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By S Sullivan

A recent review of resource reports lodged to statutory bodies found geological models with oversmoothed or unrealistic lithological boundaries, many of which do not represent geological appearance in the field, pit or underground drive. The underlying data is often too complex or messy to be incorporated into the resource model and is thus a simplification of reality, to the detriment of the mining operation and its shareholders. Volumes can be over- or underestimated and subsequent grade predictions can be misplaced, combining to cause over- or understatement in resource reporting to stakeholders and statutory authorities. Domain models can be improved with new modelling techniques such as machine learning. However, with poor data or improper use of machine learning techniques, the conclusions can be just as misleading as with current techniques. Machine learning rarely offers a single ‘right’ outcome, rather a range of possible outcomes from the data provided. But importantly it can take advantage of the full richness of data for more informed models. Machine learning also provides confidence in its predictions so that uncertainty in the resultant models can be quantified and passed through for risk assessment during mine planning and operation. This paper will discuss the factors accentuating complexity in deposit modelling: data diversity, structural controls, chemistry, data volumes, process workflows and external non-geological constraints. A case study illustrates the risk of reducing or ignoring complexity, which can result in an overly simplified geological model.

Mar 22, 2022

By M. P. Meehan

The purpose of this paper is to present the key elements in a system; study of the electrical system for a timing and/or tilling operation. The ability of an electrical system to function in a reliable fashion at its proper levels is essential for an operation to be successful. A system study consists of a load study for determining the capability of the electrical network to provide power to the various loads and a short circuit study for determining the capability of the electrical protective equipment to properly protect against fault conditions. The sequence of events in a system study is data acquisition, determining the electrical parameters and analyzing the ability of the system to meet these requirements. If the system is small, herd calculations will be the manner in which the study will be conducted; if it is large then commuters will be used. A load study has as its objectives the determination of the capability and reliability of the source of power, transformers and conductors to satisfactorily deliver power to the loads at an acceptable voltage level. The Information required is a single line diagram showing the source, transformers, conductors and loads.

Jan 1, 1980

By Daniel W. Mageau, Larry W. Applegate, Aaron K. McCain

"An innovative method of ground freezing was successfully tested to create a “dry” excavation condition for a new building foundation at a site in downtown, Miami, Florida. The subsurface conditions in Miami generally consist of very porous, weak limestone and sand with groundwater near the surface. Water flow through these materials can be very high. Dewatering is extremely restricted in Miami so deep below-grade structures are rare and expensive. A new, innovative method to allow deep excavations in dry conditions without dewatering involves the creation of a thick, temporary, frozen soil plug below the planned excavation depth across the entire site to cut off vertical groundwater flow during construction. Frozen soil is impermeable and very strong and has long been used for temporary structural and water-tight shored walls. Using the same proven principals, frozen soil plugs are very effective at cutting off water from the bottom of the excavation as well as resisting upward buoyant forces. This new freezing method can be used for fairly deep excavations in new building construction supported on deep foundations. The building piles act as temporary anchors for the frozen plug to resist very high upward buoyant pressures until the permanent structural slab is completed.IntroductionUnlike other Cities, below grade basements are rare in Miami. The few basement foundations constructed have utilized a cumbersome and expensive method of excavation and shoring involving underwater excavation, tremie slabs, and commercial divers. The key issue for underground construction in this area of the country is the vertical flow of groundwater through the base of the excavation. To deal with this issue in the past, the contractor first installed all of the building piles and the perimeter shoring walls. Then, interior sheet pile walls are installed to create small manageable excavation pits. Each pit is then excavated through standing water “in-the-blind” and around the buildings support piles. The final excavation, interior struts, and inspection is performed by commercial divers. Finally a thick foundation tremie slab is poured under water. This method could be successful but proved to be time consuming and expensive. In addition, some building piles were occasionally damaged during the under-water construction process."

Jan 1, 2015

To monitor the quantity and quality of air in underground mines to assure safe working conditions. Approach Several mine air monitoring systems, consisting of sensing stations in the return airways and control stations on the surface, have been Installed and tested. How It Works Sensor stations are located at strategic places in the underground mine. At each station, the sensors measure air velocity, air temperature, methane concentration, and carbon monoxide concentration. In one system, differential air pressure between intake air and return air, is also measured. Output voltages of the sensors are converted to digital signals at the sensor stat ion; these signals are multiplexed so that data from all sensors can be trans-phone wire to a central station. There the data are displayed and alarms are triggered when the sensed values exceed (or in the case of air velocity, fall below) a preset value. In addition to receiving data automatically, the central station can poll individual sensors at any time.

