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By Wei Victor Liu, Na Zhang, Chengkai Fan, Bei Jiang

The truck haulage data from open-pit mine sites are usually massive and multidimensional with multi-peak Gaussian distributions. Artificial neural networks (ANNs) are well-known machine learning algorithms to handle massive and multidimensional data for building models. Moreover, Gaussian mixture modeling (GMM) is a suitable option for processing the data under multi-peak Gaussian distributions and improving model accuracy. For the first time, this study used a back propagation neural network (BPNN), an extreme learning machine (ELM), and a Bayesian regularized neural network (BRNN) coupled with GMM to deal with the complex truck haulage data and build three weighted ensemble models (WE-BPNN, WE-ELM, and WE-BRNN models) to predict truck productivity at mine sites. Decision tree (DT), random forest (RF), gradient boosting machine (GBM), and extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) were used to build models to be compared with the weighted ensemble models. The results showed that the WE-BRNN had a higher accuracy than the WE-BPNN and WE-ELM models. The proposed weighted ensemble models performed better than the benchmark models in predicting truck productivity, indicating that a weighted ensemble approach based on the GMM analysis significantly improved the model accuracy. Based on the relative importance analysis, haul distance was the most crucial input variable for predicting truck productivity. This study provides a new approach to predicting truck productivity, which will help mining companies make sound budget decisions and improve mine planning.

Mar 2, 2023

By S. Frisch

Selenium (Se) in effluent waters has become a significant challenge for a number of industries. Toxicity studies and new reports of occurrence have certainly caused increased scrutiny and actions in the mining industry today (Sandy, DiSante, 2010). While initial activity in addressing selenium-laden waters were conducted in the coal mining industry, today a much broader range of mine types are beginning to search for solutions to selenium treatment of their mining waters, including both hard rock mining operations (gold, nickel, zinc, etc.) and soft rock mining (phosphate, uranium, etc.) Throughout North America, new regulations covering selenium discharge are either in place or being developed. While a number of physical/chemical approaches show promise in selenium treatment, when considering optimal cost and treatment efficacy issues, biological treatment ? particularly fixed-film biological treatment - is reported to be one of the most promising approaches to managing selenium-containing waters. Among biological treatment options, the fluidized bed reactor (FBR) has undergone extensive pilot testing for Se treatment in the last three years, including eight pilot programs, and the first FBR system is now operating at a coal mining site. In all tests, the FBR has been shown to be a highly cost-effective approach to selenium treatment based on its physical and performance characteristics. This is consistent with its history for reaching low levels of treatment in similar service for other oxyanions including perchlorate, nitrate and various metals. With the results from the most recent testing, the technology has been shown to be adaptable to an ever-broadening range of influent water conditions and flow rates, in varying terrains and weather conditions. Selenium occurs in various valence states from -2 to +6 (Sobolewski, 2005). The speciation of selenium plays a critical role in understanding the effectiveness of any approach for removal, especially to low levels. Elemental selenium is insoluble and has little effect on living organisms. Colloidal fractions are known to occur. In aqueous environments such as coal mining runoff, selenium is most often found as the oxygenated anions of selenite (SeO32-, Se4+) and selenate, (SeO42-, Se6+). Selenium is commonly found in mining waters in concentrations ranging from 3 to >12,000 µg/L. The U.S. National Primary Drinking Water Standard MCL is 50 µg/L for selenium (EU 10 µg/L; WHO 40 µg/L). The National Fresh Water Quality Standard is 5 µg/L for selenium. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has recommended that the National Fresh Water Quality Standard be lowered to 2 µg/L to protect fish, waterfowl, and endangered aquatic species. Several states have followed with enforcement actions at these same low levels. In Canada, permits may require stakeholders to monitor levels in water or biota, or to comply with guidelines, at either the National or Provincial levels, which can be as low as 1 or 2 µg/L in surface waters. Treatment of selenium in all mining waters presents a series of challenges. It can be present in relatively dilute concentrations and in streams with variable and often high flow rates. It can be present in many soluble and particulate forms, which may affect process design and treatability. The conditions of influent selenium-containing waters can vary, with issues such as temperature, pH, total dissolved solids and other contaminants affecting the ability to remove selenium selectively and economically. Treatment of selenium often results in the generation of a concentrated by-product requiring disposal, and re-release from residuals can occur. Beyond these issues, the physical environment of a mining operation can offer challenges such as remoteness and harsh and/or cold weather. Currently available selenium treatment technology (Table 1) includes biological treatment and a number of physical-chemical processes ? such as ion exchange, membrane filtration and adsorption ? that vary widely in efficiency and cost. Most treatment options remain either too costly and/or unproven for selenium-containing streams for reasons that include poor removal efficiency, variability in volume and composition of influents, system sizing and logistics considerations, as well as operating requirements.

