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By Bauer, Alan

In considering blasting it is necessary to consider the drilling and explosives since one is generally concerned with the total cost of muck of a certain size in the pit or through the crusher. To get a current idea of the drilling situation in open pit mines plotted in Fig. 1 are the drilling costs per ton of material vs. hole diameter for rotary drill holes in large limestone, iron ore and taconite operations. The exception is the 2-in. diam hole which was drilled with a percussion drill in limestone.

Jan 1, 1968

By Engineering Staff

In 1958, the Iron Ore Company of Canada decided to proceed with the Carol Project. The ore deposits in the area are part of the highly metamorphosed southern zone of the Labrador Trough. They lie along the shore of W a bush lake, in the western part of Newfoundland-Labrador, 190 miles north of Sept-Iles. The project is designed to mine, by open-pit methods, 17,200,000 long tons of crude ore, grading 37 per cent iron, per year. This ore will be beneficiated to produce 7,000,000 long tons of concentrate, grading 66 per cent iron, of which 5,500,000 long tons will be pelletized. Production is scheduled to commence this summer. Initially, ore will be taken from 45-foot benches in the Smallwood mine, using jet-piercing production drills and large-scale blasting with "slurry" explosives. Four 13-yard electric shovels will muck the broken ore into 100-ton trailer trucks. The trailers will be hauled to two 2,000-ton loading pockets, which feed the ore into 100-ton railcars. Four ore trains, each comprised

Jan 1, 1962

By B Patterson, Y Lanwin

Over the last decade the adoption of autonomous technology has proven its potential to fundamentally alter the mining industry, offering significant improvements in safety and productivity. Automation levels are now increasing exponentially across all parts of the supply chain from drilling, haulage, processing, rail and shipping to the maintenance of the above. However, the management of human error risk is also becoming increasingly complex as the disconnect between the people who operate and interact with mining equipment and those that design the autonomous systems grows in terms of skill and expertise. Furthermore, as comfort levels with automation increases amongst operators, complacency is increasing as the initial functional safety benefits have been realised. This paper introduces an innovative concept that unites two distinct fields, functional safety and behavioural economics, to address the complex issue of human error risk in autonomous mining operations. Functional safety, a well-established field in engineering involves identifying potential hazards, assessing risks and designing systems in a way that minimises the chances of accidents and limits their consequences. Meanwhile, behavioural economics takes a data centric approach to analysing the psychological aspects of human decision-making, acknowledging and seeking to understand the errors that can originate from cognitive biases and heuristics. This paper seeks to bridge these domains by emphasising that human error in autonomous mining is not solely a technical issue but is deeply influenced by human behaviour and decision-making processes. By incorporating insights from behavioural economics, we can better predict, prevent and manage human errors in the mining sector. By applying principles from both disciplines to a recent incident example we will explore how cognitive biases can impact peoples’ interactions with autonomous mining equipment. This interdisciplinary approach will not only enhance the design and implementation of functional safety measures in mining but also lead to the development of people centric solutions that consider the inherent fallibility of people. We will explore how human centred design can help bridge the gap between these two domains and apply systems thinking for a universal approach. Through an indepth case study analysis and empirical data, our research aims to provide actionable insights and practical recommendations for mining industry professionals, regulators and stakeholders involved in the safe integration of autonomous systems.

Apr 16, 2024

By V. Galla

Waste rock facilities (WRF) generally have a large footprint depending on the strip ratio the mine plan provides. Considerable planning is involved during the initial phase of the mine plan regarding the location of the WRF. As the mining operations are commenced the locations of the WRF change accordingly with the variations in the mine plan involving feedback and support from local communities and stakeholders. Waste rock facilities management becomes challenging when the area available for placement is limited due to terrain topography, environmental and permitting constraints. Risks associated in the design of waste rock facilities constitute particle size of rock, chemistry associated with the rock for reactivity and stability of the over all facility. This paper will provide some insights on designing, scheduling and managing a WRF. Emphasis on geotechnical, geophysics and geochemistry aspects of waste rock with reference to design, construction process and scheduling of WRF are also presented. Design improvements in the reclamation slope of WRF for erosion control will be discussed. Continuous improvement (CI) methodology will be introduced in the process of WRF operations. Current practices and future recommendations towards sustainability and consistency in operating WRF will be discussed in conclusion.

