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By Kristin Hemlein

Mining project development, permitting, environmental regulatory and compliance issues in Uzbekistan and the CIS are every bit as complex as those in the western world. The vast array of environmental permitting, monitoring and reporting regulations for mine project development and operation in the CIS are based on existing Soviet environmental regulations and policies which have remained in place after these countries gained independence from the former Soviet Union. The approach to mine project permitting in the CIS differs from the western world. Similar pre- feasibility, baseline data collection, and environmental monitoring requirements allow the project proponent to coordinate preparation and submission of documentation to support project permitting for Uzbek regulatory requirements with environmental requirements imposed by financial institutions and western environmental compliance structures. Implementation of generally accepted western environmental best management controls and monitoring into mine design, construction, and operation will not, however, ensure automatic compliance with Uzbek environmental regulations. Uzbek environmental compliance requirements that differ from western requirements include: 1) development and maintenance of an environmental database constructed specifically to address annual, biannual and quarterly statistical reporting requirements for emissions of "environmental pollutants" from the facility into air, surface water, ground water and soil; 2) preparation and submittal of specific permits for water utilization, hazardous waste storage and disposal, landfill construction and operation, and stack emissions inventories; and 3) procurement of approvals from the Uzbekistan State Committee for Nature Protection (generally analogous to the US Environmental Protection Agency). This paper outlines and summarizes the regulatory requirements for mine site permitting and the procedures for environmental monitoring and reporting during mining operation in Uzbekistan and the CIS.

Jan 1, 1997

By Svatopluk Zeman, Zbynek Akstein, Jiri Pachman, Ahmed Elbeih, Marcela Jungova

BCHMX (cis-1,3,4,6-tetranitro-octahydroimidazo-[4,5-d]imidazole or Bicyclo-HMX) was studied as an energetic component of three different plastic explosives based on three matrices: C4 matrix, semtex10 matrix and silicone matrix. The original plastic explosives, Composition C4 - based on RDX (1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazinane), Semtex 10 explosive based on PETN (pentaerythritoltetranitrate) and plastic RDX-silicone, were included for comparison. Sensitivity and performance parameters were studied.

Jan 1, 2011

By D Bradshaw, J R. R de Villiers

The non-stoichiometric sulfide mineral pyrrhotite (Fe(1-x)S), common to many nickel and platinum group element (PGE) ore deposits, occurs in varying crystallographic forms with the different types exhibiting subtly different physical and chemical properties. These differing properties are likely to influence the flotation performance of pyrrhotite, which in the case of PGE operations is actively recovered, whereas in nickel operations pyrrhotite is depressed. In this study, examination of natural pyrrhotite samples from Southern African and Canadian nickel and PGE ore deposits revealed a variety of pyrrhotite compositions in terms of iron content (Fe7S8, Fe9S10, Fe11S12) and solid solution nickel concentration. Pyrrhotite composition was correlated with its mineral association depending on whether non-magnetic pyrrhotite occurred in conjunction with troilite, non-magnetic pyrrhotite occurred as single phase pyrrhotite, magnetic pyrrhotite occurred as single phase pyrrhotite or whether the two phases; magnetic and non-magnetic pyrrhotite co-exist. Subsequent microflotation tests of selected single phase pyrrhotite samples revealed that the non-magnetic pyrrhotite is slightly more floatable than magnetic pyrrhotite. Microflotation tests also showed that varying flotation responses occur between differing magnetic pyrrhotite samples. These differences in flotation performance are postulated to be a result of the effects of varying pyrrhotite crystallography, trace metal content and mineral association on pyrrhotite oxidation, formation of surface species and subsequent adsorption with xanthate collector.

Jan 1, 2008

By Robert D. Saltsman

The inadequacy of our knowledge of the coal combustion process has long been recognized. This was expressed very well by Spicer and Finney (1). "The control of combustion processes in industry and the design of the equipment necessary for efficient burning to take place have always been very much branches of an industrial art rather than of an exact science. This has been especially true of the utilization of coal, a substance so hetrogeneous and complex in character that all too little is known about its chemical and physical composition.' During the past several years one branch of coal utilization, that of high temperature carbonization; has made significant advances from being an art into being an exact science. This has been accomplished by the development of petrographic techniques for identifying, measuring, and determining the thermal properties of the organic materials which affect the carbonization of coal and the correlation of this information with a pre-existing standard of coke quality, the stability index.

