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By Mikhail D. Ageev

The paper concerns with some questions of Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) control system design, which allows a motion at rough undersea terrain. The AUV advantages reveal itself completely during exploration of such objects as seamounts and reefs area. These objects are characterized by steep slopes (30 degrees and above) and chaotic situated obstacles (rock debris, pinnacles, escarpments). Uses of other technical facilities for operating in such formations are difficult, dangerous or impossible. These regions take an interest due to the presence of iron-manganese crusts. Modern AUV can estimate density of mineral by means of still camera or video recorder. For this reason the vehicle has to move with the distance of 3-5 meters from seabed. Under such conditions micro- and mesorelief presents a considerable danger for AUV. The AUV can bypass underwater obstacles in the various ways. However, in any case AUV motion will be characterized by intensive maneuvering on various speed (from 0 up to 1.5 m/s), circular change of tractive force vector and, hence, a circular flow about the hull. So, AUV is equipped with the propulsion system, which provides free modes of motion. AUV control system (CS) has tri-level structure to allow a motion in a rugged seabed terrain. According to the generally accepted categorizations, CS includes execution, coordination and strategic levels. The strategic level contains the goals of AUV mission. Obstacles avoiding and route choice are realized by means of simultaneous maneuver in vertical and horizontal planes. Sonar system is used for data acquisition about obstacles. It consists of a few echo-sounders with fixed directivity pattern. The route choice algorithm operates at two lower levels of CS. Basic (?reflex?) functions of spatial motion are realized within the execution level and considered in the paper. The choice of motion modes is carried out at the coordination level of system. All accessible navigating information (the data from flight sensors and from multichannel echo-sounder systems) is used for this purpose. In addition the bypass of characteristic types of obstacles is carried out with the help of basic motion modes combination. The modeling results of bypass of various typical obstacles, and also their combinations are described in the paper.

Jan 1, 2011

By Bill Dershowitz

Consider a deep gold orebody with grade of 4 g/t (0.11 oz/st). At the time of this writing, with gold prices at historic highs, it could be a good, but not great, prospect. But if it is a vein deposit, and those veins are 200 g/t (5.8 oz/st), it would be significantly more attractive if there was a way to produce directly from those veins, leaving the rest of the rock in place. [Figure 1 The red around each of the four injector wells shows areas of high pressure, where the lixiviant fluid is pumped into the rock mass, with orange and yellow indicating dissipated pressure. The black lines indicate some of the fracture pathways through which the lixiviant, with absorbed metal, flows toward the central recovery well where low pressure is indicated in blue. Lixiviant is pumped out through the recovery well. Image courtesy of Golder Associates.] There is a way to do this, in situ leach (ISL) or solution mining. It has been a viable commercial technology for more than five decades.

Jan 1, 2011

By Wayne Bell, Matthew Andriese, Shuqian Xie, Jiann-Yang Hwang, Zhiwei Peng

"Pyrolyzed carbons are generally known as good microwave absorbers and their dielectric properties still remain to be fully explored. In the present study the dielectric properties and dielectric polarization-relaxation phenomenon of a typical activated carbon was investigated. The experimental results indicate the complex permittivity is highly dependent on temperature and frequency. The decrease of permittivity with increasing temperature from room temperature to ~100 °C is probably ascribed to the release of the water vapor adsorbed on the surface of activated carbon, and the variations of permittivity with temperatures between 100 °C and 450 °C in the frequency range of 300 MHz to 3000 MHz are mainly attributed to the decreased relaxation time of dielectric polarization.IntroductionPyrolyzed carbons have been identified as excellent microwave absorbers owing to their high dielectric and electrical loss under microwave irradiations. Among them, activated carbon continues to attract more and more attention from researchers. Due to its special physical properties, the production, modification and regeneration of activated carbon with the assistance of microwave have been widely studied over the last few decades [1-6]. However, only few attempts have been applied to explore the dielectric properties of such materials due to the complexity and variability of their organic precursors and activation processes [7,8]. In order to shed a light on this problem, a typical sample, Norit® A Supra USP powdered activated carbon, was adopted to perform dielectric characterization, which may provide useful information for its wide application in the fields of purification, energy (hydrogen) storage and so on."

