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Addressing community concerns in relation to an economic activity, particularly when it causes significant community impacts, is especially important for the development of extractive industry projects. Pipelines comprise an integral part of many hydrocarbon developments, which may cause different effects on local economic development, communities and the environment compared with open cast mines. This paper explores community impacts associated with a case study of the oil pipeline æEastern Siberia-Pacific OceanÆ in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Russia. Based on semi-structured interviews, conducted in 2006 - 2008 in Russia, the paper investigates claims of local communities about potential impacts of the pipeline development of their environments and economic activities as well as community claims for greater involvement in sharing the benefits from this major infrastructure project. A community of Indigenous people, Evenk, is likely to be most profoundly affected by the development due to impacts on their traditional activities such as hunting and reindeer herding. The paper examines in detail the regional economic, social, environmental and Indigenous peoples concerns over the construction of the oil pipeline and investigates actions and methods adopted by community organisations to voice their concerns about the pipeline development. Finally, the paper assesses the process of interaction between the pipeline developers and regional stakeholders.

Jan 1, 2009

By George S. Rice

Potash is riot only an important ingredient in the manufacture of many products of modern industry, such as chemicals, explosives, medicines, paints, soap, matches, glass, paper, aniline dyes, bleaching agents, and a host of others, but is indispensable in agriculture. Justus von Liebig is credited with being the first to discover, about 1858, that potash salts in the soil constitute an essential plant food which is not replaced by nature when exhausted through continued cultivation, that this exhaustion results in a decreasing yield of crops, and that the virgin productivity of the soil may be restored, and indeed even increased, by the addition of suitable potash fertilizers. The fact is now well established that wherever intensive cultivation is employed, whether for the raising of cereals, cotton, tobacco, fruit, or garden truck, the replenishment of the potash content of the soil is essential to the maintenance of production. Hence potash is of primary importance in modern life, not only for the economic welfare of industry but for the production of valuable raw materials and the very food supply of the nation itself. SOURCES OF POTASH The main sources of commercial potash are: (1) The solid deposits of soluble potash minerals, such as carnallite, sylvinite, and kainite; (2) sea water, brines, and salt-lake deposits containing appreciable amounts of potash salts associated with sodium salts; (3) vegetable substances, such as wood ashes, bee sugar residues, seaweed, and sunflower stalks; (4) animal material, such as wool washings; (5) products resulting from the decay of organic nitrogenous matter, such as Indian niter; (6) dust in flue gases from cement kilns or in the top gases of iron blast furnaces; and (7) insoluble potash minerals, including alunite, feldspar, leucite, muscovite, and glauconite, all of which contain a considerable quantity of potash.1

Jan 1, 1927

By Frank E. Williams

This Bureau of Mines report describes 147 known fluorspar deposits in New Mexico and briefly mentions 54 miscellaneous occurrences for which little or no information was obtained. Most miscellaneous occurrences are minor and too poorly exposed to be considered more than prospects. History and production of fluorspar in New Mexico, type of deposition, mineralogy, uses, and grade specifications are discussed. Total mine production of fluorspar in New Mexico is nearly 641,000 tons of various grades of crude ore and hand-sorted material. Fluorspar deposits occur in 13 of the State's 32 counties. Grant, Valencia, and Luna Counties account for 86.4 percent of the total production. During the investigation, 141 deposits were visited. A total of 72 character samples was collected for assay, and 3 larger samples were collected for bench-scale metallurgical tests. Results of these metallurgical tests indicate that an acid-grade product can be obtained with 95 percent recovery of the CaF2 content of the crude ore.

