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By J. J. Gillman

"The coal deposits from Cape Perce on Cape Breton Island have been known to supply the coal requirements of the people living in or visiting the area for close to 300 years.A major block of coal has been identified off Cape Perce, which has several seams from which coal can be taken. The initial development by the Cape Breton Development Corporation will be in the Harbour Seam and constitutes the Donkin-Morien Development Project.The CBDC's confidence in this indicated resource is based on its knowledge of the Sydney Coal Field and from boreholes driven into the block during the summers of1977, 78 and 79. In 1980, further geological data were gathered from surface drilling and an intermediate-depth high-resolution seismic survey. The surface facilities for the Donkin-Morien Development Project will be located on the northern half of the cape, with access declines extending 3.9 km in a north-northeasterly direction to the Donkin block of coal reserves. The development has the potential of supplying all the coal needed f or the future electrical power generation requirements of Nova Scotia for many years to come.The planned mine, for which a project definition study has recently been completed, will have a production rate in excess of 3 million tonnes per year.IntroductionAt the Second CIM District 1 Meeting held in Halifax in October 1980, a background paper on Phase II of the Donkin-Morien Development Project was presented. The project involves a 3.2-million-tonne, saleable, underground coal mine. At that time, the chronological sequence of events had unfolded, starting with the initial boreholes through to the feasibility study, and on through site clearing and site preparation. This led to engineering design contracts for the portals and the two tunnels to be driven to intersect with the Harbour Seam close to 4 km from their entry point."

Jan 1, 1982

By Launa G. Mallett, Jr. Brnich

Overview: The first step to emergency preparedness and maintaining a safe workplace is defining and analyzing hazards. Although all hazards should be addressed, resource limitations usually do not allow this to happen at one time. Risk assessment can be used to establish priorities so that the most dangerous situations are addressed first and those least likely to occur and least likely to cause major problems can be considered later. Purpose: This training package was developed to assist instructors as they (1) determine how to use risk assessment to improve safety preparedness and (2) present risk assessment concepts and tools to trainees. The concepts and tools presented here can be applied to any mine hazard.

Jul 1, 2003

By H. W. Morse

The experimental work on the oxidized copper ore at the New Cornelia mine at Ajo, Ariz., ended on Jan. 12, 1916. On that date final decision was made on the general nature of the process to be used in the 5,000-ton leaching plant, and on many of the details, as far as experience on a 40-ton scale could decide them. With the approval of the Board of Directors and the General Manager, John C. Greenway, we have compiled what seem to be the most interesting data on the results obtained during the experimental period. The most important part of the data resulted from the operation of a 1-ton and a 40-ton plant at Ajo. Experimental work on Cornelia oxidized ore dates back to April, 1912, and has been going on nearly continuously since that time. A good many variations from the original idea have been tried, but the process finally decided upon is in principle and in all of its details a simple one. The history of the leaching work on this ore has been brought down to about a year ago in papers presented to this Institute by Stuart Croasdalel and Dr. L. D. Ricketts.2 The present paper will, therefore, deal principally with the results obtained during the last year of the work. Preliminary Tests by Mb. Croasdale Preliminary tests were begun by Stuart Croasdale in July, 1912. A number of important points were definitely decided by his work. Among these were: 1. New Cornelia oxidized ore, not very finely crushed (to about 2-to 3-mesh) showed good extraction with 5 per cent. sulphuric acid. It appeared that better than 80 per cent. extraction could be expected. 2. The consumption of acid for this extraction was not prohibitive. It was apparently 3.5 to 4 1b. gross per pound of copper recovered.

