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By M. A. Cristovici

The use of surfactants as wetting agents to suppress sulfide ore dust has been investigated. Numerous surfactants were examined to determine their characteristics and to investigate their ability to improve the wetting of the sulfide ore dust. However, the surfactants selected as suitable dust suppressors proved to have a negative effect on the flotation of ore contaminated with such reagents. A method was developed to eliminate the detrimental influence of dust-suppressing surfactants. It consisted of surfactant adsorption on activated carbon and separation of loaded carbon prior to flotation. The technique is simple and requires minimal changes in the plant flowsheet.

Jan 1, 1992

By C. Timothy Shaw, Michael Karmis, Hans de Ruiter

The Society of Mining Professors/Societät der Bergbaukunde was established during a meeting hosted by the Montanuniversität, Leoben, Austria, in 1990. Since then, the Society has primarily functioned as a European entity of senior academics in the mining engineering discipline. The Society is considered the natural successor of the historic Societät der Bergbaukunde, formed in the early 18th century and recognized as the world’s first international scientific society. At the 14th Annual General Meeting of the Society, in Milos, Greece, 2003, a decision was made to examine the role of the Society in global minerals education, to reassess its vision and membership guidelines and to develop the future direction of the organization. A special Planning Subcommittee developed a plan of action to allow the Society to transform and position itself as the premier global voice of the academic minerals disciplines and to lead the effort of restructuring minerals education. The new vision calls for reconstituting the Society as a vibrant global society, representing the majority of minerals academics and making a significant contribution to the future of the minerals disciplines. This paper will present the history, vision, goals and action plans of the Society to help ensure that the necessary scientific, technical, academic and professional skills are available for the sustainable supply of minerals to mankind.

Jan 1, 2005

By Jean-François Boucher, Ernest K. Yanful, Mei Lin Shelp, Lionel J. J. Catalan

Shallow water covers for preventing acid production in tailings are based on the principle of minimizing oxygen availability. Resuspension of material from the tailings bed may result in increased oxidation and metal releases since dissolved oxygen is at near saturation levels in the water cover. Resuspension can be caused by waves and currents strong enough to mobilize the surface of the tailings bed. Tailings resuspension was measured with sediment traps in the Upper Cell of the Heath Steele site near Mirarnichi, New Brunswick Canada. Although significant amounts of resuspended tailings were collected in all traps, analysis of resuspended solids and bed tailings suggests that for the observed wind conditions resuspension did not occur at locations where the water cover depth was greater or equal to 1.0 m. Currents were likely responsible for the transport of resuspended tailings from shallower areas to locations where the water cover was deeper than 1.0 m.

Jan 1, 2000

By Balesh W. Konda, Andrew B. Cecala

Face ignitions occurring during longwall mining are increasing each year and are expected to continue to increase as deeper and gassier seams are mined. Effective methane monitoring strategies are needed to supplement techniques developed either to control the ignition sources or to dilute the gas to an acceptable concentration. Present monitoring strategies do not always detect dangerous concentrations as rapidly as they should. In a number of instances, dangerous concentrations have been observed at the shearer, but are diluted to acceptable levels when measured at the tailgate monitoring location. To effectively monitor and control methane concentrations, methane liberation and emission patterns must be identified. This need has led to a joint research effort between the Canada Centre for Mineral and Energy Technology and the United States Bureau of Mines. By combining the knowledge and experience of both organizations, the methane hazard facing underground longwall operations can be addressed more effectively. A comprehensive plan was developed to monitor methane levels throughout the panel and for an entire longwall mining cycle. In June-July 1986, a case study was performed at the Cape Breton Development Corporation's Lingan colliery in Sydney, Nova Scotia. This initial study was performed on two advancing longwall panels. Methane concentrations and flow patterns from this study are described in this report. A similar study is planned on a retreating longwall panel.

