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By D. B. Dreisinger, M. Rasouli

"Developing technology to address the environmental hazards associated with selenium in mine-impacted waters has been a serious challenge. Ion exchange (IX) has been identified as a potential treatment technology. This paper begins with a review on selenium adsorption with commercially-available basic anionic exchangers (BAS). It then looks at the use of resins for selenium removal via modification with the addition of -O, -N, or -S-containing chelating ligands and chelating polymeric ion exchangers pre-loaded with immobilized metal cations. The synthesis of chelating exchangers requires a final product with a highly stable metal in the ligand-metal complex. The nature, oxidation state, size, and affinity of the metal for the target oxyanions and the size, degree of protonation and space configuration of the oxyanion are among critical factors affecting the oxyanion uptake. There is a limited number of studies on the critical parameters affecting the selenium affinity for chelating exchangers. Such a study could fill in the gaps of our understanding of selenium-metal-chelating ligand interactions and assist in developing a new ion exchanger. In addition to commercial IX resins, layered double hydroxide materials (LDH) have received attention for oxyanion removal from waste water. The adsorption capacity of the LDHs are affected by the crystallinity of LDH, the nature of metal components, the ratio of metals, charge and type of anion, and the space between the layers. In particular, the Friedel phase (FP), a member of the LDH family, showed high adsorption capacity for selenate removal from synthetic solution. A study is currently underway at the University of British Columbia to investigate the effect of different synthesis methods and aging on the suitability of FP for selenium removal from mine waste water."

Jan 1, 2017

By K. G. Chipman

IN 1936, the Department of Mines and Resources was formed by the amalgamation of the former Departments of Mines, Interior, Indian Affairs, and Immigration. In the amalgamation, the Geological Survey and the Topographical Survey became the major divisions of the Bureau of Geology and Topography, which is a part of the Mines and Geology Branch which, in turn, is a part of the Department of Mines and Resources. The Topographical Survey was formed by combining the former Topographical Division of the Geological Survey and the air and ground mapping sections of the former Topographical and Air Survey Bureau of the Department of the Interior. The latter organization, previous to 1933, had been known as the Topographical Surveys Branch of the Department of the Interior. The amalgamation of 1936 definitely placed on the Topographical Survey the responsibility for the original mapping required for the development of our natural resources. The war has brought upon us the situation where all work has had to be in the furtherance of the war effort. With decreased staff and limited appropriations, the mapping on those scales which are directly concerned with the natural resources has been confined to the search for oil and strategic minerals. The reconstruction period will produce a different situation, with different problems. The past is behind us and it is necessary to prepare for the future. First, we should consider briefly a few general principles in the making and using of maps, then take stock of what we have, see what the needs are, and consider how we are to meet these needs.

Jan 1, 1944

There were present twelve- Directors, the Secretary and the Assistant Secretary of the Institute, and fifteen guests. A committee of three was appointed to draft a suitable resolution of memorial of the services of Joseph Esrey Johnson, Jr. The committee consists of Joseph W. Richards, Chairman, J. V. N. Dorr and Allen H. Rogers. William R. Walker was elected a Director in place of J. E. Johnson, Jr., and Edwin Ludlow was elected a member of the Executive Committee in his stead. George C. Stone was appointed Chairman of the Committee on Membership in place of Mr. Johnson. The following resolutions were then adopted: RESOLVED, That a special business meeting of the Institute be and the same hereby is appointed to be, held at the office of the Institute, No. 29 West 39th Street, Borough of Manhattan, City of New York, on the 27th day of June, 1919, it 8.30 o'clock in the P. M. to consider and take action upon the proposal to change the name of the Institute to "American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers, Incor-porated," and the further proposal to extend the corporate purposes of the Institute so that it shall, in addition to its other powers, be empowered to promote the arts and sciences connected with the economic production of the useful minerals and metals, and the welfare of, those employed in these industries, by all lawful means.

