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By Thomas R. Kuesel, Harvey W. Parker

INTRODUCTION This paper describes the use of a shield and compressed air for construction of a short section of a pair of twin single-track tunnels for the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) transit system. Although only two blocks long, this section posed the greatest difficulties to both engineers and contractors, and is the most expensive section of line construction on the MARTA system. All this derives directly from its setting--these tunnels had to be constructed through mixed-face conditions. SETTING The Broad Street tunnels form a link between the Peachtree Center and Five Points Stations, in the heart of Atlanta's central business district (Figure 1). Peachtree Center sits atop a solid rock ridge, which inspired the design of a deep rock-mined station, as described in the 1979 RETC. Five Points Station is MARTA's hub--the intersection of the system's two main branches. It is located in the old railroad gulch, a filled-in erosional valley at the base of Peachtree Ridge, and was constructed by open-cut methods. The alignment and profile of the Broad Street tunnels were closely constrained by these two adjacent anchors, and in the six-block stretch between them there was very little room for maneuvering. Since the rock ridge petered out about in the middle of the section, it was evident at the outset that there would be about two blocks of rock tunneling at the north end, two blocks of soft ground construction at the south, and two blocks of mixed-face in between. It is this central two-block section that is the focus of this paper.

Jan 1, 1981

By J. M. Singer

Approximate equations were used to compute the radiant heating of float coal dust by approaching flames for various combinations of particle size, dust path length (flame travel distance), flame temperature, dust concentration, flame speed, and flame length. The computed values of degree of radiant heating and flame travel distance for preheating the coal dust should be useful for estimating the increased fire hazard of different coal dust-flame parameters. Some findings relating to coal mine disaster control are-- 1. Coal dust clouds cannot be preheated to ignition temperatures by flame radiation alone when deflagration speeds are greater than about 10 m/sec. Thus it appears unlikely that radiation alone will cause flames propagating in dust clouds to accelerate to detonation velocities. 2. Small particles in the radiation flame zone caused by burnout and soot formation increase the degree of preheat significantly. 3. The concentration of float coal dust (radii = 3 to 40 microns) for maximum radiant heating usually peaks in the range 50 to 200 mg/liter of air.

Jan 1, 1970

By H. H. Schrenk

Much has been written and said concerning tables of permissible or maximum allowable concentrations of various toxic substances in air, but not enough attention has been given to their limitations and how to use them intelligently . There is a tendency to place too much reliance on figures , with little or no consideration of their real meaning . The repeated publication of a figure often adds significance to it far beyond that intended by the original author or publisher . How are these figures referred to as "maximum allowable concentrations " established? What is their real meaning? To answer these questions it is necessary first to define maximum allowable concentration . The usual definition is somewhat as follows : "The average concentration to which an industrial worker can be exposed for 8- hours daily for an indefinite period without injury or occupational disease . This definition is made up of the following items : ( 1 ) Average concentration, ( 2 ) 8 - hour day , ( 3 ) indefinite exposure period , and ( 4 ) lack of injury or occupational disease . There is some controversy regarding item ( 1 ) , items ( 2 ) and ( 3 ) are usually though not invariably accepted , and there is definite disagreement regarding the interpretation of item ( 4 ) . . To reach a more satisfactory interpretation of maximum allowable concentration , attention is directed to ( 1 ) the development of tables of maximum allowable concentrations , ( 2 ) criteria on which limits are based , and (3 ) methods used to obtain data on which limits are based .

May 1, 1948

By Keith G. Wallace

In 1982 the U.S. Congress passed the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) to provide for the development of an underground repository for spent nuclear fuel. This development will be managed by the United States Department of Energy. In 1986, the President selected three areas for site characterization to determine their suitability for the development of an underground repository; those sites were: 1) A site in volcanic tuff located at Yucca Mountain in Nevada, 2) a site in bedded salt located in Deaf Smith County in Texas, and 3) a site in basalt located in Hanford, Washington. At present conceptual repository designs are being developed for each site. A key element of a repository design is the underground ventilation system required to support construction, nuclear waste emplacement, and potential waste retrieval. This paper describes the preliminary ventilation system designed for the repository in tuff. The concept provides separate ventilation systems for the construction and waste emplacement activities. The paper further describes the means by which acceptable environmental conditions will be re-established to allow re-entry into previously closed rooms for the purpose of inspection, maintenance or retrieval.

