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By N. D. Jagger, I. M. Arbuthnot

The recovery and destruction of cyanide in gold tailings is currently a topic of great interest for both financial and environmental reasons. The environmental problem is particularly important in the U.S.A. at present with the environmental lobby waging a campaign to eliminate the problem of migratory birds dying after drinking tailings dam wate. Tough legislation with severe fines and jail sentences for company executives have been introduced in several states for exceeding cyanide limits. To reduce cyanide levels in tailings dams chemical treatment, including acidification, alkaline chlorination, the INCO sulphur dioxide oxidation process and the Degussa hydrogen peroxide process amongst others are being. used. In addition several processes are at various stages of development for the recovery of residual cyanide from gold tailings. Among these is the process developed by Cyprus Gold and pilot tested by DSIR Industrial Development. This process uses air to strip cyanide from the acidified barren pulp and will be used at Cyprus Gold Mines Golden Cross Mine on the Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand (Fricker & OWers 1990).

Jan 1, 1991

By George E. Summers

A salt dome appears to provide the basic medium requirements for the excavation of the 315 foot diameter, unsupported spherical cavity at a depth of 2700 feet required by the AEC in a proposed "decoupling" experiment. Tatum Salt Dome was a natural choice for a site because more geological and hydrological information has been accumulated on Tatum than any other salt dome on the Gulf Coast. The Tatum Dome is a mile in diameter, roughly flat topped, nearly cylindrical in shape and has some overhang at the top. The salt stock has nearly vertical layering of alternating bands of salt and anhydrite. In the vicinity of the dome, adequate fresh water for solution mining is available in surface streams and in subsurface aquifers. A saline aquifer is available for brine disposal. A tentative cavity location was selected near the center of the dome which meets the design criteria established by the AEC.

Jan 1, 1968

By J. C. Sullivan, W. A. Knoll

THE sinking of a new shaft at the Newport mine, Ironwood, Mich., was started in May 1931 and completed on Aug. 3, 1932. During this period, 2665 ft. of shaft in granite was completed, at an average advance of 6 ft. per 24 hr. In November of 1930, experimental work was con- ducted on 65 ft. of shaft through 22 ft. of overburden where ledge was encountered, and this work convinced the operators that all drilling could be done with vertical holes with the blasting relief to a 4%-in. hole drilled vertically in the center of the cut. The reason for not adopting the conventional V-cut was to get away from damaging the shaft steel. The blasting in a V-cut naturally tends to throw the broken material upward, but with the cut as adopted the relief was in a horizontal direction to a large extent. The scheme of mucking employed made it necessary to keep the steel shaft sets within 50 ft. of the bottom at all times. This could not be done without serious damage with a V-cut when blasting in granite. The cut as drilled also broke 10.83 ft. per round of drilling, which was considerably more than the experience with a V-cut in the same material. The extended cut reduced proportionately the delays for charging, blowing smoke and handling drilling equipment in the shaft. Another advantage was the ease in drilling vertical over inclined holes, and the preservation of the proper spacing of the drill holes at the bottom of the cut. DRILLING Air was carried down the shaft in an 8-in. flanged pipe line at a pres- sure ranging from 95 to 100 lb. This line was extended to within 100 ft. of the bottom, where a valve and a 4 by 4 by 6-ft. tee was connected to it. To each side of the tee was connected a nipple and elbow, the resulting span of the two elbows being about 4 ft. Lengths of short 3-in. hoses

Jan 1, 1938

By P. G. Martin

"As the speed of business has continued to increase over the last decade, the focus on real-time control of the performance of both stationary and mobile assets has become an increasing priority. Traditionally the maintenance team has been focused on the management of the availability of assets while the operations team has been focused on the throughput of those same assets. Typically operations and maintenance teams worked almost independently in spite of the fact that they were both working with the same assets. Part of the problem has been their traditional performance measures which have often been diametrically opposed. Recent advancements in the area of real-time performance measures and decision support have helped to drive higher levels of collaboration between operations and maintenance leading to real-time asset performance control and higher levels of business performance. This paper will explore the forces driving the need for changes, present an effective approach to the definition of the most appropriate business performance measures, and examine the effectiveness of contextualized real-time decision support resulting in asset performance control. TRADITIONAL APPROACHES TO ASSET PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT In most industrial operations the phrase asset performance management is synonymous with maintenance of the industrial assets. This is the way industry has viewed asset management and asset performance management for decades. This is a very limited perspective that is serving to constrain the profitability of industrial operations. As industrial organizations began to form following the Industrial Revolution, the complexity of the operations forced an organizational design based on specialization. No single person could understand all of the aspects of an industrialized operation. This was particularly true at the plant floor level where the operation and maintenance of the industrial equipment required very different skillsets and training. To accommodate the vast differences most industrial organizations set up operations teams to run the equipment and maintenance teams to keep the equipment available to the operation. Both teams were dealing with the same industrial equipment but from very different perspectives and with very different performance measures. Typically the operations team was measured on maximizing the output of the equipment – or throughput. On the other hand the maintenance team was measured on the uptime – or availability of the equipment."

