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By D. S. Choi

The paper contains a subsidence measurement taken over a room and pillar panel of a mine located in northern West Virginia. A total of 72 monuments were used to determine a three dimensional view of mine subsidence. In addition, the results of measurements were used to compute ground strains with the use of a numerical model.

Jan 1, 1982

By J. P. Josien, Didier C.

ABSTRACT: France now faces the closure of most of its mining sites. Surface instability risk may sometimes remain, especially where large underground voids exist. This paper illustrates the importance of failure mechanisms identification in order to define properly how to manage the residual risk. RESUME: La France fait aujourd’hui face à la fermeture de ses exploitations minières. Des risques d’instabilités de surface peuvent persister, notamment lorsque des vides résiduels existent au sein des travaux souterrains. L’article illustre l’importance que présente la nature des mécanismes de rupture potentiels dans le choix des mesures compensatoires à adopter pour gérer le risque résiduel à long terme. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG: In Frankreich stellt sich derzeit das Problem der definitiven Schliessung des meisten Bergwerke. In manchen fällen ist die Stabilität der Oberfläche nicht garantiert, speziell wenn unter Tage nicht verfüllte Hohlräume verblieben sind. Dieser Bericht zeigt die Wichtigkeit, bei der Auswahl geeigneter Langzeit-Risikomanagementmethoden, der verschiedenen Mechanismen mit denen ein eventueller Bruch an die Tagesoberfläche geraten kann.

Jan 1, 2003

By W. A. Grosh

The Bureau of Mines began a comprehensive investigation of the old lead diggings in the Wisconsin portion of the Upper Mississippi lead-zinc field in September 1947 to determine whether enough lead was present in shallow deposits to justify exploitation by modern open-pit methods. Because of the large number of areas of surface diggings, it was necessary to limit the investigation to only a few representative areas. Initial studies, therefore, included test pitting and hand auger-drill sampling at two sites n Grant County and one site in Lafayette County to determine whether further extensive sampling in that area was warranted. Results indicated that certain portions of the area contained substantial amounts of lead and, zinc; accordingly, more detailed sampling was undertaken, and the results will be described in a later report. Another phase of the general investigation was drilling and test pitting at the Nigger Jim Lafayette County. This 10 the third of the series and summarizes the work on the White property to develop the western extension of the Big Dick ere body, where four churn-drill holes totaling 679 feet were drilled. Inclusion of the White property in the study was justified because old reports indicated (1) production of ore from mines in the vicinity disclosed a high ratio of lead to zinc, (2) ore was present in the west heading of the Big Dick mine when it closed, and the attitude of the Big Dick ore body was such that a vertical hole would encounter ore that might be present.

Jan 1, 1950

By Wang Zuoyu

The manuscript of this paper was not available for publication when the Proceedings went to press. Should the author elect, he may distribute copies to the time of the Symposium.

Jan 1, 1986

Open pit optimization and mine design depend upon a realistic estimate of the grade-tonnage dis¬tribution. The estimate should reflect what can be reasonably recovered and processed. The McCoy/Cove operation in central Nevada is a gold and silver mine. Recoverable reserve estimations of gold and silver were made using indicator kriging and the indirect log normal variance correction to construct the grade- tonnage distribution. Optimal pits were generated using this distribution, and the results were compared to the pits generated by ordinary kriging and indicator kriging block mean methods. The results indicate that the proposed method for multimetal recoverable reserve estimation shows an improvement in terms of predicting the recoverable tons and grades. The optimal pits generated from the recoverable resource model are larger than those generated by the ordinary kriging and indicator kriging block mean methods. This model maximizes the overall recovery of the mineral resource.

Jan 1, 1999

In a high pressure rolls crusher two force components: the pressurising thrust and the rolling force can be measured experimentally. Computer analyses have revealed regular patterns of stress distribution in the confined material between the rollers. Based on the computer analyses and experimental results a one-dimensional comminution model has been developed.

