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By Vicki Tschirhart, Bill Morris, McMaster University

A new method for mapping faults within basement rocks underlying the Thelon Formation and glacial overburden was developed and tested in the Aberdeen Sub-basin. This method utilizes newly acquired aeromagnetic data, the Blakely algorithm for defining magnetic source edges, a calculated dip-direction map, a digital elevation model (DEM) derived from the Canadian Digital Elevation Database, and the positions of identified, inferred and newly mapped faults that are within and adjacent to this sub-basin. Combining these data revealed three age groups of faults. One group is seen only on the DEM; these faults are young brittle structures that have no effect on the sub-Thelon basement unconformity, and are not visible on the dip direction map. A second group is evident on the dip direction map but not the DEM; these faults are old basement structures that did not propagate upward through the Thelon Formation. The third group is expressed on both the DEM and dip direction map; these faults are also old structures that propagated upward during and/or after deposition of the Thelon Formation. The latter group of faults may be of greatest interest for uranium exploration, with reactivation increasing their potential to serve as conduits to transport uranium-rich fluids and focus deposition at or near the unconformity surface. This methodology has promise for comprehensive mapping of basin faults and tracking the tectonic development of the whole Thelon Basin through time.

Jan 1, 2013

By E. V. Zelinskaya

"Mineral and industrial raw material mining and preparation make a negative impact on the environment. The main types of impact are the land resources gathering, soil and water balance disturbance, surface-water, underground space and atmospheric air pollution, as well as the vast amount of solid and liquid waste production. Considerable attention in recent decades has been given to waste recycling. The task is to maximize the use of both newly formed and accumulated solid and liquid wastes. The mining and mining and smelting enterprises industrial waters are a very promising source of secondary hydromineralic raw materials. They have high concentrations of not only calcium, sodium, but also, for example, lithium, rubidium, heavy non-ferrous metals. In general, unfortunately, we have to state that today there is no wide practice of extracting valuable components from waste enrichment, as well as processing of man-made waters to extract metals from them. The quantity of extracted components from underground, and furthermore passing waters, is insignificant. At the same time there is a tendency to increased demand for rare metals: Sr, B, Br, I. This is explained by their wide use in many industries. For example, the consumption of lithium products is steadily increasing. The obtained results showed that in the liquid phase in connection with high salt content and a significant difference in the macro- and microcomponents contents, conditions are initially created for the microcomponents selective isolation possibility. The identified conditions realization is most possible in such technological processes as cryotechnology, sorption and ion flotation. There is an urgent need to expand research in this direction and to recognize as a publicly important task the mining and industrial waste processing full-scale introduction into the practice of operating mining and processing enterprises and iron and steel companies.INTRODUCTION Mineral and industrial raw material mining and preparation make a negative impact on the environment. The main types of impact are the land resources gathering, soil and water balance disturbance, surface-water, underground space and atmospheric air pollution, as well as the vast amount of solid and liquid waste production."

