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By B. M. Harra, F. G. McCutcheon, O&apos

Until about 1930, the universal practice of horizontal-retort zinc smelters in the United States, as far as the writers are aware, was to operate the retort furnaces on a 24-hr cycle; that is, the retorts were charged in the early morning of one day, and in the early morning of the following day the residues were cleaned out, the retorts recharged, and a new cycle started. During the business depression of the early thirties, zinc production fell off to the extent that zinc smelters had idle retort capacity. Rather than continue to run some of the retort furnaces on a 24-hr cycle and shut down the remainder, a few companies decided to try out a longer cycle. Although the output of zinc per retort per day is lower, the longer cycle permits a larger charge per retort and improved zinc recovery. Advantages of the longer cycle were soon evident, and the practice spread rapidly. Various lengths of cycle were used, typical examples being 28-hr, 32-hr, 36-hr, and 48-hr. The 48-hr cycle fits in best with the standard routine of smelter practice that was built up on the basis of the 24-hr cycle; that is, the retort furnace "maneuver" always comes at the same time of day, and can be performed in the cool hours of the early morning. Under some conditions, particularly in some of the older plants, where the retorts are smaller than in newer plants, a 48-hr cycle is longer than necessary, and some intermediate length of cycle may theoretically be most economical. Use of an intermediate cycle, however, means that the maneuver comes at different times on consecutive days, and that sometimes it comes during the hottest part of the day. The work on the retort furnaces is extremely hot and arduous at best, and it is much worse, of course, if it is done during the heat of a summer day. When labor was plentiful and tractable, many plants were able to operate on cycles of intermediate length, but the workmen did not like the working hours. Under present labor conditions, it is hardly practicable to operate with a cycle of intermediate length, so the choice has narrowed down to the alternatives of 24-hr or 48-hr cycles. In any discussion of economics, too comprehensive generalization is not warranted, because local conditions affecting economics vary greatly. The best economic practice at one plant at any given time may be uneconomical at another plant, or even at the same plant at another time. To determine the length of cycle that is the better practice at a given plant at a given time requires a weighing of the advantages and disadvantages of each cycle, taking into consideration all the local conditions. some of the factors that must be considered in making the comparison are discussed briefly in the following paragraphs.

Jan 1, 1949

By K. Thuro, L. Wilfing, H. Kasling

"In mechanized tunneling, performance prediction is a crucial issue for estimating excavation costs and construction time of a tunnel project. The aim of this work is to compare the calculated parameters by penetration prediction models with the results of penetration tests during excavation by a Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) at actual tunnel projects. This comparison helps to improve the existing prediction models (Gehring, 1995 and Rostami (Colorado School of Mines), 1997.) and to develop a new, so-called “Alpine Model” (research group ABROCK; Schneider et al., 2012).On-site penetration tests are a common tool to determine performance of a TBM in certain geological environments. During a test, the TBM is operated under defined conditions that allow comparing the results of different projects and machine types. There are two different types of penetration tests in use. The more common type, described by Bruland (1998a), is based on test drives at different thrust levels. The tests in this study are performed as start-stop-tests, meaning that the TBM starts from zero to the maximum possible thrust and reverse with slowly increasing respectively decreasing steps (Frenzel et al., 2012). To gain information about the interaction between TBM and rock mass, a detailed geological documentation including an analysis of the discontinuity pattern and laboratory testing for rock strength characterization are mandatory.Within the last year 16 penetration tests have been performed. The results are thrust- penetration curves (Figure 2) showing that up to a certain penetration rate only crushing occurs (subcritical penetration). From there the desired rock fragmentation process called chipping takes place (Frenzel et al., 2012). These two different fragmentation processes can be described best by a bilinear function as seen in Figure 3. Both, CSM- and Gehring-model, do not fit to the trend of the penetration rates determined during the excavation process as they are using potential or simple linear functions.Another parameter that has to be implemented into the new prediction model is the influence of discontinuities. In case of favorable orientation and spacing, discontinuities reduce the required thrust at same penetration rates. In contrast, unfavorable discontinuity systems can cause blocky faces and hence worse performance than predicted. Besides discontinuities, the toughness of rocks has to be taken into account when predicting the penetration as tough rocks need more energy to obtain complete failure than brittle rocks.Key advantage of these tests in comparison to existing are more data points in less time. By improving respectively extending the existing penetration prediction models with the stated parameters, the penetration prediction for TBMs can be more accurate and also wear calculation can benefit from this approach."