Jan 1, 1966

Book review Proceedings of the Symposium on Mining Methods. London, Institution of Mining and Metallurgy, 1974. 160 pp. The Symposium was held from 30th October to 1st November, 1974, and the papers include an interesting range of subjects in coal-mining operations, covering the improvements achieved to date, current practice, and required development for the future. Salamon, M.D.G., and Oravecz, K. 1. Rock Mechanics in Coal Mining. 119 pp. NIM reports Report no. 1822 Stability constants and linear free-energy relations for the platimtm-group metals. (22nd Oct., 1976). Report no. 1852 A revised method for the dissolution of platiniferous materials by the sealed-tube technique. (18th Oct., 1976). Report no. 1828 y-picoline adducts of the nickel, copper, and zinc chelates of 2-thenoyltrifluoroacetone. (26th Nov., 1976) Report no. 1847 A pilot-plant investigation of a kinetic model for flotation.(19th Nov., 1976)

Jan 2, 1977

By J. W. Walkiewicz

The Bureau of Mines investigated alloys containing lanthanum (La), praseodymium (Pr), neodymium (Nd), cobalt (Co), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), and magnesium (4g) as possible components of a permanent magnet mate¬rial utilizing a cerium-free synthetic mischmetal (M) as a substitute for scarce samarium (Sm) metal. Magnets containing M-Co-Cu-Mg and M-Co-Cu-Fe-Mg were fabricated by powder metallurgy techniques and evaluated. A synthetic mischmetal (M20) containing 20 pct La, 60 Pr, and 20 Nd yielded the best overall magnetic properties. The M20-Co-Cu-Mg alloys had energy products as high as 13.2 MGOe, remanences as high as 7.89 kG, normal coercivities as high as 6.26 kOe, and intrinsic coercivities as high as 13.4 kOe. The best value of intrinsic coercivity, 22.9 kOe, was obtained with an M-Co-Cu-Mg magnet in which the synthetic misch¬metal contained 30 pct La, 50 Pr, and 20 Nd. These values compare favorably with those of the Sm-Co magnets fabricated and measured at the Bureau's Reno Research Center, which had energy product of 15.1 MGOe, remanence of 7.8 kG, normal coercivity of 7.5 kOe, and intrinsic coercivity of 27.4 kOe. Iron substitution for part of the cobalt resulted in a decrease of magnetic properties, although several percent iron can be added before a drastic loss of magnetic properties occurs.

Jan 1, 1983

Experimental results are presented that test the hypothesis that the descaling behaviour of stainless steel slabs following reheating is controlled by interfacial roughening at the scale-steel interface. In this investigation, two stainless steels were considered: type 304 (austenitic, with 18% Cr and 8% Ni) and type 412 (ferritic/martensitic, with 11.6% Cr). It was found that the entanglement that arises at the scale-steel interface was in fact effective in maintaining scale-steel adhesion, under the mechanical descaling conditions used. In the case of type 304, descaling proceeded by fracture along chromite layers, which formed (by internal oxidation) on the austenite grain boundaries; for this steel, the extent of descaling depends most strongly on austenite grain structure, and not primarily on the conditions in the reheating furnace. In contrast, type 412 samples descaled only at the edge of the entangled zone, and showed a greater sensitivity to the reheating conditions; specifically, higher free oxygen in the reheating gas and longer reheating times were found to increase the residual scale thickness. Key words: stainless steel, reheating, scale, entanglement, descaling, fayalite, internal oxidation, grain structure, free oxygen.

Jan 1, 2003

By A. E. Ketler

This report describes a variety of coal mine lighting projects which were funded by the Bureau of Mines in order to obtain underground lighting experience in support of new lighting requirements for underground coal mines. Low coal and high coal, narrow and wide entries, conventional and continuous mining, ac and dc power, bituminous and anthracite, and machine mounting and area lighting were some of the variables covered in this program. Also evaluated was the OCENCO fluorescent caplamp.

Jan 1, 1979

By A. A. Paoli

The selection of a mining plant for carrying on development work presents many problems distinct in themselves, and affected by various local factors. In this paper, the writer proposes outlining and discussing in some detail the chief factors governing the economic selection of such plants. This will be followed by an enumeration of the underground and surface plant required for carrying on several hypothetical exploratory and mining operations. Where it is impossible or not convenient to obtain hydro-electric power, and where wood for fuel is scarce, we now find oil engines being used. A 100 h.p. oil engine, such as would be required to operate a three-drill air compressor, consumes approximately five Imperial gallons of fuel-oil per hour at full load. On the basis of a 60 per cent load factor, this gives, for eight hours' operation, a probable actual consumption of twenty-four Imperial gallons.

