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By Dean H. Ambrose

Computer programs are presented that provide mine electrical systems based on computer modeling for design and safety analysis suitable for large or small computer systems and handheld calculators. Bureau of Mines research has resulted in load-flow, fault, grounding, reliability, short-circuit, transient, and cable ampacity computer models that enable mine power system engineers to analyze their system or to design a system. This report describes the capabilities of the program.

Jan 1, 1984

By M. R. Garmsiri

With the environmental issues and water recycling becoming more significant, the development of deep cone thickeners has improved the efficiency of thickening. While deep cones performance is dependent on many factors, the sensitivity of an industrial thickener to each variable factor has not been determined. In this work, four industrial deep cone thickeners, which are used on tailings stream in Shahrebabak Copper Complex, were monitored for a year to analyze the effectiveness of different factors affecting the performance. Feed flow rate, fine fraction of the feed, solids concentration, flocculant dosage and concentration, solids density, pH, temperature and bed height were the factors investigated on the basis of partial R2 and partial correlation. Results indicated that, with positive effect, feed slurry dilution affected the dewatering efficiency most sensitively. With a negative effect, the sensitivity of dewatering efficiency of deep cone thickeners to flocculant dosage was negligible. While, decreasing flocculant solution concentration had a considerable positive effect.

Sep 1, 2012

By D. E. M. Plaumann, B. S. Fee, R. D. Hansen, R. R. Klimpel

"The steps from experimental curiosity through to commercial product can be slow and tortuous in spite of the quality of the technological advances offered by the new development. Data generation and interpretation need to be done in lab tests as well as full-scale evaluations and, in each, the advantages of the new reagent must be clearly identifiable and measurable.The Dow Chemical Company has patented a novel new collector for the flotation of zinc. Fl (2-hexylthioethylamine hydrochloride) has several unique structural features that suggest atypical mechanisms for zinc collection. Laboratory data have demonstrated significant flexibility with respect to grade and recovery balance at dosages lower than those typically used for xanthates.In mill trials, the same phenomanon is evident - the choice between high grade and high recovery allows one to select the desired quality of zinc concentrate. One trial in particular was run over a three month timeframe and Fl gave improvements in recovery of 2.5% and a reduction in lead levels with less than 0.5% loss in grade. The dosages of other reagents in the flotation circuit were also reduced.Data demonstrating improved recovery and grade in lab trials will be discussed. Extensive data from the mill trial will illustrate how Fl works in both rougher and cleaner circuits."

Jan 1, 1990

By B. Andersen

An accurate knowledge of Interactions among mineral particles and between such particles and dissolved and precipitated species Is Important in developing efficient separation processes. In this investigation interactions in Florida phosphatic clay waste, that are relevant to dispersion and selective reagent adsorption, the two main prerequisites for selective flocculation, were studied. Initial studies with artificial slimes, consisting of pure clay and phosphate minerals, showed dispersion of artificial slimes to be relatively easy. The problems that were encountered during selective flocculation of the artificial slime were due to unselective polyacryllc acid adsorption on clay, which was caused by the presence of multivalent calcium ions on the exchangeable cation positions on the clay surfaces. This problem could be solved by exchanging calcium for sodium, which reduces the interaction between the polymer and the clay surface. This procedure, however, was not successful for mineral mixtures. Natural slimes were found to be much more difficult to disperse. This was attributed to the presence of cementing materials such as humic substances and Ai and Fe (hydr)oxide precipitates. Selective removal of these cementing materials resulted in good dispersion and partial separation. Further increase in separation of natural slime is likely determined by the presence of calcium on the clay surfaces, as was found for the artificial mixtures.

Jan 1, 1992

Discussion of the paper Of ROBERT H. BEDFORD and WILLIAM HAGUE, presented at the Salt Lake meeting, August, 1914, and printed in Bulletin No. 92, August, 1914, pp. 1807 to 1816. W. L. SAUNDERS, New York, N. Y. (communication to the Secretary *) . -Messrs. Bedford and Hague have given us a very interesting and practical paper. No better excuse for such a paper could be desired than the statement made that the expense of drilling. in this mine is one-third of the cost of delivering the ore at the mill. This statement. should be written in red letters, because it applies to a great many mines besides the one referred to and because it is generally true that in a mining plant, as also in papers read before the Institute, more attention by fat is given to the metallurgical side of mining than to the excavation of the ore, and no study of the excavation work is properly made that does not involve a careful inquiry into the merits of the rock drill used. Next in importance to the selection of a good rock drill, in a case where the actual drilling cost is one-third the cost of delivering the ore, is that. the drill should be maintained in order and kept up to its highest efficiency. The best rock chill may run down in efficiency through accidents, wear, or other conditions which are sometimes beyond supervision or control. The machine is usually in the hands of men who know how to get workout of it, not men who know how it works. The best drill runners are not machinists,. but miners. They could not tell you how the valve operates or the principle of the rotation, but they know how to get the work done. A testing machine, particularly the type described in this paper, may he of the greatest value in maintaining a uniform state of efficiency.