Jan 1, 1987

By Allan J. Breitenbach

The heap leaching process has developed into a low-cost method for recovering copper, gold and silver from large and small deposits of low-grade ore. The earliest known heap leaching process with chemicals occurred in about 1752 and is attributed to Spanish miners percolating acid solutions through large heaps of oxide copper ore on the banks of the Rio Tinto (Ran Zyl, et al., 1988). In 1969, US Bureau of Mines research¬ers proposed the use of dilute alkaline cyanide solutions as a low-cost means for recovering gold values from low-grade ore containing micrometer-sized particles of gold (Miners News, 1991). The modern-day heap leaching process typically involves the percolation of leach solutions through controlled lifts of stacked, low-grade ore (crushed, aggomerated or run-of-mine) in a heap for chemical extraction of precious and base metals into solution (Fig. 1). The enriched (pregnant) solution is collected by gravity flow in lined basins, sumps and ponds for processing and recovery of the target metals (copper, gold and silver). The barren solution from the recovery facilities is recirculated to the heap, along with chemical reagents and makeup water, for containment of all process solutions in an enclosed and environmentally sound system. This involves the use of low-permeability liner systems beneath the heap leach stacks to maximize solution recovery and protect the underlying ground water (Fig. 1). This article discusses the typical heap leach liner systems currently used by mining companies in North America. The most successful heap leach pad liner systems from past precious metal operations generally include an underlying, low-permeability soil bedding material; a geomembrane liner, and an overlying protective cover fill.

Jan 1, 1994

By R. Bruce Thorndycraft

Heap leaching should not be chosen for development of a property solely on the basis of paper studies. Management should be made to understand where the risks are in heap leaching, and management should be alerted to the variability of costs in heap leaching, many of which are based upon company philosophy. These concepts are complex, but easily illustrated with guided tours of existing heap leach facilities.

Jan 1, 1998

By J. E. Wennen

Screens serve several important functions in CIL and CIP processes for gold extraction. One important screen application known as interstage screening allows slurry to be continuously transfered through a series of CIL or CIP tanks while retaining activated carbon in the tank. In some cases, this has been accomplished by using airlifts to carry slurry containing activated carbon to an external screen which separates carbon as oversize and returns it to the tank by gravity. The undersize slurry advances to the subsequent tank. More recently this has been accomplished using launder screens and Kambalda type screens. These are essentially static screens that rely on air blasts or mechanical sweepers to clear carbon away from the screen surfaces.

Jan 1, 1998

By S. P. Singh

To understand the intricate nature of blast damage and counter the associated problems, small-scale blasting experiments were performed on hydrostone blocks. Tests were then conducted during a drifting operation in a quartzite quarry. Blast damage was assessed by different techniques. On the basis of the experimental results, the effects of the energy partitioning characteristics of explosives on the damage were identified.

Jan 1, 1993

By Ferdi Camisani

The ‘Bible’ 1977 & 1981 ‘South African Mine Valuation’ by C. D. Storrar. Proved reserve (=’measured ore’ USA; ore reserve = the payable portion of the proved reserve) -Fully developed (…immediately available…) -Partly developed (…not immediately available…) -Undeveloped (…unavailable…) Probable reserve (=’indicated ore’ USA) Possible reserve (=’inferred ore’ USA) Life-of-mine reserve (Proved + Probable + Possible)

Jan 1, 2003

By Corey Vaughan

Unplanned shutdowns from abrasive wear part failure in crushers, chutes, and slurry pipe assets can cost millions in lost production and reactive maintenance. 2Censor patented sensor technology enables real time abrasive wear monitoring of mineral processing equipment, turning passive assets into smart, data driven components. Wireless sensors embedded in liners and pipework transmit wear data live to operators, allowing for predictive maintenance, safer scheduling, and optimized asset life. This paper will present global case studies showing reductions in downtime, increased throughput, and improved maintenance accuracy. The system is ready to retrofit, neutral to original equipment manufacturers, and proven across more than twelve countries in abrasive wear liners and slurry pipe applications.

