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By W. M. Weigel

THE rapid advance, during recent years, in the manufacture of articles that have been in common use for generations and the development of new materials entering into appliances and devices unheard of fifty years ago, have created a demand for some of the more common non-metallic minerals. To supply this demand there has quietly developed a branch of the mining industry of which little is known by most mining engineers the mineral-filler industry. In this paper, and generally in the trade, the term mineral filler is applied to a mineral used, in its natural state after mechanical preparation only (such as. grinding, milling and washing), without undergoing any chemical change and without exerting any chemical action on the substance with which it is incorporated. The consumption of mineral fillers is confined chiefly to large manufacturing centers in the eastern and northern states. Where available, materials originating near the place of consumption are used, as most fillers bring a comparatively low price and, frequently, the freight may equal the cost of the finished filler at the mine. The southern states have abundant deposits of non-metallic minerals suitable for fillers, which supply the manufacturing industries in adjacent states. Many of these deposits are equal to, or superior, in quality to those mined in the north, but they can not compete with them because of the freight rates. The mineral-filler industry has felt the present depression, but it has suffered less than most mining industries for as a rule the mills are simple, the overhead expenses are low, and the labor is entirely local and can revert to farm work when the plant closes down. Many other deposits in the southern district will undoubtedly be developed when business. revives and freight rates are adjusted.

Jan 2, 1922

By Charles R. Fettke

In the present day manufacture of glass nearly pure quartz sands are used almost exclusively as the source of the silica, which is the major constituent of all common varieties of glass. Ordinary soda-lime, such as bottle, common tableware, plate, and window glasses, contains from 65 to 75 per cent. of silica. Occurrence Glass sands occur in nature either in the form of loose, unconsolidated sediments or in deposits in which the individual grains have been more or less thoroughly bound together by some cementing agent so as to form sandstones. While deposits of sand and sandstones occur both widely and abundantly distributed, deposits that are sufficiently free from other constituents than quartz grains, so that they can be employed in the manufacture of the better grades of glass, are, comparatively speaking, of rare occurrence. The major portion of the glass sand produced in the United States comes from sandstones. In order to be suitable for glass sand, they should be rather friable. The rock should break down readily along the cementing material between the grains and should not break across the grains rather than along the bond. Some of the sandstones used are so friable that only light shots of slow-burning dynamite are necessary to disintegrate them sufficiently for hydraulic mining, while others have to be passed through crushers in order to disintegrate the rock into its individual grains. MINERALOGICAL COMPOSITION An ideal glass sand is made up entirely of grains of the mineral quartz free from inclusions of foreign substances. Sands containing 100 per cent. silica, however, are not found in nature, although some very nearly approach this composition.

Jan 1, 1926

By Hoyt Stoddard Gale

Recent work on borate deposits near Kramer in the extreme southeast corner of Kern County, California, is of special interest because of the information it seems to give concerning the mode of origin of the borate minerals colemanite and ulexite, especially when considered in conjunction with the valuable clue to the mode of origin of colemanite in its present known deposits given in a paper by W. F. Foshag,1 of the United States National Museum. Colemanite is found in or near original deposits of ulexite, from which it is supposed to have been derived by a change in the character of the ground water or rate of its movement or both. Indications that an alteration of this sort had produced colemanite were first recognized by the writer2 in specimens collected in the Kramer district in 1920, and sent to W. T. Schaller, at U. S. Geological Survey, for identification. The identity of the two borate minerals in these specimens was suspected when collected but not at once determined, but the relations of the minerals as seen in the specimens seemed to afford a manifest clue to the origin of the deposits. Similar specimens were obtained by the writer from deposits in Death Valley soon after he had examined the deposits near Kramer. After studying the specimens submitted to him Dr. Schaller wrote as follows: " I have finally positively identified the boron minerals you sent me with your letter of Sept. 27. The 'white fibrous mineral like ulexite, is ulexite; the 'harder nodules' in the clay are colemanite, apparently formed from the ulexite as a result of leaching, with recrystallization in place—a theory that Foshag is working on." The present paper is a report on the facts observed at the depo its near Kramer, and some general observations on the geological relations noted, which, unfortunately, still form only a very incomplete record. The intimate association of deposits of colemanite and ulexite in California and Nevada with certain volcanic rocks affords a strong pre-

