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By G Senanayake, J Andreazza

The general experience in gold cyanidation research activities and plant practice is that high oxygen and cyanide concentrations improve gold leaching kinetics which in turn reduce residence time and increase throughput. This paper shows how the improved pre-oxidation method for the pyrrhotite rich gold ore of Bounty Gold Mine has increased gold recoveries at lower reagent consumption rates. The installation of a pipe reactor, in conjunction with a Multi Mix Systems oxygen injector, has lowered the amount of oxygen required to achieve a dissolved oxygen level target of 20 mg/L. The improvement of the pre-oxidation stage and lead nitrate solution addition has led to a reduction in the free cyanide concentration required for leaching, resulting in a decrease in cyanide consumption rate by 36 per cent to achieve a one to two per cent improvement in the gold recovery.

Jan 1, 2002

By N. Morrison, I. Holl, R. Welyhorsky, A. Hempstock

ABSTRACT: The Victor diamond mine is located in the James Bay lowlands, 90 km west of the First Nations village of Attawapiskat. The project was the first of its kind in northern Ontario. The process plant was designed to produce a 95 to 98% by weight diamond concentrate through three stages of comminution, dense medium separation, and proprietary X-ray technology for final recovery. The plant was commissioned over a period of six months, commencing prior to substantial completion of construction. Through effective planning of the commissioning phase, the Victor mine start-up was safely completed nine months ahead of schedule.

Jan 1, 2011

By Simon St J Tose

The objective of this paper and presentation is to review the different criteria and methodology used by AEL and other organisations to create a pre-split design which delivers a stable highwall for the life of that part of the mining operation. It will look at the need to adapt and change the way, size and direction of the production blasts as the mining phase approaches the highwall position for which a pre-split has been created. Key Words: Pre-split: Design; Highwall; Perimeter

Jan 1, 2006

By David A. Newman

Barrier pillars created during mine development provide additional reserves during mine closure and can be the sole access to reserves previously abandoned because of mining height or out of seam dilution limitations. The safe and successful mining of barrier pillars requires a thorough knowledge of the magnitude and distribution of the vertical stress field in addition to the strength and physical properties of the coal, immediate roof, and immediate floor strata. Quantifying the vertical stress field is complicated by the combination of the overburden stress, abutment stresses transferred onto the barrier pillar from adjacent gob areas, and in multiple seam mining, stresses transferred from abandoned subjacent mines. These variables make the extraction and development of barrier pillar reserves a site specific consideration. Three case histories are presented in which barrier pillar development and extraction provides; i) an access point and the means to ventilate a large area of low seam reserves left by a prior operator after developing only the thicker areas of a multiple split reserve, ii) the means to increase total recovery of a deep, thick seam longwall reserve, and iii) opportunities for the development and retreat mining of a two mile long barrier pillar in thick seam reserves.

Jan 1, 1995

By John G. Hall

MANY millions of tons of raw materials are removed each year from open pit mines in the eastern U. S. These materials are used by industry to produce aluminum, asbestos, barite products, building stone, cement, crushed stone, copper, coal, dolomite, garnet, iron, limestone, mica, phosphate, phyrophyllite, titanium products, and wollastonite. Improvements in open pit mining techniques through the years have made open pit mining more and more attractive as compared to underground methods. Today ore deposits that formerly would have been mined underground have proven to yield more profit if mined by open pit methods. Ever-rising labor and material costs have made equipment capable of high-volume production and low-unit cost-and supplies rendering low-unit costs-not only attractive to open pit operations, but essential to their economic existence. During the past year, the major advances have been in drilling and blasting operations, and the application of large capacity materials handling equipment. Mining men from the Great Lakes, Northeast, East Central, and Southeastern regions of our country tell in the following articles of the trends in open pit mining in their areas during 1956.