Jan 1, 2011

The 21st Annual American Mining Hall of Fame Awards Banquet sponsored by the Mining Foundation of the Southwest will be held at the Sheraton Tucson Hotel in Tucson, AZ on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2003. This year’s inductee, guest of honor and featured speaker at the banquet will be Thomas J. O’Neil, recently retired president and chief operating officer of Cleveland Cliffs Mining. Prior to Cliffs, O’Neil spent 10 years with Cyprus Minerals. He was also professor and head of the Department of Mining and Geological Engineering at the University of Arizona. As representatives of mining heritage, the Hall of Fame will induct James Boyd and Thomas F. Walsh. Walsh discovered a rich gold telluride vein in Ouray, CO, which became the Camp Bird gold mine. Boyd was a former director of the U.S. Bureau of Mines, vice president of Kennecott Copper and later president of Copper Range.

Jan 1, 2003

By THOMAS SOULE, R. I. C. Manning

The Phelps Dodge Corporation considers safety a major operating problem , both from the humanitarian standpoint , for this company has a real interest in the welfare of its employees , and from the economic standpoint , for it has found the safe way to be the most economical . In turn , a feeling among employees that the company really has their interests at heart has a wonderful psychological effect . It is bound to bring forth more and better work and to attract and keep workmen of the better class . There is keen competition between the various branches of this corporation for a trophy that is awarded each year to the one having the best accident record . This trophy was won by the Nacożari branch of the Moctezuma Copper Co. in Mexico in 1926 and 1927 , and the Morenci branch won the trophy in 1928 and 1929 .

Oct 1, 1930

By Nadya Michel, Daniel Gros-Jean

This is a true story. Names have been changed to illustrate the importance and impact of carbon monoxide risk management in explosive blast projects and the community « Honey I’m not feeling good…” “What is going on Michael?” – – Michael was not answering so Julia, who was on the third level of the magnificent house, hurried down the stairs to check up on him in the basement. Today was day 2 of the construction work of the bathroom, yesterday they had excavated all the space for the shower. She started to breathe heavily as she was approaching the bathroom and saw Michael unconscious on the floor. “Michael!” – Julia immediately dialed 911. She opened a window since the air was heavy and went by Michael to hear him breathe and take his pulse. The paramedics took Michael on a stretcher and rushed him to the hospital. “I’m feeling dizzy” she thought to herself a couple of hours after the incident, and heard Matthew say: “Mom, I’m feeling sick”. Suddenly, she felt like she would pass out and felt in danger but couldn’t move. She desperately searched for her cellphone and dialed 911 but couldn’t speak. The dispatcher sent the firefighters and paramedics to the GPS location that was appearing on the screen and the emergency team was alerted that it was a second call in hours at the same address. When the firefighters arrived, they had to force the door to enter and found Julia in her bedroom on the third floor and Anette and Matthew also unconscious in their bedroom, lying on their respective bed. There was no smoke but on their multigas meter, carbon monoxide (CO) peaked at 1500 ppm on every level of the house, which is abnormally high.

Feb 6, 2023

By Nathan C. Rockwood

WHILE mining engineers have been searching in far corners of the country and of the world for hidden wealth there has grown up around us in nearly every city great wealth-producing mines calling for the investment of hundreds of millions of dollars and yielding products now sold for over half a billion dollars yearly-largely unknown and almost wholly neglected by mining engineers. But this neglect is explainable and excusable. They are industries of very recent origin-practically the growth of the last 25 years. They are in a very large measure the result of tremendous developments in engineering construction and the rapidly expanding use of portland cement concrete for structures of every description. Concrete as a material of construction is going through an evolution very much as did cast iron and other metals used in engineering; and this phase of the industry should appeal to the imagination of metallurgical engineers. At first iron was iron-a material of uncertain properties, owing both to small differences in chemical composition and in methods of manufacture. By successive steps iron was studied and knowledge of its properties developed-the striking effects of very small percentages of other minerals and of various heat-treatments.

