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By P. Somasundaran

While sustainability itself needs to be redefined in a selfless way, methods of measuring and optimizing it also need to be reformulated. Gone are the days when we had the luxury of abundant resources and the freedom to extract values in self-centered ways. In the past, focus has been mostly on reagent performance, processing operations, and upgrading of tools to maximize rather than optimize value extraction from the earth's crust. Today we as extractors face a new set of challenges that include value separation from low quality resources including wastes, but within the energy, environment, and societal constraints. Development of such technology depends on understanding the role of entities and concepts such as bio-molecular interactions at surfaces, forces involved in inter-granular versus intra-granular fracture in new fragmentation methods, robotic in-situ or extraterrestrial mining, exploiting new membrane and nano technology, use of new sensors and actuators for detection and separation and computation capabilities for faster and economical processing. Equally importantly, we need to communicate with everyone what we foresee and anticipate when we extrapolate the type-performance-cost relationship of ores to the era ahead of us and establish viable schemes for ecological survival. Keywords: sustainable mineral extraction

Sep 1, 2012

By Simón D. Strauss

El presente estudio revisa la evolución de la producción de los principales minerales (plomo, cobre y plata) en Estados Unidos desde la década del 70, asi como su repercusión en Chile, Perú y algunos países latinoamericanos. En esta perspectiva, se pronostican algunos datos sobre los cambios políticos, sociales y económicos que ocurrirán dentro de los próximos 28 años y que afectarán la demanda de productos minerales y la capacidad para producirlos.

Nov 20, 1972

Cleaner Production stands for a proactive and preventive approach to industrial environmental management and aims for process- and/or product-integrated solutions that are both ecologically and economically efficient (æeco-efficiencyÆ). Pioneers in the field were large manufacturing and processing industries in the USA (since the late-1970s), but it took until the early-1990s before Cleaner Production was generally recognised as a valuable approach for large and medium sized enterprises. The application of Cleaner Production in mining and minerals, metals and energy production appears to lag behind other sectors, such as manufacturing and processing. This paper starts with a discussion of the Cleaner Production concept and provides examples of its application from a few selected Australian mining and minerals processing industries. This evidences that Cleaner Production can achieve significant reductions in environmental impact, in terms of reduced waste and emission generation and in terms of conservation of materials, energy and water, while simultaneously reducing operating costs. The paper then investigates a number of key issues pertaining to the implementation of Cleaner Production; ie organisation and management of Cleaner Production activities, effective tools for mastering the Cleaner Production concept as a way of life, and performance measurement.

Jan 1, 2002

By John D. Morgan

THE tense international situation prevailing in the postwar period, and the outbreak of actual hostilities in Korea, directs attention to the status of United States reserves of strategic and critical materials for war. Geologists and mining and metallurgical engineers are particularly interested in this problem, since, with a few important exceptions, almost all of the materials on the official list of strategic and critical materials for stockpiling (see top of page) are metals and minerals.

Jan 3, 1951

By D. A. Knight, V. G. Medina

Kidston's 14 000 t/d mine and mill complex in Queensland, Australia, started operation in January 1985. During its first 18 months of operation, the mine produced over 7000 kg (225,000 oz) of gold, making it the largest gold producer in Australia. This paper describes the planning, logistics, flowsheet, and process for the Kidston project, and some of the problems encountered during startup and the measures taken to correct these problems.

Jan 1, 1987

Although the mining industry faced ever-increasing risks and uncertainties in 1974, it nevertheless pushed ahead with considerable rapidity in exploring and developing new orebodies-while expanding and improving the technologies of mining and exploration. Prepared by the SME Mining and Exploration Division, this section of the annual review covers the pertinent worldwide developments in the fields of geochemistry, geology, geological engineering, open pit mining, underground mining, rock mechanics, operations research, and solution mining.

Jan 2, 1975

Sublevel open stoping was introduced at Rosebery in 1972; most of the stoping prior to this was horizontal cut and fill. Sublevel open stoping presently accounts for 65% of the Rosebery underground production of 560 000 tonnes per year. This primary stoping technique leaves 50% of the ore in the crown and transverse pillars. The methods used in pillar recovery to date are reviewed and comments made on the success of these operations.

Jan 1, 1982

By Jorge Vargas Fernández

El presente artículo describe la relación entre la cultura y los recursos mineros a través del tiempo y las acciones para mantener dicha relación, dada la importancia que tiene para el desarrollo y seguridad del Perú.

