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By R. Latifovic

Assessment of the possible impact of existing and future mining projects located in remote areas may be difficult and costly. This may have an adverse effect on the process of issuing mine permits and development of new mines. A remote sensing based land cover change assessment methodology presented in this paper is a promising avenue to render this process more meaningful, precise and affordable. It has been applied to a case study of the Oil Sands Mining Development in the north-east of the Canadian province of Alberta. Recently, the Athabasca Oil Sands Region (AOSR) is a place of unprecedented growth of open-pit mining operations. This study was focused on the primary impact onto the landscape and vegetation resulting from exploration and, mining development. This impact was assessed using an information extraction method applied to two LANDSAT scenes. The analysis based on derived land cover maps shows a 8.64% decrease of natural vegetation in the study area (715,094 ha) in 2001 relative to 1992. It is demonstrated that the methodology presented here provides reliable results and is fully applicable for the assessment of the environmental impact of large scale mining operations.

Jan 1, 2006

By J. W. Langhans, B. D. Blake

The U. S. Bureau of Mines has been investigating the application of thiosulfate to recover gold directly from low grade refractory carbonaceous ores for the past four years. Statistical experimental methods were used to determine the effects of various leaching parameters on both gold extraction and thiosulfate consumption. Seven variables were investigated, including thiosulfate, copper, ammonia, sulfite, and sulfate concentrations, leaching time, and leaching atmosphere. This information was used in face-centered cubic (FCC) surface response experiments to define the optimum leaching conditions for a low grade ore. Two models were generated from the data to predict gold extraction and thiosulfate consumption as a function of the leaching parameters. The models predicted a gold extraction of 67 pct and reagent consumption of 2 kg [S2032/mt ore at 0.25 M S2032-, 0.0014 M Cu2+, 0.27 M NH,OH, 0.00625 M SO;-,] and leaching for 16 h. Actual tests resulted in 62 pct gold extraction with 0.93 kg S2032- consumed/mt ore. Subsequent column leaching tests have further demonstrated the viability of applying this technology to recover gold from carbonaceous ores without first pretreating the material. Gold extractions in the column tests ranged from 69 to 78 pct with thiosulfate consumption ranging from 0.4 to 5.4 kg/mt ore. These results compare to <5 pct gold extraction using standard cyanide leaching conditions.

Jan 1, 1996

By B. J. Arnold

Froth removal rate is perhaps the most important parameter in scaling up from laboratory tests to plant froth flotation circuits. The WEMCO froth factor, the percentage of the froth height over the lip of the cell, accounts for the difference between laboratory and plant froth removal rates. As laboratory tests are generally run with a high pulp level, laboratory results are directly comparable to plant results only when a high froth factor (high pulp level) is run in the plant. When a plant does not have a high pulp level, laboratory results must be modified by using a ratio between laboratory and plant kinetics to predict plant results. This ratio, which accounts for the froth factor is important in testing any new reagents or reagent dosage levels. CQ Inc. researchers have used predictive scale-up equations using this froth factor coupled with equations for kinetics and the residence time distribution in the froth flotation cells. These equations show that modifying the froth factor in the plant can have a large impact on flotation cell yield and reagent use. EQUATIONS DESCRIBING FROTH FLOTATION Scaling up from laboratory- to plant-scale coal froth flotation has been the subject of much research and debate over the years. Determining the proper rate equation to describe flotation kinetics and an equation to describe the residence time distribution in a bank of flotation cells have been particular areas of study. As shown in Tables 1 and 2, various rate equations and residence time distribution equations have been proposed in the literature. These equations consist of one or two parameters giving the rate constant(s) in units of time-1 and a parameter for recovery at infinite time, [Roo]. Dowling, Klimpel, and Aplan (1985) evaluated the rate equations in Table 1 for their ability to fit froth flotation kinetic data and found that all of the equations give reasonably low standard errors. Several of these equations, however, proved to have superior confidence limits for the parameters. Other equations have also been proposed to describe the recovery versus time profile. Most recently, Diao et al. (1992) proposed a first-order form with a sine wave distribution. As indicated in Table 2, investigators have suggested many equations to describe the residence time distribution in continuous froth flotation. To measure the water residence time distribution in a bank of cells, a soluble tracer is often used, with the level of tracer being measured over time at the tailings discharge. This response is then put on a dimensionless basis as described by Austin et al. (1984) in order to compare mixing behavior between cells or under different conditions. Coal flotation cells are generally of the flow-through or hog-trough variety allowing for some degree of backmixing and short-circuiting. While the water residence time distribution (see Figure 1) at the end of one cell in a bank of 1.4 cu ft WEMCO froth flotation cells may approximate perfect mixing conditions (Arnold, 1989), the water residence time distribution at the end of a bank of cells does not. Figure 2 shows the RTD for various flotation cell types compared to that for perfect mixers in series. To better describe the water residence time distribution in coal froth flotation cells, Van Orden (1986) used an equation similar to the perfect-mixers-in-aeries equation. This

