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By Robert M. Cox

Systematic roof bolting has proven to be a very effective method of mine roof control; however, major roof failures still occur and roof falls still remain the number one occupational hazard of underground miners. Why do some bolted mine roofs fail, while the vast majority of bolted mine roof remains stable and safe to work under? Observations of numerous roof failures indicate that most of the major roof failures* are associated with either: 1) Jointing, faulting or other structural fracture zones; 2) massive shale beds of lenticular structure, or 3) thinly laminated sand-shales. The jointing and faulting present an obvious weakness in the roof rock structure; whereas, the massive shales and laminated sandy-shales create a roof structure with low shear strength and/or modulus of deformation. An observation of major significance is that most bolted mine roofs fail as a unit, and that the thickness of the fall is roughly equivalent to the roof bolt length (See Figure 1). In fact, several operators have experienced the phenomenon of an increase in roof fall thickness with an increase in roof bolt length.

Jan 1, 1973

Many investigators measured surface forces between hydrophobic macroscopic surfaces using atomic force microscope (AFM). Some investigators observed long-range attractions and attributed them to the presence of hydrophobic forces, while others suggested that they are artifacts of the nano-bubbles and cavities associated with the hydrophobic surfaces. Still others suggested that the long-range attractions are due to the electrostatic interactions between charged patches present on opposing surfaces and hence are unrelated to surface hydrophobicity. In the present work, we have measured long-range attractions between gold- (or silver-) coated surfaces hydrophobized in potassium ethyl xanthate (KEX) solutions at pH 9.2 under controlled potential conditions. The results of our AFM force measurements are consistent with those of the contact angle and voltammetry experiments, indicating that the long-range attractions are hydrophobic forces.

Jan 1, 2012

Inn mining communities throughout the western United States, cows have always been part of the landscape as they graze on surrounding rangelands. Until recently, mining companies regarded these animals as something to be kept off their properties — especially any freshly reclaimed lands. During the last few years, though, this situation has begun to change. Today, cattle can be seen in a handful of mine settings, moving up and down the slopes of mine tailings and waste rock. These animals are being used by several companies to do some of the reclamation work once performed by large earth-moving equipment, mechanical spreaders, rippers and seed drillers. This is because cows can contour slopes more naturally and produce and spread soil nutrients in ways that tractors and ripping machines cannot.

Jan 1, 1999

By R. M. Carland, F. F. Aplan

The ion-exchange capabilities of natural zeolites from the western United States, representing the species chabazite, clinoptilolite, erionite and mordenite, have been studied because of their potential use in environmental remediation and in hydrometallurgical processes. These raw zeolite samples were found to contain Na+, K+, Ca+2 and Mg+2 as exchangeable cations, and all of these, with the exception of Na+, were found to seriously interfere with the exchange of Cu+2 from solution. Placing these zeolites in the Na+ form was found to increase their cation-exchange capacity, often massively. In addition, the elution of Cu+2 from the Na+ pre-exchanged zeolite is greatly facilitated when the deleterious K+, Ca+2 and Mg+2 have been largely expelled. The relative influence of these deleterious ions on the uptake and elution of Cu+2 was determined.

Jan 1, 1996

By Jr. Babcock

The Pyke asbestos deposits were discovered by Kennecott Explorations (Australia) Pty. Ltd., in 1969 during the course of base metal exploration on the South Island of New Zealand. Extensive occurrences of chrysotile asbestos were found associated with the Red Mountain Ultramafics in the headwaters of the Pyke River, and to the north and south along the ultramafic belt for a distance of 70 kilometers. Surface evaluation and drilling by Kennecott in 1970 and 1971 identified numerous small deposits of good grade fibre in the Little Red Hills between the Pyke and Barrier Rivers. Additional drilling and three adits have been completed by other companies since that time. The property is presently held by Lime and Marble, Ltd. Of Nelson, New Zealand, and Kennecott Explorations (Australia) Pty. Ltd. This paper will present the regional and local setting of the asbestos deposits, including the geology and nature of mineralization. In addition, the exploration methods used by Kennecott in the discovery and evaluation of these deposits will be outlined. Subsequent work by other companies will be mentioned, but not described in any detail. This subsequent work did not alter Kennecott's conclusions or produce any serious changes in the interpretation of geology and mineralization. The author acknowledges the contribution of the many employees of Kennecott Explorations (Australia) Pty. Ltd., who have been involved in the project, particularly Ramon Farmer, N. G. Comer, and A. W. McConie, who were responsible for completion of field work and reporting on the project. The responsibility for the conclusions and interpretations of this report are solely that of the author and result from his involvement in discovery of the deposits and management of the exploration program.