Jan 2, 1957

The eastern third of Australia contains an unrivalled Phanerozoic rock record generated by the regional interaction of Gondwanaland with the Pacific and by the global effect of the 400 m.y. Pangaea - Panthalassa cycle. Between the latest Proterozoic (600 Ma) breakup of Proto-Pangaea and the mid-Carboniferous coalescence of the dispersed continents in Pangaea, the Lachlan and Thomson Foldbelts accreted to the craton by Mariana-type (backarc basin) and Chilean-type (continental margin) subduction from eastward jumps of the Palaeo- Pacific rim. Further jumps of the rim of the Permian and Mesozoic Pacific, now expanded to Panthalassa, accreted the New England Foldbelt to the craton. An Early Permian rift basin was succeeded by a Late Permian to mid-Triassic foreland basin which extended between the craton and the foldbelt behind the 10000 km Panthalassan rim, from the Bowen Basin of Queensland to South America, and was host to the productive coal measures of eastern Australia, as the succeeding Jurassic and Early Cretaceous foreland and epicratonic basins included the coal measures, hydrocarbon reservoirs, and aquifers of the Great Artesian Basin. The magmatic arc on the Australian margin ended after the mid-Cretaceous uplift along the Queensland coast that initiated southwestward drainage from the high Pacific rim. The Chilean-type subduction that had prevailed since the Devonian was superseded shortly afterwards by Mariana-type subduction with the successive generation of the back-arc basins of the Tasman Sea, Coral Sea, and other southwest Pacific basins by the migration of the island arc to its present position 2500 km eastward of Australia.

Jan 1, 1990

By E. H. Tenney

A DISCUSSION of the probable future use of coal for power develop-ment involves the study of several basic factors, such as future demand for power, the quantity and availability of fuels in direct competition with coal, the price of coal, and a closely related factor-the efficiency and cost of fuel utilization. Predictions based on purely statistical analyses of past coal con-sumption have definite limitations. For example, statistics showing the relation between coal utilization and total energy consumption from all sources between the years 1890 to 1930 indicate that during that period, the energy consumption per person in the United States increased five times, while the coal consumption per person increased only twice1, and there has been an actual decrease in per capita coal consumption since 1920. Figures such as these, compiled by authentic agencies, emphasize the need for caution in attempting estimates as to the future use of coal, and, incidentally, would seem to offer little basis for optimism in the coal industry. They also suggest the value of analyzing broadly the part played in the past by the related factors of power consumption, competitive fuels, coal prices and the efficiency of utilization. Proper weight must also be given in such a study to the present status and limitations of power-plant developments, and to the question of what the coal industry itself can do to further its own interests and influence the consumption of its product.

Jan 1, 1935

By Wilbert J. Huff

The Explosives Division of the United States Bureau of Mines makes certain laboratory and field investigations that deal with explosions, explosives, ignition, and combustion, together with many related problems, such as the cause and prevention of fires, and certain fundamental scientific questions bearing upon the determination of the chemical and physical mechanisms underlying some of the important phenomena encountered. Its work on explosives has been particularly directed toward determination of the chemical and physical characteristics of explosives designed for use in coal mines and in a more limited way to those used in metal mines, tunnels, quarries, and other engineering operations. This testing is handled by two units of the Explosives Division, as follows:

