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By J. Stowe

"While there has been continual improvement in the models for predicting deposition velocity and pipeline friction losses, the fundamental design philosophy for tailings pipelines has remained the same over the previous three or four decades: design the tailings pipeline to operate in turbulent flow without a deposit on the pipe invert for all expected process conditions. Recent improvements in the understanding of slurry pipeline flows allows for the design of pipelines operating with a deposit on the pipe invert, allowing the system to operate at moderate velocities for high flow rates, optimizing system energy requirements and maximizing pipeline wear life.Tailings pipelines are increasingly operated at higher solids concentrations when there is a greater likelihood the pipeline will operate in laminar flow due to the higher tailings slurry rheology. Historically, slurry pipelines have been operated in turbulent flow. We now know that laminar-flow pipeline operation is possible as there are several operational laminar-flow tailings pipelines. While our understanding of laminar-flow slurry pipelines is not complete, recent research provides guidance on how to approach the design of these pipelines.New sensor technology has led to the development of an instrument that provides reliable indication of bed-deposit height within a pipeline. This technology is particularly helpful in operating pipelines with a deposit and has application in better understanding the operation of laminar-flow pipelines. Failure of tailings pipelines can result in consequent damage to surrounding structures and unacceptable spillage into the environment. Modern pipeline leak detection technology allows operators to better manage this risk by ensuring safe and reliable operation of tailings pipelines.This article provides an overview of the each of the above advances in the design and operation of tailings pipelines.Operating tailings pipelines with a depositTailings pipelines, and slurry pipelines in general, are typically designed to operate without a deposit on the pipeline invert. Meaning, the minimum operating velocity exceeds the turbulent deposition velocity. This approach has been adopted due to concerns regarding potential blockage of a pipeline operating with a deposit."

Jun 1, 2019

By Ben W. Burdett

The operation of an electrolytic refining tank house is an art as well as a science. If the electro-refining industry is to progress, a better understanding of the refining process is necessary. This would help to reduce the amount of training necessary to produce competent tank house operators who, in turn, would be able to increase both quantity and quality of the tank house product. To aid in understanding this process, quantitative relationships between the critical tank house variables must be established. The inherent major contributor to inefficiency in most tank houses is short circuits. By quantifying the effect of short circuits on each of the other variables in the system, as well as their effect on over- all system performance, better decisions regarding manpower allocation can be made. Current distribution under short circuit conditions, which has always been somewhat of a mystery, can be studied in detail. The relative importance of electrolyte balance, proper anode-cathode spacing, low contact resistance at points of electrical connection, and other system variables can be determined, With a better understanding of these variables, the steps necessary to increase current efficiency are more easily defined. Relationships between most of these variables are described in qualitative terms in the literature, but quantitative relationships between tank house variables have never been established. A realistic mathematical model of the tank house could be used to test the effect of variations in a single variable on other variables in the system, and thus define the quantitative relationships between tank house variables. It is not the purpose of this paper to establish these relationships, but to describe a recently developed model that can assist in their establishment. A computer program implementing this model has been applied to examine the effect of short circuits on overall current distribution. Some of the results are given here as examples of the utility of this program.

Jan 1, 1973

By Chee S. Theng

As the 2018 president of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration Inc., I am pleased to present the 2018 issue of the Transactions of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration Inc., Vol. 344. A significant portion of the contribution that we make as a professional society is the publication of professional and technical papers that accelerate the advancement of scientific knowledge and enable the transfer of technology. Communication within the mining community is the key to a successful society. This technology exchange continues a tradition that dates back to the 1871 meeting of 22 mining engineers in Wilkes-Barre, PA, that resulted in the founding of the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers (AIME). Those individuals envisioned that these transaction volumes “would form a most valuable and greatly needed addition to our professional literature.” This volume fulfills that pledge. The 2018 Transactions consists of a total of 59 technical papers, encompassing all 25 papers published in 2018 in the Technical Papers Section of Mining Engineering (Vol. 70) and all 26 papers published in 2018 in Minerals & Metallurgical Processing (Vol. 35). Additionally, this volume contains 8 papers that are being published for the first time in this issue. The papers presented in this volume were written by some of the most distinguished professionals in the industry worldwide. All of the technical papers were peer-reviewed. The process of review and publication requires much hard work by authors, reviewers and our Publications staff. As the 2018 president of SME and on behalf of all our members, I would like to extend our gratitude to all whose volunteer efforts contributed to the publication of this volume. The new year brings an exciting change. The publication of Transactions will cease with this volume. Instead, our Minerals & Metallurgical Processing journal has the new name of Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration (MME), and Transactions as well as the Technical Papers Section of Mining Engineering are incorporated into MME. The journal is published in partnership with Springer Nature, and all SME members have free electronic access to the journal.

