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By R. Heersink, C. H. Wells

Innovations in communications and real-time information systems are providing industry opportunities to improve profitability. Real-time operating data is collected from equipment across a site or even several sites into a central server for secure PC and PDA-based Internet access. This paper includes discussion of how operating staff can use wireless devices to see equipment and processing data from anywhere throughout the mines and concentrators, and how management can view results from multiple mines, all in real time. Additional opportunities enabled through the remote access by equipment vendors or mining consultants is also presented, as well as an overview of typical benefits and current installations.

Jan 1, 2002

In a modern economy there is a compelling case why governments should not own property rights to mineral deposits. Assuming they do, however, governments will use these constitutional rights to raise revenue. They have two basic instruments to achieve this; a royalty charge on price or a rent tax on income/profits. On the one hand, a royalty charge creates a 'deadweight loss' to society by increasing cut-off grades and decreasing the life-of-mine. They are also regressive. However, they are easy to administer. On the other hand, a rent tax avoids the problem of 'deadweight loss'; it does not impact on the life-of-mine because the tax structure is neutral. But, they are difficult to administer correctly, particularly in the determination of rents and the definition of mining per se. If rents are incorrectly determined capital markets are distorted. And, if mining activities are incorrectly defined, downstream activities could be adversely affected.

Jun 1, 2010

By S. Mostaghel, S. Nicol, M. Y. Solar

Once upon a time, the process engineer developing the design criteria for a new saprolite ferronickel smelter had it easy: most ores were around 2.5% Ni, with a Fe/Ni ratio of 4 to 5 and a SiO2/MgO ratio of about 1.6; to use the French word: garnierites. The ferronickel grade selected was the conventional 20 to 25% Ni and the impurity levels could be predicted from well established [C], [Cr] and [Si] vs (FeO) graphs. However the process engineer can no longer depend on statistics to design smelters: Ni grades are decreasing while the goethite contents are increasing; SiO2/MgO ratios vary from 1 to 3; and Al2O3 concentrations are reaching levels that cannot be ignored. Mechanistic models must be developed to select or predict essential parameters such as kiln and furnace reductions, ferronickel grade, slag losses, metal and slag liquidus, operating temperatures, etc. But these models must be simplified so that they can be used on a routine basis; and they must be calibrated against a wide range of commercial operations in order to yield the most realistic predictions possible. The present paper proposes one possible approach, using FactSage as a basic source of thermodynamic data. The predictions thus obtained are compared to actual performance for two well documented operations, as well as to the predictions made with other tools that might be more accessible.

Jan 1, 2014

By L. E. Puddington, A. L. Mular

"Since the inception of spherical agglomeration, few investigations to exploit commercially the technique in the metallurgical field have been conducted. Of these, none appear to have been carried sufficiently far to demonstrate commercial feasibility.This paper describes a continuous agglomeration-separation process that can rapidly handle large tonnages of ore material. A small pilot plant de-signed from information obtained with the semi-batch unit described herein is currently in operation.In the absence of a reagent recovery system or cheap reagents, the process is probably not economically attractive for many common ores. However, for iron ores, the fuel content of the agglomerates can be used in a subsequent step such as direct reduction."

Jan 1, 1968

By D. Gearhart

Full-scale tests are conducted on mine roof supports using protocols developed by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) using the unique capabilities of the Mine Roof Simulator (MRS). These protocols simulate the loading conditions that the support will be exposed to in an underground mine to determine the performance capabilities and limitations of the support. Some tests are conducted with rigid boundary conditions, creating uniform contact and near ideal axial loading conditions. These tests are used to determine the ultimate performance potential of a support, including the strength, stiffness, and stability. For prop supports where stability is a critical design issue, tests are implemented to induce buckling by a modified end condition, eccentric contact, or biaxial loading. It is important to determine the cpacity of the support design when the support is subjected to unpredictable loading conditions. This paper examines the effect of end conditions and load profiles on prop support performance and applies a new analysis methodology based on eccentric loading to determine a factor of safety for load capacity. Recommendations for installation practices that minimize eccentricity and therefore preserve capacity are also provided.

