Infrared thermography for prediction of spontaneous combustion of sulfide ores

The method of infrared thermography to predict the temperature of the sulfide ores has a large error. To solve this problem, the temperature of the sulfide ores is measured by thermal infrared imager and recording thermometric instrument contrastively. The main factors, including emissivity, distance, angle and dust concentration that affect the temperature measurement precision, are analyzed. The regression equations about the individual factors and comprehensive factors are obtained by analyzing test data. The application of the regression equations improves the precision of the thermal infrared imager. The geometric information lost in traditional infrared thermometry is determined by visualization grid method and interpolation method, the relationship between the infrared imager and geometry information is established. The geometry location can be measured exactly.

Self-heating tendency evaluation of sulfide ores based on nonlinear multi-parameters fusion

In order to reveal the nonlinear dynamics characteristics of unsteady self-heating process of sulfide ores, nine different kinds of sulfide ore samples from a pyrite mine in China were taken as experimental materials and their self-heating characteristics were measured in laboratory. Furthermore, the measured temperature was studied by integrating wavelet transform, nonlinear characteristic parameters extraction and fuzzy comprehensive evaluation. The results indicate that only the ore samples 1, 2, 6 and 9 have obvious self-heating phenomenon, and their self-heating initiative temperatures are 220 ℃, 239 ℃, 220 ℃ and 220 ℃, respectively, which means that they are difficult to produce self-heating under normal mining conditions. The correlation dimension of self-heating process is fraction and the maximum Lyapunov exponent is positive, which means that it is feasible to study the self-heating process based on chaotic dynamics theory. The nonlinearities of self-heating process of these four samples （ore samples 1, 2, 6 and 9） are 0.8227, 0.7521, 0.9401 and 0.8827 respectively and the order of the samples according to these results is： sample 6, sample 9, sample 1, sample 2, which is consistent with the measured results of self-heating characteristics. Therefore, the nonlinearity method can be used to evaluate the self-heating tendency of sulfide ores, and it is an effective verification of the reliability of measured results.

Bioleaching of low-grade copper sulfide ores by Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans and Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans

The grown conditions of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans and Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans were investigated,and then experiments were conducted to research the bioleaching behaviors of crude ore of copper sulfide and hand-picked concentrates of chalcopyrite by Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans and Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans.The experimental results show that the bacteria grow best when the temperature is(30±1) °C and the pH value is 2.0.The bacteria concentration is 2.24×107 mL-1 in this condition.It is found that the copper extraction yield is affected by the inoculum size and the pulp density and the extraction yield increases as the inoculum size grows.The bioleaching rates reach their highest point in sulfide copper and chalcopyrite with a pulp density of 5% and 10%,respectively.Column flotation experiments of low-grade copper sulfide ores show that the bioleaching recovery reaches nearly 45% after 75 days.

Locating method of fire source for spontaneous combustion of sulfide ores

in order to achieve a more efficient way to accurately detect the position of the fire source of spontaneous combustion underground mine, a simple fire source locating method, based on infrared scanning system which can determine the point where the highest temperature on the surface of igniting ores occurs, was proposed. First, the differential equations that describe heat flow in ore body were presented and the relationship between the surface temperature distribution and the depth and intensity of inner fire source was established with a relatively simple heat transfer model. With the solution of equation, the expression of the relationship between the surface temperature distribution and the inner fire source was deduced and the mathematical-physical model of heat transfer process was set up. Then, with the model, visualization of fire source on the basis of MATLAB simulation platform was realized. The results show that： 1） within 10 m, when the detecting depth is less than 2 m, the temperature perturbation on ores surface can change rapidly, and then slowly; after 4 m, in contrast, it changes very little, and is even close to zero at 10 m; 2） When it is close to self-ignition duration and the detective depths are 2, 5 and 10 m, respectively, the maximum temperature differences are correspondingly 0.5, 0.04 and 0.005 ℃ in the scope of 1 m×1 m; under the same condition, the maximum temperature differences are 1.391, 0.136 and 0.018 ℃, respectively, in the scope of 2 m×2 m. Therefore, this system can be used to measure the temperature differences on the surface of ore body and determine the highest temperature point directly. Also, it is possible to determine the depth of fire source and its intensity by locating method of fire source indirectly.

