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By I. Ince, S. Kahraman, M. Rostami, B. Dibavar

The density, porosity, and strength of rocks are fundamental in the design of geo-engineering projects. Determining these properties requires the preparation of smooth core samples, which is usually impossible for soft rocks. Besides, only fragmented samples may be available in some projects. A method for predicting rock properties from rock particles such as drilling debris would therefore be useful. This study was undertaken to develop prediction equations for compressive strength (UCS), tensile strength (BTS), density, and porosity values from the crushability index (CI) obtained from rock fragments. The results showed that UCS, BTS, density, and porosity were strongly correlated with the CI. The physical characteristics and strength of rocks may be predicted with the help of the derived equations. The CI test is a valuable tool for estimating rock properties in drilling projects and in situations where core specimens are not available.

Mar 14, 2024

By I. J. Geldenhuys

South Africa’s mining and metals industries have an illustrious history dating back to the Late Iron Age. We live in a complex and data-intensive world that has already fundamentally changed how we work and live. The outbreak of the global COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 resulted in immeasurable suffering worldwide, but the crisis also accelerated many technological developments and altered the way we think about, and experience, technology and work. Problem-solving requires new and rapidly changing skills to manage the data tsunami. Whether at the rock face or on the processing plant, the fundamentals have not changed, although how we interact with minerals and their properties has changed dramatically. Sustainable processing and design are non-negotiable if we genuinely want to achieve the aim of the cradle-to-cradle principle. As we venture forth, what can scientists, engineers, technologists, and mathematicians learn from history? History is data presented in a context; sometimes, the context is also important. We exist in an age of data, with most of the world’s data created in only the past two years. History can enhance our understanding of the present and enhance our future outcomes. Lessons from history can help provide insights into making ethical and sustainable choices related to technology or engineering in the mining and metallurgical industry. Shifting the perspective of mining and metallurgy professionals from a narrow focus on complex technical solutions towards a broader context for problem-solving and designs that includes the entire ecosystem is crucial. In other words, using or reflecting on historical process development is, at its core, systems thinking.

Sep 1, 2021

By J. L. Havenga, L. J. van der Walt, J. T. Nel

"SynopsisThe development of plasma technology at Necsa started in the early 1980s, when the applicability of high-temperature plasmas in the nuclear fuel cycle was investigated. Since 1995, this plasma expertise has expanded to other industrial applications, for example mineral beneficiation, nanotechnology, fluorocarbon production and waste treatment, all of which are also of relevance to the nuclear industry.Necsa has demonstrated the manufacture of plasma-dissociated zircon, zirconium metal powder, carbon nanotubes, silicon carbide (SiC), zirconium carbide (ZrC) and boron carbide (B4C) at the laboratory and pilot plant scale. These materials are commonly used in the nuclear industry. Zirconium alloys are used as fuel cladding material for nuclear fuel assemblies.Necsa manufactured the monomer tetrafluoroethylene (TFE), using 150 and 450 kW DC plasma systems, from which the polymer polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) was synthesized for use in filters and as seals in nuclear plants. With the nuclear renaissance at hand, it was demonstrated that plasma technology can be used to produce hydrofluoric acid (HF), which is used in the manufacture of fluorine gas (F2) for the production of uranium hexafluoride (UF6) directly from the mineral calcium fluoride (CaF2) without the use of sulphuric acid as in the conventional process. The recovery of valuable uranium from nuclear waste such as filters, oils, and solids with plasma processes will also be discussed. The destruction of low-level nuclear waste by a plasma gasification system can reduce the volume of this waste by several orders in magnitude, resulting in huge savings in the storage costs. Another product of plasma technology is the encapsulation process for nuclear waste and the production of vitrified product, which could be used as filler material for medium-level nuclear waste.IntroductionDuring the 1980s, a plasma research and development programme was launched at the erstwhile Uranium Enrichment Corporation of South Africa (UCOR) at Valindaba outside Pretoria. The main purpose of this programme was to develop alternative and more economical processes for the processing and manufacturing of uranium compounds used in the nuclear fuel cycle. The conversion of UO2 (as received from uranium mines) to UF6, which is needed for enrichment, conventionally involves several laborious, expensive, chemical processing steps. Plasma processes can eliminate several of the intermediate steps. Enriched UF6 is converted to UO2, which is pressed into pellets that are used in nuclear power plants. Plasma technology could also be used in a modified and optimized conversion process."