Jan 11, 1914

By Keith K. Griffiths

Computers are a valuable tool to the aggregate industry and should not be overlooked. The selection of proper mechanical components is necessary. Merely the addition of a computer to operate a mechanical system will not guarantee that the system will work. Material delivery by rail or truck for stock-piling and intra-plant material transfer can be accurately supervised by automation with simplified controls for the layman to use. There are mechanical problems that occur in material blending and load-out systems when such a system is automated. Such things as material flow, bridging, stockpiling methods, overloading of equipment and safety must be considered. How these problems can be overcome by proper selection of compatible mechanical and computer equipment will be discussed. Also, there are many individual material circuits in a plant that can be computerized at a nominal cost. This type of computer installation will not necessarily result in increased production, but it will produce greater efficiency in manpower. These small computers, binary counters, memory circuits and other devices and their application to the aggregate industry will also be presented. A careful evaluation of the mechanical and computer inter-relationship by someone understanding both "Rocks and Electronics" is essential to proper handling of material by computers. Computers for the mining industry may be either digital or analog computers. Unless the computer is to control some type of chemical process, such as a cement plant, the, analog computer is not required and the digital computer' will be quite adequate and less expensive.

Jan 1, 1967

By Houyuan Liu

A new process was developed to recover nickel and cobalt by leaching laterite ore at atmospheric pressure and.95"-105" C. The nickel-containing goethite in limonite was first leached with sulphuric acid to liberate over 90% of nickel, cobalt and iron. The dissolved iron was then precipitated as Ni-free goethite by the additioil of saprolite. The acid released during iron precipitation as goethite was simultaneously used as lixiviant to leach saprolite to recover more nickel. With this process the limonite and saprolite were essentially converted into goethite-, gypsum- and silica- containing tailings. Twenty bench scale tests and two campaigns of pilot plant operation were carried out at BHP Billiton's Newcastle Technology Centre (NTC) from January to August 2002. The overall nickel and cobalt extractions were 81 to 90% and 91 to 100% respectively. The average plant availability was 99%. The advantages of this process over existing processes include high plant availability, high consistency, robustness and simplicity of the operation.

Jan 1, 2004

By A K. Ghosh, J Chung, E Topal, M Asad

"Many open pit (OP) mines with considerable vertical extent are approaching the end of their life-of-mine; some of them are seeking the opportunity to make the transition from OP to underground (UG) mining. The decision on the best location for transition from OP to UG mining should be addressed at the strategic mine planning stage. Conservatively, the transition to UG mining is considered near or after the exhaustion of the reserve within the ultimate pit.However, if UG is evident and exclusively viable from the inception, defining the best location for the transition through a conservative approach may not be an optimal option to explore. This clearly establishes the need for a mathematical model that aims to maximise the project value and considers OP and UG mining with crown pillar (CP) requirement simultaneously. Underground mine layout varies from one UG mining method to the other, and consequently the variation in the location of transition is eminent. Thus, focus on the selection of UG mining method must be a part of this analysisThis paper presents an implementation of an integer programming (IP) based mathematical model that evaluates the changes in mining layout and the project value under possible variation in the transition point from OP to UG mining for stoping and block caving methods. An IP problem is a mathematical optimisation or feasibility method in which some or all of the variables are restricted to be integers. The outcome of the implementation reflects that mining strategies with OP transition to stoping and block caving methods generated higher values than OP-only mining strategy. The case study not only demonstrates the difference in mining layout for both stoping method and block caving method, but also reflects that a joint consideration of OP mining, UG mining and CP placement helps to achieve maximum project value and resource utilisation.Citation:Darbritz, J, 2016. Remediation of Wall Failure at Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines' Golden Pike Cut-back 2016, in Proceedings Ninth AusIMM Open Pit Operators' Conference 2016, pp 96–103 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne)."

