Potash Recovery by Solar Evaporation & Flotation
Over 80 pct of U.S. potash production comes from evaporite deposits near Carlsbad, NM. Most potash products are concentrated by flotation, selective dissolution of the gangue minerals, or precipitation of the mineral from hot brine. The majority of sylvinite ores, mixtures of KCl and NaCl, mined in New Mexico, are processed in grinding, desliming, sylvite […]
Oxygen Self Rescuers
Coal mine operators in the United States were required to make available to each underground coal miner a self-contained self-rescuer (SCSR). The regulations (30 CFR 75.1714) require that each person in an underground coal mine wear, carry, or have immediate access to a self-rescuer that provides an oxygen source. The oxygen self-rescuer will replace the […]
How to Recover Potash from Carnallite
The Bureau of Mines conducted research on techniques for recovering potash values from high-insoluble-slimes-bearing domestic carnallite ores. In the first phase of the study, two techniques were devised: (1) a method where the insoluble slimes were depressed during potash flotation and (2) a method where insoluble slimes were removed by flotation prior to potash flotation. […]
Electro-depositing PGM Platinum Group Metal Coatings
The Bureau of Mines has evaluated the substitution of platinum-group metal coatings for bulk platinum-group metal objects as a means of reducing the consumption of the platinum-group metals. The Bureau has conducted several studies of the electro-deposition of the platinum-group metals from molten alkali metal cyanide baths during the last two decades. The major incentive […]
How to Keep Bins Flowing – Safety & Material Handling
Over the past several years, a number of deaths have occurred in the minerals industry as a result of workers entering bins or silos to correct flow stoppages or to conduct maintenance. In almost all of the fatalities, the direct cause of the accident could be attributed to a failure on the part of the […]
Gold & Silver Leaching Methods
Climbing gold and silver prices during the 1970’s awakened dormant interest in mining these metals in many districts. Since gold and silver deposits frequently can be profitably mined by small operators, a mix of mining activity has been created, comprised of large and small companies, both experienced and unexperienced. A key factor in the profitability […]
Aluminum Extraction Method with Chloride
Almost all aluminum in the United States is produced from imported bauxite or alumina. This country has, however, more than adequate domestic nonbauxitic alumina resources that could alleviate dependency on foreign sources. For both economic and security reasons, the Federal Government has had a longstanding interest in the development of alternative technology that would allow […]
Tin Electrolytic Stripping
At present, in the United States, municipal solid waste (MSW) is generated at a rate of 3 to 5 lb/d per person. It contains about 8 pct ferrous metallics. Projections indicate -11 MMton/yr of this valuable ferrous scrap is being discarded Discarded MSW magnetics are equivalent to approximately 15 pct of the total U.S. 1982 […]
How to Recover Lead from Scrap Batteries
The Bureau of Mines has investigated an electrolytic recycling process to recover lead from scrap batteries as part of the effort to improve secondary recovery of metals, minerals, and other values from waste products. This process eliminating sulfur dioxide (SO2) generation and minimizing particulate lead emissions, is an acceptable alternative to the pyrometallurgical processes currently […]
The Dangers of Gold Dredging
Dredge Operation Visits The contract requirement was that nine mining dredge operations be visited to gather data on the operations, their safety hazards, and their safety management. Although the number of field trips made was the same as originally planned, 31 dredges were visited. There were several reasons, but the most important were: It was […]