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By William Gleason

The Society for Mining Metallurgy and Exploration (SME) has a long and proud history of being the world?s leading resource for the dissemination for technical information regarding the fields of mining and mineral extraction and processing. That reputation was met, and maybe even exceeded, with the programming for the Society?s 2014 Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City, UT Feb. 23-26. The meeting drew more than 6,700 attendees to the three-day conference that featured more than 90 technical sessions with 670 presentations. These sessions covered the breadth of the mining and minerals industry, but it was the so-called ?softer issues? that were discussed in the keynote session that kicked off the meeting. The keynote session, ?Community Engagement: Building Partnerships for Mining,? brought together some of the leading voices from the mining industry, as well as some of the top voices from nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that work in the mining sector. The common ground between the panelists was their dedication to working to ensure a social, economic and environmental balance in the development of mines. ?We wanted to bring these NGOs in to begin a dialogue to see how we can work together,? said SME President Jessica Kogel. ?This is a space that SME has not typically operated in, but one in which SME can bring a technical, scientific voice to the discussion. SME wants to play a leadership role in creating partnerships between the technical, social and economic areas that are crucial to the success of any mining project.? In today?s environment, finding mineral deposits and extracting the minerals in an economically viable manner is just one piece of an increasingly complex puzzle. Earning and maintaining a social license to operate requires careful consideration of local and global impacts. The industry often comes under intense scrutiny when a new project is proposed and, therefore, it must strive to meet the highest ethical and environmental standards. Success requires cooperation and collaboration between the industry, community and NGOs.

By Juan J. Monsalve, Mario Karfakis, AMAN SONI, Nino Ripepi, Jim Hazzard

Pillar collapses are events that due to their severe consequences can be classified as high risk. The design of pillars in underground room-and-pillar operations should migrate to risk-based design approaches. The authors of this work proposed a risk-based pillar design methodology that integrates stochastic discrete element modeling for pillar strength estimation, and stochastic finite volume modeling (FVM) for stress estimation. This paper focuses on the stochastic FVM component for stress estimation. The mining and geomechanical aspects of a case study mine (CSM) are described and pillar stresses are estimated by using three approaches: (1) analytical solutions, (2) 2D finite element modeling, and (3) 3D finite volume modeling. This operation extracts a 30° dipping deposit, which makes current underground stone mine design guidelines inapplicable for this CSM. This work compares results from each stress estimation approach and discusses uses the point estimate method as a simplified stochastic approach to evaluate the effect of rock mass elastic properties variability on pillar stress distribution. Results from this work show that the three estimation approaches lead to different estimations, possibly, due to the wide range of assumptions each estimation approach considers. It was also determined that the horizontal to vertical stress ratio has a significant impact on pillar stress magnitude. Therefore, it is recommended to perform in situ stress measurements, or assume worst-case-scenario values to account and reduce uncertainty due to this parameter. The stochastic stress estimation approach used in this paper provides results that can integrate a risk-based pillar design framework.

Sep 24, 2022

By C. Garcia, J. J. Opazo, A. Potulsha, T. Comi

"Sierra Gorda SCM is a joint venture partnership of KGHM International (owned by KGHM SA, Poland), Sumitomo Metal Mining and Sumitomo Corp. (Japan) operating in northern Chile. The Sierra Gorda openpit mine and coppermolybdenum processing plant will become one of the largest mines in the world. The need for optimum production efficiency and sustainability has driven the creation of the most modern, wellinstrumented mine in Chile. This article contains a general review of the project including geology and history.This was a fast-track project going from greenfield site acquisition to mill startup in 10 years. Highly experienced and motivated engineers and technical staff have overcome many significant challenges resulting in a rapid ramp-up of production capacity. A potential expansion to double the production rate in the fourth year of operation has also been intensely studied.The Sierra Gorda property is located in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile, in the District of Sierra Gorda, Region II of Antofagasta, Chile (Fig. 1). There is almost no precipitation in this area. The mine site is generally flat with some rolling hills. The project is located about 5 km (3 miles) from the village of Sierra Gorda at an elevation of approximately 1,700 m (5,600 ft) above mean sea level. The village is near a highway and railway line. The city of Calama, home of the famous Chuquicamata Mine, is located about 60 km (37 miles) northeast of Sierra Gorda. In addition, the SG mine is in the midst of numerous other mines including Spence, Esperanza, Mantos Blancos, El Tesoro, Lomas Bayas, Gabriela Mistral, El Abra, Radomiro Tomic and Escondida, to name a few.The primary organizational value at Sierra Gorda is "Zero Harm." This includes employees, contractors, the environment, the community, plant facilities and mine equipment. A cornerstone of this program is called 5X5S (five by five S), which combines the lean principles of 5S with the safety model of taking five steps back and thinking about the task at hand for five seconds, five minutes, the time it takes to assess and manage the risk. "People caring about people" promotes proactive engagement in the safety of coworkers and others at work and at home."

