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By Jan M. Mutmansky

Since 1973 when the first edition of the SME Mining Engineering Handbook was published, many significant changes have occurred in the US mining industry. The industry went through a fairly prosperous period immediately after 1973, but then many economic pressures came to bear on mining companies, particularly in the metal and coal branches of the industry. These pressures changed both the mining methods used and the general economics of the mining methods. As a result, the industry today is different in many ways titan it was in 1973. A general summary of some of the more important changes that have come about will be provided here as well as some assessment of the effects of these changes on the choices of mining methods. In the metal mining industry, the most significant trends were increased surface mining, the use of larger and more efficient equipment, and increased technology and automation. The primary impetus for these changes was unprecedented competition from foreign producers. In many cases, this competition came about because of the nationalization of foreign mines and the tendency for these mines to become a source of foreign exchange. Under these circumstances, the mines could be operated even though they were not profitable. As a result, domestic

Jan 1, 2008

By G. S. Scott

The Bureau of Mines is engaged in research to assess the hazards associated with the handling, storage, and use of combustible gases, vapors, and. liquids encountered in mines and in industry. As a part of this general pro-gram, numerous limits of flammability and ignition temperatures are being investigated for a wide variety of combustible materials, and methods are being developed to minimize the explosion hazards of these combustibles. The Bureau receives numerous requests for information on the explosion hazards of specified combustible mixtures under various conditions of use. This information circular has been prepared to assist those who may have similar requests. Destined primarily for the layman with a limited technical knowledge of the subject, it considers rather briefly the numerous factors that enter into the general problem of gaseous explosions and their prevention.

Jan 1, 1951

By P. F. Venus

In December 1977, a large pillar was removed by blasthole mining methods at lnco's Creighton No. 3 mine. Although the 2,363.000-ton blast was not a size record for a single underground blast at Inco, it did represent a significant departure from conventional blasthole mining. In terms of the application of nominal 6-inch-diameter boreholes underground, coupled with bulk slurry explosives, the magnitude of the blast is considered a first and very important development. The application of large-diameter boreholes in underground operations was first tried successfully in 1973. Since that time over 13/4 million feet have been drilled in this adaptation of an open-pit technique to underground operations. The blast, which required 708 holes, totalling 131,500 feet of drilling, was loaded in a six-week period, using special slurry handling techniques developed jointly by Inco and CIL. Inco operating and engineering personnel consider this application of large boreholes and slurry explosives for blasthole mining a very important milestone in modern mining technology.

Jan 1, 1978

By Grady PO

The longwall panels at Clarence Colliery have experienced intermittent sudden weightings on the face that have caused some production delays. These weightings have typically been more severe on the wider faces. A program of surface subsidence and extensometer monitoring was undertaken above Longwalls 4 and 5 to investigate the behaviour of the overburden strata during longwall extraction on two faces of different widths.The monitoring indicated that a dome shaped zone of large downward movement extends up into the overburden strata to a height equal to about the panel width.

Jan 1, 1998

By S. M. Shelton

Preliminary work in the investigation of electrolytic manganese, as reported J, showed promise for a practical procedure of continuous production. Laboratory work was continued in the direction of process simplification to determine an economically feasible procedure that mould require a minimum of expensive equipment for plant erection and a minimum of regent consumption for operation. Results furnished enough evidence to indicate that modifications of the process could be made leading to simplified procedure and with no sacrifice in operating efficiency. A supply of at least 200 pounds of the metal was desired for alloy research, and it was believed worth Mile to utilize available facilities in a search for difficulties, that were not encountered in the laboratory and that might arise in larger-scale operation. Consequently, an experimental pilot plant was erected. The plant was designed for a capacity of 15 rounds per day of metal and operated under simulated -plant practice.

