Search Documents

By C. Carrasco

Caletones Smelter, Division El Teniente of Codelco Chile, has used Teniente Converter (TC) as the only smelting unit since November 2000. The modernization project considered the shutdown of the last reverberatory furnace, the installation of the fourth Teniente Slag Cleaning Furnace, the installation of a new fluidized bed dryer and the modification of the concentrate injection system into TC. The modernization project and related investments allowed for the increase of the smelting capacity up to 1.25 million t of concentrate annually.Next stage of the smelter expansion in the year 2004 considered the increase of the smelting capacity up to 1.44 million t/year. The expansion required technology modernization and the installation of the new equipment, such as concentrate injection system, oxygen plant, fluidized bed dryer and storage bin. Currently the annual smelting capacity is about 1.35 million t of copper concentrate, being limited by sulphuric acid plant treatment capacity. This paper presents the technology and production evolution in the Caletones Smelter in the years 2000 - 2006, demonstrating the potential of development and competitiveness of Teniente Converter as world-wide recognized smelting/converting reactor.

Jan 1, 2007

By James Kear, Romain Prioul, Robert G. Jeffrey, Andrew P. Bunger, Dimitry Chuprakov

"Unconventional gas and geothermal reservoirs are typically naturally fractured and therefore the challenging problem of hydraulic fracture (HF) growth through naturally fractured rocks is an important issue especially for the development of accurate predictive HF models. This paper presents results from laboratory experiments in which HFs have been created in both sandstone and crystalline (gabbronorite) rock specimens such that they impinge either orthogonally or at an oblique angle on an unbonded, machined frictional interface. Depending on the conditions of each experiment, the fractures either cross or are blunted at the interface. The growth behavior was ascertained for these experiments based on a synthesis of the injection pressure record, active ultrasound monitoring, and direct post-experiment inspection of fractured specimens. From these experiments we observe: 1) A contrast between direct crossing and crossing with an offset for orthogonal and oblique intersection, respectively, 2) Apparent independence of crossing/blunting behavior on the friction coefficient for orthogonal intersection, 3) Dependence of the stresses required to promote crossing on the intersection angle between the HF and NF, 4) Existence of cases in which the hydraulic fracture crosses but then essentially ceases propagation such that all fluid is diverted to the interface. INTRODUCTIONHydraulic fracturing is a vital technology used to increase the productivity of oil, gas, and geothermal wells. Predicting hydraulic fracture (HF) growth is, in turn, critical to design of hydraulic fractures that grow to the desired length, accept the desired amount of proppant, and remain contained in the reservoir without unwanted height growth into surrounding layers (e.g. Economides and Nolte, 2000). The importance of HF modeling has prompted 6 decades of research during which simulators have become more efficient, more accurate, and have addressed a growing range of complexities (see review of e.g. Adachi et al., 2007).One of these complexities is the interaction between HFs and mechanical discontinuities such as natural fractures (NFs). Efforts in this area have been mainly driven by development of unconventional (i.e. low permeability) oil and gas resources because essentially all viable low permeability reservoirs, including shale gas/oil reservoirs, are naturally fractured to some degree (King, 2010). One of the most important questions for developing effective HF stimulation strategies in these reservoirs is whether the hydraulic fracture(s) is/are expected to be single-stranded or whether interaction with the NFs will lead to network-like growth. The basic building block for numerical simulators that can address this question (such as Kresse et al., 2013 and Weng et al., 2014) is whether an HF that intersects an NF will cross the NF or whether its growth will be captured by the NF so that additional fluid injection pressurizes the NF but does not generate ongoing growth of a new HF. These scenarios, including subcategories such as crossing with an offset, have been recognized for several decades (Daneshy, 1974; Warpinski and Teufel, 1987, and as recently reviewed and expanded by Chuprakov et al., 2013)."

