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By Wojciech Szczepiński, Dominik Gächter

In early 2020, the construction phase began for the new complex of buildings for Radium Hospital in Oslo – the leading facility for cancer treatment in Norway. Settlements in the surrounding area, caused by pore pressure changes, allowed for the introduction of an alternative solution for the construction of the excavation pit. The presence of solid bedrock and sensitive clay – the same material that causes major landslides in the Scandinavia – in the excavation pit, lead to a combination of techniques, which were never applied in Norway before. For the stabilization of the clay Dry Deep Soil Mixing was applied to allow safe execution of the geotechnical works. Interlocking Bored Piles with footbolts and Jet Grouting columns, in combination with anchors, provided the retaining structure for the excavation pit. Rock injections were performed to avoid any ground water ingress into the pit. Underpinning of fully operational, adjacent buildings was carried out with jet grouting columns. These works were performed from the basement of the hospital and the ‘ACI – Acoustic Column Inspector’ was used to ensure proper installation of 2 m diameter columns to a maximum depth of 25 m. The buildings were later founded on Steel Core Piles, the most common pile type in Scandinavia.

Oct 1, 2021

By Dominik Gächter, Wojciech Szczepiñski

In early 2020, the construction phase began for the new complex of buildings for Radium Hospital in Oslo – the leading facility for cancer treatment in Norway. Settlements in the surrounding area, caused by pore pressure changes, allowed for the introduction of an alternative solution for the construction of the excavation pit. The presence of solid bedrock and sensitive clay – the same material that causes major landslides in the Scandinavia – in the excavation pit, lead to a combination of techniques, which were never applied in Norway before. For the stabilization of the clay Dry Deep Soil Mixing was applied to allow safe execution of the geotechnical works. Interlocking Bored Piles with footbolts and Jet Grouting columns, in combination with anchors, provided the retaining structure for the excavation pit. Rock injections were performed to avoid any ground water ingress into the pit. Underpinning of fully operational, adjacent buildings was carried out with jet grouting columns. These works were performed from the basement of the hospital and the ‘ACI – Acoustic Column Inspector’ was used to ensure proper installation of 2 m diameter columns to a maximum depth of 25 m. The buildings were later founded on Steel Core Piles, the most common pile type in Scandinavia.

Sep 8, 2021

By T. F. Pugsley, D. Gignac

"The historical background to the project dates back to the mid-30s with the discovery of surface sulphide showings in the Cape Smith-Wakeham Bay ultramafic belt. In the mid1950s, orderly exploration commenced with an extensive work program by Asarco, INCO, Lemoine, Falconbridge and Raglan Nickel Mines Ltd. on exploration permits. In 1966, Falconbridge and Raglan Nickel Mines interests merged. Extensive exploration, drilling, under- ground delineation of the Donaldson orebody and the construction of basic infrastructure such as camps, airfield, road links from Douglas Harbour to Donaldson and Katinniq, a distance of 60 km, were completed.Production project design at that time consisted of plans for a 50 000 mt per year nickel mining and concentrating operation, including a 2000 person community and smelter at Douglas Harbour. These plans unravelled in the mid-70s due to high capital costs, poor nickel market conditions and the realization that the Raglan orebodies were not large enough to economically support the construction of green field smelter and refinery facilities for processing Raglan production. Nickel market conditions in the late 70s and early 80swere generally poor, resulting in further delays on production plans.While recognizing the very high potential to discover increased tonnages of high grade(3% Ni) in excess of 20 million tonnes, the project was deferred into the late 80s when a serious re-evaluation of exploration potential occurred and the requirement to prove up additional reserves resulted in an underground exploration program at Katinniq covering the period 1990-1992."

Jan 1, 1996

By E. P. Evert

Profitable marketing of most minerals is dependent upon the total delivered cost to the user. Transportation costs are often greater than the value of the mineral f.o.b. the mine or processing facility. In some cases, transportation costs are three to five times the mineral cost. For many years, transportation costs were controlled by a complex system involving the transportation companies and supervised by regulatory agencies. This paper will deal with the effects of deregulation on rail costs and outline the major changes in transportation economics.