Jan 1, 2014

By Ray Brainard, Adriana Ventimiglia, Amanda Kerr

The $2 billion Horizon Lateral includes over 30 miles of trenched and tunneled pipeline with diameters up to 120 inches.Related infrastructure includes large and small pumping stations, reservoirs, and flow control facilities. This paper will discuss the strategy and processes used to determine contract packaging and contracting delivery methods for the various project elements with an emphasis on the tunnels and trenchless crossings. Prior Authority experience and the rigorous risk-based approach to develop the preferred alignments played a large role in determining the outcomes along with schedule concerns and permitting and easement acquisition.

Jun 13, 2023

By Lee W. Saperstien

At the heart of the mining process are a number of basic and fundamental tasks whose regular and repeated performance constitute the mining cycle. As will be discussed presently, these tasks are the basic components of the mining system. Section 9, Production Operations, provides the mine designer and engineer with an understanding of these tasks and with sufficient design principles to allow this person to create an efficient mine system. This section is meant to be an introduction and adjunct to subsequent sections that describe specific mining systems. However, sufficient design information is included here for the independent design of mine systems that may not be described elsewhere or for subsequent verification of existing designs. For the purposes of this section, mining subsumes excavation; thus this material applies to any excavation process. Accordingly, this section is written in general enough terms to include both surface and underground mining. It may be used also for civil engineering excavations that often involve the same steps. Obviously, the actual procedures undertaken in any specific mining system will appear to be very different from those taken in any other system. This is certainly true when comparing surface with underground methods. Yet the fundamental principles are often the same. This segment is written to explicate the basics. Wherever appropriate, the section will suggest the differences between the application process to surface or to underground mining.

Jan 1, 2008

By Jürgen Kretschmann, Christina Suarez, Jürgen Brune, Stefan Möllerherm

"The Ruhr region in Germany’s North-Rhine Westphalia is going through significant change. By the end of 2018, the last two underground hard coal mines in the Ruhr, Ibbenbüren and Prosper-Haniel collieries, will close their portals and bring an end to more than 200 years of coal mining and an industry that was once the economic and cultural backbone of the area. Ruhr is undergoing an impressive economic and cultural transformation, as it gradually shifts from being a region once dependent on coal and steelmaking to a post-mining region focused on redesigning itself as a cultural center. This article focuses on the socioeconomic impacts of the transformation into post-mining and the roles of the government, labor unions and local community to aid the transformation from the perspective of an American student. It will look into the cultural values that are helping to drive the transformation and compare them to American standards and values in order to determine if a similar approach can be used in the United States and its coal industry. History and backgroundUnderground hard coal mining has had a long history and a significant impact on the culture and economy in Ruhr since the early 19th 20century. The Ruhr region is located in the heart of the German state of North- Rhine Westphalia. Ruhr is bounded by the Rhine River in the west, the Ruhr River in the south and the Lippe River in the north, with the Emscher River running through its center.The Ruhr is home to around 5.1 million people and spans an area of approximately 4,500 km2 (1,730 sq miles). Before the era of industrialization, the Ruhr was a rural, agricultural region. Small-scale coal mining began in the 13th century, with coal being used for heating, cooking and metallurgical processes, including steelmaking. With 19th-century industrialization, coal mining became a significant driver of the region’s economic structure. Steam engines, and soon, electric motors, allowed for the pumping of mine water and for powerful hoists hauling from deep shafts, enabling miners to reach deeper coal seams that were once thought impossible to mine. The Ruhr mining boom began in the 1850s, supported by Prussian economic policies that attracted many workers and their families to the region. The population grew from 400,000 in 1850 to 5.7 million in 1957. The coal and steel industries were key contributors to Germany’s “Wirtschaftswunder” — or “miraculous economic recovery”— in the 1950s. In 1956, the coal industry reached its peak production of around 112 Mt/a (124 million stpy) of coal and employed almost 600,000 miners."