Jan 1, 2015

By L. A. Balzan, M. Kalicinski, F. Nieuwenhuys

GEOSCANs on belt analysers have been widely utilised in iron ore for nearly two decades. Since the first installations in 2003, the availability of accurate and reliable grade data has become standardised across iron ore mines in the Northern Cape, where various streams are monitored continuously to ensure the optimal functioning of plants. Assmang Khumani has been at the forefront of technology adoption and has implemented 19 GEOSCANs at various locations throughout the plant, monitoring run-of-mine, stockyard feed, beneficiation plant feeds, and products. Over the years, collaborative advances in the technology have allowed for numerous benefits and gains to be made. In recent times, there has been a concerted effort on the development of analysis for phosphorus in the material flows, and based on Scantech's experience in the phosphate industry, this element has now been calibrated to achieve statistically acceptable and repeatable accuracies for real time analysis of this element on many of Khumani's GEOSCAN analysers. This paper provides an overview of GEOSCAN use at Khumani, while focusing on the development of phosphorus analysis. A case study of analysis results is presented for a range of analysers that have been calibrated for this element, as well as a discussion on the benefits obtained as a result of this analysis. Keywords: Online analysis, real-time, process control

Jan 1, 2020

By N. X. Feng, S. G. Zhou, X. L. Wu, J. P. Peng, Y. Z. Di

"Szaibelyite–suanite type ore is rich in magnesium oxide and boron oxide. We propose a new method to extract both metallic magnesium and valuable residues rich in boron by reduction using metallic aluminium.Thermodynamic analysis of the reactions between aluminum and MgO, Mg2B2O5, and Mg3B2O6 was carried out. The effects of CaF2 addition, temperature, mass of Al, and pellet formation pressure on the extraction of magnesium were also investigated experimentally.The results indicate that the magnesium oxide phase can be displaced from 2MgO-B2O3 and 3MgO·B2O3 by CaO in the reduction system. The reduction ratio of magnesium oxide was 38% without calcium fluoride addition, increasing to 94% with 5.1% calcium fluoride. The reduction ratio increased with increasing temperature and mass of Al. To obtain a higher reduction ratio, the reduction pellet should be formed under a reasonable pressure.IntroductionBoron and its compounds are widely used in textiles, borosilicate glass, metallurgy, fertilizers, and nuclear shielding. Boron resources are mainly found in Turkey, the USA, Russia, and China. In Liaoning, China, there are abundant szaibelyite–suanite type ores that are rich in magnesium oxide and boron oxide. Szaibelyite and suanite ores are used to produce borax by a carbon dioxide– soda process. Annually, 2 Mt of waste materials containing 3–20% B2O3 and 2–25% MgO are produced during the process. It is necessary to make use of these waste materials containing high concentrations of boron oxide and magnesium oxide to avoid environmental problems as well as for economic reasons (Ozdemir and K1pcak, 2007)"

Jan 1, 2016

By N. Mutemeri, T. -L. Field, M. Chuma

The categorization of artisanal and small-scale mining has a significant impact on perception and understanding of the sector, particularly from a livelihood perspective. Several developing countries classify different types of artisanal and small-scale mining based on legal status. Given the nature such activities, the tragedy of the commons theory has been applied to understand the inevitable environmental, economic, sociocultural, safety, and health negative externalities – which are products of informality and illegality. Consequently, formalization is a panacea to sustainability. This article aims to offer a conceptual organization and foundational knowledge for characterization of artisanal and small-scale mining. It seeks to identify existing literature on the subject to avoid replication and acknowledge other scholars. Moreover, the article aims to place the study within the context of existing literature, establishing relationships with other studies and why the research is necessary. This paper pinpoints gaps left from other studies in so far as the characterization of artisanal and small-scale mining is concerned. Thus, reviewing literature abetted in finding similarities and differences on how artisanal and small-scale mining is defined from a scholarly and legal basis. The paper ascertains major claims made by earlier research on this topic, such as environmental impacts, the lack of adequate regulatory framework, and presents querying and probing questions lacking from other studies.

