SX Solvent Extraction Process Principles Theory
An increasing demand for metals in general, and higher purity metals in particular, decreasing ore grades and more stringent environmental regulations have driven, and will continue to drive, research into finding more effective and efficient methods for processing the ores available to us, and recycling previously used metals. Hydrometallurgy has provided, and will continue to […]
Metallic Copper: Quick Silver & Gold Assay Method
Under the above title it is desired to bring to the attention of assayers a short-cut method which has been perfected by Mr. A. S. Warren, of Buffalo, and the writer; has been used several years at three “ Lake copper ” refineries in occasional alternation with the regular “ combination,” or “ wet and […]
Mine Timbering
So many emergencies that crop up in mining necessitate a departure from ordinary methods that the writer has been led to illustrate a few of the examples that have come under his notice during a somewhat lengthy career; and as most of the methods illustrated are certainly outside the ordinary, it may be hoped that […]
Klein Jig & Classifier
Concentrating-Machinery has been wonderfully improved during the past few years both in technical efficiency and in economy of power; and, in the writer’s opinion, the prosperity which the mining industry has of late enjoyed is due in large part to this improvement. Many properties are yielding handsome profits at the present time which were considered, […]
Solvent Extraction Plants: Thiele Diagram & Theoretical Design Aspects
It has been explained in an earlier talk that solvent extraction in the copper industry is used to convert impure, and frequently very dilute copper solutions into very pure and concentrated solutions from which pure copper can be extracted by a variety of means, usually electrochemical. These impure solutions emanate from in-situ leaching, dump leaching, […]
Solvent Extraction Process SX: Hydrometallurgical Extraction of Copper
In recent years, the principle and theory behind solvent extraction has gained wide acceptance as one of the new tools of modern hydro-metallurgy. With the growing demand for metals of ever higher purity, the increasing use of unusual metals, and the necessity for treating ores of lower grade and greater complexity, solvent extraction has joined the […]
What Factors Control the Depth of Ore Deposits
When asked to lecture at Bendigo on the geological factors that determine the depths of ore deposits, I hesitated for a little before agreeing to lecture on the theory of deep ores in the city world-famous as the pioneer of deep gold mining. If there be one place, wherein the conditions of deep-seated ore deposits […]
How to Measure & Detect Gold & Silver in Trace Amounts
For a number of years I have, at odd times, tried to perfect a method of assay sufficiently delicate to find and estimate very small/trace quantities of gold and silver. The object in view was to examine rocks remote from veins or mineral areas, in order to test the probability of the lateral-secretion theory. Having succeeded […]
Building a Reverberatory Furnace in Adobe, Stone & Wood
The building of reverberatory furnaces (Fortschaufelungsofen) where ordinary brick, fire-brick and iron are comparatively cheap, is quite a different matter from the building of such furnaces in isolated camps, where proper material is only to be obtained at high cost and with long delays. Time is always a large factor in metallurgical operations, and the […]
Gold Mercury Amalgamation Methods
I was manager of a mining enterprise where the ores were composed principally of iron pyrites (much decomposed), in a quartz matrix, with native gold in very irregular grains. Some portions, however, carried their metallic value in a matrix of calcite and siderite. The mill in which the ores were treated consisted of two 800-lb. stamps, […]