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By A. Scheltema Beduin, H. Oterdoom, A. Haaks, C. Kempe, A. Liedtke

The bath level measurement is applied in many furnaces to keep control of the level of slag and metal or matte inside. The BLM is used mainly in bath processes, and has not seen much evolution in its basic functionality. For a closed DC FeCr furnace, special demands based on the furnace design and extreme process conditions were considered for the design of a bath level measurement in order to collect valuable information about the furnace operation. This paper will describe these demands and the solutions for them, followed by some of the uses for the BLM in a closed FeCr furnace. Some of the future developments on the BLM conclude this presentation.

Jan 1, 2015

Pilot plants for pressure hydrometallurgy represent special design and project execution challenges unique to the industry and to the pilot- and demonstration-scale. Pilot plant projects have different objectives and shorter timescales than commercial plant projects. Design considerations and strategies, and project execution methods that meet the special needs of pilot plant projects, are discussed. Specific guidance is given for the selection of appropriate pressure and temperature design points for pressure hydrometallurgical process equipment, and for the selection of materials of construction for pilot-scale equipment. The balance between the need for process similarity with future commercial operations and the realities of pilot-scale equipment is also discussed.

Jan 1, 2004

By Yuyong Li, Liangman Zhang, Zhaolian Wang, Shun Wang, Ltd. Shandong Huate Magnet Technology Co., Fengliang Liu

"Introduce a newly revolutionary magnetic separator - Raising Concentrate Grade and Decreasing Dregs Content Magnetic Separator Series JCTN (i.e. RCG&DDC MS JCTN). HUATE® JCTN is designed for rinsing, purification, desliming and thickening of the magnetic minerals as per different requirements. Adopting 240°-270° larger magnetic element with multi-poles and magnetic pulsation, and combining the devices of multi-channel rinsing water and top flushing water and new style tank, HUATE® JCTN can improve another 2%-10% concentrate mFe% than the traditional MS without lowering the concentrate recovery rate. Thereby, it solves the uneasy concentrate upgradation problem of the traditional MS resulting from the magnetic aggregation. Now, JCTN has been successfully applied in more than 30 mines in Australia, China and Russia, e.g. Sino Iron of CITIC PACIFIC MINING MANAGERMENT PTY LTD. HUATE® JCTN can optimize the industrial processing line by: 1) improving the discarding rate before milling to discard the necessary tailing ASAP; 2) getting in advance the final concentrate after milling. One JCTN can replace many traditional MS in series. In some way, it can also replace the anti-flotation separation process.INTRODUCTIONWe’re writing to introduce a newly revolutionary magnetic separator - Raising Concentrate Grade and Decreasing Dregs Content Magnetic Separator Series JCTN (i.e. RCG&DDC MS JCTN). HUATE® JCTN is designed for rinsing, purification, desliming and thickening of the magnetic minerals as per different requirements."

Jan 1, 2016

By Jennifer Abols

In July of 2013, Lundin Mining acquired the 2,000 tpd Eagle nickel and copper project from Rio Tinto. The project had been put on hold earlier in the year and construction was approximately 50% complete. Lundin immediately accelerated project activities and by September of 2014 the project was constructed, commissioned and ramping up. The newly commissioned facilities went on to reach design throughput, recovery and product quality targets by the end of the year. This was accomplished ahead of schedule and below budget despite numerous obstacles including the worst winter on record in the past 50 years for the area. What led to the success of the project, and in particular the commissioning phase of the project? This paper takes a high level look back and provides an overview of the methodology used, key issues encountered and lessons learned to answer this question.