Mar 1, 2019

By Bruce Gellar

In March, the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) held its annual conference in Toronto, Ontario. This is the third PDAC meeting the author has attended. The following are some impressions of the meeting. And the author looks forward to the joint meeting of the PDAC and the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum to be held March 5-10, 2000, entitled Mining Millennium 2000. One of the features of next year’s gathering is a proposed forum of world mining ministers, the first ever to be held anywhere.

Jan 1, 1999

By AKIHIRO YOSHIMURA, HIDEKAZU KATO, KOTA TAKATORI, YASUNARI MATSUNO

Chalcopyrite (CuFeS2) is the most refractory copper mineral when treated in conventional sulfate media leaching systems. This is the first study to examine the use of a dimethyl sulfoxide (CH3SOCH3, DMSO) solution containing copper chloride (CuCl2) for the leaching of chalcopyrite. Leaching experiments for a copper concentrate composed mainly of chalcopyrite were conducted at ambient pressure at 313–413 K. The leaching fractions of Cu, Fe, S, Au, and As were investigated. It was found that 90% of the Cu was extracted in 2 h, and 94% was extracted in 4 h at 373 K, which is competitive with other conventional processes. A DMSO solution containing CuCl2 could selectively dissolve the valuable metals Cu and Au from chalcopyrite, but leave minerals with little economic value such as pyrite (FeS2) and As in the residue. Chalcopyrite is oxidized by cupric ion in proportion to the stoichiometric ratio of Cu in the concentrate to the initial cupric ion in the DMSO solution, which is enhanced by the presence of oxygen below 373 K.

Mar 12, 2021

By M. Dobbins

The advent of the more efficient and effective rare-earth roll (RER) separator in the early 1980s began a new era of dry magnetic separation. The RER units quickly became the separator of choice within the materials processing industry. Though RER separators are now commonplace throughout the world, only modest advancements have been made to the original design. This paper details recent, more significant, rare-earth magnetic separation developments. These developments maintain the best features of existing technology while minimizing shortcomings. The discussion includes discerning features that aid in better metallurgical performance. Also discussed are improved mechanical aspects that allow for both easier operation and maintenance. Performance details from various test programs are included.

Jan 1, 2010

By Alexander Sutulov

1. INTRODUCTION According to the classical economic approach of the open market economy, copper supply should be regulated by market forces which are (a) demand and (b) prices. In fact, demand is of primordial importance because prices are a reflection of supply-demand balance: they go up in times of shortages of supply and down when over-supply situation exists. In the past few years, this basic mechanism of market economy has been under pressure from a number of non-market forces, such as social and monetary problems of sane important copper producing countries; structural changes in copper mining companies through mergers with oil companies; and other factors which greatly contributed to distortion of the basic supply-¬demand equation. As a result, we have faced in the last three years a situation of oversupply rarely seen in the past, with a catastrophic fall in copper prices, huge losses at mines and unprecedented indebtedness of copper producers. This has deep repercussions in the copper business and its future supply outlook. This is particularly so when taking into consideration that high indebtedness and high interest rates conspire against the very survival of some traditional producers. As we write this comment (July of 1985), close to one half of U.S. copper production capacity is closed down, sane of it for good, while the same precarious situation exists in Canada, Australia, Zambia, and some other primary producers who cannot face present low prices with equally low costs. The question is then what this situation means for the medium-¬term future, until the end of this decade, Particularly when taking into consideration the fact that some of the factors influencing it are of a long-term character. 2. SUPPLY-DEMAND SITUATION IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS Since the last boon year, in 1979, when world copper consumption reached a record of 9.8 million metric tons of refined copper, demand dropped to only 9.0 million tons in 1982, when the crisis bottomed out, and then steadily recovered to the level of 9.7 million tons in 1984. Meanwhile, copper production, which in 1979 was only 9.4 million tons, in spite of the fall in demand, grew to 9.7 million tons in 1981 and 1983 and only temporarily was cut to 9.4 million tons in 1982 and to 9.5 million tons in 1984. As a result of this imbalance, hugh copper stocks were accumulated with supply systematically out¬growing demand by over 2 million tons at one time. With the Western World refined copper demand running at an average of 115,000 tons per week, this oversupply was equivalent to between 15 and 18 weeks production, i.e. twice as large as normal. This was immediately reflected in very low copper prices. Another contributing factor to relatively low copper prices was the lack of speculator interest for this commodity. Between 1981 and 1984 the world experienced a very intensive period of wealth distribution, high interest rates and intensive restructuring off world economy and its industrial sector. Therefore, much of the available money was attracted to more lucrative and attractive investments rather than to the lack-luster performance of copper, and for that matter, of the metal sector in general. The much announced and discussed recovery of the U.S. economy since 1983, and particularly in 1984, with an overall growth of the GNP by 6.8% in 1984, happened to be more oriented to the service sector than the industrial sector and therefore this recovery was not adequately reflected in copper consumption nor to metals in general. This put serious doubts about the future demand for copper. Consequently copper prices failed to improve in spite of an apparent fall in stocks and a healthy increase in the demand for copper since 1982. At the time of this writing (July, 1985), although same analysts claim that the available stocks are running at about 8 weeks of supply, which are considered to be below normal, copper prices are still very low at between 65 and 67 cents per pound of copper. Part of the answer may be the normal seasonal slow-down period in the Northern Hemisphere due to summer vacations and

