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By Raymond K. Will

Computers are becoming increasingly valuable tools in the mining industry as a greater variety of appropriate hardware and software becomes available, combined with greater acceptance by management, Within a given time period an engineering staff can evaluate or design a project to much greater detail and higher accuracy by utilizing computers once suitable programs have been developed. We are all aware that throughout the world the decreasing grade of minerals coupled with increasing waste to ore ratios necessitate larger capacity, longer term mining operations and attendant higher capital costs. Computers can be of assistance in all stages of mineral exploitation, from geologic exploration through mine feasibility studies and design, to marketing and transportation. Because of the high speed with which data can be digested and manipulated by computers, preliminary information from any stage of investigation can be analyzed to assist in further guidance of that stage. By use of preliminary mine feasibility studies, financial forecasts and sensitivity analysis, even information from a far-removed phase such as marine transportation of the product, can help guide the exploration phase to a realistic target.

Jan 1, 1973

By L. O’Connor, E. Tarshizi

The objective of this work is to provide a detailed review and a list of references in chronological order, comprising 80 recent technical papers, on the use of discrete-event simulation (DES) modeling in mining engineering. In this article, the review papers of published mine simulation projects through 2007 are summarized, and then a comprehensive review of individual articles published from 2008 to 2015 is presented. This survey work also includes analyses of the simulation tools used in the published projects, mining types and applications in order to assess these key features and evaluate the recent state of research in mine DES simulation. In addition, an interactive map visualization for the locations of the simulated projects is made available on a website to benefit current and prospective scholars in the field. The results of this investigation revealed that the most common application of DES in mining had been mining equipment selection and analysis, while ore processing and risk management projects were less frequently reported. The results also showed that modeling surface mines were in the majority, but the trend of publications for underground mine simulations had also increased. According to the results, ARENA was the most popular simulation software package, but several simulation tools that were only used once or twice in the mining projects are also included in this review.

Jan 1, 2018

By A. C. Johnson, McHenry Mosier

The Bureau of Mines has adapted its activities to needs of national defense and to conditions brought about by the war program . Its work is now oriented solely to war problems . After studying about 1,600 deposits of war minerals , exploration projects have been undertaken on 96 of the most promising , of which 56 have proved successful . These have indicated that 56 million tons of ore of commercial or near -commercial grade can be utilized to meet war requirements . Included in this amount are 1 million tons of tungsten ore ; 4 million tons of chromite ore, 10 million tons of manganese ore , 2 million tons of antimony ore , 1 million tons of mercury cre , and 28 million tons of iron ore . Work done in connection with exploration projects included 172,000 feet of surface trenching , 210,000 feet of drilling , and 21,000 feet of shaft sinking . Nearly 100,000 samples were taken, on which 500,000 analyses were made . Extensive metallurgical tests were made on ore from many of these deposits , both in the laboratory and in pilot plants , in connection with research to develop metallurgical processes for their treatment .

Jan 1, 1943

By Laurel E. Blackman

The DFI Project Information Management Systems (PIMS) Committee cooperated with the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to develop a specification for PIMS used on USACE projects. Once completed the Committee developed a more generic version of this specification for general use, which is contained in this document. This first edition has simply removed the USACE-related requirements from the document. The committee will continue to work on this specification to enhance the content and also incorporate recent technological development for these systems. It is the Committee's intention that a second edition will be issued in 2022.

Jan 1, 2021

By L. O’Connor, E. Tarshizi

The objective of this work is to provide a detailed review and a list of references in chronological order, comprising 80 recent technical papers, on the use of discrete-event simulation (DES) modeling in mining engineering. In this article, the review papers of published mine simulation projects through 2007 are summarized, and then a comprehensive review of individual articles published from 2008 to 2015 is presented. This survey work also includes analyses of the simulation tools used in the published projects, mining types and applications in order to assess these key features and evaluate the recent state of research in mine DES simulation. In addition, an interactive map visualization for the locations of the simulated projects is made available on a website to benefit current and prospective scholars in the field. The results of this investigation revealed that the most common application of DES in mining had been mining equipment selection and analysis, while ore processing and risk management projects were less frequently reported. The results also showed that modeling surface mines were in the majority, but the trend of publications for underground mine simulations had also increased. According to the results, ARENA was the most popular simulation software package, but several simulation tools that were only used once or twice in the mining projects are also included in this review.

