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By T. W. Camm

"Search Amazon.com using the keyword “leadership,” and you are rewarded with a list of over 144,000 titles. There is no shortage of books and articles, many of them well written, with excellent ideas. So why is there still a constant cry for effective leadership in organizations? Often, the person in charge has personal blinders that prevent them from seeing or understanding how to implement the newest leadership idea or method. Either deliberately or subliminally, there is a disconnect from learning about leadership, and actually modelling and implementing what has been learned. Some current research in leadership theory can provide insight and tools to address this issue. INTRODUCTION Let’s start with a discussion of terms. Pseudo is defined by Webster (2015) as “Being apparently rather actually as stated.” Synonyms include affected, assumed, contrived, fake, false, phony, pretended, and artificial. Antonyms for pseudo provide additional clarity, especially when we consider terms normally associated with effective leadership: genuine, natural, unaffected, unforced. A similar type from my world of academia is a pseudointellectual, “A person exhibiting intellectual pretentions that have no basis in sound scholarship” (Dictionary.com, 2015). This is a person pretending to have an interest in intellectual activities for status; a fraudulent intellectuality. The thought of applying the term pseudo to leadership first occurred to me while reading Power and Innocence by Rollo May (1972). In discussing the dynamics of power, and how the innocent are often victims of the exercise of power, especially the more aggressive and destructive types of power, he saw two types of innocence. The first he called authentic innocence, which he described as a childlike clarity that carried into adulthood. The second type he called pseudoinnocence, a type of naïveté that makes a virtue of powerlessness, weakness, and helplessness; being more childish than childlike (p. 48-50). Just as there is the potential for pseudoinnocence and pseudointellectuals, it is also possible to experience pseudo leadership. (I hope the gentle reader is not troubled by my decision to use pseudo leadership as two separate words, in contrast to the use of compound words for pseudoinnocence and pseudointellectual cited above. Since there is no official definition of pseudo leadership, I have exercised my author’s prerogative to treat it as two words, both because I think in this particular application this makes the most sense, and also I think it is easier to read). As we will see, there are numerous theories applied to leadership. What is so troubling to many of us in organizations, there are a myriad of “leaders” in companies espousing pet theories, but very few instances where the actions of these individuals match their words. This is a particularly important problem when we look at the effect this has on the day to day operations of a mine, and where effective leadership (or its absence) can have a profound impact on both productivity and safety."

Jan 1, 2016

By Theodore M. Katz, W. Stephen Brightwell, David E. LeGrande, Joseph J. Hurrell, Jane A. Lipscomb, Nancy Lessin, Lawrence R. Murphy, Michael J. Colligan, Steven L. Sauter, Richard A. Lippin

Revolutionary changes in the organization of work have far outpaced our knowledge about the implications of these changes for the quality of working life and for safety and health on the job. This gap in knowledge is one of the 21 priority areas for research under the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA)—a framework crafted by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and its partners to guide research into the next decade. This report was developed under NORA as the first attempt to develop a comprehensive research agenda for investigating and reducing occupational safety and health risks associated with the changing organization of work. Research and development needs identified in the agenda include (1) improved surveillance mechanisms to better track how the organization of work is changing, (2) accelerated research on safety and health implications of the changing organization of work, (3) increased research focus on organizational interventions to protect safety and health, and (4) steps to formalize and nurture organization of work as a distinctive field in occupational safety and health.

Jan 4, 2002

By James D. Bennett

During the past decade many U.S. industries have realized the importance of a total loss control program; the bituminous coal mining industry is no exception to this trend. Oftentimes, we realize that the circumstances surrounding a "near miss" (an incident which does not result in personal injury or property damage) are practically identical to those associated with a fatality, disabling injury, or major property damage. And, many organizations suffer enormous financial losses in cases where no one is injured or property damaged but costly delays in production result. Detailed analyses of both injury and non-injury cases can provide valuable input into those engineering, behavioral, and management controls that are necessary to prevent their recurrence. The purpose of this paper is to describe a comprehensive loss control surveillance system (LCSS) that will enhance management control in preventing personnel, property, and production losses, thereby, maximizing profit. The next section describes the components of this LCSS. Then, we present one practical example of how this valuable management tool can be used to minimize loss through safety and training programs.