Jan 1, 1993

By Christian Jeger

After recalling the principles underlying fire-damp flow in coal and the essential part played by permeability (Darcy&apos;s law) in the intensity of flow, a few theoretical and experimental results showing the possible causes and range of variation of coal seam permeability are presented. The study of firedamp flow into gate roads and of residual gas concentrations in coals as a function of the gate road distance, shows that, in French mines, coal seams in a virgin zone have a very low permeability, but they become permeable when destressed by mine workings, in particular overlying workings. This is the case not only in the fractured zone round a mine excavation in which the gas is released, but also beyond the limit of the zone degassed by the excavation. In the floor of flat seams, upward boreholes can be used for predegassing seams that have been relaxed but not degassed, as the result of an overlying coal face. In this respect we shall describe the predrainage experiment carried out in the Marienau district of the Lorraine coalfield. Predrainage can contribute considerably to the reduction of methane emission in the ventilation of newly opened longwall faces. But to be efficient and useful predrainage should meet certain conditions.

Jan 1, 1980

By M. G. Ayat, J. W. Leonard

Introduction Coal preparation plants are continuously losing clean coal in their refuse and contaminating their clean coal product with impurities. This is due to the lack of a system by which the immediate efficiency of the cleaning operation can be determined at any given time. Moreover, the advantage of developing tagging/ tracing techniques would be a reduction in the time and money spent in evaluating the performance of advanced cleaning techniques. Currently, conventional sampling and testing, on-line analyses, and computer information systems are the major tools with which engineers analyze and control the efficiency of processing plants. Conventional sampling and testing is an effective analysis technique but it is slow. On-line analysis provides information on quality parameters rapidly, but these parameters do not provide all of the necessary information. The use of tagged particles in coal preparation plants may provide the necessary link between diagnosis and the application of computers to process control. In this work, a novel technique that uses tagged particles to generate partition data is presented (Leonard et al., 1982). Individually prepared tagged particles are added to the feed and detected in the product or refuse port of specific gravity based processes. Providing that a computer can interpret the output of a detection device and trace particles with predetermined physical properties through the coal preparation plant and that the trace particles actually represent desired raw material, sufficient partition data can be provided for computer analyses and control of processing efficiency. Coal tagging technique The use of tagged particles in coal preparation operations are in the early stages of development. Though there is a brief history of particle tracing in the mineral processing industry (Gardner et al., 1986; Foreman and Amundson, 1976; Poston et al., 1962), the concept has not yet been applied to the analysis and control of processing plant operations. Several methods for tagging coal particles have been identified. These include magnetic, radioactive, and fluorescent techniques. As far as the magnetic tagging of coal particles is concerned, a method has been developed to manufacture synthetic magnetic particles of various sizes and specific gravities. Ideally the synthetic particles would have identical size and density as the coal particles being separated.

Jan 1, 1988

By John S. Lagarias

When ore bodies are faulted or mill feed turns refractory, mining managers and engineers act vigorously to convert imminent failure into eventual success. The recent proliferation of onerous "environmental" regulations and restraints is likewise a threat to successful mining enterprise, in some ways more insidious and dangerous than the problems presented by natural obstacles. The regulatory burden has become so heavy that a pall of pessimism covers much of the mining enterprise. In this paper we frankly recommend a Pollyanna approach, making not just "the best of it" but directing the whole environmental process: first, to improve our planning, engineering, and operating procedures; and, second, to demonstrate the need for modification of laws and regulations which are intolerably burden-some to both the mining industry and the public. It is customary for government officials and environmentalists to point out how great are the new environmental regulations and how successfully these have improved the natural environment in particular and the quality of life in general.

Jan 1, 1978

Jan 1, 1999

By John K. Adams

Phosphorus may be incorporated into sedimentary rocks in at least four different ways: (1) by the accumulation of detrital mineral fragments, (2) by the accumulation of phosphatic organic debris, (3) by diagenesis and (4) perhaps by the primary precipitation of calcium phosphate. Based-on the petrographic examination of Cretaceous and Tertiary sediments from the northern and central parts of the Atlantic Coastal Plain, Diagenesis is the most important of these mechanisms. Both syndiagenesis and epidiagenesis are required to explain the origin of all the diagenetic phosphate mineral species which occur in the northern and central parts of the coastal plain. Syndiagenesis produced much of the coastal plain&apos;s apatite. It was operative below the sediment-water interface while the substrate was being compacted. Compaction forced pore waters, which were enriched in phosphate by the decomposition of organic matter, upward through calcareous sediments. The PO43- radicle replaced the CO23- and calcareous nodules, pellets and shell fragments were converted to apatite. Epidiagenetic reactions occurred in the subaerial environment where downward percolating meteoric waters carried phosphate in solution to cites where cation activity was sufficiently high to form new minerals. Vivianite may form where ferrous iron is available and wavellite and variscite may form in the presence of aluminum rich minerals. Textural evidence suggests that many of the reactions were repeated. The present day appearance of apatite, vivianite, wavellite and variscite in the coastal plain may represent several generations of diagenesis.

