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By The Staff

"A general description of the equipment, personnel and work sequence •being used in the sinking of a circular, concrete lined, 14 foot diameter shaft which at present is at a depth of 2,484 feet. Equipping, lining and sinking of the shaft is being carried out concurrently and waste is re-moved using a mechanical mucker.INTRODUCTIONTHE BUCHANS UNIT of the American Smelting and Refining Company operates a group of mines at Buchans, Newfoundland. Buchans is in the centre of the Province (Lat. 48°47'N.; Long. 56°50'W.), five miles north of Red Indian lake at an elevation of 900 feet and is accessible by 37 miles <Jf private railway which connects with the Canadian National railway at Millertown Junction, and by 47 miles of gravel highway, which connects with the Trans-'Canada Highway at Badger."

Jan 1, 1959

By H. W. Gillett

This bulletin is issued by the Bureau of Mines as a contribution to the increase of safety and efficiency in the preparation and utilization of the mineral resources in the United States. Notable among the drains on these resources are the demands made by the nonferrousmetal industries, and in these the losses occasioned in melting brass and bronze are worthy of particular attention. This statement will be better appreciated by a consideration of the size of the brass industry. MAGNITUDE OF THE BRASS INDUSTRY. According to the Thirteenth Census, in 1909 there were in the United States 1,021 fu-ms that dealt mainly in brass and bronze. This total included jobbing foundries, manufacturing plants that both cast and machine a brass or bronze product, and rolling mills, but did not include iron foundries having nonferrous departments nor the numerous large brass-foundry departments of manufacturing plants that produce the castings used in the manufacture of electrical apparatus, cash registers, pumps, and the thousands of machines that require brass castings for their construction. Penton&apos;s Foundry List for 1910 gives about 1,150 exclusively nonferrous foundries and about 2,300 iron or steel foundries that also melt brass. If the rolling mills and. jobbing foundries in manufacturing plants be included, and if due credit be given to the rapid growth of the industry in the last few years, largely through the stimulation of the automobile busi¬ness, it is probable that not less than 3,600 plants are to-day melting brass or bronze.

Jan 1, 1916

By W. A. Eardley

FIFTEEN years ago the world&apos;s deepest oil well penetrated the earth about 7300 ft. That depth has now been more than doubled. Why has such deep drilling become necessary and how has it become possible? Three factors have had an important bearing: (1) Depletion of shallow zones, making it necessary to search for deeper producing measures. (2) The perfection of prospecting methods, which have been success- fully used to locate favorable buried structures, many at great depth. (3) Improvement in the quality of steels used for drilling.

Jan 1, 1940

By The Staff

THE gold mining industry in Canada is today the most important stabilizing influence in the country. This factor was brought out particularly during the &apos;depression&apos; years, when steady employment was given to men in that industry and the monies spent in supplies and power in turn benefited the country to a great extent. At the same time, a commodity was produced which was saleable in any market of the world, thus maintaining Canada&apos;s credit in foreign markets and keeping her trade balances equalized. We have a vast area known as the Precambrian Shield. The agricultural possibilities of this area are practically negligible and it will depend entirely upon the mineral and forest resources to make this district an economic factor in the life of Canada. To date, from the mineral point of view, we have been highly successful. There are, however, still vast areas to be explored. It is tedious and laborious work, entailing great individual hard-ships and the expenditure of much energy and money. During my thirty years&apos; experience in the search for, and operating of, gold mines, I have come to the conclusion that although individuals may give all their time, energy, and money, Governmental assistance is absolutely necessary in the development of hydro-electric power sites and roads. The Governments, to date, have given splendid co-operation along these lines, but in order that this great industry may go ahead they should continue their good work and, if possible, give greater relief from taxation to mines situated at a considerable distance from the railway.

Jan 1, 1938

By Kent Zehr

Suncor Energy Inc. is an integrated producer and refiner of oil and gas headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. The bulk of revenue comes from the Oil Sands Group (OSG) operating in the McMurray formation of the Athabasca Oil Sands. Located some 25 kilometers north of Fort McMurray, Suncor OSG began life in 1967 as Great Canadian Oil Sands, the first operator to successfully enter commercial production of synthetic crude oils from the area. For most of the last decade, dramatic growth has been the standard mode of operation for Suncor OSG. Production of synthetic crude first reached 100,000 barrels per day in 1997 and less than five years later is averaging in excess of 200,000 barrels per day. Within this dynamic organization, Suncor Extraction is the business unit that processes run-of-mine ore into clean diluted bitumen for Upgrader feedstock. Extraction also delivers and places the barren sand and process affected water into tailings storage in one of several ponds from which water is recycled to support the various processes. For reference purposes, Extraction on a typical day currently receives more than 400,000 metric tons of oilsand ore, which is all processed to water based slurry for separation in one of two extraction plants. Separated tailings are disposed of as a slurry and the cleaned bitumen froth is diluted with naphtha and sent to tankage for storage until required by the Upgrading Unit. As a consequence, on a typical day Suncor Extraction pumps more than 1,000,000 tonnes of aggressive slurry into and out of the two extraction plants.