Jan 1, 2018

By R. H. Moore, B. D. Breitenstein

INTRODUCTION The United States Uranium Registry (USUR) tissue program was funded in 1978 by the United States Department of Energy (DOE) through its Human Health and Assessments Division, and registrant enrollment began in 1980. It is operated by Hanford Environmental Health Foundation (HERF), Richland, Washington, with support provided by Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL).** The USUR tissue program is the first systematic effort to contact and gain assistance of workers occupationally exposed to uranium and to seek and study uranium deposition in human tissue. This paper describes the program objectives, populations selected for study, procedures for enrolling workers in the program, types of tissue to be studied, and analytical procedures to be used. PROGRAM OBJECTIVES The objectives of the USUR tissue program are to: 1) Determine the distribution and concentration of uranium, if any, in the tissues of occupationally exposed workers. 2) Compare bioassay measurements of exposed individuals with the results of analyses of tissues obtained at autopsy. 3) Seek evidence of histopathologic changes related to any uranium deposition that may be present. 4) Conduct analyses of whole bodies, when available, to obtain more precise data on the uranium burdens, if any, in the body and organs, and especially the distribution in parts of the body, such as the skeleton, that are not usually accessible for sampling. 5) Develop data that will assist in evaluating a) the accuracy of current in-vivo measurement techniques, b) the propriety of existing regulations, and c) the adequacy of current protection programs. SELECTION OF POPULATIONS FOR STUDY Selection of the populations for the USUR tissue program was based on studies of the United States Uranium Registry described elsewhere (0c81). Potential populations for study were quite varied because of occupational exposure to different chemical forms of uranium, different levels and eras of exposure, varying ability to identify populations exposed in the past, and the general interest and cooperativeness of the populations. Nevertheless, certain identifiable populations emerged that were both willing to participate in the study and likely to provide useful information. Among the targeted populations are individuals who were exposed to uranium prior to the existence of modern exposure standards. These individuals are presently being enrolled by the USUR. The reliability of concentration and distribution data and the demonstration of effects are more likely in such individuals than in those who have received less exposure. However, the targeted groups also include individuals who Have been exposed to permissible levels of uranium, and reference employees in uranium plants who have not worked with uranium. The lesser exposures are of immediate interest because of the rarity of heavy exposures under current standards. The sampling of potentially exposed individuals with negative in-vivo measurement results may serve to check the adequacy of in-vivo measurements in the detection of deposition. [ENROLLMENT PROCEDURE] The enrollment of participants follows three patterns. 1) Presently employed workers are enrolled by the cooperative efforts of USUR staff with the medical, industrial relations, and/or health physics personnel of the uranium facility. Volunteers may be enrolled by medical personnel at the time of their physical examination or by health physics personnel at the time of a bioassay or lung counting procedure. Follow-up after initial contacts with currently employed uranium workers is carried out by on-site personnel, but subsequent follow-up is the responsibility of the Registry. 2) Retired workers are contacted by mail, with a covering letter from their former employer supporting the principles of the study but leaving participation in the program on an entirely voluntary basis. 3) An alternate method of enrollment is to obtain a USUR autopsy consent after death from the next of kin. As part of enrollment in the program, permission is requested for access to the individual's medical and exposure data, and a short occupational history is filled out. The autopsy permission agreement signed by the individual is for an initial period of 5 years; the USUR ordinarily seeks renewal of the agreement upon its expiration. While this agreement provides

Jan 1, 1981

L.R. Bower In regard to the paper by J.B. Gwiazda, it makes a highly technical approach to show that the µ factor used by designers of lemniscate-guided roof supports has never really been confirmed as a maximum and assumes that convergence is vertical. Also, the paper does not appear to take into account deflection of structures, which occurs when the lemniscate and base members are fully loaded to their maximum stress level, nor the front to back line of the support in relation to differential roof to floor movements caused by strata movements under pressure. It is not unusual for differential movements to be slightly diagonal to the line of the support, particularly in faulted areas and on gradient faces. The paper also does not take into account consolidation of fines immediately above and below the support. Generally speaking, any differential movement is from face to waste and under these conditions the µ of 0.3, which appears to be an international standard, has worked in practice. However, if the face end of the support is lower than the waste end, then the µ of 0.3 can be considerably increased, giving rise to the damage mentioned in the paper. The ideal design should aim for a slightly forward bias in the lemniscate guide so that the last increment of setting is toward the face, tending to close any fissures that may have developed during the support advance cycle. The support should also be fitted with positive set valves to ensure that a high setting load density is attained to minimize bed separation. As far as powered supports are concerned, convergence is irresistible and all powered supports converge at their rated yield load. A similar principle can be applied to the differential roof to floor movements to drastically reduce the very high forces that would otherwise be applied to the lemniscate structures and pins and that, in turn, are transferred to the base arrangement and floor loading. Any differential movements are usually catered for by the 0.3 µ factor or deflection of structures in the lemniscate guide arrangement and consolidation of the floor. The floor loading, due to differential movement, is in addition to the support convergence load and requires additional bearing area to avoid possible floor penetration. Some seven years ago, Fletcher Sutcliffe Wild Ltd. (FSW) introduced a lemniscate-guided shield support where the lemniscate linkage is connected to the roof bar through two horizontally converging rams to allow differential movement to take place above a given rated figure. This is a known force and can be guarded against, whereas with rigid connections the forces, as yet, are unconfirmed. By careful design, a horizontal force in excess of 6 MN (60 tons) opposes differential movements for a total ram loading of only 2.5 MN (25 tons), or 1.25 MN (12% tons) each. This principle can considerably reduce the length and weight of the support in comparison with a rigid pin-type structure ; also, the yield load rating can be increased without affecting the lemniscate forces. The graph shows the tensile and compressive forces in a lemniscate linkage of a support with and without hydrostore. These forces react into both the roof beam and base members and, as can be seen from the support height to linkage load graph, a considerable reduction in these reactions is gained by the use of the FSW patented hydrostore system. Floor loading is considerably reduced under maximum µ conditions, and by allowing the roof bar to move with the strata, some degree of improvement to strata control is achieved in line with the assumptions in the paper. In practice, these movements have only been in the region of a few millimeters, which, in turn, reflects on the improvements to strata control by the addition of positive set valves. Supports to this design of both 450- and 280-t (496-and 309-st) rating have been successfully used in the United Kingdom for several years, negotiating many faulted areas without one single reported need for repair or maintenance. This includes supports left unattended during the year-long strike, proving the reliability of the system.

