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By R. T. Torgerson, W. A. Baginski

Alloying studies were conducted on modifications of Cb-10W-1OHf (C-129) alloy as part of a cooperative alloy development effort between The Boeing Co. and the Wah Chang Corp. The purpose of these studies was to develop a fabricable, high- strength columbium alloy with superior melding properties. The initial investigations of alloy modifications were conducted using laboratory-melted button ingots. An alloy with the composition exhibited excellent veld ductility, elevated-ternpevature strength, and fabricability. The yttrium-modified alloy was desigrzated C-129Y and was selected for further developrnetzt. Three prodziction heats of C-129Y weve processed into sheet. Welding, forming, and tensile proper-lies are presented for this material. Tungsten-are welds of. C-129Y exhibited a minimum bend radius of 1/2T in the as-welded conditioti compared to 8T for C-129 alloy. An investigation was conducted on Disil coating of C-129Y and test data are presented on oxidation resistance and effects of re-entry environments. The excellent combination of strength, fabricability, weldability, and low transition temperature of C-129Y alloy offers potential design advantages for use of this alloy in structures of aerospace vehicles. It is atiticipated that C-129Y will rapidly supplant C-129 and similar alloys clue to the versatility provided by its impvoved welditzg properties. COLUMBIUM alloys with improved properties are required to achieve better performance and efficiency of radiation-cooled structures for re-entry vehicles and recoverable launch systems. Cooperative work by The Boeing Co. and the Wah Chang Corp. resulted in the development several years ago of C-129 alloy, a high-strength Cb-W-Hf alloy.' This alloy has received favorable consideration for many advanced designs of high-temperature structures due to its excellent combination of properties. However, this alloy exhibits low weld ductility unless given a high-temperature stress-relief treatment. For this reason the development effort was directed towards modification of the C-129 alloy composition (Cb-1OW-1OHf) to eliminate the need for post-weld heat treatment. This paper describes the successful development of an alloy meeting this requirement. This new alloy was designated C-129Y and has a nominal composition of EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES Alloying Studies. Various Cb-W-Hf compositions were investigated using are-melted button ingots. These buttons were hot-forged using a protective glass coating and rolled into sheet specimens. Metal-lographic examination: tensile testing, and welding studies were conducted to evaluate properties of the experimental alloys. Sheet Fabrication. Three pilot production heats of C-129Y were fabricated into sheet to establish processing techniques and to determine sheet properties. The three heats consisted of 6-in.-diam ingots weighing from 140 to 250 lb. The ingots were prepared by electron-be am melting followed by vacuum-arc melting. The hafnium and yttrium additions were made during the are-melting operation by tack welding alloy strip additions to the Cb-W master-alloy electrode. The final ingots were machined into billets with samples of the machine turnings collected for chemical analysis. Ingot breakdown methods for the three heats are as follows: Ingot Ingot Heat Size Weiaht___Breakdown Method A 6 in. 250 lb Hot extrusion B 6 in. 140 lb Hot forging C 6 in. 250 lb Hot extrusion Sheet bars from the extrusion and forging operations were conditioned, recrystallized, and rolled into sheet. Initial rolling was conducted at elevated temperatures and final rolling was conducted at room temperature.

Jan 1, 1967

By R. H. T. Garnett

Reserve estimation is a process that commences with sampling and culminates in the issuance of a reserve statement. The tin, gold and diamonds that occur as marine placers on the continental shelf are low grade with very erratic mineral distributions. Sampling, using a variety of special equipment, determines the extent and grade of the mineralization. The sample size is important, especially for diamonds. Together with the sampling density, it determines the accuracy of the grade estimate. Bulk sampling is a confirmatory process. The choice of mining equipment, either new or developed from onshore activities, dictates the unit costs, the cutoff grades and the selectivity of extraction. Thus, the size of the blocks that comprise the mining plan and the reserves are determined. A variety of estimation methods of different reliability are available, with the most sophisticated being kriging. Dilution and losses during mining must be taken into account in estimation, and a grade-volume curve should be constructed. Diamond deposit estimation also involves an extra variable, the dollar value of the stones. During and after mining, essential feedback on the accuracy of un estimation may be given by the RIE factor and by a mineral balance. Reserve estimates are required for several reasons and may be subject to public disclosure. The use of the correct definitions is, therefore, important.