Jan 1, 1924

By E. E. Krist

El desmuestre de un criadero tiene un buen número de finalidades. En la fase inicial es necesario definir los límites del yacimiento y el contenido o ley del mineral hasta el punto de que pueda ser establecido si es, de hecho, un yacimiento económico. Igualmente, las muestras tienen que ser generadas de forma tal que las evaluaciones geológicas y metalúrgicas puedan ser Ilevadas a cabo. Finalmente, cuando se conoce la suficiente información concerniente a la geología, mineralogía y metalurgia, puede ser desarrollado un método minero y su plan, y construidas las oportunas plantas metalúrgicas para procesar los minerales a medida que se encuentran disponibles1. Con las minas actuales grandes y complejas a cielo abierto los métodos de desmuestre único deberían de ser inadecuados. La perforación por diamante, la perforación por percusión, pozos subterráneos y galerías, juegan todos conjuntamente un papel parcial en la definición total del yacimiento. En la mina Twin Buttes, de la Anamax Mining Company, el desmuestre y la definición del yacimiento conducirán eventualmente a la existencia de tres plantas metalúrgicas de proceso y, quizá a, una operación de minería subterránea. Fue puesto en marcha un concentrador de sulfuros de 30.000 tons. por día en Septiembre de 1969 y una planta de 10.000 toneladas diarias de lixiviación de óxido fue puesta en servicio en Mayo de 1975. La finalidad de esta presentación es la de exponer históricamente el desmuestre del yacimiento que ha sido Ilevado a cabo en Twin Buttes, describir brevemente el criadero, y exponer los métodos analíticos corrientemente utilizados para ayudar al geólogo, al metalúrgico y al diseñador de la mina en sus respectivas evaluaciones.

Jan 1, 1982

By John E. Bailey

The advent of Nuclear Energy has caused a phenomenal growth in the uranium mining industry. To keep abreast of this surge the mining industry has located many ore bodies, determined the best types of mining adaptable to this particular type of ore and developed a highly specialized type of operation. But, has the mining industry gone far enough in the planning? Has ?built-in? safety been included in the efficient methods of operation? Preplanning safety in the mining industry, as in all industries, takes engineering and ingenuity combined with the experience and cooperation of all concerned. A system of mining can be planned on a map and it will look good. However, when the actual mining takes place, conditions may be such that deviations from the original plans may be required because of excessive water faults or other conditions encountered. With safety we may also be required to change, to conform to the characteristics of a particular operation. People in the mining industry are well aware that loose back has killed miners each year. This condition occurred in practically all types of mines. The condition is not new to us. It is also known that explosives, haulage, machinery and conditions common to all types of mining have taken a heavy toll of human life in mining. In addition to these hazards in the uranium mines, the hazard of radon is also present, Radon is a radioactive gas liberated from ores containing radium. This gas is released into the active workings by the blasting or breaking up of the ore. Sometimes it is caused by radium contaminated water seepage from abandoned workings or from the ore body itself. Until the action of this gas on the human was known, many miners were affected. Un- less adequate precuations are taken to protect the people in these mines,, they may be exposed to this hazard, Health researchers made a study of this substance to determine how it would affect the health of the men, They also studied men who had worked in previous years, in mines known to have contained radioactive materials. All of this research contributed to the present knowledge of radon and its daughter products. It is not flammable nor explosive, but, if allowed to enter the body through the respiratory organs it can cause serious damage. Mines have been operated in the past and are still being operated, which were known to contain explosive and noxious gases, indicating that this problem can be controlled. Several states have instituted laws that make it mandatory to provide adequate ventilation and use of monitoring devices to limit radon and its daughter products to a maximum of 300 micro-microcuries per liter of air. This is considered a safe limit for sustained periods of human exposure. While the findings of research do not prove conclusively that the inhalation of excessive radon or its daugher products cause lung cancer, indications point to this as a possibility, particularly radium A and radium C1 of the daughter products. The threshold limits set by law in most uranium producing states are believed to be safe. In a few years, when tests and data now in the process of collection by interested state officials and laboratories is complete, these limits may be found to be ready for revision. Studies such as these take time. At present, the limits that are used are based upon estimates. The permissible limits of exposure to radon and daughter products include a large safety factor. It is considered that a good supply of fresh air delivered to the working places, adequate dust control, the sealing of unused or abandoned workings, the removal of mine water which is generally contaminated and a safe waiting period after blasting, will hold to a minimum the dangers from this source. There are, of course, problems accompanying each of these procedures. For example, the ventilating of untimbered raises and bringing fresh, uncontaminated air to the working places may be a problem. However, a good mining man can solve these problems as they apply in each particular operation. From the information available at the present time, the daughter products containing polonium and emitting alpha radiation, may be a health hazard. Fortunately, the half life of most of the daughter products is short, however, radium D has a half life of 22 years and presents a problem of contamination in the storage of old tailings. So we can see that failure to comply with the accepted good mining practices may have harmful effects on the health of miners. It is gratifying to note the interest in this potential hazard by the officials in the uranium ore producing states, who are making extensive studies and keeping records of the men who work in this type of mining. This all provide information necessary for preplanning safety. By contrast, little has been accomplished to control the injuries and deaths from some other factors connected with most underground mining operations. I would like to discuss briefly one of the hazards which take an annual toll in our underground mines, this is falls of back and walls. This problem or hazard is present, and will be