Jan 6, 1919

By W. F. Watts

This report describes a statistical analysis of 41,502 respirable quartz dust samples collected from 1974 through 1981 in metal and nonmetal mines and mills. The goal of this Bureau of Mines study was to identify commodities and occupations associated with high quartz dust exposure so that future enforcement and research activity can be focused on the high-exposure areas. For this analysis, the Bureau used its computerized Mine Inspection Data Analysis System (MIDAS), which contains data on nearly 350,000 air samples, including data for 61 contaminants in 45 commodities. The samples analyzed were collected by inspectors of the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MS HA). The data were entered into the MIDAS computer and coded according to commodity, occupation, location, and other categorical information. Occupations an. commodities with high quartz dust exposure were identified by grouping the data by code categories. Workers at sandstone, clay and shale, and miscellaneous nonmetallic mineral mills had the highest quartz dust exposures. Within these mills, occupations with high exposures were baggers, general laborers, and persons involved in crushing, grinding, and sizing operations. Dust concentrations in these mills were not necessarily the highest, but because the dust contained a high percentage of quartz, the health risk from dust exposure was the greatest.

Jan 1, 1984

By Herbert R. Appell

Urban refuse, cellulosic wastes, and sewage sludge have been converted to heavy oil by heating under pressure with carbon monoxide and steam. Conversions of the organic matter to oil, water, and gas have averaged near 90 percent at temperatures of 250° to 400° C and pressures of 1,500 to 5,000 psi. The yield of oil, based on the dry organic matter of the waste materials, is usually near 40 percent. This is the equivalent of more than 2 barrels of oil per ton of dry, ash-free waste material. The oil from urban refuse and cellulosic wastes has a sulfur content near 0.1 percent. This low sulfur content makes the oil from refuse a desirable source of fuel oil.

Jan 1, 1970

By K Rees

In the ideal world of an underground mining engineer, all narrow vein orebodies would be perfectly straight and continuous, thus would be a dream to mine. However, this is usually not the case. Narrow vein orebodies generally occur in association with shear zones and while shear zones do form linear trends, they most commonly preserve undulating expressions that need to be closely monitored, particularly when overprinted by post-formed structures. The surge in mines using fibrecrete as a primary form of ground support effectively reduces the time available for geological interpretation down to a 30 minute window between bogging and shotcreting. Thus, if the quality of the data collected is not up to scratch, then there is only a limited ability to reassess using 2D face photographs. To negate this, Xstrata Nickel AustralasiaÆs Cosmos mine has upgraded its data collection procedure. Geological information is now collected using photogrammetry survey, producing 3D images of the drive. Once created, the digital image of the drive is loaded into Vulcan, thus enabling geological interpretation to be carried out along entire drives, between levels and in association with all other data (eg drill holes, seismic data, etc). In addition to this, the 3D image can be used to accurately model the location of the ore, enabling stoping panels to be confidently positioned to maximise grade and minimise dilution. However, with the focus at Cosmos changing from narrow vein mining, to bulk mining methods in a more geotechnically complex terrain, the use of the 3D images has become paramount in understanding the structural geometry. Continual interpretation of the data has enabled drive profiles to be maintained through the increased use of ground support in poor ground and the redesign of development to enable optimal intersection of structures. Nevertheless, while the collection of quality data is important, it is only the effective use of the data, which enables significant gains in understanding.CITATION:Rees, K, 2012. The benefits of using photogrammetry in the geological interpretation of the Cosmos nickel mine, in Proceedings Narrow Vein Mining 2012 , pp 145-148 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Mar 26, 2012