Jul 10, 2024

By E. S. van Druten, M. C. Bekker

"The complete and successful closure of a mine in the South African environment remains problematic. Closure remains an elusive mining phase due to unclear roles and responsibilities, inaccurate closure management data, and the inability of stakeholders to conceptualize and integrate closure information into business processes. Currently there are no proven methods available to address the complexities encountered during a closure application, and to date no mine has been granted full closure. Many mines are left abandoned and unrehabilitated, resulting in risk to investors, surrounding communities, and regulators. This investigation aimed to determine, categorize, and rank reasons for unsuccessful mine closures. Focus groups consisting of public and private stakeholders were identified and surveyed through a structured, rank-order questionnaire to determine the relative importance of reasons why achieving formal and final mine closure remains elusive. Various requirements and aspects were identified and listed according to four categories: namely, primary, secondary, process drivers, and information sources. These aspects should be considered in the development of an integrated mine closure model.Background and rationalePrior to 1956, mine closures were not subject to legislative requirements, being merely governed by insufficient environmental regulations under the Mines and Works Act 27 (MWA) (Swart, 2003). In 1981 the Chamber of Mines (COM) published a document titled ‘The rehabilitation of land disturbed by surface coal mining’, which constituted the first notable contribution to environmental protection. This guideline was later referenced in the Minerals Act of 1991, which for the first time laid definite environmental burdens on the Mining Right Holder (MRH). The Minerals Act of 1991 was superseded by the current Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) and the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act Regulations (MPRDAR), which specify a regulatory process for mine closure applications and financial provisions."

Jan 1, 2017

By A. M. Venter, C. W. Siyasiya, N. K. K. Arthur, M. G. Willemse, D. Marais

Although additive manufacturing is fast gaining traction in the industrial world as a reputable manufacturing technique to complement traditional mechanical machining, it still has problems such as porosity and residual stresses in components that give rise to cracking, distortion, and delamination, which are important issues to resolve in structural load-bearing applications. This research project focused on the characterization of the evolution of residual stresses in Ti-6Al-4V extra-low interstitial (ELI) additive-manufactured test samples. Four square thin-walled tubular samples were deposited on the same baseplate, using the direct energy deposition laser printing process, to different build heights. The residual stresses were analysed in the as-printed condition by the neutron diffraction technique and correlated to qualitative predictions obtained using the ANSYS software suite. Good qualitative agreement between the stress measurements and predictions were observed. Both approaches revealed the existence of large tensile stresses along the laser track direction at the sections that were built last, i.e., centre of the top layers of the samples. This in addition leads to large tensile stresses at the outer edges (corners) which would have the effect of separating the samples from the baseplate should the stresses exceed the yield strength of the material. Such extreme conditions did not occur in this study, but the stresses did lead to significant distortion of the baseplate. In general, the microstructures and spatial elemental mapping revealed a strong correlation between the macro-segregation of elemental V and the distribution of the β-phase in the printed parts.

Feb 6, 2023

By S. Moolla, R. Lynch, S. Brijraj

A reliable method to locate microseismic evets is an important objective for routine mine seismic monitoring. We developed an algorithm that can automatically and reliably locate an event from a single uniaxial trace. Signals created by microseismic events are recorded as seismograms that consist of direct P- and S-waves as well as the waves reflected off the underground excavations. We take advantage of the extra complexity these reflections introduce as they make the signal more unique. In our investigation we cross-correlated unaltered synthetic seismograms against trial waveforms created from a linear combination of appropriate waveforms from a library of numerically calculated strain Green’s tensors. We use a single uniaxial synthetic seismogram to invert for the source location, six moment tensor components, and frequency. The resulting cost functions are constructed as maximal correlations at each node in the mine grid through the true source x-planes. This function is maximized by differential evolution to simultaneously yield the source parameters. Sensitivity tests such as shifting the mine plans and altering the background velocities of the media are investigated to test the robustness of the method. We contaminate the data with 40% white noise to test the resolution against simulated real recorded seismograms. The method is demonstrated using synthetic data calculated with a realistic underground 3D velocity model.

