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By A. E. Jenkins, O. C. Roberts, D. G. C. Robertson

Using an inverted-cone coil at 450 kHz, it has been possible to levitate iron (FeS), cobalt (CoS), and nickel (NiS) sulfides. Important nontransition metal sulfides such as ZnS, PbS, and Cu2S have proven impossible to levitate although Cu-Fe-S ternary alloys containing 30 wt pct S and up to 10 wt pct Cu, and Cu-Co-S and Cu-Ni-S ternary alloys containing 30 wt pct Cu have been levitated. The levitation technique has been used in preliminary experiments on the vaporization from liquid sulfides and the reaction of liquid metal-sulfur alloys with oxidizing atmospheres. The course of the reactions with pure oxygen were followed using highspeed photography and two-color pyrometry. ELECTROMAGNETIC levitation is now established as a basic laboratory technique in high-temperature research but its application has been restricted mainly to metals and alloys. Applications have included alloy preparation,' metal purification,2'3 determination of liquid metal densities and emissivities,4,5 and studies of metal supercooling,4 alloy thermodynamics,6 and vaporization phenomena.7-9 The application of the technique to compounds has not been considered previously. The successful investigation of the reactions between dilute iron alloys and oxidizing atmospheres10'1 has prompted the current physico-chemical studies involving levitated metal sulfide drops and flowing inert or oxidizing atmospheres. This paper presents the results of such a study and provides a basis for future studies involving a wide range of other compounds of metallurgical interest. The successful levitation of many metal sulfides and mattes provides a method of studying the oxidation reactions fundamental to flash-smelting and similar pyrometallurgi-cal operations under closely controlled laboratory conditions. In addition the system allows the use of a controlled atmosphere (e.g., a gas stream of a certain H2/H2S ratio) with a particular chemical potential to study the relevant thermodynamic equilibria or the mass transfer processes between the atmosphere and the levitated drop under conditions where the hydrodynamics of the system can be closely defined. The optimum frequency for the levitation melting of metals in an inverted-cone coil type inductor is within the radio frequency range 400 to 500 kHz. At frequencies lower than 10 kHz the rate of heat generation is usually insufficient to melt the levitated charge' or where melting is achieved, "dripping" from the charge is encountered.'' At frequencies above 2 mHz the levitation force decreases. Metals, alloys and preheated elemental semiconductors such as germanium and silicon, have been levitated but the levitation of only a few metal compounds has been reported. Jostsons13 and the authors have levitated liquid titanium-oxygen alloys containing 50 at. pct 0 while clark14 has reported the levitation of mixtures of FeS and MnS for short periods. With a "cold crucible" inductor sterling15 has melted ferrites by preheating them by induction in a 4 mHz field and melting at a lower frequency. However this second type of inductor has been designed purely for the melting of materials without contamination; there is only a small gas film between the charge and the inductor and the electromagnetic levitation effect is of secondary importance. For this reason further discussion will be restricted to the use of the coil type inductor. The assessment of the suitability of a particular metal compound for levitation is based upon the following two criteria: i) thermal stability, and ii) physical "levitability". In this paper these two criteria will be considered separately. The thermal stability of a solid or liquid metal compound with respect to a gaseous environment depends upon its chemical reactivity with that environment or, in the case of an inert atmosphere considered here, its volatility. The physical criterion as to whether or not a particular compound can be levitated is based upon a comparison between those physical properties of the compound determining "levitability" which are defined by the fundamental equations of levitation theory as developed by Okress et a1.,16 and the properties of the metals. Since it is not practical to cover the vast field of metal compounds, further discussion will concentrate on the metal sulfides but the treatment would be applicable to any metal compound. THE THERMAL STABILITY OF METAL SULFIDES The temperatures usually encountered during levitation in inert atmospheres cover the range 1400" to 2000°C. The stabilities of the condensed states of the sulfides under these conditions are considered in relation to the periodic classification by reference to Table I. Two general classes of sulfides emerge. The solid sulfides of elements of group IIB and of groups further to the right are volatile while those sulfides of group IB and of groups further to the left are nonvolatile solids. The sulfides described as volatile may be dismissed as unsuitable for levitation. The stabilities of the more favorable nonvolatile sulfides under the anticipated conditions must be studied more closely From Table I it is seen that the alkali metal sulfides exist as liquids in the temperature range of in-