Jan 1, 2018

By Tony Amis, Marco Barla, Alice Di Donna

"Energy geostructures are becoming an increasingly popular solution around the world for Developers looking to reduce CO2 and system running costs. Energy geostructures are geotechnical structures that provide both the important role of structural stability while also acting as a heat exchanger with the ground, enabling the supported buildings and or infrastructure to be heated and cooled using the principle of low enthalpy geothermal systems. The main advantage of this innovative technology with respect to standard geothermal plant is the reduction of the initial installation costs and construction schedule benefits, compared to installing conventional geothermal solutions, largely due to the additional use of structures which would be constructed in any case. However, it is important with respect to energy geostructures that additional aspects need careful consideration. For this very reason, several research studies have been carried out over the last decade on this subject and a number of real case studies have been monitored and analysed. The key difference with respect to conventional shallow geothermal systems are mainly related to the geometry, which is imposed by the geotechnical project, and the need to ensure that the primary structural role is always guaranteed. Special boundary conditions, the reduced depth, the influence of atmospheric external temperature can also play an important role for energy geostructures. They can affect, both energy efficiency and, the geotechnical behaviour because of the possible thermal induced mechanical effects. This paper presents a picture of the current situation regarding energy geostructures and their peculiar features, and collects available data to provide a reference framework. Data has been collected from literature and personal communications and then processed to provide easy-to-read charts useful for practical consultation at a glance. This paper provides, an indication of the distribution of such systems worldwide, their spread in time, and a global view of their actual efficiency from the structural, energy, economic and environmental point of view.1. IntroductionEnergy geostructures are becoming an increasingly popular consideration around the world. Energy geostructures are geotechnical structures with a dual role of providing structural stability and the ability to exchange heat with the ground, to provide low carbon heat and coolth to supporting and or adjacent buildings and infrastructure, using the principle of low enthalpy geothermal systems (Barla and Di Donna, 2016; Laloui and Di Donna, 2013). A closed circuit of high density polyethylene (HDPE) pipes is embedded in the concrete, and a heat carrier fluid circulates through them exchanging heat with the ground. The HDPE pipework circuit inside the geostructure is linked to one of the above buildings or infrastructure through a heat pump, which adapts the temperature of the circulating fluid to the heating (winter mode) and cooling (summer mode) needs. In this way, heat can be injected into the ground during summer and extracted from it during winter. In principle, all structures in contact with the ground can be used as energy geostructures. The first examples of energy geostructures date back to the eighties in Austria and were mainly piles and shallow foundations. A decade later, Henderson et al. (1999) reported on what would appear to be the first successful use of geothermal energy piles in the US, with loops incorporated into the foundation for a hotel in Geneva, New York. As was their use in this New York case history, the typical geothermal energy pile application is used in conjunction with additional closed loop boreholes to provide the required energy capacity for a structure. Interestingly the report concludes that the geothermal energy piles had a better heat transfer performance than the borehole field. The first energy walls appeared slightly later, while still today only a few experimental cas"

Jan 1, 2017

By A Karrech, C Schrank, O Gaede, I Canbulat

Strain-based failure criteria have several advantages over stress-based failure criteria: they can account for elastic and inelastic strains; they utilise direct, observable effects instead of inferred effects (strain gauges versus stress estimates) and they model complete stress-strain curves, including prepeak, non-linear elasticity and post-peak strain weakening. In this study, a strain-based failure criterion derived from thermodynamic first principles utilising the concepts of continuum damage mechanics is presented. Furthermore, implementation of this failure criterion into a finite element simulation is demonstrated and applied to the stability of underground mining coal pillars.In numerical studies, pillar strength is usually expressed in terms of critical stresses or stress-based failure criteria where scaling with pillar width and height is common. Previous publications have employed the finite element method for pillar stability analysis using stress-based failure criterion, such as Mohr-Coulomb and Hoek-Brown, or stress-based scalar damage models.A novel constitutive material model, which takes into consideration anisotropy as well as elastic strain and damage as state variables, has been developed and is presented in this paper. The damage threshold and its evolution are strain-controlled, and coupling of the state variables is achieved through the damage-induced degradation of the elasticity tensor. This material model is implemented into the finite element software Abaqus and can be applied to 3D problems.Initial results show that this new material model is capable of describing the non-linear behaviour of geomaterials commonly observed before peak strength is reached as well as post-peak strain softening. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the model can account for directional dependency of failure behaviour (ie anisotropy) and has the potential to be expanded to environmental controls such as temperature or moisture.CITATION:Gaede, O, Schrank, C, Canbulat, I and Karrech, A, 2014. A strain-based failure criterion for pillar stability analysis, in Proceedings AusRock 2014: Third Australasian Ground Control in Mining Conference , pp 393–398 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Nov 5, 2014

By A. J. Vietti

A pilot plant paste thickening campaign was conducted at the Anglo Platinum Limited Mogalakwena South Concentrator plant in South Africa in order to determine the water saving capability of P&TT technology. In the process a simple water consumption model was developed for estimating the overall water consumption of the mine. The model indicates that for the Mogalakwena tailings, significant water savings are achieved by discharging thickened tailing directly to the TSF but only at densities where free water release at the TSF is close to zero. Keywords Paste, thickened tailings, thickener, water savings, water consumption.