Jun 10, 2024

By J. A. Kinnaird, B. J. Youlton, K. L. Youlton

Methods for treating and processing refractory gold ores are well established. However, what is less well understood is how the formation of the gold-bearing deposits affects gold processing and extraction. In order to evaluate the effect of ore genesis on gold extraction a number of South African gold deposits were studied. These included complex Pilgrim’s Rest samples as well as refractory Fairview, Barbrook, and Consolidated Murchison samples. We found the refractory nature of gold ores is controlled by a limited number of well-understood mineralogical factors. Solid solution gold is linked to low temperature and pressure conditions in fine-grained sedimentary lithologies, while reactive pyrrhotite can form from hydrothermal fluids associated with mafic magmatic rocks. These formational controls can be used to identify and avoid complex deposits at a desktop study phase, or address and reduce complications further along the pipeline using early mineralogical studies.

Jun 1, 2021

By M. Åstrand, M. Johansson

"Advanced planning and automation are increasingly important in modern mines. Sophisticated methods for long-term mine planning are often used, and the advent of autonomous machines makes the actual operation more predictable. However, the interface between these two timescales, i.e. the scheduling of the mobile production fleet, often limits the ability to operate mines at maximum profitability. We show how scheduling the production fleet in an underground mine can be modelled as a flow shop. A flow shop is a general abstract process formulation that captures the key properties of a scheduling problem without going into specific details. Thus, the flow shop enables mine scheduling to reap the benefits of scheduling research from other industries. We review recent results from the mining community and the flow shop community, and introduce scheduling methods used in these two fields. This work aims at providing value to researchers from the mining community who want to leverage their skill set, as well as to theoretical researchers by presenting the mining process as a potential application area. Lastly, we discuss the results, and outline some future challenges and opportunities facing the industry. IntroductionThe margins in underground mining are constantly under pressure since costs increase as the mine becomes deeper. One major component influencing the operational performance, and thus the profitability of an underground mine, is how the mobile machinery and staff are coordinated. Today, the coordination of the underground fleet, i.e. scheduling of the machines, is mostly done manually, with methods that are stretched to their limit and with no guarantees on performance. According to a survey of more than 200 high-level executives in mining companies around the world (Mincom, 2011), the top challenge for modern mines is to maximize production effectiveness, rather than improving the reliability of individual items of equipment. This highlights the importance of coordination on a system level.The effectiveness of mine production can be increased by introducing supportive algorithms in the scheduling process. These algorithms enable mines to construct optimized schedules with respect to custom metrics. Additionally, manual scheduling is a tedious and error-prone task where the performance is heavily dependent on the scheduler. To reduce the staff dependency, supportive algorithms can help to achieve more uniform outcomes, resulting in a more predictable process. In turn, this increases the transparency of the mining process through the entire production chain. It is worth noting that automatic scheduling has proved beneficial in many other industries, such as chemicals and metals (Floudas and Lin, 2004; Tang et al., 2001)."