By L Mollison, K W. Mills, N R. P Baczynski, M F. Lee, I A. de Bruyn

This is the first of two papers concerned with rock stress inputs to various mine design issues at the large Ok Tedi open pit mine in Papua New Guinea. The companion paper (also published at this conference) is ‘The Application of Rock Stress Inputs to Stability Assessments at Ok Tedi Mine, Papua New Guinea’ (de Bruyn et al, 2014).Stresses are a required input for numerical modelling of mine design issues. However, for some operations, like the very large Ok Tedi open pit mine in remote rugged mountainous terrain, direct and representative measurement of rock stresses can be technically difficult and expensive. In such situations, development of an appropriate and sufficient understanding of rock stresses can be challenging.This was addressed for Ok Tedi by considering the following:The tectonic and regional geologic setting of the mine.Results from three different programs of rock stress measurement over 19 years, including hydraulic fracturing (1991), acoustic emission (2007) and overcoring (2010). Some interesting results of the overcoring work are discussed. It was done in a 4 km long drainage tunnel, which intersected a thick monzodiorite intrusive that has metamorphosed contacts to host contact Ieru Formation siltstones; anomalously low horizontal stresses were measured within the monzodiorite.Compilation of rock stress measurements from other New Guinea mines and prospects, both in Papua New Guinea and Indonesian West Papua.Comparisons between the variable Ok Tedi rock stresses and similar data from other porphyry copper deposits.CITATION:Lee, M F, Baczynski, N R P, Mills, K W, de Bruyn, I A and Mollison, L, 2014. Rock stresses at Ok Tedi, Papua New Guinea, in Proceedings AusRock 2014: Third Australasian Ground Control in Mining Conference , pp 337–346 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Nov 5, 2014

By C. S. Gibson

INTRODUCTION I WELCOME the opportunity to speak on Programmes in Safety. The invitation to do so shows that those guiding affairs of the Institute in this District realize the practical importance of this subject. My remarks are intended primarily for mines having 100 to 400 employees, approximately. With minor modifications, however, they apply also to larger or smaller operations. Others, I hope, will derive benefit from this paper, for they, too, have a part to play in accident prevention; for example, contractors such as shaft-sinkers; manufacturers of equipment; and consultants and designers of mining, milling, and metallurgical methods. These troubled times stress, as never before, the importance of efficient operations in mining. The days are gone when neglect can be afforded. Safe working conditions and satisfied employees are essential for efficient production at reasonable cost. The mining industry of Ontario long has been keenly aware of the human aspects of this subject, and as a whole it has done much to decrease the frequency and severity of disabling accidents. The number of fatalities per 1,000 employees has been reduced from a high of 5 some two decades ago to an all-time low of 0.89 in 1948; the incidence was slightly higher in 1949, being 1.17 per 1,000. The reduction in non-fatal compensable accidents also has been outstanding, frequency having ?been reduced from over 200 per 1,000 employees some two decades ago to 54 per 1,000 at the producing mines in 1949. These statistics demonstrate progress. Nevertheless, the general picture still leaves much to be desired when viewed from two other angles.

Jan 1, 1951

By K Smith

This paper presents an assessment of the Robertson (2010a) method within the CPTu inversion parameter framework of Been et al. (1987), using CPTu calibration chamber data presented by Jefferies and Been (2015) and in other literature to assess the validity of the method, with particular focus on applicability of the method to TSFs (i.e. its applicability to loose silts and silty sands). The assessment demonstrates that although the method estimates values of k consistent with calibration chamber data, the method estimates values of m that are generally 1.5 to 2 times greater than calibration chamber data. As a result of this, the method generally overestimates Ψ for values of Ψ less than 0, and underestimates Ψ for values of Ψ greater than 0. This may result in both overly conservative assessment of materials as potentially liquefiable and unconservative predictions of material behaviour for loose materials.

Jul 1, 2021

By H. W. Sheffer

Technical and economic aspects of community refuse disposal systems and their effects on the environment are identified and described. Seven landfills and two incineration systems, located throughout the United States, are reviewed.

Jan 1, 1971

By M Gill, A Mathias

The mining industry has always been cost-focussed but in recent times mining companies have moved towards obtaining a competitive advantage through the implementation and sustainability of best practice in the areas of improved safety, operating costs, quality and productivity. This is the concept of Value In Use û that mining companies see value generated all the way to the bottom line through improved change, and those changes become an established mine practice. Many mining companies do not have the resources or the knowledge to sustainably achieve such an outcome. This has led to companies looking to their suppliers to deliver measured value to their business through partnership arrangements. Suppliers have been able to leverage their knowledge of products, product applications and services to offer alternative supply agreements that bring greater returns to their businesses while improving supplier/client relationships. Orica has developed such a partnership with Coal & Allied in the form of a Continuous Improvement Program. Coal & Allied is based in the Hunter Valley region of NSW and is the largest coal producer in that region. Both parties are contractually bound to jointly deliver Value In Use projects to Coal & AlliedÆs Hunter Valley Operations and Bengalla mine sites. It is the request of the Orica and Coal & Allied Steering Committees that this paper does not include the details of actual projects or the costs or key performance indicators associated with the program. This is to maintain the competitive advantage to both Orica and Coal & Allied through the implementation of such a program. It is in the writersÆ opinion that this paper does not lose any significance through this restriction as the most important component of the Continuous Improvement Program is not the projects themselves but the methodology behind them. With this in mind the paper will discuss the development of Value In Use offerings, the key aspects of the Coal & Allied and Orica joint program, what is a Value In Use project, how to measure its value, finally why and even more importantly what makes this program is a success.