Jan 1, 2015

By A. Monballiu, J. A. Martens, Y. W. Chiang, A. Van Audenaerde, R. M. Santos, T. Van Gerven, B. Meesschaert

In this work, bioleaching of non-sulphidic materials by applying chemoheterotrophic bacteria and fungi is studied. It was found that the tested fungus, Aspergillus niger, leached substantially more nickel from olivine than the tested bacterium, Bacillus mucilaginosus. A. niger also outperformed fungal species Humicola grisae and Penicillium chrysogenum in the leaching of olivine. Contrary to traditional acid leaching, the microorganisms leached nickel preferentially over magnesium and iron. On average, a selectivity factor of 2.2 was achieved for nickel compared to iron. This can potentially facilitate postprocessing of the leach liquor and reduce the cost. The impact of ultrasonic conditioning on bioleaching was also tested, and substantial increase in nickel extraction with A. niger was observed. This was credited to an increase in the fungal growth rate, the promotion of particle degradation, and the detachment of the stagnant biofilm around the particles. Furthermore, ultrasonic conditioning enhanced the selectivity of A. niger for nickel, resulting in a selectivity ratio for Ni/Fe equal to 3.5. The chemical resistance of the selected microorganisms to several heavy metal and metalloid (As(III,V), Cd, Cr(III,V), Ni, Pb, Zn) was evaluated. It was found that, with the exception of As(v) and Cd, A. niger has high tolerance to these components. Therefore, this biohydrometallurgical route can potentially be applied to non-sulphidic wastederived materials, such as industrial slags, ashes and sludges.

Jan 1, 2014

By N. W. Xu, C. Sha, F. Dai, Y. G. Zhu, B. Li

Underground caverns stability and excavatability of rock masses are of significance in geotechnical engineering, in both design and construction stages. Risks associated with underground group caverns of Houziyan hydropower station in southwestern China are growing as a result of continuous excavation-induced unloading. To improve our understanding of the underground caverns instability and resolve the complex subsurface conditions of the highly fractured rock mass, a high resolution microseismic monitoring system was established in the deep underground caverns, pursuing the relationship between the measured data about microseismic activity and excavation damage zones of surrounding rock mass. Through analyzing the tempo-spatial distribution of microseismic activity, excavation damage zones and potential risk regions in underground caverns were identified. Furthermore, the correlation between microseismic activity and pre-existing geological structures, as well as traditional monitoring was analyzed. In order to validate the correlation between seismicity and potential slip surface of underground caverns, a model was implemented into numerical code to further evaluate the deformation and stability of surrounding rock mass. The monitoring results demonstrate that microseismic events mainly occur at high stress concentration regions, which coincides with the results obtained from numerical analysis. Therefore, the comprehensive method incorporating microseismic monitoring and numerical analysis, as well as traditional monitoring and filed observation has been proven to be very promising in deformation and even instability prediction of surrounding rock mass in underground caverns subject to delineation of potential slip surfaces and excavation damage zones.

Jan 1, 2015

By H. Langlois

"Included in the Mines Gaspe mining complex located at Murdochville, Quebec, is a copper smelter which comprises a reverberator furnace, two Peirce-Smith converters, an anode furance, and a sulphuric acid plant.The 50% smelter capacity available is supple mentedby custom concentrates for treatment. As these concentrates can be varied and extremely complex many modifications and improvements have been brought about to optimize and make the process more flexible since its inauguration in 1955.IntroductionThe copper smelter of the Mines Gaspe mining complex is located in Murdochville, a small municipality in the heart of the Gaspe peninsula, 90 km northwest of the town of Gaspe .This metallurgical installation has a daily smelting capacity of 650 tonnes of concentrate and an output of 250 tonnes of copper and 900 tonnes of sulphuric acid. Its main components are: a reverberatory furnace, two Peirce-Smith converters, one rotary anode furnace and one acid plant. The gases, which are produced by the converters, are treated at the acid plant then combined with gases from the reverberatory furnace before being vented through a 152 metre high stack .From the beginning of its operation until the present day (1991), the smelter has treated 7 million tonnes of concentrate and 100 thousand tonnes of scrap for a production of 1.8 million tonnes of copper and 2.2 million tonnes of sulphuric acid."

