Search Documents

By S. C. Hollister

An evaluation of the function of the engineer, so that means whereby education can best serve his needs can be adopted. THERE has been a steady increase in specialized branches of engineering during recent years. Some of these are simply specializations in the function of engineering, such as welding engineering, tool and die engineering, petroleum engineering, and refining engineering. Others are associated more closely with the basic sciences, as for example, geological engineering or engineering physics. Still others tend toward the border line of business, such as administrative engineering or general engineering.

Jan 1, 1950

By W. A. Selvig

[THE BUREAU OF MINES receives many requests for information regarding the low-temperature carbonization properties of American coals. This report presents in collected form the results of Fischer-Schrader bench-scale, low-temperature carbonization assays at 500° C. made by the Chemistry and Physics Section at the Pittsburgh station of the Bureau of Mines. Most of the assays were made of coals tested in connection with a survey of gas and coke-making properties of American coals,4 which was started in 1928 by the Bureau in cooperation with the American Gas Association. Other coals were assayed in connection with miscellaneous investigations. Since 1930 about 400 samples of coal were assayed from nearly every coal-producing State, Alaska, and British Columbia, Canada. The results of the tests on about two-thirds of the coals are scattered through more than 50 separate publications. This paper summarizes the data in the published reports as well as all unpublished data obtained to January 1, 1956. The report also includes a detailed description of the procedure used in making the assay.]

Jan 1, 1957

By John R. Hoskins

Uniaxial compressive strength of rock is usually determined in the laboratory from cylindrical samples that vary in diameter from 5/8 to 8 inches, using a spherically seated compression head of unspecified size. The Bureau of Mines conducted a series of tests on limestone, marble, sand-stone, granite, and plaster of paris to determine the influence of the spherical head sizes and the specimen diameters themselves on the uniaxial compressive strength. Cylindrical samples of several different diameters of each rock type, all having a length of twice their diameter, were prepared and broken using at least three different diameter spherical heads. Analysis of the data shows that spherical head size does not significantly affect the uniaxial compressive strength of cylindrical rock samples. However, the diameter of the rock specimens does significantly affect the uniaxial compressive strength. Within the range of specimen diameters tested, a coefficient of variation of 6.4 percent for plaster of paris can be attributed to the selection of specimen diameter alone. Similarly, a maximum coefficient of variation of 4.7 percent for the rock types tested can be attributed to the specimen diameter alone.

Jan 1, 1969

By Constantino Capurro

For certain applications, coarse titanium nitride (TiN) precipitates can be deleterious for the final properties of the material. Hence, in order to better understand the mechanisms involved in the generation of these precipitates, a thorough characterization of the particles observed in steels with different titanium and nitrogen content was carried out. Samples from liquid steel (tundish), continuous casting billets and final product were evaluated using an Automatic Particle Analyzer (APA) coupled to a Scanning Electronic Microscope (SEM). The location, frequency, size distribution and composition of the different particles observed were assessed. While only few TiN precipitates were observed in liquid steel samples, the density of this type of particle significantly increased in the continuous casting billets samples. Particles ranging from 1 to 10 µm were mainly found in the interdendritic zones of the as-cast structure. The density of TiN particles observed in these samples did not change after re-heating and rolling operations. A model to predict TiN precipitation during solidification was developed. A reasonable agreement was found between model results and measured data. Results of this analysis confirmed that the precipitated fraction of TiN increases as the product of steel Ti and N contents rises.

Oct 30, 2017

The treatment of the Broken Hill ores has,undergone many changes during the last ten years, and it may be of interest to some of the members to know what are the main lines on which the Proprietary Mine works at present. It must be understood that the want of absolute uniformity in the treatment amongst the various mines at the Barrier does not prove that some of the mines are working on wrong lines, for the ore is not exactly the same along the whole line of lode; this necessitates a variation in treatment, although generally only in detail.At the Proprietary Mine the ore is all mined by contract the miners are paid so much per ton for clean ore. The ore in the mine in most stopes is mixed with gangue, and the inclination of the uliners is, of course, to mix gangue with the ore, so as to be paid for as large 3 tonnage as possible. This is quite natural clean ore is easily distinguishable from clean gangue, but most lumps are a mixture of clean ore and gangue in varying proportions. The miner will naturally throw into his heap pieces which he considers still good enough, whilst the management may consider these pieces just a trifle too poor; consequently a check must be kept on this.This necessitates the first operation to which the ore is submitted. 'The trucks tare 51 cwt.; average load 21 cwt.), as they are loaded underground, have a ticket attached::showing to whiyh contract they belong on arrival at the top of the shaft they are passed over a weigh bridge...

