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By M I. Roberts

Corporate and workplace culture, as many owners, directors, executives and managers know, is by far the most powerful determinant of productivity. It’s much more significant than buildings and equipment. Yet although no one today would build a building or machine without a plan, few leaders have a plan for building and sustaining a safer and more productive culture.Using practical ways, culture can be planned and shaped as desired. Success requires implementing a project plan for changing the systems that drive behaviours that in turn shape attitudes. The combination of behaviour and attitude together with leadership largely shape culture.To improve performance, leaders need to:1. improve the organisational systems that drive behaviour2. action a project plan for improving specific performance metrics 3. demonstrate leadership that is conscious, disciplined, committed and passionate for purposeful use of human energy.This paper explains all three factors in practical ways with operational and corporate examples. It details understanding and applying the power of fundamental statistical analysis tools to recalibrate, focus and drive proactive leadership that takes responsibility for process improvement, supporting people and ensuring accountability.Experience and practical understanding of human and organisational behaviour confirm that the Measurement ? Analysis ? Reporting system combined with conscious leadership is by far the most powerful driver of behaviour. This wisdom produces profound changes in leadership style and behaviour. It develops outstanding leadership to create and sustain a safe and highly productive culture reliably producing consistently high quality products. It is the key to developing accountability, employee retention and a sustained competitive advantage.CITATION:Roberts, M I, 2016. Building safe, productive cultures and leadership, in Proceedings International Mine Management Conference, pp 163-178 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jun 22, 2016

Jan 1, 1885

By AIME AIME

COMMITTEES. LOCAL COMMITTEE.-R. C. Crawford, Chairman; Harrison W. Craver, Secretary; Julian Kennedy, Taylor Allderdice, E. W. Pargny, Charles L. Miller, W. H. Rea, S. A. Taylor, M. E. Wadsworth, W. A1. Henderon, A. C. Dinkey, W. L, Jones, E. L. Messier, George Mesta, J. H. Jones, G. H. Riley, S. L. Goodale, D. W. McNaugher. LADIES' COMMITTEE.-Mrs. Taylor Allderdice, Chairman; Mrs. Julian Kennedy, Mr. R. C. Crawford, Mrs. E. M. Herr, Airs. J. W. Marsh, Mrs. T. A. Mellon, Mrs. G. P. Bassett, Jr., Airs. D. M. Clemson, Mr. Charles L. Miller, Mrs. V. L. P. Shriver, Mrs. W. A. Bostwick, Mrs. A. C.. Dinkey, Mrs. A. P. Childs, Jr., Mrs. F. R. Dravo, Mrs. Hermon Griffin, Mrs. W. H. Nimmick, Mrs. F. H. Lloyd, Mrs. S. G. Cooper, Mrs. S. H. Church, Mrs. E. N. Ohl. The Institute Headquarters was established at the Hotel Schenley, where a bureau of information was maintained for the benefit of the visiting members and guests of the party during the time of the meeting. TECHNICAL SESSIONS. The first session, held Tuesday evening, Mar. 1, 1910, in the large lecture hall of the Carnegie Institute, was called to order by Harrison W. Craver, Secretary of the Local Committee. Mr. Craver introduced Dr. John A. Brashear, who extended to the members and guests a hearty welcome to the city of Pittsburg, to which David W. Brunton, President of the Institute, responded. The following papers were presented in oral abstract by the authors: Biographical Notice of Dr. Charles B. Dudley, by Dr. R. W. Raymond, New York, N. Y. Biographical Notice of William Metcalf, by Col. II. P. Bope, Pittsburg, Pa. Development of Hindered Settling Apparatus, by Robert H. Richards, Boston, Mass. (Illustrated by lantern-slides.) A Few Mining Districts in the Argentine Republic, South America, by Z. S. Beyl. (Illustrated by lantern. slides.)

