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By R L. Koenig

The rediscovery and recognition of the magnetite potential of the iron mineralisation at the Hawsons Project area 60 km south of Broken Hill has the potential for the development of a new series of magnetite iron-ore operations across the Braemar Iron Formation in New South Wales and South Australia. Despite the low-grade of 16 per cent magnetite, the Hawsons project feasibility studies are indicating a positive business case for a large-scale 20 Mt/a of magnetite project for the following reasons:• The mineralisation is on a huge scale, with a major potential for increases beyond the already very large established resource of 1.4 Bt.• The mineralisation is particularly soft for crushing and grinding, with a Bond work index of 6.3 and an overall comminution power requirement of 6.7 kWh/t of ore. This equates to 39 kWh/t of concentrate which is significantly less than for similar projects.• The mineralisation fractures easily, preferentially along grain boundaries.• Location is close to mining infrastructure and a skilled workforce at Broken Hill, 60 km to the northeast.• It is close to road and rail infrastructure for access to the resource.• A high-grade, clean magnetic concentrate can be produced, with the only contaminant being silica.The deposit is a sedimentary siltstone which is considerably different to other known magnetite deposits. This caused significant differences in Davis Tube Recovery (DTR) results between laboratories so that the softness of the ore has required a close focus on, and changes to the laboratory procedures. A DTR procedure has been developed to provide consistent results across the deposit.Crushing and grinding test work has established a clear advantage in the use of the high-pressure grinding rolls (HPGR) crushing and grinding circuit for this particular ore. The power required for comminution using the HPGR crushing circuit is about half the power required for the Autogenous milling circuit.Therefore, despite the low magnetite grades, the Braemar Iron Formation in New South Wales and South Australia has the potential be a new magnetite iron ore province.