Jan 1, 1937

By P. I. Laforest, M. S. Moats

"Antimony in smelted copper anodes has been shown to cause problems in electrorefining including brittleness of starter sheets. In order to improve deposit properties, a study was conducted examining the effect of anode chemistry on cathode ductility and electrolyte chemistry. Two industrial anodes with different molar ratios of As/(Sb+Bi) were used in laboratory electrorefining experiments with commercial electrolyte, and the addition of commercial glue and Avitone. The ductility of 21-hr copper deposits was evaluated by a 180° bend test. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and metallography were performed on unbent specimens to characterize the deposit structure. Increasing the anode As/(Sb+Bi) molar ratio from 0.54 to 3.8 resulted in an increase, on average, from four to eight bends to failure in cathode material produced. Significantly lower concentration of antimony (V) in the electrolyte was detected when operating with the higher molar ratio anode. The presence of (111) and (200) planes was noted in cathode material produced from the higher molar ratio anode suggesting that mixed growth character could be responsible for the observed increase in bend test results. The ductility of the starter sheet materials was improved by a higher anode molar ratio.INTRODUCTIONThe presence of antimony in copper electrorefining electrolyte has been reported to cause problems in cathode production (Hiskey, 2012; Peng, Zheng & Chen, 2012; Wang, Chen, Zhou-Lan & Lian-Sheng, 2006; Wang, Chen, Zhou-Lan, Wang, Xiao & Zhang, 2010; Wang, Chen, Zhou-Lan, Wang, Xiao & Tang, 2011; Wesstrom, 2014). To better understand the impact of antimony, laboratory scale electrorefining experiments were conducted using industrial inputs (anodes, cathodes and electrolyte). The influences of anode chemistry on the valences of antimony and arsenic in the electrolyte were monitored and correlated to physical cathode characteristics, such as a bend test to failure and crystallographic orientation.Commercially, starter sheets are produced by electrorefining impure cast copper anodes onto titanium blanks. The starter sheets are then hung in an electrorefining or electrowinning cell using loops of bent starter sheet material. These loops, in the absence of sufficient ductility, fail resulting in cathodes falling into the electrolysis cells. It is thought that the reduction in ductility can be related to anode composition; in particular, the molar ratio of arsenic to antimony plus bismuth As/(Sb+Bi). It has been stated that maintaining this ratio above 2:1 results in numerous improvements to electrorefining operations (Baltazar, Claessens & Thiriar, 1987; Kamath, Mitra, Radhakrishnan & Shetty, 2003; Krusmark, Young & Faro, 1995; Noguchi, Itoh & Nakamura, 1995; Wenzl, 2008)."

Jan 1, 2016

By D. Grgic, A. Giraud, F. Homand

RESUME : Le comportement mécanique partiellement saturé du minerai de fer a été étudié à partir d’essais de compression simple sur des éprouvettes à pression capillaire imposée par les solutions salines. Les échantillons restent peu saturés (32 %) même pour une humidité relative de 94 %, du fait de la présence de mésopores. Jusqu’à 90 % d’humidité relative la résistance diminue régulièrement. De 90 % à 94 % une forte chute est observée et pourrait être liée à la fois aux effets capillaires et à l’hydratation de certains minéraux. Le cycle hydrique subit par la roche dans la mine a été modélisé en 1D à l’aide d’un code de calcul entièrement couplé pour les milieux poreux partiellement saturés. Les calculs ont montré notamment une diminution importante en paroi des contraintes totales au cours de la phase de désaturation et une augmentation importante au cours de la phase de resaturation. Ces variations pourraient induire un endommagement du massif et être à l’origine d’instabilités, et soulignent l’intérêt d’une modélisation avec une géométrie plus adaptée. MOTS-CLEFS : mines de fer, partiellement saturé, pression capillaire, résistance, modélisation. ABSTRACT : The partially saturated mechanical behavior of iron ore has been studied from uniaxial compression tests on samples in which the suction is imposed with aqueous solutions. Samples are little saturated (32 %) even for a 94 % relative humidity because pores are too large. Up to 90 % relative humidity the strength decreases regularly. From 90 % to 94 % a great decrease is observed ; it could be explained by the capillary effects and the moisturizing of some minerals. The hydrous cycle imposed to the rocks in the mine has been modeled with an 1D fully coupled code for partially saturated porous media. The computations have shown an important decrease in the total stresses at the wall during the desaturation stage and an important increase during the re-saturation stage. These variations could induce a rock mass damage and instabilities, and highlight the necessity of a modeling with a well-adapted geometry. KEY-WORDS : iron mines, partially saturated, suction, strength, modeling. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG : Das mechanische Verhalten von teilweise gesättigten Eisenerz wird durch einachsige Druckversuche untergesucht. Die Prüfkörper haben einen durch Salzlösungen gestimmten kapillarischen Druck. Sie bleiben kaum gesättigt (32 %), sogar bei einer relativen Feuchtigkeit von 94 %, aufgrund der Anwesenheit von Mesoporen. Bis eine relative Feuchtigkeit von 90 % verringert sich gleichmässig die Druckfestigkeit und zwischen 90 % und 94 % merkt man eine starke Abnahme in Verbindung, möglicherweise, mit kapillarischen Effekten und Hydratation von bestimmten Mineralen. Die nümerische 1D Modellisierung des gezwungenen Wasserzyklus im Stein der Mine ist mit einem für porösen Medien ganz vernetzten Rechnungcode geführt. Sie zeigt besonders ein bedeutendes Sinken der Gesamtspannung während der Entwässerung und eine bedeutende Steigerung während der Sättigung. Diese Veränderungen könnten die Beschädigung des Gesteines herbeiführen und die Grundlage von Unstabilität sein. Sie unterstreichen die Wichtigkeit eine Modellisierung mit einer gut geeigneten Geometrie. STICHWÖRTER : Eisenminen, teilweise gesättigt, kapillarischer Druck, Druckfestigkeit, Modellisierung.

