Search Documents

By Richard Simon

This paper presents an ongoing study on the use of borehole breakouts to estimate in situ stresses at depth in a Canadian underground mine. Breakouts were identified using an acoustic televiewer (ATV) probe. Rock samples were tested in a laboratory to determine their failure curve. Breakout analyses were performed using a 2D failure criterion and a multiaxial failure criterion. Analyses were carried out using both short-term (peak) and long-term strengths (the latter considered here as being represented by the damage initiation threshold DIT). The analyses have shown that the use of the longterm strength and a multiaxial failure criterion leads to results that are more consistent with stress measurements performed in the field, in the vicinity of the mine.

Jun 1, 2012

By W. de Klerk, M. B. Thorpe

Golden Star Resources Bogoso operates in Ghana’s Western Region. The gold recovery plant includes; a flotation circuit producing a concentrate for the BIOX® process that oxidizes sulphides before a CIL circuit; and a dedicated CIL circuit. BIOX® uses bacteria, therefore water from the BIOX® and CIL plants remained separated; CN water could not be introduced into the flotation / BIOX® circuit. The operation built a process water inventory with high TDS and installed a process water treatment plant (PWTP). Water was released in compliance the permits but containing some thiocyanate. The PWTP brine was returned to the TSF, further exacerbating the TDS. The operation experienced a drought removing the traditional water sources; the team evaluated the options to maintain production - various water streams were laboratory tested provided options for water use. The paper presents the story (treatment chemistry and process chemistry) of continued operations by treating stored water and PWTP discharge water with peroxide; brine usage within the CIL circuit, which increased gold recovery (laboratory testing) and reduced the TDS. Water flows were further modified to include hydraulic tailings re-mining to a CIL circuits. Details of the recovery, basic chemistry and costs savings are provided.

Jan 1, 2014

By K Haga, G Danha, A Shibayama, L L. Godirilwe

The hydrometallurgical separation and enrichment processes provide an effective way to selectively recover metals from relatively dilute multicomponent sulfuric acid leach solutions. The multicomponent leach solution utilised in this study contained 0.3 g/L Cu, 0.34 g/L Ni, 0.13 g/L Co, and 2.96 g/L Fe, which was obtained after high-pressure oxidative acid leaching (HPOAL) of the copper-nickel smelter slag. The solvent extraction (SX), precipitation, and xanthate complexation processes were employed to recover and upgrade Cu, Ni, and Co from the leach solution. Batch SX tests were carried out using a countercurrent two-stage mixer settler extraction column, and LIX 984N (10 per cent v/v) as a copper extractant. Fundamental parameters influencing the extraction process such as pH, mixing speed, H2SO4 concentration, and organic/aqueous (O/A) phase ratio were investigated. For copper enrichment in solution, a combination of two extraction stages and two stripping stages were employed. Copper was successively separated from Fe, Ni, and Co under optimised extraction conditions (pH 2, 400 rev/min, O/A 0.25, and 20 min contacting) and stripping conditions (175 g/L H2SO4, 400 rev/min, O/A 4, and 20 min contacting). About 97 per cent of copper was extracted with low co-extraction of Fe, Ni, and Co of about 5.90 per cent, 1.47 per cent, and 2.53 per cent, correspondingly. A final Cu-rich solution containing 23 g/L Cu was obtained with a very low Fe concentration of 0.05 g/L. Additionally, for iron removal from the Ni/Co raffinate solution, more than 99 per cent of iron was precipitated at pH 4 by the addition of a calcium carbonate (CaCO3) suspension, with low co-precipitation of nickel and cobalt of around 3.68 per cent and 2.27 per cent, respectively. Furthermore, about 83.6 per cent of nickel and 99.4 per cent cobalt were co-precipitated from the solution by potassium amyl xanthate (PAX) solution at pH 6. The Ni and Co xanthate complexes were thermally decomposed and recovered as cobalt oxide (CoO) and nickel sulfide (NiS) solids.

