• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.209-218
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• 2003

Ecosystems in the Keweenaw Peninsula region of Lake Superior, USA, were disturbed by over 500 million tons of copper-rich mine tailings during the period 1850-1968. Metals leaching from these mine residues have had dramatic effects on the ecosystems. Vast acreages of exposed tailings that are over 100 years old remain unvegetated because of the combination of metal toxicity, absence of nutrients, and temperature and water stress. Therefore, it is important to characterize and fractionate solid copper phases for assessing labile forms of copper in soils and sediments contaminated by the mining wastes. X-ray diffraction analyses indicate that calcite, quartz, hematite, orthoclase, and sanidine minerals are present as major minerals, whereas cuprite,tenorite, malachite, and chalcopyrite might be present as copper minerals in the mining wastes. Sequential extraction technique revealed that carbonate and oxide fractions were the largest pools of copper (ca. 50-80%) in lakeshore and wetland stamp sands whereas the organic matter fraction was the largest reservoir (ca. 32%) in the lake sediments. The concentrations of iron and copper were inversely correlated in the oxide fraction suggesting that copper may occur as a surface coating on iron oxides. As particle size and water contents decrease, the percent of the copper bound to the labile carbonate fraction increases.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.26 no.9
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• pp.1013-1021
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• 2017

Exposure to Diesel Particulate Matter (DPM) potentially causes adverse health effects (e.g. respiratory symptoms, lung cancer). Due to a lack of data on Elemental Carbon (EC) exposure levels in underground copper ore mining (unlike other underground mining industries such as non-metallic and coal mining), this case study aims to provide individual miners' EC exposure levels, and information on their work practices including use of personal protective equipment. EC measurement was carried out during different work activities (i.e. drilling, driving a loader, plant fitting, plant operation, driving a Specialized Mining Vehicle (SMV)) as per NIOSH Method 5040. The copper miners were working 10 h/day and 5 days/week. This study found that the most significant exposures to EC were reported from driving a loader (range $0.02-0.42mg/m^3$). Even though there were control systems (i.e. water tanks and DPM filters) on the diesel vehicles, around 49.5% of the results were over the adjusted recommendable exposure limit ($0.078mg/m^3$). This was probably due to: (1) driver's frequently getting in and out of the diesel vehicles and opening the windows of the diesel vehicles, and (2) inappropriate maintenance of the diesel vehicles and the DPM control systems. The use of the P2 type respirator provided was less than 19.2%. However, there was no significant difference between the day shift results and the night shift results. In order to prevent or minimize exposure to EC in the copper ore mine, it is recommended that the miners are educated in the need to wear the appropriate respirator provided during their work shifts, and to maintain the diesel engine and emission control systems on a regular basis. Consideration should be given to a specific examination of the diesel vehicles' air-conditioning filters and the air ventilation system to control excessive airborne contaminants in the underground copper mine.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.246-256
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• 2021

Mo,Cu-doped CeO₂ (CMCuO) nanopowders were synthesized by the nitrate-fuel combustion method aiming to improve the electrical and electrochemical properties of its Mo-doped CeO₂ (CMO) parent by the addition of copper. An electrical conductivity of ca. 1.22·10^-2 S cm^-1 was measured in air at 800℃ for CMCuO, which is nearly 10 times higher than that reported for CMO. This increase was associated with the inclusion of copper into the crystal lattice of ceria and the presence of Cu and Cu₂O as secondary phases in the CMCuO structure, which also could explain the increase in the charge transfer activities of the CMCuO based anode for the hydrogen and carbon monoxide electro-oxidation processes compared to the CMO based anode. A maximum power density of ca. 120 mW cm^-2 was measured using a CMCuO based anode in a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) with YSZ electrolyte and LSM-YSZ cathode operating at 800℃ with humidified syngas as fuel, which is comparable to the power output reported for other SOFCs with anodes containing copper. An increase in the area specific resistance of the SOFC was observed after ca. 10 hours of operation under cycling open circuit voltage and polarization conditions, which was attributed to the anode delamination caused by the reduction of the Cu₂O secondary phase contained in its microstructure. Therefore, the addition of a more electroactive phase for hydrogen oxidation is suggested to confer long-term stability to the CMCuO based anode.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.245-258
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• 1984