Jan 8, 1986

By Archie M. Richardson, Carl E. Brechtel, Tom R. Kelly, Frank Feero

Recent work to upgrade the ventilation system for the el Mochito lead/zinc mine in central Honduras is discussed. Network modeling and underground measurements were used to evaluate cost-effective alternatives for achieving satisfactory ventilation in a complex and expanding underground operation. Both interim and long-term solutions were implemented to make mining possible under difficult conditions. INTRODUCTION Mining operations at the el Mochito Mine, located in the central highlands of Honduras, Central America, have been virtually continuous since the opening of the mine in 1948. Initially a high-grade silver mine, the mine has expanded along a westward trend of pipe-like orebodies to a distance of roughly one mile from two centrally located shafts. Production of the relatively large San Juan orebody at the western most extension of the mine (Paddock, 1981) led to the introduction of diesel-powered equipment; however, the ventilation infrastructure was insufficient to meet the needs of mechanized mining. A succession of owners/operators in the 1980s allowed the existing ventilation infrastructure to decay to the point that ventilation in the production areas of the mine was very poor. Environmental conditions in some working areas were not conducive to efficient ore extraction because of high dry bulb temperature, high humidity, and diesel emissions. Upon acquiring the mine in 1990, Breakwater Resources of Tucson, Arizona began an aggressive program to refurbish the mine infrastructure to complete extraction of the San Juan orebody and to allow the extension of the mine another 2500 ft to the west for extraction of the Nacional orebody. The program included increasing the capacity of the main ventilation system. This article presents a case history of the process of upgrading the ventilation system in a mine where extensive old workings cause large air leakage. This process has been one of selecting solutions to difficult technical problems that are compatible with the existing mine infrastructure and economic constraints. The initial ventilation system is described in the background section, along with ventilation projections for the mine expansion. Field characterization of the ventilation system for design verification and fan specification is then discussed. The paper describes a series of interim changes to the system to improve ventilation pending completion of new ventilation boreholes. In addition, the temperature/ heat problems in the mine are described. BACKGROUND Initial Condition of Ventilation System The ventilation system is illustrated in Figure 1, which shows the extent of mining with the main ventilation paths superimposed. Early mining around the two shafts opened up vertical connections (stopes and raises) over the entire 2420 ft (737.6 m) of vertical extent, and mining progressed to the west primarily using compressed air and electric-powered equipment. Since ventilation was not a complex problem in the original mining system, the stopes and interconnecting raises were not sealed. The San Juan orebody was much larger than the silver ore zones mined previously, being primarily zinc and other base metals. Its geometry, size, and grade allowed the use of vertical crater retreat (VCR) stoping with diesel mucking and haulage equipment. Its depth, along with the existence of warm groundwater, resulted in a mine climate problem on the lower levels. To establish a complete ventilation circuit, two vertical boreholes (Bonanza Nos. 1 and 2) had been drilled by previous owners from the surface in the vicinity of the San Juan orebody. The system design called for air to be drawn down the intake shafts, across the lower mine levels to the San Juan workings, then up through the San Juan ramps and ore passes to these two exhaust boreholes (see Figure 1). In practice, however, only the Bonanza No. 1 borehole was drawing air through the desired path. Leakage across the old upper levels from the intake shafts, the Caliche tunnel, and from intervening abandoned stopes and raises supplied most of the air flowing to the base of the Bonanza No. 2 borehole. In effect, there were two ventilation circuits in semi-parallel through the mine, of which only one was delivering appreciable air to the San Juan workings.

Jan 1, 1993

By Joseph F. Shirley

Introduction Inorganic depressants are chemicals added to the froth flotation process to maintain or produce hydrophylic surfaces on one or more minerals so they will remain in the pulp rather than attach to the air bubbles. Whether a depressant will be effective in depressing a given mineral depends on how it is used and the environment in which it is used. Some depressants must be added and conditioned into the pulp before the collector is added. Other depressants can be added in the presence of previously added collectors and effectively depress the desired minerals. Often the concentration of depressant relative to the collector concentration is critical to making an economic separation. It should be noted that some depressants will only work when specific collectors have been used. Some reagents such as sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide essentially act as depressants by altering the previously added collectors so that they are no longer effective. Some depressants such as sodium ferrocyanide are only effective in a very limited pH range and an essentially collector free environment. Major Depressants CaO Milk of Lime is by far the most used depressant both in tonnage and dollar value. Although it is most commonly listed as a pH modifier, it is also an important depressant for pyrite in copper and copper molybdenite flotation plants. Although a simple pH adjustment will often depress pyrite, there are times when grinding with fresh milk of lime is required to obtain optimum depression. Lime is also a molybdenite and gold depressant. NaSH Sodium hydrosulfide is by far the most commonly used reagent to depress copper and iron sulfide minerals in by-product molybdenite flotation plants. NaSH also depresses gold, silver sulfides and silver chloride. ZnSO4 Zinc sulfate is commonly used to depress sphalerite in lead-zinc and copper-lead- zinc flotation plants. It has also been used to effectively depress talc in by-product molybdenite circuits at a pH of 6.5.

