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By C. Williard

Computer based mine monitoring and control systems represent a relatively new technology to be applied in the U.S. mining industry. While computer assisted engineering, design, and planning have been accepted as tools for specific technical and engineering jobs within the industry, integrating mine-wide monitoring and control systems into mining operations has been slow. This paper reviews the state of the art of mine monitoring and control systems and provides insights into future trends and developments.

Jan 1, 1988

U.S. Gold Commission Established. - The President, with the authorization of Congress, has named a gold commission made up of 17 individuals, most of them Government officials, to study U.S. policies related to the role of gold in domestic and international monetary systems and report its findings and recommendations to Congress. U.S. Lead Exposure Ruling. - On June 29, the Supreme Court upheld the Government's right to set lead exposure levels for employees at the workplace. The Court ruled in favor of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in a challenge by a group that alleged that OSHA had failed to conduct a cost-benefit analysis prior to issuance of the lead standards. It was the Court's contention that Congress did not require such an analysis when it empowered OSHA to establish workplace standards. The petition to the Court was made by the Lead Industries Association Inc., Battery Council International Inc" American Iron and Steel Institute, St. Joe Minerals Corp., and other lead mining and consuming firms.

Jan 1, 1981

By T. R. Ley

"INTRODUCTION Brutally honest mining executives will tell you that “safety is job #1 but.. dollars are also extremely important”. When economic times are tough, as they are now in mining, it can feel like you need to choose between safety and cost control. Leading edge companies know that it is excellence at both that provides the best performance. FLUID POWER SYSTEMS Fluid power systems are ubiquitous in mining – longwall systems, continuous miners, drills, haul trucks and excavators, etc. And fluid power systems are getting more powerful and using higher pressures to move greater volumes and achieve higher productivity. Average operating pressures in mobile equipment has been rising to 450 bar (6,500 psi) over the last decade. With increased system pressure comes ever increasing levels of stored energy. Stored energy that, if released in an uncontrolled fashion, can do tremendous harm to people and things.Fluid power systems are composed of pipe, flexible hoses, pumps, valves and actuators. They are filled with fluid (mineral oil or fire-resistant) to transmit power to where it’s needed for performing work. With time and use fittings can loosen, component performance diminishes and hoses wear and tear. In hostile environments, like coal mining, hydraulic hoses can fail in as little as 2 years according to DGUV (umbrella association of German Accident Insurers), maybe sooner in some particularly challenging environments. FLUID POWER SYSTEM SAFETY While appearing simple and benign on the surface, fluid power systems, particularly such systems on mobile equipment, have many potential hazards. Hazards that most workers aren’t aware of – particularly young, new hires. And those hazards that can quickly turn deadly. During the past couple of years, including at last year’s SME Conference, I talked to a wide variety of mining people about high pressure fluid injection injuries. Some people, often with little or no field experience, never heard of it. But, people with mine operations / maintenance experience were almost always aware of such injuries.Some had even seen it happen right in front of them. But most claimed it didn’t happen all that often. It just wasn’t seen as a problem!"

Jan 1, 2016

By H. L. Retcofsky

Carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance (18CNMR) spectra of nine 2-substituted pyridines, seven 3 -substituted pyridines, and nine 4-substituted pyridines have been obtained and analyzed. Substituents included both electron-releasing groups and electron-with hawing groups. Substituent effects on the magnetic shieldings of the ring carbons, except for those in the 2-positions of 2-substituted pyridines, were found to be quite similar to the effects reported for the monosubstituted benzenes, Thus, at least to a first approximation, the two classes of compounds have similar shielding mechanisms. Shieldings of the carbon atoms in the 5-positions of 2-substituted pyridines and those in the 6-positions of 3-substituted pyridines were found to reflect electron release or withdrawal by substituent groups, The pyridinium cation and the compounds 2,2'-dipyridyl and benzonitrile were also investigated.

Jan 1, 1969

By JAMES J. PURDY

The great majority of stokers used in residential heating installations are of the clinkering type. Because of inherent characteristics of the under- feed combustion process as it occurs in these small stokers, and because of the wide range of operating conditions encountered in residential heating schedules, not all bituminous coals can be used successfully in residential underfeed units. The problem of providing consumer satisfaction has been attacked by the joint efforts of the stoker manufacturers and the coal industry; the stoker manufacturers have been concerned with improving their product to permit the use of a wider range of coals, and coal operators have made every effort to market selected and better prepared coals. In view of the wide range of physical characteristics and chemical properties of bituminous coals, the problems are real and are receiving increased attention.