Feb 23, 2014

By Kadri Dagdelen, Steven Hoerger

For gold mines, orebody uncertainty is one of the leading causes of differences between planned and actual production. Geostatistical conditional simulations create multiple equally probable orebody block model realizations which are conditional to the current drilling information and demonstrate the sampled grade distributions and spatial statistics. These simulated block models are key inputs for a stochastic evaluation to show the likely range of grades and cash flows to be delivered by a mine plan. The stochastic evaluation outputs can be used to compare different mine plans in terms of expected values and risks to planned grades, production, costs, Net Present Value (NPV) and other plan metrics. For the McLaughlin gold mine, risk profiles are demonstrated to show how different mine, cut-off and stockpile strategies can reduce risk and improve expected value. The strategies considered were effective in improving expected NPV and reducing or eliminating tonnage uncertainty, but the strategies had little impact on reducing the uncertainty of NPV’s or mill grades. The stochastic evaluation process is also used to compare the risk impact of orebody uncertainty against the risk of not achieving planned mining tonnages or vertical advance rates. Risks for plans created with and without stochastic mine plan optimization are also compared.

Feb 1, 2025

By M. Hepokoski, M. Klein

"Mine refuge shelters are designed to protect mine workers from hazardous environmental conditions after a mine disaster, but high temperature and humidity levels inside these shelters may pose a significant safety risk. Due to the safety risks associated with human testing, detailed thermal models of shelters and human occupants have been developed using TAITherm simulation software. These models are used to predict the temperature and humidity within the shelter resulting from metabolic heating, evaporation due to sweat and respiration, moisture and heat from the shelter’s carbon dioxide scrubbing system, and heat transfer within the shelter. A detailed human thermoregulation model simulates the sensible and latent heat generated by the shelter occupants, and predicts the occupant’s body core temperature and moisture lost due to sweating and respiration. This information is used to assess the safety of the shelter. This paper presents the technical details of the human thermal model, validation comparing the human model to human subject test data, and results of a mine shelter analysis. IntroductionPortable mine refuge chambers are used in U.S. coal mines to provide protection to mine workers from hazardous conditions following a traumatic event. Although these shelters are designed to supply clean air and sustenance for up to 96 hours, prolonged exposure to the mine shelter environment itself can pose a substantial risk to human safety. Heat generated by the shelter occupants combined with heat from the carbon dioxide (CO2) scrubbing system can raise the shelter interior temperatures and relative humidity to dangerous levels that can lead to heat stress in humans. Unfortunately, the thermal burden associated with mine shelter exposure is not well characterized due to potential hazards associated with underground human subject testing. In order to assess the thermal burden on people within a mine shelter environment, a detailed thermal model was created to accurately predict the temperatures and humidity levels within the shelter, and the impact of these environmental conditions on human occupants. The model consists of a mobile inflatable tent-type mine shelter with 23 humans, and includes the surrounding mine environment. The thermal simulations were performed using a validated commercial heat transfer prediction computer software. Additionally, a module of the software provided the capability to simultaneously model the thermophysiology of 23 unique humans contained within the mine shelter. The human thermal models accounted for the thermal interaction with the environment and provided a core temperature response prediction that can be used to evaluate survivability in heat stress situations (U.S. Army, 2003). The models can also be used to determine maximum occupancy in order to maintain safe temperature and humidity levels inside the shelter in specific mine environments, to optimize shelter size for maximum heat dissipation, or to simulate active cooling systems."

