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By Steven L. Webb

In 1965, Monsanto started planning of a new dike (No. 15) for use in disposing of ore tailings at its Columbia, Tennessee phosphorus plant. Generally, in the phosphorus industry only clay tailings are produced making it necessary to borrow fill for construction of a retaining dike. Borrow area investigations indicated that weathered shales and limestones adjacent to the dam site would provide adequate construction materials. It was proposed that the more clayey weathered shales would be used for the impervious core and the more granular weathered limestones would be placed in the outer shell of the dike. A dike section is shown in Figure 1 with gradation curves for core and shell materials in Figure 2. Figure 3 shows an aerial view of the tailings pond and dike during first-stage construction. Although the borrow area explorations indicated that the weathering of the sedimen-tary deposits was highly irregular, it was not considered necessary, at the time, to specify special excavation techniques that would ensure a thorough blending of the materials in the borrow pit. Instead, because of the short haul distance, a scraper operation for both clay core and granular shell materials was adopted as the most economical construction method. Using this materials-handling technique, variations in permeability could be expected in the compacted layers inthe embankment. Where continuous layers of less clayey limestones were placed in the core of the dam, extending from the upstream to downstream shells, seepage losses would be expected to increase substantially. Upon completion of the damn 1966, and shortly after reservoir filling, it was apparent that the construction technique used had resulted in the formation of pervious layers through the clay core. Excessive seepage on the downstream face of the dike was noticeable within a very short time. A monitoring program was established, using piezometric observations and flow measurements. These data indicated that seepage should be reduced and the application of an asphaltic emulsion

Jan 1, 1971

By Davison GR

The cost of drilling consumables is always a large component of any mine budget. It is important that this cost be carefully examined with a view to reducing the overall cost per inetre or at least minimising its escalation.At Renison it is considered that the only way to ensure drilling costs do not rise unduly is through a total system of control from purchase to disposal.In 1979 extension of an existing drill supply service contract was carefully examined and abandoned in favour of a hybrid system. This system is providing a great deal of control over the use of drilling consumables and has maintained a relatively constant cost per drilled metre over the last five years.Current consignment stock contracts for drilling consumables are strictly specified by the Technical Services section of the Mine Department and consumables purchased under these contracts are distributed and refurbished/sharpened by a contractor.The total result of this package is individual drilling items that achieve the best cost per metre and careful distribution and maintenance to ensure maximum life.

Jan 1, 1985

By M. Härting, D. T. Britton, M. Nzikou Mamboukou

"Copper containing different types of nanocomposites have been characterized for nanolabelling and ID. Three types of the rare earth nanoparticles were used for this study, the oxide and the sulphur compound of the Eu and Tb. Characterization techniques uses SEM, and Raman for morphology, chemical composition, and optical characterization respectively. It has been shown that it is possible to include the rare earth particle in a copper matrix without damaging its physical properties. INTRODUCTIONThe development of new materials, often involves the addition of new properties without changing the beneficial properties of the original material (Chen et al., 2009; Khana et al., 2007; Patil et al., 2008). Nanocomposites are nanostructured materials, whose structural elements including clusters, crystallites or molecules, of dimensions ranging between 1 to 100 nm (Moriarty, 2001), or a composite material where one of the phases is a one, two or three dimensionally nanostructured material (Nanotechnology, 2006; Wang, 2001). Nanocomposite materials research is a fast growing area due to the high demand for materials for specialized applications (Edelstein & Cammarata, 1998), such as biolabelling, magnetic storage media, solar energy transformation (Jisen et al., 2004), and resistance welding applications (Bessergenev et al., 1997; Kwon et al.,2006).The properties of the nanocomposite materials depend not only on the properties of their individual parent materials, but also on their morphology and the interfacial characteristics. Thus, significant efforts have been focused on the control of the nanoscale structures via innovative synthesis approaches. Therefore, novel materials of unique properties may be obtained by combining properties from the parent constituents into a single material (Balan, 2006; Garcia et al., 2009). Possible effects of nanocomposites in the original material may include changes in the mechanical properties such as hardness , wear resistance (Rafaja et al., 1987), and electrical properties (Britton et al., 2003). The inclusion process may therefore be used to tailor materials to have particular mechanical, electrical and optical properties (Das et al., 2009). However, to fully understand the nanocomposite, it is necessary to study the fundamental properties of both the host matrix and the inclusions (Li, 2008)."

