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By P Lukic

The definition of the working sections that will be used in a mine is usually initially made in the field by the geologist supervising the drilling program. These initial definitions are often made on the basis of rules of thumb such as æcoal less than 30 cm thick cannot be mined separatelyÆ; æpartings more than 30 cm thick will be mined separatelyÆ; and æif a coal seam is less than 50 cm thick and the parting above or below is thicker than the coal, the coal will be wastedÆ. These decisions are also often made based on the requirement for a minimum sample mass for analysis, and the desire to collect data at the minimum resolution to conserve the exploration budget.In many cases the geological models based on this data are produced at a resolution that is inadequate to allow the mining engineer to produce a mine plan that will maximise project value. This problem is generally unrecognised.Where data is collected to a higher level of resolution the subsequent processes employed in the production of geological models and mine plans often discards the inherent value that is hidden in this data. Again this problem is generally unrecognised.This paper highlights this problem and then presents a methodology that ensures that the optimal working section is selected and compares the outcomes of applying this methodology versus adherence to the usual rules of thumb.

Sep 26, 2011

Creating Value and Improving Environmental Performance by the Recovery of Valuable Products from Tailings from the Athabasca Oil Sands in Alberta, Canada

Sep 13, 2010

By J. P. Earnhardt

Recycling of such municipal solid wastes as glass containers, metal cans, and newspapers has received increasing attention recently. However, municipal solid wastes account for only 1% of the total solid waste stream in the United States. The remainder includes hazardous and non-hazardous industrial wastes. Generators of industrial wastes are facing higher landfill costs. Future liability potential, and public image concerns which are forcing them to seek innovative and often profitable solutions to minimize, reuse, and recycle their waste streams. Opportunities for the mining industry in industrial recycling include recovery of mining wastes and by-products, and utilization of mineral products for treating waste streams.

Jan 1, 1993

By B Huls, B E. Smith, I Brake, M Yu

A brief outline of some of the pioneering events in the development of flotation technology, which originated in Broken Hill at the start of the 1900s, is presented. The development of the original Potter-Delprat process, the introduction of oils to generate froth flotation and the achievement of selective flotation processing are described, all focussed on solving challenges with the Broken Hill Pb-Ag-Zn ores. Some recent initiatives in flotation at BHP Billiton operations are also outlined, covering coal, copper, lead-silver-zinc and diamonds. Some views are offered on the characteristics of innovation in flotation and on possible trends into the future.

Jan 1, 2005

By John E. Tilton

The ability of companies and countries to mine copper and other mineral commodities competitively and in the process to generate new wealth depends on their mineral endowment. Chile, for example, produces and exports copper because it is well endowed with high-quality, low-cost deposits. This production creates wealth that benefits mining companies and their stockholders, the government, local communities, as well as copper consumers around the world. The widespread perception that mineral endowment must largely determine competitiveness, or what economists call comparative advantage, must be true at any particularly moment. Countries with abundant reserves must be competitive. This follows from the definition of reserves — the quantity of a mineral commodity found in discovered deposits that are profitable to exploit under current conditions. As a result, it is a tautology and not particularly interesting. The important question is what causes reserves to change over time, producing in the process new wealth and shifts in competitiveness?

Jan 1, 2003

By Glenn Melchert, Paul Eger, Jon Wagner, Dave Antonson, John Folman

Current approaches to reclaiming acid generating tailings include permanent water cover or encapsulation with various synthetic liners and/or clay. Although these methods can be effective, some ongoing maintenance will be required in perpetuity to ensure that water levels are adequately maintained or that the integrity of any capping system is protected. The successful creation of wetlands in tailings basins offers the possibility of creating a stable environment for the tailings with minimal maintenance. Acid-generating tailings from a massive zinc sulfide deposit in Winston Lake, Ontario, were placed in small cylindrical tanks to examine the feasibility and effectiveness of creating wetlands and mitigating acid and metal release. Two uncovered controls were established in addition to the five treatments, which were done in duplicate. Each wetland tank was 117 cm in diameter and contained 6 1 cm of tailings. Treatments included 61 cm cover of wetland soil, 61 cm of glacial till, 61 cm of tailings, and two tanks with 71 cm of water. One of the water covers included the aquatic macrophytes: Elodea canadensis, Potamegeton sp., and Ceratophyllum demersum. Cattails (Typha latifolia) were planted in the plots with substrate cover, and the initial water level was set at ten centimeters. The pH within the tailings in the treated tanks generally ranged between 6.0 and 6.5 and zinc concentration ranged from 0.02 to 0.1 mg/L. The drainage from the controls had an average pH of 3.3, and 7,700 mg/L of zinc.