Jan 1, 2015

By Edward W. Parsons

The explosive-expansion center-hole anchor was designed and developed for the specific purpose of use as a component of an instrument system that measures differential ground movement within a small drill hole in rock. Such anchors should have an unobstructed center hole, should be installed without a twisting action which could tangle connecting wires, and should be capable of being installed at depths in excess of 100 feet. The anchor has a thick-walled center tube and a thin-walled outer tube. Low-energy detonating cord, wrapped around the center tube and detonated with a mild end primer, expands the outer tube to produce anchorage. The explosive-expansion center-hole anchor can be installed easily in drill holes of any inclination but cannot be installed under water. Centering of the anchor is critical with regard to its subsequent holding power. The anchor is safe to make and handle.

Jan 1, 1965

By Swati Mohanty

Spiral concentrator, which works on the principle of gravity separation, is widely used in the mineral industries for separation of solid particles based on the size and density. In the present study, CFD simulation of the flow profile on a laboratory scale spiral concentrator of height 2.29 m, pitch 0.435 m and width 0.17m was carried out. A single computational domain covering the entire spiral was considered. Volume-of-Fluid algorithm was used to track the interface and predict the flow profile. In the present study the Donor-Acceptor method was used for the calculation of volume fraction in the cell. Simulation results show that the velocity increases as the water flows down due to the convective force and gravitational force, but the viscous force acting in the opposite direction retards the flow. Thus the maximum velocity is attained at turn three at which the viscous force overpowers the other forces and further down the velocity decreases. Measured water depths along the radius of the spiral at various heights were compared with simulated depths, which were in good agreement. The simulated liquid phase velocity profile was used to carry out preliminary studies on the flow profile of solid particles of size 500 micron and densities 2600kg/m3 and 5100kg/m3, based on the Lagrangian model taking into consideration fluid-particle interaction.

Sep 1, 2012

By D. A. Whitley, R. P. Carone

"Shaft sinking by blind shaft drilling offers the mining industry a different approach to shaft construction. Benefits of blind drilling include less construction time and fewer safety problems while being economically competitive with conventional sinking methods under certain conditions in soft water-bearing formations.Technology and equipment are available today to drill blind shafts up to 20 feet in diameter and over 3,000 feet deep. This is an extension of proven techniques developed by private industry. To drill a 20-foot-diameter hole requires a specially manufactured hydraulic drill unit with a rated hoist of 2 million pounds and 500,000 ft/lb of torque.This brief paper will discuss the following aspects of blind shaft drilling:• benefits;• equipment f or drilling;• circulation methods;• circulation rates;• shaft alignment; and• progress rates to be expected.IntroductionShaft sinking by blind shaft drilling offers the mining industry an improved alternative method for shaft construction. The drilling of 20-foot -diameter shafts to depth s in excess of 3,000 feet can be done by utilizing equipment specifically designed and manufactured for this purpose. This equipment is a distant cousin, at best, to standard oil well drilling rigs. The actual configuration of these drilling machines will be discussed in a following section.To most people, the drilling of mine shafts may seem to be a new or at least recent technology. However, as early as the I920s, German and Dutch miners were drilling 24-foot diameter shafts for coal mines. What led ""miners to resort to drilling were ground conditions that still plague conventional shaft sinkers today: soft , water-bearing formations. The major drawback to these early attempts was a low penetration rate due to poor bit cleaning. This, however, was not the end of early shaft drilling activity. From 1936 to 1950, a number of mine shafts were drilled by the calyx or coring method. This method employs a bit with a large bore down the center. As it drills, it cuts a core. When 5 to 10 feet have been drilled, the core is removed. The disadvantages of this method were the time and work involved in breaking the core free, and it was inadequate in soft water-bearing ground."

Jan 1, 1981

By G. Heymann, T. Grobler

Many tailings storage facilities in the Rustenburg region of South Africa’s North-West Province are founded on reworked residual norite derived from the weathering of the Bushveld Igneous Complex. With the implementation of the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management, increased emphasis is placed on robust material characterisation, but laboratory testing is challenging. The results of Oedometer and undrained triaxial shear testing support a nonlinear failure envelope for effective stresses below the yield stress, transitioning to linear behaviour at higher stresses.