Jan 1, 1949

The phrase "Total-Energy" has, during the past few years, become widely used to describe a wide range of very different operations. However, if accurately described they all have one basic factor in common - energy usage is optimised with the prime mover being powered by gas or oil to generate shaft horsepower and the products of combustion being put to some use. The item which distinguishes a Total Energy system from any other engine or turbine driven project is that orate pains are taken to utilize the waste heat, whether this be in the form of exhaust gases and/or engine jacket ling water. n areas where grid supplies of electricity are readily available, the economics of most projects undoubtedly hinge upon the successful application of waste heat. However, there has been a growing awareness of other benefits, such as reliability of supply, which can be incorporated into the system. In particular these factors sway managements of hospitals and companies with complex computer facilities to examine closely the feasibility of Total Energy, Consequently, in America for example, where many systems have proved themselves the list of applications is wide - shopping centres, apartment blocks, office buildings, airline terminals, universities, schools, motels. And these do not cover the industrial sectors where the range is wider. The total number in North America is now approximately 500 and this to some extent-speaks for itself. In Australia, the real work involved in carrying out feasibility studies for Total Energy is only just beginning. 'in some quarters, the concept is not well received in that it is too new. Therefore, a typical approach is to play safe and wait until some other company has proved its operation "under Australian conditions". This is certainly a realistic approach when considering something revolutionary but as far as Total Energy.is"concerned all the individual components and sometimes combinations, (engines, generators, boilers, air-conditioning units) have been in operation for many years. The only innovation is that they are now all being brought together under one roof. This should not be forgotten when the question "where can I see something like this operating?" is asked.

Jan 1, 1970

By B. A. Joyce, R. W. Bicknell, R. J. Bennett, P. J. Etter

Epitaxial layers of silicon have been grown on single-crystal quartz and alumina by two types of chemical reaction the hydrogen reduction of trichlorosilane and b) the pyrolysis of silane. These reaction systems are described. The cqsfallography of the two systems, as determined by electron and X-ray diffraction, is discussed, and epitaxial mechanisms suggested. The electrical behavior is briefly considered, and the design and properties of field-evert devices fabricated in the epilaxial material are also discussed. RECENT work carried out in these laboratories" has shown that it is possible to obtain epitaxial deposits of silicon on single-crystal quartz and alumina. The purpose of this paper is to describe the method of preparation of these layers using both the hydrogen reduction of trichlorosilane and the pyroly-sis of silane, to compare the crystallographic behavior of films on the two substrates, and to present some initial results of the electrical behavior of silicon layers on alumina. The structural study has been carried out using electron and X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy. The electrical assessment has been made in terms of conductivity and mobility determinations by the van der pauw3 technique, and by measurements on metal-oxide-semiconductor assemblies. 1) FILM PREPARATION Both quartz and alumina substrates, approximately 1 sq cm in area and 0.4 mm thick. were prepared from slices cut parallel to within a few degrees of (11.0), (10.0), and (00.1), and polished mechanically down to about 0.3 p diamond grade. Chemical polishing of alumina slices, using phosphoric acid at elevated temperatures, has also been used; epitaxial silicon layers have been grown on these substrates, but the process is not entirely reliable, possibly because the large strain present in the Verneuil-grown alumina crystal affects the chemically prepared surface. The two reaction systems are fairly conventional and are described briefly below. a) Trichlorosilane-Hydrogen System. The apparatus is shown schematically in Fig. 1. The substrate was heated by induction, with a fused-quartz encapsulated graphite hemicylinder as susceptor. The procedure for carrying out a deposition was to heat the substrate to reaction temperature in a stream of

Jan 1, 1965

By William G. Pariseau

A small displacement-small strain finite element technique utilizing the constant strain triangle and incremental constitutive equations for elastic-plastic media that are nonhardening and obey a Coulomb yield condition has been applied to the analysis of gravity flow initiation in a V-shaped hopper containing a powder under lunar environmental conditions. Three methods of loading were examined. Of the three, the method of computing the initial state of stress in a filled hopper prior to drawdown by adding material to the hopper layer-by-layer is superior (as expected). Results of the analysis of a typical hopper problem show that the initial state of stress, the elastic moduli, and the strength parameters have an important influence on material response subsequent to the opening of the hopper outlet.