Nov 15, 2016

By William I. Weisman

The annual consumption of fluorspar in the United States, in the last 10 years has doubled. In 1971, when 1,344,742 tons were consumed, almost 45 percent of this amount was used in the production of steel and nearly 50 percent was consumed in the manufacture of hydrofluoric acid. Of the hydrofluoric acid produced, about one-third was used in the manufacture of aluminum electrolytes for production of primary aluminum metal and the balance was consumed in the manufacture of a variety of fluorocarbons and other chemicals. A small amount of fluorspar, constituting less than five percent of total consumption, was used in the foundry industry, and in the manufacture of glass, enamel, cement and other products. It is apparent that a continuing supply of fluorspar will be required to meet the demands for these vital metals and chemicals in our expanding industrial society. Domestic fluorspar production meets only approximately 20 percent of our needs. Hence, it is essential that the United States maintain a healthy domestic fluorspar industry in order to have adequate domestic reserves available at times of emergency and to protect this country from becoming solely dependent on foreign sources for this strategic commodity.

Jan 1, 1973

By J Mukhopadhyay, J Gutzmer

Most world-class high-grade (60 - 67 wt per cent Fe) hematite iron ore deposits are the product of enrichment of Precambrian iron-formations but processes responsible for enrichment are still unclear. Different models, ranging from syngenetic and diagenetic (King, 1989), deep-seated hydrothermal (Powell et al, 1999; Barley et al, 1999; Taylor et al, 2001; Gutzmer et al, 2002) and ancient supergene (Morris, 1980; 1985; Van Schalkwyk and Beukes, 1986) to modern supergene (MacLeod, 1966) have been suggested. The high-grade hematite deposits stand in contrast to martiteûgoethite ores which are generally accepted to be the result of supergene enrichment of iron-formation because they are found along Cretaceous to Tertiary lateritic weathering profiles (Morris, 1980; Harmsworth et al, 1990). Uncertainties about the origin of the high-grade hematite ores appear largely due to the monomineralic composition of the ores. They are almost exclusively composed of hematite (as microcrystalline hematite and martite), a mineral with wide stability field and very simple chemical composition that reveals little about its origin. Second, many of the deposits have been overprinted by later deformation and chemical weathering obscuring primary ore characteristics and zonation (Taylor et al, 2001). Third, surprisingly few detailed geological studies have been undertaken on the deposits with the aim of unraveling ore genesis. Most studies focus on the present-day structure of orebodies and their general physical-chemical composition for mining and beneficiation purposes. A more thorough understanding of the origin of high-grade hematite iron ore deposits may be gained by combining available mining-orientated data with systematic petrographic-geochemical analyses of different ore generations and hematite phases. This paper presents a first summary of results of an ongoing study, started some two years ago, of high-grade iron ore deposits in South Africa, India and Brazil, including a comparison with the rather well studied deposits of the Hamersley Province in Australia.

Jan 1, 2002

By Carle R. Hayward

GENERAL conditions in the lead industry have registered a distinct improvement. The first signs of a strengthening market were found in an increasing demand for scrap. There is keen competition for old battery plates both by large and small dealers. The large operator smelts them either alone or in combination with ores or other lead-bearing material, giving an antimonial lead for which there is brisk demand. The small operator usually has three alternatives. He may simply melt out the metallics in a kettle at low temperature, giving an antimonial lead and a pulverulent lead oxide; he may fuse under oxidizing conditions, giving a soft lead and lead-antimony slag; or he may fuse under reducing conditions, giving a relatively low-grade antimonial lead and a low-antimony slag. In each case the metal product is used or sold, and the dross or slag sold to a large smelter. It will be interesting to see what the final outcome will be of this situation which is generally conceded to be unsatisfactory.

Jan 1, 1937

By A. Bascetin

Materials produced in quarries have been used for different intentions such as concrete and cement raw material, asphalt and embankment aggregates, railway ballast. Especially in cement manufacturing, the chemical composition and the uniformity of the raw materials play a strategic role in the economy and quality of the cement process. Therefore, it is necessary to achieve uniformity and desired chemical composition and maintain these at all production stages according to the type of cement produced. To achieve this goal the production planning and pit design play an essential role. This paper briefly outlines the production optimization of cement raw materials in a quarry in Istanbul western part of Turkey. For the purpose it was used the 3D ore body modeling and the geostatistical techniques. The variation of chemical components (%CaO, %Al2O3, %Fe2O3 etc.) and quality control parametres (LSF, SR, AR and etc.) obtained from the quarry were determined. Then the values of unknown chemical components and quality control parameters in the ore body were estimated using Kriging which is one of the geostatistical interpolation methods. The open pit design was also created by specifying wall slopes and taking into consideration of the grade distributions of the benches. The most important revolution in the paper is investigating the effects of the block dimensions in block modelling which is important for reserve estimation. The other important point in the study is using the different range values in variogram analysis for determination optimal reserve estimation. n this study, the effects of two parametres on reserve and waste amount estimation were determined according to CaO% distribution. The study was pointed out that the changing of the two parameters are very important for the optimal mine planning and environmental considerations.

