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By J. Paraszczak

Application of teleoperated and automated (or ?autonomous?) mobile equipment in underground metal mines is a promising avenue for overcoming some of the challenges facing mine operators. These include, but are not limited to, the issues related to safety and health of underground workers, better use of the shift time leading to increased productivity, skilled manpower shortages, and remoteness of some mine sites. Autonomous load-haul-dump machines and trucks offer several benefits over man-operated ones, but their use at their full capacity is a challenging and complex task. This paper makes an overview of commercially available equipment and systems and their applications. It examines factors affecting adversely availability, utilization, and production efficiency of autonomous vehicles and compares them to conventional man-operated machines. Technical and operational aspects are discussed and their criticality is analyzed. Based on that, recommendations concerning means and measures that may help raise operational effectiveness are given. It is stressed that due to a scarcity of publicly available information on the performance and cost of autonomous loading and haulage operations, more field studies and in-depth analysis are needed.

Feb 23, 2014

By C. David Mann

Metal prices continued to improve in 1964, resulting in the opening of new mines and re- activation of old ones. Larger and deeper shafts are being bored. At the AEC's Nevada Test Site, a 72-in. diam shaft is being bored to 3200 ft. In New Mexico a 1650-ft shaft was bored with a 48-in. bit, then reamed to 124 in. to 935 ft, and 102 in. to 1650 ft. Deviation was only 26 in. In California a shaft sinking machine has been developed which combines drilling and mucking equipment into one mobile, integral unit.

Jan 2, 1965

By H. Verakis, M. A. Hockenberry, A. C. Smith, J. H. Rowland III

Four different types of fire suppression systems were evaluated in large-scale fire experiments to study the effect of air velocity on their effectiveness in extinguishing conveyor belt fires. The four different types of suppression system were water sprinkler, deluge-type water spray and two different dry chemical fire suppression systems. The large-scale fire tests were conducted with 1.8-m- (72-in.)-wide fire-resistant rubber belt that met the Mine Safety and Health Administration flame resistant requirement specified in Title 30, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 18, section 18.65 (also known as the 2G Flame Test). Each fire suppression system was tested at air velocities of 152 - 168 m (500–550 ft) per minute (mpm) and 411 - 457 mpm (1,350 - 1,500 fpm). Two tests were conducted at both air velocities for each fire suppression system. Both of the water-based fire suppression systems were able to suppress the fire to the point that a miner could extinguish it with a fire extinguisher. However, the amount of water needed to suppress the fire to the point where a miner could walk up to and extinguish any smoldering belting was greater than the current MSHA regulations required. MSHA regulations only require 10 minutes of water supply for a suppression system. In the test setup, neither of these systems would have suppressed the fire had the water been turned off to the system after 10 minutes. The dry chemical suppression systems produced mixed results. Dry chemical suppression system A did not suppress the conveyor belt fire at either air velocity. Dry chemical system B suppressed the fire at 152 mpm (500 fpm) air velocity, but produced mixed results at the higher air velocity. Details are presented on the large-scale fire test setup, arrangement of the fire suppression systems and conclusions regarding the effect of air velocity on fire suppression system design and performance.

Jan 1, 2010

By B Belle, M Biffi

Cooling of coal mines in the Bowen Basin, characterised by steep geothermal gradient, is presently achieved mostly through rental surface bulk air cooling in summer months. This paper argues that future mines will be required to focus their cooling resources more intensively to manage a challenging thermal environment where virgin coal temperatures of over 50¦C at a depth of 500 m are expected. Currently, mine cooling systems are employed to maintain the wet bulb temperatures (WBT) to below 27¦C at which point the risks of heat stroke or other heat-related issues are manageable. The capacities of these systems are in the range of 6 MWR to 10 MWR. The relationship between high working temperature environments and injury frequency rates is well established. Therefore, provision of appropriate cooling strategies and understanding their optimum performance and suitability are important to Australian coal mines of the future. This paper evaluates the underground temperature profiles of deep, gassy coal mines with propensity for spontaneous combustion and proposes the long-term cooling pathways to effectively manage thermal hazards. Thermodynamic modelling is performed on a longwall face and includes air leakage effects from goaf streams at various locations along the longwall face. The strategy summarises the application of underground bulk air cooling, chilled water sprays on the shearer and the resulting temperature profiles. Considering the new mining projects planned for the Bowen Basin region, a review of implementable cooling strategies such as mid-gate mobile bulk air coolers (BACs), spot coolers, underground bulk air cooling and the use of chilled water to enhance the positional efficiency of cooling plants, are discussed in this paper. Finally, the comparison of ærentalÆ versus æownershipÆ of cooling plants is analysed as part of long-term cooling strategies.CITATION:Belle, B and Biffi, M, 2013. Cooling pathways for deep Australian longwall coal mines of the future, in Proceedings The Australian Mine Ventilation Conference , pp 223-236 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 1, 2013