Jan 1, 2015

By S. J. Prout, J. M. Lang, D. Lascelles, K. Sarinas

"There is a growing demand for ore characterization methods to support metallurgical development programs from a true geometallurgical perspective. Today, there are multiple automated mineral analysis systems on the market, many of which are based on conventional mineral liberation data. However, liberation data can be limited when assessing the floatability of a mineral to predict its recovery as it doesn’t consider the surface area available for collector absorption and bubble attachment; whereas mineral exposure measurements can. Using the First-Order Rate equation to predict the recovery versus time of variously exposed particles, a model has been developed to predict the recovery of copper sulphides at a particular grind size. This model provides the opportunity for the prediction of copper recovery and grade from multiple, small-scale samples. These predicted values can be imported into resource modeling software, and guide the domaining of geometallurgical units within the ore body. Data has been analyzed from various global copper porphyry systems and compared with actual flotation testwork.IntroductionAs part of the development of a mining project, resource estimation primarily focuses on the definition of the quantity and grade of the ore in the deposit; as the project evolves from preliminary economic assessment through to feasibility, the geological model is usually further populated with hardness and recovery data.The CIM Definition Standards (2011) identifies measured mineral resource as the part of a mineral resource for which quantity, grade or quality, densities, shape, and physical characteristics are estimated with confidence sufficient to allow the application of “modifying factors” to support detailed mine planning and final evaluation of the economic viability of the deposit as an asset. The modifying factors include, but are not restricted to, mining, processing, metallurgical, infrastructure, economic, marketing, legal, environmental, social and governmental factors.With market fluctuations, many investors in the mining industry have become more and more risk averse which has increased the demand for more reliable data to support these modifying factors. This has led to the widespread use of geometallurgy and statistical analysis to better inform the resource estimation. Geometallurgy is used to characterize ore variability and is especially useful for highly variable or strongly zoned deposits, several close deposits that will be milled together, projects requiring complex or new metallurgical approaches, brownfields or sight-of-mine exploration, expansion projects that exploit new, deeper or adjacent reserves, and projects with significant legacy drill core that are being re-evaluated due to new economic circumstances."

Jan 1, 2018

By J. K. Gowans

The Research and Design group of the Project Development Division (PDD) of Placer Dome Inc. includes metallurgical, electrical, civil and mechanical engineers. They provide metallurgical research and conceptual flowsheet development, feasibility concepts for the processing and ancillary facilities, and manage the detailed design of the facilities once approval has been given to a mining project. This paper describes how this group works, within the Project Development Division, to help develop feasibility studies with the Evaluations Group, manage detailed design, and provide support for the Construction Group. The paper briefly reviews the history and growth of the group and describes how it is evolving. The role of outside engineering firms and how they are incorporated into the division’s objectives are also discussed. The paper highlights the differences between Placer Dome’s Project Development Division and other mining groups, and why this approach fits the way Placer Dome does business.

Jan 1, 1998

By Robert J. Uffen

YOU will likely recall the accomplishments of the International Geophysical Year of 1957, with its polar expeditions, the discovery of the Van Allen radiation belts and the spectacular launchings of the first artificial earth satellites. Our know ledge of the exterior of the earth was greatly increased by this international, friendly, cooperative scientific investigation. The Inter-national Union of Geodesy and Geo-physics has now been joined by the new International Union of Geological Sciences in sponsoring a similar study of the earth's interior. The program will extend from January, 1962 until December. 1964, and is known as the International Upper Mantle Project. During the T.G.Y studies of the interior of the earth were relatively neglected, even though the same international •Cooperation in obtaining simultaneous world-wide observations, by similar instruments, is required to locate and study earth-quakes, for example, as it is to study the earth's upper atmosphere. The upper mantle is 1•emote from man, as it extends from a depth of about 10 km. to perhaps 1000 km., but its practical importance is great.

Jan 1, 1962

By T. W. Wong, M. A. Whitney, A. Hadadzadeh

Uniaxial compression tests were performed on cylindrical specimens, 10mm in diameter and 15mm in height, machined from an extruded AZ31B magnesium billet. The tests were conducted under isothermal conditions to a true strain of 0.5. The study compares macroscopic flow anisotropy between the extruded (ED) and transverse (TD) directions in the temperature range of 300°C to 500°C, and strain rate range of 0.001s-1 to 1s-1. Compression of ED specimens at low strain rate (0.001s-1) exhibited axisymmetric flow, and no significant differences were observed between geometries of specimens deformed above 350°C under the same strain rate. Deformation of TD specimens at low temperature and/or low strain rate resulted in elliptical cross-sections, with the anisotropy of flow being less significant at higher temperatures. Other studies performed using rolled plates have proposed that pyramidal slip and cross-slip at higher temperature eliminate the effects of initial texture, while the dominance of prismatic slip at lower temperatures will result in anisotropic flow. It is believed that the initial fiber texture common among extruded HCP-structured materials plays a role in the anisotropic deformation behaviour observed in the extruded specimens

