Engineering and Mining Journal - Whether the market is copper, gold, nickel, iron ore, lead/zinc, PGM, diamonds or other commodities, E&MJ takes the lead in projecting trends, following development and reporting on the most efficient operating pr
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SUPPLIERS REPORT The company said enlarging the pit furnace involved fabricating a custommade inner shell or retort, made from exotic duplex stainless steel, but the considerable investment has already been offset by new orders. The company is already considering upgrading other inhouse pit furnaces and its programmable process controllers. Keighley employs its pit furnaces for carburizing, carbonitriding, hardening and tempering, stress relieving, homogenizing and carbon restoration, working at temperatures up to 980°C. It handles steel, iron, high-chrome iron, cast iron, ADI (austempered ductile iron) and alloy steel materials. Pit furnaces are vertically oriented batch furnaces, with the furnace section buried in a pit and extending up to floor level and a hydraulically operated sealed cover extending above the surface. Workpieces are held in a jig or charge basket in the furnace, the inner retort protecting them from the direct radiation of heat; this configuration is particularly suitable for treating long parts such as shafts, tubes and rods, although a wide variety of shapes and sizes can be accommodated, singly or in batches. According to the company, pit furnaces produce minimal distortion, and this is particularly critical for larger components, where the same percentage of deformation equates to a much greater absolute distortion, possibly leading to the scrapping of parts. Defined as irreversible and usually unpredictable dimensional changes during the process, distortion occurs when heating the work piece above the transformation temperature results in it losing the inherent strength it possesses at room temperature, often causing it to distort under its own weight. Thus, long parts are preferably heated in a vertical pit furnace, to ensure they are properly suspended during heating, while other parts must be carefully supported to suit their geometry, employing welldesigned jigs and fixtures. Neftex, IntierraRMG Collaborate on Mining Data Effort Neftex Petroleum Consultants, a supplier of global geoscience Earth Model products and services to the resource exploration industries, and mining-sector intelligence service IntierraRMG have announce a collaboration to integrate Neftex's Earth Model coding and IntierraRMG's mineral resource data to provide new mining insights, intelligence and value. The partnership, according to the two companies, links fundamental geoscience information to mining data and allows for a spatial, temporal and tectonic perspective on current production figures. It will highlight companies with geologically focused regional exploration strategies; uncover investment opportunities in new projects based on underlying geological criteria; and give greater insight into geologically analogous leases to highlight options for projects/portfolios. Neftex, based in Oxfordshire, U.K., is a leader in developing an integrated Earth Model, primarily supporting the global oil industry, but more recently successfully applying this approach to the mineral exploration and finance sectors. IntierraRMG provides resource sector intelligence ranging from mining and mineral information, through to mine cash costs and M&A; activity. The companies planned to begin presenting the proof of concept work for this collaboration to interested parties starting in late 2013. 70 E&MJ; • JANUARY 2014 www.e-mj.com