Successful Commissioning Research Articles

Biooxidation of arsenopyrite concentrate using BIOX® process: Industrial experience in Tamboraque, Peru

The Tamboraque Plant is located in the mining district of Viso-Aruri, approximately 90 km east of Lima, Peru, at an altitude of 3000 m above sea level. In 1980 the previous owners of the mine and processing plant, Minera Lizandro Proaño S.A. (MLPSA), initiated an investigation into the available technologies for the recovery of refractory gold from old tailings. The Coricancha mine is a polymetallic ore deposit and lead and zinc concentrates can be produced by flotation. The zinc flotation tailings can be treated further by differential flotation to produce an arsenopyrite concentrate containing the bulk of the gold. The “TAMBORAQUE” project involved the expansion of the ore treatment capacity of the plant from 200 to 600 ton/day. The expansion also involved the installation of a separate flotation section for the zinc tailings and a BIOX® and CIL plant for the treatment of the arsenopyrite concentrate. The first phase of the project involved the installation of a flotation and BIOX® plant for the treatment of an existing zinc flotation tailings dump accumulated over the years. The second phase involved the expansion of the capacity of the existing plant to treat fresh ore from the mine. Initial batch tests indicated that the arsenopyrite concentrate could be treated successfully using biooxidation. A 50 kg/day biooxidation pilot plant was commissioned in Lima, using a native bacterial culture isolated from acid mine drainage from the Coricancha mine. MLPSA operated the pilot plant successfully for 20 months. At this stage MLPSA contacted Gencor (now Gold Fields Limited) for assistance in the optimization of the process. The continuous testwork indicated that 90% gold recovery can be achieved after only 80% sulfide oxidation. A licence agreement was concluded between MLPSA and Gencor in 1995 for the use of the BIOX® technology at the Tamboraque plant. As part of the agreement, Gencor carried out the process design of the biooxidation plant. Continuous plant operation commenced at the end of August 1998 after successful commissioning of the plant. The feed rate through the plant was, however, below the design due to concentrate shortages. The plant reached the design capacity during 2002, achieving 85% gold recovery on a bulk pyrite and arsenopyrite concentrate produced from fresh ore from the mine. The mining and metallurgical activities were, however, shut down in October 2002 due to financial and mining related problems.

Successful Experimental Verification of the Tokamak Exhaust Processing Concept of ITER with the CAPER Facility

One of the design targets for the Tokamak Exhaust Processing (TEP) system of ITER is not to lose more than 10-5gh-1 into the Normal Vent Detritiation system of the Tritium Plant. The plasma exhaust gas therefore needs to be processed in a way that a tritium removal efficiency of about 108 with respect to the flow rate is achieved. Expressed in terms of tritium concentrations this corresponds to a decontamination from about 130 gm-3 down to about 10-4 gm-3 (about 1 Cim-3 = 3.7*1010 Bqm-3). The three step reference process for the TEP system of ITER is called CAPER and has been developed and realized at the Tritium Laboratory Karlsruhe (TLK). After the successful commissioning of the PERMCAT reactor as the key component of the third step detailed parametric tritium testing of the 3 steps involving the processing of more than 300 g tritium has been carried out and decontamination factors beyond the design requirements have been demonstrated for each process step and for the process as a whole. Not only the decontamination factor of 108 as required by ITER, but also the operational mode of TEP as a waste dump for gases from diverse sources has been experimentally validated with the CAPER facility.

Coulomb excitation of neutron-rich beams at REX-ISOLDE

After the successful commissioning of the radioactive beam experiment at ISOLDE (REX-ISOLDE) --an accelerator for exotic nuclei produced by ISOLDE-- in 2002 and the promotion to a CERN user facility in 2003, first physics experiments using these beams were performed. Initial experiments focused on the region of deformation in the vicinity of the neutron-rich Na and Mg isotopes. Preliminary results on the neutron-rich Na and Mg isotopes show the high potential and physics opportunities offered by the exotic isotope accelerator REX in conjunction with the modern Germanium γ spectrometer MINIBALL.

Developing an Outcome-based Multidisciplinary Care Planning Tool

Multidisciplinary care planning is required for patients in acute care settings. A task force was charged by the Vice President of Patient Care to develop and implement a multidisciplinary care planning tool. This article outlines the process used and includes examples of the tool and outcomes to date. This major change project resulted in the development of a successful tool, a successful Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organization survey, and new opportunities for outcome-based care planning.

The neutron-rich Mg isotopes: first results from MINIBALL at REX-ISOLDE

After the successful commissioning of the Radioactive beam EXperiment (REX) at ISOLDE (CERN) in 2002, first physics experiments were performed in 2003 which focussed on the neutron-rich Mg isotopes in the vicinity of the “island of inversion”. After introducing the REX facility and the modern γ spectrometer MINIBALL first preliminary results will be presented showing the high potential and physics opportunities offered by this new radioactive beam facility.