Jan 1, 2011

By Ivo Dreiseitl

The interaction between nodule harvester and eupelagic sediment on the seabed is definitely one of the key aspects of mining technology for polymetallic nodules which is to be studied in details. Physical properties of sediments play major role for evaluation of protection and preservation of marine environment while strength properties of sediments will come in useful for future mining operations. Cone penetration test (CPT) used for testing in situ is one of methods for investigation strength properties of sediments. The testing apparatus for CPT consists of an instrumented cone having a tip facing down and it is mounted on special underwater equipment (rus. UGI-1). UGI-1 can determine subsurface strength down to the depth interval 0 ? 1.10 m. Special IOM geotechnical cruise was accomplished in 1989 on board R/V Academic A. Karpinski within the extra test area of about 1000 km2. Thanks to UGI-1 the IOM database recorded unique strength sediment data (cone penetration resistance) from 279 seabed points of sounding at profiles 125.6 km long. Up to 35 strength data from depth interval 0-1.1m (every 3cm) were obtained from any particular testing point. As a result 279 strength charts could be plotted (two examples in Figure 1). The cone penetration resistance values can be correlated to shear strength parameters.

Jan 1, 2011

By A. van den Berg

Mining of sand in South Africa is rapidly growing to sustain an increasing demand for sand for building purposes. Although mining of sand is regulated by environmental legislation, such as the National Environmental Management Act 107 of 19981, previous bad mining practices have left areas of land degraded and vulnerable to erosion. This study was conducted in the Seringveld Conservancy, where mining of sand has left the landscape with a degraded and unsightly appearance, and where little rehabilitation of the original vegetation has taken place. The aim of the study was to develop rehabilitation techniques for the degraded mined soils on two sand mines, Boekenhout Sand and Krokodil Sand, and to develop an overall strategy of revegetation by regenerating key plant species. Techniques for regenerating indigenous tree species cover, using modified mined sludge if topsoil is not available, were used to develop a practical and cost-effective strategy to be used in revegetation. A comparative trial was used to cultivate indigenous tree species in different soil mixtures. The study is important as it provides new information on the rehabilitation and revegetation of sand mined areas in the Seringveld Conservancy. This study will determine if alternatives could be used to replace topsoil on mined areas where none is available. The study is needed to determine whether revegetation of the mined areas would be possible using indigenous plant species that are difficult to grow. The overall results indicate that replacing topsoil was successful for various modified soil mixtures that could sustain the growth of indigenous vegetation on the sand mines. Different indigenous tree species require different modified soil mixtures for successful propagation. A revegetation strategy was developed to complement and enable the rehabilitation of the mined areas in the Seringveld Conservancy. Keywords Rehabilitation, revegetation, Seringveld, sand mines, Burkea africana, topsoil, germination trials.

Jan 1, 2011

By Kuwauchi. Y., M. Barati

Recycling of dust using a rotary hearth furnace (RHF) has gained considerable attention in the past two decades for the sustainable production of steel with less environmental impact. In order to further promote the recycling of electric arc furnace dust and carbonaceous wastes using the RHF process, a mathematical model was developed to predict the reaction behaviour of dust-reductant composites. The reduction kinetics of zinc and iron oxides as well as the volatilization behaviour of volatile matter in the reluctant were considered. The modeling approach and some preliminary results are presented in this article.