Geoje copper ore deposits are fissure filled copper veins which developed in late Cretaceous pyroclastics, andesite and shale. Mineral paragenesis reveals a division of the hydrothermal mineralization into three stages: Stage I, deposition of pyrite, magnetite, specularite, quartz and chlorite; Stage II, deposition of chalcopyrite, sphalerite, galena, tetrahedrite, aikinite, cosalite, electrum, quartz and chlorite; Stage III, deposition of barren calcite. Filling temperatures of fluid inclusions in quartz of stage I range from 171 to $282^{\circ}C$ whereas fluid inclusions in quartz and sphalerite of stage II range from 213 to $262^{\circ}C$ and from 186 to $301^{\circ}C$ respectively. Salinities of fluid inclusions in quartz of stage I range from 5.2 to 11.2 weight percent equivalent to NaCl. Salinities of fluid inclusions in quartz and sphalerite of stage II range from 6.6 to 10.9 and from 7.1 to 14.4 weight percent equivalent NaCl. Salinities of ore fluid during major mineralization stage in this deposits reveal nearly the same ranges as those of many copper deposits in Koseong copper mining district which located about 30km apart from Geoje mine. But filling temperatures of fluid inclusions formed during major copper mineralization stage in this deposits show slightly lower than those of copper deposits in Koseong copper mining district.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.438-445
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• 2017

Tanzania has abundant copper deposits, but copper-metal extraction remains low there, owing to the lack of suitable copper recovery processes and insufficient funds for developing mining technologies. Accordingly, leaching and solvent extraction methods for the extraction of copper from copper ore were studied with a particular emphasis on developing a simple processing method for small-scale copper mining. Chrysocolla ore was used as the copper-bearing mineral and sulfuric acid was used as the leaching reagent. A maximum copper recovery of 95.1% was obtained when the particles in the sample were smaller than $53{\mu}m$, the concentration of 98%(w/w) sulfuric acid in the leaching solution was 5.0 g/L and the stirring rate was between 60 and 80 rpm. The highest selectivity of $Cu^2+$ in the solvent extraction was obtained using 15% LIX-70 in kerosene. In the pH range from 0.5 to 3.0, the efficiency of $Cu^2+$ extraction increased with increasing pH. However, at pH values higher than 3.0, other metal ions were extracted into the organic phase more readily than $Cu^2+$. The highest solvent extraction rate obtained was 96.5% at pH values of 2.0 and 3.0 using 15% LIX-70.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.69-82
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• 2010

The article represents practical interest for students, masters, doctors, and experts of the branch. The article contains generalized comparative analysis of extraction and export of mineral-raw production in the Republic of Kazakhstan. At the article is considered the condition, production and consumption of metals in the world. For Kazakhstan this branch is one of the most important, which is defining not only the level of the economic development of the country, but also its economical safety, export potential, opportunities for further development.

• Proceedings of the KWS Conference
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• 2009.11a
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• pp.217-220
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• 2009

Conductive adhesives have been investigated for use in microelectronics packaging as a lead-free solder substitute due to their advantages, such as low bonding temperature. However, high resistivity and poor mechanical behavior may be the limiting factors for the development of conductive adhesives. The metal fillers and the polymer resins provide electrical and mechanical interconnections between surface mount device components and a substrate. As metal fillers used in conductive adhesives, silver is the most commonly used due to its high conductivity and the stability. However the cost of conductive adhesives with silver fillers is much higher than usual lead-free solders and silver has poor electro-migration performance. So, copper can be a promising candidate for conductive filler metal due to its low resistivity and low cost, but oxidation causes this metal to lose its conductivity. In this study, electrically conductive adhesives (ECAs) using surface modified copper fillers were developed. Especially, in order to overcome the problem associated with the oxidation of copper, copper particles were coated with silver, and the silver-coated copper was tested as a filler metal. Especially the effect of silver coating on the electrical resistance just after curing and after aging was investigated. As a result, it was found that the electrical resistance of ECA with silver-coated copper filler was clearly lower and more stable than that of ECA with pure copper filler after curing process. And, during high temperature storage test, the degradation rate of electrical resistance for ECA with silver coated copper filler was quite slower than that for ECA with pure copper filler.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.63-78
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• 2024

