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By E. O. Jacobs

A coupled solid and rock fracture mechanics model is used to analyze the blast driven fracture propagation phase, predict propagation rates, and directly measure shockwave and particle velocity. The study incorporates quasi-static pre-stress conditions for different depths below the surface. The scaled experiments include dynamic material properties and quasi-dynamic fracture mechanics which are shown to significantly affect the fracture propagation. The study was performed using three-dimensional cube-type laboratory models fabricated from Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA). The test cubes are loaded with explosives and resulting fracture networks are studied. The dynamic evaluation of the spatial crack system is monitored using a high speed image camera. An experimental model set-up is designed to indicate the pre-stress effect on deep borehole blasting and is shown that the pre-stress conditions have a decisive influence on fracture profiles and orientation. It is found that shockwaves rapidly exceed the slower dynamic fractures and a majority of cracks occur due to detonation pressure. Experimental testing using different parameters validate that explosive fracturing can predict the outcome of fracture and crack propagation in any rock type with known material properties. This can be accomplished under great stress conditions deep below ground surface. The experimental study results can be applied to a variety of industries such as mining and quarrying, tunneling, oil and gas, and construction.

Feb 23, 2014

By J. R. Long

The investigations described herein are concerned with a portion of a systematic research, by the Federal Bureau of Mines on ductile titanium. The Bureau's work on the metal has resulted in development of a semi commercial process for the preparation of titanium and has also made available significant information on the fabrication and physical properties of this new strong, light, corrosion-resistant metal. Considerable interest has been aroused by this work, and a number of other laboratories have begun similar investigations. However, the necessity for Consolidating titanium by normal powder metallurgy methods presents difficulties in producing commercial forms and shapes on a large scale. This investigation was therefore undertaken for the purpose of improving the technique for consolidation of titanium powder into solid nonporous metal.

Jan 1, 1949

By C. DeLong

"The Mt. Milligan porphyry copper-gold deposits are in central British Columbia, 155 km northwest of Prince George. Mineralized outcrops and float were discovered in the Mount Milligan area by prospecting. The most recent discoveries, which utilized lithogeochemistry, were in 1983. Areas containing the outcrops and float then were investigated by geological mapping, soil and lithogeochemical sampling, ground and airborne geophysical surveys, trenching and diamond drilling. This work led to the discovery of the Mt. Milligan Main deposit in 1987 and the Southern Star deposit in 1989. Extensive diamond drilling continued until 1991 and delineated a measured and indicated resource of 299 million tonnes grading 0.45 g/t Au and 0.22 % Cu from the combined deposits.The Mt. Milligan deposits lie within the Early Mesozoic Quesnel Terrane and are hosted by porphyritic monzonite stocks and adjacent volcanic rocks of the Takla Group. The Mt. Milligan Main deposit is centred around the MBX stock and Rainbow dike, and the Southern Star deposit around the Southern Star stock.Potassic alteration is extensive within the stocks and in volcanic rocks adjacent to the MBX stock and Rainbow dike. Propylitic alteration surrounds the potassic alteration and decreases in intensuy away from the stocks. Mineralization consists mostly of pyrite, chalcopyrite, lesser magnetite, and minor bornite, molybdenite and gold.Mineralogical zoning is well-developed within the deposits. A biotite-rich subzone forms the core of the potassic alteration zone and hosts most of the copper and gold. Numerous polymetallic veins lie within the propylitic alteration zone just beyond the limit of porphyry-style copper-gold mineralization."

Jan 1, 1995

By R. G. Bottge

To better understand those factors which increase mining costs in Alaska, a Bureau of Mines study was conducted to compare the estimated costs of operating a 100,000-tpd open pit copper mine located on a hypothetical ore body in the Lake Clark area, Alaska, with the costs of mining a similarly sized hypothetical copper ore body near Tucson, Ariz. The information derived should be beneficial to the State and Federal governments in appraising the potential for development of large, low-grade porphyry copper deposits in south-central Alaska. Conventional mining and concentrating methods were assumed, and capital and operating costs were derived using flowsheets and standard costing methods. The total price required for copper mined in Alaska and Arizona was $1.12 and $0.63 per pound, respectively, plus or minus 20 percent. These values were obtained assuming no leaching of low-grade copper, recovery of gold, silver, and molybdenum as byproducts, 100-percent equity financing, and a 12 percent discounted cash flow rate of return. The average domestic and international prices for copper in July 1973 were $0.60 and $0.916 per pound, respectively. The existence of a developed transportation and power system in Alaska would have reduced capital and operating costs subs tantially. The required price for copper would have declined from $1.12 to $1.05 per pound, plus or minus 20 percent.

