as others already known, are presently being developed and the process technology tested and evaluated for applicability to the different mineralogical types - mainly sulphide, arsenide and oxide laterites. Concentrates may be treated by either hydro- or pyrometallurgical processes, while the nickel laterites are best suited to hydrometallurgical processing. However, if hydrometallurgy is used, once the ore or concentrate is leached the resultant solutions are then amenable to similar separation technologies for purification and recovery of high purity nickel and cobalt products. Solvent extraction, together with other separation processes such as precipitation, can produce high purity solutions of nickel and cobalt. The final products of these solutions may be nickel and cobalt cathodes, metal powders precipitates or salts, depending on the final process of electrowinning, hydrogen reduction, precipitation, or crystallisation Respectively.

Jan 1, 1996

By P J. Ellen

The selection of the ore haulage system is a key decision made in the development of an underground mine. The haulage system is one of the components that define a mineÆs ability to respond to changes in mining inventory and market conditions. The complexity of this decision for Telfer Deeps was affected by the realisation during the feasibility process that the true scale of the potential underground mineralisation at Telfer was still to be quantified. This paper provides an overview of the process used in the Telfer Project Feasibility Study to select an ore haulage system for Telfer Deeps. The purpose is to highlight the value of impartially approaching tasks of this type with a robust process. The process should be able to respond to issues identified as the task progresses towards the objective of finding the best solution for an ore haulage system for the mine. For Telfer Deeps, this process resulted in the selection of a haulage system built around a shaft. The systems considered during the feasibility are discussed and the components of the haulage system constructed for Telfer Deeps are described.

Jan 1, 2005

By Sanjay Kumar Singh

This paper presents ground control technology associated with a continuous mining operation for mass exploitation of underground coal deposits in the Indian coal mining Industry It shows that competency of roof strata and performances of continuous miners are safer, than other coal mining method as well as productive and economical. Continuous miners keep playing a major role in the underground coal mining industry for their safety and as well as their productivity. Regarding past experiences in Indian coalfields, Chirimiri and Jhanjara mines have achieved exceptional performances, with a potential for over 500,000 tonnes per year. Tandsi mine has difficult roof conditions and does not typically achieve high production and productivity. Even so, the difficult roof conditions have been controlled with modern ?world best practice? roof bolting systems and an output of up to 1,200 tonnes per day has been achieved. It can further be emphasized that if this technology is implemented properly it will bring an unfathomable change to the Indian mining scenario. There are many mines in India that may have potential and economic viability with ground control technology concepts for installing continuous miner systems and beginning mass exploitation of underground coal deposits.

Jan 1, 2011

By James M. Link

The design and construction of cross-country pipelines for fluids such as crude oil appears relatively simple compared to the complex problems encountered in slurry systems. Considerable effort has been expended in hydraulic research laboratories in an attempt to improve the understanding of slurry behavior. This effort has been rewarded with considerable success and is best illustrated by the large number of slurry systems now planned or under construction. However, slurry transport in pipelines is still, in many instances, more of an art than a science. In order to minimize the risk factors in the construction and operation of large scale slurry systems, studies are frequently conducted in pilot scale test loops such as the one at the Colorado School of Mines Research Institute. The pilot scale projects are designed to provide the basic engineering data necessary to design slurry transport pipeline systems. Usually three slurry solid concentrations are pumped at various line velocities and optimum slurry densities and velocities are determined. Critical velocities, friction head losses, power requirements, and so forth, are also determined from measurements and calculations. Wear tests are also strongly recommended and anticipated pipe wear rates in inches per million tons of solids reported.

Jan 11, 1972

By T. Negeri, M. Boisclair, A. Bouajila

CanmetMINING has been working on process development for separation and concentration of rare earth bearing minerals from various ores. Among others, the flowsheet development for the Montviel Rare Earths/Nb deposit, located at the north end of the Abitibi region in Quebec and owned by GeoMegA Resources Inc. (GeoMegA) is now at an advanced stage. The concentrate produced by a flotation-only process at the early stage of the project accounted for higher than 90% TREO and Nb recovery in 40% mass. This concentrate was submitted to SGS Lakefield for hydrometallurgical processing. Lixiviation of the concentrate using hydrochloric acid yielded approximately 99 % REE. An overall (from ore in ground to final precipitate) REE recovery of 80% was obtained through a series of selective precipitation steps. Recently significant additional developments have been made. CanmetMINING is steadily improving the quality of concentrate produced through a simplified, more efficient flowsheet which consists of flotation, magnetic separation, and a thermal treatment procedure. The paper discusses aspects of the process that allowed obtaining 82% recovery of TREO and Nb in 16% of mass, the best result to-date.

