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"INTRODUCTION While the United States coal mining uses prescriptive regulation under the Title 30 Code of Federal Regulation enforced by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), Australia uses a risk based approach. Australian regulation is individual to each state. In Queensland, Australia this risk based approach to address principal hazards is underwritten by the Queensland Coal Mining Safety and Health Act of 1999 and the Coal Mining Safety and Health Regulation of 2001. Each Queensland Mine is required to have an overarching Health Safety and Environment Management System, of which Safety Management Plans are an element. “Safety Management plans (SMP’s) are intended to formalise the process by which mines address principal hazards and other related matters to ensure the safety of mine personnel.”7 THE QUEENSLAND CONTEXT In Queensland, the basic elements of a coal mine’s safety and health management system must provide for risk identification and assessment, hazard analysis, hazard management and control, and the reporting and recording of relevant safety and health information and data.5 (Part 2 Division 1 Section 6(a-d)) The initial guidance for writing Safety Management Plans comes from the Approved Standard for Mine Safety Management Plans and Guidance Note QGN09- Reviewing the Effectiveness of Safety and Health Management Systems. The Guidance Note and Approved Standard are supplemental to the Act and Regulation, and put in place to provide more clarity around the topic. The definitions in this section come from the Approved Standard and are included to provide context for those who may not be familiar with Australian or Queensland law and regulation. A hazard is defined as a source of potential harm or a situation with a potential to cause loss, while a principal hazard is a hazard with a potential to cause multiple fatalities. A risk is the chance of something happening that will have an impact upon objectives which is measured in terms of consequences and likelihoods. It is important to be able to make the distinction between a hazard and a risk. For instance, a lion is a hazard, while the risk associated with a lion is getting eaten. As defined by the Queensland Approved Standard for Mine Safety Management Plans, a Safety Management Plan (SMP) requires a systematic definition of all the actions necessary to ensure that mining operations are carried out safely. A SMP includes, but is not limited to organisational structures, planning, activities, responsibilities, practices, risk identification, audits and reviews.7 The goal of a SMP management plans is to mitigate the risks to bring them to an As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA) level."

Jan 1, 2016

By Randy Reed, Barbara J. Arnold

Respirable crystalline silica poses a significant health risk, with the American Lung Association estimating that 2.3 million workers are exposed to silica in the workplace. This includes mine workers as well as those in many other industries. Reducing dust formation is sometimes not possible so other methods to reduce exposure are critical. These methods include the use of surfactants to reduce airborne dust particles. However, it is the proper selection and application of surfactants that leads to reduced dust exposure. A discussion of how surfactants work, especially for silica dust, leads to guidance for surfactant selection followed by a review of technologies for their application.

Feb 1, 2024

By Eugie Kabwe

The velocity of detonation (VOD) is a significant property considered when rating an explosive, and it is quantified as a confined or unconfined velocity. The confined velocity is more significant as explosives are usually used under a definite degree of confinement. This study evaluates the stepwise increment of the air-deck volume from 10 to 30 percent, and its effect on the VOD. The VOD estimation in the 172-mm-diameter explosive column was conducted using the Dáutriche technique. The air-deck volume increment has an attenuation effect on the steady-state VOD, and detonation failure is high at 30 percent air-deck volume. This attenuation effect is directly linked to the explosive’s rating and efficacy. The air-decking approach in this study is different from conventional air-decking techniques in that it does not employ the fixed blasthole parameters, air-deck volume and specific VOD. 

By M. A. Oskouei

Draglines are dominant machines and the most electricity consumers in surface coal mines. With the growing price of energy, environmental concerns, and the high sensitivity of mine profitability to dragline productivity, any improvement in efficiency of draglines can be beneficial for mines. Research has shown that operator skills have a significant impact on energy efficiency of loading machines. This study suggests a method to identify the key parameters that lead to differences in operator energy efficiency (responsible parameters). First, correlation analysis is used to identify parameters that are correlated to energy efficiency. Second, linear regression of a difference matrix is used to determine responsible parameters. Since this method is based on pair-wise comparison of operators, equal number of cycle is required for pairs of operators. Complete case analysis (CCA) is used to handle missing data problems. The final conclusion is made after removing the effect of random sampling and by considering all pairs of operators. Identifying responsible parameters can improve operator training programs. The suggested method is illustrated with a case study using field data.

