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By P. J. Ehret

By and large, I agree with many of the precepts discussed in the Saperstein paper. I believe there is much more that can be done on the local level to involve both government and planning in the mine permit review process. Admittedly, much can be done to improve discussion between the state regulatory authority, local authorities, and mine operators. However, I strongly disagree, as suggested in the paper's conclusion, that such a system, as outlined in Saperstein's paper, could result in a reduction of review time or a lowering in the cost of permitting. The implementation of such a system by its very nature would only add a new level of bureaucracy to an already cumbersome process. This system, in my opinion, would only add to the cost of permitting and the time necessary to obtain a permit. Admittedly, it would achieve the result of adding local influence into the permitting process, but at what off-setting cost? It has been my professional first-hand experience and observation in the permitting and lands unsuitable processes to note that under the present system, local governments that do feel they have a stake in local mines and actively advocate their position (not simply comment), have had significant input into the conduct of mining and reclamation plans in their areas. Mining companies that mine in these areas are aware of local interests and attitudes, and do consider them in their plans. Simply put, local governments that want to get involved and want to play significant roles can and do. Those that do not advocate a position or have no input to offer do not. Although the present system is not as direct in effect in regard to local control as Saperstein's, it does work. It does so without the red tape that would result from developing miniature regulatory authorities in every county in which mining occurs. Although local input is important, there are many more sections of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) than Sections 508(a)(8) and 522(a)(3)(A) that also are important. It appears Saperstein's paper may overindulge these sections. An additional specific comment is made in regard to the statement that while local areas benefit from mining (wages, salaries, and purchases), they also endure environmental deterioration caused by mining affects. It is believed that the whole purpose for which SMCRA and its resulting regulations were enacted and developed was so mining would not be permitted if significant environmental deterioration could occur. Therefore, it could be argued that this point under current law is moot.

Jan 1, 1985

By P A. Gibson, J R. Brinkmann

The South African gold mining industry fires approximately 800 000 sloping blastholes daily. A programme aimed at characterizing the stope blasting process is underway in order to identify areas for improvement and to provide blasting related information for the design of mechanized sloping systems.

Jan 1, 1985

By C. B. Rash, W. W. Fowler, Gill Montgomery

INTRODUCTION Fluorspar is the common term used for the mineral fluorite, which is naturally occurring calcium fluoride (CaF2). It is the principal source of fluorine, the most reactive of the chemical elements, from which a great variety of unique and strategically important chemicals are produced. Commercial deposits of fluorspar are widespread throughout the world, and its availability is essential to the industrial progress of all nations. GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY In its pure form fluorspar, CaF2, contains 51.1% calcium and 48.9% fluorine, and has a sp gr of 3.18 and a hardness of 4. It is commonly a glassy mineral. colorless, white, or grayish. but may also be various shades of purple, pink, blue, green, yellow, or tan. It belongs to the cubic system mineralogically, and commonly crystallizes into cubic shapes in vugs and cavities, although most of it is massive, with interlocking crystals. Minable fluorspar deposits, in descending order of importance, occur as bedded limestone replacement deposits along fault zones; fissure-filling vein deposits; breccia filling in limestones, dolomites,

Jan 1, 1985

By D. W. Fuerstenau

A detailed study of the residence time distribution in an industrial balling circuit is presented. Using fired recycle pellets as a tracer impulse in each experiment, material was found to pass through the drum under plug flow conditions with a mean residence time of about 20 seconds. The time for a single pass through the entire circuit is about 60 seconds. Approximately three passes are required for fresh feed to report as product. Segregation of the tracer pellets in the system, according to their diameter, was observed and reasons for this are suggested. These results should be of potential use in the modeling and control of ball balling circuits in the iron ore industry.

Jan 1, 1985

This publication contains four papers presented at a seminar on mine subsidence control held in Pittsburgh, PA, on September 19, 1985. The seminar was designed to keep the mineral industry informed of new technology developed by the Bureau of Mines that permits reliable and accurate prediction of mine subsidence. The papers describe actual field studies undertaken by the Bureau to monitor surface subsidence over longwall panels. Topics discussed include the efects of subsidence on water table levels, the development of subsidence pre calculation methodology suitable for use with the specific lithological conditions of the Pittsburgh coalbed, an engineering comparison of technologies used in surveying for longwall mine subsidence, and a comparison of the process of subsidence over two different longwall panels.

