Search Documents

By Stewart, J. B.

THE property at which this work was done consists of a large deposit of potash salts occurring in massive beds of rock salt, overlain by 600 ft. of salt-impregnated shales and marls. It is in the Province of Cataluiia, Spain, about 45 miles from the railway station of Mauresa and about a mile south of Suria. In addition to sinking the shaft, the program of construction work laid out by the European owners (not Spaniards) included a single-track narrow-gage railroad from Mauresa to the mine; one large office building and several large shop buildings, all of brick and concrete with steel truss roofs; two extensive benches for the future recovery plant; and a large village of stone dwellings for employees. The pay-roll showed approximately 1200 to 1500 men employed. After two years' operation, ending early in the autumn of 1920, the shaft had been sunk 325 ft. and still had an equal distance to go to reach the potash; all tunnels for the railroad were done and the road-bed $0 per cent completed; only a little more than the foundations were completed for all the large buildings, and the excavations of the benches were about 75 per cent done-while only a fair start had been made upon the employees' village. This was the state of affairs when the European owners decided to offer this property under a one-year option to an American syndicate, providing that they agreed to carry on the entire building program and to sink the shaft as fast as was consistent with the quality of work which they demanded, for they wished the shaft to endure at least 200 years.

Jan 1, 1926

By Enrique Velarde

El presente texto señala el uso de Balanced Scorecard, como una de las herramientas más modernas y completas de implementación y control estratégico en la compañía minera Xstrata Tintaya. También se describe su implementación por etapas, los principales atributos del BSC de la gerencia y se presenta las lecciones aprendidas, las dificultades y los resultados logrados. De forma, que la empresa ha desarrollado un recurso para medir, gestionar y monitorear las variables clave como riesgo socio-político, percepción externa, procesos de diálogo y la identificación y ejecución de proyectos de impacto en educación, salud, infraestructura y turismo, al tiempo que esta mejora el alineamiento de la gestión social.

Sep 14, 2009

By Santos M. Torres

Ante el alto impacto de pérdidas humanas por accidentes laborales, surge la necesidad de afrontar el reto de la gestión preventiva minera a través de una herramienta que sea eficaz en los controles. Para ello, Pan American silver, implementa en sus UEA – Huarón, Quiruvilca y Morococha, un sistema de control llamado: “VEO (Verificación de estándares operativos), el que permite obtener información rápidamente acerca de los peligros inminentes, pues enfoca y prioriza la aplicación de medidas de control preventivo en las labores más requeridas y a la vez permite su verificación y aseguramiento. En este sentido, el presente trabajo describe el desarrollo de la verificación de los estándares operativos (VEO) donde los supervisores lo usan para programar la inspección de sus labores durante la guardia priorizando las inspecciones en función del nivel de riesgo, de forma que este proporciona información importante para la supervisión en tiempo corto sobre el nivel de seguridad de la labor, nivel de reiteración de fallas, trabajadores más riesgosos y controles de menor cumplimiento, etc. a fin de priorizar la supervisión.

Sep 14, 2009

By Saúl Gutierrez, Miguel Seminario

El presente artículo presenta las mejoras realizadas en el bobinado de los molinos GearLess Mill Drive (GMD) en Antamina, debido a estrés eléctrico y térmico que están sometidos. Además de ello, este documento tiene como finalidad de compartir la experiencia y los diferentes desarrollos que puedan ser aplicados en otras unidades mineras.

Sep 29, 2023

By Merih Celasun

The literature in operations research centered on mineral exploration has been comparatively limited in view of the significant implications of mineral discoveries upon the national economies in general and mineral industries in particular. Much of what has been published is of somewhat unsure academic nature, indicating to a certain extent the scarcity of industrial applications. Mineral exploration activities present quite difficult operational and conceptual problems. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the principal characteristics of decision problems encountered in planning an exploration program, to indicate an optimization approach to a certain class of allocation problems, and to suggest directions for future research effort.

