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By Michael Tenenbaum, C. C. Brown

Numerous investigatiolls have been carried out to determine the total oxygen present in the basic open-hearth bath and the results of these studies have clearly defined the factors controlling the bath oxidation during the period prior to deoxidation. On the other hand, very little is known concerning any changes in total oxygen content that may occur during deoxidation, tapping and teeming. The need for such additional data is continually becoming more apparent, since there is no strict technical basis for selecting any particular deoxidation practice. Many steels are made for the same purposes and to the same chemical analyses by widely differing practices. Apparently, each practice is satisfactory. However, it would be desirable to establish more definitely the effects and relative merits of the individual practices. Such information could be used to give a definite foundation for evaluating various types of deoxidation. In order to approach this problem, a study was made of the changes effected in the total oxygen content of several grades of steel by representative open-hearth deoxidation practices. To carry out such studies, it was necessary that a reliable testing procedure for determining the oxygen content of the steel bath and the ingot mold be established. Before entering on any extensive testing program, consideration was given to the available methods of obtaining steel samples and analyzing for oxygen. Testing Procedures It has been shown5-9 that in solidified steel oxygen may ekist in combination with iron, manganese, silicon, aluminum, titanium, chromium and carbon, depending upon the amount of these elements in the sample. In molten steel, however, there has been no direct distinction of the various oxides. Accordingly, the total active oxygen in the molten steel bath is designated by the symbol 0. During deoxidation, various oxides may be present either in solution in the molten steel or as solid or liquid inclusions. Any sample taken from the molten steel for oxygen analysis will include both the dissolved and the mechanically included oxygen. Similarly, samples of the solid steel product will also include the two forms of Oxygen' Methods of Samplirzg the Molten Steel Bath In order to obtain a true oxygen analysis from liquid steel, this element must be completely retained in the solidified sample. Several methods have been proposed whereby this stabilization can be effected. As early as 1915, Kichlinelo proposed a method for testing molten steel, in which the oxygen combined with some added aluminum. The concentration of the resultant aluminum oxide was determined by chemical analysis. This method was

Jan 1, 1945

By P. Klut, D. Groult, R. Marechalle, B. T. H. Bonnema

In the past 5 years, Compagnie Europeenne de Dezingage (CED) has developed a successful dezincing process and the St. Saulve pilot plant has evolved into a commercially successful production plant. Currently the plant meets all the required standards for scrap and zinc quality, output capacity, availability, and meets the prescribed environmental emissions standards. The initial process problems relating to zinc recovery, uncontrollable explosions and sodium hydroxide aerosol emissions have all been solved. Presntly, the yearly production of dezinced scrap is around 50.000 tonnes/year; this capacity is enough to supply the local market. This capacity can be increased easily to 65.000 tonnes/year or more. The market for dezinced material is growing due to the increased consumption of galvanized material on one hand and on the other hand the higher demand for high quality scrap. The proven technology of CED is currently patented worldwide, but CED is inviting licensees to implement the dezincing technology in other parts of the world.