Jan 1, 1995

By J. H. Henderson, J. Naar

The displacement of a wetting fluid from a porous medium by a non-wetting fluid (drainage) is now reasonably well understood. A complete explanation has yet to be found for the analogous case of a wetting fluid being spontaneously imbibed and the non-wetting phase displaced (imbibition). During the displacement of oil or gas by water in a water-wet sand, the porous medium ordinarily imbibes water. The amount of oil recovered, the cost of recovery and the production history seem then to be controlled mainly by pore geometry. The influence of pore geometry is reflected in drainage and imbibition capillary-pressure curves and relative permeability curves. Relative permeability curves for a particular consolidated sand show that at any given saturation the permeability to oil during imbibition is smaller than during drainage. ' Low imbibition permeabilities suggest that the non-wetting phase, oil or gas, is gradually trapped by the advancing water. This paper describes a mathematical image (model) of consolidated porous rock based on the concept of the trapping of the non-wetting phase during the imbibition process. The following items have been derived from the model. 1. A direct relation between the relative permeability characteristics during imbibition and those observed during drainage. 2. A theoretical limit for the fractional amount of oil or gas recoverable by imbibition. 3. An expression for the resistivity index which can be used in connection with the formula for wetting-phase relative permeability to check the consistency of the model. 4. The Iimits of flow performance for a given rock dictated by complete wetting by either oil or water. 5. The factors controlling oil recovery by imbibition in the presence of free gas. The complexity of a porous medium is such that drastic simplifications must be introduced to obtain a model amenable to mathematical treatment. Many parameters have been introduced by others in Iprogressing" from the parallel-capillary model to the randomly interconnected capillary models independently proposed by Wyllie and Gardner3 and Marshall4. To these a further complication must be added since an imbibition model must trap part of the non-wetting phase during imbibition of the wetting phase. Like so many of the previously introduced complications, this fluid-block was introduced to make the model performance fit the observed imbibition flow behavior. THE IMBIBITION MODEL ASSUMPTIONS The following assumptions are common to many two-phase models previously described. 1. The wetting characteristics of the medium are clearly defined. 2. When two fluids co-exist in the medium, the wetting phase will fill the smaller pores and the non-wetting fluid the bigger ones. 3. The pores have a circular cross section. 4. Apparent pore radii are related to the capillary pressure (drainage) by

By Bill Runner, James T. Ludwiczak

During the last few years, there has been a flood of local, state, and Federal government regulations concerning blasting. Many of the laws and regulations were written by individuals who know little about explosives, the purpose of blasting, or blasting vibration and damage. I feel that the special interest groups responsible for some of these regulations are not trying to regulate blasting, but to stop it completely by unreasonable, non-flexible, regulations. The most recent being the Office of Surface Mining regulations that are already spreading to the quarry industry and will, no doubt, spread to all blasting involving disturbance of the surface.

Jan 1, 1979

By K. Biswas, P. Tsang, S. S. Peng

A survey was undertaken in late 1993 and early 1994 to gain insight into the current status of pillar-design practice in underground coal mines in the United States. A total of 552 room-and-pillar mines and 75 longwall mines were surveyed to collect general, geological and mine-plan information. The collected information was critically analyzed with special emphasis on the pillar-design criteria adopted in these mines. A safety factor analysis was also carried out for the pillars in the room-and-pillar mines.

Jan 1, 1997

By H. E. Mussey

When the American Institute of Mining Engineers visited the Birmingham district in May, 1888, the four Ensley furnaces (Fig. 1) then completed were referred to as monumental.' Their dimensions are givcn in Table 1. Mr. Gordon stated, with considerable satisfaction, that on the preceding day one furnace had produced 165 tons. The blast was