Jan 1, 1985

By Hugo E. Camargo, Amanda S. Azman, Brian Kim

Repeated noise exposure and occupational hearing loss are common health problems across industries and especially within the mining industry. Large mechanized processes, blasting, grinding, drilling, and work that is often in close quarters put many miners at an increased risk of noise overexposure. In stone, sand, and gravel mining, noise is generated from a variety of sources, depending on the type of ore being mined as well as the final consumer product provided by that mine. Depending on the source of noise generation, different strategies to reduce and avoid that noise should be implemented. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has evaluated the noise profile at three operational surface stone, sand, and gravel mines. A-weighted sound level meter data as well as phase array beamforming data were collected throughout the mines in areas with high noise exposure or high personnel foot or vehicle traffic. Sound level meter data collected on a grid pattern was used to develop sound profiles of the working areas. These sound contour maps as well as phase array beamforming plots were provided to the mines as well as guidance to modify work areas or personnel traffic to reduce noise exposure.

Jan 6, 2022

By S J. Schafrik, E S. Gilliland, E C. Jong, J Waynert, C W. Weiss

Two commercially available through-the-Earth (TTE) communications systems were evaluated at an active underground longwall mine in West Virginia. One system utilises magnetic field (H-field) antennae while the other system utilises electric field (E-field) antennae to achieve communication. A large portion of this mine is overlain by an inactive gas-oil field composed of densely spaced wells. This feature provided a unique opportunity to determine the impact of cased wells on both TTE technologies. The following communication modes were investigated: surface to underground, underground to surface, underground to underground and real-time two-way communications. Standard deployments of the TTE systems using the manufacturer’s recommended procedures were able to achieve clear communications between underground and surface locations under certain circumstances. As a result, the design and deployment that will optimise TTE transmissions are unique to each system and to the specific area of the mine. This field study was conducted as a part of a larger multisite evaluation of available TTE systems in an effort to determine their operational sensitivity. The performance of these two TTE systems suggested that one may be preferable over the other depending on the conditions present during deployment.CITATION:Jong, E C, Schafrik, S J, Gilliland, E S, Weiss, C W and Waynert, J, 2015. Pairing magnetic and e-field through-the-Earth communication systems based on mine site conditions, in Proceedings Third International Future Mining Conference, pp 245–252 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Nov 4, 2015

By L Cain, C Every, S Mirlatifi, J Ashley

This paper presents a geographic information system (GIS) based method for the prediction of ground movement and the associated impact on existing buildings and structures due to tunnelling in the North West Rail Link (NWRL) project. The NWRL is a priority rail infrastructure project for the New South Wales (NSW) Government and includes 15 km of twin tunnels between Bella Vista and Epping, which will be Australia’s longest rail tunnels. The NWRL tunnels will be constructed in an urban environment where the prediction of ground movements induced by tunnelling and the associated impacts to existing structures must be assessed in the early design stages of the project. An assessment process was developed using GIS able to respond to design changes.An iterative GIS analysis methodology was developed to generate ground settlement contours and identify impacted buildings and structures in response to multiple changes in tunnel alignment during design development stages. The GIS analysis undertook to rapidly provide detailed and accurate parameter information including tunnel depth from surface, tunnel separation, diameter and sample point proximity to the tunnel and assess ground movement contours along the project alignment. Determination of the ground surface settlements were based on empirical methods proposed by Peck (1969) and Mair (1993). The control parameters and the relationship between damage categories and risk classifications for impact assessment were based on Burland, Broms and de Mello (1977), Rankin (1988) and Boscardin and Cording (1989) methods.The GIS-based ground movement impact assessment approach adopted for the NWRL project demonstrates an efficient, iterative and robust approach and could provide an initial framework for other similar tunnelling projects where rapid design changes and early understanding of tunnelling impacts are required to bring greatest benefit to all stakeholders.CITATION:Mirlatifi, S, Cain, L, Ashley, J and Every, C, 2014. An iterative geographic information system based approach for the assessment of tunnelling impact to existing buildings and structures, in Proceedings 15th Australasian Tunnelling Conference 2014 , pp 647–652 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Sep 17, 2014