Jan 1, 1917

By Matthew C. Janes, Mark C. Spence

"A former coal gasification site next to Rock Bay in Victoria, BC, Canada required a barrier to permit dewatering and excavation of the bay and surrounding property. The adjacent property owners had stringent requirements at the boundaries of their properties. Isherwood Geostructural Engineers designed a temporary steel sheet pile (SSP) water retention structure and excavation shoring system along the perimeter of the site. The project involved challenging geotechnical conditions in soft clay soils and a multi-faceted construction staging plan involving the diversion of two large storm water outfalls that drained into the bay. Despite a well-conceived design and construction plan, unexpected site conditions and delays led to significant changes in design and construction approach. Employment of the Observational Method and on-the-fly geotechnical investigation were instrumental in maintaining project momentum and schedule. The paper presents the geotechnical and geostructural design details and construction events as they transpired, highlighting the key issues, discussions and lessons learned.INTRODUCTIONFor over 100 years, the Rock Bay Site, in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, had a legacy of contamination left behind from previous industrial activities. The site was the former location of a coal gasification plant that was in operation from 1862 to 1952. The site was also an infilling location for a nearby tannery and sawmill. The remediation of the Rock Bay Site involved the excavation and replacement of approximately 300,000 tonnes of contaminated soils on Transport Canada’s property. The project commenced in 2004 and has occurred over several phases on multiple properties. In the third and final phase of the project, a temporary steel sheet pile (SSP) excavation shoring system and ocean barrier wall – required to seal off the bay – was employed to enable disposal and replacement of approximately 90,000 tonnes of contaminated soils from the shoreline and base of the bay."

Jan 1, 2016

By P. Fleming, W. Pascheto

"Rod mills processing nickel and copper ore experienced recurring failures of liner bolts. In some cases failures became very frequent, requiring constant mill intervention and consequently impacting process stability and operating costs. Investigation related to the causes of bolt failures involved a multidisciplinary approach with the participation of engineering, maintenance and operation. It included the determination of bolt failure mechanisms as well as the assessment of mechanical properties, fabrication quality and handling and installation procedures. In addition, other parameters affecting bolt performance such as mill and liner design, operating parameters and maintenance practices were studied. This paper reports the failure investigation results and proposed solutions for failure prevention. INTRODUCTIONOccasional liner bolt failures are common in rod mills. However, chronic bolt failures developed in rod mills processing nickel and copper ore caused frequent shutdowns for bolt replacement to an extent that affected process stability. At first, it was thought that the cause of recurring failures was related to bolt quality. The operation then submitted several failed bolts to failure analysis. However, it became apparent that bolt quality was unlikely to be the main cause of failures. The determination of root cause (s) then became more complex, requiring a multi-disciplinary approach to failure investigation, requiring the assessment of bolt installation methods, mill design, operating conditions and maintenance practices. The results of the metallurgical failure analysis and investigation of other possible causes of failures are reported here."

Jan 1, 2016

By J. G. van der Watt

Due to increasing concerns of global rare earth element shortfalls in the near future, possible alternative sources of rare earth elements have recently become of economic interest. One such alternative is decanting acid mine water originating primarily from abandoned old mines in the Witwatersrand region of the Republic of South Africa. In this study, a novel way of rare earth element removal from the acid mine drainage was employed, making use of bentonite clay, which has very good adsorbent properties, as a rare earth element carrier material. The process can be economically viable only, if the elements can be selectively removed from the bentonite clay carrier material so as to yield reusable clay. Acid leaching was proposed to liberate the adsorbed rare earth elements from the bentonite clay. Accordingly, acid leaching experiments were performed to study the desorption of three commonly-found rare earth elements, namely neodymium, samarium, and dysprosium, from bentonite clay in the presence of sulphuric and hydrochloric acid. It was established that the three rare earth element species could be selectively removed as a group from iron, magnesium, and manganese metals through the careful manipulation of the pH. An investigation into the kinetic aspects of the rare earth element desorption process from the bentonite clay was also undertaken. The applicability of various kinetic models such as zero-order, pseudo first-order, pseudo second-order, elovich, parabolic diffusion, and power function were tested to describe the time-dependent desorption of rare earth elements from bentonite clay. It was determined that the pseudo second-order kinetic model represented the dissolution processes for neodymium, samarium, and dysprosium from bentonite clay the most accurately.