Jan 1, 1964

By A Trench, S Ulrich, S Hagemann

A synthesis of reported All-In Sustaining Costs (AISC) for 57 Australian gold mines in the period 2014–2016 reveals for the first time the clear influence of grade upon cost performance, most evident in gold-only underground mines. Past syntheses of costs on a single quarter basis have viewed grade as potentially subordinate to other factors such as production scale, mine geometry, mineralisation style and a combination of other mining-related costs. Better understanding of the grade to cost relationship on both an individual mine and whole-of-portfolio portfolio basis is needed. Insight into the roles and trade-offs between other cost-determining factors will aid the future sustainability of the gold mining sector in Australia and assist in targeting prospects for future resource growth and development. While the overall trend is toward higher-grade mines displaying lower costs and vice versa, the grade to cost functions appear radically different between mines based on time-series data. The median cost of Australian gold production in the final quarter of 2016 was A$1081/oz. The threshold for lowest cost quartile production was A$965/oz. Underground production now dominates Australian gold output – with 71 per cent of ounces originating from operations that are either entirely underground or hybrid pit/underground mines. Scale economies are evident, with smaller mines predominately among the higher cost producers. For mines of equal grade, open pit mines are lower cost than underground operations. Reserves are modest, with a median mine life for underground operations of 4.7 years based on current production rates. Reserve additions at mines are likely constrained not only by the finite nature of mineralisation at each mine but also by the geometrical difficulty of accessing suitable drilling locations to test for reserve extensions.CITATION:Ulrich, S, Trench, A and Hagemann, S, 2017. Towards an understanding of production costs at Australia’s underground gold mines, in Proceedings 13th AusIMM Underground Operators’ Conference 2017, pp 241–250 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Oct 16, 2017

By R. G. Schaal

The Magma Mine at Superior, Arizona had an unimpressive beginning as a. worked out silver mine that was purchased in 1910 for $130,000 and then incorporated into the Magma Copper Company which has been continuously mining the deposit since 1915. Copper is the principal metal produced. However, zinc, gold, silver and iron have also contributed to the total metal product. Prior to 1973, the production rate of 1500 tons per day was maintained by hoisting 4 and 5 ton pay-loads at speeds up to 1100 FPM through four small hoisting shafts. The hoists used included 8' and 7' diameter double drum, double clutched doc. and a.c. motor driven geared units built as early as 1917. One old timer that did yoeman's service for many years was an 8' Bollen Pulley with a.c. geared drive that utilized an endless rope system with mechanical grip and release mechanism built into the pulley's throat. Primary power for all of these old production hoists was 25 Hertz. Exploration that was completed in 1967 developed a reserve of 10 Million tons of 5 per cent copper which was sufficient to justify new capital expenditures for enlargement of productive facilities to 3300 tons per day. To reach the new reserves a 22' I.D. concrete lined vertical shaft was sunk to an initial depth of 48431. A 12 ½ diameter adit was bored from the mill side of the mountain to intercept the shaft at a point about 1100' below the collar. This 9200' long adit provides the right-of-way for the mine to mill railway and egress for heavy supplies from rail head as well as a conduit for potable water, electric power, compressed air and mine drainage. Mine operating levels begin 3582' below collar and thereafter have been cut at 100' vertical intervals. Skip loading stations have been installed 4282' and 46821 below collar with an in-shaft skip dump station located 800' below collar. This provides for 4500 tons of storage above the mine to mill train loading station located 1100' below collar. Ore and waste are moved horizontally from stope chutes and drift headings by rail haulage to transfer raises which channel all material to the two mentioned skip loading stations. The 22' diameter shaft crossection is arranged with the two skip compartments on the south side separated from the manway and utility compartments by the cage compartment. The cage counterweight operates in a portion of the southwest quadrant of the shaft. The hoisting plant consists of two conventional Nordberg double drum, single clutch, geared, d.c. motor driven units that are identical except for the drives and automatic controls. The drums are 15' diameter x 105" face with LeBus grooving for 2-1/8" diameter wire rope wound in three layers. Mechanical design emp1o::ed is the same as has been used for the past twenty- five years. One drum is attached to the main shaft by 2 large bolted integral shaft flenge. The loose drum is engaged by a 4-arm positive tooth clutch meshing with radially cut teeth of the clutch ring which is bolted to the drum. The drums are one-piece steel plate weldments having a finished weight of 60 tons each and are mounted upon a 36" diameter shaft that also weighs 60 tons. With the addition of brake rings, clutch, bull gear and rope, the total dead weight adds up to nearly 250 tons that is supported by just three double row spherical roller pillow block bearings. There is no bearing between the drums. All pinion shafts as veil as all head sheave journals are supported in the same type of antifriction bearings.