Jan 1, 2000

By Charles H. Jacoby

During the past three decades an ever increasing number of uses for underground storage space has been developed. In some instances, the value of the space created has been so great that the host rock has been wasted. The preferential use of salt to host underground cavities is based on numerous factors, the primary two being low extraction costs and low permeability. Both dry and solution mined cavities have been created for the storage of a variety of materials. As the demand for underground storage and disposal grows, so must our selectivity of the materials to be stored.

Jan 1, 1985

By Pierre Boulanger

This paper describes a generic technology for modeling in real time the various operations of surface mines. Based on various sensor fusion techniques and high-speed network, a virtual reality model of a mine capable of representing not only static infrastructures but also mobile equipment such as trucks and excavators is created. The modeling technique deal with a wide range of sensors such as survey data, satellite pictures, ore concentration, machine condition indicators, video, sound, real-time GPS locator, range sensor, etc. The model created allows for every piece of information to be displayed in context allowing for a better temporal and spatial correlation of events by mine operators, planners, and supervisors. Syncrude, a Canadian mining company located in northern Alberta, is planning to use this technology, not only to understand oil sands mining processes better, but also to give decision-makers better access to the timely, accurate information from the field that they need to make informed decisions.

May 1, 2001

By M. J. Blattman

Upon completion of an underground mine design, the planning engineer is faced with a surprisingly complex problem, “What development and mining sequence should be implemented so as to maximize the return on investment?” The problem relates to the scheduling of development headings to access stope production areas in such a way that the most money is made as quickly as possible for as long as possible. The total dollar value of the stopes, the average grade, the total tonnage, nor even the profit margin do not accurately give an indication of the “proper” mining sequence on their own. This paper will outline a method being developed by the author that can create a sequence of events that maximizes the net present value (NPV) of a given development and production design using information already being generated during the design process.

Jan 1, 2003

By Mark P. Juzli

During the 1980s, a revolution has been taking place in industrial minerals marketing. Transportation deregulation and a handful of creative marketing and distribution managers have completely changed the rules for marketing many industrial minerals. Minerals are being transported much farther than in prior decades and at much less cost. Bulk and package terminals are becoming increasingly common as a means to take advantage of freight rate savings and to provide enhanced service to faraway customers. Water and rail transportation are being used increasingly to penetrate markets considered unreachable just a few years ago. No longer do the textbook rules of thumb for industrial minerals marketing apply. This author recalls three of those rules he was taught in mineral economics graduate school in the 1970s. As recorded in class notes: • construction aggregates are seldom shipped more than 32 km (20 miles) from the quarry; • cement is sold within 240 km (150 miles) of the mill; and • industrial sand is sold regionally - it is freight constrained to a market radius of no more than 320 to 400 km (200 to 250 miles) from the plant. And yet, the author looks up in 1989 and observes overland movements of aggregates of many hundred miles, overland movements of cement and industrial sand of 1600 km (1000 miles) or more, and water movements of both aggregates and cement into the United States from sources halfway around the world. Truly, industrial minerals are in the midst of a marketing revolution. The companies that have led this revolution have enjoyed considerable financial success in the 1980s. They have enhanced their profitability by increasing market share, capacity utilization, and average selling prices by taking product to remote markets where premium prices are available. They have consistently outperformed their competition, many of whom remain unaware that the marketing revolution going on around them is actually a transportation/distribution revolution. The successful industrial minerals company of the next 10 to 15 years must participate in the transportation revolution as it continues to evolve. Additional human and capital resources must be committed to maximize the effectiveness of a company's transportation and

Jan 1, 1989

By R. H. Schonewille

One of the many challenges in developing new metallurgical processes is choosing the best option for validating process design parameters and establishing the process operating window. Historically this has been achieved by constructing pilot or demonstration plants of considerable size and complexity, to enable integrated operation of all key process units for a significant duration. While this would appear to be the best option for minimizing technical risk, it is often impractical from a perspective of cost, schedule, resources or bulk sample acquisition. Such an undertaking can even provide a false sense of security, as the optics of running a complete scaled-down version of a commercial plant suggest a high level of process understanding, regardless of the challenges encountered during operation. Xstrata Nickel has undertaken numerous process development and improvement projects over the past 15 years to support green field project development and continuous improvement in existing operations. The approaches used have included; computer simulation, cold flow modeling, construction of pilot test units in third party facilities, commercial plant referencing and the more conventional construction of integrated test plants. Regardless of the strategy employed, the keys to success have included; managing stakeholder expectations, involving the commercial plant design engineers in the planning stage, anticipating subsequent data and sample requirements and most importantly, constructing and operating complex demonstration plants only as a last resort. This paper provides examples of various process development approaches used by Xstrata Nickel and discusses the rationale specific to each project.