Jan 1, 2010

By Max Stern

ROOM and pillar coal mining methods employed in the United States keep the roof at original height by leaving untouched pillars of coal in the face area. But, German coal mines of the Ruhr district are exclusively operated on the longwall system. With this method the whole length of the coal face advances and the roof in the face area sinks 10 to 15 pct of seam thickness. Behind the face the roof may drop 50 to 80 pct of seam thickness due to the high rock pressures encountered at average mining depth of 2250 ft. Mining depth is increasing 20 to 30 ft per year.

Jan 5, 1953

By Takashi Sasaoka

A great deal of coal will be left under the final end-walls in Chinese surface coal mines because of lower slope angle in shoveltruck mining systems and larger mining depths. In traditional surface mining systems, the coal under the end-walls will be buried by the inner dumping site, and these coal resources are generally abandoned. Considering these situations, the application of end-wall mining systems was considered in order to recover the residual coal around the end-wall. This mining system can improve economic benefits by exploiting haulage and ventilation roadways from end-walls and utilizing the existing transportation systems. In order to develop the appropriate pillar design methodology for the end-wall mining system, several empirical formulas and methods were discussed based on the formulas developed so far and the mechanics properties of coal and rocks in the Chinese coal mine. From the results of a series of theoretical and numerical analyses, it can be concluded that the coal pillar width calculated by the Mark- Bieniawski formula may serve as an important reference for pillar design in end-wall mining systems, and the end-wall mining system can increase the coal recovery from residual coal resources around highwall and reduce the effect of underground mining operation on slope stability

Jan 1, 2013

By D. H. Desy

This research was undertaken to establish the lncendivity of aluminum alloys against rusty steel under frictional impact conditions at typical coal mine fan speeds, to determine any differences in incendivity among various aluminum alloys, and to Investigate less incendive materials as substitutes for aluminum alloys. With a specially designed apparatus, three aluminum casting alloys and three constructional steels were tested for incendivity in frictional impact against rusted steel in flammable methane-air mixtures. Although varying in degree, all aluminum alloys investigated exhibited a high ignition probability under the test conditions; none of the steel specimens tested caused any ignitions under the same conditions.

Jan 1, 1973

By J. D. Wood, J. T. Smith

ALLOYS with a dispersed second phase in a metallic matrix are generally much stronger than the matrix itself. Plastic deformation in dispersion-strengthened alloys is usually confined to the matrix phase when recovery processes are active, while in the absence of recovery both phases may yield.' The alloy system studied in the present research was WC-12 wt pct Co and consisted of noncoherent WC particles dispersed in the cobalt matrix. Some particle-to-particle contact existed but not enough to produce a continuous WC skeleton. The microstruc-ture of the WC particles was characterized by very straight edges, forming a trapezoidal shape in any plane of polish. Previous investigations with WC-Co alloys at room temperature have shown that fracture of the WC particles occurs in transverse rupture testing.' Room-temperature slip was reported for WC particles after indentation for hardness measurements.3 Elevated-temperature deformation of WC particles in a WC-12 pct Co alloy was suggested by recent electron microscope studies of specimens deformed at 900' to 1000°C.4 In highly deformed alloys, the WC edges were serrated in contrast to the usual straight or smooth appearance. WC-12 pct Co and WC-15 pct Co alloys have been previously studied under elevated-temperature com-pressive-creep conditions by the present authors. Electron microscope studies of two-stage replicas from deformed specimens showed no evidence of slip or fracture of the WC particles. These specimens were brought to temperature and allowed to equilibrate prior to the application of the creep load. It was believed that the load-application rate, a crosshead speed of 0.005 in. per min on an Instron universal testing machine, was sufficiently low that recovery within the cobalt matrix was sufficient to limit the deformation to this matrix. A series of experiments was performed to evaluate the influence of loading rate on the deformation of WC-Co alloys. A WC-12 pct Co alloy was selected for these determinations. The average WC particle size was 4.45 p with an average linear separation between particles of 0.59 p. The selected temperature was 800°C and was monitored with a Chromel-Alumel thermocouple attached to the specimen. Testing was conducted in an argon-atmosphere chamber to prevent oxidation of the WC-Co specimens. This chamber was mounted on an Instron universal testing machine equipped to apply the load at a fixed rate. Each specimen was loaded to 110,000 psi compression stress at 0.05 and 0.5 in. per min. The loading rate was monitored prior to insertion of the test chamber and was found to be almost precisely the nominal rate selected. The specimens were raised to temperature and held to equilibrate with the surroundings, and then the load was applied and held for 4 hr to duplicate the exposure time utilized for the creep specimens. The time to reach full load at a crosshead speed of 0.005 in. per min was some 500 sec and was reduced to 50 and 5 sec as the loading rate was increased to 0.05 and 0.5 in, per min, respectively. The model developed by Ansell,' when recovery processes do not occur, considers that fracture or deformation of the dispersed particles is necessary to relieve back stresses on dislocation sources and allow dislocations piled up against particles to sweep out in the matrix to cause plastic deformation; he further states that, even at elevated temperatures, the dispersed-particle deformation is necessary for yielding in the absence of recovery. For the case of straight dislocation segments piled up against a straight barrier, such as the straight-sided WC particles, the shear stress, 7 exerted on a particle is: where h is the spacing between particles (0.59 p), a is the applied stress (110,000 psi), p, is the shear modulus of the matrix (6.7 X lo6 psi at 80O°C), and b is the Burgers vector of the matrix dislocation. From Eq. [I], the shear stress, 7, exerted on the WC particles when no recovery occurs is of the order of 6 X lo6 psi at 800°C. The limiting stress, F, that will