Jan 1, 2012

By P. M. Chapman

Risks to aquatic receiving environments from uranium mining and milling fall into three categories: physical (habitat change), chemical (e.g., uranium, selenium, total dissolved solids [TDS], metals including vanadium), and radiological. Although all categories of risk need to be managed, chemical risks are the most significant and are typically chronic rather than acute. For instance, selenium toxicity is primarily manifested as reproductive impairment due to maternal transfer, resulting in embryotoxicity and teratogenicity in egg-laying vertebrates. Risk is best assessed using a weight of evidence approach focused on ecosystem services. Risk management should be based on both risk assessment and adaptive monitoring.

Aug 1, 2010

By T Baumgartl, D R. Mulligan, D Doley, A Schneider

In arid and semi-arid areas evapotranspiration (ET) cover systems are often used to mitigate contaminated seepage from hazardous mine waste into the adjacent environment. The theory of ET covers is based on the water balance equation with the aim of minimising seepage. While cover systems are commonly trialled, the influences of variability in climate and cover structure on water balance equation parameters are seldom investigated.Water balance equation parameters and their variability were analysed for two ET cover trials constructed from benign waste rock in semi-arid Australia. Seasonal and inter-annual variations in rainfall critically influence cover performance. For successful cover system operation, the average return periods for higher than average rainfall should be taken into account. In addition, failure of ET covers has a higher probability in areas with marked rainfall seasonality. Water holding capacity and plant available water content are low in covers constructed from waste rock. Changes in water holding capacity due to variation in particle size distribution are likely and critically influence cover performance. The application of topsoil can be beneficial for water ingress control through run-off, but a balance has to be struck between run-off, erosion and plant available water. Changes in vegetation composition only influence evapotranspiration water losses at plant coverage exceeding 50 per cent, which is unrealistic in semi-arid areas. This study showed that the capacity of ET cover systems to hold and dispose of received rainfall is often lower than assumed by industry practitioners. Furthermore, in order to improve reliability of long term cover performance, the variability of rainfall and water holding capacity of the cover has to be included in water balance models.CITATION:Schneider, A, Baumgartl, T, Doley, D and Mulligan, D R, 2012. Variability in parameters of the water balance equation and their influence on evapotranspiration cover performance, in Proceedings Life-of-Mine 2012 , pp 293-300 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 10, 2012

By F. W. Gray

IN 1922, the writer communicated to the Institute a paper entitled The Development of the Coal Industry in Canada (1), which summarized the considerations set out in a series of papers (2) concerned with coal-mining in Canada which he had presented in 1920 and 1921. This paper contained a forecast by decades, commencing 1920, of Canadian coal production, importation, consumption, and exports, based on anticipated rate of population increase, and continuation of the gradual increase in the per capita rate of coal consumption in Canada that had taken place every year up to 1920. The following comparative statement brings our the differences between the forecast and actual experience:

Jan 1, 1936

By Luther Wagoner

Having given in a former paper1 the results of assays of sea-water, bay-mud, dredgings from San Francisco bay, etc., and believing it might be interesting to extend the work to include some deep-sea dredgings, I procured from the Smithsonian Institution six samples taken by the U. S. steamer Albatross, and marked as follows: Depth in No. station. Locality. Latitude. Longitude. Fathoms. 1. 2103. Off Delaware bay. 38' 47' 20" N., 72o 37' W., 1,091. 2. 2265 to Between Chesapeake 35° 37' N., 74O to 75O W., 49 to 70. 2297. bay and Hatteras. 3. 2420. Off Chesapeake bay. 37' 03' 20" N., 74O 31' 40" W., 104. 4. 2528. East of Georges 41° 47' N., 65o 37' 30" W., 677. bank. 5. 2572. SE. of Georges bank. 40° 29' N., 66O 041 W., 1,769. 6. 2681 South of Nantucket. 39' 43' N., 70' 29' W., 990. The above samples were assayed by the cyanide-method, described in my former paper (p. 807), about 30 g. of sample being used, and the following results were obtained: Value in Milligrams Per Metric Ton. No. Station. Gold. Silver. 1. 2103. 145 1,014 2. 2265 to 2297. 44 304 3. 2420. 15 353 4. 2628. 267 1,963 5. 2572. 125 377 6. 2681. 66 414 No. 4, Station 2528, consisting of red clay and volcanic ash, mas re-assayed ; 35 g. was roasted at a low heat for one hour and weighed 34.05 g. after roasting; the color was changed to a deep brick-red; and when assayed by the cyanide-method

Jan 1, 1908

By John Arrell, James Stuart

We have developed a tester that is uniquely able to measure the no-fire power level of certain types of electro explosive devices (EEDs). In the past, it has been difficult to establish a no-fire power level for nonlinear conductors, such as semiconductor-bridge (SCB) EEDs, and conductive-mix EEDs.

Jan 1, 2011

By R. S. Datta

In the article "Concentration of Oil Shale,"(1) Dr. N. Arbiter stated, "One of the major factors in the delayed utilization of oil shale as an energy raw material is the low grade or content of hydrocarbon (kerogen) in oil shale as compared with coal and even more so to the liquid and gaseous fuels. " When the availability of high-grade deposits decreased, mineral industries started adopting prebeneficiation procedures for the low-grade deposits. This practice, which is becoming standard in these other industries, has been largely overlooked by the oil shale industry in its drive to produce oil from oil shale. If a major portion of this mineral matter can be removed, there can be potentially large savings in the capital and operating costs of oil shale retorts. Moreover, the environmental impact, associated with recovering the shale oil, could be reduced considerably. In 1980 Roberts & Schaefer Resource Service (RSRS) completed successfully the first set of demonstration runs with a 20-ton oil shale sample from Cathedral Bluffs (C-b tract), Colorado. This relatively low grade (~12 gpt oil content) oil shale was beneficiated applying the Dutch State Mines Heavy Medium Cyclone process. (2)

Jan 1, 1985

By J. Winters, L. Vos, C. Canoo

Committed to a sustainable development of zinc applications, Union Miniere is investigating processes for the minimisation of waste and residues originating from the classic hydrometallurgical zinc process. In that context, Union Miniere has developed a method for the cold inertisation and solidification of goethite, the Graveliet® process. The result is a hard and inert gravel that can be used in the building industry. During the past two years, a pilot plant for the production of Graveliet® has been built and operated. In the present paper, the Graveliet® process and the pilot plant are described after which the properties of the produced gravel are discussed, from both a mechanical and an environmental point-of-view. Graveliet fulfils the criteria for use as a secondary building material. The GravelietJ process is a viable technology to avoid stockpiling of goethite residues and it thus assures the long-term development of the hydrometallurgical zinc process.

Jan 1, 2000

By R. K. Linn

The New Idria Mining and Chemical Co. owns and operates the New Idria mine in southern San Benito County, Calif. During 1957-59, the New Idria mine was the largest producer of mercury in the United States and its alltime production of over a half-million flasks was exceeded only by one mine. It is one of the oldest and most consistent producers in California. With the exception of 1921-22, the mine has an annual production of mercury dating back to 1854. This paper by the Federal Bureau of Mines describes the exploration, development, mining, and furnacing of mercury ore at the New Idria mine. Figure 1 is a view of the furnace plant of the New Idria mine. The purpose of this report is to promote the development and conservation of our mineral resources by dissemination of technological information on mining and processing procedures, and related practices at operating mines.

