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By Arthur W. Ruff

The iron-ore beneficiation and shiploading facilities of the Marcona Mining Company are at San Nicolas Bay which is on the Peruvian coastal desert about two hundred and seventy miles south of Lima. The mines are at elevation of 2,500 ft. Crude ore is transported from the Mine primary crushers to the beneficiation plants by ten miles of overland belt conveyors. After the predominantly magnetic ore is reduced to minus 3/4 in. in the secondary crushing plant, the ore is ground by rod and ball mills and concentrated with magnetic separators. The concentrate slurry is pumped to a thickening and filtering installation for desliming and dewatering. Pelletizing is accomplished with a Lurgi and also a Dravo-Lurgi machine. Deep-water shiploading facilities are available close to the beneficiation plants. Figure 1 shows a flowsheet of the general operation. Pelletizing operations are scheduled 24 hours a day and 365 days per year. A maximum tonnage rate with a high percentage of operating time is necessary to produce the three and one half million tons per year required from the two pellet lines. Process control is a major responsibility and of primary concern to all Operating personnel. The particle size, moisture, and chemical composition of the filter cake must be closely controlled to get uniform high-grade pellets. Key points are sampled routinely and analyzed on a two-hour basis to provide the necessary structure and chemical data to maintain a superior final product. The iron content of the pellets is held between 65.3 and 65.8 percent with 4.0 percent Si02. Sulfur is below 0.04 percent and copper is below 0.02 percent in the finished pellet.

Jan 1, 1968

By Ewan Wingate, Ranjit Prasad, Yanjun Liu

The phosphorus journey begins with the extraction of primary phosphorus in the form of phosphate in apatite through openpit mining and, in some rare cases, underground mining methods. The ores are processed in beneficiation plants to remove impurities before the phosphate rock concentrate is either sold on the open market or converted into phosphoric acid in downstream chemical production facilities by the wet acid process or thermal phosphorus routes. These can in turn be converted into fertilizers, as well as used in the food and electronic industries. The advent of the EV battery has given rise to a new use for purified phosphoric acid in the production of lithium ferro phosphorus (LFP) cathode material for EV battery cathode assemblies. The production of LFP relies on raw materials such as lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxides, iron salts and purified phosphoric acid.

Feb 1, 2024

By Eugene F. Eisemann

This paper is concerned principally with the competition between fuels for industrial use in the United States. Total energy consumption in the U. S. is allocated between industrial and other uses The industrial volume is divided into two classifications (1) where-there is competition between fuels and (2) where there is no competition. The pattern of fuel consumption by electric utilities was studied because there, is competition between fuels and because it is the fastest-growing industrial market. Electric utilities fuel consumption is discussed by geographic area. The growth of each fuel in several areas is investigated. The analysis of these areas, includes the study of the relationship between prices where fuels are in, competition:- (1) on the East Coast where price competition occurs between oil and coal, and (2) in the southeastern states where competition exists between coal and gas..

Jan 1, 1961

By Kalman N. Isaacs

Aerial photography is a recognized and integral part of the search for petroleum and for the metallic ores, but its application lags seriously; in the search for the industrial minerals This is, in all probability, a result of the relatively stringent economics of the various industrial mineral industries. The oil and mining companies (particularly the oil companies) can afford generous exploration budgets and thus can experiment with unorthodox approaches such as photogeology. The industrial mineral industry is more restricted, and up to now has relied on less sophisticated methods of exploration. The industrial minerals have been generally defined as those materials extracted from the earth that are neither metals, metallic ores, fuels, nor ground water. Any group chat must be defined in such a negative manner, by citing the things that they do not include, must in themselves be extremely diverse in character. This is truly the case for the industrial minerals; the full list of industrial minerals is incredibly long and tends to increase year by year.