Jan 1, 1958

By G. L. Smith

This paper consolidates the key elements of seven contributions, on strategic long-term planning, to two of the three international conferences on Strategic versus Tactical approaches in Mining held over the period 2005?2008. The holistic concept of strategic long-term planning as developed and implemented at Anglo Platinum is described. Consideration is given to the planning cycle, principles supporting the construction of the long-term plan, and aspects of unique best practice as developed in Anglo Platinum. Further description of Anglo Platinum?s approach to corporate governance, including the processes, methodology, systems, unique tools and techniques that are applied to value and select capital investment options is also given.

Jan 1, 2009

By J. E. Dutrizac, J. B. Sunstrum

Until relatively recent times, virtually all gold was recovered by gravity and/ or amalgamation methods. Although such techniques are very effective on coarse gold, they become increasingly less useful for finer grains especially when the gold is partly enclosed in rock matrix. Throughout the nineteenth century a number of bonanza gold fields were found in the United States, South Africa, Australia and Canada. In every case the abundant supply of gold nuggets and coarse alluvial gold soon gave way to hard rock mining with its inevitable losses of fine gold in the stamp mill tailings. Continuing efforts to develop new technologies capable of dissolving gold from finely ground ore were eventually successful first with chlorination (the Plattner process) and subsequently with cyanidation. Even before the nineteenth century, however, European chemists such as Scheele and Berthollet were aware that gold could be readily dissolved in an excess of free cyanide(1). As early as 1840, a patent was issued to the Elkington brothers for the dissolution of pure gold in cyanide solution and its subsequent plating onto various metals, with or without an applied electrical current. In 1846, Elsner showed that oxygen was also required to solubilize gold or silver in cyanide media(1). Despite the fact that much work was done on the reaction of cyanide solutions with gold, a viable leaching process for gold ores did not quickly emerge although cyanide solutions were used to enhance amalgamation from the 1860s onward. Major problems were associated with the use of concentrated cyanide solutions; the costs of cyanide were excessive and it was difficult to recover gold from the concentrated media.

Jan 1, 1999

Real economic growth for 1988 may fall short of the 3.3% projected by the Department of Commerce in August 1988 because the summer drought and intense heat in many areas curtailed output more severely than expected. The economy grew at an average annual rate of 3.0% for the first three quarters of the year, slowing in the second and third quarters. Export growth, which occurred even as the dollar edged up compared with other industrial country currencies, was an important factor in the expansion. Notable gains were posted in sales of machinery, computers, aircraft, chemicals, and telecommunications equipment. Imports increased, but not as much as exports, and the U.S. trade position was still much improved from that of 1987. Personal consumption expenditures grew slightly faster than the economy as a whole. Purchases of consumer durables showed notable strength in the first half of 1988, but slowed down in the third quarter. Despite the moderate rise in interest rates, business spending for new plant and equipment also rose and contributed to 1988 gross national product (GNP) growth. Both new business investment and export demand spurred orders for U.S.-made machine tools. Orders for machine tools for the first 8 months of 1988 were almost triple those in the corresponding period in 1987.

Jan 1, 1989

By Frank Hirthammer

The paper explains the procedure of implementing Track & Trace solutions for manufacturers of explosives based on customer experiences. By using concrete examples, the process from project start to implementation is described. Lessons learned from the experiences of European explosives manufacturers are presented.

Feb 1, 2020

By A. Jain

During sheet forming, metal experiences not only multi-axial load, it also undergoes strain path changes. For example, metal in the flange region may be drawn, may bend and unbend through a bead, before bending around a die radius, etc. Compression data were obtained from AZ31 sheet after pre-straining in compression along an orthogonal direction. The compression directions correspond to the sheet product (rolling-RD, transverse-TD, and normal-ND) directions. Three cases are examined: slip dominated deformation (ND) followed by twin dominated (RD or TD) deformation, twin dominated (RD or TD) followed by de-twinning (ND), and twin dominated (e.g. RD) followed by cross-twinning or secondary twinning (e.g. TD). Slip induced pre-straining simply hardens the material, while twin dominated pre-straining alters the texture allowing the material to either de-twin or re-twin upon changing the strain path. Polycrystal plasticity modeling has been used to predict qualitative features of the flow curves during strain path changes.