Jan 1, 1970

By Gealy W. Wallwork

INTRODUCTION The administrative processes of coal mines are becoming increasingly complex. As society evolves into a more complicated structure with greater emphasis on individuality, government regulations reach deeply into every activity in an effort to force individuals into a standardized mold. These contradictory pressures add an extra burden to the administration of a mining operation. Recent years have brought a substantial change in the skills needed by mine supervisors and managers. As a result, a better understanding of the administrative functions is necessary. The mine superintendent has the overall responsibility for the mine; for effective operation he must be sufficiently knowledgeable to oversee all the complex functions that make up the mine. This chapter does not cover all the administrative requirements because of the variation in mine operation and in company policies and organizational structure. It does attempt to identify the administrative functions that would be required at a large mine with a preparation plant. It is assumed that the mine operation is decentralized with very little duplication of functions at the organizational levels above the mine. Thus each function is assumed to be relatively complete at the mine and under the general supervision of the mine superintendent. EMPLOYMENT PROCEDURES Throughout the mining industry, in deep or surface mining, in union or nonunion companies, the success or failure of an organization is directly related to the caliber of employees who make up the organization. A company is nothing more than a group of people working together with

Jan 1, 1981

By E. H. Bunce

CONTINUED progress in zinc metallurgy has been shown during 1933 by the adoption of new methods as well as the modernization of old processes and equipment, and by the initiation of new fields of activity for future advancement. The use of suspension roasting continued to grow as its advantages and adaptability became increasingly, apparent. The process developed by the National Smelting Co., Ltd., several years ago, of completely roasting on large sintering machines with utilization of the gas for acid manufacture has worked so successfully that an additional machine was installed during the year. At both the Swansea and the Avonmouth Works all of the ore for smelting is now roasted on the large sintering machines, thereby completely eliminating the old hearth-roasting furnaces. Work continued on obtaining partial purification of zinc ores from lead and cadmium by close control of conditions on the sintering machine, and in a few instances by chlorine additions to the ore before sintering. Ores so treated were either partially roasted or com-

Jan 1, 1934

By S. Möllerherm, E. Drüppel

"The development of indicators to assess the sustainability of mineral raw materials operations is amajor task with respect to its actuality and difficulty. This holds true even more when dealing withenvironmental indicators.The use of existing environmental indicators in the mineral raw materials industry leads to false orat least distorted results. Therefore the Institute of Mining Engineering I from the RWTH AachenUniversity developed indicators and an assessment system for the mineral raw materials industryon operation, company and sector level on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Labour(Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Arbeit, BMWA) and the Federal Institute for Geosciencesand Natural Resources (Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe, BGR).In total 30 indicators were defined and designed to assess the performance of the mineral rawmaterials industry in terms of sustainable development, 10 indicators for each pillar (economical,ecological and social pillar).The following paper describes some of the results focussing on the development of environmentalindicators. These had to be adapted or completely new designed in order to match the specificcharacteristics of the mineral raw materials industry."

Jan 1, 2005

By John Chipman

RECENT developments in iron alloys containing nitrogen have indi-cated that this element may exert a considerable influence on the proper-ties of the metal. This influence is not always in an undesirable direction and the indications are that nitrogen should be regarded as an alloying element, the amount of which should be subject to control, rather than as an inherently deleterious impurity. In controlling this element in liquid iron to the best advantage, it is necessary to have a reliable background of fundamental data pertaining to solubilities, rates of solution and chemical reactions of nitrogen in liquid iron. Obviously, the first step in such an investigation is the determination of the solubility of nitrogen in pure iron, and this has been the object of the experiments described in this paper. The solubility of nitrogen in solid iron has been measured by Jurich,1 Sieverts,2 Martin,3 and Iwasé4 and the agreement among the first three inspires confidence in their results. No accurate determinations of its solubility in liquid iron have been recorded though several investigators have obtained approximate results. Strauss5 was able to introduce 0.03 to 0.04 per cent nitrogen into steel by the action of either ammonia or nitrogen on the liquid metal. This was accomplished by Eilender and