Jan 1, 1971

By R Pozo, F Reyes

Codelco Chile is currently developing the El Teniente û New Mine Level Project (NMLP) in order to increase ore production by seeking to mine the ore deposit located under the current operational orebody. Reserves of 2000 million tonnes (Mt) have been quantified, which will be extracted as from the year 2017 by using the panel caving and progressive sinking method. Codelco and SKM Minmetal (SKM) jointly developed the project prefeasibility stage (PFS), closing these studies in March 2008. The first part of the project approach is to replace mine production currently feeding the Colon concentrator facilities with 137 000 tonnes per day (t/d), focusing attention on a production increase from the year 2026 up to 180 000 t/d. Project efforts have also been centred on maximising the contribution of new technologies for both construction and operational phases of the New Mine Level, together with selecting the best mine infrastructure to keep El Teniente operations going on for the next 50 years. Implicit in this is the inherent improvement of a variety of current Mina El Teniente process and management practices. The plan is to reduce actual mine operational risks and take advantage of new opportunities afforded by the project, which is in effect a greenfield project with respect to the implementation of fundamental changes in the labour and business environment. In addition, issues related to human resources, maintenance and management, materials handling, establishing centralised operations and accesses, automation and remote operations control and power efficiency could also be addressed. The project, beyond the New Mine Level exploitation, considers the mineÆs future potential, with a second deeper exploration in prospect named Deep Level. Finally, the project identifies features that would add value to the mine operations, in an initiative named æSpace for Future TechnologiesÆ. This will allow the eventual implementation of new electrical equipment and the application of mechanised technologies and other process improvements for the mine development.

Jan 1, 2008

By K. Lascelles

ABSTRACT Nickel compounds vary significantly in their toxicological properties, so it is critical that continuing studies to accurately quantify worker exposures consider the processing that accompanies refining nickel-containing materials. The Clydach nickel refinery, which has operated for more than 100 years, was the first nickel-producing facility to show a high risk for lung and nasal-sinus cancers among workers employed since it opened in 1902. Process chemistry and equipment have changed dramatically over Clydach’s history. This paper describes the processing evolution at Clydach with a focus on the propensity for aerosol formation and the forms of nickel in airborne dusts.

Jan 1, 2013

By K. G. Chipman

The Geological Survey is the oldest map making department in the Canadian Government service, and when organized in 1842, one of the first principles to be recognized was the absolute necessity of having good maps. The primary purpose of the Survey has always been geology; but because a graphic representation by means of maps makes the written report .more readily intelligible; because the correlation of known geological facts is often difficult or nearly impossible unless they can be represented on a map; and, because the public demand information shown in this way, the Geological Survey must continue to supply maps; and the supplying of these maps must be considered as an essential part of the work of the Survey. It is a commonly recognized principle of pedagogics that an appeal to the eye is quicker than one to the ear; that children (and others) learn more quickly when a thing is presented to them through the eye rather than through the ear. The application of this principle to the work of the Geological Survey is that, to a large number of people, the message of a map is more quickly grasped, is more readily intelligible, and is in many ways of more interest and value than is the same information in a report. I do not mean that the maps are of more importance than the reports.

Jan 1, 1924

By Timothy C. Siegel, Paul J. Axtell

The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) recently replaced the Hurricane Deck Bridge that carries Highway 5 traffic across the Osage Arm of the Lake of the Ozarks in Camden County, Missouri. The former bridge was constructed in the 1920's and was supported on pneumatic caissons bearing on dolostone bedrock. The replacement structure is founded on drilled shafts socketed into the bedrock. During the design phase of this bid-build project, a baseline design was developed and Alternative Technical Concepts (ATC's) were allowed from approved contractors. Those ATC's were confidential and not shared between teams. Either the baseline design or the approved ATC design could be bid by the respective contractors. The baseline design included re-use of the 90-year old caisson foundations. Accordingly, an extensive evaluation of the caissons and underlying bedrock were conducted by coring, laboratory testing, acoustic tele-viewer (ATV), and cross-hole sonic logging (CSL) methods. The results of the investigation indicated the caissons were in excellent condition and suitable for re-use. However, a more cost-effective ATC was submitted, awarded, and constructed that did not re-use the existing caisson foundations but rather reduced the span lengths, increased the number of piers in the water, and supported those piers on drilled shafts. Interestingly, the difference in low bid price between the awarded ATC and the baseline design was less than one percent of the construction cost. This paper describes the multiple foundation designs that were necessary for this interesting project. The various foundation evaluations include the existing pneumatic caissons, large-diameter open-ended pipe piles to support the baseline design, and the design of rock-socketed drilled shafts that were successfully constructed in 2012.