Jan 1, 1986

By Efstratios Karampinos, John Hadjigeorgiou, Philippe Morissette

"Ground support is a critical element in maintaining the stability of mining drives in deep and high stress mines. In challenging ground conditions, it is necessary to continuously explore ground support strategies that can control the resulting large deformations. It is an objective of mining operations to optimize the ground support by selecting appropriate systems at the time of installation of each reinforcement element. A successful ground support strategy will result in the use of a system that ensures both the structural and operational integrity of the excavations and mitigates the need for rehabilitation.Preliminary ground support design is often based on empirical observations and methods. Once a design is implemented, field trials, observations and in situ pull tests are used to fine tune or improve the design. Although not often employed during this process, numerical modelling can provide helpful insights into the impact of different ground support strategies. In this respect, it is possible to explore the use of multiple options before selecting the most promising ground support system for implementation in field trials. The challenges associated with the numerical modelling of rock support for mines have been described by Lorig and Varona (2013) and Potvin (2017). The employed numerical models should capture all potential failure modes of reinforcement throughout the mining sequence of the excavation. In particular, it is important to emulate the observed in situ ground support performance, as well as the influence of the installation sequence of the support. However, the time and expertise required for this type of modelling of ground support is often not available at mine sites. Even when the expertise is available, it requires a major time commitment and commitment of resources to set up, run and calibrate the sophisticated models capable of explicitly capturing the behavior of ground support.Rock reinforcement is an integral part of all ground support systems used in underground mines. Long, flexible tendons can reinforce the rock mass deeper into the walls and create a thicker reinforced shell around the underground excavation. This article focuses on the optimization of the cable-bolting strategy in squeezing conditions at the LaRonde Mine in Quebec, Canada by integrating the 3D distinct element method (DEM) in the design process. A calibrated numerical model is used to investigate a series of cable bolt configurations and provide recommendations for the ground support design."

Jan 4, 2018

By G. M. Bernard

The Andacollo gold mine is located near the small town of Andacollo, Chile (population 14,000) in the fourth region. It is approximately 35 miles by paved road from the coastal city of La Serena, and Santiago lies about 300 miles to the south (see map.) Site elevation varies between 3300 feet and 4200 feet. The climate at the site is moderate but arid, with an average annual rainfall of only five inches. Because there is little rain, and the temperature varies only a few degrees (57"F to 75°F); there are no freezing, solution dilution, or pad saturation problems. The climatic conditions are ideal for heap leaching.

Jan 1, 1996

By J. S. Peterson

Occupational noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) has been recognized by the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) as the most common job-related disease in the United States. Roughly 30 million workers are exposed to excessive noise levels or toxins that are potentially hazardous to their hearing. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Office of Mine Safety and Health Research (OMSHR)is investigating noise controls to reduce operator overexposures caused by haul trucks used in underground metal/non-metal mines. To identify the most significant contributors to the overall sound level, Source Path Contribution (SPC) analysis was conducted. Noise dosimetry and time-motion analysis were also conducted to quantify operator noise exposure. SPC analysis determined that, under high idle conditions, a source near a hydraulic pump mounted to the rear of the engine and the engine cooling fan were the major noise sources. The time-motion/dosimetry analysis showed that the operators accumulated more than 90% of their noise exposures while they were hauling ore to the dump site and traveling back to the load site unloaded.

