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By D. Robert Weir, Roman M. G. S. Berezowsky

Pressure oxidation can virtually always render refractory auriferous sulphidic ores and concentrates amenable to cyanidation. Its effectiveness as a pretreatment of refractory gold feedstocks is reflected by the successful startup and operation, over the past four years, of four commercial plants. At least three more are scheduled to come on stream during the next three years. Over the past eight years, a variety of ores and concentrates have been subjected to integrated miniplant testing and process demonstration by Sherritt, and data derived from these studies have been used in the design and construction of several of the commercial facilities. Some factors affecting the selection of pressure oxidation in gold recovery processing are discussed.

Jan 1, 1989

By J. V. G. Middleton

The paper gives a comprehensive review of the design considerations which determined the choice of the milling plant, a description of the plant and comment on the operating experience to date. Operating experience will include inter alia a description of the mill liners installed with subsequent changes due to wear patterns, the mill inlet sealing arrangement, steel ball addition, mill outlet sump design, cyclone feed pump liner wear patterns and comment on the efficiency of the linear screens for wood chip and tramp removal. Finally a view on future trends in South African milling practice with respect to type and size of plant.

Jan 1, 1989

By F. Dingwu

The demand of manufacturing high-purity magnetite concentrate leads to the advent of various magnetic separators. A novel magnetic drum separator has been developed with an optimal permanent magnet system and a complex-forces field is adopted, involving magnetic force, gravitation, fluid resistance, friction, inertial centrifugal force, etc. Proper ultrasonic probes are inserted into the bottom tank to break up the magnetic floes. The performance of magnetite in the complex-forces field is described and the optimal operation conditions are suggested.

Jan 1, 1995

By L. Giraldo, S. Cotten

"INTRODUCTION The vision for a “Mine Escape Vehicle” (MEV) is to provide capabilities to better enable underground travel to allow miners to escape to safety in the event of a major mine emergency such as a fire or explosion. Enhanced transportation and survival capability such as a MEV may have minimized or eliminated the loss of life associated with several of the mine disasters that occurred in 2006, which together resulted in the deaths of 19 miners. Although the most desirable response in an emergency is for the miners exit the mine, if escape proved to be impossible, the miners could use the vehicle to proceed to an underground point of refuge to await rescue. Under a NIOSH contract issued in April 2008, Raytheon developed a conceptual vehicle design including (1) the capacity to provide life support functions for a number of miners, (2) operate in a reduced oxygen atmosphere with little or no visibility, and (3) travel at speeds faster than miners could walk out of the mine. The proposed MEV concept envisioned modification of a personnel carrier (a.k.a. a “mantrip”) that would be used every day during normal mine operations, not a specialized vehicle reserved only for or dedicated solely to escape. The MEV concept also included escape aids that are detachable from the vehicle in the event that the vehicle must be abandoned on the way out of the mine and the dismounted miners had to proceed on foot. To advance MEV development, NIOSH awarded a second contract in 2010 to Raytheon to build, test, and evaluate the performance of a proof-of-concept MEV that culminated in a 7-month performance evaluation of vehicle in an Eastern Kentucky coal mine (Figure 1). User feedback and lessons learned from the proof-of-concept vehicle evaluation provided support for the general MEV approach, guidance related to the practicality of MEV capabilities, and indication of specific technology shortcomings for this application."

Jan 1, 2015

By James L. Noble

A small placer operation can be defined as one with a throughput capacity of 250 cubic yards an hour or less. The success of small placer operations after the values have been established, depend entirely on having the proper design. There are various types of placer deposits including marine, beach, desert, stream, bench, underground and even frozen placers. Each is unique and requires special considerations. Size distribution of alluvial placer ore varies from sand to large boulders. When boulders occur, they can become a problem to all types of excavating to a greater or lesser degree. Clay content and cementing are common in placer deposits. Some clay disperses easily in water while others, if not handled properly, will form clay balls that pick up gold and carry it to tailings. Overburden, depth of bedrock, vegetation, and ground and surface water must all be considered when designing a plant. Any equipment chosen should be capable of processing large volumes of material at a high efficiency. There are usually five steps to processing placer gravels, as follows:

