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By Mirza A. Beg

The Piedmont physiographic province of east-central Alabama lies in a humid subtropical climatic zone. Such an area with mature land forms underlain by rocks rich in feldspars provides conditions condusive to development of gibbsite, a major source of alumina; a raw material for which the United States relies on foreign suppliers for 85 percent of its needs. Gibbsite occurs in the northern and inner sections of the Piedmont Province of Alabama in Coosa, Clay, Randolph, Chambers, Elmore, Tallapoosa and Lee Counties in soils and saprolite derived from amphibolites, granites, feldspathic hornblende gneiss and other gneissic rocks. The major occurrences of gibbsite are in areas underlain by hornblende gneiss in Chambers and Randolph Counties. This region provides the proper physiographic and mineralogical setting for large areas containing up to 25 percent of saprolitic gibbsite. These areas provide potential sources of alumina that could be used to meet the United States future needs. Narrow zones and pockets rich in gibbsite also occur in soil and saprolite derived from areally restricted feldspar rich zones of narrow linear amphibolites in the inner Piedmont and feldspathic zones in various granites distributed throughout the Piedmont.

Jan 1, 1982

By Robert B. Hopler

Explosives, originally used only in fireworks and warfare, became legitimate contributors to human progress when miners in Eastern Europe began using them to break rock in the early 1600%. Since that time these powerful materials have had a dual role in the world: as agents of destruction in war, and as irreplaceable tools necessary to advance civilization. In the latter role, they serve as agents to enable mankind to produce metals, build roads, and drive tunnels. In other words, to provide those materials, services, and infrastructure without which the modern world could not exist.

Jan 1, 1997

The 18th annual American Mining Hall of Fame Awards Banquet sponsored by the Mining Foundation of the Southwest will be held on Saturday, Dec. 2, 2000 at The Westin La Paloma in Tucson, AZ. The 2000 inductee, guest of honor and featured speaker at the banquet will be Ronald C. Cambre, chairman and chief executive officer of Newmont Mining. He will be honored for his role in positioning Newmont as an innovative and key player in the gold mining industry.

Jan 1, 2000

By T. Proietti, L. Mongiovì, L. Simeoni

Reliable estimates of the kinematic characteristics of movements are obtained by using a statistical model SSM. This model represents a useful tool for the management of alert and alarm systems. L'élaboration des données du déplacement médian d'un modèle statistique SSM opportun fournit des estimations fiables des caractéristiques cinématiques du mouvement. Le modèle peut être ainsi utilisé pour la gestion des systèmes d'alarme. Die Bearbeitung von Bewegungsdaten anhand eines geeigneten statistischen Modell SSM ergibt vertrauliche Abschätzungen der kinematischen Eigenschaften der Bewegung. Das Modell kann also für das Management von Alarmsystemen verwendet werden.

Jan 1, 2003

By A. Habibi

The ventilation survey was conducted in an underground longwall trona mine. The mine is relatively shallow and categorized as a gassy mine. The ventilation system consists of nine shafts (three intakes and six exhausts). Three surface based axial fans ventilate the mine configured in a blowing arrangement. Following the ventilation survey airflow quantity, frictional pressure losses and air psychrometric characteristics have been quantified. An accurate resistance survey has been conducted to calculate the pressure drop with regard to moving cages and skips in the shafts. This paper discusses the benefits of utilizing high accuracy digital pressure transducers and psychrometers in a ?leapfrogging? survey to gather data needed to build the computer ventilation model. Two underground booster fans with VFD are currently idle but available at the mine. The ventilation model has been used to determine the optimal booster fan locations to decrease the overall operating cost by reducing the load carried by the main fans. A leakage study has been conducted to evaluate the effects on the system of additional pressure from a booster fan. The study finally prepares a future ventilation model for the next fifteen years of mine operation and investigates the effect of proposed scenarios.

Feb 27, 2013

By B. W. Prof. Frazier

I PROPOSE in this paper to treat of the chimney merely as a heat engine, as one of the devices resorted to in practice for the conversion of heat into mechanical work. For the sake of simplicity and clearness in the discussion, let us consider the subject in its simplest form. Conceive a chamber, heated from without, in free communicatioH at one end with the external atmosphere, and at the other end opening into a vertical chimney. Let the. cross-section of the chamber be so great, relatively to that of the chimney, that we can neglect the actual energy of the air passing through the chamber. We will neglect, also, all passive resistances to the passage of the air. We will assume that the cross-section of the chimney is constant, and that the air in passing through it neither gains nor loses heat. The following symbols will be employed in the discussion : Po = the normal pressure of the atmosphere, which, it is assumed, is the pressure existing at the level of the chamber. Po = 10332.96 kilograms per square meter. P2 = the pressure of the external atmosphere at the top of the chimney. To = the, absolute temperature of melting ice by the centigrade scale. This is assumed to be the temperature of the external air at the level of the chamber. To = 273°. T2 =the absolute temperature of the air as it passes from the chamber to the chimney. T3 =the absolute temperature of the air as it issues from the chimney. to, t2, t3 are the temperatures, as recorded on the centigrade ther¬mometer, corresponding to the absolute temperatures To, T2, T3 re-spectively to = 0° C. In general, t = T- 273. Io, I2, I3, represent the intrinsic energy of the air at the temperatures To, T2, T3 respectively.