Jan 1, 2014

By La Brooy S R, Fenton K

A low grade copper flotation tailing from Telfer containing 1.2% Cu as chalcocite and cuprite and 5 gt-t Au was leached with ammonia, cyanide and ammonia-cyanide mixtures to extract copper and/or gold. Direct cyanidation extracted both copper and gold but consumed about 30 kgt 1 NaCN. Pre-leaching the tailing with an aerated ammonia solution containing 28 kgt 1NH3 and 17 kgtl(NHa)2S0a at pH 10 readily extracted up to 95% Cu in about 6 hours under optimum conditions. However pH and total ammonia concentration were critical factors. Subsequent cyanidation ex- tracted 80% Au using 6 kgt NNaCN. Ammonia-cyanide mixtures werefound to selectively leach gold over copper depending on the concentration and relative proportion of NH3 and CN. The best composition for leaching up to 80% Au from Teller tailing was 1.6 kgt t NaCN and 1.1 kgf 1 NH3 in the presence of 0.3 kgt t Cue+. Such a mixture left only 50 mgL-1Cu in the final solution after precipitation of some of the initially dissolved copper.

Jan 1, 1991

By Homer W. Riley, C S. Jenkins

SMALL power-driven, toothed, cast-iron rolls were used first to break anthracite in 1844. Prior to that time, men with hammers, who stood on perforated cast-iron- plates, .broke the large lumps into commercial sizes. In order to convert run-of-mine into the various sizes required by the anthracite industry, about 20 million tons must be broken, annually, [ ] into smaller sizes. This phase of anthracite preparation is of major importance, because the degradation accompanying reduction in coal sizes should be kept at a minimum. The exclusive use of toothed rolls for that purpose indicates that comminution by rolls is the best solution of the problem. Many improvements have been made in tool design, but the most important was a reduction of the peripheral speed of the rolls from 1000 to 300 ft. per minute. The higher speed was based upon and approximated the velocity of a falling piece of coal when it entered the rolls. Exhaustive roll tests at the slower speed showed that the same size reduction could be affected with less degradation. The adoption, there- fore, of slow-speed, compound geared rolls, especially for breaking the

Jan 1, 1943

By E. A. Reilly, G. R. Gardner, F. P. Lasseter

THE methods that may be applied to the treatment of slurries and water, as these are related to practical coal-preparation problems, are concerned essentially with the movements of solids suspended in water. It is assumed that there are no fundamental differences between the principles involved in the treatment of coal slurries and the phenomena encountered in general mineral-dressing practice, and the latter are presented in some detail. Basic principles are correlated with present practice for both the anthracite and the bituminous coal. fields, and meth¬ods are discussed which are designed to utilize best all the material subjected to treatment and suggest a sound approach to the solution of problems relating to the return of clear water to process or to streams. In order to approach the practical phases of the subject with sufficient understanding of the basic principles, it is necessary to discuss two types of phenomena that are applicable. The first is flocculation and the second is sedimentation. Descriptive matter is given covering the various meth¬ods and types of equipment employed to conduct these operations, with emphasis on their application to water and coal-slurry treatment.

Jan 1, 1943

By Perring CS, Vearncombe J. R, Ho SE, Groves DI

Large Late Archaean greenstone belts in Western Australia, Canada and Zimbabwe, contain abundant mesothermal gold, volcanogenic massive base-metal sulphide, and komatiite-associated Ni-Cu mineralization. These greenstone belts are similar in many respects to convergent and accretionary plate margins found in the Pacific rim; modem environments which are cor-respondingly rich in gold and base-metal mineralization. The giant gold placer deposits of the Late Archaean Witwatersrand Basin (the world&apos;s largest gold producer) formed in a foreland or retro-arc basin; in a similar tectonic setting to much modem placer mineralization around the Pacific. Gold and volcanogenic base-metal sulphide mineralization are abundant in Late Archaean terranes and the Pacific rim because1. gold mineralization is a product of convergent margin tectonics, and 2. accretion in convergent margin orogens provides the best chance of preserving base-metal mineralization related to submarine volcanism.It is therefore likely that the abundance of gold and base-metal sulphide mineralization in the Late Archaean reflects the widespread growth and sta-bilization of continental crust via tectonic processes broadly similar to those operating in the present Pacific basin.

Jan 1, 1990

By R. W. Shoenberger, J. E. McNulty, B. R. Kuchta, William Spackman, A. A. Terchick, M. E. Hopkins, Norman Schapiro, R. J. Gray, A. F. Duzy, M. P. Corriveau

INTRODUCTION * The United States is fortunate in having abundant reserves of metallurgical-grade coals. Although these coals are better in quality and more accessible than most metallurgical-grade coals found throughout the rest of the world, the best grades of these coals are being depleted. Consequently, more efficient exploration tools and techniques, such as advanced methods of core drilling and logging, correlation by petrography, paleontology, palynology, † physical stratigraphy, and geophysical methods are being used to help assess the extent and quality of the remaining coal reserves. Exploration and assessment of new and existing coal properties become of utmost importance in determining ( 1 ) the economic justification for mining the coal, (2) the optimum design of the preparation plant, and (3) the most effective use of the coal. Recent progress has been made in relating mineral matter, especially pyrite, in coal to geologic conditions and paleogeographic trends. l * Editor&apos;s note: Because of the numerous and varied contributions of the associate authors of this chapter, the text does not differentiate between sections prepared by each individual as has been done in other chapters. † Palynology is the science concerned with plant microfossils, especially spores. pollen. and other fossils of microscopic size.

