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By P. M. Daignault

"Fording Coal Limited is one of Canada's largest producers of metallurgical coal for the export market. Medium- to highvolatile coals are mined at its Fording River operations in southeastern British Columbia. This paper discusses some of the mine design and production related problems encountered, and how they have been resolved. Other aspects of the operation such as geography, geology and standard mining methods employed are also covered.IntroductionFording Coal Limited was formed in 1968 to mine and market metallurgical coal resources held by the company in the East Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia<1>. The company, at its Fording River operations, holds approximately 19,635 hectares of coal lands, having an estimated resource of 3.5 billion tonnes of metallurgical coal. Total reserves are approximately 520 million tonnes.Fording Coal is owned 600Jo by Canadian Pacific Enterprises Limited and 400Jo by Cominco Limited. Cominco itself is owned approximately 540Jo by Canadian Pacific Enterprises. The company, originally staffed and managed by Cominco, has been independent since January 1978, with its own board of directors, management, staff and employees. The head office is in Calgary, Alberta. The Fording River operations are located in British Columbia, approximately 70 km north of the Crowsnest Pass, near the Alberta/ British Columbia boundary, only 150 km by air and 320 km by road from Calgary.A contract was signed in 1969 with the Japanese steel mills to provide 45. 7 million tonnes of metallurgical coal over fifteen years, commencing in 1972, at an annual rate of 3 .05 million tonnes per year. The mine is presently expanding annual production capacity from the original 3.0 million long tons (3.05 million tonnes) to in excess of 5.0 million tonnes.Concurrent with this production expansion, a vigorous marketing effort has diversified Fording's customers to include additional countries in the Pacific Rim area. Three cleaned coal products are now marketed compared to the single ""standard blend"" product originally shipped to satisfy the Japanese contract. The product specifications are listed in Table I."

Jan 1, 1985

By Michael B. Tessieri

With the increasing environmental demands and higher fuel efficiency standards on auto manufacturers, the use of aluminum in automotive applications is expected to show significant growth for the balance of this decade. Cast and wrought aluminum usage is reviewed by auto part, and alloy family for the year 2000 automobile. The analysis addresses the effect of this increased volume on the recycling infrastructure and identifies issues and opportunities, which will face the recycling industry.

Jan 1, 1995

By Otto E. Zwanzig

You may think long before this talk has been completed that the speaker is belaboring the obvious. Please let me put to rest here and now any doubt which you may have in this regard by assuring you that is precisely my intent, and for a very specific reason. We all profess to know and recognize the obvious, but I am impressed increasingly how often we forget or fail to act upon the obvious. Shortly after starting my first job upon graduation from college, I was asked by my boss to participate in a course on practical communications, particularly as applied to conveying proposals effectively to the client -- be he customer or company president. The concept or philosophy underlying this program was so simple and obvious that in my youthful brashness I saw only a gross waste by the company of e good, solid $1930 in compelling me to take the course. The sequel to this experience occurred about five yews ago when I was directing a 300-man marketing group. At that time I enrolled a dozen of my department heads, and subsequently about a hundred other personnel, in the contemporary version of that sane program. Why? -- because they all knew the obvious, but I could see how imperfectly they were implementing it. Truly, a wide chasm exists all too often in our beliefs on the one hand and our practices on the other.

Jan 1, 1962

By Wm. A. Haven

ON the northern part of the globe, almost since the earliest days of mankind&apos;s history. ironmaking has been practiced in one form or another. Some investigators question the generally accepted belief that copper and bronze were in earlier general use than iron, explaining the greater age and abundance of copper relics by their greater resistance to natural oxidation. However, the occurrence of copper in its natural state and its greater ease of reduction from the simpler copper minerals is a strong argument that the making and use of copper came first. Nevertheless, good evidence exists that ironmaking was practiced in ancient India and China, as well as in ancient European countries. Some interesting vestiges of those early operations still survive and have a place, in the background at least, of a discussion of modern blast-furnace practice.