Jan 1, 1938

By A. U. Miller

For many years Illinois has been one of the leading coal producers in the United States and as such its safety record has compared very well with the other large coal producing States , both in tons produced and millions of man -hours of exposure per fatal accident . ( See Table 25 in Bureau of Mines Bulletin 293. ) During the 10-year period from 1917 to 1926 , inclusive , the average production in the United States per fatal accident was 278 , 109 tons . The aver age for the State of Illinois for the same period was 409,249 tons . Illinois produced 450,464 tons per fatal accident, and in 1928 produced 390,630, tons , or an average of 419,721 tons for the 12- year period from 1917 to 1928 , inclusive . In 1927 During the year 1929 , the shipping mines of the State made a decided improvement in their record over any previous year . Table 1 shows the monthly production and the tons produced per fatal accident . During 1928 and 1929 safety work was actively carried on in Illinois . Safety meetings were held with mine officials , representatives of the State. De partment of Mines , and the United States Bureau of Mines . At these meetings mine hazards and accidents were discussed and remedies suggested for : their elimination in the future . It is believed that first - aid training was to a considerable extent instrumental in reducing accidents and in making the good safety records in Illinois during 1928 and 1929. During these years ( as well as in 1926 and 1927 to a somewhat less extont ) en intensive rirst-aid training campaign was con ducted in Illinois by the officials and members of the United Mine Workers of America , coal companies, State Department of Mines and Minerals , and the U. S. Bureau of Mines , Every first -aid class was made a safety meeting ; where accidents and general safety were discussed freely while teaching first aid. During this time , anproximately 25,000 persons were trained in first aid, and 17 coal companies were issued certificates for having 100 per cent of their employees. trained in first aid. Since January 1 , 1926 , more than 40,000 have received first -aid training in and around Illinois mines , and including those who received training previous to this date , it is believed that at least 90 per cent of the miners in Illinois have received first -aid training . This state ment is based on the fact that the labor turnover in Illinois is not large .

Apr 1, 1931

By M. B. Shirts

Numerous alternative processes have been proposed as being potentially more economical or less polluting than the traditional smelting of copper sulfide concentrates. One such process as recently developed in the laboratory by the Bureau of Mines is composed of a two-stage fluid-bed, oxidation-reduction roasting followed by ammoniacal leaching, solvent extraction, and electrowinning. A copper-leaching recovery of 97.4 percent was obtained, and electrolysis of the acid strip solution deposited metal assaying 99.99 percent copper. The roaster gases contain over 95 percent of the sulfur at a concentration of 12 percent which is better suited for acid making or elemental sulfur production than conventional smelter gas. When considering byproduct recovery, a preliminary estimate indicates copper production costs are com-parable to the conventional smelters.

Jan 1, 1975

By Roger Beckie, Leslie Smith, Craig Nichol

To study the hydrogeological processes that control the movement of water through unsaturated waste rock, an intermediate-scale (8m x 8m x 5m) waste rock pile has been constructed and instrumented. The constructed pile is monitored for moisture content, matric suction, temperature, matrix water chemistry, gas chemistry, gas pressure, rainfall, evaporation, discharge volume and discharge chemistry. The pile is built upon a grid of 16 contiguous lysimeters. The experiment is designed to investigate the mechanisms that create rapid water flow through a pile and its exchange with slower-moving matrix water.

Jan 1, 2000

By Yang Ge, Yuzhu Pan, Mansheng Chu, Jue Tang, Cong Feng, Lihua Gao, Zhenggen Liu

The low-grade nickel laterite ore used in this study was successfully upgraded through selective reduction by industrialized rotary kilns followed by magnetic separation. The results indicated that both iron metallization extent and nickel metallization extent showed obvious linear correlation. In addition, rational roasting temperature and prolonged grinding time could enhance the overall fineness level of reduced laterite nickel ore. The moderate roasting temperature at a range of 1100–1150 °C should be suitable enough to a conversion of total nickel to metallic nickel and partly inhibited the conversion of total iron. Ultimately, the obtained ferronickel alloy with a nickel content of 7.32% and an iron content of 84.15% was prepared successfully from the lowgrade nickel laterite ore containing a nickel content of 1.92%. Nickel and iron recoveries were 96.72 and 89.08% respectively, which achieved the highly efficient recovery and utilization of iron and nickel from low-grade laterite nickel ore

