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By R. W. Leonardson

Tectonic activity in northern New Mexico during late Oligocene and early Miocene time presaged events which led to the development of molybdenite deposits at Questa. East-northeast directed crustal extension produced north-northwest striking tensional fracture systems paralleling the early Rio Grande rift. A sequence of Oligocene andesite flows and breccias is overlain by a thick early Miocene rhyolite ash-flow tuff. Eruption of the tuff initiated collapse of the Questa cauldron: the south margin of which occurs as an east-northeast striking, north-dipping structurally weak zone. Continued east-northeast post-cauldron extension permitted the high level emplacement of granite stocks with coeval rotational deformation of fault blocks composed of cauldron fill and [ ] floor. The stocks occupy north-northwest fracture zones in the south margin of the cauldron, and porphyry dikes occupy east- northeast striking faults that define the south margin. These two fracture systems have played a dominant role in localizing the intrusive porphyries and associated mineral deposits at Questa. A molybdenite-bearing breccia matrix and related stockwork mineralization generally occur within volcanic rocks. Mineral deposits are spatially related to fault zones and the upper con- tact of their source intrusives. Deposits are localized in fault zones up to several thousand feet long and 100 to 500 feet in diameter. Magmatic-hydrothermal solutions from the source aplite porphyries have produced potash metasomatic alteration which is strongly centered on the mineral and ore zones. Alteration in ore is represented by orthoclase, quartz and secondary biotite. This pattern grades into secondary biotite and propylitic zones forming successively weaker alteration assemblages away from ore. Younger phyllic and argillic assemblages are particularly widespread only where strong north-northwest extensional fracture zones cross the south cauldron margin.

Jan 1, 2013

By D. Richter

The Pyrometallurgical refining stage of ferronickel manufacturing produces a slag rich in iron and nickel, which is usually further processed for metal recovery. The recovered material is returned to the refining or smelting stages, depending on the amount of impurities. A series of tests was carried out on the Mineração Morro Azul refining slags, aiming at the recovery of the metallic particles through physical processing. Minor changes in the process showed improved results. This paper compares the textures of these slags after being cooled at ambient temperature and granulated under water at high pressure and flow. It concludes that the cooling process is intimately connected to the work index of such slags, thus resulting in direct impact in operating costs.

Jan 1, 2011

By D. A. Curry

This paper describes a study of the influence of non-normal loading on the indentation behaviour of single bit-teeth. Indentation experiments have been performed on a soft, isotropic limestone using both sharp and blunt 60 degree wedge-shaped indentors constrained to penetrate the rock at 0, 15, and 30 degrees to the rock surface normal. For both sharp and blunt indentors, the normal force required to produce a given normal penetration decreased as the offset of the penetration direction from the rock surface normal increased. The crater volume produced by a given normal penetration with the sharp indentor was largely independent of the penetration direction. In contrast, the crater volume produced by the blunt indentor was increased markedly by non-normal penetration at small penetration depths, because the threshold penetration for chip formation decreased with non-normal loading. The crater volume produced by a given normal force was significantly increased by non-normal penetration, and this increase was particularly pronounced with the blunt indentor. The energy required to form unit crater volume was correspondingly reduced by non-normal indentor penetration. A simple method for predicting the reduction in the rock's resistance to chip formation is outlined, which is supported by the experimental data. The implications of these findings for rotary drilling are considered.

Jan 1, 1986

By Robert L. P. Kleinmann

Mining has been a significant component of the Appalachian economy for about 200 years. The region continues to be adversely affected by the environmental degradation associated with these past activities. In addition, companies today are being denied permits at sites where acid generation appears likely. And air emission limitations at power plants now threaten the economic health of many moderate- to high-sulfur coal mines. Thus, when considering the environmental impacts of mining coal in Appalachia, it is important to consider abandoned and active mine issues. For example, abandoned mines generate acidic, iron-rich waters that adversely affect more than 6,400 km (4,000 miles) of rivers and streams in Appalachia. In contrast, operations that were active after the enactment of the 1977 Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) cause little water pollution. However, the costs of water treatment at such sites exceed $1 million a day. Even where water quality is not dimished, water supplies can be affected by mining. Subsidence-induced fractures can lower water table elevations or drain a surface stream dry. Subsidence can also cause damage to surface and subsurface structures.