Jan 5, 2017

By Derrick Chambers, George Kevin Chapin, M. Shawn Boltz

Seismic monitoring is one of the few noninvasive technologies with the potential to provide sub-surface geomechanical information to operators of large open-pit mines. Although passive seismic data has been used to refine emerging failure geometries and provide advance indication of surface deformations in the literature, doing so reliably in an operational context is much more difficult. This is due in part to difficulties in estimating and interpreting source locations and parameters in complex, low-stress open-pit environments. Additionally, the high costs associated with implementing, operating, and maintaining deep borehole seismic networks, which are most commonly used to monitor large open pits, can be difficult to justify, especially if monitoring benefits are not readily apparent. In this study, we explore the use of a near-surface nodal seismic deployment, which is commonly used in oil and gas exploration, for monitoring open-pit mining-related seismicity on a short-term basis. A deployment of 18 geophones was conducted on the surface in and around the Bingham Canyon Mine, a large open-pit mine near Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, where we find the small seismic array can detect and locate a variety of mining-related seismic sources, even with an extremely simplified velocity model. We outline the process of creating an idealized velocity model, developing a local magnitude scale, and interpreting the observed seismicity. Of note, we analyze a sequence of mining-induced events associated with a known structure on the south pit wall. We conclude with discussion on how surface-based deployments may be used to augment, or in some cases supplant, borehole seismic networks at large open-pit mines depending on monitoring requirements and objectives.

Apr 26, 2022

By C. L. Lin

A PC image-based, on-line instrument for the measurement of coarse particle size on a conveyor belt is under development. Both the hardware and software required to implement such a system are discussed, including the interface for the special image acquisition hardware. The system concept is given with examples to illustrate the step-by-step procedure for the implementation of image-processing algorithms.

Jan 1, 1992

By Murat Erdemoğlu, Turan Uysal, Thierno Saidou Barry, Mustafa Birinci

The rapid development of the global alumina and aluminum industry is straight coupled with the demands and the needs of these materials. Nowadays, the only well-known accessible resources to produce alumina and aluminum are bauxite ores. But bauxite ores are limited, and the remaining exploitable reserves do not have high contents in alumina. In countries where there is little or no bauxite reserves or where the recovery of existing bauxite ores to produce alumina with the Bayer process are not economic, alternative resources for alumina have been explored. The most attractive resources for replacing bauxites are aluminosilicate clay minerals and coal fly ash. The important processes developed for the recovery of alumina from these sources are acid leaching and alkaline leaching processes. The acid leaching is known as the most efficient in which thermal and mechanical activation are included for improving the performance of the process. The objective of this review is to give a comprehensive insight on the production of the alumina from thermally or mechanically activated clays and coal fly ash by hydrochloric, sulfuric, and nitric acid leaching processes.

By D. L. Whiting

Dump leaching and ,in-situ solution mining have received considerable attention during the past few years due to their apparent economic viability and minimal environmental impact. Solution mining actually dates back to the 17th century when leaching of copper ore was first reported. However-, modern day leaching didn't begin on a wide scale until the mid-1900's. In-situ mining for copper, nickel, salts, and oil shale is currently looking more attractive as the technology advances. Presently, about 15 percent of the copper production in the United States is from leaching operations at approximately 14 active sites, the largest of which are the waste dumps near the Bingham Copper Mine, Utah. To establish a common background, the discussion is centered around state-of-the-art conditions. For dump leaching, complications inherent to the physical conditions and chemical reactions such as channeling, porosity and permeability, sorption, air flow, rock alteration and pH control are discussed. Emphasis is made on those conditions which render solution recovery rates and solution mineral concentrations unpredictable. By illustrating typical and actual field conditions, the generally accepted flow theories for both dump leaching and in-situ solution mining, including rubblization, are presented. For in-situ mining, hydrogeologic techniques such as geophysical well logging, aquifer testing and digital computer modeling are also discussed. The importance of artificial fracturing and well stimulating to solution injection and recovery is made with regard to project development. Finally, the subject of water pollution control techniques and the potential impact of the