Aug 24, 2022

By Scott A. Walker, Gabriel J. Alcantar, Brian Zuckerman, Ramin Golesorkhi

"The stadium development consists of construction of a 68,500-seat, open-air NFL football stadium for the San Francisco 49ers. The main structure will consist of a 7-story above grade steel structure supported by over 3,000 piles. Berkel and Company Contractors, Inc. (Berkel) was selected as the design-build pile contractor who used their auger pressure grouted displacement (APGD) piles for this project. During an indicator pile installation and pile load test program, fifteen piles were tested to develop installation criteria to support demands of 150kips tension and 180 kips compression. Following the indicator pile program Berkel installed 3088 piles in 30 working days. Throughout pile installation data were collected with an automated data acquisition system (DAS). During pile installation field engineers from Treadwell & Rollo observed the pile installation as well as the real-time data from the DAS. Strategic staging and pre-production planning by Berkel along with consistent collaboration with the design team created an atmosphere for a successful and on schedule project completion.IntroductionThe new San Francisco 49ers Stadium in Santa Clara, California will be a 68,500-seat facility, a rendering of which is shown in Figure 1. The main structure will consist of a 7-story above grade steel structure supported by more than 3,000 piles. The north, east and south portions of the stadium are designed as an open seating bowl, while the western portion includes open seating at the lower levels and seven-story tower which houses over 150 suites.The stadium project includes the stadium structure, as well as elevated open pedestrian walkways, commercial community space, and three new pedestrian bridges spanning a nearby by creek. Sustainable designs and innovations such as a green roof, photovoltaic panels, a ground source geothermal system, stadium-wide Wi-Fi capability, and access to public transit are provided throughout the project. The stadium is designed as an open, light, and airy structure and is surrounded by an existing amusement park, office buildings, the Santa Clara Convention Center, and the training facility of the 49ers."

Jan 1, 2015

By Xiaoxu Sun, Jianchao Yao, Jiancheng He, Shijie Lu, Hongxi Zhou

"With the trend of increasingly more mineral resources turning low-grade and refractory, more and more new ore bodies being developed worldwide are more finely grained, which drives the rapidly development and application of techniques related to tower mills (vertical spiral stirred mills). However, the lacking in fundamentals of fine grinding, as well as standard procedures for equipment selection and scale up, seriously restraint high efficient application of tower mills. Taking grinding media motion characteristic and grinding intensity as a breakthrough point, this paper studies mechanisms behind how critical parameters affect grinding efficiency of tower mill, including ratio of screw pitch and diameter, agitator rotation speed, grinding media size. Several sets of orthogonal test are conducted on the quartz ore using the grinding system of KLM-3 tower mill. All the tests are under the same character of feeding mineral and undergo the consistent sampling for at least 60min grinding time. The input power is measured by a torque measurement system and the grinding products are analyzed by the laser particle size analyzer. The test results show the influence of parameters on grinding efficiency. Among the three important parameters, the effect of grinding media diameter is the biggest, followed by the agitator tip speed, and finally the ratio of screw pitch and diameter. For the different particle size of grinding products, the best combination of grinding parameters is different, with the mineral size becoming finer, the ratio of screw pitch and diameter become smaller, the diameter of grinding media become smaller, while the agitator tip speed does not change too much. The conclusions of the study help us to improve the grinding efficiency of the tower mill, to assist in the selection and optimization of working parameters, establish new scale up method on the basis of grinding model and eventually provide theoretical basis of rational selections of structural and media physical parameters within tower mill."

Jan 1, 2018

By M. I. Brittan

A technique has been developed that analyzes routine mill operating data to determine the key operating parameters responsible for gold losses to tails. These parameters represent the prime operating variables having a dominant effect on gold recovery. The technique quantifies these effects for the specific plant being analyzed, providing a tool to optimize recovery and costs and so enhance the mine?s cash flow. The quantitative relationships generated will be different for each ore and plant: every case is site-specific and has to be treated on its merits. Examples are provided to illustrate the considerable metallurgical and financial benefits which can be realized from optimization. The examples are taken from case studies of mills in four major gold mining districts of the world.

Jan 1, 2010

By D. N. Golenkov, N. I. Lomaka, A. V. Kozub, T. V. Ignatova, E. V. Shelepov, D. O. Sharkovskiy, A. V. Chanturiya, R. I. Ismagilov

