Search Documents

By Gregg Sherry, Bob Gordan

INTRODUCTION This paper report presents the general case history for the construction of the North Outfall Replacement Sewer (NORS) project. A 1982 City of Los Angeles Wastewater Facilities Plan recognized that a 19.3 km (12¬mile) section of the North Outfall Sewer (NOS), from Culver City to the Hyperion Treatment Plant, was deteriorating and had insufficient capacity. Built in the 1920s of unreinforced concrete and lined with vitreous clay tiles, the originally unventilated NOS suffered considerable corrosion by H2S gas. This caused roof tile and concrete to fall to the bottom of the pipe, which, over the years, reduced the 11.9 M3/S (420 cubic feet per second (cfs)) design capacity of the NOS to a current level of approximately 8.5 M3/S (300 cfs). This worsening condition, thereby contributing to the polluting of Santa Monica Bay. This situation culminated in the State of California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Los Angeles Region, issuing a Cease and Desist Order on January 27, 1986, which required the City of Los Angeles to eliminate such dry weather overflows through a number of prescribed actions. One of these was to construct the North Outfall Replacement Sewer (NORS) by April 1, 1993. PROJECT DESCRIPTION The NORS Project involved the construction of over eight miles of tunnel and related structures. It consisted of a main tunnel conduit to convey sewage to the Hyperion Treatment Plant and four diversion lines connecting the main tunnel to major existing

Jan 1, 1993

By P. van der Veen

The objective of this paper is to analyze the evolution of the strategic drivers of the mining sec-tor over the last half century, which has been guided by a varying and expanding list of motivations. While companies cannot survive for long unless they are making profits, the strategic drivers of the industry have gone far beyond profits since at least the mid-1970s when environmental concerns began to be taken seriously. For the most part, these forces have followed global trends and public opinion, but they have been shaped and magnified by the significant, often dominant role that the mining sector plays in many economies. While the mining sector used to be primarily motivated by the first pillar of sustainable development -i.e. the economics pillar-, in the 1970s the second environmental pillar became an important factor in decision making, and in the 1990s the third social pillar emerged as a major driver.1 The entrance of new strategic drivers has also had considerable impact on technological and organizational developments in the mining industry; however, technological changes, driven by cost reduction considerations, have in turn impacted the strategic drivers of the industry, resulting in the need for further technological and organizational developments.

Jan 1, 2007

By C. W. Fitzgerald

INTRODUCTION Continuous mining machines are used in regular flat ore beds having uniform thickness. Since coal is the most common type of material occurring in such beds, most continuous miners are used for the extraction of coal from underground mines. The first continuous mining machine for under¬ground coal mining was introduced in 1948. In one machine, the continuous miner combines the functions performed by a conventional face drill, a cutting ma¬chine, and a loading machine. It breaks or digs the material out of the surrounding solid and transfers the material back through the machine chassis by means of a chain conveyor. The conveyor carries the material to a haulage system, usually a rubber-tired vehicle known as a shuttle car. Generally, continuous miners are used in seam heights from 890 to 3660 mm (35 to 144 in.). For seam heights of 1070 mm (42 in.) or less, the haulage system may be a multiple-bridge conveyor or battery-powered tractors that haul low-bed trailers. Proj¬ects are being undertaken by private industry and through government contracts to develop a continuous haulage system for all seam heights. As of 1976, the majority of continuous miners were of two types. The first type is the drum miner, which mounts the cutting elements on a series of drums across the cutting head of the machine, sometimes using a cutting chain to cut clearance for the gear drive. In the drum-type machines, the cutting head rotates parallel to the material face. The second type is the auger miner, which utilizes cutting elements mounted on two auger-type cutting heads. One head is located on each side of the machine, with the heads mounted per¬pendicular to the material face. Chain-head ripper-type miners/miners having rotary cutting elements with oscillating motion and twin-head boring-type miners have all been popular within the last 15 years. Although these are considered obsolete, some machines are still being supplied for specialized applications. GENERAL DESCRIPTION This chapter describes only continuous mining ma¬chines available as manufacturers' production models as of September 1976. Figs. 1 through 11 illustrate some typical machines currently in use. Cutting Elements The cutting elements are the interface between the machine and the material being mined. In describing the cutting elements, consideration must be given to the differences between the drum- and auger-type machines, the bit-tip speeds, and the bit types. Drum-Type Continuous Mining Machines: Three of the four principal manufacturers of drum-type miners use multi-motor designs that provide separate a-c motors for driving the cutting elements. Gear trains are used to reduce the speeds of the motors to the rotational speeds of the cutting elements. One of the three suppliers drives the cutting elements of its low-seam models with a heavy-duty drive chain that is equipped with cutting bits; all other functions of this machine have separate motor drives that are either electrical or hydraulic. The fourth principal manufacturer generally provides two a-c electric motors, utilizing gear reducers, drive shafts, and hydraulically operated engaging clutches to power all of the operating functions, including the cut¬ting elements. Some drum-type miners use trim chains, equipped with cutting bits, to cut clearance for the gear drives. These trim chains vary from two 305-mm (12-in.) chains to one 760-mm (30-in.) chain per machine, de¬pending upon the manufacturer's design concept. In all machines other than the low-seam models that use chains to drive the heads, the trim chains are driven by sprockets on the drive shaft of the final cutterhead drum; therefore, the trim chains are not used for power trans¬mission to the cutting elements. In addition to cutting clearance for the gear drives, the trim chains provide uniform bit spacing all the way across the head and assist in moving the cut material to an area where it is either loaded directly into the miner's conveyor or is easier to load into the conveyor. On a drum-type mining machine, the cutting ele¬ments all rotate from the top to the bottom. Therefore, the recommended procedure is to raise the cutterhead to the maximum seam height, sump the entire machine forward to maximum depth by means of a crawler drive, and then shear downward until the cutter elements reach the floor level. The maximum sump depth varies ac¬cording to the drum diameter, the type of material, the floor conditions, and the operator's abilities. It normally varies an average of 460 to 760 mm (18 to 30 in.). Cutter drums are supplied with two types of cutting bit holders. Weld-on holders are attached permanently. Pin-on holders are replaceable at the face. Cutter-drum diameters over the bit tips vary from 660 to 965 mm (26 to 38 in.), depending upon the chassis height of the machine and the range of cutting heights. Auger-Type Continuous Mining Machines: As cut-