Jan 1, 2017

"These tentative coal mine inspection standards have been prepared as a guide for the Federal inspection of coal mines of the United States. Much time and thought have been spent by various members of the Safety Division in the preparation of thses standards, and it is believed that compliance with them eventually will be possible in most mines. In many instances objections will be raised to them owing to long-established mining customs and practices that are inherently of dubious safety and to a natural inclination to oppose change. In other instances there will be valid objections due to conditions not foreseen at the time these standards were prepared. Or there may be substandard conditions and practices due to original mine layouts that it is not practicable to change during the lifetime of the mine; in such instances it is likely that some effective measures are or can be taken toward lessening hazards.With the rapid change in mining methods some of the standards may become inapplicable and it may be advisable to revise them to meet the new conditions. Therefore, questions regarding these standards and suggestions regarding new standards should be brought to the attention of the supervising engineer of the Coal Mine Inspection Division so that modifications of and additions to these standards may be made from time to time.In many respects these standards exceed the provisions of the various State mining laws, and some may conflict with the laws of some States. In cases of conflict, the intent is not to advocate noncompliance with State laws but to suggest that it may be desirable for the State to reconsider such laws or safety orders.Although an effort has been made to word these standards so that they may be readily understood, nevertheless, a reasonable interpretation should be placed upon them. In fact, in numerous instances the words reasonable"", ""suitable"", and ""properly"" are used in recognition of the fact that reason- and sound judgment enter into the carrying out of the safety endeavor.The policy of the Bureau on some vitally important safety matters in mines is set forth in its published Safety Decisions. These decisions have been consulted and used in the preparation of these standards. These decisions also are now being reexamined by its Mine Safety Board."

Feb 1, 1942

By Bradford F. Townsend, Matthew E. Fowler, Michael F. Smithson, Lawrence R. Eckert

All Rights Reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Information contained in this work has been obtained by SME, Inc. from sources believed to be reliable. However, neither SME nor its authors guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information published herein, and neither SME nor its authors shall be responsible for any errors, omissions, or damages arising out of use of this information. This work is published with the understanding that SME and its authors are supplying information but are not attempting to render engineering or other professional services. If such services are required, the assistance of an appropriate professional should be sought. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any statement or views presented here are those of the authors and are not necessarily those of SME. The mention of trade names for commercial products does not imply the approval or endorsement of SME.

Dec 1, 2010

By Willard C. Lacy

A mining operation begins with prospecting and exploration-stages with long periods of investment and high risk of failure. However, success in exploration ultimately determines survival of the mining industry. Prospecting and exploration may discover evidence of a mineral occurrence and outline its size and character, but ore deposits that support mining are "made" through the collective efforts of project geologists, geophysicists, geochemists, metallurgists, engineers, chemists, lawyers, and even politicians (Joralemon, 1975). Some deposits may go through multiple cycles of rejection and recommendation, discovery and development, decline and abandonment, rediscovery and development, etc., as economic, technological, or political conditions change or geologic understanding is improved. Peters (1987, p. 233) graphically illustrates the normal life cycle of a mine and the position of exploration in the cycle (Fig. 4.0.1). During the past fifty years, mineral exploration has evolved from comparing evidence of mineralization of prospects with that of known deposits to a more quantitative science employing many facets of geochemistry, geophysics, multispectral sensing from space, computer data storage, analysis, modeling, and most importantly, a better understanding of ore genesis. This modem approach to exploration began in the late 1940s and continues to develop. Exploration efforts peaked in the 1960s with emphasis upon the search for porphyry copper deposits, Mississippi Valley lead-zinc deposits, and volcanogenic massive sulfide copper-lead-zinc deposits. It peaked again in the middle and late 1980s with emphasis upon micron-size disseminated gold and epithermal and stratiform precious metal deposits.

Jan 1, 2008

Industrial minerals and rocks are those which are economically important because of desirable physical and/or chemical properties rather than metal or energy content. The evaluation of these resources for investment purposes in general follows established procedures after due consideration of well documented input data. However, in view of the sensitivity of many industrial mineral projects to specific inputs they require very careful analysis. The characteristics of the industrial minerals and the industrial minerals industry are reviewed and the significance of logistics, customer requirements, technology and marketing are discussed. Implications in relation to resources/reserves terminology are considered with phosphate rock used as an example. It is concluded that industrial mineral projects as a consequence of technology and market dependence in particular can give a high level of investment risk. The industry, however, offers most interesting and challenging employment opportunities for geologists, mineral engineers and economists.

