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By Raja V. Ramani, Robert L. Frantz

"The House/Senate Joint Conference Committee has instructed the Bureau of Mines to have the Advisory Committee on Mining and Mineral Resources Research review on an annual and simultaneous basis each generic mineral technology research center (GMTC). In order to accomplish that review promptly and uniformly, committee members have revised and approved an in-depth questionnaire. That document formed the basis of their review. The information provided by that questionnaire was an important factor in their recommendations concerning the future direction of the program; a presentation was made at the last National Plan Update.The comprehensive nature of the questionnaire and the scope of the information contained therein make it an excellent retrospective of the Center. Having a clear vision of where the Center has been and knowing where it is now will help guide it into the future. It is felt that such a detailed view of the Center's facilities and research program will be of value to Center personnel and Advisory Committee members.Each aspect of the questionnaire has been examined, answered in detail, and documented throughly. With the completed questionnaire as a guide, this volume examines the research program, Center personnel presently active on GMTC projects, number of graduate degrees granted with GMTC support, GMTC publications, degree of individual interaction, technology transfer, the reference center, GMTC equipment and facilities, and any envisioned plans for future research. It is hoped that this volume will serve as a review of the years 1984-1988, the first four years of the Center's operation."

Aug 31, 1989

By J. H. Starkey

SAGDesignTM Testing for grinding mill design was introduced commercially in 2004. Up to January 2008, 18 projects have been completed and 99 samples have been tested using this method. Two papers have been published describing the patented test procedure and one of these shows how the results compare with other grinding test methods. This paper will briefly discuss the theory on which this technology is based, and explain the procedures used to develop the calibration equation. Case studies are also included to demonstrate the effectiveness of the test work being done. These case studies show how the SAGDesign test is being used today: to design new grinding circuits for commercial full scale use; to calculate throughput in existing mills for production planning; and to accurately define grinding mill requirements at the scoping, pre-feasibility or feasibility study stage of project development, in order to economically identify the size and cost of the grinding mills that will be needed for the project. This is important because if the full rec-ommended SAGDesign testing program is done at an early stage in the project, the definitive cost for a guaranteed throughput, grinding mill design (by Outotec if their mills are purchased) is available. New grinding mill design for final engineering will be represented by the test work done on the Climax Molybdenum Project for Phelps Dodge (now FMI) in Colorado, USA. The SAG mill and ball mill for Climax are now in fabrication with project start up in late 2009. Next, the sizing of grinding mills at the scoping, pre-feasibility or feasibility study stage of mine development will be represented by a large metal mining property in Russia. Finally, calculation of the throughput for existing mills will be represented by work done at a base metal mine, in eastern Canada. Test work for designing SAG mills is now done in four laboratories at the time this paper was written. One in the USA at Dawson Metallurgical Laboratories, Inc. in Salt Lake City, two in Russia at the TOMS Research and Design Institute and at the Irgiredmet Research Institute, both in Irkutsk, and a fourth mill has been installed in Australia at AMMTEC Limited?s lab in Perth. A fifth SAGDesign test mill for radioactive ores has been built by Starkey & Associates, specifically for testing uranium ores and can be moved to any licensed lab in the world on a project basis.

Jan 1, 2014

By J. J. Fitzpatrick

"This paper deals with the methods used by Quebec Cartier Mining Company in the evaluation and selection of new haulage equipment and in increasing the productivity of the existing fleet.Selection of new equipment is based upon the comparison, for each model under consideration, of the capital investment required and the estimated operating costs and production rate. The calculation of the production rate is based on a widely used estimating procedure. Actual operating conditions considered in the method include: payload, haul distance, road grade, rolling resistance, loading and dumping times, and operational efficiency. A digital computer is used to handle the large volume of repetitive calculations required. Where a fleet of haulage equipment includes trucks of different size and performance characteristics, the problem exists of assigning each truck type to the different working locations to minimize total cost. Linear programming can be used in the solution of this problem."

