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By F. L. Wu

Based on the analysis of a sealed coal mine resulting from a fire-triggered explosion, limitations were discovered in the re-entry procedures used to reduce the size of the sealed area that were being applied during the process of re-opening the mine. The analysis of two re-opening plans in a mine using mechanical ventilation showed that the estimation of the degree of damage of two air doors close to the working face with the fire was key to the identification of the optimum mine recovery plan. The operation points of airflow and air pressure of the main fan under either the doors? damaged or intact conditions can be estimated through the use of a ventilation network simulation program. Starting the main fan for a short time period and measuring its operation points of airflow and air pressure allowed their comparison with the simulated values. This procedure provided a reasonable estimation of the degree of damage of the ventilation structures and more confidence in choosing a recovery plan. Through this process, it was possible to conclude that the two doors were still intact. Consequently, the final plan of installing a new main fan in the main decline, sealing the initial upcast shaft and unsealing the auxiliary downcast shaft, was proven to be reasonable at the mine site.

Aug 1, 2013

By M. Rizwan

Mine workings are progressing to greater depths as shallow mineral resources are being depleted, and civil engineering projects are nowadays being developed at substantial depths. The threat to tunnel stability posed by rockburst events has increased as a result of these high stress environments. Rockbursts are violent events capable of mobilizing large volumes of rock. In addition to the threat to safety and equipment, rockburst damage can significantly impact on operations, and cause loss of mining production, often the largest cost component of such events. Rehabilitation of such damage requires significant effort and resources. Tunnel walls and roof are usually well supported, but the installation of rock support in the floor is uncommon, particularly in mining environments. In the absence of rock support, floors of the excavations are vulnerable to rockburst damage. New concepts for containing damage of excavation floors by dissipation of the large transient forces using simple techniques or preselected and designed elements of sacrificial floor systems are presented. Two approaches to calculate the demand are presented: estimating load demand by assuming displacement levels and a response modification factor; and using a limit displacement approach to calculate elastic stiffness of the selected elements of the sacrificial support system. The proposed conceptual support systems have the capability of dissipating rockburst energy while retaining sufficient serviceability. It is considered that the concepts presented, for discussion, in this paper are logical and developable into practicable and economic solutions for tunnel floor support in rockbursting environments.

Jan 1, 2015

By Timo Heikkinen

We have read, with great interest, Mr. Crocker's article on "Recent Trends in Autogenous Grinding," published in the October issue of The Canadian Mining and Metallurgical Bulletin. Referring to our paper, "Two-Stage Autogenous Grinding Investigations at Outokumpu," we can now report that last August we changed to this method at the Keretti concentrator. Prior to the conversion, the Keretti plant (see flow-sheet, Figure 1) had two primary rod mills, 6 ft. in diameter and 12ft. in length, in open circuit, followed by four secondary 9-by 12-ft. pebble grate mills in closed circuit with rake classifiers. Last summer, wl1en the Since August, grinding has been successfully carried out autogenously in two stages, with two mills being employed in the primary stage and four in the secondary. The size of the pebbles in the secondary mills is about the same as earlier -l V: i to 3 inches (Figures 4 and 5). Also, we generally prefer two-stage grinding to single-stage grinding because, in the former,

Jan 1, 1964

By Nathaniel Arbiter

After almost 60 years of application in this country froth flotation is still by far the most important process for concentrating metallic ores as well as a number of nonmetallic ores including fluorspar, phosphate rock, and potash. Its use on iron ores and coal is increasing. In the metals groups the largest plants and the greatest progress are found in copper and molybdenum mills, and the section of this paper that deals with applications will be found most pertinent to that field. During its long reign the flotation process has passed through several phases of evolution and has achieved progress in economy, efficiency, and simplicity of operation. Much of today's success in the flotation of low-grade ores can be attributed to that progress. Even more important to us than our ability to cope with today's conditions are tomorrow's problems, which we can contemplate with some prescience and confidence. Our annual production of copper, lead, zinc, and molybdenum--to mention only the most important metals occurring in the U.S. as sulphides--must be held at a high level in the face of a declining grade of ore. It is probable that the tonnage of such ores mined and processed will double in this country before the turn of the century. Not only will many of the existing flotation mills be enlarged again and again, but larger mills will be built here and abroad to meet our needs. At this moment, in fact, there are at least three proposed new foreign mills or expansions that envision 100,000 tons daily milling rate on copper ores. Table I (1) shows the trend in copper ore grades in U.S. in recent years:

Jan 1, 1970

By Krahmann, Rudolf

THE following is an account of a survey undertaken to test the possibility of outlining a kimberlite pipe by magnetouietric methods. Kimberlite is a basic igneous rock closely related to melilite-basalt or alnoite, which occurs either in the form of volcanic plugs or as dikes intruded into rocks of various types and geological ages up to and includ¬ing the Lower Cretaceous. The famous diamond mines of South Africa are all in kimberlite pipes and these pipes are probably the original source as well of the vast alluvial deposits found in various parts of the country. The pipe chosen for this experiment is one that ' occurs on the farm Goedgevonden No. 20, about sixteen miles north of the village of Klerksdorp and ninety miles southwest of Johannesburg. Some prospecting has been done on this pipe and diamonds were produced from it but not in paying quantities. The magnetometric survey was made in June, 1932, by R. Krahmann and H. Wallisch and the results are shown on the accompanying plan. On the plan are shown also the boundaries of the pipe as exposed at the surface and details in regard to the surrounding foundations. These are taken from a geological survey made at a later date by W. Beetz, of Johannesburg.

Jan 1, 1935

By Raja V. Ramani, Robert L. Frantz

"The House/Senate Joint Conference Committee has instructed the Bureau of Mines to have the Advisory Committee on Mining and Mineral Resources Research review on an annual and simultaneous basis each generic mineral technology research center (GMTC). In order to accomplish that review promptly and uniformly, committee members have revised and approved an in-depth questionnaire. That document formed the basis of their review. The information provided by that questionnaire was an important factor in their recommendations concerning the future direction of the program; a presentation was made at the last National Plan Update.The comprehensive nature of the questionnaire and the scope of the information contained therein make it an excellent retrospective of the Center. Having a clear vision of where the Center has been and knowing where it is now will help guide it into the future. It is felt that such a detailed view of the Center's facilities and research program will be of value to Center personnel and Advisory Committee members.Each aspect of the questionnaire has been examined, answered in detail, and documented throughly. With the completed questionnaire as a guide, this volume examines the research program, Center personnel presently active on GMTC projects, number of graduate degrees granted with GMTC support, GMTC publications, degree of individual interaction, technology transfer, the reference center, GMTC equipment and facilities, and any envisioned plans for future research. It is hoped that this volume will serve as a review of the years 1984-1988, the first four years of the Center's operation."

Aug 31, 1989

By Martin Hertzberg

The early and reliable detection of the self-heating of combustible substances in mines is of considerable importance to the mining community. This Bureau of Mines report describes the results of a variety of studies of incipient combustion and its detection. Heated samples of coal, wood, and various polymers were used to evaluate the relative sensitivities of several types of detectors. The laboratory results indicate that submicrometer particulate detection is the most universal and sensitive method. Carbon monoxide detection was as sensitive as submicrometer particulate detection for pyrolyzing coal but was relatively insensitive to pyrolyzing wood or plastics. The conventional type of ionization smoke detector was the least sensitive for coal and of intermediate sensitivity for wood and plastics. Self-heating experiments with Pittsburgh seam coal piles of varying particle sizes gave ignition temperatures of 170° C for 4-to 7-µm dust, which increased monotonically with particle size. The measured heating rates were compared with data from an adiabatic calorimeter to obtain preexponential rate constants. The preexponential rate constants varied linearly with the surface area per unit mass of sample as would be expected for heterogeneous surface oxidation. The propagation behavior of ignition waves and the overall self-heating appears to depend critically on the magnitude of the convective flows induced, which counteract the depletion of oxygen in the void spaces of the pile. Classical theories of thermal ignition require substantial modification to be applied reliably to such cases.

Jan 1, 1977

By A. Bois-Brochu, G. Morin, G. Marin, M. C. Parr, J. Carignan

The presence of an alpha case on titanium parts produced by investment casting is problematic and has to be eliminated. The traditional techniques for the evaluation of its thickness are metallographic measurements and micro-hardness profiles. To obtain a better understanding of how the alpha case is formed with the underlying objective of limiting its depth, the present study proposes to characterize the microstructure and the chemical composition of the alpha case. Electron microprobe analyzer (EMPA) linescans were used to quantify the oxygen and substitutional elements that come from the mould and promote the alpha case formation. The chemical profiles were correlated with metallographic and microhardness measurements. For microstructure, optical microscopy (etched and polarized light analysis) was used. For phase analysis, samples were mechanically polished step by step and analysed using X-ray diffraction and optical microscopy. Furthermore, surface analysis techniques such as XPS and Auger Microscopy were evaluated but results were found to be inconclusive because the formation of the oxide layer was faster than its ablation and the matrix could thus not be analysed. The alpha case was observed on a Ti-6Al-4V step block casting.