Jan 1, 1926

By Leroy A. Palmer

All the domestic production of magnesite during 1925 came from two states, California and Washington. Of a total of 120,660 tons of crude ore, 64,600 tons, or 54 per cent., were produced in California.' Of this quantity California produced about 99 per cent. of the caustic calcined, but only 10 per cent. of the dead-burned. The largest producer was C. S. Maltby, of San Francisco, who operated the Red Mountain mine, in Santa Clara County, and the Sampson mine, in San Benito County, under lease. These two mines have been studied by the author, and offer interesting comparisons as to mining and treatment methods and final products. Geology The general geology of the magnesite deposits of California has been described by Hess,2 Bain3 and others4 and although a detailed discussion is not necessary here, a brief summary will assist in understanding mining conditions. California magnesite, when comparatively pure, is usually a white, fine-grained rock, with a conchoidal fracture, occurring in veins and lense-like masses in serpentine. The veins vary considerably in width, and usually occur in a series of more or less parallel veins intersected by other series or systems of veins, probably following original or secondary fissures in the enclosing serpentine. The most generally accepted theory of origin is that the magnesite was formed by the action of surface waters charged with CO2 percolating downward through fissures and changing the magnesium silicates of the serpentine into magnesium carbonate.

Jan 1, 1927

By R. M. Bird

Few persons outside of the foundry trade have any conception of the great variety of sands now regularly specified and furnished, nor of the differences in foundry practice frequently resulting from apparently minor changes in sands. Conditions in each locality where the sands are mined and prepared necessitate special equipment designed to perform the work efficiently. The description that follows of the foundry-sand producing operations is typical of the areas in New York and New Jersey, and particularly refers to the operations of the George F. Pettinos Co. A few years ago the so-called Albany sands were dug by simple methods and hauled by horsecart to railroad. Depletion of sand near railroad sidings and extended use of automotive power have appreciably extended the area from which sand is now being dug. It is not unusual to haul 5 miles to the railroad. As stripping is quite shallow, 6 to 18 in., and the banks of usable sand generally run from 12 in. to 4 ft., it is economical to work the bank by benches so narrow that the overburden can be thrown by hand shovel to the exposed bottoms. In effect the top soil goes back to where it was, but on a lower level. Consequently the general surface appearance of a mined acreage is the same as before. This condition is in fact cutomarily required when a farm owner sells his sand in the ground. After such replacement, in the course of 3 to 5 years the soil is no less fertile than it was before mining. The sand itself varies as to grain and bond vertically and also along the breast. No mechanical equipment has been developed to compete with hand shovels and no machine has as yet been devised that grades the sand as required. Uniformity of sand, as shipped, depends first, last and all the time on the man on the job. Mixing equipment can change the appearance of the sand and mask its lack of uniformity, but it will never correct wrongly graded sand, dug from the bank. Modern methods of testing are helpful in setting up standards against which the man in the bank can compare his sands, but a good bank foreman is the only assurance that the sand, as dug, matches the required sample.

Jan 1, 1926

By W. M. Weigel

The general term "sand" applies to a multitude of similar materials consisting of fine granular mineral. As usually understood, it means the ordinary natural product used for structural purposes and made up largely of grains of quartz. Quartz sand constitutes by far the greater bulk of the production, but there are other grades used for industrial purposes, such as molding sand, glass sand and many others, that may be grouped under the general name of special sands. Under this general group would fall filter sand, sand-blast sand, engine sand, potter's sand, abrasive sands of all kinds, sand for pulverizing, roofing sand, flooring sand, fire or furnace sand, standard sand, burnishing sand, sand for magnesium oxychloride cement-plasters and sand for chemical and metallurgical purposes. Sources of Supply Sand is a widely distributed natural product and even the better grades are low-priced commodities. For these reasons development has occurred near points of consumption where sand meeting the requirements is available. Some special grades, however, cannot be prepared from any sand bed and shipments are often made over considerable distances when the only developed deposit is remote from the consuming center. This is true of filter sand, sand-blast sand, sand for pulverizing and some of the others when chemical purity or grain size, coupled with the need of a properly equipped plant for preparation, are required. New Jersey is a large producer of filter, engine, sand-blast, fire, and pulverizing sand. Pennsylvania, and West Virginia produce special sands for pulverizing, fire sand, abrasive sand, engine sand and sand for chemical and metallurgical use. Ohio produces much sand-blast, fire and abrasive sand, and some filter sand. Illinois and Minnesota produce

