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By Jerry A. Steding

How many times have you heard "You can't drive piles because of the vibration."? You hear these words come out of the mouths of owners, engineers, and contractors. When a piling contractor hears this, he can almost always do a psychological profile of the individual uttering these words of wisdom. If the owner makes the statement, we know the odds are about 95% that the owner owns the building next door or he wouldn't care what happens to it; or the guy next door has threatened to sue the owner if he even so much as walks across the site of the proposed new building. If the owner owns the building next door to the new construction you can also be just as certain the old structure has undergone settlement. If the statement comes from the mouth of the contractor, it is usually just a case of him being inexperienced.

Jan 1, 1988

By Oliver Bowles

"Underground operation.In its broader sense the term ""mining"" is applied to all processes whereby raw materials are taken from the earth to be used as sources of mineral products. In a more restricted sense ""mining"" is applied to underground operations as contrasted with open pit work designated as quarrying. The tern is used in the restricted tense in this paper; for it relates to the exploitation of limestone deposits by modern methods of underground operation rather than by open pit methods.Present tendency toward miningIt may seem to some readers that a paper on mining limestone will find little general interest among lime plant operators, for only a limited number of them have yet resorted to this means of procuring raw materials. It is noteworthy, however, that a growing tendency exists toward underground operation, for one by one quarry owners are faced with increasing difficulties in open pit operation. It seems desirable, therefore, for operators to keep closely in touch with this gradual change in process, to inquire into the underlying causes, to compare costs, and to study the effects of the change in method on subsequent steps in calcining the stone to produce lime."

Mar 1, 1924

By J. W. Thompson

RIGHT OF LIFE TENAN1' TO OPEN MINES. The common-law rule that a life tenant was not permitted to open or share in mines does not prevail in Michigan; but a life tenant by dower right is permitted to share in the royalties, as the strict common- law rule is not in harmony with the spirit of our institutions and the policy of our law and would often result in defeating the purposes of dower statutes. Poole v. Union Trust Co. (Michigan), 157 Northwestern 430, p. 432, March, 1916. SALE AND CONVEYANCE. PURCHASE OF ENTIRE ESTATE--FRAUD. A purchase of land where no exceptions or reservations of minerals were made and the land was bought as property, when nothing is excepted and no qualifications or reservations are embodied in the agreement, was presumptively and by common understanding a purchase of the property in its entirety; and the insertion in the deed of a reservation of mineral rights in violation of the contract of purchase and without the grantee's knowledge or consent was fraudulent. Mtynarczyk v Zyskowski (Michigan), 157 Northwestern 566, p. 569, March, 1916. RESERVATION OF MINERALS--EXTENT AND EFFECL A reservation in a conveyance of land excepting and reserving to the grantor all coals and mines beneath the surface with the sole right and privilege to remove the same, is not as broad as the grant itself. A contract for the purchase of a mine recited that a deed had been executed by the owner and placed in escrow to so remain until the sum of $30,000 should be paid. The contract provided that $1,200 of the purchase price was to be paid in cash, $800 in 60 days, and the remainder out of 20 per cent of the gross output of the mine, such per cent to be paid in five years unless the vein and value of ore should not continue in depth, in which event the purchaser was to have two years longer to complete the payment of the purchase price. The contract contained other covenants to the effect that the purchasing corporation would fit up a certain specified mill and would continue development work at such rate as to keep the mill in operation if ores sufficiently valuable should be found and in the absence of unavoidable accident. The contract also provided 1/ that abandonment of work for a period of six months at anyone time, except as above, on said property," should operate as a forfeiture of the purchaser's right. In an action by the vendor to quiet the title to the land and to have the contract declared void, the court found that the purchaser failed to perform the work on the property and failed to place thereon the improvements as required by the contract and permitted debts to accumulate against the property, taxes to be levied thereon, and that for more than a year the purchaser had not done any work or labor of any sort upon the mine or premises, and that the contract contemplated development work from the time the purchaser took possession of the property, or at least promptly thereafter, and the fact that no machinery was in place for a year or more after the execution of the contract was a breach of the covenant of continued development, and that the clause in the contract" except as above" does not contemplate a delay in the development resulting from a failure to install machinery, but it means that unless prevented by unavoidable accidents the purchaser shouLdhave no valid excuses for neglecting the work for a period of six months or more.