May 1, 2003

To preserve Washington Group International&apos;s quality of service in the mine operations area, the company has established a Supervisor Training Program to provide all levels of supervision with the required skills to meet objectives and guarantee consistent, excellent performance for each of our projects. A need developed to establish this training program internationally. The first international training session was held at the APEX San Cristóbal Mine in Bolivia. This paper discusses the program’s development, execution, results, and lessons learned with an emphasis on multicultural environments.

Jan 1, 2007

By Ron Lutz

In today’s world, production is the name of the game. We are all in business to make money. In the Quarrying and Mining industry the same holds true. The primary goal is to develop the best drilling and blasting program available to maintain uniform fragmentation to maximize production. Also we want to maintain drilling and blasting costs and minimize escalators. This paper is intended to discuss ways for all parties (quarry’s, blast service and drill companies) to attain this through understanding what can be done to help blasthole drilling and production. Blast designs and seminar’s emphasize the accuracy of drilling to produce better fragmentation. Blast design must also include basic concepts in the drilling process. The type of drill to be used for example whether it is a crawler or truck mount, top hammer or down the hole is important. Quarry operators have a role to play as well. They hold the key to the production of drilling. What the customer does or does not do has a direct effect financially to the drilling. The phrase of pay me now or pay me latter comes to mind. This paper will explore the detail of planning that is required by the quarry and/or blast service companies before a single hole is drilled. The drill must be able to meet the production need of the operation. The type of drill available and what can and cannot be done. The drill cost must be competitive. This paper will touch on comparison drill costs from 1967 to 1999.

Jan 1, 2000

By Arthur S. Huey

AS the end of the collegiate year approaches, the problem of student employment again becomes acute. This subject divides itself into two phases: (1) employment prior to graduation and (2) employment following graduation. "Experience is the best teacher," according to the old adage, and the student needs all that he can get. He is afforded every opportunity to reap from his books the theories and principles of scientific and engineering practice, and occasionally he is privileged to make field trips to observe the practical side of the subject. But it is not enough for one to know the theory and to observe its application; it is also desirable for the student to get the feel of the tools during his training Such opportunities can only be afforded the student if the major companies cooperate with the universities in giving the student part-time and vacation work.

Jan 1, 1932

By J. O. Marsden

This paper presents an overview of the innovative methods for gold and silver extraction that have been put into actual practice in North America since 1987. It is an update of a paper of the same title which was presented by Sass and Mansanti at the AMC conference in San Francisco in 1987. New practices, new equipment and variations of older practices that have been introduced in the last five years are discussed in each of the following categories: process selection trends, comminution, gravity concentration, flotation, oxidation, agitated and vat leaching, heap leaching, solution concentration and purification, zinc precipitation, electrowinning, tailings disposal detoxification, and reclamation.

Jan 1, 1993

By Christian Maguire

Tunnel contracts in New York have in recent years had few bidders with the bids received being much higher than anticipated. Since 9/11, security has become a key issue in planning key infrastructure projects in New York. This is especially true in the case of large water supply tunnels. Striking the right balance between cost and security was the major factor in determining the best configurationfor the Kensico-City Tunnel. This paper outlines the efforts made to determine realistic probable bid costs for the tunnel contracts, and the innovative approaches taken to deal with security issues.

By Thomas C. Ruhe

The Bureau of Mines conducted research to determine the safe operating conditions for using recycled (used) lubricating oil from mining equipment as a partial replacement for diesel fuel to make ANFO-type blasting agents. The use of recycled oil (RO) saves energy, reduces oil imports, and reduces mining costs. Low ambient temperatures may cause these recycled oils to become too viscous for proper absorption by ammonium nitrate (AN) prills and result in poor blast performance, safety hazards, and environmental problems. To help quantify and resolve these issues, viscosity, mixing, and performance tests were conducted at various temperatures. Diesel fuels No. 1 and No. 2 were studied separately and in blends with 25,50, and 75% RO. Good quality ANFO mixes (94-6) were produced with dry absorbent prills and blended fuel (No. 1 diesel plus RO) at temperatures as low as -40°F (-40°C) with 75% No. 1/25% RO, and at -20°F (-29°C) with 50/50. Diesel fuel No. 2 also made good mixes as low as -30" F (-34°C) with 75% No. 2/25% RO, and at 0°F (-18°C) with 50/50.