Jan 1, 1929

By J. R. Koehler

Although two-entry yield pillar-based gate roads supported by wooden cribs have been commonly used throughout longwalling in the Wasatch PlateadRoan Cliffs coalfield of central Utah, a three-entry yield-abutment gate road configuration was recently trialed in the Hiawatha Seam at the Genwal Resources (GRI) Crandall Canyon No. 1 Mine, near Huntington, UT. Pillar, entry, and cable bolt performance were monitored through second panel mining using a fairly extensive array of geomechanical instruments installed over a span of four crosscuts. Ground pressure and entry closure measurements confirmed that the 9.1-m-wide (30-ft) yield pillar was partially shielded from first panel longwall loads by the 36.6-m-wide (120-ft) abutment pillar, and consequently, experienced only minor yielding until the approach of the second panel face. Complete yielding of the 9. I-m-wide (30-ft) pillar occurred when the second panel was approximately 6.1 m (20 ft) inby the instrumentation site. Average cable bolt loads and differential roof sag remained low through second panel mining and tailgate entry ground conditions were excellent; however, very high ground pressures in the abutment and yield pillars, and second panel rib strongly suggest a high potential for coal bumps utilizing this gate road configuration at mining cover depths in excess of 396 to 457 m (1300 to 1500 ft). This conclusion is supported by the suspected occurrence of small coal bumps along the abutment pillar ribs, observed indirectly as fresh debris in the middle entry just behind the second face. This paper presents a case history developed from the geotechnical measurements and on-site observations of this unique application of a yield-abutment gate road configuration and cable support system in the Hiawatha Seam.

Jan 1, 1996

By Frank E. Williams

This Bureau of Mines report describes 147 known fluorspar deposits in New Mexico and briefly mentions 54 miscellaneous occurrences for which little or no information was obtained. Most miscellaneous occurrences are minor and too poorly exposed to be considered more than prospects. History and production of fluorspar in New Mexico, type of deposition, mineralogy, uses, and grade specifications are discussed. Total mine production of fluorspar in New Mexico is nearly 641,000 tons of various grades of crude ore and hand-sorted material. Fluorspar deposits occur in 13 of the state's 32 counties. Grant, Valencia, and Luna Counties account for 86.4 percent of the total production. During the investigation, 141 deposits were visited. A total of 72 character samples was collected for assay, and 3 larger samples were collected for bench-scale metallurgical tests. Results of these metallurgical tests indicate that an acid-grade product can be obtained with 95 percent recovery of the CaF2 content of the crude ore.

Jan 1, 1966

By R. Sweennen, A. Vervoort, J. Caers

A case study is presented of the mechanical behaviour of fractures in the Westphalian A and B siliciclastic succession of mud-, silt- and sandstones with intercalating coal layers in the Campine basin of northeast Belgium. Mining ceased in the area in 1992 and a pilot well was drilled to assess the feasibility of methane extraction by hydraulic fracturing. Work was carried out to study the influence of types of cement fill in fractures on the shear behaviour of the rocks by comparison with that of the coal seams. X-ray computerised tomography was used for visual appraisal and selection of jointed rocks before destructive shear testing was carried out. Two major type of veins were found to be present, one cemented with carbonate and the other with kaolinite or kaolinite/carbonate. Uniaxial compressive strength and shear tests showed that differentiation of the two types of veins was vital in evaluating the strength of the sandstones, as cementing of the fractures by rigid carbonate minerals can reinstate the strength of the rock masses to that of the intact material. Kaolinite was more susceptible to plastic deformation than carbonates