Jan 1, 2004

By K. Chotruangprasert

This paper explores Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) reporting practices within the mining industry. Specifically, this paper investigates how and why a mining company makes voluntary reporting decisions to include the GRI indicators that may be considered ?negative? to the company?s reputation. Due to the voluntary nature of the GRI Guidelines, a GRI adopter is not legally obligated to report every GRI indicator. Not surprisingly, empirical studies that evaluated the extent to which companies? sustainability reports meet the GRI requirements (Guenther, Hoppe, & Poser, 2006; Morhardt, Baird, & Freeman, 2002; Samy, Odemilin, & Bampton, 2010; Skouloudis, Evangelinos, & Kourmousis, 2009) have found that reporting practices of the companies under their studies are well below the standards reflected in the GRI Guidelines. An influential study by Clarkson et al (2008) uses economic-based and socio-political theories to explain variation in companies? environmental disclosure. They have found that, as predicted by economic-based theory, superior environmental performers disclosed more ?hard? (i.e. verifiable) environmental information. Inferior environmental performers are found to disclose more ?soft? (i.e., not easily verifiable) claims, which is consistent with socio-political theories (Clarkson, Li, Richardson, & Vasvari, 2008). However, this study and the existing literature do not adequately explain why a company may act in a way that cannot be explained by economic-based and socio-political theories, for example, why it would report some negative soft data that it is not required to report. This paper intends to address this literature gap. GRI reporting by a Canadian mining company, which I would like to call ?Company C?, is used as a case study for this paper. Company C was selected for this research because in addition to ?positive? information, its GRI-based sustainability report also includes both hard and soft ?negative? information such as grievances. Research methods include interviewing Company C?s employees who are involved in preparing GRI reports and reviewing documents prepared both by the company and by external parties. I find that integrative social contracts theory (ISCT) offers a valuable explanation to Company C?s reporting practices. From the ISCT perspective, Company C?s management appears to feel that the company is obligated under social contracts to be transparent. Therefore, Company C disclosed both positive and negative social and environmental information to the public because the management appeared to think that it is the right thing to do. At the same time, being transparent about the bad news gave the company an opportunity to conclude that it had done something to avoid future occurrence of the negative incidents. Therefore, I propose that, in addition to the economic and socio-political theories that are more often used in literature, insights from ISCT are instrumental in improving our understanding of the corporate non-financial reporting practices phenomenon.

Aug 1, 2013

By C. C. Harris

An analytical solution of the integro-differential equation of batch grinding is proposed as a first appoximation to the xYt surface. The size distribution equation (xY plane) is a three parameter equation previously suggested. Possible refinements are outlined. Comminution kinetics research is presently following several related courses. Some are equivalent, in that they represent different ways of viewing the same facet of the problem, though the entire endeavor cannot be described as being completely integrated. The purpose of this note is to propose and discuss a framework into which the various approaches might be fitted. This must clearly be founded upon an analysis of the xYt surface.' (See also Fig. 1 of Reference 26.) The investigations referred to above comprise mainly researches into the following: (1) The kinetics of the creation of the finer sizes during relatively small grinding times. This is the Fahrenwald-Arbiter-Bhrany 2-3 approach which leads to equations equivalent to a special case of the charles4 relationship. It emerges that initial production of fines follow essentially zero order* kinetics. (2) Disappearance kinetics of the coarser fractions. This appears to be a first order relationship.5-6 (3) Prediction of the xYt surface via the selection and breakage functions utilizing computer-programmed or approximate solutions of the integro-differential equation of batch grinding.5,8-17 A recent discussion by Mika et al.5 references the relevant literature up to about 1966. In addition to these main-stream researches there is some work on the minor topic of extremely long grinding time considered as a limiting case.18-19 The field is supported by investigations into the size distribution of fragments produced by breakage processes, some of this work being most valuably statistical-mechanical in nature.20-25 Better fitting equations, however, are obtained by statistical and curve-fitting methods.26 This

