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By A. Habibi

The ventilation survey was conducted in an underground longwall trona mine. The mine is relatively shallow and categorized as a gassy mine. The ventilation system consists of nine shafts (three intakes and six exhausts). Three surface based axial fans ventilate the mine configured in a blowing arrangement. Following the ventilation survey airflow quantity, frictional pressure losses and air psychrometric characteristics have been quantified. An accurate resistance survey has been conducted to calculate the pressure drop with regard to moving cages and skips in the shafts. This paper discusses the benefits of utilizing high accuracy digital pressure transducers and psychrometers in a ?leapfrogging? survey to gather data needed to build the computer ventilation model. Two underground booster fans with VFD are currently idle but available at the mine. The ventilation model has been used to determine the optimal booster fan locations to decrease the overall operating cost by reducing the load carried by the main fans. A leakage study has been conducted to evaluate the effects on the system of additional pressure from a booster fan. The study finally prepares a future ventilation model for the next fifteen years of mine operation and investigates the effect of proposed scenarios.

Feb 27, 2013

By Gabino Preciado, Louis Sandbak

Corrosion has long been identified as a potential risk to the long-term ground support stability due to degradation of internal ground support elements such as rock bolts but also to surface support from mesh, straps, bolt plates, and ancillary support of utilities such as hangers. The emphasis is to understand the corrosion mechanisms on the primary ground support elements and any supplemental steel or arch sets. The water and chemical processes from oxidation(rust), stress corrosion cracking, and even the electrical charge created during these reactions contribute to the corrosion of the steel support elements. The main goals are to mitigate the effects of corrosion and to be able to predict those areas of high water or high sulphide for potential rehab maps. It is also essential to identify and classify the visible corrosion as part of damage mapping and provide bolt testing to those areas of suspected internal damage from corrosion. This is important to get an estimate of the support longevity or expected life before rehab to minimize the overall cost of the operation.

Feb 1, 2024

By R. Dahlke, J. A. Finch

A campaign was undertaken during the greater part of 2001 at Noranda’s Brunswick mine concentrator to investigate the role of gas (air) superficial rate (Jg) distribution to the cells in the final Zn cleaning stage (bank of seven cells), i.e. the Jg profile. Three profiles were tested: “balanced” (each cell with same Jg), “increasing” (from cell 1 to 7 proportionally), and “decreasing,” along with an “as found” profile in a parallel control bank. The experimental design allowed for two confounding factors, changes in ore type and circulating load. The increasing profile consistently gave the best metallurgy (down-the-bank grade / recovery). The reason for improved performance was the response of the first cells in the bank where the increasing profile gave the highest selectivity of sphalerite against nonsulphide gangue (NSG). The other profiles gave lower selectivity and higher zinc recovery in the first cells, which combined to reduce overall bank performance. The higher selectivity with the Increasing profile is attributed to the low gas rate in the first cells reducing water recovery and hence limiting entrainment of NSG. The increasing profile was subsequently configured for all four stages in the zinc cleaner circuit.

Jan 1, 2004

By Anderson Rosa Pereira

A constante busca pelo aumento contínuo de produção e redução de paradas não programadas em transportadores, tem gerado demanda para equipamentos inteligentes dotados da capacidade de corrigir os constantes problemas de desalinhamento dos TCs. Os métodos hoje utilizados para corrigir este problema são prioritariamente passivos, o que impossibilita uma intervenção mais direta, precisa, automática e efetiva no posicionamento da correia. Esta publicação descreve o funcionamento e os resultados obtidos com a integração do sistema Alinhador Inteligente para Transportador de Correia AITC em um transportador de minério de ferro com vasto histórico de problemas de desalinhamento. Assim, a linha principal deste artigo mostra através de um exemplo prático os benefícios e ganhos mensurados com a aplicação do Alinhador Inteligente para Transportador de Correia.

Aug 16, 2017

By Anjali Talekar

Low temperature heat capacities of pentaerythritol [PE: C(CH2OH)4], pentaglycerine [PG: (CH3)C(CH2OH)3], and 2-amino-2-methyl-1,3-propanediol [AMPL: (NH2)(CH3)C(CH2OH)2]have been determined by adiabatic calorimetry from 3 K to 300 K. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported heat capacity measurement below 280 K for PE and AMPL. The Debye temperatures for these organic crystals have also been determined and compared with other alcohol derivatives of neopentane.

