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By Wayne Rogers, Kell Monro, Arthur Pacunana

The Phu Kham Copper-Gold Operation (PKM) is a large-scale open pit mine located in northern Laos. It was developed and is operated by Phu Bia Mining Limited (PBM) a Lao-registered subsidiary company of Australian incorporated, PanAust Limited. Production commenced at Phu Kham in 2008. Since the second half of 2016, there has been a significant increase in ore hardness and this has negatively impacted the PKM concentrator and resulted in lower SAG mill throughput rates. Over the remaining life of mine, the changing ore body and increase in ore hardness is forecast to continue as the pit deepens and the availability of softer blending ores reduce. To manage this risk, PKM initiated a Hard Ores Management Program to determine the most effective way to improve the mill throughput of harder ores. This involved conducting a number of innovative and process control driven blasting trials to optimize run-of-mine (ROM) fragmentation and other blasting outcomes. From 2016 to 2017, the performance of high powder factor blasting, electronic detonators and fast timing, high velocity of detonation (VOD) explosives, double-priming, and deck blasting, were individually and systematically assessed. The success of each blasting trial was then based on a ‘value for money’ criteria. This criteria is a cost / benefit analysis that weighed-up the additional cost to implement the trial against the measured improvement in mill throughput. Electronic and high VOD 90:10 emulsion:ANFO blasts were determined to have the best value for money, achieving an increase in mill throughput of 54% compared to baseline. This paper discusses how the implementation of an innovative and process control driven blasting trial methodology was able to successfully manage the hard ore challenges at PKM. In addition, this success was achieved without any major cost implications, safety incidents or process plant set-backs.

Jan 1, 2018

Rockbursts continue to be a scourge in the mining industry, being responsible for accidents and damage to mining excavations. Although the problem has been present for more than a century, and although much research has been carried out, a solution is still elusive. Determination of, firstly, the demand on the support system imposed in the rockburst and, secondly, the capacity of the support system, cannot be carried out with any confidence, and therefore rockburst support cannot be designed using a conventional design approach. In contrast with the conventional approach, observations of rockburst damage in a mine have revealed a possible alternative approach to rockburst support ? sacrificial support. It was observed, in rockburst events, that a support system consisting of concrete panels restrained by grouted cables was destroyed, and the concrete panels were ejected. However, the rock behind the panels remained apparently undamaged and in place. This behaviour reignited the concept of sacrificial support, conceived more than 20 years ago, and which is described in this paper. The remedial solution implemented on the mine, involving cables wrapped over the panels and retained by grouting into boreholes, has been subjected to rockburst loading and has confirmed the validity of the sacrificial support concept. The concept of sacrificial support may be controversial, but is deliberately presented here with the aim of generating discussions and contributions, and with the ultimate aim of improving safety and reducing rockburst damage in mines. Keywords rockburst, seismicity, seismic waves, rock support, support design.

Jul 1, 2013

By Fabian Kirsch

Cyclic behaviour of axially loaded piles has been an issue since studies revealed that the capability to transfer skin friction into the ground is highly depending on the level and the number of load cycles the pile is subjected. It has been shown that degradation of skin friction due to axial cyclic loading leads to accumulating displacements and a severe reduction in pile capacity. In Germany the DIN 1054 as well as the Recommendations of the Working Group 2.1 ?Piles? of the German Geotechnical Society (EA-Pfähle) require the consideration of cyclic loading for the assessment of both the displacements and the capacity. Up to now no broadly accepted design method exists, which enables the engineer to give a reliable judgement on the pile capacity under axial cyclic loading and the displacements respectively. Instead numerous design charts make it possible to distinguish between stable and instable loading levels in order to ensure a design on the safe side. A newly developed design approach based on engineering models is presented which delivers a calculation algorithm for the remaining axial pile capacity after a defined number of load cycles to allow for the analysis of stability of the foundation. Furthermore the computation of accumulating displacements is made possible. The results are verified with pile load tests undertaken at Dunkirk, France and showed that the axial capacity after cyclic loading calculated with the newly developed design approach predicts actual capacity with an accuracy of ±20%.