Jul 11, 2011

By William R. Wayment, Wayne S. Cusitar

INTRODUCTION The process of mining removes valuable and eco¬nomically recoverable minerals from the earth. In the case of hard-rock mining, this process involves breaking and removing ore, while leaving the waste rock or host rock as intact as possible. Prior to mining, ground stresses exist in the ore and the host rock as a result of weight and tectonic forces; for the purposes of this chapter, the ore is considered to support the host rock on both the hanging and footwall sides. Two basic phenomena accompany mining. First, the hanging walls and footwalls tend to move together as the ore is removed. Second, high stress gradients de¬velop in the rock periphery of the opening; the magni¬tudes of the stress gradients vary widely, depending upon the local geometry and conditions. At various times, mining methods have used square¬set timbers, waste-rock backfill, alluvial sand fill, and tailings backfill materials, with or without cement, to replace the loss of support caused by the removal of the ore. Cut-and-fill mining has evolved to use hydraulically placed tailings for the backfill. In the stope, this fill provides massive support to the walls, thereby reducing stresses in the back. It also provides a floor from which men and machines can work to drill and blast, to haul ore, and to scale and bolt the back. In many cases, the addition of cement provides a competent free-standing wall when the fill is exposed during mining of adjacent stopes or during pillar recovery operations. In most cases, the use of fill does not eliminate standard tem¬porary or local roof control measures such as roof bolts and wire mesh. Fill Characteristics It is important that backfill used for ground support be of maximum stiffness in relation to wall closure. The stiffness of the fill is related to its placement bulk density or void ratio. In the case of cemented tailings, this is enhanced by the cement bonds. During stope closure, individual fill particles experience rotation and crushing at point contacts, but they are subject to little relative translation. The stiffness approaches infinity as the void ratio approaches zero, until the ground forces reach equilibrium, and closure stops. The gradation of particle sizes and minimal segregation resulting from good hy¬draulic placement both contribute to a high degree of early stiffness in the closure history of classified tailings backfill. This also implies that the fill should be resistant to creeping under high static loads. All mines experience shock loading situations such as blasting, and many mines experience rock bursts that can apply sudden and very high loads to the fill. Certain conditions of void ratio, particle size, and moisture con¬tent can result in mass fluidization of unconsolidated fill during such shock loading. Two key factors in avoid¬ing fluid behavior are the provision of a well-drained fill through desliming or classification and the achievement of a small degree of consolidation through the addition of cement in ratios as lean as 40 to 1 (2.4% cement). The acceptance of classified mill tailings as backfill material has been enhanced by its relative economy, including its source, preparation, delivery, and stope distribution. Transportation from the backfill prepara¬tion plant on the surface into the stope usually can be accomplished with low power consumption, with low labor costs, with few capital costs, and at high tonnage rates. An additional benefit is a reduction of the storage volume required for surface disposal of the tailings stream, with a resultant improvement in the environ¬ment. The costs of placing cemented tailings backfill generally range from $1.65 to $6.61/t ($1.50 to $6.00 per st) of fill depending upon the cement ratio used. Scope This chapter examines a major backfill program at a mine and mill complex where the backfill facilities are included as a part of the original planning. The backfill preparation plant is intended to make maximum use of remote controls and automation. The logistics asso¬ciated with material storage, handling, and metering in the plant are outlined. Important considerations in specifying equipment for typical service conditions are discussed. The fill delivery system is described, includ¬ing the boreholes, level lines, and stope distribution lines. Stope preparations for fill confinement and drain¬age are described, as are the techniques of placement and distribution. Methods of controlling and directing the flow of drainage water and slimes are presented, along with the facilities and equipment for clarification, pumping, and sludge removal. As shown in Fig. 1, the fill program encompasses most aspects of the mining and refining facilities, so the discussion is brief in each area. The preparation of backfill of a uniform and con¬trollable quality is presented here as a material handling problem. The balance of the presentation concentrates on the logic of the system, the costs where meaningful (in 1977 US $ unless otherwise specified), and some operating "tricks" that have contributed to system per¬formance and reliability. SURFACE PREPARATION PLANT A backfill preparation plant is required on the surface. This plant generates suitable fill material from the stream of mill tailings. Among the functions of the plant are: 1) Slimes are removed to improve the percolation characteristics of the fill; typically, particles finer than 325 mesh are removed from the tailings. 2) Tailings and sand storages are provided so that the steady stream of tailings produced by the mill can be accepted. Provision is made to accommodate the cyclic high-volume demand from the mine. 3) The plant stores the cement and contains meter¬ing and mixing facilities to provide fill of a controllable and uniform quality. 4) The hydraulic backfill delivery system is a part

Jan 1, 1982

By John H. Hild

This is a report on work done and results obtained in a minerals exploration program conducted by the Bureau of Mines on the lead-zinc deposits in the Ross Basin-Lake Como district, San Juan County, Colo., in 1948, 1949, and 1950. Four large veins--the Seven Thirty, Red Rogers, Cashier-Shorts top-Canandaigua, and Queen Anne--and several narrow spur veins were explored at relatively shallow depths with core-drill holes. Thirty-nine holes, totaling 10,491.5 feet, were drilled, and the core samples were assayed at the Bureau of Mines station at Salt Lake City, Utah.

Jan 1, 1959

By Tatiana Kotrikova, Steven Kolarz, Alan Kolodne, James Parkes, Matthew Goff

The WMATA Yellow Line is the section of steel segmentally lined tunnels that have experienced leakage and significant corrosion in isolated areas. A three part rehabilitation design has been developed for curtain grouting, structural repairs, and corrosion protection to provide continued performance. As WMATA’s first Construction-Manager-at-Risk (CMAR) project, the design development benefitted from collaboration with the Contractor through the final design development process. Rehabilitation work started in Fall 2022 and will be completed by late Spring 2023. Details of the project, the remediation design, and the process and benefits of the CMAR approach in the design development are presented.