Jan 1, 2003

By M L. van Kampen

The Resource Management Act 1991 provides for activities to be classified as permitted, controlled, restricted discretionary, discretionary, non-complying or prohibited in district and regional plans. This paper looks at the use of the prohibited activity status to restrict, in particular, mining. Often the use of prohibited activity status for mining appears to have no basis other than the negative perceptions that the local community and/or the planner drafting the plan has toward mining and quarrying.   The paper will address the current appeal regarding the use of prohibited activity status now before the Court of Appeal, and the history to the litigation. The relevance of the outcome of the appeal to the minerals sector will also be explained.

Jan 1, 2007

By M. Celikin, M. Isac, R. I. L. Guthrie, S. Ge

Horizontal Single Belt Casting (HSBC) is a near-net-shape casting process in which molten metal is directly cast into thin strips, at high cooling rates (order of several 100°C/s), with the potential for high volume, friction-free, continuous production of metal strips. This casting process was used in the present work to produce strips of Al-Mg alloys in the AA5000 series, with additions of Sc and Zr. Such aluminum alloys show exceptional potential as a structural material for transportation/aerospace applications. To demonstrate the suitability of the HSBC process to manufacture competitive strip products of Al-Mg-Sc-Zr, the mechanical properties and microstructures of the strips produced using the HSBC process were compared with conventionally cast products. The effects of annealing on the mechanical properties of the strip-cast Al-Mg-Sc-Zr alloys were also investigated.

Jan 1, 2014

By N. Van Wingen

EFFective sand permeabilities can be ascertained from core analysis if the laboratory data are compensated to allow for the presence of connate or residual water. Such adjustments can be made by applying empirically derived correction factors. Effective sand permeabilities can be estimated also from analytical studies of field depth-pressure measurements. In one method the time rate of pressure build-up after a well is shut in from steady-state flow is required, and in the other the direct measurement of a steady-state rate of flow and the corresponding equilibrium pressure. The results of the investigation discussed in this paper demonstrate that these methods for determining mean effective sand permeabilities can be correlated. Introduction In recent years many investigators have demonstrated the practical value of an accurate knowledge of the physical and dynamical characteristics of reservoir sands containing oil and gas. Of these factors, which serve to completely define a porous medium as a container or carrier of fluids, the dynamical characteristics are of particular interest to the production engineer because they afford a direct measure of the rate at which the oil or gas content of a reservoir will become available. The constant that defines dynamically the porous medium as the carrier of a homogeneous fluid in viscous motion is the "permeability." Coke-analysis Method The generally accepted practice in com-piling permeability data has been to analyze in the laboratory core samples taken in the course of drilling through the productive horizon, and to obtain the mean measure of the productive ability or permeability for the interval open to production by graphical integration of the permeability profile. An average permeability ascertained in this manner, however, is useful to the production engineer only for comparisons of wells drilled in the same horizon, as permeabilities determined in the laboratory are measures of only the ability of a porous medium to transmit a single fluid. As a result of many investigations, it has been shown, however, that under actual reservoir conditions water is coexistent with the petroleum and that its presence greatly reduces the permeability of the sand to oil. Empirical relationships showing the effect of the presence of any immiscible fluid A (such as water) in a porous medium on the permeability of the medium to a fluid B (such as oil) have been established separately by Hassler,1 Dunlap,2 and the writer (Fig. I),3 so that the average specific or dry-core permeability as determined in the laboratory can be corrected to give the true measure of the ability of the horizon penetrated to transmit oil, provided the percentage of pore space occupied by connate water is known accurately.