Jan 1, 1961

In spite of a global economy that continues to seesaw and a U.S. Congress that is at odds with the president and themselves, cities around the world are still spending billions on their infrastructure. And that bodes well for the underground construction and tunneling industry and the professionals who work in it. In June, 1,405 of those professionals gathered in San Francisco, CA for the Rapid Excavation and Tunneling Conference (RETC). In addition to the first rate technical programming, attendees were able to see first-hand the latest in tunneling technology from 127 exhibitors who occupied 152 booths. Two short courses preceded the conference and two field trips were offered following the conference.

Jan 1, 2011

By Y. S. Roditis

A new method for interpolating a block model is proposed, where both the diamond drill holes (DHs) and blast holes (BHs) data are used. Combining these data types poses a geostatistical "class size" problem due to the different statistical properties of the densely populated BHs and the sparsely populated DH data. This paper discusses how linear regression was used to adjust the DH values prior to the interpolation to account for the "class size" problem which is inherent to the procedure. The correlation between the BHs and the DHs is found. The DHs are then corrected based on the regression line. Each block that falls within a certain range of influence of a blast hole is assigned a different code and is interpolated with the combined BH and regressed DH data set. Blocks that fall outside the range of blast hole influence are interpolated using the original DH data set. A comparison against other methods, indicate a 12% improvement over using DHs only and a 2% improvement over using BHs only.

Jan 1, 1992

By Shaik Jeelani, Esperidiana A. B. Moura, Vijaya K. Rangari, Roberta A. Lima, Rene R. Oliveira

This work present the preparation and characterization of biodegradable nanocomposites based on aliphatic-aromatic copolyester (PBAT)/polylatic acid (PLA) blend reinforced by TiO2 nanoparticle. The biodegradable polymeric nanocomposites were prepared by melting extrusion process using a twin-screw extruder machine. The influence of the TiO2 nanoparticle addition on mechanical and thermal properties of PBAT/PLA blend was investigated by tensile and impact tests, SEM, DSC and XRD analysis and the correlation between properties was discussed.

Jan 1, 2015

By L. T. Sanchez, W. T. Rogers

This paper presents the results of a production experiment evaluating the effect of the use of oxygen in the bessemer converter with respect to its relation to blowing time, amount of steel scrap or cold pig iron which can be melted and teeming temperatures of the molten steel. THE simplest and probably the most efficient and economical means for producing steel from molten pig iron is the bessemer converter. This process is essentially a mechanism for bringing oxygen into contact with the molten metal thereby oxidizing the elements silicon, manganese, and carbon. The source of oxygen is that contained in the air and is limited by that amount. In theory, there is an intermediate chemical reaction due to the mass action of iron and air which is represented by the equation: 2Fe + O2- = 2Fe0 The FeO then becomes the oxidizing agent and reacts with the silicon, manganese, and carbon to produce silicon dioxide (SiO,), manganese oxide (MnO), and carbon monoxide (CO), in the order mentioned. The balancing of the various chemical reactions shows that in the ordinary bessemer process more than sufficient oxygen is delivered to satisfy these reactions, which indicates that a further increase in the oxygen content of the air would serve no useful purpose. In spite of this reasoning, however, it will be demonstrated that when melting stelel scrap, commercially pure industrial oxygen introduced into the normal air blast will permit the melting of a larger proportion of steel scrap than is possible with air alone and also will increase the production rate by a substantial reduction in blowing time. It will also be shown that when melting cold pig iron, it is possible to melt up to twice as much pig iron with the use of oxygen as can be melted without added oxygen with a nominal increase in blowing time. At the plant where this study was made, oxygen is purchased from a nearby supplier and piped directly into the plant. It is supplied to the bessemer converter by being introduced directly into the blast line through an automatic control system which may be adjusted by the bessemer operator or "blower." Normally, iron is supplied by five blast furnaces to an open hearth shop containing twelve 165-ton capacity stationary furnaces and a bessemer converting shop having three 30-ton converters. The molten metal from the blast furnaces is allocated to one shop or the other in a manner to best provide for maximum production. At various times, it is desirable to direct the maximum amount of available blast furnace production to the open hearth shop. This has the effect of reducing the production of the bessemer shop. When this condition exists, it is desirable to supplement the reduced iron charge at the bessemer with steel scrap or cold pig iron to the maximum possible extent in order to maintain high total ingot production. This condition becomes aggravated when one of the blast furnaces is taken out of production for any repair job and particularly for extended periods such as when relining is necessary. The purpose of the investigation and experimentation with oxygen was to determine whether or not it would contribute to increased flexibility in the use of the raw materials, molten iron, steel scrap, and cold pig iron. In addition to the effect of oxygen on flexibility of operation, it was also necessary to determine the relation of its use to production rate or "blowing time," final finishing temperature of the steel or "teeming temperature," and steel quality.