Jan 1, 1969

By R. C. Ford, W. L. Niccoli, J. B. Finley

All mining operations are superimposed on natural hydrologic systems. As a result, mining operations are influenced by natural hydrologic processes and require water management systems to successfully conduct mining activities. Managing water and mining-related solutions is a critical task at all stages of the mine life because of the time-dependent nature of natural and mining-related flows. Effective operation of the mining water management system requires a “systems” approach that integrates the time-dependent effects of all water and mine solution handling components. This paper discusses the concept and application of dynamic systems modeling to address the time dependent nature of mining water management systems.

Jan 1, 2002

Using DEM to Model Industrial Banana Screens

Sep 13, 2010

By David Beck, Eko Wibowo, Hendri Silaen, Andres Sugiyanto, Karl Llewelyn

PT Freeport Indonesia’s Deep Mill Level Zone mine is one of the deepest block cave mines in the world and is in mountainous terrain in West Papua, Indonesia. The mineralization is hosted in a skarn deposit in a structural setting that is complex at the footprint, mine and regional scale. Large seismic events and significant episodes of rapid rock mass deformation are potentially critical geotechnical risks during this ramp-up stage of mining. Understanding the interaction between stress, strain, rock mass strength and geological structures is essential to minimize the hazard and engineer control measures to help ensure the safety of the employees while achieving production targets. This paper discusses how the seismicity and excavation damage have been shaped by the interactions between the mine and geological features, and how this affects strategic mining decisions. Additionally, the paper presents a summary of the mitigation measures used for mining the DMLZ in the safest and most productive way. These include improvements to geotechnical characterization of rock mass and structure, dynamic ground support designs, production scheduling for desirable cave propagation and a seismic monitoring system with re-entry protocols.

Apr 26, 2022

By Akira Ishikuro, Masamichi Shintaku, Futoshi Kusumoto, Takeshi Kudo

"The Bankei-Kitanosawa tunnel that is located in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan includes a 450m long section near the arrival point where mudstone which can liquate out natural hazardous materials such as arsenic and selenium exceeding the tolerance stipulated by country as well as weathered mudstone and unconsolidated sedimentary rocks with small overburden and the competence factor less than 1.0 are present. The mucks containing hazardous materials were disposed into the waterproof branch tunnels created from the inside of the main tunnel. The full face early ring closure method was employed to ensure the stability of the tunnel in the low strength rock masses having no stand-up time. As a result, the waterproof tunnels branching off the main tunnel can manage water tightness so as to ensure safety and relief against environmental risks of the hazardous materials. It is also demonstrated that the full face early ring closure method enable construction of the tunnel with a small overburden in the low strength rock masses. INTRODUCTION The Bankei-Kitanosawa tunnel includes a 450m long section near the arrival point where mudstone which can liquate out natural hazardous materials such as arsenic and selenium exceeding the tolerance stipulated by country as well as weathered mudstone and unconsolidated sedimentary rocks with small overburden and the competence factor less than 1.0 are present. In order to overcome the restrictions, the hazardous materials were designed to be disposed into large cross section waterproof tunnels which were newly designed and constructed in high strength and hazardous material free Andesite. The lining for the tunnels was composed of with shotcrete. In addition, full face early ring closure (Sato et al., 2013) was employed to stabilize the tunnel so as to enable safe tunnel excavation in low strength rock masses where a ground arch is deemed unachievable. This paper presents the safe disposal method of mucks which are likely to liquate out natural hazardous materials as well as the full face early ring closure method and its mechanical characteristics."

Jan 1, 2016