Jan 1, 2011

By S. Slottee

The technology of making and using ?paste? from mine tailings is increasingly well known by the minerals industry. The primary applications are water recovery and ?stacking? of tailings with minimal use of dams and ponds. This paper highlights some applications, other than water recovery and stacking, that have come to the attention of a paste thickener equipment supplier. As generated by thickeners, paste (also called ?thickened tailings?) is a non-settling, relatively high concentration, suspension of solids that can be pumped. Paste deposits with an angle of repose, allowing minimal use of dams. High solids concentration allows more water recovery at the paste thickener than is achieved in conventional and high rate slurry tailings thickeners. This paper is based on paste as produced in a flow sheet that includes a thickener, underflow pumps that are typically centrifugal, transfer pumps that can be centrifugal or positive displacement, and a distribution system at the deposition site. Examples of paste applications other than water recovery or stacking include: ?mine? an existing tailings pond by removing slurry, recovering coal or iron ore values, and return the new tailings to the pond as a paste that does not res-suspend; use paste to seal an existing tailings pond from leaking to groundwater or to an underground mine; extend the life of an existing tailings pond by thickening the tailings to paste; move an existing dry tailings impoundment to a new location by slurrying, pumping, paste thickening, and redeposit; minimize the size of a filter by paste thickening the feed; operate a paste thickener and filter in parallel on a tailings stream with re-mixing to achieve a high solids concentration. The use of paste tailings technology has been expanding over the last 15 years. The applications, both implemented and under consideration, are increasingly diverse and include all minerals tailings. Tailings handling designers should always consider a paste option to the conventional slurry solution.

Jan 1, 2011

By K. D. Mills, R. G. Robins, C. G. Anderson, L. G. Twidwell

Arsenic is a metalloid which has attracted great environmental scrutiny in recent decades. Moreover, its control and deportment is becoming increasingly important in the metallurgical processing of modern complex ores and concentrates. As such the authors of this publication have a combined professional experience of well over 100 years in the study and hydrometallurgical treatment of arsenic. Hence, this paper will cover arsenic fundamentals along with a review of technology for removal, fixation and stabilization. Finally, an application of industrial Alkaline Sulfide Leaching (ASL) of a copper enargite concentrate will be elucidated.

Jan 1, 2014

By Meherwan C. Irani

The Bureau of Mines is developing a new technological approach to handling the problems of fires in abandoned coal mines and waste banks. This new technology involves the accelerated combustion of "waste" coals in place (i.e., in situ) under controlled exhaust ventilation conditions, which allows for total management of the combustion products; including utilization of the heat produced" This new concept could significantly lower the costs of reducing the environmental and public safety hazards associated with waste coal fires, and could lead to the conversion of a coal waste to a coal resource. The controlled burnout technology has progressed from the laboratory stage to a full-scale field evaluation stage at the site of an abandoned-coal-mine fire. This first report describes the site selection, evaluation, and preparation, and the design and construction of the full-scale controlled burnout installation. Subsequent reports will deal with the results of the operational field trial.

Jan 1, 1983

By Bagley A. S

The accuracy and precision of rutile analyses are discussed. Comparison is made between the wet chemical and X-ray fluorescence spectrographic methods of. estimating Ti02 in commercial rutile. Various allotropes of 'I'i02 are identified by diffractometry and a comparative analysis of the coloured varieties of rutile is given. For X-ray fiuorescence . analysis, specimen preparation is critical and sample grinding and pressures. for pellet making are discussed in detail.Cellulose bonded and backed pellets are shown to be subject to relaxation with increasing age.INTRODUCTIONTo date much of the analytical work on commercial samples has been done by wet chemical methods.This led to various discrepancies in results, which are of particular importance when certificates must be issued for overseas shipments. The present work reviews the nature of rutile and compares the results of Ti02 estimation by wet chemical methods and those obtained by X-ray fluorescence spectrographic analysis.In the rutile industry the results from different analysts and even those from the same analyst are not always consistent. To the analytical chemist this should not be surprising.Fairbairn (1951) showed the results obtained from 34 different analysts on a specially prepared sample of granitic rock. It is of some interest to note that the Ti02 content as determined by the 34 analysts using unspecified methods ranged from 0-17 per cent to 0·30 per cent. Fairbairn (1953) found that1. replicate analyses from the same analyst give a high order of precision,2. analyses by different analysts using the same procedures give reasonable precision, and...

Jan 1, 1965

By I M. Platten, Y Xie

Complex gold deposits are generally characterised by variable geometries, strong structural controls on grade distribution and a high-nugget effect. The use of diamond drilling and fire assays in this environment often results in an understatement of grade. Bulk samples are likely to be the closest estimators of true grade, and may be required to evaluate geological/grade risk during resource estimation/feasibility studies. Any bulk sampling program requires appropriate planning and implementation. The planning stage should attempt to delimit the extent and nature of mineralisation; characterise mineralogy and metallurgical properties of the ore; and define bulk sample size and how it will be sampled/processed. The approach to sample processing will be governed by the results of metallurgical testing and geological knowledge. Careful design of sampling protocols must be undertaken through material characterisation, understanding of gold particle sizing and the application of GyÆs Sampling Theory.

