Search Documents

By James Dickson

Brief History of Discovery and Early Development In the first half of the nineteenth century, the only authority on the Pacific coast between the Columbia river and Alaska was exercised by the Hudson's Bay Company, who had established a series of forts and trading stations on the coast from the Columbia north to Millbank sound. The Hudson's Bay Company were chiefly interested in the fur industry, and the large influx of settlers from the eastern United States into the territory now known as the States of Oregon and Washington, about 1840, not only interfered with the fur business but involved the question whether the territory should be under the British or the American flag. Anticipating the possibility, later realized, of losing control of this area, the Company, in 1845, established their main fort and trading centre on the southern end of Vancouver island under the name of Fort Camosun; shortly afterwards changing the name to Fort Victoria. Realizing that their former policy of discouraging all attempts to develop any other business than the fur industry had lost them several hundred thousand square miles, the Hudson's Bay Company now set about encouraging settlers in the vicinity of Fort Victoria by disposing of lands to suitable parties and also to those in the employ of the Company. The usual pioneering stage was passed through with the starting of small sawmills, grain mills, etc., and the incidental work accompanying such efforts. Any coal required for blacksmithing or other purposes was brought from England around Cape Horn by the few ships that visited the Pacific Coast. About 1849, an Indian who was having his gun repaired by a blacksmith in Fort Victoria asked about the "black stones" used in the fire and, on being told that the "black stones" had to be brought a great distance, he informed the blacksmith that there was plenty of the same stone where his people lived. This information was immediately given to an official of the Hudson's Bay Company who talked with the Indian and told him that if he would bring some of the "black stones" he would get his gun repaired free and a present of a bottle of rum. Nothing more was heard of this coal until April of the following year, when the Indian came into Fort Victoria with his canoe loaded with coal, which was tested and found to be of good quality. It is reported that the Indian got his bottle of rum.

Jan 1, 1935

By Gerrit V. R. Goodman

Future coal mining systems will be able to cut from crosscut to crosscut where advances could exceed 100 ft. However, limitations arise when ventilating such mining systems. In deep advance mining, there would be no workers at the face to advance ventilation tubing or curtain manually. Traditional methods also provide no means for maintaining face ventilation after the miner backs away from the face. U.S. Bureau of Mines research is studying means to provide effective ventilation at cut depths beyond the current limit of 4D ft. Several innovative ventilation schemes are currently being considered. One such method is the use of a jet fan to ventilate a deep cut. A jet fan is simply a freestanding fan using little or no ducting to direct the ventilation flow. Jet fan testing in a 90-ft entry revealed that higher exit velocities and greater penetration depth occurred when various configurations were used to confine and direct the air flow. Additional testing also indicated that 2,200 cfm of fresh air was delivered to the face? 90 ft distant when a check curtain was used to limit entrainment around the fan. Without this curtain, this quantity dropped to only 1,000 cfm. This testing indicated that a jet fan was capable of providing ventilation to a distant face area. It also highlighted potential problems, such as recirculation at the fan and reentrainment in the jet flow. Despite these potential problems, jet fans may be adequate for ventilating cuts exceeding 4D ft.

Jan 1, 2010

By C. E. Hennig

On January 1, 1959, the United States had 313 petroleum refineries with a total installed crude-oil throughput capacity of 9,819,846 barrels per day, according to the Bureau of Mines annual survey. Compared with a year ago, this represents a net decreased of five in the number of slants mild a net increase in capacity of 412,139 barrels per day. The continued increase in total capacity and decrease in number of plants raised the average capacity of a refinery to a new high of 31,373 barrels per day. During 1958 total capacity increased in every refining district except the Louisiana Gulf district, which showed a 2-percent decrease due mainly to the retirement of the American Oil Company's plant at Destrehan, La. The largest increase, 14 percent, occurred in the Texas Inland district followed by a 12-percent increase in the Arkansas-Louisiana Inland district. At the beginning of 1959 the industry was building facilities that would add 108,400 barrels per day to crude-oil capacity. It also had under construction a capacity of 226,100 barrels per day as replacement. On January 1, 1959, no new refineries were under construction.

Jan 1, 1959

By John W. Frey

This paper presents one of a series of digests of foreign mining legis- lation and court decisions which is being prepared in advance of a general re- port relative to the rights of American citizens to explore for minerals and to own and operate mines in various foreign countries. This interpretation of the laws of Portugal, prepared from the best available information in Washington, has been slightly amplified in accordance with suggestions trans- mitted through the courtesy of the Department of State by Fred Morris Dearing, American Minister at Lisbon.