Jan 1, 1974

By Ronald Ticona

Generally, the drilling and blasting operation are managed independently to the processing plant outcomes. Therefore, the technical segmentation to determinate the ore drill and blast designs do not include processing plant rock properties such as Bond Work Index, Axb, Drop Weight Index or other. This work describes the case study of a copper mine in Peru, which, together with its strategic partner ORICA, have implemented projects focused on optimizing mine fragmentation. The year 2021, mine operation according to its mine plan would have a significantly increased SAG mill hardness, which would impact directly on copper concentrated production. An integrated strategy from mine to plant has become necessary to maintain the production levels.

Feb 6, 2023

By A. C. Johnson

This paper is one of a series being prepared by the Bureau of Mines on exploration, development, mining methods and costs at various mines in the United States. It describes such methods at the Lincoln tungsten mine of the Wah Chang Mining Corp., Lincoln County, Nev. The purpose of these reports is to promote development and conservation of our mineral resources by disseminating technologic information on mining methods, practices and costs. The Lincoln mine in Lincoln County, Nev., in the southeastern part of the [tate], was acquired by the Wah Chang Mining Corp., in April 1951. Mining methods and costs are of special interest at this property because of the low costs and good production record achieved through a well planned program of exploration, development, and exploitation. Operations were discontinued in July 1957 after the Federal Government suspended the tungsten purchase program.

Jan 1, 1959

By C Mann, S Swapp

"The mining industry is often challenged with the task of evaluating narrow vein open pit deposits. A realistic mineable solution from optimisation needs to accurately represent mining dilution and the practical limitations of mining equipment. Open pit dilution is driven according to mining method and fleet selection as this dictates the ‘selective mining unit’ (SMU) that can be practicably mined.Common evaluation methods represent dilution by:a mathematical dilution assumption addition of a dilution skin reblocking of the model to an appropriate SMU.This paper will explore an alternative method of applying dilution by adapting an underground stope modelling tool. By considering an SMU as a stope, automatic stope shape creators such as Datamine’s Mineable Shape Optimiser (MSO) can be used to create wireframes for each mining unit over the entire deposit. Using these wireframes, the model can be subblocked and assigned as either ore (inside the wireframe) or waste (outside the wireframe) prior to optimisation.The MSO process considers SMU geometry and a depth specific value-based cut-off. The result is an optimised solution for the deposit based on practical and achievable mining constraints rather than one based on generalised modifying factors.To evaluate the economic impact of the methods above, results have been costed and scheduled and a comparison of operating cash flows made.Citation:Swapp, S and Mann, C, 2016. Optimisation Improvements for Narrow Vein Open Pit Deposits Using Mineable Shape Optimiser, in Proceedings Ninth AusIMM Open Pit Operators' Conference 2016, pp 50–59 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne)."

Nov 15, 2016

By W. R. Sharp

The ability to target, delineate, excavate, and produce local resources is essential to the establishment of man's long-term presence in space. Many procedures and equipment utilized to mine resources here on Earth may be directly applicable on the lunar surface, while others may need extensive redefinition and development. This paper compares, for a lunar base, the alternative of burrowing into and below the lunar surface with that of surface mining. A conceptual underground mechanical excavator is presented.

Jan 1, 1991

By J Harris, M Shi, S Vink, P A. Kirsch

Across the life-of-mine, water is both an essential commodity to mining, and one of the most significant hazards. In Australia, a land of drought and floods, availability of water is a critical strategic risk for mine sites and neighbouring stakeholders, with both insufficient water leading to curtailed operations and contested space, and extreme water closing operations through flooding of mine sites, transportation infrastructure and unplanned regulatory restrictions. In addition to these major strategic risks, water must be addressed in operational risk management activities in many different ways.This paper develops a set of categories for classification of water risks based on academic papers from the water in mining literature. These categories are applied to media content analysis of articles in International Longwall News (ILN) (an online coal industry news site) obtained with the search terms ‘water’, ‘rain’ and ‘flood’. Identified risks are discussed within the context of the life-of-mine. The paper uses these same categories to analyse the treatment of water risks in a new coal industry risk management body of knowledge called RISKGATE (http://www.riskgate.org, Minerals Industry Safety and Health Centre, The University of Queensland). The discussion of water risks in both INL and RISKGATE is compared and contrasted to pinpoint opportunities (and a roadmap) for further development of a specific RISKGATE water module for site-based operations. The media review also identifies areas for development of RISKGATE expansion topic(s) that would address other strategic water risks, eg severe weather events.CITATION:Shi, M, Kirsch, P A, Vink, S and Harris, J, ?2014. Water as risk in mining – media analysis and the RISKGATE body of knowledge, in Proceedings Life-of-Mine 2014 , pp 205–218 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 16, 2014