The continuous increasing of the global demand of copper and nickel metals raises the interest in developing alternative technologies to produce them from copper sulfide ore. Also, in line with Egypt's vision 2030 for achieving the sustainable socioeconomic development which aims at developing alternative and eco-friendly technologies for processing the Egyptian ores to produce these strategic products instead of its importing. These metals enhance the advanced electrical and electronic industries. The current work aims at investigating the recovery of copper and nickel from Abu Swayeil copper ore using pug leaching technique by sulfuric acid. The factors affecting the pug leaching process including the sulfuric acid concentration, leaching time and temperature have been investigated. The copper ore sample was characterized chemically using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and scanning electron microscope (SEM-EDX). A response surface methodology develops a quadratic model that expects the nickel and copper leaching effectiveness as a function of three controlling factors involved in the procedure of leaching was also investigated. The obtained results showed that the maximum dissolution efficiency of Ni and Cu are 99.06 % and 95.30%, respectively which was obtained at the following conditions: 15 % H₂SO₄ acid concentration for 6 hr. at 250 ℃. The dissolution kinetics of nickel and copper that were examined according to heterogeneous model, indicated that the dissolution rates were controlled by surface chemical process during the pug leaching. The activation energy of copper and nickel dissolution were 26.79 kJ.mol^-1 and 38.078 kJ.mol^-1 respectively; and the surface chemical was proposed as the leaching rate-controlling step.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.477-490
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• 2005

The development of manganese nodule mining technology is very important in order to secure a long-term and stable supply of rare strategic metals. In the twenty years following the R&D activities with the international consortia in the 1970s, studies on mining technologies have been carried out by several national projects in Korea. The current metal prices such as copper, nickel, cobalt, and manganese have been drastically changed since 2002. Rapid economic growth of Asian countries, especially China, have induced the situation. And the possibility of copper shortage is looming just around the comer. Because of the imbalance between production and consumption, copper is fundamentally the most threatened metal in the future in terms of potential metal shortage. Manganese nodules contain a considerable percentage of copper as the future metal resource. Therefore, it is necessary to concentrate our effects on developing these resources. This paper introduces our evaluation of R&D progress for the development of manganese nodules. The issue and role of manganese nodules during the difficult period of a potential future metal shortage period is discussed and its prospect outlined. Also, this paper tried to emphasize the necessity of continuous R&D efforts for the commercial development of such mineral resources.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.379-393
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• 1997

Geology of the Zbezkazgan copper deposit in Kazhkstan is mainly composed of Permian and Carboniferous sedimenary rocks in which copper minerals are mainly contained in grey sandstone of Carboniferous age. There are 28 layers of copper ore bodies in Zbezkazgan suite. Thickness of the ore bodies ranges from one to 35 meters, grade of the crude ore ranges from 2 to 5 wt % Cu and the extension of the orebodies is 5 to 7 km. Microscopic study on specimens from the Zbezkazgan ore deposit has exposed clues to understand the origin of this deposit. Alternatively deposited grey sandstone and red sandstone are mainly composed of quartz and feldspar grains. A big difference between the grey sandstone and the red sandstone is in grain size, the former is larger than the latter. Chalcocites as main copper minerals have cemented through grain boundary. It is assumed that quartz, feldspar and copper were derived from granitoid in which copper mineralization had taken place before exposing to weathering. The chalcocites were precipitated by a sudden change of geochemical condition (Eh, pH, temperature, etc.) of fluid which had carried quartz, feldspars, copper ions and sulphate during formation of grey sandstones. The copper ions and sulphate were stable in fluid during sedimentation of oxidation environment, however, the copper ions were no more stable at the reduced environment and changed to stable forms to precipitate copper minerals by reaction of copper ions and hydrogen sulfides. This chemical precipitation of copper minerals in the sandstone attributes to the assumption of hydrothermal origin on this sedimentary origined deposit.