Jan 1, 1978

Paper 1: Risk of gastrointestinal cancers from inhalation and ingestion of asbestos, John F. Gamble Selikoff suggested the hypothesis that asbestos exposure is causally associated with increased risk of gastrointestinal (GI) cancers in an early study of insulation workers. In this paper, John Gamble reports on his extensive review and reanalysis studies that address the relationship between asbestos exposure and GI cancers. The purpose of the review was to evaluate the association between asbestos exposure and risks of stomach, colorectal, colon, and rectal cancers separately. Gamble evaluated exposure?response (E?R) relationships using surrogate exposure methods ??because few individual studies of GI cancer have reported exposure? response analyses.?? The principal asbestos exposure surrogates are: (1) the rate ratio (RR) for lung cancer; and (2) the percent of mesothelioma among exposed workers. Analyzing SMRs for GI cancers from individual studies versus the risk of lung cancer and mesothelioma provides crude estimates of E?Rs for asbestos exposure and GI cancer. Briefly, Gamble justifies the surrogate approach as follows:

Jan 1, 2007

By Val E. Payne

Issues between resource utilization and resource preservation often develop in connection with coal mining. One such conflict exists in eastern Utah where PacifiCorp and Energy West Mining Company are working with State and Federal agencies to address the resource recovery/resource preservation dispute. The effects of underground longwall coal mining on golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) cliff nesting sites have been studied at the Cottonwood Mine since 1986. Subsidence, escarpment spalling, and the nesting activities of the local eagle population were monitored.

Jan 1, 1986

The effect of the chemical composition of pulverized bituminous coal particles on their physical transformation during the initial stages of combustion has been investigated. The results suggested that cenosphere formation does not require extensive thermal decomposition of the coal particles. The vitrinites in the bituminous coal softened earlier and developed larger cenospheres than the othe macerals. The coal particles swell to a higher extent during combustion than in pyrolysis; however, the cenospheres formed in the former process experienced a higher extent of fragmentation. The development of microporosity occurred predominantly after the resolidification of the swelled char particles. The type of macerals originally in the coal did not significantly affect the microporosity of the chars. Conversely, the morphology and anisotropy of the chars were strongly dependent on the maceral composition of the coal.

Jan 1, 1986

By Ray Nivens, Umit Turunc, Caroline Sui, Nick Morrison, Douglas Steiner

"In most copper mines and concentrators, mill water is continuously recovered and reused, with fresh water added to make up for losses. When mixed, these water chemistries can lead to severe scaling, especially in pipes, tanks and pumps on the mill water supply side, reducing flows and causing significant production losses.At KGHM Robinson Nevada Mining Company, increases in the fresh water addition ratios resulted in severe scaling problems and premature pump failures thereby jeopardizing plant production. What initially appeared to be a few isolated scaling events eventually unfolded into a recurring pattern of water supply-related production losses with increasing severity. Through completion of detailed root cause analysis, chemistry modeling, laboratory work, in-plant testing and system engineering, the mechanisms of scaling were identified and addressed.Advancements in fresh water addition practices and antiscalant application methods resulted in a stepwise reduction of the mill water scaling. Cost savings and production benefits were significant to the plant’s financial metrics.IntroductionThe production of mineral and metal concentrates using the flotation process requires large quantities of water. Flotation is utilized as the primary means for beneficiation with sulfide ores. Mined ores are crushed and ground into a slurry of 20-55% solids. For each ton of ore, 400-900 gallons of water1 are needed to supply the grinding mill. Additional water is needed in the flotation circuit as well. With many modern mills operating at2 11,000-165,000 tons/day, water supply volumes can be upwards of 3,000 gpm to 100,000 gpm of flow.For plants operating at or above capacity, disruptions and restrictions in water supply flow can have a direct impact on the production and recovery of the metal. Water supply flow can be limited for a wide variety of reasons but of interest are those limitations that are due to mineral scaling. Mineral scaling is the selective point precipitation of inorganic species above saturation concentrations. Precipitated species form flow-restricting deposits in the mill water system (tanks, pumps, pipe and valves), that will eventually impact water supply to the concentrator."