Investigation of chemical suppressants for inactivation of sulfideores

In order to investigate the effective control method of sp ontaneous com bustion in the mining of sulfide ore deposits. This paper presents the testing r esults of several selected chemicals (water glass, calcium chloride, calcium oxi de, magnesium oxide and their composites) as oxidation suppressants for sulfide ores. A weight increment scaling method was used to measure suppressant performa nce, and this method proved to be accurate, simple and convenient. Based on a large number of experiments, the test results show that four types of chemical mixtures demonstrate a good performance in reducing the oxidation rate of seven active sulfide ore samples by up to 27% to 100% during an initial 76 d period. T he mixtures of water glass mixed with calcium chloride and magnesium oxide mixed with calcium chloride can also act as fire suppressants when used with fire spr inkling systems.

Bioleaching of complex polymetallic sulfide ores by mixed culture

Bacterial leaching of single sulfide minerals and polymetallic sulfide ores was operated in shake flasks and small-scaled columns.The results show that bioleaching of jamesonite is not accessible,the iron extraction rate of pyrrhotite bioleaching reaches 98.2% after 26 d,and the zinc extraction rate of marmatite bioleaching reaches 92.3%,while the corresponding iron extraction reaches only 13.6% after 29 d.Pulp density has a significant effect on metal extraction of pyrrhotite and marmatite bioleaching.The corresponding metal extraction rate decreases with the increase of pulp density.For the polymetallic sulfide ores,zinc extraction of 97.1% is achieved after bioleaching in shake flasks for 10 d,while only 7.8% is obtained after bioleaching in small-scaled column.Analytical results of scanning electron microscopy(SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis(EDX) reveal that large amount of calcium sulfate is formed on the mineral surface.

Spontaneous combustion tendency of fresh and pre-oxidized sulfide ores

Three representative sulfide ore samples were collected from typical metal mines,and their corresponding pre-oxidized products were obtained under nature environment.The thermal behaviors of each sample at heating rates of 5,10,15 and 20 °C/min in air flow from ambient temperature to 800 °C were studied by simultaneous thermal analysis and the TG/DSC curves before and after the pre-oxidation were compared.By the peak temperature of DTG curves,the whole reaction process for each sample was divided into different stages,and the apparent activation energies were calculated by the Ozawa-Flynn-Wall method.The results show that the reaction process of each sample after pre-oxidation is more complex,with quicker reaction rates,fewer heat production quantities,and higher or lower ignition-points.The apparent activation energies decrease from 364.017-474.228 kJ/mol to 244.523- 333.161 kJ/mol.Therefore,sulfide ores are more susceptible to spontaneous combustion after the pre-oxidation.

Coupling of anionic wetting agents to dust of sulfide ores by dropping liquid method

By using the experimental approach of dropping liquid, the coupling of three anionic wetting agents with ten dust samples of sulfide ores was studied, and particularly the wetting effects of the wetting agents on the sulfide dust influenced by factors of agent concentration and sulfate additive in the wetting agent solutions were investigated. The results show that when the solution temperature is about 20 ℃, all the selected wetting agents are effective to most dust samples, but the effect is different. Wetting agents are more effective to the dust which is difficult to be wetted. Wetting agent solution with sodium sulfate can improve the wetting ability of sulfide dust. For sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate, the suitable concentration of sodium sulfate is 12 mmol/L. The cost of wetting agents can be reduced because the sodium sulfate is much cheaper than many surfactants. Since the dust of sulfide ores is composed of various minerals and elements, the whole effect of depressing dust should be considered while innovating a wetting agent.

Nonlinear characteristics of induced spontaneous combustion process of sulfide ores

To investigate the relationship between nonlinear parameters and spontaneous combustion tendency of sulfide ores, nine different sulfide ore samples were taken from a pyrite mine in China, and induced spontaneous combustion experiment was carried out in the laboratory. Different stages of the induced spontaneous combustion process were studied by integrating wavelet technology and nonlinear dynamics theory. The results show that ignition points of all the ore samples are above 330 ℃, indicating that sulfide ores of the pyrite mine are difficult to combust spontaneously under normal mining conditions. Spontaneous combustion process includes three stages： incubation stage, development stage and approaching stage. The average temperature rising rate of the three stages are 1.0 ~C/min, 2.0 ~C/min and 4.2 ~C/min, respectively. During the spontaneous combustion process, mean values of approximate entropy and correlation dimension increase at first, and then decrease in the following stage. The mean value of the maximum Lyapunov exponent increases with the passage of reaction time. In a whole, correlation among the three nonlinear parameters firstly weakens, then enhances, and the best correlation period is at approaching stage. As ignition point increases, the maximum Lyapunov exponent of approaching stage decreases. Therefore, combustible tendency of sulfide ores could be qualitatively evaluated based on the maximum Lyapunov exponent of this stage.