Jan 1, 1982

By Kotaro Ohga, Kiyoshi Higuchi

In our laboratory, a new detection system using smell detectors was developed to detect the spontaneous combustion of coal and the combustion of other materials used underground. Laboratory experiments were carried out on several kinds of coals, including South African coals, and machine oil, wood and rubber used in belt conveyers. The following results were obtained: 1) Spontaneous combustion of coal can be detected earlier by smell detectors than by conventional CO detection methods. 2) There were no differences in the results using different kinds of coal. 3) Combustion of other materials can also be detected earlier by this system than by conventional detectors for gas and smoke. 4) Use of this detection system enables one to discern the source of the combustion gases, whether it be coal, wood, oil or rubber.

Jan 1, 1995

By Susanne Pignolet

Ore microscopy has been applied to the complex lead-zinc-copper-cobalt-nickel ores from the Madison Mire in the Fredericktown subdistrict of the Southeast Missouri Lead District to predict potential beneficiation problems. It has been found that in some portions of the ore deposits, textures are present which may result in metal losses. In ores from the Bonneterre Transition Zone the intimate association of siegenite with chalcopyrite may result in cobalt and nickel losses to the copper concentrate. In ores from higher stratigraphic horizons, this association is relatively uncommon, and siegenite is commonly associated with bravoite. This latter association will increase the recovery of the cobalt and nickel in bravoite, even though some of the fine-grained bravoite will not be recoverable. Other textures which may result in potential beneficiation problems include coatings of covellite on chalcopyrite and inclusions of sphalerite in galena.

Jan 1, 1983

By J. E. Urosek

Decisions made during a response to a mine fire or an explosion greatly affect the final outcome. The safety of miners should be the primary concern with accounting for all of the miners the first issue for resolution. If miners have not safely evacuated from the mine, the last known location of the miners at the time of the event and anticipated travel routes are primary exploration areas. After the mine is evacuated, there are many very important decisions that must be made quickly and often under great stress. It is critical that the mine operator establish an orderly method to direct the mine emergency response. Designation of a Command Center, staffed with personnel charged with developing plans, is a common method of establishing control. Scheduling of key mine managers will be critical, since decisions must be made 24 hours a day and people working for extended periods with little or no sleep do not always make clear or cognizant decisions. Internal communications, passing information on to subsequent shifts, and external communications with families and media must be accurate and timely. Assembling resources for responding to the mine emergency is critical for an effective response, and pre-planning can pave the way to a successful recovery. Sampling mine gasses and accurately determining the composition of gas mixtures is a common tool used to develop response plans in all fires and explosions. It is essential that preparations for emergency situations are made well in advance of a disaster. Effective communications are essential for mine management to successfully respond to a mine emergency. This paper discusses some considerations which need to be addressed in directing a response to a mine fire or explosion.