Jan 1, 2011

By Bern Klein, Randy Blaskovich, Reem Roufail

"Morphology is a tool that is rarely used for mineral breakage mechanism evaluation. Ground particles are typically assessed for their size distribution. They are also visually analyzed using image analysis. However, image analysis is not a comprehensive evaluation of the particle surface texture. It evaluates particle’s size parameters such as area, diameter, and perimeter amongst other features. On the other hand, morphology analysis takes the particle assessment to another level of detail. Morphology analysis evaluates particles’ roundness, elongation and angularity that would indicate the degree of roughness of the particle. According to Roufail and Klein (2009), rougher surfaces are generated due to breakage along grain boundaries – intergranular breakage. Mill operation, particularly mill speed, dictates the dynamics in the mill. Stirred mills are known to break the particles via abrasion under standard operation. However, if the dynamics of the grinding media in the mill are changed, the particles could be more exposed to impact and compression loading that would lead to a different mode of breakage.In this paper, the effect of material properties and mill operating conditions on particle morphology will be studied. Hard non-sulfide versus soft sulfide minerals are compared, namely quartz and galena, respectively. Extreme mill speeds are tested covering the range of 1000 to 2000 rpm for a 4-litre Netzsch (ISA) mill. In addition to particle size distribution, micro-analysis is executed in the form of morphological analysis using a tested manual roughness point counting technique.INTRODUCTIONGrinding in general and stirred milling in particular are processes that are used to break particles to liberate metal-bearing minerals for further separation downstream. The energy required to achieve the target particle size versus maximum possible liberation has been studied intensively and it is usually the breaking point for the grinding system chosen in a process flowsheet. Operating conditions are dictated by the energy consumption. Becker et al. (2001) related different forms of energy such as input, specific, volume/mass specific energies to stress intensities and final product fineness. Other research studies focused on energy input in a stirred mill (Zheng, Harris and Somasundaran, 1996)."

Jan 1, 2011

By Christopher Laughton

A new underground laboratory is under construction at the recently closed Homestake Gold Mine, Lead South Dakota, United States of America. The Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory is designed to meet the needs of an international group of scientists and engineers interested in conducting fundamental and applied research at depth in the Earth’s crust.

Jan 1, 2011

By P. S. Arthur, G. R. F. Alvear

Development of a new smelting process is risky. Many novel processes in the metals industry failed to fulfil the initial expectations of their inventors. Large sums of capital have been invested in technologies that either didn't provide a satisfactory return on investment, or didn't perform at all, and had to be replaced. One of the keys to success in process development is incremental scale up of the technology, with potential problems being identified and rectified as early as possible. In this way the cost of any rectification that is required can be minimized. The ISASMELTTM process was developed to maturity by Mount Isa Mines through the 1980's and 1990's using incremental scale up. Commercialization only occurred once the process had been proven on laboratory, pilot and demonstration scale over many years. As a result ISASMELTTM technology now operates successfully at numerous plants around the world. The methodical approach to development of the technology has allowed owners to modernise their existing operations or create new businesses with significantly reduced technical risk.

Jan 1, 2011

In late November 2010, a Laotian landmark was achieved for the country?s first tunnel boring machine - (TBM) driven tunnel. Italian contractor CMC di Ravenna celebrated the breakthrough of a 7.6-m- (25.1-ft-) diameter Robbins single shield TBM for a hydroelectric tunnel on the Nam Theun River. The Theun Hinboun expansion project and 5.5 km (3.4 miles) headrace tunnel will bring much needed power in-creases to Laos and Thailand. . ?Since this is the country?s first machine, it has awakened people?s curiosity and interest. We had experienced Italian and Chinese crew members, but we also trained many Lao workers during the course of the project, as this was something they had not seen before,? said Luca Barbàra, Far East Manager for CMC di Ravenna. The machine broke through on Nov. 21 into an exit shaft close to the intake structure on the river. The machine is now being disassembled and removed - CMC hopes to use it on upcoming projects in the region. Due to the current rainy season and relative low level of the tunnel, the last 100 m (330 ft) up to the intake structure will be completed using drill-and-blast after the waters recede below the tunnel invert.

Jan 1, 2011

By G. Gaidajis, K. Angelakoglou

The development of a tool for assessing the environmental sustainability of mining facilities is described in this study. The tool is based on the analysis of basic components of the examined system, i.e., the quantities of the incoming materials and outgoing wastes, their hazardousness and scarcity, the utilization of water and energy resources, and the biodiversity. The developed tool provides both qualitative and quantitative assessment of the environmental performance of a mining facility in a broad time scales (past-present-future) and is easily applicable from non environmental experts. Moreover, relative software is developed to further support the application of the methodology. The implementation of the tool is expected to lead to an improved understanding of the environmental performance of a mining facility and more importantly identify the areas of significant environmental concern. However, based on feedback from industries, a number of shortcomings of the approach have been identified so far and are presented, indicating further actions for the advancement of the proposed tool.