Jan 1, 1978

By P. Bakke

Following extensive R&D efforts, Hydro Magnesium has launched a new alloy series with remarkable combinations of properties. The AE alloy family is based on additions of aluminium and rare earth elements to control mechanical properties, including elevated temperature creep strength. By combining these alloying elements with manganese additions, high purity alloys with outstanding corrosion performance are defined. A basic philosophy behind the developments has been to simultaneously approach all the critical issues related to developing a commercial material. Apart from the obvious requirements for material properties, the critical issues relate to die casting performance, as well as alloy production, recycling and environmental compatibility. Some of the important elements related to alloy production and recycling are addressed in the present paper.

Jan 1, 2006

By William Highton

If the economic situation in the Western World evolves on a path similar to that of the past decade, then we Mining Engineers must accept that one of the major cost factors in the production of deep mined coal is going to be that of labour. Whilst not trying to over-simplify matters it does appear that one of the ways of maintaining acceptable coal costs is by obtaining more coal without increasing manpower. One such way could be an increase in the use of the retreat method of mining. The paper theorises and illustrates case studies to show that as the Mining Industry extends the use of Longwall retreat mining systems in coal seams where the risk of spontaneous combustion exists, then the use of bleeder entries should be questioned. In addition to the spontaneous combustion risk, bleeder entry systems where the ventilation flow is not fully controllable cannot be construed as a safe and reliable method of controlling high rates of methane emission. These two major aspects alone should be sufficient ground for Mining Engineers to re-consider the practice of using bleeder entries. An alternative "The Back Return System" appears to offer most of the advantages for controlling the environment, without the disadvantages of the other system.

Jan 1, 1980

By Ramanathan Ayothiraman, Anurag Singh

"An experimental program was undertaken to investigate the effects of randomly distributed basalt fibre on the index and engineering properties of Dhanori clay and to compare its performance with the properties of soil reinforced with polypropylene fibre. In the present investigation, 7 groups of soil samples were prepared at four different percentages of basalt fibre and polypropylene fibre content and tests were done for measuring their consistency limits, compaction characteristics, unconfined compression strength and consolidation properties. The test results indicate that the inclusion of basalt fibre in Dhanori clay resulted in significant improvement in properties. The improved properties are not comparable with polypropylene fibres, nevertheless, the improvement by basalt fibres is able to meet the typical design target values and the cost is very much less than synthetic fibres. More importantly, basalt fibres are environment friendly.INTRODUCTIONConstruction of buildings in low lands with engineered filling, flexible and rigid pavements for highways/airfields, and embankments for highways/railways are also part of major infrastructural development in addition to construction of tall buildings, bridges/fly overs, major dams and underground structures. The later projects require different improvement techniques than that is adopted in the former projects. Ground improvement techniques such as use of reinforcement inclusions within soil found as an effective and reliable technique. Especially such modification by fibre reinforcement, is primarily possible in engineered filling, pavements subgrade and embankments, where surface mixing is easier; and may not be feasible when stabilization/modification is required for deeper depths. In comparison with conventional reinforcement using geosynthetics (strips, geotextile, geogrid, etc.), there are some advantages in using randomly distributed fibre as reinforcement. In past few decades, the discrete fibres are simply added and mixed randomly with soil, in much the same way as cement, lime, or other additives.There are several studies (Ziegler et al. 1998; Puppala et al. 2000; Bei-xing et al. 2004; Cai et al. 2006; Tang et al. 2007, 2012, 2016; Abdi et al. 2008; Viswanadham et al. 2009; Le et al. 2015) that investigated the behaviour of polypropylene fibre-reinforced soil and reported that an increase in fibre content caused an increase in strength and shrinkage potential but brought on the reduction of swelling potential. The length of fibres had an insignificant effect on soil characteristics, whereas fibre contents proved more influential and effective. A study on rubber fibre conducted by Hambirao and Rakaraddi (2014) mentions that tensile cracking of clays can be improved with the inclusion of short rubber fibres, optimum fibre content was about 15 % of weight of soil. Several experimental studies (Babu et al. 2008; Chaple and Dhatrak 2013; Vibhakar and Nahta 2014; Soundara and Senthilkumar 2015; Goyal et al. 2015; Jayasree et al. 2014, 2015) were conducted on coir fibre-reinforced soil and concluded that it helped in reducing the swell potential and 1% fibre by weight of the soil almost doubled the CBR value. Martins et al. (2015) found that 4% of sisal fibre by weight of the soil reduced the visibility of cracks. Pillai and Ayothiraman (2012), Ayothiraman et al. (2014) and Sahu et al. (2016) have demonstrated that human hair fibres can be used to improve the properties of both fine grained and coarse grained soils."