Jan 1, 2015

By Baochun Wang, Hongli Jia, Zhaolian Wang, Fengliang Liu

"Promote and apply a new beneficiation technology and equipment effectively processing the refractory and medium-fine grained weak-magnetic minerals. HUATE® Forced-oil Cooling Vertical Ring WHIMS adopts the transformer oil cooling technology to cool excitation coils, solving the easily generated scaling problem resulting from water cooling, thereby to eliminate the demineralized water system. With <25 temperature ?raise, its magnetic field is stable. Wrapped by outer magnetic armor, it can generate a background intensity 1360kA/m. It effects very well in 1) wet preseparating the weak-magnetic coarse grains, like hematite, manganese ore, ilmenite, and purifying the concentrate; 2) removing the ferrous impurities and purifying the non-metallic minerals, like quartz, feldspar, kaolin; 3) enriching and recovering tailings from non-ferrous metals, like copper, lead, cobalt, molybdenum, thereby to greatly improve the mine resource utilization. It has applied 14 relative patents in China, and the invention patent in 56 countries, like Russia, USA, Australia, via PCT international organization. HUATE® WHIMS has been applied and accepted in more than 100 mines in and out of China. Compared with water cooling vertical ring WHIMS, it’s energy-saving and water-saving, and avoiding generating the scale. While compared with JONES WHIMS under the same separation indexes, it’s featured of more space-effective, lighter, lower costs, higher gradient, higher efficiency, larger processing capacity and wider grain application scope. Greatly promoting development of mineral processing technologies, HUATE® WHIMS is the equipment to reduce costs and improve efficiency urgently needed by the mine enterprises now.INTRODUCTIONAt present, influenced by the price and production factors, the international market demand for the grade of iron ores is increasing continuously. Restricted by the ore occurrence state, the beneficiation technology level and product economic value, every year the stope strips the stockpiling and discards hundreds of millions of tons of waste rocks containing iron, especially the weak magnetic hematite and limonite with <20% Fe%. The utilization technological bottleneck of these waste rocks makes their concentration ratio as high as 5-6, which leads to the huge wastes of energy, materials and beneficiation reagents and the increase of production costs. The effective solution is to improve the selected Fe% of the waste rocks like hematite. With the successful application of HPGR technologies in Chinese large iron mines, the mill feeding size has been reduced to 6-0 mm or 3-0 mm from the original 15-0 mm in the crushing system with 3 stages of crushing and 1 stage of closed circuit. This creates the conditions for the wet separation and recovery. While for the medium-fine grained weak-magnetic minerals, it lacks of the effective separation and recovery equipment in the world, which’s badly in need of R&D of the medium-fine grained high gradient wet strong magnetic preseparation equipment."

Jan 1, 2016

By S. Bozorgi, K. Anders

"The automotive applications of heat treatable AlCu cast alloys are designed for performance at high temperature, which can be improved using specially alloying element as well as different heat treatment. In this research work an effect of alloying element such as Cu, Ni and heat treatment on microstructures and mechanical properties of AlCu alloy were investigated using optical microscope (LIMI), scanning electronic microscope (SEM) equipped with energy dispersive X-ray detection (EDS), Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and mechanical testing. It was found that during solidification most of the elements Cu, Mg and Ni segregated at the grain boundaries in the form of Al2CuMg or Al7Cu4Ni and a very small part of Cu and Ni element dissolved in the FCC-Al matrix. The latter is not completely reclaimable for strengthening mechanisms in FCC-Al matrix in its as-cast state. The results of mechanical test show that yield strength and ultimate tensile strength increases after heat treatment significantly compared with the as-cast state. Furthermore the mechanical properties at elevates temperature (240°C) is higher with higher Cu+Ni+Si containing alloys compared with the less Cu+Ni+Si containing alloy.INTRODUCTION Due to the high strength-to-weight ratio, high strength and ductility at room- and elevated temperature, AlCuSi cast alloys are widely applied in the automotive industries specially for producing cylinder head and engine block, where modified alloys with enhanced metallurgical properties are always needed to satisfy the ever increasing demands for the applications. The AlCu based cast alloys can be strengthened by age hardening. The precipitation processes from which this hardening is derived can be attributed to the presence of selected trace element additions or micro alloying, which can change the process or kinetics of precipitation in age hardenable AlCu cast alloys (Polmear, 1998; Morris, 1991). Furthermore their strength is mainly controlled by the aging process through the precipitation and growth of very fine precipitates of the ?'-phase (a semi-coherent, metastable form of the equilibrium Al2Cu phase) from the Al and Cu Guinier-Preston (GP) zones. Several studies have shown that solute clustering occurs prior to the precipitation of GP zones, and this modifies both the nature and kinetics of the precipitation process. The typical size of GP zones is in the order of tens of nanometers, and the chemical composition of these precipitates is not easily measured, even with a typically analytical electron microscope (Polmear, 1989)."