Jan 1, 1962

By Stein Wennberg, Snorre Tessem

INTRODUCTION The mine is situated in the middle of Norway 150 km north of the town Trondheim. The iron ore deposits were discovered in 1906 and have been continuously mined since. The first owner was A/S Nordiske Grubekompagni. In 1912 Fosdalens Bergverks-Aktieselskab was established; since World War II it has been a wholly state-owned company. The location is advantageous, with mining facilities, ore dressing plant and stockpile situated near the northern head of the Trondheimsf jord. The iron ore always occurs in Ordovician lavas and sediments, now altered to greenschists, keratophyres and limestone. The ore bearing zone is 150 km long. The deposits consist of two parallel linear ore bodies lying one above the other in the same stratigraphic horizon which dips 70' to the south. The upper body is 50-100 m high, the lower one 250 m high, while the distance between the two bodies in the East mine varies between 20 and 60 m. The ore width varies between 5 and 8 m. The ore bodies strike WSW and plunge between 10' and 15" in this direction. To date continuous ore has either been worked or opened up along a total strike length of 10 km. Until 1969 all ore was mined in the western part of the deposit called the Western mine. In the spring of 1969 production started in a new mine, the Eastern mine. The ore bodies in this new mine are geologically the same as in the old mine, but they have been displaced 700 m downwards along a major fault in the Fosdalen valley.

Jan 1, 1981

By Robert F. Conley

In the mining, manufacturing and application of inorganic pigments, dispersion contributes significantly. This is especially true with mineral pigments because of the variety, in slurry operations required for their processing. Such operations include any of the following: (1) mine-transport (2) wet grinding (3) flotation/beneficiation (4) wet magnetic separation (5) selective floculation (6) size classification (7) chemical processing (8) spray drying Dosage levels and general economics of dispersant use are broadly variant, being dependant upon the agents employed, from the simplist, i.e., sodium silicate or sodium carbonate, to the more complex, as polyacrylates and organo-phosphates. In certain unit processes the dispersant must exhibit unusual chemical stability and persistence, e.g., in protracted pigment slurry shipments. In others, the agent should be fugitive to prevent secondary reactions from occurring, e.g., with high temperature calcination where alkali salts can act as aggregation fluxing agents.

Jan 1, 1985

By Daniel J. Turk, William R. Banning, John Paterson, Thomas J. Weitz, Michael L. Clark

Introduction Pegasus Gold's Montana Tunnels mine is a large surface gold, silver, lead, and zinc mine located 37 km (23 miles) south of Helena in southwestern Montana. Milling operations commenced in late March 1987. The concentrator achieved full production in May that year after undergo¬ing several modifications and improvements. Production for 1988 is projected to be 2.48 t ,80,000 oz) of gold, 34.2 t (1.1 million oz) of silver, along with 8.5 kt (9400 st) of lead, and 22.6 kt (25,000 st) of zinc from lead and zinc concentrates. Mill throughput currently averages 11.7 kt/d (12,900 stpd), compared to the origi¬nally designed capacity of 11.3 kt/d (12,500 stpd). Cash production costs, net of bypro¬duct revenues for the third quarter 1988, were below $3.20/g ($100 per oz). The introduction of ore to the concen¬trator marked the culmination of 12 years ex¬ploration, evaluation, and development. Initial milling operations encountered diffi¬culties with the circuit as designed. As a result, several modifications and improve¬ments were made to the plant. This article is intended to assist other companies developing projects of this type and complexity. It discusses the mine's de¬velopment from feasibility and construction through start-up. The operation, as it exists today, is reviewed including the modifica¬tions and improvements made since start-up. History The mine is situated in Jefferson County, MT within the historic Corbin-Wickes min¬ing district. Underground mining began in 1864 and flourished until the early 1900s. Between 1864 and 1900 the vein deposits in the district produced about $41 million dol¬lars worth of lead and silver ores containing subordinate amounts of zinc, copper, and gold. At various times, three smelters were operated in the area.

