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By R. L. Wiegel

There are approximately 40 million tons per year of phosphate rock produced in the United States, half of it by flotation. The bulk of this is used to produce diammonium phosphate, an essential ingredient in the commercial fertilizer mixes used by the thriving U.S. agricultural community. This paper describes the mineral beneficiation practices of the phosphate industry, with special emphasis on flotation. There is also an attempt to include those items that might be considered emerging technologies for the industry as it faces the problems of a diminishing high-grade reserve and the necessity for implementing dolomite/francolite separations.

Jan 1, 1999

By Frank Matter

Production of ultrafine powders of industrial minerals has been a problem in the past. In recent years new wet and dry grinding stirred ball mill systems have emerged which have been commercialized Two such systems are the TRZK mill with double step air classifier for dry grinding and the NRZK mill for wet grinding The primary features of these mills are feed entering from top and the product along with the grinding media leaving from the bottom, and a media separation and recycle system A detailed description of the NRZK mill for grinding coal is presented

Jan 1, 1983

By T. J. Carew

The application of many standard estimation techniques to deposits with a significant degree of folding or faulting can be difficult, mainly because of the necessity to maintain the correct spatial relationship between the samples and the points being estimated. Various transformations must be applied to the points of interest before variography and estimation can be applied, followed by back transformation into the original space. This paper presents an unfolding technique developed by Gemcom Software International that minimizes the inherent distortion in the process and also provides an example of the technique in folded and faulted situations.

Jan 1, 2002

By Sergey N. Zhurin

At Gubkin Mine (Korobkovo Iron Ore Deposit, Russia) tailings are being pumped into two experimental stopes. Slurry has water content that exceeds 80%. In-situ measurements were conducted to determine pore pressure distribution in the backfilling panels. Numerical FEM modeling has been implemented to infer pore pressure distribution within filled cavities. Field observations reveal that pore pressures within neighboring stopes are slightly interrelated, because of drift connecting stopes at its bottom and single drainage system occurrence within filled caverns. Both extensive field data and numerical analysis demonstrate that water pressure on the bulkhead depends predominantly on filtration rate through bulkhead filters.

Jan 1, 2001

By Rock M. Poulin, Bruce G. Moulton, Daniel E. Nowak, David T. Cass

The Yacambu Irrigation Tunnel Project of 34 km, 5 meter diameter circular and horseshoe section, has been under construction since the early 1970's. Notable among the excavation challenges is high ground cover of 3,000m creating large lithostatic pressures in the tunnel alignment with subsequent plastic flow of the ground in the tunnel walls. The tunnel may converge from small amounts to 1 or more meters of diameter over long sections. Several excavation techniques have been attempted but all without desired results. The paper proposes a new machine concept that uses the history of ground experience as its basis for design.

Jan 1, 1995

By Thomas W. Healy, David V. Boger, Yee-Kwong Leong, Lee R. White, Peter J. Scales

The concentration of mineral slurries by conventional thickening devices is discussed. The role of additives on the compression of mineral slurries is also examined. Results for a range of flocculation conditions are presented. The compression of flocculated mineral slurries is found to be highly dependent on the fundamental particle-particle interaction forces and hence, the rheology of the particulate fluid. It is demonstrated that a detailed knowledge of the properties of both the mode of operation of the thickening device and of the solid/liquid interface is required for improvement in the rate and in particular, the extent of dewatering.

Jan 1, 1995

By Alex Harrison, K. Payne

Computer generated magnetic field reference signa- tures of steel cord belt splices are used to evaluate lay-up and fabrication irregularities of splices in operating conveyors. Used as a quality inspection tool, magnetic signature analysis is useful in auditing data collected by general non-destructive testing (NDT) consultants. The evaluation can detect irregularities that weaken a splice, as well as detecting signature changes that can be indicative of adhesion loss. The evaluation can be applied to any NDT data available from a variety of commercial sources, which means that independent review of critical splice data is possible.

Jan 1, 1996

By P. Worley

Installation of UP& Is monitoring system was planned to be completed in three stages: Environmental Monitoring, ConveyorBelt Interface, and Power Distribution Interface. With Phases 1 and 2 completed and Phase 3 initiated, massive amounts of valuable information have been obtained. From this information, many benefits where recognized and the decision was made to expand the system. This provided monitoring and control capabilities in a variety of new applications from ventilation fan and pump interface to innovative installations such as ground control monitoring. All current uses as well as future plans for expansion and data manipulation will be discussed.

Jan 1, 1990

By Thomas H. Wake, Timothy M. Tower

A continuing trend in raise drilling is the movement toward increased automation. This paper discusses the reasons for automating a raise drill, which include labor saving, faster and smoother operation, quicker response to blocky ground, and improved data logging and diagnostics. It gives a "wish list" of features when automating a raise drill, from simple shutdown control through unattended operation. It discusses the principles involved in closed loop control of a sluggish mining machine with large inertia, and covers functions such as data logging and remote control. Results are presented from a field test on a production raise drill.

Jan 1, 1991

By James K. Grunig, Rodney J. Anderson

A process consisting of leach, continuous countercurrent decantation, resin-in-column ion exchange, evaporative crystallization of beryllium sulfate, and decomposition of the sulfate was developed for Spor Mountain, Utah, ores. The process is metallurgically sound, has a minimum of process steps, and is applicable to a wide variety of beryllium ores. The most novel aspect of the process is a resin system of ion exchange which is highly selective for beryllium and which rejects substantially all impurities except for minor amounts of aluminum, magnesium, fluorine, and sulfate in addition to beryllium. The oxide from sulfate decomposition meets specifications of potential users.