Jan 1, 1977

By E. Berrezueta

Automatic digital phase imaging should yield unbiased and representative characterizations of gold ores. However, this is not a simple tusk due to low gold grade, fine grain size, possible complex mineralogy, nugget effect, etc. Using the same sections of a gold-rich ore, a critical test was performed using an optical microscope (OM) and an electron microscope (EM). In general, the two methods are consistent and useful for ore processing. There are some minor differences, such as the detection of very fine gold grains is enhanced by EM. Key words: Digital imaging, Gold ores, Mineralogy, Electron microscopy, Optical microscopy

Jan 1, 2003

By Mike Harrington, Tung Vu

The Regional Connector Transit Project is a 1.9-mile-long underground light rail system that will connect LA Metro’s A (Blue), E (Expo), and L (Gold) Lines in downtown Los Angeles. This $1.75-billion design-build project is scheduled for revenue service in Spring 2023. The project consists of 21-foot diameter twin-bored tunnels, a 300-footlong crossover SEM cavern, three new underground stations (at 1st Street/Central Avenue, 2nd Street/ Broadway Avenue, and 2nd/Hope Streets), and cut-and-cover tunnels along South Flower, Alameda, and 1st Streets. This paper, which is the continuation of our previous paper presented in RETC 2019—LA Metro Regional Connector Transit Project: Successful Halfway-Through Completion, will provide insight regarding the construction of major components, and the system integration and testing work undertaken for this complex transit project.

Jun 13, 2023

By R. Addison, T. Swendseid, R. Kehmeier, D. Larsen, J. Uhrie

"The development of a mining project necessarily progresses through many steps, beginning with the identification of a mineral resource and continuing through project construction. Several classifications of engineering study development are described, including preliminary economic assessment (PEA) or scoping studies, prefeasibility studies (PFS), feasibility studies (FS) and regulatory codes, each with a specific project organizational objective. This paper addresses the PEA, PFS and FS types of reports that are used by companies to evaluate projects, meet regulatory requirements and seek financing. The minimum requirements for engineering studies, focusing on the needs of financial institutions considering investment in a project, are outlined. IntroductionThe financing of mining projects in recent years has come under increased scrutiny by financial institutions owing primarily to an increasing percentage of projects whose capital expenditures had overrun project budgets or had failed to produce the economic returns anticipated during the project development process. Often, unfavorable project outcomes are not the result of widespread failures of the project engineering process but arise from inadequate engineering in limited specific areas of the project scope, such as overestimated mineral reserve, inadequate mine design, insufficient metallurgical testing or underestimated capital costs. Mill facilities and process infrastructure typically are responsible for up to 80 percent of the capital expenditures required by greenfield mining projects. They are often the project areas where capital costs are inadequately developed, and consequently are the areas highly scrutinized by financial institutions. This paper offers a perspective on the level of engineering expected by financial institutions as a prerequisite to committing support to developing mining projects.The evaluation of a mining project from exploration through development and production is a lengthy and complicated process. Mine development commitment activities for a potential project are initiated when a mineral resource is identified and continue through to the start of construction. The technical feasibility and the economic viability of each project are determined during the phases of mine development with more detailed engineering data required at each stage. There are at least four levels of engineering studies during development that are commonly acknowledged by the mining industry:"

Jan 1, 2016

By Donald C. Strimbeck

The Bureau of Mines, U.S. Department of the Interior, is conducting research and development on a coal-burning gas turbine. This work includes the development of (1) turbine blades resistant to coal ash erosion, (2) equipment to feed coal under pressure to a turbine, (3) an efficient combustion system, and (4) equipment to remove coal ash from the gases that drive the turbine. Initial emphasis is being placed on testing the first turbine ever equipped with blades designed specifically for use with coal as the fuel. Operating tests with this turbine are now in progress. This paper describes the Bureau's coal-burning gas turbine development program and progress on this operating test.