Apr 1, 1910

By H. N. Dunning

A comprehensive research program designed to aid development of new and improved methods for more complete production of petroleum from partly depleted reservoirs is being conducted at the Bureau of Mines Petroleum Experiment Station, Bartlesville, Okla. Water flooding has accounted for much of the petroleum produced by secondary-recovery methods; however, a considerable portion of the crude oil commonly remains in place after water flooding has been terminated. In recent years the possibility of increasing the efficiency of water flooding by using surface-active additives has received wide attention. In general, the results of laboratory research have shown that use of detergents as water-flooding additives will reduce the residual petroleum in porous media (1).3/ Some less extensive field tests have supported this conclusion but have not been entirely conclusive (2). Later studies (3, 4) have given conflicting evidence as to the relative worth of detergent additives for water floods in water-wet (hydrophilic) or oil-wet (hydrophobic or lipophilic) reservoir materials. The results of these studies emphasize the need for a more complete understanding of the fundamental principles involved in displacing petroleum from reservoir surfaces by injected fluids. Accordingly, a comprehensive research program was initiated to investigate the practical and fundamental aspects of detergency in petroleum production.

Jan 1, 1953

By L. Roux

The initial evaluation of a coal deposit often raises uncertainty with regard to the accuracy of the reported Resources and Reserves. Reconciliation of results from mining and beneficiation with the original raw field data highlights deficiencies in original estimations. Credible Resource and Reserve estimation forms the basis on which an entire mining enterprise is motivated, initiated, funded, and established as a commercially viable proposition. This is required for sustainable extraction purposes and to support vital downstream industries such as power generation. Accurate determination of the density of the matrix of the material being evaluated is the key to credible values being obtained for Resources and Reserves. Losses between 15% and 20% of the Resource/Reserve can be realized if incorrect densities are applied to the tonnage derivation. Coal plies and particles have different relative densities, determined by the maceral composition, rank, and mineral and moisture content. These factors in turn contribute to the moisture, volatile matter, ash and carbon contents of a coal, which affect the overall density of the raw coal. More specifically, the relationship of ash to density and the effective matrix porosity were found to be critical in solving the greater majority of the problems in predictive calculations. A major deficiency identified is the inability to determine effective porosity, allowing absorption of adventitious moisture and altering the mass of the core sample. Although the volume of the raw material is altered through crushing, the change in mass after controlled air-drying, used with the original geometrical volume of the raw material, provides a credible air-dry density and allows the determination of the volumetric change related to effective porosity. This parameter can be validated through the evaluation of proximate ash using the ash-adjusted algorithm and a correction for the inherent moisture applied to also give a credible relative density value for an air-dried sample. A combination of theoretical, empirical, and reconciliatory evaluations of the available data, taken from the exploration phase through the mining process to final production, has shown that an integrated approach using the ash-adjusted density (AAD) methodology, in conjunction with other evaluative techniques, provides credible results with a considerably higher degree of accuracy than is currently possible.

May 1, 2021

By Bart de Graaff, Victor van Straaten, Edo Engel

The hot blast system is key ancillary plant equipment with respect to safe and stable operations during a long blast furnace campaign. Hot blast stove designs have been optimized to such an extent that in some cases, their lifetimes have surpassed the campaign lengths of the associated blast furnaces by a substantial margin, with the exception of the burner and a few critical areas. This article presents recent developments with respect to designing, building new and operating existing hot blast systems for a long lifetime and at optimized performance. These developments include fundamental improvements such as dome combustion designs as well as increasingly comprehensive packages for inspection, assessment and maintenance techniques. Examples of such techniques are burner replacement with the hot blast system at operating temperature, improved double shell approaches and TOFD measurement applications.

Oct 1, 2019

By Pascual Perazzo Vaschetti Gabriella

The increasing emphasis on environmental issues has crucial importance in mining projects, hence in tailings dams. Their water barrier needs a two-fold environmental assessment: the environmental impact caused by construction activities, and the environmental impact over time. Unfortunately, tailings dams’ failures have great and long-lasting environmental consequences, and as mining sites become bigger and tailings dams higher, the risk of failures may increase. Furthermore, since these dams are mostly constructed over many years, design parameters/materials may change, the engineers may change, and since cost is a driving parameter, less attention may be given to quality control and monitoring. Geomembrane water barriers mitigate such impacts.