Jan 1, 1925

By J Andrina, D Richar, R Smart, A Neale

The Grasberg is a large copper and gold open pit mine operated by PT Freeport Indonesia and located in the high equatorial mountains of Papua Province, Indonesia. The climate is alpine/sub-alpine with little seasonal variation in temperature and rainfall. The annual precipitation varies from about 3000 to 5000 mm over short distances around the Grasberg, but in general, an average daily precipitation of 10 mm per day applies and leaching of the overburden is continuous throughout the year. Mining commenced in 1988, and almost all of the overburden mined up to 2003 was potentially acid forming. From 2003 to the end of the Grasberg pit operation in 2014, approximately 70 per cent of the overburden will be potentially acid forming and 30 per cent limestone. A major focus of the investigations is developing strategies to maximise the beneficial use of the limestone that will be mined. Laboratory columns and field test pad investigations have been ongoing for six years examining limestone blends. Trial dumps utilising truck placement and conveyor/stacker placement and blending of limestone and acid generating rock have recently been constructed. In addition, based on initial results, investigations aimed at further evaluating the performance of limestone covers in this high rainfall environment have commenced. A significant finding has been the identification of strong armouring layers on sulfide surfaces within well-blended material and under limestone covers. These layers effectively isolate sulfides and thus progressively slow the oxidation rate to a level where the alkalinity load from the limestone exceeds the rate of acid generating. ARD is controlled and neutral low metal drainage results. The results have demonstrated that although limestone blending is effective, it is necessary to ensure that all size fractions within the blend receive adequate acid neutralising capacity to buffer the potential acidity. Because the sulfur content generally increases and the acid neutralising capacity decreases with decreasing particle size in limestone blends, the amount of limestone required greatly exceeds the stoichiometric requirement. This paper describes the development of limestone blending specifications for potentially acid forming overburden and presents the results of the ongoing limestone cover trials at the Grasberg mine.

Jan 1, 2003

By E. T. Turkdogan, J. H. Swisher

bi the fivst part of the paper results ave given on the rate of decarburization of Fe-C melts ln CO2-CO atmospheres at 1580°C. The rate -controlling step is believed to he that irvlloluing dissociation of curbotz dioxide on the suvfuce of the melt. 4 genevral reaction mechanistm is poslnlated jor gels-t11eta1 veactions oc-curit~g on the surface of iron coutcotamncited with chemi-sovbed osygesL. Oxygen the present work on decavbuvization of liquid iron and previous studies on the kinetics of nitrogen absorption and desorplion are discussed in terms of the postulated mechanism, ManY of the early studies of rate of decarburization of liquid steel were of an exploratory nature and laboratory exppriments carried out pertained to open-hearth or oxygen steelmaking processes. References to previous work on this subject may be found in a literature survey made by Ward. Using more sophisticated experimental techniques, several investigators have recently studied the kinetics of decarburization of molten Fe-C alloys in oxygen-bearing gases. For example, Baker et al2.' reported their findings on the rate of decarburization of liquid iron, levitated by an electromagnetic field, in carbon dioxide-carbon monoxide-helium atmospheres. In these levitation experiments the samples used were small in size, e.g., -0.6-cm-diam spheres weighing -0.7 g, and the rates were measured for decarburization from about 5 to 1 pct C at 1660°C. The rates obtained under their experimental conditions were considered to be controlled primarily by gaseous diffusion through the boundary layer at the surface of the levitated melt. Parlee and coworkers3 measured the rate of absorption of carbon monoxide in liquid iron. The rates were found to follow first-order reaction kinetics, yielding a reaction velocity or a mass transfer coefficient in the range 0.2 to 0.4 cm per min. The coefficient was found to decrease with increasing carbon content of the melt. These investigators attributed the observed rates to the transfer of carbon or oxygen through the diffusion boundary layer adjacent to the surface of the melt. In the work to be reported in this paper, an attempt has been made to study the kinetics of gas-metal surface reactions involved in the decarburization of liquid iron. EXPERIMENTAL The experiments consisted of melting 80-g samples from an Fe-1 pct C master alloy in an induction furnace and decarburizing in controlled CO2-CO mixtures at 1 atm pressure and 1580°C. The master alloy was prepared by adding graphite to electrolytic "Plastiron" melted in racuo. None of the impurities in the master alloy exceeded 0.005 pct. The reacting gases were dried by passage through columns of anhydrone; in addition, CO2 impurity in carbon monoxide was removed by passage through a column of ascarite. A schematic diagram of the apparatus is shown in Fig. 1. A 1.25-in.-diam recrys-tallized alumina crucible containing the sample was placed inside a 3-in.-diam quartz reaction tube, all of which was surrounded by an induction coil. A 450-kcps induction generator was used as the power source. Water-cooled brass flanges, which contained the gas inlet, gas exit, and sight port, were sealed to the top of the reaction tube with epoxy resin. The reacting gases were metered with capillary flowmeters and passed through a platinum wire-wound alumina preheating tube, 0.25 in. ID and 11 in. long. The gases were preheated to about 1300°C. A disappearing-filament optical pyrometer was used to measure the melt temperature. The pyrometer was initially calibrated against a Pt-6 pct Rh/Pt-30 pct Rh thermocouple. The temperature was controlled to within +10°C by manually adjusting the power input to the induction coil. In a typical experiment, an 80-g sample of the master alloy was melted in a CO2-CO atmosphere having pcO2/pco = 0.02 and flowing at 1 liter per min. A negligible amount of carbon was lost and no significant reduction of alumina from the crucible occurred during melting, e.g., 0.005 pct Al in the metal. After reaching the experimental temperature of 1580°C, the gas composition was changed to that desired for a particular series of decarburization experiments. The duration of the transient period for obtaining the desired gas composition at the surface of the melt was about 20 sec . The flow rate of the reacting gas was maintained at 1 liter per min. After a predetermined reaction time, the power to the furnace was turned off. During freezing, which took about 10 sec, the amount of gas evolution was not sufficient to result in a significant loss of carbon. The samples were analyzed for carbon by combustion and in a few cases they were analyzed for oxygen by the vacuum-fusion method. RESULTS A marked increase in the rate of decarburization of iron with increasing pcO2/pco ratio in the gas stream is demonstrated by the experimental results given in Figs. 2 and 3 for pco2/pco ratios from 0.033 to 4.0. In one series of experiments, denoted by filled triangles in Fig. 2, the reacting gas was diluted with argon (48 vol pct) resulting in a slower rate of decarburization. Samples from two series of experiments with pco2/pco = 0.033 and pco2/pco = 0.10 (with argon dilufion) were analyzed for oxygen. In these Samples the oxygen content increased with reaction time