Jan 1, 2011

Beatrix Gold Mine, a deep-level gold mine in the Free State province of South Africa, has the highest methane emission rate of any gold mine in the country. Methane is emitted from underground sources intersected during mining operations and is liberated into the general mine atmosphere. The total methane emission rate for the mine is of the order of 16001/s and the South section of the mine emits approximately 10001/s of methane gas. The mine has a history of gas accumulations which have led to a number of underground explosions. Following the last explosion in 2001 and the subsequent investigation, a number of recommendations were made. Two of these were to consider extracting the underground mine methane to render the mine atmosphere safe, and to declare hazardous locations that require special operating procedures. A number of such workplaces have now been declared at the South section of the mine. Methane gas is a potent, explosive greenhouse gas whose contribution to global warming and climate change is 21 times higher than that of carbon dioxide. To reduce its inherent danger and to mitigate its global warming impact, a carbon credit project under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol has been developed and implemented, the aim being to capture and destroy the methane at Beatrix mine. The mine has constructed an extraction system to capture and extract 400 (Is of the methane. Percentage methane (per volume) of the gas intersected at source is 85%, with negligible concentrations of other hydrocarbons and water associated. The mine contracted the services of Group Five to design and construct the flare and ancillary equipment on surface, and Promethium Carbon was contracted to assist with the carbon¬-related aspects, approval framework, and administration of the project. A number of design and construction challenges had to be faced to extract and transport the gas effectively to the surface of the mine as the emitters are approximately 3 600 m away from the mine shaft at a depth of 860 m. Further considerations were the requirements for the type of column to be used to transport the methane gas, the pressure loss over the system, the safety systems needed to address the risk factors involved in the transport of the methane gas, and a suitable pumping system to extract the gas to the surface. The system operates under negative pressure provided by two blowers on surface delivering the emissions to a flare capable of burning off 450 8/s of methane gas. In this paper a number of benefits for the mine are discussed. These include, but are not limited to, the removal of approximately 55% of the total volume of methane gas from the general body of the air in the geographical areas of the mine where the methane gas is emitted into the atmosphere, and reducing the risk of methane-related incidents. A further benefit of this project is the mitigation of the global warming impact of the methane gas and the reduction of the mine's carbon footprint by approximately 25%. This project could also assist in alleviating the energy shortage being experienced in South Africa by means of the planned generation of 4 MW of electrical power, utilizing the methane gas, as a second phase of the project.

Jan 1, 2011

By T. A. Muhlare

The use of electrolyte additives to smoothen cathode deposits during copper deposition is practised worldwide. These additives absorb on the cathode surface and take part in the electrochemical crystallization process. However, these additives also affect the quality of the cathodes when they are inadequately controlled. Electrolyte additives used by Palabora are glue, thiourea, Avitone and chloride. Their effects were determined on cathode quality, the size of the current density region that gives the desired compact morphology, and current efficiency. This was done in a small-scale cell. Small cells have different hydrodynamics from industrial-scale cells, which makes it difficult to simulate the operation of industrial cells in a laboratory. The approach used here was to use a rotating cylinder cathode to attain controlled hydrodynamics. The rotation speed was chosen to give a diffusion layer thickness that is similar to that of an industrial-scale cell. It was shown that even fairly small changes in the additive levels can significantly affect the cathode morphology, and the current density range over which this morphology can be obtained. Keywords Copper, electrorefining, glue, thiourea, avitone and chloride.