Jan 1, 1979

By Moxon N. T

A series of low shock energy water resistant emlulsion based explosives have been developed by combining inert materials, such as Perlite P500, into the formulation. The material handling, water resistance and explosive properties of these mixtures were determined as a function of inert additive type, density, charge diameter and emulsion base. Of the emulsion bases tested Emulite produced the best and most stable low density mixtures ranging in density from 0.8 to 1.35 g/cm3 producing velocity of detonations (unconfined) ranging from 3000 to 5500 nits. The mixtures could be detonated successfully at these densities at diameters as low as 25mm. Low shock mixtures formed by combining Emulite with Perlite P500 were successfully trailed at the Cadjebut zinc mine in Western Australia. The performance of the explosive, at three densities, was monitored using both continuous and point to point VOD techniques. The fragmentation produced by the blasts were compared by photographic analysis. During this trial the low shock emulsion mixtures were shown to be as effective as the currently used explosives (packaged emulsion) at a significantly reduced cost.

Jan 1, 1990

By Richard G. Sandberg

Sphalerite concentrates prepared during processing of Missouri lead ores contain small percentages of cobalt and nickel which adversely affect zinc electrolysis. The Bureau of Mines has evaluated solvent extraction and precipitation techniques to remove and recover cobalt and nickel from zinc sulfate solution prior to zinc electrolysis. Prepared zinc sulfate solutions containing about 190 gpl of zinc and 50 ppm of both cobalt and nickel were treated using various combinations of complexing reagents, solvent, pH, concentration, time, and temperature. The following complexing reagents gave the best results: a-nitroso-ß-naphthol, ß-nitroso-a-naphthol, 1,2 cyclohexane dione dioxime (nioxime), di-2-pyridyl ketone oxime, and dimethylglyoxime. These reagents in suitable solvents lowered the cobalt and nickel levels to <0.1 ppm. Stripping the complexed reagents from the solvents was not possible except for nioxime. Direct addition of the appropriate reagent to the prepared zinc sulfate solution resulted in the precipitation of cobalt and nickel. Several possible flowsheets are presented for the removal and recovery of cobalt and nickel. Good zinc deposits were successfully electrowon from zinc sulfate solutions purified by solvent extraction and precipitation.

Jan 1, 1978

By Duncan GR

Having passed through a number of previous phases the best longwall results in Australia have shown a significant increase in the last two years. The results expected from a longwall face can be estimated from the ideal production rate, determined by the capacity of the equipment and the conditions in which it is installed, the utilisation, and the available operating hours. Back analysis of the results achieved suggests that, on average, recent improvements arise from the higher capacity equipment recently installed; the utilisation has in fact reduced slightly. Review of the constraints which limit the longwall results, i.e. shearer speed, AFC capacity, support, advance rate, and man travel speed, shows that little improvement can be expected in the ideal production rate in thinner seams. In thicker seams the AFC often proves the overriding constraint and further increase in equipment size could lead to increased future ideal production rates and is expected. In all cases a concerted effort to increase the utilisation achieved is likely. For deep mines with thin to medium seams this offers the most viable path to improvement; by contrast thick seams with highwall/shallow access may benefit from further increase in equipment size.

Jan 1, 1988

By Eric G. Zahl

Researchers at the Spokane Research Laboratory of the National institute for Occupational Safety and health are evaluating stress and displacement measurements in a longwall coal mine. The objective is to determine the best indicators of coal bump hazards during operations so that mine foremen and technical stall can make more informed intervention decisions to protect miners from coal bumps. Instruments were clustered in two panels, a yield pillar, and the immediate roof and floor of a two-entry longwall coal mine. Data were gathered continuously from a variety of instruments as mining proceeded toward and past the instrument cluster. Researchers and the mine&apos;s technical staff evaluated these data with respect to coal bumps and bump mechanisms. Selected graphs were then presented to mine foremen on a periodic basis to test their usefulness in identifying hazards. Of particular interest was the use of horizontal stress data from the immediate roof. To measure changes in horizontal stress, a new technique was devel¬oped for installing a grouted biaxial stressmeter in the roof. An evaluation of the development of this stress monitoring system in producing data beneficial to mine foremen is presented.

Jan 1, 2000