Test and Commissioning of 82.6 GHz ECRH system on SST-1

Electron Cyclotron Resonance Heating (ECRH) system will play an important role in plasma formation, heating and current drive in the Superconducting Steady state Tokamak (SST-1). Commissioning activity of the machine has been initiated. Many of the sub-systems have been prepared for the first plasma discharge. A radial and a top port have been allotted for low field side (LFS) and high field side (HFS) launch of O and X- modes in the plasma.The system is based on a gyrotron source operating at a frequency of 82.6±0.1GHz (GLGD-82.6/0.2) and capable of delivering 0.2 MW / 1000s with 17% duty cycle. The transmission line consisting of ∼15 meters length 63.5mm corrugated wave guide, DC break, wave guide switch, mitre bend, polariser, bellows that terminates with a vacuum barrier CVD window. A beam launching system used to steer the microwave beam in the plasma volume is connected between the end of the transmission line and the tokamak radial and top ports. A VME based real time data acquisition and control (DAC) system is used for monitoring, acquisition and control. Hard-wired interlock operates a rail-gap based crowbar system in less than 10µs under any fault condition. Burn patterns are recorded at various stages in the transmission line. The gyrotron is tested for ∼200 kW / 1000s operation on a water dummy load. Transmission line is tested at various power levels for long pulse operation. The paper highlights the experimental results of successful commissioning of the system.

The RHIC Detectors

This section describes both: successful commissioning of RHIC and the state of the art RHIC accelerator physics tools/applications. The commissioning provided collisions of the fully stripped gold ions at a beam energy of 65 GeV/nucleon in all four experiments “STAR”, “PHENIX”, “PHOBOS”, and “BRAHMS”. They collected more than 3μb−1 of data. Measurements of betatron and dispersion functions have shown excellent agreement with predictions. Diagnostic results from tune-meter, wall current monitor, chromaticity, decoupling measurements, ionization beam profile monitor, Schottky monitors, etc. are shown. Progress towards stable gold ion beam stores with optimized luminosity is described [Proceedings of the HEACC2001 The 18th International Conference On High Energy Accelerators, March 26–30, 2001, Tsukuba, Japan, March, 2001]. Few major commissioning challenges are described first. The most important results, from some of the RHIC systems, are shown in the next section. In the following section bringing beams from two separate “blue” and “yellow” rings into collisions and measurements during long beam stores are described. In the summary part necessary steps and commissioning of additional systems during the next RHIC-2001 run are mentioned.

First results on in-beam γ spectroscopy of neutron-rich Na and Mg isotopes at REX-ISOLDE

After the successful commissioning of the radioactive beam experiment at ISOLDE (REX-ISOLDE) - an accelerator for exotic nuclei produced by ISOLDE - first physics experiments using these beams were performed. Initial experiments focused on the region of deformation in the vicinity of the neutron-rich Na and Mg isotopes. Preliminary results show the high potential and physics opportunities offered by the exotic isotope accelerator REX in conjunction with the modern Germanium gamma spectrometer MINIBALL.

Government Study Commissions and County Home Rule

Most of the state action on county home rule occurred in the 1970s and most of the 149 charters were adopted in the 1970s. Although there is still interest in home rule, it is largely confined to a few states and specific counties. In Pennsylvania there are six county home rule charters, and five of the six were approved in the 1970s. Only home rule for Allegheny County has been approved since then. Allegheny County's success came in 1998 after two unsuccessful efforts in the 1970s. This article is a study of Allegheny County's efforts to obtain home rule focusing on the charter writing process. The author contends that the charter writing phase has a major impact on whether the change effort is successful. He applies a framework to study this phase of the home rule effort. The framework consists of three models to categorize members by their orientation on the kinds of changes they seek. In addition to the models that are used to categorize members by their change preferences, a typology is applied to categorize members by their motivations and personal agendas to aid in explaining their behavior and voting on charter provisions. How the government study commission is chosen has an impact on the type of charter recommended and ultimately on the success of the change effort. Two of the charter commissions were elected, and the successful commission was appointed. A different model dominated each commission. The author concludes that an appointed commission and state parameters on the type of charter that could be recommended to the voters were major factors in the success of the change effort.