Jan 1, 2006

By Rafael Amboss Pinto

O objetivo do SHTPN (Solution Heat Treatment after Plasma Nitriding) é a adição de nitrogênio em solução sólida na superfície, formando austenita durante o tratamento térmico de solubilização, possibilitando a obtenção de martensita de nitrogênio após o resfriamento. Foram ensaiadas amostras nas condições: de fornecimento (microestrutura ferrítica); nitretada (com camada de compostos); após SHTPN (martensita não revenida); e SHTPN seguido de quatro temperaturas de revenimento (martensita revenida). Os ensaios tribológicos foram realizados em placa contra esfera de metal duro, movimento recíproco. Os mecanismos de desgaste foram caracterizados por microscopia eletrônica de varredura (MEV) e as profundidades das pistas foram medidas em rugosímetro 3D. A condição de maior resistência ao desgaste foi a nitretada. Entretanto, a superfície desgastada destas amostras apresentou microtrincas. O comportamento tribológico da amostra revenida a 600°C foi similar ao observado para amostra no estado de fornecimento, pois apresentaram predominância do mecanismo de adesão, com grandes deformações plásticas na superfície. Todas as outras condições apresentaram menores profundidades de desgaste do que o estado de fornecimento, com mecanismos predominantes transitando de abrasão para adesão com o aumento da temperatura de revenimento. Na amostra após SHTPN, a baixa capacidade de deformação plástica da camada martensítica não revenida causou fratura do material nas laterais da pista, o que não ocorreu para as condições revenidas.

Aug 8, 2018

By A. Kaina

The San Luis deposit is one of the few documented gold deposits on a detachment surface. This paper presents mineralogic and geochemical data that was gathered to characterize the mineralization, classify the ore deposit, and provide details of the ore forming process. Included are data on the paragenesis; alteration-mineral assemblages major and trace element geochemistry, and fluid inclusions. The San Luis deposit occurs on the western slope of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains adjacent to the San Luis Basin about 5 miles northeast of the town of San Luis in Costillo County, south-central Colorado. Mineralization was discovered in the district in the early 17th century. Production began in 1890 on lead-silver ores from which the district took the name the old name of "El Plomo". From 1897 through 1934 gold was intermittently produced. Battle Mountain Gold Company took an option on the property in 1987 and proved on ore body comprising an eastern block that has 1,277,300 t ore at a grade of 1.68 g/t and a western block of 9,744,000 t with a grade of 1.34 g/t. Production began in 1990. A companion paper by Benson (1994) describes the San Luis district and the ore body, hence the reader is referred to this or Robert and David (1990) for details of the geology from which the following is summarized.

Jan 1, 1994

By Steve Massman, Edward Wipf, Gary Beerkircher

"As mine size and tonnage continues to increase, material handling/processing equipment has also increased in size with 400 MT haul trucks, 2000 KW crushers, 12 M SAG/AG mills, 8.5 M ball mills, 3000 M3 flotation cells and 12.5 MW HPGR’s all with planned designs to increase in size further. Related equipment including vibrating screens have also increased in size with screens seeing feed rates of 3000 MTPH. Open circuit SAG Pre-Crush and closed circuit HPGR flowsheets are becoming more common with large screening requirements. Large multi-slope (banana) or horizontal screens are commonly used for these applications, however as the size of these screens has increased, the number and size of the brute force/overhead exciters has increased but with limitations. An example is a SAG discharge screen that will see surges of material from the SAG mill which overload the screen, reducing the screen stroke or throw causing a large reduction in screen efficiency with excessive fines & moisture in the screen oversize feed to the pebble crushing circuit. This paper will present some actual examples of the use of Two-Mass screens as a solution to these overloading problems and the advantages of Two-Mass screens in other high tonnage applications.Brute Force Drive Compared to Two Mass Drive Vibrating ScreensThe standard single mass screen as depicted by figure 1 is generally recognized in the mining industry. It is characterized by the screen body – labeled as the single mass (Mt) that is supported by isolation springs (Kiso). The stroke needed to process material is obtained by incorporating large eccentric wheels and/or drive boxes (Fb) directly mounted to the screen body via a drive tube."