Jan 1, 1999

By Uli Leiste

Two papers are presented which examine Air Deck Blasting, one from a computational aspect and the other from a shock aspect.

Jan 1, 2016

By J. Lohrenz, C. R. Clark, B. G. Bray

Procedures to calculate the viscosities of in situ reservoir gases and liquids from their composition have been developed and evaluated. Given a composition expressed in methane through heptanes-plus, hydrogen sulfide, nitrogen and carbon dioxide together with the molecular weight and specific gravity of the heptanes-plus fraction, the procedures are capable of calculating the viscosity of the gas or liquid at the desired temperature and pressure. The procedure for reservoir liquids was developed using the residual viscosity concept and the theory of corresponding states, and was evaluated by comparing experimental and calculated results for 260 different reservoir oils ranging from black to highly volatile. The average absolute deviation was 16 per cent. This is the first known procedure for calculating the viscosity of reservoir liquids from their compositions as normally available, i.e., including the heptanes-plus fraction. The procedure for reservoir gases uses a sequence of previously published correlations. Evaluation of the procedure was accomplished by comparison of 300 calculated and experimental viscosities for high-pressure gar mixtures in the literature. The average absolute deviation was 4 per cent. The calculations are useful for (I) determining viscosities in compositional material balance computations and (2) predicting the viscosity decrease which occurs when gases, LPG, or carbon dioxide dissolve in reservoir oils. INTRODUCTION Methods to predict viscosities of reservoir fluids from the normally available field-measured variables have been presented. Beal,1 Standing,2 and Chew and Connally3 orrelated oil viscosities with temperature, pressure, oil gravity and gas-oil ratio. Carr, Kobayashi, and Burrows4 and Katz et al.5 have presented correlations for reservoir gas viscosities as a function of temperature, pressure and gas gravity. Lie all intensive physical properties, viscosity is completely described by the following function: Eq. 1 simply states that viscosity is a function of pressure, temperature and composition. These previous correlations1- hay be viewed as modifications of Eq. 1, wherein one assumes more simple functions may be used. The assumptions are practical, because the composition is frequently not known. Further, the assumptions are sufficiently valid so that these correlations are frequently used for reservoir engineering computations. In compositional material balance"' computations, the compositions of the reservoir gases and oils are known. The calculation of the viscosities of these fluids using this composition information is required for a true and complete compositional material balance. For reservoir gases, Carr, Kobayashi and Burrows4 have presented a suitable compositional correlation. For reservoir oils, no correlation is available, and data from reservoir fluid analyses have been used7-9 for compositional material balance calculations.* From a theoretical point of view, this is entirely invalid. The reservoir fluid analysis, whether flash, differential, or other process, does not duplicate the compositions which occur during the actual reservoir depletion process, therefore the viscosities measured during reservoir fluid analysis are not those which occur in the reservoir. From a practical point of view, the "error" of using viscosities from reservoir fluid analysis is of varying and unknown significance. One can say qualitatively that the error is greatest where compositional effects are greatest, i.e., for volatile oil and gas condensate reservoirs and pressure maintenance operations. The first requirement to obtain a quantitative estimate of the significance of the error is to develop a reliable compositional correlation for the viscmities of reservoir oils. No such correlation has been available. Consistent with this requirement, the objective of this study was to develop a procedure to predict the viscosity of reservoir fluids from their compositions. Normally, the compositions of reservoir fluids are available expressed as mole fractions of hydrogen sulfide, nitrogen, carbon dioxide and the hydrocarbons methane through the heptane-plus fraction, with the average molecular weight and specific gravity of the latter. The final correlation was to use the composition in this form. While the more challenging objective of the study was the development of a correlation for the viscosities of reservoir oils, the viscosities of reservoir gases were also studied. The end result of the study was a procedure to calculate the viscosities of reservoir gases and liquids suitable