The RHIC Detectors

This section describes both: successful commissioning of RHIC and the state of the art RHIC accelerator physics tools/applications. The commissioning provided collisions of the fully stripped gold ions at a beam energy of 65 GeV/nucleon in all four experiments “STAR”, “PHENIX”, “PHOBOS”, and “BRAHMS”. They collected more than 3μb−1 of data. Measurements of betatron and dispersion functions have shown excellent agreement with predictions. Diagnostic results from tune-meter, wall current monitor, chromaticity, decoupling measurements, ionization beam profile monitor, Schottky monitors, etc. are shown. Progress towards stable gold ion beam stores with optimized luminosity is described [Proceedings of the HEACC2001 The 18th International Conference On High Energy Accelerators, March 26–30, 2001, Tsukuba, Japan, March, 2001]. Few major commissioning challenges are described first. The most important results, from some of the RHIC systems, are shown in the next section. In the following section bringing beams from two separate “blue” and “yellow” rings into collisions and measurements during long beam stores are described. In the summary part necessary steps and commissioning of additional systems during the next RHIC-2001 run are mentioned.

Government Study Commissions and County Home Rule

Abstract Most of the state action on county home rule occurred in the 1970s and most of the 149 charters were adopted in the 1970s. Although there is still interest in home rule, it is largely confined to a few states and specific counties. In Pennsylvania there are six county home rule charters, and five of the six were approved in the 1970s. Only home rule for Allegheny County has been approved since then. Allegheny County's success came in 1998 after two unsuccessful efforts in the 1970s. This article is a study of Allegheny County's efforts to obtain home rule focusing on the charter writing process. The author contends that the charter writing phase has a major impact on whether the change effort is successful. He applies a framework to study this phase of the home rule effort. The framework consists of three models to categorize members by their orientation on the kinds of changes they seek. In addition to the models that are used to categorize members by their change preferences, a typology is applied to categorize members by their motivations and personal agendas to aid in explaining their behavior and voting on charter provisions. How the government study commission is chosen has an impact on the type of charter recommended and ultimately on the success of the change effort. Two of the charter commissions were elected, and the successful commission was appointed. A different model dominated each commission. The author concludes that an appointed commission and state parameters on the type of charter that could be recommended to the voters were major factors in the success of the change effort.

Victims as the Heart of the Matter: The South African Amnesty Process as Promised in Practice

The South African amnesty process, and the truth and reconciliation commission of which it is a part, has been hailed as one of the most innovative and successful commissions to address a history of gross violations of human rights in a transitional society. This paper begins to look at the accomplishments of the amnesty process from the perspective of victims - those who suffered violations of their fundamental rights at the hands of those individuals who applied for amnesty. In particular it looks at the treatment, role, and perspectives of victims as reflected in the 921 amnesty decisions published to date, and in selective transcripts of amnesty hearings.

Modern Techniques in Galaxy Kinematics: CDI and the Planetary Nebula Spectrograph

We report here the successful commissioning of the PN.Spectrograph, the first special-purpose instrument for the measurement of galaxy kinematics through the PN population.

Commissioning results and applications

This section describes both: successful commissioning of RHIC and the state of the art RHIC accelerator physics tools/applications. The commissioning provided collisions of the fully stripped gold ions at a beam energy of 65 GeV/nucleon in all four experiments “STAR”, “PHENIX”, “PHOBOS”, and “BRAHMS”. They collected more than 3 μb −1 of data. Measurements of betatron and dispersion functions have shown excellent agreement with predictions. Diagnostic results from tune-meter, wall current monitor, chromaticity, decoupling measurements, ionization beam profile monitor, Schottky monitors, etc. are shown. Progress towards stable gold ion beam stores with optimized luminosity is described [Proceedings of the HEACC2001 The 18th International Conference On High Energy Accelerators, March 26–30, 2001, Tsukuba, Japan, March, 2001]. Few major commissioning challenges are described first. The most important results, from some of the RHIC systems, are shown in the next section. In the following section bringing beams from two separate “blue” and “yellow” rings into collisions and measurements during long beam stores are described. In the summary part necessary steps and commissioning of additional systems during the next RHIC-2001 run are mentioned.

Andrew Marvell ‘in want of money’: The Evidence in John Farrington v. Mary Marvell