Jan 1, 1964

By Clair Murdock, David Heath

The 1,280 MW Sir Adam Beck II Hydroelectric Project was constructed in the1950s, at Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. The twin intake tunnels total over 17 kilometers in length and pass deep below the City of Niagara Falls. The tunnels were excavated using drill and blast methods, with a top heading and bench approach. The shot rock was loaded with electric shovels and transported to the five shafts with off-highway trucks. The tunnel muck was hoisted to the surface by skip and transported by truck to disposal areas. The volume of underground excavation for the 15.55 meter diameter tunnels and the shafts exceeds 3,500,000 cubic meters, then and now the largest underground civil works excavation by drill and blast in the Western Hemisphere. The lining required over 900,000 cubic meters of concrete. All of this work was completed in three years, remarkable progress, considering the technology of the day, comparing very well with the rapid excavation and tunneling methods of the twenty-first century. Big, fast, and deadly—at least 20 lives were lost in construction accidents.

Jan 1, 2007

By A. B. Van Cleave

It was first pointed out in 1934 by Gaudin (1) that the "oily" oxidation product of the alkyl xanthate ion-dialkyl dixanthogen, might be the "active flotation agent" on sulphide minerals and there have been a number of studies supporting this hypothesis (2,3,4). However, all of these studies have relied largely on electrochemical evidence. Galena, being a semiconductor, may be used as an electrode in aqueous solution and it was shown that ethyl xanthate ion does not adsorb with charge transfer in the absence of oxygen unless the potential of the galena surface is above -100 mv versus the hydrogen electrode (H2 E). At this potential the galena surface is slightly hydrophobic but does not become strongly hydrophobic unless the potential is raised to 210 mv (versus H2 E). It is suggested that, at potentials of 210 mv or above, ethyl xanthate ions are oxidised to diethyl dixanthogen and that chemisorption of oxygen raises the galena surface to this potential. On the other hand, examination of xanthated galena surfaces by chemical or physical methods (5,6,7) has failed to detect dixanthogen and it has been shown that dixanthogen may be reduced to lead xanthate at a lead sulphide surface. (5,8)*. It was suggested by Leja and Poling (5) that, as dixanthogen is a neutral molecule it would not be repelled by the negatively charged galena surface so that the adsorption was envisaged as taking place through homogeneous oxidation of the xanthate ion to dixanthogen, adsorption and reduction of the dixanthogen to a chemisorbed lead xanthate species. In paper I of this series (11) it was shown that the thiosulphate ion, which forms on galena surfaces in slurries at the pH normally used for flotation, will reduce dixanthogen. There is, therefore, the impasse that the electrochemical evidence requires that xanthate ion be oxidised to dixanthogen at the galena surface while the chemical evidence shows that the reverse reaction takes place.

Jan 1, 1973

By R. C. Schmidt

The Mont Klahoyo magnetite deposit is located about 600 km northwest of Abidjan, Ivory Coast. During an exploration period ending in 1977 an international joint venture group investigated the deposit and proved reserves of 670 million tons grading 36% iron. The deposit, occurring at the northeast end of the Baoubly-Kiriao chain of Precambrian iron formations, is associated with amphibolites, pyroxenites and gneisses of the Liberian Shield. At Mont Klahoyo occur two separate iron formations of which the lower member is the ore body. This lower member consists of a highly metamorphosed - banded quartz-magnetite iron formation in which iron silicate bands alternate with beds of quartz-magnetite. mphibolite-pyroxenites and sillimanite-cordierite-garnet gneisses form hanging and footwall rocks. The iron formation has been folded into an elongated overturned "Z" shaped major drag fold with axes trending and plunging approximately northeast. Beds are vertical or dip steeply to the southeast. The ore zone has an average thickness of 130 m and outcrops intermittently over a distance of approximately 5.5 km. Based upon detailed studies of drill cores and the results of ore dressing test work, eight stratigraphic units, identified as K-1 to K-8, are recognizable in the iron formation. Four interbedded units are low grade silicate zones (silicate facies) with the remaining quartz-magnetite units (oxide facies) repre¬senting the important ore zones of the Mont Klahoyo deposit. The ore-bearing "K" units are subdivided further, based upon their specific lithologies, iron content and concentration characteristics, into eleven ore types. The identification of these ore types is considered particularly important to mine planning and flowsheet design. A cap of oxidized materials overlies the primary quartz-magnetite iron formation but no enrichment has occurred. It is proposed that the Mont Kalhoyo iron formations were deposited, possibly chemically, in a volcanic environment as a siliceous iron formation with volcanism providing the primary source of iron and silica. Metamorphism converted the siliceous iron formation to a relatively coarse-grained quartz-magnetite-silicate iron formation.