By B. T., Colley

AS always when metallurgical operations are conducted within or close to agricultural and stock-raising regions, the question of damage due to fume and smoke presented itself when the Cerro de Pasco Copper Corporation's new smelter commenced to operate in La Oroya in 1922, For more than twenty years the Corporation had operated its old plant close to Cerro de Pasco without encountering difficulties from smoke claims, owing to the fact that it was in an open plain where more or less constant air currents carried and dissipated the smoke over large areas, affording ample dilution. But Oroya is in a deep canyon formed by four contributing valleys up and down which the smoke travels for long distances in a more or less concentrated form. Though the altitude of Oroya is more than 12,000 ft., and the surrounding country rises to much greater elevations, nevertheless there exists there a large and important stock-raising industry and also a considerable development in agriculture, consisting of the cultivation of potatoes, barley, etc.

Jan 1, 1945

By C Staak, H Mischo, A Fichtner, F Reuter

In mining and remote areas of resource industry, there has been a development towards lacking emergency medical first aid response, that creates a potential disadvantage for patients after work accidents and other medical emergencies compared to standard population. This raises the question how a professional emergency medical coverage can be provided underground, taking into account lacking medical professionals in small resource companies combined with long rescue times. Aiming on the closure of this gap, a team of the mine rescue brigade from the Research and Training Mine Reiche Zeche (Forschungs-und Lehrbergwerk (FLB) Reiche Zeche) of the TUBAF Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg in Freiberg/Germany and its cooperating emergency departments of the Freiberg District Hospital and the Zeisigwaldkliniken Bethanien Chemnitz developed a totally new rescue concept using elements from tactical medicine and advanced emergency medicine combined with a specifically designed compact equipment and a highly standardised teaching curriculum. A fully new standardised and condensed tactical medical approach was developed including specifically adjusted equipment, and was taught in a didactically optimised way within 16 lessons in two days. Objective Structured Practical Examinations (OSPE) using manikins and simulated patients were conducted and compared to the identical exam of the reference group, which consisted of advanced paramedics. The standardised tactical medical scheme includes vital functions and body checks, advanced life support, nasal and intraosseous drug application, supraglottic airway management, artificial ventilation, thoracocentesis, bleeding control including tourniquet, fracture repositioning and splinting, transport bedding and thermal preservation. The developed Tactical Medical Mining Rescue (TMR) concept was subsequently included in the German guidelines for mine rescue services in 2022 and is already implemented in many companies in Germany and several international projects.

Sep 1, 2024

By A Fern, A Hawkes, o, T Vincent

The modern workplace has changed dramatically in recent years with an increased emphasis on the psychological well-being of employees. While adhering to a certain standard of psychosocial safety at work is now not only a moral, but legal obligation in Australia, it begs the question: how can organisations begin to ensure psychosocial safety? A positive psychosocial safety climate is one where employees feel they are psychologically safe, feel supported in their work and are not exposed to work-related stressors that can negatively affect their mental health. Such a climate can help boost productivity and create a more positive working environment. This presentation will provide a twopronged approach to understanding and managing psychosocial safety: pairing a traditional risk assessment with climate measurement. Risk assessments can provide several benefits, including identifying and characterising work-related hazards, identifying the nature and severity of the risks to employees and prioritising necessary interventions for reducing or preventing psychosocial harm in the workplace. However, these assessments can have certain limitations, especially when it comes to capturing some of the less obvious causes of psychosocial harm. Climate measurement can provide valuable insights into employees’ perceptions of the work environment, identify areas of concern that may not have been identified in the risk assessment and help to guide organisational changes that will enhance employees’ psychosocial well-being over time. It will also be argued that climate should be assessed from a broad perspective exploring general, physical, social and psychological aspects of safety climate. This presentation will explore why conducting risk assessments in conjunction with detailed climate measurements is integral to protecting the psychosocial safety of employees in the workplace and demonstrate why employers should view the two approaches as complementary and interconnected. Best practice recommendations will be provided for the risk assessment, climate measurement and psychosocial interventions