Jan 1, 1988

By J. H. Adkins

The goal of the project reported in this paper was to make recommendations for changes in roof bolting procedures and bolter design that would reduce roof bolter accident rates. To that end the project identified the major hazards associated with each task a roof bolter operator per-forms, normalized task accident frequencies. by the time spent on each task, reviewed equipment design features and operating procedures related to the identified hazards and developed recommendations for equipment and procedural changes that would reduce, if not eliminate, the hazards. The research steps completed during the project were: a. A review of related literature and re-search including roof bolting time studies b. The collection and analysis of 1975 accident data pertaining to roof bolter activities c. The normalization of the accident frequency data on the basis of time/task data d. A review of roof bolting equipment e. The development of a field data collection instrument f. The selection of mines for bolter observations g. The collection of field data h. Data analysis and problem specification i. The development of recommendations for corrective measures

Jan 1, 1978

By James P. Connell

The Montana Operations of the Anaconda Company constitute an integrated, though geographically separated, non-ferrous metal production complex. The mines are located at Butte and consist of one large open-pit mine, two small underground mines, a precipitation plant for both underground and pit-dump leach water, and the Weed Copper Concentrator. The smelter, located at Anaconda, Montana 25 miles to the west, processes all Butte copper shipments as well as copper materials from both Anaconda and private mines. Copper and zinc are refined at Great Falls, Montana, 165 miles to the north. Other facilities developed over the years include the Anaconda Forest Products Division, the Butte, Anaconda, and Little. Chicago Water Companies, and the Montana Hardware Company. Data processing for these operations has been performed on an IBM 360 Series, Model 30 computer, utilizing a Disc Operating System. This was replaced in September 1970 with a 360 Series, Model 40 128K unit. In addition, some data processing is also done for Anaconda Company operations located at Britannia Beach, British Columbia; Columbia Falls, Montana; Yerington, Nevada; and Twin Buttes and Tuscon, Arizona. The material under discussion in this paper will be concerned primarily with the mining operations at Butte.

Jan 1, 1970

Why A Friction Hoist? B EFORE discussing the equipment, it would be instructive to review the factors that influenced the management of Opemiska Cop-per Mines to purchase a friction hoist rather than a conventional double drum hoist. The mine required that 250 tons per hour be hoisted from a depth of 2,100 feet. They also specified that the top speed should not exceed 1800 feet per minute. Eight ton capacity skips in balance and a maxi-mum hoisting speed of 1725 feet per minute would meet the required <Output on a duty cycle as follows: Loading time Creep away from loading pocket Accelerate (at 2.5 ft/sec2) 10 seconds 5 seconds 11.5 seconds Full speed run Decelerate (at 2.5 ft/sec2) Creep into dump Cycle time Trips per hour Tons per hour 72 seconds 11.5 seconds 5 seconds 115 seconds 31 31x8 = 248

Jan 1, 1962

By Bernard J. Steblay

Millions of mechanical anchor roof bolts are used each year for mine structural support. The benefit of this bolting depends on a number of factors including rock density, bolt length, in situ stresses, time elapsed between mining and installation, rock properties, bolt patterns, and tension (Lang, et al., 1979). Installation tension is a major determinant of support quality. Postinstallation tensions indicate both the usefulness of the individual bolts and the behavior of the reinforced rock structure. The importance of short- and long-term bolt tension measurements is well recognized, and such measurements are required by regulations (Fed. M/NM Nine Safety and Health Reg.). These regulations also take into account the difficulty of practical tension measurements. Only a statistical sample of the bolts installed is required to be measured using current torque wrench technology. Drawbacks to this practice are that the anchorage is disturbed and perhaps weakened, accuracy is limited by friction to about 30% (Lang, et al, 1979, and Barry, et al., 1956), and the procedure is relatively time intensive.

Jan 1, 1984

By d&apos, I. J. Agati

The stockpiling and reclaiming of bulk materials can be a challenging task for engineers seeking the optimum solution for plant needs, reliability, and at lowest unit cost. The objective of this paper will be to expose advantages, disadvantages and limitations of many storage and reclaiming systems to the responsible engineer and management. The paper will emphasize the practical aspect of stockpiling and reclaiming methods. Many valuable and interesting papers are available dealing with the theoretical viewpoint and application of a particular manufacturer&apos;s machine. Several of these are mentioned in the bibliography. As many practical parameters as possible will be given. After twenty years in the field of designing and selling bulk materials handling systems, the needs of the user and the plant are recognized and reasonably understood. This paper cannot give solutions to all problems In this vast field but will stress practical applications and examples of various installations. The evolution of advancements in materials handling is based upon not only technological innovations, but learning from many experiences of others and utilizing them as stepping stones to improved installations.

Jan 1, 1969

By Herbert R. Babitzke

The Minerals Availability System (MAS) was formally established by the Bureau of Mines in May 1975 to provide current appraisals of the engineering and economic availability of nonfuel minerals for consideration in the formulation of both domestic and foreign minerals policy, Domes- tic mineral property reports are developed by the Bureau&apos;s four Field Operations Centers, and foreign data are obtained under contract. This site-specific information is subsequently subjected to engineering verification and economic evaluation, and the results are analyzed and published as Minerals Availability System Appraisals. The deposit-specific data are also entered into the computerized MAS data base, where a subset of this information, the Mineral Industry Location System (MILS), is available to the public in the form of computer graphics and listings. Other MAS products are also described. The Bureau&apos;s MAS personnel are frequently involved in special engineering and mineral economic projects for other Federal and State agencies. MAS personnel also work closely with the private sector, both in the area of mining and processing cost estimation, and as a source of nonproprietary mineral deposit information.

