Blogs

Placer Mining Equipment

Table of ContentsSelecting Placer Mining Equipment & MethodsPlacer Mining Equipment for Sale BCHand-ShovelingGold PanningRocker BoxLong TomSurf WashersDry WashersShoveling-into-BoxesGround SluicingTypes of Placer Deposits WorkedWater SupplySluicingSluicing With Natural Flow of StreamBooming Specific placer mining equipment is needed for each of the methods which can be classified according to the several methods of excavating and transporting the gravel, or they may be designated

Read More »

Sampling Placer Deposits by Drilling

The sampling of placer deposits by drilling or, more precisely, drive-pipe sampling, is discussed in detail by Janin. He states that the Keystone no. 3 traction machine is used generally in California. The usual casing is 6 inches inside diameter and 3/8 inch thick, in 5- to 7-foot sections. Drilling without casing is not good practice, and high values in

Read More »

Placer Gold Prospecting Equipment

Table of ContentsCamp OutfitClothingToolsCooking EquipmentProvisionsFirst-Aid Supplies The outfit to be taken on a prospecting trip depends upon the mode of transportation, the work contemplated, and the funds available. Enough equipment should be taken, but unnecessary articles make extra work. When a more or less permanent camp is established, added equipment for personal comfort and efficiency can be obtained. Usually a

Read More »

Gold Placer Sampling and Estimation

Table of ContentsWeight of Placer GravelSampling Natural ExposuresDriftingTest-PittingGeophysical Prospecting Failure to sample and estimate properly the available yardage of placer deposits has resulted in a tremendous waste of money and effort. A large proportion of all placer operations has failed because the gold in the gravel was insufficient to repay the cost of even the most efficient mining, not to

Read More »

Minerals Associated or Found in Gold Placer Gold

Associated Minerals: Placer gold invariably is accompanied by other heavy minerals, which comprise the black, white, or yellow concentrates found in the sluice box when cleaning up. Table 3 lists these minerals roughly in the order of their commonness. Some of the characteristics noted under Remarks apply chiefly to the minerals as they are found in sluice-box concentrates. Magnetite.- Magnetite is

Read More »

Zirconium Crucibles

Zirconium crucibles are rapidly becoming a standard piece of equipment, particularly in laboratories where fusions using strongly alkaline fluxes are common. This Center has found no better material to use for the thousands of sodium peroxide fusions that are done here every year. Zirconium crucibles usually arrive from their suppliers in a polished, silvery state. They resemble a polished iron

Read More »

Acid Digestion of Ferrochrome Metal

Table of ContentsMethod AEquipment MaterialsMaterialsProcedureProcedure NotesMethod BEquipmentMaterialsProcedureProcedure Notes At times it may be necessary or desirable to dissolve a ferrochrome sample in acid rather than fusing it in sodium peroxide. Acid digestion methods are slow, but require little in the way of attention. Two alternative methods are described here. The A method is the basic method to use for most

Read More »

Manganese in Mineral Chromite, Ferrochrome Slags, and Ferrochrome

Table of ContentsEquipmentMaterialsProcedureProcedure Notes Manganese commonly occurs in mineral chromite as an impurity, and the amount can range from trace quantities to a few percent. In ferrochrome smelting operations, the manganese should find its way into the slag rather than the metal. Data from these analyses have most often been used to trace the partitioning of the manganese through the

Read More »

Gravimetric Silica in Mineral Chromite and Ferrochrome Slags

Table of ContentsEquipmentMaterialsProcedureProcedure Notes Silica is present in chromite ores as a basic silicate. In characterization and beneficiation studies performed on chromites at this Center, the chromium-silica ratio determines the purity of the gangue material being analyzed. Accurate characterization of the original ore material and the further feasibility of smelting to ferrochrome are identified by using this ratio. The method

Read More »

Calcium in Mineral Chromite and Ferrochrome Slags

Calcium is rarely found in chromite ores in amounts greater than a few tenths of a percent, and calcium analysis is rarely requested on ore samples. Calcium compounds are, however, used as slag conditioners for ferrochrome smelting. Most of the chromite-related samples received for calcium analysis at this Center have been slag samples. The data produced are used mainly to

Read More »

Aluminium and Magnesium in Mineral Chromite and Ferrochrome Slags

Table of ContentsEquipmentMaterialsProcedureProcedure Notes Aluminum and magnesium occur as gangue components in chromite ores and ferrochrome slags. At this Center, ores from many different sites and of many varieties are examined for commercial feasibility. The beneficiation of these ores is a continuing activity that produces most of the samples that are analyzed with this method. Data from this method are

Read More »

Metallic Iron in Ferrochrome Slags

Table of ContentsMaterialsProcedureProcedure Notes It would truly be unusual to find a sample of mineral chromite with metallic iron in it. However, (his Center has handled many samples of prereduced smelter charges with several percent of metallic iron and ferrochrome slags with measurable quantities of metallic iron. Therefore, this method finds its use in the later stages of mineral chromite

Read More »

Ferrous Iron in Mineral Chromite and Ferrochrome Slags

Table of ContentsEquipmentMaterialsProcedureProcedure Notes The determination of ferrous iron in mineral chromites and other chromite-bearing samples is limited by the difficult solubility of the chromite lattice. Reaction of the ferrous iron immediately upon release from the crystal seems to be the preferred way of measurement. Attempts to dissolve chromite by other methods depend on strong oxidizing agents that leave no