Apr 16, 2024

By J. E. Shigley

The gemological properties that allow natural emeralds and blue sapphires to be distinguished from other gemstones are summarized in this paper. A variety of synthetic and laboratory-treated emeralds and blue sapphires are also encountered in the jewelry industry today. Gemologists distinguish these latter materials from their natural counterparts based primarily upon features seen with magnification, such as inclusions and/or growth zoning. In some cases, however, these observations and standard gem-testing methods are insufficient, and the use of non-destructive analytical methods, such as optical spectroscopy and chemical analysis, are required for positive identification. The commercial value of synthetic and treated gems are much less, and can be insignificant in comparison to that of an important untreated natural gemstone. Identification of synthetic and treated gem material is essential to maintaining integrity in the jewelry industry. Loss of consumer confidence in the gemstones sold at the jewelry counter could have a negative impact on the exploration and mining of natural emerald and blue sapphire.

Jan 1, 1998

By Katherine A. Klein

Refuge chambers may potentially save the lives of miners during a mine emergency. For this reason, it is crucial that miners know how to operate them. Unfortunately, because refuge chambers provide so many services, they can be very complicated and difficult to operate. Therefore, NIOSH has created this document with suggestions for developing manuals and educational materials. A multidisciplinary team comprised of NIOSH engineers, sociologists, psychologists, health communication professionals, and geologists developed the recommendations contained in this document. These recommendations are based on an evaluation of manufacturers? instruction manuals from both the U.S. and globally, interviews with over 20 mining and safety experts, and an extensive literature review. This research, focused on the best practices for refuge chambers, led to the formulation of this document. It is intended to offer suggestions to manufacturers and mine operators on how to create effective and easy-to-understand training manuals for miners as well as tips to create the most comfortable and usable refuge chambers. It should be noted that these recommendations are not meant to substitute for manufacturer-supplied materials but rather to be used in conjunction with manufacturer?s materials. Manufacturers should always be consulted for up-to-date information about their chamber. Although different states and different mines refer to underground refuges by different names, this guide will simply refer to underground refuges nearest to the face as refuge chambers, whether inflatable from a skid or constructed from steel. Other popular terms for refuge chambers are rescue chambers, rescue shelters, and refuge shelters. Refuges that are nearer to the shaft, whether a prefabricated refuge chamber or one built into a crosscut, will be referred to as outby refuges because of their location in the mine. Outby refuges can be permanent, semipermanent, or portable and are usually located at every other SCSR cache. Outby refuges are sometimes called hardened rooms, outby shelters, and in-place shelters. When discussing outby refuges and refuge chambers collectively, this guide will refer to them as underground refuges. Other terms for underground refuges include refuge alternatives, locations of safety, and safe havens. This document is designed to be read either cover to cover or by specific section. It is recommended that on first read, this guide be read cover to cover. In subsequent readings, manufacturers and mine operators may find it easier to use the table of contents page to locate specific information on parts of the refuge chamber.

Jan 1, 2009

By J. Budac, E. Krause, C. L. Stewart, D. Wrana, S. W. Laundry

"As part of an over-all arsenic management strategy, Inco has developed a novel process that converts a by-product high moisture copper/arsenic sulphide precipitate into a crystalline copper arsenate suitable for the manufacture of wood preservation chemicals.The copper/arsenic sulphide precipitate is atmospherically leached with oxygen and sulphuric acid, producing a crude (blue) copper arsenate precipitate, elemental sulphur, and a copper and nickel containing solution. The blue copper arsenate is dissolved with sulphuric acid, the molar Cu/As ratio is raised to 2, and a crystalline copper arsenate (olivenite) is precipitated by the addition of sodium carbonate. Dissolved copper is recovered using metallic nickel (or matte) and elemental sulphur, to produce a low-moisture (low-arsenic) precipitate suitable for standard nickel-copper processing.The process was successfully piloted at Inco's Manitoba Division between September 1990 and June 1991. The copper arsenate product typically analyzed 43% Cu and 25% As, and the moisture content was about 10%."