Jan 1, 2000

Jan 1, 1992

Jan 1, 1987

By Bernard H. Hertlein

"When the Deep Foundations Institute (DFI) was founded, quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) of foundation construction was rudimentary. Nondestructive testing (NDT) was a nascent technology, known to very few people, and very limited in its capabilities and applications. In the four decades since the DFI became a reality, NDT researchers and practitioners have taken advantage of technological advances to improve those existing testing and analysis techniques, and to create new ones that have all contributed to the engineering body of knowledge. This has enabled contractors to improve the quality and reliability of their products, and engineers to design more efficient foundations.Through its regular series of seminars, publications and annual meetings, the DFI has been vitally important in educating the deep foundations industry about the capabilities and benefits of NDT methods. In turn, NDT results have helped the industry identify problems in deep foundation construction, determine the causes of those problems, and improve design constructability and construction practices to increase the quality, reliability and efficiency of all types of deep foundations. This presentation reviews the evolution of several important NDT methods, and the contributions that they have made to foundation quality.THE BEGINNINGSThe Deep Foundations Institute (DFI) was incorporated in 1976 in the State of New Jersey as a 501(c)(6) non-profit association. The DFI is a consensus organization of Contractors, Engineers, Owners and Suppliers involved with the design and construction of all types of deep foundations. The purpose of the DFI was and still is to improve the planning, design and construction of deep foundations by educating all those involved, sharing best practices, and promoting the adoption of new technologies that improve quality, productivity or safety.This is well expressed in the current DFI Mission Statement: To bring together multi-disciplined individuals and organizations to find common ground and create a shared vision and a consensus voice for continual advancement in the deep foundations industry.At the time the DFI was born, nondestructive testing for verifying the quality and integrity of deep foundations was in its infancy, its growth constrained by the technology, or lack thereof. Some visionary engineers of the time understood the physics of the potential methods, and therefore the possible capabilities, but were frustrated by the lack of technology to work with. Electronic equipment was mostly analog, and the few digital data acquisition systems that were available had such slow sampling rates that they were incapable of recording rapid event sequences or short duration events such as those used in modern integrity tests. For example, Jean Paquet, a leading research engineer at the French National Construction Institute, (Centre Experimentale de Recherche et d’Etudes du Batiment et des Travaux Publics, or CEBTP) patented the frequency-based analysis procedure for the Transient Dynamic Response (TDR) method, aka Sonic Mobility or Impulse Response, in 1974, but it was not until 1977 that analog data acquisition systems became fast enough to turn his theory into a reality."

Jan 1, 2017

By Jim Bruce, Peggy Hagerty Duffy, Mary Ellen Large, Allen Cadden

"Over the past 40 years, Deep Foundations Institute (DFI) has executed its mission “to bring together multi-disciplined individuals and organizations to find common ground and create a shared vision and consensus voice for continual advancement in the deep foundations industry”. Like DFI, micropile technology began a significant growth path in the mid-1980s. This paper highlights how DFI’s mission was executed in the deployment and expansion of micropile technology.INTRODUCTIONMicropiles are small diameter foundation elements constructed using specialty drilling and grouting methods. Micropiles have evolved since their introduction into the North American market in the 1970s from being lightly loaded (less than 30 kips) elements used primarily for remedial applications, to today’s high-capacity, often hybridized foundation systems, for both remedial and new-build projects. Micropiles now occupy a substantial market segment in North America.For 40 years, DFI has aimed to be the forum for discussion of all issues related to deep foundations design and construction. DFI now supports 21 technical committees and working groups on all deep foundations technologies and has expanded to include regional chapters in Europe, India and the Middle East.Several key steps are required for the successful execution of DFI’s mission, including identifying a need, engaging dedicated and knowledgeable people, developing effective vehicles and resources for information sharing, cultivating stakeholder contributions and advancements, stimulating influence/impact on deep foundations market, and expanding approaches to continue progress. Pile drivers in New York City (the original organizers of DFI) positively affected their market using these same steps: they recognized a specific need, gathered the people who could affect change, convened a discussion forum (which is common today, but was innovative at the time), defined tasks to address the issues, and influenced their market by improving means, methods and owner perception of their services. These forward thinking, proactive members created a mechanism for communication among all related parties that would advance the profession by improving safety, quality and value of pile driving construction.Micropile technology has evolved in the United States and around the world for the past four decades. The accumulated efforts of DFI and other, similar organizations such as The International Association of Foundation Drilling (ADSC) have contributed to this evolution. The advancement of the micropile industry – and consequently the micropile market – has been intimately tied to the execution of the mission of DFI."