Jan 1, 1900

By Robert R. Morrison

Alberta Piling Contractors very rarely are required to perform major marine construction in the prairies, so it became as a big surprise to AGRA Foundations Limited to be invited by Transalta Utilities Corporation to bid on a major marine project for the Sundance Cooling Pond Expansion at Lake Wabamun, Alberta. Even more of a shock, the work had to be undertaken during Alberta's harsh winter conditions with temperatures plunging to -30 C. Not a happy situation for prairie construction workers to be in, working from barges in the middle of a lake in the dead of winter. However, it is well known that prairie boys make the best sailors.

Jan 1, 1997

By D. O. Tansey

This paper will describe the mechanisms involved in delay blasting and how they are applied with the use of D.S.B. It will examine the control of potential damage resulting from detonations, and show how good fragmentation and efficient recovery of this material blasted can be achieved.

Jan 1, 1979

By Isabella Faria da Cunha Peixoto

O emprego das ligas NiTi proporcionou a fabricação de instrumentos endodônticos com diferentes desenhos de lâminas cortantes. Este estudo investigou a relação entre as características geométricas destes instrumentos e a força apical necessária para inseri-los em canais artificiais em blocos de acrílico. A força apical foi registrada através de um dispositivo de bancada de testes. Dez instrumentos de cada tipo ES, Mtwo, ProFile GT, ProFile GTX, K3, RaCe e PTU F1 foram testados a uma velocidade de 300 rpm e um torque de 5 Ncm com um movimento vertical de 17 mm de comprimento. Os dados foram comparados por análise de variância (a = 0,05). Avaliação geométrica e dimensional mostrou que o instrumento K3 tem a maior área de seção transversal, seguido por PTU F1 e GT. Os ângulos helicoidais menores de RaCe, ES e GTX podem ter contribuído para os baixos valores de força apical encontrados. Maiores valores de força apical foram determinados nos instrumentos GT, K3 e PTU F1 em relação à RaCe, ES e GTX. Foi observado que a força apical exercida durante o preparo do canal está diretamente relacionada à área de seção transversal e aos valores dos ângulos helicoidais dos instrumentos.

Aug 16, 2017

By S. C. Tadolini

Roof support systems have evolved from standing posts and timbers to a generation termed ?big nails? where steel bars are inserted into boreholes and anchored with expansion shells and/or resin cartridges. These systems have been effective but are limited to mining height. Additionally, the properties of steel do not resists shear forces or have the flexibility being required in difficult ground conditions. The next generation of roof support systems is coupling the best parts of the ?big nail? and resin grouted cable bolt systems. This paper will present the advanced technical solutions of the next generation of cable systems that includes an indented high-capacity PC-strand used with a variety of fixtures. Case histories of support applications will be presented.