Jan 1, 1979

By J. F. Burr, D. P. Snyder, G. W. Luxbacher

"The Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act (MINER Act) of 2006 (PL 109-236, 2006) established the Office of Mine Safety and Health, functioning as the Office of Mine Safety and Health Research (OMSHR) within the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and provided authority for awarding contracts related to the development and implementation of new mine technology and equipment. The OMSHR external contracts program was formed in accordance with the MINER Act and has since issued more than 150 contracts focused on worker health and safety. Initial funding for this program was provided by the United States Congress through two emergency supplemental appropriations and was focused on emergency oxygen supply, communications and tracking, and refuge chambers (also referred to as refuge alternatives). Since the MINER Act, Congress has continued to fund the program through the annual NIOSH mining appropriation. The program was supplemented starting in 2009 with an academic capacity building program directed toward developing university tenure-track faculty and facilities and supporting graduate students in the area of mine ventilation. Ground control was added as an additional focus area in 2011. A short synopsis of each contract is published on the NIOSH Mining website (www.cdc.gov/niosh/ mining/researchprogram/contracts/index.html) and final reports are available in digital form on request. A summary of the progress OMSHR has made over the 10-year period since the Act was published previously (Snyder et al., 2016).External contracts are broadly classified by the following areas:• Communications and tracking.• Emergency response.o Self-escape and breathing air supply.o Refuge alternatives.o Escape and rescue.• Equipment safety.• Fires and explosions.• Ground control.• Mine environmental systems (mine ventilation and atmospheric monitoring).• Worker/workplace health and safety.Contracts are issued under a request for proposal (RFP), through a broad agency announcement (BAA) or under an interagency agreement (IAA). An RFP solicitation includes a specific problem description and a well-defined scope of work to guide the offeror in preparing a bid to conduct the research. Under the BAA several problem areas are described and the offeror develops the scope of work and deliverables for the proposed research. An IAA is very similar to an RFP except it is a contract between two federal government agencies."

Jan 10, 2018

By Richard Belair, John Read

Ask someone what they can tell you about the Royal Canadian Mint and most likely the first thing that they will mention, is coinage. The Royal Canadian Mint manufactures Canada's one-cent coins, nickels, dimes and quarters - over 1 billion per year. Most of these coins use copper and nickel as base material, and all of this metal is mined, refined and processed in Canada prior to being shipped to the mint for coin production. In 1985 alone, 1270 metric tons of Canadian nickel and 2160 metric tons of Canadian copper were absorbed in circulating coinage. July 1987 will have marked the introduction of Canada's new one dollar coin, an important new addition to Canada's monetary system. The first phase of this program will consume about 2,235 metric tons of Canadian nickel in the initial production run. Annual requirements in subsequent years are estimated at 225 metric tons. The Royal Canadian Mint is also a major producer of circulating coinage for foreign countries. Since the state-of-the-art Winnipeg plant swung into full production in 1976 the Mint has struck more than 5.2 billion coins for some 35 nations around the world. 1985 sales have increased almost 6 fold over 1984. 1987 already shows commitments for a further significant increase in volume in this business. The use of Canadian metals in export to foreign nations as coinage adds still more to the Royal Canadian Mint's key role as a major market maker for Canada's mining industry. The success of the Mint in this realm can be directly traced to it's 75 years as one of the world's most important refiners of gold. Today, the Royal Canadian Mint is the largest refiner of gold in the Western Hemisphere, and the third largest, by volume, in the world. The R.C.M. hallmark on kilo bars, 100 troy ounce comex bars