Feb 22, 2026

By Nico Sutmoller, Rich Palladino

Underground voids present a unique geotechnical engineering challenge. This paper will address materials and transportation mediums that are typically used for backfilling underground voids with native material. After reviewing traditional backfill and transportation methods, this paper will explore the advancing technology of foam transportation and the advantages of using this technology for transporting fill materials into underground voids to backfill them with Liquid-Sand. The paper will also review the benefits that Liquid-Sand brings to these applications and highlight specific case studies in which foam transportation has proven effective and provided cost-effective, environmental benefits.

Feb 1, 2025

By Vladislav Kecojevic

Both Canada and the United States are endowed with significant reserves of mineral resources. Mining industries in these two countries have a strong safety and health culture; skilled, dedicated and well-paid workforce; applications of state-of-the art technologies and high productivity, strict environmental requirements and social responsibility. Both countries are global leaders in safe, economic, productive, environmentally responsible and sustainable mining practices. Mining schools/ departments in Canada and the United States provide a strong and comprehensive education and training, hands-on learning experience, with support for internships and co-op opportunities to prepare graduates for careers not only nationally but also in the global mining industry. While there are many similarities in their industries and mining schools, there are also some differences. This article examines the contribution of mining to the economy, the political climate, the regulatory framework, the investment climate, environmental regulations, the language, the perception of mining, news and press coverage, and the academic landscape in both countries. Opinions, observations and perspectives shared in this article are of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views, policies or positions of any organization, employer or affiliated group.

Nov 1, 2025

By H. V. Scotland III

Lafarge Corporation's Texas Quarry, in Baltimore MD, achieved a substantial expansion of pit reserves by removing an inactive underground mine. The day lighting program, designed, and completed in 1997, open pit mined more than 400 meters of room and pillar workings which were originally developed to recover high brightness Calcium Carbonate. The project proved to be a challenge throughout its course as the pit plan was modified and successful daylighting techniques were developed to remove the mine without adversely affecting the safety of the operation, quality of the stone recovered, or negatively impacting the surrounding community. The design parameters and techniques developed and implemented at Texas may prove of interest to other operators as they are faced with daylighting opportunities. This article will detail the challenges we faced and the solutions which made the project a success.

Jan 1, 1999

By Steven Keim, Steven Stansfield, Kevin Andrews

Geotechnical, geological, and hydrogeological fieldwork and data collection for the mining industry is often conducted by younger, less-experienced staff members. In many cases, fieldwork personnel are recent college graduates or are otherwise relatively new to the mining industry. Due to busy schedules, staffing shortages, project budgets, and in some cases, poor management, new fieldwork hires often do not receive thorough training. In the past and the present, many workers in the mining industry learn(ed) by “doing.” While this is still considered to be the most practical approach and the easiest way for a company to determine the skill set of an employee, there is always some risk involved in the “feet to the fire” method. The reality is that field personnel are often collecting data on which major operational decisions will be made or on which regulators will base enforcement decisions. Inadequately trained or inexperienced field personnel may collect inaccurate data or fail to recognize key conditions that may influence decisions made by regulators, design engineers, mine managers, and corporate leaders. Even the best engineers may come to incorrect conclusions if they are starting with poor input data. Decisions based on inaccurate data often result in delays, budget issues, unsafe conditions, or even worse consequences. This paper provides numerous mining industry examples of incidences where inaccurately collected field information did, or could have, resulted in major adverse consequences. The paper also offers some simple approaches to minimizing the potential for such problems.

Jul 1, 2023

By K. H. McDaniel

Eight mine weather stations (MWSs) installed at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) to monitor the underground ventilation system are helping to simulate real time ventilation scenarios. Seasonal weather extremes can result in variations in the natural ventilation pressure (NVP), which can significantly affect the ventilation system. The eight MWSs, which previously collected and stored temperature, barometric pressure and relative humidity data for subsequent NVP calculations, were upgraded to provide continuous real time data to the site-wide central monitoring system. These data can now be utilized by the ventilation engineer to create real time ventilation simulations and can indicate trends that assist in the prediction and mitigation of NVP and psychrometric related events.