The modern Russian iron ore mining industry is faced with multiple challenges from everincreasing requirements of steel-making, the value of iron ore concentrates, depletion of high-grade ore reserves and complications of the mining and geologic environment’s necessity to process low-grade ores with complex material composition and low valuable mineral content; with finely disseminated aggregates of metal and non-metal minerals responding similarly to processing. The upgrade of the existing operations’ fine wet screening was implemented by Metalloinvest; as well as the design of a process flowsheet for concentration oxide ferruginous quartzites with low concentrating ability. The scientific basis for improvement of low grade ore concentrating efficiency and the upgrade of market product quality is supported by an in-depth study of ore characteristics, application of high performance equipment for separation of fine-grained mineral aggregates and use of depressor selective to ferruginous minerals in the flotation process. The benefits of wet fine screening have been proven by industrial scale tests; as well as the feasibility of significant upgrades in product quality which have been confirmed as a result of the tests. A road-map for the upgrade of an existing process for the concentration of unoxidised ferruginous quartzites deposited in the Mikhailovskoye ore field was developed, based on the industrial scale test of a fine screening process. With reference to the ability for concentration, three major ore types oxidised ferruginous quartzites were defined as a result of comprehensive geological mapping and process sampling: oxidised ferruginous quartzites with good concentrating ability: over Fe67% grade of concentrate with ca. 80% iron recovery; oxidised ferruginous quartzites with moderate concentrating ability: Fe65-67% grade of concentrate with 70-72% iron recovery oxidised ferruginous quartzites with low concentrating ability: below Fe60% grade of concentrate (cannot be processed into desired grade market product). A process flow diagram combining magnetic separation and flotation has been designed and recommended for implementation based on the in-depth research of defined Mikhailovskoye deposit iron oxide types, including grain size, chemistry, petrographic, mineralogy, hematite and magnetite grain size distribution and liberation analysis.

Jan 1, 2020

By T Ireland, S Eratne, W Newns, P Spies

The approach to risk management during the procurement of major projects often has a significant outcome on the ultimate delivery of a project. The NZ$1.4 B Waterview Connection project is the largest and most complex project yet undertaken by the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) and the procurement process for an alliance contract was refined to provide compliance with the International Tunnel Insurance Group (ITIG) Code of Practice for Risk Management of Tunnel Works (TCoP). The principle of shared risk within an alliance incentivises a common understanding of project risks prior to finalising the alliance agreement and therefore enables superior risk management through design, construction and beyond. Risk management practices need to be instigated well in advance of commercial phases, so that commercial competition does not lead to a significant elevation of project risk. In particular the practice of gaining commercial advantage by taking on a potentially unmanageable level of risk is one of the outcomes to be avoided by the TCoP.During the procurement phase the NZTA placed high value on design and construction mitigation measures proposed in order to address ground risks, as is appropriate for a major tunnel project. In order to achieve alignment on the level of geotechnical risks an Alliance Geotechnical Baseline Report (AGBR) process was developed.This paper describes the measures taken during the procurement process to achieve certainty with respect to outcomes and minimise project risks whilst also achieving value for money. Refinements to the procurement process to ensure compliance with the TCoP prepared by the International Tunnel Insurance Group (ITIG) are described along with the AGBR process applied as part of a suite of measures to achieve a successful procurement outcome.CITATION:Ireland, T, Spies, P, Eratne, S and Newns, W, 2014. Risk management and use of a geotechnical baseline report for a competitive alliance procurement?process, in Proceedings 15th Australasian Tunnelling Conference 2014 , pp 553–562 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Sep 17, 2014

By J. E. Matta

The methane gas emitted from coal samples collected from the conveyor belts dumping into silos was measured by the Bureau of Mines. Approximately 50 pct of the total gas desorbed into a sealed can within 1 week was released during the first 24 hours. No simple correlation between the gassiness of the coal stored and the methane concentration in the silo open space above the coal was found. This was probably because the gassier coals were stored in open-top Silos, which were better ventilated. Although the methane concentration in the open space above the coal pile was less than 1 pct for all 34 silos investigated, a methane measurement in the coal pile showed that high methane concentrations can exist. The methane released in the pile appears to accumulate and not liberate freely into the open space above the coal pile. Probably this gas is released during reclaiming operations, but further research is required to substantiate this claim.

Jan 1, 1978

By R. J. Zagrocki

Rekindled public concern about lead toxicity has intensified the awareness of lead-bearing materials in contact with the environment and the human population. Lead's common association with other metals makes the increasingly restrictive lead standards a primary concern for a large number of metal and metal-related industries. In commercial scale demonstration tests with lead-bearing wastes, the HRD Flame Reactor process has a demonstrated ability to separate and recover over 95% of the lead as a recyclable oxide, while rendering the remainder of the material as vitrified, non-leaching, and nonhazardous co-product. Recent Flame Reactor process tests and preliminary cost data for secondary lead soda slag are highlighted.