Jan 1, 2011

By Jan A. Nilsen

This paper describes a key element in the construction of a major project undertaken by Harbourfront Corporation in its efforts to rejuvenate the central Toronto waterfront. The Spadina Pier forms one of the two major structures of the $10 million marina complex. Completed in early 1986, the 150 metre(490 ft.) long by 43 metre(140 ft.) wide pier structure will contain a 320 car parking garage as well as providing the foundation of a 17-story residential tower and a two-story retail/commercial complex. However, the pier structure posed a considerable challenge to its developers due to the the many restrictions imposed on the site by the environmental authorities which ruled out the construction of dykes or the placing of other fill materials on the highly contaminated bottom sediments. In addition, access at the site was restricted by its proximity to the main harbour navigation channel and a grain elevator berth. The original design called for a cofferdam to form an integral part of the finished structure. However, the contractor chose to regard the cofferdam as a temporary structure and proposed to construct the pier in the dry by enclosing the 10,000 square metre(107,600 sf) site with a 450 metre(1480 ft.) long single wall steel sheet pile cofferdom 7.5 metres(25 ft.) from the final pier structure. This paper will describes the design and construction of the cofferdam. Prior to finalizing the pier design, a geotechnical investigation of the shale bedrock was undertaken as well as a small sheet pile test cell program to evaluate the feasibility of driving a Canadian manufactured cold-rolled sheet pile into the bedrock. Relying on the design parameters for the shale bedrock, Foundation designed the cofferdam utilizing a post-tensioned bipod bracing system to resist a 7 metre(23 ft.) hydrostatic head as well as the maximum wind and wave forces expected at the site. The bipod bracing system consists of diagonal H-pile raker piles and verticle pipe piles anchored to bedrock with post-tensioned anchors grouted into bedrock.

Jan 1, 1987

By W. C. Whittaker

Introduction When one thinks of a coal stripping deposit, the picture that usually comes to mind is that of a more or less flat seam from two to twenty feet in thickness overlain by ten to fifty feet of overburden, in suitable ratio for economic operation. This is the usual type of stripping deposit and is quite a common occurrence in various parts of the prairie provinces. Rather unusual types of coal stripping deposits are being presently worked as open-cut mines by Sterling Collieries, Limited, and the Co al Valley Mining Company, Limited, at Miles 47 and 48 on the Alberta Coal Branch, some 150 miles south west of Edmonton. These deposits are of interest chiefly because they represent turned-up and greatly thickened sections of the Mynheer seam, and as such they present their own problems, peculiar to the commercial exploitation of a seam of this type. The area in which these deposits occur was originally owned by the Pacific Pass Collieries, whose operations, however, were confined to under-ground mining at Lovett, some eight miles to the southeast. It was not until l918 that the value of these deposits was realized, when the Company now known as Sterling Collieries, Limited, opened their pit at Mile 47. At the inception of the work, coal was loaded directly into the railway cars by men using wheelbarrows. In 1920, a tipple was built, after which the coal was loaded by steam shovel into mine cars, hauled by steam dinkeys, and loaded over the tipple into railway cars. In 1922, the Coal Valley Mining Company entered the field at Mile 48, with an entirely mechanical equipment, and at the present rime these two are the only stripping properties in Alberta using mechanical equipment both for the removal of overburden and the loading of the coal. These Companies have operated continuously since that time, and have to date mined and shipped 4,000,000 tons of coal, and moved some 5,255,000 cubic yards of stripping. The present annual coal output for the two mines is about 240,000 tons.

Jan 1, 1935

By J. J. Zaluski

The Surface Mining control and Reclamation Act (public Law 95-87) (here-inafter the "Act" or "SMCRA") passed by congress in August of 1977 represents a comprehensive federal scheme for controlling surface coal mining and the surface effects of underground mining through permitting requirements, performance guidelines, and reclamation planning. While the provisions of the Act have been the subject of numerous legal challenges and court battles over the years, it is difficult to identify a more controversial program within the Act than the provisions for designating lands as unsuitable for surface coal mining operations. The lands unsuitable designation process provides for the acceptance and review of petitions submitted by citizens or organizations seeking to have specified land areas designated unsuitable for all or certain types of surface coal mining activities. In filing these petitions, the interested parties or petitioners are required to make allegations about potential adverse impacts on people or the environment and submit evidence supporting their allegations.