By Howard P. Hamlin, John W. Sweeney

Shales , clays , and loess in Iowa were tested and evaluated to determine feasibility of producing lightweight aggregate by commercial rotary - kiln or sintering methods . Preliminary testing was conducted in a muffle furnace . Rotary - kiln tests were conducted in a 16 - inch by 14 - foot rotary kiln . Concrete cylinders and cubes were tested to determine qualities of the aggregate . Three samples made suitable lightweight aggregate by rotary - kiln methods and two by sintering .

Jan 1, 1964

By B. M. Larsen

Jan 1, 1948

By B. M. Larsen

Jan 1, 1948

By C. O. Swanson

THE purpose of this paper is to discuss the use of the dip needle in the field of mining geology. The subject matter is new only to the extent that it reflects the writer' s added experience in recent years. The treatment is brief, and those interested in a more extended analysis are referred to the articles listed at the end of the paper. In the discovery and tracing of mineral deposits, the clip needle, like most other geophysical instruments, can be used in two ways. One method may be termed direct; the other, indirect. The direct method is that of finding or following certain ore-bodies by virtue of their magnetic properties. Explicitly, or by inference, it is the method which many mining men and practising geophysicists have in mind when they consider whether or not a certain property should be studied by geophysical means. In the ideal case, this method demands little or no knowledge of geological conditions. The indirect method uses the clip needle as an aid to purely geological studies in working out the structure of a mineralized area. Although not as simple as the direct method, it enjoys a much wider field of usefulness. The writer's experience in the past fifteen years, which is believed to be typical, is that the indirect method finds application four or five times as often as the direct method. The indirect method is of particular value because it furnishes information concerning the relationship between geological structure and ore occurrence. Most mining engineers will agree that structural control is an important factor in the localization of ore deposits, and therefore that the subject under consideration is of some interest in mining geology. Specifically, then, the present purpose is to outline the principles and practice of using the clip needle in working? out geological structure.

Jan 1, 1941

By Charles E. Semler

The possible utility of selected compositions in the systems SrO-ZrO2-MgO and SrO-ZrO2-Dolomite for commercial refractory products was confirmed in this study. Specifically the compositions of interest are located in the sub-systems SrZrO3-ZrO2-MgO and SrZrO3-ZrO2-Dolomite. Both sub-systems have regions that are not affected by hydration, but the sub-system SrZrO3-ZrO2-MgO has a larger candidate compositional region. Solid state phase relations were determined for the subject systems over the temperature range 1600°C to 1300°C, with compatibility diagrams presented for each. The systems appear to show good refractory character with no apparent low melting compositions. As the compositions of commercial interest lie mostly in the higher ZrO2 portion of each system, information is presented regarding the firing treatment required to develop stabilized cubic ZrO2. A list of suggestions for further study of these systems, to further delineate the characteristics required for possible commercial utilization, is presented.

Jan 1, 1982

By R. L. Taylor, S. D. Abbott

"INTRODUCTION Mines are filled with a mixture of gases, some of which are toxic, flammable, explosive. Others can be early reporters of potential problems. It has previously been shown that analysis by gas chromatograph can the most accurate conventional analytical tool for common mine gas mixtures when used correctly. There are some other detection methods (e.g hand held sensors), but they do not detect many situations which are immediately dangerous to life or health (IDLH). Examples include explosive hydrogen mixtures, toxic carbon dioxide levels, and some explosive mixtures of methane with oxygen. (Reference our previous paper). There are several reasons for mines to consider onsite GC analysis. (1) Timeliness of results. Samples can be taken and analyzed immediately. Samples do not have to be shipped to a lab and wait for results. (2) Ability to run greater number of samples a lower for the same cost. This allows mine to increase the number of samples taken to be more informed about the gases/conditions of the mine without the worry of financial constraints. (3) Fewer sample media needed, and there is no wear and tear or cost from shipping them offsite. When samples are shipped offsite, those sample media cannot be used to take until the lab returns them when the analysis is done onsite, the sample media can be used again almost immediately. However there are several challenges associated with using GC to analyze mine gas samples onsite. To date there has been a clash of the requirements for a successful analysis, the capabilities of the technology, and the practicalities of implementation. The purpose of this paper is to discuss some of the difficulties in getting accurate reliable data and doing so in an economic way. This whole measurement activity is a cost center for a mine, so there are economic concerns for the mine to address. These concerns are mainly staffing costs, capital costs, maintenance, and consumables costs. A properly staffed and equipped analysis lab, including burdened overhead, costs about $500K per year. At a sampling rate of 10 per day, this is about $140 per measurement for a proper onsite lab."