Jan 1, 2008

By E. Wasmund

"Sandfire’s DeGrussa Copper-Gold operation in West Australia is a new high grade copper sulfide mine, which includes a 1.5 Mtpa concentrator which was completed in 2013.Early after commissioning, it was identified that the flotation capacity in the all-mechanical cleaner circuit was not sufficient. In order to improve recovery, the tail from the cleaner scavenger was sent back to feed the rougher scavengers. Test-work was done on-site to evaluate the possibility of using a flotation column as a pre-cleaner. A CavTube™ sparging system was selected, which is especially effective for fine ore particle flotation. Test-work was conducted at site using a 150 mm diameter unit, and then confirmed on a 500 mm diameter unit. A 4250 mm diameter full scale unit was installed in Q4 2014 and commissioned in Q1 2015. This unit gave some significant advantages including a reduction in re-grinding requirements, elimination of a circulating load and increase in the recovery of copper in the cleaner circuit and overall circuit.In this presentation, the benefits of columns and cavitation sparging for floating fine particles and rejecting fine entrained gangue will be explained. Also, the results from a lab unit and a pilot unit will be compared against the results of the full-scale unit. The paper will demonstrate the scalability of flotation columns, and which phenomena and scale-up criteria must be considered to be successful. Finally, some general observations will be made about the importance of columns in copper cleaning circuits.IntroductionSandfire Resources’ DeGrussa copper-gold concentrator is located approximately 900 km north-north-east of Perth in Western Australia. The project area landscape is scrubby mulga lands with few notable features. The climate is arid with high temperature and heavy summer downpours."

Jan 1, 2016

By N/A N/A

Aw a rd winners from the University of MissouriRolla. Back row from left: Seok Bin Lim, Chris B o l l i n g e r, Adam Kre s l e r, Scott Geer, Joseph Cohn, and James (Buck) Hawkins; Front ro w f rom left: Dr. Worsey, Trish Robertson, and Fio G i a n a

Jan 1, 2004

By H.A. Bedworth

AlloTs of copper and silicon have been known for one hundred years or more but the commercial development of this type of alloy has taken place during the past few years. In 1905, Sperry l proposed the use of copper-silicon alloys for springs and other purposes for which copper-tin bronzes were used. Some attention was given to this proposal at the time but no one succeeded in producing a practical alloy containing more than a fraction of a per cent. of silicon. The equilibrium relations of the copper-silicon system were studied first by Rudolfi2 and later by Sanfourche 3 and Corson. 4 The constitution of the system has also been recently investigated by Matuyama, 5 and in the laboratories of the American Brass Co. by Smith. 6 Some of the physical properties of the copper-silicon alloys have been investigated by Norbury7 and by Geiss and Van Liempt.8 Summarizing the results of various investigators of the constitution of copper-silicon alloys, the solubility reaches its maximium value, 6.7 per cent. silicon, between 721" and '782" C. At 852" (1. the solubility is 5.25 per cent., while at 400" C. it is only 4.1 per cent. silicon. The copper-silicon alloy begins to get so hard at about 3 per cent, silicon that it is difficult to manage. It was found by Jacobs that the addition of manganese to this alloy considerably improved the working

Jan 1, 1929

By H. A. Bedworth

AlloTs of copper and silicon have been known for one hundred years or more but the commercial development of this type of alloy has taken place during the past few years. In 1905, Sperry l proposed the use of copper-silicon alloys for springs and other purposes for which copper-tin bronzes were used. Some attention was given to this proposal at the time but no one succeeded in producing a practical alloy containing more than a fraction of a per cent. of silicon. The equilibrium relations of the copper-silicon system were studied first by Rudolfi2 and later by Sanfourche 3 and Corson. 4 The constitution of the system has also been recently investigated by Matuyama, 5 and in the laboratories of the American Brass Co. by Smith. 6 Some of the physical properties of the copper-silicon alloys have been investigated by Norbury7 and by Geiss and Van Liempt.8 Summarizing the results of various investigators of the constitution of copper-silicon alloys, the solubility reaches its maximium value, 6.7 per cent. silicon, between 721" and '782" C. At 852" (1. the solubility is 5.25 per cent., while at 400" C. it is only 4.1 per cent. silicon. The copper-silicon alloy begins to get so hard at about 3 per cent, silicon that it is difficult to manage. It was found by Jacobs that the addition of manganese to this alloy considerably improved the working