Jan 1, 1940

By Charles Hart

A STUDY of the various ores that have been discussed impresses one with the need of beneficiation, in many cases. This applies to the ores that have lain dormant, due to necessity for further preparation, or to ores that now find a market due to a changed condition. Processes of beneficiation will come into their own as our richer ores become exhausted. Many efforts at improvement have been commercial failures, due to prematurity. Thomas A. Edison, with characteristic foresight, attempted concentration of the low- grade New Jersey magnetites some thirty years ago. Due to high costs and the discovery of the Mesabi range, his efforts were futile. However, a successful crusher, designed by Mr. Edison, resulted from this attempt. Agglomeration of concentrates had not, at that time, been brought to its present efficiency, when sinters and briquettes of excellent physical condition are obtainable. Recent efforts in the beneficiation of the lean magnetites of the East Mesabi resulted in an excellent sinter, but that operation is also ahead of its time.

Jan 1, 1929

By Harvey S. Mudd

AMONG the highly skilled craftsmen of the Renaissance were those who worked with ores and metals. The author of this book, Vannoccio Biringuccio, was a master craftsman in the practices of smelting and of metalworking. Contrary to the customs of a trade, Biringuccio was moved to impart his knowledge to all and thus he has given us the earliest hand- book on metallurgy-in fact, the first printed book dealing with the applied metal arts and the processes of ore reduction. We should remind ourselves that metallurgy is an ancient art and then it fair1y may be said that Biringuccio sought to describe the techniques that had been in course of development since the Bronze Age of western civilization. Whether Biringuccio was a man of learning or a scholar according to the standards of his time we do not know, but today we recognize him as a man of science who gave his wisdom to succeeding generations. It was not until the coming of the Power Age at the end of the eighteenth century that progress was resumed in the science of which he wrote more than two hundred years before. Little is known of Biringuccio&apos;s training in his native Siena. It can be surmised that there, as in Florence, where his contemporary Benvenuto Cellini lived, he received his training in the craftsman shops where the industrial arts were taught and flourished alongside the fine arts. Perhaps he and Cellini were acquainted, although there is no mention of Biringuccio in Cellini&apos;s autobiography-an omission that Cellini&apos;s vast egotism makes understandable. He was the great artist, and Biringuccio was a practical, studious, unromantic figure with no favors to dispense. In the April 1940 issue of Mining and Metallurgy Dr. Smith describes Biringuccio&apos;s book under the title of "A Neglected Italian Metallurgical Classic." The article, revised and extended, forms the basis of the introduction to the present volume, and I urge all who take up Pirotechnia to read what Dr. Smith has written in the Introduction. Biringuccio&apos;s work is a classic and in its translation Dr. Smith and Dr. Gnudi have brought to bear the high degree of scholarship that it deserves. Dr. Gnudi made the translation at Dr. Smith&apos;s request and it was then refined "in the fire" of his scientific knowledge of the subject. The result is a book which the Institute is proud to place before its members and which the Memorial Fund Committee considers it a privilege to publish.

Jan 1, 1942

By Fiona Woody

Lime and calcium products are essential building blocks to the modern world, used to purify drinking water, preserve foods, control pollution, improve crop yields, stabilize soil, pave roads and support the production of steel, cement, glass and many other industrial processes. While lime is essential to society, it also has a sizable carbon footprint. Approximately 30 percent of the scope 1 greenhouse-gas emissions generated during lime production are related to fuel combustion, while the remaining 70 percent are created by the unavoidable chemical reactions during calcination.