Jan 1, 1907

By Lech Bolinski, Joe Shirley

Over two dozen Resin-in-Pulp (RIP) plants have been in operation in the fonner Soviet Union since the beginning of 1970. Currently approximately 50% of the gold produced in Russia, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, which equates roughly to 10% of the total world output, is recovered using the RIP technology. An alternative to activated carbon, ion-exchange resin has several advantages for the recovery of gold. Resins are less prone to clay or organic foul­ing and do not require thennal regeneration. They also have poten­tially higher loading capacities, faster adsorption kinetics, and are more resistant to abrasion. The original Russian RIP process was based on engineering expertise developed for uranium ore pro­cessing and has a few major drawbacks. The biggest problem is an 18-30 day resin stripping process, which results in a huge gold lock-up. The problem was recently overcome by the development of a new stripping technology which cuts the time to 12-24 hours. Currently, there is rather limited practical knowledge of the Russian RIP process in the West, but often Western mining com­panies developing gold mines in the fonner Soviet Union are hard pressed by their local joint venture partners to take a serious look into RIP. It is probably only a matter of time before one of these companies will cross Soviet technology with Western engineering and develop a modem RIP process as an attractive option to the current CIP and CIL technologies.

Jan 1, 1996

By JOHN R. HEBERGER, MAHIYAR F. NASARWANJI, Jonisha P. Pollard, Lydia M. Kocher

nt in the mining industry, and identifying factors associated with these injuries is critical for developing prevention efforts. This study identifies nonfatal injury incidence rates, nature of injury, work activities, glove usage, and sources of hand and finger injuries in the U.S. mining industry, as reported to the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) from 2011 to 2017. Hand and finger injuries occur at a rate of 6.53 per 1,000 full-time employees, which is nearly double the rate of the next highest affected body part, the back. Most of the hand and finger injuries were classified as cuts/lacerations/punctures (53 percent) followed by bone fractures/chips (26 percent). Materials handling and maintenance/repair were common activities at the time of the incident with miscellaneous metals — such as pipe, wire and guarding — and hand tools as the primary sources of hand and finger injury. Although the information on glove use was limited, leather gloves were most often worn when an injury occurred.

By Natal Nerímio Regone

Pelo processo de anodização forma-se uma camada de óxido sobre o substrato de alumínio através de um processo eletrolítico. Após a anodização do alumínio, pode-se colori-lo para obter um bom acabamento externo, aliado a maior durabilidade. O objetivo deste trabalho foi determinar as condições de anodização e colorimento por corrente contínua e pulsada no alumínio, e avaliar as vantagens da anodização e colorimento em função das propriedades do filme. A camada de óxido de alumínio e o revestimento colorido foram caracterizados por potencial de circuito aberto, polarização potenciodinâmica, e por espectroscopia de impedância eletroquímica. Pela solução utilizada na eletrodeposição obteve-se uma cor marrom sobre a camada anódica. As medidas eletroquímicas mostraram que a anodização e o colorimento processados por corrente pulsada tiveram melhores resultados de resistência a corrosão.