Jan 1, 2016

By M. Vallée, J. -P. Charette, D. P. Gold

"The Oka Carbonatite and Alkaline Complex is a Lower Cretaceous intrusive body of the Monteregian petrographic province. Carbonate rocks of various types, and associated alkaline rocks of the ijolite and okaite suites, are distributed in a double ring-dyke structure 4 Yi miles long by 1 1/2 miles across. Alnoite and alrioite breccia pipes intrude all rocks of the Complex and indicate, from inclusions, that a cover of Palaeozoic rocks existed at the time of emplacement.The results of radiometric, magnetic and gravity surveys of the Complex are compiled and discussed both with respect to the regional pattern and, locally, the bed-rock geology. The Complex is characterized by high-intensity anomalies.Exploration activities started during 1953, and mining operations began in 1961 on the property of St. Lawrence Columbium and Metals Corporation, at one time the world's largest producer of niobium concentrates. Because of the boudinaged and fractured nature of many of the rocks and the variability in grade of the ore minerals, the role of the mining geologist is both demanding and exacting. Rock types are varied and their mutual relation-ships ambiguous, the minerals are rare and complex, and close geological control of the ore is needed in the mine and in the mill. Closely spaced diamond drill holes are needed for mining control, and the ore-waste contact is defined mainly by assay results.In the exploration for 'carbonatites' in Eastern Canada, aeromagnetic surveys are judged to be the best exploration tool, followed in decreasing order by the search for circular structures on aerial photographs, regional gravity surveys and radiometric surveys."

Jan 1, 1967

By Alan D. Hartman

Instabilities in electric steelmaking furnace arcs cause electrical and acoustical noise, reduce operating efficiency, increase refractory erosion, and increase electrode usage. The U.S. Bureau of Mines is investigating methods to stabilize these arcs. To perform experiments to test new hypotheses, Bureau researchers designed and instrumented an advanced, experimental single-phase furnace. This report describes this furnace, which was equipped with high-speed data acquisition capabilities for electrical, temperature, pressure, and flow-rate measurements; automated atmosphere control; ballistic calorimetry; and view ports for high-speed cinematography. Precise environmental control and accurate data acquisition allow the statistical design of experiments and assignment of rigorous confidence limits when potential furnace or procedural modifications are tested.

Jan 1, 2010

By R. Laird Auchmuty

A NUMBER of factors, of varying importance, should be considered in assessing mineral land-here specifically coal land -for tax purposes. (1) Is the coal developed or un- developed'! (2) If undeveloped, is it surrounded by active development in adjoining properties? (3) Accessibility of railroad facilities to the property. Sometimes the railroad itself is of importance. (4) Cost of development of the seam under consideration, whether it can be developed by a drift from the outcrop or whether it will require deep and costly shafts or slopes. (5) Is it definitely known that the coal seam being assessed is of minable thickness and quality on the property? (6) Thickness of recoverable coal from the seam. (7) Quality of the coal. (8) Is the seam being assessed likely to be more costly to mine than other seams in the same district? (9) Is there an active market demand for coal from the seam being assessed? (10) Is the coal held only as protection to surface structures and in such location that it can never be mined? (11) Is the coal in a solid piece or is it in pillars that have been standing for some years as a result of incomplete mining in an old operation? (12) Expected percentage of recovery from the seam being assessed as determined by present mining practice in similar properties. (13) Value of the seam as indicated by sales of similar mineral rights in the immediate district. (14) Current royalty rates of leases for coal in the seam under consideration.

Jan 1, 1939

By S. J. Boone, A. Poschmann, C. Pound, A. Pace

San Diego’s Stadium Conglomerate consists of poorly cemented cobbles, gravel, sand, silt and clay. Conventional laboratory and in-situ testing is not suitable for characterizing its engineering properties. Although the formation is often considered a “rock” its behavior is more readily modeled using soil mechanics. Static and seismic design of a tunnel for the Mission Valley East light rail extension required that the stress-strain characteristics of the ground be identified over a broad strain range. Geophysical methods and field plate load testing were used to develop a full non-linear stress-strain model of the expected ground behavior. Quantification of the coarse material distribution was also required for selection of tunneling methods and construction considerations.