Jan 1, 1993

By Guoxiang Chi

The Cornwallis Fold Belt in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago contains numerous Mississippi Valley-type (MVT) Zn- Pb occurrences and the world-class Polaris deposit. The occurrences are mainly hosted by the dolostone in the Thumb Mountain Formation which spreads over 25000 km2. Success in exploration requires further understanding of the genesis of these occurrences and an assessment of their parentage with the giant Polaris deposit. Syn-sulfide dolomites in regional occurrences share C-O-Sr isotopic characteristics similar with Polaris dolomites, indicating warm basinal brines enriched in 87Sr. The dolomites and sphalerites contain fluid inclusions with ice-melting temperature between ?45° and ?25°C, which is significantly lower than for most MVT districts in the world (?30° and ?10°C). These characteristics indicate that all the Cornwallis occurrences were produced by fluids of the same sources and/or aquifers. The deposit size was largely controlled by the rate and duration of the metal-carrying fluid flow, and by the availability of reduced sulfur at the site of mineralization.

May 1, 2001

By H. A. ?ye

The ISO TC 226 (Materials for the production of primary aluminium) has presently issued more than one hundred standards on the materials: alumina, pitch, petroleum coke, carbon anodes, carbon cathodes, ramming paste, fluorides and refractory). The object of the standardization work is to find methods that both material producers and smelters will accept. Methods that are specific for the operational conditions have been developed in addition to more traditional room temperature methods. Examples of important properties under operational conditions are: Air and C02 reactivity of anodes, Equivalent temperature for baked anodes, Sodium expansion of cathode blocks, Shrinkage and Rammability of paste, Penetration of electrolyte into refractories.

Jan 1, 2006

By Corinne Boone

CO2e.com, LLC - launched in November 2000 - aims to be ?the global hub for carbon commerce.? CO2e.com is a subsidiary of the Cantor Fitzgerald Group, one of the world?s leading brokerage firms Recent Investor in CO2e ? Mitsui & Co. Alliance with Cantor Fitzgerald Environmental Brokerage Services Group (CFEBS) Offices in London, Toronto, Tokyo, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Connecticut, Houston Primary Goals/Benefits of ET § Goals of Emissions Trading: ? Permit Industrial Growth/Expansion ? Promote Economic Efficiency and Flexibility in Meeting Air Pollution Standards § Benefits of Emissions Trading: ? Enhance Air Quality w/o Economic Stagnation ? Encourage Development of New Technology ? Foster Most Efficient Use of a Limited Resource -- Clean Air § Contributes to Sustainable Development and objectives of UNFCCC, Kyoto Protocol?.

Nov 1, 2002

By P. Bakke

Following extensive R&D efforts, Hydro Magnesium has launched a new alloy series with remarkable combinations of properties. The AE alloy family is based on additions of aluminium and rare earth elements to control mechanical properties, including elevated temperature creep strength. By combining these alloying elements with manganese additions, high purity alloys with outstanding corrosion performance are defined. A basic philosophy behind the developments has been to simultaneously approach all the critical issues related to developing a commercial material. Apart from the obvious requirements for material properties, the critical issues relate to die casting performance, as well as alloy production, recycling and environmental compatibility. Some of the important elements related to alloy production and recycling are addressed in the present paper.

Jan 1, 2006

By Kris Inwood

"In 1879, when the Dominion government initiated its controversial program of industrial promotion, iron smelting in Canada was limited to one company producing coke iron on the mainland of Nova Scotia and three small charcoal blast furnaces in Quebec. There was no steel production. By the eve of the First World War, iron and steel were being produced in very large quantities, the companies active in 1879 had disappeared and new centres of integrated iron and rolled steel production at Hamilton, Sydney and Sault Ste. Marie had come to resemble the industry as we know it today. The most dramatic change was that at Sydney, Nova Scotia, where in the early 1900s, two steelmaking companies established works. The Sydney developments have been explained as the result of resource discovery and technical change. W.J. Donald, in his authoritative account of the Canadian iron and steel industry, observes:(1) ""The most rapid growth of the Canadian iron and steel industry has occurred since 1897 ... The remarkable growth has been caused largely by the new conditions of the industry. The discovery and use of Newfoundland ores, together with the availability of Cape Breton coal, has made the Nova Scotia industry not only possible but profitable .... It is a safe conclusion that the Canadian industry would not have been an important one, had it not been for the discovery of the Michipicoten and especially the Wabana (Newfoundland) ores:' Donald also argues that metallurgical progress had been necessary to render the ores valuable. ""Newfoundland ores ... contain a considerable amount of phosphorus, and were made available for steel-making by recent inventions:' The purpose of this paper is to re-examine Donald's story. It will be argued that the origin of steel-making at Sydney is somewhat more complicated than Donald has indicated. The difficulty with Newfoundland ore extended beyond its phosphorus content and a resolution required more than the basic open hearth furnace identified by Donald. Moreover metallurgical change was only one of several developments necessary to induce industrial investment at Sydney. Surprisingly, however, the discovery of iron ore in the late nineteenth century does not appear to be part of the explanation."