Jan 1, 1972

By Harold R. Kokal, Madhu G. Ranade

A metallurgical/flux is a substance that is added to combine with gangue (unwanted minerals) during ore smelting, with impurities in a molten metal, or with other additives in metal refining processes to form a slag that can be separated from the metal. Because slags are immiscible with the metallic melt and are of lower density, a separation of the slag and metal occurs if the viscosity and surface tension are of the proper values. The chemistries of slags are adjusted to provide the proper melting point, viscosity, surface tension, conductivity, specific heat, density, or chemical properties to effect the desired task. In addition to absorbing impurities from the metal, the purposes of the slag are to thermally insulate the metal bath, protect the molten metal from the atmosphere, and control the chemical potential of the system. Several excellent references on slags and metallurgical fluxes are available (Boynton, 1980, Lankford, Jr., et al., 1985, Turkdogan, 1983, Rosenqvist, 1974, Fine and Gaskell, 1984). The function of the slag might vary at different stages within a process prior to final melting. For example, the slag composition and behavior will change as materials descend in the iron blast furnace, or as they melt in the early stages of formation of steel- making slags. Selection of the chemistry for a slag might be influenced by factors outside the primary function as when blast furnace slags are used to make cement, rock wool insulation, or fertilizer supplements. Sometimes slags contain a sufficient amount of valuable recoverable elements to be sold as raw materials for other processes. Fluxes are often referred to as acid, basic, or neutral. Acid fluxes are those that generally form acids in water and bases are those that would generally form bases in water. Typical acid fluxes are silica, alumina, and phosphorus, although alumina can function as either an acid or base. Typical basic fluxes are lime and magnesia. Fluorspar, or calcium fluoride, is a neutral substance because it can be viewed as the reaction product of a base and an acid. The degree of acidity (ratio of acids to bases) or basicity (ratio of bases to acids) is often specified to characterize the slag chemistry for a particular system. The system might also be referred to as acid or basic depending on the choice of slag, for example, basic steelmaking uses slags with more bases (lime and magnesia) than acids (silica and alumina). Many forms of minerals and compounds have been used as fluxes depending on the process requirements, availability, costs, requirements for recycling of intermediate products, and environmental concerns. Because slags are most often mixtures of oxides and silicates, fluxes are usually oxides, carbonates (which decompose to oxides) and silicates. Slags comprising phosphates, borates, sulfides, carbides, or halides have also been used (Rosenqvist, 1974, Moore, 1981, Szekely et al., 1989). In ironmaking and steelmaking, some acidic components are sometimes added. In nonferrous processes slags and fluxes are acidic with silica as the primary component, and although the use of basic flux such as limestone or lime is not extensive, some amount is used to modify slag properties and some refining slags are lime based. The production of iron is accomplished by smelting of ores, pellets, and sinter in blast furnaces with subsequent refining of molten iron and scrap in oxygen-blown processes. The electric furnace is used to make steel, stainless steels, ferroalloys, and special alloys, whereas ferromanganese is often made in blast furnaces. Fluxes are used in all of these processes, and either limestone or lime is the major flux component with some dolomite, dolomitic lime, silica, alumina, and fluorspar being used. In ironmaking, the flux is added either by direct charging or through sinter and fluxed pellets. In steel refining by the basic oxygen process, flux is added as lime and dolomitic lime that are either charged as lumps or injected as fines. Some small amount of limestone is sometimes used. Fluorspar is often added as lumps or mixed with other fine materials in briquettes. Alumina is sometimes added to blast furnaces either by direct charging of sized lumps or through sinter. Typical acid fluxes are sand, gravel, quartz rock, used silica brick, or raw siliceous ore (Lankford, Jr., et al., 1985). Olivine, which is a magnesium-silicate mineral, has been added to iron blast furnaces to enhance removal of alkalis (Lankford, Jr., et al., 1985). Alumina in the form of bauxite, aluminiferous clay, and recycled alumina brick has been used as flux. Alumina can function amphoterically as either an acid or base, for example it can form aluminum silicate in high silica slags or calcium aluminate in lime-bearing slags (Lankford, Jr., et al., 1985). Limestone (calcium carbonate) and dolomite (magnesium-calcium carbonate), or fluxstones as they are sometimes called (Boynton, 1980), and their calcined forms, lime and dolomitic lime are the major basic fluxes. In the latter cases, the carbonates are de- composed in a kiln-type process to drive off carbon dioxide that might otherwise interfere with the subsequent smelting or refining process or require expensive forms of energy to effect the decomposition (e.g., by combustion of coke in the iron blast furnace). Limestone is considerably less expensive than lime because it is not calcined; however, lime is far more difficult to handle and reacts readily with water. Dolomite and dolomitic lime are used for their magnesia content. Fluorspar is a neutral flux often used as an additive in steel- making slags to improve fluidity, but it has also been used in combination with lime as a primary slag in electroslag refining (Duckworth and Hoyle, 1969). Fluorspar is available in several grades, with the lowest grade often used for steelmaking. When the price of fluorspar has risen, substitutes including aluminum smelting dross, borax, manganese ore, titania, iron oxides, silica sand, and