Jan 1, 1985

By Raymond S. Shrode

Transportation is one of several important increments in the total market cost of most commodities. On a national average it has been reported that transportation accounts for about 25% of the total cost of a product at the market place. And industrial minerals are no exception. In fact, the proportionate cost frequently exceeds the 25% average. Further, it may actually determine the economic value of a deposit. Transportation may possibly be thought of as a specialized subject of concern only to a traffic manager and of only nominal interest to the mining engineer, the geologist or other technically oriented member of mineral producers' staff. However, in the industrial minerals field, interest is not commonly confined to exploration, development, production or marketing, but is in contrast an overlapping one. In a very real sense this broad area of interest in the total economics of the business is the specialty of the industrial minerals man. And transportation is a vital part of the total picture. Comments in this paper deal with rail transportation.

Jan 1, 1969

The past decade has seen remarkable progress by the railroads both in equipment and concepts in the handling of dry bulk. materials. While such shipments have always been an important part of the traffic handled by the railroads I little was done to improve the efficiency of handling or toward attempted optimization of equipment design before 1960. Several developments at about that time turned attention to this important segment of railroad traffic. One was the construction of a successful coal slurry pipe-line. Another was the promise of substantial economy in electric power transmission by ultrahigh voltage systems and finally, came the growing technological and economic feasibility of nuclear fuel electric generating plants. Each of these developments was a threat to the coal traffic of the railroads --the most important single commodity they handled in terms of revenue and tonnage. By the mid-1950's I Southern Railway management had become most concerned with its growing investment in freight car equipment and the declining revenue productivity of the capital employed. Additionally I there was substantial concern with the loss of business and potential losses in the area of the railroad's greatest economic advantage --bulk commodity movements. In 1958 a small team was established to study this problem. They arrived at two conclusions. The first conclusion was that within limits of maximum gross allowable weight on rail the lowest unit net capacity cost of investment came at maximum allowable gross weight per car unit. The second conclusion was that with a high degree of utilization costs per weight unit transported could be reduced to the pOint where

Jan 1, 1971

"The 100,000 volt sub-station at Butte is located near the center of the district in which the power is distributed. The sub-station building is 150 feet by 50 feet in plan and 50 feet high. It is a brick walled, steel framed structure with concrete floors and roof.There are installed at present four banks of single-phase transformers, rated at 3,600 k-w. per bank and connected in delta on both high and low tension sides. They step the voltage down from 102,000 to 2,500, at which voltage it is distributed to customers. The transformers are installed in fireproof compartments, entirely shut off from the rest of the building by brick walls and opening only out of doors. The transformers are mounted on wheels and can readily be run out onto a flat car, which stands on a track running parallel with the building in front of the row of transformer compartments. This arrangement furnishes a convenient method of handling the transformers, both at the time of installation and afterward, in case it is necessary to make repairs."

Jan 1, 1913

By M Andrew, D McTiffen, M Adams

A major Ventilation Upgrade Project commenced at the Fosterville Gold Mine (FGM) in 2017 to service the ongoing ventilation requirements of the underground mining operation. The project consists of three large diameter ventilation raises totalling 1100 metres, and new axial primary ventilation fans to upgrade the mine ventilation system. With a mining depth of 1200 metres and a thermal gradient of approximately 2.7 °C per 100 metres of depth, the completion of the Ventilation Upgrade Project is key to the ongoing success at FGM. The Ventilation Upgrade Project will allow continued mining, including high-grade gold deposits, lower in the mine where heat is increasing. Figure 1 below illustrates the underground workings at FGM, and provides a general view of the ventilation upgrade works to establish the new exhaust system from the lower workings to surface. Whilst raisebore pilot drilling the H4760 Return Air Rise (RAR) from surface to 395 metres, the raisebore drill string became stuck in the raisebore pilot hole at approximately 300 metres down hole, presenting a significant technical problem and delays to the project. This Case Study provides an overview of the recovery process undertaken at FGM including the recovery of the stuck drill string. The value of the stuck in-hole equipment, the investment in the shaft site preparation, the collar stabilisation, the underground development to the base of the ventilation raise, the surface footprint prepared for the Primary Fans construction and the limited available space on the site were all motivations to recover the raisebore drill sting and ultimately recover the ventilation raise location. More importantly, the long lead-time required should a new shaft location be the final solution, and the delay this would incur to the ventilation upgrade was unacceptable. Recovery of the drill string was not possible using the capability of the Contractor’s Raise Drill. An alternative method for freeing the drill string was required. A significant amount of engagement with industry was undertaken to seek out potential solutions and draw from the experience of others. All methodologies available were considered and assessed. Ultimately, after several attempts at freeing the raisebore drill string using various methodologies, Adams Drillers and Clear Cut Interventions were engaged to provide a turnkey recovery solution.