Nov 1, 1929

By H. J. Sloman

Mining laws of the several coal-producing Stat e with respect to safety catches on mine cages and their testing are extremely variable and generally indefinite in scope. The most specific requirements are contained in the Coal Mining Laws of Washington,3/ as follows:

Jan 1, 1944

By Catherine T. Aimone-Martin, Meyers Joseph A.

A new strain-based criteria is being adopted for rock blasting in New York City (NYC). This criteria is based on several years of research involving vibration measurements of tall structures during blasting within several feet from buildings designated historic and Landmarked. This research has demonstrated that tall, heavy structures show little upper-structure vibratory response during hard-rock, urban blasting carried out in NYC. The Fire Department of New York City (FDNY) permits rock blasting and regulated limits for ground vibrations using the U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) safe blasting criteria. However, these regulations are often superseded by a 0.5 in/s (12.7 mm/s) limit imposed by the New York City Department of Buildings for historic and Landmarked buildings that are adjacent to the majority of blasting projects in the City. This onerous limit is often exceeded resulting in frequent stop work orders that increase the cost and time of rock excavation projects. The

Jan 1, 2019

By A. Dale Wunderlich

Introduction Loss prevention programs have become absolutely necessary at any precious metals producing property. In the past eight years, one security company, specializing in precious metals mine, mill, and refinery security, has been involved in investigations at gold and silver properties that have resulted in 62 criminal convictions. Of those, all but five were employees, former employees, contract employees, or vendors for the company. Several of the cases involved losses of more than $1 million. The largest number of employees prosecuted from one investigation was 17. A recent case resulted in 12 criminal prosecutions and, several years ago, one involved an additional 12 criminal prosecutions. The most serious theft problem facing precious metals mines is employee theft. Is is estimated that 95% of the dollar losses from precious metals thefts can be attributed to employees. This does not mean there is no robbery or burglary exposure. There have been successful robberies, burglaries, and extortion cases. Most mining companies, though, provide better protection against external theft than from internal theft. That is one reason employee theft has reached epidemic proportions. Any product can be stolen No product is immune to theft. Precious metals investigations have involved the theft of high grade ore, dore, bullion, concentrates, precipitates, loaded steel wool, loaded carbon, and sump cleanup. Over a period of several years, this author's security agency has documented the theft of more than 22.5 t (25 st) of load carbon. Most mining companies do not protect the number one adsorption tank or the loaded carbon screens, which frequently leads to losses. Precipitates, electrowinning tank sludge, sump material, and concentrates are usually afforded lit¬tle protection because mine management believes it is too difficult to process. There are custom mills throughout the United States that will process any form of precious metals with no questions asked. This has become a particular problem since the certificate of ownership requirement has been eliminated by most states. Due to the large number of gold mines coming on line, many mine managers are being recruited from base metal mines, where primary security problems involve the theft of tools and company property. These managers do not understand the unique security problems associated with precious metals production. Consequently, they usually forego many security needs in the interest of economy. Unfortunately, numerous cases are on file where mining companies have suffered large losses because their physical security and their security procedures were not adequately addressed when the property was in its planning stages. Properly designed and appropriate equipment The most economical time to plan alarm/closed-circuit televi-

Jan 4, 1988

By Ottey M. Bishop, William G. Peryam, Fred E. Johnson

THE Lepanto Consolidated Mining Company is the largest copper producer in the Philippines, and the only one that makes a concentrate valuable principally for its copper; also, it has the only productive copper mine situated at considerable distance from the sea, and is the only one in the islands operating its own smelter. The Lepanto mine is in the Municipal District of Mankayan, sub-province of Benguet, near the heart of the Mountain Province of Northern Luzon. It is 165 km. from its shipping point at San Fernando, Province of La Union, on the shore of the China Sea. Elevations at the property range from 3200 to 4500 ft. The climate is very mild; temperatures are seldom below 50° or above 80°F. Annual rainfall approaches 170 in. and is mainly confined to a rainy season lasting from May to October. The months from December to April, inclusive, are usually extremely dry. This climatic pecularity entails the problems of landslides on the roads during the rainy season and water shortage during the dry season. The Mountain Trail, an improved rocksurfaced toll road maintained by the Commonwealth Government, gives access to the property. The 105 km. over this road may be traveled in about 4 ½ hr. during the dry season. Very few sections of the road are straight for more than 100 meters, and about one third of it is a one-way road controlled by gates. All freight for the property is delivered by the Manila Railroad Company to Bauang, La Union, 45 km. west of Baguio and at sea level, where it is picked up by freight trucks and hauled via Baguio to Lepanto. Granulated matte is hauled in bulk from Lepanto in four-ton lots on freight trucks to the storage bins at San Fernando. Freight rates from Bauang to the property amount to [P]8.oo per ton, and from the property to San Fernando the rate is [P]16.00 per ton. The company pays the road toll, [P] 1.00 per truck, each way. THE CAMP The company maintains a modern camp, well separated from the mine and reduction plant. Comfortable and sanitary living quarters, water, and light, as well as free medical service are provided all employees. A hospital staffed by a doctor and two nurses takes care of all medical treatment. Considering recreational facilities of great importance, the company has provided two tennis courts, two basketball courts, and badminton courts for employees. Bowling alleys and a motion picture theater are operated by the company, the profits being expended for other recreational purposes. A moderate sized recreation hall serves for barrio dances, meetings,