Jan 1, 1989

By John Cline

The economic value of calcium carbonate when used as an extender or filler basically falls into two categories: 1. Lessening the cost of the final product to which it is added. 2. Contributing desirable physicals to the final product. In most instances, a combination of these two may be achieved. The mineral limestone which is found in abundant quantities in many areas of the world is the source of 99% (+) of the calcium carbonate used as fillers and extenders. Precipitated, or chemically formed, calcium carbonate is also available, but by comparison, in very limited quantities.

Jan 1, 1985

By P. M. Brown

The Bureau of Mines is investigating a dewatering technique for coal-clay waste that uses a flocculant, polyethylene oxide (PEO). This flocculant forms strong stable flocs that can be dewatered on a static screen. A field test unit (FTU) using this technique was operated at approximately 400 gal/min, using a waste stream from the flotation circuit of a coal preparation plant. Consolidated coal-clay material con-taining 55 to 60 pct solids was produced when the flotation circuit slurries of 2.7 to 8 pct solids were treated with 0.1 to 0.3 Ib PEO per ton of solids. The FTU was also operated at 64.5 and 87.5 gal/min using a portion of the underflow slurry from the preparation plant's thickener. Consolidated coal-clay material containing 55 to 60 pct solids was produced when the thickener underflow slurries of 19 to 24 pct solids were treated with 0.08 to 0.2 Ib PEO per ton of solids. PED-treated materials continued to dewater when placed in a pit.

Jan 1, 1983

By J. V. G. Middleton

The paper gives a comprehensive review of the design considerations which determined the choice of the milling plant, a description of the plant and comment on the operating experience to date. Operating experience will include inter alia a description of the mill liners installed with subsequent changes due to wear patterns, the mill inlet sealing arrangement, steel ball addition, mill outlet sump design, cyclone feed pump liner wear patterns and comment on the efficiency of the linear screens for wood chip and tramp removal. Finally a view on future trends in South African milling practice with respect to type and size of plant.

Jan 1, 1989

By AIME AIME

This section contains announcements of general interest to the members of the Institute, but not always of sufficient permanent value to warrant republication in the volumes of the Transactions.

Sep 1, 1906

By P. R. Sahm, T. V. Pruss, D. A. Gandolfo

Cb 3 Sn powders were hot-pressed to estahlish densi-fication conditions and assess the possible use of such compacts in multiphase structures with ceramic or magnetic inclusions. Superconducting transition temperatures, Tc, were measured as a function of powder particle size, pressing temperature, and second-phase admixtures. The highest transition temperatures were found in coarse powder (5 to 500 u) compacts and were only weakly depended on pressing temperatures up to 1200°C. Fine powders (below 5 p), however, both single-phase CbsSn and Cb3 Sn-composites, showed a stronger dependence on hot-pressing temperatures. While Al2 O3 phase admixtures did not affect T, much more, a Pronounced T, degradation was observed upon the addition of ferrimagnetic Fe2 Mno. 5 Zno.5 O4 powders. Likewise, critical current densities, Jc, at 4.2° K were lowered appreciably in the ferrite doped samples, whereas the neutral A1203 inclusiow gave slightly improved Jc values. MULTIPHASE structures in electronically active materials have recently gained in interest as pointed out by Galasso in a review article.' In superconductors the most widely reported group are eutectic alloys which have been mostly investigated with respect to the proximity effect.2"4 In addition, "artificial eu-tectics", for example in the form of mercury-vycor glass sponge5 or fine niobium wires imbedded in a copper matrix,= have been prepared to attain higher critical fields and critical current densities. The idea was to enhance flux pinning phenomena by second-phase inclusions or ho1es. 7 Flux pinning should also be possible by the introduction of insulator inclusions into a superconducting matrix. Ceramic-metal combinations are most easily produced by hot pressing (= pressure sintering), as it permits an almost unlimited selection of material combinations. Cb 3 Sn has been prepared by vapor phase growths or in the form of thin films. Large compacts must be sintered,1° however, and normally present difficulties. At temperatures below 1350°C insufficient densities are obtained and at higher temperatures the loss of tin due to dissociation upsets the stoichiometry. Hot pressing is a natural approach to circumvent the problems, since one can obtain satisfactory densities despite low sintering temperatures. This work was mostly concerned with establishing conditions to hot press Cb3 Sn and Cb3 Sn multiphase structures (= composites), because no data are presently available, and to evaluate these with respect to their transition temperatures. However, a few measurements on critical current densities were also carried out, in particular to assess the value of ferrimagnetic inclusions. I) EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE The experimental procedure involved the preparation of feed material and powders, hot pressing, and evaluation of the resulting ingots. As no attempts were made to synthesize Cb3Sn from the elements during hot pressing, feed material had to be produced. For this purpose, a stoichiometric Cb-Sn powder mixture was compacted into a 3-cm-diam ingot (80,000 psi) and then inserted into a quartz tube and evacuated. Rf heating was employed. Above the tin melting point (230°C) liquid tin was forced out of the ingot, but was pulled back by capillary action after approximately 0.5 hr of continuous pumping at 700°C. Thus, it appears that evacuation at this temperature caused desorption of impurity gas creating wetting surfaces which, later on, favored alloying at relatively low temperatures. After a presintering period of 17 hr at 800°C, the quartz tube was tipped off and sealed into another such larger-diameter tube which, in turn, was connected to a pump system. This configuration permitted a temperature treatment at 1400°C, carried out for 65 hr, without collapsing of the glass walls or unfavorable chemical interaction of Cb3Sn with the quartz. The resulting material was