By R. A. Matuszak

This paper discusses the major portion of the hoist (drag or crowd) system and it shows how static control accomplishes its major aims. In 1959, the first truly static control for Ward-Leonard equipped electric excavators was designed, developed and placed in service. The control system, originally intended only as a more modern electronic type of alternate to the proven rotating amplifier control system has since proven to be much more. When they conceived the original system, the designers had much more in mind than simply replacing the rotating amplifier with one that had no moving parts. The long range plan, which started with the initial system consisting of an SCR (silicon controlled rectifier) preamplifier and magnetic amplifier power amplifier, called for eventually, a control system low in cost and maintenance, relatively simple in design and extremely reliable. The plan also included the elimination of as many of the shortcomings of the rotating system as possible. No small accomplishment, when it is considered that the rotating control system had been, with only minor modifications, the standard of the industry for 20 years. The final step in the original design plan called for the eventual development of an amplifier that could be used as one of the basic building blocks of the future. DEVELOPMENT RESULTS Since the successful unveiling of the first static control system, continuous development has resulted in a slow, but sure progression along the path described by the original plan. The first version of the new control corrected one of the shortcomings of the rotating system by removing the necessity of operator anticipation. This was accomplished by making the system faster in response so that the operator noticed virtually no delay between his movement of the master controller and that of the machine. Thus, after the operator became familiar with the operating characteristics of the machine, he was able to become more relaxed while digging. The natural result of this accomplishment was higher production. All of the subsequent versions of this new control were even faster than the initial design. Although it was not distinguishable by the operator, the further increase in response resulted in large gains in the limiting of transient torque peaks applied to the machine while digging. Also, a more effective control of the torque and power peaks was obtained when plugging the motion being controlled to a stop. (Plugging is the use of the Ward-Leonard ability to regenerate power and absorb energy from the load to

Jan 1, 1964

By Li Xi

This paper describes how a back-propagation neural network is built for predicting the properties of engineering materials from their other properties, compositions or processes. A predicted result of the impact toughness of a 12Cr-2Ni-1.5Mo stainless steel from its tempering temperature is presented. Furthermore, the combination of this neural network for prediction is able to supplement the unpredictability of the expert system outside its domain of expertise. An integrated system may perform more intelligently and solve more complex problems as well as human expert, in some case even better.

Jan 1, 1992

By d&apos, L. Berenbaum, F. Heurle, R. Rosenberg

The structure of aluminum films obtained by evaporation was studied by electron microscopy, mostly by replica techniques and X-ray diffraction. The resistivities and stress conditions of the films were also determined. Film properties were studied as a function of source selection, substrate type, residual pressures of oxygen and water vapor, substrate temperature, and rate of growth. The formation of abnormal localized growths and whiskers resulting from annealing treatment subsequent to deposition was investigated. Films deposited onto single-crystal substrates were found to be epitaxially 0riented; for such films, relative orientations between films and substrates were determined. ALTHOUGH wide use has been made of evaporated aluminum films for the formation of conducting lines on semiconductor devices, relatively little has been reported concerning the structural characteristics of such films.1"9 The purpose of this study was to obtain an overall view of the dependence of these characteristics on film deposition and subsequent annealing conditions, which were similar to those used in silicon planar technology. Accordingly, most of this study was carried out using oxidized and bare silicon wafers as substrates, although some work was also done using alkali halide, magnesium oxide, and mica substrates. However, the main concern remained pragmatic. Emphasis was given to the study of the effects of deposition and annealing conditions on film characteristics such as structure, resistivity, and stress. I) EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES The films which were investigated in this study were deposited in 18-in.-diam glass chambers which were connected to the usual type of trapped diffusion pumps filled with silicon oil. Through the use of liquid-nitrogen-cooled Meisner traps and titanium sublimation pumps placed inside the deposition chambers, the pressure could be lowered to the lower portion of the 10- I Torr range and little increase in pressure would occur during the deposition cycle. Unless described otherwise, the substrates were 1-in.-diam p-type silicon wafers having a resistivity of 10 ohm-cm. The wafers were oxidized in wet oxygen at 975°C followed by a short dry-oxygen exposure at the same tempertture to a total oxide thickness of approximately 6000A. The wafers, backed by a layer of gallium, were mounted onto molybdenum discs brazed to a copper block.10 The latter was heated by imbedded commercial cartridge heaters. The substrate temperature could be maintained to within +10°C of a prescribed temperature during film deposition. The search for a satisfactory source for the controlled evaporation of aluminum has led to the use of 1-in.-diam crucibles" machined from rods of a commercially available, refractory composite* of Bn and