Jan 1, 1942

By P Cooper

Continuous improvement using six sigma methodologies commonly follows the DMAIC methodology of define, measure, analyse, improve and control. A key requirement in the use of this approach is to ensure that data is trusted, validated and contextual. In today’s production environments it is common to find disparate technology comprising the system architecture and highly customised interfaces between the various technology layers. This complexity often leads to inaccurate data presented at the operations management layer or worse, data that is not trusted. Identifying defects and making corrective actions cannot be efficiently carried out unless trusteddata can be easily obtained with a production context. It is also common to find that disparate systems of this nature present information in multiple ways and through multiple presentation systems. This paper discusses how the use of web-based technologies in an integrated technology stack can aid the accessibility, accuracy and trust of data used in decision-making and also how a unified visualisation environment can lead to greater operator efficiency.

Jul 11, 2011

By L. Yan, T. Lutz, J. Noll

"Mine disasters, such as fires and explosions, can create a hazardous atmosphere due to the generation of carbon monoxide (CO). After a mine disaster, contaminated mine air can enter the refuge alternative (RA) as miners enter. Most built-in-place (BIP) RAs use an air delivery system to provide an unlimited supply of breathable air through a borehole which also serves to purge contaminants. In order to determine what levels of contaminants enter the RA, researchers from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) conducted testing in NIOSH’s Pittsburgh Experimental Mine using groups of 5, 15, and 30 subjects entering the RA. The experiment used sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) as a tracer gas that was released into the air outside of the BIP RA to establish a uniform concentration. After the human subjects entered the BIP RA, the SF6 levels inside the RA were measured to quantify how much of the tracer gas entered the BIP RA. In tests conducted while the borehole air supply was left off as test subjects entered, interior contaminant levels were less than 3% of the exterior concentration. In tests conducted with the borehole air supply activated as test subjects entered, the interior contaminant levels were measured at less than 2% of the exterior concentration. Considering a mine disaster can result in 10,000 ppm of CO in the mine atmosphere, these percentages indicate that unhealthy CO concentrations that may lead to headaches, dizziness, and loss of judgement can occur in a BIP RA. This information will help mines make decisions concerning air locks, air delivery systems and a determination if purging mechanisms are necessary. INTRODUCTION The Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006 (MINER Act) was enacted in the wake of three mine explosions/fires that claimed 19 lives that year. Intended to help improve underground coal mine accident preparedness, the MINER Act includes provisions that target mine safety issues in areas such as emergency response planning, adoption of new technology, training and education, and enforcement of mine safety standards (MSHA, 2006). Section 13 of the MINER Act specifically directs the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to provide for research into the effectiveness and viability of RAs for underground coal mines. This mandate culminated in the 2009 adoption of changes to the 30 CFR mining health and safety regulations, requiring underground coal mines to provide RAs capable of maintaining a life-sustaining environment for persons trapped underground. Such RAs can be either pre-fabricated or BIP shelters. The regulatory changes also include provisions establishing requirements for Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) approval of RAs and their components, and among these provisions are numerous criteria for providing a safe, breathable atmosphere within RAs."