Jan 1, 1969

Eight members of the Board, the Secretary of the Institute, and eleven guests were present. Vice-president Henry S. Drinker presided. The President was authorized to appoint delegates to a meeting, on May 16, of the League to Enforce Peace. The Joint Conference Committee reported that the American Institute of Metals had accepted the invitation to form the Institute of Metals Division of this Institute. The Committee on Publications of the Institute of Metals was added to the Committee on Publications of the A. I. M. E. Exchange of one volume of Transactions of the A. I. M. E. at reduced price to members of the British Institute of Metals was authorized, in return for the reduced price given to our Institute of Metals Division on the annual proceedings of the British Institute.

Jan 6, 1918

By H. R. Butler, R. N. Browne

"The International Nickel Company of Canada Limited consumes some 33 ½ millions of gallons of fresh water and reuses more than 100 millions of gallons of water daily. The continuing search for suitable recycle methodology has enabled the Company to put one 25,000 TPD mill on line utilizing recycled water entirely and a second 35,000 TPD mill is under construction which will likewise employ the concept of recycled water. Future milling plans are aimed at the replacement of all fresh water with recycled water, including sewage effluent and mine waste water.WATER REUSE AT INCO’s SUDBURY MILLSAs man searches unexplored horizons for new and economic industry, he must be constantly and acutely aware of the presence or absence of that precious commodity without which Industry, indeed Man himself, could not survive -- W A T E R. The water requirements of the world today are magnanimous, considering that in 1960 the estimated consumption in the United States was over 300 billion GPD (l) or more than 1,700 GPD per person(5) The magnitude of the problem can be visualized as one considers that three times this quantity of water will be required in the United States by the year 2000, when the dependable supplies of water are estimated to be only two-thirds of that required(2). How, then can we continue to wreak such havoc on that life-sustaining substance - WATER?"

Jan 1, 1970

By J. L. Johnson

The U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines, investigated recovery of concentrates containing tin, tantalum, and niobium from the Kougarok deposit on the Seward Peninsula, AK. To date, 25 million lb of tin has been delineated in occurrences containing 0.36 to 1.32 pct Sn, and the resource potential is estimated to be as high as 25 million short tons at average grades of 0.75 pct Sn, 0.025 pct Ta, and 0,025 pct Nb. Deslimed ore was concentrated to 54 pct Sn, 0.3 pct Ta, and 0.3 pct Nb, with recoveries of 74 pct Sn and 44 pct Ta/Nb using a Humphrey's* spiral followed by a Deister shaking table. Tin values in the slimes were upgraded to a 5-pct-Sn concentrate using a Bartles-Mozley separator followed by flotation. The 5- pct-Sn was further upgraded by fuming to give a concentrate containing approximately 60 pct Sn. The recovery of the two products combined was 80 pct Sn and 46 pct Ta/Nb, A flowsheet with mill-design parameters resulted from the metallurgical testing. An economic analysis was made based on the proposed process.

Jan 1, 1990

An incremental-analysis-based stope design and cutoff grade calculation method was developed for an underground metal mine project. Traditional stope design methods are typically very time consuming and lack consistency and accuracy by manually drawing stope shapes. For quick reserve calculation and economic analysis, a new method named "3D incremental analysis based stope design" was created for mine-wide stope designs. The key idea of this method is to replace engineers' manual checking of each incremental ring with one calculation of all the rings, and to build the final stope shape with the maximum values. This process was realized through a 3D ring grid setup and proper naming conventions for rapid calculations. With this unique but practical method, multiple options for a mine design were completed within a short time before the final selection of optimal cutoff grade and best stope designs for the project.