Jan 1, 1969

By James A. Jones

The Doe Run Co. emerged from the depressed lead market of the mid-1980s as North America's leading lead producer. Doe Run was lean and mean but quickly recognized that technology had advanced while the company was held to the belt tightening slump. With the 1990s approaching, Doe Run moved quickly to update its technology and control equipment to ensure its position as an industry leader. Doe Run was formed in 1986 when Fluor Corp. and Homestake Mining Co. combined their lead-zinc-copper assets in Missouri to form a joint venture. Doe Run is now owned by Fluor Corp. A rich history of mining, milling and smelting started in Missouri in 1862 when the St. Joseph Lead Co. was founded. Subsequent acquisitions led to the formation of St. Joe Minerals, which was later purchased by Fluor Corp. Six mines, four concentrators and two smelters are presently being operated, and a secondary lead smelter was recently commissioned. The Viburnum, Buick and Fletcher operations are lead, zinc and copper flotation concentrators, while the Brushy Creek plant is set up to process high copper-low lead ores. This article looks primarily at the process control installation at the Fletcher concentrator.

Jan 1, 1991

By I. Fatt

A recently developed system for measuring electrical resistivity of liquids without use of electrodes offers some interesting possibilities in electric logging technology. The equipment as supplied by the manufacturer is satisfactory for continuous mud logging on a drilling rig or for measuring mud or filtrate resistivity in the laboratory. A simple modification of the commercially available instrument makes it suitable for measuring resistivity of core samples in the laboratory. The continuous measurement of mud resistivity on a drilling rig is a convenient means for detecting mixing of formation water with the drilling mud. Such information is useful to the geologist, the mud engineer and the logging engineer. However, continuous mud resistivity logging by conventional electrode-type resistivity cells is beset with difficulties. The mud, sand and rock chips abrade the electrodes, thereby changing the cell constant and eventually destroying the cell. Also, additives and crude oil in the mud may poison the electrodes by coating them with a nonconductive material. An electrode-type resistivity cell. therefore, may give erroneous readings under certain conditions. Electric logging companies circumvent the electrode poisoning problem by using a four-electrode resistivity cell for measurement of mud resistivity. In this cell, change in electrode area does not change the cell constant. However, the four-electrode cell is difficult to adapt for continuous reading and does not solve completely the problem of electrode abrasion by the sand and cuttings in the mud. The measurement of electric logging parameters on core samples in the laboratory encounters some of the same problems discussed in connection with mud logging. Ideally, the electrical resistivity of a core sample should be measured by placing platinum black electrodes in direct contact with the plane ends of a cylindrical or rectangular sample. Platinum black electrodes however, are much too fragile and easily abraded to be brought in contact with a rock sample. Also, oil or other constituents in the fluid contained in the sample will poison platinum black. In practice, gold-plated brass electrodes, in an AC bridge circuit operating at about 1,000 cps, are used for routine core analysis. For more precise work in research studies, a four-electrode scheme is used.',' Preparation of the samples for the four-electrode method is much too involved for routine core analysis. An apparatus for measuring resistivity of liquids without use of electrodes was described by Guthrie and Boys3 in 1879. They suspended a beaker, containing the electrolyte, by a torsion wire and rotated a set of permanent bar magnets around the vessel. The eddy currents induced in the electrolyte reacted against the rotating magnetic field to develop a torque, which was measured as a deflection of the torsion wire. In 1879 this method could not be made precise or convenient because of the lack of strong permanent magnets. The writer described a very greatly improved apparatus similar to that of Guthrie and Boys, but it was not suitable for continuous measurements or core samples.' Many