Jan 1, 1994

By A. J. Lynch, M. J. Lees

Introduction The design of wet grinding circuits may vary considerably according to the duty which is to be performed. Grinding machines which are commonly used in these circuits are rod mills, ball mills, autoge¬nous mills, and pebble mills while size separation machines commonly used are vibrating and wedge-wire screens, hydrocyclones, and rake classifiers. In some circuits, such as those producing feed to cement kilns, all the ore entering the circuit is discharged in a single product stream. In others, such as those operating on magnetite-taconite ores, the feed entering the circuit leaves in two or more streams. Grinding circuits in flotation plants normally include sections in which either the concentrate or the tailings from the primary flotation circuit is reground and these additional sections should be regarded as an inte¬gral part of the grinding circuit. A typical circuit is shown in Fig. 18. Problems in achieving maximum efficiency may occur at three stages: 1) At the design stage when the optimum size reduction flow¬sheet must be selected with respect to the types, numbers, and sizes of processing units. 2) At the operating stage when the correct selection of values must be made for those variables which may be altered while the circuit is off-line but which are constant while the circuit is on-line, for instance the vortex finder diameter of the cyclones. 3) Under conditions of continuous operation when changes in the circuit feed or in the mechanical operation of the circuit may cause undesirable changes in the circuit product. The first two prob¬lems are concerned with optimization, that is, with making the best choice from many possibilities, and the last with control. Optimization Problems. The main purpose of a wet grinding circuit is to produce particles with a sizing distribution which will ensure optimum performance of the later chemical reaction or physical concentration circuits, because it is on the efficiency of these later circuits that the economics of the total mineral treatment process depend. The size distribution of the product from a grinding circuit may be affected by many variables, some concerned with the arrange¬ment and operation of the machines and some concerned with the ore characteristics, and it is important that these should be recognized in the design and operation of the circuit. For instance, in a simple ball mill-cyclone circuit the variables which affect the product size even for constant feed characteristics are shown in Fig. 19. In addition, the rate, size, hardness, and mineralogical composition of the feed will affect the performance of the circuit and the product size. When the circuit contains more than one mill, both the number of choices available and the complexity of the problem are increased consider¬ably. Consequently, one type of problem which is to be solved if an optimum product is to be obtained from an existing grinding circuit is that of circuit design, and this includes arrangement of processing units and selection of those operating conditions which cannot be altered when the circuit is operating, such as mill speed and cyclone inlet and outlet dimensions. The other major problem in optimization is encountered at the design stage when a choice must be made about the type, number, and size of processing units. For instance, for a typical high-capacity size reduction operation, should two circuits each containing one rod mill and two ball mills or three circuits each containing one rod mill and one ball mill be used? Alternatively, should ball mills only be used and if so, how many, what size, and what arrangement?

Jan 1, 1985

By John W. Carson, David S. Dick

The last few years have produced new methods of characterizing flow properties of bulk solids. Abrasive wear and particle attrition can now be accurately measured in a laboratory and scaled up to field condi¬tions. In addition, the effect of large par¬ticles on a material&apos;s flow properties (cohe¬sive strength, bulk density, wall friction) can be determined as well as the effects of var¬ious additives such as freeze conditioning agents. New developments have occurred with devices to improve the reliability of solids flow. Much attention has been paid to find¬ing ways, by using inserts, to provide a mass flow pattern with relatively shallow hopper walls. Such devices can also provide reli¬able in-bin gravity blending of bulk solids or completely nonsegregated discharge. Other developments have occurred in the area of belt-to-belt transfer chutes and sealing screws. The technology and hardware for running bench scale flow tests on bulk solids samples and transforming the results into reliable designs has been in existence for nearly 30 years (Jenike, 1964; Marinelli and Carson, 1986). It has been shown repeatedly that reliable materials handling systems can be designed to avoid the problems of no-flow due to arching or rat-holing, erratic flow, segregation, loss of capacity, or spontaneous combustion. Running flow properties tests and carefully designing a bulk handling system are not expensive, particularly when compared to downtime costs and continual flow problems. New developments in characterizing flow properties of bulk solids include: • a shear tester for measuring the properties of run-of-mine ores containing large par¬ticles; • attrition testers to simulate a wide range of flow conditions; • a tester to measure the wear rate of liners in bins, feeder parts, etc.; • a dustiness tester to measure the potential for dust and the effect of dust control meas¬ures; and • techniques for measuring the strength of frozen ores and the effect of freeze condi¬tioning agents. In the area of improving the flow of bulk solids, there are new techniques for ensuring reliable flow without using up excessive headroom. These include: • belt-to-belt transfer chutes to handle po¬tentially sticky, abrasive, and dusty ores; • designs for the interface between a bin/ hopper and apron or belt feeders to avoid hangups and minimize feeder loads; methods to feed solids reliably into a pres¬surized process; and designs for handling systems that will mini¬ mize attrition, avoid segregation, or auto¬matically blend materials together. Characterizing flow properties Large shear cell It has long been known that the cohesive strength of a bulk solid is due mainly to its fine fraction. However, the effect of the larger particles (that were assumed to re¬duce the strength) could not be measured. The development of larger scale (205 mm¬diam and 0.6 x 0.9 m or 8 in.-diam and 2 x 3 ft) shear testers has made it possible to measure the properties of a wider range of materials. Now cohesive strength measurements can be made with up to 100 mm (4 in.) particles. The results obtained from the large shear testers, together with the results of the nor¬mal shear tests on the fine fraction, are used in the design of reliable stockpile reclaim systems and crusher feed systems. A high percentage of large particles can reduce the measured shear strength of a bulk solid. However, segregation may alter the size distribution and should therefore be considered (Carson, Royal, and Goodwill, 1986). In addition, larger particles will