Mar 1, 1971

By Enrique Fernandez

The success of the excavation of a sewage tunnel in a very extreme geological conditions, from river deposits and sandy layers to hard dolomite, and several meters below the estuary under the sea water influence, shows that the choice of a right equipment together with the use of chemical products like foam and polymers enable to dig tunnels in unexpected areas and give solution to the environmental problems. The paper describes the excavation and support process as well as the adopted solutions in every material and during the cross through the intermediate shafts, also under sea influence.

Jan 1, 2003

By C. Romero, R. Mendoza

The SX-EW plant consists of three parallel trains with two extraction and two stripping stages, with the mixing chambers situated on the same side of the settlers, using a coalescing launder to direct the solution flow to the outlet weirs in the side as the mixers. In the tankfarm the loaded organic tanks will include a coalescing packed column to separate the aqueous entrainment. Organic from gunk will be recovered in a packed column, instead of a centrifuge. The EW plant utilize polymer concrete cells with permanent stainless steel cathodes with edge strips on side and bottom, without wax.

Jan 1, 1996

By R. W. Raymond

THE death of Louis Janin, which took place Mar. 6, 1914, at Santa Barbara, terminated the earthly career of almost the last survivor, and one of the most illustrious, members, of that group of American mining engineers and metallurgists who, in the last quarter, of the nineteenth century, directed the development of the mineral resources of the Pacific slope. Louis Janin was born in 1836 at New Orleans. His grandfather, an officer in the French army, had emigrated to this country, with his family, at or before the outbreak of the French revolution. His father became an

Jan 7, 1914

By R. W. Raymond

The death of Louis Janin, which took place Mar. 6, 1914, at Santa Barbara, terminated the earthly career of almost the last survivor, and one of the most illustrious members, of that group of American mining engineers and metallurgists who, in the last quarter of the nineteenth century, directed the development of the mineral resources of the Pacific slope. Louis Janin was born in 1836 at New Orleans. His grandfather, an officer in the French army, had emigrated to this country, with his family, at or before the outbreak of the French revolution. His father became an

Jan 1, 1915

By Anthony Delvescovo, Gregory F. Aluce, Joseph A. Sopko, Lyle C. Smith

Construction of a 13m shaft through approximately 100m of water bearing soils and another 100m of bedrock was attempted using the Slurry Diaphragm Wall Method with a combination of deep dewatering wells. During excavation within the slurry wall, unexpected groundwater inflows occurred in a structure of loose silty sands. Artificial ground freezing was selected as a remedial method to seal the leaking slurry wall, and as a primary excavation support and groundwater control method for the 30m of overburden material below the base of the wall. Design of the ground freezing system required analysis of both the structural requirements of the unsupported soil, the frost effects against the existing slurry wall and the groundwater control in the area of the breech in the wall. These design procedures are summarized, and construction and excavation techniques and corresponding schedules compared in this paper. Advanced drilling techniques, ground freezing quality control and general contractor procedures for efficient shaft construction are discussed.

Jan 1, 1993

By Robert B. Parsons

"The February 18, 1987, Federal Budget contains a proposed amendment which would simplify somewhat the ""successor corporation"" rules in the Income Tax Act. Despite this amendment, though, the important successor rules will continue to be relatively complex.IntroductionThe February 18, 1987, Federal Budget papers propose an income tax amendment whereby the so-called ""successor corporation"" rules would be revised by removing the present provision which limits the application of these rules to a maximum of two ""successions"". The successor corporation rules represent one of the most complicated sets of rules in the Income Tax Act. This month, Tax Notes seeks to explain these rules and the proposed amendment in simplified terms.Basically, the successor rules provide a mechanism for transferring unused exploration and development expenses from one taxpayer to another , in specified circumstances. The aforementioned limitation of two successions refers to the rule which allows a maximum of two such transfers with respect to any particular pool of deductions."

Jan 1, 1987

By James Douglas

No one mill attribute it to the partiality of friendship if I claim for Thomas Sterry Hunt the right to a place among that little band of men whom nature has endowed with what seems an almost magical power of insight into her mysteries. But those of us who knew him well, while me never ceased to wonder at the breadth of his genius, the fertility of his imagination, and the wonderful capacity of his memory, learned that these native powers would have availed little to win him his rank in science, had they not been stimulated by ceaseless mental activity, indomitable perseverance, and unflagging industry. Thomas Sterry Hunt was born in Norwich, Connecticut, on September 5, 1826. He came on his mother's side from that good old stock which gave to Puritan England the gentle mystic Peter Sterry and that uncompromising preacher Thomas Sterry, who wrote the notable tract, " The Rot among the Bishops " in 1667, and that gave to New England Consider and John Sterry, the mathematicians. While lie was a child the family moved to Poughkeepsie on the Hudson. There the father died when Thomas, the oldest son, was twelve. The mother and her family of six young children returned to the old home in Connecticut. For a short time Thomas attended the public school; but it was for a short time only, as he, thus early, was required to share the burden of the family support and to seek employment. This he found first in a printing-office, then with an apothecary, afterwards in a book-store. The surroundings may have been congenial, but the occupation probably was not; for he re-