electrodeless resistivity devices using radio frequency current are described in the literature.5, 6 These generally are suitable only for noting the end-point in a chemical titration. They do not measure resistivity, instead measuring a complex quantity which includes the dielectric constant and the magnetic permeability. The first description of the apparatus to be discussed in this paper was given by Relis.7 Improvements and modifications are described by Fielden,s Gupta and Hills,> and Eichholz and Bettens.10 DESCRIPTION OF APPARATUS The apparatus used in this study is based on the principle that the solution under measurement can form a loop coupling two transformer coils, as shown in Fig. 1. For a fixed AC voltage applied across Coil A, the voltage appearing across Coil B is a function of the resistance of the liquid-filled loop. The details of the voltage generating and measuring circuits are given in Refs. 7, 8, 9 and 10. A block diagram of the equipment is given in Fig. 7. Special features worth mentioning are the operating frequency of 18,000 cps and the automatic temperature compensation which results in the given resistivity readings being automatically correlated to 25°C. The liquid loop supplied by the manufacturer, shown in Figs. 1 and 2, was modified for use in core analysis (Fig. 3). The core sample under test is substituted for a section of the original loop. As shown in Fig. 3, the unit accepts only plastic-mounted cylindrical core specimens. A Hassler-type sleeve easily can be designed for the unit if unmounted cores are to be measured. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE MUD LOGGING A simulated mud line was set up in the laboratory.

By Mao Bai

In predicting the integrity of under-mined structures, surface horizontal displacements and curvatures are frequently of greater importance than the more homogeneous vertical displacements. Accurate evaluation of mining induced subsidence and horizontal displacement further requires that the predictive model adequately represents the subsurface geology, mining geometry and extraction sequencing. The following documents an extension of the Subsidence Prediction and System Identification method (SPASID) to the evaluation of horizontal strains. Comparisons are made between predictions from SPASID and two other empirical methods against measured data from a case study. The system identification method is illustrated to predict horizontal displacements and strains most consistently with the in situ data.

Jan 1, 1989

By B OÆNeil

The Trent-Severn Waterway is a 386 km long navigation route through central Ontario between Lake Ontario and Georgian Bay, and is operated by the Parks Canada Agency. Its primary focus is to pass recreational boats through a system of 44 locks. The Big Chute Marine Railway (BCMR) is one site in the system that provides transportation for boats. The BCMR carriage is used to transport boats and their passengers on the inclined railway a distance of 230 m over a natural barrier from one body of water to another, with an elevation difference of 18 m. The unique feature of the haulage system used in this application is the variable angle of the incline from about 20 per cent rise changing to horizontal and followed by 20 per cent decline. In such conditions, unlike as in standard incline haulage, special configuration of hoists and drives is required. On the uphill part of the track, there is a need to have a motoring mode, on the downhill part a regenerating mode and on the horizontal part a combination of motoring and regeneration is required. The original system was built in 1978 and employed four 100 hp dc drive mine hoists to haul the 100 tonne conveyance loaded with 90 tonnes of boats. Due to failures and operational problems with the original system, in 1999 Parks Canada awarded a turnkey contract to ABB for a new, modern system of four single drum hoists. The new system was put into operation in 2000, only six months after receiving the order. The hoists are controlled by digital drives and a digital control system. Due to dramatic changes in the load conditions for individual hoists involved, the new system features many interesting solutions like changing drive modes from speed to torque control and a multiple, regulated braking system. It is a unique hoisting system, which could be also used in mining applications.