Jan 1, 1968

By E. T. Balazs

Share of developing countries in world bauxite resources mining and processing. Technical assistance of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization to the developing world in the field of bauxite evaluation and processing. Review of selected projects of bauxite research and development aimed at creating indigenous capabilities in developing countries: "Assistance to the bauxite aluminium industry of the People's Republic of China". Project activities. UN inputs. Achievements. Follow-up. "Upgrading the scientific and technological capabilities of the Jamaica Bauxite Institute". Project activities. UN inputs. Achievements. Expected follow-up. Assistance to the establishment of an "Aluminium research, development and design centre" in India. Project activities. UN inputs. Achievements. Follow-up. "Establishment of an aluminium institute for research and development in Titograd, Yugoslavia". Project activities. UN inputs. Achievements expected. Second UNIDO group training on bauxite evaluation and processing to alumina October - November 1983 in Budapest, Hungary. Programme and coverage. Show of movie picture on organization and execution (15 minutes). Significance of UNIDO's assistance to the developing world in bauxite research and development. References.

Jan 1, 1984

By G. M. Ritcey, M. J. Slater, B. H. Lucas

The recovery of uranium from acid leach slurries by continuous ion exchange, or solvent extraction using sieve-plate pulse columns, is compared. Differences in processing costs are of prime concern and can be related to differences in the unit operations of the two methods, as well as the chemical and physical properties of the slurry. Parameters are defined for the operation of the solvent-in-pulp process and the design of the continuous ion exchange column. Pilot plant operating experience with both recovery systems is described, and an overall assessment of the relative costs is presented.