Jan 1, 1987

By Michael Horn

This report presents a structural analysis of the economies of Spokane County, Washington and 21 surrounding counties. An economic trading region made up of 22 eastern Washington, northern Idaho, and western Montana counties, with Spokane, Washington as the central place, was defined for this study. The Micro IMPLAN modeling system with the 1990 county database was used to create an Input/Output based model of the regional economy. The leading industries, with respect to employee compensation, employment, value of exports, and total industry output are shown for each county and the region. The value of total industry output from natural resource based industries is also shown (or each county and the region. The total industry output from the Spokane Economic Trade Area (S ETA) region is valued at $22.3 billion. The SETA region provides $7.1 billion in employee compensation to a work force of 374,000. Spokane County, Washington accounts for about 50 percent of the regional total output, employee compensation, and employment. Both Spokane County and the region as a whole produce about 80 percent of total industry output for final demand with the remaining 20 percent going to intermediate inputs for further production. About $7.4 billion of the $22.3 billion SETA output is exported from the region. Spokane County exports about $4.7 billion, or 41 percent of the $11.5 billion Spokane County output. Exports account for more than 50 percent of the total output in 12 of the 22 counties within the region. Based on the output of the top 25 industries in each county and the SETA region about 9 percent of the industry output from Spokane County and 18 percent of the regional industry output come from natural resource based industries. For counties other than Spokane County, total industry' output from natural resource based industries represents from 12 percent to 81 percent of county output from the top 25 industries. Natural resource industries account for more than 50 percent of total county output in 8 counties within the region

Jan 1, 1994

By John E. Dreier

The Pachuca-Real Del Monte district, Hidalgo, Mexico (Figure 1) has produced roughly 1,500,000,000 oz Ag., 6,000,000 oz Au. and minor Pb., Zn, and Cu from about 100,000,000 tons of ore since discovery early in the 16th century. Production has come from epithermal vein deposits that have been up to 8 km in length, 650 m in vertical extent and 45 m in width but which averaged 200-400 m in length and vertical extent and 2-4 m in width. Ore deposits occur through-out an area about 12 km E-W by 10 km N-S (Figure 2) and between the elevations of 2000 and 2800 m above sea level. The deposits occur as shoots in the veins and terminate laterally where the veins narrow, upward where the veins pinch out and downward where the veins decrease in silver con-tent to below the cut-off grade; the veins are known to extend 500 m below the bottoms of the ore bodies and probably extend to much greater depths. The district lies wholly within a mid-to-late Tertiary volcanic rock sequence that is made up principally of andesite and dacite lava flows and flow-breccias. Although the bottom of the sequence is not exposed in the district, stratigraphic constructions indicate the volcanic rocks to have an aggregate thickness of 2000 to 2500 m. Structurally, the area is characterized by gentil warping and normal faulting of the volcanic rocks. Pre-ore modifications to the volcanic rock sequence consisted mainly of faulting along west-trending, south-dipping normal faults and north-trending high-angle faults.

Jan 1, 1978

By W. G. Lawrence

The rapid development of science and technology in Russia has been the result of well laid plans since 1918. At that time the Institute of Silicates was established is Moscow and later the establishment of similar more specialized institutes for the study of cement, glass, refractories, construction ceramics, electrical ceramics, building materials and asbestos provided the necessary research facilities for studies related to all types of ceramic inorganic materials. The' Institute of Ceramics and the Institute of Silicate Chemistry, Academy of Sciences, USSR, were founded in Leningrad. The work now going on in these various research' institutes covers every branch of silicate science and ceramics The impetus behind such establishment of special¬ized laboratories is no doubt due to the 5-year plans and the necessity of improving the scientific knowledge regarding the materials being used and the products being manufactured.