Jan 1, 2005

By W. C. Weslow

AN extended program devoted to the development of a matrix for holding diamonds of a size and kind not heretofore generally used is being carried on by the Carboloy Company, and this paper describes the part of the development that affects mining and its allied industries. Laboratory and field work so far has indicated the following: 1. Tungsten carbide and cobalt form the most desirable known matrix material for the holding of diamonds for drilling work. 2. Industrial bort diamonds in sizes and of a class not generally heretofore acceptable and therefore less expensive can be successfully held in this cemented carbide matrix. 3. In exploratory drilling, the combination of bort diamonds, impregnated throughout a matrix of tungsten carbide and cobalt, when fabricated onto drilling crowns, is an indicated economic substitute for drilling crowns in which the diamonds are set by hand, mechanically or by casting. 4. This impregnated type of drilling crown or bit has definite possibilites of revolutionizing the drilling of blast holes, particularly in the harder formations. This will be brought about by the development of high-speed light-weight rotary equipment using an impregnated diamond bit to replace the percussion drill now in general use. (The development of this rotary equipment is well past the laboratory stage at this time.) 5. That the use of a rotary bit is a preventive measure in the fight against silicosis. The development of this product was started by G. F. Taylor at the Research Laboratories of the General Electric Co. It was early recognized that it had possibilities in the drilling field and the present product is the result of considerable experimental work with other powdered metals as well as with tungsten carbide and cobalt. In the study of the potential application to the mining field, it was learned that carbon diamonds originally were given a high rating of performance but that the trend had been toward borts in selected sizes

Jan 1, 1940

By Jasper L. Stuckey

PYROPHYLLITE, first identified as soapstone,' later as agalmatolite,2 and finally as pyrophyl-lite, has been known to occur in North Carolina for more than 130 years and has been produced intermittently in commercial amounts for the past 100 years. Pyrophyllite mining, however, has become a major industry in North Carolina only during the past 25 years. North Carolina and California are the chief producing states. Current annual production averages 125,000 tons, of which slightly more than 90 pct comes from North Carolina. Distribution and Geologic Setting: All known pyrophyllite deposits in North Carolina are associated with rocks of the Carolina Slate Belt,' which is composed of a vast series of metamorphosed volcanic and sedimentary materials, occurring as two zones extending in a northeast-southwest direction across the state. The larger of these zones, lying in the central Piedmont region, varies from 8 to 50 miles wide. The smaller zone lies along the eastern edge of the Piedmont region and is partly covered by coastal plain sediments. The rocks in both zones consist of a great volcanic-sedimentary series, composed of air-laid and water-laid tuffs and breccias, lava flows, and slates. On the basis of composition, they may be classed into three groups: 1) tuffs, breccias, and lava flows of acid or rhyolitic composition; 2) tuffs, breccias, and lava flows of a basic or andesitic composition; and 3) water-laid slates composed of fine grained materials derived chiefly from the acid tuffs and breccias and

Jan 1, 1959

By Gilbert C. Robinson

Manufacturers of brick and tile are showing growing interest in the possibility of manufacture of a clay bonded block. The block would have the shape of concrete block, but would be made without the use of Portland cement, Instead, the block would be made' from mixtures' of an aggregate and the present raw materials of the brick industry. The finished units would weigh 20 to 30 pounds and meet the specifications for Grade A concrete block. The present status of the clay block development shows one manufacturer actually in production of these units$, two additional manufacturers are attempting production and many manufacturers are actively engaged in development work. At least four major research laboratories are engaged in the development program. There are several different processes available for clay block production. These processes differ primarily in the type of aggregate used or in the type of forming operation selected. I would like summarize these possible methods.

Jan 1, 1960