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By R. D. Lama

This paper presents the results of a study of the mechanics of methane gas flow in coal. Desorption tests carried out on cylindrical coal specimens showed that an analytical formulation can be made to model the process of gas flow in coal based on an integration of Darcy's law, Fick's law and Langmuir's relation. The diffusivity term in the flow equation varies directly with local gas content. Permeability tests carried out on the same coal result in permeability constants with values higher than equivalent permeabilities obtained from desorption tests by many orders of magnitude. The study also revealed that permeability is highly dependent on the applied gas pressure and the rock stress.

Jan 1, 1987

By G. A. Bezuidenhout, J. P. T. Kapusta, D. K. Chibwe

"Peirce-Smith converters (PSCs) are extensively used in the copper, nickel, and platinum group metals industries to remove iron and sulphur from the molten matte phase. This technology has not changed significantly since its inception in the early 20th century. The typical converting operation involves lateral purging of air/oxygen-enriched air into molten matte through a bank of tuyeres. This blowing operation occurs at low air pressure from the blowers, and the induced bubbling regime is considered inefficient from both a process and an energy utilization perspective. Inherent drawbacks include recurrent tuyere blockage, inevitable tuyere punching operation to clear airways, and low oxygen efficiency as a result of substantial air losses due to leakages.Investigations in the 1980s demonstrated1 that jetting into Cu and Ni converters could reduce or eliminate some of the process difficulties. In spite of these findings, very little progress has been made in the application of these concepts for converting of non-ferrous melts on a commercial scale.As part of its operational improvement and energy reduction initiative, Western Platinum embarked on a full-scale industrial evaluation of generating a jetting regime by using sonic injection. Prior to full-scale industrial evaluation, a numerical assessment was conducted to ascertain the feasibility of implementing sonic injection on Lonmin converters. The work included flow characterization at high injection pressures achieving sonic velocity at the tuyere exit. The 2D and 3D simulations of the three-phase system were carried out using the volume of fluid (VOF) and realizable k- e turbulence models to account for the multiphase and turbulence nature of the flow, respectively. These models were applied using the commercial CFD numerical code FLUENT.This paper discusses the key findings regard ing understanding of gas plume extension, velocity distribution, shear wall stress analysis, and phase distribution characteristics in the system. Plant trials are also discussed with reference to the commercial aspects of a fullscale implementation of sonic injection in the smelter."

Jan 1, 2014

A method, based on the macroscopic population balance equation allowing the dynamic simulation of a multistage adsorption plant given an arbitrary rate expression, is described. The partial differential equations resulting from this method are simplified using the method of characteristics. The simplified equations can then be solved using standard ODE integration techniques. The procedure is illustrated by means of data typical of a CIP application. Requirements for data structures which allow the incorporation of the carbon-in-pulp (CIP) model (and other unit models) into a general metallurgical simulator are described. Based on these considerations, it is concluded that more generality in the description of distributed quantities such as loading and particle size is provided by the use of mass density at fixed class boundaries, rather than discrete masses within fixed classes as has hitherto been used by ore-dressing simulators.

Jan 1, 1987

By E. E. Almási, G. Mucsi, G. Rákhely, Á. Rácz, B. Csőke, Zs. Pap, K. Bohács, N. Halyag

Wet stirred media milling is a widely applied grinding process in the field of mineral processing to produce <10 μm ground materials. In this paper, the results of wet stirred media milling of different Ti, Fe and Cu-oxide and phosphate minerals are presented. During the experimental work, grinding of ilmenite, vivianite, hematite and cuprite was carried out in a continuous operation wet stirred media mill. During the experiments, the particle size distribution and specific surface area of the ground materials were determined after a certain grinding time, as well as measuring the specific grinding energy, thereby determining the grinding kinetics of the different minerals. The measurement results showed the differences and similarities in the grindability of the individual minerals. Nano particulate vivianite, hematite and ilmenite was successfully manufactured in a stirred media mill; however cuprite was characterised as the coarsest final product for the same grinding circumstances. Keywords: Wet stirred media mill, cuprite, vivianite, ilmenite, hematite

Jan 1, 2020

By D. G. Krige

D. G. Krige: The stimulating contributions from Messrs Cooke, Curtis, Martus, Johnston, Van Wyk, Van Rensburg and Wroth are appreciated by the author and provide clear evidence of the importance not only of the principle of assistance to gold mines, but also of its scope and form. In general all the arguments, raised by Messrs Cooke, Martus and Johnston in favour of extending the scope of the new assistance scheme can be accepted as sound.