Jan 1, 1926

By H. Ries

In the marketing of mineral products, it is always highly desirable for both the producer and the consumer to be able to discuss things in a common language, and this can only be done if there are standard methods for expressing the properties of the raw materials. Having developed such a form of expression, the next step would be the making of specifications, which may serve as a basis for selecting raw materials. Considering the large number of non-metallic minerals that are used, there are not a few for which there are no standard laboratory tests to be used in determining their properties, or even standard specifications on which grades or market price may be based. Indeed in many cases the consumer simply requests the producer to submit samples, and rejects or accepts them without any explanation. Could the producer know in advance just what the consumer needed, time and money might often be saved. It appears to the writer that it is of the highest importance to devise standard laboratory tests wherever possible, as this enables the consumer to state definitely what he needs, and is of great assistance to the producer. It should also work to reduce misunderstandings and disputes. In the case of sands, we find that they show a wide variation in their character, ranging from those that are so coarse as to be of gravelly nature to those that are so fine that they might be classed as silt; and from very clayey ones to those that are practically free from clay. For this wide range of sands, we have a corresponding variety of uses, which are based mainly on the physical properties of the sand, although these are not always very definitely stated. The chemical composition need rarely be considered, if the sand is of siliceous nature. To determine and express these properties there should be standard tests, which are to be followed in all cases where the material is tested in the laboratory. The use of sands for foundry work (making molds or cores) is old, and it has been recognized for some time that the important properties to be

Jan 1, 1926

By Edmund Shaw

In the year just past there were produced in the United States about 170,000,000 tons of sand and gravel. Much of this was pit-run material used for gravelling roads and as railroad ballast on lines that did not carry heavy traffic. But more than half of it was marketed as washed and sized, or graded, material. The methods used for preparing sand and gravel for the market have long been used in ore dressing and, as in ore dressing, depend on differences in the specific gravity of two substances or in the size or weight of particles. But many changes in the design and operation of plants and machines have been necessary. In ore dressing, the concentrate is only a small part of the feed; in sand and gravel washing, it is much the larger part of the feed. In addition, such close work as is needed when concentrating a metallic ore is not needed when washing gravel; the ability to put through a large tonnage is more important, and sizing, which is only a preliminary process in ore dressing, is an end to be attained. Rock crushers are found in most sand and gravel plants and they are used to break up the larger pieces from the deposit (known as boulders and cobbles) which are removed by a scalping screen. The crusher discharge is usually sent back to the scalping screen, the perforations in this screen setting the maximum size of the finished product. Washing Washing is to prepare sand and gravel so that they may be used as aggregates in concrete and wall plaster and in various processes in which impurities would harm the product. At one end of the scale of washed materials may stand ordinary concrete sand, which in some states may contain as much as 3 per cent, of clay and still be used in highway concrete construction. At the other end will stand the silica sand used for making plate glass, which must be washed so clean that the impurities that can be removed by washing do not exceed a few hundredths of a per cent. The methods and machinery that would produce one of these