Jan 1, 2008

By K J. Kidd

There is general understanding of hoisting systems throughout the mining industry. However, the relative importance of the various parameters influencing hoist selection and utilization is not completely understood. In order to determine if these parameters can be identified and prioritized, data covering 613 hoist installations were compiled. The 613 installations represent hoisting systems in 30 countries on six continents. This study compares data to historical trends, correlates design parameters in an attempt to identify underlying selection criteria, and comments on the apparent trends in recent developments in hoist design.

Jan 1, 1998

By S. Steinlechner, G. Schneeberger, J. Antrekowitsch

Due to always getting stricter environmental legislations as well as increasing land filling fees the efforts for treating residues from metallurgy are continuously increasing. In case of filter dusts from metallurgical industry, the high zinc bearing electric arc furnace (EAF) dusts or also dusts from secondary copper industry are important sources for the recovery of secondary zinc oxide. Because of low capacities for secondary zinc concentrates (like Waelz oxide) in primary zinc metallurgy, the upgrade of such concentrates to a quality that meets the requirements of high quality (technical) zinc oxide becomes more and more important. This would open the opportunity to break into new markets and use it for example directly in electrolytic galvanizing. Therefore this paper will summarize possibilities for an elimination of halogens from secondary zinc oxides. Furthermore selective volatilization trials, with a synthetic mixture according to the analysis of Waelz oxide, were carried out to remove impurities to achieve an upgraded product quality.

Jan 1, 2011

By Thomas P. Mucho

Cable bolts are emerging as the newest ?twist? for roof support in U.S. underground coal mines. For decades cable bolts installed in underground metal mines in the United States and Canada used cement-based grouts for anchoring. The cement anchoring process, because of the time and expense for installation, made cable bolts impractical for use in coal mines. Today, the introduction of resin-anchored cable bolts provides a system more consistent with tradi­tional U.S. coal mine roof bolting practices and requirements. Expecta­tions are that the utilization of cable bolts for a number of U.S. mining applications will expand, particularly in coal mining.

Jan 1, 1998

By C. T. O’Connor

Since the first IMPC took place in London in 1952 there have been many developments in our understanding of flotation, both in terms of chemical and physical factors influencing the process. Many of these developments have been captured in the proceedings of thirty congresses that have taken place since that first event, as well as in numerous journal papers and special volumes dedicated to flotation. This paper attempts to highlight the individual contributions which many eminent researchers and engineers have made over the past 70 years towards extending our understanding of, especially, the effects of chemical factors on flotation. Although the focus is mainly on more fundamental aspects, it seems that the ‘pull’ of practice has often preceded the ‘push’ from laboratory-based research. As the fundamental understanding of the role of chemical factors on flotation continues to be developed, the major challenge remains to transfer this knowledge effectively into the domain of operations of this profoundly complex process.

Jan 1, 2020

By T. N. Williamson

Most U.S. coal production is bituminous coal. Some 90% of current production comes from a geographical area enclosed in a circle with a 300 mile radius and its center at about Huntington, West Virginia. There are important underground coal production areas in the western parts of the United States as well. Most U.S. coal production comes from fairly level seams, many of which pitch rather uniformly only a few feet per mile. Usually there will be several overlying seams of varying thicknesses, separated by several tens of feet. Fig. 1. 1. Seams have minor local undulations but these? are small enough not to be a major consideration in a horizontal drilling research program.

Jan 1, 1970

By Chas. G. Maier

The absence of plants on the Pacific coast for the reduction of iron ores usually is attributed to the fuel situation there. Thus, the bulletin of the. State Division of Mines for 1933, entitled "California Mineral Production," says: "There are considerable deposits of iron ore known in California, notably in Shasta, Mad era, Placer, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Los Angeles Counties, but production has so far been limited for lack of an economic supply of coking coal." It has been estimated that the six major steel plants of the Pacific coast have an annual ingot capacity of 600,000 tons. The present need for tin plate averages 300,000 tons yearly for California alone, of which some 12 percent is manufactured locally. If the consump¬tion of other iron and steel products in 1929 may be taken as an approximate, estimate of the normal requirement for such products, it may be estimated further that, 65,000 to 75,000 tons each of cast-iron pipe and steel reinforcing bars and 300,000 to 400,000 tons of structural shapes and plates will be required annually in California.