Jan 1, 1999

By H. M. Lewis

The current status of the international zinc market is summarized, and a supply /demand outlook is presented for the next five years. A number of technical problems facing the industry are outlined. Introduction ZINC has sometimes been called the unknown metal. Considering that on a world basis it ranks third among non-ferrous metals in production and consumption, zinc retains a certain modesty. It has no distinctive colour like copper, lacks the low density of aluminum or magnesium and is not always easy to identify as a product. The 'spangle' of galvanized steel is probably zinc's most distinguishing feature. The purpose of this article is to develop an over-all review of zinc. Starting with the current position of the metal, the major factors that will shape its future will be described so that an assessment of the outlook for zinc can be made.

Jan 1, 1978

By O. D. Maurice

"This paper will essentially update the information that is already known and published on the limestones of the Province of Quebec. The excellent report by M. F. Goudge (1935)m is difficult to improve upon and the areas of limestone quarrying are generally the same as they were at the time of Goudge's report. Our knowledge of the limestones of Quebec has been improved considerably in recent years by the publications of T. H. Clark, 2 who, since 1938, has been mapping and reporting on these lime-stones and has discussed their stratigraphy, their structural features, their history and their economic value. One economic aspect is the presence of natural gas in these formations and the possible occurrence of oil. A total of 150 test holes had been drilled to a depth of more than 500 feet by the end of 1967 and, in addition, at least 256 more shallow holes had been put down in the St. Lawrence Lowlands. The information from these test holes has greatly improved our knowledge of the thickness and extent. of the various formations of Paleozoic limestone and shale in Quebec.This paper will then review briefly the limestone occurrences in Quebec, using the old as well as the more recent reports as principal references"

Jan 1, 1970

By Karl Dufresne

Blasting in geothermally high temperature ground and/or extremely reactive ground is an increasing common challenge for surface and underground mines. Many current PETN based non-electric and electronic detonators have manufacturer published in-hole temperature limits ranging from 55°C to 65°C (131°F to 150°F). When confronting blasthole temperatures above the manufacturer published limits, operations may request site-specific guidance and qualification for use. The advised safe loading window for in-hole PETN based detonators is often too short to be practicable for production blasting. To overcome limitations of PETN based initiation systems, surface mines with high temperature ground and/or reactive ground are known to load blastholes with a qualified high temperature bulk emulsion that are top primed with a cartridge of temperature qualified detonator sensitive emulsion plus an RDX detonating cord downline. As there is no in-hole delay detonator in this system, blasthole timing is accomplished with surface delays. Although this system is safe, top priming and surface delaying does influence floor quality and top size fragmentation, and safe loading windows times reduce blast block size and increase blasting frequency. A mining company with a site characterized by geothermally high temperature ground plus highly reactive ground employed a blasting system like the one described above. The site desires to improve blasting performance by moving to an in-hole delay initiation system that can withstand the site ground conditions. At the request of the mining house, DynaEnergetics developed an electronic initiation system for application in geothermally high temperature ground and/or extremely reactive ground conditions. The DynaEnergetics IGNEO high temperature electronic initiation system is rated for in-hole use in ground up to 150C (302°F) for 48 hours. The detonator consists of a high strength detonator with an HMX base charge and thermally resistant downline. To make up a primer, the detonator is inserted into a booster charge assembly that is fitted with a small HMX shape charge. This high energy primer is designed to be compatible and reliable for firing bulk emulsions, including those with high percentages of urea inhibition to combat reactive ground. Up to 1000 detonators may be programmed in 1ms increments up to 1500ms. The system is controlled by a digital firing panel that can be used with either a wired or wireless trigger.  The system enables high temperature and/or reactive ground sites to utilize in-hole delay initiation and realize the associated performance benefits. Conclusions and Future Work 1] The HMX based electronic initiation system permits bottom in-hole delaying in ground temperatures above 80°C (175°F). As compared to top priming and surface delaying, in-hole bottom delaying is known to improve floor quality, muckpile fragmentation uniformity and reduce oversize. 2] Field evaluation of the HMX initiation system at the Lihir Mine is continuing. 3] Work on the next generation of the HMX initiation system is underway and will bring with it expanded application range and flexibility. 