Jan 1, 2015

By W R. Adamson

Cerro Vanguardia SA (CVSA), property of AngloGold Ashanti, mines gold and silver from a system of vetiforme orebodies located in the south of the Argentine Patagonia, in the Province of Santa Cruz.Surface mining techniques are applied to develop a series of narrow pits with an average waste to ore ratio of 26:1. This quite unique constraint brings into focus the need to maximise inter-ramp and final wall angles, leading to a strong need to optimise wall control drilling and blasting in order to reduce back-break damage to an absolute minimum.The paper describes a program of applied investigation and design modification implemented during?2008?and?2009 in?two?separate pits of Cerro Vanguardia. Three distinct yet complementary damage mechanisms were identified and observed during the field components of the work; vibration induced strain fracturing, surface cratering around blasthole collars and quasi-static loading and unloading of the surrounding rock mass as a consequence of poorly controlled confinement.With these mechanisms identified, a measurement, modelling and modification campaign was conducted in order to reduce the incidence of each source of damage. Interactive design analysis and modelling, near-field vibration measurement, video capture and the application of electronic initiation technology were supported by seed wave modelling and topographic evaluation of the achieved results.Results point to the usefulness of simulation techniques for determining optimum delay timing to reduce vibration impact, while the visualisation of explosive energy distribution produced by drilling and explosive loading decisions assists in reducing the probability of over-confinement.This paper presents relevant aspects of the two fieldwork campaigns:1) describing the application of the techniques, and2) summarising the results obtained.

Nov 8, 2011

By G. S. Rice, Clark H. H.

When mines in the interior coal fields of the United States began the practice of blasting the coal without undercutting, or what is known as…

Jan 1, 1915

By P. Zhang

A 1989 FIPR characterization study of the future phosphate resources in Florida showed that MgO would be a problem with both the pebble and concentrate as phosphate mining moves deeper. Since the ratio of concentrate to pebble will become higher and higher in the future, reducing Mg content in the concentrate by a small margin would allow blending of a large portion of the high-dolomite pebble. This research was conducted based on that logic. The following six approaches were tested for reducing MgO content in the flotation concentrate: (1) Adding a dolomite depressant in the rougher flotation step; (2) Dolomite flotation on the rougher concentrate with and without grinding; (3) Dolomite flotation on the cleaner concentrate with and without grinding; (4) Scrubbing the flotation feed; (5) Scrubbing the rougher concentrate; (6) Scrubbing the cleaner concentrate. Successful methods include adding a dolomite depressant in the rougher flotation, dolomite flotation on the cleaner concentrate with grinding, and scrubbing the cleaner concentrate in quartz sand. These techniques could reduce MgO content in the final concentrate by 20-40%. The flotation process could achieve a concentrate with the lowest MgO content, but it is the most expensive approach. Adding a dolomite is inexpensive and easy, but the effect is limited. Overall, scrubbing may be the most promising technology for this purpose.

Feb 23, 2014

By P. G. Clites

This bulletin summarizes the results of Bureau of Mines research on the development of the inductoslag melting process. Inductoslag melting is an induction melting technique using a segmented, water-cooled, copper crucible. The process was developed as part of the Bureau's work on effective utilization of reactive metal scrap, and the process has been applied to melting Ti, Zr, Cr, Co, Fe, Ni, and V. Construction details are given for the segmented crucibles and for both an ingot furnace and a casting furnace. The melting process is described, and results of tests conducted with a variety of reactive metals are given.