Feb 1, 2026

By Francesco Toschi

The Special Bar Quality family comprises a wide range of steel grades, mainly requested by the automotive, energy and engineering sectors, for applications where significant performances are required (eg. stresses, temperatures, working cycles, etc.). To meet these requirements it is necessary to reach a precise control of both the mechanical characteristics and metallurgy structures along the whole production chain. For semi-product with large dimensions, such as equivalent diameters around 300 mm, this is traditionally obtained through a manufacturing route which comprises the casting in ingots followed by reheating, forging and rolling. After 2010, new processes were investigated and technologies developed to replace the ingot route with a continuous casting followed by controlled high-reduction rolling. In these processes a seamless integration of CCM with rolling is implemented so to obtain the precise control of material flow, applied deformation and working temperatures. By using the proper combination of rolling diameter, speed and applied reduction, a very good control of the metallurgy structure across the whole section can be obtained, so to also remove the internal discontinuities (&quot;voids&quot;) generated during the continuous casting. These processes, which can be defined &quot;forging-like&quot;, are applicable to several grades also with large semi-product dimensions (300 mm and more). Besides, removing the ingot route means increased yield and productivity, which is very beneficial to the economical management of the plant. An example of this &quot;forging-like&quot; process is represented by the high-reduction blooming stand installed by Acciaierie Venete in the Padova-Camin mill. This article describes its main concepts as well as its technology and process features.

Oct 30, 2017

By Isrun Bohlinger

Resources recovery of brasses for semifinished products often results in the formation of hard spots impairing the quality of following abrasive and/or surface finishing processes. A short survey is given on the recycling processes, followed by the actual knowlegde of genesis, composition, and possibilities of avoidance of hard spots. Informations on genesis and composition of hard spots are completed by data from recent experiments.

Jan 1, 1998

The purpose of this paper is to outline the basic policy problems for good community relations programmes in the resource extraction industries of Papua New Guinea. The main focus of the paper will be on defining and analysing those problems which lie on the landowner side and which are still not widely understood within the resource extraction industries despite several decades of turbulent experience. Many of the companies operating in the resource extraction industries of mining and petroleum and gas have in recent decades adopted, by choice or necessity, &apos;good corporate citizen&apos; policies. Some of these companies now pursue ethical business, environmental and community relations policies. Some have adequately funded and well-trained staff in their community relations departments. Although different industry sites scattered over Papua New Guinea show significant differences in their experience of social conflict, I argue here that a good deal of this variation has less to do with the differences between the companies&apos; public relations policies and their effectiveness and more to do with the conflict causing features of indigenous society. Experience suggests that even a company well-equipped with good intentions, good policies and good staff may experience serious difficulties in maintaining good community relations in Papua New Guinea. Many of these difficulties, I argue, can be traced to causes that lie, essentially, within the structure of Papua New Guinean communities and in the customs and social relations of Papua New Guinean peoples. Accordingly the attention of this paper is focussed on the conflict causing aspects of Papua New Guinean society. It is true, to the point of being a cliche, that Papua New Guinean societies are oriented very strongly towards achieving consensus and social harmony. In this regard Papua New Guinean communities differ significantly from, say, Australian communities. My purpose here is not to denigrate this aspect of Papua New Guinean societies but, rather, to point out that the drive for consensus is driven by the desire to avoid its opposite, dissensus. This paper sets out to define the dissensual aspects of Papua New Guinean societies and my special interest is in those conflict producing aspects of Papua New Guinean societies that are most resistant to the mechanisms that are designed to create social harmony. A survey of the recent history of industry and community relations in Papua New Guinea indicates that there are three main factors present on the landowner side which are liable, separately or through their interaction, to cause difficulties. These factors are respectively generational challenge, social boundaries and custom variability and I shall discuss each of these in turn.

Jan 1, 1997

Caterpillar and Fortescue Metals Group have moved forward with the delivery, installation and support of a complete Cat MineStar System at Fortescue?s Solomon iron ore mine in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The complete technology suite was implemented for the first phase of Solomon, the 20 Mt/a (22 million stpy) Firetail manned mine, in October 2012. As part of an autonomous mining solution for phase two, the 40-Mt/a (44-million stpy) Kings Mine, eight Command for hauling Cat 793F CMD trucks were commissioned and commenced operations in the second quarter of 2013. The mine plan calls for a progressive ramp up to 45 autonomous trucks during the next several years. In addition, other Cat MineStar System capability sets, Fleet, Terrain, Detect and Health, are being used across the mobile equipment fleet, including support equipment and light vehicles. Working closely with Fortescue and its mining contractor, Leighton Contractors, Caterpillar and the Cat dealer in Western Australia, WesTrac, are providing a full solution for managing, operating and supporting Cat MineStar System and Command for hauling. The greenfield Solomon Mine has brought together the skilled team from Caterpillar, Fortescue, Leighton Contractors and WesTrac to deliver an efficient, cost effective autonomous mining solution.