Jan 1, 1964

By Joel Lööw, Jan Johansson, Erik Lund

Digitalization and automation technology offer new possibilities to increase productivity and obtain higher levels of autonomy in mining operations. Introducing autonomous systems into mining is not only a technical problem in terms of effectiveness and efficiency, nor a problem of safety in human-automation interactions. The systems also need to be designed and developed so that they foster healthy and attractiveworking environments. The design and development phase of newmining technology has not been extensively studied previously. To fill this knowledge gap, we investigated technology developers’ basic assumptions about humans and their interactions with the technology they develop. We conducted five semi-structured workshops within an EU funded project concerned with developing digitalization and automation solutions for the mining industry. The data suggests that many critical functions will still be under human control in future mining systems. The results also indicate increased complexity in the interaction between autonomous systems and humans as the technology becomes more advanced. As a result, we suggest that a human perspective, based on sociotechnical principles, should not only be considered in implementing the technology at mines but also in the early conceptual phases of developing and designing the technology. This will ensure healthy and attractive work environments in the future mining industry.

Mar 26, 2024

By Bülent Erdem, Zekeriya Duran, Tuğba Doğan

The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential health risk associated with exposure of dozer operators to whole-body vibration. Measurements were made on 31 dozers used in different surface mines in Turkey. Predictions of adverse health effects of vibration were based on the standards BS 6841:1987, ISO 2631–1:1997, ISO 2631–5:2004, and the EU Vibration Directive:2002. Operators experienced high and comparable levels of vibration acceleration and dose during all dozer tasks: pushing the material (DOZE), moving forward (FORWARD), moving backward (REVERSE), and ripping (RIP). Specifically, DOZE, FORWARD, REVERSE, and RIP showed high potential of adverse health effects in terms of vibration dose according to the worst-case axis and vector sum criteria and a moderate adverse health effect for acceleration according to the worst-case axis criterion. Operators of large dozers were exposed to lower levels of vibration. However, no statistically significant relationship between vibration exposure levels and the propelling mechanism and the service time of dozers, operator experience, operator age, and ground type was found.

Jun 16, 2022

By R. Ribeiro

The designers of the new Arafertil concentrator in Brazil provided for complete automatic control of the grinding circuit to meet the operating objective of maximum throughput at a specified grind. Analog control methods were selected because of proven reliability and simple maintenance, and in order to minimize commissioning time and effort. This paper summarizes the step-by-step effort required to progress from local loop control of certain individual parameters to an integrated system capable of achieving the design goal. Emphasis is placed on the practical aspects of commissioning a control system.

Jan 1, 1979

By George S. Koch

We evaluate the exploration effort by diamond drilling for zinc in central Tennessee and southern Kentucky through a statistical analysis comparing the Middle Tennessee district with the older Tri-State and Upper Mississippi Valley districts. All of the ore deposits are of the Mississippi Valley type and are similar geologically. Through statistical analyses we attempt to answer these questions: Had the drilling density in the Middle Tennessee district been applied to the Tri-State district, how much of the ore in the Tri-State would have been discovered? Had this drilling been done in the Upper Mississippi Valley district, how much of the ore in that district would have been found? Which of these two older districts does Middle Tennessee more closely resemble in intensity of zinc mineralization? Is more drilling warranted in the Middle Tennessee district? Our data base includes tonnage and area distributions of ore deposits in the Tri-State dis¬trict, sizes of ore bodies and probabilities of their recognition in the three districts, and data for the Elmwood mine in the Middle Tennessee district. Our statistical analysis considers the consequences of drilling holes in the three districts on square grids at coarse, intermediate, and fine spacings. We conclude that the drilling pattern assumed for Middle Tennessee would have found some but not all of the ore in the two older districts. We believe that in intensity of mineralization Middle Tennessee more closely resembles the Tri-State than the Upper Mississippi Valley district, and that more drilling is warranted in the Middle Tennessee district.