Jan 1, 1992

By Serkan Saydam, Ercument Yalcin

This paper presents the results of Caldagi Nickel-Cobalt Ore Deposit's, located in Turkey, reserve and ultimate pit limit design analysis. Reserve analysis of any deposit requires two steps. First one is to constitute of block model of the deposit and second step is to generate ultimate pit limit. The block model of the Caldagi ore deposit has been created by means of geostatistics. The reserves of nickel and cobalt in this block model are defined as resource, approximately 12 million tons of nickel and 1 million tons of cobalt with average grades of 0.9% Ni and 0.03% Co, respectively. Ultimate pit limit analysis has been performed by considering economic, technical and legal factors. In this paper, the ultimate pit limits are generated by Lerchs & Grossmann (L&G) algorithm. As a consequence of ultimate pit limit design, total amount of tonnage to be excavated is 1.4 billions of tons, 700 million of which contains ore and 747 million of which is the tonnage of waste.

Jan 1, 2002

By W. K. O’Connor, J. C. White, P. C. Turner

The US Bureau of Mines is investigating the cobalt and manganese resource of the West-Central Arkansas district through field investigations, mineralogical characterization, beneficiation and hydrometallurgical tests. Located within the Ouachita Mountains, these structurally-controlled deposits occur along the axes of anticlines that form the mountain ridges. Brecciated novaculite is cemented with a mixture of manganese oxides, primarily cryptomelane and psilomelane. Cobalt is concentrated within lithiophorite, a particular Mnoxide phase. Chemical analyses of head samples reported up to 25% Mn and 0.17% Co. Magnetic separation yielded products containing up to 41 % Mn and 0.22% Co at recoveries of 95% and 93%, respectively.

Jan 1, 1993

By D. L. Crouse

The worldwide talc industry has experienced significant changes since the 1980's. Consolidation of companies and operations in Europe, Australia, and North America has altered the face of supply and distribution. Imports of Chinese and Australian crude have increased competition and product options. The number of processing operations without local mines has moved competition closer to the market area. Quality controls related to ISO certification and tighter specifications demanded by the customers have altered the way our mines and mills operate. Ceramics, coatings, and paper applications continue to consume the majority of processed talc.

Jan 1, 1997

By J de Cuyper, E. J. Parkins, H. L. Shergold, W. Freyberger

The paper is divided into two parts. The first part describes an investigation of the effect of temperature on the conditioning and flotation of an ilmenite ore with a 1:l oleic acid-fuel oil mixture as collector. During conditioning the pulp underwent characteristic changes of flocculation, deflocculation and dispersion which were monitored by measuring the power consumption of the conditioner motor. Optimum flotation results were obtained at the end of the deflocculation period. High ilmenite recoveries were obtained at high temperatures and high concentrate grades at low temperatures. The second part of the paper describes a study of the effect of temperature on the adsorption of oleic acid at the ilmenite/water interface. At high adsorption densities it was chemical and exothermic. Contact angles showed that the hydrophobicity of the collector-coated minerals increased with an increase in temperature.

Jan 1, 1976

By J. D. Miller

On the basis of nonequilibrium zeta potential measurements by laser-Doppler electrophoresis, the sign of the surface charge of alkali halides in their saturated brines has been established. The results are generally as expected from simplified lattice ion hydration theory. This recent electrokinetic information coupled with the stability and prevalence of collector colloids in such soluble-salt flotation systems suggests that the selective flotation of alkali halides is due to the adsorption of oppositely charged collector colloids by heterocoagulation. Experimental flotation results confirm this surface-charge/collector-colloid adsorption model and are presented herein.

