Search Documents

By Peter Loehr

Full-face tunnelling machines were introduced into German coal mines 12 years ago. It was aimed to utilize these highly efficient systems to drive mine tunnels in rock so that the large demand for development work in some mines could be met. A characteristic feature of coal deposits in Germany - and particularly in the Ruhr Area - is a thick overburden strata. Access is therefore only possible through vertical shafts. A network of horizontal drivages leading from these shafts open the deposits between the different mine levels. The hardcoal-bearing formations are multi-folded and heavily tectonically stressed. Apart from a few extensive fault zones there are many single faults of different natures in the carboniferous strata. During the course of decades coal mining has penetrated to ever increasing depths. Nowadays coal is mined from depths of between 600 m and 1,200 m. The effects of ground pressure in connection with extremely varying rock strengths and high temperatures are particular difficulties which have to be overcome during drivage work. The first full-face tunnelling machines to be applied in the mines had originally bee deigned and developed for tunnelling projects. Not only the machines themselves, but also the back-up equipment had to be adapted to meet the special demands of German coal mines.

Jan 1, 1983

By Mark Sheppard

The technical literature on the general subject of crushing contains many references to the work of investigators on the laws governing, and the factors entering into, the economical production of fine materials. In fine grinding, whether for the purpose of producing fine material, or for the unlocking of minerals in an ore, close control of the screen sizes of primary-crusher products is of secondary consideration and accordingly has received very little attention. The growth and development of the nonmetallic industries, however, have drawn more attention to primary crushing. Many of these industries are interested in the production of relatively coarse products that meet certain definite size specifications, a condition entirely different from that existing in the field of ore dressing. Under such conditions, a knowledge of the factors governing the selection Paid operation of primary-crushing equipment is essential to the economical production of a satisfactory material.

Jan 1, 1939

By J. C. Detweiler

THE Jacksonville plant of Humphreys Gold Corp., operating under leases from National Lead Co. and Rutile Mining Co. of Florida, recovers rutile, ilmenite, zircon, and monazite from an ancient beach deposit containing about 2.5 pct of these minerals in combination. The location of the plant is unique, being situated about ten miles from the center of Jacksonville, Fla., surrounded by a thriving suburb. Two four-lane highways pass within 1 ½ miles of the plant. An expressway now under construction will pass over the tailing pile, within 500 ft of the mine office. The elevation at the plant site is approximately 50 ft above sea level. This is one of two mines producing titanium minerals and zircon in Florida. Another mine is also operated by Humphreys at Starke, about 50 miles southeast of Jacksonville. The Jacksonville deposit extends about six miles in a north-south direction, averaging approximately one half mile wide and twenty ft thick. Values begin at the surface over most of its length and ter-

Jan 1, 1952

By 1980, the U.S. mining community had reached a broad consensus regarding coal pillar design. The pillar load could be estimated from tributary area theory, and the pillar strength from empirical formulas and laboratory coal strength testing. Then the growth of longwall mining required new thinking. Recently, powerful design methods have emerged from analysis of large data bases of real-world pillar successes and failures. These include the Analysis of Retreat Mining Pillar Stability (ARMPS), the Analysis of Longwall Pillar Stability (ALPS), the Mark-Bieniawski rectangular pillar strength formula, and guidelines for preventing massive pillar collapses. Sophisticated numerical models have also helped transform the pillar design landscape. In the process, our understanding of pillar mechanics has been greatly enriched.

Jan 1, 1999

By K. R. Griffin

Atmospheric conditions underground are constantly changing and from a safety perspective, it is critical to identify when conditions are trending abnormally. Atmospheric monitoring in underground coal mines allows mine operators to analyze atmospheric conditions underground in real-time. Real-time monitoring can then be used to identify whether atmospheric conditions underground have become problematic. The implementation of a risk assessment and management process allows operators to then use a risk-informed decision making to identify comprehensive site specific ventilation parameters. Establishing risk-informed ventilation parameters and tracking conditions relative to these parameters, management can modify ventilation plans as mine conditions develop to manage evolving risks. Ventilation risk assessment and management allows developing atmospheric monitoring technologies to be fully utilized in order to increase safety standards in the United States. This paper reviews general risk assessment approaches, state of the art ventilation based risk assessment, and the risk assessment and management application within the United States regulatory framework.