Jun 13, 2023

By Roger Favreau, Patrice Favreau

Without blasting there can be no roads, no hospitals, no factories, not even foundations for homes. Yet in 1960 the only way to design a blast was by trial/error. By comparison, bridges were already designed by calculations before being actually built. This was possible because equations based on the fundamental principles of science existed with which all the stresses in the bridge could be calculated. In 1960 no equations based on the fundamental principles of science existed with which the mechanisms that take place inside the rock mass during a blast could be calculated. Since then the main author made it the objective of his research to seek such equations, and to validate that they gave accurate answers by means of experiments in the field, experiments made in co-operation with mines, quarries and the explosives industry; results have been reported in some 90 publications.These equations now deal with essentially all aspects of a bench blast: the intensity of the shock wave and the fragmentation size distribution throughout the rock mass; the movement of all the fragments into the muck pile; the fly rock and vibrations from the blast; etc.; are presented examples of such equations. They are now assembled into a computer simulator called Blaspa accessible on the Web, with which one can design a blast just as a bridge is designed. An example is presented. The reason to design a blast by simulations rather than solely by trial/error is that if it leads to damage, it is only after the actual blast that the blast design is realized to cause damage. If however the blast design had been simulated before the blast, then the risk of damage is identified before the blast and is prevented by redesigning the blast. Examples of such situations are presented. The need to a void damage is very necessary because the public is becoming opposed to blasting. When a blast does cause damage, and people learn that the blast was designed solely by trial/error even though simulation was available and would have prevented damage, they become even more strongly against blasting; they may succeed in getting a quarry closed. Their objections to unchecked blasting are not unreasonable, especially as simulating a blast with Blaspa on the Web is a very simple procedure.

Jan 1, 2013

Exploration for uranium in Australia has so far discovered reserves equal to 17.5% of the Western World's. The Australian uranium industry, when fully developed, will be one of the largest producers and possibly the largest exporter in the world. The world's nuclear industry is young, rapidly developing in size and technology and is subject to more social, political and regulatory controls than any other industry. This paper considers the probable development of Australia's uranium industry against a background of normal commercial parameters together with other factors which are peculiar to the nuclear industry. As the theme of this conference is "Australia's role in the World Mineral Indus- try" this paper concentrates on the commercial and practical aspects associated with the development of Australia's uranium resources in a world context.

Jan 1, 1979

By Phil Thwaites

"The mining industry uses many types of mineral and metallurgical plants to produce saleable product from ore mined. Plant design history has left current operations with a mixture of manual operation and various forms of automated process controls. Consequently, we typically see high variability in the continuous operations together with a shortfall in the attainment of full capacity, or higher utilization of consumables.At a level of best practice, “Operational Performance Excellence” focuses on process control, using automation and control systems to deliver process optimization. This more sophisticated delivery is a great deal more difficult than the first stage of equipment selection / installation. It includes the appropriate selection of the right instrumentation, control system, key process knowledge, individuals with a solid control engineering background/experience, and the essential backing/ support of the operations management team together leading to higher value delivery. Robust solutions can be realized, considerably minimizing process variation, thus leading to process optimization. This approach results in an easier, efficient and safer process while providing considerable returns for the plant owners.How variable are your processes, and do you maintain optimized process performance with dedicated resources, modern instrumentation, ‘best practice’ control systems and performance monitoring tools? In this lecture, these questions and their possible answers are discussed.357"

