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By DeVerle P. Harris, David E. Euresty

"Potential metal supply refers to metals to be produced from as yet unknown deposits. Naturally, to measure potential supply requires, among other things, inference to the number of deposits, their tonnage, and their grade Thus, probability distributions were constructed for each 400-square mile cell in Northern Sonora, Mexico. A computer system was developed that simulated the occurrence of deposits for each cell, exploration for the deposits, and their exploitation. Evaluation was performed for each deposit by discounted cash flow analysis.An objective of this study was to explore the effect of the transportation network and required road or railroad construction upon potential supply. Consequently, the evaluation system was designed to consider the spatial location of a simulated deposit to the existing transportation network and the market destination. The construction of linkages to connect the deposit to existing transportation arteries as well as the carrying of the concentrates to the intended market were simulated. in terms of cost. The selection of the path took into account the existing terrain. This was done by digitizing topographical maps and representing the topography of the area by an orthogonal grid of elevations. The optimum route was selected by dynamic programming, meeting a prescribed gradient constraint. The potential supply of each cell was determined, allowing for the infrastructure effect."

Jan 1, 2014

By L. L. Lien

In this economic age of high interest rates and softening mineral commodity markets, the mining industry is taking a hard look at how it conducts its business and where economies can be effected. The capital investment to build a new metallurgical facility or open a new property has traditionally attracted substantial investigation, analysis and management attention. The areas of mineral exploitation, financial feasibility, engineering and construction have been studied extensively and their management, although still difficult, have become refined disciplines.

Jan 1, 1982

By W. R. Hardwick

This Information Circular describes copper mining and concentrating methods, practices, and costs at the Silver Bell Unit of American Smelting and Refining Co., Pima County, Ariz. It is one of a series being prepared by the Bureau of Mines on mining methods, practices, and costs in various mining districts of the United States. The Silver Bell mining district, one of the older districts in Arizona, is in the western part of the Silver Bell Mountains in Pima County, about 40 miles west of Tucson and about 20 miles southwest of Red Rock, a station on the main line railroad of the Southern Pacific Co. The Oxide and the El Tiro open-pit mines of the American Smelting and Refining Co. are in the district (fig. 1. The principal ore deposits are in T. 12S., R.8E., Gila and Salt River base line, at an altitude of about 3,000 feet. The present town of Silver Bell, established in 1952, is reached by a paved highway, the Avra Valley road, that turns west from Highway 84 at Plata siding near Rillito and extends westward 25 miles to the townsite (fig. 2). The present town is about 5 miles southeast of the old town of Silver Bell that flourished from 1900 to 1930.

Jan 1, 1963

By Alcides Freitas

The great importance of aggregates as a basic building and maintenance material for both public and private projects makes the identification and availability of this valuable resource imperative for our economic and social well being. This was one of the main reasons that led the California Legislature to enact the Surface Mining and Reclamation Act of 1975 (SMARA). The Act requires the State Geologist to classify mineral areas in the state and the State Mining and Geology Board to designate mineral deposits of regional or statewide significance. What is the "Classification and Designation" process and how is it working?

Jan 1, 1984

By W. H. Miller

Introduction In this paper we have endeavoured to present a general description of the electrical applications underground at Copper Mountain, including types of equipment used, problems encountered, and methods by which they were overcome. No attempt has been made to outline in detail the wiring of various circuits. Until recent years, the main use of electrical energy underground at Copper Mountain consisted of direct current for locomotives, trolley systems, .and signal and communication circuits. The prohibitive cost of equipment and distribution systems prevented any extensive use of a.c. beyond that commonly used for essential lighting purposes. However, in 1943 the shortage of manpower and the increased cost of labour and supplies necessitated a general mechanization programme.

Jan 1, 1951

By W. R. Hardwick

This Information Circular describes copper mining and concentrating methods, practices, and costs at the Silver Bell Unit of American Smelting and Refining Co., Pima County, Ariz. It is one of a series being prepared by the Bureau of Mines on mining methods, practices, and costs in various mining districts of the United States. The Silver Bell mining district, one of the older districts in Arizona, is in the western part of the Silver Bell Mountains in Pima County, about 40 miles west of Tucson and about 20 miles southwest of Red Rock, a station on the main line railroad of the Southern Pacific Co. The Oxide and the El Tiro open-pit mines of the American Smelting and Refining Co. are in the district (fig. 1. The principal ore deposits are in T. 12S., R.8E., Gila and Salt River base line, at an altitude of about 3,000 feet. The present town of Silver Bell, established in 1952, is reached by a paved highway, the Avra Valley road, that turns west from Highway 84 at Plata siding near Rillito and extends westward 25 miles to the townsite (fig. 2). The present town is about 5 miles southeast of the old town of Silver Bell that flourished from 1900 to 1930.