Jan 1, 1982

By Madhu G. Ranade

A statistically designed pot grate- kiln test program was conducted to determine the agglomeration process variables necessary for increasing the low temperature disintegration resistance (LTD) and reducibility (R40) of magnetite-based Empire acid pellets. The ASTM tumble index and compression strength were to be maintained at an acceptable level. Six process variables, bentonite addition level, preheat time and temperature, firing time and temperature, and cooling rate, were investigated within the constraints of the Empire plant. The bentonite addition level and firing temperature had the largest effect on pellet properties. The results of this program were verified during a pl ant trial. The target firing temperature at the Empire Plant has been decreased for increasing the LTD and R40 of commercially produced Empire pellets

Jan 1, 1985

By Maurice Guillaud

The most striking innovations on diaphragm-wall construction plant are those associated with continuous real-time trajectory monitoring of the excavating tool (either a grab or a hydro-cutter). The recent equipments are fitted with clinometers and gyrometers to control deflection, rotation or deviation from the vertical, thus allowing to install diaphragm-walls with a verticality accuracy of less than 0.3%. One of the greatest advantages of extensive use of on-board IT systems on the Hydrocutters and hydraulic grab machines is that it aids quality control by automatically producing complete real-time reports of all excavating data (verticality, depth, type of ground, rate of progress, stoppages, etc.). These reports are available to the Engineer, providing the total transparency required for Works Supervision and the Quality Assurance Plan. They also provide the Contractor with input data for databases used for optimising efficiency and progress criteria on future jobs.

Jan 1, 2002

By Open-Hearth Steel

I received a telegram yesterday from Mr. J. H. Nead saying that he regretted circumstances had come up which prevent his attending the meeting, but that arrangements have been made and Mr. T. S. Washburn, of Inland Steel, will act as the Co-Chairman in his stead. We are sorry, of course, that he cannot be here at this conference. We have, therefore, asked Mr. James J. Bowden, chief metallurgist of Republic Steel Corporation, Cleveland, to act as Chairman and Mr. Tom Washburn to act as Co-Chairman. I will turn the meeting over to these gentlemen at this time.

Jan 1, 1940

By Joseph A. Holmes

The investigations carried on at the fuel-testing plant of the United States Geological Survey at St. Louis in 1904-1907 included tests of the steaming and gas-producing qualities of many coals and of the possibilif3 of their improvement by briquetting, together with washing and coking tests and tests of some of the resulting coke in the cupola. These tests were part of a general inquiry into the manner of utilizing most efficiently each of the coals under investigation. The equipment used in the cupola tests of coke, the manner of conducting the tests, and the essential results have been described in publications of the Geological Survey," and only the more important conclusions to be drawn from the tests are mentioned in the following pages. The tests were made to show the fitness of the cokes for foundry purposes, but an incidentlll result was to show foundry men and the coke producers the advisability of studying the conditions of foundry practice. The present bulletin, published by the Bureau of Mines because the analyzing and testing of fuels have been transferred from the Gilological Survey to the Bureau of Mines, briefly reviews the status of the coke industry, some features of practice in the use of coke in the foundry, the probable happenings of a cupola heat, and the reasons for modifying charging practice so that a particular coke can be used to best advantage.

Jan 1, 1910

By Richard S. Fowkes

Advanced technology, including automation and computerized information systems, is being adopted in mining at an ever-increasing rate to improve safety and productivity and to decrease overall costs. This U.S. Bureau of Mines report focuses on the human factors issues related to advanced technology. Among the significant facts discovered were the following: Experts studying tile design adoption, and implementation of new technology have stated repeatedly that human factors specialists should be involved from the early planning stages, through design and fabrication, and up to and during production, since human factors has been consistently identified as the biggest obstacle to the efficient utilization of new technology. Also, middle management is generally the greatest obstacle to the adoption of advanced technology, this technology can give rise to worker alienation, boredom, stress, job insecurity, and a sense of isolation; training most of the present work force is more cost effective than hiring new workers; workers are willing to accept new technology if they are given a voice in its implementation; the social and the technical systems should be jointly optimized; and with the intro¬duction of advanced technology, the cognitive or mental, rather than the physical, aspects of human-machine interaction must be emphasized.

Jan 1, 1994