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By Julian Wills

The Candrill was developed with Soredem as a one-operator rockdrill for Canadian narrow vein mining. It provides the benefits of increased drilling rates, lower noise and vibration, mass reduction of 20% and system cost saving. The Candrill is to be commercialised at the end of 2001 together with a stoper drill through Parts Headquarters, Novatek's Canadian agent. The Candrill or pneumatic drills may be further exploited using a simple mechanised drilling system to further reduce operator labour, improve drilling speeds by up to 50% and to enhance drilling accuracy. Novatek's drilling system for simple mechanisation in gold and platinum mines is integrated with roof supports, can operate in stope widths as low as 800 mm and has resulted in labour savings of 50%, improved advances per blast of 20 to 50% and improved operator safety and ergonomics.

Oct 1, 2001

By H. W. Russell, Paul D. MILLER

IT is known that austenitic chromium-nickel steels that have free carbide in the grain boundaries are subject to intergranular corrosion. It is difficult to detect such a susceptible condition in a fabricated article because present test methods require a sample section for examination and in most cases this is difficult to obtain. The question of the nature and prevention of intergranular corrosion in austenitic stainless steels have been ably discussed by Bain and co-workers1-3 and by other investigators.4-10 The present methods of study subject samples to corrosive conditions in such reagents as the Strauss solution, a. mixture of copper sulphate and sulphuric acid. Such tests usually require at least 72 hr. to run. Various methods of measuring the degree of sensitization have been employed, such as the measurement of electrical resistivity, magnetic measurements, measurement of the degree of cracking produced on bending over a mandrel, and microscopic studies. The detection of carbides at the grain boundaries by metallographic polishing and etching methods is tedious and requires a skilled operator. A recent report on such methods of carbide detection is given by the American Society for Testing Materials Subcommittee VI of Committee A-10 11 and by Arness.12 The present investigation was undertaken to develop a simple test procedure for detecting carbide precipitation or susceptibility to intergranular corrosion. The test is designed for use in the plant and for the testing of fabricated structures. Carbide precipitation, the factor leading to susceptibility to corrosion, is produced by heating the alloy in the temperature range 800° to 1600°F., as in welding, in improper annealing or in service where such temperatures are met. The connection between such precipitation and susceptibility to corrosion has been thoroughly discussed, as has been the use of stabilizing addition elements to prevent precipitation. EXPERIMENTAL METHOD A small area of the steel under test is subjected to an anodic treatment in a cell that can be clamped onto a sample or an actual structure. The cell and electrical circuit used are illustrated in Fig. I. The cell C is lead, joined to the steel plate D and insulated from it by a short piece of rubber tubing E. The cell is forced tightly against the steel plate by a spring or clamping device. The seal formed by the rubber against the steel plate is sufficient to retain the liquid bath inside the cell. The spot treated can be made any shape desired, depending on the shape of the rubber gasket. The cell illustrated polishes a circular spot about 3/8-in. diameter. The bath consists of 60 per cent (by weight) sulphuric acid to which is added 5 ml. per liter of Glycyrrhiza extract (U.S.P.). The cell requires about 2 to 2.5

Jan 1, 1941

Mine planners must select a single pit for design with the knowledge that the grades on which this selection is made are uncertain. This uncertainty is often ignored through the use of deterministic models of grade. This makes the mine planner?s job simpler but does not necessarily lead to the ?correct? or ?best? selection. Grade uncertainty is typically modeled with conditional simulation, which generates multiple possible realizations of grade that are equally probable (or improbable). M ethods for incorporating grade uncertainty into mine planning to date have either been perceived as being too complicated, not accessible or too time-consuming. This paper proposes a simple and efficient modeling approach to incorporating conditional simulation into pit optimization, which would be able to be applied in currently commercially available software. An example for R esolute M ining Ltd.?s Syama gold project in M ali shows the range of ore, grade and value outcomes associated with generating pits through a variety of methods.

Jan 1, 2013

To quickly and reliably assess the stability (safety) of saturated and unsaturated tailings pond embankments. Approach Determine embankment geometry and soil properties, then use that data to obtain the safety factor of the embankment directly from one of a series of factor-of-safety charts.