By P. M. Vercruijsse

Dredging is an industry in constant transformation. It has changed tremendously in the last decades. The traditional dredging activity, like construction and maintaining ports and harbours, desilting of drainage and irrigation channels, keeping reservoirs at depths and removing sediments from waterways, is still of importance. However, it is surpassed by other applications of dredging technology. Reclamation is an important example, where large amounts of sand are dredged, transported over large distances and used to make new land for industrial, housing, airport and other infrastructural purposes. Beach nourishment and other protective measurements should be mentioned here as well. Other applications like offshore winning of oil and gas, environmental clean-up, mining of interesting minerals like gold, diamonds, titanium and tin as well as aggregates from inland and offshore deposits are of importance. For all of these dredging applications equipment is required, and with changing circumstances and constraints, the design and use altered significantly. Larger dredging depths and increasing capacities require an impressive scale-up of equipment and tools. A demand for higher accuracy and selectivity set the requirement for a higher level of automation and control in combination with a well trained crew. Operations under more difficult circumstances and with other soil characteristics necessitated the development of new dredging components and systems. A sound basis for all developments was and still is a better understanding of the various dredging processes. This paper will highlight some eye-catching developments in the dredging industry. It will focus on issues in the field of hydraulic transport such as ever increasing capacity and dredging depth, as well as the pumping of large size materials.

Jan 1, 2007

By A. van den Berg

Mining of sand in South Africa is rapidly growing to sustain an increasing demand for sand for building purposes. Although mining of sand is regulated by environmental legislation, such as the National Environmental Management Act 107 of 19981, previous bad mining practices have left areas of land degraded and vulnerable to erosion. This study was conducted in the Seringveld Conservancy, where mining of sand has left the landscape with a degraded and unsightly appearance, and where little rehabilitation of the original vegetation has taken place. The aim of the study was to develop rehabilitation techniques for the degraded mined soils on two sand mines, Boekenhout Sand and Krokodil Sand, and to develop an overall strategy of revegetation by regenerating key plant species. Techniques for regenerating indigenous tree species cover, using modified mined sludge if topsoil is not available, were used to develop a practical and cost-effective strategy to be used in revegetation. A comparative trial was used to cultivate indigenous tree species in different soil mixtures. The study is important as it provides new information on the rehabilitation and revegetation of sand mined areas in the Seringveld Conservancy. This study will determine if alternatives could be used to replace topsoil on mined areas where none is available. The study is needed to determine whether revegetation of the mined areas would be possible using indigenous plant species that are difficult to grow. The overall results indicate that replacing topsoil was successful for various modified soil mixtures that could sustain the growth of indigenous vegetation on the sand mines. Different indigenous tree species require different modified soil mixtures for successful propagation. A revegetation strategy was developed to complement and enable the rehabilitation of the mined areas in the Seringveld Conservancy. Keywords Rehabilitation, revegetation, Seringveld, sand mines, Burkea africana, topsoil, germination trials.

Jan 1, 2011

By M. Gholinejad

Applying non-explosive expansion material (NEEM) is one of the safest methods for rock fracturing, especially in a hard rock quarry. An experimental study was conducted to determine the pressure exerted by NEEM in a hole, which is necessary for analysing rock fracturing, particularly in a numerical modelling. Stress distribution was developed in a thick-wall cylinder in order to measure the tangential strain on the external boundary. In the experiments, nine pipes of different materials and varying diameters were selected and then loaded internally with a general type of NEEM. Through electrical strain gauges, the tangential strains were recorded on the external boundary of the pipes. The results obtained from these tests and existing data from previous researchers were utilized for the statistical analysis. A new experimentally-derived formula is proposed for determining the pressure exerted by NEEM by multiple parameter regression with a high correlation coefficient. The proposed model has a nonlinear form with three independent parameters i.e. the hole diameter, the time, and the modulus of elasticity of the material.