Jan 1, 1992

Copper nickel separation is performed by mineral processing techniques both pre and post smelting in Copper Cliff at Vale Canada?s Operations. The separation at Clarabelle Mill takes advantage of the ore mineralogy to affect a separation on the rougher concentrate where chalcopyrite and pentlandite exhibit high liberation and high recoveries thus their separation is simple although incomplete. The copper concentrate comprises only 50% of the copper in ore with the remaining copper being separated post smelting in the Matte Separation plant where the slow cooled Bessemer Matte is again treated by mineral processing operations using flotation to separate the chalcocite and heazlewoodite and magnetic separators to remove a metallic nickel alloy. This paper discusses the mineralogy, separation processes and work currently underway to improve the separation of copper from nickel in these plants.

Sep 1, 2012

By Jeffrey T. McGinty, Frank M. Wheeler

Plant layout is the arrangement of equipment, process areas, departments, infrastructure, and support facilities. Plant logistics is the flow of parts, people, resources, and information throughout the production process. This chapter: outlines key factors and provides checklists to facilitate layout development; presents risk management approaches to test the logistics and functionality of alternative layouts; and uses real-world examples to illustrate effective simulation modelling to assess plant layouts.

Jan 1, 2015

By Henry Hu

In high pressure die casting processes, proper control of temperature die yields a high casting production rate and superior quality components, Die temperature is usually influenced by various die design and process parameters such as size and location of intemal water cooling lines, flow rates of cooling lines, and pouring temperature of molten metal. Among them, the cooling water flow rate plays a major role in controlling thermal pattern of the die_ In order to develop an effective control strategy, data of local die temperature must be collected and analyzed, In this study, a PC-based data acquisition and control system (DACS) for die temperature control has been designed, and established, The developed DACS has three input channels for temperature signals and one input channel for water flow rate signals, as well as one output channel for a water pump, and is capable of displaying data in both curve format and value format. Implementation of the DACS in a laboratory setup has also been attempted, It should be pointed out that more advanced control mechanisms can be potentially integrated into this system in future,

Jan 1, 2003

Study on Ball Mill Grinding of a Cassiterite-Polymetallic Sulfide Ore

Sep 13, 2010

By A. J. MacRae

Metallurgical furnaces are made up of complex multi-component systems that must function either together or in parallel for safe, and reliable operation. Thermal expansion of single material components experience induced stresses during heating and cooling, which can lead to cracking or failure. Multi component elements and systems can experience significant thermally induced stresses during both steady state and transient temperature conditions. Examples pertaining to temperature effects on refractory, copper cooling blocks, furnace shells, and complete systems will be discussed. The purpose of the paper is to highlight how stresses and strains are developed due to differential thermal expansion.

Jan 1, 2015

By N. Krishna

The utilization of Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) in conjunction with Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) is a powerful surface characterization technique to study the role of sulfur formation during acidic oxidation of chalcopyrite. It has been established that the chalcopyrite dissolution kinetics is controlled by the formation of passive sulfur layer during leaching. The objective of the study was to characterize the intermediate sulfur layer formation at different oxidation conditions in acidic solution. The chalcopyrite samples were subjected to anodic oxidation and the oxidation process was analyzed using impedance spectroscopy. The sulfur growth on the chalcopyrite surface during oxidation was further analyzed using Atomic Force Microscope for sulfur roughness and grain size, peak height and sulfur growth.

Jan 1, 1999

By Michael Brandner

In the past the research and development of new materials for hot mill rolls was mostly done by trials. Such trials are expensive and difficult to transform from small size to the big size of a solid roll. Computation is the cheaper way to get ideas processed and can be varied in different directions. The main part before simulation is the generation of the needed basic data of the specific materials. Some data is already well known and can be bought from databases; others have to be done specifically for our materials. The evaluation of such results has to be done still with solid trials, but the number of trials can be reduced. The advanced techniques of finite element calculation offer a wide range of possibilities to get answers about alloys, solidification, casting parameters and their influence. The possibility to calculate a heat treatment cycle and to get an answer about the internal stress modification during the cycle is a great help to understand the principle of transformation. Examples of different calculations in various fields will be given. The close cooperation with universities and other research institutes as well as the in-house possibilities will be presented.

