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Owing to the number of chemical processes now in use for the separation of metals from their ores, and the consequent employment of chemicals at the mine, it is sometimes necessary to be able to produce them on the spot. This particularlyapplies to sulphuric acid which may be required for the manufacture of chlorine and of sulphate of copper, or for the treatment of'sulphides and other purposes. It can be made from brimstone for rather less than £3 per ton, but when delivered to any distance from the works, the cost of packages and other charges would amount to more than the value of the acid.I hope therefore, that to any of the members of the Institute who may find it necessary to make sulphuric acid for their own requirements an outline of the process, and some details of the plant etc may be useful, and perhaps lead to their devising improvements, mechanical or otherwise. Though acid can be made from pyrites in Europe for about 15/- per ton, it is probable that for most metaIIurgical purposes the quantity required. and the uncertainty as to how long it would be needed, would make it advisable to spend as little as possible on plant, and so use brimstone, though more expensive, I have therefore given no details of pyrites burning, which is very fully treated by Prof, Lunge in his work on " Sulphuric Acid and Alkali."

By Finlayson EJ

New detailed mapping, micropalaeont- ology and isotopic dating have been successful in revising the stratigraphy of Woodlark Island. All Middle to Late Miocene intrusives and volcanic rocks have been assigned to the Okiduse Volcanics. In addition, the results demonstrate that the Tabukui beds and Wonai Hill beds (N9, late Early Miocene to earliest Middle Miocene) are a single unit. Similarly, the Nasai and Suloga Limestones are confirmed as a single stratigraphic unit as they yield similar foraminiferal ages (upper Te, Early Miocene), and both occur in the same stratigraphic position unconformably overlying basement Loluai Volcanics. Radiocarbon dating suggests a latest Pleistocene age for the upper Kiriwina Formation. Extensive Quaternary cover and low relief prevents detailed structural airphoto interpretation. In general, the structure is simple with all units on Woodlark dipping to the northwest a_4 exhibiting prominent local block faulting.

Jan 1, 1991

Microfluidic Solvent Extraction for Mineral Processing of Copper Leach Solutions

Sep 13, 2010

The works of Metal Manufactures Ltd are situated at Port Kemblam NSW, within a few hundred yards of a deep-water harbour. At present they occupy about 26 acres, and ample provision has been made for future extensions. Rail connection exists between various parts of the Works and the main South Coast Railway, the harbour jetties and the adjacent copper refinery of The Electrolytic Refining and Smelting Co Ltd. A plan of the works is shown in Fig 1.The company was incorporated in March 1916, and commenced production of copper wire in June 1918. Early in 1920, tube manufacture was undertaken, followed by telephone cable mnufacture in 1923. Today the Works consist of five principal sections: Founrdy, Tube Factory, Wire Factory, Cable Factory and Case and Drum Factory. Whilst the last four are engaged in producing the finished materials for despatch from the Works, the first-mentioned is engaged in producing copper, brass, and other non-ferrous billets for use in the Tube and Wire factories. In addition, there are Engineering and Metallurgical Departments supporting the manufacturing sections, and in these, as well as in all other sections of the Works, extensions have been carried out from time to time to provide for increased output and new types of products.

Jan 1, 1938

It is no longer satisfactory to assess the value of a coking coal on its intrinsic properties alone; its value depends upon its behaviour as a component in a blend. No single test can be used to make this assessment, it can only be made by carrying out a suite of tests. The quality parameters which are considered desirable, and which have widespread acceptance, have been discussed and their application to the blending of coals from New South Wales and New Zealand has been reported and discussed. Blending can be utilised to offset deficiencies, or capitalise on advantages, of the individual coals making up a blend. Coals can be blended, which alone are poorly, Coking, but which have compensating features. Blending also allows better exploitation of coking coal reserves. Several applications of blending have been reviewed with regard to coal producers and exporters, as well as coal users. The possibility of extracting a coking coal fraction from fuel coals is discussed. Blending systems and the coking of coal are also briefly reviewed.