Oct 1, 2024

By Rakesh Kumar, Rajabrahma K., A. K. Verma, V. Mukesh

"In this study, laboratory investigation as well as numerical investigation is carried out to ascertain the transition from one mode to another for Semi-circular bend setup. Laboratory investigation is carried by varying the span length (s/2R); crack length (a/R); notch angle (a); and notch thickness (t). The specimen consists of cement, sand and water mixture in a ratio of 1:1:0.5 by weight and are prepared as per the ISRM standards (2014). Tests are conducted by a servo controlled universal testing machine at a strain rate of 0.2 mm/ min. The results are collected in terms of failure load, crack mouth opening displacement (CMOD) and images of crack initiation and propagation.Image analysis of laboratory tested samples shows that crack initiates at the notch tip when the notch inclination angle is 0°. As the notch angle increases (i.e. 30° and 60°) the fracture begins to initiate behind the notch tip. The direction of crack propagation in front and back side of the sample is same for notch inclination angle is 0° whereas it differs more and more as crack inclination increases. The transition represents the change in mode of failure from mode I (0°), mode II (30°) and mixed mode I/II fracture (60°).Finite element method used to find the transition based on MTS failure criterion. The inclination of notch is varied like 40, 42, 44, 45, and 50 deg and FEM analysis shows that the transition from mode-I to Mode-II take place at 49 deg. The same procedure can be extended to find the transition from mode-II to mode-III."

Jan 1, 2015

By Åke C. Rasmuson, Mahmood Alemrajabi, Kerstin M. Forsberg, Kivanc Korkmaz

"In the present study the recovery of a Panasonic Prismatic Module 6.5 Ah NiMH 7.2 V plastic casing hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) battery was investigated, separately processing the anode and cathode electrodes. The composition of the electrode materials was determined by total dissolution and analysis using ICP-OES. Nickel is the dominant metal in the active materials (65% by mass in the anode and 70% by mass in the cathode). Most of the rare earth elements (La, Ce, Nd, Pr and Y) are located in the anode active material, whereas only a small amount of Y is found in the cathode material. The electrode materials were further characterized by SEM-EDS and powder XRD. The electrodes were leached in sulfuric acid and in hydrochloric acid under different conditions. The dissolution was followed by taking out samples and analyzing the concentration of REE, Co, and Ni using ICP-OES. The results indicate that the dissolution of nickel could be limited by slow dissolution kinetics of nickel oxide. Further, it was found that light rare earths are lost through precipitation during sulfuric acid leaching with increasing extent as the temperature and sulfuric acid concentration increases. The separation of REE from the sulfuric acid leach liquor by precipitation as NaREE(SO4)2.H2O and from the hydrochloric acid leach solution as REE2(C2O4)3.xH2O have been studied by performing experiments using battery leach liquors. INTRODUCTIONIt is well known that the Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) is becoming more common due to economic and environmental reasons. Batteries are widely used in HEVs’ such as automobiles or larger trucks for transportation purposes. The most common type of battery in these vehicles is nickel metal hydride (NiMH), largely due to Toyota's decision to use them in their popular Prius. More than two million hybrid cars worldwide are running with NiMH batteries, such as the Prius, Lexus (Toyota), Civic, Insight (Honda), and Fusion (Ford). Panasonic manufactures HEV prismatic NiMH batteries that have been used by Toyota and GM (among others), while Sanyo manufactures HEV cylindrical cell NiMH batteries, which have been used by Honda and Ford."