Jan 1, 2011

By Guohua Bai, Yuanbo Zhang, Guihong Han, Zijian Su, Daoyuan Zhang

"Specularite ores have poor hydrophilicity and ballability as well as inferior high-temperature reactivity, which restrict the large-scale application of them in the pelletizing and sintering production. Modified humic acid (MHA) organic binders are firstly used for pellet preparation from specularite in this paper. The results show that the drop strength of green pellets is 3.7 times/0.5m and compression strength is 12.5 N/P by using 1.0 wt% MHA as binder. Under the optimal experimental conditions of preheating temperature 980 °C, preheating time 12 min, roasting temperature 1280 °C and roasting time 10 min, the preheated pellets have the compression strength more than 400 N/P, and that of roasted pellets is 2747 N/P. The strength of finished pellets meets the requirements of blast furnace iron-making. MHA is a kind of more effective organic binder for specularite pellets compared with the inorganic bentonite.IntroductionAcid Pellets have advantages of good strength, uniformity particle size, high iron grade and good reducibility, which can be used as high-quality burdens for blast furnaces [1]. With fast development of Chinese iron and steel industry domestic magnetite concentrates with high grade of iron and good firing performances become shortage.Imported specularite ores have advantages of low price and high grade of iron (generally above 67 wt%), so the application of them in pellets is an effective way for sustainable development of pellet industry in China. However, the specularites have not been utilized in pelletizing and sintering at present because of the poor ballability and high-temperature reactivity [2, 3]. Most of the pellet plants use bentonite as binders, the amount of which is about 2~3 wt%. The pellet production practice shows that 90 wt% bentonite is still residual in finished pellets and reduces the iron grade [3]. Developing a new organic binder instead of bentonite is very important to the high-quality pellet production. On one hand, the consumption of bentonite is obviously reduced, resulting in decreasing the ironmaking coke ratio and slag discharge; On the other hand, the iron grade of finished pellets are improved, which brings the benefit for the ironmaking production."

Jan 1, 2011

By D. Gärtner, A. Oster

"""Operational excellence"" provides a sound foundation for RWE Power AG's three strategic pillars (innovation, expansion and organic growth). The maintenance and development of operational excellence in lignite mining operations at RWE Power is supported by the Continuous Improvement Process (CIP) ""immer:besser"" (getting better). Obtaining cost reductions with the aid of the CIP as a kind of value-adding self-renewal process to ensure competitive lignite mining operations and lignite-based electricity generation forms the basis for further increases in profitability and growth. Since the beginning of the 1990s, RWE Power has carried out a multitude of re-engineering projects focusing on the efficient shaping of processes with the assistance of external consultants to enable the Company to cope with the considerable need for change by swiftly implementing major efficiency levers. These also include the required adaptation and development of the organization. Since 2004, the Continuous Opencast Mine Improvement Process (""KVT"") has enabled the mines to tap significant cost reduction potential by virtue of their own strength. But there is another issue that has come into focus: the development of performance enhancement options. In 2006, the ""KVT"" process, piloted in the opencast mines, was included in the RWE Power-wide immer:besser (i:b) programme (Figure 1)."

Jan 1, 2011

By Stephen Liu

Tunnel excavation while mining is not often performed in North America primarily due to access constraints in both operations. Referencing European approaches for long distance tunneling, the Devil?s Slide Tunnel project has applied innovation and technology to provide the ability to overcome this unique challenge. The Devil?s Slide Tunnel requires the construction of twin bore tunnels excavated based on sequential excavation method (SEM) construction methods using New Austrian Tunneling Methods (NATM) principles. The twin tunnels are approximately 9 m (30 ft) in diameter and 1,250 m (4,100 linear ft) in length. The purpose of this project is to reroute Route 1 from around the Devil?s Slide through the San Pedro Mountains crossing from Montara, CA along the south and into Pacifica, CA in the north. The Caltrans project was awarded in December 2006 for a total of $272,366,000. The job is an A+B job, thus the estimate scheme of final lining while tunnel excavation is important to save time. A+B is a method of rewarding a contractor for completing a project as quickly as possible. By providing a cost each working day, the contract combines the cost to perform the work (A) with the cost of impact to the public (B) to provide the lowest cost to the public. Concurrent mining while lining is achieved through a series of gantries and a set of tunnel forms allowing the pass-through of the excavation equipment. The tunnel lining operation passes through several phases of work that are dependent upon the progress of the tunnel excavation process. This involves unique milestones, such as the evolution of the ventilation system, development of an enlarged cross passage to allow equipment to access each tunnel from within the tunnel and, finally, the installation of an invert prior to arch lining that limits the continuity of the final lining operation.

Jan 1, 2011

By David S. Wong

With air emission limits for total particulates continually tightening, management of `potroom dust' or airborne particulates from aluminium smelting potrooms is of increasing importance. To better understand how settled and airborne particulates are generated within a potroom, methodologies have been developed to sample and analyse the compositional signature of dust, in relation to its sources. During a smelter case study, these methods allowed tracking of mineralogical phases in dust across a range of potroom locations, showing that the mechanisms of dust generation do vary spatially and vertically in a potroom. Such methodologies may also be applicable to other metallurgical industries.