Apr 8, 2026

By Kolarczyk M

When controlling the ventilation process in a deep mine some knowledge of the sensitivity of the air volume output to changes in the resistances of network side branches is of great advantage.Sensitivity is taken to mean the limit of the differential quotient AV /ART where AV. is the change in air output in the i--h side branch caused by a change of resistance LI R in the r-th side branch. A method Is presen- ted for determining any arbitrary co- lumn of the sensitivity matrix. A network interpretation of this met- hod was developed in which an ancilla- ry network additional the basic network is constructed and solved, giving an analysis of the sensitivity signs de- pending on the structure of the network.

Jan 1, 1988

By L. D. Jaffe, D. C. Buffum

The importance of temper brittleness in alloy steels has long been realized in Europe. In the United States recognition of its importance has developed within the last several years. Many brittle failures encountered in parts made of alloy steel are undoubtedly attributable, wholly or in part, to temper brittleness. These failures have occurred particularly at low temperatures, under shock loading, and in the presence of notches, restraints and combined stresses. It has been almost universally accepted that plain carbon steels are not susceptible to temper brittleness. As a result, considerable effort has been expended in attempts to discover the manner in which alloying elements introduce temper brittleness. It is desired to raise the possibility that plain carbon steels are not only susceptible to temper brittleness, but are much more susceptible than alloy steels, in the sense that they embrittle much more rapidly. It is suggested that previous views, (that plain carbon steels are not susceptible), are based upon an erroneous interpretation of the experimental results. Interpretation of Previous Data For many years the standard criterion for susceptibility of a steel to temper brittleness consisted of comparison of the energy absorption, in a notched-bar impact test at room temperature, of specimens that had received two heat treatments.' One specimen (or group of specimens) was quenched, tempered, and quenched from the temper. The other specimen (or group) differed only in having received an embrittlement treatment, which might consist of a slow cool from the tempering temperature, or of an isothermal hold in the range 45w550°C subsequent to quenching from the temper. If the energy absorption of the specimen receiving the embrittlement treatment was lower than that of the specimen not given this treatment, it was said that the steel was susceptible to temper brittleness. If the energy absorptions were the same, it was said that the steel was not susceptible. Several investigators2J found that plain carbon steels showed negligible difference in energy absorption in such tests (at least when their manganese content was below 0.60 pct), and concluded that plain carbon steels are not susceptible to temper brittleness. Recently the deficiencies of the criterion mentioned above have been pointed out.'-= The criterion now generally used for susceptibility to temper brittleness retains the heat treatments used in the earlier scheme, but instead of the notched-bar impact tests being made only at room temperature, they are made over a range of temperatures, covering the transition from ductile to brittle fracture. If the transition temperature of the specimens receiving the embrittlement treatment is higher than those

Jan 1, 1949

Lower the respirable dust exposure of longwall shearer operators by keeping the dust cloud confined to the face. Approach Change the location of face-side machine cooling, water sprays. How It Works The dust breathed by the longwall shearer operator is usually produced by the shearer itself. The dust cloud originates at the face, and the exposure of the operator depends largely on how quickly this cloud spreads into the walkway. Water sprays on the shearer body can have a large effect on dust cloud spreading. Results to date indicate that sprays can help confine the dust cloud to the face if they are carefully placed. Otherwise they can make dust levels far worse. The worst offenders are often face-side sprays used to discharge cooling water from the cooling jackets of the shearer motors. These face-side sprays set up an air circulation pattern as illustrated in the drawing. Air induced by the sprays to flow towards the face, raises the air pressure in front of the face, which causes the air flow to turn and then move back over the shearer, bringing dust with it into the walkway.

Jan 1, 1981

By Deli Hu, Xiangze Shu, Cai Wang, Hongfu Liu

To detect the place and range of fire is one of the key technologies in the extinction of coal mine underground fire. A fire-prevention and extinction research team of Shanxi Mining College have successfully carried out a program detecting the place of fire with radon. In the past four years the authers have done the detecting work in several mines in Shanxi Province, such as Gujao, Xuangang Louan and Ningwu. The place and scope and the trend of underground fire of coal mine can be now exactly estimated. The data and information from detecting provide a reliable basis for drawing up the scheme to extinguish underground fire and extract mineral coal securely. The principle and method of fire detecting based on radon on surface, the data processing and analysis are discussed in this paper.