Dec 1, 2018

By C. Liu, F. Ye

"To extend the variety of lump ores that are used in the COREX shaft furnace and to optimize iron ore blending, the original evaluation method for iron ores that was proposed by Voestalpine AG has been improved. Physicochemical and metallurgical properties of iron ores, including Sishen lump ore and CVRD pellets, which are currently used in the COREX process, and three other lump ores, were assessed and compared. Ore matching principles were proposed and five optimized iron ore blending schemes designed and verified by laboratory experiments to prove the effectiveness of the improved evaluation method. The replacement of Sishen lump ore by the alternative L2 and L3 lump ores without varying the proportion of CVRD pellets could improve the degree of reduction and rate of metallization, and decrease the bonding index. Based on the results of laboratory test work and industrial- trials, an ore blending scheme of 60% CVRD, 20% L2, and 20% L3 is recommended for use in the COREX process. IntroductionIn recent years, problems such as environmental pollution and a shortage of coke and coal resources for blast-furnace ironmaking have become increasingly apparent. Based on sustainable developments in the iron- and steelmaking industries, the environmentally friendly COREX smelting-reduction process with low energy consumption was developed and introduced (Zhou and Du, 2013; Song, Lv, and Yin, 2015; Xu et al., 2016; Kurunov, 2010). The evaluation system for lump ore that was proposed by Voestalpine AG recommends that only Sishen lump ore from South Africa be used in the COREX process, because of the stringent physicochemical and metallurgical property requirements. This situation significantly hampers improvements to the technical and economic aspects of the COREX ironmaking process, especially in China (Eberle, Siuka, and Bohm, 2006). No theoretical or technical basis has been provided for the evaluation system, and the assessment approach for iron ores also presents problems that need to be discussed and resolved.The COREX process consists of two reactors: the prereduction shaft furnace and the melting gasifier as shown in Figure 1 (Wu et al., 2017). Pellets and lump ores which are charged to the prereduction shaft should have a good reducibility and metallization with a low degradation index (Li et al., 2016; Wu et al., 2011; Kumar et al., 2009; Kang, Gupta, and Sahajwalla, 2007). The properties and microstructure of the iron ore pellets which are required to achieve a high productivity and a lower fuel rate in the COREX process have been investigated (Umadevi et al., 2011). Some efforts have also been made to investigate the behaviour of lump ores in the COREX shaft furnace, including the disintegration characteristics and the reduction degradation (Umadevi et al., 2011; Zhou et al., 2015; Xu et al., 2013; Li, Feng, and Zou, 2013; Hou et al., 2014). However, few studies have focused on the optimization of ore blending for partial or total substitution of the expensive Sishen lump ore by other, cheaper lump ores to reduce the production cost. The technology for the utilization of blended lump ores in the COREX process is still in its early development stages (Zhou et al., 2017; You et al., 2017)."

May 1, 2019

By I. Zh. Bunin, M. V. Ryazantseva, V. A. Chanturiya

The paper proposes a new method for selective calciferous separation. The effect was achieved through the application of the combination of high-power electromagnetic pulses (HPEMP) and a specific reagent regime of the flotation. The combined application of HPEMP with the special reagent regime allowed for the improvement of the scheelite floatability: the recovery of CaWO4 rises from 41.2 % (untreated sample) to 58.5 (sample treated at 103 pulses). In contrast, the floatability of calcite decreases significantly: the recovery of calcite drops from 74.7% (untreated sample) to 41.1 % (sample treated at 103 pulses). The conditions were found for the selective separation of the minerals with very close flotation properties. Keywords: Calcite, scheelite, flotation, high-power electromagnetic pulses, DRIFT, XPS

Jan 1, 2020

By N. Naude, L. S. Leal Filho, M. P. Tshazi

In this paper, the authors performed experiments in the Denver and Leeds laboratory flotation devices at the University of Pretoria at various particle sizes to evaluate the performance of the devices. Quartz was used in a single mineral system at discrete sizes fractions, -25 μm, +25- 45 μm, +45-75 μm, and +75-106 μm. Hydrodynamic analysis, based on dimensionless power and Reynolds numbers, indicated that the Leeds cell required higher power input to achieve comparable flow conditions. Specifically, the Leeds cell exhibited an average power number of 1.03, whereas the Denver cell averaged 0.77 within the same impeller speed range of 1000 rpm–1500 rpm. For comparative flotation performance, impeller speeds were calibrated, resulting in operating speeds of 1200 rpm for the Denver cell and 1400 rpm for the Leeds cell. The cells performed similarly at two coarser-sized fractions. However, some deviations were observed in the finer particle size range. The -25 μm (fine) fraction initially achieved a recovery of only 15%. An additional reagent dosage was required to enhance the recovery of this fraction significantly. These findings highlighted the influence of particle size on flotation recovery. For all experiments, the Denver laboratory flotation cell outperformed (defined by higher recovery) the Leeds device, while still operating at a lower impeller speed. This advantage can be attributed to its impeller-stator design and air dispersion features, effectively overcoming slurry resistance and resulting in superior flotation performance compared to the Leeds cell.