Jan 1, 1995

By Tim Wolf

The paper "Weld Notch Affects on Pulley and Belt Conveyor Reliability" has done an excellent job of describing theoretical fatigue and fracture mechanics methods used in modern weld design. From this foundation, we intend to further detail areas previously discussed and present new research in the application of these principles to pulley weldment life prediction. Affects of changes in alternating stress range, mean stress, and residual stress have been investigated using controlled laboratory fatigue tests on a pulley weldment. Comparisons between these results, weld codes, and theoretical fatigue predictions will be made and discussed.

Jan 1, 1998

By J. A. Eisele, G. E. McClelland, M. D. Wroblewski

The Bureau of Mines is conducting research at its Reno Research Center to develop a staged agglomeration-heap leaching system and to electrowin the dissolved precious metals from the pregnant leaching solution. For direct electro- winning to be successful, the pregnant solutions generated during the Initial stages of leaching must be higher grade than obtained by conventional heap leaching. The precious metal concentration of the pregnant solution can be Increased by agglomeration pretreatment with cyanide solution which starts the leaching process during the curing period, by leaching with small volumes of solution and by cycling the leaching solution through more than one heap in a staged manner. The resulting pregnant solution is passed directly through an electrowinning circuit. The barren solution from electrowinning is recycled to the leaching circuit. Bench-scale research on the development of the staged leaching system and on the development of an efficient electrowinning cell are described. The Bureau of Mines developed agglomeration- heap leaching technology. This technology was readily adopted by the mining Industry for heap leaching crushed ores and mine wastes. Current research involves the application of this technology to finely ground feed materials such as precious metal-bearing milled tailings. Tailings agglomeration-heap leaching has also been used commercially.

Jan 1, 1984

By Ryota Kasahara

In 1981, a gas outburst accident occurred in the Yubari Shintanko coal mine, the only expectant mine in Japan, it caused 93 deaths. As a result, Yubari Shintanko closed in 1982. This major disaster was a turning point for sustainability of Yubari City, the largest coalfield in Japan. Finally, Yubari City was bankrupted in 2007. This paper aims to explore how miner’s children experienced this disaster and felt about region, family, and themselves, and to explain the relation between region declining and children’s lives. The data of this paper are the archived 600 essays, written by the junior high school students at the time of the disaster. There are three findings. First, the children who lost their father were the most shocked. They faced profound sadness. But they expressed that they had decided to overcome their sadness with surviving family. Second, the children who didn’t lose their father were also influenced. They were anxious about the future of Yubari, their family, and themselves. Furthermore, they decided to strive for their future. Third, they understood the disaster as a turning point of Yubari declining and looked ahead their future outside of Yubari. In conclusion, this disaster created their hopelessness to Yubari region and, as a result, promoted the decline of the city through their migration to other city. Furthermore, it is important to clarify that Yubari City has to continue the struggle to the regeneration.

Jan 1, 2017

By T. H. Dubaniewicz, J. E. Chilton

The U. S. Bureau of Mines is investigating the application of fiber optic technology to methane and carbon monoxide monitoring. A methane monitoring system is described that is based on differential absorption of infrared light. It can detect concentrations as low as 0.2% and as far away as 2 km via fiber optic cable. The upper range is 100% methane. The system requires no electrical power within the mine so it should operate safely under mine disaster conditions. A hybrid carbon monoxide monitoring system is described that combines a low-powered electrochemical cell with fiber optic telemetry. Testing has shown the system can operate maintenance- free for several months.

Jan 1, 1992

By E. J. Wade

My subject is gold price forecasting and monitoring as an important aspect of gold marketing. While I 'm specifically addressing gold, it is understandable that many other commodities could be readily substituted. Gold marketing must be studied as three distinct processes, and it is my intention to cover each of these processes in turn. First I?ll cover the process of gold price monitoring and forecasting in some detail. In order to select a method, or combination of methods, to be used to sell gold a determination of the future price profile is essential. The profitability of the sales effort will be determined, to a large extent, by how accurately the future price behavior of the gold market has been forecast.

Jan 1, 1985

By Gregory R. Gorrell

The legal issues surrounding the regulation of subsidence are among the major concerns facing the underground mining industry today. Whether subsidence occurs almost immediately as a result of longwall mining or without warning as a result of room and pillar mining conducted years ago, the resulting disputes are highly controversial and typical of the disputes involving the competing interests of surface and mineral estate owners. Until recently, the law governing these disputes was firmly established under the common law. The passage of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act 1, the utilization of new mining technologies, and the general heightened environmental awareness of our times, however, have interjected new issues into this area of the law. State and Federal court decisions and administrative agency interpretations have helped clarify some of the issues. However, as evidenced by the many recent lawsuits between operators, surface owners, and regulatory agencies, many uncertainties still exist.