Jan 1, 2012

By R. Layton

Expert Systems Technology (EST) is becoming more and more widespread in both its range of applications and the public interest. It appears to be capable of performing tasks unmatched by other techniques. Within the mining industry a large body of unsolved problems now appear to have a solution. This paper examines the current state of EST both in the context of the history of Artificial Intelligence and current efforts at building mining expert systems. It provides recommendations for those wishing to get involved, and outlines the problems for those who believe that expert systems are capable of anything and everything. The paper also provides a detailed analysis of limitations of current EST that must direct research into more fundamental, commonsense areas than have been extensively covered before.

Jan 1, 1987

By A. Cambitsis

We show that the prioritization of business improvement and performance management decisions may be significantly improved by taking into account the systemic effects of changes made in a single process area. To do so we build a model of a mining value chain, taking into account consequential downtime that arises from downstream and upstream starvation and choking effects of each activity. Introducing the concept of internal capacity, this approach yields insight into the relative importance of key metrics such as loading and hauling rates. We suggest that a holistic view of this type should be a core component of business improvement and performance management decisions. Keywords value driver trees, production constraints, throughput analysis, capacity analysis, TOC (Theory of Constraints), activity interdependencies, unit cost reduction.

Oct 1, 2013

By J. Bai, C. Zang, W. Yuan, L. Zhuang

"This study evaluates the efficiency of using mechanochemical reduction to assist the extraction of zinc from zinc ferrites by alkaline leaching. The transition of zinc ferrite into a metastable state after mechanochemical reduction with metallic iron contributes to the ready dissolution of zinc from the activated zinc ferrites in alkaline solution. Zinc ferrites were mechanochemically reduced under conditions of Fe:ZnFe2O4 mole ratio of 2:1, using 5 mm diameter stainless steel balls as the activation medium at a mass ratio of balls to raw materials of 25:1. Subsequent leaching in 6 mol/L NaOH solution at 90°C resulted in more than 70% Zn extraction. These results may be used to further develop a hydrometallurgical process for recovering zinc from zinc ferrites in alkaline solution.IntroductionZinc is an important nonferrous metal required for various applications in batteries, solder, dielectric materials, and piezoelectric materials. High-grade, easily concentrated ores are becoming scarcer: to meet world demands for zinc, it is necessary to develop economical and environmentally safe metallurgical technologies that use secondary materials such as leach residues of roasted zinc concentrates and electric arc furnace dusts. The zinc in the majority of these wastes occurs in the form of zinc ferrite (franklinite, ZnFe2O4), which is very stable and insoluble in most acidic and alkaline solutions (Langova and Matysek, 2009; Youcai and Stanforth, 2000).Several pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical processes (Jankovi et al., 2014; Langova and Matysek, 2010; Morcali et al., 2012; Shawabkeh, 2010) have been proposed for the treatment of zinc ferrites. Pyrometallurgical methods are costly owing to high energy consumption and their emissions of toxic gases are considered an environmental problem; hydrometallurgical methods are preferred for process economy and environmental reasons (Copur et al., 2004)."

Jan 1, 2016

By L. Wade

Laboratory testing of the self-heating propensity of coal, using crossing-point temperature and differential thermal analysis techniques, involves the frequent recording of several temperatures. The volume of data and the desire for high accuracy of measurements motivates an automated recording system. The data which are recorded must be adjusted for calibration factors and the results presented in both graphical and tabular form. The paper describes hardware and software features of a computerised system which is being used to establish the relative propensity to self-heating of a wide variety of coals.