Jan 1, 1963

By W. D. Bullock

The King-Beaver mine of Asbestos Corporation Limited operates an open pit in the city of Thetford Mines, Quebec. The approximate loca-tion of the open pit is at Latitude 46° 02' North and Longitude 71° 20' West. The general topography is 1020 feet above sea level. Thirty-six percent of the company's scheduled asbestos ore production, for the Thetford Mines area, comes from the King-Beaver pit. The pit operates 24 hours a day, six days a week. Normal production is 10,500 tons of ore per day at a waste to ore ratio of 2 to 1. The remaining ore requirements are mined from the King-Beaver underground mine and the British-Canadian mine.

Jan 1, 1980

By R J. Romañach

The theory of sampling (TOS) is now followed in the development of near infrared (NIR) spectroscopic methods for the pharmaceutical industry. TOS has been the guiding light for a two-step approach for spectroscopic composite sampling available for the development of real-time analytical methods for particulate-based industrial processes. The two-step spectroscopic sample composite has been used in the development of process analytical technology (PAT), an important regulatory initiative to improve the quality of pharmaceutical products. The two-step sample composite approach overcomes the low sample volume analysed by PAT methods; one of the key limitations to PAT implementation in the industrial production of particulate-based materials.PAT methods need to be validated demonstrating their accuracy, precision, specificity and robustness. TOS provides a deeper understanding of these validation studies which involve discrete particulate material. The validation of PAT methods is now being performed considering both sampling and analytical errors, while practically all previous method validations only addressed the total analytical error (TAE) of these methods. This has been a crucial impediment for the field of chemometrics as well.PAT is a key element of continuous manufacturing (CM) processes, which are considered an emerging technology capable of increasing the flexibility, agility and robustness of pharmaceutical processes while reducing their costs. The outflow of the continuous process is a 1D lot, and variographic analysis has been shown to discern process variation from sampling and analytical errors in pharmaceutical CM processes. Thus, variographic analysis is a process improvement tool with significant potential for improving CM processes. The possibilities for improving pharmaceutical manufacturing are enormous.CITATION:Romañach, R J, 2017. Theory of Sampling – from missing link to key enabler for process analytical technology, in Proceedings Eighth World Conference on Sampling and Blending , pp 63–68 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

May 9, 2017

By A. L. Mular

"This paper summarizes the present-day usage of computers in the mining-metallurgical industry. The industry appears to be following a path taken by other industries in improving the operation of processing plants, production schedules, grade control and haulage performance. A reduction in the cost of computers and computing has been a significant factor.An attempt is made to forecast the future of computers in our industry. Such developments as time-sharing, mini-computers, and easy-to-understand process-oriented languages will lead to wider usage. Considerable strides have been made in the use of computers for laboratory data acquisition. In general, the implementation of new methods, new techniques and new equipment will require plant personnel to develop new skills. The universities are meeting this challenge by re-structuring curricula and offering special courses. Most vendors of computers already offer special courses within their own facilities at a customer's plant."

Jan 1, 1970

By C. Allen, V. Hensel, J. S. Stachulak

"Vale has been actively evaluating new technologies to curtail diesel emissions. This paper discusses the selection, installation, operation, and evaluation of the MANN+HUMMEL SMF®-AR diesel particulate filter system to reduce diesel particulate matter emissions in underground mines. The system uses a sintered metal filter element, an iron fuel-borne catalyst with an onboard dosing system, an electric heater that uses onboard power, and a sensor-based control unit. More than 6,000 h of testing demonstrated that the system represents a breakthrough in the successful control of soot emission from light-duty vehicles with differing soot emission levels, exhaust temperatures, and duty cycles.RÉSUMÉ La compagnie Vale évalue activement de nouvelles technologies pour réduire les émissions de diesel. Le présent article discute du choix, de l’installation, du fonctionnement et de l’évaluation du système MANN+HUMMEL SMFMD-AR de filtrage des particules de diesel pour réduire les émissions de particules de diesel dans les mines souterraines. Le système utilise un élément filtrant en métal fritté, un catalyseur à base de fer dans le carburant avec un système de dosage intégré, un élément de chauffage électrique qui utilise l’alimentation incorporée et une unité de contrôle avec un capteur. Plus de 6 000 heures d’essais ont démontré que le système représente une avancée pour réussir à contrôler les émissions de suie des véhicules légers avec différents niveaux d’émission de suie, différentes températures d’échappement et différents cycles opératoires."