Jan 1, 1942

By N. Van Wingen

EFFective sand permeabilities can be ascertained from core analysis if the laboratory data are compensated to allow for the presence of connate or residual water. Such adjustments can be made by applying empirically derived correction factors. Effective sand permeabilities can be estimated also from analytical studies of field depth-pressure measurements. In one method the time rate of pressure build-up after a well is shut in from steady-state flow is required, and in the other the direct measurement of a steady-state rate of flow and the corresponding equilibrium pressure. The results of the investigation discussed in this paper demonstrate that these methods for determining mean effective sand permeabilities can be correlated. Introduction In recent years many investigators have demonstrated the practical value of an accurate knowledge of the physical and dynamical characteristics of reservoir sands containing oil and gas. Of these factors, which serve to completely define a porous medium as a container or carrier of fluids, the dynamical characteristics are of particular interest to the production engineer because they afford a direct measure of the rate at which the oil or gas content of a reservoir will become available. The constant that defines dynamically the porous medium as the carrier of a homogeneous fluid in viscous motion is the "permeability." Coke-analysis Method The generally accepted practice in com-piling permeability data has been to analyze in the laboratory core samples taken in the course of drilling through the productive horizon, and to obtain the mean measure of the productive ability or permeability for the interval open to production by graphical integration of the permeability profile. An average permeability ascertained in this manner, however, is useful to the production engineer only for comparisons of wells drilled in the same horizon, as permeabilities determined in the laboratory are measures of only the ability of a porous medium to transmit a single fluid. As a result of many investigations, it has been shown, however, that under actual reservoir conditions water is coexistent with the petroleum and that its presence greatly reduces the permeability of the sand to oil. Empirical relationships showing the effect of the presence of any immiscible fluid A (such as water) in a porous medium on the permeability of the medium to a fluid B (such as oil) have been established separately by Hassler,1 Dunlap,2 and the writer (Fig. I),3 so that the average specific or dry-core permeability as determined in the laboratory can be corrected to give the true measure of the ability of the horizon penetrated to transmit oil, provided the percentage of pore space occupied by connate water is known accurately.

Jan 1, 1942

By R. Knapp, R. Firlotte

"Les Terrains Auriferes (LIA) Property, formerly the Malartic Goldfield (Goldfield) mine, ceased its remaining milling operations in the fall of 1994. During the early years of mining, the mill processed a non-sulfide ore with substantial carbonate mineralization.In 1977 after an extended shutdown period, ore from a nearby property, Bousquet, was processed at the mill. That ore contained larger quantities of sulfides, and unlike the old tailings, had acid generating potential.Upon closure of the L TA mill, the closure options considered for the L TA site were to cover with:1. a thin cover of 0.5 metres of borrow material (sand and gravel) to achieve basic erosion protection/stabilization; collect acidic seepage and treat with lime.2. a 2 metres of non-acid producing tailings; final surface to be vegetated.3. an engineered oxygen barrier consisting of a multi-layer cover; final surface to be vegetated.The paper presents the technological and economical methodologies that were used to select the closure alternative, describe the associated construction challenges that were faced with the implementation of the multi-layer cover concept and presents preliminary results on the cover's performance.In addition to being the first full scale demonstration of this type of multi-layer engineered oxygen barrier cover technology, this project had the advantage of using non acid producing mine tailings as part of the reclamation solution."

Jan 1, 1997

Robert M. Magraw John W. Roshold Thomas H. O'Brien Joe Mann Walter M. Dake E. P. Lucas "How well they fell asleep Like some proud river, widening toward the sea; Calmly and grandly, silently and deep. Life joined Eternity."