May 27, 2025

By R. E. Phillips, L. A. Cramer, R. T. Jones

Atomaer (Pty) Ltd is a technology-driven company with interests in Western Australian nickel. Atomaer (RSA) Pty Ltd is a process technology company operating in Southern Africa. It is a subsidiary of Atomaer Holdings Pty Limited (Atomaer), which has operating companies in Australia, Africa, South America, and Europe. In addition, Atomaer has substantial shareholdings in Braemore Resources Plc, a nickel company with interests in sulphide nickel projects in Western Australia and Southern Africa listed on the Alternative Investment Market of London Stock Exchange (AIM); Mintails Limited, a gold company with interests in gold operations in South Africa listed on the Australia Stock Exchange; and Brinkley Mining Plc, a uranium company with interests in Southern Africa listed on the AIM. Independence Platinum Limited (IPt) has been formed by Atomaer to undertake the commercial development and exploitation of Mintek's ConRoast technology with the strategic objective of providing independent smelting and refining facilities with lower capital and operating costs for the treatment and processing of platinum concentrates, including those with high chrome and/or nickel and/or low platinum group metal values, for the development of platinum projects by junior resource companies in South Africa. The platinum mines of South Africa have traditionally exploited the Merensky Reef of the Bushveld Complex for platinum production. However, the mining of this reef is reaching depths that require significant vertical shaft systems and costly refrigeration for access to the ore bodies at deeper levels. In the past decade, all of the platinum producers have begun to mine the UG2 reef because of its cheaper mining costs. UG2 ore usually has lower platinum group metal contents and higher chrome values. The new junior resource companies have gained access primarily to UG2 reefs. Consequently, platinum mining is becoming more UG2-based and the resulting concentrates contain high levels of chromitite. UG2 concentrates are difficult to smelt in the current six-in-line submerged arc furnaces, and this leads to increased capital and operating costs for those smelting operations. The platinum mines of South Africa produce the majority of the world's platinum metal used in automotive catalysts and jewellery. As the platinum market is forecast to grow at a healthy rate into the future, the SA producers Anglo Platinum, Impala, Lonmin, and Northam are planning to expand mining operations in the next decade. Furthermore, a number of smaller new producers who are accessing other mineral resources are entering the buoyant market and will produce platinum concentrates for purchase or toll treatment. Hence, a shortage in both smelting and refining capacities is anticipated. Further smelting and refining facilities independent of the major platinum producers will be required in South Africa by 2010. Mintek's ConRoast technology is best suited to fill the need to treat a high proportion of UG2 concentrates in a cost-effective and technically efficient manner. Atomaer base metals technology has been developed for rapid leaching of nickel and other base metals from alloy. Significant reductions in capital and operating costs are expected from the combination of the two advances in process technology compared with that installed at the existing smelters and refineries that were established over 20 years ago. Independence Platinum will be listed on AIM and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) in 2007, and developed as an independent, vertically-integrated platinum company using its independent smelting and base metals refining facilities as a strategic platform to promote the development and mining of platinum projects by junior resource companies in South Africa through technical co-operation, strategic alliances, joint ventures, off-take, toll-refining, and marketing agreements.

Jan 1, 2006

From its early beginnings, shortly after the Witwatersrand gold rush of 1886, Randfontein Estates was planned as a heavyweight operation. The venture was capitalized by J .B. Robinson to the tune of £2 million at time when syndicates were loath to invest £50000 in ventures in and around the new metropolis, Johannesburg, which had sprung up midway along the Witwatersrand. But by then Robinson was a colossus among his contemporaries. Operating as a loner as he had done on the Kimberley diamond fields, where he created his own individual fortune and commanded the sort of respect which, early in his career, led to his election as Mayor of Kimberley. When news of a third gold discovery in the Transvaal (the first two had been in the Pilgrim's Rest and Barberton areas) reached Kimberley, Robinson's pioneering spirit was further stired and he hastened to the new goldfield to stake his claims before his business adversaries- Rhodes, John X. Meriman, Hans Sauer, and Caldecot-could entrench themselves. Once the new Witwatersrand goldfields had been proclaimed, claimpegging started in earnest. But the question was: where to start? Diamond men al, not one of the financiers had any knowledge of the geology of the gold-bearing formations.

Jan 1, 1989

By M. David

This paper addresses the problem of technological transfer in geostatistics. Expert systems have become popular in certain fields because the needs of the industry are not provided for by traditional concepts and systems of education. The explicit knowledge approach in developing expert systems is presented through two experiments. The first describes a dedicated system written in GOLDEN LISP and the second a shell, using INSIGHT2, which has more general applications. Using expert systems forces on the user a new approach to parameter definition, and as an example an original method for the research of any anisotropy axes is developed which might well be useful in traditional programming. Two examples of application to a coal and a gold deposit are given.