Mar 15, 2021

By Lawrence M. Brennan

Early in 1971 the Peabody Design and Preparation group began engineering on a preparation plant which was to process eight mil- lion tons per year of raw coal. For the first five or six years this product was to be furnished 50% from surface mining operations and roughly 50% from underground operations. By early 1980, 1008 of the production was to come from underground mines. Because of the large annual commitment from Randolph Preparation Plant, it was essential that the plant operate with minimum down-time. As usual, capital costs were to be kept at a minimum. Before we discuss the details of design, it would be best to discuss the overall picture. Underground production to be pro- cessed through Randolph Preparation Plant was to be delivered by means of one mile overland conveyor from Baldwin #1 Underground Mine to the plant. Surface Mine production was to be delivered by means of 100-ton haulage units dumping in a 1,000-ton capacity hopper. Because of the changing production rates in both the underground and surface mines as well as the great difference in size consist, it was decided that it would be necessary to divorce the plant as much as possible from production. For this reason, twin 6,500-ton raw coal silos were constructed to separate the two coals as well as allow blending. The preparation plant itself, was to be designed to Operate two shifts per day, five days per week, at an average rate Of 2,200 tons per hour with a maximum rate of 2600 to 2800 tons per hour. Coal was to be delivered to our customers by means of rail haulage at both unit train rates and plant process rates. The surface mined coal, after discharging into the 1,000-ton R.O.M. hopper, is fed by means of two 72" wide reciprocating feeders onto a 72" wide steel cable belt. The steel cabled conveyor discharges the R.O.M. coal onto a fixed grizzly, scalping out a percent of the 6 x 0 coal. The balance is fed to a 12' x 27' Rotary Breaker. The material passing through 6" round hole screens is added to the 6" x 0" from the scalping screen. The 6" x 0" is conveyed to the top of one of the 6500 ton silos designated for surface coal. Material that is not broken to pass the 6" breaker screen is discharged to a bin and disposed of with plant refuse.

Jan 1, 1976

By Charolett Hayes, A. L. Russell, Anthony J. Bednar, Jared Smith, Valentine A. Nzengung, Stephen L. Pilcher

The manufacture of Energetics Materials (EM), including maintenance and demilitarization of munitions causes dangerously high levels of explosives residues to be harbored in building features. The two commonly approved methods of decontaminating energetics contaminated equipment and building features are thermal treatment and steam washing. The current regulatory environment is generally becoming more stringent and unfavorable to thermal and steam decontamination because of their adverse impact on air, soil, and water and their ineffectiveness to completely remove accumulated energetics from foundation cracks, internal and external piping, voids in walls and ventilation systems, and internal cavities of fixed equipment. However, chemical destruction of energetics, especially high explosives, is gaining acceptance as a safer, cost-effective and environmental friendly alternative to thermal and steam decontamination. Organic explosives, including nitramines and nitrate esters are oxidized organic compounds that are susceptible to chemical oxidation and reduction reactions. Under suitable conditions, a chemical reagent consisting of sulfur-based bulk reductants (neutralent) commercialized as MuniRem generates highly reactive free radicals that very rapidly degrade many energetic compounds to innocuous end products while stabilizing metals as the insoluble metal sulfides.

Jan 1, 2016

By Gunnar Nord

Introduction ??Atlas Copco has customers both amongst Miners and Contractors ??We believe that the contractor's approach to tunnelling is worthstudying ??For a tunnel contractor the incentive is speed as ?30 % of the costs are material related ?70 % of the cost are time related ?A tunnel contractor favours utilizing of the face ?A miner favours utilizing of the gear ??Statement; In mining, a long term average advance rate of more than 10 m / day can be achieved with the excavation techniques availabletoday