Jan 1, 1987

By Geoff Beale

In terms of their hydrogeology, most open pit mines can be divided into three categories. There are mines that occur above the water table, mines that extend below the water table in high permeability rocks and mines that extend below the water table in low permeability, tight formations. Mines that occur above the water table do not experience major ground water seepage. It may some- times be necessary to construct in-pit trenches and sumps to remove water from precipitation. But dewatering or enhanced drainage measures are typically not required. Open pits that extend below the water table in high permeability rocks find it cost-effective to pump from dewatering wells. This is done to lower the water table below the working pit floors, creating dry or depressurized conditions in advance of mining. If the rocks in the mining area are homogenous, complete drainage of the entire mining area may be achievable by pumping from wells. In this case, it is not necessary to consider drain- age enhancement. However, there are many open pits and excava- [ ] tions that can lower the water table using conventional wells, but for which drainage enhancement is also an integral part of the dewatering system. The Sleeper Mine in Nevada is an example of this. Hydraulic layering at Sleeper has prevented downward drainage of water as the main water table is lowered. In addition, there are many mines that have areas of low permeability wall rocks that do not freely drain as the surrounding water table is lowered. Ground water seepage also creates difficulties in mines that occur below the water table but for which lowering of the water table using conventional wells is not feasible because of the overall low permeability of the rocks. The volumes of water involved may be small. However, it is necessary to deal with all of the water inside the pit as mining proceeds. It is not possible to dissipate pore pressures in the wall rocks in advance of excavation.

Jan 1, 1997

A brief description of the mining method and ventilation system of the San Manuel Mine?s first presented; this is necessary to an understanding of the heat problem and cooling system. The problem of heat at San Manuel is discussed. Charts and graphs showing the relationships between ambient surface air and underground temperature conditions are given. A history of attempts to cool air at San Manuel is presented, starting with the first refrigeration type air coolers which were used in development headings, and followed by the underground water chillers that were used in conjunction with cooling coils. Goals for design of a centralized cooling system with ultimate heat rejection through surface cooling towers are presented. The problems found with using the centralized system in main cooling coils are discussed. Plans for modification of the centralized system as utilized is the summer of 1987 are given, along with results obtained and problems with the system. Plans for subsequent modifications are presented.

Jan 1, 1988

By Gerald A. Zicg

The Sheep Creek project area lies between 15 and 20 miles north of White Sulphur Springs in west central Montana, on the southern flanks of the Little Belt Mountains. The Sheep Creek project is a joint venture in which Cominco American Resources, Inc., has a 50% operating interest and BHP-Utah International, Inc., has a 50% participatory interest. The property consists of over 40,000 acres of leased fee land and lode claims. Modern exploration of the Sheep Creek area began in 1973 and 1974, when Homestake Mining Co. examined the extensive Sheep Creek gossans with soil sampling, trenching, and drilling. Cominco American Inc. began exploration in the area in 1976. Between 1978 and 1985, Anaconda Copper Co., Exxon Minerals Co., and Freeport also conducted exploration programs in the area. In 1985, Cominco completed consolidation of the district, gained BHP-Utah International, Inc., as a joint venture partner, and the joint venture drilled the first significant copper mineralization on the property. Of six bodies of copper mineralization so far located, the best defined are an upper copper zone, which includes a probable resource of 4.5 million metric tonnes grading 2.5% Cu and 0.1 % Co, and a lower copper zone which includes a possible resource of 4.5 million metric tonnes grading 4% Cu. Exploration drilling of the property is in progress.

Jan 1, 1991

By R. Stocker

Flotation recovery of molybdenite particles finer than 15 micrones sharpy decreases with decreasing size. A totally hydrophobic latex agglomerant (UBC-1), which was previously reported to be very efficient in agglomerating hydrophobic fine coal, has been found to agglomerate fine molybdenite particles. The agglomeration takes place only in the presence of MIBC which is commonly used as a frother in molybdenite flotation. Adsorption tests confirmed that MIBC is adsorbed onto molybdenite. The effect of the agglomeration on flotation has been studied by floating fine molybdenite from mixtures with quartz using the UBC-l agglomerant and the MIBC frother. A significant improvement in the flotation of fine molybdenite has been observed in the presence of the UBC-l agglomerant. The best results have been obtained around pH 5.5 which corresponds to the iso-electric-point of molybdenite.