Jan 1, 2012

By A. Ekrem Yüce, Gülay Bulut, Feridun Boylu, Vecihi Gürkan, Istanbul Technical University, H. MustafaTarkan

"Nickel sulphide ores subjected to this investigation were taken from Orhaneli district where widespread chromite mineralisation can be occurred. Significant amounts of magnetite and chromite have been existed in the ore together with sulphide and oxide type nickel minerals. Ore sample is constituted about 70% magnetite, 15% sulphide minerals, 5% chromite and iron oxides as well as 10% gangue minerals.According to the chemical analysis results, the representative ore sample contains 1.32% Ni, 10.8% SiO2, 78.4% Fe2O3, 1.3 g/t Ag and 1.0 g/t Au. Mineralogical examinations showed that pentlandite (Fe, Ni)9S8, violarite (Ni, Fe)3S4, millerite NiS and asbolane (Co, Ni)MnO2.(OH)2.1-2H2O were the main nickel minerals and magnetite, chromite, chromium spinals, pyrite, pyrhotite, chalcopyrite, cubanite, goethite, hematite, limonite, rutile, chlorite, talc and serpentine group minerals as associated minerals.The aim of this investigation was to produce valuable nickel concentrates by using gravity separation, magnetic separation and flotation methods. As a results of laboratory scale studies, alternative flow sheets for the production of nickel sulphide concentrate were developed. The related experimental results are given in Table 1."

Jan 1, 2003

By J. Sugai

Formability of extruded round AZ31 magnesium alloy tubes with different manganese concentrations was evaluated by performing bending tests and measuring strain along the length of the tubes during the bending process. It was found that an increase in the manganese content from 0.3 % to 0.7% did not exert any significant effect on the values of yield stress, elongation, or compression to fracture. However the hardness tended to increase and the UTS decreased. The compressive ductility was significantly lower than tensile ductility for all manganese concentrations. Consequently, the formability of tubes decreased, causing cracks in areas where compression strain occurred during bending. It was also found that a larger strain occurred in the latter half of the region along the length of tube between the clamp-end and the tube-positioning block. Within this region, alloy tubes with higher manganese concentrations, 0.5 and 0.7 %, there was a clear strain peak within the strain profile, while for the 0.3 % Mn alloy, a more uniform strain profile was exhibited, indicating a more uniform deformation. This was confirmed by microstructural analysis of the specimens.

Jan 1, 2006

By Connie Travers, Ann Maest, James Kuipers, David Atkins

The science of predicting future water quality at hardrock mine sites has been practiced for at least the past 30 years. As part of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), mines and other industrial facilities in the United States on federal land are required to estimate impacts to the environment, including direct impacts to water quality and indirect impacts that are later in time but still reasonably foreseeable (Kempton and Atkins, 2000; Bolen, 2002). Facilities on private land in the United States may also be subjected to State or federal processes that may or may not require prediction of potential impacts to water resources. Other countries have followed a similar approach, largely based on the requirements of NEPA. A wide array of scientific approaches has been used to predict water quality that could result from construction, proposed expansion, or other action at an industrial facility. In this study, we review the methods and models used to predict water quality at hardrock mine sites, with an emphasis on uncertainties associated with these techniques. Because water quantity and quality are interrelated, methods and models used to predict water quantity will also be discussed, but the emphasis will be on how these methods relate to water quality. This study brings together technical information on water-quality predictions at mine sites in a single paper, and attempts to present a straight-forward approach to using and evaluating the results of the methods and models used to predict water quality at mine sites. Approaches developed primarily in the United States, Canada, and Australia and applied in these countries and in other parts of the world, especially in the last 10 years, are discussed, and the format of the study is geared toward use by regulators of hardrock mines. The approach and results of this study could also be used by environmental managers at mine sites and community groups, and allows for the creation of a checklist for prediction methodology used at mine sites.

