Morenci Smelter Arizona
Copper smelters of various kinds have operated in the Morenci district since 1872, but all have been abandoned with the exception of the present Morenci Smelter of Phelps Dodge Corporation, which was completed in 1942. During the five-year period starting in 1937, the Morenci ore body was prepared for open pit mining, pilot mill test […]
Arc Melting of Titanium Metal
Because of the reactivity of titanium metal with all known refractories and the common atmospheric gases, melting of the metal presents numerous problems. It is necessary to provide an inert atmosphere in the furnace as well as a crucible material that will not react with the molten metal, if a ductile ingot is to be […]
Ultra-Fine Grinding and Classification
Fluid jet mills-employing a compressible fluid to grind materials to the sub-sieve range, was developed in the early 1930’s, and the subsequent acceptance of these units was the result of their ability to pulverize solids that, because of physical properties, could not be processed by other attrition methods, such as ball, pebble, and hammer mills. […]
Dithiophosphate in Selective Flotation of Lead and Zinc
Dithiophosphate collectors are commonly used in the flotation of sulphide minerals. Studies of the interaction of a typical dithiophosphate collector with galena surfaces have been previously reported from these laboratories. These fundamental studies were carried out by employing phosphorus labeled radioactive dithiophosphate. Radioactivity determinations then could be used to measure readily and accurately the small […]
Self-diffusion in Sintering of Metallic Particles
Two particles in mutual contact form a system which is not in thermo-dynamical equilibrium, because its total surface free energy is not a minimum. If such a system is left for a certain period of time, the bonding of the two particles will take place in order to decrease the total surface area, even though […]
Placing Concrete in a Deep Mine
In U. S. underground mines concrete work is not widely used. Timber and steel are cheaper, and there are few serious water problems. But in the Union of South Africa men dig deeper, more persistently, and probably more profitably than anywhere else on earth. Some gold mines near Johannesburg are below the 10,000 level and […]
Ball Mill Shell Liner Performance
Grinding Practice—These tests were run in the 9 ft diam by 8 ft long grate discharge ball mills at Climax. Each mill functions in closed circuit with a 78 in. Akins duplex high-weir classifier, and a circulating load of 300 pct is maintained. The size of the mill feed is 6 pct on 3/8ths, which […]
Mine Ore Mining Methods
Iron king mine, producing gold-silver-lead-zinc ore, is 10 miles east of Prescott, Ariz. At present the 1806 level is being developed. The echelon pattern of ore deposit continues at depth but is less pronounced, and the orebody is now more or less continuous over 2600 ft of strike length, with widths 5 ft to as […]
Humphreys Spiral Concentrator
Since it was introduced in 1943 to recover chromite from Oregon beach sands, the Humphreys spiral concentrator has proved successful in several fields of wet mineral beneficiation. By the end of 1957, 9390 Humphreys spirals had been manufactured. Most of these are still in service. Requirements for Spiral Concentration: Valuable heavy minerals to be recovered […]
Mineral Flotation with Ultrasonically Emulsified Collecting Reagents
An emulsion is a two-phase system consisting of two incompletely miscible liquids, the one being dispersed as finite droplets in the other. The dispersed liquid is known as the internal or discontinuous phase, and the surrounding liquid is termed the external or continuous phase. Apparatus and Experimental Procedure: Ultrasonic emulsification was performed in three steps, although […]