Read More »

Total Iron in Mineral Chromite and Ferrochrome Slags

Table of ContentsEquipmentMaterialsProcedureProcedure Notes Iron is the second major element in chromite. In smelting operations where ferrochrome is the product, a specific range in the chromium-to-iron ratio is desired. Where pure metallic chromium is the product, the iron concentration is not as important. In both cases, it is important to have a good value for the chromium-to-iron ratio. A typical

Read More »

Acid-Soluble or “Metallic” Chromium in Ferrochrome Slags

Table of ContentsEquipmentMaterialsProcedureProcedure Notes At this Center, results from this method have been used almost exclusively as data for the calculation of the total degree of reduction in a smelter batch, rather than as an indicator for the metallization of chromium. When a charge of chromite material is smelted or prereduced, the crystal structure is changed, and once the chromite

Read More »

Total Chromium in Mineral Chromite and Ferrochrome Slags

Table of ContentsEquipmentMaterialsProcedureProcedure Notes The total chromium content in mineral chromite and ferrochrome slags can range from a fraction of a percent in the slags to greater than 30 pct in the ore concentrates. Because of this variation and because of the difficulty in dissolving chromite-containing samples, the method of choice at this Center has been fusion with sodium peroxide,

Read More »

Methods for the Analysis of Mineral Chromites and Ferrochrome Slag

Table of ContentsReagent PreparationPreparationStandardizationCalculationPreparationStandardizationSodium Diphenylamine Sulfonate IndicatorVanadium-Acid Mixture for Ferrous IronSilver Nitrate SolutionStannous Chloride Reducing SolutionSaturated Mercuric Chloride SolutionManganese Oxidant SolutionSaturated Manganese SolutionZinc Oxide SlurrySample Preparation This report describes the elemental characterization of chromite and related materials at the Bureau of Mines, Albany Research Center. Analytical methods for determining the major constituents, representing extensive experience, refinement, and development, are described

Read More »

Longwall Pillar Design Method

Table of ContentsThe Power of Longwall Pillar DesignLongwall Pillar Design MethodsLongwall Pillar Design FormulasNumerical Models for Longwall Pillar DesignLimitations of The State-Of-The-ArtAbutment Load EstimationCoal Pillar MechanicsGate Entry StabilityYielding Pillar Design The past decade has provided a wealth of practical experience with longwall pillar design. Design formulas developed specifically for longwalls have proven their value in numerous applications. Analytic methods, including

Read More »

Grinding Ball Wear & Breakage by Impact & Abrasion Tests

Table of ContentsDescription of the Grinding BallsHeat treatmentsMicrostructureExperimental ProcedureBall-on-ball repeated impact testPin-on-drum abrasive wear testResultsSteel balls – repeated impact testsSteel balls abrasionAlloyed white cast iron ballsRecommendationsSummary Impact and abrasion properties of various commercial US grinding balls were evaluated and compared by the Bureau of Mines, US Department of the Interior. Laboratory tests were conducted on balls obtained from eight major

Read More »

Leaching Supergene Copper Ore – Atacamite & Chrysocolla

Table of ContentsMethodsExperimentalAnalyticalLeaching Atacamite MineralizationAtacamite in Asarco – Freeport DepositAcid consumption independent of acid concentrationLeaching Chrysocolla MineralizationChrysocolla mineralization from Casa GrandeAcid consumption in the chrysocolla experimentsDiscussion and conclusions The US Bureau of Mines is conducting core leaching experiments with sulfuric acid on oxide copper ores from the Cyprus Casa Grande and Asarco-Freeport Santa Cruz deposit in Arizona to further the

Read More »

Conveyor Belt Capacity Modelling

Since changing the capacity of operating systems can be very expensive, it is important that mining engineers have accurate capacity design tools. Although many modeling approaches have been proposed in the literature, simulation models are widely regarded as providing the most detailed and flexible design approach. Over the last three decades, a number of discrete-event simulation models have been developed

Read More »

Column Leach Test Procedure & Variables

Table of ContentsAmount of sulfuric acid in the cure solutionParticle SizeFlowrateLeach solution’s Acid StrengthCure TechniqueLift heightColumn Testing A hydrometallurgical testing program to define the basic criteria, like recovery and sulfuric acid consumption, for a commercial heap leach system design, to process the oxide Copper (Chrysocola). Leach parameters such as, amount of sulfuric acid in the cure solution, cure technique, particle

Read More »

Heap Leach – Ore Permeability Testing Method

The test method developed to determine the permeability of ore under increased confining pressure was modified from the Bureau of Reclamation test standard, Designation E-14 (Bureau of Reclamation, 1974). The test apparatus consists of a 12 inch diameter steel cylinder, bottom porous stone, base plate with a drain, porous top plate, reaction frame, and a loading device. A sketch of

Read More »

Water Hyacinth Roots & Water Purification

In the environmental treatment field, if the water hyacinth root is to be considered as a viable treatment method for metal-bearing waste streams, sorption data and the corresponding isotherm parameters must be generated and made available to the scientific and engineering communities. The maximum sorption uptake value is an important feature of the sorbent characterizing its performance at high residual

Read More »