Jan 1, 2009

By Earl H. Miller

The United States Potash Company was the original discoverer and first producer of under-ground mined potash ore in North America and commenced active production of potash in 1931. In July 1956, the company merged with United States Borax & Chemical Corporation and is now a Division of that corporation. The mine is located twenty-two miles east of the city of Carlsbad and the refinery is located sixteen miles south of the mine, The mine was placed where the ore was found and the refinery placed where there was sufficient water for a dissolving and re-crystallization plant. For twenty-three of the last twenty-six years, the potash ore was mined with the room and pillar method, taking approximately sixty percent extraction and leaving forty percent in pillars. These pillars are generally fifty-eight feet by fifty-eight feet square. Three years ago, it was decided that removal of as large an extraction as possible from these pillars should be commenced.

Jan 1, 1958

By Gary MacDonald

What is the primary function of an impact assessment? Many people at the International Association of Impact Assessment?s (IAIA) annual conference said that it is time to return to the fundamentals and consider the underlying drivers of impact assessments ? human health, safety and security. This fall, managers struggling with those fundamentals will receive extra support when a new course focusing on health and socially responsible security is launched online and in British Columbia, Canada, home to many of the world?s junior miners. Now in its 33rd year, the IAIA conference recently held in Calgary, Canada, typically brings together a range of professionals who work in the impact assessment field, including academics, as well as people conducting applied disciplines, such as social and environmental performance management. It is a chance for people grappling with how to assess impacts from projects (for example, dams, mining and other extractive projects), to compare notes and to talk about developments in how to measure, track and report on them. The comments about returning to fundamentals rose as participants talked about the ongoing and increasingly recognized divergence between three main impact assessment streams: environmental, social and health (EIA, SIA and HIA, respectively). Discussions in sessions and in the corridors included calls for streamlining, for integration, for improvement and sharing of practice ? particularly in the HIA stream, where those deeply engaged in the health discipline questioned how HIAs and their intended outcome of protecting human health can be better integrated into the EIAs or SIAs that dominate the impact assessment realm. EIAs and SIAs have become the main tool, particularly from a permitting perspective for large-scale mines, but seem to leave projects with little real information about what they need to do. Human health is not the only concern re-emerging. Although not reflected at the conference, there appears to be an emerging understanding of the need to link the determinants of health with socially responsible security practices. Companies conducting independent social performance assessments for international financial institutions based on the International Finance Corporation?s Environmental and Social Performance Standards increasingly wrestle with both community health and security issues as extractive companies encounter challenging social environments around the world. Once again, the intended outcome is to better protect human health, including avoiding health impacts from conflict, abuses and violence.

Aug 1, 2013

By K. F. Unrug

Extrapolation of the rock properties obtained from the cores exploration holes to the surrounding areas often causes problems because of frequent sudden changes in the geologic composition of strata. To address this problem, the author has been developing a method of rapid strength testing "in situ," with application of a borehole penetrometer. This method, as opposed to conventional laboratory testing, does not require rock samples to be retrieved and handled/machined before testing. The results are generated by strength determination on the wall of a drill hole at a site. The newest development is a borehole penetrometer that requires only a 1.38.mm (1.5 in) diameter hole. The small diameter of the penetrometer body allows for drilling test holes with production mine equipment such as roof bolters. It opens the possibility of broad application in coal mines, as well as in hard rock mines and tunneling. The principles of the apparatus are described and are illustrated with examples of its applications.

