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By Natasha A. Essar

Nevsun Resources Ltd. Bisha Mine Project is a gold and base metal development project in the Gash Barka region of west-central Eritrea. The project has the potential to be one of the largest industrial developments in the country, and Eritreans have no experience in modern mining. Nevsun recognized early that the success of the Bisha Project would require meaningful consultation and engagement with all levels of Eritrean society. Meaningful engagement required not only full disclosure, but also capacity building from government officials at all levels to other stakeholders who live in the nearby communities. This paper describes the approach used to develop capacity and to help introduce a modern mining culture in a country without previous experience in mining.

May 1, 2007

By B. A. Osei

Research to evaluate possible metrics for predicting dredgeability of compact aggregates, by hydraulically actuated clamshell dredges, shows work done by the pistons as a viable metric. Analysis of field data shows that there is a low, positive, correlation between cycle time (CT) and work done. If this correlation exists, then CT has to be considered an independent variable affecting work done during dredgeability assessment. Further research is required to elucidate the relationship between CT and work done during dredging. The objective of this paper is to test the hypothesis that work done during dredging increases with increasing CT. Kinematics and dynamics of the hydraulic clamshell were modeled and implemented in Simulink® in MATLAB. The model was validated using field data. The model was then used to test the research hypothesis. The results show that work done increases with increasing CT. This work confirms that work done during dredging increases with increasing CT. This result indicates that though an operator can increase the CT to deal with difficult digging, inputting unduly high CTs results in higher energy consumption during dredging.

Jan 1, 2011

By W. A. Wilkinson

Mining companies today are under increasing pressure to boost output from their existing mines and to bring new projects online quickly. Fundamental to the long-term performance of an operation is geologic modeling and mine planning. To maximize mine profitability, planners and schedulers must account for a staggering array of variables and create accurate mining plans that meet production and profit targets. Not surprisingly, this can be a difficult task, and getting it wrong can result in large unforeseen costs and significant lost revenue opportunities. This paper discusses the top five challenges geologists and engineers are facing in developing mining plans.

Jan 1, 2012

By G. G. Krishna Murthy

Interactions of wustite and hematite pellets with Fe-C melts were investigated experimentally by examining the effect of pellet size and bath temperature on the reduction rates of the pellets. Experiments were carried out in the temperature range 1473-1923 K. A flash X-ray equipment was used to obtain images of the melt surface during its reaction with an oxide pellet. The reduction rates were calculated using experimentally estimated time for complete reaction of a pellet, tR. The value of tR was determined employing gas mass flow rate, or pressure rise in the sealed furnace, versus time traces. The value of tR was the same for both wustite and hematite pellets of equal weight at or above 1723 K and it decreased with increasing melt temperature. But the reduction rate was substantially lower at temperatures below 1651 K, the melting point of wustite. The rates were defined as the rate of moles of oxygen removed from the pellet per unit area of bath free surface and it was found that the bath surface area affects the reduction rates. It was established that the overall reaction followed nth-order rate kinetics with the values of n falling between 0.3 and 0.4 for temperatures above the melting point of wustite. The apparent activation energy determined using the apparent rate constants obtained from the experimental data was 76.2 + 27.7 kJ/mol-O.

Jan 1, 1992

By Ralph J. Holmes, Victor Sharp, Steven J. Spencer, Kevin J. Davey, Jonathan J. Campbell, Peter L. Phillips, David G. Barker

