Abstract: An ironing board 1 having a permeable ironing surface 5 mounted on a body 3. The body 3 has one or more ports 54 through which fluid may be driven to cause the fluid to flow through the permeable surface 5. The body 3 also has a means for modifying the flow of fluid through selected regions of the surface 5. The means for modifying the flow of fluid may be one or more fans which are capable of sucking fluid from the body interior or blowing fluid into the body interior. The permeable surface may be a steel mesh surface with holes of different cross-sectional area.

Abstract: A method for recovering base metal values from oxide ore is provided, where the ore includes a first group metal selected from nickel, cobalt and copper. The method includes reducing ore particle size to suit the latter unit operation, favoring contact for the metal elements, contacting the ore with ferric or ferrous chloride, hydrated or anhydrous, to produce a mix of ore and iron (II or III) chloride subjecting the mixture of the ore and ferric or ferrous chloride to enough energy to decompose the chlorides into hydrochloric acid and a iron oxides from the second group, forming their respective chlorides, selectively dissolve the produced base metal chlorides, leaving the metal as oxides and in the solid state, and recovering the dissolved base metal values from aqueous solution.

Abstract: A process for the inhibition of particulate emission during friction of heat-treated iron ore pellets includes the following steps: a) removal of heat-treated iron ore pellets at a temperature of 200° C.; and b) spraying of an alcohol by-product on pellets. The use of an alcohol by-product as an inhibitor of particulate emission is further described, with the alcohol by-product being sprayed on heat-treated iron ore pellets, which can partially or completely replace water during the handling, stacking, loading, and unloading of materials such as pellets, granules, fines, and other products from iron ore and other minerals. This process significantly reduces the emission of particulates in an operational area.

Abstract: Aspects of the present invention refers to a process for production of nickel carbonate including preparing a magnesium salt solution, contacting the solution with a stream of gaseous CO2, keeping pH between 4 and 10 and temperature between 0 and 100° C., during up to 5 hours to produce a first mixture, contacting the first mixture with a nickel sulphate solution to produce a second mixture, performing a separation of liquid and solid portions of the second mixture, and feeding the magnesium salt solution with the liquid portion. This process recycles the reagent used for producing nickel carbonate and yields a final product that is easy to handle and transport.

Abstract: An ironing board (1) having a board member (3) connected to a support structure (5). The ironing board (1) also has a base (7) for supporting the ironing board (1) on a surface and adjustment means (9) which permits the position of the support structure (5) relative to the base (7) to be adjusted to enable the height of the board member (3) to be adjusted relative to the surface. The base (7) may have a first leg (42) formed by a pair of substantially parallel elongate tubes (40) and a second leg (46) formed by a single elongate member (46) which is pivotally connected to the adjustment means (9). The board member (3) may be made from two sections (11, 13) that are pivotally connected to one another to permit the board member (3) to be folded.

Abstract: The present invention refers to a direct purification process of a nickel laterite leaching effluent including adjusting a pH of a leaching solution, employing an ion exchange resin to adsorb nickel and copper selectively over ferric or ferrous iron, and recovering nickel.

Abstract: Aspects of the present invention refer to a MHP process do produce rough ferro-nickel product and that may include the steps of mixing nickel hydroxide with an iron source and slagging agents, putting the mixture in contact with a reducing agent producing a ferronickel alloy, and producing a roasted product that has disseminated ferronickel alloy inside the structure.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method of removing organic chemicals and organometallic complexes (organic heavy metal complexes) using zeolites from process water or tailings streams of a mineral processing plant where diethylenetriamine (DETA) or triethylenetetramine (TETA) is used as a flotation reagent and DETA-metal complexes are found in process water or tailings streams. The process water or slurry tailings streams of a mineral processing plant containing DETA, DETA-metal complexes and residual heavy metals may be contacted with natural zeolites. This may be carried out by adding the natural zeolites to the process streams or slurries while mixing with a mechanical mixer to efficiently adsorb DETA, DETA-metal complexes and heavy metals from the process streams on the zeolite. The loaded zeolite may then be discarded with the flotation tailings.

Abstract: Aspects of this invention include a reclaimer machine for reclaiming and homogenizing materials such as ore, coal and others, stock-piled in yards. The reclaimer machine may include a bucket wheel having a series of buckets rotating around a shaft, a conveyor belt connected to the bucket wheel and to a transfer chute, the conveyor belt being supported by a mobile upper platform that moves laterally to a pile on tracks attached to a mobile lower platform, wherein a first end of the conveyor belt structure may be connected to the bucket wheel and another end of the conveyor belt structure may be connected to a counterweight which maintains the balance of the reclaimer machine and supports the bucket wheel, upper platform and lower platform movements.

Abstract: A method for recovering base metal values from oxide ore is provided, where the ore includes a first group metal selected from iron, magnesium and aluminum and a second group metal selected from nickel, cobalt and copper. The method includes reducing ore particle size to suit the latter unit operations, favoring contact of the metal elements, contacting the ore with ferric or ferrous chloride, hydrated or anhydrous, to produce a mix of ore and iron(II or III) chloride, subjecting the mixture of the ore and ferric or ferrous chloride to enough energy to decompose the chlorides into hydrochloric acid and a iron oxide, contacting the readily-formed hydrochloric acid with the base metal oxides from the second group, forming their respective chlorides, selectively dissolve the produced base metal chlorides, leaving the metals as oxides and in the solid state, and recovering the dissolved base metal values from aqueous solution.