Jan 1, 2018

By John Ratti

Building on Canadian Capabilities for Space Resource Missions: Space resource science and technology mission building blocks Canadian historical perspective Status and future pursuits It takes Canadian Teamwork to succeed in space exploration! Space resource science and technology building blocks: Orbiting / Delivery Elements Spacecraft Sensors Landed elements Roving / Mobility, Autonomy Sample acquisition and handling Sensors, GN&C Science Operations Partnerships: Government ? Industry Between Industry With Academia and Scientists

May 1, 2013

By P. Sauriol

This work addresses the design challenges and demonstrates the capabilities of a novel water transfer factor measurement apparatus. Several measurement concepts were screened on the basis of their water transfer factor accuracy using Monte-Carlo generated virtual experiments. The most promising measurement concept was assembled and tested to assess its actual measurement accuracy. For these concept validation experiments, the polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell was simulated by adjusting the water injection rate to corresponding levels. Combining the anode and cathode measurements, the water transfer factor accuracy was typically better than 0.01. Real-time measurements of the water transfer factor on both anode and cathode sides of a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell were achieved. The anode and cathode side measurements were in good agreement with each other; however the anode side measurements were generally more reproducible. A parametric study showed that stream humidification plays an important part in the water transfer across the membrane electrode assembly. Finally the water transfer factor along the channel of a 300cm2 co-current fuel cell was obtained by using a series of six 50cm2 sub cells. The results were in good agreement with predictions from a recently proposed model.

Jan 1, 2005

By A. Galley, R. Tosdal, F. Robert

The Canada Mining Innovation Council (CMIC) Exploration Innovation Consortium developed a 10-year business case for developing new discovery criteria, exploration techniques, and better data management and analysis to improve exploration success in deep, remote, and covered terrains. Within this context, the CMIC devised a five-year project proposal to create improved multiparameter exploration tools to detect ore systems and more efficient vectoring toward high-grade mineralized cores. The Footprints project was approved March 2013. More than CAD$13 million funding was provided through the CMIC-led joint sponsorship from 30 companies and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council. Consistent industry leadership and integration of dedicated industry and academic expertise has the project on track for reaching its well-defined objectives.

Jan 1, 2014

By Atsushi Sainoki

Blast vibration induced by mining activities, such as stope production blasts, could lead to the initiation of seismic events that inflict damage to mine openings. In this paper, the effect of stope production blasts on nearby fault is examined. First, validation of blast vibration attenuation is performed with a numerical model representing a single blast hole through comparison with that calculated from charge-weight scaling law derived from in-situ data. Subsequently, a mine-wide scale model with a fault parallel to a steeply dipping, tabular ore deposit that is mined out with sublevel stoping method is generated, and the stopes are extracted and backfilled with static analysis to simulate burst-prone conditions on the fault. Based on the stress states, dynamic analysis is performed, in which blast vibration is applied to grid points on a stope wall on the hanging wall side. This assumes 9 blast holes located close to the wall, and blast-induced particle velocities that consider the positional relationships between the assumed blast holes and the stope wall are applied. During the dynamic analysis, blast sequence is considered, and stress states and shear displacement on the faults are examined. It is found from results that, after a rise in normal stress on the fault due to compressive waves induced by the blasts, the normal stress decreases because of the reflection of the compressive waves on the fault. The reduction in the normal stress due to the reflected waves is found to be large enough to cause the fault to slip. The results also show that the level of normal stress eventually keeps decreasing with time as the blast sequence proceeds and that an increase in shear displacement on the fault is accompanied by a decrease in normal stress. This study clarifies the mechanism by which blast vibration causes the fault to slip. In addition, the simulation technique to apply blast vibration that takes into account blast sequence and the locations of blast holes to a stope wall is developed.