Jan 1, 1971

By J M. F Clout

Geological, textural and mineralogical classification of iron ores is routinely conducted by mine and exploration geologists on reverse circulation percussion, blasthole cone and bulk samples for grade control, defining ore and waste, determining lump:fines ratio and predicting downstream processing characteristics. Classification is based on physical hardness, colour, streak and other visual characteristics. However, logging is generally restricted to the five to 20 per cent of chips above about 2 mm. This means that most of the sample is too fine to be reliably logged for anything but colour or streak and the textural types must be inferred from other information. A recently developed software package called æRecognitionÆ allows automated identification and classification of iron ore textural types and gangue on a particle basis in polished section down to 0.01 mm using processed digital images. It is not designed to be used as a routine logging tool, but is applicable where higher definition is required at the resource evaluation stage on selected percussion, drill core or bulk samples. æRecognitionÆ processes data obtained after optical image analysis of fine iron ore samples. It contains several parts, like æRecognitionÆ, æCompositionÆ, æLiberation by Total IronÆ, æLiberation by PhasesÆ and æStatisticsÆ, which allow vast and diverse information to be obtained about the iron ore samples being studied. Identification and classification of the textural type of each particle is performed according to the CSIRO-Hamersley Iron Ore Group Classification Scheme. The recognition procedure encompasses a good knowledge of different ore types and a logical knowledge tree, managing fuzzy boundary problems and the potential for a few different ore types in the same particle to be considered. This new technology introduces strict criteria to make the process of identifying particles more objective. Automated recognition standardises the identification procedure and significantly saves time. It enables users without a strong background in mineralogy to perform accurate texture identification. The æRecognitionÆ package has a modern user-friendly interface and Word compatible output. The combination of all the features mentioned makes the package a convenient tool for detailed studies of fine iron ores.

Jan 1, 2005

By M Fallon

The full history of exploration successes, failures and related costs from initial greenfield exploration in 1987 to the current brownfield stages was analysed for the Plutonic Marymia Gold Belt of Western Australia. This belt, which had escaped the attention of turn-of-the-century prospectors and had not produced any gold until 1990, is an ideal area for a collectively exhaustive, progressive value and risk case study of expected return on gold exploration. The study analyses the progressive screening of over 200 greenfield and near mine prospects, through various stages of exploration to the establishment of 38 mining sites, ranging from a few large mines to small satellite operations. It provides empirical estimates of the historical Bayesian probability of projects advancing to successive stages of exploration, eg from reconnaissance, to systematic drill testing, resource delineation, feasibility and mine development, given a successful outcome in any exploration phase. The ratio between the estimated value of the gold discovered and the corresponding historical exploration expenditure in each year and cumulatively, ie the average cost of discovery per ounce of gold, are then computed as measures of historical return on the exploration investment in this belt. These, together with an estimate of the æresidualÆ gold endowment, ie of the number and size of possible as yet undiscovered deposits, generated through the use of rank statistics (ie ZipfÆs law), provide a basis for future strategic consideration in exploration targeting in this and similar geological terranes.

Jan 1, 2009

It's long been suspected that there has been an increase in the incidence of premature failure of rock bolts in underground coal mines over the past ten years. As far back as 2002 a study found a possible contributor to such premature failure in some Australian coal mines might be linked to stress corrosion cracking (SCC) (Crosky et al, 2002). That study suggested the low impact toughness could be a major influence on the susceptibility to SCC of different steel compositions. A subsequent study involving laboratory corrosion tests however failed to confirm any link with metallurgical factors (Villalba and Atrens, 2007), a finding that is at odds with field experience. Some mine sites today are still reporting prematurely failed rock bolts to the rock bolt manufacturers; the failures are being identified at SCC induced. To this end a research project has recently been commissioned at University of New South Wales (UNSW), which aims to identify the environmental factors causing SCC, through field test sites and simulating the conditions within an accelerated corrosion laboratory. This paper outlines the methodology that will be used in this study.

Nov 25, 2010

Detailed investigation was carried out on the dephosphorization of a number of phosphorus-rich manganese or samples of India by leaching with dilute sulphuric acid. Various process parameters like concentration of acid, liquid-solid ratio, temperature of leaching, time of leaching, and particle size of the ore were studied in detail for the three samples of manganese ore from central India, and optimum values were worked out on a laboratory scale. Preliminary studies show that certain ores which are not easily amemlible to appreciable dephosphorization by leaching with dilute sulphuric acid can be made amenable by :roasting to 700-900°C before leaching.

Jan 1, 1974

By Ralph B. J, Sadler W. R

Thiobacillus ferrooxidans was shown to catalyse biodegradation of chalcopyrite concentrates. The process was growth associated at normal temperatures (30°C) in dilute acid solution (pH2, H2SO4) in submerged cultures. Approximately 20% of the copper dissolved in 22 days in the presence of T ferrooxidans while less than 0.6% was released when bacteria were absent. In ore column leachates, the iron and sulphur oxidizing species T ferrooxidans, ranged from I04 to I06 cells/ml while exdusively sulphur oxidizing species ranged from I02 to 104 cells/ml. T ferrooxidans predominated below pH 3 while other sulphur oxidizing bacteria favoured higher pH. Organisms were distributed vertically in ore columns according to pH differences, resulting from gradual acid consumption by gangue, during trickle irrigation.There was a sequential development of bacteria in leachates from fresh ore irrigated with water only. High pH sulphur oxidizers were always present, low pH sulphur oxidizers appeared within a week while T ferrooxidans took 50 days to show up. Routine monitoring of bacteria in dump leachates provided a qualitative indication of events in otherwise inaccessible ore bodies.