Jan 1, 1967

By George E. Cole

Introduction In view of the fact that, during the past year, two Manitoba mines-Flin Fion and Sherritt Gordon-have entered the list of producers and have materially increased that Province's contribution to the metal production of the Dominion, it would seem appropriate at this time to review the progress of the industry in the Province, with particular reference to the out-standing metal-mining developments of the past decade. That these two mines have been able to continue their operations in spite of the low prices of copper and zinc adds a touch of brightness to the industrial life of the Province. Depression in metal prices is not encouraging to the mining industry, but it does stimulate efficiency in methods and costs of production. As two thriving towns have grown around the two mines, the will of the management to carry-on is of great consequence to Manitoba, this year so hard hit by the .agricultural depression. And, much as it is a pleasant feature in the mining situation that these mines have been able to continue operations, nevertheless it must be noted, in reviewing the mining developments of the past few years in Manitoba, that the Province was fortunate enough to profit by good times, in that an industry was established which gives evidence of permanency. In the metallic field, the section of Manitoba that first received attention from prospectors was the boundary district, west of the Lake of the Woods. Several claims were staked here at the time of the gold boom in the neighbouring Ontario area. But the first real interest in metalliferous deposits dates from the discovery of gold in March, 1911, in quartz veins on the shores of Rice lake, some twenty miles east of lake Winnipeg. Systematic and organized prospecting of the pre-Cambrian areas of the Province may be said to have commenced with that discovery. The first gold discovery in northern Manitoba was made at Wekusko (Herb) lake in 1914. This was followed by the discovery of the Flin Flan and Mandy copper ore-bodies in 1915 on Flin Fion and Schist lakes, respectively.

Jan 1, 1932

By Osvaldo Bascur, Barun Gorain, Jaco Steyn

"The last few decades have seen some remarkable advancement in information technology, but recently various digital technologies have resulted in several synergies to deliver innovation in diverse applications. The mining industry has been relatively slow in adopting these technologies compared to the other industries, but this scenario is changing fast.Challenges. Mining companies globally are going through a series of challenges such as declining ore grades with complex metallurgy, increasing depth of ore bodies, high capital and operating costs, lower productivity, shortage of technical resources, significant pressure from stake-holders to deliver, along with growing environmental and corporate social responsibility issues. Improvement in profitability would need significant improvements in operational performance.Consequently, over the last few years, there has been a major focus among some mining companies to imbibe operational excellence. This has been only possible because of the replacement of a silos-based approach by an integrated view of the organization. Such an integrated view is now possible via the evolving digital technologies. Even so, such a transformation calls for a change in culture, which, for most organizations is not trivial. Attempts in the past to integrate functions, such as through mine-to-mill initiatives in the mining industry, have demonstrated significant benefits to many operations (McKee, 2013). Still, sustaining these benefits has clearly been a challenge due to manpower turnover and lack of proper systems and structures that integrate information between business functions within an operation and between operations and the corporate level.Opportunities. The advent of digital technology has opened up opportunities to integrate interdepartmental information for a unified understanding across an entire organization. The advances in instrumentation, equipment control systems, supervisory control systems (SCADA/ Historian) and industrial networks have helped in the direction of enterprise- wide integration. The availability of real time information across an enterprise has given rise to numerous possibilities to improve organization performance. As suggested by Seshan and Gorain (2016), some of the potential opportunities are as follows:"

Jan 9, 2018

By C. B. Manula

This report is mainly concerned with the modification and development of a users manual for the Open-Pit Materials Handling Simulator (OPMHS) developed at Penn State. Model Modifications included the introduction of a free-format input, the application of a Weibull random generator, facilities to stochastically simulate shovel-dragline operations, and routines to increase the flexibility in making truck assignments. At the same time, core storage requirements and execution times were minimized and all P.S.U. conventions were removed to allow operation on other computing systems.