Jan 1, 2012

The Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC) is the largest manufacturer of iron ore pellets in Canada and its customer base covers North American, European and Asian steel producers. The company operates a mine, concentrator and a pelletizing plant in Labrador City, Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as port facilities located in Sept-Iles, Quebec. It also operates a 418-km (260-mile) railroad that links the mine to the port. IOC has approximately 1,900 employees. Its shareholders are Mitsubishi Corp. (26.18 percent), Labrador Iron Ore Royalty Income Fund (15.1 percent) and the international mining group Rio Tinto, which is its major shareholder (58.72 percent) and operator, with activities in more than 40 countries throughout the world. The IOC was incorporated in 1949 and by 1954 it had completed the Quebec North Shore and Labrador (QNS&L) rail line. IOC began mining in Schefferville, Quebec by 1954 and closed those operations down in 1982. In 1962, IOC commissioned the present day Carol Project consisting of mining, concentration and pelletizing facilities in Labrador City, Newfoundland. In 2004, IOC shipped its one-billionth tonne of ore on the QNS&L Railway. In 2005, IOC celebrated 50 years of mining history. The company expressed an interest in reducing the amount of oversize material (>1 m x 1 m x 1 m or 3.2 ft x 3.2 ft x 3.2 ft) being produced and its subsequent downstream effects, including in-pit sorting and reduction, damage to mobile equipment and significant delays in the loading pockets and the primary crushers. To achieve this goal, an oversize reduction project was undertaken by the mine that, to date, has significantly improved upon baseline measures. One key approach used to reduce the amount of oversize was the implementation of thicker emulsion. The introduction of a thicker emulsion provided more resistance to the forces created by dynamic water and reduced the infiltration of the emulsion into the cracks and fissures of the rockmass, resulting in reduced amounts of oversize and more consistent fragmentation throughout the muckpiles. Additionally, a significant reduction in nitrates leached into the mine water discharge has been realized. To determine the effectiveness of the oversize reduction project, IOC used a first-of-kind technology to assess fragmentation presented to the shovel at the digging face. A digital vision system (DVS) was installed on one of the shovels to capture images that were stamped with GPS locations. A large population of digital images were analyzed to produce a robust fragmentation distribution baseline that was used as one of the mine key performance indicators (KPI). Changes to blasting practice were subsequently measured against the baseline KPI to assess effectiveness.

Jan 1, 2011

By C. Pitzer

"Safety performance in many companies and even industries has stalled in the last decade. Accidents rates are at a “plateau” and yet, serious accidents and fatality rates are not. In more dramatic cases, such as in the BP Texas Refinery disaster, organizations that have “exemplary” safety statistics, suddenly have a catastrophic or multi-fatality event occurring. Classic examples are the Piper Alpha disaster and NASA’s Challenger and Columbia disasters, the BP’s Deepwater Horizon Rig disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Looking into the causes of these accidents provides an insight into the events and deficiencies that led up to the accident, but what are the common features in the organization’s mindset, or its culture? What characterizes these organizations’ decision-making, their approach to safety and to risk and are there features that can be delineated? The research and review presented in this paper covers a period since1995, which started in the Australian resource industry and since then covered international events. The features of these organizations are summarized as the seven deadly delusions of near zero organizations (NZO) that suffered unexpected disasters, based on extensive research by the author. More recently, the massive West Fertilizer plant explosion in Texas, and the Train Disaster in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, Canada underlined the same trends. Organizations may experience calamities not because they are bad, or unsafe, but because they have become “cult-like”. INTRODUCTION The train disaster of 6 July 2013, in the small town of Lac-Mégantic in Quebec, Canada, in which 47 people were killed, had many strange pre-cursorsso-called “black swan” events that have occurred in many different industries. Black swan events are so rare, that there is almost zero chance that they will ever occur again, but they are so calamitous that the responses to these are emotional and irrational, (but necessary) and in those responses, the seeds for other, different black swan events are put into place. It is not what we don’t do, or do wrong, that causes modern disasters, it is what we do. The same things in the culture that make us successful, may also cause the disasters. We slowly, incrementally and insidiously ‘float’ into disaster. One such Black Swan event: The Piper Alpha Oil Rig disaster, killing 167 men in the North Sea on the 6 September 1988, was one of the most pivotal events in safety around the world. It changed the thinking and focus of governments, whole industries and led to numerous books and papers. It resulted in new legislation, textbooks and a critical self-examination by the oil and gas industry."

Jan 1, 2016

By William Gleason

The mining industry is at a crossroads. Currently, there is an estimated $25 billion worth of projects around the world that have been stopped as the consequence of a dispute or disagreement with their communities, the government or some other stakeholder. Anglo American chief executive officer Mark Cutifani is one who sees the mining industry in need of change and on Dec. 12, he gave the keynote address for the launch the Kellogg Innovation Network?s Mining Company of the Future Initiative?s Development Partner Framework (DPF). The launch was held at the Ford Foundation building in New York City. The DPF seeks to inspire and support the mining industry to adopt a new way of thinking and a new approach to how it secures, nurtures and revitalizes its social license to operate. Working with a diverse group of people from faith-based organizations, nongovernmental organizations (NGO) and other stakeholders, Cutifani often had the rather uncomfortable position of representing the mining industry in a room full of people who are far from the industry?s biggest fans.