Jan 1, 1981

By G J. Corbett, P Magner, M McKenzie

Structures formed during ductile deformation have been reactivated during the later brittle mineralisation process. Two generations of folding are classified as: early recumbent megascopic FI folds and FI shears which transpose the hinge regions, and later upright F2 folds. S1 is folded about F2 folds which contain axial planar S2 crenulation cleavage. Vergence relationships between S1 and bedding indicate that many of the mineralised structures occupy sites of FI folds which have acted as plumbing systems for later gold mineralisation (eg Blackwater mine). The Globe-Progress gold mineralisation is localised by a major jog formed by sinistral strike-slip movement on two FI fault segments and mineralisation also occurs in smaller jogs along strike (eg Sir Francis Drake, Happy Valley-Merrijigs, Cumberland).   The lodes of ribbon quartz which exploit the FI shears and local bedding planes, are inferred to have mostly formed after the peak of metamorphism, possibly related to the emplacement of Carboniferous granites. This was followed by a sequence of vein deposition and wallrock alteration which consists of quartz-As/Fe sulphides ? carbonate - stibnite ¦ trace base metal sulphides and Bi-sulphosalts ? illitic clay/sericite-chlorite. Gold at Globe-Progress is mainly encapsulated in arsenopyrite. At Blackwater, free high fineness gold occurs in partings in lode quartz with late sericite-chlorite. The above sequence of events is comparable to that encountered in many intrusion-related gold systems throughout the Southwest Pacific region. There is a spatial relationship between gold mineralisation and dykes variably described as diabase, dolerite or lamprophyre. Alkaline rocks occur in many Pacific rim and older goldfields and may possibly be related to a magmatic source for gold mineralisation.

Jan 1, 1997

Mineral formations, accumulated during technogenic activities greatly influence an economic and ecological situation in the Kola North. On the one hand, the dumps from extraction of mineral resources, tailing ponds of beneficating plants, ash dumps, wastes of metallurgical and mechanical engineering productions destroy the regionÆs environment and require taking certain measures and costs to bury or protect from weathering, oxidation, etc. On the other hand, technogenic mineral formations contain a lot of valuable scarce components. The amount of solid wastes increases annually, causing damage to ecology and economy. Researches conducted in recent years showed a possibility and economic expediency of comprehensive processing of wastes from different enterprises in Murmansk region and their use for production of new competitive commodity output, possessing high consumer properties. Thus, involving mineral wastes from Khibiny apatite deposits into hydrometallurgical industrial processing provides the basis for setting up a large beneficating-metallurgical complex. In this case ores and wastes from other deposits on the Kola Peninsula, containing titanium, rare, rare-earth and other valuable elements, may be involved into processing. Establishing such a complex will allow to organise a deep processing of natural resources, utilise some production wastes, improve ecological security and supply production with competitive output. Expanding the complex implies not only involving new mineral raw material into processing, but mainly deepening raw material processing, maximum utilisation of local natural resources and obtaining a wider variety of prime products.

Jan 1, 2002

Factors of importance in the ntilization of coal fines are mentioned, and the results of flotation tests on coal fines from three important coal seams in New South Wales are presented.INTRODUCTIONEconomic utilization of fine coal is an important problem in the Australian coal industry, particularly as the proportion of fines mined is increasing with progressive mechanization.While the use of uncleaned coal fines may be economic, it may be preferable to beneficiate them, but the most economic process must be selected.For beneficiating coal finer than about 28 mesh, froth flotation can be applied, but mining engineers should avoid practices that may be detrimental to flotation. Such practices include the indiscriminate use of water, particularly that containing a wetting' agent, for dust suppression. In addition, clay stemming in wet conditions may produce slimes which could adsorb on coal surfaces, while the use of oils and greases as well as the application of stone dust and chlorides in roadway consolidation may influence adversely fine coal beneficiation.This paper deals with the application of flotation to samples of fine coal from the Bulli, Greta, and Victoria Tunnel seams. In addition a discussion is given of the mineralogical constitution, size analysis, and degree of liberation of ash constituents of the various samples.COAL SAMPLESRepresentative samples of coal from the Bulli, Greta, and Victoria Tunnel seams were obtained for testing.