Jan 1, 2014

By Takefumi Takuma, Hiroyuki Nishimura, Shigeru Kambe

"Japan’s Great Tohoku Earthquake and the immediately following tsunami of March 11, 2011 killed more than fifteen thousand people and destroyed numerous buildings and infrastructures in the northeastern part of the country.In addition to reconstruction projects in the areas where the earthquake and tsunami hit, other seismically vulnerable regions in the country have started building new and more robust facilities as well as upgrading existing coastal structures so they will be able to cope with such deadly seismic and hydraulic force. This paper will highlight two different types of aseismic and anti-tsunami levee upgrades currently under construction on the coast of Kochi Prefecture, approximately 500 miles west of Tokyo. The first type is the installation of double sheet pile walls in existing seawalls. The second type is to drive tubular piles into existing levee structures for reinforcing them. Both sheet and tubular piles are being driven by the Press-in Piling Method without removing or compromising the function of the existing structures. 1. BACKGROUNDGreat Tohoku Earthquake of March 11, 2011 caused severe damage to many structures. ASCE’s survey of damaged coastal structures conducted immediately after the disaster by Ewing, et al. (2014) categorizes failure modes of the structures in the following manner.?Overtopping without structural failure.?Overtopping with structural damage or failure.?Wave uplift forces.?Movement of structure off foundation from sliding, rotation, or overtopping.?Impact loads.?Hydrostatic pressure.?Supercritical flows.?Scour.?Erosion.?Abutments end effects.?Subsidence."

Jan 1, 2017

By Edward O’Toole

THe Pocahontas district occupies the extreme southern end of West Virginia, principally McDowell, Mercer and Wyoming counties, and a part of Tazewell county, in southwestern Virginia. The first record of the coal field is a report by Prof. J. P. Lesley, of Pennsylvania, about 1880, in which he mentions a coal opening at the upper end of Abbs Valley, Tazewell county, Va. C. R. Boyd, a mining engineer of Wytheville, Va., published a series of articles in 1881, mentioning coal on Indian Creek, Tazewell county, and on Horse Pen creek, which coals, he stated, extended toward the Ohio River. He also mentions the Abbs Valley coal reported by Lesley. In 1881, F. J. Kimball (who became president of the Norfolk & Western R. R. in 1883)) after examining the Scott mine in Abbs Valley, went northward across Abbs Valley Mountain to the place now known as Pocahontas, where he located what has since been called No. 3 vein of Pocahontas coal. In November, 1882, Jed Hotchkiss and others prepared a cross-section of the Flat Top Mountain coal measures, some notes on which were published by Mr. Hotchkiss, between 1880 and 1892, under the title of " The Virginias.' In May, 1881, the Norfolk & Western R. R. was organized through the purchase of the Atlantic, Mississippi & Ohio R. R., an old line running from Norfolk, Va., to Bristol, Tenn., with branches from Petersburg to City Point and from Glade Springs to Saltville. At that time, charters had been granted for three railroads tributary to the New River Valley, but their proposed routes would indicate that the promoters were concerned with minerals, timber, and a connection with the Chesapeake & Ohio R. R., rather than the development of any coal in the Pocahontas district. One of them was projected to extend up Bluestone River a short distance, but not far enough to reach the coal in the Bluestone Valley, and a little grading was done for a narrow-gage road between New River Station and a point in Giles county, Virginia, near the West Virginia line. All charters and railroads in this district were acquired by the Norfolk & Western R.R.

Jan 1, 1925

By Deborah A. Kramer

This Bureau of Mines report presents a cost estimate of the Bayer process, which is used for virtually all cell-grade alumina production. The report will serve as a reference point to determine the economic merits of processes that have evolved from Bureau of Mines investigations on technology for producing alumina from domestic nonbauxitic raw materials. The Bayer process involves dissolving the alumina present in bauxite in a caustic solution at high temperature and pressure. After the un- dissolved impurities are removed, the solution is seeded to produce an alumina trihydrate precipitate. This precipitate is filtered, washed, and calcined to produce the cell-grade alumina product. This cost estimate is for a plant producing 1 million tons of alumina per year. The estimated operating cost is approximately $250 per ton of alumina.