Jan 1, 1975

E. G. SPILSBURY, New York, N. Y.-I would like to ask Mr. Wemple what is the total loss in redistillation; not merely the weight of the lead removed, but also the loss clue to rehandling of a large amount of blue powder, and that clue to the final remelting in the tank furnace? LELAND E. WEMPLE.-The loss of zinc by redistillation, on the first operation, is approximately 5 per cent. This loss does not cover the lead

Jan 4, 1918

By Rubén Mattos

El presente texto señala la exploración, geología y desarrollo del yacimiento minero Toquepala, ubicado en Tacna. Este constituye un yacimiento porfirítico de cobre-molibdeno diseminado donde la mineralización está subordinada a una chimenea de brecha y a un intrusivo de dacita, ambos genéticamente relacionados a la actividad intrusiva hidrotermal calco-alcalina datada de fines del Cretáceo superior-Terciario inferior. En 1937, se inician los trabajos de prospección y exploración desarrollados en Toquepala, cuando la Compañía Cerro de Pasco ordenó una evaluación geológica, con cartografía regional, perforación diamantina y muestreo. Posteriormente se inicia la segunda etapa con estudios regionales de geología, aerofotografía, ingeniería, excavación de galerías y chimeneas exploratorias y la instalación de una planta piloto de tratamiento de minerales de cobre. Finalmente, desde 1955 a la fecha se ha desarrollado la exploración orientada a mantener las operaciones de producción de minado y expansiones planeadas de la minería.

Apr 26, 1999

By J. Potter, A. Anani, C. Antonio

This research aims to test the hypothesis that the low retention rate of women in the mining industry is caused by workplace culture and policies established due to gender segregation. A quasi-experiment is developed to determine the cause-and-effect relationship between gender segregation-inspired culture and the retention of women. The experiment considers the impact of the job type and the operational environment. The analysis provides information on factors that cause low retention of women in the industry, the extent to which gender segregation plays a role, and insights that allow actionable and measurable changes in the industry.

Feb 1, 2023

By José de Camargo

Em janeiro de 2016 a Russula foi contratada pela Dojran Steel (Sidenor) para a reformulação de sua planta de Nikolic / Macedônia. O fornecimento incluiu um novo laminador de barras e perfis com capacidade para atingir 350.000 toneladas por ano, composto de equipamento mecânico, sistema de automação, bem como todo o suporte técnico necessário para a Dojran Steel expandir sua antiga gama de produtos e melhorar sua qualidade de produto acabado. Ao final da reformulação, executada em várias fases, o novo laminador adquiriu capacidade para produzir toda gama de produtos desejada: - Redondos de 8 a 40 mm, - Barras chatas de 16 x 4 a 140 x 20mm, - Quadrados de 8 a 40 mm, - Cantoneiras de abas iguais de 20 x 20 x 2,5 a 120 x 120 x 12mm,- Cantoneiras de abas desiguais de 30 x 20 x 3 a 120 x 80 x 10,- Perfil U (UPN) com altura de 30 a 140 mm,- Perfil I (IPE) de 80 a 120 mm e - Perfil T de 20 a 50 mm.

Oct 30, 2017

By H. L. Gilbert

Zircon sand may be reacted with sodium hydroxide at 600° C. to form sodium zirconate and sodium silicate. Sodium zirconate is water insoluble and so may be washed free of sodium silicate. The sodium zirconate may then be converted to zirconyl chloride by the action of hydrochloric acid and the zirconyl chloride crystals separated by cooling the solution. This approach produces zirconyl chloride of satisfactory purity with less cost than is involved in buying anhydrous zirconium chloride and converting it. A proposed design for a plant is given, INTRODUCTION This work was conducted by the Rare Metals Branch as a part of research on zirconium at the Bureau of Mines Northwest Electrodevelopment Laboratories, Albany, Oreg., under the guidance of S. M. Shelton, Regional Director. The work was supervised by W. W. Stephens, head of the Rare Metals Branch (now with Carborundum Metals Corp.).

Jan 1, 1954

The metals titanium and zirconium and their alloys occupy individually unique positions in the catalogue of metallic materials available for engineering applications. Because of the uniqueness of their usage in the aerospace industry, in the case of titanium, and in the nuclear industry, in the case of zirconium, the except- ional resistance of both the metals to the majority of corrosive media is often overlooked. The cost factor in the application of these more exotic metals has, in the past, been a major considerat- ion in the rejection of titanium and zirconium as constructional materials in areas of usage where their superior corrosion resistance strongly favoured them over more conventional metals and alloys. The cost differential, vis-a-vis austenitic stainless steels, for example, is not a trifling matter, being of the order of 6 : 1, when compared on a weight basis. However, if one considers the cost, for, say, sheet product on an area basis, the ratio is redgced to approximately 3.4:1. If one also takes into account the enhanced performance of the more expensive material and the sub- sequent increase in service life and decrease in plant down-time, the economics of the usage of materials such as titanium becomes much more attractive and, indeed, highly competitive,