Jan 1, 1989

By Bradley Johnson

Introduction Since its creation in 1910, the Bureau of Mines has conducted a wide-ranging program of research on mining technology. Over the years, the Bureau has perhaps become best known for its accomplishments in mine health and safety technology, a field that has been the object of much public attention. Nevertheless, the Bureau&apos;s program in other areas of mining technology has always been strong and remains so today. A distinguishing feature of the current effort is its tendency to concentrate on high-risk, high-gain projects. Throughout the federal research establishment, the Administration&apos;s policy has been to phase out short-term research that could be performed by private industry, in favor of long-terms projects that industry cannot usually afford to fund. This tendency is evident in the following account of the highlights of the Bureau&apos;s current mining technology research program. Underground Mining Technology Fragmentation. Research studies on fragmentation have focused on nonexplosive concepts. If successfully developed, these concepts would lend themselves to continuous automated operation and reduce time and costs of fragmentation in underground mines. A special laboratory-scale device to investigate ripper cutting was designed and fabricated in 1982. Experiments were conducted with large drag cutters to develop an efficient cutting technique for hard rock. Tests were successfully conducted with 76- and 152-mm (3¬and 6-in.) bits in rocks up to 138-MPa (20,000-psi) compressive strength. Because of the success of these initial tests, larger-scale proof-of-concept tests are planned. To prepare for these tests, a tester capable of cutting a 1.8-m (6-ft) opening was fabricated. This device will allow ripper cutting to be carried out at full scale, and will also allow mucking and holddown requirements to be investigated. Preliminary estimates indicate that this concept has the potential to double excavation rates while reducing costs up to 30%. Mobile Hydraulic Monitor. A mobile hydraulic monitor system was designed, fabricated, and used to mine the St. Peter sandstone at an average rate of 22 t/h (25 stph) from a face in Martin-Marietta&apos;s foundry sand mine at Clayton, IA. A slurry transport system worked in tandem with jet cutting, resulting in a continuous mining and transport system. Problems with spray from the jet hitting the sandstone showed that a remote-controlled mobile monitor was needed at a station 15 m (50 ft) from the face, so the operator would have a clear view of the face and be safely out of the backwash. Crushers. Research on crushing systems to improve efficiency in underground mines is continuing. Final testing of a low-profile, portable crusher for underground applications has begun. A system for handling oversize feed to the crusher was conceived and tested. Underground crushing systems, portable enough to be kept near the face, offer considerable improvement in materials handling because main haulage by conveyor is often less costly. Hoists. Research to increase hoisting efficiency and speed and to reduce energy requirements has led to experimental ore skips. The skips feature guide rollers to improve riding characteristics, bearing improvement at critical locations, and weight savings of about 1.8 t (2 st). An experimental aluminum skip was installed last year at Kerr McGee&apos;s Church Rock mine. Performance is being monitored under production conditions. A portable service hoist for low-cost, efficient movement of men and supplies in raises between mine levels was designed, fabricated, and tested on the surface. The hoist has maximum equipment payload of 570 kg (1,250 lb) at

Jan 11, 1983

ITEC Environmental Colorado has begun reprocessing the tailings from old mining sites near Boulder, CO. And if the technology behind ITEC&apos;s pilot project at Gold Hill proves successful and profitable, the company plans to launch similar reprocessing operations in other parts of the state. The pilot project is under the watchful eye of state and federal authorities. They hope the technology becomes the answer to cleaning up old mining sites throughout the West. Remining and environmental cleanup on an economic basis, then, are ITEC&apos;s hopes in one the most environmentally conscious counties in the state. Clean up the mine dump sites and recycle the land, for a profit. In June 1998, ITEC Mineral Inc., ITEC Environmental Colorado&apos;s Canadian parent, acquired the Gold [ ] Hill Mill facility in Boulder County. Included in the acquisition was 4.4 hm2 (11 acres) containing the Gold Hill Mill and 283 hm2 (700 acres) of additional properties adjacent to the facility. ITEC estimates that there are about 910 kt (1 million st) of dump rock in the area. That is enough to make the operation viable. ITEC will sell the metals recovered through its reprocessing operations. However, due to low metals prices, ITEC is not expecting to make much money on the recovery of precious and base metals. Instead, the company plans to resell the reclaimed land for residential and commercial development or open space. The Gold Hill Mill site is the first of 17 sites in Colorado that ITEC Mineral hopes to clean up and recycle the land. Most notable among the sites is the historic Central City/Black Hawk mining district, which ITEC believes holds considerable potential. The Gold Hill Mill is located 14 km (9 miles) west of the city of Boulder and less than a half mile from the small town of Gold Hill. The mill was. last operated in 1992. The operation was forced to close that year due to environmental and cash flow problems. Gold Hill is in the middle of a region with more than 32 Mt (35 million st) of mine tailings. Independent geologists have&apos; established the average grade of the Gold Hill mine tailings to be 4.5 to 5.3 g/t (0.13 to 0.155 oz/st) of gold and 28 to 44 g/t (0.83 to 1.29 oz/st) of silver. According to these studies, the Gold Hill mine tailings are five times richer in precious metals than the tailings of the Norebec Manitou property in Canada that ITEC is also remining, reclaiming and restoring. Upon acquiring the mill, ITEC undertook a refurbishing program that included adding a second ball mill. This increased the Gold Hill Mill&apos;s capacity to 180 t/d (200 stpd). The operation employs 15 people. "The Gold Hill Mill site will demonstrate the efficiency of our integrated remining, reclaiming and restoration process," said Maxine Stewart, president of Denver, CO -based ITEC Environmental. "The abundance of similar mine sites in Colorado presents a number of opportunities to bring the benefits of the ITEC system to other communities around the state." Holly Huyck is technical advisor to the Clear Creek Watershed Advisory Group. She said: "ITEC is cleaning up an orphan mine site that otherwise would continue to contaminate the Boulder Creek watershed with acid and excess metals. This is a win-win situation: ITEC gains marketable minerals while it reclaims mined land and helps to improve the watershed."