Jan 1, 2005

By H. C. Gatos, Ahmed Azzam

A UTORADIOGRAPHY would appear to be sim-A pler and less time-consuming for diffusion studies than any of the radioactive tracer techniques commonly employed, namely, the sectioning, surface increase, and surface decrease techniques.' Accord- ingly, it was felt worthwhile to investigate the applicability of autoradiography to self-diffusion measurements, and gold was chosen for this purpose. The radioactive isotope Au'!'' was used, as obtained from the Brookhaven National Laboratory. Its radiation consists of p (0.97 mev) and y (0.41 mev) rays, and it has a half-life of 2.69 days. No-Screen X-ray film was found suitable for these experiments: the film has the desired high speed for recording P rays and yet is practically insensitive to y rays. On the other hand, due to the high atomic weight of gold, this metal is a strong absorber for p rays. The

Jan 1, 1953

By Robert B. Parsons

"Starting January 1, 1987 employers, employees, and other taxpayers are confronted with a new set of rules dealing with the taxation of travel and housing benefits relating to isolated posts in Canada, and tax deductions relating thereto. The new rules may not be the simplest in the world, but they are reasonably fair and at least offer a hitherto unknown degree of certainty as to how such allowances are to be treated. IntroductionThe first shoe fell on February 26, 1986 when Finance Minister Michael Wilson' s first budget presented the framework for the future tax treatment of travel and housing benefits (so-called ""northern allowances"") provided to residents in remote regions of Canada. The second shoe fell some ten months later on December 22, 1986 when the Minister of Finance filled in the earlier announced framework with detailed rules. We now have a complete picture of the tax treatment of northern allowances. Here is what the picture looks like with effect from January 1, 1987.According to Revenue Canada, the net housing benefit to employees will be equal to the value of the accommodation provided, less any rent they have paid. In major centres such as Yellowknife and Whitehorse, having a developed rental housing market, the benefit amount will be based on the fair market value of the rental accommodation in that location. In other areas, employers will be required to value the housing benefits and, to assist employers, Revenue Canada has provided the following guidelines: Common shelter- $100 per month including the value of subsidized utilities Apartment! duplex-$270 per month excluding the value of subsidized utilities, or $400 per month including the value of subsidized utilities House-$450 per month excluding the value of subsidized utilities, or $650 per month in- c1uding the value of subsidized utilities.The amounts established as the values of accommodation will be adjusted annually after 1987 based on the housing component of the Consumer Price Index."

Jan 1, 1987

By J. Wagner, P. Eger, G. Melchert

In 1991, LTV Steel Mining decided to close an open-pit taconite mine in northeastern Minnesota using a passive-treatment approach consisting of limiting infiltration into the stockpiles and wetland treatment to remove metals. More than 50 Aft (55 million st) of sulfide-containing waste had been stockpiled adjacent to the mine during its 30 years of operation. Drainage from the stockpiles contained elevated levels of copper, nickel, cobalt and zinc. Nickel is the major trace metal in the drainages. Before the closure, the annual median concentrations ranged from 1.5 to 50 mg/L. Copper, cobalt and zinc are also present but they are generally less than 5% of the nickel values. Median pH levels range from 5 to 7.5, but most of the stockpile drainages have pH levels greater than 6.5. Based on the chemical composition of each stockpile, a cover material was selected. The higher the potential that a stockpile had to produce acid drainage, the lower the permeability of the capping material required Covers ranged from overburden soil removed at the mine to a flexible plastic liner. Predictions of the reduction in infiltration ranged from 40% for the native soil to more than 90% for the plastic liner. Five constructed wetlands have been installed since 1992. They have removed 60% to 90% of the nickel in the drainages. Total capital costs for all the infiltration reduction and wetlands exceeded $6.5 million, but maintenance costs are less than 1 % of those for an active treatment plant. Because mine-drainage problems can continue for more than 100 years, the lower annual operating costs should pay for the construction of the wetland-treatment systems within seven years.