Jan 1, 1983

By Edward H. Robie

OF the current Adirondack iron mine development, the Benson Mines operation of the Tones and Laughlin Ore Co. (Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp. wholly owned subsidiary) is the last to go into operation. Following an active construction program in 1943, the mine. concentrator and sintering plant were scheduled to enter production in the fall. This description therefore cannot include any operating data, and details of equipment and flowsheet have not as yet been released.

Jan 1, 1943

By W. R. Tyson

IT HAS BEEN KNOWN for many years that alloy steels can become brittle when tempered in the range of 350-600°C, or cooled slowly after heating to higher temperatures. The metallurgical literature reveals that blacksmiths were aware as early as 1883 that water quenching was necessary after heat treatment above 600°C to avoid brittleness. It has also been known for years that the problem is associated with trace impurities; a paper in the Journal of the Iron and Steel Institute of 1894 refers to the brittle, faceted fractures that occur in steels containing arsenic, phosphorus or sulphur. However, definitive investigation of the mechanism of embrittlement has been possible only within the last decade with the introduction of new experimental techniques to investigate surfaces, especially Auger electron spectroscopy. It is now possible to study in detail the chemistry of surfaces with a resolution of an atomic layer or two, and enormous progress has been made recently in studying the segregation of impurities to grain boundaries by exposing the boundaries by fracture inside the microscope. A clear picture of the processes occurring and their interpretation is now emerging, as was particularly clear at the recent 1977 ASM Materials Science Seminar on Interfacial Segregation held in Chicago in October. Recent research in this area has pointed the way for commercial exploitation of this new knowledge and experimental technology. It is the purpose of this article to trace progress in understanding temper embrittlement and to indicate other areas where control of interfacial segregation and its effects can be important in metallurgical applications.

Jan 1, 1978

By Thomas Robins

About six years ago the writer had occasion to visit a large magnetic iron-ore concentrating-plant, and then saw for the first time rubber belts employed for conveying-purposes. These belts were from 20 inches to 30 inches in width, and some of them were as long as 500 feet between centers. When I spoke of the enormous amount of material they handled with a small expenditure of power, the superintendent assented, but at the same time complained that although he bought the best quality of belts, the abrasion of the ore wore them out very rapidly, causing continually very large bills for repairs and renewals. On close examination several interesting points were discovered :

Jan 1, 1897

By Jones R. G.

Dr Pat Foster, Senior Lecturer in Mining Engineering at the UK's Camborne School of Mines, talks to Rhiannon Garth Jones about mining safety around the world, education and the future of the industry

Feb 1, 2015

The mining industry provides employment opportunities for individuals from a wide variety of disciplines. Solid Energy New Zealand Limited (Solid Energy) is New ZealandÆs largest coal mining company and the career opportunities for school leaver trainees and university graduates are numerous. Solid Energy also provides fixed term opportunities for consultants and contracting companies, who complement the wealth of knowledge already within the company.   Focussing on Stockton Mine and my involvement there as an Engineering Geologist, this paper looks at Stockton Mine and the Stockton Water Management Project and outlines the career paths of other young professionals also working at Stockton.

Jan 1, 2007

By John Guilbert

El presente texto describe la historia del descubrimiento y desarrollo del yacimiento de pórfido de cobre-oro Bajo de la Alumbrera. En ese sentido, dicha minera es menos geológica, teórica y está más orientada a más modelos geológicos, puesto que cuando K. Richard finalizaba la exploración y evaluación del yacimiento de Toquepala en la década del 60, Bajo de la Alumbrera estaba siendo descubierta. Asimismo, la minera se encuentra al noroeste de la República Argentina en una región donde ocurre una cadena de yacimientos de cobre, conocida como el "Cinturón Metalogénico de Pórfidos de Cobre". Allí también existe el complejo volcánico llamado "Farallón Negro" que en superficie contiene muchos sulfatos denominados "alumbres", de donde se originó el nombre de Bajo (depresión topográfica) de la Alumbrera.