Jan 1, 1935

By G. G. Bowser

PERUSAL of a list of present-day commercial explosives perhaps does not convey a full realization that there has been a great deal of improvement since the original dynamite was discovered nor that, in recent years, great developments have taken place in specialized explosives. This is true particularly of high-explosives for use in metalliferous mining or what is more commonly termed 'hard-rock' mining. Not many decades ago, only two or three types of explosive were avail-'able for commercial use. One was black blasting powder. Another was ordinary nitro-glycerin dynamite in various strengths. Black blasting powder remains with but very little change. Despite its ancient lineage, it is still with us as perhaps the sole explosive in use today which is almost identical in appearance, physical properties, and working ability or execution co the original. Which dynamite the story is different. Its evolution may be likened to that of the dog, nitro-glycerin as first discovered being the counterpart of the wild dog and, like it, dangerous and hard to control. The original dynamite as made by Nobel might then be considered as representing the first domesticaced species. This original dynamite, however, has been 'crossed with other bloods' until one sees now many distinct 'breeds' in the list. Present-day explosives still have the 'bark' and the 'bite', but with control and research have come many improvements; and types have been created which are specially adapted for particular kinds of work. We still have the direct descendant of Nobel's dynamite in the form of an improved nitro-glycerin dynamite. This C-I-L explosive, Polar Dynamite, is no longer the best type to use in the hunt for gold, silver, iron, and other metals. There have been developed other explosives more suitable for chat work. In Canada, such explosives are accomplishing this work effectively, not only where climatic conditions are moderate but through the rigours of our northern winters, with their sub-zero temperatures.

Jan 1, 1938

By F. T. Cawood

The new South African Mineral Policy has major implications on the way mineral rent will be collected and shared between the stakeholders in future. Although the policy does not supply details on how this will be done, drastic departures from practices under the previous dispensation require a new approach. For example, there introduction of the ?right to mine? principle implies that the repealed lease consideration concept will be expanded to all minerals. The new policy also makes provision for predetermined standard terms and conditions for all prospecting and mining permissions. It also states that, regardless of whether the mineral rights are state or privately-owned, all prospecting fees and mineral royalties will be determined by state officials after consultation with the registered holder of the mineral rights. This paper proposes a standard mineral royalty formula that complies with the principles mentioned in the White Paper and has been shown to be internationally competitive.

Jan 1, 2001

By E Deucker, A White

Gold Fields Australia (Gold Fields) has identified that improving productivity through more detailed shift planning and operational control of mining activities is a key driver to the success of their business. The Hamlet mine was chosen as a pilot site to trial a system that would allow production engineers and shift bosses to align the execution of short-term activities with the longer-term goals of the organisation.Gold Fields partnered with Deswik to introduce an on-site, collaborative, web-based system to allow mine planners to quickly build-up a detailed, activity-based, shift schedule for the coming week from the 13-week plan. Multiple stakeholders could then review and alter the plan, and then track and manage the execution of the activities.The system is designed to be integrated with production data capture systems to allow tracking of progress towards completion for each activity, as well as to plan and monitor the equipment operating in the mine. Integration of systems allowed engineers to use the large quantities of production data being captured to make informed decisions in the operations environment.The system replaced a complex set of spreadsheets that required expert users in Gold Fields to maintain. By capturing the data in a central database, the planning process is transparent and historic data from the execution of activities is available for analysis to improve productivity in the future.The system has ensured that the highest priority and critical path activities for the business are completed at the right time, improving the efficiency of operations.CITATION:Deucker, E and White, A, 2017. Productivity improvement through collaborative shift planning and tracking, in Proceedings 13th AusIMM Underground Operators’ Conference 2017, pp 225–234 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Oct 16, 2017