Jan 1, 1969

By X. Cao, P. Wanjara, J. L. Fihey, X-T. Pham, F. Mirakhorli

Single-pass hybrid laser-arc welding of 10-mm thick cast plates of CA6NM, a low carbon martensitic stainless steel, was carried out in butt joint configuration using a continuous wave fiber laser at its maximum power of 5.2 kW over welding speeds ranging from 0.75 m/min to 1.2 m/min. The microstructures from the fusion zone to the heat affected zone and base metal were characterized after post-weld tempering at 600°C for 1 hour. From optical and scanning electron microscopy examination, the fusion zone was observed to mainly consist of tempered lath martensite and some residual delta-ferrite. The mechanical properties including microindentation hardness, ultimate tensile strength and Charpy impact energy were evaluated in the post-weld tempered condition and correlated to the microstructures and defects. The ultimate tensile strength and Charpy impact energy values of all the fully penetrated welds in the tempered condition were acceptable according to ASTM, ASME and industrial specifications. The failure mechanisms during tensile deformation and Charpy impact loading were examined by scanning electron microscopy, fractography and optical metallographic analysis near the fracture origin.

Jan 1, 2015

By Jones M

The concept of precise, accurate timing with Electronic Delay Detonators (EDDs) was first seriously addressed in the mid-1980s and much was made of the cheapness and profusion of digital watches in terms of the likelihood of EDDs also being cheap and easy to produce. Ten years later, with every major explosives company and many electronics groups having instituted projects to capitalise on the promise of these devices, production devices are still to come into general use. In South Africa, Expert Explosives units have been used in most applications during proving trials and more recently for production blasting in underground ring stoping and open cast coal. The outcome has been valuable learning both as to the benefits and technical requirements for electronic delay blasting, and especially, safety aspects. Examples are shown of production blasts which utilised the power of EDDs. It is evident that it is not delay accuracy alone which determines the value of these systems, but the whole robustness, flexibility and ease of delay allocation when harnessing blast engineering knowledge. Muckpile movement and shape, fragmentation and vibration frequencies have shown to be greatly influenced by designs which can be implemented no other way. The flexibility of a system and the power of the software controlling it are crucial in capitalising on blasting potential, which lies in integrating control of blast timing with other developing electronic Technologies.

Jan 1, 1995

By Whiten WJ, Narayanan S

Data from ball mills of a wide range of sizes are analysed using detailed mathematical models and non-linear least squares fitting techniques. This analysis reveals that the relative power inefficiency of large ball mills is due to inefficient grinding of coarse (plus 4 mm) particles in these mills. A qualitative physical hypothesis is proposed to explain this behaviour. The results of the analysis can be used to scale up ball mill behaviour, using the mathematical models and techniques developed. A simpler ball mill scale-up procedure is also proposed, and its limitations stated. Laboratory experiments are being conducted to determine the average size distributions of single particles of different ores after breaKage. These experiments can distinguish between the different ores, and it is hoped to use their results to model and predict the grinding of different ores in ball Mills.

Jan 1, 1978

By L. A. Jordan, D. van Vuuren

A two-dimensional finite difference model has been developed to describe the reduction of kilogram quantities of dehydrated phosphogypsum. The model’s scope has been limited to focus on the heat transfer and reactions that occur within a mass of material contained in a vessel inside a furnace rather than also including the effects of heat transfer to the vessel. Changes in the heat transfer properties (k, ρ, and Cp) are incorporated as the composition of the mass changes as the chemical reactions progress. The model is validated against experimental data, with samples heated to 1000°C at 3°C min−1 while purging with nitrogen gas. A sensitivity analysis of model predictions to the pre-exponential factor of the reaction rate constant of the main chemical reaction and the thermal conductivity of the powder bed indicated that, at the envisaged process conditions, the behaviour of the system depends much more on the rate of heat transfer than on the rate of the chemical reaction. The model demonstrated a significant increase in accuracy when the thermal conductivity was modelled to increase linearly with temperature compared to assuming a constant value.

Oct 1, 2022

By Richard F. Hewlett

This report describes how a limited number of preliminary exploration drill-hole assays from a mineral deposit can be used to design grid spacing that is both economic and efficient for subsequent evaluation drilling of that deposit. Relationships between desired precision of the estimate of grade of ore and drilling cost are used to determine the economic drill-hole spacing. The statistical concept of precision in estimating grade of ore is used to determine the efficient drill-hole spacing. Assay data from approximately 50 known copper deposits were studied, and the relationships of the statistical parameters of these deposits were computed. Drilling requirements for various precisions of the estimates of grade of ore were computed for some of these known deposits to serve as guides for drilling future copper deposits. The effect of various geologic factors on the trend in grade of ore and, therefore, on the drilling requirements is shown for certain deposits.