Jan 1, 1987

By M. M. Masood, G. Y. Raju, T. Verma

The inverse velocity method has proven to be an effective approach for predicting slope failures in surface mines by analysing displacement monitoring data. However, the accuracy of inverse velocity method predictions is significantly affected by instrumental noise and natural environmental variations, which influence the identification of different deformation stages. To enhance predictive accuracy, this study applies and evaluates three filtering techniques to velocity time series data: Exponential smoothing filter, short-term smoothing filter, long-term smoothing filter and also compares it to raw data (no filtering). A refined prediction framework, that is, filtered inverse velocity method analyser, is proposed to improve slope failure forecasting in surface mining operations. The results demonstrate that filter selection plays a crucial role in optimising failure time predictions, offering valuable insights for geotechnical monitoring and early warning systems in surface mines.

Sep 1, 2025

By K. C. Corin, M. Tadie, R. M. Manenzhe

The near depletion of high-grade ores, among other factors, has necessitated the consideration of alternative PGM sources. Various factors in the metallurgical processing of ores result in valuable minerals being lost to the tailings, and hence, PGM tailings are a possible alternative PGM source. However, as the value residing in PGM tailings remains unquantified and uncharacterised, there is a challenge in knowing the recoverable fraction of value contained in PGM wastes. This paper outlines the in-situ techniques of oxygen uptake and EDTA extraction for their possible use for determining the recoverable value in PGM tailings. Both methods have shown efficiency in determining the weathering of sulphide minerals and sulphide-bearing ores. Keywords: PGM tailings, tailing retreatment, oxidation, oxygen decay, EDTA

Jan 1, 2020

The following is available free of charge from the Bismuth Institute, rue Brederode 9, B-I000 Brussels, Belgium: The chemical analysis of bismuth. Automatic methods of guiding welding heads along butt joints. Investigations into lamellar tearing. A technical survey of seam tracking methods in welding. Review - Seawater corrosion handbook, by M. Schumacher (editor). New Jersey, Noyes Data Corporation, 1979. New journal February 1979 marked the appearance of a new monthly journal, Lloyd's Shipping Economist. New edition Gasification of coal, a basic study of existing processes and new developments, by H. D. Schilling, B. Bonn, and U. Krauss (edited by W. Peters). Essen (West Germany), Verlag Gltickauf GMBH, 1979. 2nd revised edition. 336 pp. 68DM (approximately R32). In German. South African technikons The six autonomous colleges for advanced technical education in South Africa were established in terms of the Advanced Technical Education Act (Act 40 of 1967). However, since the inception of these colleges, it has become clear that members of the public find the name difficult to use and to remember. Consequently, these colleges, which play such an important role in the community, were not always correctly identified. Die forging The 9th International Conference on Die Forging will be held from Monday, 4th to Saturday 9th May, 1981, in Diisseldorf, Federal Republic of Germany. It is being organized jointly by the Forging Committee of the Verein Deutscher Eisenhiittenleute and the Vereinigung Deutscher Freiformschmieden. High-temperature alloys An International Conference on the Behaviour of High Temperature Alloys in Aggressive Environments will be held in Petten (North-Holland) from 15th to 18th October, 1979. Strategic minerals The National symposium on the availability of strategic minerals, which is being organized by the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy in collaboration with the Fellowship of Engineering, will be held at the London Press Centre, New Street Square, London EC4, on 20th and 21st November, 1979. The symposium has as its main objective consideration of those minerals that may pose problems of availability in the United Kingdom. Underwater mining The 10th Annual Underwater Mining Institute is scheduled for 1st to 3rd October, 1979, at Galveston, Texas. The Institute will be cosponsored by the Sea Grant College Programs of the University of Wisconsin and Texas A & M University and by the Marine Science Institute of the University of Texas it is being held in co-operation with the Association for Marine Mining. Die Suid-Afrikaanse Instituut Vir Mynbou En Metallurgie - Inligting Oor Lidmaatskap.

Jan 1, 1979