Jan 1, 2011

By F. Chiesa

Experimental results on thin and thick castings poured in aluminum A356 and magnesium AZ91E by the low pressure permanent mold process have been compared to the result of filling simulations for thin and thick castings. If the results of modeling is reliable when the liquid remains above the liquidus temperature, this is no longer the case when partial solidification occurs. The visco-elastic behavior of a partially solidified liquid is difficult to put into equation as it depends on the amount of shear it has been been subjected to. Attempts to predict misruns with a commercial software has been proven to be very difficult if not impossible; divergence of the numerical solution has been observed unless prohibitively long computing times are used. In order to overcome these difficulties from a practical standpoint, a simple method is proposed which consists in tracking the temperature of the advancing liquid metal front so as to make sure it will always be above so-called `Misrun Critical Temperature' (MCT) determined experimentally for thin and thick aluminum A356 and magnesium AZ91E castings. If the liquid metal front falls below this temperature, a cold-shut or misrun is likely to happen at this location. The values of MCT for thin and thick in aluminum A356 and magnesium AZ91E were determined experimentally on misrun castings of extreme geometries (a thin 2.5 mm wall cover and a 6mm to 25 mm thick bell housing). MCT was found to be lower for magnesium AZ91E and for the thicker castings.

Jan 1, 2011

By F. Sanchez, A. Mejias, C. Frias, G. Diaz

"Crude zinc oxides are the major source of secondary zinc and are produced from fuming processes like Waelz kilns. The impurities of crude zinc oxides make difficult their processing in primary zinc refineries due to mainly high chloride tenor. Washing with sodium carbonate is a costly operation and chloride removal efficiency is not good enough, so further purification steps are required. The crude zinc oxides are easily treated using ZINCEX™ technology based on leaching, solvent extraction, and electrowinning. The ZINCEX™ process is commercially available and is designed to be a perfect barrier for metallic impurities and halogens, allowing selective zinc extraction in mixed chloride and sulfate leaching solutions. Other valuable components as lead and silver can be efficiently recovered from the leaching residue using PLINT technology in chloride media. Silver is recovered as silver cement and lead is precipitated as pure lead oxide or carbonate, which can be smelted at low temperature.IntroductionZinc is a fully recyclable metal and at present approximately 70% of the zinc produced worldwide comes from primary zinc while 30% originates from secondary materials. Nowadays, the zinc recycling rate is continuously increasing mainly through galvanized steel scrap processing, and crude zinc oxides are the major source of secondary zinc [1]. Secondary zinc oxides are obtained from fuming processes like W aelz Kiln, Rotary Hearth Furnace or Primus Furnace. Waelz is the dominant technology accounting for 80% of total crude zinc oxides production worldwide. In the Waelz process, steel dust is mixed with solid fuel reductant (coke breeze) and pelletized. It is then fed to the kiln and heated to a reaction temperature of l ,200°C. In such conditions, zinc, lead, and other non-ferrous metals are vaporized into the flue gas together with chlorides and alkaline metals. Mixed oxides are drawn from the kiln with the process gases and separated to produce typical crude zinc oxides [2]."

Jan 1, 2011

By G. Issid, J. McGinty, C. Lee, Y. Pepin

For more than a decade, Hatch has used process and logistics models to assist Rio Tinto Fer et Titane (RTFT) with capacity planning, debottlenecking, and optimization to help ensure design capability, capital effectiveness, and operational efficiency of the integrated production chain. Process models are used to optimize the physics-based aspects of the system, such as mass and energy balances, flow rates, yields, and equipment specifications. Dynamic logistics models are used to optimize how the various plant areas work together to achieve the desired ends and deal with such things as plant scheduling and synchronization strategies, sizing of buffers between processes, defining the required number of process and material handling units, and designing a plant layout that minimizes plant interferences and inefficiencies. The combined use of process models and logistics models enables the overall plant to be optimized from both a productivity and quality point of view, with each plant area working in harmony with one another to achieve targeted capacities and efficiencies. This paper describes the many benefits derived from such modeling efforts over the past 15 years for each of the major plant areas at RTFT: Beneficiation Plant, Smelter Plant, Steel Plant, UGS Plant, and Powder Plant (RTMP).

Jan 1, 2011