Jan 1, 1986

By C. C. Stewart

Jim Walter Resources, Inc. operates four underground coal mines in Alabama. In 1986, during longwall recovery operations, sparks from a torch ignited methane that migrated onto the face after a roof fall. The fire quickly spread to the gob at the tailgate end of the longwall. The fire was successfully "area" sealed and mining operations resumed after five weeks. However, several problems were encountered during this process. This paper describes the events following the fire, methods used to control the situation, problems encountered, and steps taken to ensure preparedness for any future occurrences of this type.

Jan 1, 1993

By Mike Ghassemi

It is clear that precise overground and under-ground mapping is an important factor for all designers. Due to rapid changes in underground construction, tunnel designers are increasingly in need of updating project information. This article explains the latest techniques for detecting under-ground utilities as well as underground mapping. Global Positioning System (GPS) is a very ac-curate and popular navigation and mapping system that has been used extensively above ground, but is not used for underground mapping as signals are not strong enough to pass through ground or water. Most underground techniques were developed for military applications during the first and second world wars. Later, the techniques became public. For example, ground penetrating radar was developed for the military in 1970 to be used for locating tunnels under the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea. Later, the same technique was used for detecting unexploded ordinance such as plastic land mines.

Jan 1, 2011

By George D. Haley

This report will be given in two sections. The first sec¬tion outlines techniques and equipment to form almond shaped fluorspar briquettes by means of briquet presses, and the second section outlines techniques of the balling disc. PART I - BRIQUET PRESSES Fluorspar has been briquetted for a number of years and the so called "peach pit" briquet is known to many steelmen. Present production is estimated at over 100,000 tons annually. Slide 1 shows an assortment of various sizes and shapes of briquettes. It is possible to form fluorspar into almost any configuration of briquet. For safety on the melting floor, pillow type briquets are preferred. Ease of mechanical handling and durability of the product are facil¬itated by an almond shape. The dimensions of the almond can vary from 1-in. to 1-1/2-in. in length, from 13/16-in. to 1-in. in width and from 1/2-in. to 1-in. in thickness. The type of equipment to pro¬duce almond shaped fluorspar briquettes is shown in Slide 2. Here we have a Komarek-Greaves and Company 300 ton briquettor equipped with almond rolls. This machine is capable of producing fluorspar briquettes at a rats of 30 tons per hour with power consumption of 35 hp per ton par hour.

Jan 1, 1969

The following is a summary of some of the companies that were exhibiting their products and services at MINExpo INTERNATIONAL 2000. Atlas Copco develops, manufactures and markets rock drilling tools, tunneling and mining equipment, and surface and geotechnical drilling equipment. The company provides a line of drilling products, including production drilling rigs, rock reinforcement bolts and rock drills. Atlas Copco’s Boomer is a series of high-capacity drill rigs that provides economy, production capacity and reliability

Jan 1, 2000

By A. K. Sinha

Research shows that continuous mining sections can normally produce around 950 tons per shift in a seam 5 or 6 ft. thick. The shuttle cars as well as the continuous haulage systems are able to match with the continuous miners in capacity. However, in practice both of the two systems seem to be averaging at around 450 to 500 tons per shift in production. Continuous haulage systems are preferred in thin seams particularly where the floor is soft.

Jan 1, 1981

By Mary Nelima Ondiaka, Oladunni Oyelola Alabi, Fatai Olufemi Aramide, Francis Gitau, Talabi Henry Kayode

Iron ore is essential in steelmaking but high-grade ores have diminished, making it necessary to turn to low-grade ores, which need further beneficiation to upgrade the iron content. Biobeneficiation techniques such as bioleaching, bioflotation and bioflocculation have proven successful in iron ore processing. Consequently, these methods have emerged as sustainable alternatives to conventional beneficiation. The biobeneficiation processes occur in mild conditions using bioreagents and biosurfactants derived from microbes, and offer a reduction of chemicals used in processing. This potentially offers methods that are relatively energy efficient, cost effective and environmentally friendly while tackling the constraints of dwindling high-grade iron ore resources.