Jan 1, 1961

The proposed classification scheme is based on two primary parameters, one for petrographic composition and the other for rank, both being determined with microscopic techniques. The scheme has been applied to a wide range of Australian coals and found to provide a useful means of relating their inherent properties to properties such as volatile-matter yield, crucible swelling number, and calorific value, which will determine how these coals might be used commercially.

Jan 1, 1970

The distribution or the userul minerals or Tasmania is so closely connected with the geological structure of the island that it will be convenient to briefly recapitulate the principal ract or its geological history, before describing the ore and other deposits. In many cases these present features which are very puzzling in the absence of knowledge of the structure of the districts in which they are found and in all cases it is of benefit to mining engineers to be acquainted with the main facts of the geological·history of the regions in which they have to carry on operations. Moreover, in speculating as to the origin of lodes and other deposits, we have constantly to rerer to the crumplings or the earth's crust by mountain-making movements, and to the igneous rocks which have been thrust throngh the other strata, to explain the origin or the lode fissures, and this discussion cannot be carried on without knowledge of local geology.The oldest rock yet met with in Tasmania are of Archooan age, and consist of highly crystalline quartzites and micaceous schist. They are most extensively developed towards the western side ot the island, forming a belt parallel to the West Coast from South-West Cape to Cradle fountain; but they also crop out here and there to the west and northward of this belt, where the covering strata or later age have been denuded away. Though not seen in situ in the eastern part of the colony, the abundance or pebbles derived from this formation in the conglomerates of the coal measures shows that it must in those day have formed land surfaces there also, and makes it likely that the archooan strata exist at no great depth: below many of the beds of later age now occupying the surface. Lying unconfortably upon these highly metamorphic strata we find next an extensive series of subcrystalline metamorphic conglomerates, grits, sandstones, slates, and limestones,of Cambro-Silurian age. These are well seen in the Gordou River Basin, along the West Coast Range, aloug the North Coast, and in the goldfields of the north-eastern portion of the colony. They are much broken by later intrusive rocks, and covered by younger rormations, but the series is spread more or less over the whole island.

THE filter-press, which has done so much for the successful treatment of the sulpho-telluride ores of Kalgoorlie, has a serious rival in the vacuum process, and this paper is written with a view to arousing more interest in the cheaper working of the press, it being doubtful whether its efficiency in extraction can be improved upon.Before proceeding with the actual working of the press, it may be as well to make brief mention of the character of the ore treated at the Associated Northern Blocks, where these notes were compiled.A sample from several weeks' run was taken of the raw ore, with the following analysis...

Jan 1, 1910

By Lyon R. J P

The quartz-cassiterite-wolfram veins at the Aberfoyle Tin Mine, north-eastern Tasmania, form a sheeted zone about 200 ft. wide and 1,600 ft. long in slightly contact metamorphosed shales, slates and greywackes, and are associated with a cupola of aplitic granite whose top is about 1,050 ft. below the present surface. Economic mineralization persists from the surface down to a vertical depth of 1,050 ft. to 1,100 ft., dying away in the vicinity of the cupola. Down to the 9-level there is a progressive increase in wolfram content of the veins, and a decline in cassiterite content, with increasing depth.The veins are banded or zoned, with a seivedge of muscovite on the wall. Cassiterite, wolfram and sphalerite occur inside the selvedges, projecting into a core of quartz of varying width. Other sulphides form the central part of some narrow veins, or occur as clots in the quartz. The general sequence of deposition of the ore minerals was: (1) cassiterite, wolfram; (2) arsenopyrite, pyrite, molybdenite; (3) pyrrhotite (in part); (4) blende-group minerals-chalcopyrite, sphalerite, stannite, pyrrhotite (in part)-as solid solutions; (5) galena, tetrahedrite, matildite, native bismuth, scheelite; (6) marcasite and secondary pyrite, magnetite and hematite. The sequence of deposition of the gangue minerals was: (1) fluorine-bearing minerals-muscovite topaz, apatite, triplite, fluorite-more or less contemporaneous with the cassiterite and wolfram;' (2) quartz-contemporaneous with the earlier sulphides; (3) carbonates--contemporaneous with the later sulphides. The stages overlapped somewhat.The composition of the sphalerite and heat treatment experiments with the solid solutions indicate that the blende-group sulphides were deposited at about 6000 C., and cooled rapidly, so that unmixing of the solid solutions was arrested. This accords with the likelihood that the country rock temperature was not above 2000 C. Annealing experiments at between 3500 C. and 6000 C. led to further precipitation from solid solution at the lower temperatures, and to significant segregation by solid diffusion within, a week, indicating that both deposition and cooling of the ore were rapid processes-completed in a matter of days. Since the mineralizing solutions must have lost some heat during...