"Improved measurement tools for monitoring and control of AG/SAG mill performance have a high level of interest in industry. Historically, acoustic emission monitoring has been widely used on SAG/AG/ball mills and hydrocyclones to provide new information on the conditions inside these devices affecting their performance. The current work was focused on a new technique using surface vibration monitoring of a number of pilot-scale and production-scale AG/SAG mills to yield insights into the events occurring in the mills. The development of relationships between signal analysis outputs and mill operating conditions can be used for soft-sensor measurement of mill process variables. The technique used an array of accelerometers mounted on the mill lifter bolts linked to a fast data acquisition system which monitored the surface waves generated during operation. Details of the system are presented. Mill operating variables were adjusted systematically to provide a wide range of operating conditions for surface vibration signal collection. The experimental approach is discussed.The signals acquired during the experiments were analysed using a range of techniques. The results show that strong relationships exist between measured vibration power (both total power and within certain frequency bands) and mill load level/power and mill speed. A new method for extraction of power spectral density and band power information on features of interest in a mill rotation cycle is also presented.These results show that single sensor analysis information from the surface vibration system can be used as soft sensor inputs for monitoring process variables such as mill load that until now, have not been reliably measured. System outputs also show considerable promise in the area of condition monitoring. An example of the signal analysis output is presented showing elevated vibration levels in an area with higher resultant wear. Eventually, it is considered that outputs from this system for process variable and wear condition monitoring will be key new inputs to an online AG/SAG mill monitoring and control system."

Jan 1, 2003

By Jerry Wallace

Construction of a new grammar school required blasting within three meters of the existing school. Due to changes not anticipated at time of bid opening, blasting had to take place while approximately 200 children were in attendance inside the building. Blasting with children in such close proximity forced the blaster to review and revise a systematic approach to construction blasting and make changes to previous Rules of Thumb guidelines. The revised rules of thumb place Blaster-in-Charge at the top of the List. Other changes specific to the project included putting in place a blasting safety plan that included communicating the serious job hazards to teachers and students. The plan included stringent lockdown guidelines establishing school procedures for accounting for each student prior to the countdown-to-blast being implemented. Emergency communications channels were kept open so that any scheduled blast could be aborted at the last instance.

Jan 1, 2001

By Tetsuya Uda

Our recent achievements of rare earth separation technique[1,2] and new process idea for rare earth magnet recycling[3] are reviewed, (1) Binary chloride mixtures of rare earths were separated by a new selective reduction-vacuum distillation process. According to our experimental results, apparent separation factors were 8.1 for the Pr-Nd chloride mixture and 570 for the Nd-Sm chloride mixture. These values are much higher than conventional solvent extraction methods. (2) A study of recycling process of magnet sludge was carried out. The rare earths in the neodymium magnet sludge were extracted by chlorination with FeCI2, An activated carbon was used as a de-oxidation reagent Metallic iron in the sludge was not chlorinated because the iron monochloride is not stable, The extracted rare earth chlorides were easily separated from Fe-alloy and the excess of FeCh by vacuum distillation, 96 % of neodymium and 94 % of dysprosium in the sludge were extraeted into chloride phase, By the vacuum distillation, a mixture of neodymium and dysprosium trichlorides of 99.2 % purity was recovered, On the other hand, the rare earth chlorides can be converted to the corresponding oxides by a pyrohydrolysis reaction accompanied by a formation of HCl gas, The HCI gas can chlorinate metallic iron to FeCh, Therefore, a new recycling process for rare earth magnet waste can be realized as a chlorine circulation type process. During the process, only carbon and water are consumed and there are no toxic pollutants, Moreover, the obtained rare earth oxide can be directly used as raw material in the conventional oxide electrolysis process,

Jan 1, 2003

By D. R. Nagaraj

The traditional (popular) approach to reagent development and optimization, which has become entrenched in both research and practice for many decades, is highly reductionistic, incremental and costly, does not produce robust chemical solutions, and is not sustainable. There are also several other key drivers and changes in the mineral industry that clearly warrant a new approach. In response to these, an intense effort was made at Cytec over the past fifteen years to develop a meaningful, efficient, and sustainable approach to develop new reagents and robust chemical solutions in mineral separations. This effort culminated in three important outcomes: a) development of the holistic approach, called FLOTATION MATRIX 100? process, b) novel reagents, and c) enhanced application knowledge for reagents. In this paper, the efficiency, utility and power of the holistic approach will be demonstrated with examples using both existing and new reagents in the processing of Cu-Au, Au and Cu-Mo ores.

Jan 1, 2014

By E Rubio

El imaginario común sobre la construcción de la minería a cielo abierto es que requiere de equipos pesados para obtener mayores producciones. Sin embargo, la aplicación de este método en los minados de vetas de plata en las minas de Julcani de la Compañía de Minas Buenaventura, resultó de gran aporte. En ese sentido, el presente trabajo describe el proceso técnico de este método de explotación en esta producción de plata, asi como señala los beneficios económicos para la pequeña y mediana minería.