Jan 1, 1991

By C. Einberger

Groundwater Monitoring is typically required by regulatory agencies at potentially hazardous landfills or surface impoundments. Agencies have often required an arbitrary number of wells with limited evaluation of the effectiveness of the network to detect a leak. A Monitoring Efficiency Model (MEMO) has been developed to improve the design and cost effectiveness of monitoring well networks. MEMO 15 an analytical model that simulates the migration of hypothetical contaminant plumes from a site and quantifies the efficiency of alternative well network designs in detecting the plumes. The computed monitoring efficiency provides a quantitative measure of the well network adequacy based on hydrogeologic considerations. The model was recently used to design the groundwater monitoring well network for a heap leach pad at the proposed Beartrack Project.

Jan 1, 1993

By AIME AIME

MATTERS pertaining to mine ventilation were, taken up at the annual meeting Wednesday morning with E. A. Holbrook in the chair. In the absence' of its author, G. E. McElroy, the first paper, entitled "Economic Size. of Metal Mine %Airways," was read by title by the chairman. The second paper, "Intermittent Mine Ventilation," by Oscar A. Glaeser, was 'abstracted by Dan Harrington. It related to metal-mining practice, being inapplicable to coal mining, of course. B. F. Tillson asked how the ,quantity of air was measured and con- trolled in the different splits and Mr. Harrington stated that an anemometer presumably was used and that split- ting was controlled by adjusting the steel doors to the desired position by means of screws. George 'S. Rice asked if the fan were underground, and Mr. Harrington replied that it was. Although he had at, one time recommended that it be placed' on the surface, certain factors led the management to keep it underground, a. location that has several advantages in this particular case.

Jan 1, 1932

By Sidney Katell

This cost bibliography, covering the period from January through December 1960, is a continuation of the series which began with the publication of Information Circular 7516 in October 1949. It is also the second report in the series to be prepared as a cooperative effort by the Bureau of Mines and the American Association of Cost Engineers. The cooperative agreement between the two groups provides for the publication of an annual bibliography with the work load involved in the preparation shared equally. The abstracted articles, concerned with all facets of cost engineering in the field of petroleum and chemical plants and related facilities, came from the following sources: 1. Bureau of Mines Information Circulars. 2. Bureau of Mines Report of Investigations. 3. Chemical Engineering. 4. Chemical Engineering Progress. 5. Chemical Week. 6. Coal Age. 7. Coal. Utilization. 8. Cost Engineering. 9. Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. 10. Nucleonics. 11. Oil and Gas Journal. 12. Petroleum Engineering. 13. Petroleum Refiner. 14. World Oil.

Jan 1, 1961

By A. J. Lynch

There are two factors which are important in the development of automatic control systems for mineral preparation and concentrating processes. They are the availability of accurate and reliable on-line measuring instruments and an understanding of the effects of important variables on process behaviour. The state of automatic control for the different processes depends on the progress which has been made in these areas and this varies considerably. This is illustrated by discussion of four processes, wet ball milling and hydraulic classification, wet autogenous milling, sulphide flotation and dense medium separation in coal preparation plants. In each case the process characteristics, current control practice and future developments are discussed. Particular problems which have delayed progress are discussed.

Jan 1, 1984

Arthur Yates, lecturer in the mining department of the Royal School of Mines, London, died at Blackpool, on Feb. 14, 1923, at the age of 47 years. My first acquaintance with him was made in 1902, when taking over the management of the Redjang Lebong gold mines in Sumatra, of which he was the responsible metallurgical officer. For that position he was well qualified by reason of his previous experience with the Rand Central Ore Reduction Co., in South Africa, and particularly by his early training with the Cassel Gold Extracting Co., owners of the MacArthur-Forrest patents, and the first commercial company formed to work the then recently discovered cyanide process; in this connection, Mr. Yates had the advantage of working under J. S. MacArthur himself. Our association in Sumatra was maintained for six years, when I left. Mr. Yates remained and was eventually promoted to the management of the neighboring Soelit mine. During those six years and in the close association inseparable from life in an isolated mining camp, the sterling qualities which made him so good a man were unmistakable: industry and interest in his work, patience with everybody, a quiet and unassuming demeanor. On the exhaustion of the mine to which he had been promoted, he returned to England in 1913. In 1914, the Mining Department of the Imperial College was fortunate in securing his services. Hardly, however, had he settled down when the war broke out and he spent some years in the Cleveland District promoting the efforts of the Government toward greater output. Returning to college in 1919, Mr. Yates met the full flood of Service students. The qualities which made him a man amongst men in the world made him a man among students in the college; a senior student if you like. But, unsuspected, a dread disease had fastened itself upon him, making itself felt for the first time during the summer course he was conducting in the South Wales coal field, in 1922. Against its relentless onset he opposed the bravest optimism, and when at last he realized that he was going under, and was in fact dying, his pronounced regret was that he was leaving the boys. In his death, at the age of forty-seven, staff and students in the Mining Department have experienced a great loss, that of a reliable friend, and their deepest sympathy goes out to the young widow and son in their irreparable loss. S. J. TRuBcott.