Jan 1, 1926

By AIME AIME

THE program of government drilling, conducted jointly by the U. S. Geological Survey and the Bureau of Mines, has demonstrated the presence in Texas and New Mexico of potash-bearing beds of considerable importance. Information regarding the ex- tent and location of the potash deposits as presented at the non-metallic sessions was of great interest to many engineers. These subjects will be covered in greater detail in later paragraphs. The first session, with about 50 in attendance, convened at 10 a.m. on Feb. 18, with Oliver Bowles, chair- man of the Committee on Non-Metallic Minerals, pre- siding. The first paper was on "Soapstone Mining In Virginia," presented by C. W. Ryan of Lynchburg, Va. The nature and extent of the soapstone deposits of Nelson County were described in some detail. In origin, the soapstone is undoubtedly related to a basic peridotite rock though its mode of formation is some- what uncertain. This main soapstone deposit occurs in three veins, the western, middle, and eastern, the middle vein being of greatest economic importance. Methods of stripping, quarrying and milling the rock were described and the uses of soapstone were enum- erated. In discussing this paper, C. P. Berkey, of Co- lumbia University strongly favored the theory of igneous origin of the soapstone and the need for further detailed geological study. J. L. Gillson of Cambridge, Mass., stated that the Vermont and New York talc deposits were always associated with characteristic minerals, such as, a chlorite of one particular variety, siderite, amphibole, magnetite, and biotite. C. H. Behre of Cincinnati, Ohio, raised the question of parallelism in the soapstone structure and Mr. Ryan stated that such parallelism was in evidence in some parts of the deposits. H. A. Wheeler of St. Louis, Mo., also took 'part in the discussion.

Jan 1, 1929

THE morning session on non-metallic minerals was opened briefly by the chairman, Oliver Bowles, giving the usual instructions and then turning immediately to the introduction of the speakers. "Min-ing and Preparation of the St. Peter Sandstone in' Arkansas" by D. D. Dunkin was first presented by W. M. Weigel, mining technologist for the Missouri Pacific R. R. The paper covered a discussion of the geology of the sandstone, correlating it with the sand-stones at Klondike, Mo., and at Ottawa, III. Its physical appearance, structural characteristics and thickness; the mining methods, blasting, loading, haulage and classification were taken up. A series of slides aided in clarifying the details. The discussion consisted of questioning Mr. Weigel on operating details. The second paper, "Geology and Mining of Diaspore and Flint Fire-Clays of Missouri," written by H. S. McQueen, geologist with the Missouri Bureau of Geology and Mines, and C. R. Forbes, professor of mining, Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy, was presented by Mr. Forbes. It thoroughly covered the geology, stressing the peculiar sink formations in which all diaspore clay deposits of the region occur. The crudeness of the mining methods was mentioned and believed justifiable because of the small size of the indi-vidual deposits. It was stated that the diaspore and flint clay deposits of Missouri were confined to an area 60 mi. square and it was found in a survey that the average deposit had dimensions comparable to the fol-lowing: 100 ft. long, 75 ft. wide and 50 ft. deep. The largest deposit found was 800 ft. long. 500 ft. wide and 20 ft. deep. It is estimated that the known reserve of clays is from 750.000 to 1,500,000 tons. Mr. Forbes stressed the fact that in mining clays the major problem is entirely one of sorting. This is done under the supervision of a pit foreman trained to make this classification by eye. The mine-run clays are sepa-rated into diaspore clay ranging in alumina content from 70 to about 85 per cent, first grade Burly clay 00 to 70 per cent, and Flint clay 52 to 60 per cent. Discussion of the paper consisted in questioning Pro-fessor Forbes on labor. cost, haulage, drilling, and geology.

Jan 3, 1928

By Otis M. Clarke

Although most bauxite mined is used to make metallic alu¬minum, more than a million tons of bauxite is used annually in the United States in the manufacture of refractories, chemicals, abrasives, and cement. Raw material requirements are becoming increasingly difficult to meet because high-grade bauxite, required for some uses, is limited. The supply of raw material for high-alumina refractories is most critical because a low-iron bauxite is needed. Although there are substantial bauxite reserves in the world, bauxite suitable for use in refractories is limited to a few districts.