Feb 27, 2013

By R L. Verburg, R Johnstone

DeBeers Canada Mining Inc (DeBeers) recently submitted an Environmental Assessment (EA) for its proposed Snap Lake Diamond Mine located in Northwest Territories, Canada. As part of the EA process, a site water quality management plan must be developed. Plan development requires an integrated approach such that the key factors influencing water quality can be identified and managed to minimise potential impact. A system model was therefore developed to simulate the site-wide water quality conditions and mass loadings to the principal environmental receptor of concern, Snap Lake, during operations and post-closure. Requirements of the simulation included integrating hydrology, geochemistry, hydrogeology and site management practices in a dynamic way. A unique feature of the site was the need to accommodate a complex flow system that included a feedback loop between lake water and mine water. A system model was constructed using the GoldSim software package that integrated on-site water quality and flow measurements, as well as results from independent groundwater flow and geochemical modelling efforts. The GoldSim model simulated concurrently the movement of 39 solutes through the subsurface mine and surface facilities. Solute sources considered included four different waste rock and tailings types, explosives use in the mine, treatment plant discharge, and recycled process water for dust suppression. Separate solubility constraints were identified for different regions of the flow system (eg underground mine; treatment facility; surface water bodies). Kinetic test data were used to derive temperature-dependent rate constants for use in calculating mass inputs from surface sources such as waste rock piles. The model generated water quality estimates over time for a variety of management scenarios at several potential discharge locations. The integrated approach used by the model was effective in identifying the significance of key factors influencing overall water quality such as explosives use, mine water inflow rates, waste rock reaction rates, site/mine management options, and effectiveness of treatment. The model provides an example of an effective tool for comprehensive, integrated system evaluation and management.

Jan 1, 2003

By Stephen G. Hardcastle

CANMET has developed a simple yet very effective tracer gas method to test the efficiency of stench gas emergency warning systems which can easily be performed by mine personnel. This test method uses sulphur hexafluoride (SF,) as a surrogate for such stench gases as ethyl mercaptan. The test has many advantages: it is non-disruptive to production because SF, is odourless, colourless; it is safe to use as it is inert and only a small volume, insufficient to reduce oxygen levels, is necessary to dope the air with a measurable concentration; and most importantly it provides definitive results to assess the adequacy of the warning system. Specific findings of these tests have included, over doping sections of the mine and subsequent production loss due to sickness, the warning being ignored, the injection period being too short, excessive dispersion, and inadequate notification times. The simple test protocol involves releasing a known volume of the SF, under similar circumstances to those of the stench gas, and then sampling for its presence downstream. These samples are collected in air-tight syringes which are then analyzed in a laboratory with a gas chromatograph. By direct proportion, between the size of the stench and tracer gas releases, it is possible to convert the SF, concentration into equivalent stench gas concentrations profiles. From these, it is possible to define, the initial arrival time of the gas, the time it takes to reach a "target" notification concentration, whether the gas peak will exceed TWAEV, STEV and CEV exposure limits, and the duration of the peak above these levels. Since 1993, this test protocol has been employed a total of eight times on four different Canadian mine properties and the results are being used to optimize the stench gas release system with respect to volume of gas used, duration of injection, and number of injection locations.

Jan 1, 1997

By Aaro E. Aho

Yukon, one of the most potentially accessible, relatively undeveloped, regions of Canada, has major mineral possibilities. The Klondike placer gold fields and the Mayo silver-lead ?district are the sole major producers but large base-metal re-serves have been discovered in re-cent years and important asbestos deposits are now being explored. Several major exploration companies are active in this region despite short seasons, permafrost overburden, remoteness, lack of transportation, and resultant high costs. Pro-posed new roads can be expected to accelerate development. At ?present the major future mineral possibilities are considered to be lead-zinc, copper, aslbestos, silver-lead, gold, and mineral fuels. These and other mineral possibilities are outlined for various geological subdivisions of Yukon. Major favourable metallogenic features of Yukon include complexity of rock types and structures, widening of the Cordillera with cross-trends, and variety and quantity of mineralization found even with limited prospecting. Comparisons with southern 'British Columbia and the U.S. Cordillera suggest that further exploration will result in discovery and development of more major ore deposits and reserves which will eventually revolutionize economy of mining in Yukon. Such mineral resources, with interior petroleum and natural gas possibilities, and ?huge coastal hydroelectric power potential, are the foundations of a much larger future mining industry in Yukon.