Jan 1, 2013

By T. A. Klinefelter, R. G. O’Meara, Glenn C. Truesdell, Richard W. Smith

THE investigation of domestic tales was undertaken by the Bureau of Mines, Department of the Interior, in cooperation with the University of Alabama, at the request of the U. S. Army, on Dec. I, 1941: "Considerable concern has been expressed by the Supply Arms and Service over maintaining continued availability of supplies of the necessary raw materials. These ceramic products are used by the Signal Corps in all army radio equipment, and to a greater degree in the new ultra-high-frequency equipment. The Air Corps has become a user of large amounts of radio-grade ceramics for aircraft spark-plug covers required for high-altitude operations. In addition, the use of this material is essential to the proper functioning of the radio air-navigation aids of the Civil Aeronautics Board." HISTORY The use of steatite and talc in ceramic bodies goes back a great many years. If pure, tales shrink little under heat-treatment and are very resistant to heat shock. The massive form, commonly called "steatite" by the trade, cuts and works easily, and this was naturally the first method used in obtaining articles of talc. When gas was in general use for illuminating purposes, a large business was carried on in the manufacture of tips for gas burners.1 With the development of uses for electricity, low-tension insulators were made in a similar manner; and, in fact, the forming of shapes from massive talc continues. However, as the business increased, cuttings and waste became more and more of a problem. In the twenties, one of the larger producing firms had a cooperative agreement with the Bureau of Mines at its Columbus station to work out a body using the finely powdered material. Somewhat earlier, manufacturers of spark plugs used the finely ground talc as part of the body and to some extent in wall-tile bodies. Somewhat later it came into use for kiln furniture and similar products and still more recently it has been used in some dinnerwares. With the development of the radio and the high-frequency fields generated, it was found that a dense steatite porcelain was far better than even high-tension electrical porcelain, which is a clay-flint-feldspathic type of body. Until the war increased the demand, the several pioneer steatite-porcelain manufacturers were able to furnish adequate supplies. When war began in Europe and Asia, three important foreign sources of raw material were cut off; i.e., the French, Italian, and Manchurian tales. Domestic producers of high-grade porcelain are few, and the trade

Jan 1, 1943

By Ashish Ranjan Kumar, Barbara Arnold, Luis Sanchez Gonzalez

Mining operations adopt a variety of measures to combat dust underground. These include ventilation systems, water sprays, physical barriers, and personal protective equipment (PPE). Respirators are a class of PPE that can provide clean particulate- free air to the users. Powered Air-Purifying Respirators (PAPRs), used commonly in medical and other sectors, are not prevalent in the mining industry. PAPRs use P100 filters that have 99.97% dust capture efficiency. We present our results from computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations performed to understand the impact of a PAPR on airflow and dust particle concentration in the vicinity of a miner. These results show that donning PAPRs can lower the miners’ exposure to respirable coal dust in their workplace.

Feb 1, 2025

By Walter C. Holmes

IN the recently published book entitled "Man in a Chemical World," by A. Cressy Morrison, the several pages discussing explosives were included in the chapter on "Serving Industry." Such a classification is entirely correct, as blasting explosives function only as a tool for accomplishing certain useful work, a tool which is completely destroyed in one use. Explosives are so important to industry and to modern society, in fact, that it seems impossible to imagine the existence of civilized nations without access to commercial explosives as ready servants. Two main types of explosives are now in use, the low-velocity or deflagrating type, such as black powder, which is adapted for use in coal mining and other applications where a slow, heaving effect is desired, and high explosives of the dynamite type,

Jan 1, 1938

By R. M. Santmyers

Umber and sienna, like ocher, are naturally occurring mineral pig- ments composed largely of clay permeated with hydrated iron (ferric oxide), but they differ from ocher in that they also contain hydrated manganese oxide. The presence of manganese accounts for their browner color. In addition to silica and alumina (clay) and the coloring oxides of iron and manganese, these pigments often contain lime, barium, and other metallic salts as impurities. Sienna most nearly approaches ocher in chemical composition, and the chief distinction is its physical character. It grades into ocher with de- creasing iron content and into umber with increasing manganese content. Sienna is translucent rather than opaque and is more of a stain than a pigment; as the iron oxide content is rather high (often 60 to 80 per cent), the color is strong and rich and varies from pure brown to reddish brown. This pigment raw sienna, terra di Siena, and Italian earth. is known under several names: Burnt sienna is a pigment of an orange-brown tint made by cautionsly calcining raw sienna. It is divided into two grades; American, and Italian burnt sienna. American burnt sienna is a reddish-brown pigment containing from 25 to 60 per cent iron oxide (Fe2O3). One grade, found in Pennsylvania, analyses as high as 80 per cent and is mown as double strength sienna. Italian burnt sienna is a pigment generally containing more iron than the American product, averaging 60 to 75 per cent iron oxide.3 American pig- ments of the same iron content differ materially in shade, having a Havana- brown color, whereas the Italian is more of a maroon. Italian siennas when tinted with 20 per cent of white, show a bluish tint, whereas American siennas yield a brownish or yellowish hue. Raw umber, also known as Turkey umber, Levant umber, and terra ombra, is a greenish to yellowish brown siliceous and ferruginous earth, containing a considerable proportion of one or other of the higher oxides of manganese, Mng04 and MnO2." It is similar in many respects to raw sienna except that it is much coarser and contains more manganese oxide. All umbers contain over 5 per cent of manganese dioxide. Like sienna, umber is a permanent pigment, not being injured by light or by impure atmospheres. Burnt umber (velvet brown, chestnut brown, etc.), results from the calcination of raw umber. The color is much richer and warmer than that of the raw umber. The colors are equally permanent and can be used in conjunc- tion with all other durable pigments.