Aug 1, 2013

By J. George Gregr

"This paper gives a brief review of grinding mills installation procedures with special emphasis on future maintenance. The importance of cooperation between the customer, construction contractor and manufacturer&apos;s representative is discussed, as well as the imparlance of complying with standards, specifications and the keeping comprehensive installation records.Fundamentals of mill maintenance are explained with the aim being to maximize the equipment availability and to minimize unscheduled downtime. The paper also includes development of wear items design, based on operating conditions, drive components and bearings, and how to keep large gears healthy thus eliminating surprise failures.Experience with installation of a large gear on a 34-foot diameter mill in Lornex and successful application of a computer program for the gear alignment on the mill are given.IntroductionSuccessful operation of a concentrator begins with the engineering of the project and continues through selecting the right equipment, its installation , start-up period, and ends with final tuning of the process. machinery and the human factor into an efficient and viable industrial complex.The following is a brief review of grinding mill installation procedures with special emphasis on future maintenance. Fundamentals of mill maintenance are discussed with the aim being to maximize the equipment availability and to minimize unscheduled downtime, with some specific points on key grinding mill components such as bearings and drives.Finally, the experience is recounted with the installation of a large ring gear on a 34-foot diameter mill at Lornex, and the successful application of a computer program for the gear alignment on the mill."

Jan 1, 1985

By L. A. Jameson, J. Awmack, P. J. Lind

"Peñasquito is a polymetallic deposit containing gold, silver, lead, and zinc. The operation is currently the largest producer of gold in Mexico. Over the next few years, the process flowsheet will be expanded beyond the flotation of lead and zinc to include flotation of pyrite from zinc tails and subsequent leaching of the pyrite concentrate. This paper outlines mineralogical leach characterization that has been carried out to improve the understanding of the complex hosting of gold and silver minerals in the ore. Organic carbon that is present in the ore can have an impact on flotation and leaching. Mineralogical techniques used to characterize this deleterious component of the ore are introduced.INTRODUCTION Goldcorp’s Peñasquito operation is located in the Mexican state of Zacatecas, approximately 200 km from the city of Zacatecas as shown in Figure 1. Peñasquito has been in operation since 2009 and is currently Mexico’s largest gold mine. Mining is carried out by open-pit methods, with oxide ore proceeding to a heap leach facility and sulfide ore treated in the sulfide processing plant.The processing capacity of the sulfide plant is 130,000 tonnes of ore per day and in 2016 production amounted to 450,000 ounces of gold, 17.6 million ounces of silver, 109 million lb of contained lead, and 263 million lb of contained zinc in lead and zinc concentrates. GEOLOGY The Peñasquito deposit is hosted in and adjacent to two breccia pipes; Peñasco and Breccia Azul. The two breccia pipes are branches of a larger intrusive-related complex, which is hosted in the sedimentary Caracol formation as illustrated in Figure 2. The regional geology is dominated by Mesozoic sedimentary rocks which comprise a thick series of marine sediments deposited during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. A 2 km thick sequence of carbonaceous and calcareous siltstones and interbedded sandstones is underlain by a 1.5 to 2 km thick limestone sequence (Goldcorp Inc., 2015)."

Jan 1, 2017

Barrick Gold Corporation is the gold industry leader, with 25 operating mines and a pipeline of large, long-life projects located across five continents, in addition to large land positions on some of the most prolific mineral districts. Barrick&apos;s high level of commitment to sustainable economic development and environmental stewardship was recognized by Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) - World, for the third consecutive year in 2010. The potential for adverse environmental effects from acid rock drainage (ARD) and metals leaching (ML) and their financial implications for Barrick are key considerations in our environmental assessment and business development processes. Barrick&apos;s membership in the International Network for Acid Prevention (INAP) reflects the importance of these issues to our business. INAP&apos;s development of the Global Acid Rock Drainage (GARD) Guide (a best practices guide for acid rock drainage prevention) provides Barrick with an important tool to assist in the assessment of environmental and financial risks from ARD and ML associated with our planned and ongoing mining operations (INAP, 2009). In this paper we will discuss how Barrick incorporates the GARDGuide and its principles for ARD and ML prediction and prevention in our business development processes and the management of our operations. The GARDGuide serves as a key reference for our project environmental assessments and as a common link between our projects and operations management, consulting specialists, permitting and regulatory authorities and the public. We will discuss how the GARDGuide is being "syndicated" throughout Barrick as a standard of practice and present a case study of how it was used in a recent Barrick Business Development Project.