Jan 1, 1958

By Daniel R. Shawe

Large tabular beryllium deposits in waterlaid rhyolitic tuff at Spor Mountain, Utah, contain the world's largest known resources of beryllium (as bertrandite). The district also has produced fluorspar and uranium. The largest beryllium deposit is about 2.5 miles long, and known deposits contain many million tons of material with at least 0.5 per cent BeO. The beryllium-bearing tuff (Pliocene?) underlies topaz-bearing rhyolite ( Pliocene?) that contains unusually high amounts of beryllium, fluorine, and uranium, and overlies other volcanic rocks (Pliocene? or Micocene?) and marine carbonate and elastic rocks ( Paleozoic). The deposits occur in hydrothermally altered tuff only where it contains abundant carbonate pebbles eroded from the Paleozoic rocks and where the tuff was deposited as thick layers in now-buried paleovalleys. Basin and Range faults, thrust fa ults, and possibly strike-slip faults formed in this part of the Basin and Range province during the late Tertiary, and volcanic rocks were extruded. Beryllium mineralization probably occurred during this episode. Undoubtedly the beryllium deposits are related genetically to the topaz-bearing rhyolite, but the details of their genesis are not certain and probably are complex. Beryllium deposits are close to major faults, and locally the beryllium is concentrated at faults, indicating fault control of mineralization. Some elements in the deposits, such as lithium, however, are evenly distributed in certain Luff beds and perhaps were introduced prior to faulting. Still other elements, such as manganese and lead, were concentrated in the beryllium deposits and subsequently were leached along late fractures, indicating a period of metal redistribution following mineralization.

Jan 1, 1968

SEC. 1. The membership of the Institute shall comprise six classes, namely: 1. Members; 2. Honorary Members; 3. Senior Members; 4. Associates; 5. Junior Members; 6, Rocky Mountain Members. All shall be equally entitled to the privileges of membership, excepting that no member of any class whose residence shall be outside of the United States of America, except those residing in Mexico and Canada, shall be entitled to vote. SEC. 2. Members: A person to be eligible for election or transfer into the class of Member must be at least 27 years of age and must have had at least six years' employment in the practice of engineering, mining, geology, metallurgy, or chemistry, during at least three years of which he must have held positions of responsibility in one or more of these fields. This shall not apply to Rocky Mountain members. SEC. 3. Honorary Members: Each candidate for Honorary Membership must be recommended by at least ten Members and must be elected by ballot at a meeting of the Board of Directors by the unanimous vote of the Directors present; provided, however, that the number of Honorary Members shall at no time exceed twenty. Such election shall automatically act as a transfer of such member from any other class of membership to which he may belong. SEC. 4. Senior Members: The Directors may in their discretion place on the Honor Roll of Senior Members and transfer from any other class of membership other than Honorary Membership the name of any Member or Associate who has reached the age of seventy years and who has paid dues for thirty years, and for good reasons in • special cases may vary the age or number of years. SEC. 5. Junior Members: A person to be eligible for election to the class of Junior Member must be qualified through education or experience to hold a subordinate position in engineering, mining, metallurgical, geological or chemical work. He shall be not more than twenty-seven years of age at the time of election. The rights of the present Junior Associates shall continue until the same expire by limitation of time. SEC. 6. Associates: A person eligible for election or transfer into the class of Associate shall be one, who, in the opinion of the Committee on Admissions and the Board of Directors, is suitable for such election or transfer by reason of his interest in or connection with mining, geology, metallurgy, or chemistry. SEC. 7. Rocky Mountain Members: Membership in a special class of life memberships without annual or other dues and without right to receive the printed literature distributed to other members or the right and privilege of wearing the official badge of technical members, is given to all members of the Rocky Mountain Club at the time of consolidation. These special Rocky Mountain memberships shall be claimable by any member of the Rocky Mountain Club, not already a member of the Institute,

Jan 1, 1929

By Han Jie

The results of full scale plate load tests on stone columns on soft clay in coastal areas are presented in this paper. Four load tests were made, two of which were performed on the ground treated with stone columns, one on an isolated stone column and the last one on the untreated ground. For a given stress range, the settlement of the rigid plate, the stress concentration factor, and the excess pore water pressure were measured. It is found that the distribution of vertical stress beneath the rigid plate supported by the composite ground of stone columns is very different in shape from the one by the untreated ground, that the stress concentration factor has a relation with the stress level and time, that the stone columns increase the bearing capacity up to by 2 times, and that the ground stabilized by stone columns is of great advantage to keep the foundation stable.