Jan 1, 2011

By David G. Winter

The Olive 8 excavation site in Seattle was surrounded on three sides by conditions requiring innovation, careful modeling, and extensive instrumentation to support use of a first-of-its-kind shoring system. The solution combined heavy soldier piles, long and steeply angled tieback anchors, and tightly spaced soil nails to support surcharge loads from a 33-story adjacent tower separated by a narrow alley housing critical utility lines. Land restrictions on two other sides of the site also required innovative applications of traditional methods. The Olive 8 project has won three state and local awards for innovation and has been reported on in Engineering News-Record and has been the subject of two feature articles in the Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce. This paper presents the conditions and site challenges, reviews the design analysis, discusses the shoring performance, and looks at other potential applications.

Jan 1, 2009

By M. Krzaninski, Y. Zou, A. Frost

The foundation solution for a data centre building in Sydney, Australia comprised two alternatives, the first of which incorporated the use of CFA piles founded in rock at approx. 27m depth to support column working loadings of approx. 7.5MN, and the second utilising rapid impact compaction with a raft foundation of 1.0m thick concrete slab. Soil conditions comprised 1m of fill over 3 to 4m of sands varying from loose to dense consistency, underlain by very stiff clays overlying the rock. A creative solution incorporating Rapid Impact Compaction to improve the loose soils in conjunction with a piled raft solution was proposed. Piles proposed under the raft were Atlas Drilled Displacement piles which offered advantages of displacement pile performance and savings in time and material costs. The piled raft solution was developed in consultation with the consulting structural engineer, combining the skills of the piling contractor and consulting engineer to the benefit of the project. This paper describes the development and design aspects of the piled raft solution adopted for the project.

Nov 1, 2022

All development proposals have to run the gauntlet of the approvals process. Major resource projects are generally subject to particularly intense scrutiny. The key element in the approvals process is that it is about making decisions that take into account the benefits or otherwise to society as a whole - the interests of any one group do not take precedence. Most groups tend to see their relatively narrow interests as representing those of the broader society. Each group develops their arguments for or against a project in isolation, and then presents these to an arbiter in an adversarial situation. From this mire of argument and counter-argument it is often difficult to discern just what the real benefits of a project are, and opportunities for agreement and constructive modification of proposals to meet real concerns are often missed. The contention made in this paper is that the inevitable differences between these various viewpoints should be harnessed to help the proponent to come up with a proposal that is clearly of overall benefit to society and which gains approval. It is better to accept that no one group has a monopoly on wisdom in this area and to engender an environment of creative tension in which the pros and cons can be broadly considered and good planning and design used to produce a proposal that has a high chance of success. There are a variety of ways in which this approach can be implemented. Some of these options will be discussed in terms of their likely applicability to energy projects and their potential for success.

Jan 1, 1992

By Miguel Villegas Vergara

El presente trabajo señala el proceso de desarrollo de la minera Pachapaqui durante el período 1981-1986, la cual se dedica a la explotación y beneficio de minerales polimetálicos. Entre sus objetivos principales está el incremento de la producción, la reducción del costo en la producción y el generar bienestar a sus trabajadores. Los medios para lograr sus objetivos se basan en las reservas del mineral del yacimiento minero, la administración, producción y liquidez del yacimiento. Asimismo, el proceso de crecimiento de dicha compañía conlleva las pautas de planificación, desarrollo minero, metalurgia, el sistema de trabajo (equipo y mantenimiento) y comercialización.

Nov 24, 1986

By Fanny Herrera, David Reaño, Luis Chahua, Elio Murrugara

El crecimiento del depósito de desmonte Pampa Verde es altamente dependiente de las siguientes restricciones: (1) opciones limitadas para extender lateralmente los contrafuertes existentes; (2) la necesidad de satisfacer tanto la estabilidad estática como la sísmica; (3) la necesidad de seleccionar adecuadamente materiales de alta resistencia para el refuerzo; (4) la importancia de realizar pruebas específicas del material geosintético de refuerzo para caracterizar su interacción con el suelo; y (5) la compleja geometría del sistema en conjunto, particularmente para su estabilidad global. El dique de contención existente fue estabilizado mediante su reforzamiento con geosintéticos, el cual consistió en un relleno de suelo compactado con una talud de 2,1H:1V sobre un muro de suelo estabilizado mecánicamente (MSE o suelo reforzado). La estructura MSE involucra dos muros (superior e inferior) con una banqueta horizontal entre ambos. El muro superior está reforzado con geomallas, mientras que el muro inferior consiste en un sistema Terramesh de gaviones reforzados con geomallas. El enfoque general del diseño consideró el diseño de un talud de suelo reforzado con geosintéticos (TSR) que usaría geomallas de alta capacidad de tracción. Las guías de diseño para el TSR propuesto son las emitidas por la Administración Federal de Carreteras de EE. UU. (FHWA-NHI-10-024). Un aspecto clave a considerar en el diseño propuesto fue la adecuada evaluación de la interfase del suelo contra la geomallama, por lo que se consideró un total de cinco productos de geomalla para su posible uso en la construcción del talud de suelo reforzado con geosintéticos.