Jan 1, 2017

By William Moser, B. P. Shagula

INTRODUCTION Every day mine management and mining personnel face the threat of a possible mine disaster or fire. Their ability to deal with such a situation safely and effectively depends on the level of emergency preparation developed and maintained. After conducting numerous informal evaluations or audits at different mine sites throughout West Virginia (as well as other states), the authors concluded that many mining operations are not prepared to handle a fire situation. The results of the audits indicate that while most mines are in compliance with federal and state legal regulations regarding levels of emergency equipment, water systems and training sessions, these levels - particularly in the area of fire training - are probably not sufficient to enable the mine employees to effectively combat a fire in its early stage. This paper will present the authors' recommendations for designing and maintaining an efficient mine emergency preparedness Program and an overview of the curriculum of the mine fire training Program currently being conducted. MINE EMERGENCY FXEPAREDNESS PROGRAM The Mine Emergency Preparedness Pro- gram (MEPP) is a management tool developed by the Mining Extension Service at West Virginia University and was designed to assist company personnel in effectively managing a mine emergency operation. The program goes beyond the traditional and required training of mine rescue teams by offering a complete emergency operations package. Included in MEPP are suggested approaches for training and organizing all personnel, ideas for developing plans of action concerning transportation, security and communications. The MEPP program may also be used as to assess present readiness levels. While the MEPP program is designed to address all types of emergency operations, the authors are convinced that emergencies involving mine fires are the ones of greatest concern and so are concentrating their efforts in that direction. Incidents where fires are involved seem to be increasing in frequency and are extremely costly to control if allowed to go beyond the incipient stages. With a proper emergency preparedness program in place and properly trained and equipped fire brigades, the authors feel that it is possible

Jan 1, 1992

By R. G. Swanton

The Bureau of Mines is investigating the leaching of phosphate values from Florida phosphatic clay wastes using sulfuric acid (H2SO4) as the leaching agent and methanol as the solvent. Acid-alcohol leaching studies were done using pure crystalline apatite to investigate potential causes for low extractions. It was found that a barrier layer formed on the surface of the apatite. Initial discovery of the barrier layer was made by analyzing pure apatite samples before and after leaching using an optical microscope. Subsequent Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) analyses proved the coating was calcium sulfate hemihydrate (CaSO4-1/2H2O) and that unreacted apatite existed beneath the coating. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) photographs depict the CaSO4-1/2H2O morphology as long slender crystals adhering to the apatite surface. It was also shown that grinding the leached tailings and leaching again in the H2SO4-methanol system resulted in additional phosphate extraction.

Jan 1, 1991

By E. O. Mixon, Jack D. Kennedy

INTRODUCTION This contract is the most northerly portion of the Metropolitan Sanitary District of Greater Chicago's Tunnel and Reservoir Plan. (TARP) The project begins at Addison Street in Chicago and proceeds northerly approximately ten miles to end at Wilmette Harbor and Lake Michigan. The project which consists of 2 work shafts, 32 drop shafts, 7.322 km (24,020 ft.) of 6.7 m (22 ft.) diameter circular rock tunnel, 8.458 km (27,750 ft.) of 9.2 m (30 ft.) diameter circular rock tunnel and miscellaneous rock bolting and grouting, was bid for a total cost of $63,140,480. The tunnel invert elevation varies from 65.5 m (215 ft.) to 77.4 m (254 ft.) below the ground surface, which places the tunnel in a rock formation of dolomite limestone. At the tunnel invert, the unconfined compressive strength of the limestone varies from 96 MPa (14,000 psi) to 152 MPa (22,000 psi). The 6.7 (22 ft.) diameter tunnel required the mining of 10.9 cu m. (14.2 cu yd.) of rock per lineal foot of tunnel while the 9.2 m (30 ft.) diameter tunnel required the mining of 20.1 cu m (26.3 cu yd.) of rock per lineal foot of tunnel. The total cubic meters of rock required to be excavated from both tunnels was 818,821 cu m (1,070,978 cu yd.). All of this will be mined by tunnel boring machines (TBM). These tunnels were not to be lined with concrete. The thirty two drop shafts have upper portions that are cylindrical in the overburden and rock sections. They were divided into two groups, depending on diameter, with a different construction method for each group. The first group consisted of twenty three of the

Jan 1, 1979

By Leslie Burnside

Homestake Mining Co. set out to complete final reclamation at a former open-pit gold mine in west central Nevada. The goal was to exceed regulatory standards by satisfying the company's own high corporate standards for successful reclamation. Homestake's completion requirements challenged available technology due to the unsuitability of heap material as a growth medium, the harsh environmental conditions of the site and the region's lack of native growth medium. Accomplishing these goals required enlisting a multidisciplinary project team to develop, test and implement appropriate and cost-effective revegetation alternatives.