Jan 1, 2011

By C. Jay Hodgson, Adrienne C. L. Larocque

Abstract -The Mobrun VMS deposit in northwestern Quebec does not fit the classic Noranda­ type model, but exhibits characteristics more consistent with a Mattabi-type deposit. The orebodies are underlain by fragmental volcanic rocks indicative of explosive volcanism in shallow water. Felsic volcanic rocks are more abundant than mafic rocks. Alteration assemblages comprise chlorite, carbonate, sericite, and quartz. Broad semi-conformable alteration occurs high in the footwall to the 1100 lens. Mobrun occurs higher in the stratigraphic sequence than most of the other deposits in the Noranda camp. In this part of the stratigraphy, zones of pervasive carbonatization may be more useful guides for exploration than zones of silicification.

Jan 1, 1993

By J. C. Rudolph

"THE TOPIC on which I am speaking this afternoon is ""The Future of the Canadian Oil Industry.'' At the time of C + 100, we should take a searching look at ourselves, an honest appraisal of our achievements and a forthright accounting of our shortcomings as well as the uniquely Canadian aspects of this industry. I would like to put before you some of my views on the direction we are taking in the exploration field and in the production field. I would also like to speak briefly on some of our problems and the role of the various segments of our industry in solving these problems.First of all, let us look at the exploration picture. We are in the midst of an exploration boom. There were 133 seismic crews active in Western Canada this winter, the highest since 1957, land prices are appreciating rapidly, Canadian oil reserves increased + 16 per cent during 1966, there is a great demand for technical personnel of every kind and the whole industry, except the drilling segment, seems to be prospering. This surge of activity has its roots in two major occurrences. The first of these was the change in the pro-ration system in Alberta, the major producing province, accompanied by the change in spacing pat-terns. The proration change was designed primarily to encourage in-creased exploration and it has certainly had this effect. It has also had the unforeseen effect of put-ting everyone into what we, in the oil business, call ""elephant hunting."" In other words, the days of the development of barely economic, marginal fields are over. Oil companies today are only interested in high-reserve, high-productivity, high-quality reservoirs."

Jan 1, 1968

By J. Hedderson, J. Starkey, S. Reeves, B. Hilscher

"As ore sorting becomes more common, it is important to quantify its impact on comminution circuits in order to precisely predict its effect on throughput, grind, and mill operating conditions. Since sulphides and other valuable minerals are often softer then the surrounding waste rock, the ore kept by a sorting system is typically softer than the average ore. In order to accurately forecast production, new measurements of hardness need to be performed on the new concentrated mill feed. This paper proposes a methodology to examine this effect quantitatively at an early stage of project development using the SAGDesign test.INTRODUCTION The application of ore sorting in the mining industry is one of the most promising recent technologies with the potential to cause step change in the way concentrators are designed. Most typically, ore sorters are used to sort a given ore flow for grade, either to reject waste from the mill feed, or rescue ore from the waste pile. Ore sorting technologies have been successfully applied at many mining properties in various forms and while the technology has reached or is reaching maturity in other industries, it is still in development in the mining sector. As a result, there is not yet a general consensus on the considerations that need to be made when designing a plant with ore sorting from a feasibility level above and beyond what is commonly performed as best practice. This paper will discuss those considerations and propose a methodology for integrating ore sorting into a comminution circuit at the design phase. Due to the linearly additive nature of the SAGDesign Test results, a “hardness balance” can be developed to estimate the ore hardness which would be measured in any sorting mass split using only two data points. This will allow a design engineer to make more informed decisions as to the most appropriate mass split to select in relation to the incurred operating costs and grinding circuit sizing."

Jan 1, 2019