Jan 1, 1957

By P Meehan, R McAree, Z Guan

Equipment maintenance is 30 - 50 per cent of the operating costs for a typical mining company. While this is substantial, its importance is beyond its significance as a cost heading. Modern mining requires large amounts of investment in capital infrastructure and equipment to produce a product sold at a low unit cost. To stay competitive, such a business has to focus on full realisation of its capital investment, ie sustained production at high levels. Maintenance plays an essential role in achieving this goal. Mining companies typically use a mix of breakdown or corrective maintenance, planned maintenance, and some condition-based maintenance. The share of breakdown maintenance has been coming down through more effective planned maintenance and better condition monitoring tools. Planned or preventive maintenance (PM) is playing an increasingly important role in todayÆs mining maintenance. This is the suite of inspection and repair/replacement actions performed at scheduled time intervals as part of a preplanned activity. The activities are scheduled well in advance and, usually, the current wear-state of the machine is irrelevant. For example, the replacement of a major gear may have been planned 18 months in advance; replacement is carried out when the time comes regardless of the actual condition of the gear. The PM costs are significant and include direct cost of parts and labour as well as the opportunity cost of lost production while the machine is under maintenance. It is important to identify the optimum PM effort because over-maintenance should be avoided as much as under-maintenance. A new concept called severity-based maintenance is introduced in this paper. We have seen that measuring equipment ageing in mining merely by counting the engine hours is a very imprecise way of planning and scheduling maintenance because the damage accumulated in one hour varies enormously from operator to operator and with changing pit conditions. We recommend continuous monitoring of duty on all major equipment. This is feasible without having to fit out the machine with an army of sensors because most of the physical sensors required by dutymeters are already installed and maintained as part of the existing performance monitors. While the investment is modest, the potential benefits are huge and can be grouped under three headings:Immediate benefits will come from providing operators with direct feedback on the effect of their behaviour on machine health and training them to use this feedback to correct their operating style. The equipment can operate closer to the limits of capacity, producing more without unduly sacrificing the availability by monitoring and controlling the severity of the operation, ie the duty on the machine. Longer term benefits accrue from establishing correlations between actual time to failure data and measured equipment duty and using these correlations to optimise maintenance effort as well as planning new equipment purchases and warranty conditions.

Jan 1, 2002

The consideration of environmental constraints and issues is a fundamental component of all stages of planning, development, operation and decommissioning mining and quarrying projects. Provision needs to be made at all stages for the cost of environmental components since it is of fundamental importance that they be recognised as an integral component of any project. This paper presents an approach to environmental costing, suggested levels for budgeting, and the cost benefits.

Jan 1, 1990

Ferruginous manganese deposits have been known at Ripon Hills since the late 1950s. The main group of deposits occur in an area 6 km by 5 km and these were extensively investigated by Longreach Metals N.L. during1971 and 1972 for possible commercial exploitation.Ripon Hills is a dissectcd fault plateau 350 m above sea level formed by the uplift of a block of gently dipping Proterozoic shales, cherts, and dolomite. The plateau consists of chert breccia which is underlain by massive dolomite. The shales which are ferruginous and manganiferous overlie the chert breccia but are now only preserved, in places, in the broad depression and valleys of the plateau.The ore deposits occur as supergene replacement of the shales and were investigated by geological mapping, grid percussion and diamond drilling, and bulk beneficiation testing. Iron and manganese oxides erraticallyreplace Shale accompanied by the leaching of other minerals. The ore is composed of fine grained pyrolusite intergrown with fine grained hematite and locally containing extensively altered bixbyite and braunite. Thegangue mineral is mainly kaolin.The average grade, using a 15 per cent Mn cutoff, was 19 4 per cent Mn and 25·9 per cent Fe for a combined drill-proven, indicated, and inferred tonnage of 56,000,000 tonnes. The average depth of this mineralization from the surface is 11 m. Using a cutoff grade of 20 per cent Mn the average grade was 24·6 per cent Mn and 23·0 per cent Fe for a combined tonnage of 12,000,000 tonnes to an average depth of 8 m.The substantial drop in reserves occurs because a high proportion of the mineralized material contains less than 20 per cent Mn.It was shown that whereas the lower grade ore, despite erratic fluctuations in grade, could be beneficiated to specification grade by crushing, screening, and conductivity ore sorting, the higher grade ore could be beneficiatedto specification grade by crushing and screening only. The utilization of the higher grade ore was considered to constitute a more viable operation.There is potential for high grade manganese ore to be discovered in the Ripon Hills area at the contact of chert breccia and underlying dolomite.

Jan 1, 1977