Aug 8, 2018

By A. O. Dufresne

WITHOUT transportation, mining would be quite impossible. Any person familiar with the operation of a mine knows full well that from the minute ore is blasted, it is kept moving until it reaches the treatment plant. In the mill, by means of conveyors and elevators, the ore is brought from receiving bins to one machine after another until finally its valuable mineral is separated from the gangue. The finished product must then be shipped -either by boat, rail, or motor trucks to industrial centres, where it undergoes further treatment and transformation into finished commercial goods. Everybody appreciates that the winning of an or-e includes, amongst various operations, the moving of large quantities of material of generally low value. Transportation, therefore, must be considered One of the most important factors in the economics of mining. My assignment, this afternoon, is not to treat of that phase of transportation as it directly affects mining operations, but rather to consider some of the aspects of overland transportation and its influence in bringing about the development of mining camps in Canada. I shall take the liberty of rapidly surveying conditions facing prospectors, mine developers and operators from the time a region is still in a pre-pioneering stage until such time as a mine starts shipping its concentrates.

Jan 1, 1956

By B. Yu, Y. O. Oyediran, M. Robart

"This paper presents the latest flotation development testwork conducted in 2015 on the ‘B Zone’ samples from the Strange Lake Alkalic Complex (SLAC). Since the discovery by Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC), metallurgical development has been under taken by a number of mining companies targeting various value metals, including yttrium, zirconium, niobium, and rare earths.Most recent, Quest Rare Minerals Ltd. (Quest) completed a Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) in 2013 where the flowsheet was relatively complex and led Quest to explore alternative options. In 2014, the PFS flowsheet was simplified and one of the features introduced was pre-concentration by rougher flotation. The combined rougher flotation concentrate and slimes successfully recovered >90% TREE in 60% mass thus reducing capital cost and technical risks of the downstream hydrometallurgical processes. The latest flotation development testwork focused on achieving a pre-concentrate in which >80% TREE are recovered in 20% mass. Two separate reagent schemes, based on an ester phosphate collector (Clariant 1682) and a benzoylhydroxamic acid collector (Florrea 7510), were developed. Parameters evaluated in the development testwork included desliming, secondary yttrium and zircon collectors, depressants, temperature, conditioning temperature, time, and density, pH, sodium silicate type, cleaning, and flowsheet configuration. Both developed reagent schemes achieved the targeted metallurgy.INTRODUCTIONThe Strange Lake Alkalic Complex (SLAC) was discovered after geological survey and mapping studies by Geological Survey of Canada and Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Natural Resources between 1967 and 1980. Subsequent exploratory drilling programs by Iron Ore Company (IOC) in the 1980s found that the REE and high field strength element (HFSE) mineralization were within the central region of the SLAC which was named A Zone by IOC and later renamed Main Zone by Quest Rare Minerals Ltd. (Quest). Additional exploratory drilling outside the Main Zone by IOC and later by Quest, led to the discovery of B Zone, which was recognized as the most significant deposit of rare earth elements, yttrium, and zirconium in the SLAC. The B Zone Indicated Resources are estimated at 278.13 Mt at 0.93% total rare earth oxide (TREO) and Inferred Mineral Resources are estimated at 214.35 Mt at 0.85% TREO (Oyediran et al., 2014)."

Jan 1, 2016

In 2006, data obtained from the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) indicated a total of 935 underground (6.3%) and 13,950 surface (93.7%) mining operations.1

Jan 1, 2008

By Matheus de Lima Vieira

Os vergalhões são produzidos por meio do processo de laminação a quente. No processo em estudo há duas rotas distintas de produção. Previamente ao processo de laminação a quente, uma rota utiliza a etapa de reaquecimento via forno, e a outra utiliza o produto semi-acabado de aço vindo diretamente do processo de solidificação. Ao estabelecer um comparativo entre as rotas, as microestruturas obtidas apresentam algumas diferenças. O objetivo desse trabalho é avaliar como as diferenças entre as microestruturas influenciam na resistência à corrosão por cloretos. Para isso foram realizados ensaios de polarização potenciodinâmica anódica e espectroscopia de impedância eletroquímica em solução de NaCl, simulando os efeitos do íon Cl- presente na atmosfera marinha. A partir das curvas obtidas nos ensaios eletroquímicos, foi possível observar que as propriedades de corrosão são semelhantes para ambos os processos.