Jan 1, 1976

By G. B. Glass

In 1996, 92.5% or 233 Mt (257.4 million st) of coal produced in Wyoming came from the Wyodak coal zone in the eastern Powder River Coal Field. While the mined portions of the zone consist of one to three beds of coal with an aggregate thickness between 15 and 33.5 m (50 and 110 ft), the thickest expression is 61 m (200 ft). The delivered coal from this zone averages 0.33% sulfur, 5.12% ash, and 19.98 MJ/kg (8,590 Btu/lb). This coal zone occurs at or near the top of the Paleocene Fort Union Formation, which is overlain by the Eocene Wasatch Formation. There is also production from two coal beds in the lower portion of the Wasatch at the southern end of the basin. Production of coalbed methane derived from the Wyodak coal zone is currently an estimated 10.2 billion cu ft a year. This production is occurring just west and downdip from the coal mines and is increasing each year.

Jan 1, 1998

By Douglas W. Huber

During the past decade, a general awareness of the need for and subsequent development of increased safety in United States coal mines has taken place. Government and industry alike were stimulated into accelerating their actions through unacceptable accident statistics and costs (in terms of human misery dollar values). Those of us who work in the United States coal industry are aware of the development of governmental controls on nine safety. Both Federal and State regulations have placed increased responsibility upon mine owners and operators to insure a safe working environment and to provide training for miners. No other industrial group of workers has received such attention or, in our opinion, deserves it more.

Jan 1, 1982

By J. M. Applegate

In the same way that a blueprint communicates information about a structure, a useful systems architecture should provide information that guides the construction and implementation of computing systems. Taking the blueprint analogy a step further, a plot plan can also show where in the "bigger picture" a particular design fits (if in fact it does) and what a builder needs to know about the environment in which he or she will operate. In the context of business systems, a meaningful architecture should convey the following: 1. The primary purpose of computer based systems relative to particular task or operation. 2. The relationship of systems to each other and an indication of their interaction and dependencies. 3. The relationship of systems relative to the organization and its objectives. 4. Indications of where IS/IT resources can best be allocated to support the organization. 5. The overall context in which new systems and technologies can be assessed for both their impact on current system and on the organization itself.

Jan 1, 1998

By Oliver C. Ralston, Dorsey A. Lyon

Volatilization in retorts has been, until recently, the only commercial process of producing spelter, hence the zinc mine operators have had to meet the terms of the zinc smelters in regard to the following requirements: (1) Minimum percentage of zinc the ore must contain; (2) the chemical combination of the zinc in the ore; (3) the proportion present of those elements that interfere with the suceessful recovery of the zinc when the ore is retorted. In consequence of these requirements, only a comparatively small proportion of the zinc ores mined can be shipped directly to the smelters.

Jan 1, 1919

By R. E. Mitchell

The environmental impact assessment (EIA) is the accepted method for evaluating proposed mining and other industrial projects to obtain regulatory approval and to help companies plan for responsible development. Another increasingly common evaluation system for proposed projects is the environmental, social and health impact assessment (ESHIA). An ESHIA differs from an EIA for its generally more comprehensive and inclusive approach to evaluating potential impacts, such as on public health, and other features such as an ecosystem services approach to assessing biophysical and community impacts. An ESHIA may also be required by certain lenders for financing major projects. In this paper, EIA standards for the province of Alberta, Canada are discussed and compared to ESHIA. It concludes with several recommendations for consideration.

