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By David J. Dyet

Computer applications in the past five to seven years have become a typical and necessary practice in most modern geological offices. Manual calculations, interpretations and plotting of data can be, at times, quite tedious, inefficient and lacking in ac- curacy. The introduction of geostatistical and geological software can eliminate these problems. Computer applications in the uranium industry are not new; however, they are constantly being developed. A variety of soft- ware programs are available. Generally, these programs support most geological and geostatiscal applications in uranium mines. The Rabbit Lake Operation - Eagle Point mine in Northern Saskatchewan is a high grade mine, as one such case. Computer applications at the Eagle Point mine have been a mainstay in the geology department, since the mine's collaring in 1991. This paper presents a discussion on descriptions of programs, operations and applications of computers. It also explains and de- scribes the radiometric equipment used at Eagle Point. This pa- per will demonstrate how, by using computer systems, mine site information flows reliably with the involvement of computers.

Jan 1, 1996

By Yuzhe Zhang, Xiaodi Huang, Xinli Wang, Bowen Li, Matthew Andriese, Xin Yan, Jiann-Yang Hwang, Zhiwei Peng

Using a TM0n0 cavity system as the main reactor, an integrated process was developed to find the best condition for waste tire rubber to absorb microwaves. The penetration depth was the main character for determining the best condition. The penetration depth is defined as the distance from the surface into the materials at which the traveling wave power drops to from its value at the surface. The waste tire powder was irradiated by two different microwave frequencies, including 915 and 2466 MHz. The study was conducted with same powder size and atmospheric condition. The effects of temperature and microwave frequency were analyzed based on the experimental data. The main trends are higher the temperature, the absorption will be better and the higher the frequency, the better the absorption will be.

Mar 1, 2017

The Bureau of Mines has been active in promoting the purchase of coal for Government use under specifications that define the requirements in terms of heating value of the coal, expressed in British thermal units, and the composition as shown by proximate analyses. To these, when required, are added the ash-softening temperature, the free-swelling index, and the Hardgrove grindability index. Under most of these specification contracts the bidders guarantee the quality of the coal, and that guaranteed by the successful bidder becomes the standard of his contract. The deliveries are sampled in accordance with instructions2 issued by the Bureau of Mines; the samples are analyzed in the Bureau laboratory to determine whether the coal is of the quality guaranteed by the contractor; if it is not, a price adjustment is made, Analyses of the delivered coal and tipple samples (samples collected at mine tipples as coal is being loaded into railroad cars or trucks) provide valuable data for use in evaluating future bids. In addition, the continuous sampling of coal as delivered is a check on the practical results obtained in burning the coal.

Jan 1, 1971

By W. G. Deeks

CANADIANS are world leaders in marketing metal and mineral products. Noranda Sales Corporation Ltd. is an international metal and mineral product marketing company operating from Toronto and London, England, where it operates a wholly owned sales subsidiary and is a 50% partner in Rudolf Wolff and Company Ltd., a charter member and the largest metal broker on the London Metal Exchange. Noranda Sales employs 97 people, of whom 52 are university trained and professionally competent in international resource product marketing. We market for 19 companies or divisions in the Noranda Group and 39 companies for whom we act as agent, consultant and purchaser of resource production. Our business in 1976 was 1.5 billion dollars carried out in 45 countries and covering 24 products and materials. Today, ownership of most of the mining industry in Canada has transferred back to Canadians, and this is said with the knowledge that a significant part of the Canadian industry has been Canadian owned and managed from its very early days. Noranda Mines Limited is such an example. It was born in 1922 as the result of a copper-gold showing at Noranda, Quebec, discovered by Ed Horne, a prospector, financed with a grubstake by a syndicate mainly composed of New York businessmen. Shortly after the discovery, when the shares of the company had risen, the syndicate was sold to Canadian interests and, since that time, Noranda has been dominantly Canadian owned and certainly Canadian managed. Today, over 90% of Noranda's shareholders are Canadian, who hold an equivalent percentage of the stock.