Jan 1, 1936

By Krishna Parameswaran

"This paper discusses energy use and conservation in the primary copper industry and illustrates eco-efficiency considerations, using select examples of practices at ASARCO LLC, an integrated primary copper producer and others in the industry that promote eco-efficiency. The World Council for Sustainable Business Development first publicized the concept of eco-efficiency at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. Eco-efficiency is a management concept linking environmental and economic performance and is aimed at generating added value for a business through, among other things, increased resource and energy conservation and reduced environmental impacts throughout the life cycle of the product or service. This concept differs from sustainable development in that focus is only on economic and environmental factors and does not include social considerations. In the metal mining and processing context, this added value can be realized by implementing practices that promote conservation of water and mineral resources, conservation of energy, minimization of waste, reduced emissions and effluents and increased recycling. The examples from the primary copper industry used to illustrate eco-efficiency considerations include: water and energy conservation in mineral processing, adoption of flash and bath smelting processes, emission reduction and process improvement associated with fire-refining, implementation of green chemistry in electrorefining, promoting product stewardship initiatives and fostering renewable energy project on disturbed mined lands.INTRODUCTION ASARCO LLC (Asarco) was organized in 1899 as the American Smelting And Refining Company. Originally a consolidation of several lead-silver smelting companies, it evolved over the years into an integrated producer of primary non-ferrous metals, including copper, lead and zinc and associated co-products. Grupo México, S.A.B. de C.V acquired Asarco in 1999. Today, Asarco is a vertically integrated producer of primary refined copper and associated co-products such as gold, silver, molybdenum, selenium and tellurium. Asarco operates three open-pit mines and mills, two leach, solvent extraction-electrowinning (SX-EW) plants and a copper smelter in Arizona and a copper refinery in Texas."

Jan 1, 2017

By Gary A. Kingston

This examination of Pacific Northwest (Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington) ferrous scrap-industry operations, principally those in Oregon and Washington, points out factors influencing the supply and consumption of scrap materials, such as the complete dependence of steel ingot producers in these States on scrap as a metal raw material and the sizable quantity of scrap exported from Seattle and Portland to Japan. The pattern of the industry is presented as a movement of materials from their diverse sources to the consuming market. The geographic locations of the consuming industries in relation to the areas generating scrap materials and the movement pattern of the supply from source to destination strongly influences the cost of the commodity. The best measure of the scrap supply available in an area is experience in terms of how much scrap was withdrawn at a given price. Scrap availability is not finite, because the return of materials as scrap is secular and influenced by constantly varying market conditions. Steel ingot producers use 75 percent of the approximate 500,000 tons of scrap consumed in Oregon and Washington; steel foundries take 15 percent of the total; and iron foundries, ferroalloy plants, and other miscellaneous consumers utilize the remainder. Also, from 1955 to 1960 an average of about 200,000 tons has been exported annually from Oregon and Washington. The foreign exports are supplemented by lesser shipments to other steel producing States, principally in the western United States. From 1955 to 1960 the preferred and higher value heavy melting scrap grades accounted for about 60 percent of total withdrawals which varied between 600,000 and 950,000 tons annually. Total crap withdrawals from Oregon and Washington are projected to 1.8 million tons by 1985, 60 percent (1.1 million tons) of which will be heavy melting grades. No. 1 heavy melting scrap is most attractive to scrap consumers at $35 per ton or less. Price-supply relationships compared with projected scrap requirements indicate future prices possibly over $35 per ton. High prices over a long period could motivate the Pacific Northwest scrap consumers to produce steel from iron ore. However, technologic changes taking place at integrated steel plants could reduce scrap withdrawals from the Pacific Northwest, which might keep the scrap price sufficiently attractive to obviate production of competitive iron products by the Pacific Northwest scrap consumers.

Jan 1, 1964

By William P. Blake

The phenomena of concentric arrangement of minerals in rock-masses, generally known as " orbicular structure," have of late received much attention from investigators. Lawson, of the University of California,&apos; has described the orbicular gabbro at Dehesa, San Diego county, Cal. Kessler and Hamilton, of Stanford University, working independently upon the same subject, published their descriptions,2 giving also a list of many other localities in Europe and America where orbicular rocks are found, adding copious references to the literature of the subject.

Jan 1, 1906