By H. Salomon-de-Friedberg

The amount of pyrite in copper concentrates fed to the CESL Process can vary appreciably. The fraction of pyrite that oxidizes influences both capital and operating costs and is therefore an important variable. The present paper explores operating conditions that influence the extent of pyrite oxidation and the probable overall reaction chemistry under CESL conditions.

Jan 1, 2014

By J. D. Miller

"It is now possible to use 3D X-ray tomography analysis for plant-site characterization of coarse particles at a sampling rate of about 3 kg/min for particles which range in size from 150 mm to 1 mm at a voxel resolution of about 150 microns. This is quite a significant advance in X-ray tomography technology and should be useful for plant-site coarse particle characterization (size, shape, composition, density, texture, grain exposure, mineral liberation) with a response time of minutes after receiving the sample. Applications in the mineral industries are discussed including the coal industry, aggregate industry, metal mining and the processing of industrial minerals. INTRODUCTION Plant-site characterization of coarse particles at coal preparation plants, crushed stone/aggregate plants, and mineral processing plants is needed to improve plant capacity, product quality, and/or process efficiency. Not much on-line coarse particle characterization is done at these plants. Some limited information regarding particle size is obtained on-line from reflected light images using systems such as the OPSA, Split, and WipFrag analyzers. Even laboratory analysis of coarse particles has been difficult because of the large amount of sample required to insure statistical significance of the results. During the past decades laboratory 3D characterization of particles from energy and mineral resources by X-ray tomography has been demonstrated and used to good advantage [1, 2]. 3D X-ray tomographic analysis had its origin in the medical services industry; it is used to provide internal images of the human body and now has also been developed for non-medical applications [3]. Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram for the cone-beam geometry micro-CT system. In our case X-rays from a microfocus X-ray generator are partially attenuated by the sample (a packed bed of particles) that is made to rotate in equal steps in a full circle about a single axis of the particle sample. At each rotational position, the surviving X-ray photons are detected by a planar two-dimensional array (image intensifier) large enough to contain the shadow of the specimen. These two dimensional projection images are collected using conventional video technology. The video signal for each projection is then converted to a two-dimensional digital array by an image processing system. Finally, a three-dimensional image is reconstructed from the collected set of projection images. With the availability of automated high speed X-ray tomography [4] it now seems possible to do plant-site particle characterization at a sampling rate of about 3 kg/min for particles which range in size from 150 mm to 1 mm at a voxel resolution of about 150 microns. This is quite a significant advance in X-ray tomography technology and should be useful for plant-site particle characterization (size, shape, composition, density, texture, grain exposure, mineral liberation) with a response time of minutes after receiving the sample. Applications in the mineral industries are discussed including the coal industry, aggregate industry, metal mining, and the processing of industrial minerals"

Jan 1, 2016

This document is Volume II of a two-volume report on underground and surface coal mine fires occurring between 1950 and 1977. Volume I discusses the methods of data acquisition, data analysis procedures, results and conclusions. This volume contains (1) a master list of all fire incidents obtained from MSHA reports, (2) an annotated bibliography of all MSHA reports, journal articles on selected incidents, and non-reportable fires (appendix), and (3) indexes to be used in accessing incidents in the master list and annotated bibliography. These three types of information provide the reader with a complete summary of coal mine fires during the period from 1950 through 1977 and a convenient means to locate incidents of specific interest. The body of this volume is organized around two tables and a series of indexes. The two tables are master lists of underground and surface fire incidents. They are followed by 14 indexes keyed to the master list and annotated bibliography. The appendix contains three different parts: o The annotated bibliography of MSHA fire reports (one section each for underground and surface mine fires) o The annotated bibliography of journal articles about selected fires from the MSHA bibliography o A listing of non-reportable fires (one section each for underground and surface mine fires) Descriptions of the contents and use of each of the three major components of this volume (i.e., master list, indexes, and appendix) are presented in Section 2.0.