By Zhou Jiemin

In order to fully understand the behavior of the rectangular six- electrode electric smelting furnace and improve its design and operation, a three-dimensional mathematical model has been developed which incorporates the electrical and thermal flows into numerical solutions, assuming a steady state regime. The model has been used to simulate the performance of the 16500 kVA nickel matte smelter at Jinchuan in China, and various factors have been investigated. The results of computation are in agreement with the measured data obtained from this furnace and its physical model. Application of this model is described and the calculation on the Jinchuan smelter shows that the operation expenses can be reduced by optimizing the furnace geometry and some operating parameters.

Jan 1, 1991

By Arden D. Fugate

The Federal Bureau of Mines conducted extensive studies on solid-state defluorination (laboratory scale) and tests on molten defluorination (intermediate scale) of siliceous fluorspars. The studies were made to develop a pyrohydrolytic process for liberating fluorine from offgrade fluorspars. Test results showed that more than 90 percent of the fluorine can be evolved by solid-state defluorination at 1,300° C., and more than 97 percent can be liberated by molten-state defluorination at 1,420° C. Solid-state defluorination conditions were established by conducting tests on mixtures of ceramic-grade fluorspars and high-purity silica flour. Pelletized mixtures were defluorinated under varying conditions of time, temperature, and relative concentrations of silica, calcium fluoride, and water. The effects of adding various amounts and combinations of aluminum oxide and iron oxide on defluorination were also studied. Investigations of solid-state defluorination indicates that the following two reactions are involved: 2CaF2 + 3SiO2 = 2CaSiO3 + SiF4, and CaF2 + Sio2 + H20 = CaSiO3 + 2HF, The second reaction is dominant, although significant defluorination can be achieved by the first reaction.

Jan 1, 1961

By Barry James

"This paper discusses past and current energy use patterns in the mining and manufacturing sectors of the industrial minerals industry. Information is presented on the primary energy input types as purchased by the industry, the quality and form of the energy actually required by the various production processes, and the residual form of this energy, either embodied in the product or rejected in gaseous and liquid waste heat streams. With the continuing concerns about the availability of energy combined with the rapidly increasing cost of energy as a production input, the reduction of energy usage through improved efficiency will undoubtedly be an increasing priority for the industry during the 1980s. Reduced energy consumption through investment to improve energy efficiency appears to be advantageous from both the corporate and national perspectives.IntroductionEnergy, like labour and materials, is one of the basic production input s to the various mining, processing and manufacturing production stages in the industrial minerals industry. Energy costs, as a percentage of total production costs, have been well above the average for industry in Canada, accounting for more than 50 cents out of every dollar in the most extreme cases. Consequently, energy has always been a relatively important management concern in the industrial minerals industry.The energy supply and price situation in Canada and internationally has been changing rapidly since 1973, following a long period characterized by declining real energy prices and an abundance and wide choice of energy supplies. It is generally accepted that energy prices will continue to increase rapidly, and that there will be uncertainties about the long-term continuity of supply of some energy types. In essence, a period of relative stability has been replaced by a period of relative uncertainty. In such a changing situation, a reassessment of the role of energy as a production input is appropriate.The following sections outline some of the effects of the changing energy scene on the industrial minerals industry. These effects are dealt with primarily in terms of energy costs, because, in most circumstances, a change in the cost of energy as a production input is the end result of both energy price and energy supply changes."

Jan 1, 1981

By Neussias Inocêncio Henrique

O processo de coqueificação em uma Coqueria do tipo Heat Recovery é baseado na queima da matéria volátil presente no carvão, principal combustível para aquecimento dos fornos. A Combustão dos gases tem que ocorre dentro da câmara primaria (interior do forno) e na câmara secundaria (Sole Flue). Devido a algumas interferências no processo de coqueificação não ocorre a queima completa dos gases no forno e com isso a combustão terciária ocorre nos coletores de gases (equipamento destinado apenas para transporte dos gases de combustão). Com a queima dos gases nos coletores temos o aumento de temperatura no interior do duto e como a estrutura refratária não foi projetada para suportar esse limite máximo de temperatura acontece a contração e posteriormente colapso do refratário causando perdas em todo o processo. Os principais benefícios após a aplicação dessa técnica é a redução no tempo de reparo, aumento do rendimento de aplicação da massa refratária e prolongamento na vida útil desse equipamento.