Jan 1, 1965

By M. B. Shongwe

Pt-based alloys are being developed for high-temperature applications with the aim of replacing some of the currently used Ni-based superalloys (NBSAs) in the highest temperature applications. The Pt-based alloys have a similar structure to the NBSAs, and since Pt is more chemically inert than nickel and has a higher melting point, they can potentially be used at higher temperatures, up to 1300°C, and in more aggressive environments. Several experimental Pt-based alloys were studied at Mintek, and an optimum composition was found to be Pt84:Ahi:Ru2:Cr3 (at.%). On the basis of hardness and microstructure, a later study identified a new optimum: Ptr8:A111:Ru5:Cr6 (at.%). There are at least two Pt3A1 allotropes, and the high-temperature cubic structure has better properties than the lower temperature tetragonal form, and so needs to be stabilized. This work describes the latest results obtained in transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies of the quaternary Pt-based superalloys. These results are both interesting and important, because the samples have a higher precipitate density compared to those from earlier work. The precipitate morphology is mainly cubic, with minor areas having irregular-shaped precipitates. The high volume fraction of the precipitates is a major breakthrough, since the objective of this work is to improve the alloys. A prior disadvantage was that the proportion of the precipitates was too low in samples before this work, especially compared with the work from Germany on Pt-Al-Cr-Ni¬based alloys as well as the NBSAs. TEM -Pt3A1 diffraction patterns were studied, and for each diffraction pattern, many possible lattice point combinations were tried, with the angle between the lattice spots as well as interplanar spacings being calculated for each phase (cubic or tetragonal) to match the measured results. An overall analysis of the diffraction results indicates that the cubic phase fitted the experimental lattice points with much lower errors compared to the tetragonal phase. Thus, with the close match achieved with the cubic structure, the structure of -Pt3A1 precipitates is likely to be cubic. X-ray diffraction has been carried out on selected samples, and the results confirmed the presence of cubic -Pt3A1 and (Pt). Different X-ray diffractometers were used to further verify the results, and the results were also compared with those from TEM.

Jan 1, 2012

By Yongbin Yang, Meixia Cai, Yufeng Guo, Guanzhou Qiu, Tao Jiang, Jianjun Fan

"A series of sintering and metallurgical experiments were carried out to optimize the blast furnace burden structure in this study. The results indicated that the sinter disintegrated seriously with basicity around 1.4, and after this “turning point”, the sintering properties were improved gradually with the increase of basicity of sinter. Based on the results, an idea was put forward which focused on producing two different kinds of sinter with different basicity. Different with the original burden structure of 85% sinter with basicity 1.4-1.5 + 15% pellets, an alternative new BF burden structure was proposed by the following structure?44% sinter with basicity 1.05 + 44% sinter with basicity 1.87 + 12% pellets. This new alternative BF burden structure has been adopted by some steel plants.IntroductionIn recent years, conventional blast furnace (BF) process was put into operation to produce hot metal in “A” steel plant. “A” steel plant owns two sets of sinter strands at present. Because the sinter production capacity exceeds the actual requirements of BF, a burden structure with 85-90% self-made sinter + 10-15% purchased pellets is adopted to take advantage of the low–cost sinter. But the serious problems encountered with the BF operators are that the sinter disintegrated easily during transportation and storage process. Therefore, the rate of return fines is very high after sinter being screened."

Jan 1, 2012

By Ehsan Moosavi, Kamyar Tolouei, Mehran Gholinejad

The literature defines rockbursts in slightly different ways based on their generation mechanisms, field phenomena, and degree of damage, but in a way that is almost consistent. Generally, a rockburst refers to seismic events that mainly happen in underground excavations, for purposes such as underground mining, road and railway tunnels, nuclear power, etc., and that are followed by the collapse and outburst of rocks. Long-term rockburst prediction can be abstracted as a classification problem mathematically, in which we can introduce deep learning to solve it. Further, using deep learning in rockburst prediction can overcome drawbacks such as subjectivity and inconsistency brought from previous traditional approaches. A rockburst data-set, was employed to evaluate the current method for predicting rockburst grade, and the good results of overall success rate were obtained. The results indicated that the proposed algorithms can speed up parameter optimization search, the proposed method is robust model and might hold a high potential to become a useful tool in rockburst prediction research.

Apr 26, 2022