Jan 1, 1979

Growing concerns of climate change and its potential association with the release of greenhouse gasses to the atmosphere have prompted possible legislation which would require minimization of greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon dioxide and methane, both of which largely contribute to the greenhouse effect, have direct links to the fossil energy industry sector. Specifically, the combustion of one ton of coal produces between one and three tons of carbon dioxide, dependent upon the carbon content and heating value of the combusted coal. Additionally, coal mine methane (CMM) released through a mine?s ventilation system has a radiative trapping impact approximately 20 times greater than that of an equivalent mass of carbon dioxide. The capture of coalbed methane (CBM) prior to the mining process and its utilization as an alternative energy source provides the possibility of a decreased carbon footprint. Domestically, the past 25 years have seen a significant expansion of the CBM industry. Internationally, in developing countries such as China, the need for western coal degasification technology is growing. A collaborative, international effort will be required to initiate a recognizable decrease in global greenhouse gas emissions. This paper identifies the potential decrease in equivalent carbon dioxide emissions through effective degasification at a hypothetical longwall mine located in China. Advanced, three-dimensional gas reservoir simulation software will be utilized to determine the maximum feasible CBM recovery in a low permeability, high gas content reservoir prior to the mining process.

Jan 1, 2010

By J Aydin Bilgin, Sedat Esen

This paper describes the ideality of some commercial explosives with the help of the detonation theory and detonation velocity measurement. Ideality of an explosive can be determined by comparing experimentally measured and ideal detonation velocities. A measured detonation velocity at a certain charge diameter markedly lower than the ideal value indicates incomplete reaction and thus non-ideal detonation. Since it is shown that commercial explosives exhibit non-ideal behavior, two-dimensional detonation theory should be used to evaluate the performance of explosives. This theory enables to compute the detonation properties of explosives (detonation velocity, detonation pressure, etc.) as a function of charge diameter and confinement. The use of the one-dimensional detonation theory to compute the detonation properties for commercial explosives has an error associated with it as these calculated properties are independent of charge diameter and confinement. It assumes that shock front is planar. Hence, it is incapable of assessing the ideality of the explosives due to its assumptions. Shock front in real situation is curved in shape but not planar as in one-dimensional detonation theory. In this paper, the non-ideal behavior of some commercial explosives is modeled using EXRINT code based on the steady-state two-dimensional detonation theory firstly. Then the degree of ideality of each explosive found from the code is checked using detonation velocity test results conducted at a quarry. It has been shown that idealities of the tested explosives determined by the code agree well with the field detonation velocity test results.

Jan 1, 1999

By N. I. Aziz, I. Tague, P. Mackenzie-Wood

The recent mine disasters in Australian coal mines have initiated an introduction of Self-Contained Self-Rescuer (SCSR) as component in the development of new escape strategies for miners. These self-contained self-rescuers are closed circuit, demand sensitive breathing apparatus that make oxygen available to the wearer for a nominal period of time. Their operation is completely independent of the surrounding atmosphere. Once properly donned, the SCSR can assist a miner to escape from an area containing smoke, toxic gases or an oxygen deficient atmosphere. The duration of a typical SCSR is usually taken at the point of complete collapse of the breathing bag which is accompanied by an increase in breathing resistance and inhaled levels of carbon dioxide. Because the oxygen consumption (V02) and the heart rate are correlated, a prediction of V02 and consequently the duration of an SCSR can be made by monitoring the heart rate. Thirty-seven volunteers participated in field simulated escape trials at four underground coal mines. The results from the field trials suggested that oxygen consumption depends on the heart rate, the body weight and exercise rating of the miner. All the volunteers were asked to fill out the questionnaires to evaluate the performance of the units. The miners indicated that they could tolerate the inhaled temperature without any difficulty to breathing resistance. A complete statistical analysis of the field results is also presented.

Feb 24, 1997

A comprehensive axial test program has been undertaken at the WASM Dynamic Test Facility on the performance of 20mm threadbar. The threadbar tests had a double embedment configuration, with variation to the encapsulation lengths, debonded length and surface hardware and fixtures to examine failure mechanisms. Performance was significantly affected by the collar embedment length and type of fixture nut used. Results ranged from thread shearing occurring between the nut and bar at 1kJ of energy dissipated, to control plastic deformation of a central debonded length dissipating 22kJ.