Aug 17, 2017

By Luiz Guilherme Isfer Maciel, Marilena Cardu, Fernando Golin, Jacopo Seccatore

"This study applies the concept of the difficulty of tunnelling by drilling an blasting (D&B) to selectedcases from the Brazilian tunnelling industry. The difficulty of tunnelling has been defined in previouswork as the difference of specific drilling (SD) from industrial average trend: easier when SD is lowerthan average, more difficult when SD is higher than average. Results show how tunnels in Brazil tend tobe unrealistically more difficult to excavate when compared to similar excavations in similar geologies elsewhere in the world. It is thoroughly discussed the reason for such anomaly (up to +90% SD compared to industrial average). One reason could be the lack of options amongst explosive products on the brazilian market. Only ANFO and explosive emulsions are available in Brazil. Lacking high VOD(Velocity of Detonation) products might result in reducing the maximum allowable burden amongstproduction holes, therefore increasing SD. Another reason could be found in the tunnel designers’tendency of choosing D&B as excavation method for weak rock masses that would benefit from mechanical excavation. The reason to this tendency can be partly found in the lack of availability of mechanical excavation machines in the brazilian market. Blasting in weak rock masses requires more careful smooth blasting, hence a closer spacing amongst contour holes to avoid costly overbreak: this increases SD. A third reason could be found in the lack of skill amongst the local workforce. When dealing with unskilled workers the blast designers naturally tend to avoid highly optimized blasts thatrequire very skilled workforce to be realized on field. The designer in this case tends to leave the blastdesign simpler but more robust, at the cost of higher specific drilling and specific charge. The conclusions suggest that this unrealistic difficulty when compared to world average could be a simptom of the so-called “Brazilian cost” within the tunnelling industry."

Jan 1, 2017

By Steve Zaffron, Olga Loffredi, Eric Seedorff, Mary Poulton

"The New Face of Mining is a recognition of the central role of human beings in mining and the underappreciated power they can have in generating breakthroughs in business performance and shareholder value. The key is people creating, aligning on, and subsequently enacting the future of mining. A methodology that is effective creates a corporate environment for alignment to be possible and then transforms operations by embedding the necessary behaviors, processes and practices. The people within the organization then are empowered to find and to implement solutions quickly, as measured business results demonstrate in case histories of diverse mining challenges around the globe and over the decades.Urgent case for actionThe physics of mining does not change fundamentally over time, but the context in which it operates changes rapidly, periodically requiring a new face of mining. “The New Face of Mining,” which has been used as a metaphor for the campus-wide mineral resources research organization at the University of Arizona, has many facets, including societal, generational, technological, financial and environmental, but at the center, always, is humanity. The New Face of Mining is not necessarily about age, it is about people first imagining and then creating a new future for mining. The challenges facing the global industry evolve from year to year and differ in individual companies or mines at any one time.Quantified outcomes from case studies indicate that a methodology, now also offered annually in a four-day, open-enrollment leadership program tailored to the mining industry, is effective at generating breakthrough results in the mining business. Such challenges range from those with important technical components to others that are mostly social challenges. Our focus, however, is the centrality of people in aligning on and enacting the future of mining. We use the phrase New Face of Mining for leadership and ways to empower people in organizations that commonly are overlooked in the mining industry. Some of the material in this article is based on the ideas of Werner Erhard and on the book by Steve Zaffron and Dave Logan (2009), The Three Laws of Performance: Rewriting the Future of Your Organization and Your Life.At Davos, Switzerland in January 1992, nine visionary mining chief executive officers (CEO) gathered to create the Global Mining Initiative. Much has changed in the 26 years since that meeting:• The world GDP has increased from US$25.4 trillion to $75.8 trillion.• The annual number of U.S. patent applications increased from 186,000 to 629,000.• The number of websites has increased from 100 to 1 billion.• The number of academic references to artificial intelligence has climbed from more than 16,000 to more than 1 million.• The number of cell phone subscribers grew from 11 million in the United States to four billion globally."