Oct 30, 2017

By Vladimir Adamek

This paper describes the Bureau of Mines development of a novel subsidence prediction methodology suitable to the mining and geologic conditions in the Northern Appalachian Coal Region. It describes the computation of vertical and horizontal movements, inclination, curvature, and horizontal strains. The substance of this method is the separation of the effects of lithology by introducing a correlation between hypothetically homogeneous overburden and existing lithologic conditions, while providing for different mining conditions, i.e., underground geometry and overburden thickness. The effects of lithology have been expressed in the form of a variable subsidence coefficient within the subsidence trough. The subsidence co-efficient is considered a constant for other predictive methods. Field data from 16 test sites at 11 Bureau longwall panel studies were used in the analysis. For each panel, the characteristics of the variability of the subsidence coefficient were defined. Regression analysis of the subsidence coefficients from all test sites on their locations relative to the edges of their respective panels yielded a third-degree polynomial equation. The results from additional longwall panel studies, not included in the regression analysis, were used to prove the validity of this method. To facilitate the use of this precalculatlon methodology, a computer program was written in BASIC for use on a personal computer.

Jan 1, 1987

By Phyllis Lyday

Mining did not contribute significantly to the economy of Benin, a small country on the coast of West Africa, during 1978-79. During these years, Benin continued to be rated by the United Nations as one of the 25 least developed countries in the world; its gross domestic product was under $200 3 per person per year. Salt from seawater, sand and gravel, bricks, and imported clinker for cement were the only minerals which contributed to the economy. Minerals were not expected to play an important role in the commercial sector of Benin's economy during the next decade. Joint projects included infrastructure development to create a coordinated road and rail system between Niger and Benin that was begun in 1960 as ?Operation Hirondelle." In 1976, an agreement for the construction of a rail link from Niamey, Niger, to Parakou was signed. At Parakou, the rail line would join the existing line to the port at Cotonou. Construction of the rail line was expected to take 6 years, and the cost was estimated at $287 million in 1979. During late 1979, the Federal Republic of Germany granted Benin a loan of $12 million for reconstruction of the port at Porto Novo. Benin and Nigeria were discussing a joint adventure in crude salt exploitation.

Jan 1, 1981

By E. M. Sacris

The semi-autogenous grinding mill is the bottleneck whenever treating hard and finely fragmented ore at Benguet Corporation's Kaline Concentrator. Low milling rates result from very high and fluctuating mill power draw. Attempts to use a mill horsepower control loop to regulate feed rate were unsuccessful because of operational upsets caused by fluctuations in feed rate on downstream operations. The objective of the computer control was to maximize tonnage throughput by stabilizing the power draw at a high but safe level without upsetting subsequent operations. The semi-autogenous mill is operated in closed circuit with a stationary screen. Instrumentation consists of a feed weightometer, a power transmitter to measure mill load, a headwater flowmeter and an ultrasonic level sensor to measure the mill discharge sump level. A 64 k-byte FOX-3 Foxboro computer processes field data from various sensors and manipulates the input control variables. These variables are the fresh feed rate and the headwater flowrate. Feed rate is controlled through a supervisor-type computer program aimed at maximizing and stabilizing power draw. The control scheme was according to how the operators responded during an operator-directed automatic control mode. Mill dilution is similarly controlled. Results achieved reflect a 3% increase in tonnage milled because of the reduction in control variability that ensued.

Jan 1, 1987

By I. M. Ahmed, R. S. Hassan, M. I. Aly

Extraction and separation of La, Sm and Dy ions from acidic sulfate-phosphate solutions was investigated using a cation exchange extractant, bis(2,4,4-trimethylpentyl) phosphinic acid, CYANEX 272, in kerosene. The influence of shaking time, equilibrium pH, extractant, sulfate and phosphate ion concentrations, diluent type and temperature was studied. The extraction was found to be pH-dependent, and increasing the phosphate ion concentration inhibited the extraction which was found to be endothermic. The stoichiometry of the extracted metal species was found to be MOH.H2OHSO4H2A.A2. Aliphatic diluents were found to enhance the extraction compared to aromatic diluents. The results showed that there was a separation mode between the metal ions when varying the hydrogen ion and sulfate ion concentrations, under the used experimental conditions. The investigated process was used for the recovery of La, Sm and Dy from the acid solution resulting from the leaching of low-grade monazite.