Jan 1, 1977

All companies and individuals who embark on a business venture incur costs. For the most part these costs can be conveniently categorised, firstly into capital and operating costs and then into the various elements of these major cost centres. Although the nature of expenditure naturally differs as between industries certain broad cost types are characteristic of all heavy industries. The capital costs of gaining access to an orebody, equipping a new mine, building a treatment plant and perhaps refining and smelting facilities are likened to capital expenditure by a manufacturer on new plant and equipment required for an expansion or new product innovation. Similarly the day to day costs of labour and materials employed in the running of a mining operation can be likened to similar costs in other heavy industry. There is another group of costs that are not so easily categorised. Most industries incur unavoidable costs that do not form part of the direct or capital costs of physical production. These costs include taxes and other payments to government and research expenditure. The mining industry has a particularly heavy burden of non-production costs and it is the objective here to highlight and analyse a few of them. These costs are exploration expenditure, infrastructure expenditure, royalties and income tax. This is not to suggest that these are the only major non-production costs that the mining industry needs to bear. The industry may incur significant costs for environment protection, land tenure maintenance and on liaising with Government on a wide variety of matters. It is for reasons of subject manageability that the list is confined to the four costs mentioned. For the mining industry, exploration and infrastructure expenditure, royalties and income tax have several distinguishing features. Firstly, they are generally proportionately large costs. Exploration and infrastructure expenditure for example, could well exceed mine development costs. Depending on how royalties are levied, they may be very high in relation to profits earned and many in fact exceed profits. Secondly, except for income tax, they are costs that are generally not payable by other industries. Exploration expenditure is in some respects comparable with industrial research and development. However, because mines are wasting assets exploration is necessary for survival, and it is likely to form a larger part of costs per dollar of profits or sales than R&D. It can therefore be said that exploration is of far more significance to the miner than R&D is to the typical industrial company. Furthermore, unlike exploration expenditure, R&D results are transportable and patents permitting, transferable. The infrastructure burden that miners must carry is unique to the industry. Whereas urbanised industry is not usually liable for the capital cost of power, water, transport, townships and community facilities, the miner must finance these projects himself. Neither the payment of royalties, nor of course, income tax are unique to the mining industry. Royalties are more properly described as a unique charge on some primary industries but however described, they are a charge that manufacturing and service industries do not have to pay. Whilst we all pay income tax, the mining industry's uniqueness derives from the special problem that the industry has in arriving at annual net income in view of the capital intensity of the industry, partly due to expenditure on infrastructure, the indefinite life of capital equipment and its unpredictable residual value, funds expended on exploration and long lead times associated with a mine development. The third distinguishing feature of these costs is that, with the possible exception of exploration expenditure, they are heavily influenced by the policies and actions of Government. As such the industry has a responsibility to promote the industry by emphasising its potential to improve national product including exports and by requesting that the Government provide for the industry in its long term planning and seek its co-operation to prevent the industry incurring inequitable penalties relative to other industries.Finally, exploration and infrastructure expenditure are significant because they are front-end charges on a project. When due allowance is given the time value of money and the deferment of income from a mining development to which they relate, exploration and infrastructure expenditure assume greater importance than the raw money expenditure suggests. For all these reasons, exploration and infrastructure expenditure, mining royalties and mining income tax are worthy of detailed study. This is the purpose of this paper. The objective is to examine the determinants that give rise to them and provide some thoughts on their impact on on-going and potential mining developments and, where relevant, to make some suggestions as to how they may be minimised.