Jan 1, 1982

By John C. Loretta

INTRODUCTION Organizations that regularly use project management services will almost certainly have their own views on the preferred systems and procedures. This chapter, therefore, describes Project Management for the personnel of groups not familiar on a regular basis with project management and deals with the basic questions that these groups can be expected to ask, such as: - What is project management? - Why is it needed? Project Management is the planning, implementation and monitoring of the Engineering, Procurement and Construction activities that are necessary to complete the project in the most economic manner. In the case of a crushing and grinding plant, completing the project would mean bringing it into full operat ion. Engineering is the design work for the purpose of producing drawings and technical specifications for Construction together with technical specifications and quantities for Procurement. Procurement is the arranging of con- tracts so that equipment, material and labour are brought as required to the construction site. Construction covers the on-site activities that bring together the components of Engineering and Procurement so as to arrive at a finished plant. Need & Cost Benefits Project Management systems are needed to allow progress and expenditures to be monitored so that any significant deviations from the plan can be identified and the appropriate corrective action taken. In this way, Project Management is able to give continual updated answers to the Owners broad questions. - What am I getting? - What will it cost? - When will it be ready? The need for Project Management is not always immediately apparent, a common belief being that the existence of the three components -Mining Company - Equipment Supplier - Construction Company - is sufficient to get the job done without a formal project management group. This trio

Jan 1, 1982

By W. B. Plank

The figures on enrollment in the engineering schools of the United States and Canada indicate that the total number of students in these schools for the current year, 1949-50, is about 10% less than it was a year ago. This year, 226,533 undergraduates and graduate students are studying engineering in the United States and Canada as compared with 249,913 students last year. These figures are taken from advance data in the Journal of Engineering Education for February 1950.

Jan 5, 1950

By M. J. Young, C. A. Aird

"The Gem molybdenum prospect is situated at the head-waters of Clear creek, between the Fraser river and Harrison lake, about 30 miles north of• Harrison Hot Springs, B.C. Clear creek follows a deeply eroded fault zone southwesterly through the center of the claim group. Elevations range from 2,000 feet in the creek bed up the steep slopes flanking the creek to a height of 5,500 feet. The property lies within an area underlain by schists and gneisses which strike from north to west in a broad fold plunging steeply to the northeast. This metamorphic complex has been invaded by numerous bodies of grano-diorite, much of which is gneissic. A granite plug, roughly 2,400 by 4,000 feet in size, has intruded this broad fold just west of Clear creek and encloses a circular breccia pipe 1,500 feet in diameter. In the breccia pipe, fragments of metamorphic rocks, granite and quartz monzonite porphyry are firmly cemented in a matrix of quartz monzonite porphyry. All the above rocks are cut by numerous fractures filled by vuggy quartz veins, many of which contain molybdenite. Attentien was first drawn to the area by a quartz vein, 18 inches in width, known as the Gem vein, which consists of several laminated bands of quartz and molybdenite. Since 1964, exploration efforts have been directed toward attempting to outline a large, low-grade type of molybdenum deposit."

Jan 1, 1969

By J. A. Kost

The contract objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of available dust-control technology for double-drum shearers. Eight underground surveys were conducted to evaluate drum design, drum spray nozzle locations, ranging-arm sprays, water quantity, wetting agents, and cutting techniques. The final report is made up of eight dust-control technique reports, each discussing, details of the individual mine surveys.

Jan 1, 1985

By D. A. Smith

The successful integration of overburden casting techniques into the mine production cycle can be an extremely cost effective use of explosives. The entire mining cycle revolves around the cast blasting and to be successful requires a great deal of planning and cooperation. Several operations of Cyprus Coal Company in the Appalachian coal fields have successfully integrated blast casting into their mine plan. This paper will detail the parameters and necessary controls to integrate an overburden casting program into a surface coal operation.

Jan 1, 1993

By R. J. Piniazkiewicz

Talc orebodies are mined in Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America. Operators in North America must be efficient quality suppliers to thrive in a talc market in which many overseas suppliers have advantages such as lower hourly wages, shorter distances to ports, and less government regulation and intervention. Continuous improvement through teamwork and innovation is needed in the following areas to thrive amidst worldwide competition: 1) Maximization of the in-place value of ore. 2) Research and development to yield new processes and products. 3) Safe productivity. 4) Involvement in legislative processes. 5) Wellness programs to lower health care costs.