Jan 1, 1965

By Dennis Nottingham

Increased interest in seismic soil liquefaction and preventative soil stabilization sets the stage for improved deep compaction methods using pile driving techniques. In 1971 L.B. Foster Company personnel patented a method of deep compaction using a vibratory pile hammer and pile probe. The technique had some success, but did not produce consistent results and thus found its way to obscurity. Other patents attempted to modify the technique by various probe modifications, but again without measurable improvement from a practical point of view. Solutions to economical deep compaction up to 100-foot depths particularly in saturated granular soils would have a great impact on the construction industry and new bulkhead structures being developed, thus PND was prompted into related research and development. The advent of higher horsepower vibratory hammers, coupled with PND engineers' experiments, observations and measurements, led to an "H" pile probe design which has produced measured soil density improvements up to 250% using SPT "N60" values as a measure. Case histories of two projects involving extensive SPT soil sampling comparative measurements will be discussed along with findings that led to the compaction success. Applications to numerous modern "Open Cell" bulkhead projects will be presented and discussed.

Jan 1, 2004

By J. Dean Warner

Alaska contains many critical and strategic minerals that are scarce in the conterminous United States. Among these are tin, tantalum, and columbium. This Bureau of Mines report summarizes available data on the production, reserves, and occurrences of these minerals in Alaska. Alaska produces about 200,000 lb of tin per year, with historical production since 1901 estimated to have totaled 5,830,600 lb. Measured, indicated, and inferred tin reserves total over 140,000,000 Ib. Much of the tin production has been from the placer mines of the western Seward Peninsula; however, most of the reserves are in that area's lode deposits. Alaskan tin occurrences are part of a belt of tin mineralization that extends along the western coast of North and South America. The Alaskan portion of this "tin belt" comprises placer occurrences and lode occurrences of five major types: greisen, vein, skarn, pegmatite, and volcanogenic massive sulfide. Greisen and vein occurrences are the most abundant, but skarn deposits have historically been the most economically important. Columbium and tantalum have not been produced in Alaska; however, they may be recoverable as byproducts of tin, tungsten, gold, or uranium mining. Approximately 135,000 Ib of columbium oxide (Cb205) are inferred within the Tofty placer deposits in the Manley Hot Springs district.

Jan 1, 1985

By Zach G. Agioutantis

The prediction of ground movements due to underground mining using the influence function method is a mature technology, widely used by researchers and planning engineers around the world. Surface strain, either tensile or compressive, is an important indicator of potential impacts on structures such as buildings, bodies of water, pipelines, railway and power lines, and tailings dams. Calculation of static or dynamic surface strains, for varying surface terrains and slopes, should be accurately predicted and be independent of the methodology applied for the calculation. This paper discusses and compares the development of horizontal and ground strains on the surface due to underground mining for different surface topologies (sloping terrain, monitoring lines, etc.) and presents the steps needed to ensure accurate calculations. Examples are given to demonstrate how ground strains can be calculated for one- and two-dimensional gridded surfaces.

Jan 1, 2013

By C. M. Acuna

Scarcity of high grade copper low impurity content ores is a reality and processing of low grade dirty concentrates is a need. In spite of this fact, innovative strategies have to be looked at to comply with day to day more stringent environmental regulations. From this perspective the production of matte grades over 70% in copper presents several merits, but it must be contrasted with the fractional distribution of impurities reporting to the condensed phases. Converting of white metal high in arsenic content results in moderate fraction of arsenic to gas, but high deportment to blister. Therefore, production of anode copper, as required by the electrolytic refinery, may result in several operational difficulties. Furthermore, by recycling the flue dust and slag produced in the smelting-fire refining cycle, the arsenic content in the feed to smelting increases and so does in the resulting anode copper. The Teniente Converter, as a smelting unity, has probed suitable for production of high matte grade near white metal composition but regarding distribution behaviour of impurities there is lack of reliable data, specially when processing concentrates over 1% in arsenic content. In the new scenario, i.e. low grade copper high arsenic content concentrates, to fully asses the merits of this technology the effect of matte grade, secondary materials recycling and arsenic in feed upon the distribution coefficient of arsenic between slag and matte, mainly, must be evaluated both from a theoretical approach and by use of industrial data. Based on available data correlations of distribution coefficient, matte grade and matte/slag ratios with arsenic in feed and copper content in slag are worked out. Based on these results suggestions as to matte grades facilitating to deal more efficiently with the handling of smelting byproducts are proposed.