Jan 1, 1997

By Phil D. Newman, Robert J. Pine, Kevin Ross

The Stratoni Operations in northeastern Greece rely on a selective backfill method to exploit high-grade lead-zinc deposits. Underhand cut and fill often results in spans approaching 6-9 m (depending on the mining method employed) and a competent backfill is required to avoid dilution problems. Cement consumption represents a significant mining cost and through improving the control of the backfill batch preparation, the cement content could be greatly reduced without jeopardizing the grade control. A new distribution system was installed and a QAIQC system designed in cooperation with the operators to allow a wide range of backfill recipes, providing cost savings to the mine. A review of possible failure modes and the consequent strength required for the chosen mining method was also completed and indicated potentially significant cement content reductions. The calculations are supported by 12 years of experience at the mines which provides a valuable insight into the applicability of the approach developed.

Jan 1, 2001

By William F. Tanner

A river delivers a given load of sand, and hence of heavy minerals, into the sea into which it empties. This load is fixed by drainage basin characteristics and processes. Wave energy available for redistributing that load is fixed in an entirely different way. An equilibrium diagram of these two parameters (load versus energy) permits a tentative prediction of what will happen to the heavy minerals. The Chattahoochee River delivers a load which, over the past few thousand years, appears to have been greater than the available coastal energy could handle. As a result, much of the sand has been accumulated in various delta-margin features: barrier islands, beach ridges, and large furrowed off-shore shoals. The bulk of the trapped sand is found today in the shoals, which are attractive deposits for possible exploitation. If coastal energy levels are high enough to move the total load delivered by the river, accumulations of sand (and hence of heavy minerals) should be sought in the down-drift direction. Energy levels are rarely constant over any great length of coast. Decreases in energy may be due to widening of the shelf, convexity of, the shore, restrictions on the fetch, wave decay, or other causes. Such decreases result In deposition. Hydrodynamic mapping of coastal areas, as outlined here, should prove useful in the location of additional reserves. Part of this type of work can be done on maps, charts, and air photos.

Jan 1, 1962

By Peter G. Dunn

Geologic studies during development at Copper Flat were directed at acquiring the information necessary in evaluating a low-grade porphyry copper deposit. In addition to the geologic mapping and core-logging of a typical exploration project, these studies included the following : (1) careful checks on the sampling and assaying (2) selection of representative samples used to establish the recoverable amounts of precious metals in the ore (3) examination of underground workings driven to provide samples both for metallurgical testing and for assay comparisons (4) evaluation of plant site and waste dump areas as non-mineral, including a placer examination of the taillngs disposal area (5) location of an adequate water supply. All these investigations were carefully documented to provide the necessary data both for the engineering design and, more importantly, for the feasibility studies required for successfully financing the project.

Jan 1, 1981

By Leonard H. Hoyle

The American Society of Association Executives is a professional society composed of nearly 10,000 individuals who serve as salaried executives on the staffs of more than 6,500 associations. Represented is the full range of international, national, regional, state and local associations...including trade associations, professional societies, philanthropic organizations and others. The dramatic growth of ASAE during the past 15 years is a manifestation of the growth of the association movement during the past two decades. This is not to imply that associations are a new phenomenon, because they have existed for thousands of years. Ancient civilizations show evidence of groups formed for mutual protection and advancement. In the transition from ancient to medieval time, trade associations and guilds came to serve an important function for the craftsmen and merchants they represented, encouraging the growth of new industries, improved processes and education.