Jan 1, 1992

By B. Madelin

Over the last ten years, Minemet Recherche and Metaleurop have used an approach in order to investigate and improve the operation of its Smelting furnace and its lead blast furnaces. This approach gives importance- to three complementary means of investigation : - Probing campains in the industrial furnace (temperature and gas analysis profiles), - Chemical and physical modeling (coke combustion, sinter reduction modes, flows patterns, ?.) , - Staged mass and heat balances or kinetic model. This allows to define the limits of operation of each blast furnace and to predict the influence of operating parameters on the furnace performances. For the zinc Imperial smelting furnace, the probing results show the existence- of both an Isothermal reserve zone at 1015ºc and a chemical equilibrium between ZnO and gas which makes possible the use of a practical model for heat and material balances. In particular, very good prediction on the influences of operating parameters can be made. On the contrary, for lead blast furnaces, the probing results show that the thermal and chemical equilibria are not reached. Consequently, classical models for staged heat and mass balances are not sufficient. The use of the other means allows then to characterize the specific influences of operating parameters on the thermal instabilities of these furnaces and their allowed limits.

Jan 1, 1990

By Ying Lu, Jeffrey C. Johnson, Chen-Luh Lin, Jan D. Miller, Sindhoora Puvvada

Energy dissipation and fragmentation of rock is of interest for mine-to-mill operations in order to understand breakage and to minimize energy consumption during blasting at the mine site, and comminution at the processing plant. In this regard, high velocity impact breakage of long granite cores, called bars, has been studied with instrumented strain gages to follow the energy dissipation gradient along the bar length resulting from the strain waves generated by impact. As a result of high velocity impact, three zones have been identified (fragmentation, fracture, and elastic) and these three zones have been characterized in 3D using X-ray tomography. The fragmentation zones of the granite bars were studied in detail to describe the particle size distribution and the particle shape characteristics. Finally, the experimental energy dissipation for the fragmentation zone was found to be in close agreement with the expected energy calculated from the Bond work equation, if the anisotropic granite particles are defined by length rather than by sieve size.

By Izabelle Lannes Salgueiro Ferreira

Este trabalho teve como finalidade aumentar o índice de rendimento metálico no processo de laminação à quente de aços longos no Laminador Demag, visando reduzir as perdas metálicas com maiores impactos no processo, com foco nas barras laminadas por barras perdidas. Mediante ao cenário atual da economia brasileira, o índice do rendimento metálico no processo de laminação representa um dos maiores impacto no custo de transformação do produto acabado. Para isso dividiu se o trabalho em duas fases, com aplicação da metodologia Seis Sigmas, que consiste em atuar nos problemas de forma ordenada, através da matriz de esforço x impacto. Seis sigmas é um mecanismo utilizado em melhorias de processos em geral, como forte característica identifica os parâmetros mais relevantes e influentes na geração de perdas metálicas no processo de laminação, no qual nos norteou a elaborar um plano de ação de forma sólida, ou seja, ações com menor esforço e maior impacto com foco nas causas fundamentais. Com a implementação do plano de ação, houve um aumento de 0,72% no índice do rendimento metálico para uma produção 178kt no ano 2015, com crescente melhora na performance das barras laminadas dos produtos do laminador Demag.

Aug 17, 2017

By David L. Veith

This report summarizes a Bureau of Mines review of selected literature on the effects of subsidence due to high-extraction underground coal mining on farmland areas. The data are presented for consideration in evaluating the subsidence effects due to similar mining techniques on the prime farmland areas of Illinois. In Illinois the ground water level in the glacial drift is only 2 to 15 ft below the nearly flat to gently rolling ground surface. The main subsidence concern is flooding, as caused by the lowering of the ground surface, and the subsequent effects on crop production. Positive drainage must be maintained in the farmlands, and the need exists for extensive regional planning by the mining and agricultural industries to maximize short- and long-term production from both efforts. The Bureau is cooperating with the State of Illinois to develop basic information necessary for such planning.

Jan 1, 1987

By L. C. IlsLey

The work of the electrical section of the Bureau of Mines may be considered to have had its beginning in April , 1909 , when H. H. Clark was , appointed electrical engineer in the U. S. Geological Survey. The first manuscript prepared by members of this section was Miners Circular 5, which was issued in October , 1911. During each succeeding year additional papers have been published dealing with questions relating to electrical safety. Since 1916 the electrical section has also conducted laboratory investigations on flame safety lamps and gas- detecting devices and has published reports relating thereto . The following selected list of publications covering safety studies and activities of the electrical section has been prepared for the convenience of those who wish to keep themselves advised concerning electrical safety matters . The list includes only such publications as are applicable to present-day prac tices .