Jan 1, 1960

By Ernest Bohnet

Each mining operation is unique in some aspect ownership; ore body location, size, geometry, grade, mineralogy, hydrology, or geotechnical parameters; or constraints such as environmental regulations. However, all mining operations are alike in one aspect; the prime objective of any mining project is to maximize the return on the investment. This is the golden rule, or in the language of mining, the investor?s law of conservation. A mineral resource, by definition, does not become a minable reserve unless the mineral or minerals can be extracted economically (and legally). The three preceding sections have covered the various types of surface mining options. The choice of the most economic method is dictated primarily by the type of de-posit to be mined, the mining rate, and the physical characteristics of the deposit.

Jan 1, 2008

By W. G. K. Fleming

The general history of piling is traced up to the present time with regard to the evolution of methods and materials. The processes have been strongly influenced by developments in basic equipment and industrial change. It is noticeable that in the twentieth century more progress has taken place than in the many previous centuries. It has been strongly influenced by the general development of Soil Mechanics. Test loading is probably the most effective way to assess the success of designs and many empirical relationships have been challenged through it. As we approach a new century it appears that it will be an age of rapid equipment development, with much enhancement of understanding of what has been done. Processes of automatic construction and testing will becoming commonplace. These changes will narrow the limits of conventional scatter that have come to be accepted and to a large extent will be driven by political efforts to curtail energy consumption, to raise standards of quality and reliability, and to conserve the environment. 1. Ancient history. Piling is an ancient art. Its first mention in history is from Herodotus, the first person to commit an account of his times to the written word in the years 557 to 479 BC. He evidently had a strong interest in engineering matters because he wrote of building, brick making, reinforced brickwork, river training, canal building, bridge construction, tunnelling and its acoustic detection and piling. The piling reference comes from Book 5 at paragraph 16.

Jan 1, 1999

By A Parbhakar-Fox, S C. Dominy

The prediction of acid and metalliferous drainage (AMD) from mine waste materials is critically important during all stages of the mine value chain. However, to determine such geoenvironmental characteristics static and kinetic testing of individual waste units must be performed on representative samples. The importance of sample selection cannot be underestimated; it is the single most critical aspect of any geoenvironmental investigation. Poor sampling techniques and inadequate sample selection will contribute to excessive variance, difficulties in interpretation and incorrect assessment. By undertaking mesotextural characterisation based on hyperspectral mineralogical data (with sulfur assay data if available), opportunities to improve sampling strategies are presented. Such data will inform the selection of samples for low-cost total sulfur, paste pH and geoenvironmental logging, which collectively will allow for accurate AMD forecasting and improved sampling practices to be achieved. Once sampled, robust quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) protocols must be developed where the use of international certified reference standards become obligatory. This is currently not practised, resulting in inter-laboratory discrepancies when undertaking waste classification. Further improvements in geoenvironmental characterisation testing lies in the adoption of blended static testing protocols, whereby blends of waste materials can be efficiently tested so as to give an early forecast as to whether they will produce acidic or metal-laden drainage. Such information is integral in developing a waste schedule that will allow for a non-acid forming waste landform to be constructed right from the start of the operational phase. Ultimately, improvements in this discipline lie in technological innovations with regards to mineralogical characterisation, and by offering geoscience and minerals engineering students a competent education in the discipline. Collectively, this will empower a step-change in AMD prediction and waste handling, and will make the realisation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals a reality, rather than a dream.CITATION:Parbhakar-Fox, A and Dominy, S C, 2017. Sampling and blending in geoenvironmental campaigns – current practice and future opportunities, in Proceedings Eighth World Conference on Sampling and Blending , pp 45–54 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