Jan 1, 1998

By J. M. W. Mackenzie

Three major developments have dominated the recovery of gold from ores, viz; 1846 Elsner's studies of gold solubility in aerated alkaline cyanide solutions 1887 MacArthur and Forrest's process based on zinc precipitation 1980+ Large scale development of the CIP process The brevity of this list for a metal whose extractive metallurgy has been as widely studied as any metal reflects the fact that the chemistry of the gold recovery process, as opposed to the engineering has seen few significant breakthroughs in over a century of application. to The purpose of this paper is introduce a new chemistry for gold recovery which may, in the future, add significantly to the technology of gold recovery. This new chemistry is based guanidine functionality - (R2R2N) 2 C = N R2 on the In developing the use of the guanidine functionality for the recovery of gold as the aurocyanide anion from leach solutions and pulps, Henkel has, as its objective, the development of an effective gold selective ion exchange resin. As will be seen, the initial investigation of the properties of the guanidine functionality in the solvent form for gold recovery lead to some significant metallurgical developments of their own but, the foremost objective was, and remains, the development of a resin for gold recovery. As a part of this development project, Henkel has entered into association with Mintek, South Africa, and this ongoing association has the potential to develop RIP/RIS technology for the gold industry. More details on Henkel's gold recovery technology and Mintek's role in this programme are given in (1). an The application of ion exchange resins to gold recovery is not new and many reviews have been published on the advantages of this process, and on the current state of the art of gold recovery by ion exchange resins. (2)(3)(4) Widespread application of ion exchange resin based processes for gold recovery has, however, not occurred to date. Fleming and Cromberge (5), described some significant pilot plant RIP trials in South Africa and the partial success of these pilot plant trials held out the tantalising possibility of a breakthrough in gold recovery based on RIP technology. Despite this pioneering work, only two really significant applications of RIP technology for gold recovery exist today. These are the Golden Jubilee Plant in the Eastern Transvaal South Africa and the widespread, although in some respects technically backward, use of ion exchange for gold recovery in the former USSR. There are two main reasons for the current scarcity of RIP and RIS plants used for gold recovery. These are: 1. 2. The perceived problems of engineering RIP plants The lack of a resin having suitable chemistry for both gold loading and gold elution The problems of engineering RIP plants have been largely overcome in the last 25 years. Much of the development in RIP plant design took place in the uranium industry during the rapid expansion of that industry in the mid 1970's. In addition, the development of CIP engineering systems has lead to the development of in-pulp solid extractant based metallurgical plant designs which can, with limited modification, be adopted to RIP. The lack of a resin having suitable chemical properties has almost certainly been the main reason for RIP/RIS not being introduced into the gold industry over the past decade. Attempts to use RIP/RIS have focussed on either conventional we ak base or conventional strong base resins. The weak. base resins have the disadvantage that they