Jun 19, 1905

"At a current mining rate of 3,750 tons per day, La Mine Doyon is currently the largest gold mine in Canada. La Mine Doyon is an open pit gold mine located in the Abitibi area of Northwestern Quebec. The project is a joint venture between Soquem, a Quebec Crown Corporation in the resource development field and Lac Minerals Ltd., a publicly-held, resource development company. Lac Minerals is the managing company and operator of the project.Doyon went into production in 1980 on a very limited basis at 600 tons/day, and has seen a step wise increase to the current rate of 3,750 tons/day. Initially, all the ore was processed at Noranda Mines, Horne Division as flux for the copper smelter. The East Malartic Mill in Malartic was then upgraded and began processing Doyon ore. The third step in the progressive increase of throughput was the commissioning of the Doyon mill in November of 1982. Doyon ore is currently being processed at all three locations.During 1983, an exploration ramp was driven to explore the ore below the ultimate pit depth. Current plans indicate the sinking of a shaft and the commencement of underground mining during the next 2 or 3 years.Since its humble beginning, La Mine Doyon has always been a success; ore reserves have been extended to the east and the west and will soon be confirmed at depth, the mining and processing rates have been increased 6 fold, and the recovery has been increased from a designed recovery of 85% to over 95%. The intent of this paper is to trace the history and reasons for these rather dramatic improvements."

Jan 1, 1984

By Zuhair A. Nawab, Muhammad A. Al-Marhqun, Mehmet Guney

"The Atlantis-Il-Deep is a stratified metalliferous deposit located along the median valley of the Red Sea at a water depth of about 2200 m. The metal-bearing mud contains sulphides of zinc, copper and iron with significant amounts of silver, gold and cobalt. A variety of oxide, siliceous and carbonaceous gangue material is also present. Long sediment cores indicate that the thickness of the deposit may reach 25 m, but the average kriged thickness of metal-rich sediments is about 11 m.Mining geostatistics was applied to estimate the Red Sea offshore mineral resources. Experimental semi-variograms were computed along 0 ± 180 degrees and then models were fitted to analyze the mineralization phenomenon. Kriging estimates indicate that 696.330 million t of bulk sediments contain 1.891 million t of zinc, 0.425 million t of copper and 3. 75 thousand t of silver. Gold and cobalt contents were calculated from the analysis of solids in flotation concentrates as 47 t and 5368 t respectively. The significant outcome of implementing geostatistics to the Red Sea brine precipitates is not only for the evaluation of metal resources, but it also provides a useful tool in the optimization of selective dredging of appropriate areas to be mined. IntroductionThe discovery and extensive exploration of hot brines and hydrothermal sediments in the Red Sea median valley revealed the fact that the Atlantis-II-Deep is a potentially exploitable metalliferous mud in the economic sense. Sediments in the mineralized deep are composed mainly of oxides, various types of silicates and sulphides with considerable concentrations of zinc, copper, cadmium, silver and gold. The mineral-rich deposit, located at a mean water depth of about 2000 m, has an average thickness of 11 m, and is covered by a brine layer having a temperature of 60°C."

Jan 1, 1988

By M. B. Fonseca

Risk quantification in grade-tonnage curves is critical for capital investment in mining projects and can be obtained through geostatistical simulations of orebodies. A practical difficulty may arise in multi-element deposits, as the joint modelling of the related attributes using the traditional co-simulation approaches is computationally intensive and may be impractical for use in the industrial environment. This paper presents the construction of risk-integrating grade-tonnage curves for a complex copper deposit in northern Brazil, by jointly simulating its key geochemical attributes of interest: Cu, Fe and K. The joint conditional simulation of these elements is based on Minimum/Maximum Autocorrelation Factors (MAF). MAF is an approach, based on principal components, that spatially decorrelates the variables involved to non-correlated factors. MAF’sspatial decorrelation at any lag distance is the main and critical difference of this approach from the principal component approach attempted in the past. In the MAF approach, the independent factors are individually simulated and back-transformed to the conditional simulations of the correlated deposit attributes that reproduce the cross-correlations of the original variables. Keywords: Joint simulation; mini/max autocorrelation factors; grade-tonnage curves.