Jan 1, 2017

Jan 1, 1988

By H. R. Manouchehri

The importance of the grinding environment and its effect on sulphide minerals flotation behavior has been known for many years. The grinding environment may play a role in controlling fine and coarse particle flotation along with dissociation of different chemical species in grinding environment. Dissociation of different chemical species and ions within the process water may result from changing the grinding environment. The mining and mineral processing industry undertakes activities that may impact on water resources. These include use and storage of chemical storm-water management, process water management, mine dewatering and management of tailings. In mineral flotation understanding and controlling water quality is paramount important not only because of its effect on flotation but also with respect to control the quality of the water which is released to the environment. Releasing of different anionic and/or cationic chemical species in the process water results from the interactions among different mineral within the ore, process water, and the milling environment. In fact grinding mill acts as an electrochemical reactor which affects the flotation performances of different value minerals as well as the quality of the tailing products. An increasing in antimony content in process/discharge water at Boliden?s Tara processing plant in Ireland to above limitation level was reported in April 2010 which needed to be controlled. An increase up to 6 times of the permitted level was reported which needed an immediate action to control due to environmental considerations. Therefore attempts were made to detect why this higher amount of Sb is released and how to control and minimize its release to the process/reclaim water. This paper discusses how/why Sb content in process/reclaim water was increased by changing the mill electrochemistry and the strategies were taken into considerations to control it. Different strategies, including electrochemical controlling of the milling section, Fenton process, using Bauxsol in treating the process water, etc., have been considered and tested which are described herein. All strategies taken into consideration for solving the problem were successful which indicated good understanding of the issue and good decision making. Furthermore, for each solution the capital and operational costs were roughly estimated. Accordingly, the Sb content in process/discharge water was controlled to a value lower than allowed limitation, i.e., 1 ppm. Keywords: antimony, water contamination, mill electrochemistry, ag milling, grinding media, eh-ph, sulfide minerals, fenton process, bauxsol, lime addition

Sep 1, 2012

By G. H. Charlewood, J. W. McBean

"One hundred years after being developed, the diamond drill is still an essential tool in mineral exploration. The basic principle is unchanged, but the technique has been revolutionized, particularly in the past fifteen years. The cost of core drilling has not kept pace with the rising cost of living. The price of machinery, supplies and labour in drilling has doubled and trebled since 1946. Some of the techniques which have made it possible to hold the price line are described."

Jan 1, 1967

By J Boland

Polycrystalline diamond compacts (PDC) have been widely used as cutting elements in the drilling tools for the oil, gas, civil and mining industries because of their faster penetration rates and longer bit life. US Department of Energy reports that PDC bits account for more than one-third of the total footage drilled worldwide (US Department of Energy, 2004). However, non-thermally-stable diamond composites (NTSDC) have seldom been applied to geothermal drilling, since premature failures of such PDC cutters have been observed in hard rock formations. Several factors need to be considered to prevent premature failure of cutters and improve cutting performance when using PDC-based bits and other rock cutting tools. The first set of factors consists of the strength, density, stiffness, toughness and thermal resistance of the PDC and the rock. A second set relates to the complex behaviour of the bonding between the PDC cutter and the bit matrix, or the pick and the pick holder, which is vital in maintaining stable, reliable and durable adhesion of the cutters to their hubs. Finally, based on a better understanding of the cutting processes, the formulation of a predictive model would assist in further development of cutter design.

Jan 1, 2004

By Peter Heine

Diavik Diamond Mines Inc. (DDMI) has treated systems development as an integral part of the construction project when it built Canada?s second diamond mine. Fully aware that the proper collection and processing of operational data is needed to drive business decisions during production and planning, key Performance Indicators (KPIs) were defined to effectively manage operations when the mine went into production. The Production Information Management System (PIMS) allows KPIs to be measured, reported, and transferred to other systems in a reliable and convenient manner. PIMS provides a mechanism to collect real time production data from the various control systems around the site and acts as a tool to ?drill-down? and establish the important cause-effect relationships that impact the value of a KPI. Thus PIMS provides a data collection, storage, management, and an environment in which cause-effect relationships can be analysed and statistically verified. This understanding of the real cause-effect relationships, close to the source of the data and in the context of the operation, can be used to improve both operations and maintenance performance. The PIMS includes the PI Database implementation, its associated external interfaces with the various Control Systems, Cleaning Packaging Weighing System, Environmental System, Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) System, and Diamond Tracking System (DTS), as well as laboratory data collection, custom applications (downtime tracking, data reconciliation) and user clients. The interface with the EAM system provides material flow quantities and equipment availability on which the plant performance reports are based. The transfer of equipment usage to the EAM system is fed into the maintenance notifications and work orders functionality in the EAM. The environmental system interface provides the mechanism for capturing water consumption data required to generate the various regulatory reports. The interface to the cleaning-packaging-weighing system provides the mechanism for capturing batch data for transfer to the DTS for diamond product tracking at the production splitting facility in Yellowknife. The PIMS lab application provides a means of getting sample data into the system for critical metallurgical metrics, and the data reconciliation application provides a means of manually verifying the data before it is published or passed onto other systems.