May 1, 2009

By V. Duddempudi, B. Goertz, J. Brune, G. Bogin, F. S. Barreto

"INTRODUCTION In designing a new pneumatic Dust Sampling Device (DSD) for coal mines, it was essential to analyze the air and particle flow inside the device in detail using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modeling. Several CFD models were developed to simulate the air and dust flow and sample collecting process of the DSD. These CFD models were developed to assist in the design of the DSD instrument prototypes for laboratory testing. Nozzle and injection parameters such as geometry, air velocity and pressure, were varied across a wide range to obtain the optimal settings to accurately simulate the fluid dynamics of the multi-phase flow within the DSD. Accordingly, these parameters were used as a guide for the design of the DSD and to verify the dust scouring dynamics, which is designed to represent the dust entrainment during an actual methane or coal dust explosion. BACKGROUND The 2010 explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine has demonstrated the destructive violence of a coal dust explosion. A major contributing factor for this disaster was that the mine operators did not have a reliable, direct-reading method to collect mine dust and determine inert content and combustibility. This led to the development of a new prototype handheld, pneumatic mine dust sampling device (DSD), which blows a puff of air and entrains the mine dust by mimicking the entrainment process during a mine explosion. A computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model is used to analyze the air and dust flow inside the DSD. The objective of the CFD modeling effort is to find the optimum design of the DSD prototype, nozzle orientation, air pressure and pulse length by analyzing and varying these parameters so that the scouring action collects a valid, representative and repeatable mine dust sample. CFD MODEL DESIGN Figure 1 shows a wireframe image of the DSD which is utilized in the setup of the CFD model. The DSD has a triangular cross section and is 10 cm wide. Two nozzles with cross-sectional dimension of 2.8 cm by 0.25 cm act as inlets at the narrow end of the triangular cross section. The CFD model includes a reference plane 6 cm away from the nozzle to measure the quantity of dust collected. The geometry shown in Figure 1 was created for the model and it matches with the design of the actual device shown in the figure 2. Symmetry, along the plane X-Y through the center of the device, is used to reduce the number of computational cells in the CFD model. Figure 2 shows the prototype device used for experimental testing. CFD MODEL SETUP Figure 3 shows a hexahedral mesh with a cell size of 0.8 mm and the total number of cells is around 650,000. The ANSYS Fluent® pressure based solver with a transient case was used with a total duration of 40 ms. The 40 ms simulation time is based on experimental measurements to capture the injection of air and initial scouring of dust."

Jan 1, 2016

By Brad Murray

Evaluating the performance of a shielded tunnel boring machine (TBM) can be difficult because the ground cannot be observed directly and in relation to the TBM attitude within the excavation. It is difficult to determine whether performance problems are caused by ground loading, steering issues, fine muck packing against the shield, or migration of annular grout around the shield. The Arrowhead Tunnels Project in Southern California uses strain gauges on its shielded hard rock TBMs to detect shield strains early and correlate them with tunneling conditions, thereby increasing the chances that problems will be correctly diagnosed and addressed to optimize TBM performance. The frequent automatic measurement of shield strain has also been valuable by confirming whether remedial methods used to free the machine after stoppages are effective. This paper discusses the qualitative interpretation of characteristic strain patterns on the Arrowhead Tunnels TBM shields and discusses installation details and special considerations for setting up a strain measurement system.

Jan 1, 2008

By Van E. Komurka

This paper presents a cost comparison of the driven pile foundations for two large Wisconsin Department of Transportation (?WisDOT?) projects in Milwaukee, Wisconsin: the Marquette Interchange South Leg, and the Canal Street Viaduct. The projects? geology is fairly similar, but their methods/approaches to pile foundation design and installation differ. Although the Marquette Interchange South Leg had deeper poor soils, its pile design was more-cost-effective than the Canal Street Viaduct?s. Potential reasons for cost differences between the projects are identified, and the effect of the different design and construction approaches on economics is discussed.

Jan 1, 2009

The paper point out the testwork has been carried out with real process solutions from the Chambishi cobalt plant in Zambia, showing that the ISEP® continuous ion exchange system can effectively remove nickel from cobalt sulphate electrolyte. Laboratory testing confirmed published data, and was subsequently verified on site at Chambishi in a pilot test program. Based on the testwork data, a commercial unit is being installed at Chambishi.