Feb 23, 2014

By J. S. Wozek

In metallurgical applications, coal fulfills dual roles as a chemical feed stock and as a fuel source. These applications range from cokemaking, ironrnaking (including pulverized coal injection), foundry, basic oxygen furnace / electric arc furnace coal additions, direct ironrnaking, Corex, and the futuristic direct steelmaking. In all steelmaking related processes, chemical reactions are simultaneously temperature and chemical dependent. Therefore, coals used in these processes must consistently comply with specific quality parameters in order to promote efficient operations. This paper limits discussion of Metallurgical Coal Quality to cokemaking and ironmaking applications. Its purpose is to present the customer's perspective on the control of critical coal and coke properties.

Jan 1, 1994

By W. M. Colwell

When it comes to the analysis of gold bearing ore, there are literally dozens of variables that contribute to the final "true value" of a given sample. Initial sample selection, splitting size and method, inherent nugget gold, pulverization method, and analytical method variations are but a few. However, it seems that the inherent nugget gold particle is targeted as the primary reason for intra and inter-laboratory variations in assay. The following study will show that this is not always the case. A series of tests were undertaken for the Aurora Partnership-Aurora Project to solve inter-laboratory variations in the analyses of blasthole cuttings. Initial concern was centered on the probability that free gold occurrence was resulting in erratic results for the mine's cyanide shake assays and outside laboratory fire assays. Comparison of fire assay and cyanide shake assay was sporadically consistent with previously demonstrated extraction percentage for the cyanide method. The goal was to delineate the factors that ensure consistency in analyses; implement, where needed, Good Laboratory Practices; and reestablish acceptable analytical method correlation.

Jan 1, 1993

By Gary MacDonald

What is the primary function of an impact assessment? Many people at the International Association of Impact Assessment?s (IAIA) annual conference said that it is time to return to the fundamentals and consider the underlying drivers of impact assessments ? human health, safety and security. This fall, managers struggling with those fundamentals will receive extra support when a new course focusing on health and socially responsible security is launched online and in British Columbia, Canada, home to many of the world?s junior miners. Now in its 33rd year, the IAIA conference recently held in Calgary, Canada, typically brings together a range of professionals who work in the impact assessment field, including academics, as well as people conducting applied disciplines, such as social and environmental performance management. It is a chance for people grappling with how to assess impacts from projects (for example, dams, mining and other extractive projects), to compare notes and to talk about developments in how to measure, track and report on them. The comments about returning to fundamentals rose as participants talked about the ongoing and increasingly recognized divergence between three main impact assessment streams: environmental, social and health (EIA, SIA and HIA, respectively). Discussions in sessions and in the corridors included calls for streamlining, for integration, for improvement and sharing of practice ? particularly in the HIA stream, where those deeply engaged in the health discipline questioned how HIAs and their intended outcome of protecting human health can be better integrated into the EIAs or SIAs that dominate the impact assessment realm. EIAs and SIAs have become the main tool, particularly from a permitting perspective for large-scale mines, but seem to leave projects with little real information about what they need to do. Human health is not the only concern re-emerging. Although not reflected at the conference, there appears to be an emerging understanding of the need to link the determinants of health with socially responsible security practices. Companies conducting independent social performance assessments for international financial institutions based on the International Finance Corporation?s Environmental and Social Performance Standards increasingly wrestle with both community health and security issues as extractive companies encounter challenging social environments around the world. Once again, the intended outcome is to better protect human health, including avoiding health impacts from conflict, abuses and violence.