Jan 1, 2012

G. McMEANS*—This paper is a very good demonstration of the use of a new tool for the solution of industrial problems of a physical nature. To have solved this problem without the use of radioactive tracers would have required a far greater amount of investigation and work. The authors have described their work in such detail and in such a manner as to suggest the possibilities of the use of such tracer studies in the solution of many perplexing problems of industry. R. E. BREWER †—The authors are to be congratulated on this very excellent paper, which describes the results obtained by utilizing radioactive tracers in investigating the complicated reactions in the coking process. The paper has especial merit because the study was made under typical operating conditions in a commercial coke oven. Considering all the difficulties involved, the results obtained are excellent. My brief comments will relate primarily to the method used for determining the sulphur in the gas and to the value of the data obtained in stimulating further research. In discussing their results, the authors state (p. 17) that "Of the total sulphur charged to the oven in the coal 95 pct was accounted for in the coke and gas. Most of the sulphur unaccounted for is believed to have been lost in the gas, since the gas sampling system removed all the H2S but probably only part of the organic sulphur compounds present in the gas. Although sulphur in the acid-insoluble tar residue in the gas scrubbing bottles was determined and added to the total sulphur determination of each sample, it is doubtful whether an aliquot portion of tar for each sample was obtained." The reviewer believes that the authors might have obtained a better sulphur balance had they used an improved procedure for determining sulphur in the gas. The absorption train should have included a trap to remove the tar and am-moniacal liquor and a wash bottle containing 5 pct sulphuric acid to remove ammonia in the coke-oven gas before it entered the gas scrubbing bottles containing the ammoniacal cadmium chloride solution. Sulphur in the tar and

Jan 1, 1950

By Raymond M. Howe

Some time ago, a prominent engineer asked a representative of the firebrick industry to prepare a comprehensive paper on blast-furnace refractories. It was to have been the purpose of this paper to gather practical experiences from widely different sources, in the hope of determining what kind or kinds of firebrick were best adapted for certain uses. This engineer sent questionnaires to the large consumers of blast-furrace linings and stovebrick and received very detailed replies as to their experiences. These replies are conflicting, but, having been turned over to the writer, form the basis of this attempt to meet the request. Because of the impossibility of making final recommendations at this time, a few of the more interesting and commonly known methods of studying refractories are also discussed, as well as the more recent developments in this field. The first reply to the questionnaire stated that good service was being secured from the linings. This satisfactory condition was attributed to the use of a very good distributor. The writer believed that manufacturers try to and do produce a good product and that the proper handling of equipment is of the utmost importance, if good results are to be secured. The type of bricks used was not mentioned. The second reply stated that good life was secured from the furnace linings, but that the writer had had soft-fired stovebrick crumble and, for that reason, preferred a hard-fired product for use in this position. The type of bricks used was not mentioned. The third reply stated that firebrick had crumbled from the mantle up; the cause was not known. The fourth reply stated that the stove linings were satisfactory. Hand-made furnace linings failed after.4 years' service so a steam-pressed lining- was installed which was still good after 4 years of service. Consequently, a second steam-pressed lining was installed but this disintegrated at the top after the furnace had been in blast 7 months. The firebrick manufacturer attributed this failure to the expansion of iron blocks that had been installed at the stock line to prevent erosion. The fifth reply stated that the present "hard-burned" hand-made furnace lining had worn away very uniformly to the depth of only 5 in.

Jan 1, 1920

By Milance Mitovski, Milorad Cirkovic, Vlastimir Trujic, Dragana Živkovic

"In this article, it is analysed the possibilitis and the effects utility waste energy of process sulfuric acid production in the existing technical-technological conditions. The utility second process energy, reduction the fuels consumption, reduction environment pollution and its effects are shown, too. High heat quantity is produced as the result of exothermal reactions in the production process of sulfuric acid in Bor. A part of this heat is sufficient for the process development, and significant part of this heat presents low-temperature heat energy that is irretrievable lost. Investigations were carried out based on production of 485 t of monohydrate/day of sulfuric acid. By recovery of this heat quantity for heating purposes, about 20.000 – 25.000 t of coal/year would be saved, what would significantly improve the power efficiency of the smelter copper production. IntroductionTechnological process of copper production in RTB BOR (Serbia) produces a significant quantities of high temperature secondary (waste) heat energy that is uncontrolled “lost” in the vicinity. Secondary heat energy is produced in pyrometallurgical copper production in quantity of 1,621 kWth/kg of dry concentrate or existing heat (that presents a difference of heat at furnace outlet and heat at temperature over temperature of dew point of sulphuric acid gases) in quantity of 1,315 kWth/kg of dry concentrate. For designed capacity of Copper Smelter in Bor, the existing heat power of secondary energy is 92,111 MWt, what is an equivalent to the power of steam-turbo plant where the Rankine-Clausius heating cycle is done, and that is 28,334 MWe."