Nov 20, 1972

By G. A. Johnson

Basic management principles will be discussed (as they apply to minerals education efforts), especially in light of the changing nature of volunteerism in today’s society. Also, the “minerals education tree” will be presented, along with public opinion / public policy realities.

Jan 1, 2001

Mr. Ronald H. Achziger Midwest Rbr & Sply Co 6404 E 39th Ave Denver, CO 80207 Mr. Randy Acre Acre Management POB 130 Florence, CO 81226 Mr. Brian L. Acton Pacific Basin Resources 7901 SouthPark Plaza #205 Littleton, CO 80120 Mr. Laine W. Adair Andalex Resources Inc POB 902 Price, UT 84501 Mr. Joel Allen Knife River Coal Box 39 Beulah, ND 58523

Jan 1, 1996

By Wilber Duvall, Leonard Obert

"INTRODUCTION This report is the first of four to be presented on the microseismic method 4/ of predicting rock failure in underground mining. The application of the microseismic method to one specific case, namely, that of predicting rock bursts in deep mining, has been described in two previous reports. 5/ 6/ Since the publication of these reports 5/ 6/ the method has been extended to other fields of mining, end it is the purpose of this report (Part I) to describe the general microseismic method, giving the empirical facts upon it is based, the different testing procedures, the method of recording and analzing the data, and the interpretations that can be obtained there-from. Part II will describe a series of laboratory experiments that were performed to give information on the origin of microceismims and the microseismic properties of various rocks. Part III will cover application of the method to specific mining problems together with a brief description of a number of investigations performed during, the last three years. Part IV will describe in detail the microseicmic equipment used in the various phases of these investigations."

Feb 1, 1945

By Frederick Rhines

PURE copper that has been allowed to oxidize at an elevated tempera-ture in the air is found to be covered with two distinguishable layers of oxide scale. The outer of these, which is very thin, is composed of cupric oxide, while the inner layer, comprising the bulk of the scale, is made up chiefly of cuprous oxide (Fig. 1a). If a small quantity of an alloying element, such as silicon, is present in the copper, silica particles are found disseminated through the cuprous oxide, deposited most abundantly near the metal surface, and, in addition, silica particles occur to a limited depth within the copper itself (Fig. 1b). It is this inner layer, composed of oxide particles precipitated in a matrix of metallic copper that is known as the "subscale" or the zone of internal oxidation. Under a low oxygen pressure it is possible to produce the subscale without the formation of external layers of copper oxides, thus leaving the metal surface bright and apparently clean while oxidation has occurred, in fact, to a considerable depth within the metal (Fig. 2). Although little is yet known in a detailed way of the mechanism of internal oxidation, the general nature of the process is evident. By virtue of the considerable solubility of oxygen in copper,1 it is possible to bring the alloying element in contact with oxygen within the metallic solid solution. If the oxide of the alloying element is more stable than cuprous oxide, the foreign oxide may form and, since most oxides are relatively insoluble in copper, it will not long remain in solution, but will separate as a precipitate. As the metallic solute is exhausted in the zone of precipitation, oxygen that is constantly being supplied at the surface diffuses farther into the alloy and thus produces an ever-thickening shell of subscale. The distribution of the reacting elements in the subscale and adjoining zones must be somewhat as indicated in Fig. 3. The conditions requisite to internal oxidation to be anticipated are thus: (1) a solubility of oxygen in the alloy, (2) the ability of oxygen to diffuse at an appreciable rate into the alloy, (3) the possibility of the

Jan 1, 1940

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Jan 1, 2011

By Tom Retka

This three volume final report summarizes the activities and conclusions of this contract. The objective of the contract was to develop noise control modifications on a retrofit basis, for auger miner coal-cutting systems. Manuals were prepared to assist mine shop personnel in retrofitting the auger miner with these noise controls. Final Report Volume I - Details all vibration and acoustical tests conducted in development of the noise controls. Final Report Volume II - Noise Control Modification Manual for the Jeffrey 100-L Auger Miner describes the various noise control modifications to the auger miner, along with fabrication procedures, cost and vendor information. Final Report Volume III - Noise Control Modification Manual for the Jeffrey 94-l Bridge Conveyor describes the various noise control modifications to the bridge conveyor, along with fabrication procedures, cost and vendor information.