Jan 1, 1977

By A. S. Paschoa, A. W. Nóbrega

INTRODUCTION There are now over twenty years since the radiological characteristics of the brazilian regions of Araxá, Tapira and Barreiros, three locations adjacent to each other, in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, started being surveyed by investigators from the Instituto de Biofísica da Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (IB/UFRJ), Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro (PUC/RJ), and New York University (NYU) (Roser and Cullen, 1958; Cullen et al, 1980). The importance of the Araxá apatite – Ca5,(P04)3(OH, F, Cl) - and pyrochlore - NaCaNB206F - for the production of large quantities of fertilizers and niobium was early recognized (Roser and Cullen, 1958). Interesting data have been gathered and published throughout the years on the contents of naturally occurring radionuclides in geologic materials, soils, grass, foods and waters of the Araxá region (Eisenbud, et al., 1964; Penna Franca, et al., 1965a, b; Roser et al., 1966; Penna Franca et al., 1970; Cullen, 1977; Penna Franca, 1977; Cullen and Paschoa, 1978; and Cullen et al., 1980). The radioactivity of the Araxá region is associated with mineral deposits of niobium rich pyrochlore and phosphate rich apatite. There are in this region mineral ores with 3 to 5% pyrochlore with 2 to 2.5% Th as Th02 and 50 to 150 ppm U308 in the matrix, while the apatite deposits contain up to 150 ppm U308 and a thorium concentration similar to that of the pyrochlore deposits (Paschoa and Palacios, 1981). As an indication of the high thorium content of the Araxá soils the 228Ra and 224Ra activity concentrations were reported to range from 10.6±0.2 to 62.4±0.7 pCi228Ra/g soil in 7 samples and 2.1±0.1 to 104±1 pCi224Ra/g soil in 19 samples (Cullen, et al., 1966). The uptake of radium isotopes by edible roots vegatables and fruits growing in the soils of the Araxá region can be illustrated by the data listed in Table I. The biological availability of natural radium isotopes in some segments of the Araxá soil allows a large variation in the 228Ra, 224Ra and 226Ra concentrations in vegetables and edible roots, as can be seen in Table I. This fact makes quite difficult a quantitative local assessment of the radiological implications of mining the Araxá mineral deposits of pyrochlore and apatite for production of niobium and phosphate fertilizers, respectively; since one cannot easily separate the naturally occurring from the technogically enhanced radionuclide contents of foods. The position of the city of Araxá inside the contour of the state of Minas Gerais appears in the upper part of Figure 1, which shows the outlined map of Brazil with the positions of the cities Brasilia and Rio de Janeiro also indicated. The lower part of Figure 1 is a representation of the Araxá region in an expanded scale, which indicates the locations of the pyrochlore and apatite deposits in relation to the city of Araxá, as well as the nearby hydrographic basins. The distance between the city of Araxá and the pyrochlore deposit is about 8 km, and between the pyrochlore and apatite deposits is 4 km. This paper deals tentatively with the radiological implications of the industrial operations taking place in the Araxá region for the exploration of the pyrochlore and apatite deposits. However, one must bear in mind, firstly, that the radiological implications of these industrial activities are by far too complex to be covered adequately by the limited amount of data to be presented in this paper, and secondly, that such implications cannot be considered of local character only. INDUSTRIAL OPERATIONS The commercial exploration of the Araxá deposits of pyrochlore and apatite started only few years ago, motivated by the increasing demand of niobium and phosphate fertilizers in Brazil and the world. As a consequence of the industrial operations in Araxá, a redistribution of the uranium, thorium, and radium originally present in the local deposits of pyrochlore and apatite started occurring in the seventies, with possible radiological implications for the Araxá region and its immediate surroundings, not to mention the destinations of the end products of such industrial operations. A literature review on the radioactivity associated with the extration industries of selected minerals was made by the USEPA (Bliss, 1978). The low level radioactive wastes of the industries for copper ore mining and rare metals processing have been object of particular attention (Fitzgerald, Jr., 1976; Eng, et al., 1979), but the short and long term implications of the radioactivity associated with the niobium industry were also subjects of concern (Knight and Makepeace, 1978). Recently, high 232Th and 226Ra concentrations in samples from the tin mining industry in West Malaysia were reported (Hu et al., 1981). A great deal of attention has been dedicated to the implications of the redistribution of radionuclides originally present in the mineral ores used by the phosphate fertilizer industry (Moore, 1967; Menzel, 1968; Spalding and Sackett, 1972; Eisenbud, 1973; Guimond and Windham, 1975; Guimond, 1976; Roessler,

Jan 1, 1981

By A. Luszczkiewicz

This paper presents the beneficial effects of non-oxidative leaching of final and intermediate copper sulfide concentrates with sulfuric acid prior to the final cleaning stage of flotation. This unique process, combining leaching and flotation, appears to be advantageous for difficult-to-treat carbonate-bearing Polish copper ores, such as those processed in copper concentrators at KGHM Polish Copper. It was shown that after the chemical decomposition of about 70 % of the total carbonates naturally present in the flotation feed, a considerable enhancement of subsequent flotation results (both grade and recovery). The resulting products of non-oxidative leaching are solid hydrated calcium sulfate (gypsum), soluble magnesium sulfate and gaseous carbon dioxide. The beneficial effect established by the laboratory leaching tests was subsequently confirmed during a pilot plant operation treating final copper concentrate and a problematic intermediate concentrate at the Lubin concentrator.