Jan 1, 1982

By Alejandro Ferrada Vergara, María Jesús Barros Godoy

The need for a basic method for selecting explosives based on rock mass or intact rock properties for mining and construction arises from the limited consideration given to these factors when choosing among products and also an implicit overestimation of the explosive power to fragment the rock. This study highlights the importance of evaluating different properties such as rock strength, deformation, fracturing, detonation velocity and energy release when selecting explosives. The concept of characteristic impedance, which considers rock strength against shock waves generated by explosive detonation, is introduced. Understanding this concept is crucial for assessing explosive behavior according to various rock types. The study concludes with a practical guide table that categorizes rock properties and provides recommendations for selecting explosives based on rock mass and rock properties. However, it is important to consider other relevant factors, such as the presence of water or nearby instabilities, which can influence the final choice of explosives.

Jan 21, 2025

By Jean-Luc Collins

"This paper shows how simple reliability concepts such as mean time between failures and mean repair time can be used efficiently to help increase equipment availability and so reduce the economic losses associated with unreliability.More specifically, the paper shows how these simple concepts can be used in maintaining an appropriate balance between fleet failure and repair rates and how they can be used for setting up priority repair rules f or queuing equipment.IntroductionA profitable mining operation must handle large quantities of ore and waste at the lowest possible cost. To achieve this objective, the operation must optimize the productivity of its fleets of equipment by efficient management of the time element. Figure I shows some basic equipment activities in an open pit operation while Figure 2 shows a tree diagram describing some time elements of these activities.It should be noted that the only time a piece of equipment can generate a profit is when it can be found in the operating status. In order to maximize this time element, the sum of the other time elements must be minimized because the total time is always fixed.This paper shows the application of simple techniques capable of reducing the waiting time for repair (maintenance delay) by using simple reliability concepts."

Jan 1, 1988

By B. A. Rose

Coal is being thermally dried in ever increasing tonnages today. Because of fire and explosion hazards, it is important that drying equipment be designed for maximum safety in operation. It is well then that we review dryer design and operation to bring out those features and operating practices which will provide maximum safety to equipment and personnel. This paper presents the author's views regarding the fundamental requirements for safety and explains the Heyl and Patterson approach to the meeting of those requirements in the design and operation of their dryer.

Jan 1, 1962

By Paul Merica

ONE of the most useful, and at the same time least commonly used, methods of thermal analysis for the determination of transformations in metals and alloys consists in the recording of the tune intervals required for successive increments of temperature change during heating or cooling, the temperature of the furnace containing the specimen being altered at a uniform rate. The curve obtained by plotting these time intervals as a function of the mean temperature of the specimen during the interval is called the inverse-rate curve. It is probably due to the fact that no simple and convenient method has apparently been available for the measurement of the successive time intervals that this method has not been so generally used as, for example, the differential method, for which several tykes of automatic or semi-automatic apparatus have been designed. Whenever this method has been used, the intervals have usually been measured with the use of a chronograph; its operation as practised at the Bureau of Standards' is as follows: The temperature of the specimen is measured by a thermocouple and a dial potentiometer. The operator sets the potentiometer at successive values of the electromotive force differing by equal increments, usually 0.02 millivolt, and records the exact instant on the chronograph, by pressing a contact key, at which the galvanometer coil passes through its null position. Two-second intervals are also recorded on the chronograph record, and the number of 'seconds elapsing between successive signals is afterward counted from the record and plotted as a function of the electromotive force or of the temperature. This is an admirable method and by it most minute thermal arrests may be detected, but it requires a good chronograph, which is generally difficult to obtain, and the time of one operator during the recording and, subsequently, to read the intervals from the record; the latter operation often takes from one to two hours.