Jan 1, 1985

By A. J. Hendron, J. E. Monsees

INTRODUCTION This paper is the outgrowth of work done by the authors to prepare the seismic design criteria for underground structures on the Southern California Rapid Transit District (SCRTD) Metro Rail Project. It is a follow-on to a similar paper presented at the October, 1984, ASCE National Convention (17). For design, the earthquake-induced distortions recommended herein are to be added to the normal static loading conditions for the underground structure. This design approach has been used by 18 section designers on the SCRTD Project. Preliminary results from two- and three-dimensional finite element solutions have partially verified the approach. Areas where additional research is needed for special cases are identified. EFFECTS OF EARTHQUAKE The effects of earthquakes on underground structures may be broadly grouped into two general classes -shaking and faulting. In response to earthquake motion of bedrock (shaking) , the soil transmits energy by waves. Seismologists identify various types of earthquake waves, but underground engineers are generally interested in the effects of transverse shear waves which produce a displacement of the ground transverse to the axis of wave propagation. The orientation of propagation is generally random with respect to any specific structure. Waves

Jan 1, 1985

About 60 persons are admitted to the graduate course every year after passing the entrance examinations. The entire course of studies is free of charge and the universities provide accommodation for the students who need it. The five years of studies are divided into 10 semesters. One semester lasts 15 weeks. Automatics can be studied at three separate faculties. At the University of Mining and Metallurgy, it is offered by the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Automatics and Electronics as well as the Faculty of Mining and Metallurgical Machines (metrology can also be studied there); at the Silesian Technical University in Gliwice, the Faculty of Mining offers the course. The educational plans and programmes comprise 3 groups of subjects: common for a given course of studies (foreign languages, political science and the basic technical knowledge) common for the speciality and subjects of diploma courses. The whole time of studies covers about 4400 hours excluding 3 periods of professional training and the physical training. The classes, laboratory classes, seminars and design classes are obligatory and the attendance is strictly checked. Students may extend their knowledge by participating and working in the Science Clubs. The students' work is checked not only during the classes but also by the examinations held at'the end of respective semesters. Those who fail the exams can repeat them only if very important reasons are presented. At the very end of the studies there is a diploma examination together with a discussion on the diploma thesis, written by the student. The successful result entitles the student to recieve the title of "magister inzynier",M.Sc. of his speciality. The graduates, after working for 2 years, can attend another course of studies lasting 2 semesters and called "Postgraduate Course", or start "Doctoral Studies" finished by the defence of a doctor's thesis. In'these cases the expenses are usually covered by the graduates' employers.

Jan 1, 1985

By R. P. Schneider

The Chino mine, concentrator, and smelter are located in Grant County in Southwestern New Mexico. Chino Mines Company is a partnership two-thirds owned and operated by Kennecott Santa Fe Corp., and one-third owned by MC Minerals Corp. (Mitsubishi) of Japan. The Chino Ore Body The Chino ore body is a widely varied deposit of rock types and contains intrusive stocks and sediments. The stocks contain chalcocite in a matrix of quartz, mica, and feldspar. Much of the feldspar is altered to clay. Some of these stocks are enriched with native copper. The sediments contain chalcopyrite associated with gangue minerals including magnetite, pyrite, garnet chlorite, and epidote. The contact of the stock and sediment is heavily altered to chlorite and clay. The stock ores contain economic quantities of molybdenite. The operating work index of Chino ore varies from 5 to 20 kwh/ton and averages 8.5 kwh/ton. The ore head to the concentrator averaged 0.81% copper and 0.010% molybdenum. Fifteen percent of the total copper head exists as nonsulfide mineralization.

Jan 1, 1985

By David L. Bickel

Stress-relief techniques and instrumentation have been developed through many years of research in the Bureau of Mines and successfully used to determine the in situ state of stress in rock. This report describes the Bureau's three-component borehole deformation gauge and the drilling equipment and accessories used with it. Operation and calibration procedures for the deformation gauge are discussed in detail, along with site selection and overcoring procedures. Information and references included in this publication provide a guide to the Bureau's cover-coring method for determining rock stress.

