Cyanide Biodegradation
Management of mine drainage and mineral processing waste systems is a serious problem that could have major impacts on the U. S. mineral industry. Federal legislation (established by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986) provides that preferred remedial actions are those treatments that permanently and significantly reduce the volume, toxicity, or mobility of […]
Microwave Digestion Systems
Microwave Digestion Systems (MWD) were popularized by the US Bureau of Mines (USBM) back in the early 1980’s. The USBM published a series of papers on the topic and discussed the advantages of the system. Basically MWD is used to replace the traditional hotplate or digestion block digestion systems employed for sample digestions. This system […]
Microwave Digestion
We conducted research related to Microwave Digestion in hope it would lead to the improvement of analytical procedures used to characterise metal and mineral samples. In particular, this research is directed to the reduction in time, complexity, and expense of sample dissolution for chemical and instrumental analysis. The rapid development of automated instrumentation has enabled the […]
Improve Strength of Steel Alloys
Improve the strength and other properties of steel alloys. Approach Research by the U.S. Bureau of Mines indicates that steels melted and solidified under high nitrogen pressure acquire yield and tensile strengths that are up to four times the strengths of comparable stainless steel alloys without nitrogen. Fatigue strength, creep strength, and other mechanical properties […]
Recovering Platinum-Group Metals in Catalytic Converters
Develop new technology to encourage domestic processing of automobile catalytic converters for recovering platinum-group metals. Background Automobile catalytic converters are used to convert pollutants in automobile exhaust into water vapor, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen. About 1 million troy ounces of platinum-group metals arc used each year in the United States to manufacture catalytic converter. It […]
Foam Concrete Seals for Abandoned Mine Shafts and Adits
Investigate and demonstrate the possible use of low-density (45-lb/ft³) foam concrete for sealing abandoned mine openings. Although foam concrete has been used in the construction and geotechnical industries tor some decades, it has not previously been used in abandoned mine shaft reclamation. Approach A structurally engineered permanent mine seal for an abandoned coal mine shaft, […]
The 10 DEEPEST Diamond Mines in the World
The accumulation of diamonds has come a very long way since the first examples of this hugely precious stone were discovered in India in around 400 BC. Most of the world’s diamond deposits were formed over 1 billion years ago, yet gaining access to them has necessitated the development of hugely sophisticated modern technology. As […]
The 10 MOST VALUABLE Diamond Mines in the World (by Reserves)
Diamond mining is one of the most prestigious and profitable industries in the world. The ten largest diamond mines in the world by measurable reserves contain more than one billion carats of recoverable diamonds, and this naturally translates into many billions of dollars. It’s thus intriguing to look at how these carats are distributed. 10. […]
Bioleaching Test Procedure
Pulps of 20% solids is prepared from -200 mesh pyrite concentrate (after froth flotation), and is inoculated with 5% (V/V) of adapted bacterial solution. The bioleaching tests is carried out in 250 ml Erlenmayer flasks, each contained about 220 ml pulp. The pulps is aerated with air bubbling at one liter per minute air flow […]
Heap Leaching in Cold Weather & Winter
Extended freezing conditions exist in many parts of the world in the winter because of latitude or high altitude or both. Such conditions, coupled with the sprinkling techniques commonly used in heap leaching, result in formation of layers of ice which inhibit leaching by tying up solution inventory on heap surfaces and shutting off solution […]