Jan 1, 1995

By Alvin Kaufman

Malthus, an eighteenth century economist, predicted a rather dismal future for the world. It was his contention food supplies would not be sufficient for the population of the world because the economy of a nation grew arithmetically while population increased geometrically. As a consequence, within a relatively few years mass famine would spread throughout the world. This prophecy, based on an agrarian economic situation, did not come true at least insofar as the Western World was concerned. In largo measure, the salvation of our part of the earth resulted from the growth engendered by the Industrial Revolution. Throughout much of today's world, however, the Malthusian theory seems to be coming true. The advantages and benefits of the Industrial Revolution have net reached all nations. Further, the situation has been compounded by the benefits of modern medicine. This has reduced child mortality and extended life expectancy, but placed no limitations on births in the developed countries, child mortality has declined to 2 percent and adult life expectancy has doubled, but education and general prosperity have resulted in voluntary limitations on pregnancies thus partly offsetting the increased chance of survivals Even so, the present rate of population increase in Europe is approximately 6 percent per decade, and somewhat higher in the U.S., Japan, and other developed countries. The world as a whole, however, is expected to double its population by the year 2000, This would imply a rate of increase in the less developed countries approximately four times that in Europe.

Jan 1, 1966

By D J. Bradshaw, B Lottermoser, A Parbhakar-Fox

"Best practice for acid rock drainage (ARD) risk assessment still relies solely on the geochemical properties of sulfidic rocks and mineral processing products, despite the fact that a rockÆs tendency to produce acid also depends on mineralogy and texture. Consequently, there are a plethora of geochemical tests routinely utilised by the mining industry to predict ARD formation. Due to limitations associated with these tests and their relatively high costs, analysis of recommended best practice sample numbers is rarely achieved, reducing the accuracy of waste management plans. Our research addressed this through examining the application of geometallurgical data for predicting acid formation, and led to the identification of potential environmental geometallurgy indicators.Samples obtained from an iron-oxide copper gold deposit were subjected to the geochemistry-mineralogy-texture (GMT) approach, an improved methodology for classifying acid forming potential. GMT results were compared against geometallurgical and assay data sets to evaluate: relative carbonate content measurements (measured by HyLogger) and identify how these could be used to calculate effective acid neutralising capacity mineral hardness (measured by EQUOtip) to determine application of this data for calculating lag-time to acid formation opportunities to automate the acid rock drainage index (ARDI) using classified images produced by a GEOTEK logger and automated microscopy.Links between the GMT approach and geometallurgical data sets were identified. Classified mineralogy data has application at stage one, HyLogger and EQUOtip at stage two and computer-based ARDI evaluations of classified images at stage three. Through such integration, ARD characterisation costs can be reduced, with value added to geometallurgical data sets. Furthermore, deposit-wide ARD domaining is possible, and acquisition of total-orebody knowledge more likely. Through adoption of this environmental geometallurgy approach, a better informed waste management plan can be formulated, allowing for best practice ARD sampling in a more cost-effective manner.CITATION:Parbhakar-Fox, A, Lottermoser, B and Bradshaw, D J, 2013. Cost-effective means for identifying acid rock drainage risks - integration of the geochemistry-mineralogy-texture approach and geometallurgical techniques, in Proceedings The Second AusIMM International Geometallurgy Conference (GeoMet) 2013, pp 143-154 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne)."

Sep 29, 2013

By AIME AIME

IN accordance with the custom of recent years, the Institute joined with the Western Division of the American Mining Congress in holding a joint meeting at Joplin on Sept. 28, 29 and 30. Actually the meeting might be said to have begun on the 27th, since the Engineering Education Committee held two sessions on that day, which are reported on another page. In addition to these sessions there were informal gatherings in the Hotel Conner, which was the headquarters, on the golf links and elsewhere of all those who had arrived by Sunday morning. The technical sessions were formally opened on Monday morning by Robert E. Tally who, after suitable preliminary remarks, introduced A. Scott Thompson, of Miami, Okla. Mr. Thompson in welcoming the visitors to the Tri-State district said that it had come to be known as a poor man's country and at the present price of zinc did not find it difficult to live up to its name. He also referred to the work Mr. Tally had done for the stabilization of the mineral industry. H. Foster Bain, in responding to this address for the Institute, said that mining men generally felt at home in Joplin, that the solutions of their problems and the general practice that had been developed in the district were not only of great interest to them, but that visitors could learn much