Jan 1, 2001

By T. Nghipulile, M. Moys, M. Bwalya, H. Simonsen

The quest for efficiency in comminution is an ongoing concern as comminution usually constitutes a major cost component in the metal production industry. Such improvements can be made by circuit optimization or development of more efficient equipment. A novel crusher, known as the rotary offset crusher (ROC), promises to deliver in this space. The ROC was invented in 2002 by Michael Hunt, Henry Simonsen, and Ian Sinclair, but failed to garner enough support to progress to production. The original design concept was recently rekindled, and a laboratory version of the crusher has been built and commissioned at the University of the Witwatersrand. The crusher is simple in design, with two cylindrical discs that are parallel to each other, and, as the name implies, there is an offset between the vertical axes of the discs. The top disc has a conical section on its lower face, and this creates a crushing zone between the opposite faces of the two spinning discs. Centrifugal motion transports particles through the crushing zone. Batch experiments have been conducted with quartz at various crusher settings (discs offset, rotational speed, and vertical exit gap) for various feed size distributions. The indications so far suggest that the disc speed is a key factor affecting the performance. Size reduction ratios as high as 11 were recorded from experiments with quartz at a speed of 830 r/min.

Jan 1, 2021

By Patrick J. Maessen, Bart H. M. Hendrix

"In the Netherlands, the Dutch Tunnel Standard has been developed for the execution of road tunnel projects. The Dutch Tunnel Standard is based on the Dutch Tunnel Law (WARVW) which sets the minimum safety standard for road tunnels in the Netherlands. Uniformity of tunnels and the uniform perception of a tunnel by its users leads to a higher safety level. Therefore, several items in the Dutch Tunnel Standard are specifically developed to ensure safety in emergency situations through the plane of human factors. Taking human factors into account is important in regular traffic situations, but in an emergency situation, this can be vital. In this paper, the development and contents of the Dutch Tunnel Standard are explained in the first part and in the second part, the systems related to human factors are described. DUTCH TUNNEL LAW AND THE NEED FOR THE DUTCH TUNNEL STANDARD In the 90’s of last century and the early 2000’s, several serious accidents occurred in tunnels in Europe. These accidents involved fire and led to many casualties. After these accidents, the European Union decided to change the regulations for tunnel safety, leading to the EU directive 2004/54/EG. The primary goal of this directive is, that casualties are minimized in case of a calamity in a tunnel (e.g. fire). In the Netherlands, the EU directive led to the development of the tunnel law and a tunnel regulation (in 2006) to prescribe the safety features required for a safe tunnel. The new Dutch tunnel law – cited in the Building Act – was meant to make tunnel design easier – but resulted at first in the opposite effect. Tunnel design in the Netherlands and design standards of Rijkswaterstaat Rijkswaterstaat – the executing organisation of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment – is the owner of the tunnels in the Dutch national motorway network, thus owner of the majority of the road tunnels in the Netherlands. In the early years of tunnel building in the Dutch national highway network (approximately 1950 – 1970), Rijkswaterstaat was not only owner, but also designer of its own assets. Most Dutch tunnels are submersed tunnels, because these type of tunnels provide a cost-effective way to make river crossings. Another type of tunnel that is used, is a TBM tunnel. Because of the geological conditions in the Netherlands (merely clay/peat and sand), there are no NATM or drill-and-blast tunnels in the Netherlands. Since the last decades, land tunnels (covered roads) are becoming more common to provide for multiple use of surface space and to meet more modern environmental regulations as traffic increases near densely populated areas. Tunnel lengths in the Netherlands vary from 500 m to 1.5 km for river crossings up to 6 km for the Western Scheldt (bored) tunnel. The lengths of land tunnels vary from 500 m up to 3 km. With these increasing lengths, some safety topics and design topics arise, topics that were non-issues in the past, when tunnels were only used as river crossings."

Jan 1, 2016

By Harrison Cooper, Stephen Pack

"Data from samples taken during rotary air blast and reverse circulation drilling are crucial to properly assessing economics of mineral deposits in the case of exploratory work, and are equally critical in accurately delineating ore and waste in execution of mine operation plans. Past studies of sampling procedures, comparing results of conventional splitting to more precise extraction of representative samples, illustrate the significant degree of error frequently encountered. Economic impact of error in mine blast hole sampling work can be shown to result in theoretical losses valued at millions of dollars annually in operating large scale mining projects. Results of past drill sampling studies are reviewed.Drill sampling technique can be improved by collecting coarse and fine particles together and extracting samples for assay from the complete flow of rock and dust simultaneously. This can be accomplished with a collection unit attached to the drill stem through which all except a small proportion of extreme fines are retained. The bulk mass can be static sampled as flow takes place through the collector when size reduction is not required. Alternately, collected mass with fines and coarse intermingled can be processed for increased accuracy through size reduction to obtain proportional samples."