Jul 1, 1930

By R. D. Begley, A. W. Khair

This paper presents an assessment of modeling techniques in predicting subsidence over longwall areas. Extensive instrumentation has been made, both at the surface and subsurface, at three longwall mines in northern West Virginia. Ground movements were monitored during a three- year period until subsidence ceased in these areas. A comparative analysis of empirical subsidence prediction techniques including graphical (NCB), profile function, influence functions (USBM, Bals', Knothe's, and zone area) will he presented. A brief geologic and topographic description of each site, along with the instrumentation and monitoring program, will also he presented.

Jan 1, 1990

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 A. Quilodran, B. Jakovljevic, T. McCallum, P. Wong

"Rare earth separation by solvent extraction (SX) requires multiple separation plants each consisting of many extract, scrub, and strip stages to separate the individual metals. SX modeling advances have brought benefits to circuit design and process optimization by quickly narrowing test conditions without the need for exhaustive laboratory studies. Modeling can be used to optimize circuit configuration, O/A ratios, and acidities, which allows for CAPEX and OPEX savings. A comparison between pilot plant data and the results expected from modeling is presented for rare earth separations with CYANEX® 572.INTRODUCTIONRare earth separations can be difficult due to limited separation between the elements (Xie, Zhang, Dreisinger, & Doyle, 2014). This requires relatively complex solvent extraction circuits utilizing multiple extract, scrub, and strip stages as well as multiple SX configurations to achieve the desired metal purities. Designing rare earth circuits can be complex, and significant time and testing may be necessary to determine the required staging and optimal conditions.Circuit modeling for rare earth separations has been introduced to the industry using CYANEX® 572 extractant (Soderstrom, McCallum, Jakovljevic, & Quilodran, 2014). CYANEX® 572 is an acidic organophosphorus extractant formulation which has a weaker ligand-metal complex strength than that of the traditionally used phosphonic acid extractants. This allows efficient extraction while requiring a significantly lower acid concentration for stripping (Wang, Li, Zhao, Dong, & Sun, 2015). The reduced acid requirement in strip is expected to provide OPEX savings.The modeling can be utilized to quickly determine the required acidity and organic/aqueous (O/A) ratio for a given separation. It is also expected to reduce CAPEX requirements as optimal staging can be determined, and implemented.CYANEX® 572, combined with modeling, was utilized to produce a purified dysprosium (Dy) stream. To achieve this separation, multiple SX circuits were designed and operational conditions specified to separate Dy from the mixed rare earth chloride feed."

Jan 1, 2016

By J W. Lee, E Baafi, N Aziz

Ground subsidence due to mining is a common dilemma confronting the underground coal mining industry. The effects of underground longwall mining on river valleys have come under scrutiny, especially when mining is located underneath catchment areas. As public awareness of mining impacts on the environment increases, there is the need to develop damage mitigation strategies. Results of numerical modelling show that river valley response to underground longwall mining can be simulated and evaluated.

Jan 1, 2005

By B Wu, B W. Lei, B J. Duan

When a coalmine fire occurs, it is crucial to judge the developing trends inside the fire area by analysing the changes of gas concentration in order to formulate the proper rescue measures. At present, few researchers have focused on the relationship between the changing trend of gas product and basic characteristics of fire in the coal fire extinguishing process. To study the relationship of basic characteristics of coalmine fire during the extinguishing process, an experimental platform for coal combustion in a confined space was built, and gas production, flame image and coal temperature during the extinguishing process were monitored and analysed by an online continuous gas analysis instrument, camera and thermocouple. Research shows that during the burning phase of the coal sample in the confined space, the flame zone decreases gradually due to insufficient gas supply. The size of the flame zone fluctuates and shares a positive correlation with CO concentration, while sharing a negative correlation with O2 and CO2 concentrations. Then, in the extinguishing phase, the increasing rate of CO2 concentration and the decreasing rate of O2 concentration both decrease gradually, but CO concentration would rise for a period before it eventually decreases. Coal temperature continues to rise in the open flame stage and does not go down until the flame is extinguished.CITATION:Lei, B W, Wu, B and Duan, B J, 2015. Experimental study on extinguishing characteristics of coal fire in confined space, in Proceedings The Australian Mine Ventilation Conference, pp 279–284 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Aug 31, 2015