Nov 1, 2013

By Timothy J. Matthews, Timothy J. Batchler, Daniel J. McElhinney

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s (NIOSH) Mine Roof Simulator (MRS) at the Pittsburgh Mining Research Division was commissioned for operation in 1981. The MRS was originally designed for longwall shield research and was the only hydraulic press in the world with the capability to apply biaxial loads to these large structures. The results of this forty-year research program have contributed to improved performance and increased knowledge of longwall shields, mobile roof supports and hydraulic cylinders in the mining industry. Also, considerable research and development have been conducted to develop standing support technologies for the mining industry. The Support Technology Optimization Program (STOP) was developed to evaluate how these various technologies can impact and improve both ground control conditions and mine safety. Additional MRS research has included the performance of ventilation stopping walls including the development of a new testing protocol to evaluate the transverse loading capabilities under arching load conditions and evaluating the performance characteristics of welded wire screen as used in underground mine roof surface control. The NIOSH Mine Roof Simulator has been a reliable and valuable tool for the past forty years for the evaluation of safety structures used in mining, and this research has contributed significantly to the advancement toward safer mines. This paper will summarize those research results and provide a glimpse of planned future activities.

By Keith L. Harris

Real2 gross national product (GNP) grew at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.3% in the fourth quarter and at 2.5% for all of 1986, according to the most recent Department of Commerce estimates table 1). The 1986 GNP growth was the lowest since the recession in 1982, and was slightly below the estimate published in the last issue of Minerals and Materials. Barriers to greater economic growth in 1986 included the Federal budget deficit, the trade deficit, reduced energy-sector investment because of low oil prices, and uncertainty over changes in the Federal tax code.3 Major sectors of the economy responsible for the fourth-quarter growth included real Government purchases of goods and services, up $19.9 billion from the third-quarter level; real net exports, up $12.2 billion; real residential investment, up $3.0 billion; and nonresidential fixed investment, up $1.5 billion. The increase in Government purchases of goods and services was attributed to the S25.1 billion rise in net purchases of farm products by the Commodity Credit Corp-oration. Real personal consumption expenditures and inventory investment declined, however. Personal consumption expenditures declined primarily because of reduced motor vehicle purchases. Despite only modest growth during the fourth quarter, the economy improved significantly because of the narrowing of the trade deficit and growing employment (table 2) while maintaining low unemployment and inflation rates. Business sounded an optimistic note, with planned increases in current-dollar capital spending of 0.9% for 1987 compared with a 1.7% decrease in 1986. While it is primarily the nonmanufacturing industries that expect to increase investment from 1986 levels, some manufacturing industries are increasing investment by significant percentages as well, notably the steelmaking and nonferrous metals industries (table 3).

Jan 1, 1987

By Joan Weinberg

Real gross national produce (GNP) grew at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.0% in the fourth quarter (table 1). The restrained quarterly growth rate was the slowest in 2 years, and was substantially slower than the 2.5 % rate of the previous quarter. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, the summer drought reduced the fourth-quarter growth rate by 1.1 percentage points. A growing trade deficit and a reduction in business investment were the key economic factors curtailing growth. The trade deficit widened by $6.8 billion, reflecting both a surge of imports and a slowing of exports. Business investment declined 3.7%, mainly as a result of a slowdown in computer sales. On a year-to-year basis, the economy grew at an inflation-adjusted rate of 3.8% for 1988, the fastest in 4 years, despite the drought. However, on a fourth-quarter-to-fourth-quarter basis, real growth measured 2.7%. Increased exports and business spending for plant and equipment accounted for much of the 1988 GNP growth. Employment continued to grow as the manufacturing sector added 414,000 new workers (table 2). Of these, the primary metals industry added 26,000 workers, and the clay, glass, and stone industry added 10,000. The civilian unemployment rate remained low throughout 1988, fluctuating between 5.3% and 5.4% during the last quarter.