Jan 1, 1993

By Michael A. Gustafson, Fernando B. Sotelino

INTRODUCTION The degree of success of any new project will ultimately depend on two factors: (i) the underlying economic strength of the project; and (ii) how successfully the parties involved can coordinate their interests to establish a financing structure which indeed capitalizes on the project's inherent economic attractiveness. A project's underlying economic attractiveness is determined by its inherent comparative advantage in accessing the factors of production, combining these factors of production to create a product and marketing this product. Initially, the decision regarding whether to go ahead with the project - the go/no go decision - has to be based on its total ability to generate cash flow returns to project participants to compensate them for resources committed and risks undertaken. The extent to which project sponsors will actually benefit from the project's inherent economic attractiveness is fundamentally dependent on their ability to establish the long-term financing arrangement which best meets the objectives and constraints of each project participant and sources the most advantageous funding. The decision regarding the financing of the project, the "how-to-go" decision, is then an attempt to find the capital structure, consistent with market terms and conditions and sound financial management policies which will best: (i) match planned outflows with cash inflows; and (ii) maximize the return for project sponsors. This article makes use of a case study to illustrate the analytical process involved in dealing with the go/no go and the how-to-go decisions on a project. Though most commonly applied to project finance situations, the guideline described herein is equally applicable to other financing situations, such as leveraged buyouts and debt restructurings, where timely repayment of debt depends largely on the future cash flows to be generated by the entity being financed. Our case study is of a hypothetical expansion of an existing copper mining operation in Latin America. The company, Latin American Copper (LAC) currently has 147 million metric tons of proven sulphide ore reserves. The existing mine complex consists of an open pit mining operation and a conventional flotation plant with a processing capacity of 20,000 metric tons of ore per day. LAC sells copper concentrates primarily to Japanese custom smelters. The mine has been in operation for 5 years, fine copper production last year was 108,240 metric tons, and LAC currently has assets of $175 million and net worth of $135 million. Due to a recent increase in proven reserves, LAC is considering doubling the treatment capacity of its flotation plant to 40,000 tons per day, and expanding its mining capacity to meet the additional concentrator capacity (the "Project"). Project capital expenditures and incremental working capital have been estimated at approximately $210 million. The construction period is expected to cover one year, including a three-month start-up phase. The Project is to be funded by a combination of equity, senior debt, including both supplier credits and/or commercial bank term loans, and subordinated debt. LAC's shareholders are willing to commit a maximum of $50 million to the Project. A government development agency, which is also a minority shareholder, might be willing to lend approximately $40 million to LAC in the form of subordinated notes, depending on the ability of the Project to generate foreign exchange reserves. Commercial banks cannot be expected to offer loans with maturities longer than ten years. The Project is expected to increase the value of the firm because: (i) It will solidify the Company's position as a low-cost copper producer by taking advantage of economies of scale. As a result of the expansion, cash production costs are expected to decrease 7.0[c]/lb. and all-in costs 11.0[c]/lb; (ii) The potential earnings stream from the sulphide ore reserves will be realized