Jan 1, 2007

By E. Engelbrecht

"A pressure non-oxidative leach is employed at Anglo American Platinum Base Metal Refiners to extract nickel from a slow cooled matte. The design base requires two 80 m3 autoclaves in parallel to achieve a nickel extraction of 60% at the nameplate capacity of 32.4 ktpa nickel plated. Isothermal modelling of mineralogical and chemical concentration profiles, through a reactive mass balance, permitted rate constant parameter estimation and selection of the most probable reaction pathway. The model was validated with plant data up to a capacity of 26 ktpa Ni plated and suggested by extrapolation that nameplate capacity may be viable through one 80 m3 autoclave.INTRODUCTION Anglo American Platinum Base Metal Refiners is situated on the outskirts of Rustenburg in the North-West province of South-Africa. The refinery produces nickel cathode, copper cathode, cobalt sulphate powder, covellite rich copper pressure leach residue and bulk sodium sulphate through an integrated circuit that refines slow cooled converter matte. The converter matte is milled, non-magnetics are separated as solid nickel copper matte (NCM), and the magnetics are leached yielding a pressure vessel liquor (PVL). The remaining solid platinum group metals (PGM) concentrate after leaching is sent for downstream processing in the Precious Metals Refinery (Hofirek & Kerfoot, 1992). The work presented here is applicable to the base metals refinery which receives the two base metals feed stocks NCM and PVL. In 2009 the capacity of the refinery was upgraded from 21 ktpa nickel cathode plated to 32.4 ktpa. This paper deals with evaluating the capacity of the pressurised non-oxidative nickel leach (NOX) process which accounts for at least 28% of the nickel leached from NCM by design. The NOX design base requires two 80 m3 autoclaves divided into four compartments operated in parallel at 155°C and 600kPa(g). Elevated temperature is required to speed up the leach kinetics of particularly nickel and iron which are trapped in slow leaching mineralogical phases namely millerite and bornite, (Dinham, 2006). The stated equivalent capacity for the NOX configuration was 32.9 ktpa nickel plated at first pass nickel and iron leach efficiencies of 60% and above 80% respectively and is a key step for the selective removal of iron (Bryson, Hofirek, Collins, Stiksma, & Bereaowsky, 2008)."

Jan 1, 2017

By Dae S. Young, Steven F. Hoerger

The geostatistical method of indicator kriging (IK) was extended to analyze two-dimensional distributions of rock joint orientations. The IK method provides a non-parametric approach for spatial analysis of local probability distribu- tions. By taking into account the spatial correlation of rock joint outcomes and the relative geometry between estimation unit and samples, the IK method provides optimum, spatially conditioned estimates. The estimation method was tested by comparing distributions of actual mapped rock joint orientations with their corresponding kriged estimates. The comparisons show the unbiasedness and accuracy of the non-parametric approach for estimating local probability distributions.

Jan 1, 1986

By F Ramos

Conventional techniques for resource estimation generally involve the laborious analysis of variograms and the specification of parameters for covariance functions. In large deposits, construction of resource models and their update require significant amount of manual work, expert knowledge and time. In this paper we take a machine learning view to the problem of resource estimation. This is a non-parametric Bayesian method, leading to automatic parameter estimation (learning). Through Bayesian learning, the parameters of the model can be obtained by optimising a quantity known as the marginal likelihood. The main advantage of this approach over conventional maximum likelihood estimators is that the objective function incorporates the OccamÆs razor principle. This allows the comparison of different statistical models û for example, models designed with different covariance functions û and naturally penalises complexity, thus avoiding overfitting. Our technique presents significant flexibility for the definition of mean and covariance functions and permits the usage of more sophisticated models.The second contribution of this work is the formulation of a data fusion mechanism that continuously updates the resource model. As mining progresses, more information becomes available. For example, the hardness of the rocks can be measured while drilling blast holes, grades of ore and contaminants are obtained from cone logging. This information is in general available at a finer spatial resolution but can be more uncertain. The data fusion mechanism can seamlessly estimate the uncertainties of the different types of information and fuse them as new measurements are acquired. This procedure can significantly improve the quality of the resource model, defining new grounds for stochastic mine planning. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach in estimating iron ore deposits by integrating information about different grades.