Jan 1, 1977

By Susan M. Moore

Many challenges are faced by workers in lower-seam (42 inches or less) mines. The lower-seam heights confine mine workers to their knees as they perform their daily tasks such as installing roof bolts, delivering supplies, repairing belt, or cutting coal. Miners working in these lower seams often consider kneepads to be their only line of defense against knee injuries. However, healthy knees do not start and stop with kneepads. Other interventions such as changing postures, proper hygiene, and work station design may also be used to reduce mine workers? risks for developing knee injuries. Incorporating these and many other interventions into a mine worker?s ?way of life? is an important step to ensuring a long, healthy career and retirement. Keeping knees healthy is also a key aspect to reducing costs in low-seam mines as the industry battles rising health care costs, and training/recruitment of replacement workers is time-consuming and costly. Educating the workforce about the possible interventions to reduce knee injury risk is a primary objective for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health?s (NIOSH) Pittsburgh Research Laboratory (PRL). Therefore, NIOSH researchers, along with industry and academia, developed a training package to educate the mining community about some possible interventions beyond kneepads that may be used to help decrease knee injury rates. Increased awareness and simple changes are the first steps to reducing knee injuries.

May 1, 2008

By Sahendra Ram, Ashok Kumar, Rakesh Kumar, AMIT KUMAR SINGH, Dheeraj Kumar, Arun Kumar Singh, Rajendra Singh

This article offers an examination of a retreat mining method conducted at the Pinoura Mine in India from 2010 to 2017. The method is atypical for coal mines of India’s coalfields. The method executes depillaring in a single pass and does not require the formation of galleries and support installation in splits, thus, reducing the cycle time. A variety of observations are discussed throughout this work and emphasis is placed on field measurements and depillaring under weak roof (RMR = 40–45). This paper discusses design techniques, specifically the estimation of the snook (remnant pillar) size, and important practical observations after the fact. The execution of this method was eventually conducted in eleven panels.

Aug 4, 2020

By C. Harry Benedict

This paper, describing the leaching practice at the Calumet and Hecla mills, Lake Linden, Mich., is one of a series on milling methods and costs being published by the United States Bureau of Mines. GENERAL DESCRIPTION The reclamation plant is located along the shores of Torch Lake at a slightly lower level than the concentrator itself. The entire location of the original concentrator, in connection with the present reclamation plant, has been ideal, lore particularly as the leaching and flotation departments are common to both units. After 15 years of operation and with the reclamation sands just a little more than half exhausted it would appear that the remaining life of the deposit could be worked by the present plan, without decided changes or renewals of plant or equipment.

Jan 1, 1930

By D. Death

The Tapping Camera Prototype (TCP) is an instrument being developed to record and analyse video of the molten metal stream entering a tapping crucible as it is tapped from an aluminium reduction cell. The development aims to provide potroom floor operators with continuous real time vision of the tapping process and provide an alert in the event of excessive bath contamination in the extracted metal stream. Longer term the system may provide sufficient data to enable control of the tapping process. The TCP mounts a wireless camera and periscope to view the molten metal stream via a peephole in the tapping crucible. Real time video is recorded to either digital video tape or computer disk for subsequent video analysis to quantify the bath material drawn into the tapping crucible with the molten aluminium. The images transmitted by the camera are available on a handheld LCD video screen. This work is an initiative of the CSIRO?s Light Metals Flagship.

Jan 1, 2006

By Peter G. Cooper

"During 1987, the feasibility of modernising the ER&S smelter at Port Kembla, NSW, Australia was studied. The selection of appropriate technologies to carry the smelter into the 21st century considered issues such as capital cost, existing infrastructure, feed mix, capacity, product quality, flexibility and potential for further development. Both hydrometallurgical and pyrometallurgical process schemes were considered. Some novel combinations were assessed but ultimately rejected. Final technology selections included proven smelting and anode furnace processes, pyrometallurgical slag cleaning and modifications to existing equipment. This process scheme balanced risk against development potential within the constraints imposed by the existing plant.BackgroundThe Electrolytic Refining and Smelting Company of Australia (ER&S) has operated a custom copper smelter at Port Kembla since 1908. Existing technology includes a sinter plant/blast furnace, three small Peirce Smith converters, two reverberatory anode furnaces and a conventional tankhouse. These process units were all installed prior to 1960 and have proven to be flexible enough to process the wide variety of domestic feed materials purchased by ER&S.However, by the early 1980s, threats to domestic concentrate supplies highlighted the need for major changes to reduce operating costs to world competitive levels. Various studies in the ensuing years failed to identify an economically attractive solution. Furthermore, pressures were increasing to improve the environmental performance of the smelter.During 1986 the options for redevelopment were again considered and by the end of 1987 technologies for the retrofit had been selected and a full feasibility study was completed."