Jan 1, 1983

By D. W. Fuerstenau

Experiments using an optically polished Pyrex disk and aqueous dodecylammonium acetate (DAA) films showed that the velocity with which the films recede increases markedly if the runs are repeated at short time intervals, where equilibrium cannot be reattained. This results from DAA molecules being desorbed from the disappearing liquid-air interface and being deposited on the solid-air interface being formed. Controlled experiments with Pyrex particles in a modified Hallimond tube showed a similar increase in flotation rate, again due to excess adsorption of DAA molecules that were transferred to the solid-air interface from the bubble on contact.

Jan 1, 2002

By A. Wright, R. L. Kastelic, W. C. Feyerabend

Gold Fields Mining Corp. is evaluating gold mineralization beneath thick, wet alluvium at the Chimney Creek project, Humboldt County, Nevada. Contamination of reverse-circulation samples has been visually apparent since drilling began in the area. Tests have shown that, while contamination can affect assays, reverse-circulation holes appear to define mineralized zones almost as well as diamond-drill holes. To improve reverse-circulation sample integrity, several techniques were tried (including a stiff-mud injection system) but with limited success. Diamond-core drilling continues to be used in conjunction with reverse-circulation drilling to further delineate the mineralization.

Jan 1, 1993

By R. W. Reisinger

An historic underground copper mine in Wyoming is discharging neutral but copper-laden water into a pristine creek. The EPA-deferred site qualifies for reclamation by the Wyoming Abandoned Mine Land (AML) program. The cleanup goal is to restore the discharge so that the creek can eventually support a trout fishery. Hydrological and geochemical investigations underground have suggested two sources of mine water: one clean and the other containing copper. Results of bench-and pilot-scale tests support the viability of using low-cost passive treatment techniques to reduce copper concentrations in the near-freezing mine discharge.

Jan 1, 2000

By T. R. C. Aston

Extensive undersea coal reserves, identified in the offshore portion of the Sydney coalfield, Nova Scotia, have resulted in the implementation of a multi-year research program to develop site specific guidelines for the undersea longwall mining operations. At present, uncertainty exists regarding the applicability of the current undersea mining guidelines. Preliminary studies have revealed four potential schemes for monitoring seafloor longwall subsidence profiles: seasurface, subsea, geophysics, and direct monitoring. However, further work has indicated that the use of marine geophysical techniques may be the most effective method of identifying and evaluating seafloor subsidence profiles by comparing pre- and post-mining seafloor topographies.

Jan 1, 1990

By J. C. Stankus, S. S. Peng

Many coal seams are associated with soft floor strata. During mine development, if coal pillars are not properly designed, floor heave occurs and causes interruption of coal production. In the severe cases, the section or mine is abandoned. One method for controlling floor heave is floor bolting. This paper describes the demonstration of flour bolting methods in a West Virginia, info coal mine. Three methods were used: vertical full resin bolting, floor truss bolting and floor truss bolting pins a floor slot at the center of the entry. The design of each method and the experimental results are discussed.

Jan 1, 1995

By Richard E. Gertsch

The recent upswing in mining coincided with increased environmental concern. These trends have significantly increased regulation, but have not always provided sound environmental protection. Throughout, mining has remained passive, reacting to initiatives from outside. The high road to environmental protection must be an active strategy. The mining industry must take the lead and develop an environmental program effective in price and protection. It must involve all levels of mining. The mining industry should be the real environmental activist. We have the most to gain by sound environmental protection and the most to lose if the environment decays.

Jan 1, 1991

By M. M. Hajdasinski

In his recent paper, Torries (1998a) came to the defense of the much-criticized internal rate of return (IRR) as a project evaluation and ranking criterion. Torries also offered his own approach to the IRR-based project ranking, which he believes to be a more practical alternative to the conventional incremental-ranking approach, which Torries considers to be misleading. In an earlier paper (Hajdasinski, 2000), the author demonstrated that Torries' arguments vindicating the IRR concept are invalid. This paper provides logical and numerical evidence that the same is also true with regard to Torries' IRR based project-ranking approach.

Jan 1, 2000

By Jerry W. Danni, John E. Hardaway

Corporations today must comply with an ever growing number of complex and increasingly stringent environmental laws and regulations. An environmental audit program is an effective means in which to uniformly and systematically assess compliance, and to assure management that environmental liabilities are being minimized. This paper describes the design and implementation of Homestake Mining Company's environmental audit program, which has as its primary focus the objective verification of compliance with external requirements and internal good management practices. Major elements of the audit program discussed in the paper include: pre-audit preparation; on-site audit activities; and the post-audit report.

Jan 1, 1992

By P. Lausch, R. A. Mercer, J. F. Archibald

An innovative, polyurethane-based, spray on rock-lining material, designated Mineguard™ by its developers, is being manufactured to provide rapidly deployable area support coverage for specific use in underground hardrock mines. This form of surface-coating agent is intended to replace both shotcrete and the screen component of bolt-and-screen support systems. Due to the rapid rate of application, ease of installation and ability to achieve a 90% cure within seconds of application, Mineguard™ has considerable potential for use in mining and excavation operations that require a rapid rate of advance and a high degree of automation.

Jan 1, 1996

By H. Suharyono, M. Lutsky, R. Hogg

Sediment consolidation in highly flocculated suspensions occurs only if the self-weight of the material exceeds its compressive yield stress. A simple model for sediment densification is presented and applied to the simulation of thickener operations. Measured relationships between sediment self-weight and the extent of consolidation are used to establish underflow densities. Supernatant turbidity data provide the information necessary to predict overflow clarity. It is shown that thickener depth can play a role in determining solids-handling capacity as well as dewatering performance. The application of the model to the design and operation of full-scale thickeners is described.

Jan 1, 1995