Jan 1, 1929

"Increasing demand for timely and accurate information about flotation plant performance requires metal accountants to increase the scope and reporting frequency of plant production. This trend has brought in-process inventory estimation at the forefront of metal accounting issues. Such significant in-process inventories can be locked in diverse process equipment (bins, holding tanks, flotation cells, thickeners, pipeline, etc.) or in stockpiles (ore, concentrates, tailings, etc.). Practice has shown that boldly ignoring these in-process inventories or the errors associated with their estimation lead to unreliable metal balances thereby creating confusion in plant production planning and operational performance assessment. To this extent, the characteristics (physical bounds, spatial heterogeneity and residence time) as well as the available measurements (volume, density, humidity, mass, composition, etc.) of each unit/section found in a generic flotation plant are jointly reviewed with respect to the particular metal accounting issues they present. The daily and monthly metal accounting tasks are then reviewed together with possible methods for obtaining reliable inventory estimates including different procedures for end-of month reconciliation.INTRODUCTION Most of the cost reduction initiatives of the mining industry aim at improving capital efficiency and asset utilization. Among the possible paths through which these goals can be achieved are mine-to-metal optimization, real-time plantwide process control (Hodouin, 2011) and knowledge sharing databases (Bascur & Linares, 2006). However, the successful implementation and subsequent monitoring will ineluctably results in an increased demand for timely and accurate information. This more than often requires metal accountants to increase the scope and reporting frequency of plant metal production. A striking example of such scope expansion is the Minas-Rio iron ore project in Brazil (Anglo American, 2013) having a pipeline route of 525 km between the concentrator and the concentrate shipping area. Several other mining companies have also set an increased frequency for their key performance indicators thereby shrinking the metal accounting period from monthly to weekly and daily. Those concurrent trends have brought in-process inventory estimation at the forefront of metal accounting issues. Indeed, as illustrated in Figure 1, improving trading reactivity requires improvements in production planning which strongly impacts the requirements for reliable metallurgical accounting. Furthermore, practice has shown that boldly ignoring significant in-process inventories or the errors associated with their estimation can lead to unreliable metal balances. In other words, since metal balances are the cornerstones of metal accounting, some of the risks associated with important business decisions are linked to errors associated with in-process inventory measurements."

Jan 1, 2014

By Monika Patrycja Polak - Micewicz

This paper presents an approach for estimating the fatigue life for the base of powered roof supports (shield) manufactured by the FAZOS roof support company. FAZOS?s powered roof supports are designed to operate on an inclined coal seam in full caving with a medium, strong roof strength. This shield support is utilized in conjunction with a shearer and face conveyor for a complete longwall mining system. To design shield support, it is essential for contractor to know the physical (hardness, toughness, etc.) and mechanical properties of material (tensile strength, Young?s modulus, etc.) used for the shield support as well as the geotechnical properties of the mine site. The fatigue strength of the shield support material depends on the mean stress, alternating stress, cycle frequency, transport dimensions, mine environment and other factors. In order to estimate the fatigue life for a powered roof support system, it is assumed in this paper that the support must keep the roof stable in the mine under variable load cycles. The approach selected in this study contains Goodman?s model (Goodman, 1899) for all blocks in the design housing which is subjected to sinusoidal load. On this basis, the degree of fatigue damage was calculated and compared to the results of experimental tests. It will be shown that there is a significant detrimental effect on the fatigue life of the base of the powered roof supports due to geometrical notches. The Ramberg-Osgood model and damage accumulation rule (Palmgren-Miner) (Miner M., 1945) were used and numerical analyses were conducted, utilizing ANSYS finite element software. These analyses play a very important role in longwall casing design. The proposed method allows assessment of the yield state and forecast of the structure cracking, taking plastic strains occurrence into account. The presented method is universal and can be applied for fatigue life estimation of other subassemblies of powered roof supports. The final portion of the paper presents results of variable amplitude loading simulations on the S355N and S690Q steel used to make powered roof supports. The results of the physical tests were compared with the results from finite element methods. The proposed approach to calculate fatigue life gives the best correlation between the experimental results and calculated values of fatigue life for the powered roof support base. Finally, the design process uses a simple approach to predict fatigue life in a short time, reducing design costs and providing longer service life for roof supports.

