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By Max John

INTRODUCTION One of the main advantages of the New Austrian Tunneling Method (NATM) is its adaptability to varying rock conditions. This method is therefore successfully applied when complex geologic features are expected which cause uncertainties in the prognosis of the rock mass behaviour, as was the care at the Arlberg Expressway Tunnel. Furthermore, by employing the NATM problems are avoided when encountering varying geologic conditions or even extension fault zones along the tunnel, as was the case at the Dalaaser Tunnel and Perjen Tunnel. The NATM can also be used for rock and soil. The following examples will show how various rock conditions can be mastered. In accordance with the NATM all tunnels which will be discussed are road tunnels having a cross section area between 70 and 100 m2. The construction consists of a primary support, which ensures stress redistribution during excavation (Figure 1). The primary support is reinforced shotcrete strengthened by steel arches, when necessary, and rock bolts. When encountering rock pressure, swelling rock or soil, the primary support is suplemented by an invert arch. The purpose of the secondary lining is to increase the safety of the tunnel with regard to long-term stress redistribution processes or changes in rock mass properties as well as to protect the insulation. The secondary lining consists of cast concrete without reinforcement and is generally 0.25 or 0.30 m thick.

Jan 1, 1981

By Louis W. Cope

Placer material, regardless of the value of gold, tin, titanium, diamonds or other value mineral it contains, remains worthless until the valuable constituent is separated from the bulk of the material. This separation is no mean task when considering that a gold placer containing 0.01 to 0.03 oz/yd3 of gold, which is the range of grade of typical placer deposits; yes, 1:3,000,000! It is a miracle that gold placer mining has ever been profitable. Added to the situation of minute quantities of gold are several other problems, such as the gold often being very finely divided, the association of boulders and clay, and running and/or ground water. As each placer deposit is individual and distinctive, many factors have to be considered in planning the method for gold recovery from the alluvial deposit. Previous chapters have shown that in the exploration and sampling stage, some knowledge of the amount of each size of coarse and fine material which occurs in the deposit as well as the size distribution of the discrete gold particles is determined. Unless informed to the contrary, as a general rule of thumb, plant designers will consider that 40 percent of the material will pass through a 5/8-inch screen or punched plate hole. Also that there may be an occasional nugget and normally considerable amounts of fine gold. The designer must

Jan 1, 1992

By Dirk van Zyl

Three conditions are required for a risk to be realized: (1) a source of risk (i.e., hazard) must exists (2) some process must take place which will lead to the exposure of people, animals, and/or the environment to the hazard: and (3) as a result of the expense, undesirable effects are produced on the people, animals, and/or the environment. A comprehensive risk assessment addresses all three of the conditions through the following four steps: (1) risk source (hazard) characterization, (2) exposure assessment, (3) dose-response assessment, and (4) risk estimation. Although the terminology may differ, the overall approach of financial, public health, and environmental risk assessments is the same (National Science Foundation, 1985).

Jan 1, 1988

By R. W. Lawrence, P. B. Marchant

Biohydrometallurgy is now forty years old. Since the discovery of the role of microorganisms in the oxidation of sulphide minerals that gives rise to acid mine drainage, many workers in industry, research organizations and academia in many countries have been active in attempts to develop practical commercial processes which exploit microbiological reactions in mineral processing and extractive metallurgy. Reactions which have potential and are being actively researched include:

Jan 1, 1998

By John G. Banker, Arthur L. Forrest

Titanium solves corrosion, maintenance and environmental problems in many reactor and autoclave applications. Titanium clad construction permits autoclave designers a great deal of flexibility combined with significant cost reduction. Titanium alloys can be selectively applied in specific regions of the auto­clave to accommodate local environmental conditions. Resistance to general corrosion, crevice corrosion, abrasion, and ignition conditions can be accomplished selectively and eco­nomically. Explosion clad pressure vessel fabrication and perfor­mance have been proven through three decades of experience.

Jan 1, 1996

By Joseph Rosta

The gold and silver review did not arrive in time for publication in the May issue. Gold The gold market generally was listless in 1992, although investors returned to the metal in the fourth quarter. The gold price declined for the second year in a row, averaging $11.05/g ($343.76/ oz), 5.2% lower than the $11.65/g ($362.44/oz) seen in 1991. The average price has declined more than 23% since 1987, when gold averaged $14.36/g

Jan 1, 1993

By H. Suharyono, R. Hogg

A laboratory investigation was performed on flocculation following the addition of polymer to slurries flowing through pipes and in-line (static) mixers. Results are presented showing the effects of flow velocity, pipe length, in-line mixer elements and the use of multiple addition points. Flocculation performance was measured by the settling rate and the supernatant turbidity. The effects of agitation and mixing time are shown to be generally consistent with the results of equivalent tests (both batch and continuous) conducted in stirred tanks.

