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This book summarizes recent, key research on the characterization of iron ores, including important topics such as beneficiation (separation and refining), agglomeration (e.g., production of pellets or powders), blast furnace technology for smelting, and environmental issues relating to its production. The text is an ideal reference on the topic during a time when iron ore production has increased significantly, driven by increasing demand from countries such as India and China.

This book chronicles the development of metals as both an industrial activity and a science. Progress involving structural metals made possible the air, land, sea, and space travel of today, skyscrapers reaching over 100 stories high, and many other engineering accomplishments that continue to shape modern society. Readers will embark on a fascinating journey through the evolution of metals and metallurgy from the beginning of iron production in colonial times with the first iron plant in 1645 to the prevailing metals of the 21st century. Author wrote more than 40 articles for ASM International's Advanced Materials & Processes magazine, including a monthly series entitled \"Metallurgy Lane,\" which became the basis for this book.

Identification of anomalous geological structures is crucial for ensuring safe and high-efficiency mining and preventing geological disasters in iron mines. This study proposes a multi-geophysical prospecting approach that integrates the Transient Electromagnetic Method (TEM) and True Reflection Tomography (TRT) technologies for advanced exploration of anomalous geological structures, taking the Songhu Iron Mine project as an example. Initially, four typical spatial combination patterns of anomalous geological structures were proposed at the Songhu Iron Mine. Then, the interpretation characteristics of TEM for faults and karst caves were summarized from seven underground engineering projects. The interpretation characteristics of TRT for the water-rich zone, water-bearing fractured zone, fault fracture zone, and iron ore vein boundary were summarized by four underground engineering projects. Moreover, a multi-geophysical prospecting workflow utilizing TEM and TRT was developed for advanced geological forecasting in transportation and cross–ore vein tunnels. Further, the interpretation characteristics of TEM and TRT for the above four typical anomalous geological structures were summarized. Finally, a case application of advanced geological forecasting in the Songhu Iron Mine demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed geological forecasting method. This study provides a practical and effective framework for identifying anomalous geological structures in iron mines and similar mining projects.

Oxidation of iron-rich rock is known to generate H2 in oceanic as well as in continental domains. Here we tested the possibility of H2 generation as the result of weathering of banded iron formations (BIF). The BIF constitute more than 60% of global iron ore reserves with low Fe3+/Fetot and total Fe ranging from 20 to 40 wt% and are therefore good candidates for H2 production potential. In the vicinity of BIF-hosted iron mines in Australia, Brazil and South Africa, satellite imaging has revealed the presence of sub-circular depressions that usually are the proxy of H2-emitting features. A morphological comparison of the sub-circular depressions with the ones observed in previous studies point to probable H2 seeping in these areas. In parallel, a petrological study conducted on altered and fresh BIF samples from the Hamersley Province in Western Australia also suggests H2 generation during BIF weathering. Indeed, mineral transitions from ferrous silicate (riebeckite and/or minnesotaite) to ferric iron oxi-hydroxides (goethite) or from ferrous and ferric oxides (magnetite) to exclusively ferric oxides (maghemite, hematite, goethite) were observed on the samples. The oxidation of ferrous iron by aqueous fluids circulating through and leaching the BIF is promising for H2 generation. The BIF weathering profile suggests that the limiting factor is the presence of water, and that this reaction is happening at, or near, surface temperature. This challenges the idea that high temperatures are required to generate H2 as it is the case during the serpentinization. The link between BIF and H2 will have however to be further investigated to better constrain the reactions and their kinetics.

The main goal of open pit mines is to create adequate rock breakage whilst reducing adverse outcomes like flyrock, ground vibration, and back break. Of these, back break (BB) is a serious consequence of blasting in open pit mines, as it frequently diminishes economic advantages and has a negative impact on mines’ safety. As a result, accurate BB prediction is critical for design of mine blast and other production operations. In this study, grey wolf optimizer (GWO) and random forest (RF) algorithms were implemented to predict BB. 61 categories of collected data from A and B mines of Sangan iron ore complex, Iran, were considered. Seven effective parameters on BB, i.e., the ratio of row spacing to burden (S/B), blasthole length (L), specific drilling (SD), sub-drilling (U), specific charge (P), stemming (T), and average charge in each blast-hole (Q) and their corresponding BB values were measured. To implement the suggested methods, in the first stage, 48 data sets were utilized as training phase data and remaining data sets were considered as test phase data. Then, the coefficient of determination parameter (R 2 ) was employed for the training and testing data to evaluate the efficiency of the suggested models. The precision of the GWO and RF algorithms was further evaluated in comparison to multiple linear regression (MLR) analysis. The coefficient of determination values for the GWO, RF, and MLR for the training phase were 0.922, 0.948, and 0.643 respectively, while for the testing phase were 0.959, 0.966, and 0.733 indicating that both of the artificial intelligence approaches, GWO and RF, are more efficient than the MLR. Also, the calculated values of VAF and RMSE indicators reveal the GWO and RF algorithms can accurately predict BB values. Finally, the sensitivity analysis performed on the input parameters showed that the average charge in each blasthole (Q) has the greatest impact and specific drilling (SD) has the least impact on BB.