Jan 1, 2003

The Dizon open pit mine of Benguet Corporation in western Central Luzon, Philippines has yielded some 182 000 t copper, and about 26 000 kg gold and 48 000 kg silver as by products since it started operation in November 1979. The 140 million tonne orebody is associated with a small quartz diorite porphyry stock emplaced in volcanic rocks on the basal slope of a stratovolcano complex as stockworks, fracture fillings and disseminated sulphide mineralization averaging 0.43% Cu, 0.93 g/t Au and 2.5 g/t Ag. Intense hydrothermal alteration accompanied the mineralization that developed fairly distinct mineral assemblages within and around the intrusive. Post-ore volcanic activity later gave birth to an upward-flaring diatreme which broke out south of and adjacent to the orebody and partially destroying it. Subsequent volcanic activity buried the mineralized area along with the rest of the stratovolcano's surrounding slopes under a thick deposit of pyroclastic and laharic debris. Erosion eventually removed the volcanic cappings over Dizon and also exposed the quartz diorite porphyry stock which might have resulted in the truncation of a sizeable section of the Dizon deposit. The chain of stratovolcanoes that comprise southeastern Zambales range hugging the southeastern edge of the Zambales ophiolite is part of a west-facing volcanic arc that extends for some 300 km along the western margin of central and southern Luzon whose development has been correlated to the subduction in the Manila Trench located off the west coast of Luzon. Prominent WNW-trending lineaments that cut across the ophiolite appear to be splays of the Philippine Fault whose intersection with the Mt. Pinatubo stratovolcano complex might have localized the emplacement of a number of intermediate stocks along with the gold-rich porphyry copper mineralizations associated with some of them.

Jan 1, 1987

By P. D. R. Maltby

"With the narrow vein structure of Nova Scotia gold deposits, selective mining is rarely possible and mill heads will be too low (below 0.10 oz per ton of gold) to support a conventional mill of up to 1000 ton per day capacity at present gold prices. The recent operation of a small 100 t.p.d. mill at Cochrane Hill using fine grinding - leaching - filtration supported this assertion. Milling costs exceeded $25.00/ton of feed mainly due to high capital, labour and maintenance costs.Accordingly, since 1981, efforts have been directed towards the development of a cheap gold extraction process in terms of both capital and operating costs. The main criteria is to produce gold below US $200 per oz including all administration, mining and process stages. This paper describes such a process development for Cochrane Hill. LOCATION AND HISTORY OF THE PROPERTYThe Cochrane Hill property is located about 8 miles North of Sherbrooke, N.S. on highway No. 7. Sherbrooke is about 180 miles east of Halifax. Gold was originally discovered at Cochrane Hill in the 1860's. Early work consisted of trenching. In the 1930's a small shaft was sunk to about 80 feet and some tonnage treated using a stamp mill with gravity concentration of gold.Northumberland Mines Ltd. acquired a 70% interest in the property in 1977. Subsequent drilling indicated a potential zone of gold mineralization with a drill-indicated tonnage of one million tons having a grade of 0.07 ounces per ton of gold (all high assays cut to 1 oz) down to a depth of 300 feet recoverable by open pit mining methods. In broad terms, the goldbearing zone is about 50 feet wide and 800 feet long and dips at about 70°."