Apr 26, 1999

By Eduardo Viedo Moreira

Analisou-se o tratamento térmico de revenimento de grampos ferroviários, modelo E2039AV, feitos a partir de barras redondas com aproximadamente 20 mm de diâmetro do aço SAE 9254 tendo como objetivo reduzir o tempo do processo de fabricação. A temperatura do forno foi mantida em 490ºC e 18 grampos foram imersos no sal fundido. Em grupos de 3, os grampos foram retirados em intervalos de 10 minutos, tendo o último grupo permanecido no forno por 60 minutos. Após cada retirada foram feitos os ensaios necessários para aferir a qualidade das peças: carga estática, dureza e fadiga. Após apenas 10 minutos de revenimento os grampos já resistiam ao mínimo de 1.000 kgf sem fraturar e apresentaram medidas de dureza próximas ao limite superior de especificação, ou seja, a dureza que era aproximadamente 58 HRC antes do revenido, atingiu valores próximos a 48 HRC. O último teste, fadiga, foi feito apenas nos grupos de grampos revenidos por 30 e 50 minutos. Pôde-se concluir que é possível reduzir o tempo de revenimento do grampo E2039AV feito de aço SAE 9254 de 60 minutos para pelo menos 50 minutos mantendo-se a qualidade dos grampos sem a necessidade de aumentar a temperatura do forno.

Aug 17, 2017

By Blênio Márcio Cunha Silva

A indústria siderúrgica global está buscando cada vez mais tecnologias para tornar o seu processo produtivo mais sustentável e competitivo. Uma das grandes oportunidades, já conhecida nesse setor, é a transformação dos seus resíduos em coprodutos para revenda no mercado. Por esse motivo, este trabalho tem como objetivo avaliar as características físicas e químicas de duas escórias de aciaria por meio de uma caracterização tecnológica. Uma das amostras é proveniente do forno elétrico a arco (FEA), e a outra do conversor a oxigênio (Basic Oxygen Furnace - BOF ou Linz Donawitz - LD). Para o desenvolvimento da pesquisa foram utilizadas: uma etapa de cominuição, análises de classificação granulométrica, composição química e microscopia determinativa pelo sistema TIMA-MIRA. Os resultados da caracterização permitiram identificar e quantificar os elementos químicos e fases presentes nas escórias, as quais apresentaram teores de ferro acima de 20%, teores de CaO acima de 25%, ausência de P e Na e predominância das fases CaSi, CaFe e ferrosos.

Aug 17, 2017

By D J. Williams

The majority of surface tailings storage facilities continue to employ sub-aerial tailings slurry deposition. Surface TSFs are typically sized and operated in a way to minimise the initial capital cost of the facility, driven largely by the net present value approach to accounting. This generally leads to too small a storage, too fast a rate of rise of the tailings, and difficulties in managing supernatant water. In turn, this results in wet and soft tailings deposits of high moisture content and low density, and the need for frequent and costly tailings dam raises. Further, such tailings deposits often do not facilitate closure and rehabilitation of the facility. Globally, there are on average over two failures annually of such tailings dams, resulting in loss of life, damage to infrastructure and environmental impact downstream, and the loss of company shareholder value and reputation. Recent high profile tailings dam failures are threatening the mining industry’s financial and social licence to operate.Among the physical processes that tailings undergo on sub-aerial deposition are beaching, hydraulic sorting down the beach according to particle size and specific gravity, settling, consolidation, and desiccation on exposure to the sun and wind. Beaching and hydraulic sorting have proved difficult to test at laboratory scale and difficult to model, and are best assessed in the field. Settling, consolidation and desiccation may be assessed at laboratory scale, but to date there has been an absence of tests to form the basis for the design and management of tailings deposition, and ultimate closure and rehabilitation. The paper describes recent advances in tailings testing methods, including a purpose-built slurry consolidometer that tests the settling and consolidation of tailings from a slurry consistency, simulating increasing tailings depth to about 50 m; and a purpose-built instrumented column that tests the settling, self-weight consolidation and desiccation of a surface layer of tailings, also from a slurry consistency. Selected test results from these two apparatus are presented in the paper, together with brief descriptions of how they may be used to better design tailings slurry deposition. In addition, planned further advances in tailings testing methods are briefly described.CITATION:Williams, D J, 2018. Recent advances in tailings testing methods, in Proceedings Mine Waste and Tailings Stewardship Conference 2018, pp 8–37 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 23, 2018