This one day field trip is sponsored by the Denver Region Exploration Geologists? Society, May 14th 2009. The trip highlights major geologic features and some notable uranium occurrences along the north-south mountain-basin boundary southwest of Denver and continuing north to Fort Collins, Colorado. Uranium deposits visited include sandstone?hosted roll front type and polymetallic veins hosted in metamorphic rocks. A replacement ?episyenite? type occurrence is considered via description and hand samples but is not visited owing to logistical constraints. Recovery methods addressed include underground mining and in-situ leach recovery. Samples of Precambrian basement rocks, deposit host rocks, uranium ore samples, and ore polished sections viewed by reflected light microscopy will be available. A road map showing the locations of the stops serves as the front cover of this field guide. The Robinson episyenite-hosted occurrence (not visited) is labeled as Stop 6. A stratigraphic column is provided which shows the position of the host rocks at each stop (Figure 1-1).

Jan 1, 2009

By Anup Tiwari, Khanindra Pathak, BIBHUTI BHUSAN MANDAL

Failure of in-pit overburden dumps in open-pit coal mines causes debris to flow toward the active working face, threatening the safety of people and equipment. The evaluation of the potential mobility of failing mass will aid in hazard mitigation associated with unwarranted dump failure. The potential mobility is shown by mobility ratio (ratio of total drop between debris flow's initial and final deposition points to total travel distance) and runout characteristics. In light of above, a laboratoryscale debris flow flume was developed to investigate the effect of material gradation and slope angle on runout characteristics and mobility ratio. The total mass of experimental debris mix (Q) is fixed at 30 kg with 20% water content. Experiments at three different slope angles (30°, 35°, and 40°) demonstrate that increasing the proportion of fines in the experimental mix increases runout characteristics while decreasing the mobility ratio. The length and area of the runout decrease as the slope angle increases, while the mobility ratio increases. There is a positive correlation between d50 and runout characteristics at a fines content of 0.1Q, but a negative correlation at a fines content of 0.2Q and 0.3Q. Conversely, there is a negative correlation between d50 and mobility ratio for fines content of 0.1Q, but a positive correlation exists for fines content of 0.2Q and 0.3Q. A new index called the fine-to-coarse (F/C) ratio is used to identify the critical value of fines and coarse proportion that causes a transition from dry granular flow to fluidized debris flow.

May 29, 2023

By J. Drimmer

The past several decades have seen the rapid expansion of multinational mining companies? exploration and production activities around the globe. This trend has resulted from a number of factors, including increased demand for resources as a result of worldwide economic growth, the diminishment of known and proven reserves, rising commodity prices, technology improvements, and the liberalization of investment regimes in developing countries with significant natural resources. With those opportunities, however, come associated risks and significantly increased legal compliance obligations that may be imposed by various bodies. That includes domestic regulations, as well as foreign civil and criminal laws with extraterritorial reach. A failure to adhere to those laws can have dire consequences, including substantial monetary fines and penalties, severe damage to a company?s reputation, and even jail time for individual company employees.

Jan 1, 2010

NASA has received direction for lunar habitation beginning in 2024. Prior to then, it will be necessary to learn about how lunar soil can be used to promote civilization on the moon. Questions must be answered: ?Will it support plant life?,? ?Can it be used as a construction material?,? ?What is needed to maximize health and safety?,? and ?Will it affect equipment, tools, machinery, and clothes?? The only samples available for study came from the Apollo Missions. Because the expense of bringing more material back to Earth is prohibitive, there is not enough available to perform studies to answer the above questions. Hence, there is a great need for its synthesis. Most efforts to date have concentrated on making ?simulant? from single natural resources of volcanic rock. However, another possibility is to use resources here on Earth to extract the minerals of interest into concentrates or so-called ?separates? using traditional mineral processing techniques, and then mix the separates in appropriate ratios to simulate the lunar soil. In this paper, results from a study in which dry Road Norite outcrop and wet mill tailings from the Stillwater Mining Company?s Concentrator located near Nye, MT were examined. Of course, the in-side challenge is to make ?separates? from gangue minerals.

Jan 1, 2012