Jan 1, 1882

New Developments in Spirals and Spiral Plant Operations Records indicate that spiral separators have been utilised in mineral separation for over 100 years. The Spiral's predecessor, the sluice, has been in use for centuries in different forms and a spiral can be thought of as a sluice wound around a column. The spiral separator is distinguished from the straight sluice, and other flowing film separators, in uniquely introducing centrifugal motion. The elegance of the spiral concept was embraced due to significantly improved separation efficiencies, ease of operation and tolerance of variation in feed conditions. Advances in spiral technology have improved the metallurgical performance, modernised the materials of construction, increased unit capacities and simplified operation. These advances have ensured that spirals continue to play a major industry role amidst other advancing and competing technologies. Recent developments in spiral and spiral plant technology include: the launch of the VHG spiral model, specifically aimed at feeds with very high levels of high-density mineral particles; the introduction of a high capacity wash water spiral model; and innovations in feed stabilisation and control. Details of these developments are presented together with the resultant operational benefits including feed stabilisation, product control and improved metallurgical performances.

Sep 13, 2010

By D. A. Stanley

The Bureau of Mines conducted laboratory-scale experiments to determine whether or not surface waters with a high organic content could be purified sufficiently to be used to replace the natural high-quality deep well water currently being used in the silica flotation step of phosphate rock beneficiation. Waters abundant in organic matter were collected from two central Florida streams, flocculated with a cationic polyethylenimine polymer, and processed in a sand filter. This treatment removed most of the organic materials from the water. Untreated surface water, treated surface water, and distilled water were used to compare the flotation response of the acid insolubles in an amine flotation circuit. Surface water treated with PEI-1000 was shown to be as effective as distilled water for the acid-insoluble-flotation step. Flocculation and filtration can therefore produce water suitable for amine flotation of quartz, which would permit substitution of surface water for deep well water.

Jan 1, 1981

By Jean-Sébastien Kroll-Rabotin, Éric Climent, Florent Bourgeois

"Falcon concentrators are enhanced gravity separators designed for concentrating fine and ultrafine slurries. The Falcon UF model is unique in that it is dedicated to beneficiation of ultrafines, one key feature being that it does not make use of any fluidisation water. In a former study, we investigated the physical mechanisms that govern the transport of ultrafine particles (in the range 10 to 80 µm) inside Falcon UF concentrators, and concluded that separation efficiency is governed by differential settling. Initially, we derived and published a predictive model of the partition function under dilute conditions. The present paper proposes an extension of the initial model to concentrated ultrafine suspensions for application to industrial scenarios. The paper discusses how hindered settling has been added into the initial model to account for solid concentration effects. The modified model is tested against experiments carried out with a laboratory scale UF Falcon concentrator from dilute conditions up to 30 vol%. A good agreement between measurements and model predictions is obtained, which confirms that our hypotheses about the physics of separation inside a UF Falcon separator remain valid even at high concentrations.INTRODUCTIONThe Falcon concentrator is a fast spinning bowl that is fed at its centre of rotation. It uses centrifugal force to separate particles that are transported inside a thin liquid film that flows upward along the inclined wall of the bowl (McAlister and Armstrong, 1998). Due to differential settling, dense and coarse particles are concentrated inside the bowl whereas light and fine particles are rejected with the overflow stream. The fast rotation speed of the bowl yields high centrifugal force several hundred times the attraction of Earth. Despite the thinness of the liquid film (between 100 µm and 1 mm with a Falcon L40) where separation takes place, the Falcon concentrator can treat high flowrates (up to 30 L/min). At the bottom of the bowl, an impeller transmits the bowl rotation to the feed, which drains upward by centrifugal force as soon as it hits the base of the spinning bowl (Figure 1)."

Jan 1, 2011

By C. Doucet

Since 2001, CANMET Mining and Mineral Sciences Laboratories (MMSL) have worked with Falconbridge Ltd. (now Xstrata Nickel) to evaluate trends in the strength development and water retention properties of a novel backfill material for underground mining, called gelfill. Between 2004 and 2006, extensive laboratory tests were undertaken under the leadership of the Deep Mining Research Consortium (DMRC). This paper compares results obtained from samples circulated through a mini-flow loop and a simple mixer. Although many parameters were studied over the last five (5) years, this paper focuses on the investigation of the effect of the mixing method, sequence and time, and the curing environment on strength development and water retention of gelfill. It was found that binder should be added as a powder to the mix in the mini-flow loop, and that mixing slurry in the mini-flow loop as opposed to the mixer generally yielded higher strengths. The practical implications of these observations are the subject of an on-going underground trial that will compare laboratory and in situ properties of regular slurry fill with gelfill.