By K. H. McDaniel

The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) is adding a third fan to operate in parallel with, and supplement, its two existing main fans. An engineering analysis conducted in 1995 identified the need for improved system availability and efficiency. The WIPP, located near Carlsbad, New Mexico, is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Carlsbad Area Office facility designed to permanently dispose of U.S. defense-generated transuranic waste in a deep bedded salt deposit. Engineers at the WIPP performed a feasibility analysis for either modi tying, supplementing, or replacing its two main mine fans. Since the centrifugal fans were installed in 1988, multiple operational and performance concerns have been identified. A comprehensive engineering study was conducted (McDaniel, et al., 1997) to: identity and quantity operational concerns, evaluate possible alternatives, and recommend an optimum solution. The study indicated that adding a third single-duty centrifugal fan similar to the two existing fans, and equipping that fan with Inlet Van Controls (IVCs) was the best choice. This alternative provided the most desirable combination of operational readiness, and improving system performance. The fan installation project accommodates several operational and scheduling constraints. WIPP is scheduled to receive waste in May 1998. This milestone is proceeded by an operational readiness review. Fan installation could not be allowed to compromise the WIPP's ability to declare facility readiness and had to minimize operational disruptions during the system tie-in. All engineering for the project is completed and physical modifications started in July 1997. The project was completed in 1998.

Jan 1, 1999

By T. J. Langan, M. Ramajayam, T. Dorin

"6xxx-series Al alloys are the most commonly used alloys in the automotive industry as they have an appropriate balance of strength, corrosion resistance and formability. The main strengthening phase in these alloys is the ß’-Mg2Si precipitates. One opportunity to achieve stronger 6xxx-series Al alloys, without affecting corrosion and formability, is the use of Sc. The main challenge of using Sc in 6xxx-series lies in the heat treatment, which must be designed to allow for a fine precipitation of both Al3Sc and ß’-Mg2Si. In this work, two model alloys are used, an Al-Sc-Zr and an Al-Mg-Si-Cu-Sc-Zr, to explore the impact of the 6xxx-series key elements (Mg, Si and Cu) on the Al3Sc precipitates. Transmission electron microscopy and atom probe tomography are used to investigate the precipitates present in the microstructure after casting. We find that higher Si content results in the formation of dispersoids upon casting. The average composition of these dispersoids is (Al0.8,Si0.2)3 (Sc0.888,Zr0.024,Mg0.08,Cu0.008). A closer look at the solid solution reveals that most of the Sc and Zr is supersaturated after casting even in the presence of Mg, Si and Cu. We discuss the impact of these results on the design of a suitable heat treatment for 6xxx-series alloys with Sc.INTRODUCTION The most common strategy to strengthen aluminum (Al) alloys is by micro-alloying to form a fine distribution of precipitates (Gladman, 1999). Whilst precipitates enhance the strength, this is often done to the detriment of ductility and corrosion performance (Davis, 1999). The 6xxx-series Al alloys are heavily used in the automotive industry as they offer an appropriate balance of strength, ductility and corrosion resistance (W. S. Miller et al., 2000). The strength increment in these alloys comes from the formation of the ß’–Mg2Si and the quaternary Q’ phase (Chakrabarti & Laughlin, 2004; Polmear, St. John, Nie, & Qian, 2017). One opportunity to achieve stronger 6xxx-series alloys, whilst keeping good balance of corrosion resistance and formability, is the use of small additions of scandium (Sc). Sc is one of the most potent strengtheners in Al alloys (Dorin, Ramajayam, Vahid, & Langan, 2018; Røyset & Ryum, 2005). Most of the strengthening benefits from Sc come from the formation of fine Al3Sc dispersoids. The following strengthening mechanisms apply to Sc: 1) Solid solution strengthening, 2) precipitation hardening, 3) inhibiting recrystallization, 4) assisting nucleation of other strengthening phases (Dorin, Ramajayam, Lamb, & Langan, 2017). As compared to other dispersoid phases, Al3Sc dispersoids have good electrochemical compatibility with Al alloys and hence do not affect their corrosion resistance (Cavanaugh, Birbilis, Buchheit, & Bovard, 2007). The coarsening resistance of Al3Sc is often improved by adding zirconium (Zr), as it forms a Zr rich shell around Al3Sc which prevents Sc from moving across the interface."