Jan 1, 2017

By G. S. Austin

New Mexico produced 83% of domestic potash and 27% of domestic consumption in 1992. The potash industry of New Mexico produces sylvite (KCI), langbeinite (K2SO4-2Mg(SO4)2), and artificial K2SO4. Average sylvite grade in New Mexico today is about 14%. The average grade of langbeinite is 8-10% Kp. Commercial potash occurs in the middle or McNutt Member of the Salado Formation (Upper Permian Ochoan Series). The 120-m-thick McNutt Member dips about 1° east and contains 11 of 12 potential ore zones in the Salado. The mineralogy and proportion of clay minerals, up to 7% of the ore, influence optimum milling procedures and ore grade cutoff.

Jan 1, 1994

By F. D. Stevenson

Thermodynamic properties of metal halides and, in particular, vapor pressures have become of great importance in recent years owing to increased application of chemical processing to extraction of metals from their ores. Vapor pressure data serve not only as a valuable source of latent heat of vaporization and fusion values but also differences in metal-halide vapor pressures often provide the basis for their separation by conventional mass transfer operations. This literature search was made to provide a ready reference to experimental vapor-pressure data of metal halides and oxyhalides. Results are reported in two main sections: (1) A tabulation of vapor- pressure references for each of the metal halides (listed by metal) for which actual experimental data are reported (table 1), and (2) a bibliography of the citations. Metal halides and oxyhalides are listed by chemical formula and chemical name, based on the stock4 system. To facilitate location of the references, a listing of the journal titles and their abbreviations follows the bibliography.

Jan 1, 1963

By S. K. Shaha, W. Kasprzak, D. L. Chen, J. Friedman, F. Czerwinski

The role of solutionizing conditions within the T6 heat treatment of the cast Al-Si-Cu-Mg alloy with micro-additions of Zr-Ti-V was assessed in terms of their influence on microstructure and mechanical properties. As a solution treatment, a single step process at 485 and 510oC and a two-step process at 510 and 525oC for varying time intervals from 0.5 to 9 h, were examined. In all cases, solution treatment was followed by isothermal aging at 150oC for 100 h. The microstructural analysis showed that the solution treatment changed the eutectic silicon morphology from needle-like, present after casting, to spherical shape in the T6 state and that the extent of changes was strongly influenced by temperature and time. The Cu- and Mg-rich phases completely dissolved during solution treatment while the Fe-containing phase, Al8Si6Mg3Fe, remained partially in the microstructure. The Ti, V and Zr containing phases, Al13Si2Ti3Zr and Al3Si26FeTiV10, present in as-cast state, were partially dissolved during solution treatment, reducing their size by 10 - 48%. The studied alloy reached the maximum ultimate tensile strength of 335 MPa and yield stress of 303 MPa for two-step solutionizing with a total time of 4.5 h. It is concluded that the two-step solution treatment resulted in higher tensile properties than the single-step process.

Jan 1, 2015

By M. D. Gibbs, T. N. Smith, B. Verbaan

When heated in the absence of oxygen, pyrite from refractory gold concentrates decomposes endothermically to pyrrhotite, releasing sulphur. The decomposition starts at the particle surface and progresses inwards, leaving an adhering layer of porous pyrrhotite. Use of the conventional shrinking-core model implicitly assumes a negligible partial pressure of sulphur in the bed, but this pressure is in fact at least equal to the equilibrium vapour pressure of sulphur over pyrite, constituting the principal control of the rate of decomposition. Further experiments showed a decrease in reaction rate as the conversion increased. Both phenomena are attributed to the persistence of non-isothermal conditions in the fluidised bed during pyrolysis, caused by the endothermic nature of the reaction and the relatively slow rates of heat transfer to particles and vapour removal from the bed. Equipment must be developed to maximise these two parameters