May 1, 2003

By C. W. Green-Halgh

The accuracy with which grade and tonnage of a mineral deposit may be calculated from diamond-drill assays is dependent upon: (1) the reliability of core and sludge samples and (2) the validity of methods used in grade and tonnage calculations. Limitations imposed by drilling and sampling preclude elaborate methods of computation. In adjusting core and sludge assays the importance assigned the core and sludge samples may be based on either the respective weights recovered or the respective volumes represented by each. Only when core and sludge recoveries arc poor do discrepancies between adjusted assays calculated by these two methods develop, in which case the "weight" method gives emphasis to the core sample and the "volume" method gives emphasis to the sludge sample. When the sludge suffers classification within the drill hole, the weight method gives more accurate results; when the sludge sample suffers no classification, the volume method gives more accurate results. Any drilling campaign offers a compromise between desired accuracy on the one hand and expediency, limited time, money. or facilities on the other. Since the determination of grade and tonnage is an approximation at best, a proper basis for their computation requires a knowledge of the limitations imposed by all phases of work upon which the calculations depend A rational basis for coordination of these phases of work requires determination of: (I) the degree of accuracy desired, as a function of the object of examination; (2) the degree of accuracy attainable, as a function of the limitations imposed in the drilling and sampling program; and (3) the validity of method to be used in calculating grade and tonnage from core and sludge assays. This paper presents results of a comparison made between two commonly used methods of adjusting core and sludge assays, the assumptions upon which these methods are based, and the interrelationship of the phases of work upon which these calculations are dependent. Object of Examination The Purpose of prospecting any mineral deposit is to secure sufficient samples from which Ore grade and tonnage may be calculated. Any mine examination, preliminary or formal, has a definite purpose, although its scope may be limited or broad. The type of examination to be conducted is dependent, therefore, 'pan the reason for instituting the investigation; its scope and thoroughness are directly related to economic considerations. It is highly desirable, therefore, that before starting a drilling campaign a complete understanding of the extent of examination and desired degree of accuracy be determined as a means of simplifying the drilling program and unifying the relative degree of

Jan 1, 1946

By Robert S. Moehlman

Is recent years, exploration and development by diamond drilling has become a popular attack on the problem of finding new ore shoots and developing extensions of known shoots. Diamond drilling has been used in recent years in extensive sampling of disseminated copper deposits, in preference to churn drilling. At the Harvard gold mine, near Jamestown, California, Philip R. Bradley, Jr., general superintendent, reports that: "The Harvard work was a singular example of the reliance that can be placed on diamond drilling in evaluating an ore body." Drilling at the Harvard mine will be discussed in a subsequent section of the paper. So popular has diamond drilling become, indeed, that many who have had slight experience with drilling are inclined to regard it as a cheap cure-all. This paper proposes to show some of the limitations on the application of drilling and some of the steps that should be followed in drilling programs to obtain reliable results. Cost oF Drilling Drilling has the advantage, over shaft sinking and drifting, of lower cost and greater speed. As compared with churn drilling, the advantage of bringing up a coherent sample instead of fine cuttings for a sample is obvious. Diamond drilling is generally more expensive, however, and more engineering effort is required in combining the average of core and sludge samples. Exploration of drift walls by hammer drills to a depth of less than 30 ft. is generally cheaper than diamond drilling, but beyond this depth the diamond drill is cheaper and more efficient. The principal factor in determining cost of drilling is the character of the ground drilled. Broken ground with many fissures is most expensive to drill. Hard ground is less of a problem with diamond drills than with ordinary machine drills. Hardness or softness affects only the speed of drilling. Caving, easily washed, sandy or clayey ground requires continual cementing and casing, which is the greatest cost problem. Thus, soft, incompetent ground is more costly to drill than hard, massive ground. Cost of drilling per foot in good to fair ground varies from less than $I per foot, achieved in some districts in Ontario, the Mother Lode, and Missouri, to $5 per foot in many western states. In bad drilling ground, costs may range from $5 to $15 or more per foot, thus approaching the cost of drifting. Other factors that increase the cost per foot are: I. Short total length of hole drilled, so that the cost of moving in crews and equipment must be spread over a relatively few feet. 2. Cost of drilling per foot increases with depth beyond about 500 ft.. as more time is consumed in pulling rods' 3. Cost of preparing drilling stations, getting air underground to stations? etc' 4. Inaccessibility and lack of water on the job make for higher costs.