Jan 1, 1981

By Ulrich O. Lange

Coal is America's most abundant energy resource. Therefore, it IS logical to assume that coal must be produced in much greater quantifies in order to make the United States self-sufficient, as far as energy is concerned by 1985. However, there are a number of obstacles which have to be overcome in order to achieve such a great task. According to one of the most outspoken American Mining men, there are three major obstacles. Those are: (1 ) Mining technology (2) Public image of the coal mining industry (3) Governmental policy toward the mining industry The following will be dealing with Shortwall Mining, which is a very specific part of mining technology and which might influence the image of the coal mining industry as well as the governmental guidelines, at least to make it easier to live with those guidelines. During recent years the operation of coal mines has been more expensive than ever. Since 1970, the cost of producing coal increased by 30% and the productivity dropped by just about the same amount. Those are alarming signs.

Jan 1, 1975

By C. Newman, N. Schaefer

"INTRODUCTION As underground mining continues to operate at deeper depths and in more complex geologic and geometric conditions, there has been an increased demand for higher design standards in ground control safety and stability within the mining industry. Over the past 20 years, NIOSH has developed, validated, and distributed a number of free software packages (ALPS, ARMPS, AMSS, ARBS, etc.) for the safe design of underground coal mines with respect to ground control. While these programs were initially developed on a, “stand alone model,” where all program data resides on an individual or workgroup computer, modern day web applications have begun to migrate toward a, “multiple-tier model,” allowing multiple users to access an application through an Internet connection. webGroundControl provides users with access to NIOSH ground control design software (ARBS, ALPS, and ARMPS) utilizing a web-based three-tier architecture allowing users to easily access ground control designs, perform on-demand calculations, and provide online collaboration between operational personnel and engineers through a web server. Given advancements in cloud computing as well as the expansion of Internet connectivity on the surface and underground, webGroundControl users will be able to access the applications anywhere (where permissible) at any time. As web-based computing technologies continue to advance and cloud computing gains popularity and momentum, there is an industry need to develop Internet based applications for mine and ground control design (Barczak et al., 2016). The purpose of this paper is to introduce and familiarize those in the mining industry with the basic framework and, more specifically, the user-interface of the webGroundControl application. It is expected that the mining industry will rapidly embrace this new product and webGroundControl will be a new paradigm for mining engineering computer applications. APPLICATION ARCHITECTURE With the advent of cloud computing, web-based applications have become more popular with their adoption of multiple-tier, or n-tier, architecture containing independently operating tiers. The three-tier application architecture utilized in webGroundControl (as outlined in Agioutantis and Newman, 2016) contains a Presentation Tier (Web Server), Logic Tier (Logic/Application Server), and Data Tier (Data Server) as shown in Figure 1. While tiers have the ability to be deployed across and operating on multiple servers, webGroundControl is currently being deployed on a single server located on a university desktop computer. The separation of the application into a series of tiers greatly increases the maintainability and scalability allowing for the adoption of new technologies that can be applied to a single tier without redesigning the software package. The Presentation Tier maintains the user interface translating client requests (through a web server) and displaying results (through a web browser). The Presentation Tier allows for on-demand access from multiple users and compatibility with a variety of personal computers, Smartphones, tablets, etc. on different operating systems. The Presentation Tier has been developed with respect to the HTML and JavaScript languages. Through the utilization of CSS, a coding language which describes the style of an HTML document, the webGroundControl display is able to spontaneously adapt to any browser and any screen. The development of the Presentation Tier will be discussed in more detail in subsequent sections of this paper."

Jan 1, 2017

By Y. C. Kim

For the past quarter of century, much more effort and research have been expended in developing the "optimum" ultimate pit limit design algorithms and much less to solving the "optimum" open pit production sequencing. However, the potential economic benefit to an operating mine is far greater for the latter than the former. Unfortunately, the problem of "optimum" open-pit production sequencing has not been fully solved to date. This paper first reviews the past and currently used methodologies for developing this sequence. The staggered pit phase geometry problem of advanced stripping and operational constraints such as ore and waste tonnage requirements by period and necessary contiguity of mining faces are the main reasons why the "optimum" production sequencing problem has not been solved as yet. This paper also explains why any method which attempts to simplify the problem using ultimate pit limit design algorithm will fail to reach an "optimum" solution.

Jan 1, 1994