Jan 1, 1931

By F. Q. Cheng

Despite the successful industrial practice to recovery KCl by flotation, the adsorption state of collectors at KCl salt surfaces is still not fully understood. In this paper, the captive bubble contact angle measurements at KCl and NaCl crystal surfaces in their saturated solutions are reported. The influence of different collectors and their concentration are considered. The results show that both cationic and anionic collectors produce a hydrophobic state at the structure breaking KCl salt sur-face, with finite contact angle values of between 30o and 40o. In contrast, the contact angle at the structure making NaCl salt surface is zero at all collector concentrations, suggesting that no collec-tor adsorption occurs, a supposition that is supported by results from molecular dynamics simulation (MDS). Further, it appears that the presence of surface defects such as edges and corners promote the adsorption of collectors at the KCl surface, and that the flotation is achieved by bubble attachment at the edges/corners of KCl particles with the formation of aeroflocs.

Jan 1, 2014

By R. J. Sweigard

Productive and beneficial use of reclaimed surface-mined land is a concern of industry, government, and the general public. An investigation was conducted of current mined-land planning practices to aid in the development of a procedure for evaluating postmining land use potentials. This investigation considered both the industry and public planning approach to mined-land planning and was based primarily upon three case studies conducted in various regions of the United States. The site planning process that was developed during the investigation is iterative in nature and has been designed specifically for the mining industry. It centers around preliminary studies and data collection, development of land use alternatives, and the evaluation of alternatives. Use of this process facilitates the evaluation of economic, environ- mental, and social impacts of postmining land use alternatives. In this paper, the process is presented along with a description of its development, application, and significance.

Jan 1, 1984

By C P. Gravenor

In 1953, a deposit of sedimentary oolitic iron ore was discovered in the Clear Hills area of northwestern Alberta. Since that time, detailed drilling has outlined reserves in excess of 200 million tons of ore grading 30 to 35 per cent iron. Attempts to physically beneficiate the ore to meet blast furnace or direct reduction feed specifications have been, in general, unsuccessful. In 1960, Premier Steel Mills Limited and the Research Council of Alberta jointly sponsored a pilot-plant test at the R-N Corporation at Birmingham, Alabama. About 5,000 tons of ore were treated, and briquettes containing 90 per cent Fe were produced, with 83 per cent recovery. At the same time that the R-N tests were being made, the Research Council initiated a program to produce high-purity powders by chemical methods. Several purification techniques were investigated; hydrochloric acid dissolution of reduced ore was finally adopted. Briefly, the steps involved in this acid process are as follow

Jan 1, 1964

By P. van der Steen

This paper examines the historical developments in diamond beneficiation technology and the impacts on the industry. The art of diamond beneficiation has given way to the application of scientific process, but at considerable capital expenditure. The shift in beneficiation methodologies has been disruptive to the traditional skills set of the industry, but evolutionary change continues and has been beneficial to the quality of the final product.

Jan 1, 2010

By J Lööw, M Nygren, E Segerstedt, L Abrahamsson

The purpose of the paper is to discuss socially sustainable development in the mining industry and the communities surrounding the mines. The discussions are based on results from a prestudy and literature review on mining and sustainable development conducted during 2013–2014 at Luleå University of Technology in Sweden. ‘A social licence to mine’ is important for the mining industry, but the social dimension is a relatively underdeveloped dimension when it comes to sustainable development in general and the mining industry in particular, one reason probably being the lack of effective methods for capturing social impacts. The mining industry and the surrounding communities face many challenges that provide both possibilities and obstacles to socially sustainable development; eg aspects such as gender, work conditions and cultural aspects. For example, a strong mining workplace culture and community identity can create strong cohesion but also lead to excluding certain groups, rejecting new ideas and reinforcing obsolete values. Other challenges include recruitment, as well as health and safety in relation to an increased use of fly-in-fly-out, contractors and automation of mining. Some challenges relate to the effects of fluctuations in the mining market. There is a lack of research that links attitudes, policies and activities within companies to their impact on the wider community, and vice versa. Future research should also include the development of methods and indicators for social sustainability relevant for mining – in other words: how do mining companies get ‘a social licence to mine’?CITATION:Abrahamsson, L, Lööw, J, Nygren, M and Segerstedt, E, 2015. How to get a social licence to mine, in Proceedings Third International Future Mining Conference, pp 125–136 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Nov 4, 2015