Enhanced copper recovery from low grade copper sulfide ores through bioleaching using residues produced by fermentation of agricultural wastes

Effects of residues produced by agricultural wastes fermentation(AWF)on low grade copper sulfide ores bioleaching,copper recovery,and microbial community were investigated.The results indicated that adding appropriate bulk of AWF made contributions to low grade copper sulfide ores bioleaching,which may be mainly realized through reducing the passivation layer formed by Fe3+hydrolysis.Improved copper recovery(78.35%)and bacteria concentration(9.56×10^(7)cells·mL^(−1))were yielded in the presence of 5 g·L^(−1)AWF.The result of 16S rDNA analysis demonstrated that microbial community was differentiated by adding AWF.Bacteria proportion,such as Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans,Moraxella osloensis,and Lactobacillus acetotolerans changed distinctly.Great difference between samples was showed according to beta diversity index,and the maximum value reached 0.375.Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans accounted for the highest proportion throughout the bioleaching process,and that of sample in the presence of 5 g·L^(−) AWF reached 28.63%.The results should show reference to application of agricultural wastes and low grade copper sulfide ores.

Test of oxidation behavior of sulfide ores at ambient temperature for fire control

The coincidence of relevant factors, e.g. oxygen absorption quantity, weight increment, water soluble iron ions and sulfate ion of sulfide ore samples in the oxidation process, was tested through experiment. Based on a large number of tests for a group sample of sulfide ores from a mine, some important conclusions were obtained. The results obtained by the investigation indicate that there is no general interpretation relative to the oxygen absorption and the formation products of sulfate ion and water soluble iron ions during the oxidation process of sulfide ores at ambient temperature. However, the weight increment of the sulfide ore samples in the oxidation process at ambient temperature has a linear relationship with the auantitv of oxvaen absorption.

Development in selective flotation of galena from lead-zinc-iron sulfide ores in China

A new technique for the flotation separation of lead zinc iron sulfide ores has been developed and applied to several mills in China. It is characterized by the matching of relationships among pulp pH, pulp potential, flotation collector inside grinding mill. The flotation separation of galena and sphalerite has been accomplished without the addition of any conventional depressant of sphalerite such as zinc sulphate. Lime is used as a regulator and stabilizer of pulp pH and potential. Diethyldithiocarbamate (DDTC), not xanthate, is determined as a collector for the selective flotation of galena from the Pb Zn Fe sulfide ores. The laboratory scale tests, the plant scale tests and the plant operations have all shown that the best separation results can be achieved at pH of 12.4～12.6, the pulp potential of 160～180 mV. The operation practice in the four plants has confirmed that compared with conventional flotation flowsheet, our new technology can greatly improve the flotation results, reduce the flotation time and the number of flotation cell, and increase the stability of operation and the adaptability to changes in ore properties. All these advantages have made this four plants more profitable.

Leaching of nickel-molybdenum sulfide ore in membrane biological reactor

The bioleaching of molybdenum from its sulfide ore using a Mo-resistant thermophilic bacterium sulfolobus metallics combined with a membrane biological reactor（MBR） was studied.The experimental results showed that the concentration of Mo can be controlled by filter of the membrane in MBR and the toxicity of Mo to microorganism is decreased in the process of bioleaching.It was also evidenced that there were different leaching rates of Ni and Mo when the concentration of Mo was different.After leaching for 20 d in the MBR at Mo concentration of 395 mg/L,the leaching rates of Ni and Mo reached the maximum of 79.57% and 56.23% respectively under the conditions of 100 g/L of mineral density,65 ℃,pH=2 and 1.0 L/min of the aeration rate.While 75.59% Ni and 54.33% Mo were leached out in column without membrane under the same conditions.