Jan 1, 2000

By Paul L. Russell

Because of the increasing demand for fluorspar , investigation of the deposits of the Gila district in Grant County , New Mexico , was undertaken by the Bureau of Mines in 1943 with the cooperation of the Federal Geological Survey . It was the purpose of the investigation to assist owners and lessees to develop their properties and to attempt to estimate ore reserves that might be available to supply a 300- ton mill that was under construction at Gila . Field work was begun June 14 , 1943 , and ceased August 16 , 1943. Seven veins were trenched and sampled .

Feb 1, 1947

By John J. Henn

An economic evaluation was made of the Bureau of Mines incinerator residue separation process to update the one published in 1971 to a mid-1.974 cost basis. This evaluation includes a modification of the glass-recovery operation used In the original plant design as well as a unit to bale the ferrous scrap product before shipment. Products from the plant are ferrous metal, aluminum and copper-zinc scrap, and a mixed-color glass cullet. The estimated capital and operating costs for four plant sizes are as follows : [ ] The operating costs do not include credits for recovered metals and glass.

Jan 1, 1975

By R. A. Walker, R. G. Bradburn, B. C. Flintoff

The events which led to computer control of the grinding circuit at Brenda Mines are described, beginning with mill operating philosophy. High production rates are encouraged so that, despite severe upstream disturbances, a manual control method to meet this philosophy had developed. Unfortunately, due to the time interval between manual control adjustments, losses in production resulted. An analog control method was devised and, although superior to manual control in some situations, was found to suffer from several practical limitations. The data logging capabilities of a control computer seemed warranted. Circuit testwork combined with an analysis of operating data showed that (1) metallurgical personnel at times could increase production rates by as much as 10% over that achieved by grinding operators; (2) the chosen data base required an increase of 2% or more to be statistically significant; and (3) for a 2% increase there would be a significant rate of return of investment in computer installation. Consequently one grinding circuit was fully instrumented, and a rented computer was installed by Brenda personnel. Prior to installation, Brenda metallurgical and instrumentation personnel were trained in the use of the computer. An experimental program was devised with short and long-term objectives. The short-term objective was to develop a practical control strategy which would yield immediate production improvement. This goal has been successfully met as described in this paper. Statistically significant increases in excess of 2% have been established. Work is being completed for the permanent installation of computer control on all four grinding circuits at the present time. Long-term objectives are (1) off-line analysis of the circuit using mathematical models of process units; (2) on-line experiments to study alternative control tactics; and (3) possible expansion of computer facilities to the crushing plant.

Jan 1, 1978

By James Tarr, Matthew Eichler, Brent Tardif

ANFO was being used as one of the blasting agents on a construction site in New England. Groundwater was encountered in numerous blast holes. The blasting contractor was employing typical explosives loading procedures for wet conditions. An abutter to the project complained that blasting caused her well water to have an odd taste and smell. Through testing, it was determined that there were hydrocarbons and nitrates in the well water. Several days later a second neighbor complained of foul tasting water; again it was determined that hydrocarbons and nitrates were present.

Jan 1, 2003

The University of Illinois, by Prof. H. H. Stock, professor of mining engineering, sent out to its mining students a long letter urging them to attend a Chicago meeting of the Institute. It stated that the University Council authorized the remission of the registration fee for sophomore, junior and senior mining engineers who would attend the meetings and present a written account of the sessions and excursions attended. Young engineers are rarely flushed at the beginning of their careers but if they ever expect to amount to anything at the end of 10-years-they are going to regret that they have not long been a member of the Insti-tute. So that the slogan "Do it now" is snore than particularly appli-cable in their cases and nothing will better indicate to them the scope of the Institute's work and the advantages which they are to get from mem-bership than attendance at one of the big meetings of the Institute and the preparation of a written report on the sessions and excursions attended to be returned to the University.