Jan 1, 1993

By William Tattersall

On behalf of my agency, the Mine Safety and Health Administration, I would like to add my appreciation that all of you could be here today. Previous dust symposia over the years have proved the value of close cooperation among universities, government agencies, and professional societies in advancing knowledge of dust research and development in the interest of miners and the industry. I&apos;ll just comment briefly on MSHA&apos;s part of the overall effort by all parties to control miners&apos; exposure to respirable coal dust and other airborne dusts. As you know, our agency&apos;s congressional mandate is to do what is necessary to assure that miners will have safe and healthful workplaces. In the area of coal mine health, this has meant joining with the mining community in a continuous campaign to keep respirable dust and quartz levels below applicable standards to prevent or reduce disabling coal workers&apos; pneumoconiosis and silicosis arising from excessive exposure to respirable quartz. Currently, our agency is processing about 120,000 coal dust samples taken by MSHA and company people during the year and about 8,000 samples taken from metal and nonmetal mining operations. Our dust program, like other MSHA programs, has benefited from increased computerization of records. The attack on CWP has had the highest priority of government and industry. The goal has been to sharply reduce social costs of suffering victims and their families as well as the associated future payments under the black lung benefits program. During the 1989 fiscal year, about 104,000 former miners received about one and a half billion dollars in benefits. Since the program began, nearly 25 billion dollars have been paid out. Much progress has been made in lowering dust levels in coal mines since the standard of two milligrams per meter of air was established in 1972. Before that time, there was a 4-to-10-percent probability of a miner developing coal workers&apos; pneumoconiosis at typical pre-1972 exposure levels. However, under the maximum respirable dust levels allowed today, this probability has been reduced to about 1 percent. Since average dust levels are lower today, we can expect fewer miners to develop CWP in the future. Out goal continues to be elimination of both coal workers&apos; pneumoconiosis and silicosis in both coal and nonmetal mining. In 1985, MSHA revised its coal mine quartz policy to allow mine operators to submit dust samples used in setting the quartz standard. Previously, only single MSHA samples were used. Even though less than half of the mine operators have taken advantage of this change, it has provided a larger population of samples for analysis then before. Also the policy allows operations that are on a reduced quartz standard to have the standard reviewed every six months. In underground coal mining, the job of roof bolter typically has higher than normal exposures to quartz. About 45 percent of respirable dust samples from roof bolting operations contain more than 5 percent quartz and therefore are put on a reduced quartz standard. One objective of the policy revision was to improve miners&apos; health by follow-up monitoring, and this is being done with roof bolting jobs. MSHA studies of surface coal mining operations have provided data showing that bulldozer operators and highwall rotary drill operators often have high exposure to quartz dust, and our agency is directing enforcement efforts to reducing this hazard. One of the most important responsibilities of MSHA&apos;s metal and nonmetal mine health division is the respirable dust sampling program. In the last few years, nearly 3 out of 10 samples have

Jan 1, 1991

By Betty L. Gibbs

Before the first shovelful of dirt is removed from a developing mining property, a wide range of data must be collected, organized and analyzed. Among the key steps in this process are: • Visualization of the deposit from drill hole data and geologic interpretation, using all available information, including surface geology, geochemistry and geophysics. • Drawing of vertical and horizontal sections. • Construction of a 3D solid model of the deposit. • Contouring of deposit outlines and geological structure until the model represents best estimate of reality. • Estimation of grade and quality distribution. • Calculation of reserves. • Examination of possible mining methods. • Determination of economic feasibility. Many techniques are available to aid in this process of mine project feasibility analysis, from quick pencil calculations to sophisticated computer methods. However, time races faster in the complex modem business world than it did 50 years ago. Tried and true pencil methods take too much time. Opportunity may pass a mine developer by while a property is still in the first stages of analysis. In the days of hand techniques, initial analysis of the economic feasibility of a mining project usually stopped with reserve calculations and broad mine planning. Further planning was not done or was done only for the short term. Manual techniques require too much time and manpower to evaluate a longterm mining program. Mining-industry recognition of computer utility has increased. Most companies now use computers in technical applications and could not conceive of working without them. Building initial computer models of a deposit may take nearly as long as hand techniques. But the payback comes when changes are needed and a variety of mine plans are quickly tested.

Jan 1, 1990

By Jeffrey L. Zelms

There is no known, practical substitute for lead in the automobiles, communications systems, medical equipment and computers that Americans use every day. However, there are many who say lead should be stopped at its source -- banned. As America&apos;s largest lead producer, The Doe Run Company has ralized that it must do more than mine and reclaim lead efficiently and safely. It must also earn the public&apos;s consent to operate if it is to continue to be a viable business. LEAD - THE BRILLIANT PERFORMER: REFURBISHING AN IMAGE It&apos;s been an embarrassingly long time since I was a college student. However, I remember there was no course at the University of Missouri&apos;s School of Mines and Metallurgy that had anything to do with the public relations aspects of mining or, put another way, the politicization of mining. It&apos;s been an embarrassingly long time since I was a college student. However, I remember there was no course at the University of Missouri&apos;s School of Mines and Metallurgy that had anything to do with the public relations aspects of mining or, put another way, the politicization of mining. I haven’t perused the course catalog for Penn State’s College of Earth and Minerals Sciences. But I strongly suspect I wouldn’t find such a course there today, either. A statement by the chairman of one of the country’s largest chemical companies leads to the point I want to make. He described his business this way. He said, “We’re a public affairs company that just happens to produce and market chemicals.” Like chemicals, minerals and mining are politicized today. To the extent that we don’t understand that reality, we don’t understand that reality – and act on it – we’re less likely to survive in this business. Some of you may well be saying to yourselves, “This guy Zelms is an alarmist.” That’s fair enough. Because it is absolutely true that there’s n o known, practical substitute for lead today. And it’s also absolutely true that, knowingly or not, Americans use lead everyday. It’s in our automobile batteries. It’s an integral part of communications systems. High tech (and low tech) medical equipment contains lead. And lead is an essential component of computer and TV screens. But even with all these uses, lead has a negative image today. An image so negative that its very existence is threatened. If you doubt that, consider these two statements made in 1989. Statement one. “It is probably reasonable to argue that exposure is the single most important and critical environmental health problem in the U.S., and possibly also the world…” Statement number two. “Many of the uses of lead should be terminated. We need to go back to the ultimate source: that is, taking lead out of the ground and putting it into the product stream and we need to turn it off at the ultimate source. Not the approximate lead in gasoline, or lead in air, or lead in food. Go right back to the source and start cranking it down." (End quote.) Those are what I call strong statements. And they weren’t made by some celebrity spokesperson for the environment like Meryl Streep. Both these statements were made by Dr. Ellen Silbergeld, whose long list of professional and academic credentials includes: o Adjunct professor and research scientist at the University of Maryland Medical School and Johns Hopkins: o Chief toxic scientist and director of the Toxic Chemicals Program of the Environmental Defense fund; o and President of the Society for Occupational and Environmental Health. If Dr. Silbergeld were the only person making these kinds of statements, it would be one thing. But she’s not a voice in the wilderness, by any means. Also for those of you who say, well since there’s no known substitute for lead, how on earth could it be banned. I refer you to a number of bills before Congress that would permit the EPA to ban any product if it is determined that its