Jan 1, 2016

By M. S. King

"A simple method is proposed for determining the long-term deformation behaviour of evaporites. The theory developed can be tested by measuring the change in diameter as a function of time of a vertical mine shaft opposite evaporite strata. Ultimate shaft closures predicted by the theory agree well with those calculated with the very much more complex theory of Serata (1968), provided that sufficiently high octahedral shear strengths are used in the former.An analysis of measurements made in an isolated opening in a Saskatchewan potash mine shows that the octahedral shear strength of the surrounding potash and halite was approximately 500 psi several years after the opening was mined. This value is less than that deter-mined experimentally for halite by Serata. The same data indicate, furthermore, that the in-situ octahedral shear strength is decreasing slowly with time.The current controversy regarding the actual deformation of evaporites will only be resolved by the cooperation of potash producing companies in releasing data on the long-term deformation of their mine shafts."

Jan 1, 1971

By W. E. MacDonald

This paper relates the story of 100 years of mining in the Harbour Seam at the Princess Colliery, Sydney Mines, Nova Scotia. Several interesting anecdotes are included along with the discussion of the evolution of coal mining methods in the area. Finally, some of the recently introduced equipment at Princess Colliery is described, and prospects for the future of the industry are outlined.

Jan 1, 1968

By lchimura. R. .

Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) and Centro de Investigation Minera y Metalurgica (CIMM) commenced a five year project from 2001 to modify the treatment of the furnace dust from Teniente converter containing harmful elements like arsenic and lead. The project was supported by Japanese and Chilean governments, and a demonstration plant was installed and operated at Las Ventanas Smelter and Refinery (Division Ventanas CODELCO). The basic and detailed engineering was made by Mitsui Mining and Smelting Co., Ltd (MMS) based on the joint study among JOGMEC, CIMM and Division Ventanas CODELCO. Arsenic in flue dust is lixiviated by sulfuric acid and fixed as crystalline ferric arsenate, where leachability of arsenic will be lower enough than the regulation, 5mg/I by TCLP (Toxicity Charactaristic Leaching Procedure) of USEPA. On the other hand, the recovered copper from the dust will be fed to the copper production process at Las Ventanas Smelter and Refinery, while zinc will be recovered as the exportable product. As introducing the crystallization and growing stage, the stable crystalline ferric arsenate formation can be achieved under the normal pressure.

Jan 1, 2007

Mineral engineering is defined as those engineering activities that relate to the discovery, development and utilization of mineral resources. Using petroleum engineering as an example, it is shown that the breadth of the field to be studied is a major educational problem. Breadth of field is aggravated by the rapidity with which technological demands may change. At present, special short courses serve to update engineering education. Recent experience suggests an increased rate of change for the future. The fact that engineers have typically human needs and goals, and the fact that engineers respond to these in our free society, introduces a third class of problems. One approach to the solution of these problems is the unified engineering curriculum based on a core of subject mat-ter common to all engineering. Experience suggests that the unified curriculum is an effective method to minimize the importance of the first two problem areas presented, and shows a degree of success in handling some problems within the third area. Perhaps, for the good of all segments of society, it is best to have both career-oriented and unified curricula represented by educational institutions of high quality.

Jan 1, 1963

By D. M. Hendrick, D. K. Fountain

Since the discovery by conventional prospecting of the Horne deposit in 1920, the Noranda area has produced 82 million tons of copper-zinc-gold-silver ore from sixteen massive sulphide bodies. Recent exploration in the area has consisted of systematic studies employing geology, geophysics and geochemistry. Due to the depth of the deposits being sought, surface geo-physical surveys are limited in their effectiveness as DIRECT indicators. However, because of the geological environment, surface geophysical methods, and the Induced Polarization method in particular, can be success-fully employed as INDIRECT indicators of ore deposits. Examples of survey results from various properties in the Noranda area illustrate the advantages and limitations of the Induced Polarization method as an exploration tool in this area.

Jan 1, 1971