Jan 1, 1893

By Morris P. H

A trial embankment was constructed using coarse coal mine reject on a deposit of crusted coal mine tailings at New Hope Colliery, located in the Bundamba District of the West Moreton Coalfields in South East Queensland, Australia. The purpose of the trial embankment was to assess the load carrying capacity and settlement behaviour of the crusted tailings, including an assessment of strength gain in the tailings under the influence of the fill. Prior to construction of the trial embankment, a site investigation of the tailings deposit was carried out. This comprised vane shear strength testing, together with disturbed sampling and undisturbed block sampling for the purposes of laboratory testing. Following the site investigation, settlement plates and standpipes were installed at various depths and locations within the tailings in the vicinity of the proposed embankment. The instrumentation enabled the magnitudes and distributions of settlement and pore pressure within the tailings to be determined during and following construction of the embankment. The embankment was constructed using coarse reject in three equal lifts to a height of 3.0 m. The tailings sustained a maximum settlement under the weight of the fill of 290 mm, representing about 4.2 ii of the average initial thickness of the tailings and a loss of embankment height of about 9.7 %. By the end of the monitoring period the strength of the softer tailings underlying therust had roughly doubled under the influence of tha cmbarikment

Jan 1, 1990

By Jay W. H, Brown L. J

Several case studies are examined in which analysis of treated ores and extracted metal species by Mossbauer spectroscopy provides information not available by other competing techniques. The cases include poorly crystalline, surface iron oxides in titanium minerals and chalcopyrite, gold in ores and bacterially oxidised ores and the adsorbed species from gold extracted from cyanide and chloride solutions onto activated carbon and polyurethane foams. Some limitations on the use of the technique in terms of sample size, sensitivity and counting time are also discussed.

Jan 1, 1997

By Larry M. Southwick

Pneumatic converting (Bessemerizing) of iron revolutionized the steel industry. Bessemerizing of copper (conversion of copper sulfide matte to copper metal) was proposed at almost the same time, but it was slow in being accepted. The differences between iron and copper converting were great and technical problems were substantial. It took 25 years for the process to become viable and another 25 years before a truly economical solution was found. A major economical and productivity problem was the short life for converter refractory linings. The first converters had acid (silica) linings, which were quickly consumed since silica was a flux for the process. Converters had to be relined at least once per day, a laboriously expensive manual process with only the most rudimentary mechanical aids available to assist. The industry was revolutionized almost overnight when finally a viable basic (magnesite) lining was developed. This lasted 100's of days versus less than one, leading to converters that were easier to operate and which handled larger charges. This change occurred after W.H. Peirce and E.A.C. Smith, with support from the Guggenheim interests, successfully operated a basic lined converter in a copper refinery in Baltimore. While Peirce and Smith are generally given credit for the development and explosive acceptance of this idea, a Pittsburgh industrialist, Ralph M. Baggaley, working in an independent smelter in Butte, Montana, successfully built and operated a basic lined converter four years before they did. In fact, the early support for Peirce and Smith likely occurred because Guggenheim's staff were encouraged after thoroughly examining Baggaley on his earlier successes. The questions of technology primacy between Baggaley and Peirce/Smith are ironically similar to those between Wm. Kelly and Bessemer in converting iron to steel. This paper will review what Baggaley (and other early researchers) accomplished, examine why he (or they) did not receive credit equal to Peirce and Smith and explore what his (their) place should be in the development of successful basic linings. More suspects than a Victorian Whodunit.

Jan 1, 1999

California Oil and Gas Association, 510 West Sixth St , Los Angeles, Calif Edwin Higgins, Secretary This Association for many years published the monthly magazine, "Oil Bulletin " Publication was discontinued in June, 1932, and numbers are now available only in reference form Some of the articles in the magazine dealt with the geology and natural resources of gas and oil

Jan 1, 1933

By Gary B. Hemphill

Each year the demand for precision blasting increases due to the reduction in the amount of prime land. More site preparation and hone building requires blasting than they did a decade ago, Because of this increased need for blasting in more populated areas, the need for blasters and engineers knowledgeable in work involving blasting nets has increased.

Jan 1, 1978