Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract This paper presents the results of a petrographic and geochronological investigation of the Furquim Quartzite (FQ) to establish its stratigraphic correlation to quartzitic units of the Quadrilátero Ferrífero (QF) province. The Quartzite comprises a ca. 20km long and 1-6km wide ridge overlying discordantly the Archean to Paleoproterozoic gneissic basement and rocks of the Archean Rio das Velhas Supergroup between the city Mariana and the town Furquim, southeast of the QF. Despite the discordant contacts, previous field-based stratigraphic studies considered the Furquim Quartzite as part of the Archean Maquiné Group – top unit of the Rio das Velhas Supergroup. U-Pb zircon geochronology via LA-ICP-MS identified several detrital populations ranging from Paleoproterozoic to Archean age. The youngest population of 2087±19 Ma defines the maximum age for the sedimentation of the precursor sandstone. This age can be correlated to be the age of the youngest zircon population of the Itacolomi Group quartzites in the QF. Thus, in contrast to previous studies, the results indicate that the FQ is an eastern extension of the Itacolomi Group, the youngest unit of the Paleoproterozoic Minas Supergroup.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract Important spodumene-rich pegmatites have been mined by CBL (Companhia Brasileira de Lítio, Brazilian Lithium Co.) at the Cachoeira mine (northeastern Minas Gerais state) since the 1990's. In this deposit, black platy crystals resembling columbitetantalite are also found; they were analyzed by electronic microprobe as part of the first author's master's degree dissertation. The Cachoeira pegmatite group comprises several spodumene-rich bodies that consist of pertitic microcline, spodumene (on average 23vol%), albite, quartz and muscovite, totalizing more than 95% of the bodies' volume. Analyses on 27 samples of supposedly Nb-tantalates showed a high variation of Ta, Nb and Sn contents, which has been observed inclusive in individual crystals, causing color variation on backscattered electrons images. Surprisingly, analyses on some grains also revealed the presence of ixiolite, a mineral species that has never been described in that region; it is characterized by high SnO2 contents (up to ~16wt%). Columbite-(Fe) phase represents 42% of total Nb-tantalates analyzed samples, tantalite-( Fe) 19%, columbite-(Mn) 3% and ixiolite, 36%. Cassiterite, also observed, shows significant Ta2O5 contents, probably indicating general exsolution processes.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract In cement production, which involves the production of cement clinker in rotary kilns, the main refractories used are magnesia-spinel bricks. These bricks may suffer infiltration by the clinker liquid phase, resulting in the corrosion of the spinel and the formation of low refractoriness mineralogical phases, such as the Q phase (C20A13M3S3), which compromises refractory performance. Thus, the aim of this work is to correlate the infiltration resistance of magnesia-spinel bricks made from different grades of magnesia by clinker collected in three different cement plants (A, B and C). The purity of magnesia, besides its physical properties, strongly influences the properties and the infiltration resistance of magnesia-spinel bricks; as such the use of high grade magnesia is essential for producing high performance refractories.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract In the bauxite flotation process, concentrate grade and tailings grade are key production indicators; however, they are difficult to measure online. It is also difficult to develop an effective mathematical model for the process because of the complex non-linear and uncertain relationship among the feed parameters (feed grade, pulp density, slurry particle size, etc.), froth features and production indicators. Therefore, an online hybrid modeling method is proposed by analyzing the multiple parameters that affect the production indicators. First, according to the correlation and redundancy in the feed and froth feature parameters, the kernel principle component analysis (KPCA) is used to reduce the number of the parameters. Then, a neutral network model of the regular extreme learning machine (RELM), which is based on wavelet function, is presented to predict these two indicators. To improve generalization capability and prediction accuracy, information entropy is used to distribute the weight of the two models based on their predicting error. At last, an on-line updating strategy of the hybrid model is constructed in order to investigate the influence of the working conditions. The proposed method is tested on the diasporic-bauxite flotation process and shows high predictive accuracy and generalization capability. It lays the foundation for optimal control of the operation parameters based on mineral grade in the flotation process.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract This paper presents results or the analysis of process variables for separating light REE and heavy REE, in chloride media, by solvent extraction. DEHPAIsoparaffin was used as the extraction system and the liquor was produced in the laboratory by dissolving REE oxides in HCl to simulate leaching liquor originating from monazitic ores after cerium removal. The following parameters were determined: pH of work, extractant concentration, reaction time, and number of extraction stages. A continuous extraction circuit was operated and its behavior was similar to that shown by batch extraction tests.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract This study evaluated the influence of plastic deformation during hot strip rolling in the size of TiN precipitates in an industrial Ti microalloyed dual phase steel. TiN is usually used for pinning austenitic grain boundaries during recrystallization and its efficiency depends on factors such as size of the precipitates and Ti precipitated fraction. During the slab reheating process, there occurs a partial dissolution of TiN precipitates that subsequently reprecipitates during the hot rolling process. However, this reprecipitation preferentially takes place at crystalline defects which act as nucleation sites. These sites increase with the amount of applied plastic deformation, resulting in smaller precipitates, due to the partial dissolution of larger particles or due to reprecipitation in the nucleation sites. Results indicate a reduction of about 28 % in the average size of the precipitates for samples extracted from hot bands (with deformation) and, therefore, a significant reduction in austenitic grain size, when compared with samples extracted from slabs (with no deformation).