Jan 1, 1986

By N. E. Norman

A great deal of effort has been put forth in recent years to arrive at accurate projections of the demands for tunnels in this decade. In reviewing the statistics presented by various study groups, it appears that during the decade from 1960-69, there were some 1,335 miles of rock and soft ground construction tunnels excavated throughout the world. These statistics indicate 645 miles of rock tunnel and 689 miles of soft ground tunnel were excavated during the last decade. This is expected to increase to 3,000 miles in the 1970's according to projections made by various authorities in the field of construction tunneling. I point out the above statistics to emphasize two main points: (1) The demands for tunneling in this decade alone are staggering. (2) There is a fairly even distribution in the amount of rock tunneling and soft ground tunneling being excavated. Unfortunately, available statistics do not answer many important questions about tunneling which are of great importance to the contractor and to boring machine designers. For example, how many of the projects completed in the past decade involved both soft ground and rock tunneling? How many projects involved tunneling in conditions where both rock and soft ground were contacted at the same face. While the answers to these questions remain unanswered, I am sure most of you can think of numerous examples of projects where mixed face conditions are prevalent. Many of you are probably familiar with the Austin Crosstown Interceptor which was bid last month in Austin, Texas. Here is a project involving 57,000 feet of tunnel where limestones and clay shales are expected to be traversed. Another project, the Tonner Tunnels No. 1 and No. 2, near Los Angeles, involve some 22,000 feet of tunnel where mixed soil and rock conditions are expected. A large majority of the projected tunnels for this decade are to

Jan 1, 1997

By David A. Summers, Clark R. Barker

INTRODUCTION The use of high pressure water as a means of excavating valuable mineral from the earth dates back many hundreds of years, but is most familiar through its use in sluicing the gold bearing deposits of California and Alaska. Interestingly, that practice, which dates back from at least 1852, is now nearly defunct with only one known surviving hydraulicking operation.(l) In that particular development water under a relatively low, natural pressure head is carried to a nozzle and from the nozzle it is thrown a distance of perhaps 20 ft to wash the gold bearing material down into a channel from whence it's carried over some mineral collector, and the water is then recirculated. Development of this practice in coal mining began in Russia in 1915, and Dr. Muchnik established the criteria for hydraulic mining during the 1930's. The first water jet mine was established underground in 1939 and has been followed by several larger mines to the present day where there are at least 11 large mines producing about 10 million tons of coal per year in the Soviet Union.(2) Water jet mining has expanded from Russia through Japan, Germany, Poland, Czekoslovakia, and mainland China. The nearest location to the United States is currently at the Kaiser Mine in Sparwood, British Columbia, where a three-man crew has mined up to 3,400 tons of coal in a 6-hr shift. There are many advantages to this particular operation. It is one of the safest mining operations for coal in Canada and has won safety awards because of this. The process is relatively cheap since the cost of the equipment is much lower than that which would be required conventionally using either longwall or shortwall mining, and transportation is achieved by fluming the coal to a central station using a gravity feed and then pumping to the surface, (3) For this

Jan 1, 1976

By Zhongxue Li, Wenguang Li, Yiqing Zhao, Shuaiqi Wang

"Faced with the serious managerial situations and diverse conditions and needs for mine safety, occupational health and environmental stewardship in Chinese mining communities, an evidence-based approach is proposed for the management of mine safety, health and environment integrity. By the proposed approach, tangible and effective scientific evidence should be collected and accumulated, and the authenticity, accuracy and applicability of the evidence should be assessed to form an evidence-based approach for characterizing mine safety, health and environmental hazards and risks from multidimensional perspectives. The results are then used to formulate diverse safety, health and environment functional requirements. In an evidence-based approach, the evidence is combined with the professional experiences and the actual economic and technological situations, availability and affordability of a mine. This approach is helpful to establish scientific, reasonable, acceptable and effective solutions for identifying and mitigating hazards and improving the level of mine safety, health and environment integrity of mining operations.Introduction / Background In recent years, economic reforms have opened China's economy so that Chinese society has rapidly modernized. Along with this advancement, the exploitation and utilization of mineral resources continues to be active and the scale of mining production continues to increase, which has created a deterioration in resource reserves and as well as the general condition of mining technology. There are many hazards and safety problems in mine production and occupational health as well as in the community environment in China’s mining industry. These problems threaten the security of China's mines and present serious obstacles and challenges to the industry and the government. According to the statistics from the State Administration of Work Safety Supervision, there were 50,500 mine safety incidents in China between 2001 and 2013, which consisted of 31,439 coal mine safety accidents and 19,061 non-coal mine safety accidents, resulting in 30 deaths (Qin 2014). At the same time, mineral dust and radioactive material from mine production processes have increased the morbidity rate of silicosis and cancer in mining workers."