Jan 1, 1917

By S. P. Singh

"The geological features of a rock mass have a direct influence on its blasting characteristics. It has been observed that perimeter control techniques provide excellent results in massive crystalline formations but may give poor results in weak and or highly jointed formations.A field study was conducted with the objective of understanding the role played by the geological features of a rock mass in producing and controlling blast damage. The field work involved the assessment of blast damage at several operating mines and the blasting of drift rounds in a geologically dominant rock mass.The effect of rock strength, rock quality designation (RQD), joint parameters and hydrogeological conditions on blast damage is described below. The influence of number and thickness of weak layers on blast damage is also discussed below on the basis of quantitative data. In addition, critical particle velocity ranges for damage to different rock types have also been outlined in this paper."

Jan 1, 2001

By F. Q. Dong

According to the principle that should be originated from nature, compatible with nature, used in nature and back to nature and based on conception of designing of eco-material, the author combined the ideas of material, environment, zoology and healthy. Properties of natural mineral materials were used to produce micro-aggregate elements by bionic method, so its components and function could accord with living environment. Eco-mineral functional materials which can adjust, purify and optimize the microclimate were reviewed. The authors pointed out the multifunction, com-pounding, the compound characteristics and integration regularities of micro-aggregates. It was the first time in the world to put forward the ?gene? technique or ?material chip? technique of manufacturing function micro-aggregates and eco-function elementary materials. The results of this re-search supported by the national ?863? Hi-tech Project, mainly including the high-efficient air purifying mineral compound material indoor, the clay elementary antibacterial materials, the masonry cement/coating/putty/compound with preventing radon radiation, environmental friendly composite functional coatings, mosquito repellent and healthcare material and zeolite-based energy-saving composite materials, were introduced. Finally, the foreground of mineral materials in the field of future advanced eco-friendly materials was also discussed.

Jan 1, 2014

By A. Lyndon

Vertical and lateral load tests were carried out on two 13 m deep bored cast-in-place instrumented piles, socketed into weathered sandstone. The first pile, 1200 mm in diameter, was loaded vertically to a maximum of 16000 kN and then loaded to failure under lateral load (1900 kN). The second pile, 1500 mm in diameter, was tested under lateral load up to a maximum of 2400 kN. It was found that the deflections of the 1200 mm pile were more than twice those of the 1500 mm pile under similar loads. The soils on the site are not easily tested in the laboratory, or by conventional insitu site investigation techniques, parameters needed in design can only be reliably obtained from pile test results. In this report shear moduli are back analysed from the vertical load test and the two lateral load tests. For these similarly installed piles very different design parameters were determined from the lateral load tests, the only known major difference between the piles being that the 1200 mm pile was loaded vertically before it was loaded laterally. Changes in G values needed to match performance under vertical load if applicable to lateral loading could have accounted for a significant amount of the difference.

Jan 1, 1989

By M. M. Gilkey

This report describes the effects of water shortage on Arizona's mineral industries. The information presented was obtained in interviews with company representatives. Operations covered included all State metal mines using substantial quantities of water and all concentrators and smelters. Also included in the survey were 8 operations in the nonmetallic group; 22 in the plating, metal-fabricating, and metal-forming categories; 1 public-utility power company; and 6 water companies. The extent of the water shortage in Arizona is reflected in mineral- industry water-use practices, in the high cost and low quality of water used at many operations, and in the stringency of State control of well drilling and pumping. Many mineral-industry operations are among those users most seriously affected by the uneven water supply.

Jan 1, 1963

By M. M. Gilkey

This report describes the effects of water shortage on Arizona's mineral industries. The information presented was obtained in interviews with company representatives. Operations covered included all State metal mines using substantial quantities of water and all concentrators and smelters. Also included in the survey were 8 operations in the nonmetallic group; 22 in the plating, metal-fabricating, and metal-forming categories; 1 public-utility power company; and 6 water companies. The extent of the water shortage in Arizona is reflected in mineral- industry water-use practices, in the high cost and low quality of water used at many operations, and in the stringency of State control of well drilling and pumping. Many mineral-industry operations are among those users most seriously affected by the uneven water supply.