Jan 1, 1989

By Mark J. Zdunczyk

"Frac sand is industrial silica sand much like glass, foundry, filtration and blast sand. The sand must meet certain specifications set forth by the industry that consumes the product. The production and consumption of frac sand has experienced record growth in the last 10 years because of new oil and gas drilling, new horizontal well drilling, multi-stage fracturing and the stimulation of older wells that have little or no production. Frac sand is needed to “prop open” the fractures in the rock reservoirs to allow oil and gas to flow out more freely.According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the estimated production of frac sand in 2015 was 71 percent of the total production of industrial silica sand or 67.4 Mt (74.3 million st). This is a decrease of about 12 percent from 2014. However, the silica sand industry and other industry sources estimate only 50 Mt (55 million st) of frac sand were produced in 2015. In recent years both the USGS and industry studies have been very close in estimating the production of frac sand but with the recent downturn in frac sand production, perhaps, reporting to the USGS was not as accurate. These discrepancies may be that the USGS statistics are based on voluntary reporting by the industry and some companies report their approximate production, others may not. It is always difficult to obtain accurate production figures of any industrial mineral or construction aggregate operation as most companies tend to keep those figures somewhat confidential. It is certainly accurate to report that the production of frac sand had decreased since the last quarter of 2014 and through 2015. The oversupply of oil and natural gas has led to this decline in frac sand usage. Oversupply has idled drilling rigs and well completion activities. World Oil Magazine reports that 2015 was the worst year for rigs in a quarter century. The only wells being completed are those that have contract agreements to do so, others have been capped. Very few new wells are being drilled. Since about 98 percent of well completion is sand and water, the sand supply has caught up with the demand. There are some bright spots in the “oil patch” as the Permian Basin in Texas and the Woodford Shale in Oklahoma have kept pace somewhat with drilling and completion. It has been reported that the frac sand producers in the Brady-Voca, TX area are producing to nearly capacity. The northern frac sand producers like those in Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota are feeling the downturn because of the cost of shipping sand to these moderately active basins and plays. The “rule of thumb” is that freight is 2/3 and sand is 1/3 the cost."

Jul 1, 2016

By John Hansen

This paper has been written for presentation at the 103rd Annual General Meeting of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy, and Petroleum, April 29 to May 02, 2000. The paper addresses blast pattern fragmentation and diggability versus the blasting technique used. RESUME The author is the Vice President for Thunderbird Mining Systems. In this capacity he manages the mine site installation of surface mining mobile equipment monitoring and navigation systems. These systems are onboard instrumentation and software systems designed to: ??measure and log mobile equipments? production and health; and ??direct the equipment operators via onboard displays that show comprehensive maps and engineering instructions. The author is a mining engineering graduate from the Royal School of Mines. His work experience includes front line supervisor and mining engineer for Hudson Bay Mining & Smelting, mining engineer for Teck Corporation, and mining consultant for PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

May 1, 2001

By Maxime Tacher

BRP (Bombardier Recreational Products) designs and commercializes recreational vehicles such as watercrafts, sport boats, snowmobiles, ATVs... The Spyder roadster is the last product in the Can-Am product family lineup. To remain at the forefront of innovation, a hybrid motorization version of the Spyder is being developed in order to reduce fuel consumption and emission of greenhouse gases. But, the addition of electric components (e-motor, lithium-ion battery... ) raises the issue of added weight and volume. This article deals with the mass reduction of this Spyder by optimizing its frame.