Sep 1, 1931

By R. Hurman Eric

Within the Ag-Pb-S ternary system, the boundaries of the immiscibility region together with the tie-line distributions were re-established at 925°C by the equilibrium-quenching technique where samples were kept in evacuated and sealed silica capsules. Activities of Pb were measured by the dew-point method along the Ag-Pb binary at 925°C, 1100° and l200°C, positive deviations were observed and the results were modeled by the Krupkowski formalism. Activities of Ag, Pb, and S, along the ternary miscibility gap were calculated at 925°C by utilizing the boundaries binary thermodynamics, phase equilibria and tie-lines. Activities of PbS within the pseudobinary Ag2S-PbS mattes were also measured by the dew-point technique and the results were again modeled by the Krupkowski formation where negative deviations were observed.

Jan 1, 2003

By W. E. STOKES

SOME extension of flying service to the mining industry occurred in 1938, particularly in Canada, where freighting activity radiated from Edmonton into the new northern mining districts. Again the airplane demonstrated its usefulness in getting new equipment rapidly into the field and in decreasing shutdown time while waiting for repairs. An 18-ton Caterpillar tractor with shovel attachment was disassembled, brought in by plane, and placed in operation at Berens River, Ont., within seven days after its de- livery at Winnipeg. At Central Patricia a mill breakdown required the replacement of a full mill head and trunnion with ball bearings, weighing 2700 lb. The Canadian Airways Junkers, termed the "flying boxcar," was called in from Yellowknife, 1300 mi. away, and the new installation was completed three days later.

Jan 1, 1939

By Suzie Nantel

Crystalline igneous rocks, known commercially as granite, are exploited in Quebec f rom more than twenty-five quarries for building, ornamental and monumental purpose$. Quebec is the main Canadian producer of construction granite, accounting for nearly 90 per cent of total production. Jn the last three years, this industry has experienced an important growth due to improved marketing and use of modern equipment in rock-cutting and polishing. Jn /983 a 35 per cent sales increase is forecast. The main rock varieties extracted are the following: porphyritic pinkish grey granite and green charnockite from Riviere-dPierre, mahogany brown granite and black anorthositic rock f rom the Lac Saint-Jean area, fine-grained pink granite from Guenette, coarse-grained brown quartz monzonitefrom SaintA lexis-des-Monts. All these rock types occur in the Grenville tectonic province whereas a medium-grained, light grey granite, Devonian in age, is extensively being quarried in the southern part of the Appalachians. In the Superior province a greenish black diabase and a deep red granite are extracted. Search for new varieties and deposits is actively being carried out by prospectors and by the minis/ere de /'Energie et des Ressources du Quebec following growing demand for granitic and gabbroic rocks as dimension stone.