Jan 1, 1999

By Allan M. Johnson

Dewatering is a major operational cost at sane mines. Under certain conditions, costs associated with water disposal may continue beyond the productive life of the mine. For mines with mineralized waters, this is of special concern. Since 1974 experience has been gained from the examination of a number of closed underground metal mines that exhibited drainage problems. It was observed in certain cases, that had appropriate steps been taken prior to closure, that the resulting drainage problems could have been largely avoided. The pre-closure steps would have involved alteration to the "plumbing system" of the mines: i.e., the drifts and crosscuts interconnecting the workings of the mine. This could have best been accomplished by the placement of bulkheads and/or selective drifting. In addition to reconfirming that hindsight is 20-20, a lesson learned from these case studies shows that a relatively simple hydrologic evaluation prior to mine closure may avoid a troublesome and costly drainage problem.

Jan 1, 1983

By A. D. Hoagland

There are large areas on all of the continents with environments which are favorable for deposits of zinc and lead of Mississippi Valley type. In the developed countries, these environments have for the most part been quite thoroughly explored for the near surface deposits, and it will be necessary to direct more effort to the search for deeper buried deposits from which much of our future production must come. The difficulties of exploration for deep ore of this type are many and formidable, but the area of permissive environments beneath deep cover is many times as great as the area of the known near surface ore districts. It is a reasonable assumption, therefore, that numerous deposits wait for discovery and development. The finding cost, however, is certain to increase, and it is essential that concepts and techniques of exploration be improved if we are to sustain a reasonably strong productive capability into the 21st century. Exploration for deeply buried deposits requires at the outset relatively large areas of favorable geologic environment. The favorable horizons must be within economic limits of depth for the exploration as well as for the mining techniques which are currently available; and there must be some condition, design or strategy which will assure the explorer a reasonable chance of obtaining maximum benefit from discoveries which he may make.

Jan 1, 1973

By Majid Ataeepour, Ernest Y. Baafi

High level programming languages such ass C, FORTRAN and BASIC have been used in the mining industry to simulate truck-shovel systems. In addition, some special languages for simulation such as GASP, GPSS, SLAM, PROOF and SIMAN are commonly used. The most recent simulation system ARENA uses graphical modelling approach as well as animation notion. In this paper, the main elements of ARENA required to perform a truck- shovel simulation and to view the simulation results by means of the model animation are presented. The layout of the haulage system including shovels, trucks and dump sites was generated using draw tool in ARENA. All the components of the haulage system were represented by graphical modules. Animation tool was used to depict the performance of the haulage system as the simulation progressed.

Jan 1, 1996

By M. L. Harris

Explosions in underground mines and surface facilities such as processing plants are caused by confined accumulations of combustible dust and/or flammable gas mixed with air in the presence of an ignition source. Underground explosions can be prevented by minimizing methane concentrations through methane drainage and ventilation, by adding sufficient rock dust to inert the coal dust, and by eliminating ignition sources. The effectiveness of rock dust in arresting explosion propagation was proven by experiment and practice (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11). The precise mechanism by which rock dust (generally pulverized limestone dust) quenches flame has not been fully explained, but is believed to be absorption of thermal energy from the heated gases and absorption of radiant energy, which reduces the preheating of unburned coal particles ahead of the flame front. One measurable aspect of explosibility is incombustible content. In order to determine whether enough rock dust is applied, 30 CFR1 § 75.403, Maintenance of Incombustible Content of Rock Dust, requires at least 80% incombustible content on the roof, ribs, and floor of underground coal mines. 30 CFR § 75.403-1 further defines the incombustible content as follows: ?Moisture contained in the combined coal dust, rock dust and other dusts shall be considered as a part of the incombustible content of such mixture.? In order to determine the incombustible content of the mine dust, samples of deposited dust from specified areas in a mine must be collected, analyzed, and then compared with the minimum standard of 80%. The traditional low temperature ashing (LTA) approach to determine if a coal and rock dust mixture is compliant with the inerting requirement consumes the coal dust and considers the remaining material to be inert. Compliance with the law is then determined by comparing the measured percentage of inert material of the representative band sample with the pre-established requirement of 80%. The incombustible content of the sample includes rock dust, the amount of moisture as received at the lab, and the inherent ash in the coal. The LTA method is not itself a direct measure of explosibility but is a surrogate that calculates a single parameter associated with large-scale Bruceton Experimental Mine (BEM) explosion test results conducted with dry rock dust. This method assumes a homogenous mixture with no layering of rock dust and coal dust. Float coal dust is a serious explosion hazard if it accumulates on top of the rock dust and is not mixed with the rock dust (12). Mitchell and Nagy (13) studied the effectiveness of water as an inerting agent for the coal dust explosion hazard. The study emphasized that surface water evaporates readily from dusts. Thus, in a passageway where the dust is wet, changes in weather or the ventilation system could dry the dust and make it unsafe in a relatively short period of time. Where adequate rock dust has been applied, this drying effect is not a factor. However, if the mine depends upon the moisture content as part of the incombustible content, fluctuations in the dust surface moisture within a mine can render moisture content an ineffective and inconsistent measure of safety. Additionally, if sufficient moisture is absorbed and subsequently relinquished by rock dust, a cake can form and render the rock dust ineffectual. The trend has long been recognized that mine explosions occur primarily during the winter season when the humidity is low for long periods of time (14, 15, 16). In light of this trend and due to the potential variability of the moisture content of the dust, it may not be prudent to include variable surface moisture in the total incombustible content of the sample. Instead, surface moisture should be viewed as an additional safety measure as long as the rock dust is dispersible. However, moisture limits the ability of the rock dust to disperse and can significantly reduce its capacity to effectively inert propagating explosions (2, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22). Given the methods by which the as-received moisture and incombustible content are determined, dust samples from the 2010 MSHA database were assessed to determine the variability of the moisture content throughout a year and how often the measured as-received moisture might have affected the dust explosibility determination if removed. The findings were then verified by observation in laboratory studies and within the NIOSH OMSHR Safety Research Coal Mine (SRCM).

