The Bureau of Mines has developed and tested countercurrent fluidized bed, multiple-compartment ion-exchange columns (MCIX) to recover uranium from mine water, clear solutions, and slime slurries. A 14-inch-diameter MCIX absorption column and a 4-inch-diameter fixed-bed upflow elution column were field tested on uranium-bearing mine water at Bingham Canyon, Utah, and Grants, N. Mex. The same … Read more
The United States has almost limitless supplies of magnesium chloride available for the production of magnesium metal in the form of hydrated salts or brines from seawater, wells, and the Great Salt Lake. Anhydrous magnesium chloride has certain advantages for metal production but cannot be made from the hydrate or brines by simple drying. In … Read more
One of the goals of the Bureau of Mines is to insure that an adequate supply of minerals is available to meet national, economic, and strategic needs. To help reach this goal, the Bureau is conducting research to advance minerals processing technology, which includes investigations for recovering metals from complex sulfide ores and concentrates. Marketing … Read more
The present technology for processing copper sulfide ores involves pyro-metallurgical (smelting) and to some degree hydrometallurgical techniques. Although these techniques are efficient and economical, they cause air and water pollution. Environmental concern has led the Bureau of Mines to investigate an anhydrous chlorination technique to extract Cu, Fe, and elemental S from sulfide ore without … Read more
The earliest known specimen of lead, dating from 2000 B.C., is a figurine found near the Dardanelles at the site of the ancient city of Abydos. Since that time, the method for producing lead from its most abundant mineral, galena, has changed very little. Basically, a lead concentrate is mixed with fluxing agents, roasted to … Read more
A kinetic investigation of copper cementation on iron was made to study the effects of deposited copper on the reaction rate. Both the copper deposit attached to the iron and slurried copper particles were considered. The revolving-drum reactor used in this study allowed some of the copper to remain attached to the iron and provided … Read more
Domestically produced primary lead is won from lead sulfide concentrates by a smelting process consisting of sintering, blast furnace reduction with carbon and refining. Unfortunately, this pyrometallurgical practice creates gaseous sulfur oxides and particulate lead, which must be controlled to prevent air pollution. For some smelters, meeting environmental regulations requires production curtailment at times, and … Read more
Most copper is produced from chalcopyrite concentrates by smelting. While smelting is both simple and efficient, it converts the sulfur in the feed concentrate to sulfur dioxide. To meet the ambient standards for this pollutant, as established by the Clean Air Act, the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established a goal for smelters to … Read more
The widespread occurrence of manganese in low grade oxide and carbonate ores not amenable to mechanical concentration has led to extensive investigations of hydrometallurgical methods for producing a pure manganese compound suitable for further treatment. Manganese carbonate is the preferable compound. This product when fully crystalline and of not too fine crystal size is easily … Read more
Electrowinning is defined as the cathodic deposition of metal, in this example copper, from a copper bearing solution by the passage of an electric current current using an insoluble anode. For copper the electrowinning reaction reaction is: CuSO4 + H2O ⇒ Cu + ½O2 + H2SO4 The overall reaction is the combination of two electrochemical … Read more