Jan 1, 1997

By K. Nielsen

The Norwegian tunnelling industry has made remarkable improvements both with regard to productivity and cost efficiency over the last 30-40 years. This development has been made possible by continuous improvement driven by innovation. Based on a generic description of the innovation process and the innovation system, the paper has used the development of modern tunnel drilling in the Norwegian tunnelling industry to discuss the characteristics of its innovation system with a focus on human capital issues and knowledge management.

Jan 1, 2006

By George M. Meisel

This paper is devoted to a discussion of the factors governing design of concentrators for large grinding circuits. Emphasis is placed on the manner in which use of ever larger grinding mills has affected the size of grinding bays, service cranes, gear reducers and electric motors, and the selection of ancillary equipment for cushioning of the starting load of large mills. Information is presented on the effect of using large grinding mills on the capital and operating costs of concentrators, e. g. : (Fig. 1) ? Benefits in lower cost of mills, drives and materials handling equipment, plant space, power, grinding media, operating labor and maintenance, and in ease of instrumentation and automation. ? Penalties in distribution of materials from the grinding mills to multiple lines of equipment which have not been developed to commensurately large sizes, and higher cost of ancillary equipment.

Jan 1, 1968

By E. D. Attanasi

Geologic resource assessments describe the location, general characteristics, and estimated volumes of resources, whether in-situ or technically recoverable. Such compilations are only an initial step in economic resource evaluation. Forecasts that assume that resources that exist in nature can be commercially produced as needed ignore economic constraints. This paper identifies, by example, the salient features of a geologic assessment that will assure its usefulness for economic analysis. These features are demonstrated with examples of coal resource assessments and coal bed gas assessments.

Jan 1, 2001

By James A. Finch, Xiang Zhou, Yue Hua Tan

Widely used as collectors for nonsulfides, amines also show some frothing properties. Evaluating frother functions of amines and their combination with conventional frothers addresses whether one reagent delivering both collector and frother functions compromises the efficacy of either. From the findings, whether blending with frother confers any benefit requires knowledge of the residual amine concentration. If it is below about 10 ppm, blending eliminated coalescence, but there appears to be no benefit if the concentration is above 15 ppm.

By Marianne Snedeker

In September 1985 we published a questionnaire asking about the content of MINING ENGINEERING and about your interests. By Dec. 10, our cutoff date, we had 430 responses, representing about 1.5% of the 28,238 people who received the September issue of ME. In the data that follow the tabulation and percentages are based on the number of individuals who responded to the particular question. About ME Through responses to the questionnaire, we were hoping to learn more about you, your interests, and how the magazine could better serve you. Those of you who responded told us something positive - you look at or read the magazine. Of the 430 respondents, 428 or 99.5% indicated that they had read or looked through the July and/or August issues. Those of you who refer to the magazine once are 207 or 48.5%. Those of you who refer to the magazine two or three times are 193 or 45.2%. Those of you who refer to the magazine four or more times are 27 or 6.3%. How much time do you spend reading the magazine? Of those responding to this question: 64 spent up to 1/2 hr 15.0% 224 spent up to 1 hr 52.6% 115 spent up to 1-2 hr 27.0% 23 spent more than 2 hr 5.4% In an informal survey among our staff, we determined that most people spend 1/2 to 1 hr reading magazines to which they subscribe at home. Does that match your experience? Many of you, 335 or 79%, clip your magazine for further reference. Also, many of you, 313 or 73.6%, do not pass your copy on to another reader, indicating that you are clipping it or receiving the magazine at home. Those magazines that are passed on reach: 1 person 3 0.7% 2 people 64 15.1% 3-5 people 34 8.0% 5 or more 11 2.6% Answers to what portions of the magazine you find useful indicated that the top three were Industry Newswatch, feature articles and Technical Papers; see Table 1. The "other" category included advertising - display, classified, Employment, and Professional Services - Washington Survey, New Products, Free Literature, book reviews, technology news, and Coming Events and Short Courses. We asked your appraisal of the technical level of the magazine. Of those responding, 39 or 9.1% indicated that it is too technical, 55 or 12.8% indicated it is not technical enough, and 335 or 78.1% judged it to have the correct technical level. In response to the question about whether you like to read an occasional feature that is not technically oriented, 21 or 5.1% said no, but an overwhelming 94.9% (393) said yes. Of the specific

Jan 1, 1986

By D. U. Gustafsson

After half a million meters drilled with Wassara we are now confident that ITH hammers powered with simple water will become an established product for production drilling. Today four drill rigs in LKAB Malmberget equipped with Wassara drill about 25 000 m per month of 4 1/2" holes. In Kidd Creek, Canada, Was sara is used for production drilling in stopes with good results. The first Wassara 6" hammer has drilled a 36 meter long, completely straight horizontal cut hole for drifting in the LKAB Malmberget Mine. Main advantages are about doubled penetration rate, very good air quality and improved hole cleaning which facilitates stabilized drilling. Disadvantages are resistance to new technology and, in some cases, the increased use of water.