Aug 1, 2013

By Steve Kral

San Francisco, CA will host about 1,500 tunneling and underground construction professionals from around the world during the biannual Rapid Excavation and Tunneling Conference (RETC), June 19-22. These professionals are gathering in a city that has seen much under-ground work throughout its history. And, today, the San Francisco region has more than $4.6-billion in tunneling projects under way. The RETC will include three-and-a-half days of technical programming, complete with proceedings, two short courses, two field trips and a host of social activities. In addition, the accompanying exhibit has attracted 127 exhibitors in 152 booths, an RETC record. The following is a brief list of activities that will take place during the conference. A more complete program is provided in the official showguide that is bound into this issue of Tunneling & Underground Construction.

Jan 1, 2011

By J. C. Ashby

Electric utility response to certain amendments of the Clean Air Act has resulted in a production of several types of alkaline coal combustion byproducts. Alkaline combustion byproducts are gaining increasing usage for acid mine drainage mitigation as research leads to a better understanding of their beneficial applications. Since January of 1997, Mettiki Coal Corporation has been injecting alkaline flue gas desulfurization material from Virginia Power's Mt. Storm Unit #3 wet limestone scrubber into abandoned portions of the active Mettiki mine. This paper provides an overview of the key design, transportation, regulatory, and environmental issues faced in the project.

Jan 1, 1998

By Qinghua Gu, BUQING XUE, XUEXIAN LI, JIANGSHAN SONG, Qian Wang

To solve the problem of time-consuming and low precision in updating the open-pit vehicle transportation network, a high precision road network model construction method for unmanned vehicles in open-pit mines is proposed. This method can be divided into two steps. In the first step, an improved deep learning image processing model named DeepLabv3 + C (DeepLabv3 + Concat) is presented. Then, the road information extracted by the DeepLabv3 + C network is used to construct a three-dimensional model of the open-pit mine road network. In the second step, aiming at the time-consuming problem of unmanned vehicle meeting in open-pit mines, a vehicle meeting strategy was proposed. This strategy is used to guide the navigation of unmanned vehicles in open-pit mines. Besides, the DeepLabv3 + C network is verified by comparing the mIOU (means Intersection Over Union), accuracy, and continuity of road image extraction with the mainstream networks. The road network model constructed in the first step is quantitatively analyzed, and its performance is compared with GPS trajectory clustering methods. At the end of the paper, vehicle running simulation is carried out on the road network model by using Unity (a 3D visualization simulation software). The results show that the road network model constructed by this method can meet the navigation requirements of unmanned vehicles in open-pit mines, and the feasibility of the vehicle meeting strategy is proved.

Jan 11, 2022

By R. Conor, O&apos

Wastewater treatment systems, both industrial and municipal, produce large quantities of sludge which require disposal. Sludge disposal poses significant environmental liabilities, logistical problems, and economic burdens. Minergy Corporation has developed and implemented several new technologies for the recycling of such high volume wastes as sludge, ash, and foundry sand. These technologies perform mineral recovery from the waste material, converting them into construction material and industrial feed stocks which are inert, marketable products. With a continuously operating processing system installed at the waste source, these technologies reduce handling, eliminate downstream liabilities, and reduce disposal costs.

Jan 1, 1999

By R. A. Wyman

"The froth flotation process was patented by E.L. Sulman, H.F.K. Pickard, and John Ballot in 1906 . . . . . . . . . .James M. Hyde installed the first froth flotation process in the U.S., about August 1, 1911, at the Basin Reduction Co. plant, Basin, Montana . . . . . . . . . .By 1914, 42 mining companies were operating or experimenting with the flotation process . . . . . . . . . .The period 1930 to 1960 saw the application of flotation spread to nonsulphide ores and become the key factor in the economic production of many industrial minerals". So states FROTH FLOTATION, 50th Anniversary Volume, published by AIME in 1962. It is interesting, to observe that the Mines Branch, now part of the Canadian Department of Energy, Mines and Resources, was established in 1907 through an act of Parliament entitled, "The Nines and Geology Act". In 1911, a mineral dressing group was formed and a laboratory was constructed. By 1921, an engineer was devoting full time to industrial mineral processing problems.