Jan 1, 1969

By D. F. Coates

Slope problems arise on mining properties from cuts for roads and railroads and from open pits. When it is 'realized that 1,000,000 extra tons of waste may have to be mined as a result of an average slope being reduced by 1 ° it is easy to appreciate that the slope problems connected with open pits are of far greater importance than the others. The type of slope failure that can occur can be classified in different ways. The most useful classification would be one that separates the causes in such a way as to provide a basis for studies to deal with problems of prevention and control. Using this criterion the types of slope failures are classified into four groups. Having classified the problems in this way an understanding can be gained of the various mechanisms involved in failure ..

Jan 1, 1961

By Guo Ziqing, Tang Qiuming, Liu Yuanyuan

The channel-type non-mechanical stirring production process is a new developed technology for emulsion explosives in recent years. It removes traditional equipment such as mechanical-mixing emulsification, mechanical-mixing sensitization, matrix pumping, and explosive pumping, and has been applied in China. This technique achieves a fusion of higher intrinsic safety and lower cost, as well as the excellent quality of products and high efficiency of production. The emulsion particle diameter is about 0.5μm. The storage period of emulsion explosive produced with span-80 emulsifier is more than 7 months.

Jan 21, 2025

By Alexander Coucoulas

FABRICATION of thin-film circuits deposited on glass substrates requires the formation of permanent electrical contacts. Since thin films are in the order of a few thousand angstroms thick and are deposited on nonconductive surfaces such as glass, new methods of lead attachment are being pursued in the microelectronics industry. Ultrasonic welding is being considered in thin-film technology since joining can be accomplished between a wide variety of dissimilar materials.l,' Ultrasonic welding is accomplished by a transducer-coupling-tip system which converts high-frequency electrical energy into mechanical vibrations and delivers it into the weld region. During the process the tip oscillates in a direction parallel to the surface of the weldments, inducing shear stresses in the work pieces which are clamped between the tip and anvil. Though the basic bonding mechanism is not clearly understood, it has been described as closely akin to friction welding. In the course of an investigation concerned with ultrasonic we!ding of aluminum wires to tantalum thin films (1400A) deposited on glass, low weld strengths were related to glass failure. Upon investigating this condition, an improved method of bonding was developed where the aluminum was held at a temperature where a minimum amount of strain hardening occurred during the introduction of ultrasonic energy. Experimental Procedure. Aluminum wires (0.015 in,) were bonded to tantalum thin films with an optimized set of welding parameters (power, time, clamping force) employing a commercial 100-w 60-kc ultrasonic welder. Forty-five degree shear-peel tests, where the lead is pulled at a 45-deg angle with respect to the substrate at 0.2 in. per min, produced a large variation from zero to the strength of the wire, Table I. Inspection of the weld region generally revealed: glass cracking before and after testing; the removal of glass nuggets from the substrate by the lead during testing, Table I; thin-film penetration. In an effort to improve the shear-peel strength, the aluminum between the tip and substrate was heated above ambient temperature through an argon gas media prior to and during welding with the same parameters employed above. With the addition of heat: wire deformation was increased; shear-peel tests all failed at the weld-wire junction, leaving the bonded portion undisturbed; no evidence of glass cracking or film penetration prior to or after testing was observed. In order to prevent failure at the weld-wire junction due to excessive wire deformation, 0.035-in. aluminum wires were welded to tantalum thin films with an optimized set of welding and heating parameters. As