Open-cast iron mining causes drastic disturbances in soil properties. Recovery of soil chemical and physical properties is essential for successful revegetation and landscape rehabilitation. To identify changes in soil properties during the mining and revegetation process, soil samples were collected from undisturbed sites represented by forest and ferriferous savannas stocking above iron outcrops, called “ cangas ,” in open-pit benches, and in rehabilitation chronosequences of iron waste piles in the Carajás Mineral Province (CMP), Eastern Amazon, Brazil. The samples were analyzed for chemical and physical properties. Our results showed that iron mining operations resulted in significant alteration of the chemical soil properties when forest and canga vegetation are suppressed to form open-pit benches or waste piles in the CMP. Mining substrates showed lower contents of soil organic matter (SOM) and nutrients than undisturbed areas of forests and cangas . In order to achieve the success of revegetation, nutrients have been added prior to plant establishment. We have demonstrated how soil fertility changes along with mineland rehabilitation, and the variation among chronosequence was attributable mainly due to contents of SOM, K, and B in the soil. The slight improvement of SOM found in rehabilitated waste piles reinforces the notion that recovery of soil quality can be a slow process in iron minelands in the CMP.

Mine activities leaked heavy metals into surrounding soil and may affected indigenous microbial communities. In the present study, the diversity and composition of the bacterial community in soil collected from three regions which have different pollution degree, heavy pollution, moderate pollution, and non-pollution, within the catchment of Chao River in Beijing City, were compared using the Illumina MiSeq sequencing technique. Rarefaction results showed that the polluted area had significant higher bacterial alpha diversity than those from unpolluted area. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that microbial communities in the polluted areas had significant differences compared with the unpolluted area. Moreover, PCA at phylum level and Matastats results demonstrated that communities in locations shared similar phyla diversity, indicating that the bacterial community changes under metal pollution were not reflected on phyla structure. At genus level, the relative abundance of dominant genera changed in sites with degrees of pollution. Genera Bradyrhizobium , Rhodanobacter , Reyranella , and Rhizomicrobium significantly decreased with increasing pollution degree, and their dominance decreased, whereas several genera (e.g., Steroidobacter , Massilia , Arthrobacter , Flavisolibacter , and Roseiflexus ) increased and became new dominant genera in the heavily metal-polluted area. The potential resistant bacteria, found within the genera of Thiobacillus , Pseudomonas , Arthrobacter , Microcoleus , Leptolyngbya , and Rhodobacter , are less than 2.0 % in the indigenous bacterial communities, which play an important role in soil ecosystem. This effort to profile the background diversity may set the first stage for better understanding the mechanism underlying the community structure changes under in situ mild heavy metal pollution.

On November 5, 2015, after the collapse of the Fundão tailings dam, a massive amount of iron mine waste was released into the Doce River system in southeast Brazil. The aim of our study was to determine the mass fractions of potentially toxic elements in soil affected by the deposition of material by the waste wave. A preliminary screening was performed with portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (PXRF) and principal component analysis (PCA). The EPA 3050B method was further applied to digest the samples for quantitative determination of As, Ba, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, V, and Zn by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. PCA was useful to classify the mine waste samples based on the Fe signal from the PXRF spectra, in spite of the heterogeneous nature of the material discharged into the Doce River system. The anomalous levels of As (up to 164 mg kg −1 ) and Mn (as high as 2410 mg kg −1 ) found in some mine waste and affected soil samples are within the background ranges typically observed in the soils of the Iron Quadrangle region. The toxicity characteristic leaching procedure shows no evidence of hazards regarding As, but a high natural background level of Mn was found in the mobile fraction. This preliminary environmental assessment highlights the importance of evaluation of long-term effects on soil directly impacted, as well as on the aquatic biota of the Doce River system and adjacent coastal environment given the large affected area, which includes regions with varying background levels of toxic elements.

Environmental contamination by iron mine tailings occurs worldwide; however, the growth of cultivated tree species in different stages of ecological succession in such areas is not well understood. Over 80 days, with data collected every 20 days, the morphophysiology of three tree species in different stages of ecological succession (Schinus terebinthifolius, pioneer; Cedrela fissilis, secondary; and Cariniana estrellensis, climax) was investigated in a growth room. These were subjected to iron mine tailings from the Fundão Dam (Mariana-MG, Brazil), with the addition of either soil or vermicompost (2%) as an amendment. S. terebinthifolius and C. fissilis had higher quantities of dry matter, exhibited more changes in shoot and root morphology, as well as less variations in chlorophyll a fluorescence, indicating tolerance to the mine tailings. However, C. estrellensis was highly susceptible to these tailings. The pioneer species were more tolerant to mine tailings, suggesting their potential use as an excellent tool for the recovery of contaminated areas. The secondary species were also tolerant to mine tailings, although to a lesser extent. The climax species were found to be more sensitive to the tailings, but field establishment can differ when succession is already in place. The vermicompost showed great potential as an amendment, thereby reducing the bioavailability of Fe and Mn and favoring the growth of S. terebinthifolius and C. fissilis.

The complexity of goafs put forward higher requirements for detection methods. A comprehensive detection method for old goaf is proposed, that is, determining the plane distribution range of old goaf by using high-precision magnetic method, determining the horizon of old goaf by using natural source surface wave method and controlled source audio magneto telluric method, and modifying the geophysical exploration results by using engineering drilling. Taking the old goaf of Dunqiu iron mine of China as an engineering background, the comprehensive detection method is successfully applied. The plane areas of goaf formed by mining of No. 1–3 orebody groups are 8640.6 m 2 , 4992.5 m 2 and 6740.4 m 2 respectively. The goaf can be divided into pure goaf and backfill goaf, which is 1–7 layers, 30.2–115.0 m buried depth, and 1.6–271.3 m mining thickness. A 3D geological model is constructed for displaying the situation of goaf visually. The goaf volumes of No. 1–3 orebody groups are 159,187.13 m 3 , 125,604.57 m 3 and 174,435.28 m 3 respectively. The stability of old goaf is evaluated by using two methods: influence depth of critical load and depth-thickness ratio of goaf, which is poor and has a risk of collapse. The detection method and results have certain guiding significance for the detection and treatment of old goaf in iron mine.