Jan 1, 1984

By Jr NeSmith

"Augered-cast-in-place (ACIP) pile installation technology has matured extensively since the first auger, pressure grouted pile was patented in 1959. The current technology allows for successful pile installation across a variety of stratigraphies to meet various project load resistance requirements. This paper presents an overview of current ACIP techniques by comparing a number of case histories in a variety of geologic settings from Eastern Pennsylvania, New York City and New Jersey to demonstrate ACIP pile constructability in soft soils as well as the penetration, and resulting significant loads resisted, of ACIP piles in dense soils and intermediate geo-materials. Geologic settings that will be discussed include the Piedmont and Coastal Plain geologic provinces as well as glacial till deposits. Keywords: Deep Foundations, Piles, Augercast, Augered-cast-in-place, Auger pressure grouted, ACIP, APGINTRODUCTIONThe author, along with two colleagues, published an article in Deep Foundations magazine (NeSmith et al, 2013) which described a number of the advances in equipment, techniques, installation monitoring and post-construction testing that have expanded the geologies in which Augered Cast-in-place (ACIP) piles are installed as well as increasing their efficiency in some traditional ACIP pile geologies. The author uses the term efficiency to refer to the load resisted by a pile of a certain diameter and the increased efficiency noted refers to increased allowable loads over those traditionally resisted by piles of certain diameter (or a reduction in pile diameter from that which was traditionally used to support a certain design load). The performance and installation of ACIP piles in a variety of geologies in the Northeastern U.S. are discussed herein.PIEDMONT PHYSIGRAPHIC PROVINCEThe Piedmont physiographic province stretches from Alabama to the east through Georgia and up the east coast, just west of the Coastal Plain to Pennsylvania and New York (Brown, 2002). It generally consists of soils weathered in place from the underlying bedrock, which is typically a combination of granite, schist and gneiss depending on the location within the province. The author’s experience in the Northeastern US has been on sites where alluvial or coastal plain soils overly the residual soils and partially weathered or intact rock of the Piedmont. The example presented here, from a site on Walnut St in Philadelphia PA, is representative of these projects."

Jan 1, 2016

By K. J. Martchek

"This introductory presentation will highlight recent efforts to quantify the positive value of recycling metals such as aluminum, magnesium, lead, zinc, nickel and copper in relation to the three pillars of ""sustainable development"" - environmental protection, economic development and improve social consequences.This presentation will provide an overview of life cycle assessment profiles increasingly being utilized by customers, regulators and environmental advocacy groups to holistically evaluate the environmental performance of materials and products. The environmental profiles of prodi.lcts containing recycled metal will be presented based on rules established by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).Significant to the life cycle profile of metal products is recent confirmation. that recycling has the potential to reduce materials production energy consumption by 95% for aluminum, 80""/o for magnesium and lead, 75% for zinc, and 70% for copper. Furthermore, . ""metals are eminently and repeatedly recyclable, while maintaining all their properties (1 ). "" Their durability relative to many hydrocarbon based materials enhance .their life cycle performance. However, the persistence of metals when dispersed into our natural environmental makes recovery and recycling particularly important Overall, when considering life cycle effects, recycling is critical to a sustainable future for metal products.Finally, regional and international regulations will be highlighted which will effect the efficient recovery and recycle of metals and their overall contribution to environinental protection, economic development and the enhancement of society."

Jan 1, 2000

By Gautam Chandra Mondal

An attempt has been made to carry out qualitative assessment of mine water discharges from the different mines of West Bokaro Coalfields of Hazaribag district of Jharkhand, India. A total of 33 mine water samples were analyzed for pH, electrical conductivity (EC), major cations (Ca, Mg, Na, K), major anions (HCO3, SO4, Cl, NO3), and heavy metals (Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, Pb, Cr, Ni, Co, As). The hydrochemical data has been evaluated in terms of major ion chemistry, solute acquisition processes and suitability of mine water for domestic, industrial and irrigation uses. The pH of the analyzed mine waters varies from 5.27?8.43 indicating acidic to alkaline nature of the water. The electrical conductivity (EC) values varied from 276 µScm-1 to 1598 µScm-1 for measured samples and spatial differences between the EC values reflects the wide variation in lithology, surface activities and hydrological regime prevailing in the region. The anion chemistry of the analyzed water samples shows the dominance of SO4 and HCO3 with a minor contribution from Cl, NO3 and F. The observed high values of sulphate in the mine water of the area may be attributed to the oxidative weathering of pyrites. On average chloride is contributing 5% of the total anionic balance (TZ-). Fluoride and nitrate have low concentrations and on average contributing <2% the total anions. The cation chemistry indicates that 79% of the samples are Ca>Mg>Na>K, while the 6% belong to Ca>Na>Mg>K and 1% of Ca>Mg>K>Na. Weathering of rock forming minerals and cation exchange processes normally control the levels of these cations. Concentrations of some heavy metals (Fe, Mn, Ni, Cr) are found to be well above the prescribed permissible levels recommended for the drinking water. The water quality assessment for drinking purposes indicates that most of the mine water having high TDS, total hardness (TH) and sulphate concentrations. This suggests that mine water of the study area is not suitable for direct use in drinking and domestic purposes and needs a proper treatment before its utilization. The assessment of water for irrigation uses show that the water is good to permissible quality and can be used for irrigation uses. However, high values of salinity, %Na, SAR, RSC and Mg-hazard at certain sites restrict its suitability for agriculture uses. Keywords: mine water; ion chemistry; quality assessment; West Bokaro coalfields