Jan 1, 1985

Dr Andrew Cosgarea, Jr, Associate Director of Opera¬tions of the U.S. Mint, and Chairman of the Awards Committee of the International Precious Metals Institute, announced the IPMI award recipients for 1985. The awards were presented at the Institute's Annual Banquet in New York City on 11th June, 1985. The Distinguished Achievement Award was presented posthumously to Dr E.M. Savitsky, of the A.A. Baikow Institute of Metallurgy of the U.S.S.R., for a life-time career devoted to investigations on the properties of the platinum-group metals. Dr Savitsky investigated over 300 phase diagrams, which became the basis for the selection of alloys and the prediction of properties. He published over 300 technical papers during his career. Dr Savitsky died during the summer of 1984 while being considered for the IPMI Award. The Engelhard Henry J. Albert Award was presented to Dr Stephen J. Lippard, Professor of Chemistry, MIT, in recognition of his research contributions in platinum chemistry and its application to nucleic acids. This prize

Jan 1, 1985

By J. M. Marek

The determination of the proper cutoff grade for an open pit metal mine is based on economic criteria and the operating philosophy of the mining company. Previous papers have dealt with the balance of a fixed mine production capacity versus economic return. Mine production capacity is often controlled by the amount of mining equipment and the working area in the pit. A complete cutoff grade strategy is a balance of economic return of mining higher grade material versus the capital costs of additional production capacity and the operating cost of moving the waste and low grade material to assure proper ore release. An approach to the problem is presented which is based in part on work by previous authors and provides guidelines to proper cutoff grade strategy encompassing the time value of money and variable commodity prices.

Jan 1, 1985

The Bureau of Mines, U.S. Department of Interior, is currently investigating strata interactions associated with the mining of multiple coalbeds. Strata interactions due to subsidence are a result of undermining. This study involves underground investigations at a mine where room and pillar panels are actively being developed through an area of the Sewickley Coalbed which was subsided by undermining of the Pittsburgh Coalbed. Research to date indicates that undermining had little effect on upper mine pillar stability, but had a more severe effect on the development and maintenance of entries. Roof-to-floor measurements recorded over four times more convergence in entries developed over gob as compared with entries developed over support pillars in the lower mine. Consequently, this has led to major roof falls in the active panels, resulting in considerable production delays and supplemental roof support costs.

Jan 1, 1985

By J. D. Dixon

This Bureau of Mines report describes the results of an investigation for developing and applying procedures for stabilizing excavations openings in highly yielding ground. The approach developed in this report involves nonlinear modeling of the progressive relaxation of the zones of rock mass around the excavations opening where Coulomb criterion of failure is exceeded. Stresses are calculated by using a computer code; Coulomb-failure condition is examined for both intact rock and joints (using strength parameters [~] and c). The rock mass in the failed zones is relaxed by reducing the Young's modulus of the rock based on an empirical formulation that is a function of the shape of the opening and the extent of the failed zone. In addition, the material in the failed zone is assigned reduced strength paramters 0' and c'. The limiting (or convergent) relaxed zone is obtained through an iterative process by manually changing the rock modulus and the strength parameters between iterations. Support pressures are computed by applying forces normal to the excavation surface. The approach is applied to the analysis of stability and support requirements for an entry in a longwall coal mine.

Jan 1, 1985

By Z. M. Zavodni

The stability of waste dumps depends to a great extent on the physical properties of the underlying foundation. These physical properties are evaluated through surface geotechnical surveys, subsurface exploration, and field and laboratory testing. Sufficient information must be obtained to define and assess the strength, consolidation, distribution, topographic and hydrogeologic properties for these materials. Important foundation data collected in the field include: surface infiltration rates, downhole hydraulic conductivities, ground water levels, bedrock structural parameters, soil types and soil thickness. Laboratory testing should identify the classification, strength, moisture content, hydraulic conductivity, attenuation and consolidation characteristics. Summarized in this paper are procedures and typical results of porphyry copper leach dump foundation investigations. Laboratory properties and design recommendations for potenia1 foundation liner materials are described. Back analysis and laboratory foundation strengths are compared. The topographic effect of the foundation on dump behavior is discussed and a foundation pore pressure monitoring experiment at the toe of an active waste dump is described.

Jan 1, 1985

By J. Dean Warner

Alaska contains many critical and strategic minerals that are scarce in the conterminous United States. Among these are tin, tantalum, and columbium. This Bureau of Mines report summarizes available data on the production, reserves, and occurrences of these minerals in Alaska. Alaska produces about 200,000 lb of tin per year, with historical production since 1901 estimated to have totaled 5,830,600 lb. Measured, indicated, and inferred tin reserves total over 140,000,000 Ib. Much of the tin production has been from the placer mines of the western Seward Peninsula; however, most of the reserves are in that area's lode deposits. Alaskan tin occurrences are part of a belt of tin mineralization that extends along the western coast of North and South America. The Alaskan portion of this "tin belt" comprises placer occurrences and lode occurrences of five major types: greisen, vein, skarn, pegmatite, and volcanogenic massive sulfide. Greisen and vein occurrences are the most abundant, but skarn deposits have historically been the most economically important. Columbium and tantalum have not been produced in Alaska; however, they may be recoverable as byproducts of tin, tungsten, gold, or uranium mining. Approximately 135,000 Ib of columbium oxide (Cb205) are inferred within the Tofty placer deposits in the Manley Hot Springs district.