Jan 1, 2012

By Wilfrid Comeau

The RICHTER scale is used in classifying earthquake severity. It is an energy scale giving the estimated energy liberated at the source of the earthquake. Earthquake damage on the earth’s surface, for example at the epicenter - spot on the earth’s surface directly above the earthquake, for a given RICHTER number can vary. This depends on the depth of the earthquake focus. Deeper earthquakes will generally cause a lower level of damage at the epicenter but the damage will be spread over a greater area. As mentioned by Randy Wheeler on Blastserve, each successive RICHTER number represents about a 30-fold increase in energy. This scale is open at both ends with “0” RICHTER equal to about 104 Joules. The lowest level detected by sensitive instruments is about 2 on the RICHTER scale or about 107 Joules. The highest-level earthquake detected at 8.9 RICHTER represents a release of about 3 x 101 7 Joules.

Jan 1, 2003

The Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC) is the largest manufacturer of iron ore pellets in Canada and its customer base covers North American, European and Asian steel producers. The company operates a mine, concentrator and a pelletizing plant in Labrador City, Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as port facilities located in Sept-Iles, Quebec. It also operates a 418-km (260-mile) railroad that links the mine to the port. IOC has approximately 1,900 employees. Its shareholders are Mitsubishi Corp. (26.18 percent), Labrador Iron Ore Royalty Income Fund (15.1 percent) and the international mining group Rio Tinto, which is its major shareholder (58.72 percent) and operator, with activities in more than 40 countries throughout the world. The IOC was incorporated in 1949 and by 1954 it had completed the Quebec North Shore and Labrador (QNS&L) rail line. IOC began mining in Schefferville, Quebec by 1954 and closed those operations down in 1982. In 1962, IOC commissioned the present day Carol Project consisting of mining, concentration and pelletizing facilities in Labrador City, Newfoundland. In 2004, IOC shipped its one-billionth tonne of ore on the QNS&L Railway. In 2005, IOC celebrated 50 years of mining history. The company expressed an interest in reducing the amount of oversize material (>1 m x 1 m x 1 m or 3.2 ft x 3.2 ft x 3.2 ft) being produced and its subsequent downstream effects, including in-pit sorting and reduction, damage to mobile equipment and significant delays in the loading pockets and the primary crushers. To achieve this goal, an oversize reduction project was undertaken by the mine that, to date, has significantly improved upon baseline measures. One key approach used to reduce the amount of oversize was the implementation of thicker emulsion. The introduction of a thicker emulsion provided more resistance to the forces created by dynamic water and reduced the infiltration of the emulsion into the cracks and fissures of the rockmass, resulting in reduced amounts of oversize and more consistent fragmentation throughout the muckpiles. Additionally, a significant reduction in nitrates leached into the mine water discharge has been realized. To determine the effectiveness of the oversize reduction project, IOC used a first-of-kind technology to assess fragmentation presented to the shovel at the digging face. A digital vision system (DVS) was installed on one of the shovels to capture images that were stamped with GPS locations. A large population of digital images were analyzed to produce a robust fragmentation distribution baseline that was used as one of the mine key performance indicators (KPI). Changes to blasting practice were subsequently measured against the baseline KPI to assess effectiveness.

Jan 1, 2011

By S. Vardy

The paper notes that the extraction of 22% of the remaining workable reserves in the north western area involves a risk of spontaneous combustion higher than is normal in Britain. Mining systems have been tailor made in order to minimize the risk of spontaneous heatings, and these systems are described. Well-proved methods of combating spontaneous combustion are referred to, as well as the limitations which now apply to them as the result of the introduction of modern mining techniques. A substantial part of the paper is devoted to the circumstances in which spontaneous combustion occurs underground in the north western area. Several actual incidents which have occurred in the last few years, along with the practical application of the lessons learned, are described. Of particular note are: a) the procedure adopted in the north western area to equalize pressure differences across stoppings using pressure chambers, and b) a retreat mining system, primarily designed to deal with high methane emission and steep gradients, which also affords some protection against spontaneous combustion.

May 23, 1905