Jan 1, 1948

The initiation of cast Pentolite primers by detonating cord has been examined by the combination of two different experimental techniques with computer simulation by the finite element hydrodynamic code DYNA2D. In the first type of experiment, the cord/primer system was placed in a water aquarium, and photographed using a high-speed image converter camera. This highlighted the emergence of the detonation front through the primer surface and the generation of shock waves in the surround- ings. Numerical simulation was used to interpret the experimental record, establishing where the cord had induced buildup to detonation inside the primer. The second experiment used the plate dent test, where the primer was placed in contact with a block of metal (here aluminium), with the resul- tant dent in the metal surface being a measure of primer output. Detailed numerical simulation of this test confirmed that the observed dent was caused by the development of a complex series of shock waves inside the Primer.

Jan 1, 1988

By Louise Laverdure

The Canadian mining sector has to be innovative and invest in the development of sustainable mining technologies to maintain its international leadership. Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) collaborated with the Canada Mining Innovation Council (CMIC) to define the Green Mining Initiative (GMI) and in order to focus its R&D activities on industry and other stakeholders? needs. The GMI was launched in 2009 to spur innovation in the mining sector and further enhance its environmental performance. The initiative, led by CANMET- Mining and Mineral Sciences Laboratories (MMSL), takes a holistic approach looking at the entire mining life cycle, from design to closure and beyond, through four innovation and research pillars: ? Footprint Reduction, ? Innovation in Waste Management, ? Mine Closure and Rehabilitation, and ? Ecosystem Risk Management. The Canada Mining Innovation Council has also been creating a new initiative on Sustainable Mining, which will bring further focus to environmental aspects of mining, and engaging wide range of research providers to develop research programs complementary to GMI goals.

May 1, 2011

By Rob D. Morrison

The paper point out the opportunities for improved performance from Mine to Product using a range of technologies developed at the JKMRC. There are several underlying themes: Readily available computing power makes possible instrument like SPLIT, JKFrothCam and the JK/FEI Mineral Liberation Analyser, a large research project is underway applying acoustic monitoring techniques to large mills with the object being to more accurately monitor total mill load and ball load on-line. Taking advantage of these opportunities will require detailed ore characterization, good models and accurate measurement of mine and plant performance.

Sep 13, 2001

By C. G. Dunn, F. Lionetti

W. G. BURGERS*—It seems almost certain that this investigation shows the way which finally, when more analogous data have been obtained, must lead to the understanding of many features of preferential growth-directions of crystals and of the occurrence of recrystallization textures. In this connection I should like to mention that Mr. Tiedema in my laboratory succeeded in developing an analogous method for preparing crystals in aluminum plates with a chosen crystal-lographic plane and direction parallel to the surface of the plate (to be published in Cryst. Ada). If such crystals were grown in high purity aluminum and test-pieces containing a few crystals such as the authors describe were prepared for this metal, it might be possible that due to the absence of growth obstructing particles, even in this low-melting point metal boundary displacements approaching equilibrium positions might be realized. With regard to the apparently marked drop in surface energy for orientation differences approaching zero degree, and orientation differences approaching those existing between twins, it seems of interest to remark that in aluminum a crystal growing at the expense of fine grained material cannot (or can only very reluctantly) absorb grains in either ap- proximately (within 5—10°) parallel or spinel twin orientation (May, Tiedema and Burgers, Nature (1948) 162, 740 and Cryst. Ada in press). Consequently with aluminum the method of preparing a crystal with a definite orientation does not succeed when the new crystal has to absorb its own texture; for example it is not possible to grow in a polycrystalline wire with a [lll]-texture a crystal with a [11 Indirection parallel to the wire axis (Tiedema: Cryst. Ada, in press). Finally I should like to mention the well-known fact (Burgers: Proc. Acad. Amsterdam (1947) 50, 723) that prolonged annealing of recrystallized nickel-iron sheet with cube-texture never succeeds in transforming this into one single crystal of the same orientation; if, by "secondary re-crystallization," large crystals are formed

Jan 1, 1950