Jan 1, 2017

By William J. Maloney

OVERVIEW Blind drilled shafts are becoming increasingly popular, particularly in the Appalachian coalfields, as a secondary and sometimes primary means of ventilation. The reasons for the rebirth of the blind shaft are mainly due to it's economics, timeliness, safety characteristics and inherent independence from underground operations. Historically blind drilling has been used to a limited degree in hard rock and tunneling ventilation. With the recent advances in cutters, bit design, equipment and lining systems, particularly in the Appalachian coalfields, blind drilled shafts are once again the shaft construction technique of choice to the educated ventilation specialist. [ ] HISTORY OF BLIND DRILLING Blind drilling has it's roots in numerous places, including the Nevada Test site, the coalfields of Appalachia and Germany along with the uranium mines of Arizona. Early technology was developed using a variety of equipment mainly of oilfield origin with oilfield drillers entering the industry on a project basis only to "pull in their horns" and return to the oil patch. Shafts completed by oilfield equipment range from the shallow 5' and 6' lined shafts on the Nevada test site to two (2) 10' lined, 730' deep shafts in Alberta for heavy oil development. Several of these shafts were completed to extraordinary depths with the record being a 90" diameter, 6,150' deep shaft being completed in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska in 1969. EQUIPMENT Oilfield equipment is still being used on the Nevada test site but elsewhere specialized blind hole equipment has been developed to enhance the efficiency of particular applications. Where steel liners are required the A-leg derrick with a simple hoist and rotary system is used. The largest user of this type equipment in the world is the former USSR where blind drilling for mine ventilation is the norm. On applications where trip time and cutter changeout are a priority, top drive hydraulic rigs have been developed which are highly automated, efficient and mobile. These rigs are particularly well suited for tunneling applications where shafts are shallow and sites are usually tight.

Jan 1, 1993

By Donald A. Dahlstrom, Wai-Ping Kam

The mineral industry and individual processing plants are large consumers of energy. While energy conservation has received some attention in the present Federal Administration National Energy Strategy proposal it is obvious that the mineral industry should also continue to emphasize energy consumption reduction for important economic savings alone. As indicated by other studies, comminution is the largest single consumer of energy in the mineral processing plant (1.3% of total electrical energy consumption in the U.S.A.).1 Fine grinding is the largest portion of this amazing statistic. While substantial energy savings have been demonstrated by new machine developments and improved control methods, undoubtedly there are additional areas in comminution where substantial progress can be made. Some time ago, the U.S. Department of Energy published a report on "Comminution and Energy Consumption" by a committee composed of experts in the field of comminution from industry and academia. They identified the following potential for energy savings by specific areas? Classification device design 9-13% Comminution device design 3-16% Control 9% Grinding additive 3-6% Materials 3% It is apparent that the classification device had the first or second highest savings potential. Obviously, serious research consideration must be given to this technology area. A series of three papers have previously been written on the subject of two stage classification research work for ball mill operation by the authors. Accordingly, a brief review will be made. Previous Research Results on Two Stage Classification The hydrocyclone was selected as the type of classification equipment for this study as it represents by far the majority of the devices used in ball milling. While four different hydrocyclone circuits have been proposed by others,3 only two were considered in this work as illustrated in Figure 1. Flowsheet A is truly counter-current in nature in that the product from the ball milling circuit is taken from the first stage overflow

Jan 1, 1992

By G. L. Bloomsburg, E. G. Zahl

INTRODUCTION During the past decade, disposal of mine and mill waste material has become an increasingly important issue. Problems of structural stability and seepage effects on stability have been well addressed, and significant technological advances have been achieved [(1-4)]. The primary problem currently facing industry in the waste disposal area is environmental protection. The greatest environmental concern is over the amount of seepage or leachate entering the ground or surface water systems. Methods to determine the quantity of water seeping from a tailings pond have also been covered in the literature [(5-23)]. However, much further work is necessary to fully implement these techniques to evaluate tailings pond performance and accurately predict the various influences of disposal management on seepage from mill tailings. This study is an effort to develop those necessary techniques. The partially saturated method of analysis which is discussed here is applicable to most situations involving seepage from waste piles. In a conventional type of tailings pond, a slime layer is ordinarily built up under the ponded area. This material will consolidate slowly from capillary pressures and the weight of material deposited above it. In situations where this consolidation results in a slime layer of lower permeability than the native foundation soil, a partially saturated flow condition will usually exist in the native soil. This will result in a smaller quantity of water entering the ground-water system than would be predicted by saturated flow analysis. The finite-element program used in this study was originally developed by Neuman [(17)] and is called UNSAT2. The program will analyze problems of saturated or unsaturated, steady or nonsteady flow and can be used with a variety of boundary conditions such as constant flux, constant pressure, maximum flux, minimum pressure, and with infiltration, evaporation, and seepage surfaces. The maximum conditions are controlled by exterior factors such as atmospheric conditions; but the actual flow in the porous media is determined by properties of the porous media. In this test, the computer code was used

Jan 1, 1980

By Kenneth F. Wyman

The following report details the successful construction of Contract 2A of the Three Rivers Water Quality Management Program, Intrenchment Creek Combined Sewer Overflow Conveyance System, in DeKalb County for the City of Atlanta, Georgia. The contract required construction of approximately 2878 m (9443 ft) of tunnel bored to an initial diameter of 7.95 m (26 ft 1 in), with provisions to concrete line those portions designated by the engineer to a finished internal diameter of 6.91 m (22 ft 8 in). Flanking the tunnel are two shafts. The upstream shaft was excavated to a nominal diameter of 4.87 m (16 ft) to accommodate a finished internal diameter of 3.66 m (12 ft). This shaft required a transition boot fully concrete lined to final dimensions of 6.91 m (22 ft 8 in) wide, 13.72 m (45 ft) long, and varying in height from 6.91 m (22 ft 8 in) to 12.80 m (42 ft). Associated work necessary to complete the contractual obligations included installation of 22.86 m (75 ft) of cut-and-cover box culvert, 484 m (1589 ft) of open-cut sewer installation in sizes ranging from 0.30 m (12 in) to 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in), one river crossing, 137.46 m (451 ft) of monolithic concrete trapezoidal channel, and installation of 19125 cu m (25000 cu yd) of select fill material compacted and graded to finished contours. The downstream shaft was excavated to a minimum diameter of 12.04 m (39 ft 6 in) and concrete lined to a finished internal diameter of 10.67 m (35 ft). Requirements here included installation of a complete pumping station with all mechanical, electrical, and structural elements necessary for dewatering the tunnel through the controlled use of four 250 hp submersible pumps discharging into the facilities of the Intrenchment Creek Water Pollution Plant. The objective of this project was to collect combined storm runoff and sanitary flows currently coursing through Intrenchment Creek