Jan 1, 1978

By Hugh P. Nicholson

IN view of the many articles that have been written on the proper classification of mining systems without so far having produced any particular tangible results it might seem that the subject is hopeless of solution. I do not believe that is so, and my intention in contributing the following outline is to present a slightly different viewpoint. Too much attention is often focused on unnecessary details and not enough on general principles. Too much attention and emphasis is often given to the system employed at one particular mine or in one particular district. In addition, names that are entirely misleading are applied to mining systems, and their adoption by the coming generation perpetuates a condition that needs clarification badly. The following classification is the result of several years of practical experience in mining and also several years' practice in teaching the same subject. It therefore represents a broad picture of the entire field of mining systems from the viewpoint of the miner as well as the teacher. It seems that the difficulty in the past has been in reconciling these two viewpoints. The need of such a reconciliation requires no explanation.

Jan 1, 1934

By W. P. Campbell

Foreword At the outset, it should be stated that this paper does not pretend to present a panacea for the ills that 'frozen' wells are heir to, but rather is an attempt to bring to the attention of those whose special concern it is, a little theory and some facts, which have been brought to light recently, in connection with the problem of 'freezing' as it applies to naphtha-producing wells in the Turner Valley field, and to draw some conclusions that follow from the facts discovered. It should also be stated that the investigation is not to be regarded as in any sense complete, but in progress. Doubtless new facts will be brought to light from time to time which may modify present ideas on the subject, but whether favourable or contrary, these will be welcomed, as the purpose of the Department is to secure as complete information as possible of the factors contributing to 'freezing', since this must be the first step to an intelligent attempt to remedy or prevent its occurrence, if such can be done. It is possible, too, that the cause or causes of freezing may not be the same in all cases, but whether this be so or not will have to be determined later as new information comes to hand. Introduction One of the worries which must constantly confront the operators of gas-naphtha producing wells in Turner Valley-although all, fortunately, have not met with it-is the possibility of the occurrence of what is commonly called 'freezing' (going off production).

Jan 1, 1930

By B. Pewkliang, K. Ehrig, E. Macmillan, M. Smith, V. Liebezeit, Y. Li

The Olympic Dam iron-oxide copper-gold (IOCG) uranium-silver deposit is the largest publicly declared uranium, fifth largest copper and third largest gold resource. Currently, the operation consists of an underground mine and integrated processing plant. Uranium is produced from leaching of flotation tailings and is a co-product to copper cathode with by-product gold and silver bullion. The Olympic Dam geometallurgy team began studying ore from the Southern Mine Area (SMA) in 2006 and soon discovered uranium behaviour was far more variable than the behaviour in the Northern Mine Area, which had been mined from the start of the operation in 1988. The primary objective of Olympic Dam geometallurgy is to develop metallurgical performance predictors that reliably describe the process performance of different ore types and distribute these into the resource block model for use as a fundamental input into mine planning. The nature of the uranium mineralisation (compositionally and texturally complex and highly variable) meant that classic mineralogy techniques alone could not provide the resolution required for prediction of uranium extraction. However, the combination of quantitative mineralogy, results from laboratory-scale leach tests and modelling within the geometallurgy program has enabled prediction of both uranium flotation recovery (via association with sulphides) and uranium leach extraction, including at variable leach conditions. These stope-based predictions have supported trade-off decisions between operating costs and uranium revenue, and have predicted the changing recovery as the mining operations have moved into the Southern Mine Area in recent years.