Jan 1, 2015

By Christopher D. Risbrudt

In this comprehensive study of the use of wood products in coal mining, a sample of over 220 mines provided data by questionnaire. Wood use per ton of underground coal was found to vary substantially by mining process and region. In the Eastern Coal region, 1.6 board feet of wood was used per ton of coal, wel above the 0.6 board feet usage per ton in the West. The kind of timber used varied also by Region. Hardwood use is about 40 times greater than softwood in the Eastern Region. There, hardwoods are plentiful, relatively cheap and strong. In the West where softwood forests predominate, softwoods were 2-1/2 times more common in mine wood use than hardwoods. Nearly 80 percent of the wood used in underground coal mines is used in cross bars and props. Nearly 54 million cubic feet of wood products were used in coal mining in the sample year 1979; about twice as much going to underground mines as surface mines. Wood requirements for mining were projected to 2030 for a range of three oil price scenarios. Much greater wood use will be required for greater coal output.

Jan 1, 1982

By G. M. Scamans

In the past ten years there has been considerable penetration of aluminum automotive body sheet (ABS) into automotive structures. The exponential increase in demand is resulting in major investments in heat treatment and finishing capacity across the globe. Line speed and tonnage throughput is limited by the continuous heat treatment (CHT) floater furnace rather than the cleaning and pretreatment section where electrolytic treatments that offer higher line speeds should come into favour and roll coating of pretreatment should predominate. The capacity limiting surface texturing pass will either be eliminated or moved to the finishing line or a dedicated mill. The key to making aluminum both embedded carbon and cost competitive with steel for more and more affordable classes of vehicles lies in recycling of both prompt scrap and, in the longer term, end of life vehicle scrap. For the first time scrap separation technology is available that can compete effectively with hand sorting and can sort aluminum shredded vehicle scrap into wrought and cast alloys and then into individual alloy groups. The challenge is to use more end of life scrap in alloy formulation whilst at the same time extending the property range in terms of both strength and formability.

Jan 1, 2015

By G. M. Scamans

In the past ten years there has been considerable penetration of aluminum automotive body sheet (ABS) into automotive structures. The exponential increase in demand is resulting in major investments in heat treatment and finishing capacity across the globe. Line speed and tonnage throughput is limited by the continuous heat treatment (CHT) floater furnace rather than the cleaning and pretreatment section where electrolytic treatments that offer higher line speeds should come into favour and roll coating of pretreatment should predominate. The capacity limiting surface texturing pass will either be eliminated or moved to the finishing line or a dedicated mill. The key to making aluminum both embedded carbon and cost competitive with steel for more and more affordable classes of vehicles lies in recycling of both prompt scrap and, in the longer term, end of life vehicle scrap. For the first time scrap separation technology is available that can compete effectively with hand sorting and can sort aluminum shredded vehicle scrap into wrought and cast alloys and then into individual alloy groups. The challenge is to use more end of life scrap in alloy formulation whilst at the same time extending the property range in terms of both strength and formability.

Jan 1, 2015

By R. W. Sims

"He?s an SOB, but he's my SOB." Many of us have heard this line in reference to attorneys, and can appreciate the humor. However, the thought reflects a deeper attitude that lawyers should be used for attack purposes in the legal system or the regulatory process. Often, more permitting progress can be made with tact and flexibility than with inflexible, overly aggressive strategies. Usually, administrative hearings or other litigation work to the disadvantage of the applicant. Thus, I have concerns about approaching any permitting system with a hard-line attitude. On the other hand, the project team must always be prepared to defend permit applications and present a legally adequate case at public meetings, administrative hearings, or judicial proceedings. This paper discusses a number of strategies intended to increase the probabilities for successful permitting, whether opposition is informal or highly organized.

Jan 1, 1990

By W. E. Young, D. T. Delicate

This study was made to present the mining methods and costs of a uranium mine typical of other mines in the highly productive Westwater Canyon member of the Morrison formation in New Mexico. Four mining methods have been used at the Section 23 mine: the retreat- room-and-pillar method, a sublevel-slicing method (also called top-slicing), the horizontal-cut-and-fill method, and a modification of the ring-drill method. The application of the methods at this mine and at other mines in the area should be of benefit to operators with similar problems. Ore bodies in the Section 23 mine are irregularly shaped and vary in size, in rock strength, in moisture content, and in uranium concentrations; different mining methods are required and mining costs are not constant. A 6-month period of operation at the Section 23 mine was analyzed and mining costs, not including amortization, depreciation, or Federal taxes, averaged about $6.80 per ton.