By John C. Edwards, F. Friel, John J. Opferman, Robert A. Franks

A series of diesel fuel fire experiments were conducted in the Pittsburgh Research Center's Safety Research Coal Mine (SRCM) to determine products-of combustion (POC) spread rates along a single entry under zero imposed airflow conditions. Six experiments with an average fire intensity of 330 kW and three experiments with an average fire intensity of 30 kW were con- ducted in a 180 m long entry which had an average 2 m height and 4 m width. POC spread rates were measured by the response time of diffusion type CO detectors, positioned at 30 m intervals, to CO concentrations 5 ppm above ambient. For the 330 kW fires, average POC spread rates of 0.22, 0.1 3, and 0.06 m/s were determined at 30, 60, and 90 m distances from the fire. For the 30 kW fires these average spread rates were reduced to 0.08, 0.04, and 0.04 m/s. The measured maximum roof layer temperature 30 m from two of the 330 kW fire was 30 and 36"C, which is less than the 57°C alarm point of a typical mine thermal sensor. It was determined that smoke detectors can be more effective for mine fire detection than CO detectors. The experimentally determined POC spread rates can be used to provide guidance for specification of sensor spacing to improve early fire detection at zero or very low air flows.

Jan 1, 1997

By Carolline Garcia Trindade Real

Uma linha contínua não só melhora o conforto aos usuários, mas também melhora as condições de desgaste, fadiga e manutenção dos equipamentos ferroviários. Porém os parâmetros de soldagem devem ser bem especificados e controlados de forma a obter uma junta soldada adequada. Este trabalho oferece uma revisão geral sobre as características básicas de uniões aluminotérmicas de forma a subsidiar a avaliação e melhoria no desempenho de soldagem aluminotérmicas de trilhos, realizada em um outro trabalho também sendo apresentado.

Aug 16, 2017

By Gordon W. Hines

This paper, dealing with network planning in an industrial complex, discusses the type and size of project that can be handled on a manual basis. After a review of the fundamentals of network planning, and specifically of the Critical Path Method, the author analyses several different types of projects, each with its own characteristics. Some can be handled in conjunction with a computer, but others can be dealt with equally well without one. Among the projects discussed are a blast furnace reline, the installation of a billet mill flying shear, and routine maintenance-type operations.

Jan 1, 1967

By D J. Robinson, L L. Kuhar

"Regardless of orebody value, at some stage, the pit will reach a depth where the reward for mining wider and/or deeper is not justified by the anticipated returns. ‘Last-blast’ strategies may help to some degree in recovering additional quantities of the resource but when a pit remains, there is often significant value left in the ground. In addition, in many cases, one or many good reasons may dictate why going underground and pursuing the orebody below the pit is also not justifiable. Whereas the company can hopefully move on to other more prospective parts of the orebody, the remaining options for the pit are usually very limited. Typically the pit is either held for potentially more favourable future pit expansion opportunities or it could be used for an alternative purpose, such as tailings or waste storage. This paper will present an alternative option that involves the direct extraction of values using in situ recovery (ISR) methods to recover additional value metals from the walls and/or floor of the pit. ISR involves circulating a fluid through the remaining orebody, solubilising the target metal and subsequently returning the solution to the surface for metal recovery. ISR is not the panacea to all but it has been employed selectively in the minerals industry for some time and the production of metals, such as uranium, rely heavily on this approach. ISR is not yet considered by many operators as an approach to compete with open pit or underground mining, largely because of the perceived limitations of this approach and the perceptions of risk. Rapid recent development of tools and enabling technologies relevant to ISR have made us reconsider the most economic approach to extracting many other metals from known mineral systems, even those currently listed as subeconomic. We suggest that ISR has the potential to make mine operators rethink the end of the pit life and adopt an innovative ISR approach to work toward a more complete recovery of value metals from existing pits.Citation:Kuhar, L L and Robinson, D J, 2016. In-pit In Situ Recovery - a New Approach That May Allow for Increased Value Extraction before Pit Closure, in Proceedings Ninth AusIMM Open Pit Operators' Conference 2016, pp 275–283 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne)."

Nov 15, 2016