Jan 1, 2020

By James W. Bass

Introduction Atmospheric fluidized bed combustion (AFBC) is an improvement over coal-fired boiler design. It offers several advantages over conventional boilers. AFBC can meet sulfur and nitrogen oxide emission regulations without the need for add-on flue gas treatment equipment. The relatively low combustion temperature inhibits ash melting, thus reducing slagging and fouling that can in turn increase a boiler's fuel flexibility. AFBC process The fluidized bed boiler that operates at atmospheric pressure on the fire side (AFBC) is relatively simple and no different in purpose from those pulverized coal boilers used by utilities today. Fluidized bed boilers can generate steam at the pressure and temperature needed by modern steam turbines. Only the firing system is different. In fluidized bed combustion, the fuel can be almost any coal or waste fuel. It is burned in the presence of a bubbling bed of limestone. Air is forced through the bed at a velocity sufficient to support the weight of the bed particles. When the bed is fully fluidized, it bubbles like a boiling liquid. Although the burning coal makes up less than 1% of the fluidized bed, all the bed particles are heated quickly by the turbulence. The calcium in limestone reacts with sulfur dioxide produced in coal combustion to form calcium sulfate in a dry solid state. In this way, sulfur emissions regulations can be met without installing flue gas desulfurization equipment. Boiler tubes submerged in the bed absorb heat directly from the turbulent solids. The heat converts water in the tubes to steam or superheats the steam. Because of the intimate contact of the boiler tubes with the fluidized bed, heat transfer is highly efficient. Consequently, less boiler tubing surface is needed to generate the same amount of steam as in a comparable pulverized coal boiler. The optimum temperature for sulfur capture is relatively low, about 815°C (1500°F) as opposed to 1370°C (2500°F) for pulverized coal boilers. This results in the formation of lower levels of NON. Because operating temperatures are below those that fuse coal ash, a single design can burn a variety of coals without slagging or fouling problems. TVA's AFBC development program Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA) involvement in AFBC development began in 1974 and has addressed the technical uncertainties through a comprehensive program of design, experimental, and analytical studies. In 1979, TVA and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) developed plans for a 20-MW AFBC pilot plant, a 10-fold scale-up over the next largest test facility. Pilot plant design features TVA constructed the pilot plant at the Shawnee Steam Plant near

Jan 4, 1986

By Lane White

In mid-April 1992, MINING ENGINEERING mailed a survey questionnaire relating to mining shovels and hydraulic excavators to 125 SME members working at surface mines or at the headquarters of companies that operate surface mines. The mailing was directed to individuals whose titles indicate that they have management or mine planning responsibilities for surface mining operations. A total of 56 usable surveys returned by June 17 are the basis of this report. Precious metals mines Eighteen precious metals mines or mining companies returned completed surveys in time to be included in this report. Of these, 14 use hydraulic shovels only for both ore and waste, I uses both hydraulic and rope shovels, and 2 use Caterpillar 988 front-end loaders for both ore and waste. (Of the latter 2, neither expects to be in the market for a shovel in the next three years. I of these 2 placed Harnischfeger P&H number one and O&K number two in response to the question, "Based on your current knowledge of their machines, which manufacturer would you likely chose to supply new shovels or excavators to a mine or mines operating under your responsibility, if you were in the market?") Another uses front-end loaders, make not designated. The latter does not expect to be in the market for mining shovels or excavators within the next three years. Of the final total of 14 precious metals mines using only hydraulic excavators to load ore and waste, 8 use Hitachi excavators only, 1 uses Demag excavators only, 1 uses Liebherr excavators only, 1 uses O&K excavators only, 1 uses Harnischfeger P&H and O&K excavators, 1 uses Harnischfeger P&H and Hitachi excavators, and 1 uses Hitachi and Demag excavators. Of the 14 precious metals mines using only hydraulic excavators, 7 use excavators in the 7.6 to 11.5 m; (10 to 15 cu yd) size range. Of these 7, 5 use only excavators in this size range, and they are used to load both ore and waste. 1 of the 7 also uses 11.5 to 17 m' (15 to 22 cu yd) excavators, and I also uses a 17 to 23 m3 (22 to 30 cu yd) excavator. Of the 7 remaining of these 14 precious metals mines that use only hydraulic excavators, 3 use 11.5 to 17 m' (15 to 22 cu yd), 2 use 17 to 23 m3 (22 to 30 cu yd), and 2 use less than 7.6 m' (10 cu yd) units.

Jan 1, 1992