Jan 1, 2006

By Frank V. Hicks

THE following paper-in no sense a technical paper-is a summary of a safety campaign instituted by a coal-mining company to improve an unfortunate safety record. The experience should be suggestive equally to coal and metal-mining companies. With few precedents to follow in the beginning, the course was charted by trial and error. The endeavor, often disheartening, finally resulted in the capture of the most coveted safety trophy in the mining industry, "The Sentinels of Safety," awarded by the Hercules Powder Co. of Wilmington, Del., through the U. S. Bureau of Mines. The period described covers the 10-year interval, 1924 to 1933, the year 1933 being that for which the award was made. The coal company considered has produced annually for a number of years an average of 2,750,000 tons of coal, employing at various times from 1.800 to 3000 men. Prior to 1924, the

Jan 1, 1935

I would like to thank The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy for inviting us to share with you some of our experiences in the handling, storage, and transportation of industrial minerals in North America. Cometals, Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Commercial Metals Company, headquartered in Dallas, a public corporation whose shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Sales exceed one billion dollars. Cometals, Inc. is located in New York and specializes in marketing of chemicals as well as raw materials used in the manufacture of steel, refractories, abrasives, glass and ceramics. This makes us one of the larger regular shippers of industrial minerals. Many people are aware that industrial minerals need to be viewed and judged on the merits of their chemical and physical characteristics. In addition you are surely aware that close attention must be paid to the economics of these minerals to determine the appropriate value and competitiveness of the minerals or products delivered at the doorsteps of the consuming work. You may, however, not be aware that the handling and transportation of the mineral is of crucial importance, in fact, the transportation and handling costs of industrial minerals frequently are a major component of the value of the ores marketed and, therefore, it is only natural that close attention should be paid to them. Many of the industrial minerals require special handling to assure that the material reaches the consumer without being contaminated and without getting wet. I invite you to accompany me through the various steps involved in "delivering the goods" to the consumer.

Jan 1, 1989

A combination field and office study of mining districts in Southwestern U.S.A., conducted in 1949 - 1950 by United Geophysical Company, embraced all of the essentials for a successful exploration project including factors such as geology water, transportation and many more. Perhaps the best known of several high priority areas chosen from the study was the Twin Buttes or Pima District in Arizona, however, the Turquoise District also ranked very high on this priority schedule. Following the discovery of the Pima Mine in 1951 and 1952, United initiated additional preliminary geological, geophysical, drilling and claim location work in the Turquoise District, but stopped shortly thereafter, when ASARCO began adjoining competetive activity. During the summer of 1957, sometime after ASARCO abandoned their claims in the area, Minerals Exploration Company began intensive exploration in the Courtland-Gleeson part of the District. This program was terminated in 1958. Later Bear Creek Mining Company supplemented the discovery endeavor with their own program during the period 1960 through 1962. This paper summarizes most of the geophysical work done by all of the groups except ASARCO and is intended to complement the recent paper "General Geology and Some Structural Features of the Courtland-Gleeson Area, Cochise County, Arizona" by Mr. Otis McRae of Bear Creek Mining Company.

Jan 1, 1966

By Li Xi

This paper describes how a back-propagation neural network is built for predicting the properties of engineering materials from their other properties, compositions or processes. A predicted result of the impact toughness of a 12Cr-2Ni-1.5Mo stainless steel from its tempering temperature is presented. Furthermore, the combination of this neural network for prediction is able to supplement the unpredictability of the expert system outside its domain of expertise. An integrated system may perform more intelligently and solve more complex problems as well as human expert, in some case even better.

Jan 1, 1992

By D. E. Healy

In 1989 an Autogenous Grinding Task Force was formed to study potential autogenous grinding circuits to replace the existing semi-autogenous grinding at the National Steel Pellet Plant located in Keewatin, Minnesota. Pilot plant test work performed by the Hanna Research Center (HRC) indicated that fully autogenous grinding with pebble extraction and crushing could feasibly be incorporated into the existing circuits. In 1990, one of the existing ten grinding mills was converted for an in-plant test incorporating pebble crushing. The full scale test work conducted in 1990 and 1991 verified the pilot plant projections with primary mill throughputs from the fully autogenous circuit utilizing pebble crushing being greater than throughput of the existing SAG mill circuits.

Jan 1, 1992