Jan 1, 2018

By P. L. Crouse

"SynopsisFluorine – in the form of hydrofluoric acid, anhydrous hydrogen fluoride, elemental gaseous fluorine, fluoropolymers, volatile inorganic fluorides, and more – has played, and still plays, a major role in the nuclear industry. In order to enrich uranium, the metal has to be in the gaseous state. While more exotic methods are known, the standard and most cost-competitive way of achieving this is by means of uranium hexafluoride (UF6). This compound sublimates at low temperatures, and the vapour is enriched using centrifugal processes. The industrial preparation of uranium hexafluoride requires both elemental fluorine gas and anhydrous hydrogen fluoride (HF). HF is prepared by the reaction of sulphuric acid with fluorspar (CaF2). Fluorine gas in turn is prepared by the electrolysis of HF. Yellowcake is first converted to uranium tetrafluoride (UF4), using HF, after which the compound is treated with fluorine to yield UF6. After enrichment, the UF6 is reduced to UO2 for use in fuel elements in pellet form.South Africa has the largest reserves of fluorspar internationally, and is the third largest producer after Mexico and China. Fluorine technology has many associated difficulties, because of the reactivity of fluorine and the toxicity of HF. The main barriers to entry into the fluorochemical industry are thus the abilities to produce both HF and F2. Both these substances are produced locally, at the industrial scale, at Pelchem SOC Ltd. Should South Africa contemplate developing its own nuclear fuel cycle as part of the awaited new-build nuclear project, it will be imperative to leverage the existing skills with respect to fluorine technology, resident at both Pelchem and Necsa, for this purpose. This paper summarizes the fluorochemical skills developed locally over the past several decades, and suggests strategies for maintaining the technology base and developing it for the next generation of scientists and engineers.IntroductionFluorine chemistry has always had a very close relationship with the nuclear industry. Although the first mention of fluorspar was recorded in the sixteenth century, and the fundamentals had been well-developed by the Second World War, it was only during the Manhattan Project (Banks et al., 1994), when almost unlimited funds were made available for the large-scale industrialization of fluorine and related compounds, that the technology took off. Expertise in both the chemistry and the engineering aspects of fluorine is essential for the design and running of several of the unit processes in the nuclear fuel cycle."

Jan 1, 2015

By Charles H. Etheridge

A new filter cassette is described which can be used with Coal Mine Dust Personal Sampler Units (CFR, Title 30, Part 74). The sealed cassette design reduces the chances of sample loss due to reverse flushing, impact or cassette opening. The filter capsule weight is approximately 400 milligrams and is stable for at least one year in storage. The alpha quartz content of the filter element is less than 5 nanograms per square millimeter of surface. The cassette is designed to be used with a new sampling head. The manufacturing costs of the new cassette will require an increase of approximately 30% in the selling price.

Jan 1, 1978

By J Beniscelli

Some words to honour Pedro:Pedro was among the few persons with a very high level in geology modelling, resource and reserve estimation, geometallurgy development, sampling theory applications and a deep understanding of the mining industry needs. He had brilliant ideas about new developments on economic geology. He was always looking at the long-term and proposed challenging questions a decade in advance on their solution.The fundamental aim of geometallurgy is to add economic value to the mining of mine resources by timely providing information and knowledge about the relevant metallurgical variables represented by their space models. In this manner, geometallurgy allows obtaining the optimal design of a project, mitigating processing risks, optimising and supporting production plans and identifying and assessing mining business opportunities.This paper describes the conceptual framework and geometallurgical definitions and some of Codelco’s experience during the last 15 years.

Sep 5, 2011

By W. N. Brown

One of the seemingly eternal problems with which we are frequently faced is that of providing adequate and economical warehousing facilities to store large quantities of bulk product. Seasonal consumption, transportation, marketing, and other factors very often dictate extensive product warehousing requirements for an operation geared for steady, year-around production of a material requiring weather protection during storage. Fertilizers such as potash and urea are examples of such products; the consumption of these materials is extremely heavy in the early spring at which time the materials must be placed in the soil, whereas, for obvious operating efficiencies, production is more or less constant for a given operation throughout the year.

Jan 1, 1961

By M Haest, O Dominguez, D Mittrup

Technological innovations and emerging analytical capabilities are transforming the way drill samples are analysed, with real-time mineralogical analysis made possible. In addition, new business/technical requirements are challenging long standing processes to incorporate more sources of information during planning in order to improve compliance to plan during mining and processing. Unfortunately, the new sources of information that are added do not always have adequate protocols in place to ensure quality data is collected.Spectral data covering the visible – near – short wave – midwave – longwave range are routinely collected by the Geoscience and Exploration department at BHP Billiton Iron Ore for accurate mineralogical identification. These data are used for geological interpretations (logging and modelling) and prediction of physical variables (metallurgical and geotechnical properties).This paper introduces how sampling and quality assurance / quality control concepts have been applied in the spectral data process. The described routine for sampling, data collection/management and reconciliation has been developed to track system precision and accurately and consistently ensure the data is of high quality before it is used across the mining chain.CITATION:Mittrup, D, Dominguez, O and Haest, M, 2017. A new approach to implement quality assurance and quality control to technological innovations – quality of spectral data capture and processes in the minerals industry, in Proceedings Eighth World Conference on Sampling and Blending , pp 265–270 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