Jan 11, 1919

By R. Singh

The paper presents the results of characterization and beneficiation studies carried out on a lean grade tungsten ore sample from Degana, India. Basically, three different routes, involving gravity separation, magnetic separation, and froth flotation were studied for concentration of the sample by physical and physico-chemical methods. Considering the low recovery by physical methods, efforts were put in to produce a tungsten concentrate by physical methods suitable for subsequent hydrometallurgical recovery of tungsten as ammonium para-tungstate. This strategy proved quite helpful in minimizing the losses of tungsten in tailings. Based upon these studies a novel integrated technological process flow-sheet was developed for the exploitation of lean grade tungsten ore deposit of Degana, India. Keywords: lean tungsten ore, characterization, beneficiation, gravity and magnetic separation, hydrometallurgical extraction, integrated process route

Sep 1, 2012

By T Baumgartl, J Burgess, B Emmerton, P D. Erskine

Large-scale open cut mining in the Bowen Basin has been undertaken for over 40 years. During this period, improved mechanical capability and economics have allowed extraction to greater depths, resulting in post-mining landforms of increasing height. Rehabilitation practitioners face significant challenges in stabilising these landforms and require a comprehensive understanding of the Bowen Basin Coal Measures strata likely to be disposed of during mining. Knowledge regarding the potential behaviour of differing spoil materials (following disturbance) provides a rationale to maximise short- to medium-term surface stability of constructed landforms by identification, salvage and advantageous reuse of cladding resources as a means to minimise erosional risks.CITATION:Emmerton, B, Burgess, J, Baumgartl, T and Erskine, P, 2016. Bowen Basin coalmine spoil classification for improved mine rehabilitation outcomes, in Proceedings Life-of-Mine 2016 Conference , pp 142–147 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jun 28, 2016

By Chris M. Haberfield, Neil D. Benson

The assessment of overall modulus (or stiffness) of a fractured weak to moderately strong rock mass is a key parameter in the design of civil engineering works in these materials. It also provides the highest level of uncertainty due to scale effects, anisotropy and the influence of joint frequency and joint stiffness. Using the example of the Melbourne Mudstone, this paper compares approaches using empirical rules based on intact rock strength, laboratory testing, in situ field testing, semi-quantitative assessment techniques based on rock mass classification and back analyses. L'évaluation du module (ou rigidité) global d’une masse rocheuse faible et fissurée a modérément forte est un paramètre principal dans la conception des travaux du génie civil dans ces types de matériaux. Elle fournit également le niveau le plus élevé d'incertitude due aux effets d’échelle, à l'anisotropie et à l'influence de la fréquence et de la rigidité des joints rocheux. En utilisant l'exemple du schiste de Melbourne, cet article compare des approches empiriques basées sur la force intacte de La roche, les essais expérimentaux au laboratoire, les essais sur site, les techniques semi-quantitatives d'évaluation basées sur la classification de la masse rocheuse et les analyses en retour. Die Schaetzung des allgemeinen Steifigkeit-Moduls des gebrochenen schwachen bis zu maessig starken Felsmassen ist eine Haupt- Annahme in dem Entwurf von Tiefbau-Projekten in diesen Materialien. Es verursacht den hoechsten Grad der Ungewissheit in Folge der Groessenordnung, Spaltorientierung und dem Einfluss der Haeufigkeit der Risse und Bruch-Steife. Unter Verwendung des Beispiels des Melbourner Tonsteine, vergleicht diese Darlegung die Anwendung der empirischen Regeln, die sich auf die Staerke des ungestoerten Fels Basieren mit Versuchen in der Material Pruefungsanstalt, Untersuchungen auf der Baustelle und halb-quantitative Schaetzungsverfahren, die sich auf die Felsmassen Klassifikation und fruehere Analysen stuetzen.

Jan 1, 2003