Jan 1, 1985

By Wolfgang Pietsch

Roller presses were first invented in the middle of the 19th century, for the economical size enlargement of coal fines as fuels. Coal briquettes became quickly accepted for industrial and domestic use giving rise to a large and sucessful industry, particularly in Europe, Japan, and North America. When, towards the middle of the 20th century, coal was more and more replaced by other energy sources, such as electricity, gas, and oil, roller press manufacturers searched for alternate applications of this equipment. In addition to contemporary coal briquetting, in fields such as smokeless fuel and form-coke, it was found that redesigned and modernized roller presses, which are now capable of exerting high forces, are versatile machines for many tasks in mineral processing. Today they are used for: - the "classic" pressure agglomeration and - the "new" high pressure comminution. In pressure agglomeration, the characteristics of fine minerals are improved by forming briquettes or granulated products from compacts. During size enlargement with roller presses briquettes are directly obtained while granular materials are produced by crushing and sizing of compacted sheets. The processes are carried-out essentially dry and often do not require binders other than those inherently contained in the feed and "activated" by the high forces and/or elevated feed temperatures (e.g. hot briquetting). Therefore, no foreign materials (impurities) are added. Another advantage of the technology is, that wide particle size distributions are acceptable or desirable as feed materials, including millimeter or even centimeter sized particles. Plastic particles deform and brittle materials are crushed during pressure agglomeration. A relatively new application of roller presses in mineral processing is the utilization of the crushing effect when brittle materials pass the nip area between the rollers. It was found that this crushing mechanism is very efficient thus saving energy, particularly in grinding circuits handling large capacities. The paper introduces the fundamentals of the process and describes the design as well as applications of modern roller presses in mineral processing.

Jan 1, 1995

By Andrew Burton, Damian Schofield, Jeremy Noond

This paper will introduce and discuss a range of techniques that utilise new developments in Computer Graphics (CG) and Virtual Reality (VR) for the investigation of incidents and accidents in mining environments. The future of mining safety may not be totally led by the demands of the mine operators, but sometimes by the academics, commercial software developers and legal pioneers who generate new ideas and products and set admissibility precedents which may change the way certain traditional investigative operations are performed. In any accident investigation the outcome from the investigating team is often a complex affair and the results of the investigation are often reported in large, convoluted documents. Computer-generated forensic reconstructions allow investigators to present accident scenarios in an accessible and easily understood, visual manner. Surveys in the US have also shown that people have increased recall of computer-generated images over many other forms of evidence. The AIMS Research Unit in the UK have been pioneering the use of Computer Graphics (CG) and Virtual Reality (VR) technology for both industrial and road traffic accident reconstruction. This paper and accompanying presentation will contain examples of forensic reconstructions developed by the authors that explain some of the methodologies used to ensure admissibility of this type of digital evidence. The paper will contain a number of case studies based on UK and International industrial accidents. The paper will focus on how AIMS Research is extending the capabilities of the accident reconstructions created to take advantage of the latest developments in VR technology. As digital technology makes its impact within professional and commercial fields, computer generated forensic reconstructions will form important admissible evidence in the courtrooms of the future. The technology will also make a great impact in the way we train our workforces, with highly visual three-dimensional (3D) interactive training tools becoming the norm. Acceptance by the public, courts and workforce is an important issue, and implementation strategies must be considered carefully.

Jan 1, 2002

By S. Henley

There is much in common between the requirements of open-pit mining and quarrying operations. Both involve the extraction of large volumes of material from surface excavations. The principal differences are of degree: open-pit mining of materials such as coal or gold generally involves the extraction of only small volumes of 'mineral' and large volumes of waste-they are operations with very high stripping ratios, and are made viable only because of the high unit value of the extracted mineral. In quarrying operations, the unit value of the mineral - sand, aggregate, limestone, or clay - is much lower, but stripping ration Are also lower. Thus the same techniques of geological modelling, reserve estimation, and pit planning are applicable, as is shown in two examples from the British quarrying industry. In each case, a primary requirement is the definition of production volume or tonnage. Sometimes, this need may be addressed simply by the use of a survey data processing package. However, in other cases, such as the two examples addressed in this paper, of sand and clay quarries, detailed assessment of the variation of mineral grades is a vital part of the exercise, and simple volumetric modelling cannot in itself be sufficient. In these cases, a block model approach using simple logical and numerical post-processing is also required to obtain required parameters for commercial classification of the products to be extracted. Pit designs themselves may be optimised by use of algorithms such as Lerchs-Grossmann, but the value of mineral produced can be dependent on factors other than its grade in any one part of a single pit, and the 'optimised' pit itself must be considered only a good sub-optimal. Given the right degree of healthy skepticism, and a software package with sufficient flexibility to be adapted readily to the rather different requirements of the quarrying industry, there is no reason why the quarrying industry should not benefit from the many years of investment in mining software technology.