'The legend of Marvell's poverty' - to borrow a phrase from a recent essay by Annabel Patterson and Martin Dzelzainis - underpins his reputation as an incorruptible defender of liberty.1 That underpinning is illustrated by the tale told in 1726 by Marvell's editor, Thomas Cooke, of the attempt by Charles II, through his Lord Treasurer Danby, to compromise Marvell's independence by offering him, first, a place at court and, when that had been declined, one thousand pounds. After Danby had left, so Cooke's story goes, Marvell had to send out to borrow a guinea.2 A later elaboration, recounted by Augustine Birrell from a 'pamphlet printed in Ireland (1754)', even has Marvell asking his servant, in Danby's presence, what he has for dinner and being told that it is the broiled blade-bone from yesterday's shoulder of mutton.3 The legend obviously invites a degree of scepticism. Given what we know about Marvell's liking for secrecy, it is easy to believe that, if he had been a wealthy man or just comfortably off, he would have taken care to conceal the fact. This conjecture, in the absence of evidence either way, seems just as plausible as that of his poverty. However, recently discovered documents in the Public Record Office, in particular a deposition sworn by the bookseller Nathaniel Ponder, establish beyond much doubt that Marvell was genuinely poor.The deposition is one of five that were taken in the course of Chancery proceedings brought by John Farrington, as administrator of the personal estate of Edward Nelthorpe, against the administrators of Marvell's estate, Mary Marvell and John Greene. The case, Farrington v. Marvell, is the main action in a cluster of Chancery proceedings which were discovered by Fred S. Tupper and used by him in his attempt to show that Mary Marvell, otherwise known as Mary Palmer, was not as she claimed the widow of Andrew Marvell. Tupper argued that the Chancery proceedings demonstrated that she had been an accomplice of John Farrington's who at first helped him to get control of Edward Nelthorpe's assets but later fell out with him and tried to claim some of those assets for herself.4 The documents that Tupper discussed were the pleadings (bills of complaint and answers) and orders made in these proceedings. He not find the depositions, that is to say, the evidence of the witnesses produced and examined on behalf of the parties.5Farrington, the complainant in the main action, and Nelthorpe, whose estate he was administering, had been two of four partners who carried on the business of merchant bankers under the name Richard Thompson & Company. The partners were declared bankrupt in 1676. Because official bankruptcy records are sparse for the period before 1710, we are forced to rely for most of our information about the collapse on the self-serving account published by the partners themselves (or some of them).6 In this, they defend themselves against accusations of having concealed their assets and account books and allege that they had paid out £60,000 before the initial meeting with their creditors and another £50,000 afterwards. They blame the intransigence of a minority of creditors for the failure to reach an agreement on the distribution of their assets, claiming that this minority had procured the appointment of three successive commissions in bankruptcy against the partners, not being satisfied as to the rigour with which the original commission and its successor had pursued the partners.7At the time of his death, on 18 September 1678, Nelthorpe had been living in hiding in Great Russell Street, in a house held on a short lease in the name of Mary Palmer, the woman who would become Marvell's administratrix under the name Mary Marvell. She later said that Marvell had requested her to take the house on lease in about June 1677, saying that a friend of his would come to stay with them there. The friend, who turned out to be Nelthorpe, would pay the rent and housekeeping expenses and give her £10 a year in addition 'for her Trouble' (C6/242/13). …

Spin physics program at RHIC: the first polarized-proton collider

Polarized pp collisions at high energy will provide a unique opportunity to study the spin structure of the nucleon and the symmetries in nature. The physics program with polarized beams at RHIC is overviewed with the expected sensitivities and the successful commissioning of the first polarized proton beam at RHIC is reported.

Spin physics program at RHIC: The first polarized-proton collider

Abstract Polarized pp collisions at high energy will provide a unique opportunity to study the spin structure of the nucleon and the symmetries in nature. The physics program with polarized beams at RHIC is overviewed with the expected sensitivities and the successful commissioning of the first polarized proton beam at RHIC is reported.

Beam current feedback regulation of the RF neutral beam sources of ASDEX Upgrade

This paper reports on the technical implementation and the successful commissioning of the beam current feedback regulation system of the RF neutral beam sources for ASDEX Upgrade. The beam current is regulated by adjusting the RF input power. This is possible due to the fast response of the beam current to changes of the RF input power within a few milliseconds. With beam current feedback regulation, perveanced-matched operation of the sources can be maintained throughout the pulse, thereby increasing the beam quality and the source reliability.

Progress and plans for MAST plasma control

The initial control system for the Mega-Amp Spherical Tokamak (MAST) was assembled from existing analogue hardware modules to ensure a low-risk design. It has been used in the successful commissioning of the machine to plasma currents of over 1MA and pulse lengths of greater than 0.5 s. To aid in its design and evaluation, a SIMULINK model of the control system was developed and combined with a model of the MAST vessel, coils and all poloidal power systems. This is a useful tool for modelling the vacuum field for various start-up scenarios. It has also proved useful for validating the initial set-up of the control system, and having configured the feedback gains by simulation, no further changes were required for actual commissioning, which was completed rapidly. This present control system meets the requirements of the early physics programme of MAST, but later programmes will require more advanced control scenarios. For these requirements, a digital control system is planned as an upgrade.

High energy neutrino astronomy: first light

We review: 1. The compelling case for doing neutrino astronomy, 2. Why we anticipate that we need kilometer-scale observatories to do the science, 3. The recent successful commissioning of the Lake Baikal and South Pole neutrino detectors.