Jan 1, 2006

By A M. Barrett, P J. Chapman

As filtering technology improves and there is an increased focus on environmental impacts, the concept of managing fine coal rejects by filtering, mixing with coarse rejects and dry stacking them is being considered more seriously. In Queensland, there appears to be a desire from regulators to move away from wet rejects facilities towards dry-stacked facilities, resulting in a change in the risk profile for the facility.A coalminer has a site with many constraints, including limited area that is not planned to be undermined and nearby rivers that are prone to flooding. The design of a dry-stacked facility that meets the operational requirements and environmental compliance criteria is challenging in subtropical climatic settings, where there is a need to consider wet seasons with high-volume, sustained rainfall events. The impact of the rainfall is multifaceted, requiring careful surface water management to separate clean and contact water, adequate foundation preparation to limit seepage to groundwater, management of stack stability given a potentially high phreatic surface and the avoidance of potential flood zones. These design constraints were compounded by a limited area available for rejects storage that would not be undermined.This paper presents a summary of the conceptual design of a dry rejects facility, including consideration of regulatory and client requirements, provision for expansion while also considering progressive rehabilitation, diversion of clean water as much as practicable during operations and siting constraints. A step-by-step concept is presented that addresses each constraint during the life of the facility.CITATION:Barrett, A M and Chapman, P J, 2015. Conceptual design of a dry-stacked coal rejects facility in a subtropical climate, in Proceedings Tailings and Mine Waste Management for the 21st Century , pp 27–34 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 27, 2015

By V. W. Shtenko, B. J. Ennis, P. H. Bridge

"The northeastern region of British Columbia contains large quantities of high-quality metallurgical coal. To market the coal, it was necessary to provide the required infrastructure which included rail access. This paper presents the role of the British Columbia Railway in the northeast coal development.In 1976, B.C. Railway undertook to study two main routes, one originating at Chetwynd and the other at Anzac, both located on the main line, north of Prince George. The routes studied are briefly described, detailing the methodology and engineering analysis carried out to permit the selection of a single route that would be the most cost effective, taking into consideration the construction, maintenance and operating costs. The operating parameters, track and grade standards, anticipated tonnage, construction costs and the final route selected are also presented.Pre-engineering analysis and studies of the route selected originating at Anzac, known as Tumbler Ridge Branch Line, and which commenced in 1977, were concluded in 1978. New mapping was developed to a scale of 1:2000 with good vertical and horizontal control. Based on the mapping data, terrain analysis, and designs developed, an estimate of construction costs and schedule of work was developed.Authority to proceed with the final design and construction was provided in December 1980, with the first shipment scheduled for December I, 1983. Final designs of all structures are discussed, including schedules, cost to completion, and control systems utilized. The decision to electrify the Tumbler Ridge Branch Line and related topics are discussed, with a brief description of train operations. The present status of the project is also presented."

Jan 1, 1983

By Robert J. Watters, Peter C. Kelsall, Joseph G. Franzone

Two separate studies investigated the compressive strength of basic igneous rocks and its relation to index properties such as porosity, density and soundrave velocity. The rocks tested were weathered dolerite from S. W. England and vesicular lavas from California. In both cases strength was affected considerably by porosity. In the dolerite, strength was also affected by fissures (microcracks) which were formed in the parent rock by shearing and later accentuated by weathering. While test results show that porosity, density and sound velocity are not reliable indices of rock strength, these properties are useful in interpretation of strength test results. Index testing can be used to classify samples according to similar behavior and to recognize the influence of fissures.