Sep 30, 2022

By M A. Noppé

Mining is inherently a risk-based business and risk governance is an integral part of corporate assurance and business decision-making. Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves are the key assets for a minerals company and senior management/company boards require assurance regarding the likely accuracy of estimated and reported technical information. Reviews and audits improve the level of assurance in the reliability of estimated short-term (grade control) estimates, reconciliation, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves.Peer reviews and audits contribute not only to governance processes, but also provide valuable technical improvement opportunities, as well as mentoring and professional development guidance to those whose work is being reviewed. Technical review is particularly crucial at a time in the industry when companies are running lean or perhaps inexperienced teams, with limited technical or management oversight.Despite both industry guidance and some companies’ standards expecting or requiring reviews and/or audits of Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve generation and reporting processes, it is surprising how infrequently or ineffectively these are actually carried out. Examples of governance systems are presented, which include appropriate peer review processes that if effectively applied, can identify shortcomings in technical processes and provide timely correction to prevent, or mitigate against, erroneous outcomes.Peer reviews are ideally carried out concurrently with the preparation of data, selection of estimation procedures and validation of outputs from Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve estimation prior to the handover of results between disciplines, or the final reporting of results. Audits, on the other hand, are generally retrospective reviews by independent and/or external reviewers who rate the risks inherent with an already completed process, identifying opportunities for improvements in the future.This paper outlines the main components of peer reviews and audits, discussing how a combination of these can provide a structured and objective assurance system leading to systematic and disciplined processes to improve the effectiveness of, and confidence in, grade control, reconciliation, Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve risk management, and support good governance.CITATION:Noppé, M A, 2017. Improved assurance for Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve estimates and reporting through peer review and auditing, in Proceedings Tenth International Mining Geology Conference 2017, pp 143–148 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Sep 20, 2017

By J Jeffery, P G. Knott, F Velge, C Evans

A trigger action response plan (TARP) provides a structured response to escalating levels of risk. In mining, TARPs are typically applied to primary hazards such as inrush, strata failure or heating. Necessary for the creation and deployment of a TARP is a monitoring system capable of detecting deviations from normal conditions. The advent of real-time instruments capable of measuring diesel particulate matter now permit decision-making within shifts to address possible overexposure. Deploying a TARP for diesel exhaust emissions can lower the probability of a person’s average exposure (over a full shift) exceeding the exposure standard by detecting deviations of diesel particulate concentrations from normal conditions. This enables pre-emptive action to mitigate or protect. Another goal is to drive ambient air concentrations lower through the application of corrective actions as a result of instances where concentrations exceed ‘normal’.CITATION:Knott, P G, Evans, C, Velge, F and Jeffery, J, 2015. Trigger action response plans for diesel exhaust exposures, in Proceedings The Australian Mine Ventilation Conference, pp 129–132 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Aug 31, 2015

By R. D. Hossack

"The selection of a site for plant facilities is a function of several factors and has as its objective the maximization of profits, given fixed markets and sources of raw material locations. In practice there are several sites, any one of which or a combination of two or more would be suitable to meet the basic requirements of source of supply of raw material and labour and still fulfill market demands. The model used to select the optimum profit combination utilizes both computer programs and traditional financial analysis techniques. Of the three computer programs used in the mode), one is a linear program and another is a transportation simulator. Basic cost and price data are required. In examining costs, three levels are used: (a) distribution costs of raw material to the plant and finished goods to the market; (b) direct production costs at the plant, such as labour and locally supplied material; and (c) capital and overhead costs at the plant, such as construction costs, taxes, insurance, and federal and provincial cost allowances. The direct costs generally depend on the scale of operations, so that a large plant in one location may have a lower unit cost than two smaller plants. This, of course, must be balanced against distribution costs. In examining profit, it is necessary to think in terms of the price and volume of sales at each of the market locations. Given basic data and relationships, the model can be used to optimally locate production facilities or, alter-natively, optimally structure a transportation network given existing locations of plants and markets. It is dynamic to the extent that it can react to changes in volume, price and cost to optimally locate an additional plant, the expansion of existing plants, the shutting down or cutting back of plants, or the restructuring of distribution networks."

Jan 1, 1970

By Elaine Ellingham, Francis T. Manns

"Abstract -The Orostar and Scadding were two small gold mines owned and operated by Orofino Resources Limited. Conventional statistical treatment indicates an identical arithmetic mean grade of 0.22 oz/T Au for both mineable reserves. Further, the deposits are both shown to have cut weighted average reserve grade of 0.21 oz/T. Orostar mined out at 0.206 oz/T and Scadding at0.156 oz/TAu . The combined exploration and development database contained 1394 fire assays, more than enough for statistical confidence in a normal distribution. Therefore this study was initiated to determine, if possible, why the mill head grades were lower than the averages and to experiment with several methods to determine whether a reliable statistical mill head grade estimation method would emerge. Despite the identical reserve grades, distinct differences in the grade distribution histograms are present. By studying the arithmetic and log-normal grade distribution s, with some attention to South African practices, this paper reports on those differences which may account for the considerable divergence in the mill head grades. Furthermore, this study casts considerable doubt on the industry standard method of cut weighted averages.The global mill head grades of the two deposits have been derived from the arithmetic average grades by graphic means. This precise method of mill head grade prediction, if applied to complex orebodies, could permit selective grade control and result in direct cost savings by allowing the operator to detect false value stopes, benches or levels and emphasize reliable regions of not only gold mines, but also uranium or base metal deposits."

