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By J. A. Cox, R. P. H. Willis, J. R. Dixon, A. D. Pooley

The paper describes the issues that should be considered when introducing mechanization to a mining operation. In South Africa, traditional methods of mining are well entrenched after more than a century of mining. To successfully change from these methods requires an integrated holistic approach that considers all aspects of a mining operation including setting of objectives, selection of personnel, recruitment, training and remuneration policies, organizational design, mine design, equipment selection, maintenance philosophy, standards and procedures, and monitoring and control. The paper makes reference to experience gained during a variety of on-mine case studies in drawing generic conclusions and making recommendations.

Jan 1, 2004

By Lindsay Wade, Peter Dare-Bryan

Benches in surface mines often contain known areas of ore and known areas of waste, which must be mined selectively. When rock is blasted it not only fragments but is also physically, and non-uniformly, moved. Risks therefore exist of ore being lost if treated as waste and of mill feed being diluted by waste. Both possibilities carry serious fmancial implications.

Jan 1, 2001

The grades of alluvial ore deposits are low compared with grades of hard rock mining. This factor, combined with other parameters of irregular distribution of particles, bedrock irregularities, size of particles, nugget effect, ore characteristics, and wet horizons, combine to place alluvial deposits among the most difficult to evaluate, and on which to establish an ore reserve with a high degree of confidence. With increased geological input, correct selection and implementation of sampling method, due regard to sample representativity and process design, these confidence levels can be achieved.

Jan 1, 1987

By Van Groenou B

Traditionally mining and conservation have been regarded as opposing and mutually exclusive concepts of land use. Often problems are anticipated which cannot be substantiated by facts. In addition, an ill defined time-scale adds to potentially emotive issues. Examples from Australia and elsewhere are presented which illustrate the dynamic nature of the environment and accentuate sequence patterns in plant community development following natural and man-made disturbances. The mining industry generally appears to be aware of the environmental impact of mining and whilst endeavouring to minimise the disturbance, is still orientated towards maximum production.

Jan 1, 1984

By Michael J. Weaver

Urban redevelopment projects are occurring more frequently than ever before as urban greenfield sites become limited and city planners and devel- opers attempt to revitalize existing underdeveloped neighborhoods. How- ever, because of the past usage of many urban sites (some dating back 100 years or more), designers and construction teams have to not only engineer founda- tions to accommodate the subsurface soil and ground water conditions, but also to work around the relic founda- tions or structures that have been left behind from previous developments. In these cases, a one-size-fits-all approach to foundations may not yield the most cost- and schedule-effective approach, and hybrid foundation systems have to be evaluated.

Apr 1, 2022

By Paul M. Tyler

Higher freight rates and better methods of beneficiation now may make it more economical to open inferior deposits closer to a glass factory than to work higher-grade deposits farther away. Nature of impurities and special treatments as well as common practice of sulphuric acid leaching are described.

Jan 11, 1950

By B. Govindarajan, T. C. Rao, J. P. Barnwal

A simple modelling methodology has been proposed to predict the performance of industrial coal flotation circuit based on the observations made on the actual performance. The solid content in the tailings of the coal flotation circuit has been identified as a lode-star to predict the performance in terms of yield and ash content of the concentrate. The modelling parameters are directly measurable.

Jan 1, 1995

By Charles Berry

Conventional and nonconventional insurance is examined from the point of view of a financier of a major mining and minerals project. The paper reviews the elements of a conventional insurance program; explains why such a program is not fully responsive to the project financier's needs; examines some of the new insurance coverages that can supplement a traditional program; and emphasises that these insurance markets are still in the early stages of their development with consequent effects on capacity (insured amount) and to some extent price (insurance premium).

Jan 1, 1985

The Bowen Basin coal field is an important energy resource. A relatively small proportion is avail- able by open cut operations. Responsible men throughout the world have warned of the need to increase coal research immediately. Because energy is still available in abundance these warnings have not been heeded in Australia. The characteristics of the Bowen Basin coal make it a fairly difficult underground mining proposition and a significant research effort is required to solve the problems likely to be encountered. Both industry and government have responsibilities in the economic recovery of the maximum proportion of the resource and jointly funded research administered by existing organisations should be inaugurated forthwith.

Jan 1, 1976

By Pat McLaughlin, J R. (Dick) Daniels

Current practice in establishing quarries in remote areas with hilly or mountainous terrain tends to the use of airtracs (or similar pioneering units) drilling horizontal holes to establish a face, followed by bench development with light excavating equipment. The authors propose the use of a hybrid coyote blast design that incorporates long-round tunneling techniques. This method would, in effect, use down-the-hole (DTH) drills to advance the drift cut to the final depth, allowing longer and more rapid drift advances, and replace the cross-cut drifts with clusters of DTH holes to achieve the same explosives distribution.