Jan 1, 1999

By W Curlewis, D Hake, Z Cuthbert

The South Island Line (East) will be a medium-capacity railway covering approximately 7 km from Admiralty Station to South Horizons Station on the south side of Aberdeen Harbour in Hong Kong, with intermediate stations at Ocean Park, Wong Chuk Hang and Lei Tung.South Island Line (East) Contract 904 project is located on the island of Ap Lei Chau at the southern side of Hong Kong island and requires extensive construction works to be completed in close proximity to the existing residential estates of South Horizons and Lei Tung. The project also has areas of significant cultural heritage, including 18th and 19th century temples and historical gravesites. Owing to the site access constraints and location for the project, detailed planning and methodology innovations have been required to ensure the most effective and responsible means of delivering the project works. To excavate the tunnels using drill-and-blast techniques in these restricted locations, the maximum instantaneous charge weight that could be fired while blasting was severely limited. To overcome these restrictions, the project team developed and pioneered the use of ‘deck loading’ in Hong Kong to minimise the impact of blasting operations and has successfully implemented double- and triple-deck blasting operations during the completion of tunnel excavation works.Upon completion of the drill-and-blast excavation, the tunnel lining works were completed using both in situ concrete lining with travelling forms and permanent shotcrete works.CITATION:Curlewis, W, Cuthbert, Z and Hake, D, 2014. SIL904 Hong Kong – Drill and Blast Tunnels, station blasting innovations (double- and triple-deck blasting) and lining solutions, in Proceedings 15th Australasian Tunnelling Conference 2014 , pp 21–28 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Sep 17, 2014

By C. Van Den Heuvel, C. B. Van Buuren

BIOX® has been successfully demonstrated over the past 2 decades for the recovery of gold from refractory sulphide concentrates. To date 12 successful BIOX® plants have been installed in 8 countries spanning 4 continents with the 13th installation currently nearing completion in the Philippines. In 2010 BIOMIN introduced the ASTER™ process for improved water balances in commercial BIOX® applications by supporting tightening environmental legislation on water usage and availability in both arid and tropical regions. Previously, a common challenge for BIOX® plants was the inability to recycle thiocyanate containing water due to the low tolerance of the organisms. ASTER™, a biological thiocyanate and cyanide destruction process, renders a non-toxic solution for re-use in BIOX®. Two commercial ASTER™ plants are in operation with the 3rd ASTER™ plant under construction in the Philippines. A 3rd BIOMIN technology, specifically developed for double refractory ores is available for implementation. The HiTeCC process has shown considerable success on ores where competition from disseminated carbon has rendered ineffective gold recoveries. Through HiTeCC, gold is desorbed from the carbonaceous matter by manipulating the ionic strength and temperature of conventionally treated CIL product. One Australian commercial plant utilises HiTeCC while a 2nd installation is set for commissioning 4th Quarter 2014. BIOMIN’s premier solutions for refractory gold processing are described herein.

Jan 1, 2014

By I. O. Ondicho, E. K. Mutinda, B. O. Alunda, E. Agyekum

Driven by the necessity to improve blast performance regarding fragment size distribution in limestone mines, this paper introduces the prediction and measurement of blast fragmentation distribution through the modified Kuz-Ram (MKR) and Kuznetsov-Cunningham-Ouchterlony (KCO) models. Precise prediction and measurement of rock fragmentation resulting from blasting play a critical role in hard rock ore extraction. This is due to the substantial influence of post-blast ore size distribution on the efficiency of all subsequent downstream rock handling and processing operations. Additionally, employing secondary breakage of boulders, when necessary, leads to an unjustified rise in production costs. In this paper, the MKR and KCO models were utilised to identify the most appropriate model for application in Bisil and Simba quarries situated in Kajiado County, Kenya. Split-Desktop was used for blast fragment measurement by processing digital images obtained after blasting and computing the fragment size distribution of the blasted rock. As per the investigation, the recorded percentages of boulders generated at the sites ranged from 7% to 12.3% for the Simba quarry and from 11.2% to 23.9% for the Bisil quarry, respectively. Regression, correlation, and root mean square error (RMSE) were employed as the primary performance indicators. The study concluded that KCO outperformed MKR in accurately predicting blast fragment sizes in the examined quarries.

Mar 5, 2025