Sep 1, 2012

By Satian Niltawach

Iron sulphate jarosite through which iron in zinc sulphide concentrate feed is removed from the production circuit of conventional roast-leach-electrowin process, is chemically unstable and environmentally hazardous even if it is mixed with lime. If zinc silicate ore is used at similar chemical conditions in place of calcine in the jarosite precipitation, the resultant silico-jarosite residue having been mixed with lime is chemically stable and environmentally friendly. The recovery of zinc from silicate ore is also higher than that from calcine.

Jan 1, 1994

By Edward J. McNamara

Sulphur as an element has been used for centuries. The technique of storing, handling and transporting it in its various forms has changed through the years. Freeport Sulphur Company, a division of Freeport Minerals Company, has produced sulphur since 1912. The first storing and transporting of this product as a liquid began in 1947. Significant environmental problems occurred in the handling of solid sulphur in the late fifties and early sixties. Since the sulphur WAS produced in the liquid form and the major customers used it in the liquid form, it became obvious that a liquid transportation system was the solution. The liquid sulphur delivery eliminated the dusty and hazardous handling problems and the contamination of the sulphur by dirt, acid, moisture and other materials. The remelting by the customer to use the sulphur is thusly eliminated with a savings in energy. In addition, this change in the mode of handling permitted a broad development of new sulphur mines in the marshy coastal area of Louisiana and offshore in the Gulf of Mexico.

Jan 1, 1978

By W. Boas, R. Silva, D. Yumi, L. Steffen

The continuity of the flow and stages within the mining process is essential to achieve success in its operation and results, especially when it comes to a gold mine. During the first seven months of 2022, crushing at the Morro do Ouro Mine had 19 stops in the primary crusher due to equipment blockage/obstruction, this could be due to the size of the material that was blasted with explosives and fed. The feeding of coarse material to the crushing plant impacts the operation in several ways, for example, premature wear of the equipment, reduction in the supply of the remainder of the beneficiation, reduction of the buffer pile and damage to the conveyed belt. In a mine located far from the community, the fragmentation improvement is mainly related to load increments or some other relatively simple change. However, when it comes to a mine located close to communities, alterations of this type must be analyzed in detail, as it can have an impact mainly in relation to vibration and flyrock. Aiming to improve the efficiency of the blasting, mainly in relation to the result of fragmentation, a project was created to improve the efficiency of the blasting with a focus on reducing the crushing stoppage and reducing the amount of material discarded due to inadequate granulometry. During the evolution of the project, several improvement solutions were proposed, for example adjustment of the power factor in relation to the geological characteristics of the rock mass, drainage, blasting geometry, vibration reduction techniques and several operational improvements. By using the techniques and methods identified as improvements during the project, it was possible to observe and quantify improvements in relation to the fragmentation of the blast. During the months of January to July 2022 there were 19 events. It was estimated that at this rate there would be 14 more blockage events, but there were only 3 events and that meant a 79% reduction in blockage. In addition to the reduction in crushing shutdown events, there was also a 53% reduction in the amount of ore that is discarded due to inadequate granulometry and, with that, the feed rate of the grinding system was able to reach the maximum feed limit due to the material being fed to the mill well fragmented, contributing to increase the production and productivity of the beneficiation process at the Morro do Ouro Mine in Paracatu-Minas Gerais-Brazil.

Jan 1, 2024