May 1, 2007

By J J. Culberson

The past 10 years has seen use of computers become widespread in the mining/exploration industry (including coal, precious and base metals, oil/gas and industrial minerals). This paper will concentrate on the use of computers as a tool to provide technical solutions (including data management, mine planning and operational support) to this industry rather than the use of computers to aid accounting, maintenance and inventory (æcommercialÆ) applications. This paper will review the processes and benefits of the use of computers in mining. We then review the use of technical computing locally here in New Zealand and see what business benefits local users have found from using computers in mining. We have, in research for this paper, spoken with mining software vendors from around the world to find out what is currently the æbest practiceÆ in the industry. The paper will then list what those vendors see as the ultimate improvement on the cards for the future of mining software.

Jan 1, 2000

By Elsa Olivetti

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is used increasingly as a tool to provide quantitative metrics of environmental impact and inform early stage materials selection decisions. One common challenge in LCA stems from allocation of burden when multiple adjacent products share some of the same processes. A critical example of this is the partitioning of benefit or burden at product disposition in open-loop recycling scenarios. This work reviews the challenge of allocation and investigates the various methods proposed for allocating end-of-life (EOL) burden. Specifically this work examines whether these methods lead to different results and explores the trends in allocation method bias for or against particular materials classes.

Jan 1, 2010

By Jr. Blanchette, Claude Bazin, Paul Blatter

"Reporting of the gold production during a month implies to estimate the mass of gold that is processed by a mill, recovered as dorés, lost to the tailings and the change of gold inventory within the plant equipments. Carbon in pulp and/or carbon in leach tanks may contain gold inventory as large as 72 000 g (2 200 troy oz) of gold which needs to be estimated from measurements obtained from sampling the material contained in a tank. Sampling and analysis introduce measurement errors that could be systematic and/or random. This paper examines the effect of measurement errors on the estimation of the gold inventory and on the variation of the inventory in the carbon in leach tanks of the Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited Lapa concentrator. Results of the analysis demonstrate that the inventory is measured with ±10% reproducibility, while the variation of inventory used for mass balance is known with ±300% reproducibility.INTRODUCTIONThe preparation of a production report implies to reconcile measured data with the constraint of material balance over the considered period of production. The sampling and data reconciliation problems were recently reviewed by Morrison (2008) and Jansen (2009a; 2009b). Typically a production report is prepared to cover a period over which the mass conservation hypothesis can be considered valid. In gold processing plants, the change of inventory can seldom be neglected and plays a significant role in material balance calculations. This is particularly true for circuits using carbon adsorption, where the complete cycle of carbon is measured in days.In a 2000 t/d gold ore processing plant, the inventory can be as large as 140 000 g of gold in gravity concentrator bins, carbon in pulp tanks and in the electrolysis circuit. This is equivalent to the mass of gold that fed the circuit during 10 days of operation with 7 g/t feed assays. The change of inventory may therefore strongly impact the production figures and especially the plant recovery at the end of a week or a month. Despite the financial impact associated with gold inventory, few publications are devoted to the subject. Bruington (1991) and Morrison (2008) discussed the problem and stressed the need for the development of reliable methods to estimate the gold inventory in carbon in pulp or carbon in leach circuits."

Jan 1, 2011

By Alain Dorval

"''Purification of marine sands from Les Iles-de-la-Madeleine''This paper presents the results of the work that has been done at CRM pilot plant for «Les Silices du Golfe Inc.». Essentially the purpose of this piloting was to demonstrate, on a semi-industrial scale, the process of purification of marine sands from Les Iles-de-la-Madeleine; that had been developed by CRM Process Development Service. This purification is necessary to produce silica suitable for the glass sand and the foundry sand markets.Introduction«Les Silices du Golfe Inc.» is a company who intends to dredge marine sands around the «Les Iles-de-la-Madeleine» coasts. The material will be transported to Gaspesia where electricity, water supply, and a convenient site is available to treat it. A high purity silica intended for glass sand and foundry sand markets will be produced. The objectives of this purification process are to remove organics, calcium, feldspars and iron.Material ReceivedCRM received 50 tons of sand with Si02 varying between 80,6 and 99,3 % (see Figure.1). The highest variations in impurities were the calcium and lost on ignition. We notice direct relation between% SiO2, % CaO and % L.O.I. as you can see on the following Figures 2, 3 and 4."