Jan 1, 1999

By Jamal Rostami, Ataollah Rahbar

"Uma Oya Multipurpose Development Project is under construction in Sri Lanka. This project involves 2 Rolled Concrete Core (RCC) Dams connected through a tunnel currently under construction by Drill and Blast method. The water is transferred from first diversion dam to the 2nd regulatory dam and from which, it will be transferred through a 14 km headrace tunnel to the top of a 650 m deep drop shaft that feeds the high pressure water to an underground powerhouse and turbine chamber for generation of 120 MW of electricity. The Headrace and Tailrace tunnels are being excavated by two 4.4 m diameter double shield TBMs. The headrace tunnel has already passed 5km milestone and is mined in hard rock, while the tailrace tunnel has been completed in rather weak and fractured ground. This paper will review the history of the project along with the geology of the site. The operation of TBM in headrace tunnel will be discussed in more detail, focusing on the challenges of excavating through very strong and abrasive quartzite and gneiss on this site, as well as reaches of tunnel in high inflow of water reaching 400 L/Sec. INTRODUCTION This paper aims to introduce the Uma Oya Multipurpose Development Project (UOMDP) as a hydro mechanical project in Sri Lanka, targeted generating hydro-electric power, transferring water for irrigation purposes and controlling seasonal devastating flood. This project lies in the south-eastern part of the central highland region of Sri Lanka (Figure 1). The main part of the project is located in the south-western part of the Badulla district in the province of Uva. The south-eastern end of the project site is in the central west of the Moneragala district (province of Uva). Bandarawela is the largest urban setting within the project area, located halfway between the upstream and the downstream ends of the planned hydropower plant and combination of dams, tunnels, and downstream facilities. The Multi-Purpose Project Of Uma Oya is planned to convey water from Uma Oya to Kirindi Oya Basin for hydroelectric energy generation includes Puhulpola RCC Dam on the Uma Oya river, Dyraaba RCC Dam on the Mahatotilla Oya river, a conveyance tunnel from Uma Oya to Mahatotilla Oya (L=3750m), a long feeder tunnel from Mahatotilla Oya to Kirindi Oya. The feeder (power) tunnel Lot consists of a headrace tunnel (L=15554m), the surge shaft (L=200m) and tank on the upstream of the vertical shaft, a vertical shaft with steel lining (L=650m), an underground powerhouse and a tailrace tunnel (L=3650m)."

Jan 1, 2016

By T. Gollaher

The use of paste thickeners for mineral tailings has gained increasing acceptance by the mining industry throughout the world and in the U.S. during the last five years. Advantages of water recovery and environmental sustainability are the driving forces for paste as an alternative to conventional thickening and the slurry pond. This paper presents a summary of the differences between paste and conventional tailings thickeners, along with recent examples of full-scale paste thickener installations.

Jan 1, 2010

By Donald J. Hill

To be successful, every organization within the mining industry must involve itself in researching and evaluating methods of loss control. The appraisal and evaluation of accidents and injuries is required to determine the costs of loss producing practices and conditions. This involves all of an organizations disciplines that concern themselves with a more efficient and cost effective organization. To come to know the cost of your safety program or how much is expended yearly for each employee on safety; to know what your safety costs are per man-hour or per ton-produced; to know what the health, medical and compensation costs are for any given incident are just a few of the important facts and figures that the safety management of a given organization needs to know to operate in the mining industry today.

Jan 1, 1984

By Paul H. Johnson

Resource Engineering and Development, Inc. is designing and building a portable 150 to 225 TPD, flotation-cyanide leach plant with unitized, skid-mounted components. This plant design, with its portability, low capital investment, and high recovery of silver and gold from many partially oxidized ores, is well suited to treat many small, high-grade deposits, old waste dumps, and old mill tailing piles. A description is given of flotation and/or cyanide leach tests run on about 17 partially oxidized, newly mined ores; waste dump materials; placer slimes; and old mill tailings.

Jan 1, 1981

By D. Shink

A small scale continuous flotation cell was designed and constructed at Noranda Technology Centre to develop a mobile testing flotation circuit located next to the production circuit. This mobile small scale flotation pilot plant can easily and economically be set up at any circuit in a mill and used to evaluate and predict plant performance against a given flotation condition. The main feature of the cell, beside the provisions of automatic pulp level and feed rate control, is to provide a reduced surface to volume ratio approaching to that of an industrial machine. This paper describes the basic design and the results of various testwork carried out to date including aeration, conditioning, reagents, recirculation, flotation gas, etc. are presented in comparison with the plant production results.

Jan 1, 1992

By M. Z. Rashad

The purpose of this work is to determine the influence of sample length or size on the value of variance (Semivariogram) to select the suitable length that is required to the geostatistical computations of ore evaluation. Three cases in Ghorabi Iron Ore were studied. The first one was on the iron fraction (Fe%) at which the semivariogram gave an evidence to good continuity of the fraction in the ore. In this case, the length of sample has not important influence. The second case was for the Mn% component of the same area where the semivariogram has a nugget effect. The selected length for this case was 4 meters. The Cl% fraction of the ore was the third case where the anisotropic phenomena was appeared and the suitable length is 3 meters.