Jan 1, 2008

By Armand Bur, W. R. Reichenstein

Since coal is one of the largest cost items in the production of electricity, its analysis for heat value and composition has been the subject of intensive study. Sampling started with crude hand methods, out of the railroad car or barge or from moving conveyor discharge, and progressed to reliable mechanical in-plant sampling systems. The mechanical system takes its sample from a falling stream of coal such as a conveyor discharge or crusher discharge hopper. But this has a disadvantage in that the identity of the coal is lost. Coal is shipped to the user in train-loads, often made up of shipments from various mines. When the cars are dumped into hoppers and the coal conveyed to the power station, the various shipments become mixed because residual coal remains in hoppers and chutes.

Jan 5, 1959

By D. S. Richards

Computers have revolutionized the collection of data on modern mines. Never before has it been possible to collect data from all aspects of the mining value chain at rates now common. With this has come a new challenge. Deriving information from these copious amounts of data and disseminating it. This problem is being exacerbated by technical software systems, which use proprietary and binary data formats that severely inhibit the flow of data and information both across departments and the larger organization. Generally this had led to data duplication and data redundancy. The Gemcom Enterprise Mining System (GEMS) makes use of industry standard, secure and open databases for all its data objects. It manages multiple users accessing the same bits and bytes in the database, preventing data duplication and redundancy. Developed in the Microsoft BackOffice ® environment, GEMS is also able to leverage the enormous amount of tools available in this environment, whether it’s for e-mail notification, reporting or data capture. Microsoft’s® Active Server Pages are one of these tools. These are standards used to create dynamic and interactive web pages with links into databases and many other objects. The real example outlined in the text, demonstrates how a user anywhere in the world is able to login to a web page and run a query that returns a report with vector plots of performance for the user-selected time frame. As integration is tightened between the various components of the mining value chain, the importance and reliance on ASP pages will grow as the need for management information tools develops. Keywords: mines, computers, ASP, GEMS, integration, Microsoft, Management Information.

Jan 1, 2003

By Lawrence Devon Smith

"The Management and Economics Society has undertaken a survey of industry practice in the evaluation of mineral projects. The survey addresses a number of issues relating to evaluation techniques, discounted cash flow methodology, and risk. Completed during the spring and summer of2005, the results provide a record of opinion at an active and vital time in our industry.The 2005 survey questionnaire was distributed by e-mail to groups and organizations around the world. There were 22 respondents out of several hundred questionnaires distributed (we gather this small proportion of respondents is typical for such surveys). The responses, although a small number, show a consistency that suggests that the survey has captured the views of the industry. The results of the survey are summarized below in series of tables and graphs.The reader is cautioned that the results are a snapshot of industry practice at a point in time as represented by a small sampling of the industry's practitioners. These results should be viewed as indicative values."

Jan 1, 2003

By W. A. Gow, G. M. Ritcey, M. C. Campbell

"Uranium is a unique commodity. It is both a metal and a fuel, It has both commercial and military uses. It yields ""clean energy "" but presents environmental concerns. All of these factors have an impact on the commerce of uranium.Being a metal, uranium is extracted from ore like many other metallic minerals. As a fuel, it is subject to the vagaries of energy commodity market forces. The history of uranium in the first nuclear weapons has led to nation al governments carefully controlling production and sale of uranium. The spectre of radioactive contamination of the environment adds further to the public concern over the disposal of low-level radioactive wastes from uranium processing and use.There have been a number of excellent reviews on the commercial aspects of the uranium industry. In this discussion, these aspects will be briefly summarized to provide a general picture of the strengths of the Canadian uranium industry and the pressures to which it is being subjected currently. The principal thrust of this paper will be to outline Canada's resource strength and to identify some factors which will affect Canada's ability to continue holding a sizeable share of the world uranium market."