Jan 7, 1919

By E de Villiers

Several methods exist by which the capacity of a dense media separation (DMS) plant can be improved: 1) Increase the feed rate in spite of efficiency 2) Replace with bigger equipment 3) Add whole new module 4) Replace total plant 5) Change over to four shift/ seven days per week roster 6) Replace with alternative process 7) Increase the availability and utilization Options 1 ? 6 have varying degrees of cost implications. The seventh option would seem to be the easiest. Normally it is also the function of the plant operating and maintenance team to maximize this. Usually higher operating and maintenance cost are associated with an increase in these parameters. A general principle that is applicable to plants and systems is that as the complexity increases, the total availability decreases. By simplifying the flow line it may be possible to reduce cost while at the same time increase the availability and utilization. The typical standard DMS flow line contains components that compensate for the variance in pump performance or for the inefficient recovery of ferrosilicon with additional equipment. Things have changed though: 1) Advanced electronic control and monitoring is possible 2) More efficient magnetic separators are available 3) New more user friendly densifiers are available ORIGINAL FLOW LINE In principle the process consists of four flow lines or streams 1) Ore flow ? the feed is divided into a waste and product stream by means of the separating vessel

Jan 1, 2006

By Marina Fiore

As otimizações termodinâmicas de sistema ternários ou de maior ordem contendo titânio necessitam que os sistemas binários Ti-X estejam consistentemente definidos e otimizados. O sistema Ti-Si já foi amplamente estudado e otimizado termodinamicamente. Um dos seus compostos intermediários, a fase Ti5Si3, foi inicialmente considerada estequiométrica nas primeiras otimizações termodinâmicas para facilitar os cálculos, embora os resultados experimentais confirmassem a sua não estequiométrica. A otimização mais recente modelou esta fase como sendo não-estequiométrica com 3 sub-redes. A solubilidade foi considerada em duas das três sub-redes, uma na sub-rede do Si e outra na sub-rede do Ti. O problema dessa abordagem é que ela pode aumentar significativamente o número de variáveis a serem otimizadas no cálculo de sistemas ternários Ti-Si-X, dificultando assim a sua convergência durante processamento computacional. O presente trabalho simplifica a otimização do sistema Ti-Si, considerando que o Ti5Si3 é sempre hiper-estequiométrico somente em relação ao Ti. Deste modo, mantêm três sub-redes, mas elimina-se a ocupação do Si na sub-rede do Ti. Os resultados mostram que esta simplificação não afetou significativamente o valor das propriedades termodinâmicas do sistema.

Aug 16, 2017

By E Beltran, S Ngunz, F Orrante, F van Zyl, M Westcott

"The primary control objective of the project is to achieve milling optimisation by ensuring that the energy available for rock breakage is used as efficiently as possible. This is achieved by increasing the level of mill filing until a process constraint is reached. Stable operation against this limiting constraint is then maintained to ensure long-term optimised operation.Semi-autogenous grinding (SAG) mill control optimisation presents a number of challenges. SAG mills have multiple inputs that are used to control multiple outputs (MIMO process). Secondly, the SAG mill loading process is a ‘high inertia’ process that can be approximated as an integrating process. This means that it is open-loop unstable. The hybrid control strategy presented implements an advanced ‘load stabiliser’, which transforms this integrator process into a more manageable first order process, which can be steered stably against the constraints. This SGS hybrid Expert control strategy implemented on both SAG mills at the Porgera concentrator therefore consists of two integrated parts responsible for:stabilising the mill load to a targetdriving the mill load target to the maximum determined by the process constraints (eg maximum power draw) to maximise efficiency and throughput. A comparative study is done between the operation of the plant for a period of a month before and a month after the implementation of this strategy. The results indicated a significant improvement in the SAG mills’ stability and operation as well as a reduction of overload situations leading to a loss of throughput.Citation:Ngunz, S, van Zyl, F, Orrante, F, Beltran, E, Westcott, M and Wilson, S, 2016. Simplified Hybrid Semi-autogenous Grinding Mill Control - Explanation and Practical Results at the Porgera Concentrator, in Proceedings 13th AusIMM Mill Operators’ Conference 2016, pp 313–320 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne)."