May 1, 2009

By P F. Hodkiewicz

"Our understanding of mineral resources relies on three basic steps: data capture data interpretation model construction. Until recently, all three of these steps required significant time and manual effort to produce a single resource model for mine planning, typically taking more than a year to progress from drilling to the final block model. Over the past several years, BHP Billiton has been developing innovative workflows in rapid resource modelling projects to significantly reduce these time constraints and make the process more productive by replacing manual activities with automated ones. Rapid resource modelling is the process of combining recently developed off-the-shelf technology with internal technology developments to fundamentally change the way we collect, interpret, model and evaluate geoscience data. Initiatives include automated systems and standardised workflows to make it safer, faster and cheaper to continuously update multidiscipline resource models. Specifically, rapid resource modelling workflows combine: real-time analysis of drill holes and drill samples with downhole tools and hyperspectral scanning systemsautomated interpretation of drill hole intervals based on pattern-recognition algorithmscontinuous modelling workflows using implicit modelling software. This paper outlines technology developments and workflows that provide a more thorough understanding of mineral resources to support faster and more informed strategic, planning and production decisions.CITATION:Hodkiewicz, P F, 2014. Rapid resource modelling – a vision for faster and better mining decisions, in Proceedings Ninth International Mining Geology Conference 2014 , pp 183–188 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne)."

Aug 18, 2014

By John R. Goode

"The year 2011 witnessed a major surge in rare earth prices as China, supplier of +95% of the world’s rare earths, reduced export quotas and increased export taxes and duties. In response, companies around the world are scrambling for alternative sources. In Canada too, there is a race to be the “first” rare earth producer. Something that is not generally realized is that Canada has a long history of rare earth production and was a major supplier from the early 1960’s to 1990. At one stage, Canada was said to be supplying more than one third of the world’s yttrium and probably supplied even more than that. Five decades ago, thorium was a key element in many non-nuclear applications and Canada became a major supplier of thorium from the late 1950’s to 1968, first as a by-product of uranium and then as a co-product of rare earths. This paper reviews the development of Canada’s original rare earth and thorium production facilities, which were located in the Elliot Lake uranium camp in Northern Ontario. The uses of these elements, geology, mineralogy, markets of the time, and processing are all discussed. Some of the lessons learned from these pioneering operations might be useful in today’s race to develop the next generation of rare earth production plants.INTRODUCTION The rare earths and thorium were first identified in the early 19th century but were little more than curiosities for the next century. However, in the mid-1960’s the invention of rare earth-based phosphors for the cathode ray tube in colour television sets launched a major demand for certain rare earths. The use of thorium as an alloying agent in aircraft and missiles grew rapidly in the late 1950’s. In the same period, demand for uranium for both weapons and power production soared. Also in the late 1950’s, the Elliot Lake uranium-thorium-rare earth deposits (also known as the Blind River deposits) were discovered. This conjugation of events led to uranium production in the Elliot Lake camp, quickly followed by the co-production of thorium and, later, the rare earths. Uranium production in the Elliot Lake camp continued from 1955 to 1996. Thorium was produced continuously from 1959 to 1969. Rare earths were produced, intermittently, from 1965 to 1990. Complete production records are not readily available for thorium and the rare earths but unquestionably Elliot Lake production made a significant contribution to world production. This paper is intended to present as much of the information that is available."