Jun 19, 1905

By Lawrence A. Roe

This paper describes research and development efforts leading to a wet process for the beneficiation of Western talc ores in which the values are primarily present as soft, platy talc mineral. The mineralogy of the ore, as it relates to the logic of utilizing an uncomplicated, attrition-scrubbing sedimentation process is described. Bench-scale laboratory testwork and a pilot-plant test program are described. The pilot-plant program included production of several tons of products. The thickened talc slurries were very difficult to dewater prior to the drying step. Dewatering difficulties were overcome by use of a high-speed centrifuge. The centrifuge cake was dried either by tray, flash or spray drying. The successful use of one high-grade talc product as titanium dioxide extender in paper is discussed. The talc product has extremely low abrasion values, an important characteristic for minerals used in paper manufacture. It is concluded that this wet process for soft talc ores is capable of producing high-purity talc products for paint, paper, cosmetics and other industrial uses re-quiring very pure soft talc.

Jan 1, 1972

By Kenneth E. Merklin

The heavy media process is now being used extensively throughout the world for the gravity concentration of a great number of different minerals. The process is a commercial adaptation of the heavy liquid procedure which has been used in laboratories for many years to separate mineral of different specific gravities. In the heavy media process, a suspension of finely divided particles in water is used to increase the apparent specific weight of the fluid to the desired separating point. The original heavy media process used sand, galena, pyrite and occasionally other materials as the solid constituent of the separating suspensions. As the process developed, the need for a more universal media meeting the following requirements was recognized: 1. High specific gravity. 2. Resistance to abrasion. 3. Resistance to corrosion, 4. Readily reduced to a suitable size consist for suspension in water. 5. Available in quantity at economical price levels. 6. Easy to recover by a simple method.

Jan 1, 1958

By A. T. Tye

This paper describing the concentrator practice of the Cananea Consolidated Copper Co. at Cananea, Sonora, Mexico, is one of a series of articles on milling methods and costs being prepared by the U. S. Bureau of Mines. The Cananea concentrator treats 2,400 tons of copper ore per day by preferential flotation, whereby the copper sulphides are floated and the iron pyrite depressed. During the first half of the year 1929 the heads to the concentrator averaged 3.29 per cent of copper, the recovery was 95.74 per cent of the total copper, and the concentrates produced contained 21.44 per cent of copper.

Jan 1, 1930

By J. C. Heaslip

Introduction The greatest single advance in rock drilling practice since the advent of percussion drills was the introduction of tungsten carbide tipped rock drill?bits. The evolution of rock drills has been a long and highly diversified effort which has culminated in the highly refined ?drilling machines we know today, but because of the spectacular possibilities shown by ?detachable bits, and especially those with tungsten carbide inserts, there is little doubt that the cutting face of .the drilling unit has in recent days stolen the spotlight of rock drilling research and commanded the major attention of the rock drilling fraternity. "Solid" Steels Until about twenty years ago, all rock was drilled with a one-piece rod with a bit forged on one end. In the early years of the art of rock drilling, there was tried every conceivable pattern of :bit from the single-edge chisel to elaborate geometric 'designs. In the end, it was found that a 4-point bit with two sharpened cutting edges crossing each other at right angles would serve best for most rock drilling requirements. For some years thereafter, the main concern of drill manufacturers was .to obtain the best possible steel for drill rods. This was not accomplished as easily as might be thought. The cutting end had to be such that it could be hardened sufficiently to do its work without premature dulling and yet not so brittle as to shatter under the multiple impacts.

Jan 1, 1951

By James A. Deeks

"Motor failures and equipment bearing failures are responsible for reduced productivity.With the introduction of computers and data acquisition systems, users are now able to monitor, report and trend deteriorating conditions and take corrective action before a critical shutdown occurs.This paper discusses the monitoring and trend analysis of' motors, and motor and equipment bearings. With today's digital electronics technology users are now able to monitor their equipment, detect deteriorating or abnormal conditions quickly, alarm the condition locally and or remotely, and decide if immediate corrective action is necessary or if it can be delayed until the end of a work Shift. All of this can be done long before any damage is done to the equipment.Monitoring Trend AnalysisIt is no longer necessary to compromise in selecting products, since state-of-the-art designs allow the adjustment in such small increments that the users are able to detect minute changes in a system's performance.Monitoring and trending of motors and equipment bearings is now available in economical packages which can be expanded as a system grows. Simply select the information you need, set the parameters, choose the scan time, and decide on the degree of reporting.Buffer storage of short-term monitoring of a number of analogue channels permit the user to view the recent history of motor data such as: motor average load, unbalance, motor current, ground fault, reserve thermal capacity, plus all of the settings of the protective device.A decision can be made to freeze the stored information after the motor stops or after the motor starts. Then the user is able to recall the conditions and diagnose the performance and the cause of the abnormal condition. Typical scan times range from ¼ second to 5 seconds ."