Jan 1, 1985

By R. Lasmanis, W. C. Utterback

"The Mount Tolman porphyry Mo-Cu deposit is 64 km south of Republic, Ferry County, Washington. It occurs in the composite Keller Butte pluton, which consists of the Keller Butte porphyritic biotite granite and granodiorite, the Mount Tolman quartz porphyry granite, and the Meadow Creek biotite granite phases. The three phases range in age from 61.3 Ma ± 2.3 Ma to 55.7 Ma ±2.0 Ma. The stockwork deposit occurs in the Keller Butte phase above the contact with the Mount Tolman quartz porphyry granite.Mount Tolman is a hybrid calc-alkaline deposit that has features of both a Climax-type and a plutonic type. Prior to post-ore faulting, the deposit had a flattened hood like shape. In plan it is elongated- 1.6 km wide, 3.2 km long, and up to 609 m thick. The orebody has a 292 o strike. It contains a geologic reserve exceeding 2.18 billion tonnes of ore averaging 0.093% MoS2 and 0.09o/o Cu using a 0.048% MoS2 cutoff. Of this total, 816 million tonnes of measured and indicated ore averaging 0.097% MoS2 and 0.09o/o Cu could be mined by open pit with an overall waste-to-ore ratio of 0.91 to 1.The deposit is a stockwork of quartz and quartz-sericite-pyrite veins and fracture fillings that contain molybdenite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, and magnetite. Five separate episodes of fracturing and mineralization produced the orebody and were followed by four additional episodes of fracturing with sulrgrade mineralization. The Mount Tolman deposit contains propylitic, argillic, phyllic, topaz greisen, and potassic alteration zones. Extensive silicification overlaps the K-feldspathized, quartz-topaz, and phyllic alteration zones."

Jan 1, 1995

By W. Shockley

THIS lecture can best begin with a statement of the chief conclusion: The metallurgical industry will find profit in supporting fundamental research on dislocations. This support should be done both in their own laboratories and in universities. My lecture consists of an exposition of the basis for this conclusion. The experience on which I base it is drawn largely from two fields in solid state physics—one field is transistor electronics and the other is dislocation theory. At present the relationship of solid state physics to technology is different in these two fields. In electronics without question, the physics has led the technology. In metallurgy, on the other hand, the technology in the form of metallurgical art is far ahead of the fundamental science. In transistor electronics, physics has suggested and can still suggest previously unachieved combinations of matter that will have new and useful properties; that is, the physicist can make specific predictions. The physicist can also have some confidence that the predicted devices will actually come into existence in a matter of months or years and that they will live up to the predictions. In metallurgy, the physicist cannot to a comparable degree make predictions and have the same hope that they will lead to something new and valuable. There are a number of reasons for this difference. The first is simply historical. Transistor physics is young. It may be regarded as dating from the announcement of the transistor, in which case it is about four years old, or from the first real control of semiconductors as materials (this was accomplished largely by metallurgists, by the way) in which case it is about ten years old. Metallurgical art, on the other hand, is thousands of years old. There is no doubt that the advance of this art has been and will be hastened by a good fundamental understanding of the quantum theory of atomic phenomena. It, is too much to expect, however, that theory will soon catch up with the lead that practice has gained in a thousand years, and that theory will then point out specific pathways to better materials. It seems more probable that modern atomic theory will serve to interpret and organize information much as thermodynamics has done through phase diagrams. In this lecture, I shall emphasize an important feature common to both solid state electronics and to metallurgy. This common feature is the harmonizing principle that justifies discussing electronics and metallurgy as related topics in solid state physics. In both cases the important properties of the materials arise from imperfections. By imper- fections I mean deviations of the materials from perfect single crystals. The imperfections may be of many forms. From the point of view of utility they may be either good or bad, and a given type may be good or bad depending on circumstances. The technical material of my lecture will be divided into two parts. The first will be chiefly concerned with four types of imperfections in germanium crystals. The control of these imperfections makes possible the fabrication of useful electronic devices. A good example of such control is the junction transistor, which I shall discuss from this viewpoint later. The junction transistor, as some of you may have heard, can be used as an amplifier of electrical signals and in a number of respects surpasses what has hitherto been achieved with vacuum tubes. The second part of my technical material will be concerned with dislocations. For about fifteen years the theoretical physicist has had dislocations in mind as the most important kind of imperfection in metals. He has, however, until recently had experimental material of a highly speculative nature to back up his assertions. I am fortunate in the timing of this lecture to be able to describe some recent results that put dislocations on a far more definite basis than has been the case in the past. In fact there are now some experiments which reveal the characteristic properties of dislocations almost as clearly as experiments in transistor physics reveal the properties of holes and electrons, properties that I shall soon describe. It is this advance in the status of dislocations that emboldened me to make my initial assertion that the metallurgical industry will profit from supporting fundamental research on dislocations. Transistor Electronics In order to discuss imperfections in semiconductors, it is necessary to visualize a reference condition that may be regarded as perfect. In the cases of silicon and germanium, which find application in transistor electronics,' the perfect structure is the diamond structure shown in Fig. I. In this structure, each atom is surrounded by four neighbors with which it forms four covalent or electron-pair bonds. These bonds use all of the four valence electrons possessed by each of the silicon or germanium atoms. The electronic structure of the crystal is thus complete and perfect. A crystal of silicon or germanium with a perfect electron-pair bond structure would be an insulator, In order for electrical conduction to occur, it is necessary for imperfections to arise in the electronic structure. In this lecture, I shall discuss four possible imperfections whose symbols and relationships are indicated in Table I. We shall consider first, as an example, a crystal of silicon containing an arsenic atom as an impurity.