Jan 1, 1986

By Michael Shedlosky, Sonia Sorabella Swift, Nina Carney, David Tarasovic

Rigid inclusions were used to support roadway fills and mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) walls for the South Capitol Street Corridor project. The first phase of this two-phase, nearly $1 billion project will include the replacement of the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge, including two approach ovals east and west of the Anacostia River, the replacement of the I-295/Suitland Parkway Interchange, and the construction of several traffic ramps. The bridge itself carries over 70,000 drivers daily and is expected to open in 2021. Ground improvement is required over a portion of the project footprint. Within the ground improvement area, the construction includes MSE walls up to 35 feet high and embankment fills up to 28 feet for which CMC rigid inclusions (RIs) were used to mitigate settlement and stability. The proposed construction runs over multiple old, in-service utilities that the project requirements indicate could not tolerate any stress or settlement due to the construction. As such, solutions that spanned the utilities were required. A concrete slab of varying thickness was used to span a fragile 108-inch-diameter sewer pipeline and 48- inch-square-precast-concrete box beams were used to span twin utilities that were buried just a few feet below current working grades on site. Unreinforced RIs were used to support these structures. The center to center spacing of the RIs perpendicular to the pipe run was 26.5 ft for the concrete slab and 62 feet for the precast--concrete box beams. The axial forces on the RIs were up to 267 kips. The RIs were not structurally connected to the slab or box beams. A single-element load test was performed to confirm the load-carrying capacity of the RIs. This paper will focus on the utility protection slab over the twin utilities and provide an overview of the design of the structural and geotechnical solutions and will present the results of the load test performed. INTRODUCTION The new Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge (FDM Bridge) and reconstruction of the Suitland Parkway/ I-295 interchange (South Capitol Project) is a part of the Anacostia Waterfront Initiative (AWI) Program, whose goal is to transform the shores of the Anacostia River. The existing FDM Bridge is approximately 70-years old and has been classified as “functionally obsolete”. The completed South Capitol Project will improve the multi-modal transportation options, increase pedestrian and vehicular safety and provide additional green space. The proposed FDM Bridge, a rendering of which is shown in Fig. 1, is designed to become a landmark bridge in the Washington, D.C. area.

Jan 1, 2019

By Joshua I. Tracey, Mackenzie Gordon

THE bauxite deposits in central Arkansas were formed by weather¬ing, in early Eocene time, of fresh or kaolinized nepheline syenite above the water table in a subtropical climate of fairly continuous moisture. Four types are recognized: (1) residual bauxite deposits on kaolinized nepheline syenite, (2) residual deposits on kaolin and bauxite detritus, (3) alluvial deposits of sorted pebbles and pisolites of early Wilcox age, and (4) rubble deposits of later Wilcox age. All were invaded by kaolin and siderite during subsequent burial by Eocene sediments. PART I-FIELD RELATIONS OF THE DEPOSITS The Arkansas bauxite region for years has produced about 95 pct of the domestic supply of bauxite of the United States and it contains today reserves of more than 40 million tons-nine tenths of the known domestic reserves. During World War II, the Arkansas bauxite deposits were explored jointly by the U. S. Geological Survey and the U. S. Bureau of Mines. Some 6000 holes were drilled by rotary rigs under contract to the Federal Govern¬ment, which resulted in the discovery and delimiting of approximately 20 million tons of ore in place. Detailed study of the many sections cored through the bauxite, of data from a much greater number of drill holes made available by all the operating companies, and of the extensive mine faces exposed in the strip pits, has yielded valuable geologic information about the origin of the deposits. It is now possible to piece together a paleotopographic picture of the deposits and the now-buried land surface on which they formed. The bauxite region in the center of Arkansas (Fig 1) contains two producing districts: one in Pulaski County, just south of Little Rock, and the other in Saline County, about 15 miles to the southwest. The deposits in both districts are associated with hills of nepheline syenite, bosses of a large batho¬lith that was intruded into Paleozoic rocks and later buried beneath coastal plain sediments deposited during Cenozoic time. The folded Paleozoic rocks are exposed in the northwest half of the state and are covered in the southeast half by the nearly flat-lying coastal plain sediments. The older rocks were intruded by nepheline syenite, probably in Late Cretaceous time, and sub¬sequently were eroded so as to expose the top of the batholith. In Paleocene time, marine limestone and laminated black silty clay of the Midway group were deposited in an advancing sea, and covered all but the most elevated parts of the batholith. Erosion of the islands of nepheline