Jan 1, 2017

By M. Zanini, D. Wong

ABSTRACT: Metals market improvements in 2005 drove the desire to increase nickel throughput and the production of nickel oxide sinter at the Vale Ltd. Copper Cliff smelter. Significant difficulties were encountered due to the unreliable quality of Bessemer matte being produced. Concentrate feed changes and the loss of technical and operational expertise during the previous market downturn contributed to the challenge of making the required improvements. Significant progress has been made in the converter aisle by focusing on employee engagement and standardizing best operating practices for a new generation of skimmers. This paper documents these initiatives and seeks to balance the art and science of converting.

Jan 1, 2012

By W. Hustrulid

"In recognition of his inspiring dedication to the mining industry through education, research contributions and dissemination of practical knowledge, exceptional leadership and excellence in mining engineering practice and for his lecture, “You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.” Recipient of the 2002 D.C. Jackling Award Introduction It is always difficult to decide on the most appropriate title to give to a paper or talk. It is a particularly difficult decision in the case of the Jackling Lecture, because the title becomes part of the award citation. I hope that the significance of this unusual title will become crystal clear as you read the pages that follow. However, to assist you in this journey, I will provide the following few words of guidance. In making a cake, you need the proper ingredients. If one or more of them are missing, it will not be a cake. In addition, the quality of the cake depends on the quality of the ingredients. In my lecture, the "cake" is the U.S. mining industry of the future. A national perspective President George W. Bush in his State of the Union Address (Bush, 2002) delivered on January 29, 2002, defined three national objectives: •win the war on terrorism, •protect the homeland and •revitalize the economy. Under the heading "revitalize the economy," he indicated the importance of "good jobs" and "energy production" by saying: "Good jobs begin with good schools. Good jobs also depend on reliable and affordable energy. This Congress must act to encourage conservation, promote technology, build infrastructure and it must act to increase energy production at home so America is less dependent on foreign oil." I wish that he would have broadened his focus and stated instead that: "This Congress must act to encourage conservation, promote technology, build infrastructure, and it must act to increase materials production at home so America is less dependent on foreign sources." With regard to jobs, all jobs are not equal. To paraphrase John Reeves of MidContinent Resources (Reeves, 2002): "If our nation is to prosper, we all cannot make a living by doing each other's wash. Some of us, at least, must be actively engaged in the primary production of raw materials from the riches of the earth and other Americans must turn those materials into consumer products." The unfortunate trend in our country has been to neglect the primary production of basic materials, even those coming next in line. We have left those responsibilities to others while we concentrate instead on performing various services, i.e., doing each other's wash and flipping burgers. This cannot continue. It must be remembered, especially by those in leadership positions, that all "jobs" are not created equal. Some jobs are much more essential to the security and wellbeing of our country than others. We must be sure that the important ones are in place. We cannot produce the basic materials that our nation requires without access to those materials. This leads to my Proposition 1: You cannot have a viable mining industry without a clearly enunciated, positive U.S. materials policy. Background regarding U.S. materials policy Resources for freedom. In January 1951, President Truman created the President's Materials Policy Commission, with William S. Paley as chairman. As expressed in the invitation letter from the president to Paley: This commission, within the executive office of the president, is to study the broader and longer-range aspects of the nation's materials problems as distinct from the immediate defense needs. The task of the commission is to make an objective inquiry into all major aspects of the problem of assuring an adequate supply of production materials for our long-range needs and to make recommendations that will assist me in formulating a comprehensive policy on such materials. The commission should study, together with any other aspects deemed by it to be pertinent, such questions relating to production materials as: - the long-range requirements outlook; - the long-range supply outlook; - the prospect and estimated extent of shortages; - the consistency and adequacy of existing government policies, plans and programs; and - the consistency and adequacy of private industry practices.