Jan 1, 1992

By K. Hiroto, H. Tamamoto, G. J. Kusuma

"Acid mine drainage (AMD) has become a serious environmental problem in the mining industry in the last decade. Many efforts have been made in an attempt to find a better method to manage this problem in a proper manner, both through prevention and mitigation. One of the methods to prevent AMD generation is a dry dump cover system that has been proposed to minimize oxidation of sulphide waste rock in dumping sites. The performance of this system depends on the physical and geochemical stability of a barrier layer to minimize water and oxygen influx. In the mining industry, this barrier layer is formed by using Inert/Non Acid Forming (NAF) waste rocks to cover Potentially Acid Forming (PAF) underneath. However, the availability of NAF waste rocks, due to the geological condition, mining sequence and capability of equipment, is limited in some mines. This paper will discuss the acid generation mechanism, application of a cover system and its problem being faced in an Indonesian coal mine, and describe a preliminary laboratory result of a multi layer cover system in an attempt to overcome this problem."

Jan 1, 2011

By R. R. Oder, R. E. Jamison, E. D. Brandner

This paper presents the preliminary test results obtained using a 0.38-kg/s (3,000-lb/hr) beta prototype MagMill. In processing Upper Freeport coal, the beta prototype recovered 82 % of the weight of the feed and 91 % of the heat content while reducing the potential emissions of sulfur by 61%. Pyritic sulfur in the MagMill product was reduced by 78% compared with that in the feed. For all runs, the mill product particle size was controlled to between 70% and 80% -741m (200 mesh). Recoveries of mercury, arsenic and selenium ranged from 35% to 45% of the amounts found in the feed. Power draw was reduced by 26%, and mill throughput was increased by 9% compared to the pulverizer operating with no magnetic separator attached.

Jan 1, 2002

In conjunction with steady increases in production levels, longwall operators have applied greater quantities of ventilating air and spray water in an effort to control respirable dust and/or methane. Air velocities greater than 7.6 m/s (1500 fpm) have been measured on longwall faces. Operators have expressed concern over the potential entrainment of respirable dust at these high velocities. The greatest likelihood for entraining dust into the high velocity airstream may occur as shields are advanced allowing relatively dry particles to fall from the shield canopy directly into the airstream. Laboratory tests to simulate dust liberation during shield movement were conducted at the Pittsburgh Research Laboratory of NIOSH at velocities ranging from 2.0 to 8.2 m/s (400 to1600 fpm). Airborne dust samples were obtained with personal impactors to quantify the size distribution and concentration of the dust entrained at the various air velocities. Statistically significant increases in both total and respirable dust concentrations were measured as test air velocities were increased.

Jan 1, 2001

By Ed L. Schrader

Kaolin of the Georgia-south Carolina "Clay Belt" are used in a wide variety of filler and extender applications. Sane applications specifically require the performance enhancement delivered by incorporating kaolin into the product formulations. Other applications are less specific in requirements for an inert mineral filler. In order to be a feasible candidate for filling and extending, a mineral or mineral product must be generally inert (except where specific interaction with the filled medium is desired), inexpensive, easily handled and transported in a variety of forms, accessible to a broad segment of the desired market, and must exist in sufficiently large ore reserves as to assure production for many years. Of course, more precise requirements are necessary in specific applications of a prospective filler material.

Jan 1, 1985

By Stephen Davies

Mining at Hudson Bay Mining & Smelting's Snow Lake Division is now in the mature stage of the mines' lives. These base metal copper-zinc mines have been operating for more than 30 years. Stopes had small pillars called "crown pillars" left between them. These pillars range up to 100 m (330 ft) long by 40 m (130 ft) wide and 15 m (50 ft) thick. Hudson Bay have been successful in removing these pillars by using cable slings, electric scoops, longhole mining and diesel load-haul-dump equipment. The different shapes and sizes of these pillars has required that many innovative techniques be tried in order to find acceptable economic mining methods. An overview of the different methods will be outlined. Background Hudson Bay Mining & Smelting's Snow Lake Division is located in Manitoba some 800 km (500 miles) north of Winnipeg and 200 km (125 miles) by road from the Hudson Bay smelter complex located in Flin Flon, Manitoba (Fig. I). There are currently three producing underground mines and one open pit operating at the Snow Lake Division, producing copper and zinc concentrates. Pillar recovery is intensive and vital to continued production of these mature mines. The crown pillars are producing more than 50% of the current mine production. This figure will increase in the future. The two mines at which crown pillar recovery is taking place and that will be discussed are the 400 t/d (440 stpd) Rod Mine and the 1000 t/d (1100 stpd) Stall Lake Mine, both five-day-a-week producers. Crown pillar mining has been applied for some time at these mines. However, it was only recently that the crown pillars became vital to production. This has necessitated a number of innovative techniques to recover them.

Jan 1, 1992