May 9, 2017

By A S. Derrington

High-accuracy, solid-state digital reference barometers have proven to be well suited to conducting underground barometric pressure surveys. The only problem is their expense; at least A$4000 each. For this reason, and because barometric pressure surveys are not a routine undertaking, very few mines have been able to justify the purchase of suitable instruments. The author knows of only three Australian metalliferous mines that own them.However, this may soon change given the recent development of low-cost, mass-produced miniature barometric pressure transducers. These transducers were developed to provide an altimeter function in the latest generation of smartphones. The main purpose of the inbuilt altimeter function is to allow the smartphone to be aware of its altitude when the global positioning system satellite signal is lost.This paper describes a prototype barometer that was constructed using one of the most accurate of the latest generation of piezo-resistive smartphone barometric pressure transducers. The prototype instrument was constructed for less than five per cent of the cost of a commercially available digital reference barometer. The prototype was subsequently tested against a reference barometer at the University of Queensland’s Experimental Mine to verify its accuracy and suitability for measuring pressure differences between underground survey stations.It is expected that the instrument’s low cost will pave the way for barometric pressure surveys to become more commonly used in mines. In turn, the resulting improvement in knowledge of major underground pressure losses should allow mine ventilation officers and engineers to optimise their ventilation systems and potentially reduce overall operating costs.An alternative option would be to use a barometer-equipped smartphone as a survey instrument, provided that its inbuilt barometer module is sufficiently accurate.CITATION:Derrington, A S, 2015. Development of a low-cost instrument for barometric pressure surveys, in Proceedings The Australian Mine Ventilation Conference, pp 331–336 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Aug 31, 2015

By V. A. Myazin, M. V. Korneykova, A. V. Svetlov, V. G. Minenko, D. V. Makarov, A. L. Samusev

The paper discusses the treatment problem of mine (waste) water for enterprises of the Russian Arctic. The wide range of relevant pollutants, financial resources, the availability of land for the construction of a treatment plant, waste generated during the treatment process are some of the factors controlling current and future process design solutions. All mining operations have adopted water treatment and water quality monitoring solutions, however there is no single approach to the problem and each industry participant operates within the scope of its available resources. The range of existing and emerging methods is extensive — from using constructed wetlands for the deposition of mineral nitrogen compounds in settling ponds, reagent deposition and chemical coagulation in exhausted mine workings, and filtering dams on the surface to retrofitting existing mine drainage treatment plants with the adoption of the electrochemical coagulation process. Methods of wastewater treatment from heavy metals, oil products, and nitrogen compounds are demonstrated in the example of two industrial facilities in the Murmansk region. It was found that the use of electrochemical coagulation provides effective treatment of mine water from NO3, NO2, Ni, Fetotal and petroleum hydrocarbons (the degree of purification from 50.5-99.7%), the use of phytotreatment system provides wastewater treatment from ammonium ions and nitrite ions by 53-84%, nitrate ions - by 22%. Keywords: Industrial water treatment, treatment flowcharts, settling ponds, constructed wetlands, reagent sedimentation, chemical coagulation, electrochemical coagulation

Jan 1, 2020

By M. Kellner

Due to continuously growing resource demands and increasing requirements for sustainability, safety and environmental protection on the other hand, the mining industry is being subjected to these additional requirements. Over the past few decades progress has been made in all topics. In 1987, the United Nations published the following in the Brundtland Report: ?development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.?[5] The term ?Blue Mining? means to work sustainably, economically, ecologically, and efficiently while also improving ergonomics, for example by increasing automation. An example of how mining can actively be involved in energy management will be shown. Initial evaluations of underground cavitites were done for purpose of energy storage. The planning and construction of underground pump storage plants both in active and inactive mining operations was also investigated.

Aug 1, 2013

By Henry M. Harris

A study was made by the Bureau of Mines to determine if shapes of oxide-glass compositions could be roll-formed at high temperatures, and to find the conditions required for adequate formability. A unit with directly connect' furnaces and heated rolls that allowed forming of most of the compositions developed. Glasses of the feldspar type were chemically unreactive with the alumina grains, and allowed the best roll forming. Optimum forming was attained at temperatures of 1,400° to 1,530° C, with compositions containing 30 or 40 percent feldspar and 60 or 70 percent alumina. Formability was better when compositions contained minus 325-mesh materials, rather than coarser or finer powders. In many cases, roll-formed shapes had physical properties equal to or better than the normally sintered shapes of the same composition.