Jan 1, 1992

By Alice Y. Tseng, Dan MacLean

"Corrosion protection of all deep foundation systems made of steel is THE issue when considering durability of the element in the long term. Protecting steel from corrosion and maintaining the steel tendon cross sectional area ensures a competent and durable system. The foundation of a building is usually difficult to repair and therefore high risk is taken when unknowingly choosing a non-adequate solution.Requirements according to EN 1990 (Eurocode 0 or EC 0) on construction durability requires a service life over 100 years. How can a service life over 100 years be achieved? How shall bare steel be protected in soil, which sometimes could be an aggressive environment to the steel? Which corrosion protection methods are commonly used in Europe and in North America?This paper will focus on hollow bars used as Micropiles, Anchor piles and Soil Nails. It gives an overview about the state of the practice in regards to corrosion protection (including head construction) and evaluates different options following the European Standards focusing on type of material and method of installation. Further the different corrosion protective methods such as thickness of grout body, coating types and sacrificial loss are listed with the pros and cons evaluated.Based not only on North American standards like FHWA “Micropile Design and Construction Guidelines”, FHWA Geotechnical Engineering Circular No. 7 for “Soil Nail Walls“ and Post-Tensioning Institute “Recommendations for Prestressed Rock and Soil Anchors”, but also European standards like EN 14199 “Execution of special geotechnical works – Micropiles”, EN 14490 “Execution of special geotechnical works - Soil nailing”, EN 1537 “Execution of special geotechnical work – Ground anchors“, and other relevant standards, all possibilities of protecting the hollow bars and the steel quality will be introduced, discussed and compared ."

Jan 1, 2017

By A. Brown

This report details work performed and results obtained in a study of the water management aspects of oil shale mining and retorting in the Piceance Creek Basin. Three specific sites were investigated, and optimal water management systems for both conventional and in-situ extraction processes were generated. Water-related legal and environmental constraints on development were identified and the water management schemes were developed in compliance with these regulations. Limitations on shale oil production implied by limited water supplies were evaluated. Potential Basin-wide effects of development were evaluated using a computer model, and mitigation strategies were developed. Recommendations for additional investigation and analyses were presented.

Jan 1, 1977

By B. Briggs

Over the past 15 years, the tunneling industry has pushed towards a higher degree of mechanization in nearly every phase of construction. The overall objective of the mechanization was to increase production and the level of safety in tunnel operations. However, the overall complexity of some systems have been a hindrance to a seamless transition to the newer technologies as increased maintenance requirements and re-training of skilled workers has altered the benefit curve for some innovations.

Jan 1, 2010

By E. Onal, C. Craddock, A. Chapman, M. R. Endsley

ABSTRACT Mining equipment operators must interpret and respond to complex information delivered by technology-centric rather than user-centric systems. The ability to achieve high situation awareness (SA) in the face of this data overload is a key challenge to effective decision-making and information exploitation. Incidents attributed to human error that compromise safety and result in loss of revenue, or even life, are often the result of system designs that overload human cognitive capabilities. This paper defines SA as it relates to the operation of mining equipment and describes the design and preliminary evaluation of a new electric shovel operator user interfa

Jan 1, 2013

By J. G. Baragwanath

CUBA'S lateritic iron ores, occurring on the northern coast of that island, though known to the Spaniards. did not receive any general attention until the close of the Spanish-American War. Preliminary studies of these deposits at that time indicated that the limonite contained small percentages of nickel and chrome, and it ryas subsequently discovered that although the average nickel content was only approximately 0.6 per certain limited areas of ore were suffiniently high in nickel to be considered commercial provided a suitable process fur its recovery could be developed. Early in 1937, Pardners Mines Corp. began a series of investigations which led to the development of such a process. Coincidentally, this company acquired option' on certain properties in the Levisa Bay and Moa Bay regions and conducted a systematic campaign of exploration by test pits and hand-auger holes in the course of which an aggregate of 90.000.000 tons of ore was developed in eight deposits.