Jan 1, 1991

SEC. 1. The membership of the Institute shall comprise seven classes, namely: 1. Members; 2. Honorary Members; 3. Senior Members; 4. Associates; 5. Junior Members; 6. Rocky Mountain Members; 7. Junior Foreign Affiliates. All shall be equally entitled to the privileges of membership, excepting that no member of any class whose residence shall be outside of the United States of America, except those residing in Mexico and Canada, shall be entitled to vote. SEC. 2. Members: A person to be eligible for election or transfer into the class of Member must be at least 27 years of age and must have had at least six years' employ¬ment in the practice of engineering, mining, geology, metallurgy, or chemistry, during at least three years of which he must have held positions of responsibility in one or more of these fields. This shall not apply to Rocky Mountain members. SEC. 3. Honorary Members: Each candidate for Honorary Membership must be recommended by at least ten Members and must be elected by ballot at a meeting of the Board of Directors by the unanimous vote of the Directors present; provided, how¬ever, that the number of Honorary Members shall at no time exceed twenty. Such election shall automatically act as a transfer of such member from any other class of membership to which he may belong. SEC. 4. -Senior Members: The Directors may in their discretion place on the Honor Roll of Senior Members and transfer from any other class of membership other than Honorary Membership the name of any Member or Associate who has reached the age of seventy years and who has paid dues for thirty years, and for good reasons in special cases may vary the age or number of years. SEC. 5. Junior Members: A person to be eligible for election to the class of Junior Member must be qualified through education or experience to hold a subordinate position in engineering, mining, metallurgical, geological or chemical work. He shall be not more than 33 years of age at the time of election. SEC. 6. Associates: A person eligible for election or transfer into the class of Associate shall be one, who, in the opinion of the Committee on Admissions and the Board of Directors, is suitable for such election or transfer by reason of his interest in or connection with mining, geology, metallurgy, or chemistry. SEC. 7. Rocky Mountain Members: Membership in a special class of life member¬ships without annual or other dues and without right to receive the printed literature distributed to other members or the right and privilege of wearing the official badge of technical members, is given to all members of the Rocky Mountain Club at the time of consolidation. These special Rocky Mountain memberships shall be claimable by any member of the Rocky Mountain Club, not already a member of the Institute, availing himself of the privilege within ninety days after mailing of notice to him, by the Secretary of the Institute. SEC. 8. Junior Foreign Afliate: Upon appropriate action by the Board of Direc¬tors and with its approval, members in good standing of any technical society having its headquarters outside of the United States of America, Canada, or Mexico,

Jan 1, 1937

By W. Guiye, L. Chongjun, L. Huinan, Z. Yangge, H. Long

The current application of copper-molybdenum (Cu-Mo) separation inhibitors is often associated with large dosage, high toxicity, environmental pollution problems. In order to solve these problems, a light sensitive Cu-Mo separation inhibitor LS（light sensitive inhibitor，abbreviated to LS） was developed. In this paper, inhibitory performance, photodegradation rule, and acting mechanism of LS were studied. The subsequent test results showed that, compared with traditional inhibitors, LS has shown comparative advantages, with lower dosage and good inhibiting effect. A series of flotation tests with LS as inhibitor were conducted on a Cu-Mo concentrate. A locked-cycle test showed that a molybdenum concentrate containing Mo 49.88% and Cu 0.6%, with 93.23% molybdenum recovery and a copper concentrate containing Cu 29.92%, with 99.99% copper recovery can be obtained. The photodegradation performance of the reagent was investigated under 365 nm, 254 nm and sunlight irradiation. The degradation of the reagents could be completely achieved by irradiation of three wavelengths of light. However, with the different wavelength of irradiation light, the degradation rate is different, the time required to reach 50% degradation rate being 3 h (254nm), 4 h (solar light) and 6 h (365nm) respectively. The inhibition mechanism on chalcopyrite was studied. FTIR study showed that LS could be adsorbed on the surface of chalcopyrite by chemical adsorption, which could enhance the hydrophilicity of chalcopyrite. Ultraviolet adsorption tests indicated that the adsorption capacity of LS on chalcopyrite surface was greatly affected by pulp pH value, and the proper pH value was 5-9. Keywords: Copper-molybdenum separation, Inhibitor, Light-sensitive, Photodegradation, Mechanism.

Jan 1, 2020

By Tell Ertl, Will Mitchell

THE Mineral Industry Education Division made the headlines when Columbia's President, Nicholas Murray Butler, welcomed it in a provocative address made before a record crowd of over 100 members attending the opening Sunday session in the Columbia Men's Faculty Club. Arthur F. Greaves- Walker, Chairman of the Division, who was presented by H. R. Hanley, told of the excellent job of war research being carried on in the colleges. E. A. Holbrook led a discussion on the unionization of engineers, stating that he had learned that professional engineers were being forced into unions by subprofessionals. This might become a serious problem if the professional engineering organizations are lax in combating the

Jan 1, 1944

By Roger Escoda Estelrich, Joan Carles Casado Ortega, Mitchell Gerdau, Jose Raul Martinez, Jeb Pittsinger, Frank Perrone

The existing Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel complex is being expanded to include the Parallel Thimble Shoal Tunnel. This will be a subaqueous bored crossing between two islands constructed for the original 1960s immersed-tube tunnel. Jet grouting was employed by the Chesapeake Tunnel Joint Venture (CTJV) to provide watertight base plugs, launch and retrieval blocks for the tunnel boring machine (TBM), a TBM canopy to limit ground movement, and a retaining wall to enable off-island excavation: all within hydraulically placed sands. This paper will review the design and construction challenges, including soil permeability and recharge, grout communication, installed grout strengths, and remediation requirements.