Jan 1, 1967

By A. W. Hahn

ALTHOUGH enormous tonnages of sulfide lead and lead-silver ores are treated by flotation, the products of flotation mills treating oxidized ores of lead and silver are almost negligible. However, each year there is a slight tonnage increase, and it is possible, should a sizeable oxidized lead ore tonnage be developed, the field will become an important one. In 1918, the Shattuck-Arizona Copper Co. erected a plant at Warren, Ariz., for the treatment of oxidized gold-silver-lead ores. Glenn L. Allen worked out the metallurgy for this plant, employing tabling, followed by flotation concentration. The Shattuck-Denn Mining Co., successors to the Shattuck-Arizona Co., now employs straight flotation in the same mill, treating about 200 tons daily. In 1922, the San Diego mill of the American Smelting & Refining Co., in the Parral district, Chihuahua, Mexico, started operating a 600-ton mill on a mixed sulfide-oxide gold-silver-lead ore. Tables and flotation are used here, and about 200 tons of oxidized slime treated by flotation. In 1923, the Eureka Holly Mining Co. started operating a 90-ton mill at Eureka, Nev., using tables and flotation, on an oxidized lead-silver ore. In 1924, the American Smelting & Refining Co. started a 250-ton mill in northern Peru, to treat a high grade oxidized gold-silver ore with very low lead values. In 1924, the Grand Central Mining Co. started a 200-ton flotation mill on old oxidized gold-silver-lead tailings at Fairbank, Ariz. In 1926, the Compania International Minera, a subsidiary of the Union Corporation of London, started a 250-ton flotation mill on oxidized lead-silver ores, and during April of this year, the Phelps-Dodge Corp. will probably start a 250-ton mill at Warren, Ariz., on oxidized lead-silver ores, similar to those being treated in the Shattuck-Denn mill.

Jan 1, 1927

By Lars A. Stålberg

"This paper will touch several of the topics covered by SDIMI 2005, including,• Sustainability indicators for the minerals industry, • Best practice of sustainable development in the minerals industry, • Social contributions,The complex issues of a company’s "sphere of influence" and "complicity" are important to every discussion of business and Human Rights. The paper will argue that to protect and promote Human Rights needs to be regarded as an integral part of sustainable development policies for the minerals industry. This implies a need for explicit inclusion of Human Rights indicators among the indicators to be applied by the minerals industry."