Jan 1, 1989

By W. M. Ma, Daniel W. H. Su, K. Centofanti, Yi Luo, W. L. Zhong, Syd S. Peng

10.1 I~RODUC1'ION In order to understand the effects of surface subsidence due to underground mining on the ground water hydrology, a brief introduction to the rate, direction, and general pattern of ground water movement in aquifers is necessary. Ground water movement in an aquifer is controlled by aquifer lithology, structure, permeability, water levels, topographic set¬ting, and pumping patterns (Sgambat et al., 1980). Fig. 10.1 shows an idealized flow pattern of ground water in a hilly terrain (Coe and Stowe, 1984). The hill is made up of a series of interbedded permeable aquifers (mostly sandstone) and confining units (mostly shale). Since sandstone is porous and permeable, ground water moves through it downward and laterally until it reaches the interbeddings of the confining unit immediately below. The ground water then moves laterally along the interbeddings, be¬cause the confining unit is less permeable, and comes out as springs on the surface at the intersection of the aquifer and the confining unit. If there is a ground water table in each aquifer, it is a perched water table (e.g., right side of Fig 10.1). On the other hand, if the ground water recharge is larger than can be drained out, the interbedded permeable aquifers and confining units will be filled with water and a ground water table will exist only at the uppermost permeable aquifer. This is the semi-perched water table (e.g., left side of Fig. 10.1). There are three ground water flow systems: shallow, interme¬diate, and deep. Shallow flow systems occur near the land surface and the surface drainage system. The flow depth ranges from a few to several hundreds of feet with a resident time of a few weeks to a few years after entry, depending on the permeability of the rock strata. In a shallow flow system, the drainage coincides with sur¬face run-off water divides. Intermediate flow systems occur in minor hills some distance away from surface drainage. The travel distance ranges from several hundreds to several thousands of feet, the travel time from several months to tens of years. These systems are less dependent on seasonal recharge or discharge. In deep flow systems, the ground water travels from thousands of feet to miles, and transfers between surface basins. The travel time ranges from several tens to several hundreds of years. The systems generally receive recharge over a large area on major mountains and dis¬charge into major stream systems. 10.2 CASE STUDIES There are two ways of monitoring water wells for studying the effects of dewatering due to underground mining, i.e., water level and piezometric level. The water level is the water elevation in a water well that has penetrated two or more aquifers. Thus it indi¬cates the combined flow of all the aquifers that the water well intersects during the time of measurement. The piezometric level is the level to which water rises in a piezometer cased to a specific aquifer, and coincides with the pressure level of water in that aquifer. Therefore piezometric level reflects the water condition in that particular aquifer to which it is confined, while the water level represents the total yield of a water well without regard to the source of water. For instance, if a water well intersects two aqui¬fers, and if the lower aquifer is affected by undermining and goes dry while the upper aquifer does not, the water level in the well will drop, but may never go dry. Under this condition, the data obtained by monitoring the water level do not indicate the true behavior of the individual aquifers, especially if they are located at widely separated heights. 10.2.1 WATER LEVEL EFFECTS The effects of underground mining on ground water flow have been the subject of many investigations (Booth, 1984; Coe and Stowe, 1984; Owili-Eger, 1983; Rauch et al., 1984). However, the problems are very complicated, as have been exemplified by the conflicting conclusions reached by various investigators in var¬ious case studies. The most dramatic examples were described by Coe and Stowe (1984). In the first case (Fig. 10.2), the coal seam was 5 ft thick with cover from 400 to 800 ft deep. The majority of water supplies came from a sandstone aquifer in most ridge tops. When the face of the Panel No. 3 passed under it, dug well WW-1, which was approximately 670 ft above the coal, went dry, while the water level in Borehole B- 1, which was located at the center of Panel No. 4 with the bottom reaching the coal seam, also dropped about 160 ft. In Panel No. 5, the developed spring DS-2, which originated from the surface of the sandstone/shale contact and was approximately 750 ft above the coal seam, stopped when the face passed under it. The water level in the dug well W-2, which was dug into the shale about 700 ft above the coal seam dropped about 22 ft, but the well did not go dry. Therefore, nearly every spring or well located above or near the active panels was affected by longwall mining. In the second mine (Fig. 10.3), the seam was 5 ft thick with cover from 200 to 400 ft thick. Dug well DW-2, the bottom of which was 35 ft deep and approximately 330 ft above the coal seam in a perched sandstone aquifer, went dry right after the longwall passed under it. Drilled well W-3, in the sandstone aquifer, about 220 ft above the coal seam, experienced a 75-ft drop in water level when the face was under it, but showed some re¬covery after the face had passed under it. Ponds P- I and P-2 were developed in shale bedrock and were spring fed. They were not affected by longwall mining. Pond P-3 was developed in the sand¬stone aquifer, and its water table showed some decline when the face passed under it. Spring ST-1, which originated from Pond P-1 and was fed from several tributary valleys, was affected by longwall mining, probably because it passed across the panel edges where tension cracks drained off the water. Although the overbur¬den in case 2 was about half of that in case 1, the majority of water resources were not affected by longwall mining. Coe and Stowe (1984) attributed this discrepancy to: (1) a higher percentage of clays, shales, and claystones, resulting in a lesser degree of inter¬connected fracturing, and (2) a less rugged topography resulting in a less localized ground water flow system. Therefore, in order to assess the effects of underground mining, the premining ground water flow patterns, topographical, lithological, and meterological conditions must be known. Booth (1984) also monitored the ground water effects of a longwall mine (Fig. 10.4) in a seam 5 ft thick and 300 to 800 ft deep. There were three major aquifers: Morgantown sandstone approximately 30 ft thick and 630 ft above the coal; Saltsburg sandstone of up to 50 ft in thickness and 520 ft above the coal; and