Jan 1, 1992

By F. Seymour

A dynamic programming algorithm is presented that takes a series of nested phases, a fixed mining rate schedule, a fixed plant production capacity schedule, and finds the mining and cutoff grade sequence that maximizes the Net Present Value. This tool allows the Mining Engineer to quickly look at project sensitivity to various production capacities, commodity prices, and costs. A description of the algorithm is given along with examples of how it has been used at Newmont.

Jan 1, 1995

By M. R. Smith

Barrick Goldstrike Inc.'s Betze/Post Open Pit is located at the north end of the Carlin Trend, in Eureka County, Nevada, U.S.A. (see location Map, Figure 1). About ten open pit gold mines exist on the trend, which strikes northwesterly, through the north end of Eureka County and into Elko County. The final Betze/Post Pit configuration is shown in Figure 2, Pit Configuration. The final pit will be about 2450m long by 1550m wide, elongate in a west-northwesterly direction. The pit straddles the Barrick/Newmont property boundary. The highest elevation of the pit perimeter is 1800m at the south wall, with the east end pit bottom elevation at 1200m.

Jan 1, 1993

By R. V. Ramani, S. Skankar

Available literature on the effect of re-entrainment on overall airborne dust concentration in mine airways or the fundamental mechanisms of coal dust re-entrainment in mine atmosphere is scant (Shankar and Ramani, 1991). Therefore, as part of the Respirable Dust Center's ongoing research, the following three-part study was undertaken: •a study of the re-entrainment phenomena of anthracite and bituminous coal dust particles in a wind tunnel under the influence of varying air velocities; •a study of the same in the Lake Lynn Laboratory Mine of the USBM with both air flow and walking by personnel causing re-entrainment; and •the mathematical modeling and computer simulation of the re-entrainment phenomenon. In this paper, results from the re-entrainment studies in the wind tunnel and the Lake Lynn Laboratory mine are presented. Comparing the results from the two studies, it was observed that increasing the air velocity increased the rate of re-entrainment (Shankar and Ramani, 1994a) and the rate of re-entrainment decreased with the time of exposure of the source dust to the flowing air. In addition, when the source dust was composed of particles of different sizes, the airborne dust concentrations due to re-entrainment were higher than when the source dust was composed of particles of the same size. The contribution of airborne dust concentration due to airflow was negligible compared to the contribution due to walking.

Jan 1, 1996

By Mathew B. Revell, Martyn L. Bloss

The paste fill system at BHP Cannington's underground silver-lead-zinc mine is described. The paste fill system has been operational since December 1997 and is the first of its type in Australia. Technical and operational learnings since stope filling commenced are presented. Topics described include plant performance, reticulation system design and construction, pipe wear and failure, rheology, in situ performance and laboratory testing.

Jan 1, 2001

By S. K. Mishra, S. B. Kanungo, D. Biswal

Jigging of the -2.8 +0.7-mm size fraction of a friable, low-grade manganese ore sample from Andhra Pradesh increased the Mn content of a concentrate by 7% to 8%, with an average recovery of 57%. The jig concentrate was mixed with the unjigged -0.7-mm size fraction and ground to -150 µm. The sample was then subjected to wet high-intensity magnetic separation (WHIMS). The magnetic fraction thus obtained showed an increase in Mn content of 6%, but with an overall recovery of only 50%. The results of hydrocyclone classification of -150- µm ground ore indicated that the method is not capable of upgrading the manganese content, as both ferromanganese oxides and aluminosilicate gangue minerals constitute the fine size fraction. However, when the nonmagnetic fraction obtained from the WHIMS of -150- µm ore is subjected to hydrocyclone classification and the underflow obtained is subjected to WHIMS again, an overall recovery of about 50% to 52% is obtained with at least a 7% to 8% increase in the Mn content of the product. The phosphorus content in the product is not reduced by either of the two combinations of methods. The complex association of phosphorus with all the major phases in the ore has been clearly demonstrated from the linear correlation between the distribution ratios of major constituent phases and phosphorus.