Jan 1, 2011

By Gary L. Nelson

An overview is provided of Franklin Industrial Minerals mica mine and plant operations located near Velarde, New Mexico. Operated by Franklin Industrial Minerals since July of 1990, several process and product modifications have been developed and instituted to improve the operation. In addition to a brief history of site operations, descriptions of the mining, beneficiation, delamination grinding, and product classification processes are reviewed. Supportive topics discussed include equipment modifications and improvements, product application diversification, and specific product characterization. Also reviewed are the key areas of safety, environmental responsibility, and programs pertaining to process quality control and product quality assurance.

Jan 1, 1994

By J. P. Downey, T. Salisbury, M. Berlin, E. Rosenberg, G. Pinson, R. Christianson, K. Gleason, W. Gleason, S. Davis

"Direct digital manufacturing offers promise as a technique for fabricating complex hydrogen purification membrane support structures. Free form fabrication methods can produce parts with complex structures, and sintering parameters can be controlled to adjust the density, pore structure, pore pathways and strength in catalytic substrate constructs. Efforts are underway to define the influence of selected process variables on the chemical and mechanical properties.IntroductionThe Center for Advanced Mineral and Metallurgical Processes (CAMP), in collaboration with the Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Department at Montana Tech and the Chemistry Department at the University of Montana, is engaged in the development of new methods and materials for hydrogen purification membrane production. Because hydrogen readily passes through palladium, a structurally sound palladium-based membrane is capable of separating relatively pure hydrogen from other gases. In order for this technology to succeed, a suitable substrate material must be identified.High purity hydrogen is produced by various means. A common method involves a two-stage process for separating hydrogen from a hydrocarbon gas stream: 1) hydrogen-rich syngas is produced by the catalytic reaction of natural gas or another light hydrocarbon gas with steam, and 2) hydrogen is separated from the other syngas components by pressure swing adsorption (PSA) (US. Energy Information Agency, 2011). In PSA, gases enter a column that is packed with a material that absorbs gases as the chamber is filled and pressurized. As the pressure is slowly relieved, the absorbent material releases hydrogen at a higher pressure than the impurity gases. PSA processes produce 99.99% pure hydrogen at a high recovery rate. These systems typically demand a high capital investment due to the high pressure and multiple stages (columns) needed to attain high hydrogen production rates.Research geared toward reducing hydrogen production cost is focused on the development of improved catalysts and adsorbent materials as well as more effective single-stage separation processes. An interesting method combines hydrogen reduction catalysis and filtration. Nascent hydrogen is separated from other gases as it selectively permeates the filter. Catalyst filters may be made of gold, silver, platinum, palladium or precious metal alloys (Davis, 2009)."

Jan 1, 2012

[ ] TUNNELS TO BINS. Originally designed for tunnel work, the strong lightweight liner plates used to construct this 30-ft diameter, 31-ft high, aggregate storage bin have several advantages. Bins and conveyor to tunnels can be quickly erected in any season, for permanent service, or to be salvaged and reused. Armco Steel Corp. (16) ROLLER CHAIN: Engineering Data Book No. 2457 published by Link-Belt Co. is a comprehensive 148-page volume on roller chain and its application. Detailed engineering information covers installation, maintenance and lubrication of chains for drives, conveyors, and sprocket wheels. The book covers selection of drives to meet both standard and special installations. (17) LABORATORIES: The Fisher Scientific Co&apos;s. line of 21 basic units of standardized steel laboratory furniture is described in catalog no. 25. The Unitized line was designed to combine the advantages of custom installation with the convenience of selection, delivery and continued flexibility that goes with ready-made units. (18) PUMPS: Two similar, but functionally different types of vertical centrifugal wet-pit pumps; a heavy duty bilge pump for handling solids-free liquids and drainage; and a screenless sewage ejector, constructed to handle sewage and solids carrying liquid; are illustrated in a bulletin from Yeomans Bros. Co.

Jan 1, 1952