Jan 1, 1967

By J. R. McWilliams

Several of the current concepts of brittle fracture involve consideration of the existence of defects or flaws. Griffith 1 observed that the tensile strength of brittle materials was several orders of magnitude less than might be expected from the calculated strength of the molecular bonds. He was able to show that the stress concentration at the tip of an elliptical crack is sufficient to raise the local stress level many fold. He therefore proposed that real materials do contain such stress risers in the form of minute cracks and that this accounts for the rather large difference between theoretical and actual strengths of brittle materials. The degree of stress magnification depends to a great extent upon the orientation of the crack with respect to the general stress system, and to the general geometry of the crack.

Jan 1, 1967

By L. D. Roper

"This paper introduces novel comminution flowsheet concepts involving a novel apparatus, eccentric-high-pressure-centrifugal-comminution (eHPCC), and forthcoming advantages to the international mineral processing community. eHPCC is one-machine synergising high-pressure-rolling surfaces, high-intensity-attrition and centrifugal classification. eHPCC has demonstrated: an absorbed power- intensity of 4 MW/m3; receipt of lump feed whilst producing 80% of product particles less than (p80) 120 µm (choke-fed, dry, open circuit without grinding media; an inert comminution environment); tramp metal tolerance, and a minimum embodied-free-energy saving of 15% as compared against conventional comminution (this comparison withstanding 133-times difference in throughput). Furthermore, this paper introduces: process design and operating characteristics of eHPCC (wet, dry, with and without grinding media); reline considerations (vertical-lift without confined-space). The international mineral processing community is invited to consider eHPCC as an alternative to conventional comminution circuits and/ or complimentary so as to enhance existing process flow sheets.INTRODUCTIONEccentric-high-pressure-centrifugal-comminution (eHPCC) was conceived in 2013 (Patents pending) and has the potential to eliminate the in-efficiencies and complexity of conventional tumbling mill circuits. During the development and testing phase eHPCC demonstrated improved energy efficiency and sustainability offsets.eHPCC will compliment any upstream feed source, be it run-of-mine (ROM), primary crushed rock, or any other conventional comminution stream such as tumbling mill oversize. Another novelemerging technology, Conjugate Anvil-Hammer Mill (CAHM) (Nordell and Potapov, 2011), receiving ROM, will be a complimentary open-circuit feed to eHPCC for very high throughput flow-sheets.eHPCC may compliment downstream process requirements through selective mineral liberation. Selective mineral liberation is entirely feasible as the ore is comminuted upon itself (autogenously) in the high pressure zone caused by the synchronous rotating components."