Jan 1, 2000

By Lijun Xu, Jan M. Mutmansky

The purpose of this research was to investigate airborne coal mine dust characteristics in order to assess the possibility of contribution of these characteristics to the incidence of coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP). The characteristics studied included physical (mass concentration and size distribution), chemical (elemental composition), and mineralogical (quartz and kaolinite content) variables of the dust. The results are based primarily upon analysis of the characteristics of 99 impactor samples from 18 mines in seven states. Because the eight stages of the impactor span the range of dust sizes up to 20 microns, the characteristics analyzed should represent respirable dust characteristics well and also provide size-dependent representations of the characteristics. In general, the patterns of mass concentration and size distribution in the various mines studied were similar with mass concentrations being high downwind of the continuous miner. The concentrations and size distributions were more variable upwind of the continuous miner, apparently as a result of the variations in the dust conditions in the working section. Significant size effects on the elemental and mineralogical content are shown in the data. Concentrations of most of the elements decrease as size decreases. However, minerals content increases as the dust size decreases. Regional variations of elemental and mineralogical content are also significant. Quartz and kaolinite contents are small in regions with low incidences of CWP. However, the elements of Cu and Zn are high by comparison to their content in high-incidence coal fields and may have the effect of protecting against the disease.

Jan 1, 1991

By M. W. Brandt

In the November 1957 issue of "Chemical Process Engineering," a British publications, there appeared an article entitled "Correct Selection of Drying Equipment." The author wrote as follows "Whether batch drying or continuous drying' methods are applied, the basis of efficient drying is heat distribution, control of rate of heat input, and heat transference from heating medium to the particles of the material to be dried." The author continues: "Because the efficiency of direct dryers, such as hot air or hot gas dryers, increases with rising inlet temperature of the drying air or gas when exhaust temperature remains fixed, the highest practical drying temperature should be used. Exhaust air should leave the dryer at the lowest possible temperature, but as fully saturated with moisture as possible." It is certainly conceivable that the author of this article by outlining the basic requirements for efficient drying methods has unwittingly given the reasons why fluidized drying is rapidly being adopted for so many industrail applications, including the dryingof fine coal. An examination in greater detail of the individual basic requirements for efficient drying as outlined by the author is perhaps the most logical starting point.

Jan 1, 1958

By Robert C. Meaders

In this paper, autogenous grinding is defined as the combined crushing and grinder of a run-of-mine ore or the product from a primary crusher, in a single stage grinding mill. This is in contrast to pebble milling where pebbles are substituted for steel balls to grind a ball mill size feed. The autogenous mill to compete in efficiency with normal methods of crushing and grinding must not use greater power, must use less labor and steel, and must produce an equivalent product.

Jan 1, 1963

By M. E. Smith

Chile is the world's largest copper producer and as such sets the standard of practice in copper SX/EW design. The authors summarize the liner systems used at many of Chile's major copper producers both operating and planned. The evolution in the state of the art is also discussed, considering both economic factors and Chile's burgeoning environmentalism.

Jan 1, 1994

By James A. Pendleton

The Legislature of the State of Colorado adopted House Bill 1223, "The Colorado Surface Coal Mining Reclamation Act" (The State Act), in 1979. This Act provided for the creation of a state regulatory program as accommodated within Public Law 95-87, "The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977" (SMCRA). Section 34-33-121(2)(a) of the Colorado Revised Statutes (CRS) and Section 516(b) of Public Law 95-87, identically require the underground coal mine operator to "Adopt measures consistent with known technology in order to prevent subsidence causing material damage to the extent technologically and economically feasible, maximize mined stability, and maintain the value and reasonably foreseeable use of such surface lands, except in those instances where the mining technology used requires planned subsidence in a predictable and controlled manner..." On July 23, 1980, the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board adopted regulations to administer and enforce the State Act. Amendments to the Rules, including the subsidence regulations were adopted by the Board in August of 1981. These regulations require the prediction, monitoring and mitigation of "material damage" caused by subsidence.

Jan 1, 1985