Jan 1, 1923

Arthur Yates, lecturer in the mining department of the Royal School of Mines, London, died at Blackpool, on Feb. 14, 1923, at the age of 47 years. My first acquaintance with him was made in 1902, when taking over the management of the Redjang Lebong gold mines in Sumatra, of which he was the responsible metallurgical officer. For that position he was well qualified by reason of his previous experience with the Rand Central Ore Reduction Co., in South Africa, and particularly by his early training with the Cassel Gold Extracting Co., owners of the MacArthur-Forrest patents, and the first commercial company formed to work the then recently discovered cyanide process; in this connection, Mr. Yates had the advantage of working under J. S. MacArthur himself. Our association in Sumatra was maintained for six years, when I left. Mr. Yates remained and was eventually promoted to the management of the neighboring Soelit mine. During those six years and in the close association inseparable from life in an isolated mining camp, the sterling qualities which made him so good a man were unmistakable: industry and interest in his work, patience with everybody, a quiet and unassuming demeanor. On the exhaustion of the mine to which he had been promoted, he returned to England in 1913. In 1914, the Mining Department of the Imperial College was fortunate in securing his services. Hardly, however, had he settled down when the war broke out and he spent some years in the Cleveland District promoting the efforts of the Government toward greater output. Returning to college in 1919, Mr. Yates met the full flood of Service students. The qualities which made him a man amongst men in the world made him a man among students in the college; a senior student if you like. But, unsuspected, a dread disease had fastened itself upon him, making itself felt for the first time during the summer course he was conducting in the South Wales coal field, in 1922. Against its relentless onset he opposed the bravest optimism, and when at last he realized that he was going under, and was in fact dying, his pronounced regret was that he was leaving the boys. In his death, at the age of forty-seven, staff and students in the Mining Department have experienced a great loss, that of a reliable friend, and their deepest sympathy goes out to the young widow and son in their irreparable loss. S. J. TRuBcott.

Jan 1, 1923

By Norman E. Breslow, John A. Montgomery, Sanford W. Horstman

Reconstruction of historical exposures to silica dust is required in an ongoing cohort mortality study of workers in the diatomaceous earth (DE) industry. However, historical data were collected using three different sampling methods. This study was conducted to derive empirical quantitative relationships from linear regression equations between the three methods: standard impinger, total mass, and respirable mass. Dust from one diatomaceous earth processing plant was sampled simultaneously by all three methods. Results from 61 clusters of the three sampling devices indicate that the phcle size distribution of the dust varies with the two parent products sampled. baghouse product and main product. The relationships between particle counts and respirable mass are: Respirable mass (mg/m3) = 0.064 (mppd) impinger count for baghouse product dust, and respirable mass (mg/m3) = 0.018 (mppcf) impinger count for main product dust. The relationships between particle counts and total mass are: Total mass (mg/m3) = 0.837 (mppcf) impinger count for baghouse product, and total mass (mg/m3) = 1.21 (mppcf) for main product dust. In all four euuations, the intercept did not differ significantly from zero, and the correlation coefficients ranged from 0.90 to 0.95. Results are compared with data from four previously published studies.

Jan 1, 1991

By Whiten W. J

An investigation on the breakage characteristics of closely sized orc samples at different levels of input energy was carried out to determine an appearance function for possible use in ball mill modelling. A consistent pattern of breakage behaviour was observed and the resultant size distributions could be described by a one-parameter, ('t'), family of curves. For each particle size range tested, this parameter 't' has an exponential relationship with input energy below an upper energy limit. A tentative linear relationship between the input energy at a constant value of 't' and the work-index leads to reconstruction of 'I' - input-energy curves from the work-index values. To normalise the efrect of particle size and input energy, multidimensional cubic spline regression was performed on thc entire range of data. The results indicated that the parameter 't' can be determined, reasonably accurately, as a function of Ln (input energy, kWh/tonne) and Ln (particle size, mm) for input energies between 0.5 and 8.0 kWh/tonne.

Jan 1, 1983