Jan 1, 1992

By K. Hansson, A. Jedborn

Background In the mining industry, conversion of fine particles into a slurry is often part of the normal processing of the ore. Therefore, from a system&apos;s point of view, slurry transporta¬tion would be considered as a natural alternative, all the way from the working face to the final processing. In underground mines, there is sometimes a considerable inflow of ground water that has to be pumped out. When the mine dewatering installations are integrated with a hydraulic hoisting system, the cost of power needed to pump out the ground water can be excluded from the cost of hoisting, compared with other modes of transporting the solids to the surface. The chief advantage of hydraulic hoisting is that the hoisting capacity can be increased at comparatively low total cost without necessitating the sinking of new shafts. Alterna¬tive examples include deepening of the existing mechanical hoisting system, truck, or conveyor belts transport in ramps to the present level. These often become very expensive. The economic effectiveness of hydraulic hoisting and hydraulic design considerations have been discussed by Kostuik (1965) and Sellgren (1985, 1986) for both small shallow mines and large deep underground mines. Objective and scope The objective of this study was to demonstrate the feasi¬biliy of hydraulic hoisting in hypothetical examples of mine deepening. Underground grinding to a maximum particle size of about 700 um (about 25 mesh) is considered. The pumping of ground ore products with positive displacement plunger or membrane type of pumps at working pressures of up to 15 MPa (2200 psi) is a thoroughly tested technique (Venton, 1986). Hydraulic hoisting system A hydraulic hoisting system is described schematically in Fig. l . The ore is mined, handled, and crushed conventionally. It is then ground wet underground. The slurry is then tempo¬rarily stored in an agitated tank and pumped to an agitated receiving tank on the surface. The ore is then further processed in the concentrator. The capacity of a pipeline is very high. For example, an annual production of 500 Kt (550,000 st) of ore can be handled in a 100-mm-diam (4-in.-diam) pipeline. Systems layout - economic effectiveness Schematic mine layouts are presented that represent situ¬ations where hydraulic hoisting often is the most economical alternative. A situation where the ore is trucked to the level of the existing hoisting system is shown in Fig. 2 (following page). With hydraulic hoisting, only a shaft for ventilation, pipe¬line, and personnel are needed. In a first phase (Fig. 2), a hydraulic hoisting installation with crushing and grinding units, storage facilities, and pumps has been located at a level of about 400 to 600 m (1310 to 1970 ft) below the surface. With further development of the mine, the hydraulic hoisting

Jan 1, 1989

By Qiong Wu, Qinghua Gu, Yichuan Lv, Jin Yuan, Caiwu Lu

"The cut-off grade is one of the important parameters of mining production. Different material cut-off grade is directed to different destinations. Based on reasonable and optimal cut-off grade, long term mining plan and investment decision analysis can be made for mining managers. In view of multiple-metals open-pit, the paper has proposed that multiple-metals cut-off grade optimization model is set using the objective function to maximize net present value (NPV). The method of equivalent coefficient calculation is proposed to convert multi-metals cut-off grade optimization to a single metal cut-off grade optimization. Then the optimization model is applied in a molybdenum and tungsten large open-pit mine in china. The parameters of concentrate price are calculated by PRT in the model and the curve of grade-recovery rate is analyzed and studied according to actual production data. Based on 3D metal deposit model, the distribution of grade-tonnage is analyzed. At final step, an optimal cut-off grade is proposed to guarantee to maximize NPV. The example shows that the model of multiple-metals cut-off grade optimization can provide reasonable analysis for optimal multi-metals cut-off grade and develop optimal production strategies. Introduction Cut-off grade is one of the most important parameters in metal ore mining because of its influence on the overall economic profit of mining production. Along with the development of the mining production, dynamic optimization of cut-off grade is necessary through the analysis of technical economy. It is better to manage the mining production according to the variation of market. The cut-off grade plays an important role in mining production."

Jan 1, 2017

An insufficient hydrologic data base exists for most large and small coal basins in Alaska owing to the lack of need in the past to collect data. The runoff process is insufficiently understood which is complicated by specifically northern phenomenon, and the lack of understanding of hydrologic relationships in permafrost environment. This paper presents an understanding of the hydrologic effects of frozen ground and presents methods by which the influence of surface mining upon the hydrologic balance can be analyzed.

Jan 1, 1988