Jan 1, 1985

Jan 1, 1985

By Edward E. Johnson

The U.S. economy made significant progress in 1984. The current-dollar gross national product (GNP), the market value of the Nation's output of goods and services, increased almost 11 percent over that of 1983 to slightly more than $3.66 trillion (table 1), and the real gross national product increased almost 7 percent.2/ Such rapid growth in real GNP has not occurred since the early 1950's. Real final sales increased only 5 percent during 1984, and real business inventories increased $24.8 billion ($57.9 billion in current dollars). Total employment of 106.7 million was an all-time record, and the unemployment rate declined from 9.5 percent in 1983 to 7.4 percent in 1984. During 1984 the U.S. dollar showed great strength on international markets, contributing to large current-dollar negative net exports of goods and services (-$62.5 billion) and even larger negative net exports of merchandise (-$107.6 billion). The strong dollar and the substantial increase in net imports of goods and services helped reduce U.S. inflationary pressures and provided a major source of loanable funds for financing domestic private investment.

Jan 1, 1985

By McMahon DW, Schapper MA

Hard rock underground mining has been wedded to the drill-blast method of breaking rock. Current practice and technology have focused on greater efficiencies in the blasting and handling of ore, on the basis that thelower costs that come with larger scale operations compensate for the waste dilution associated with the bulk methods. However, it is suggested that new technology is available or is on the horizon that could completely change the shape of hard rock mining in the 21st century. Hard-rock continuous-mining machines, possibly assisted by high pressure water jets, coupled with automated sorting and materials handling systems, could re-orient the miner's focus to winning metal rather than mining tonnes of ore. More continuous mining processes could accelerate the penetration by high technology in the hard rock underground mine, with the potential of greater manpower productivities and lower costs per tonne of metal produced. This new technology will be important in maintaining a competitive supply of metals, given the falling headgrades of the orebodies remaining for development and the increasing market threat from manufactured substitutes.

Jan 1, 1985

By G. W. Rhodes, B. P. Cavan, F. K. Mussger

The New Austrian Tunneling Method (NATM) has been successfully applied to two very different tunneling projects in the U.S.. In the case of Pittsburgh's Mt. Lebanon Tunnels, two original design alternatives were prepared. The NATM alternative incorporating a reinforced shotcrete final lining was successfully bid and constructed. At Washington Metro's (WMATA) Section B-10 Glenmont Route, Wheaton Station and tunnels, a NATM value engineering redesign was prepared for the low bidder. The design incorporating a waterproofing system based on a PVC membrane between the initial and final linings was accepted by WMATA. In both cases, European experience and standards were meshed with U.S. standard practice. Examples of NATM flexibility as an original design and as a value engineering proposal are presented.

Jan 1, 1985

By W. Petruk

An investigation was conducted to determine the minimum number of samples that must be studied by image analysis of polished sections in order to characterize a mill product and to determine the apparent mineral liberation. It was found that a representive polished section cannot be prepared from an unscreened sample that has a wide size range of particles. Similarly individual screened' fractions are not representative of the sample because minerals are partitioned during screening. Consequently the quantities of soft brittle minerals are increased in fine grained fractions and quantities of hard minerals are increased in coarse grained fractions. It is assumed that results obtained by combining data for a series of narrow size range screened fractions (1 Tyler size range) are representative of the sample, and relatively accurate apparent mineral liberation data can be obtained for a mill product by analysing each fraction and combining the data. Somewhat less accurate data would be obtained by analysing a series of screened, fractions that have a wider size range of particles (5 Tyler size ranges). Mineral liberation analyses show that the most reliable apparent mineral liberation in each screened fraction is a value taken from a smooth curve drawn through the lowest points on a graph of % free vs size. A correlation between the apparent mineral liberation in screened fractions and calculated mineral liberations using Kings liberation model is good for sphalerite but not for chalcopyrite and galena.

Jan 1, 1985