Jan 1, 1992

By H. H. Kaveler, W. R. Evans, Jack Tarner

The geological features, development history and engineering detail of the Shuler Field and the results of approximately two years of unitized operation of the Shuler Jones Sand Pool, were discussed in a prior publication.' The purpose of this paper is to present the results of pressure maintenance in the Shuler Jones Sand Pool after nine years of unit operation. GENERAL INFORMATION The Shuler Jones Sand Pool is located in and about Section 18, Township 18 South, Range 17 West, Union County, Ark. The pool was discovered .in September, 1937, unitized in February, 1941, and subjected to gas injection operations in July, 1941. Water was first returned to the reservoir in July, 1944. The reservoir is an anticlinal trap covering about 4,000 acres. The 154,000 acre-ft of sandstone initially consisted of approximately 150,000 acre-ft of productive oil zone and 4,000 acre-ft of gas-cap. The average depth of production is 7,400 ft. Maximum closure of the reservoir is 135 ft and the oil column lies between a gas-oil contact at -7,270 ft and a water-oil contact at -7,370 to -7,380 ft. The field is approximately four miles long. east and .west, and one and one-half miles wide. The sand grains are angular and vary from fine to medium size. The porosity of the sandstone averages 20.2 per cent. The specific permeability averages 400 md. Some zones have as high as 30 per cent porosity and specific permeability of 4,000 md. The reservoir rock is not uniform in character but consists of sandstone zones interspersed with shale. The variation in rock characteristics is evident in the electric log and core analyses presented in the original publication. Asphalt present in the pore space of the sandstone limited the reservoir to the southeast and apparently blocked any encroachment of water from that direction. The initial reservoir pressure at a subsea depth of 7,300 ft was 3,520 psi. The reservoir temperature was 198ºF. Initially, the solution gas volume was 765 cu ft per bbl and the reservoir volume factor was 1.45. The gas solubility and formation-volume-factors of the reservoir liquid are related with reservoir pressures above 300 psi as follows: Solution gas, cu ft per cu ft, S = 0.0334 P + 18.65 Formation volume factor of reservoir oil, FVF = 8.0 x 10 -5 P + 1.168 Gas volume factor, standard cu ft of gas equivalent to one cu ft of gas at reservoir conditions of temperature and pressure, F = .062 P - 4 Pressure (P) measured in psia. The equation for the gas volume factor presented above is based on a direct measurement of a sample of the gas and is a correction of that used in the original paper. The gravity of the oil produced is from 32 to 34" API. CALCULATION OF INITIAL OIL IN PLACE The Jones Sand production history is interesting because it lends itself to analysis by material balance. Production statistics from discovery of the Jones Sand through 1949 and material balance calculations of the initial stock tank oil in place are shown in Table I. The usual procedure in testing the application of material balance calculations is to compute the apparent initial volume of oil in place, using production and pressure information obtained at different time periods. If the apparent oil in place volumes computed increase with successive time periods, water encroachment is indicated and approximations must be mads to correct for its influence. The first requirement in utilizing such calculations is reliable reservoir pressure, accumulated gas, oil and water production, and PVT data. Calculations of apparent oil in place in the Jones Pool, based on field data