REE Geochemistry of Sulfides from the Huize Zn-Pb Ore Field, Yunnan Province: Implication for the Sources of Ore-forming Metals

REE abundances in sulfides from the Huize Zn-Pb ore field were determined with the ICPMS after preconcentration. The REE abundances in 26 sulfide samples （including pyrite, galena and sphalerite） are very low, with the ~REE ranging from 1.6×10^-9 to 166.8×10^-9. Their LREE/HREE ratios range from 7.6 to 98, showing LREE enrichment relatively. The JEu values are below 1, indicating that they were deposited from an Eu-depleted and reducing fluid-system. Similar to the ore-hosting carbonate strata, calcite separates from carbonate veinlets filling in the fractures or faults crosscutting the carbonate strata also show clear Eu-depletion. This indicates that the carbonate veinlets and their parent fluid was possibly sourced from the strata and inherited the REE geochemical features of the strata. Therefore, REE-geochemical characteristics of both the sulfides and calcites, which were deposited from an ore-forming hydrothermal system, are similar to those of carbonate strata, and strongly suggest that the ore metals were mainly sourced from carbonate strata.

Ore Genesis of the Kalatongke Cu-Ni Sulfide Deposits, Western China: Constraints from Volatile Chemical and Carbon Isotopic Compositions

The Kalatongke Cu-Ni sulfide deposits located in the East Junggar terrane, northern Xinjiang, western China are the largest magmatic sulfide deposits in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt （CAOB）. The chemical and carbon isotopic compositions of the volatiles trapped in olivine, pyroxene and sulfide mineral separates were analyzed by vacuum stepwise-heating mass spectrometry. The results show that the released volatiles are concentrated at three temperature intervals of 200-400°C, 400-900°C and 900-1200°C. The released volatiles from silicate mineral separates at 400-900°C and 900-1200°C have similar chemical and carbon isotopic compositions, which are mainly composed of H2O （av. ~92 mol%） with minor H2, CO2, H2S and SO2, and they are likely associated with the ore-forming magmatic volatiles. Light δ13CCO2 values （from -20.86‰ to -12.85‰） of pyroxene indicate crustal contamination occurred prior to or synchronous with pyroxene crystallization of mantlederived ore-forming magma. The elevated contents of H2 and H2O in the olivine and pyroxene suggest a deep mantle-originated ore-forming volatile mixed with aqueous volatiles from recycled subducted slab. High contents of CO2 in the ore-forming magma volatiles led to an increase in oxygen fugacity, and thereby reduced the solubility of sulfur in the magma, then triggered sulfur saturation followed by sulfide melt segregation; CO2 contents correlated with Cu contents in the whole rocks suggest that a supercritical state of CO2 in the ore-forming magma system under high temperature and pressure conditions might play a key role in the assemblage of huge Cu and Ni elements. The volatiles released from constituent minerals of intrusion 1# have more CO2 and SO2 oxidized gases, higher CO2/CH4 and SO2/H2S ratios and lighter δ13CCO2 than those of intrusions 2# and 3#. This combination suggests that the higher oxidation state of the volatiles in intrusion 1# than intrusions 2# and 3#, which could be one of key ore-forming factors for large amounts of ores and high contents of Cu and Ni in intrusion 1#. The volatiles released at 200-400°C are dominated by H2O with minor CO2, N2＋CO and SO2, with δ13CCO2 values （-25.66‰ to -22.98‰） within the crustal ranges, and are considered to be related to secondary tectonic-hydrothermal activities.

Evaluation of spontaneous combustion tendency of sulfide ore heap based on nonlinear parameters

To explore a new evaluation method for spontaneous combustion tendency of different areas in sulfide ore heap, ore samples from a pyrite mine in China were taken as experimental materials, and the temperature variations of the measuring points of simulated ore heap were measured. Combined with wavelet transform and nonlinear parameters extraction, a new method for spontaneous combustion tendency of different areas in sulfide ore heap based on nonlinear parameters was proposed and its reliability was verified by field test. The results indicate that temperature field evolution of the simulated ore heap presents significant spatial difference during self-heating process. Area with the maximum increasing extent of temperature in sulfide ore heap changes notably with the proceeding of self-heating reaction. Self-heating of sulfide ore heap is a chaotic evolution process, which means that it is feasible to evaluate spontaneous combustion tendency of different areas by nonlinear analysis method. There is a relatively strong correlation between the maximum Lyapunov exponent and spontaneous combustion tendency with the correlation coefficient of 0.9792. Furthermore, the sort of the maximum Lyapunov exponent is consistent with that of spontaneous combustion tendency. Therefore, spontaneous combustion tendency of different areas in sulfide ore heap can be evaluated by means of the maximum Lyapunov exponent method.