Jan 1, 2005

By B. M. Larsen

A discussion based on three commercial furnace tests and electrical analogue calculations is presented. It shows that while regenerator efficiency is mainly dependent on loading or relative amount of heat exchange surface plus the heat transfer coefficients as effected by flow velocity, the actual air preheat temperature can be high or low, largely independent of regenerator efficiency, mainly due to the diluting or unbalancing effects of cold air leakage into various parts of the furnace system. THERE are many signs of a renewal of interest in the heat regeneration aspect of the open hearth process, among them being the recent paper by Marsh,' the introduction of auxiliary checkers in the stacks of the Isley furnace design, and a number of recent installations of two-pass checkers in new and old furnaces. However, there are also signs of yielding to the usual temptation of oversimplifying a problem. Faced with the job of obtaining better draft on a furnace, for example, a good designer always recognizes that focusing attention on some one factor, such as height of the stack or capacity of the exhaust fan, does not make his problem any easier; rather he must look at the whole system, including such items as valve resistances, bends in the flues, and flow resistance in the waste heat boiler; then he must make his design in relation to the available draft so as to avoid any serious bottleneck in the system. Yet this example is really much simpler than the problem of air preheating, and again, the latter problem is not really made easier by concentrating on air temperature in uptakes and on the more obvious methods for making this air as hot as possible. Also to be considered are such things as the total amount of air needed theoretically for complete combustion at any selected fuel rate, together with that needed for oxygen absorbed into the bath and for burning the combustible gases given out from the bath, plus some excess air. Furthermore, how does this total air requirement relate to the regenerator efficiency at various loadings? How much of the total air equivalent in stack gases will come from preheated air passed through the whole length of the incoming regenerator and how much from air leakage into various zones of the whole furnace system? Does the effect of leakage air differ depending on whether it leaks into the ingoing regenerator, the furnace above floor level, the outgoing regenerator, or the stack zone? Over a number of years we have in this Laboratory experimented with methods for measuring hot gas temperatures; we have measured, approximately, the efficiency of a few regenerators on commercial furnaces and we have developed an electrical analogue' for calculations of regenerator efficiency. The whole problem is too complex to cover in one paper even with a more complete background of data than we possess, but we can attempt here to clarify certain aspects in a general way, hoping to assist specific plant studies on individual furnaces. Some of our earlier experience has been incorporated into chaps. 4, 19, 20, and 21 in the book "Basic Open Hearth Steelmaking,"" and on the assumption that this text is available to most readers, this discussion has been shortened by references to that book. The most recent design of a flowing-gas thermocouple which we are now using for measurement

Jan 1, 1955

By L. M. Tavares, H. A. Petit, P. P. Cavalcanti

Iron ore pellets experience degradation during handling due low energy impacts and stresses. These impacts lead to volume or surface breakage of the pellets, creating fine particles that accumulate along the process. Some of the particles are in contact with the air and are dragged as dust into the workplace or into the atmosphere. The aerodynamic size of the particles allows them to be potentially inhaled by the workers or to be carried to nearby communities. Dust emission becomes critical at specific locations, such as transfer chutes and stockpiles. This work models the dust generation that occurs in an iron ore pellet stockyard using a methodology that combines experiments to quantify the degradation of the pellets to mathematical modelling of the dust emission mechanisms in the stockyard. First, laboratory tests were used to characterise the amount of mass and the particle size distribution of the dust generated by degradation under controlled conditions. Second, the flow over a stockpile of an iron ore pellet company was simulated with the aid of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. Third, semiempirical equations linked the data generated by simulations and laboratory tests to estimate the dust emission in the stockyard. Finally, results were validated with measured field data, obtained with a novel online measurement tool. Results suggest that the approach is able to predict dust emission with sufficient accuracy and can be used for further implementation in the management of operations and decision making in order to reduce the environmental impact of the process. Keywords: Iron ore pellets, abrasion, dust emission, mathematical modelling

Jan 1, 2020

In recent years, wide consideration has had to be given to methods of improving the condition of the mine environment in many coal mines, and significant developments and changes have evolved. Thus even after substantial increases inòair flow rates at the working place (they have increased over three fold in the last generation), environmental conditions have arisen for which it has been necessary to introduce or consider: i) additional ameliorative measures, such as good housekeeping; ii) layout changes: such as Y or Z layouts; iii) homotropal ventilation; and iv) air conditioning. In certain countries, consideration has been given also to: v) additional payments reduced working times; vi) heat acclimatisation programmes; and vii) the use of cold or cooling suits At many hot and humid mines, the principal benefits from adopting (i), (ii) and (iii) have already been realised. At such mines,

Jan 1, 1983

By AIME AIME

WHETHER by the Mohawk Trail, Sound steamer, air plane, railroad or any other route or mode of locomotion, all roads will lead to Boston the week of National Metal Congress, Sept. 21-25. The Institute of Metals and Iron and Steel divisions of the Institute are then to meet jointly at the Hotel Statler, and the American Society for Steel Treating, the American Welding Society, the Society of Automotive Engineers and the Iron and Steel Division of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers present carefully planned programs at their respective sessions. The National Metal Exposition will be held on Commonwealth Pier.

Jan 1, 1931