Oct 1, 2019

By Nicolas Reynier

The separation of radionuclide during rare earth element (REE) production is an important requirement for developing the Canadian REE mining industry. Separation of actinides from REE is often a large concern in the rare earth industry because of the need to manage the radioactive nuclides. A patented process developed for actinides extraction from radioactive wastes was applied to REE ore. Objectives were to optimize the process for REE leaching from ore, and separate radioactive impurities from sulphuric and nitric liquor by ion exchange (IX). Ore leaching was optimized using a surface response plan to ensure statistical significance. In optimized conditions, solubilization yields ranged from 90–95% for Th, 60–75% for U, 48–55% for LREE, and 59–75% for HREE in sulphuric and nitric media. Both media were compared for radionuclide removal from rich REE-bearing mineral liquor by IX. Actinides separation ranged from 92–97% for Th and 69–96% for U in sulphuric and nitric media.

By D. Ling, Santos. R. M., T. Van Gerven, M. Guo

The valorization of alkaline waste materials from thermal processes utilizing intensified mineral carbonation routes is investigated. The principal advantages of this approach are the chemical stability and storage safety of mineral carbonates, the opportunities for process integration presented by the technology, and the potential for conversion of low-value materials into useful products. Treatment and disposal of steel slags are a costly burden on steel plants. Sustainable solutions for Argon Oxygen Decarbonisation (AOD) and Continuous Casting (CC) stainless steel slags and Basic Oxygen Furnace (BOF) steel slag are desired. An integrated on-site mineral carbonation approach is envisaged as a favourable solution.

Jan 1, 2011

By Allen M. Newcome

The Ohio valley division of consolidation coal company has incorporated two new aspects within its coal mining concern. A new communication system, thru the cooperation of the c. & p. Telephone company, has been established in each of our mines with its central control in the general office building. In conjunction with this system, a Texas instruments 960 a computer has been incorporated into the system. The purpose for our computer is to provide modernization and improvement to our safety, production and maintenance programs. Thru proper use, the computer will help eliminate inaccuracies and inefficiences that have previously caused inaccurate analysis of problems. Due to federal requirements for more reliable communications in underground mines, Ohio valley division is making a concentrated effort to improve its communication systems. Systems such as the magneto phone and trolley phone have been looked at more critically. It was found that these systems are being used well beyond their limits. With these facts in mind, division personnel started looking for a system that would have these built in advantages: ease of maintenance and installation, increased reliability, low cost, and an inherent ability as a multiple use system.

Jan 1, 1975

By Juan H. Rojas C.

The Chuquicamata mining and metallurgical complex is the main Division belonging to Corporation Nacional del Cobre de Chile (CODELCO-CHILE) and it accounts for 50% of the 1.4 Mt of fine copper output of the Corporation. It has been producing copper since 1915. The paper refers to the challenges that Chuquicamata has to solve in the near future. These challenges are: the increasing operation costs associated to a 800 m depth pit with low prices in an overstocked copper market; the increasing people's sensitivity to environmental preservation; and, the transformation needed for achieving high levels of organizational effectiveness. According to Corporate policy, Chuquicamata is making efforts to switch from a management style focused on supply to a management style focused on demand side of the industry. In this direction is tempting to establish strategic alliances to develop both new copper products and uses, to rise the metal demand. In more than 80 years of operation, Chuquicamata had exploited just one third of its geological resources. The exploitation of the remaining two third is a huge engineering challenge, taking into account the depth of the deposit, the impurities content, the decreasing ore grades and the transportation distances for waste dumping. All those factors are relevant in the economical process of transforming geological resources into ore reserves. Chuquicamata has other limitations. First, a 20,000 people town just aside the pit that limits the mining rates because of dust generation; second the scarceness of water in the desert area where Chuquicamata deposit is located; and, finally, the new tailing pond is a problem which solution will demand huge engineering efforts and investments. People are the principal factor associated to a company success. In this field, Chuquicamata have been progressing, but much more efforts from people will be necessary to reduce production costs for being successful as any other price-taker within the copper industry. Chuquicamata must develop the skills of its Supervisors to transform them into leaders and entrepreneurs, who additionally have the challenge of passing on their knowledge to non-professional workers. It is an ethic commitment to assure personal and professional growth of workers, as the only sustainable way to get real and integral success.