Oct 10, 2016

By Marc T. Filigenzi

Two of the major ground control safety issues confronting underground mine operations today are shaft pillar stability and the failure of rock around active mine openings. Failure of a mine shaft can lead to the entrapment of workers. Failure of rock around active underground mine openings can lead to roof falls, which in turn can result in worker injuries and fatalities. Finite-element analysis has proven to be a reliable method for predicting stresses and displacements around underground mine openings. However, this is a complex and time-consuming technique and is not used as often as it could be in mine planning. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate one technique developed at the Spokane Research Center that allows the user to create a finite-element model of a two-dimensional section of an underground mine in a relatively straightforward manner. This model is then used to calculate stresses, displacements, and safety factors around mine openings. With this information, mine planers can evaluate the stability of mine openings as well as the stability of pillars and mine shafts. This analysis will help develop mining sequences and layouts that minimize stresses in that section of the mine. This, in turn, should minimize the occurrence of shaft failure, roof falls, and other hazards associated with underground mining.

By Marc T. Filigenzi

Two of the major ground control safety issues confronting underground mine operations today are shaft pillar stability and the failure of rock around active mine openings. Failure of a mine shaft can lead to the entrapment of workers. Failure of rock around active underground mine openings can lead to roof falls, which in turn can result in worker injuries and fatalities. Finite-element analysis has proven to he a reliable method for predicting stresses and displacements around underground mine openings. However, this is a complex and time consuming technique and is not used as often as it could be in mine planning. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate one technique developed at the Spokane Research Center that allows the user to create a finite-element model of a two-dimensional section of an underground mine in a relatively straightforward manner. This model is then used to calculate stresses, displacements, and safety factors around mine openings. With this information, mine planners can evaluate the stability of mine openings as well as the stability of pillars and mine shafts. This analysis will help develop mining sequences and layouts that minimize stresses in that section of the mine. This, in turn, should minimize the occurrence of shaft failure, roof falls, and other hazards associated with underground mining.

Jan 1, 1997

By J. de la Vergne, L. O. Cooper

The hydrostatic steel mine shaft liner (HSL) Provides a permanent wall lining for drilled shafts. It is watertight and suitable for bad ground conditions. After a shaft has been drilled to its full depth, the HSL is lowered into it and secured in place with cement grout. The liner consists of a cylindrical steel shell usually reinforced with exterior stiffening rings. The shell is basically designed for compressive strength and the rings are provided to give the shell added resistance to buckling. There are no published standards for the correct procedures to design an HSL. This paper gives a method that appears logical. A design solution can be complex with increased opportunity for error. This paper presents simple formulas to produce sufficient accuracy for construction design. Two new concepts are presented, referred to as transition pressure and critical pressure. An example demonstrates use of the formulas and concepts presented. To facilitate comprehension and use of the formulas, Greek letters are avoided and most of the English alphabet symbols used refer by association to their definitions. An appendix shows derivation of the formulas.

Jan 1, 1984

By Haibin Wang, Baojun Zhao, Xueyi Guo, Zhixiang Cui, Zhi Wang

In conventional copper production, anode copper is produced from concentrate in three furnaces in a process that entails four oxidation steps and one reduction step. Three types of slags are produced that require further treatment to recover copper. Dongying Fangyuan Nonferrous Metals recently developed a simplified process which requires only two custom-designed furnaces instead of the conventional smelting, converting and re fining furnaces. The first furnace continuously produces high-grade matte (>75 wt% Cu) that contains little iron (<2 wt% Fe). The liquid matte is continuously fed to the second furnace, which produces anode copper. The new process signi ficantly reduces the capital and operating costs and increases productivity and environmental sustainability. This paper presents fundamental concepts that enable the simpli fied process to be developed. The detailed operations in Dongying Fangyuan Nonferrous Metals are also described.

Mar 1, 2018

By AIME AIME

MESSRS. BURT and Shockley and others have been for three years urging upon the Institute the matter of simplified spelling. The Institute endeavors to be progressive in the matter of spelling and. is in cooperation with the national body which has this in hand and which has its principal office in New York. Our spellings are changed as fast as-good usage will permit (so it seems to the Board of Directors) and the national body, which is the real representative of the simplified spelling interests, deems that the Institute is making real progress, although not quite as fast as extremists would wish. In January, 1919, Mr. Shockley sent out letter ballots which created a misconception in the minds of many members, who received the impression that the communications came from the Institute instead of from a small group of members. As a result of this propaganda 163 proposal-ballots were sent in to the Institute divided as follows: Yes ?114 No ?20 Negative letters ?9 Split ballots ?20 Total ?163 The total membership at this time was about 7200. The disgusted members would not vote.