Jan 1, 1988

By J. H. Canterford

The nickel industry in Australia has followed the general pattern apparent in many other regions - lots of ups and downs, successes and failures, but always plenty of challenges. Some of these can be attributed to local geographical and infrastructure factors, others to a healthy mix of corporate good luck and management countered by decisions that, in retrospect, were less than optimum. The roles of several entrepreneurs have certainly added plenty of spice! In terms of processing technologies, there was an initial heavy reliance on the use of "off the shelf' commercially proven processes such as ammonia leaching of concentrates and mattes, and flash smelting. Over the past decade there has been an increasing dominance of plant modifications and process technologies that have been developed "in house" in order to enhance project economics and exploit lower grade and more complex resources. This presentation provides an overview of the past 40 years of the major developments in the Australian nickel industry and concludes with some guesses as to where we will be in another decade or so.

Jan 1, 2005

By M. D. Carter

The availability of environmentally acceptable and reliable energy sources is an important issue for Federal, State, and local planners. A cooperative program by the U.S. Geological Survey, State geological surveys, and the U.S. Bureau of Mines has developed a national GIS-based systematic effort to collect, analyze, and depict data characterizing the relationship between restrictions to mining and the potential development of the Nation's coal resources. Land use/environmental and technologic/geologic restrictions are identified within selected 1:24,000-scale, 130-to 150-sq-km 7.5-min quadrangles and applied as overlays to maps of coal-bed thickness, depth, and mined-out areas. Tonnages of original, mined and lost-in-mining, remaining, restricted, and available resources are calculated. Resultant data files are transferred to the Bureau of Mines for recoverability and cost analysis.

Jan 1, 1995

By Scott W. Hazen

COMPREHENSIVE summary is presented of results of several years of research at the Bureau of Mines Mining Research Center at Denver on adapting and applying techniques of statistical analysis in mine and mineral-deposit sampling and in computing grade and tonnage of ore for a mineral deposit. In addition to elementary statistical theory the material presented in the bulletin includes: (1) Certain special statistical techniques that have been found useful in mining applications; (2) problems, implications, and limitations that may be encountered in applying these techniques in mine sampling and evaluation; and (3) numerous examples to demonstrate application of the theory and techniques.

Jan 1, 1967

By G. A. Pinsky, Pickard M. K

"IntroductionTWO METHODS of mucking have been used in sinking C shaft, the five-compartment production shaft of the Yellowknife property of Giant Yellowknife Gold Mines, Limited:(a) Band mucking during the original sinking in 1949 and 1950 (l); and(b) Mechanical mucking with the Cryderman shaft mucker during the recent deepening in 1954.This paper briefly describes the recent deepening and compares the performance figures of the two sinking operations.PlanningProduction planning in 1952 showed that it would be advisable to deepen C shaft in 1954 to provide for three new production levels and the installation of an underground crusher. To complete the required shaft work it would be necessary for a shaft crew to deepen the shaft about 500 feet, to partly excavate three level stations and a crusher station, and to cut a station for the loading pocket. Figure 1, a vertical section of the lower part of the shaft, shows the details of the deepening programme.During the planning period, Giant had a rather small supervisory staff and at the same time was experiencing a heavy labour turnover. As it was obvious that production would suffer if the sinking crew were recruited at the mine, it was decided that the merits of contracting-the shaft sinking to an independent contractor should be investigated."

Jan 1, 1955

By William O. Vanderburg

[This circular is one of two papers on the tungsten industry in the United States end contains general information on the subject. The second paper which will be issued in the near future deals with the methods ailed costs of mining and milling tungsten ores. These two papers are abstracts from the general bulletin on tungsten which will be issued at some future time Modern civilization and progress depend largely on tools wherewith the forces of nature are brought under control and directed toward human comfort. These tools are made chiefly from metals derived from the earth's crust. During the present century powerful tools have been made available through the development of ferrous and. nonferrous alloys containing such elements as molybdenum, vanadium, titanium, tantalum, and tungsten, which were little used before 1900. One of the most important of these so-called rare elements is tungsten; its use ins alloys for high-speed cutting tool is partly responsible for the era of mass production. So widespread has the use of alloys become that the period may be termed an "Alloy Age".]

