Industrial Ore Research Articles

Modelling and Control of a Pilotplant Rotary Drier Used for Drying of Industrial Ore Concentrates

In order to improve the product quality and decrease the energy consumption of industrial rotary driers processing mineral con-centrates, modelling and control of a pilot rotary drier is used in a co-operative industrial project. This project also includes a survey of modelling principles of drying processes and of the applicable and available instrumentation. For these purposes a simulation model for a pilot rotary drier is developed and used as the basis of design the practical computer control strategy, which will then be tested in the project by using industrial mineral concentrates. The paper deals with the first stages and results of the project.

Iron Ore: From Depletion to Abundance

Following World War II, Americans feared their iron ore supplies were depleted. The steel industry attempted to increase supplies by exploring foreign countries for new, high-grade hematite ores and experimenting with technology that upgraded low-grade domestic taconite ores into acceptable, but apparently uneconomical, pellets. Government did little at first, but the Korean War renewed fears of domestic resource exhaustion. Congress quickly enacted loan guarantees, rapid tax write-offs, and other tax policies that helped commercialize taconite pellets for national defense. These policies lingered long after the Korean War ended. Other policies bolstering taconite were enacted on the state level well after taconite had replaced hematite as industry's ore of choice. Understanding how government policies helped to develop pelletized lean iron ore may help in thinking about current policy suggestions aimed at easing our energy crisis or other mineral shortages. For taconite, too much government help came too late.

Application of the Emission Spectrograph to the Analytical Needs of the Industrial Hygiene Laboratory

Abstract Examples of unique applications of the principles of emission spectroscopy to industrial hygiene problems are provided. A discussion of qualitative, semiquantitative and quantitative methods of spectrographic analysis is presented. These methods include representative applications which are made for the analysis of the metallic constituents of body tissues and fluids from human and animal subjects, industrial process materials, ores, and environmental dusts and fumes. Brief descriptions of sample preparation techniques required for successful analyses are also presented.

Principles of classification of industrial uranium ores

Principles are proposed for the classification of industrial uranium ores according to the criteria by which they are processed: nature of the uranium mineralization, composition of the lode, uranium content, the presence of concomitant precious components, and according to their textural and structural characteristics. Practical application of the proposed classifications will greatly facilitate the technological evaluation of uranium ores and their processing.