Amax Incorporated

Deepak Malhotra

Mahesh C Jha

Richard A Ronzio

Anirudh K Bhasin

Frank J Smit

Linda K Baltich

Maurice R Hoover

Fredrick N Bender

David N Meendering

Robert M Rowe

Tungsten and molybdenum powders are advantageously conditioned for metal injection molding by fluid energy milling the powder prior to batching. A preferred method of conditioning, jet milling, has been found to beneficially effect the particle characteristics to render the metal powder more suitable for injection molding.

Conditioning metal powder for injection molding

A method is provided for removing contaminating minerals from coal by true heavy-liquid media. The coal is comminuted to liberate a substantial portion of the minerals from the coal, the method comprising forming a slurry of the comminuted coal in a solution of smelter-grade sulfuric acid of specific gravity ranging from about 1.2 to 1.7, the specific gravity of the sulfuric acid solution selected being greater than that for the liberated coal but less than that of the contaminating mineral to be separated, thereby effecting substantial separation between the liberated coal and the contained minerals. The coal is removed from the solution and then washed to remove occluded acid therefrom.

Use of smelter-grade sulfuric acid as true heavy-liquid media in coal

Directed to a flotation process for recovering molybdenite from a ground ore pulp containing the same which includes a rougher flotation step in which no collector is used by relatively high recovery of molybdenite in a rougher concentrate uncontaminated with collectors, which rougher concentrate can be cleaned to yield a high grade product while the rougher tailing can be treated by flotation to obtain high overall recovery of molybdenite along with a high recovery of other co-present metal values.

Recovery of molybdenite

A process for producing a high grade molybdenum disulfide powder suitable for use in the formulation of chemicals and as an intermediate for synthesizing high purity molybdenum compounds by which an impure particulated molybdenite concentrate feed material is pulverized and thereafter is subjected to a plurality of purification treatments to effect a progressive extraction of the contaminating mineral constituents entrapped within the molybdenite particles. The purification treatments comprise a wash treatment of the molybdenite concentrate containing up to 10% by weight of hydrocarbon oil employing an aqueous solution forming a slurry which is subjected to successive steps of high shear agitation and low shear agitation to break up the agglomerated molybdenite particles and to effect a release of the mechanically entrapped very fine mineral particles which remain suspended in the aqueous liquid phase. At the completion of the high and low shear treatment, the slurry is transferred to a separator in which the agglomerated molybdenite particles are extracted from the predominant portion of the liquid phase which contains a substantial proportion of the released mineral contaminants. The molybdenite concentrate and the aqueous wash solution are transferred through the plurality of purification treatments in a countercurrent fashion. The resulting agglomerated molybdenite concentrate, free of the contaminants, is then subjected to regular froth flotation to remove any coarse contaminants.

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Golden, CO, United States of America

Deepak Malhotra