Jan 1, 1984

Jan 1, 2005

Grinding Mill Operation and Maintenance - Central to Asset Management Since 2005, RME has pursued a vision for a new grinding plant operational paradigm, made possible by RME's latest Mill Relining Systems. At some sites, new liners degrade SAG mill performance. The variables include mill volume loss, rotational speed limitations (ball strike) and liner designs developed for longer and longer life but without a backward glance at metallurgical consequences of whole plant performance. Freshly relined mills can initially deliver as little as 80 per cent of their maximum throughput, that maximum occurring toward the end of the liners' wear life. RME's proposition is to see new liners designed for maximum commercial performance. This may mean more frequent mill relines but with liners designed to yield optimum grinding, metallurgical and profitability performance, not maximum life. In other words, mill liner profiles and relining speed become key profitability contributors and not simply 'must do' maintenance functions and costs. This paper includes a short history of RME's Mill Relining System development (Appendix A). These are the enabling technologies which permit more frequent liner exchange without incurring additional downtime imposts. The body of this paper outlines RME's vision of a 'liner profile vs. profitability' commercial model, underpinned by the rigour of PAS 55-1:2008 Asset Management Part 1: Specification for the optimised management of physical assets. The technical elements can be developed either intuitively (based on plant experience) or by using a combination of new measurement and modelling technologies. These new measurement and modelling tools provide the opportunity to predict the optimum technical solution for the maximum commercial outcome. Much of this can be modelled off-line, in the virtual world, before asking senior management to commit to an expensive liner experiment. The potential benefits are compelling.

Sep 13, 2010

By Frank E. Chase, Deno M. Pappas, Christopher Mark

Multiple seam interactions are a major ground control hazard in many U.S. underground coal mines. The two most common types are: • Undermining, where stress concentrations caused by previous full extraction in an overlying seam is the primary concern, and; • Overmining, where previous full extraction in an underlying seam can result in stress concentrations and rock damage from subsidence. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has completed a major study aimed at helping to identify the location and likely severity of these interactions. In the course of field visits to mines throughout the U.S., more than 300 multiple seam case histories were assembled into the largest data base of multiple seam case histories ever collected. These data were analyzed with the multivariate statistical technique of logistic regression. The study also employed LaM2D to estimate the multiple seam stresses, ALPS and ARMPS to determine pillar stability factors, and the CMRR to measure roof quality. The study resulted in the development of a computer program, called Analysis of Multiple Seam Stability (AMSS), which can help mine planners to evaluate each potential interaction and take steps to reduce the risk of ground control failure. AMSS first evaluates pillar design by calculating the single seam Stability Factor (SFSS) using ALPS or ARMPS. It also automatically generates a LaM2D analysis that provides the additional multiple seam stress so that the final, multiple seam SFMS can be determined. The second part of the AMSS procedure builds upon the statistical findings that overmining is much more difficult than undermining, isolated remnant pillars cause more problems than gob-solid boundaries, and weaker roof significantly increases the risk of multiple seam interactions. AMSS quantifies these effects and predicts the outcome in terms of three levels of risk: GREEN (where a major multiple seam interaction is considered unlikely), YELLOW (where adding a pattern of cable bolts or other equivalent supplemental support could greatly reduce the probability of a major interaction.), or RED (a major interaction should be considered likely, and it may be desirable to avoid the area entirely).

By D. M. Doyle

A study of the various components contributing to energy costs and their relationships to generally trended operating data, such as tonnage, operating costs, etc., over progressively shorter time periods provides information for an energy audit. A study of annual data gives some insight into the importance of various energy components. As the time frame of the study progresses through monthly, daily and, finally, into quarter hourly data, the variations become more evident and, most important, strategies develop to minimize energy costs. The results of an audit conducted during the summer of 1978 at Wesfrob Mines Limited are reported to illustrate this important phase, prerequisite to a meaningful energy cost avoidance program. The balance of the paper deals with the energy conservation program at Falconbridge Nickel Mines Limited's Sudbury operations, the metering and control equipment, the commitment, the new energy accounting practices and, lastly, the policies. Examples of successful energy conservation endeavours include automatic peak electrical load control, waste heat recovery from mine air and compressor cooling water, energy reductions resulting from lower building temperatures and curtailment of idling loads. The use of pulse meters to measure the flow of gas, steam, compressed air and electrical energy, with their signals interfaced to process computers, allows monthly, daily and, if necessary, immediate reporting of energy and energy per unit of production information The program so reported at Falconbridge's Sudbury Operations is credited with an annual cost avoidance of .9 million dollars in a 14.0-million-dollar annual energy account

Jan 1, 1979