Jan 1, 1920

By J. A. Marts, R. C. Gilmore, S. Saki, J. F. Brune

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling involves the creation of a computation domain called a mesh or grid to solve the equations defining the physics of fluid flow. This process often comprises the majority of time spent in modeling efforts. In a project sponsored by the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), researchers at the Colorado School of Mines used an innovative meshing approach, allowing easy adaptation of the CFD model to adjust to a variety of longwall bleeder-ventilated and progressively sealed (often referred to as bleederless in the United States) mining geometries, with gob porosity and permeability scalable over a wide range. This paper presents the methodology of the meshing and scaling approach along with recommendations for using CFD modeling in longwall gob ventilation applications. The new meshing technique was utilized to evaluate the function of a back return in a progressively sealed gob and a bleeder-ventilated gob.

Jan 1, 2014

By J. A. Marts, R. C. Gilmore, S. Saki, J. F. Brune

El modelamiento de la dinámica de fluidos computacional (CFD por sus siglas en inglés) implica la creación de un dominio de cálculo llamado malla o rejilla para resolver las ecuaciones que definen la física del flujo de fluidos. Este proceso comprende a menudo emplear la mayor parte del tiempo en esfuerzos de modelamiento. En un proyecto patrocinado por el Instituto Nacional de Seguridad y Salud Ocupacional (NIOSH), los investigadores de la Escuela de Minas de Colorado utilizaron un enfoque innovador de mallas, el cual permite una fácil adaptación del modelo CFD para adaptarse a una variedad de geometrías de minado de tajos largos ventilados por canales (bleeders) y progresivamente sellados (referidos a menudo como bleederless en los Estados Unidos), con la porosidad y la permeabilidad de la cámara escalables en un amplio intervalo. En este trabajo se presenta la metodología del enfoque de enmallado y escalado junto con las recomendaciones para el uso de modelos CFD en aplicaciones de ventilación para las cámaras en tajos largos. La nueva técnica de enmallado se utilizó para evaluar la función de un retorno hacia atrás en una cámara progresivamente sellada y otra cámara ventilada por canales.

Jan 1, 2014

By Amanda R. Parry, Chris R. Pray

Predicting and modeling the soil structure interaction of laterally loaded piles with significant unbraced lengths is one of the challenges faced in designing many waterfront structures. Designers often rely on pile specific design software to calculate forces in an embedded pile and then couple that with either a structural design software to capture the behavior of the rest of the structure or use potentially overly conservative assumptions to omit modelling the piles entirely. Given that some projects have hundreds of piles coupled with hundreds of loading conditions, the shuttling of results from the structural analysis software into the pile analysis software can become cumbersome, difficult to track and manage, and prone to user input errors. An alternative approach recently used on two large marine infrastructure projects consisted of calibrating a structural analysis software to replicate the resultant outputs from a software developed specifically for pile analysis. This calibration was done using thoughtfully placed springs along a pile modeled in the structural analysis software to replicate the soil-structure interaction of the piles. The focus of this paper will be on the methodology used to calibrate the two software programs and an evaluation of the results which showed close agreement. Based on the two case studies, calibrating a generic finite element analysis software via this method should be considered as a reasonable and time saving design approach for pile-supported structures.

Sep 8, 2021

By C Young

The identification of Critical Risks, their associated Critical Controls, and the implementation of processes to ensure their ongoing management can be difficult and resource intensive. Answering the following Critical Risk Management related questions can be challenging: • What is a Critical Risk? • What is a Bow-tie Analysis and when should it be used? • What is Critical Control? • How is the effectiveness of a Critical Control assured, and how is this measured? • Who is responsible for managing Critical Controls? • What are the implications if a Critical Control is not effective? It appears that in the mining industry’s efforts to implement the Critical Control Management Process outlined by the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM), instead of embedding an integrated, well understood, value adding process, we have instead created a resource hungry monster that is poorly understood by numerous layers of the organisation.

May 5, 2022