Jul 30, 2018

By J. B. W. Bailey

The Noranda Horne smelter in Quebec, Canada has change considerably during the last two decades to accommodate varying custom concentrate receipts, closure of the Horne mine, better working conditions, environmental programmes, new technology and increased energy and labour costs. This paper highlights the reasons for changing the smelter from two calcine charged and one wet charge reverberatory furnaces fired by coal to a smelter using. tonnage oxygen oil, natural gas and coal in a single wet charged reverberatory furnace and a Noranda Process continuous Reactor. The current operation 1 described, including three major topics; the use of oxygen/fuel burners on the charge banks of the reverberatory furnace which has increase the smelting rate from 680 to 1100 tonnes of concentrate per day; the oxygen enrichment of the Noranda Process converting air to achieve smelting rates of over 1800 tonnes of concentrate per day; the converting of the mixture of 73 percent copper matte produced from the Noranda Process and the 33 percent copper matte produced from the reverberatory furnace.

Jan 1, 1983

By Cceliksirt, V Erkan

This computer program has been developed under the field conditions for use in control of surface drilling-blasting operations. This paper outlines the relevance of fragmentation to quarrying, open pit mining or road cutting and key features and operating principles of the software (DelPat for Windows 95).

Jan 1, 1998

By Lucia Kuizon

Results of the U.S. Bureau of Mines' survey of mineral resources in the Cuyama RARE II study area indicate there is no potential for metallic minerals and low potential for the development of gypsum resources. There are no producing or developing mines within the study area. The Santa Barbara Canyon Prospect contains 30,000 tons (27,000 t) of subeconmic gyspum resources, the Wagon Road Prospect 276,000 tons (250,000 t), and the Brush Fence Canyon 61,000 tons (55,000 t). Most of the resource in the Brush Fence Canyon Prospect is outside the area. Gypsum was not observed at the Cuyama River deposit. Present gypsum and gypsite requirements are being met by larger deposits closer to major markets. INTRODUCTION Location (USGS) Present and Previous Studies (to be combined with USGS section) The Bureau of Mines reviewed literature and mining claim records for the study area. A field examination of known mineral properties was made in October 1980; it included mapping and sampling of prospects to evaluate the economic potential of mineral resources.

Jan 1, 1981

By W. D. Monaghan

Flame cutting and welding is one of the major causes of fires and explosions in underground U.S. coal mines. On May 20, 2006, a flame cutting operation at the Darby Mine No. 1 led to an explosion that resulted in five fatalities. On January 22, 2003, another explosion caused by flame cutting at the McElroy Mine resulted in three fatalities and three serious injuries. On June 22, 1999, a flame cutting and welding operation at the Loveridge Mine caused a fire that resulted in sealing of the mine for an extended period. Finally, on March 19, 1992, an explosion at the Blacksville No. 1 Mine that was caused by welding resulted in four fatalities. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) conducted a study on fires and explosions in underground U.S. coal mines that were caused by flame cutting and welding operations to determine the root causes of these types of fires and explosions. The methodology included interviewing mining personnel who perform flame cutting or welding operations in underground U.S. coal mines and visiting mines to observe these operations, and MSHA reports of investigations and accidents statistics were analyzed. The results were used to identify and compare differences between flame cutting and welding practices and techniques in small and large mines, Eastern and Western mines, low seam and high seam mines, room and pillar and longwall mines, and between experienced miners and new miners. As a result of this study, best practices and interventions were developed to reduce the number of fires and explosions caused by flame cutting and welding. This paper provides a summary of this work. Disclaimer: The finding and conclusion in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the National Institute for Occupation Safety and Health.

Jan 1, 2009

By A. R. T. Denues

The Explosives Division of the Bureau of Mines, United States Department of the Interior, is investigating cushioned blasting at the Explosives Testing Station, Bruceton, Pa. The general interests of this investigation are practical and relate particularly to safety. The immediate concern is an application of cushioned blasting in coal mining In cushioned blasting, various means are employed to reduce the intensity of the application of energy in an explosive action in a borehole. The primary object is to increase the efficiency of the use of explosives.

Jan 1, 1940