Jun 23, 2024

By L. B. Berger

From time to time the Bureau of Mines receives requests for information and advice regarding the safety of using internal-combustion engines operated on butane fuel as prime movers for haulage and other purposes in mining and tunneling. The purpose of this, circular is to discuss the properties of butane and to present data in regard to the possible use of this fuel in underground operations. Published information on the use of commercial butane as a fuel for internal-combustion engines indicates that, insofar as performance is concerned, butane may be utilized satisfactorily and efficiently for this purpose. However, the introduction of a volatile, inflammable material such as butane into confined spares such as mines or tunnels would create potential fire and explosion hazards that should be given due consideration by those concerned with the promotion of safe practices.

Jan 1, 1944

The current drill-and-blast method of tunnelling is cyclic and, for this reason above all others, has a future application potential which is lower than that of continuous methods. There is scope for progress in several facets of today's drill-and-blast tunnelling. But even if each of its unit operations and the synthesis of these were to be optimised, this conventional method will, in the long term, fail to be a serious competitor for tunnelboring machines (TBMs), roadheaders and the like. If its role in tunnelling is not to decline at an increasing rate, drill-and-blast will need to be transformed into a continuous system. Boring and cutting machines consume considerable energy (and expenditure) in creating rock fragments which are smaller than those required by muck-handling equipment. In this respect, blasting is more efficient. Mechanical methods are also less versatile and flexible and, when planning proceeds on a basis of meagre or inadequate geological data, cannot be costed as accurately. Currently, research gains for TBMs and roadheaders are greater than those for conventional tunnelling. If (as is likely) the disadvantages of mechanical methods continue to be reduced at a greater rate, the swing away from drilling and blasting will gain momentum.

Jan 1, 1987

By S. D. Van Nort

The Grasberg porphyry copper-gold deposit of Freeport Indonesia Inc., an 81% owned subsidiary of Freeport-McMoRan Inc., lies within the Ertsberg Mineral District in central Irian Jaya, Indonesia. The Grasberg deposit was discovered during a drilling campaign initiated in early 1988. Production at the open pit Grasberg deposit commenced in December 1989. The Grasberg copper-gold orebody is contained with a young igneous complex of dioritic composition which intrudes limestones of the Tertiary New Guinea Group. Alteration is typical of porphyry copper deposits worldwide except that higher grade primary chalcopyrite with significant gold values is associated with a centrally located zone of strong quartz stockwork.

Jan 1, 1991

By V. Bredykhin

The efficiency of scrap processing depends firstly on reliability of information about its chemical composition. The paper presents the results of the investigation and development regarding solid copper alloy scrap in the range of lump size 40÷300 mm. Nowadays the sorting of lump scrap is done by two methods: 1. Sorting according to metals and alloys is done at places of scrap generation, and further till metallurgical processing each lot has its "certificate"; 2. Hand sorting of scrap is done according to the marks on solid items in special shops using proximate analyzers or manually by experienced workers. This sorting process is labor - consuming low efficient and involves mistakes. The informational method is a promising trend in the copper scrap sorting. The method is direct, i.e. as a result of sorting the chemical composition of each scrap lump or main elements is determined, and assured data of qualitative and quantitative composition are received.

Jan 1, 2006

By P. J. How, T. O. Hagan, M. F. Handley

Inelastic deformation of highly stressed rock in deep mines needs to be quantified in both time and space. Since most deformation occurs by shear, continuous monitoring of discontinuities in the rock from boreholes holds promise. The casing. Al interpretations of shear movements are based on a simple relation between shear displacement and the resulting change in tilt of the sensor. A prototype has been constructed and has undergone laboratory trials with satisfactory results. Underground trials will commence shortly. The instrument as designed has the potential for other applications, both in the civil-engineering and mining industries. paper describes an instrument that is both cheap and reliable, and capable of monitoring such shear movements continuously. The principle of operation is based on two capacitive gravity sensors mounted orthogonaly to each other in a sealed aluminum

Jan 1, 1988