Jan 1, 1951

By W. R. Evans, H. H. Kaveler, Jack Tarner

The geological features, development history and engineering detail of the Shuler Field and the results of approximately two years of unitized operation of the Shuler Jones Sand Pool, were discussed in a prior publication.' The purpose of this paper is to present the results of pressure maintenance in the Shuler Jones Sand Pool after nine years of unit operation. GENERAL INFORMATION The Shuler Jones Sand Pool is located in and about Section 18, Township 18 South, Range 17 West, Union County, Ark. The pool was discovered .in September, 1937, unitized in February, 1941, and subjected to gas injection operations in July, 1941. Water was first returned to the reservoir in July, 1944. The reservoir is an anticlinal trap covering about 4,000 acres. The 154,000 acre-ft of sandstone initially consisted of approximately 150,000 acre-ft of productive oil zone and 4,000 acre-ft of gas-cap. The average depth of production is 7,400 ft. Maximum closure of the reservoir is 135 ft and the oil column lies between a gas-oil contact at -7,270 ft and a water-oil contact at -7,370 to -7,380 ft. The field is approximately four miles long. east and .west, and one and one-half miles wide. The sand grains are angular and vary from fine to medium size. The porosity of the sandstone averages 20.2 per cent. The specific permeability averages 400 md. Some zones have as high as 30 per cent porosity and specific permeability of 4,000 md. The reservoir rock is not uniform in character but consists of sandstone zones interspersed with shale. The variation in rock characteristics is evident in the electric log and core analyses presented in the original publication. Asphalt present in the pore space of the sandstone limited the reservoir to the southeast and apparently blocked any encroachment of water from that direction. The initial reservoir pressure at a subsea depth of 7,300 ft was 3,520 psi. The reservoir temperature was 198ºF. Initially, the solution gas volume was 765 cu ft per bbl and the reservoir volume factor was 1.45. The gas solubility and formation-volume-factors of the reservoir liquid are related with reservoir pressures above 300 psi as follows: Solution gas, cu ft per cu ft, S = 0.0334 P + 18.65 Formation volume factor of reservoir oil, FVF = 8.0 x 10 -5 P + 1.168 Gas volume factor, standard cu ft of gas equivalent to one cu ft of gas at reservoir conditions of temperature and pressure, F = .062 P - 4 Pressure (P) measured in psia. The equation for the gas volume factor presented above is based on a direct measurement of a sample of the gas and is a correction of that used in the original paper. The gravity of the oil produced is from 32 to 34" API. CALCULATION OF INITIAL OIL IN PLACE The Jones Sand production history is interesting because it lends itself to analysis by material balance. Production statistics from discovery of the Jones Sand through 1949 and material balance calculations of the initial stock tank oil in place are shown in Table I. The usual procedure in testing the application of material balance calculations is to compute the apparent initial volume of oil in place, using production and pressure information obtained at different time periods. If the apparent oil in place volumes computed increase with successive time periods, water encroachment is indicated and approximations must be mads to correct for its influence. The first requirement in utilizing such calculations is reliable reservoir pressure, accumulated gas, oil and water production, and PVT data. Calculations of apparent oil in place in the Jones Pool, based on field data

Jan 1, 1951

By Joe Atalla, Leojenen Etulle, Jesse Desrochers, Joseph Mukendi Kabuya, Remi Proulx, Ruilin Yang

The Mont-Wright mine is Canada's largest open-pit iron ore mine with multiple open pits in operation. It is operated by ArcelorMittal Mining Canada in the northeast of the province of Quebec, near the town of Fermont. Fragmentation of rocks with explosives generates vibrations and gas expansion that damage intact rocks, affect existing crack networks, reduce the shear strength of discontinuities and the quality of the rock mass of the highwalls. The efficiency of its blasting operations is challenged by the need to optimize production and manage the risk of mine slope instability caused by vibrations from successive blasts. This paper presents a Multiple Seed Waveform (MSW) vibration model that was established at the mine for this purpose. Near-field signature hole blast vibration monitoring was conducted in multiple areas to establish site characterization as input to the blast vibration modeling at the highwalls of the site. The vibration attenuation laws were established and the effects of different blasthole diameters, shifting frequencies and presplit design were evaluated. Based on the results obtained from the near-field blast vibration monitoring, the calibrated MSW vibration model was used to select blast design parameters to control blast vibration while maximizing productivity of blasts at Mont-Wright mine.

Jan 26, 2026