Mechanism of Mg2+ dissolution from olivine and serpentine: Implication for bioleaching of high-magnesium nickel sulfide ore at elevated pH

To inhibit the dissolution of Mg^2+ during the bioleaching process of high-magnesium nickel sulfide ore, the effect of major bioleaching factors on the dissolution of Mg^2+ from olivine and serpentine was investigated and kinetics studies were carried out. The results indicated that the dissolution rate-controlling steps are chemical reaction for olivine and internal diffusion for serpentine. The most influential factor on the dissolution of Mg^2+ from olivine and serpentine was temperature, followed by p H and particle size. A novel method of bioleaching at elevated pH was used in the bioleaching of Jinchuan ore. The results showed that elevated pH could significantly reduce the dissolution of Mg^2+ and acid consumption along with slightly influencing the leaching efficiencies of nickel and cobalt. A model was used to explain the leaching behaviors of high-magnesium nickel sulfide ore in different bioleaching systems. The model suggested that olivine will be depleted eventually, whereas serpentine will remain because of the difference in the rate-controlling steps. Bioleaching at elevated pH is a suitable method for treating high-magnesium nickel sulfide ores.

Bioleaching of low-grade copper sulfide ore by extremely thermoacidophilic consortia at 70℃in column reactors

The effects of introducing M.sedula derivatives having different Cu^2+-resistance on bioleaching capacity of a defined consortium(consisting of A.brierleyi DSM1651 and M.hakonensis HO1-1)were studied in column reactors at 70℃.Introducing M.sedula copA mutant,a copper sensitive derivative,only had negligible effects on bioleaching.While introducing M.sedula ARS50-2,a Cu^2+resistant strain,substantially consolidated bioleaching process,with 27.77%more copper recovered after 58 d of bioleaching.Addition of M.sedula ARS50-2 likely enhanced the sulfur oxidation capacity of consortium after the 24th day under the Cu^2+stress.The majority of extreme thermoacidophiles were attached on minerals surface as indicated by quantitative PCR(qPCR)data.Successions of microbial community of extremely thermoacidophilic consortia that attached on surface of minerals were different from those in leachate.M.hakonensis HO1-1 was the dominant species attached on minerals surface in each column reactor throughout bioleaching process.The sessile M.sedula ARS50-2 remained as a major species till the 34th day.A.brierleyi DSM1651 was the most abundant planktonic species in leachate of each column reactor.These results highlight that higher Cu^2+-resistance is a beneficial trait for extreme thermoacidophiles to process copper minerals.

Acid equilibrium during bioleaching of alkaline low-grade sulfide copper ore

This article reports the study on acid equilibrium during bioleaching of alkaline low-grade copper sulfide ore. Adding auxiliary agents 1# （sulfur） and 2# （pyrite） makes bacterial leaching of copper and acid production carried out simultaneously because the auxiliary agents can be oxidized by bacteria and the oxidation products involve acid. The acid required for dissolving alkaline gangue during bacterial leaching is produced, and acid equilibrium is reached during the ore bio-leaching. The recovery of copper reaches more than 95%.

Co-extraction of valuable metals and kinetics analysis in chlorination process of low-grade nickel-copper sulfide ore

To efficiently co-extract Ni and Cu from low-grade nickel-copper sulfide ore,chlorination roasting with NH;Cl followed by a water leaching process was investigated.The results show that 98.4%Ni and 98.5%Cu can be synchronously extracted when the ore particle size is 75-80μm,the roasting time is 2 h,the mass ratio of NH;Cl to ore is 1.6:1 and the roasting temperature is 550°C.The evolution behavior of various minerals was elucidated using X-ray diffraction(XRD)coupled with scanning electron microscopy(SEM).The kinetics of the chlorination process based on the differential thermal and thermogravimetric analysis(DTA-TG)data was analyzed by Kissinger method and Flynn-Wall-Ozawa(FWO)method.The chlorination process of low-grade nickel-copper sulfide ore mainly contains two stages:the decomposition of NH;Cl and the chlorination of ore.The maximum apparent activation energies(Ea)at two stages are determined to be 114.8 and 144.6 kJ/mol,respectively.The condensed product of exhaust gas is determined to be ammonium chloride,which can be recycled as the reactant again,making the process economic and clean.