Jan 1, 1945

By David Mast, Irwan Halim, Brian Hagan, Kaveh Talebi, Jason Edberg, Amanda Foote

On June 14, 2023 Jay Dee Contractors’ Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) “Phoenix” holed through and completed mining the second drive of the I-75 Segment 3 Storage and Drainage Tunnel. Completion of the tunnel came only after overcoming several challenges, including a groundwater intrusion event which deposited thousands of cubic yards of wet ground material into the tunnel. This paper will discuss the events which delayed completion of the tunnel by over nine months, the risk management and construction approaches assumed by the Design-Build team during bid, several challenges faced by Design-Build teams when building stormwater resilience tunnels using traditional Department of Transportation standards, and recommendations for improving risk allocation and proposal documents for future similar Design-Build tunnel projects.

Jun 23, 2024

By D. M. Wyslouzil

The fundamentals of dissolving silver and silver minerals are discussed in the following sections: 1) Basic chemical reactions in the silver system 2) Leaching of pure silver minerals 3) Leaching of silver-bearing ores 4) Description of processes The basic chemical reactions of silver are an important guide to the mineral processor or the extractive metallurgist, particularly for systems in which complex formations are balanced against solubilities. The competition of other cations for free ligands can shift the equilibrium to the detriment of silver. Solubilities of pure silver minerals in specific solvents may not be a good indication of the solubility of silver minerals in ores. The abundance of silver minerals which usually appear in a typical ore precludes the selection of a single method that would result in the best extraction of silver from all minerals in the ore. Frequently, the recovery of silver from host minerals requires a destructive pretreatment such as intensive leaching, oxidation with or without elevated temperature and oxygen pressure, or roasting. The transformation of the host or the silver minerals does not always result in a leachable species? and this requires additional treatment before the precious metal can be recovered.

Jan 1, 1990

By Michael Frawley, Deana Ruud, Jessica Turner

Technology is allowing for new ways to mitigate risk associated with subsurface exploration and unanticipated subsurface conditions during construction. Unanticipated subsurface conditions have the potential to force delays and cost overruns on even the best-managed and well-executed projects. For more than a century, geotechnical professionals have documented the location and conditions encountered in hundreds of thousands of subsurface borings. Utilizing processes for compiling and managing data, owners can streamline site selection and receive access to a conceptual geotechnical model before field exploration takes place. Digitizing historical subsurface information allows for creation of an interactive, web-based platform combining publicly available information and culminating with the opinion of a local, experienced geotechnical engineer. This connectivity aids in the reduction of risks associated with unknown conditions on prospective project sites. Through this conceptual project study, we demonstrate how a project owner would be able to use a comprehensive desktop study to review the expected conditions prior to making a purchasing decision. Following the purchase, the expected conditions would be confirmed through traditional methods, confirming potentially problematic site conditions and the associated risks. INTRODUCTION Preliminary project planning is often based on assumptions made by the design team with regards to site suitability. After due diligence, site development is traditionally initiated by the owner or the owner’s representative when engaging a geotechnical engineer to perform a thorough subsurface exploration at a site. The data generated by the geotechnical engineer’s analysis of the site is required to design foundations, pavements and earth retaining structures and move the project from concept into design. This necessary, subsurface exploration can be time consuming, intrusive, and require significant resources, often when resources during construction seasons when resources are most limited. By leveraging historical data generated from previous subsurface exploration, a more thorough analysis of project risk can be developed prior to mobilizing a drill rig. Ultimately, preliminary budgets and designs are more accurate and geotechnical field exploration is more strategic. The geotechnical engineer’s role transforms from raw exploration and analysis to confirmation of anticipated conditions.

Jan 1, 2019

By G. J. McTeer, D. L. Verhelst, D. J. Rioux

Teck Metals Ltd. operates an integrated zinc-lead complex at Trail, British Columbia, Canada. Since 1997, KIVCETTM flash smelting technology has been utilized for the treatment of zinc plant residues and lead concentrates. Trail Operations’ furnace uses four water-cooled jackets for bullion tapping. This paper provides an overview of KIVCET bullion tapping for the past 16 years, and discusses successes and challenges encountered with respect to operations, training and monitoring.

Jan 1, 2015