Jan 1, 1953

By Z. H. Khan, A. K. Saha, D. D. Akerkar

The possibility of extracting nickel from a low-iron, highly siliceous nickel ore of Indian origin using roast reduction followed by an ammonia leaching process has been examined. The ore used in the investigation contained 0.82 wt% Ni, 6.20 wt% Fe3O4, 12.04 wt% MgO and 60 wt% SiO2. Phase changes in the constituent minerals on heating were studied by differential thermal analysis which revealed endothermic peaks at 110 and 695 degrees C and an exothermic peak at 810 degrees C. Significant process variables in studies of roast reduction include the amount of reductant, the temperature of reduction and chemical kinetics. Maximum nickel extraction was achieved by reducing the ore with 10 wt% fuel oil at 750 degrees C. The reduced ore was given a preconditioning treatment in concentrated ammonium hydroxide solution to oxidise most of the metallic iron and was then leached in aqueous ammoniacal solution at ambient temperature to dissolve nickel. This gives 88.5% extraction of nickel as soluble ammine complexes.

Jan 4, 1992

By M. Poulton, J. A. Botín, C. Gatica

"The Chilean minerals industry faces a shortage of 27.000 new skilled professional by 2023. Enhancing the integration of women into the workforce is a possible solution. This study analyzes the state of women in the mining workforce over the past decade. Several key indicators are presented: percent in the workforce, salaries, career profiles, presence at management level, and participation in academia are studied. The study also analyzes the strategies used by government, industry, and universities to recruit and retain women for the minerals industry. The main results show that women represent 7.4% of the mining workforce in Chile and less than 1% of senior positions with a salary gap of approximately 30%. Systematically, women prefer professional programs in geology, chemistry, and environmental areas. The Chilean statistics are compared to data from the United States mining industry. INTRODUCTION The Chilean mining industry faces a significant shortage of professionals for the next decade which compromises competitiveness and productivity. The demand for human capital in mining depends on several factors. First, the age structure of workforce, which determines future retirement needs. Second, minerals market considerations, determining the amount and size of mining projects entering production in the coming years. Third, the evolution, positive or negative, of productivity, mainly driven by technology and innovation, and negatively affected by the declining ore grades. Finally, negative trends in lead times to production of mining projects, due to social opposition, changing regulations and other project contingencies, negatively affecting the demand for human capital. Regarding the supply of human capital, the fast increase in the technology level of the minerals industry and hence, the increase of technical qualification requirements of the human capital generates a rise in the time required for trade and university education of mining professionals, which may cause imbalances in the labor market. According to (Consejo Minero, 2014) human capital gap in Chile by 2023 will be around 27.000 workers for extractive, processing and maintenance jobs, which represents 14% of the current workforce (Figure 1)."