Jan 1, 1985

By O. A. E. Jackson

Pebble milling has been practiced in the reduction works of South Africa gold mines for well over 50 years. Originally flint pebbles were imported from Denmark to grind stamp-mill amalgamation-process tailing, which contained a good deal of extractable gold, but local operators soon found that large pieces of ore could be used for the same purpose. The ore is a hard, tough conglomerate in which quartz pebbles are cemented together by a matrix of redeposited silica interspersed with pyrite crystals. The gold, rarely visible, occurs as fine particles mostly segregated at the interface of the pebble and matrix, although a small fraction occurs within the pyrite crystals. There is seldom any gold in the pebbles themselves. Following the usual South African practice in pebble milling, Union Corp. grinds the ore wet in two or three milling stages incorporating classification. The sized broken ore used as grinding media is separated from the main ore stream in the crushing section that prepares the ore for milling. Where the ore channel, or reef, is narrow there is a shortage of large pebbles. In this case primary grinding may be done in ball mills or, more recently, in rod mills, which cost less per ton to operate. The trend, however, is to prepare finer feed for the milling section. This makes it possible to use smaller primary pebbles and eliminates the need for steel. REDUCTION WORKS OF UNION CORP. LTD. Union Corp. Ltd. exercises financial and technical control over a group of seven gold mines in the Transvaal and Orange Free State. In the Transvaal, with one exception. the mines lie 20 to 40 miles east of Johannesburg, in flat or gently rolling countryside. Winkelhaak, the first of several new mines that will be developed by Union Corp., is located in similar terrain in an entirely new gold mining district about 80 miles east of Johannesburg. Table I gives details of milling units for six of the Union Corp. mines, together with the tonnage milled in 1957. Winkelhaak Mines Ltd. is not included, as it did not begin milling until 1958. This reduction plant has no crushing section; ore is ground directly from the mine (autogenously) in 12x16-ft mills. Because these operations are still in development, they are not described in this article. It will be noted that certain reduction works have mills of more than one size in the same milling stage. This came about when plant extensions in- corporated larger units. In the case of Geduld Propty. Mines Ltd., which began milling operations 50 years ago, the primary stage is stamp milling. The reduction works follow a uniform pattern and are usually joined to the main ore shaft. Ore from other shafts is brought by standard-gage railway and dumped into a common transfer bin. The trend is to increase surface storage capacity to enable the crushing and milling sections to operate at a steady rate, independent of fluctuating ore deliveries from mine. Milling and cyanide extraction divisions of new mines are always designed to allow for extensions as mine production increases. The conveying, washing, and screening system of the crushing section is usually laid out in final form, with additional space for more crushing equipment. The crushing sections operate on one shift during early years of mine production; a second shift is introduced when the mining rate warrants it. Ample surge capacity is provided. Crushing and milling is done only on weekdays, as the law does not allow these operations to take place on Sunday in any plants constructed since 1911. The cyanide extraction sections, however, operate continuously seven days a week, drawing on mill pulp gradually built up in the thickeners during the week. Construction and equipment of milling plants follow standard practice. Dilution water is drawn from a large, high-level tank to obtain constant pressure, but gland service water for the pulp pumps is reticulated from high-pressure, two-stage pumps. The mills are equipped with the most up-to-date machinery and are designed to save labor. They compare favorably with milling plants in countries where native labor does not exist, and automatic controls are being installed wherever feasible. Hydrocyclone classifiers have replaced mechanical classifiers in modern milling plants, chiefly because of the saving in capital outlay, maintenance, and building space. The hydroclones are fed from steady head boxes rather than directly from pumps, and dilution water is introduced into these boxes. Tests have shown that in steadiness of operation and separating efficiency cyclones are comparable to mechanical classifiers. but protective stationarv screens are needed to keep the spigots clear. Rubber-lined pumps are used for pulp of about 3 mesh or finer and metal-lined pumps for coarser material. None of the Union Corp. milling plants practices gravity concentration of coarse gold by amalgamation or the use of corduroy blankets. Studies have proved that no economic case can be made for these methods, which complicate the milling process and demand extra precautions against theft.

Jan 1, 1960

By E. C. Foster

The project objective of this contract is to design, develop, and demonstrate a dust collecting system for auger head miners, used in coal seams 40 inches or less in height, which will reduce respirable dust below the limits established by the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969. This system was to be incorporated into 3 Wilcox Mark 20 continuous miner. In order to accomplish this, the objective was divided in three main areas. First: To develop a dust control system which would remove by isolation, respirable dust from the face area and areas where miners work. Second: To develop a dust scrubbing system to remove and collect float dust before the air reaches the return airway. Third: To reduce the overall noise levels to which the miners are exposed.

Jan 1, 1974