Jan 1, 1935

By A. R. Miller, G. Desrivières, T. MacKinnon, H. Bursey, M. C. Bétournay, B. Replogle, D. L. Barnes, P. Laliberté

"A mine production locomotive, the world’s first applied industrial fuel cell vehicle, has been designed and tested in the context of a number of proof-of-concept projects supported by the Fuelcell Propulsion Institute, an international consortium of stakeholders dedicated to facilitate the commercialization of fuel cell vehicles.The locomotive’s simple electric-powered motor and controller system was ideal to study a number of requirements related to fuel cell power application: hydrogen power plant operation, underground hydrogen use, risk and regulatory requirements, production performance versus the conventional battery- powered locomotive version under measured duty cycles and production requirements, power plant design improvements for other fuel cell vehicles, and cost benefit aspects.This article will focus on the design and testing aspects of this project which has led to successful performance demonstrations of the vehicle under surface and underground conditions at two mines. It will also present information on the creation of a safe, reliable, and efficient power plant that fulfilled its design objectives, including longer productivity time for a given vehicle fill-up."

Jan 1, 2004

By Jeanne A. Zimmer, Brad Smith, Steve Viles, Andrew B. Cecala

A recent report evaluating silica exposure levels in the metal/nonmetal mining industry noted that bag packaging and loading are some of the occupations at the greatest risk. In addition to dust problems, the bag-stacking process is labor intensive, making lost-time injuries common due to back fatigue and strains. During the bag-stacking process, a significant amount of dust can be generated, mainly from product on the outside of the bags and from dust escaping the bag valve upon impact of the bag on the pallet. In an effort to address dust-exposure and back-fatigue issues, Malvern Minerals Co., Hot Springs, Ark., made two major improvements to its ground silica stacking facility. First, the company purchased a semi-automated bag palletizing system (Figure 1). With this system, the bag stacker does not lift the bags, but slides them across a metal table. Small jets of air exit through perforations in the table top (similar to an air hockey game), allowing workers to more easily slide each bag into the proper position. After each layer of bags is completed, the table slides open, and the entire layer of bags is loaded onto an underlying pallet. The table then closes, readying it for another layer of bags. After the entire pallet is loaded, the unit delivers the pallet to a shrink wrap and forklift pick-up area. In addition to this semi-automated palletizing unit, Malvern Minerals purchased an Overhead Air Supply Island System (OASIS) to lower the bag stacker's dust exposure. The OASIS takes outside air, directs it through MEASURING RESPIRABLE DUST The bag stacker's respirable dust exposure was monitored using a RAM-1 instantaneous dust monitor to evaluate the impact of the various changes on the palletizing process and dust-control equipment. The bag stacker wore a vest that held the 10-mm Dorr-Oliver cyclone, which classifies the respirable portion of dust. Flexible tygon tubing was used to connect the cyclone to the RAM-1 dust unit, allowing the bag stacker to perform the palletizing process with minimal interference. The RAM-1 measures respirable dust concentrations by light scattering with a sensing chamber. This device closely simulates gravimetric measurements when calibrated for a specific dust. This instrument is ideal for comparative evaluations, as was the case in this study. Since the RAM-1 is not an MSHA-approved instru¬ment for dust compliance sampling, the dust concen¬trations listed in this article should be used as a com¬parative value of respirable dust concentration and not to determine actual dust concentrations from a com¬pliance standpoint.