Nov 1, 1963

By D. G. Willard

The U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Mines has evaluated the potential resource and annual availability of cobalt from 27 deposits or districts in 11 market-economy countries. More than 95 pct of primary cobalt production from market-economy countries, mainly byproduct output from copper and nickel operations, was analyzed. Approximately 1,200,000 mt of cobalt is potentially recoverable at the demonstrated resource level. Very large additional resources exist, especially in laterite deposits, but are at the inferred level. The producing operations evaluated in this study are expected to produce about 19,000 mt of cobalt in 1989, significantly less than the available capacity of about 31,000 mt. More than 14,000 mt per year of cobalt is produced from copper-cobalt deposits in Zaire and Zambia, of which 11,000 mt can be produced at a copper price of $O.60jlb or less with a O-pct discounted cash-flow rate of return (DCFROR). Approximately 4,400 mt of cobalt is produced annually from nickel-cobalt deposits in six countries, of which about 1,800 mt (in Canada and Brazil) could be produced at a nickel price of $1.50jlb or less at a D-pct DCFROR. Approximately 200 mt per year of cobalt is produced from a cobalt mine in Morocco. Most of the evaluated nonproducing operations and prospects that could potentially produce cobalt as a principal product or byproduct would require a total cost (including a 15 pct-DCFROR) significantly exceeding January, 1989 market prices of the principal commodities. Principal-commodity dependence, transportation routes, cobalt toxicity, and other issues that could affect the availability of cobalt are addressed herein.

Jan 1, 1991

By Hongjie Yu, Mike Mooney

Transitions between geological/geotechnical soil units have a critical impact on the operation and performance of a tunnel boring machine (TBM). Geostatistics-based probabilistic modeling is used to quantify the uncertainty in soil transition locations. This paper presents two unique soft-ground tunneling case studies where the results from the geostatistics-based probabilistic modeling are compared to the TBM data and as-encountered ground conditions derived from the actual TBM data. The assessment enhances the confidence in using geostatistics to improve ground awareness for efficient tunnel construction, minimizing different site condition (DSC) claims, and improving decision-making on tunnel projects.

Dec 1, 2022

Fresh coal refuse was sampled at 21 US mines. Five of the sites were drilled, sampled and tested more extensively. Field tests included Standard Penetration tests, and in-situ density determinations. Laboratory testing included specific gravity, gradation, maximum, and minimum density tests, as well as 9-inch) drained triaxial tests, 9 and 10-inch, permeability tests, slake-durability tests, and accelerated slaking tests. Some refuse sites had significantly lower shear strengths and permeabilities in old, slaked or weathered material than in fresh refuse. Testing did not show useful correlations between strength and permeability changes and other material properties which could serve as "predictors". Testing of refuse under "accelerated slaking" conditions showed promise as a comparative tool and as a potential means of preparing artificially aged samples for evaluations of long-term behavior. The state-of-the-art in slaking research, and the implications of slaking on coal refuse disposal, and on practical methods of managing slaking, were also studied.

Jan 1, 1981

THE annual meeting of the Lake Superior Mining Institute was held on Sept. 7 and 8, Crystal Falls and Iron Mountain, Mich., being the principal centers of activity. Members of both institutes began assembling early, and by the evening of Sept. 6, some 60 had already arrived at Crystal Falls. The greater number arrived the following morning, however, and after the usual formalities of registration were attended to, the party were loaded into automobiles and set out on a tour of inspection of the mines near Iron River; some properties were passed through, and some were briefly visited to permit the inspection of any unusually interesting piece of equipment or detail of practice. The last stop of the morning was at the Caspian, Iron River, where the entire party was entertained at luncheon at the Caspian Club House. Both the food and the company were excellent, and as the weather was superlatively good (though the natives of the district modestly declared it was only ordinary autumn weather) the lunch was served on the lawn at the rear of the club, where the green turf, abundant flowers, and music by the band, added to the charm of good fellowship. The degree to which mining men have become addicted to golf was indicated by the large number of plus fours in evidence, whose wearers appeared just before lunch and disappeared immediately afterward.

Jan 1, 1928

By Matthew N. Plis

This U.S. Bureau of Mines report presents the documentation for COALVAL, a coal property evaluation software package developed on Lotus 1-2-3,4 version 2.2, spreadsheets. The software is compatible with version 3.1 as well, and may provisionally be run on the earlier 2.01 version. COALVAL is a menu-driven program that produces a prefeasibility-level cost analysis of mine-planned coal resources. The package contains cost models for each of five coal mining methods commonly employed in Appalachia: auger, contour strip, mountain top removal, continuous miner, and longwall. Other models, such as a dragline cost model, will be incorporated as the Bureau's Coal Recoverability Program matures. COALVAL allows mine operators, evaluators, consultants, and Government entities to input resource data and the various production, operating, and cost variables that pertain to their property. The program can evaluate up to 25 seams, each to be mined with up to five different mining methods, within a given area. Summary spreadsheets listing the cost per clean ton to mine the resources, f.o.b. the tipple, are produced for each property, seam, and mining method/seam combination.

Jan 1, 1993