Jan 1, 1971

By H. Colijn

Belt conveyors have proven themselves for many years as a dependable and low cost method of handling bulk materials at high flow rates. The success of a belt conveyor system greatly depends on the initial loading of the material on the belt. If the material is loaded on the belt at the center, at approximately the same speed and with minimum impact, then most of all belt conveyor problems disappear. Proper belt loading is primarily determined by the engineering and design of the conveyor transfer point. This paper will establish and discuss some general design criteria required for proper loading and transfer of materials from one conveyor to another. Specific attention is given to loading points, chutes, skirt board length and general design of transfer structures.

Jan 1, 1971

By Jr. Winters

The United States continues to be the largest producer and consumer of copper in the world. Table 1 on the following page shows several production statistics for 1974, the most recent year which the non-communist world copper industry might consider a good year, and for 1976 and 1977. In 1974 an estimated 24 percent of the non-communist world's newly mined copper was mined in the United States, and. 87 to 89 percent of that was from the western porphyry coppers. In 1976 U. S. new mine production was down to 22 percent of the non-communist world's newly mined copper, and the percentage of U. S. new mine production supplied by the porphyry coppers had risen to 89 to 91 percent. In 1977 the statistics remained the same as in 1976. U. S. porphyry copper production represented about 65 percent of U. S. refined copper consumption in 1974, rose to 75 percent in 1976, and dropped back to 61 percent in 1977 as imports of foreign copper into the United States began to swell.

Jan 1, 1978

By Victor Despointes, Stephane Polycarpe, Kathryn Kelly, Chris Feeney, Brian Hann, Vojtech Ernst Gall

The Pawtucket Tunnel is a 2.2-mi, 30.2-ft diameter CSO storage tunnel in Rhode Island. The primary tunnel is built using a dual-mode open-EPB TBM capable of sealing the face within 120 seconds to manage poor ground and water ingress which is launched from within a SEM starter tunnel. The main tunnel connects to four adits along its alignment, three of which are SEM tunnels and one being a MTBM tunnel. This contribution describes the selection process, potential risks, and requirements for the TBM, as well as the design of the main tunnel, the adits, and the adit-bored tunnel connections.

Jun 13, 2023

By S. Dempsey

Since its passage in 1872, the Mining Law has been modified on several occasions to meet the changing needs of America's society and economy. Despite its evolution, the Mining Law continues to be criticized as outdated. This paper briefly traces the major points in the history and evolution of western mining laws, and reflects on the current status of ongoing discussion to reform the 1872 Mining Law.

Jan 1, 1997

By Van E. Housman, Stephen D. Hoffman

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), also known as "Superfund", requires a listing of sites that have known releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants throughout the U.S. When EPA determines that a significant threat exists, it places the worst contaminated sites on the National Priorities List (NPL). CERCLA provides EPA broad authority to clean up hazardous sites that threaten human health and the environment. There are currently 52 sites on the NPL that were placed on the list because of high human health or environmental risk as a result of non-coal mineral extraction, beneficiation, or processing operations. This list covers mining sectors from aluminum to zinc. While some of these sites were abandoned, many are still operating. (There are additional mine sites that have been recently proposed to be included on the NPL that are not included in this paper.) EPA is continuing to develop a mining program to address human health and environmental threats from active non-coal mines. EPA has performed a comprehensive study to assess the waste management practices at all of the 52 mine sites on the NPL. In addition, EPA is continuing to collect information on the specific mining sectors (i.e., gold, copper) that represent many of the NPL mine sites. One of the goals of this effort is to attempt to identify the types of mining practices that lead to human health and environmental problems at the NPL mine site. EPA estimates that there are currently 500 to 1,000 active mines (not including placer operations). While some mining NPL sites began operations before the turn of the century, only a handful of the NPL mines entirely ceased operations prior to 1970. Of the 52 NPL sites studied by EPA, 12 are currently active. By definition, these mines represent current mining practices. Approximately 17 additional NPL mines that ceased operations between 1970 and 1990 represent some degree of current mining practices. Therefore, at best, less than half on the 52 NPL mine sites can be said to definitely represent past mining practices. Although some mining waste management practices have changed over time, the basic technology for extraction and beneficiation of mineral ores have remained fairly constant over the last fifty years. While the use of acid to leach copper dumps, the use of cyanide to leach gold in heaps, and the spread of solvent extraction techniques has changed some aspects of mining, the basic operation of removing ore from the ground and concentrating it through beneficiation has remained fundamentally the same as when most of the non-active