Abstract: It is described a manganese pellet production from non-calcinated manganese ore, comprising the following phases: (a) ore size preparation through ore classification by function of particle size, smaller or equal to 1 mm particles being maintained from the ore particle fraction process so as to have a smaller or equal to 1 mm size, as well as the comminution of these particles; (b) flux addition; (c) agglomerant addition; (d) pelletizing resulting in crude pellets; and (e) thermal processing through crude pellet drying, pre-heating and heating.

Abstract: Device for eliminating oversize pellets from balling disks, includes a plow-like tool defined by a series of cylindrical rods that are coplanar and parallel to each other and incorporated into a horizontal plate, whose medial portion incorporates a vertical tubular arm that protrudes vertically and upwards to pass axially through and be selectively and adjustably attached to a vertical sleeve that is incorporated in a distal portion of an extensible arm, which composes a trussed structure that is adjacently attached to a balling disk and protrudes over its area of operation.

Abstract: A process for producing a purified nickel hydroxide precipitate from a nickel-containing leach solution with impurities including one or more of the following: manganese, copper, zinc, iron and/or cobalt, so that the purified nickel hydroxide is suitable for pelletization with iron-containing ores and/or stainless steel production, includes treating the leach solution with a base to form a slurry of mixed hydroxide precipitate and low-nickel barren solution, thickening the slurry to form filter cake, washing the filter cake and contacting it with acid to dissolve nickel and other metals to produce a concentrated nickel-containing solution, subjecting the concentrated nickel-containing solution to solvent extraction with an organic acid extractant to remove metals other than nickel from the nickel-containing solution and form a solvent extraction raffinate of purified nickel solution and treating the solvent extraction raffinate with a base to precipitate the purified nickel hydroxide precipitate.

Abstract: A metal plate (100) for a dual plate check valve comprises a substantially circular segment shaped plate member (1) of a predetermined substantially uniform thickness, a means (2) for pivotally mounting said plate member to enable rotation about an axis substantially parallel and adjacent to chord (3) of said circular segment of the plate member, said plate member (1) having a central portion and two extreme end portions (4) distal to said central portion, whereby said end portions are provided with reinforcements (5, 5?), thereby increasing the thickness of the plate member in the end portions, the reinforcements being so located that when the plate member of the check valve is in closed position, the end portions with reinforcements are in radially outward direction from the valve seat of the check valve, when back pressure acts on said plate member, said reinforcements enable said plate member to distort substantially uniformly to maintain sealing contact with the valve seat.

Abstract: A connecting member for connecting a plurality of frame elements. The connecting member has a core section having a width and two supporting members for supporting frame elements extending in different directions from the connecting member. The connecting member has at least one additional member for supporting a further frame element. The or each additional supporting member is pivotally connected to the core section and moveable between a first position in which the additional supporting member lies within the width of the core section and a second position in which a frame element supported by the additional support will extend in a direction generally perpendicular to a frame element supported by a supporting element of the core section.

Abstract: A clothes airer with a number of pairs of pivotally connected pairs of frames 1. The pairs of frames are pivotally connected to each other at their free ends and to legs 5. One frame of each pair is pivotally connected to one or more legs 5 and the other is pivotally connected to one or more fittings 7 slidably mounted on respective legs 5.

Abstract: A process for recovering metals such as Ni, Co, Mn, Cu, Zn, among others, through precipitation as sulphides, enabling recovery of magnesium in the form of hydroxide, carbonate and oxide and providing recovery of sulphate as gypsum and ammonium sulphate. Liquid phase, after full treatment, comprises recovered water with a quality proper for total reuse in industrial process. This process of liquid and solid effluent treatment is provided with flexibility to process several types of effluents presenting wide variations in their chemical composition.

Abstract: A simplified and enhanced process to produce thermofertiliser obtained from potassium and phosphorous-bearing minerals is provided, where these elements may or may not be in citric acid or insoluble in water. The process also includes the use of specific additives, at the beginning of the process or immediately before the beginning of the thermal treatment step, in order to increase the potassium and phosphorous contents in the product and the overall efficiency of the process and also to promote the production of a high quality thermofertiliser.

Abstract: An ore fine agglomerate to be used in a sintering process is disclosed, wherein the ore fine agglomerate is formed by a mixture of ore fine particles and an agglomerating agent, and wherein the particles have diameters between 0.01 mm and 8.0 mm. A production process of ore fines agglomerate is disclosed comprising the steps of using ore fine particles with a granulometry lower than 0.150 mm, mixing the ore fine particles with an agglomerating agent in a ratio of 0.5 to 5.0% by mass of sodium silicate, forming wet particles with diameters between 0.01 mm and 8.0 mm with an addition of water, and drying the wet particles at a temperature varying from 100° C. and 150° C. to form dry particles that are resistant to mechanical efforts and the elements.