May 9, 2017

By J D. McDonald

This paper outlines the function of the Safety and Compensation Division of the Mining Association of British Columbia. After a general discussion of safety and the safety program now being followed in B.C., the author goes on to describe the wide-ranging aspects of compensation payments and company assessment rates. Special attention is also given to the problem of silicosis in mining operations. In appendices to the paper, the experience rating plan of the mining industry is compared to that recently adopted for the construction industry. Introduction The Mining Association of British Columbia consists of fifty-five member companies, including virtually all the producing mines as well as the larger exploration, contracting and development companies. On completion of an extensive study of safety and compensation in the mining industry, the Mining Association of British Columbia instituted a Safety and Compensation Division in 1954. The director of the Safety and Compensation Division reports to the Executive Committee of the Association. There are two main functions of this Division. First is the prevenion of accidents by encouraging

Jan 1, 1965

By Takahiko Okura

Japanese non-ferrous industry introduced large-scale smelting plants along seashores for overseas concentrates with increasing demand of metals around 1970s. Although serious environmental pollution became obvious, with economic growth, the industry got rid of pollution by installing new processes and improving operation technologies. At present, over 99.8% of sulfur input to smelters is fixed as stable compounds. Through those decades Japan had steep rises of oil prices, sudden change of exchange rate, and inadequate treating charges, we were faced to consider the closure of smelters. The industry has survived by increasing productivity, saving energy and reducing manpower. Furthermore the industry made great effort to recycle valued metals from scraps and wastes for the resources-recycling society. Academic research also contributes to support these individual technologies. Thus the industry has fostered world-acclaimed technologies in terms of efficiency and energy conservation. This paper presents technology development and environmentally-benign sulfide smelting processes.

By Y. H. C. Wang

A detailed study of carrier flotation of kaolin clay using calcite showed the major beneficiation mechanism to be enhanced aggregation between anatase and calcite under intense agitation conditions. In order to develop an understanding of this selective aggregation, surface charge characteristics of kaolinite, anatase and calcite were studied under simulated flotation conditions. Zeta potential of all these minerals tended towards a constant negative value in ole- ate solutions under certain conditions possibly due to adsorption or precipitation of oleate on them. However, whereas the zeta potential of anatase in the oleate solutions was not influenced by the agitation level, that of kaolinite was found to be strongly dependent on the agitation intensity. The effect of oleate on zeta potential of kaolinite was reduced by an increase in agitation intensity. It is suggested that oleate is much more firmly bound to the surface of the anatase and that this preferential attachment is responsible for the enhanced selective aggregation of the anatase with calcite. Agitation level plays a major role in carrier flotation since intense agitation is considered to en- hance both the chemisorption of oleate on anatase and preferential detachment of calcium oleate precipitate from the kaolinite surface, all of this producing a large difference in the surface properties of anatase and kaolinite, and hence in their tendency to aggregate with calcite.

Jan 1, 1981

The Kalgoorlie Tailings Retreatment Project (or "Kaltails") involves the reclamation and retreatment of approximately 50 million tonnes of gold tailing situated on the Golden Mile at Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. Tailing is reclaimed and retreated at the rate of 42 million tonnes per annum. The project is a Joint Venture between Poseidon Limited and Gold Corporation, with Poseidon being the major participant (90%) and manager of the operation through its wholly owned subsidiary Kaltails Mining Services Pty Ltd. The marginal nature of the tailing retreatment project dictated that a detailed feasibility study be undertaken. Extensive sampling and metallurgical testing of the tailing permitted the development of an optimum economic processing route. A sensitivity analysis undertaken as part of the feasibility study indicated the project to be very sensitive to gold price and unit operating cost variations, and relatively insensitive to capital cost variations.

Jan 1, 1990

By Robert M. Doerr

The research objective was to determine the effect of aluminum alloy additions on the oxidation behavior of cobalt-nickel alloys. Thirty high-purity alloys were reacted with 02 at 0.5 atm at 1,351°, 1,389°, and 1,429° K in a volumetric apparatus for about 300 min. The alloy compositions consisted of Co-Ni master alloys (0, 22, 50, 70, 91, and 100 wt pct Ni) with aluminum additions of about 0, 1, 2, 4, and 8 wt pet. Large early deviations from, or changes in, the parabolic rate constant were encountered, but in most cases, the reaction rate declined approximately in accordance with the parabolic rate law. A sharp peak in the parabolic oxidation rate constant was observed for specimens containing a to 22 percent nickel and 1 to 2 percent aluminum at 1,351° K, and the rate constants for these compositions were lower at the higher temperatures. Specimens containing 8 percent aluminum reacted far more slowly than did any of the others.

Jan 1, 1971