Jan 1, 2016

By W. R. Ingalls

The manufacture of zinc oxide directly from the ore is one of the most important contributions that America has made to the metallurgy of zinc. Heretofore, this has been done chiefly for the production of zinc and zinc-lead pigments, and the method has been known as the Wetherill process. While that term may properly be applied to the process for pigment manufacture, it must be recognized that the principles of the process are of far wider application; and that there is going to be wider application in the immediate future is more than an expectation. I have in mind the use of the process as a method of igneous concentration. Igneous concentration is broader in its scope than the Wetherill process, for it may be done in the blast smelting furnace, or in the re-verberatory, or by other means. Igneous concentration is a rather clumsy term, and I prefer to introduce the new generic expression of "zinc burning," which is convenient, readily understood, and precise, for in all cases the zinc oxide is reduced to metallic form, is volatilized and is then burned to zinc oxide, the latter happening, however, after the zinc has been separated from the residue of the ore. As previously indicated, zinc burning may be done either in blast or reverberatory smelting, the gangue of the ore being scorified and drawn off as slag, while other metallic minerals are reduced to matte or metal. Such processes have heretofore been practised on fairly large scales. Thus, F. L. Bartlett smelted zinc ores at Con City, Colo., in specially designed blast furnaces, wherein the smelting column was only about 18 in. high. Such a limitation was necessary in order to prevent zinky accretions in the shaft of the furnace, which in course of time would have interfered with its operation. In running the Bartlett furnaces it was easy to bar them off, indeed, to poke right down into the smelting zone, and keep things going freely. Some iron blast furnaces in Virginia and the spiegeleisen furnaces of the New Jersey Zinc Co. afford other examples of zinc burning in blast-furnace smelting, although in their cases the happening is incidental rather than a primary purpose. Just as zinc may be burned off in a blast furnace, so also may it be done in a reverberatory. Indeed, there is less trouble, in some respects, in a reverberatory, for therewith there is no shaft in which accretions may

Jan 1, 1918

By Milton E. Wadsworth, J. Brent Hiskey

Galvanic interaction between particulate chalcopyrite (CuFeS2) and copper results in the rapid conversion of chalcopyrite to chalcocite. The effects of temperature, surface area, concentration of sulfuric acid and agitation were systematically evaluated. The kinetics were found to be controlled by a steady-state current flow controlled by the effective anodic and cathodic surface areas involved in the galvanic couple. The experimental activation energy was 11.5 and stoichiometric data and reaction products have been characterized. The overall kinetic system has been evaluated based upon an electrochemical model.

Jan 1, 1974

By James A. Barr

The writer's first experience with flotation was during World War I, in the bene-ficiation of Alabama graphite schist ores. One plant used a cone with a peripheral overflow; dried ore was distributed by a rotating disk onto the surface of the water. No reagents were added' The flake-graphite film floated along with some fine silica. Dewatering screens separated the flake. Naturally unit capacities were low but results were satisfactory. Minerals separation mechanical flotation machines were used in another graphite mill. pine oil was added directly to the head cells, with very good results. All the graphite concentrates from both types of flotation were carefully refined after drying by passing through burr mills, followed by very close sizing on sifters. In March 1927, the writer ran a very successful flotation test on minus 28-mesh, deslimed, Tennessee brown phosphate "sand,"† using a mechanical laboratory machine built in the shops of the Anaconda Copper Mining Co., through the courtesy of Ernest Klepetko. The machine was soon converted to a subaeration type, with improved results. This phosphate research program was greatly enlarged and led to the formation of the phosphate Recovery corporation. The development of nonmetallic flotation followed rapidly. The first flotation machine for bene- ficiation of phosphate was installed in January 1928, in a pilot mill, by International Minerals and Chemical Corporation, at Mulberry, Florida. These machines were Minerals Separation, 24-in., sub-,,,tion types, with weir control of pulp between cells. The sand bleeders were very small—about 1¼-in. diameter. As the feed flake. Is to 25 per cent plus 28-mesh material, the cells choked up frequently. This was corrected by cutting a 2 by 6-in. bleeder opening above the impellers, at grid level, which short-circuited the coarse fractions directly into the feed of the next cell. The matter of size classification and grinding was a considerable problem, which does not come within the scope of this article. Because of the troubles noted above, cascade-type roughers were installed in the second flotation plant, built about 1930. Experimental cells had been tried in 1928. General plant layout is shown in Fig. 1 and details of the cascade construction in Fig. 2. The cascade installation in plant NO. 2 gave good results and eliminated troubles due to choke-ups and coarse feed. The capacities and metallurgical results equaled those of the modified 24-in. Minerals Separation flotation machines in plant No. I The objections to the cascade installation are the floor space and mill height required. In 1939 an improved Minerals Separation machine was tested in parallel with the cascades. Extensive tests indicated

Jan 1, 1947