Jan 1, 1946

By Arthur B. Yates

Diamond drilling has advanced and expanded during the past few yean. Along with this increase there has been a marked trend to rely more and more upon drilling for the outlining of ore for reserve purposes. This is especially true underground, where men have not been available for opening up ore by crosscuts, drifts and raises. During the recent heavy call upon known ore reserves, more drilling has been done for exploration and it has become expedient to drill longer lateral holes from underground and deeper holes both from surface and from exploration headings in the mines. Furthermore, these deeper holes have to be drilled closely enough to warrant calculation of "probable" if not "proven" ore, from the results obtained therefrom. Interpretation of diamond-drill results has become more precise and reliable with the growing knowledge and understanding of the geologic structures that control the geometry of ore distribution, and this has broadened the field of usefulness of the drill. All of this has created a necessity and a demand for more accurate control of the hole as to direction, a more precise and reliable method of surveying for position, and a need for better and more complete core recovery, as well as larger cores, to provide an adequate sample. At depth the control becomes more difficult and, at the same time, more important. Control A close study of drilling in various parts of the world for a period of more than 20 years has brought to light one definite rule, practically invariable; namely, that diamond-drill holes tend to deviate into a position normal to any structure existing in the rocks, such as bedding, schistosity, gneissosity, or even parting or jointing— even if the hole is started at almost any angle other than parallel with the structure. It also appears that the better developed the structure is, the more quickly will the hole get into a position perpendicular to it. It has often been said that there is a tendency for holes to "drift" in the direction of rotation. This is obviously untrue, for in a vertical hole the measure of deviation would depend upon the azimuth chosen as zero, and there is an infinite number of choices. It has been proved. however, that in homogeneous rocks there is a tendency for the hole to corkscrew, and that the direction of the spiral is the same as the direction of rotation. This may account for the belief that holes drift in that direction. Some tests have been made using right-hand and left-hand rods, and these show that no matter what the direction of rotation the hole will swing into a position perpendicular to the structure. Methods of Control The foregoing empirical rule may be used as an indirect method of control. If the prevailing structure is known, it may be advantageous to start the hole as nearly normal to it as possible, for the

Jan 1, 1946

By N. W. Byrne

THE study of diamond drill results at the Lake Athabaska property of Athona Mines, Limited, and the co-ordination of information secured, has demanded extensive application of methods for interpreting true conditions, both structurally and from the point of view of ore outlook. This work was in charge of a capable engineer, who, as the result of exhaustive study of the drill cores, has been able to issue maps and plans exceeding the expectations of the majority of engineers and geologists who visited the field during the past summer (1935); that is, having in view the fact that staking of the property had been completed but a few months beforehand and that geological conditions were practically unknown up to the time drilling began in April. The following pages present an outline of the work of the assay and engineering offices in co-ordinating and interpreting the results of the drilling. The writer desires to acknowledge the suggestions offered by A.P. Beavan, geologist and engineer at Athona Mines, whom he assisted during the drilling campaign, and also the co-operation of the drilling contractor's employees. The geological map, mine plans, and forms accompanying the paper are from the Company's engineering office files.