Jan 1, 1999

By W. R. Dengler

In Canada, most of the rock being broken in underground metal mines is being done by using traditional drilling and blasting methods. Despite advances being made in hardrock boring and other, more exotic techniques, Dynatec believes that the traditional methods will prevail for many years. It is also believed that modest research efforts expended on the traditional methods will result in substantial financial benefits to the mining and rock tunneling businesses. Dynatec has pursued productivity improvements through the use of long rounds in shaft sinking and lateral development. The concept of longer rounds was developed by Dynatec on the Craig Shaft Sinking Project (RETC, 1991). This technology was subsequently used to sink the two shafts at Aur Resources with great success. The development of a Long Round Jumbo for tunneling is a natural progression of the long round technology developed for the Craig Shaft. The Dynatec Long Round System has been patented in the United States and South Africa, with additional patent applications pending in Canada and Australia.

Jan 1, 1993

In 1991, environmental issues related to coal mining continued to be an integral part of managing a cost-effective operation. Environmental regulations and their implementation can create considerable cost burdens on operating mines. Environmental responsibilities require management decisions to be made on a whole systems approach that is comprehensive in costs and consequences. Most of the regulatory activity in 1991 that affected coal was related to reauthorization or revision of several pieces of legislation. Issues related to the reauthorization of the Clean Water Act, the Resource Recovery and Conservation Act (RCRA) and Abandoned Mine Land. Clear Water Act considerations will encompass discharge standards, wetlands issues and proposals to regulate ground water quality at the federal level. Discussion regarding RCRA includes efforts to expand regulatory authority into the area of coal mine waste. That is currently regulated by the Office of Surface Mining (OSM). Another RCRA consideration will be the disposal of coal combustion byproducts. Abandoned Mine Land reauthorization continues the Abandoned Mine Land tax on coal operators. This tax has been in effect since 1977. Regulatory revisions were also proposed by the Department of Interior on valid existing rights, subsidence, federal coal leasing programs and OSM's troubled Applicant Violator System. Industry officials have been critical of the revisions. A federal appeals court found that evidence supported claims by Whitney Benefits, Inc. that the passage of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) deprived the owner of full economic use of its property. Before SMCRA's passage, Whitney established an operating agreement with Peter Kiewit Sons Co. to mine coal.

Jan 1, 1992

By Ing. H. Kellerwessel, Ing. M. Esna-Ashari

This paper refers to the new crushing and grinding process, invented by Professor Schonert (Ref. 1), Clausthal, Germany. The process is known as high pressure particle bed comminution or interparticle crushing. Several papers already describe fundamentals of the process, the equipment used, results of lab size and large scale tests and the first results of commercial operations (Ref. 2 to 7). Of course, we will treat the topic from the perspective of a downstream gold ore upgrading or leaching process. Some recently executed testwork indicates that the process provides special advantages in this field. To describe the process generally, in view of the already existing publications.

Jan 1, 1998

By Marina K. Peshkova, Izabell V. Pomorova

Computer modelling system for definition optimal way of in- vestment under condition of diverse directions of activities mining enterprises has been created. The main purpose of paper is to introduce the new scientific approach of finding effective variants of investment for mining industry under free market condition in Russia, it can be also interesting for domestic and foreign investors.

Jan 1, 1996

By Y. C. Kim

Although the first published optimum pit limit design algorithm by Lerchs-Grossmann dates back to 1965, the majority of the open-pit mines in the U.S. has not as yet adopted such a rigorous optimization algorithm. Instead, the floating cone approach initially developed by Kennecott Copper in 1961 is still used today for various reasons. However, shortcomings with the floating cone algorithm, particularly for precious metal deposits with erratic mineral distributions, have provided a renewed interest in optimizing algorithms.

Jan 1, 1988