Jan 1, 1963

By A. Nuric, S. Nuric, L. Kricak, M. Negovanovic, S. Mitrovic

"SynopsisRotary drilling with rolling tricone bits is the most widely used method for drilling large-diameter blast-holes in large surface mining operations. This drilling method is applicable to a wide range of soft to hard rock materials. This paper presents a fuzzy model for predicting the penetration rate of tricone rotary blast-hole drilling. The model is based on data obtained during the drilling of blastholes in rocks with various uniaxial compressive strengths in the Veliki Krivelj open pit mine, Bor, Serbia. The model was developed using the fuzzy logic toolbox of MATLAB with the Mamdani inference system. The fuzzy model was tested with 23% of the total dataset. The results obtained show the high reliability of predicting the penetration rates. Although there are possible limitations in applying the model to other open pit mines because of differences in rock properties, the prediction methodology applied in this paper can be used in many other predictions of the penetration rates.IntroductionAccording to Tamrock, rotary blast-hole drill operations depend on four important elements:•,Torque in the drill string drive sufficient to turn the bit in any strata encountered•,A high bit loading capability (pulldown force) sufficient for optimum penetration•,An air volume sufficient to remove chips generated during the drilling and to provide cool air to the drill bit bearings•,The selection of the proper type of bit for the material being drilled (Tamrock, 1984).The effects of rock mass parameters on the choice of the type of tricone bits were investigated by Kricak (1997)."

Jan 1, 2015

As a result of cheap Maui gas and plentiful hydro-electricity, over the past few decades New Zealand has enjoyed some of the cheapest energy of any OECD country. The situation is changing; at best we are facing some radical changes in energy use, at worst we are facing a crisis resulting from the following:   Cause 1: Maui gas will be exhausted by 2012. Distorted pricing and supply contracts; resulted in Huntly Power Station, a coal mine mouth generator running on 70 per cent Maui gas until very recently!   Cause 2: Investment in new generating capacity (and transmission) is woefully inadequate; as a result hydro lake levels are being continually pushed to the limits.   Cause 3: Distorted thinking is everywhere, for example; æWe will find more cheap gasÆ. æGas is clean û coal is dirtyÆ. Hot air  û ægreen alternatives such as wind generation will save usÆ. æNo NuclearÆ. The outcomes of the distorted thinking will be price increases, then shortages (there is nothing like "black-outs" to focus national thinking) and finally recession.   But what can NZ do? - Mine Coal. Coal jump-started the industrial revolution, it can provide the transition to post-gas and oil. NZ has the second highest reserves of coal per capita in the world, yet we use less that any other country with significant coal reserves. Our exports of our best coal have increased threefold, yet out own consumption has remained static at about 1-1.5 Mtpa for the last 30 years. Our coal is NZ owned and inexpensive relative to other energy sources, even allowing for infrastructure and environmental costs.   What can we do? We as mining professionals can promote informed responsible development and investment in the country's mining and energy business. We can galvanise public opinion on issues such as æunbundlingÆ our entire energy chain from mine-to generator-through transmission, even if the nuclear issue has to wait! With oil above US$70/bbl substitution is feasible. For individuals, there is always solar!

Jan 1, 2006

By Per Hedvall, Jan-Eric Ståhl

"The main objective of this study is to introduce the new Sandvik’s production cost-model within Crushing & Screening (C&S) technology. So far, there have been different ways of determining different production costs in the industry, however, the previously published and presented methods have not been very efficient in calculating the costs per product and metric ton. Accordingly, the current study has been planned and started in collaboration with Lund University to provide an accurate and easy to implement cost estimation program to determine the costs for crushing and screening plants worldwide.The proposed model has been adapted to fit the C&S processes of different rocks/ores fractions. The result is presented as cost per ton of the end product(s).Within this paper the cost estimation results for 3 different crushing and screening plants are presented based on the information obtained from the following sources: a) documents at Sandvik SRP, b) Sandvik’s crushing & screening internal/external machines/plants data and information, c) literature studies, including the use of Sandvik’s internal/external simulation and software programs, d), visiting the crushing and screening plants ,e) interviews, information systems’ data, and, f) testing and observations by ourselves.In order to improve the level of accuracy and the validity of the attained results, simplistic Monte-Carlo simulations have been used, where needed. The achieved results, so far, have proven the reliability of the model. The calculated cost estimations have shown an accuracy over 80% when they compared with real cost data obtained from plant practices.The current cost calculation model, will offer the possibility of:•,Calculating the production costs in proposed and/or existing C&S plant.•,Making detailed cost analyses for the end product(s) in proposed and/or existing C&S plants.•,Determining the profitability of each finished product when it’s required.•,Cost optimization by potentially cutting the cost for part of C&S plant with an existing plant practice"