Jan 1, 2003

By John Demol

Monazite, a rare earth and thorium phosphate mineral, is one of the major minerals processed for extraction of rare earths. Industry practice for treating monazite concentrates is to use either a sulfuric acid bake or caustic conversion route. In the sulfuric acid bake, monazite concentrate is mixed with concentrated sulfuric acid and roasted. The rare earth phosphate mineral is converted to rare earth sulfate which dissolves in a subsequent water leach. As the bake temperature increases above 300 °C, thorium becomes less soluble. Although acid baking is practised in industry, the bake reactions are not well understood. A combination of chemical analysis, XRD and SEM-EDS was used to identify reaction processes occurring during sulfuric acid baking of a 93 wt% monazite concentrate between 200 °C and 800 °C. The effects of these reactions on the leachability of the rare earths, thorium and phosphate were also examined.

By P. Hale

"The trend to drives of more than 10,000 hp on large-capacity ball and autogenous mills for increased operating efficiency has been limited by factors in the conventional drive system. A solution to this problem, using modern developments in static converter technology, is the concept of driving the mill directly without gearing using a low-speed, low-frequency synchronous motor with a cyclo-converter power supply.This paper presents various practical arrangements of mill and low-speed motors giving the specific advantages of each system. The means of controlling inrush currents on starting and of spotting by the use of variable-frequency control are outlined in general form. Several gearless ball mill drives are scheduled for start-up in European cement plants and further orders have been placed."

Jan 1, 1970

By Raul Victor Medeiros da Nóbrega

Os tratamentos térmicos são operações de aquecimento e resfriamento controlados, que visam afetar as características dos materiais, agrupando diversos tipos de processos, diferentes patamares de temperatura, velocidades de resfriamento e adição de elementos químicos, com o intuito de aperfeiçoar as propriedades mecânicas (ductilidade, tenacidade), tribológicas (desgaste, fadiga) ou de resistência à corrosão, dependendo da necessidade de aplicação. O controle do processamento térmico por programas computacionais tornou-se uma prática cada vez mais frequente no meio industrial. Utilizando ferramentas como o controlador PID (Proporcional-Intergral-Derivativo), o sistema SCADA (Supervisor Control and Data Acquisition) e um protocolo de comunicação industrial, é possível configurar os parâmetros de entrada, acompanhar o desenvolvimento do processo, visualizar seus valores em cada instante do ciclo e valores finais (de saída), obter gráficos do processo em tempo real, comparando valores, aumentando a confiabilidade do processo, e por tanto, do produto final. Foi desenvolvido um sistema livre que, além de auxiliar na configuração dos parâmetros, exerce funções de monitoramento, de controle e de registro dos dados nos processos de tratamento térmico. Esse sistema poderá ser empregado em fornos na indústria e nos laboratórios de pesquisa.

Aug 7, 2018

By Jin-yan TIE, Ke-xin JIAO, Qian Li, Hai-bin ZUO, Jian-Liang Zhang, Meng SHEN

This paper designs three factors such as temperature, pH, conductivity and three levels of orthogonal test. Temperature is a significant factor. However PH and conductivity are not significant through poor analysis. Further research is conducted on the temperature. Temperature stability is 50 . Suitable water velocity is 2.3m/s, which is calculated based on the largest part of the heat flux intensity and the corresponding water temperature should be controlled with 1.5. Meanwhile, water velocity increased has little effect on the heat transfer capabilities.

Jan 1, 2015

By Snowden D. V, Standing C. A, Ryba A, Bywater A

McKinnons open pit gold mine, located within the Cobar Basin in New South Wales, is characterised by complex mineralisation controlled by the intersection of steep faults in the hinge zone of an anticline. Resource estimation using indicator variography and indicator kriging was based on RC drilling on 25 in sections together with grade control RC drilling on 12 in by 12 in and 6 m by 6 in patterns. Rigorous sampling and checking procedures were used to verify the reliability of the drill hole data. Blast hole data was used to assist grade control in defining ore block boundaries.

Jan 1, 1997

This paper summarises the current status of the mining sector in Poland in terms of vertical transport system safety. Selected results of research programs conducted at the AGH-UST relating to mine hoist system safety are reviewed. The conclusions support the notion that the costs of vertical transport systems can be reduced, while at the same time maintaining the required safety and reliability levels. Novel solutions: movable fender beams HWR, linings modar« and the integrated shock absorbers PHH for conveyance guiding systems fully confirm this hypothesis.

Jan 1, 2005