Jan 1, 2012

By Charles E. Michener

This paper deals with the occurrence of basic and ultrabasic rocks and their relationship in space and time to major structures of the earth. In order to introduce the paper properly, I must go back a little and try to put the subject in perspective. In the brief time that geology has been a scientific occupation, ore deposits have been grouped and classified in various ways depending on the theories that happened to be popular at the time. Some of the early scientists said that ore came from fire, other schools argued that ore originated from water. Then came the lateral secretionists and in later years the hydrothermalists led by the Lindgren school and the latter has largely been accepted as the modern concept of ore deposits. It now seems apparent that the hydrothermal school is being seriously challenged by other schools of thought. It also seems that we have reached the point where we should be willing to admit that we do not really know in most cases how the ore got to its present position. However, for practical purposes, we can classify ore deposits as to the environment in which they do occur. This is not difficult and gives the field geologist and the mining engineer something to work with and to believe in, and it gives them a basis for carrying out their field work. On the screen, Figure 1, there is a classification of ore deposits based on the environment. Under each classification is listed the more prominent metals which are characteristic of that

Jan 1, 1971

By David Hopkins, Steve Klein, Bradford Townsend, Ed Sum, Derek Penrice

INTRODUCTION The Transbay-Caltrain Downtown Extension (DTX) Project involves the construction of an approximately 1.5-mile rail line that will extend Caltrain commuter service and the future California High Speed Rail system into downtown San Francisco. The underground rail extension will be constructed by mined tunnel and cut-and-cover methods. Tunneling challenges include difficult ground conditions, low rock cover, the presence of historic buildings along the alignment, and the large tunnel span, ranging from approximately 50 to 65 feet. Three mined tunnel construction methods were evaluated: the Stacked Drift Method, the New Austrian Tunneling Method/Sequential Excavation Method (NATM/SEM), and Tunnel Boring Machines (TBM). This paper describes the challenges presented within the mined tunnel section, and summarizes the evaluation of tunneling methods that led to the selection of NATM/SEM. PROJECT OVERVIEW The existing Transbay Terminal opened in downtown San Francisco in 1939. This facility is antiquated, and does not meet current building seismic safety standards or the transportation needs of the Bay Area. For these reasons, San Francisco voters approved Proposition H in 1999, which proposed to construct a new or rebuilt regional transit center at the site of the existing terminal and extend Caltrain commuter rail ser-vice to the new transit center. The new transit center is the hub of the Transbay Transit Center (TTC) Program, which will greatly enhance regional transit service by providing connectivity for six Bay Area transit providers at one facility. The program will be the largest inter-modal centerwest of New York City. The TTC Program is comprised of two major projects, the Transit

Jan 1, 2007

By James H. Boettcher

In the second quarter of 1979, ASL Inc. inquired whether Crocker National Bank ("CNB") would provide $4 million in term loan financing to help ASL acquire the outstanding shares of the S&S Coal Company in West Virginia. ASL had, prior to approaching CNB, sought financing with the assistance of a financial advisor from a number of commercial banks without success. A summary of the initial terms requested by ASL is shown in Table I compared with the actual terms the transaction closed with. It is not difficult to note that the two sets of terms differ significantly. This is often the case when financing requests based on the expectations and vision of a mine developer are juxtaposed with more pragmatic requirements of a commercial bank. The "art" and fun of structuring financing plans for mining ventures (highly leveraged acquisitions or grass roots) comes in working with mine developers to arrive at a final financial structure that meets their objectives and constraints as well as those of the bank or other financial institution providing much of the financing. This article briefly describes the process we went through with ASL beginning with the terms they requested initially and ending with the ones on which the transaction was finally closed.