Jan 1, 2016

By W. G. Davenport

A flash furnace can be run many different ways. It can, for example, be operated with: (a) highly 02"enriched, ambient temperature blast and no fossil fuel (b) considerable fossil fuel and hot, slightly Or enriched blast. It can also produce different grades of matte. With all these possibilities, the flash furnace operator can benefit from any technique that will indicate the 'best' way to operate his furnace. One such technique is Excel's 'Solver'optimizationroutine#. This chapter shows how our matrices and Excers optimization.abllity can be used to optimize a flash furnace operation. The chapter sets three optimization goals: (a) minimum industrial oxygen + oil cost, $ per tonne of concentrate (b) maximum smelting rate, tonnes of concentrate per hour (c) maximum profit, $ per hour.

Jan 1, 2001

By Samuel P. Harteis

Many mining operations rely on retention bulkheads to provide a barrier between impounded water and active mine workings. However, bulkhead failures can cause catastrophic flooding that puts the underground workforce at risk. Underground observations and evaluations of existing bulkheads indicate that a systems approach is required when building an underground water or slurry retention system. In addition to engineering the bulkhead, the designer must ensure the quality control of materials and workmanship of the bulkhead, the reaction of the mine strata when exposed to water under pressure, and methods to monitor the performance of the retention system. Researchers from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), with the assistance of the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), conducted an extensive review of bulkhead permits submitted to the MSHA Technical Support office in Bruceton, PA. In addition, the researchers visited accessible bulkhead installations at undeground mining operations to gather information related to construction practices, maintenance issues, and monitoring and emergency response procedures. Several key items were identified that must be considered when permitting the installation of an underground fluid retention system.

Jan 1, 2008

By F. S. Wartman

This paper gives an account of the production of ductile-grade titanium powder in 100-pound batches by reduction of purified titanic Chloride with magnesium, grinding, leaching, and magnetic-separation of the reaction product. Apparatus, technique, and methods of controlling product quality are described and some data on operating costs are given.

Jan 1, 1949

By Jeffrey Y. Foley

The Bureau of Mines sampled surface exposures of podiform chromite in the Caribou Mountain-Melozitna ultramafic belt in the Kokrines-Hodzana Highlands, central Alaska. Fieldwork began in 1979 as part of an assessment of the mineral potential of lands adjacent to the trans-Alaska pipeline corridor, for the Bureau of Land Management, and continued through 1981 as a Bureau of Mines investigation. The belt comprises six complexes of which the three closest to the pipeline corridor were investigated. Concentrations of chromite disseminated in dunite host rock make up mineralized intervals ranging in thickness from less than an inch to 5 ft and in grade from 3 to 23 pct chromium. The largest occurrence has an exposed strike length of 80 ft. Bulk surface samples were collected from 10 of these exposures, and beneficiation tests on the samples produced concentrates of metallurgical, refractory, and subindustrial grades. Part I--this report--describes the fieldwork; part II--1C 8916--describes the beneficiation work.

Jan 1, 1983

This report discusses the nonfuel critical minerals position of the United States-both current and future (to the year 2000). We have assumed that there will be no major global disturbances-military, political, or economic-during the rest of this century. However, international relationships, strategies, and conditions that affect the supply of minerals are very tenuous, normal trading patterns can be easily upset, and national and ideological objectives can and do interfere with "normal" free market conditions. For example, the Department of Defense has reported that the Soviet Union is engaged in a strategy designed to reduce the availability of strategic minerals, through either physical disruption, market manipulation, or domination of producing or neighboring states. Although such a strategy poses serious concerns for the United States and the free world, the impacts of disruptions are not covered in this publication. Historical Perspective The modern industrial economy of the United States is founded on the production and use of minerals.* Two hundred years ago our forebears began taming a raw continent, developing a base for agriculture and a rudimentary minerals producing system. In the 19th century, with the aid of imported labor and capital, the development of America's vast natural resources was undertaken, and the transition from an agricultural to industrial society was underway. By the century's close, the United States had emerged as a great industrial power, partly through the development of such mineral resources as iron in Minnesota and coal in Pennsylvania.

Jan 1, 1983

By John Freer

As an innovation on the annual programme, the Excursions Sub-Committee organized a social get together of the Institute's Councillors and their families on Sunday, 27th February, 1983. Asian Mining - change of date The Second Asian Mining Conference, previously announced as being held in Manila, The Philippines, from 5th to 8th November, 1984, will now be held in Manila from 11th to 14th February, 1985.