Jan 1, 1937

By R. S. Moehlman

IN recent years, exploration and development by diamond drilling has become a popular attack on the problem of finding new ore shoots and developing extensions of known shoots. Diamond drilling has been used in recent years in extensive sampling of disseminated copper deposits, in preference to churn drilling. At the Harvard gold mine, near Jamestown, California, Philip R. Bradley, Jr., general superintendent, reports that: "The Harvard work was a singular example of the reliance that can be placed on diamond drilling in evaluating an ore body." Drilling at the Harvard mine will be discussed in a subsequent section of the paper. So popular has diamond drilling become, indeed, that many who have had slight experience with drilling are inclined to regard it as a cheap cure-all. This paper proposes to show some of the limitations on the application of drilling and some of the steps that should be followed in drilling programs to obtain reliable results. COST OF DRILLING Drilling has the advantage, over shaft sinking and drifting, of lower cost and greater speed. As compared with churn drilling, the advantage of bringing up a coherent sample instead of fine cuttings for a sample is obvious. Diamond drilling is generally more expensive, however, and more engineering effort is required in combining the average of core and sludge samples. Exploration of drift walls by hammer drills to a depth of less than 50 ft. is generally cheaper than diamond drilling, but beyond this depth the diamond drill is cheaper and more efficient. The principal factor in determining cost of drilling is the character of the ground drilled. Broken ground with many fissures is most expensive to drill. Hard ground is less of a problem with diamond drills than with ordinary machine drills. Hardness or softness affects only the speed of drilling. Caving, easily washed, sandy or clayey ground requires continual cementing and casing, which is the greatest cost problem. Thus, soft, incompetent ground is more costly to drill than hard, massive ground. Cost of drilling per foot in good to fair ground varies from less than $1 per foot, achieved in some districts in Ontario, the Mother Lode, and Missouri, to $5 per foot in many western states. In bad drilling ground, costs may range from $5 to $15 or more per foot, thus approaching the cost of drifting. Other factors that increase the cost per foot are: I. Short total length of hole drilled, so that the cost of moving in crews and equipment must be spread over a relatively few feet. 2. Cost of drilling per foot increases with depth beyond about 500 ft., as more time is consumed in pulling rods. 3. Cost of preparing drilling stations, getting air underground to stations, etc. 4. Inaccessibility and lack of water on the job make for higher costs.

Jan 1, 1946

By C. H. Hitchcock

History In approaching the subject of diamond-drilling practice, a brief history of the origin and development of the diamond drill may be of interest. The use of black diamonds for boring holes in rock was discovered in 1863 by Rudolph Leschot, a French engineer. In 1864, he employed a diamond bit to bore holes for blasting purposes in the construction of the Mont Cenis tunnel between France and Italy. The method was introduced and developed in the United States in the late sixties. The first deep hole was drilled for coal in 1870, near Pottsville, Penn., by M. C. Bullock. This hole was seven hundred and fifty feet deep. It can be inferred that the diamond drill was introduced into Canada in 1871, when a bore-hole, known as Harper's bore-hole, was drilled for coal at Springhill, Cumberland county, Nova Scotia; and at the old Silver Islet mine, near Port Arthur, the diamond drill was in use as early as 1872. Diamond Drills While M. C. Bullock was developing the diamond drill for exploratory work, the Sullivan Machine Company, of Claremont, N.H., was developing the diamond channelers and gadders for quarry work. These quarry machines were very successful until the high price of black diamonds became prohibitive. In 1878, Albert Ball, chief engineer of the Sullivan Machine Company, designed the Sullivan diamond drill so well known today. The first of these drills went to the Lake Superior iron ranges. After 1880, use of the diamond drill expanded rapidly and spread to all parts of the world where exploratory work was being done. In recent years, the type of diamond drill has not changed much, but better material is going into its construction. Steel castings have replaced cast-iron. Ball and roller bearings are now used instead of brasses and babbits. Gun lubrication has eliminated the oil-can. These improvements make a drill that can be operated for long periods without expense for repairs.