Jan 1, 1953

By D. Boreck

The Bureau of Mines is conducting research on the feasibility of incorporating in situ stope leaching into active underground metal mines. Stope leaching, a modified in situ leaching technique, proposes to recover metals by leaching fragmented ore in existing underground openings and collecting and processing the metal-bearing solution to recover the valuable metals. If leaching solutions escape from the stope, either through geologic discontinuities or highly permeable zones in the rock, valuable metals dissolved in the solution may be lost. Escaping solutions may also contaminate ground waters. Consequently, in fractured rock, the characteristics of the fractures in the vicinity of the leaching stope must be understood before introducing actual leach solutions into the stope. Effectively characterizing a rock mass requires the integration of several disciplines including structural geology, borehole geophysics, hydrology, geochemistry, and mining engineering. This paper will focus on the general geologic and geophysical techniques that can be used to characterize the rock mass at an underground simulated stope leaching site. The results of several geophysical logging methods, tested at the site, are compared to the geologic core descriptions. Then, the? effectiveness of the different geophysical techniques in delineating fracture zones will be assessed. Knowledge gained through the geologic and geophysical analyses can be used to supplement results from hydrologic testing. This information can also be utilized in designing blast patterns and developing strategies for controlling or blocking movement of escaping leach solutions.

Jan 1, 1991

The objectives of this research were to examine and to laboratory performance of several brands of rigid urethane een brands, produced by 13 manufacturers, were examined. was performed in a laboratory under controlled conditions. document the foam. Eight-All testing Preliminary laboratory tests included flame spread evaluations, flame penetration, ignition temperatures, air permeability, and adhesion. Having established arbitrary cutoff values, the original 18 candidates were narrowed to 8. More specialized tests followed. The effects of water immersion and dry aging on flame spread performance and other physical properties were then examined. This Bureau of Mines report was written to provide information for those concerned with using rigid urethane foam as a sealant. Its intent is to describe the various laboratory evaluations performed and to delineate the performance of each candidate. This report neither promotes nor discourages the use of rigid urethane foams. It presents results that will enable those responsible for using or enforcing the use of rigid urethane foams in underground mines to make informed decisions.

Jan 1, 1985

By H. E. Rorschach

Activity in Oklahoma oil fields made 1937 one of the best years since 1926. During the year, 3454 wells were completed, an increase of about 25 per cent over the year 1936. Purchasers reports filed with the Corporation Commission of the State of Oklahoma showed a total of 221,842,-788 bbl. of oil purchased from leases in 1937, an increase of about 10 per cent over 1936. The assembly of a complete table of all of the oil fields in Oklahoma has not yet been achieved. Many of the early records of operators and pipe-line companies are incomplete. Table 1 includes all of the new fields, and this year there has been added work done covering pools discovered in previous years, so that most of the important fields in the state of Oklahoma are included therein. The outstanding development of the year was the discovery of the producing horizon classified as the Wilcox in western Payne County by the Mid-Continent Petroleum Corporation on a unitized block in sec. 18, Tp. 18 N., R. 2 E. This block is operated hy the Mid-Continent and owned in conjunction with the Carter Oil Co., Transwestern Oil Co. and Sinclair-Prairie Oil Co. Another important development of the year was the extension of the deep zone in the old Fox-Milroy area of Carter and Stephens Counties. Some of the other discoveries made during the year 1937 are South Cromwell, discovered by Sinclair-Prairie Oil Co.; Cromwell extension of the Fitts pool in Pontotoc County; discovery of the Langston area in Logan County; discovery of the Sporn area in Lincoln County by Skelly Oil Co. and the discovery of the North Wellston area in Lincoln County by Standard Oil & Gas Co. Table 2 shows the new oil areas discovered in Oklahoma during the year 1937 and areas that were discovered in 1936 but developed in 1937. Fox-Milroy Area.—Three wells were completed to the deep producing zone during the year. One of the wells completed in the early part of the year uas the Carter Oil Company's No. 1 Harley in sec. 24, Tp. 2 S., R. 4 W., 3 1/2 miles northwest of the original discovery well, the Ruth