Jan 1, 1983

By Peter Moser, Thoma Oberndorfer

"Within the research project “Mine Development” (Fettweis and Moser, 1990) a PC-based mine database has been built up since 1991 and so far includes detailed technical and economic data of about 150 under-ground hardrock mines in industrialized countries worldwide. These data represent about 50% of the underground hardrock mines in west and central Europe, Scandinavia, United States, Canada and Australia (Fig. 1). The mining operations included in the database have been visited directly and analyzed with respect to their deposit conditions, their general design and layout and also their operational and economic performance.The main aim of the Mine Database is to make a contribution to an improved planning of new underground hardrock mines. An analysis of current mine planning practices shows, that both personnel and company experience is still a dominant factor in planning new underground hardrock operations. Through the information included in the Mine Database the experience of a single per-son or company is supplemented by the experience of a wider group of people. The Mine Database makes the huge amount of experience that is available worldwide in the field of under-ground mining accessible for new mining projects. From that a contribution to a more reliable mine planning procedure based on the performance of existing mining operations is expected.In addition to its use in planning new mining operations, the Mine Database can con-tribute to the exchange of technical data among different mining operations, especially on equipment performance, etc. Such an information service is offered by the Department of Mining Engineering & Mineral Economics in Leoben and is already being used by different mining companies. To respect proprietory information, company specific information is not released under any circumstances.The cost of building up the Mine Database, so far, is about US$500.000 — two thirds of which is labour, and one third, travel."

Jan 1, 1996

By Arthur E. Wells

"The present and possible future commercial production of potash from various sources in the United Status is discussed below under the following heads:1. Potash from the saline lakes.(a) Nebraska lakes.(b) California lakes.(c) Other lakes.2. Potash as by-product from the cement kilns.3. Potash as by-product from the iron blast furnace.4. Potash from silicate rocks.(a) Feldspathic material.(b) Leucite rocks of Wyoming..(c) Sericite slates of Georgia.(d) Glauconite (greensand) of New Jersey.5. Potash from Alunite.6. Potash from organic sources other than kelp.7. Potash from kelp.In this discussion very little more than passing reference, if any, will be given to those projects which up to date have been developed only slightly, if at all, beyond the small scale laboratory stage, or for the development of which there appears to be very little financial and technical backing at the present time. Nether or not many of these proposed projects have merit can be determined only by an actual operating demonstration.Generally speaking, the potash industry of the United States has been hardly more than marking time since the armistice. This is, largely due to the fact that the consumers of potash have been expecting that heavy shipments of foreign potash to the United States would be resumed soon at somewhere near the pre-war prices, and they have not seen owing domestic potash at present prices for many months. The result has been that domestic producers have been unable to sell their product at even cost and many producers of potash have been obliged to close down. Thu Nebraska lake plants were closed down in February. The California saline plants were operating at below capacity, and the only large alunite plant is closed down. Even the cement plants have little or no inducements to recover the potash being lost in their waste gases and the production is very small at present.This condition will doubtless continue until a definite policy is decided upon as to the future importation of potash salts from Germany and. France. If unrestricted importation is allowed at prices even 50% greater than in 1913, only a very few, if any, of the domestic projects will be in position to compete with the foreign potash immediately, and the present industry will probably greatly decline with little or no prospect for a future resumption of the industry."

Aug 1, 1919

By L. C. IlsLey, H. B. Freeman

In connection with the approval of coal-cutting machines for service in gaseous mines , the engineers of the Bureau of Mines have been somewhat concerned as to the type of trailing cables that could safely be used on permissible outfits . While no final action has been taken on this question ( tentative approvals having been granted pending investigations ) , the Bureau has been endeavoring to collect data and information on this question which would permit a fair , yet safe , ruling to be made . For this purpose cooperative arrangements were made with three coal companies to visit certain of their mines , making inspections inside the mines to observe the cables and cutting machines in operation . In all , twenty mines were visited . A questionnaire covering the operations of trailing cables was filled out at each of these mines . In a few instances no personal inspection was made , the information being supplied by mine officials after conferences with the Bureau's engineer . At other mines the information given by mine officials was supplemented by personal observation inside the mines , usually at a time when the cutting machines were in operation .

Jul 1, 1923