Jan 1, 1992

By D. A. King

Monitoring devices have been installed at several mine sites to assess the potential for the development of acid rock drainage (ARD) in waste rock, spent ore, and tailings material. In addition, instrumentation has been designed for monitoring changes in water quality in pit lakes. These devices monitor temperature, oxygen, water movement, and water chemistry in the waste rock pile. This information can be used to evaluate the current and future ARD risk, the effectiveness of caps and covers, and provide information to aid in the design of other reclamation strategies that limit ARD development. The instrumentation includes nested thermistors and oxygen sensing ports, neutron access tubes, heat dissipation units (HDUs), and lysimeters. Many of the monitoring devices can be linked to a datalogger and telemetry systems, enabling monitoring data to be downloaded from the office.

Jan 1, 1997

By R. W. Sims

"He?s an SOB, but he's my SOB." Many of us have heard this line in reference to attorneys, and can appreciate the humor. However, the thought reflects a deeper attitude that lawyers should be used for attack purposes in the legal system or the regulatory process. Often, more permitting progress can be made with tact and flexibility than with inflexible, overly aggressive strategies. Usually, administrative hearings or other litigation work to the disadvantage of the applicant. Thus, I have concerns about approaching any permitting system with a hard-line attitude. On the other hand, the project team must always be prepared to defend permit applications and present a legally adequate case at public meetings, administrative hearings, or judicial proceedings. This paper discusses a number of strategies intended to increase the probabilities for successful permitting, whether opposition is informal or highly organized.

Jan 1, 1990

By J. A. Marts, R. C. Gilmore, Jr. Bogin, S. Saki, J. F. Brune, J. W. Grubb

"Researchers at the Colorado School of Mines have studied the influence of headgate side ventilation controls near the longwall start-up room on the formation of explosive gas zones (EGZs) in underground coal longwall bleeder ventilated gobs. In a project funded by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) researchers developed a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model to study the formation of methane-air mixtures in the gob, start-up room, and bleeder entries. The relative change in size and location of EGZs are examined in response to ventilation controls in the headgate side bleeder entries near the start-up room. Modeling suggests that adjustments to the ventilation controls can be made to minimize the size of the EGZ. However the EGZ may form in or around active working areas regardless of the ventilation control settings. Research found regulators on the crosscuts into start-up room and first entry inby can force air into to crosscuts outby the start-up room causing more air to flow through the gob. INTRODUCTION Underground longwall mine ventilation systems may operate with either a bleeder ventilated gob or a progressively sealed gob. Bleeder ventilated gobs must meet the standards for safe operation of the bleeder system by examining bleeder system effectiveness. As defined in the United States Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) Program Policy Letter (PPL) No. P13-V-12 (MSHA 2013), the pillared area or gob is “any area where a reduction in pillar size has occurred during retreat mining” and includes the “caved and broken material, the interstices within the caved material, and the open spaces surrounding the caved material.” The PPL further states that the intended purpose of ventilating the gob is “to protect active workings from the hazards of methane accumulations …” The requirements for operating a bleeder system as stated in The United States Code of Federal Regulations (CFR 2013) Title 30 §75.334(b) is to pass ventilation air though the gob “and to continuously dilute and move methane-air mixtures [from the gob] away from active workings and into a return air course …” where the concentration cannot exceed 2 percent methane (CFR 30 § 75.323). Further clarification of the bleeder system as described in the PPL states the following: “A bleeder system includes the area from which pillars are wholly or partially recovered, bleeder entries, bleeder connectors, and all associated ventilation control devices that control the air movement through the area. Bleeder entries are air courses designed and maintained as part of the bleeder system.”"

Jan 1, 2015