Jan 1, 1938

By Jonathan Peck, Carl Hendricks

"Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) based positioning and navigation systems have been recently developed and implemented by AQUILA Mining Systems Ltd. on blast hole drills and electric cable shovels in Canadian open pit coal and iron ore mines. These systems enable the location of the drill bit or the shovel tracks to be accurately determined in three dimensions. The position of the drill or shovel is displayed to the operator via a real-time, Moving Map Display (MMD) on an LCD-VGA screen. The MMD allows the operator to accurately navigate the drill from blast hole to blast hole or maintain a desired shovel grade or face position, with respect to displayed bench features. The maps for the MMD are downloaded from the mine office via laptop or radio link as required or as mining plans change.To obtain reliable, accurate and real-time3D positions of mobile mining equipment, proven GPS technology has to be utilized. The GPS components need to operate reliably under the severe environmental conditions that exist on board mobile mining equipment. In addition, they have to contend with varying pit geometry’s and satellite configurations, with little or no performance degradation. These issues were initially examined in December1993 during a feasibility project between AQUILA and Gregg River Resources Ltd., in relation to implementing GPS systems on blast-hole drills.To achieve certain design objectives, AQUILA Mining Systems Ltd. has developed navigation systems for cable shovels and blast-hole drills based around off-the-shelf, high precision GPS components. These systems utilize the AQUILA Advanced Monitoring Platform (AMP), to display graphically, via the MMD, shovel grade and drill position to the operator to within ±12 inches of design coordinates. Production prototypes have been installed on a Marion 301 cable shovel and a Bucyrus-Erie49-R Series III drill at the Fording River Mine in August, 1995, at the Wabush Mine on a Bucyrus Erie 190-B shovel in June, 1995, and on a GD120 drill at Gregg River Resources Ltd. in January, 1996. All these systems have undergone field trials to test system components and functionality’s under actual production conditions. This paper will discuss these GPS-based positioning and navigation systems in subsequent sections."

Jan 1, 1997

By I. A. Menshikh, S. A. Kotov, N. L. Shinkarkin

All the cycle for conversion of natural and reprocessed uranium of ROSATOM’s “TVEL” Fuel Company is concentrated at the Siberian Chemical Plant. Conversion capacities are located on two sites, i.e. the Radiochemical Plant, which refines feedstock, and the Conversion Plant, which produces uranium oxides and uranium hexafluoride. Liquid radioactive waste arising in the process, after pretreatment, is transferred to a dedicated national operator for underground disposal. Environmental strategies pursued by the Fuel Company involve the introduction of process solutions intended to eliminate liquid radioactive waste and convert it into a solid phase. In the 5–7 years coming, work will be performed to refurbish and upgrade conversion facilities of the Siberian Chemical Plant that will principally change its radioactive waste management scheme. This paper describes the current waste management scheme and sets out planned schemes for management of natural and reprocessed uranium waste, which will be implemented in the refurbishment of conversion facilities of the Siberian Chemical Plant. The new technologies for the management of liquid radioactive waste from uranium conversion described in the present paper have an undeniable advantage over the current technology mainly due to significantly less environmental harm.

Jan 1, 2020