Jan 1, 1973

By W. A. Scheuch

ORDINARILY secondary copper, unless electrolytically refined, is reclaimed directly as foundry ingots used in the manufacture of copper-rich alloy castings. This use does not require the elimination of the impurities to the degree required if the recovered metal is to be used for electrical purposes where a high electrical conductivity is of prime importance. However, as a part of the general policy of reusing its own scrap and by-products wherever possible, the Western Electric Co. at its Hawthorne Works is recovering its secondary copper as wire bars which are delivered to its own rod and wire mill and there processed into wire of high electrical conductivity. This departure from the usual recovery scheme has been accomplished through the careful classification and sorting of the material entering the furnace charges and the careful control of the subsequent melting and refining in a reverberatory furnace. Tests conducted over a period of approximately four years have shown that the quality of wire bars produced from selected secondary copper is equal to that of wire bars produced by the electrolytic refineries. The interest which has been exhibited in the process by those who have seen it has prompted the following general description. It is the authors' opinion that the recovery of secondary copper will become more and more an important factor in the copper production industry. The description is largely of the refining furnace and its operation, but it must be remembered that careful classification and sorting of the scrap materials to eliminate impurities are just as important as the furnace operation toward obtaining a satisfactory final product. Classification and sorting do not lend themselves easily to description; they must just be done. It should also be recognized at the outset that constant intelligent supervision is requisite to the success of the process because there are so many ways in which impurities can find their way into the final product.

Jan 1, 1929

By William V. Kotlensky

PYROLYTIC graphite may be represented by a stack of overlapping, wrinkled sheets with the graphite basal planes more or less parallel to the deposition surface. Previous work1" has described two stages in the deformation above 2600°C produced by applying a stress parallel to the deposition surface. The first stage occurs at deformations less than about 15 pct and involves dewrinkling accompanied by basal-plane slip and basal-plane reorientation. The basal planes are not perfectly

Jan 1, 1965

By A. L. Volley

(Read at the Amenia Meeting, October, 1877.) THE existence of iron ore and anthracite coal in the neighborhood of Providence, R. I., has long been known, chiefly as a geological fact; that these materials, so near to each other and to tidewater, are of such a good quality and are present in such large quantity, as to have seriously raised the question of establishing blast furnaces there, was a surprising fact to me; and I have thought that the few notes I have lately gathered on the subject would be of interest at this partly New England meeting. The coal field referred to has an area of above 400 square miles, and is found throughout the belt of transition rocks extending from Newport Neck to Mansfield, Massachusetts. It underlies the cities of Providence and Newport, and the towns of Middletown, Portsmouth, Jamestown, Warwick, Barrington, Cranston, North Provi-

Jan 1, 1878

By Hematian J

A high horizontal stress field has significant effect on the stability of underground roadways and influences the design of a support system in this environment. The high horizontal stresses at E1lalong Colliery, NSW, Australia provided the environment for this study. Samples of coal measures 'rock were collected and tested to determine their mechanical properties. The lithology, stress state, geometry and conditions prevailing in particular areas of the mine were obtained from geotechnical reports available at the mine and by field observation. The results of a series of finite element models constructed and tested under various conditions provided a basis for comparison with field observations. Analysis of the results indicated sufficient correspondence to provide a basis for the proposed design of an optimum support system. It is not suggested that finite analysis provides 'exact answers', but it does show the relative importance and interaction of various parameters.

Jan 1, 1995

By Larry J. Nicks

The Bureau of Mines is investigating the catalytic activity of rare-earth compounds to develop a catalyst for the cathode reaction of a hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell. This report presents the results of studies of the catalytic activities of lanthanide oxides for the oxidation of hydrogen at 150° to 250° C. Preliminary activity tests were made with approximately stoichiometric mixtures of hydrogen and oxygen diluted with helium. A series of tests was also run under oxygen-rich conditions in which specific rate constants and activation energies were determined. Variations in rate constants up to 2,000 times were observed for the various lanthanide oxides. The three most active catalysts were oxides of Ce, Pr, and Eu, having specific activities of 6.93 X 10-7, 4.88 X 10-7, and 4.06 X 10-7 moles H2.sec-1.m-2, respectively, at 200° C.

Jan 1, 1973

In his letter of resignation as General Superintendent of the Broken Hill Associated Smelters (BHAS) prior to taking up aconsulting position at imperial Smelting, G.K. Williams wrote that he considered his major contributions at BHAS were:the development of large scale sintering machines;the double tuyere-row blast furnace; continuous lead refining.Despite his well deserved reputation as a scientist, based on his advancement of the metallurgical chemistry underlying lead refining processes, Williams reveals that he considered commercial implementation as the ultimate measure of technological success. Furthermore, he clearly did not differentiate between the scientific and the empirical as a means of achieving that end.

Jan 1, 1985