Feb 23, 2014

By James A. Doolittle

In the underground type of mining operation, the finer portion of the waste material commonly is pumped as a hydraulic slurry to a tailings disposal pond. (1)* The tailings slurry is deposited via a pipe manifold system located around the perimeter of the pond. This method of deposition produces zoning because the coarser material tends to settle out immediately while the finer particles tend to remain in suspension and are deposited progressively nearer the center of the pond. The manifold system must be raised periodically as the pond fills with the tailings material. Over a period of time, this procedure will produce a zoned embankment known as a tailings dam. A typical pond and dam are shown in Figure 1. In plan view, the dimensions of tailings dams can be on the order of miles, with the height of the dam reaching 100 to 200 feet. Due to such factors as inadequate compaction, inherently low strength of the tailings material, and the possibility of high phreatic surface, many dams at some point become unstable, i.e., the factor of safety against a slope failure approaches 1.0. Remedial measures are required to improve the safety factor in order to prevent massive failure of the dam. In most cases, stability can be improved by effectively flattening the slope of the dam as shown in Figure 2, but this is not possible in every case. Occasionally, a tailings dam is constructed adjacent to a natural or legal boundary so that it is not possible to construct a conventional berm or to reduce the slope angle with earth moving equipment. Even a terracing process would require removal of the material and this may not be practical. In such a situation, an alternate scheme to improve stability must be found.

Jan 1, 1974

By Robert G. Moorhead

Fine-coal screening can be one of the most critical operations in a modern coal-cleaning plant. The yield and quality of clean coal produced in fine-coal circuits is controlled as much by how efficiently 0.15 mm (100 mesh) particles are sized as on the performance traits of the fine-coal cleaning device itself. In addition, the increased interest in effective fine-coal sizing operations indicates that many operators have also discovered its importance in affecting the quality and yield of clean coal produced in fine-coal circuits. This paper describes the three most prevalently used fine-coal screening technologies and discusses their sizing mechanism, performance, and application.

Jan 1, 1988

By C. L. Sainsbury

For 10 years, the author has been engaged in a program of geologic mapping of the Seward Peninsula, Alaska, for the U.S. Geological Survey. Initially, two 1:63,360-scale quadrangles were napped by traditional methods of traverses by foot and by tracked vehicle, supplemented by reconnaissance from a light aircraft owned and piloted by the author. Five summers were required to map those two quadrangles, which lie north of the tree lice in typical Arctic climate. In 1967, the project was reoriented toward the reconnaissance capping of four 1:250,000-scale quadrangles, with helicopter support to be used for cart of each of four summers amounting to about 45 hours time per support year. The light aircraft was use-,' to support the field operations. Over the year,, the aircraft was used in progressively more geologic tasks, culminating in 1970 with a successful field test of rudimentary devices made to collect soil, rock, and sediment samples while the aircraft remained airborne. Additionally, an attempt was made j- 1970 to prepare reconnaissance geologic maps entirely by the use of the light aircraft combined with foot traverses [fr??], the landed aircraft. Several such maps, prepared at the rate of about one 1:63,360-scale quadrangle per day, were checked from a helicopter by an impartial observer end were found to be sufficiently accurate for reconnaissance mapping when reduced to 1:250.000 scale.

Jan 1, 1971