Jan 1, 2018

By D. Harrington

Research in connection with occupational diseases, including silicosis or, more definitely, pneumoconiosis, has been prosecuted much more actively in North American countries during the past 5 or 10 years than in any other known period. This applies particularly to the United States, owing largely to the fact that in recent years compensation for ill health presumed to be caused by industrial work of certain kinds is being paid to a far greater extent in this country than previously. Most other countries have had occupational-disease laws for many years. Court rulings in the United States, which started 5 or 6 years ago, have given a few heavy verdicts in connection with ill health or death caused, or alleged to have been caused, by some phase of occupational work other than traumatic injury, and these have called attention to the fact that ill health and even incapacitation can be caused by some kinds of employment. With the onset of the world-wide financial depression, which resulted in permanent abandonment of many business or industrial enterprises (among them mines) in the United States, the workers frequently believed that they could expect nothing in the future from their former employers, hence they felt free to demand monetary benefits or damages because of ill health which they suffered, or thought they suffered, because of their previous employment. The result was a flood of lawsuits and. compensation claims for occupational disease, particularly where dust was involved.

Jan 1, 1938

By D. J. Charlton

"IntroductionMaintenance is a business, which to be successful, requires good management, systems and reporting. The prime objective of the maintenance management group, be they large or small, must be to anticipate and prevent interruptions in operations by keeping equipment in good mechanical condition. This objective should be carried out at minimum cost consistent with maximum productiveness.The objective of this chapter is to give an insight into the various aspects of maintenance management that must be considered to effectively and efficiently operate a mill complex. The degree to which the maintenance sub-systems are developed in an operating mill will be determined by the size of the mill and the needs of the operation.The criterion of the management system used is that the system serve the operation and not vice versa. The systems presented should be considered as tools and, as with all tools, they must be sharpened and replaced as the need arises or as more effective tools become available.To understand what is involved in maintenance management, it is worthwhile to consider a systems approach to analyzing management problems. This approach was developed by J.A.B. Rae while reviewing maintenance management systems for Cominco Ltd.A very simple system involving managing results and objectives is shown diagrammatically in Figure 1.The systems approach to organizational development involves four basic elements: an objective, a result, an activity and feedback. In the analysis, the activity element is broken down into individual actions that people could be held responsible for. If we introduce the action of operating into the diagram of Figure l, we arrive diagrammatically in Figure 2."

Jan 1, 1989

By Kathleen M. PH. D. Kowalski

This paper discusses human judgment and decision-making under stress. The authors review selected recent literature across various disciplines and suggest a definition of stress within the context of decision-making during the management of emergencies. They also discuss fieldwork by the Pittsburgh Research Laboratory, NIOSH, which explores traumatic incident stress, the relationship between previous training and performance under stressful conditions, and human behavior in underground mine fires. The authors assert that stress is one of the factors that decision-makers must contend with in most life-or-death situations. They suggest that a better understanding of individual's judgment and decision-making activities while under stress would yield a better understanding of how people reach the choices they make in emergencies. This enhanced understanding would be of enormous value to emergency managers, researchers, and policymakers.

Jan 1, 2008

By Luis G. Bergh

Today, large size mechanical flotation cells of 100 to 300 m3 are used in rougher operation in different flotation industrial plants, in Chile and worldwide. However, in spite of the advances in fundamental research and the notable growing in equipment size, with more complete instrumentation systems, there are still a lack of reliable data for industrial flotation modeling and simulation to advance in better control systems design. In this work, a model of a rougher flotation circuit, based on operating variables and parameters fitted from industrial data, obtained in some previous work, is used to develop a set of logic rules in order to aid operating decisions. The simulator was first used to sensitize the effect of changing the froth depth profile on target variables, and then to find out the best profile to reject common disturbances coming into the plant. The flotation circuit simulator was redesigned to incorporate an expert system following the proposed control algorithm. Several tests were performed to evaluate the control responses to different correlated series of input variables, such as feed grade, tonnage, particle size distribution, and solid percentage. Control alternatives are discussed based on the circuit simulator. Keywords: modeling, industrial data, flotation control, mineral processing.

Sep 1, 2012

By Robert R. Stein

Using an automated drill test fooure, the U.S. Bureau of Mines measured the sound power levels produced by a small, pneumatic, rotary roof drill. A series of tests was conducted to determine (1) the relative effectiveness of several drill muffling schemes and (2) the relationship between drill sound power and pneumatic power supplied to the drill. The influence of rotation rate (i.e., airflow) and feed thrust on the penetration rate of the drill was also noted.