Sep 26, 2011

By Arthur L. Bishop

INTRODUCTION Purpose The in-situ leach method for uranium extraction is a relatively new and innovative method of uranium mining. In 1975, the first commercial in-situ facility began operation in south Texas. Since that time numerous other operations have been initiated as either pilot or commercial ventures. Considerable literature has been published that deals primarily with generalities of the process or environmental concerns. Several federal agencies have published documents which do not reflect the true operating or environmental nature of the in-situ leach method of uranium extraction. From an environmental standpoint, this is also evident in the promulgation of rules and regulations. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to present experience with an environmental concern--non- production zone excursions--such that the industry and the regulatory agencies will gain greater insight devoid of preconceived ideas and misconceptions. General Process Description In south Texas, in-situ leach mining is utilized to extract uranium from permeable sandstone ore deposits 61 to 213 meters (200 to 700 feet) below the surface. Uranium is present as an insoluble uranium oxide. In the in-situ or solution mining technique, anoxidizing lixiviant is injected into the formation through injection wells. The solution reacts with the insol uble carbonate complex. This soluble uranium complex is produced at recovery wells, each containing a submersible pump. During production there is a constant sweeping of lixiviant through the formation from the injection wells to the recovery wells. Injection and recovery wells can be arranged in any of a number of geometric patterns dependent upon ore body configuration, aquifer permeability, and operator preference. Submersible pumps in the recovery wells pump the uranium rich pregnant solution to the initial processing facility. Monitor wells surrcsund the pattern area and are screened in appropriate stratigraphic horizons (production and non-production zones) to detect any lixiviant migration that may occur (Fig. 1).

Jan 1, 1980

By P. Sklenicka

Remediation of the environmental (and social) disturbances caused by opencast brown coal mining in the past in north-west Bohemia isa priority for state environmental policy. In order to provide a concept for full restoration of land following disturbance by opencast mining, a special interdisciplinary project supported by a grant from the Czech Ministry of Environment was started in 2000. The initial stage of the project was intended to summarize and evaluate the findings and the works carried out in connection with various reclamation activities in the afflicted area over a period of more than 50 years. The main aims of the three-year project are to make use of the best available landscape environmental management knowledge in order to harmonize the ecological, aesthetic, productive and social functions of new valuable landscape, including the recovery of historical continuity and an understanding of ?landscape memory?. The basic landscape functions were assessed on two different scale levels. On a large scale, the relevant attributes were investigated over the whole area of the Sokolov brown coal basin (220 km2). The data and experience acquired were used to define large-scale guiding principles for the rehabilitation of a post-mining landscape. On a small scale, the basic characteristics and functions of the landscape were analysed in the Litov-Chlum model area (2 km2). The information derived from this analysis was used to formulate a small-scale approach for the rehabilitation of the model area and also to define general methodological principles. Keywords: rehabilitation, post-mining landscape, degraded landscape, non-productive priorities

Jan 1, 2004

The non-renewable energy resources of Queensland comprise coal, petroleum (oil and gas), oil shale and uranium. Coal is widely distributed., and has been developed extensively both for export and for use within the State. Proven reserves total 5 390 million tonnes recoverable of coking coal and 5 580 million tonnes recoverable of non-coking; very large resources particularly of non-coking coal are still to be quantified by further drilling. Annual production is of the order of 20 million tonnes of coking coal, principally for export, and 6 million tonnes of non-coking, mainly for power generation within the State. Petroleum resources are meagre in com- parison with those of coal. Initial recover- able reserves of liquids (mainly in the now substantially depleted Moonie Oil Field) totalled only 4.2 million m3. Initial recover- able reserves of gas (mainly in the western Surat and Bowen Basins) totalled 7 800 million m3. Annual production is of the order of 64 thousand m3 of liquids for refining in Bris- bane, and 268 million m3 of gas mainly for production of fertiliser and for industrial and domestic heating, in Brisbane. Prospects are fair for the discovery of additional reserves. Two deposits of oil shale are potentially of economic significance. The Rundle deposit at The Narrows in central Queensland has the

Jan 1, 1979