Jan 1, 2016

Bougainville Copper Limited (BCL) ships about 600,000 dry tonnes of copper concentrate per annum to Japan, Germany and Spain, with some spot sales to other countries. Concentrate sales value for 1984 was 335 million US$, representing almost half of PNG exports. Contained metal determination is based on physical and chemical measurements on representative samples. The entire procedure is subject to statistical uncertainties and possible systematic errors; losses as high as several percent of contained copper or gold are common and frequently are regarded as unavoidable. In this context, the function of the chemical laboratory is to identify and eliminate such errors and recommend correct technical procedures for possible inclusion in sales contracts. BCL's marketing management has encouraged this approach and the close buyer versus seller agreement is beneficial for all parties involved. BCL participates in the respective technical committees of the Standards Association of Australia (SAA) and the International Standards Organisation (ISO). Standard methods for sampling and analysis of copper, lead and zinc ores and concentrates are in course of preparation, some being due for publication shortly.

Jan 1, 1986

By Peter Bourke, Marc van Olst, Seppo Ronkainen, Natalie Brown

"Since the early days of flotation, process technicians have known that the speed at which the froth is recovered over the lip of the cell has a very direct and consistent influence on the grade and recovery of the circuit. No plant would deny that, even to this day, one of the most important aspects of a process technician’s job is ensuring that the froth is moving at a desired and controlled speed over the lip. Unfortunately, process technicians cannot watch the froth throughout the entire shift, as there are always a lot of other tasks to do.A considerable amount of work has thus been done to develop a “system” that automatically measures the speed of the froth. This measurement would then be used in simple controllers to emulate the steps taken by the process technician in correcting deviations of the froth speed from its desired level. Many of the earlier attempts to measure speed were ineffective, as they were unable to cope with turbulence on the froth surface. The FrothMasterTM instrument makes use of machine vision technologies to measure the speed of the froth over the lip of a cell at a very high sampling rate. This instrument produces an extremely reliable and accurate measurement of the froth speed (as well as other parameters such as bubble size and froth stability). As we will show, the effectiveness of the speed measurement in controlling the performance of the plant is a testimony to its reliability.Three FrothMasterTM units have recently been installed on the Cadia Hills Gold Mine in New South Wales (Australia). The objectives of this installation were:To control the mass-recovery of two Tank Cells in series on the same level where differences in the hydrostatic head between the two cells result in the cells pulling inconsistently with respect to each other.Control of the concentrate grade (%Copper) from the first rougher.Reduction in the frother consumption in the rougher circuit by monitoring the froth speed.A simple controller was designed to react to disturbances in the same way that human operators react. This was done after consultation with the metallurgists and the process technicians at Cadia. The controller had two functions:Stabilisation: The stabilising controller made use of three manipulated variables (level, frother addition rate and aeration rate) to control the froth speed to a setpoint.Optimisation: The optimising controller adjusted the froth speed setpoint based on deviations of the grade (measured in real-time with an OSA) from a setpoint. The plant metallurgist adjusted the grade setpoint based on information about the ore."

Jan 1, 2001

By George B. Griswold

The two most stringent parameters for in place fracturing of rock are the lack of any initial void space in the rock which to expand into and the ability to gain access only through drill holes. These two restrictions have proven so severe that as of today the only proven techniques for efficient fracturing are the contained nuclear detonation and hydrofracing. Both of these methods have highly developed technologies for their application. Hydrofracing has been a standard oil field practice for two decades, and the experience gained from a couple hundred underground nuclear detonations has resulted in a thorough understanding of the phenomenology of cavity and chimney formation. What is still lacking is a practical method to create a suit- able degree of fracturing for those ore bodies which do not meet the application criteria for either the nuclear explosion or hydrofracing. Nuclear applications must be restricted to thick ore deposits so as to take advantage of chimney collapse height--preferable in excess of 200 feet thick. Other requirements such as ground shock, containment, and radioactive contamination further reduce the number of sites that prudently can be selected.

Jan 1, 1969