Jan 1, 1952

Mr. P. F. THOMPSON said this matter was one of very great importance to producers of lead. His association with the matter was that he happened to be the Institute representative on the Committee of the Standards Association of Australia charged with formulating a standard for chemical lead, that is, lead used in technical chemistry for acid chambers and the like. The British standard had this test incorporated in it, but those on the committee felt that it should not be included in the specification. The main objection was that in an accelerated corrosion test one was endeavouring to do in a few seconds what in natural conditions would take years; and it was now being recognised that such tests were of little value in assessing the corrosive properties of a metal.The flash point test was carried out with boiling hot strong sulphuric acid; but no chemical manufacturer would be likely to use such in contact with lead. There were many factors such as the formation of steam, the chemical reduction of sulphuric acid, the evolution of hydrogen, the catalytic effect of the surface lead, affecting this test, other than the presence of the segregated impurities upon which this test throws the onus of the whole imperfection of the lead. Mr. Russell had shown that lead which had stood the test of time often gave a low flash point. They were endeavouring to find rapid methods of estimating minute amounts of the more important impurities, which would eliminate the labour and expense of a full analysis.Mr. H. St. J. SOMERSET thanked Mr. Thompson for his remarks. He supposed some of those present knew that the Broken Hill Associated Smelters was responsible for Mr. Russell's investigations at the University, and he could only agree with Mr. Thompson that the flash point test, which had been accepted at the present time...

Jan 1, 1930

By J. Evans

Including: Tailings thickeners, CCD?s, paste thickeners, HI-rate thickeners, lamella thickeners, high compression thickeners, clarifiers etc. Flocculant dosing control for mining thickeners and clarifiers is influenced by a number of process factors. 1. Flow rate into the thickener or clarifier a) As the flow rate increases into the thickener or clarifier ?retention time? decreases which causes a greater affect hydraulically on the settling solids. So as the flow rate increases it will generally mean an increase in flocculant dosing rate. b) As the flow rate decreases into the thickener or clarifier the retention time increases which reduces the hydraulic affect on settling, improving settling rates. This will generally mean that as the flow rate decreases, we will decrease the flocculant dose rate.

Jan 1, 2011

By T. Güyagüler, A. Güngör

Labour protection, that is prevention of occupational disease and reduction in the frequency of accident, has always been a matter of major concern of mining industry. Management and the government should promote and maintain high safety standards through some measures to reduce accident frequency and occupational disease. This can be achieved by using the science and technology for improving the working conditions, educating workers and managers about accidents and prevention techniques. The detailed analysis of an accident requires knowledge of many factors such as location, time, type, cost of accident, victim, nature of the injury, personal and environmental factors etc. that can be obtained from the standard coded accident report form. There is a need to prepare safety data in a common format to produce a common safety reporting system and ‘Occupational Health and Safety Management Tool’ is being designed to manage this by using database and Internet technology. Precautions should be taken according to results from database queries by providing comprehensive and accurate national data. To have an accident is unfortunate, however, to have an accident and learn nothing from it is unforgivable. Keywords: Occupational health and safety, Accident report form, Accident database, Occupational diseases and accidents, Safety reporting system.

Jan 1, 2003

By Steven R. Wardwell, Gerald G. Stokes

INTRODUCTION A compaction grouting program to control ground loss, and to minimize surface settlement, was developed for the West Tunnel of the Phoenix Storm Drain Tunnels. The West Tunnel was 4,200 m long, 7.56 m in excavated diameter, and was excavated with shallow cover through the central Phoenix business district. The tunnel could not have been successfully excavated without the compaction grouting program. HISTORY After heated political debate over a ten year period, the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) was granted approval to build the Papago Freeway, an extension of Interstate 10, through central Phoenix. To comply with environmental constraints, a portion of the Freeway was depressed, requiring an excavation 10 meters in depth, thus intersecting surface run-off from the northern section of Phoenix. This required that ADOT and Project Design Consultant, Howard, Needles, Tammen & Bergendoff (HNTB) design a drain system to collect run-off and transport it approximately 4 kilometers to the Salt River through the City of Phoenix. Tunnels were chosen for the main discharge conduits because depth and location of the system made cut and cover construction impractical. A contract for construction of the tunnels was awarded to Shank-Artukovich-Ohbayashi (S-A-O) on May 24, 1984.