Jan 1, 1995

By McCall. F. E., J. Cervik, A. A. Campoli, P. Thakur

The cross-measure borehole system is a common method of controlling gob gas throughout Europe. Drainage holes are drilled into the strata adjacent to the coalbed being mined. Removal of the coal on a longwall panel relaxes and fractures the adjacent strata, enabling these holes to draw out the methane. A test in the Upper Kittanning Coalbed demonstrated the capture of 50% of the total methane generated by the mining operation. A test in the Pittsburgh Coal bed was not as effective.

Jan 1, 1985

By Paul Cherin

ThE angle of intersection, 0, between h2k2l2 planes and the (loo), (110), (101), and (111) planes was calculated on an IBM 7040 using the well-known relationship

Jan 1, 1968

By M. Georgescu

In the framework of the rapid development of contemporary society, the use of underground space represents an emerging opportunity because it can contribute to decreasing pressure of occupation of ground space while in the same time it can increase the economic value of the useful mineral substances, also through underground establishment of dangerous surface activities, contributing thus in environmental protection. This paper underlines the most important benefits of underground space utilization with the objective the exploit the potential of this real resource.

Jan 1, 2006

A little more than a year and a half ago construction started on Canada's largest initial milling plant. Today the zinc concentrating plant 7 miles north of Barraute sits on ground that once was forest and clay flats. The plant is part of Barvue Mines Ltd. zinc-silver operation. Employees of the plant live in the model community of Barvue, built like the plant in record time. About 5000 tons of ore are handled by the plant daily, with an output of 200 tons of zinc concentrate. Management hopes to raise capacity of the $8 million plant to 6000 tons.

Jan 8, 1953

By Waldemar F. Dietrich

Mineral fillers are relatively inert chemically under the conditions of use but have physical properties* that modify those of the materials in which they are incorporated. The mineral fillers considered in this article are asbestos, barite, clays, diatomite, crushed limestone, limestone whiting and lime, mica, silica, talc and soapstone, and pyrophyllite. Slate and stone, other than limestone and its derivatives, are excluded because, even though used in large quantities, they are exceptionally low-cost materials generally produced close to the area where they are used.

Jan 8, 1959

By Charles Vaught

This paper discusses the fact that US coal mining organisations are losing the knowledge they need in order to be able to respond to emergencies. The authors note that knowledge management provides a useful perspective from which to view the problem, but that the debate about what constitutes knowledge should be broadened to include a debate about what constitutes management. It is argued here that knowledge is actually shared knowing distributed across group members; that such knowledge can be managed by cultivating it; and that narrative is the medium through which this may be done. The paper then examines NIOSH research that has attempted to use such an alternative knowledge management approach to help potential mine emergency responders better deal with the predicaments they are likely to encounter on-site.

Jan 1, 2006

By Bruce R. Conard

Consideration of environmental and human health issues in metallurgy is growing rapidly. While not all metallurgists need to have detailed expertise in environmental and health questions, they should be aware of the challenges the metals industry faces, be able to interact with colleagues in other sciences and contribute to sound metal resource management. Hydrometallurgists occupy a unique position among metallurgists because of their knowledge of the behaviour of metals in aqueous systems, which are of fundamental importance in understanding environmental chemistry and human toxicology. As a result, hydrometallurgists should more frequently and passionately lend their expertise in assessing environmental and health risks of metals and in helping to develop effective global guidelines, regulations and process and product stewardship strategies, thereby enabling metals to continue their beneficial service to society.

Jan 1, 2003

By F. W. Bloecher

D ETERMINATION of the surface area of finely divided minerals is of interest to mineral engineers engaged in flotation, comminution, and dewatering studies. In the industrial minerals field, many materials are classified as to fineness according to their specific surface (surface area per unit weight). A method of surface area determination has been tested and used in the Richards Mineral Engineering Laboratories at M.I.T. It involves low temperature krypton adsorption measurements using the technique described by Beebe.1

Jan 3, 1951

By B. M. Davis, J. Wilkins

The method of conditional simulation is easily implemented on the personal computer when the LU decomposition algorithm of Davis (1987) is employed. This algorithm is fairly compact, yet can generate moderate-sized simulations in a few minutes on a 80286 or 80386-based personal computer. The application of conditional simulation presented here is to generate possible ore inventories from a limited amount of exploration sampling. The simulations can then he examined to decide if the potential inventories are sufficiently attractive to proceed with further exploration. An example showing one application of this approach is presented.

Jan 1, 1992

By S. Gundiah

Preparation of functionalized polymers from the polymerization of monomers and preformed polymers are discussed with a few illustrative examples. The methods of their characterization, with reference to their application in flocculation, are described.

Jan 1, 1987