Jan 1, 1995

By Hamed Khodadadi, Hamid Ghadiri

The ball mill grinding circuit has widespread application in mining, metallurgy, chemistry, pharmacy and research. It faces some challenges because a grinding circuit is a multivariable system in which high interaction between loops, variation of system parameters with time, and time delays are problems. In this study, a fuzzy logic self-tuning proportional–integral–derivative (FLST-PID) controller based on an improved disturbance observer is designed for control of ball mill grinding circuits. It is combined with an improved disturbance observer (IDOB) to eliminate system interaction, attenuate internal and external disturbances and compensate the effect of system uncertainty on the performance of the ball mill grinding circuit.

By Steve Kral

The former mayor of Los Angeles, CA is a believer in public transportation but thinks neither his city nor the entire country is spending enough on basic infrastructure. In fact, the United States has fallen behind most other developed nations in improving public transportation, the former mayor said. Antonio R. Villaraigosa was the keynote speaker at the North American Tunneling (NAT) conference, held June 22-25 in Los Angeles, CA. The event, held every two years, is sponsored by the Underground Construction Association of SME (UCA). This years? conference attracted 1,091 underground construction professionals from around the world. The accompanying exhibition continues to grow, attracting 142 exhibiting companies occupying 162 booths. As always at NAT, registered attendees received the proceedings volume of the conference, which contains 132 papers. The proceedings volume, including a CD of the papers, is available from SME for $149 member, $139 student member and $189 nonmember. The book can be ordered from SME, NAT item #400-4, phone 303-948-4225, 1-800-763-3132, or online at www.smenet.org/store.

By R. H. Smith

The total energy demand in the United States increased about 4 per cent annually during the 1960's 1 and is expected to increase at the same rate during this decade. Z Fuel oil growth in the 1960's was only Z per cent per year until 1968, but it increased to 8 per cent in 1969 and 11 per cent in 1970. Fuel oil demand is expected to grow at a 6 per cent rate through the 1970's. Part of this rapid increase in demand has been caused by restrictions placed on the sulfur content of fuels. High sulfur coal can no longer be burned in many parts of the country and has been replaced by low sulfur fuel oil. An insufficient supply of natural gas has also contributed to fuel oil demand. Air pollution regulations have not only caused an increase in fuel oil consumption, but they have also caused a reduction of sulfur content in residual fuel oils. Current regulations call for 1 per cent maximum sulfur content fuels over much of the country. Sulfur contents of fuels are limited to 0. 3 per cent in certain areas on the east and west coasts. Sulfur in residual fuel oils from high sulfur imported crude oil is reduced to 1 per cent currently. However, sulfur reduction to 0. 3 per cent is difficult and expensive.4 As a result, refiners may be hard pressed to supply the market for low sulfur fuel oil. The oil shale deposits in Colorado and Wyoming potentially are a huge source of low sulfur fuel oil. It will be shown that the low sulfur content and more importantly the sulfur

Jan 1, 1972

By H. E. Rowen

I hope my title is not confusing; even more so that I am not. Actually pelletizing and sintering, meaning both the formation of pellets and the hardening of them, are closely related to each other and to phenomena of nature. Figure. 1 This many-celled porous structure, frozen as it was at the fusion temperature and was being frothed by fast-moving gases, may be considered a typical piece of sinter. The same structures have been found in natural ores.

Jan 1, 1962

By D. Belin

Treatment of dilute acid mine drainage and similarly polluted water is becoming increasingly complicated. The pressure of economics is now exacerbated by legislation which classifies as hazardous waste the precipitates from conventional lime treatment plants. Since acid mine drainage invariably contains sulfate ions, one solution is to use anaerobic Desulfovibrio type bacteria to reduce the sulfate into sulphide ions which could then be used to precipitate out the heavy metals. Results are presented for both batch flask cultures and continuous column tests. Compost was used as the bacterial substrate in the column test which simulated heaps. Conditions changed from aerobic to the required anaerobic deep in the columns. Polluted feeds (up to 700 mg/l zinc) gave effluent containing well below I mg/l zinc over extended periods. Direct transfer of sulphide ions through a stream from an isolated container of bacteria is a good alternative.

Jan 1, 1991

By A. W. Jenike

Mine backfilling is a desirable method for the disposal of retorted oil shale. Hydraulic, mechanical and pneuna.cic transport and stowing methods were investigated, and the mechanical transport and stowing method using conveyors was selected as the most promising system. Transport of retorted oil shale at the rate of 3000 cons per hour (2700 t(h) to the backfill level, situated about: 2000 feet (610 m) below surface, with skips or conveyors is uneconomic. Hence, borehole transport utilizing gravity flow was investigated. This paper describes the theory of flow, flow properties of retorted oil shale, and the design of a borehole and hopper system.

Jan 1, 1978

By E. Sabah

A series of adsorption tests are carried out to understand the ability of cationic surfactants and metal ions to adsorb onto sepiolite. Adsorption tests conducted as a function of heat treatment reveal that sepiolite is rather conducive to the uptake of both organic and inorganic ions. An ion exchange mechanism between surfactant or metal cation and magnesium ion followed by chain-chain association is proposed to explain the incorporation of cationic surfactants into the structure of sepiolite.

Jan 1, 1998