By L. H. Cole

FOR many years Industrial Minerals, or as they were formerly called, 'the Non-Metallic Minerals', compared with the metallics, were considered of only minor importance and as such were given scant attention in the technical press as well as in the public press. Those days are, however, happily passing, and thanks, to an appreciable extent, to the constant endeavour of the Industrial Minerals Section of this Institute, established in the fall of 1932 industrial minerals are now assuming the importance to which they are entitled. The term 'Industrial Minerals', when first adopted in this sense by the Institute, was thought to be original in its application, but it is interesting to note that it had been used many years previously by the Queensland Geological Survey in the following publication: SALT Article 1 in Industrial Minerals by B. DUNSTAN, Chief Government Geologist (Publication No. 268, in Part) Queensland Geological Survey, Department of Mines, Brisbane 1920 In Queensland, however, the term embraced some of the metals as well as the non-metallic minerals proper. The lead furnished by Canada in this matter bore rapid fruit, and already the term 'Industrial Minerals' is widely used, not only throughout Canada but in the United States as well.

Jan 1, 1939

By G. W. Birge

Carbonizing properties of the principal coalbeds of Elk, Clarion, Jefferson, Clearfield, and Centre Counties, Pa,, are described in this Bureau of Mines report, Twenty-six samples, representing the Upper Freeport, Lower Freeport, Upper Kittanning, Middle Kittanning, Lower Kittanning, and Brookville beds, were carbonized by the Bureau of Mines--American Gas Association (BM-AM) method, and yields of products and physical properties of cokes were determined. Expansion or contraction of the majority of the samples was measured in the Bureau of Mines sole-heated oven. Chemical analyses, agglutinating values, and free-swelling indexes are given for all samples. In this area the coals generally are characterized by high sulfur and moderately high ash content, and their suitability for metallurgical use would depend largely upon satisfactory cleaning. The samples from Elk, Clarion, and Jefferson Counties were high-volatile A bituminous In rank, whereas, most samples from Clearfield County and all those from Centre County were of medium-volatile rank. Coals from Clarion County had dry, mineral- matter-free fixed-carbon contents ranging from 56.5 to 60.3 percent and were weakly coking. With the exception of two samples which contained excessive ash, the medium-volatile coals of Clearfield and Centre Counties were strongly coking and, as indicated by sole-oven expansion results, would require blending with lower rank coal to avoid oven damage.

Jan 1, 1963

By R. Bashir, J. F. Hatley

ABSTRACT Northern Saskatchewan boasts some of the world’s largest known high-grade uranium deposits. The successful mining of these deposits cannot be accomplished without overcoming technical challenges, however, which include high grade of the uranium ore, specialized mining methods to deal with groundwater at high pressures, and poor ground conditions. This paper discusses the various mechanisms of inflows at three of Cameco Corporation’s sites in northern Saskatchewan. The risk of inflows is quantified in terms of unique challenges due to hydrogeological conditions, rock mass integrity, and uncertainty in geological conditions. Strategies in the case of an inflow are also briefly described.

Jan 1, 2013

By S. Komar Kawatra, J. J. Carlson

"It is widely known that steel made from iron ore pellets high in phosphorus is brittle. Removal of phosphorus from iron ores such as hematite has proven to be difficult. The majority of research on phosphorus removal from hematite ores has been focused on flotation. The purpose of this study was to assess phosphorus distribution under current operations at an existing hematite concentrator and determine how efficient the plant is at removing phosphorus. Objectives included: (1) Perform a phosphorus balance at an operating plant to assess phosphorus distribution under current operations; (2) Determine phosphorus removal efficiency of each separating unit and (3) Perform a quantitative liberation analysis to determine max phosphorus removal by physical means. Liberation was quantitatively determined using wet high intensity magnetic separation (WHIMS) to separate iron ore from liberated apatite (and other nonmagnetic compounds).It was observed that 61.2% of the total phosphorus entering Plant F was rejected during current operations. The desliming process was the most efficient step at removing phosphorus (45.1% P removed), whereas the flotation step was much less effective (16.1% P removed). Liberation analyses indicated that the deslime thickener may have been more efficient at removing phosphorus than the flotation circuit due to the greater abundance of liberated phosphorus in the deslime thickener feed. The scavenger returns stream was identified as having a high concentration of phosphorus and a possible point of phosphorus removal. However, liberation analyses indicated that only 32.4% of the total phosphorus in the stream was liberated. Grinding the scavenger returns to 80% passing 5.2 µm increased the amount of liberated phosphorus in the stream to 70.4%."

Jan 1, 2014