Jan 1, 1987

By Y. R. Murthy, P. K. Satija, A. Srinivasulu, S. K. Tripathy, A. Ranjan

"In this investigation, we optimize the grinding circuit of a typical chromite beneficiation plant in India. The run-of-mine ore is reduced to a particle size of less than 1 mm in the comminution circuit and concentrated using gravity separation. The comminution circuit comprises two-stage crushing and single-stage grinding in a ball mill in closed-circuit with a highfrequency screen. A detailed circuit audit was undertaken at the plant to understand and evaluate the performance of the grinding circuit. The audit revealed abnormalities in the process and design parameters which caused high energy consumption, lower throughput, and loss of ultrafine chromite. Laboratory studies indicated the differences in the grinding properties (work index, breakage rate, etc.) and liberation sizes of these ores. Studies also revealed that grinding media size, particle retention time, and pulp density are crucial in coarse grinding. Based on the laboratory grinding and characterization studies; simulation studies were performed to optimize the operating parameters of the grinding circuit.IntroductionComminution is a critical process in mineral processing which strongly influences the economics of production. In mineral processing, particles containing valuable minerals must be disintegrated at a sufficiently fine size to liberate valuable minerals from waste constituents, so that they can be easily separated by an appropriate beneficiation method. The Sukinda chrome ore beneficiation plant utilizes different types of run-of-mine (ROM) ore with different physical properties (viz. grindability characteristics, work index, mineral composition, liberation, chemical composition, etc. for the production of chrome concentrate. In the feed preparation circuit, the ROM ore is crushed and ground to below 1 mm. Grinding in the chromite beneficiation plant is a critical unit operation to achieve the desired product size of below 1 mm and to control the generation of the ultrafine particles. Furthermore, about 40% of total power consumption in the beneficiation plant is accounted for by the grinding of the ore. This implies that any improvement of the circuit performance will lead to an overall increase in productivity."

Jan 1, 2017

By I. M. Macleod

An adaptive steady-state on-line optimizing regulator is proposed as an integrated approach to the control of autogenous run-of-mine milling circuits. This optimizing regulator continuously estimates an internal model of the controlled process, and, based on this, determines mill fresh solids feed rate, mill water flow rate and sump water addition flow rate such that a circuit performance objective is optimized. The dual -requirement of controlling both the mill pulp load and the load of particles of grinding media size is thus directly and simultaneously addressed. The concept and theory underlying the operation of the adaptive optimizing regulator are discussed.

Jan 1, 1987

By J. Yianatos, P. Vallejos

In the last decades, the exponential increase in the cells’ volume resulted in significant advantages such as investment costs, footprint and energy savings. However, in larger size cells, despite the increased diameter/height ratio, new constraints arose related to the need for decreasing the larger froth transport distances to enhance the froth recovery. Thus, the use of froth crowders and internal launders became compulsory to maintain the froth transport distances but decreasing the ratio between gas and collected mineral flowrates. Consequently, the bubble load will increase until reaching a critical bubble surface coverage. In this paper, the concentrate carrying capacity (tph/m2) is described in terms of the bubble surface coverage (bubble loading) at the pulp-froth interface and the froth recovery (froth transport) and is evaluated as a function of the cells’ volume and operating variables. A sensitivity analysis, based on industrial operating and design conditions, such as superficial gas rate, particles size, froth crosssectional area and cells’ volume, was developed for evaluating the metallurgical performance of cells from 100 to 630 m3. Results show that limiting carrying capacity can arise for the whole range of cells’ volume, depending on critical operating conditions, particularly in first rougher cells and cleaning stages of industrial flotation circuits. The increase in cells’ volume consistently increases the bubble loading (bubble surface coverage) under all conditions, approaching the limiting conditions more rapidly in the case of cells without internal launders. Otherwise, the limiting condition was achieved when the particle size DPS decreased from 50 to 20 (μm) and for superficial gas rates significantly less or larger than 1 (cm/s). The use of internal launders allows for increasing the range of the operating conditions needed to reach a certain carrying capacity. Keywords: Bubble carrying capacity, flotation cells, bubble surface coverage, cells’ volume