Jan 1, 1981

By L. Yuan, A. C. Smith

MFIRE, the mine-fire simulation program of the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), is widely accepted as a standard for assessing and predicting the impact of a fire on the mine ventilation system and the spread of fire contaminants in coal and metal/nonmetal mines. MFIRE has been used by U.S. and international companies to simulate fires for planning and response purposes. It is a dynamic, transient-state, mine ventilation network simulation program that performs normal planning calculations. It can also be used to analyze ventilation networks under thermal and mechanical influence, such as changes in ventilation parameters; external influences, such as changes in temperature; and internal influences, such as a fire. The program output can be used to analyze the effects of these influences on the ventilation system. Since its original development by Michigan Technological University for the former U.S. Bureau of Mines in the 1970s, several updates have been released. In 2012, NIOSH completed a major redesign and restructuring of the program with the release of MFIRE 3.0. MFIRE’s outdated Fortran programming language was replaced with an object-oriented C++ language and packaged into a dynamic-link library. However, the MFIRE 3.0 release included no change or improvement to the fire-modeling algorithms inherited from its previous version, MFIRE 2.20. This paper reports on improvements that have been made to the fire-modeling capabilities of MFIRE 3.0 since its release. These improvements include the addition of the t-squared fire as a new fire-source model and the ability to include available heat-release-rate versus time data, the addition of a moving fire source for conveyor-belt fire simulations, improvement of the fire location algorithm, and the identification and prediction of smoke-rollback phenomena. All of the improvements discussed in this paper will be included in MFIRE 3.1 and released by NIOSH in the near future.

Jun 1, 2016

By A. J. McLaren

Introduction Gold holds an important place among the mineral products of Manitoba. In value, it ranks second only to copper, which in 1931 attained first place. The gold production increased from 23,189 fine ounces in 1930 to 102,969fine ounces in 1931. The production for 1930, worth $479,359, came almost entirely from the Central Manitoba mine. The production for 1931 was worth $2,128,558, of which $1,509,018 came from the Flin Flon mine, $528,951 from the Central Manitoba, and $83,497 from the Sherritt Gordon. The Gem Lake mine and some prospects produced $7,785. The total output of gold in Manitoba, from the first recorded production in 1917 to the end of 1931, is estimated at 178,669 fine ounces, valued at $3,693,332. The production for 1932 promises to reach a new high record, due chiefly to the stepping-up of tonnage at the Flin Flon plants and the coming into production of the San Antonio mill in May. History The Manitoba Act, constituting Manitoba a Province of the Dominion, was passed in 1870 and provided for the vesting in the Crown of all un-granted or waste lands of Manitoba, as well as for the administration of these lands by the Dominion of Canada for the purposes of the Dominion "subject to, and except and so far as the same may be affected by, the conditions and stipulations contained in the agreement for the surrender of Rupert's Land by the Hudson's Bay Company to the Crown". Included in these waste lands were large areas later prospected and staked out as mineral lands. Up to the year 1912, that vast territory extending from the 12th base line to the 60th parallel of latitude, and from the Saskatchewan boundary to Hudson bay, was part of the District of Keewatin. Although added to Manitoba in 1912, the administration of its mineral lands also remained vested in the Dominion, so that all mineral lands within the Province upon which deposits of gold ore have been found were disposed of and administered by the Mineral Lands Division, Department of the Interior, until the transfer of the natural resources to the Province of Manitoba, on July 15th, 1930.

Jan 1, 1932

By Jack M. Campbell

The regulatory process by which governmental authorities acknowledge and, in turn, permit the location, construction, and operation of large scale energy-related facilities has become extremely detailed in recent years. One example of the detail that is entailed in the regulatory process is the number of permits that must be acquired by operators prior to the construction and operation of energy-related facilities. It has been estimated, for example, that 75 permits are required prior to the opening of a new coal mine in Pennsylvania while 50 are required in Kentucky. From the perspective of facility owners and operators the regulatory process often appears overly complex and may be perceived as a constraint to the corporate decision making process. From the perspective of those responsible for administering regulations, the process is perceived as a mans by which public desires - pursuant to social objectives such as environmental protection and occupational safety - can be achieved. As a result of conflicting organizational interests, the clash between energy facility owners and operators and their regulators appears to be inevitable. Furthermore, the resolution of this conflict lies in the tradeoff between objectives and the costs of regulation. The balance of objectives and costs is a subject of the political process and not a topic of consideration in this paper. This paper is concerned with the actual administration of regulations, that is, the implementation of that which arises from the interplay of organizational interests. The paper assumes that environmental control laws will not likely be repealed, that regulations to implement the intent of these laws are here to stay and thus the paper seeks to assess how regulations are administered at various levels of government pursuant to objectives. The paper hypothesizes that the administration of objectives (or policy) has an impact on decision making which affects energy facility decision; making while recognizing the fact that regulatory policy cannot be totally divorced from administration, this paper proceeds