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract A common technique in hard rock tunneling, and underground excavation in general, is drilling and blasting. This method of excavation assumes that damage will be done to the surrounding rock mass depending on its quality. Herein is a proposal for how to estimate blast-damaged zone extent and shape, and how to quantify rock mass properties in this zone. Comparison was made, using FEM, between models with and without blast-damaged zone consideration through analyzing its impact on the support load. Results showed greater support loads in the case of blast-damaged zone modeling. Also, comparison was made between the proposed method for blastdamaged zone quantification and quantification using blast damage factor D. Results showed that in both cases, the support loads are in same magnitude order. In other words, compared to the blast damage factor D method, the proposed is more objective and makes it possible to describe the blasting process before it is actually done.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract This paper shows the work conducted at the Experimental Mine of the Research Center of Responsible Mining of the University of São Paulo, taking into account the theoretical issues presented in the first part of the article. The research was performed without changing the production cycle and without resorting to investments in new types of equipment: it has attempted to increase the productivity of the quarry, by lowering production costs and improving the quality of the product. Some Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) were established to monitor the results. A new blast design method, a more appropriate initiation sequence and some simple, inexpensive and effective solutions were identified and applied. The results show that the proper selection of delay timing can be of significant benefit to downstream processes as well as enhanced fragmentation itself.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract Silicates (rhodonite, tephroite, spessartine) and the carbonate (rhodochrosite) of manganese are of economic interest in silicate-carbonated manganese ores. The recovery of both mineral classes by flotation constitutes a challenge; rhodochrosite is a slightly soluble mineral that can release Mn2+ ions in pulp. In this work, the effects of inorganic and organic depressants on the cationic flotation at pH 10 with ether amine acetate and the surface charges of rhodonite and rhodochrosite have been investigated. For rhodonite, the influence of Mn2+ species on its recovery and surface charge at the conditions of maximum yield with amine has also been investigated. The organic depressants, especially the corn starch, were more effective depressants for both minerals. The poor recovery of rhodonite conditioned with MnCl2 is probably related to the colloidal Mn(OH)2 deposition on mineral surface. The increase in the rhodochrosite recovery with increasing water glass content is probably related to its negative value of species adsorbed on the mineral surface, since the rhodochrosite zeta potential, conditioned with this reagent, becomes more negative compared with the mineral without reagent, which attracts the ether ammonium.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract Some mineral deposits show mineralization along layers. These layers may pass through several subsequent geological events such as folding and/or severe erosional processes. Grades within these deposits tend to be correlated along orientations where the mineralization was originally deposited or along the same geological period (stratigraphic level). Consequently, some locations close to each other in terms of geographical coordinates can show uncorrelated grades. Spatial continuity analysis can also be affected by error inflicted by combining samples from different stratigraphic levels. This article uses the coordinate transformation (unfolding) to align the grades measured along the same stratigraphic level. The modification in coordinates improved the spatial continuity modeling and the grade estimates at non-sampled locations. The results showed that the mean of the relative error between the estimated value and the real value of the samples using unfolding is -0.10%. However, when using the original coordinates, the mean of the relative error is -0.65%. Furthermore, the correlation between the real and estimated value using crossvalidation is greater using stratigraphic coordinates. A complete case study in a manganese deposit illustrates the methodology.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract In the search for opportunities to decrease operational costs in iron ore mining, waste disposal by conveyor belt has been considered as an alternative. In this work, this form of waste dump is investigated by means of the construction of a test pile and the assessment of geotechnical characteristics such as shear strength and in situ densities. Results were compared with two other dumps built by the traditional methods of bench and layer. The overall conclusion of this research shows that densities are 10% lower and shear strengths measured by a penetrometer are ten times lower in comparison with the other dumps. Therefore, a good understanding of this method and a thorough discussion of the project parameters are suggested before construction.