Jan 1, 2012

Study on a Novel Polymer/Bentonite Compound Adsorbent for Removal of Cu(II) from Aqueous Solution

Sep 13, 2010

By M. L. Bowser

Pulse-forming circuitry is described for use in explosives research that requires precise synchronization and control of events in order to investigate detonation parameters. Included are pulse generators for oscilloscope sweep control, counterchronograph actuators, and a raster-type oscillographic method for the determination of velocities of detonation that are applicable to studies on solid, liquid, and gaseous detonations. INTRODUCTION Prom time to time, requests have been received for information on electronic circuitry used in explosives work at the Explosives Research Laboratory, Bruceton, Pa. The methods used are not entirely original;4 5 6 however, modifications of earlier techniques and some novel design aspects have resulted in time-tested methods that warrant a more detailed description.

Jan 1, 1962

By James R. Kerr

This study reviews the sulfur and suliuric acid industries in Eastern United States with emphasis on patterns of consumption and marketing. Output of sulfur in the East is relatively small, and most of the area's sulfur requirements are met by gulf coast Frasch sulfur. Over the long ten recovered elemental sulfur from sour natural gas and petroleum may become the East's major source of sulfur. In 1958 sulfuric acid manufacture consumed over 80 percent of the area's sulfur requirements. The leading uses for sulfuric acid were the manufacture of superphosphates and chemicals. Over the years, unit requirements for sulfur and acid in many major markets have been reduced through improved technology, but new markets always have been developed to keep the industry vital and growing.

Jan 1, 1965

By Stephen Gay, Dewetia Latti

"When improving a plant a mineral processing engineer would like to know the mineral composition distribution. In order to assess this distribution in particles, as compared to the corresponding distribution in particle sections, a procedure needs to be applied to the observed particle sections. Such a procedure is called a stereological correction. There exists many stereological correction procedures, but one group of such procedures is based on using those stereological equations that do not require making assumptions regarding particle shape or texture. These equations are called geometric probability equations.Davy derived a geometric probability equation to estimate the covariance of mineral composition distributions for particles from both particle sections and linear intercepts. This covariance can be used to measure the variance of the particle composition distribution of each mineral. The equation as presented by Davy requires textural information; however the equation was modified by Gay to be more directly applied to particle sections and linear intercepts. The variance obtained from applying this equation is fundamental to the binary stereological correction procedures developed by Gay and his colleagues; the covariance is fundamental to the multiphase stereological correction.Thus far, validation of both the binary and multiphase stereological correction has been achieved using numerical simulation. This paper shall present results comparing the covariance (and variance) estimates from Gay’s equation with actual three-dimensional information obtained from serially sectioning particles. This involved mounting a set of particles and continuously sectioning all particles uniformly so that the three dimensional structure of the particles could be obtained.The mineralogical data to which the equations described above were applied were derived from two individual size fractions from a hard-rock titanium deposit. The deposit contains a range of minerals and of mineral textures and the two size fractions selected were:"

Jan 1, 2003

By Mario E. Rossi

The full economic evaluation of a mining project requires a block model that provides an estimate of the tons and grades of available resources. The model must be representative of the mineralization to be found at the time of mining for specified extraction periods and within acceptable error margins. In an operating mine, there may be a reasonable understanding and estimates of actual dilution and ore loss. This paper discusses the issue from the perspective of a project at a feasibility or preproduction level of development. Three types of dilution are discussed. Internal dilution (or change of support) is function of the spatial distribution of the mineralization and its relation to the operation?s selectivity. Geologic contact dilution is the unavoidable mixture at contacts or boundaries of material with different geologic characteristics, grades, or metallurgical performance. Operational planned and unplanned dilution should also be considered, sometimes incorporated by factoring the resource model, but more accurately by mimicking the grade control process. The resource estimation process always carries uncertainty, which is sometimes significant, and usually caused by several factors. These include quantity and quality of drill hole information; quantity and quality of geologic data; grade estimation methodology; dilution and mining recovery factors applied; etc. A key decision is to whether estimate as accurately as possible the in-situ geologic resource or to estimate the tons and grade of the material to be fed to the processing plant. The geologic modeling and grade estimation methods used are conditioned by this decision.

May 1, 2009

By K. Nielsen, J. Kristiansen

A series of laboratory blasting and grinding tests on three types of hard and competent rock (coarse-grained monzonite, fine-grained granite and very fine-grained gabbro) showed that a higher level of applied explosive energy enhanced grindability and produced a larger amount of fine (-0.106 mm) material. This confirmed reported industrial experience and the results of previous investigations. However, the results did not provide any information on the quantitative relationship between the energy applied in primary blasting and that required in subsequent comminution. Only about 1% of energy consumed in conventional grinding is used to create new surfaces, while power efficencies in cone crushers have been estimated at 70-80%. In blasting, up to 20% of explosive energy may be transmitted to the surrounding rock as elastic strain energy, leading to both primary rock breakage and the generation of microcracks

Dec 1, 1995