Jan 1, 1933

By A. V. Bogdanovich, S. A. Urnysheva

"Gravity and X-ray luminescent separation methods are generally used in processing of diamond ores. X-ray luminescent separators are applied for separation of diamonds from feed ore size fractions from 100 to 10-15 mm size and for final treatment of gravity concentrates over 1 mm size. Gravity separation machines used for diamond ores separation are heavy medium cyclones and pneumatic jigs. One of the most important parameters, to a large extent affecting diamonds recovery from ore, as well as processing costs and specific energy costs, is size of dumped final tailings. That was exactly the purpose of the studies, the results of which are described in this paper. The studies performed on different ores showed that in order to achieve high recovery results, it is necessary to dump heavy medium separation tailings below 3 mm size. Separation of final tailings of -6+1 mm size by jigging is also possible. However, with a view to exclude extra diamond losses, it is necessary to maintain jigging concentrate yield approximately at 25% from starting feed, with its subsequent cleaning in heavy medium cyclones. In addition to that, it is necessary to separate 20-25% of middling with diamonds content at feed ore level and subject it to grinding. This will complicate flow sheet, but reduce load on heavy medium cyclones. In order to develop optimal flow sheet for gravity concentration of a specific diamond ore, large-scale investigations are required, including technical-and-economic assessment of separation alternatives. INTRODUCTION In processing of diamond ores, gravity and X-ray luminescent separation methods are generally used. It is common practice to apply X-ray luminescent separators for separation of diamonds from feed ore size fractions from 50 (100) to 20 (10) mm size and for final treatment of gravity concentrates over 1 mm size. With that, X-ray luminescent separation tailings larger than 3-6 mm size are reground and delivered to gravity concentration processing stage. Middling products circulation volumes are large, not infrequently necessitating decrease in concentrating plants capacity, especially with mining in deep workings of deposits, where ore strength is higher (Goryachev, 2010; Vaginov, 2000; William, 1988). Diamond ores preparation before processing is accomplished by means of roll-screw crushers and autogenous grinding mills, minimizing probability of free diamonds damage in liberation from barren rock. In re-crushing of size fractions that are “difficult” in autogenous grinding, high pressure grinding rollers are applied (Burchardt, 2014; Fedotov, 2011a, 2006b)."

Jan 1, 2018

By Stefan Schwank, Alexander Blatt, Franz-Werner Gerressen

Diaphragm wall technique is usually used to install diaphragm walls, which are known as underground structural elements commonly used for retention systems and permanent foundation elements as well as deep groundwater barriers, named Cut-Off-Walls (COW). In this exploration project, the diaphragm wall equipment was used in the 2019 summer season to perform the first part of an exploration and bulk sampling program for a potential mine on the Star Kimberlite. Beside the idea of using the diaphragm wall technique as bulk sampling equipment, the sampling program required the adaption of equipment and tools for a depth capability never reached before by a trench cutter in any commercial application worldwide. The paper will explain the development of the sampling program as well as the challenges occurred with the local geology and the specific demands of the exploration and sampling program. It will also provide an overview of the lessons learned during the 2019 season and will give an outlook to the approaches of optimization for the second phase which will be carried out in 2020.

By Franz-Werner Gerressen, Manfred Schoepf

"Diaphragm walls are known as underground structural elements commonly used as retention systems for excavation pits and shafts and permanent foundation walls or elements. It can be anticipated that, with the increasing trend of utilizing more and more underground space to accommodate environmental considerations and urban/suburban development, there will be an increasing requirement for diaphragm walling in even more complex conditions. Complex and/or challenging conditions in terms of ground conditions have a major impact in regards of choosing the right tools for excavation purpose. Complex conditions in terms of space limitations, especially for inner city job sites, require specifically adapted solutions for slurry, spoil, reinforcement and concrete handling and the related logistic to ensure smooth production. Furthermore, one focus will be given to the QA/QC topics of the production process. Real time installation control, data transfer and reporting systems become more and more important ensuring the five dimensions of a jobsite. Therefore, the paper will describe the construction method and the sequence of activities required for the construction of diaphragm wall systems with the focus on the cutter technology. It will describe also the main equipment which will be needed to execute these works under the various conditions INTRODUCTION Diaphragm walls are known as underground structural elements commonly used as retention systems for excavation pits and shafts and permanent foundation walls or elements. It can be anticipated that, with the increasing trend of utilizing more and more underground space to accommodate environmental considerations and urban/suburban development, there will be an increasing requirement for diaphragm wall usage in even more difficult conditions. Of course diaphragm wall can also be used as deep groundwater barriers (Cut-Off-Walls). This market has shown that the demand for these types of walls is reaching more and more difficult soil conditions or required depths which are surpassing the current standard. The trench cutter is the most important tool for performing this work. The trench cutter itself is a reverse circulation excavation tool. It consists of a heavy steel frame with two drive gears attached to its bottom end, which rotates in opposite direction around horizontal axis. Cutter wheels are mounted onto the drive gears. As they rotate, the soil beneath the cutter is continuously being broken up, removed, mixed with the bentonite slurry in the trench and moved towards the opening of the pump suction box. The slurry loaded with soil and rock particles is pumped by a centrifugal pump which is located right above the cutter wheels, up through a hose system up to a desanding plant where the slurry is cleaned and returned into the trench."

Jan 1, 2015