Sep 1, 2024

By M. K. Gangal, E. D. Dainty, G. Kunchur

This paper presents a validation of C02 as a single surrogate measurement for other diesel-emitted pollutants in multi-diesel-machine operations typical of small underground mines. This means that the simple measurement of C02 alone can be used to estimate the concentrations of other components of diesel exhaust in the mine environment. The linear relationship of C02 concentration with other diesel-emitted pollutants was indicated by the results of simultaneous real-time monitoring of C02 with CO, NO, NO2, SO2, Respirable Combustible Dust (RCD), and Air Quality Index (AQI) in several small underground mines. The SO2 was not directly measured but calculated from the measured C02 concentration and diesel fuel analysis for carbon, hydrogen and sulphur. The measurements were made in the return air drift under various mining conditions involving a number of diesel LHDs and haulage trucks. The statistical analysis and mathematical representation of the several components of diesel pollutants with C02 are presented. Regression analysis shows that at the 1 percent level of significance there is a strong linear relationship of these diesel pollutants with C02. This relationship is discussed in detail, concluding that C02 measurement alone is a good indicator of overall mine air quality and can be used as a control parameter.

Jan 1, 1991

By Tim Neil, O&apos

Introduction On the banks of the Columbia River, about halfway between Seattle and Spokane, sits Wenatchee, WA. It calls itself "the apple capital of the world." And it has a gold mining history that dates back to the 1880s. It was just outside Wenatchee - three blocks outside, to be exact-that Asamera recently dedicated its $60 million Cannon underground gold mine. At full production, it is estimated the Cannon mine will yield between 5 and 5.6 t/a (160,000 and 180,000 oz per year) of gold. That would make Cannon the largest North American underground gold mine to be brought into production this year. Cannon should also be among the top 10 of all North American gold producers. Asamera officials project Cannon's operating costs at about $4.8019 ($150 per oz). At that rate, the mine should also be one of the lower cost and most profitable gold mining operations in North America. One reason for low operating costs is low electric power costs. The Cannon operation will be paying about 2.5 cents per kWh for hydroelectric power supplied by the Bonneville Power Authority. Proven and probable ore reserves at Cannon are in excess of 4.7 Mt (5.2 million st). Reserve grades average 7.29 g/t (0.21 oz per st) of gold in three ore zones, in order of discovery - B, B West, and B North. The ore bodies could have been mined by open-pit methods. But underground mining was chosen for environmental reasons. In addition, the rich B North ore body extends beneath a nearby horse stable and arena. The Cannon mine area comprises some 20 km2 (5000 acres) in Chelan County. The mine site is located at the 305 m (1000 ft) elevation in Dry Gulch at the base of the Cascade Mountains. The initial estimate of mine life for the Cannon operation is eight years, depending on gold prices. But Asamera officials believe the Wenatchee area has excellent potential for future gold discoveries. Asamera, Inc. of Calgary, Alberta, owns 51% of the Cannon property, through its wholly-owned Asamera Minerals (US). Breakwater Resources Ltd. of Vancouver, British Columbia owns 49% of the operation. The Cannon mine is named in honor of longtime Asamera, Inc. executive and current company director, geologist Donald G. Can¬non. It was he who first brought the Wenatchee property to Asamera's attention and urged the company to pursue it. Asamera is a major explorer and producer of oil and gas. Its Cannon operation is the largest and most significant to date in its mining division, according to Rob¬ert G. Welty. He is Asamera's chairman and chief executive officer. It should be noted there was an element of serendipity involved in Cannon's development. The development program be¬gan when geologist Cannon visited the Wenatchee area. He was visit¬ing old mining districts. He liked what he saw. The Cannon property was eventually optioned for ex¬ploration, including a modest drilling program.

Jan 12, 1985

By S. Gallagher, A. Mayton, R. Merkel

The prolonged exposure of equipment operators to shock and whole-body vibration (WBV) is linked to cumulative back, neck and abdominal disorders. In low coal mines, space restrictions make it difficult for seat suspensions to isolate operators from shock and WBV. Researchers at NIOSH's Pittsburgh Research Laboratory are responding to these issues by investigating viscoelastic foams. For the full-load case, an ergonomic seat made with viscoelastic foams can isolate the shuttle-car operator from shock at 15 Hz. Researchers used results from additional foam testing using an analytical model to identify viscoelastic foams that provide shock isolation at a frequency below 5 Hz.

Jan 1, 2000

By Russ Darr

New methods and techniques in the field of hydrogeology are being developed constantly. One of these advances has been brought about through the use of inexpensive microcomputers. The formulas used in this paper and developed by Theis, Jacob, Glover, Keck, and Dupuit are not new. The methods by which these formulas can be solved are now available to all who wish to get faster, less expensive, and more reliable answers. These methods involve the solution of standard groundwater formulas using microcomputers. Examples and case histories of these methods are presented

Jan 1, 1980