Jan 1, 1979

By M. N. Nabighian

Utilization of x-ray diffraction data for mineral identification has been well documented and accepted as an analytical tool in industrial and research organizations. However, the search for new methods to minimize errors affecting measured reflection intensities is being carried out by all concerned. Recent application of computer capability has greatly reduced the time required in handling data for mineral analysis and has increased the capability of accepting more data for greater precision. The purpose of this communication is (1) to describe the concept of cross-power in XRD analysis, and (2) to show that direct comparison analysis for multiphase systems has improved analytical accuracy when all available x-ray diffraction data are used in conjunction with high speed data processing by computer.

Jan 1, 1972

By JOHN HOMER, KATHLEEN STABRYLA, JACOB L. CARR, JONATHAN K. HRICA, JENNICA L. BELLANCA

Given the recent focus on powered haulage incidents within the U.S. mining sector, an appraisal of collision avoidance/warning systems (CXSs) through the lens of the research literature is timely. This paper aims to evaluate the maturity of CXS technology through the application of a technology readiness assessment (TRA) to research literature identified by systematic search methods. Results indicate that much of the evidence for CXS performance is at lower levels of maturity: that is, components and prototypes tested in a laboratory and in relevant environments. Less evidence exists for CXS performance at higher levels of maturity — that is, systems evaluated within operational environments — despite the existence of commercial products in the marketplace. This lack of evidence at higher maturity levels within the scientific literature highlights the need for more peer-reviewed research to evaluate CXS technologies. Additionally, results of the review reveal that most of the literature relevant to CXS technologies is focused on vehicle-to-vehicle interactions, which contrasts with haul truck fatal accident statistics that indicate most are due to vehicle-to-environment interactions, such as traveling through a berm. Lastly, the relatively small number and segmented nature of relevant studies suggest there is a need for more incremental research that would better facilitate the improvement of CXS technologies. This progression could be achieved through continued long-term interest and support for CXS technology research.

Mar 1, 2023

By M. Westendorf, T. Banerjee, S. Kaushik, D. Tinney

"Cyclones are one of the most extensively used pieces of equipment within the mineral processing industry because of their simplistic operating and maintenance philosophies. They are commonly used as classifiers within the comminution circuit to control the grinding product particle size for satisfactory performance of downstream operations.Cyclones are a key contributor to the effective operation of the plant and have a significant impact on the mineral processing plant operations. If the cyclones are not performing as they should, the results are often a combination of lost recovery, grade, capacity and reduced throughput. Similarly, an inefficient cyclone operation may also lead to low or high recirculating loads that impact the efficiency of the comminution circuit. This highlights the importance of having proper stability in cyclone operation while implementing any plant-wide optimization strategy.One of the key challenges in cyclone operation is that cyclones are highly sensitive to changes in operating conditions and are affected by process fluctuations such as feed pressure, solids concentration and flow rates. Fluctuations in cyclone feed characteristics lead to unstable cyclone performance which affects mineral liberation. For such an impactful unit operation, cyclones have historically been under-instrumented in an otherwise highly instrumented process plant. Traditionally, mill operators have relied on visual observations of the apex discharge to determine the operating state of the cyclones. Visual cues corresponding to the different cyclone operating conditions have been discussed by Neesse et al. (2004) as shown in Fig. 1."

Jan 1, 2014

By D. R. Tweeton

A modified push-pull field test and a computer model of cation exchange were developed to aid in evaluating cation exchange parameters prior to in situ mining. Reliable determination of these parameters is essential when modeling restoration of groundwater quality. The field test involves a much larger volume and much less disturbance to the ore sample than is feasible with laboratory measurements. This test can be performed in two or three weeks. It is relatively inexpensive, requiring one injection- production well and two or more wells for collecting samples of leach solution. The use of the model in interpreting test results is illustrated with field data from an in situ uranium mine. Much of the research was performed by the University of Texas at Austin, and was partially funded by the Bureau of Mines.

Jan 1, 1986