Jan 1, 2012

By Y. Lahaye, O. Martinsson, B. I. Palsson

"Four main and three minor rare-earth-element (REE)-bearing minerals were identified and quantified in the Kiirunavaara apatite iron ore tailings using optical microscopy, an electron probe microanalyzer (EPMA) and a mineral liberation analyzer, and their chemical compositions were analyzed by the EPMA and laser ablation inductively coupled plasmamass spectrometry. REEs are shown to be contained in the minerals apatite, monazite, allanite, titanite, zircon, thorite and synchysite. In zircon, thorite and synchysite, they occurred in only trace amounts and contributed limited amounts to the total REE budget, and these are consequently of minor importance. Monazite occurred as inclusions in apatite and as free particles, 90 percent liberated. Allanite occurred to some degree in mixed grains with magnetite but also as free particles. Monazite mainly reported to the apatite concentrate, while allanite and titanite largely went to the tailings, the latter preferably to those fractions smaller than 38 µm. The amount of titanite in the finest tailings fraction was 2.3 weight percent, containing close to 1 percent REEs, with heavy rare earth elements (HREEs) making up 28 percent of the total REEs. However, a texturally distinct group of titanite grains showed an HREE/REE ratio of up to 67 percent. Furthermore, titanum dioxide analyses indicate that titanite is preferentially released into the tailings from the secondary magnetic separation step in the concentrator. Our data therefore suggest that titanite, occasionally enriched in HREEs, can be extracted from the processing stream and might thus be considered a new source for REEs at Kiirunavaara and similar deposits.IntroductionDeposits of apatite iron ores are the major source for iron in the European Union and are exploited by Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara AB (LKAB) in several mines in the Kiruna-Malmberget area in northern Sweden. Kiirunavaara is the largest of the apatite iron orebodies in Sweden, comprising more than 2 Gt of iron ore with 60 to 68 percent iron (Fe). At the end of 2015, the total accumulated production of crude ore from openpit and underground mining since the start of mining was 1,566 Mt, with ore reserves of 644 Mt grading 46.3 percent Fe (LKAB, 2016). The deposit defines a steeply dipping tabular body, approximately 6 km long and up to 180 m thick, extending at least 1,500 m below the surface. It is situated in the middle part of the Palaeoproterozoic Kiirunavaara Group of volcanic rocks and follows the contact between a thick pile of trachyandesitic lava and overlying pyroclastics (Martinsson, 2004)."

Jan 1, 2017

By P. Dent

"Rare earth permanent magnets (REPM) have become virtually indispensible in hundreds of applications including aerospace, automotive, electronics, energy, medical and military. An understanding of REPMs is important since they are key drivers of demand for the overall rare earth sector. Rare earth permanent magnets stand out due to their superior magnetic properties of high induction and coercive force. We will discuss the past, current and future of the permanent magnet market and supply chain. We will summarize present and potential new nanocomposite and lower content or non rare earth magnet technologies and customer options which may mitigate rare earth usage.INTRODUCTIONRare earth permanent magnets are ubiquitous and often unseen critical components in many civilian, green energy and military technologies. They have become imbedded in applications such as hybrid electric vehicles, computer hard drives, direct-drive high power wind generators, audio speakers, motors, energy conversion systems, most weapons systems and hundreds of other uses. Several rare earth elements including neodymium, samarium, dysprosium, praseodymium, terbium and gadolinium are essential ingredients in production of the highest performance magnets available in the world today. They have enabled vast miniaturization and the significant increase in power density in hundreds of applications.China has become the dominant source of rare earth elements over the last two decades. Today, nearly 100 percent of the world’s rare earth metals and more than 95 percent of the rare earth oxides come from China. China’s near worldwide monopoly on the production of downstream materials such as rare earth oxides, metals and magnets severely impacts the supply chain in this growing global market. The past decade has seen an unmistakable trend toward increased dominance in raw material production and manufacturing by China, and a steep decline in U.S. production capabilities, most notably in the neodymium iron boron (Nd-Fe-B) market where there is currently no domestic production. This Chinese dominance is further demonstrated with over 65 percent of hard ferrite and roughly half of aluminum nickel cobalt (Alnico) and samarium cobalt (Sm-Co) production in that nation (Figure 1). In addition, China has imposed export quotas and export taxes of up to 25 percent for rare earth elements, arguably in violation of their covenants made with their protocol of accession to the Word Trade Organization. These export quotas have been decreasing steadily over the last several years in spite of rising global demand and were slashed by 72 percent in July 2010 (Bradsher, 2010) causing many recent news stories."

Jan 1, 2012

By Schwartz M.

The current status of the heavy and light rare-earth elements outside China is reviewed. New suppliers of the light rare-earth elements are Lynas (Australia/Malaysia) and Molycorp (USA), which are anticipated to process 11 000 and up to 10 000 t/y, respectively, and the most advanced heavy rare-earth elements project is Avalon's Nechalacho project at Thor Lake, Northwest Territories, Canada. U3O8 Corp has potential rare-earth elements production, e.g. ytrrium and neodymium, from its Berlin deposit in Colombia and Namibia Rare Earth's Lofdal project (Area 4) has potential to produce an average of 1 500 t/y of separated rare-earth oxides. With regard to the three historical producers, India has some small-scale production, Brazil has been a small-volume producer and has potential for new heavy rare-earth elements production, while South Africa has no current production