Jan 1, 1994

Research on Universal Depressant of Talc and Serpentine

Sep 13, 2010

By J. M. Richards

For most of the 20th century optical petrography has been the primary petrological and mineralogical tool used to characterize coal. The development of quantitative SEM-based techniques, e.g. QEMSCAN®, for coal began only about a decade ago. The application of these techniques for coal lagged behind other commodities, but they are currently being developed with the aim to provide ?one complete analysis? for coal. Quantitative SEM-based techniques are supplemented by quantitative X-ray diffraction (XRD). Recent indications are that these more modern techniques cannot replace the ?standard? petrographic and chemical evaluations, but rather complement them where and when required. The great advantage of quantitative SEM-based techniques is that they are very rapid, with the result that large volumes of samples can be processed on a routine basis. This is ideal for coal type identification, since the results can be used in the creation of ?intelligent? composites. This can lead to the more speedy evaluation of coal deposits by reducing the number of samples on which detailed metallurgical and characterization test work is required, without an increase in the overall statistical error of the resource model. Coal petrography, however, remains important for the prediction of the coking characteristics of certain coals and coal products. As a consequence it is therefore important that any coal laboratory be able to produce data with confidence. This requires strict quality control and assurance protocols that adhere to international standards. Keywords coal petrography, coking strength, scanning electron microscopy, QEMSCAN®.

Nov 1, 2013

By R N. Robson, A B. Christie, I J. Graham

Strategy development by the minerals industry identified the fragmented management of mineral resources as a significant impediment to the discovery and development of New Zealand Æs mineral resources. The total gross value of New Zealand Æs potential resources of coal and minerals is estimated at about $400 billion, but their potential value is not being realised. The management of minerals is now largely under the control of 86 local authorities (regional and district councils) and the lack of recognition of the significance of the sector has lead to inconsistencies in the way minerals are managed. The industry strategy influenced science funding for minerals, with the result that the 'mineral wealth' component now includes research on making better use of resource data in minerals management. Initially this research has targeted Otago and Northland regions where a number of initiatives are now in progress.   In Otago the Regional Council has budgeted to contribute $1 million towards a regional geophysical survey to advance mineral exploration and the management of subsurface resources in the region, to work cooperatively towards improving public awareness of the significance of minerals to regional economic activity, and to better coordinate policy-making for minerals at regional and district levels.   Crown Minerals, and the Far North and Whangarei district councils are considering providing funding support for an economic study of the mineral potential of Northland, building on a mineral resource assessment undertaken by GNS Science. Enterprise Northland is adding minerals to their list of potential growth sectors, and is supporting the operation of a Northland region minerals focus group.   Regional development agencies and local authorities have shown that they are willing to include mineral resources in their development strategies and to provide for them in policies and plans when supplied with information and assisted with technical support.

Jan 1, 2006

By Steve Wilkinson

"""Techniques for coarse-particle beneficiation of some gold ores and methods for determining potential for sorting any gold ore deposit.""With the advent of high speed computers, laser technology end different types of electronic sensing devices, ore sorting machinery has been developed, capable of handling significant tonnage rates while maintaining high level efficiency. Gold ores may be amenable to coarse-particle beneficiation where there exist measurable criteria upon which there can be recognition of auriferous versus barren lumps in the run of mine. Three types of criteria are suitable for sorting and are:i) Photometric - optical variance between ore and waste such as vein ores hosted by barren country rock;ii) Conductivity/Magnetic - based upon the metallic mineral content of ore end waste, and its association with Au, such as found in sulphide/arsenide Au ores,iii) Radtometric - detection of natural gamma activity occurring with uranium-bearirig gold ores.The method for determining the sortability of an ore depositconsists of, at least, three stages:i) Initial stage identification of ore and waste types,mineralogical/petrographical associations,amount of dilution in P.O.M.establishment of any sorting criteria]"

Jan 1, 1985

By R J. Johnson

The development of "SANFO" has provided the Mining Industry with a LOW COST HIGH GAS VOLUME, VARIABLE DENSITY, Blasting Agent which can be blended "On Site" in a simple Agitator mixing and charging system by mine site employees.

Jan 1, 1996

By MacDonald B. Johnson, Douglass P. Bacon

"W ith the advance of science, rise of public interest in environmental matters, and continuing erosion of air quality, federal and state regulators are demanding an increasing complex array of data concerning emissions produced by burning and detonating energetic materials. The U.S. Department of Defense, one of the world’s largest consumers of energetic materials, now must characterize combustion products resulting from open burning/open detonation disposal operations. The catch-all phrase “below detection limits” no longer satisfies the regulators who nowwant testing to delve into the ppt level for volatile organic compounds and ppt level for semivolatile organic compounds."

Jan 1, 1995