Sep 13, 2001

By Deane Tunaley, Clint Brearley, Steven Kotsonis, Richard Goodridge, Tom Smylie

Explosives are widely used in the Oil & Gas Industry for subsurface mapping via measurement of reflected sound waves as each charge is detonated. To complete a seismic survey, several thousand explosive charges may be deployed into narrow boreholes, often in areas difficult to access or where socio-political factors may increase the risk of unlawful recovery or sabotage of the explosives. Therefore, when misfires occur, the explosives left in the ground often cannot be retrieved or sympathetically detonated safely, in which case they are “abandoned” (in-line with local regulations) potentially posing a safety and security risk.

Jan 1, 2014

By Sean Gallagher, John R. Bartels, Dean H. Ambrose

Remote operation of continuous miners has enhanced the health and safety of underground miners in many respects; however, numerous fatal and non-fatal continuous miner struck-by accidents have occurred when using remote controls. In an effort to prevent these injuries, NIOSH researchers at Pittsburgh Research Laboratory examined the workplace relationships between continuous miner operators and various tramming modes of the equipment using motion captured data, predicted operator response times, and field- of- view data to determine causes of operator-machine struck-by events in a virtual mine environment. Factors studied included machine speed, direction of escape, operator facing orientation relative to the machine, work posture, distance from machine, and operator anthropometry. Close proximity to the machine, high machine tramming speeds, a right-facing orientation and operator positioning near the tail all resulted in high risk of being struck. It is hoped that this data will provide an improved rationale for operator positioning for remotely operated continuous miners.

By M. Muravyov, T. Kondrat’eva, A. Bulaev

Metallurgical treatments of sulfide ores containing copper and zinc are characterized by significant losses of base metals, particularly formation of the flotation tailings and slags during the dressing and pyrometallurgical treatment respectively. In addition, SO2 gas obtained during roasting and converting may be as raw material for sulfuric acid production. A treatment of the industrial metallurgical wastes has been investigated. Two samples of old pyrite tailings from two concentrators that contained 0.36% and 0.26% of copper and 0.23% and 0.22% of zinc were leached with 10% sulfuric acid in the column. Recovery of copper reached 47% and 38% while recovery of zinc was 47% and 41% from the first and second samples, respectively. The pregnant leach solutions contained 15.9 g/l and 10.5 g/l of ferric iron. Ferric iron is the strong oxidant and ferric containing pregnant leach solutions can be used for ferric leaching of different types of raw materials containing sulfide minerals. Therefore, ferric leaching of copper converter slag flotation tailings contained 0.53% of copper and 2.77% of zinc with the first pregnant leach solution was conducted. The effect of various experimental parameters on the leaching dynamics of copper, zinc, and iron under batch conditions was investigated. Under the best conditions (temperature 70oC, pulp density 30%) the recovery of copper and zinc reached 80% and 42%, respectively. Thus, it has been shown that acid leaching of base metals from old pyrite flotation tailings with using of the pregnant leach solution for the ferric leaching of copper converter slag flotation tailings is a prospective technique for the complex treatment of mining and metallurgical wastes. Investigated processes could be introduced into the technological flow-sheet of typical pyrometallurgical plants.

Jan 1, 2014

To provide a means for accurately and reliably warning of impending roof falls or rock bursts and for evaluating support systems. The Approach: Development of a device for measuring rockbolt loads which is not affected by harsh environments nor by eccentric loading conditions and is easily adapted to various size rock bolts. How It Works: The Rock-Bolt Tension Load Cell, developed by the Bureau's Spokane (Wash.) Mining Research Center, is installed on a bolt and sandwiched between a conventional doughnut washer bearing plate and a torqueing nut (Fig. 1). As the bolt takes load, the bearing plate transmits the load axially to the cell through a ball and socket arrangement, compensating for uneven bearing surfaces. The cell body strains in proportion to the applied load: the strain is sensed by welded strain gages as change in electrical resistance. The resistance change is read through a Wheatstone Bridge and, through calibration, the applied load is determined.

Jan 1, 1974