Feb 1, 2015

By R. G. Eggert

"A critical element, as the term has come to be used, provides essential properties to a modern engineered material and is subject to supply risk. The rare-earth elements became perhaps the most prominent of the critical elements in recent years because of their important uses in permanent magnets, advanced lighting, and military materials; the geographic concentration of production in China; and the dramatic run-up in prices in 2010-2011 followed by price collapse between 2011 and 2016. Yet criticality extends beyond the rare earths. What is critical depends on your perspective – who and where you are, and when you ask. This paper reviews the many perspectives on, or faces of, critical elements. It compares and contrasts perspectives of industry (General Electric), national or regional manufacturing sectors (Japan, European Union), emerging energy technologies (as seen by U.S. Department of Energy and, separately, Joint Research Centre of the European Commission) and the world as a whole (as evaluated by academics). This comparison reveals a diversity of not only perspectives but also methodologies and time frames of concern.INTRODUCTIONRare-earth elements appeared prominently in the news in 2010 and 2011 because of the dramatic increase in their prices; their important uses in permanent magnets, advanced lighting, and military materials combined with the geographic concentration of production in China, which reduced export quotas significantly. Rare earths became the most prominent of what have become known as critical elements or materials – that is, those that provide essential properties to modern engineered materials and yet are subject to supply risks.Yet criticality, the state of being both essential and subject to supply risks, extends beyond rare earths. What is critical depends on your perspective. This paper begins by reviewing a little history and presenting a general conceptual framework from which to think about critical materials. It then reviews the many perspectives on, or faces of, critical elements – corporate, national, and global, as well several that focus on emerging energy technologies. The paper concludes with thoughts on what to do to mitigate the potentially negative effects of the supply risks associated with criticality."

Jan 1, 2016

By J. L. Jambor, T. C. Birkett, W. D. Sinclair

Abstract -The rare-earth elements (REE) form a significant part of the group of so-called "high­ technology" metals whose glamour has attracted both the scientific community and the mining industry. Despite this attraction, world production of REE declined abruptly in 1985 and only recently has begun to approach production levels of 1984. The decline in 1985 was primarily due to decreased demand for light REE used as catalysts in the production of lead-bearing gasoline. Incorporated within the current trend toward increased production of REE is an increasing demand for higher value elements such as yttrium and other members of the heavy REE group, and for specific REE rather than mixed products . The former demand has made some Canadian deposits and prospects economically attractive despite a surplus of REE reserves on a world scale. The chief attractions of Canadian deposits such as Strange Lake, Labrador-Quebec, Thor Lake, Northwest Territories, and Kipawa, Quebec, are that they are relatively rich in yttrium and other heavy REE compared to light REE, and that they offer a potential security of supply to counterbalance the rapidly escalating dominance of China in the world market.

Jan 1, 1992

By Winn B. Frank

Events of the mid-1970's have materially affected US coal production and transportation by railroad. Coal, as a replacement or substitute for petroleum fuels, has been hauled in significantly increased tonnages. Concurrent with the new demand, the railroad regulatory environment has undergone major changes, especially in "deregulation" activity. Those two events have produced considerable Litigation regarding coal rates. This paper discusses the factors involved with railroad rates and topics such as revenue adequacy, Ramsey Pricing, stand-alone cost, and differential pricing. In addition, an update on the western railroad merger situation and the implications for coal transportation are presented. The paper concludes with an evaluation of the current regulatory climate and future prospects.

Jan 1, 1983

By W. W. Kephart

The glass container industry is the largest producer of glass in the United States. As of this writing, there are approximately 89 active domestic production locations. In 1984, the industry shipped 11.8 million tons of glass containers. Approximately 70% of this production was clear or flint glass, 20% amber, 7% green, and the remainder miscellaneous colors. Although the production of nearly 12 million tons of glass is impressive, anyone following the industry over the last five years is aware that the industry has changed from a pattern of growth in the 1970's to one of maturity in the 1980's. Some observers, less generous, perhaps, have described the 1980's as a period of decline. In 1981, there were 119 production facilities which produced 13.2 million tons of glass the previous year. This equates to a 10% reduction in glass container production from 1980 to 1984, with a corresponding impact on the segment of the industrial minerals producers serving the container glass industry, as shown in Figures 1 and 2.

Jan 1, 1986