Jan 1, 1999

By Manuel Gomez

The Bureau of Mines used data from 31 core samples to develop prediction equations for evaluating chemical and carbonization properties of six seam units in a lignite deposit approximately 2 miles wide and 8 miles long in the Wilcox Formation of central Texas. Statistical response surfaces, based on core analyses, were computed for 14 parameters indicative of lignite quality. These computed surfaces, and their mathematical equations, can be used to predict values of the selected properties of the lignite seams at any desired surface coordinate position between core hole locations. The wide range of application shown by this study indicates that the methods of statistical regression analysis may be useful to evaluate large deposits of lignite or higher rank coal.

Jan 1, 1969

The second annual RMCMI Mine Rescue Performance Evaluation was held in conjunction with the 1993 RMCMI Convention at Beaver Creek. [ ] Six teams participated in this year's evaluation; BHP Minerals, Navajo Mine, Fruitland. NM; BHP Minerals - LaPlata Mine. LaPlata, NM; BHP Minerals - San Juan Mine. Waterflow. NM; The Coteau Properties Company - Freedom Mine, Beulah. ND; Cordero Mining Company, Gillette, WY; and The Falkirk Mining Company - Falkirk Mine. Underwood, ND. The Western Energy Company of Colstrip, MT was represented through observers and evaluators. [ ] Realistic industrial related scenarios, closely simulating the stress of actual rescue incidents, were provided by members of the Eagle Valley Ambulance Service. Five different scenarios were presented to each team on the first day of the evaluation and three on the second. Each team was given the pertinent information to solve the problem as they assembled at the scenario site. The scenarios were going on simultaneously and each team was unaware of the circumstances until they entered the scene. Interested onlookers were afforded the opportunity of viewing the actual simulated rescue operations as they occurred. The teams received valuable pointers and direction from the ream of evaluators following each scenario. They were are also given the opportunity to observe the other teams in action and to meet with the members of all the teams to share information and ideas during team meetings per the predetermined schedule. The primary goal is to recognize current rescue skills, knowledge, and abilities of participating teams. In doing this, each team was provided with individual evaluations and a path for improvement as needed. Each team was recognized for their efforts at an awards breakfast on the final day of the evaluation. New innovations in rescue equipment were introduced and demonstrated for interested teams following the awards program. The importance of progressive training such as what we are witnessing at evaluations during the RMCMI conventions cannot be stressed strongly enough. These teams are the providers of immediate rescue and medical care for victims of accidents at their respective properties. Every mining operation has the potential for very serious accidents due to immense size of equipment and mining logistics. These rescue teams must be prepared to act with the most immediate, professional and knowledgeable actions to save lives and prevent further injuries. Safety is a primary concern of every mining operation and the mine site rescue team is an integral part of that safety effort. The evaluation program is very appreciative for the financial support of the following businesses to enable this program to continue: Safety Master, Acme Welding, North American Coal, Triune. Cummins, OK Tire. Modern Industrial, The Industrial Company, Mine Safety Appliances (MSA), Biomarine, Personal Safety Enterprises, Inc., and Blattner Construction, Thank you again for your much needed assistance. Plan to be a part of next year's Mine Rescue Evaluation Program as a participant or an observer. You will be amazed at the skill levels of the Rescue Teams. See you next year! Linda G. Ash The falkirk Mining Company [ ]

Jan 1, 1993