Jan 1, 1987

By A Webster, T Murphy

Block cave mining, in its broadest sense, has transitioned from an orebody/rock mass determined method of extraction, to a low-cost and high production mining method that may be applied to any large ore deposit. This inherently means that caving is now required in more complex rock mass conditions where assistive damage, through preconditioning, may be necessary. This requires comprehensive understanding of the geology, and its interwoven relationship with geotechnical parameters, and is made more challenging due to limited exposure in block cave mines. Limited mine development throughout the cave volume equates to a heavy reliance on drilling data in terms of observations, modelling of the mine geology, and collection of geotechnical data. This translates as increased uncertainty of geological and geotechnical models and has potential to impact significantly on the ability to make informed decisions in the design and operation of the cave mine.Modelling of cave propagation behaviour requires a complex, coupled system of draw of material, flow of material through the cave stocks, and propagation of the cave-back assisted by autogenic stress-related breakage of the rock mass, manifested as seismicity. The role of geological features in the process of cave propagation is not well understood and requires evaluation on a mine-specific basis, given the diversity of geological controls/settings of ore deposits and local variability of stress fields.Seismic monitoring systems can elucidate key geological features and domains, as heterogeneous seismogenic activity is observed ahead of the advancing cave-back. The observations made from analysis of seismic monitoring data may have potential to be used as a validation tool for numerical modelling of predicted cave behaviour in similar geological settings (eg next lift/panel).Understanding of the geological structure, at all scales, is critical to optimise the design and operating decisions made in a block cave operation. At present, intermediate-scale structure, anisotropy, mineralogy and model uncertainty may be neglected or under-represented despite their likely significant role in the mechanisms of cave propagation.Insights from an analysis of the Ridgeway Deeps block cave mine are discussed in this paper.CITATION:Murphy, T, Webster, A and Chitombo, G, 2016. Beyond rock mass characterisation – the impact of geology on block cave mining, in Proceedings Seventh International Conference and Exhibition on Mass Mining (MassMin 2016), pp 861–872 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

May 9, 2016

By Robert E. Loftus

"The author discusses the growth in the use of ocean-going bulk carriers for the transportation of mineral commodities, and predicts future trends. The various types of tonnage carriers are described, along with the special discharging gear used, the costs involved and the duties of some of the personnel.THE FIRST CONSIDERATION in planning the ocean transportation of minerals is the type of vessel to be utilized. The modern 'Bulk Carrier' bas proved to be the most successful vehicle for the purpose. I would there-fore like to describe this fleet in some detail and at-tempt to show the impact that the bulk carrier bas bad on the movement of bulk materials."

Jan 1, 1968

By Armstrong M, Kleingeld W. J

Current low prices for many metals mean that deposits have to be mined at high cut-offs (relative to their mean grade), which means that only a small percentage of mining blocks are above cut-off. Worse, at such high cut-offs, the blocks above cut-off are usually not grouped into convenient clumps for mining; they tend to be split into small isolated patches that are difficult to reach and hence expensive to extract. Companies wishing to acquire mineral properties have to be able to work out quickly what percentage of blocks are above cut-off and what can effectively be mined given the mining method envisaged. Moreover they need this information within a relatively short-time. The work presented here relates to typical South African gold mines (ie tabular orebodies) but the long-term objective is to develop tools for quantifying the impact of reserve breakup at high cut-offs for a wide range of underground mines including those that are not tabular. The mining method and the sampling procedure determine whether ore blocks can effectively be located and extracted economically. This project studied the impact of these two factors on the recoverable reserves for Witwatersrand gold mines. In order to be repeatable, the tests were done on numerical models of the deposit obtained by geostatistical simulations. To ensure realism, the orebody model and the mining scenarios were based on a specific mine. The recoverable reserves (ore tonnage above cut-off, the corresponding metal quantity and the average grade) were calculated for a wide range of cut-offs for four mining scenarios, as well as for the base case of free selection: ò Scenario 1: Blocks are taken if their true grade is above cut-off and if they are accessible from a raiseline (no information effect, no marginal blocks). ò Scenario 2: In addition to the accessible pay blocks, adjoining marginal blocks are taken (no information effect, + marginal blocks). ò Scenario 3: Blocks are taken if their estimated grade is above cut-off and if they are accessible from a raiseline. Here the estimator is the average of the face samples (information effect, no marginal blocks): ò Scenario 4: Accessible pay blocks are taken if their estimated grade is above cut-off. Adjoining marginal blocksare also taken (information effect, + marginal blocks). ò Free selection: All blocks whose true grade is above cut-off are taken irrespective of their accessibility. The results can be presented in different ways, for example by plotting ore tonnage above cut-off versus cut-off grade, or metal tonnage above cut-off versus cut-off grade etc. As expected, this shows the hierarchy between the five scenarios from the free selection base case to scenario No 2 (true accumulations, pay +

Jan 1, 1995