Jan 1, 2020

By T. Bednarski, L. Thomas, G. Banza, D. Muteba, P. Cole, M. Soderstrom

"In copper solvent extraction, aqueous-in-organic entrainment results in the carry-over of unwanted species into the electrowinning process with negative cost implications. The need to bleed is increased and the purity of the copper cathode is potentially compromised, depending on the impurities being transferred (Cl, NO3, Fe, Mn). In some cases, entrainment results in elevated levels of manganese in the electrolyte which can cause oxidative conditions to develop and degradation of the organic phase. Degraded organic phase detrimentally affects the physical performance of the copper solvent extraction process, contributing to even higher aqueous-in-organic entrainment. Aqueous entrainment may be minimized through good operating practices and maintenance of the organic quality, but the accurate measurement of entrainment remains a challenge. This paper presents coalescing devices designed to provide more exact measurements of aqueous-in-organic entrainment. IntroductionMany copper solvent extraction (SX) plants experience high aqueous-in-organic (A-in-O) entrainments but are unaware of the extent of the problem because entrainment is often not measured. Aqueous entrainment results in the carry-over of unwanted species into the electrowinning (EW) process and the need to bleed to maintain acceptable concentrations in the electrolyte. The costs associated with the bleed are exacerbated in copper plants where aqueous entrainment levels are high. Other than these direct costs, there are operational consequences of the build-up of certain species in the EW circuit that can have deleterious effects on plant performance.Minimizing aqueous entrainment in operating plants requires an understanding of the factors that affect entrainment levels. Both chemical and operational influences are discussed in this paper. The difficulty of obtaining a representative sample makes it challenging to obtain an accurate measure of aqueous entrainment from a continuous process like SX. Coalescing devices used to get a more precise measurement of A-in-O entrainment are useful to complete mass balances around the SX circuits. Alternatively, mass balances can be used to estimate aqueous entrainments and are helpful as a tool to troubleshoot operations with a view to improving plant performance."

Jan 1, 2016

By T. P. Katakwa

The utilization of software is now inherent to virtually every activity along the mining value chain. However, apart from the software survey done by Gibbs in the 1990s and work on the extent of diffusion of information and communication technology (ICT) in the South African platinum sector by Mugodi and Fleming in 2003, the nature and extent of software utilization in the South African mining industry has never been evaluated. The Mine Planning, Optimisation and Valuation (MPOV) Research Group in the School of Mining Engineering, University of Witwatersrand, therefore initiated a project to collate and analyse the current utilization of software in the South African mining industry. This was done through the development of a web-based database of the relevant software. Snowball sampling was used to collect the data because the South African mining industry is diverse and software utilization is fragmented across and within the sectors of the industry. The data was then organized into distinct categories so that the information from a variety of sources could be evaluated on the same basis. A beta version of the database can be accessed online through a user-friendly front-end platform at http://db.mining.wits.ac.za. The database is expected to help at least 13 educational institutions with decisions on facilities and training that are vital to the education of mining and mining-related professionals. Exploration, mining, and consulting companies will also benefit from information in the database relating to availability and useful combinations of software solutions. The database is also strategic to software providers by providing a better understanding of their respective relative market share along the mining value chain. An analysis of the data collated in this research shows that about 77% of the software users are mining companies, 17% are consulting companies, 3% are mineral exploration companies, and the rest are software providers and educational institutions. The software used in the South African mining industry is largely provided by Gemcom Software International, MineRP Solutions, and MRM Mining Services. CAE Mining, who in 2010 acquired the Datamine Group providing Datamine software, is also widely acknowledged as a major software supplier in South Africa, but data from them had not been obtained at the time of producing the beta version of the database due to proprietary constraints. The work reported in this paper is part of an MSc research study in the School of Mining Engineering at the University of the Witwatersrand. Keywords mine planning, mining, value chain, software, database, South African mining industry, utilization.

Jun 1, 2013

By H. W. Glen

The use of a personal style (mainly active voice and first person) makes technical writing more pleasant to read, and helps the writer to express his meaning clearly and to avoid many of the stylistic errors normally encountered in that type of writing.

Jan 1, 1979

By F. Lombard

We consider in this paper the use of a modified version of Hotelling?s statistic in the analysis of particle size distributions. The statistic can be adversely affected by the presence of outliers among the data. We propose a competitor to the statistic that is based on ranks, and hence is less sensitive to outlier effects. The results of a Monte Carlo study suggest that the rank test is highly competitive with the Hotelling test in its ability to detect differences between two mass size distributions. The calculation of the rank statistic is explained in detail and its application is illustrated on two sets of data.

Jan 1, 2012

By P V. Savage, T Glück, RCA Minnitt, C Bothma

Manganese Metal Operations ?Manganese Metal Company (MMC), a subsidiary of Samancor BHP Billiton, has two production facilities for electrolytic manganese metal in South Africa and produces a range of about 44 Mn metal products. ?The company is accredited with ISO 9000 and uses Six SigmaTM for continuous improvement. ?The control of the process relies on the effective functioning of approximately 250 different control loops at 50% automation.. ?Approximately 50000 samples are analysed every month. ?There are pyro, hydro and physical unit operations for the production of electrolytic manganese metal flake and value added products ? [ ]

Jan 1, 2005