Sep 20, 2019

By Ryan G. Wade, Mark K. Larson

Researchers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) are studying the time-dependent response of rock stressed along weakness planes. The objective is to improve mine safety by reducing the number of roof falls that cause injuries and fatalities to miners. Researchers conducted direct-shear tests on mudstone overcored from a coal mine roof. Results showed frictional strength weakens with displacement along the shearing planes. Results of direct-shear creep tests also showed time-dependent deformation. Test measurements were compared to classical analytical models. Results suggest that risk of roof collapse may be decreased through layout and support design to reduce creep rates and thus slow progression toward failure.

By M. K. Larson, R. G. Wade

Researchers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) are studying the time-dependent response of rock stressed along weakness planes. The objective is to improve mine safety by reducing the number of roof falls that cause injuries and fatalities to miners. Researchers conducted direct-shear tests on mud-stoneovercored from a coal mine roof. Results showed frictional strength weakens with displacement along the shearing planes. Results of direct-shear creep tests also showed time-dependent deformation. Test measurements were compared to classical analytical models. Results suggest that risk of roof collapse may be decreased through layout and support design to reduce creep rates and thus slow progression toward failure.

Jan 1, 2000

By John B. Baker, Bernard B. Betty, H. F. Moore

Fox several years there has been in progress in the Materials Testing Laboratory of the University of Illinois an investigation of creep and fracture of lead and lead alloys. In the course of this investigation it has been shown that the phenomenon of creep occurs in part at the grain boundaries of lead and lead alloys. To study the occurrence of creep and the development of fracture within crystalline grains, two series of tests of single crystals of lead have been carried out. The first of these, a preliminary series, by Mr. Betty, has been described.1,2 The second, pursued by Mr. Baker for his doctoral dissertation, was carried out under the direction of Professor Moore, with the assistance of Prof. G. L. Clark in the X-ray work, and the cooperation and advice of Mr. Betty. This paper is based on the test data obtained in this second series. Single crystals of a very pure commercial lead have been prepared, some of them tested to measure creep, others tested to fracture under long-continued steady load, and still others tested under cycles of repeated tension. An interpretation of the test data of these single-crystal tests is offered, which is a combination of parts of several well-known theories. SPECIMENS The single-crystal specimens were made from a piece of very pure commercial lead sheathing. A spectroscopic analysis of one of the single crystals showed the presence of 0.005 per cent Bi, 0.0001 per cent Cu and 0.0003 per cent Ag. Preparation.-The Bridgman method of casting single-crystal speci¬mens was used.3 The specimens were cast to the shape and size shown in Fig. I (dimensions in Fig. 4c) in a duralumin mold. Molten lead does not stick to duralumin. Fig. 1 shows the mold and the blast flames for heating. After the mold had been heated to the temperature of molten

Jan 1, 1938

By R. Stefanko, Y. J. Wang, H. R. Hardy, R. Y. Kim

Since 1964, the Dept. of Mining at The Pennsylvania State University has been carrying out extensive studies associated with the phenomena of microseismic activity and inelastic behavior in geologic materials. Briefly, the program to date has involved the following stages 1) Study of the microseismic noise and energy rates for selected geologic materials under incremental, uniaxial tension.1,2 2) Investigation of the frequency spectra of microseismic activity of selected geologic materials under incremental, uniaxial tension.3,4 3) Investigation of the time-dependent inelastic deformation of geologic materials and the analysis of such deformation in terms of mechanical models.5, 6 4) Simultaneous study of microseismic activity and time-dependent inelastic deformation in geologic materials under incremental, uniaxial compression.7,8 Details of the research involved in stage 4 of the program constitute the subject of this chapter. It should be noted that the majority of the experimental data quoted in this chapter forms part of a thesis to be presented by one of the authors (Kim) in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Ph.D. degree in mining engineering at The Pennsylvania State University. During the last two or three years, a number of important papers have been published which deal primarily with the fundamental structure and mechanical behavior of geologic materials. Recent papers 9,10 have provided research workers in the rock mechanics field with a meaningful overall picture of rock as a structural material. The concept that many

Jan 1, 1970