Jan 1, 1992

By Yuexin Han, Mu. Yufan, Yanjun Li, Peng Gao, Yongsheng Sun

"The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of reduction temperature, reduction time and binary basicity on the size of metallic iron particles in coal-based reduction products of an oolitic iron ore. The particle size distribution behavior (i.e., cumulative passing percentage and mean size of metallic iron particles) during reduction was investigated in detail. Results showed that the particle size distribution of metallic iron particles was strongly influenced by reduction temperature, reduction time and binary basicity. The cumulative passing percentage and mean size significantly increased with reduction temperature and time in the entire range of the experiments. All curves of cumulative passing percentage versus particle size under different conditions demonstrated a similar trend (continuous increase). The size distribution parameters and mean size slightly increased with increasing binary basicity and significantly decreased when the binary basicity exceeded 1.0. The size of metallic iron particles could be controlled by adjusting the reduction conditions during coal-based reduction.IntroductionThe increasing demand for iron ore coupled with diminishing high-grade iron ore reserves has resulted in the urgent need for innovative technologies in order to use refractory iron ores. Oolitic iron ore is a typical refractory iron ore with tremendous abundance globally. Based on published literature, oolitic iron ore reserves are approximately 140 million tons in Europe, 10 billion tons in China and 66 million tons in Pakistan (Kazmi and Abbas, 2001; Wu et al., 2011; Yu and Qi, 2011; Sun et al., 2013a). Therefore, the efficient exploration and use of oolitic iron ore resources can play a significant role in easing the mineral resource crisis in the iron and steel industry. However, oolitic iron ore cannot be effectively upgraded by traditional beneficiation methods due to its mineralogical characteristics (e.g., low grade of iron, poor liberation of iron minerals and high phosphorus content) (Li et al., 2011b; Sun et al., 2013b).Researchers recently proposed coal-based reduction followed by magnetic separation to recover iron from refractory iron ores (especially oolitic iron ore) and a certain degree of breakthrough was achieved in both theory and practice. In this technology, iron minerals in the ore are directly reduced by coal to metallic iron, which grows into particles of different sizes. After comminution and liberation, metallic iron is concentrated by magnetic separation (Srivastava and Kawatra, 2009; Sun et al., 2013a; Li et al., 2011b; Sun et al., 2013b; Li et al., 2011c; Gao et al., 2013). Sun et al. and Gao et al. used this technology to examine the recovery of iron from oolitic and Bayan Obo iron ores, respectively (Sun et al., 2013a; Li et al., 2011b; Li et al., 2011c). Metallic iron powder with more than 90% iron content was obtained as the final product, which could be used directly in steel production."

Jan 1, 2015

By Peter J. Szabo

Many mining engineers tend to think of the economic analysis of mining ventures and projects on an f.o.b. mine basis. This is especially true of mines that are operated in an established domestic mining district. Here, transportation costs are many times smaller in comparison to overall delivered prices. One has only to consider the development economics of taconite mines in Minnesota with production destined for lower lake ports to see the truism of this statement. In the international arena, however, with consumers such as Japan and Europe located thousands of miles from source countries such as Brazil and Australia, the situation is different because mineral transportation is often a critical factor in determining project viability. This article is being presented to provide a basic understanding of the factors that govern ocean transportation of the three largest bulk mineral commodities shipped around the world: iron ore, coal, and phosphate. The major dry bulk commodity trades as a percentage of volume shipped are iron ore, 45%; grain, 25%; coal, 20%; phosphate rock, 5%; and bauxite and aluminum, 5%. Most of these commodities are carried by bulk carriers rather than tankers. These are vessels that have cargo, usually in solid form, loaded directly into the hold of a vessel by shore-side materials handling facilities or, in the case of a geared bulk carrier by the vessel's cranes and derricks. Gearless bulk carriers are used in most cases for iron ore and coal. Geared bulk vessels are mainly used for minor dry bulk trades such as ore concentrates (copper, lead, zinc, etc.), fertilizers (phosphate, potash, etc.), cement, petroleum, and coke. There has been, however, a trend toward using more self-unloading ships in both iron ore and coal ocean transport. And large vessels, such as the Universe Kure of Japan, have been designed with a cargo capability of 157 kt (155,000 dwt (deadweight tons)). Trade patterns of major bulk commodities are influenced by the Panama and Suez canals. Both of these canals have draft limitations that prohibit large, deep-draft, ocean-going vessels from using them for shorter trade routes used by Panamax and Suex vessels. The shipping industry has developed two widely used vessel classes; the Panamax and Suex vessels. The former is the maximum size vessel that can pass through the Panama Canal, usually 51-61 kt (50,000 - 60,000 dwt), depending on the season and draft of the vessel. The Panama Canal is usually 0.6-0.9 m (2-3 ft) deeper in the winter than in the summer. Thus, less cargo can be carried by the same size ship in the summer through the canal than in the winter. The Suex vessel is in the 71-81 kt (70,000-80,000 dwt) class. This larger vessel is able to transit the Suez since Egypt deepened the canal following the Seven Days War. Recently, the Suez Canal has been deepened to accommodate vessels with drafts as deep as 152 kt (150,000 dwt).

Jan 10, 1982