Jan 1, 1977

By G Danckert

The key technical theme of ‘orebody knowledge’ has been applied by Rio Tinto in the Pilbara iron ore precinct from 1966, when operations first started there. It forms the basis of present day application, as well as planning for the future.This paper will review how the early towns and mines commenced and how they formed the basis of Rio Tinto’s early operations, on which the Pilbara precinct has been based. A profile of the last decade of Pilbara growth will be highlighted, together with the current integrated network of mines, rail and ports and the next generation of expansions.The paper will specifically describe the Rio Tinto process of significant resource evaluation, including comprehensive drilling programs and the conversion from resource to reserves. It will also describe the overall mine planning process, both from the strategic view, as well as for short-term mine plans.The ability to innovate in resource development will be discussed. This will include not only the technical dimension of changing cut off grades, use of low-grade ores and managing low-grade stockpiling and beneficiation, but also the broader application of new technology and innovation in the iron ore business.

Jul 11, 2011

By T. A. Gray

The environmental liabilities of coal waste disposal sites can have a major impact on a mining project's economic viability. Developing a waste disposal site is no longer simply an exercise in completing paperwork to obtain a permit, with the proliferation of environmental regulations in recent years, managing disposal sites now requires design creativity, short term and long term planning and detailed monitoring to maximize the benefits to the mining company. Operating costs and future capital costs for expansion of existing sites, new site development and regulatory compliance should be reviewed periodically and considered in the overall management plan. This paper discusses various management methods that are being employed in the industry to improve waste disposal operations both environmentally and profitably.

Jan 1, 1994

By K. Thambi

"A recent amendment to Section 36(11)(e) of the Income Tax Act, 53 of 1968 (Tax Act) now extends the allowable deduction of ‘capital expenditure’ incurred by mining companies pursuant to the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act 28 of 2002 (MPRDA). In terms of the Taxation Laws Amendment Bill 2016 (TLAB 2016), the allowable deduction has been extended to include expenditure incurred on infrastructure in terms of Social and Labour Plan (SLP) requirements as per the MPRDA. Interestingly, what necessitated the amendment was the need to recognize SLP requirements and to circumvent administrative difficulties for mining companies and the South African Revenue Services (SARS) in differentiating the use of developmental infrastructure by employees or the community. The successful implementation of such a deduction hinges on a sound SLP system. However, given the challenges within the current SLP system, this amendment could be considered somewhat premature. IntroductionSection 36(11) of the Income Tax Act 58 of 1962 (Tax Act) enabled mining companies to deduct certain capital expenditure in lieu of its other sections. In particular, it made provision for mining companies to deduct capital expenditure incurred pursuant to the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act 28 of 2002 (MPRDA), but excluding capital expenditure incurred in respect of infrastructure or environmental rehabilitation. As such, mining companies could only deduct such capital expenditure that related directly to their employees and not to the wider community (Clegg, 2018).In terms of the Taxation Laws Amendment Bill 2016 (TLAB, 2016) (South Africa, 2016a), the recent amendment to Section 36 extends the relief provided under section 36(11)(e) to include capital expenditure incurred on infrastructure in terms of the Social and Labour Plan (SLP) requirements of the MPRDA. In other words, the capital expenditure incurred by the mining company for the benefit of the people living in mining communities. To qualify for such a deduction, the infrastructure erected or developed by the mining company should reflect what was agreed between the mining company and the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) as per the SLP requirements of the MPRDA (TLAB 2016)."

May 1, 2019