Jan 1, 1989

By S. Govender, J. J. L. du Plessis, R. C. W. Webber-Youngman

Spontaneous combustion (SC) is a cold oxidation reaction that generates heat, causing a temperature rise of the reactant and leading, with limited heat dissipation, to self-ignition of the reactant, which occurs without an external heat source. Although not limited to coal, the most significant hazard of SC are the fires that occur in coal mining operations around the world. These fires pose a serious risk to the safety of workers in the mines as well as adverse effects on the environment, and can affect the quality of life for current and future generations. We investigated the occurrence of SC in raw coal storage bunkers with the purpose of compiling a decision analyser for engineers designing or working with coal storage bunkers. Specific experts were interviewed from different backgrounds and companies, followed by field research at a coal mine. The important factors affecting the possibility of SC occurring were the type of coal supplied to the bunker, the mining practice, and physical conditions around the bunker. The information presented here will assist in reducing the SC risk in raw coal storage bunkers. These findings, together with the systematic decision analyser developed, will assist design engineers and mine personnel to take early preventative steps in managing SC. The decision analyser was tested for many different scenarios and gave good guidance on how to minimize and prevent SC in bunkers

May 1, 2021

By A. I. Johnson

This paper describes," the application, of a modular or building block approach to the analysis, design, and control of complex mineral treating processes. The main purpose of the paper is tutorial, to show the reader how such processes can be modeled using a modern digital computer" and, not to discuss in any detail the results that may be achieved in such studies. It is proposed that, the main techniques be illustrated by reference mainly to the Bayer process for alumina extraction and purification; in cooperation with the Aluminum Company of Canada Ltd. the author and his Colleagues at McMaster University and their students have studied this, process as a means of applying new computer techniques to extractive metallurgical processes. The plant described was studied by the author and his colleagues as a senior undergraduate project in cooperation with the Aluminum Company of Canada. It is one of several studies that have been carried out with Canadian industry. (1)

Jan 1, 1972

By Xiaoxu Sun, Jianchao Yao, Jiancheng He, Shijie Lu, Hongxi Zhou

"The ball mill performance relies on impact grinding, but it has disadvantage of the lower efficiency when the ore is finer; while tower mill relies on friction shear affection with high energy efficiency, which is considered to be one of the most potential fine grinding equipment all over the world. Generated by the agitator device, the internal media movement is complex because of comprehensive interaction of screw mechanism, cylinder structure and adjacent media, which is the key factor of grinding process. But the kinematics parameter ,such as speed, acceleration, stress and so on, of media motion cannot be obtained through traditional laboratory test method, which restricts deeply research on finer grinding mechanism seriously. In order to solve this problem, characteristics of media motion in tower mill is studied via the discrete element method. Coefficient of restitution, coefficient of static friction and coefficient of rolling friction are the key parameters affecting the media movement, which were calibrated by stacking angle test firstly. A 3kW tower mill is established as the model for simulation. At last one appropriate simulation strategy is selected to increase simulation accuracy. The characteristic of media motion is obtained based on the computer simulation analysis: macroscopically, the media in tower mill is a dynamic equilibrium state generally accompanied by spiral up and down movement all the time. And it has been found that the maximum lifting height is proportional to the rotation speed of agitator shaft. The velocity of media at the edge of screw stirrer is biggest, while the velocity of media near the cylinder wall is smaller, so the grinding performance between the two ring areas is the best. The rotational speed of agitator shaft and media filling ratio are the two most important operating parameters in tower mill. The impact curve of two main operating parameters on the grinding intensity and energy efficiency are obtained. All these can provide theoretical basis and technical support for operating parameters setting of industrial tower mill."

Jan 1, 2018

By I. H. Douglas

All grade control methods in use currently by the mining industry are imprecise. The methods suffer from being locally inaccurate, leading to are loss and contact dilution. An ore/waste indicator variable can be used to predict the probability of ore occurrence at a given location, Po. Then, an ore grade Zo for an ore location and a waste grade Zw for a waste location are obtained. The expected revenue is calculated at each location, based on its probability of being are or waste, the corresponding grade, and on the cost of mining and processing the ore or the waste. Finally, the decision of whether to recover the block is based on the expected revenue value for that block. The method is illustrated with an example taken from the Jerritt Canyon district in northeastern Nevada.

Jan 1, 1994