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By William Gleason

"What will the mine of the future look like? Will it resemble the current operations that supply the world with the products it needs to function, or will it be something totally different? How will the demands from the communities that are most affected by mining operations shape the mine of the future? How will technology and innovation be used to help miners reach deposits that are getting harder to access, and what are the dangers of this new world? Who will work at the mine of the future, and what will that work look like?These are questions that do not yet have definitive answers, but they are questions that need to be asked for the mining industry to move into a future that is as filled with uncertainty and challenge as it is with promise and opportunity.On Feb. 16, the 2015 SME Annual Conference and Expo and the 117th CMA National Western Mining Association conference began with a keynote address, "The mine of the future: Forecasting opportunities and challenges for the global mining industry." Panelists from five sectors of the mining industry participated in the session, which was followed by the conference and expo, that in large part, were also trying to answer the question of what the mine of the future will look like.In coming months, Mining Engineering will continue the discussions and answer some of the questions submitted by members of the 2,000-person audience during the keynote address in a monthly feature called, "Predicting the Mine of the Future," and in Thought Leaders Podcasts with the panelists and other industry experts."

Jan 1, 2014

By S. A. Jeric

In-pit crushing and conveying of waste has been utilized in the mining industry for over 30 years. In recent years, innovations in crushing, conveying, and particularly waste and leach stacking technology have sparked a renewed interest in continuous haulage systems for large-scale open pit applications. A review of the advantages/disadvantages and operating techniques of crushers, feeders, conveyors, and stacking systems currently available is made. The paper examines some operations that are currently using large scale continuous haulage systems. Finally, a case study is presented that evaluates the application of a continuous waste haulage system in a large open pit mine in the Western United States, The case study includes a economic comparison with the existing truck haulage system.

Jan 1, 1997

By S. B. Keith

Cerro de Pasco Corporation operates five large base metal mines in Peru having a combined production of some three million tons of ore a year. An integrated complex of concentrators, smelters and refineries produces annually about 25,600 short tons of copper, 48,100 short tons of lead, 60,500 short tons of zinc metal, 102,300 short tons of zinc concentrate, 8,272,000 ounces of silver and substantial amounts of bismuth, cadmium and selenium. Geology plays an important role in these operations. The organization of detail geologic work in and around the Cerro mines was set up by John M. Boutwell in 1918 and a geology department was established in 1920. Growing through the years, the department technical staff now numbers over thirty men and. their work covers all phases of geological investigations. Many outstanding geologists of the past and present, too numerous to name here, have studied and contributed to the knowledge of the deposits and the ever growing list of Cerro "alumni" must rival that of any other mining organization. Numerous papers on the geology of Cerro's mines can be found in the technical literature and several doctoral theses have been presented on Cerro subjects as indicated in the attached bibliography, Specimens of Cerro's ores can be found in museum, college and university collections throughout the world. Yet, as with all mines and mining districts, the geologic knowledge of Cerro's deposits in Peru is being revised and added to constantly. This presentation cannot hope to cover adequately all the phases of the geology and mineralization. For a more complete background and discussion of the mine you are referred to the bibliography. Here I shall outline only briefly the more important geologic features and describe some of the newer developments of recent years The credit for the data presented here belongs to the many geologists who have worked or are now working for Cerro de Pasco Corporation, but I must assume sole responsibility for any omissions or variations in the interpretation of their work.

Jan 1, 1965

By L. G. Martin

Early mining at Manhattan demonstrated that blasthole assays alone were insufficient to control the disposition of material. A program was began using controlled blasting, intense sampling and panning of crushed samples, fire assay checks, and geologic inspections to sort material in the pits. Statistical data confirms that the method provides effective control at minimal cost. This cost is easily offset by additional tonnage found in areas considered to be waste.

Jan 1, 1980

By Joseph Moses Botbol

The disposition of world mineral resources is such that a vital need exists for both the most efficient development of existing resources and the rapid disclosure of as-yet undiscovered resources. The technological developments described in this report are directed primarily toward the acceleration and increased efficiency of mineral-resource exploration program. In the past decade the use of computers in the mineral industry has grown exponentially. Most computer applications in mineral exploration are designed to be implemented either before or after data collection. Few, if any, computer applications are designed to be used during the collection of data. One major reason for the lack of development of computer applications in this area is that comunications links do not exist between computing systems and the remote areas that host mineral-deposit exploration programs.

Jan 1, 1975

The U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) conducted a study to determine the effectiveness of a filtered air delivery system to reduce respirable dust exposure of roof bolter operators in underground coal mines. When performing roof bolting operations, roof bolter operators may experience exposure to high levels of respirable dust during a working shift, especially when working downwind of the continuous mining machine. While drilling and installing roof bolts, this filtered air system supplies a clean curtain of air over the roof bolter operator by means of a plenum mounted beneath the canopy. This experimentally designed air curtain, adapted for roof bolting machines used in this study, is based upon previous design prototypes, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations and trial-and-error testing. Both the prototype and final designs were tested in the full-scale mining galleries at the Office of Mine Safety and Health Research (OMSHR) in Pittsburgh, PA before being taken underground for field testing. Test results of the system in both laboratory and field studies show reductions in operator exposure to respirable dust when the operator is positioned directly under the protected zone of the canopy.

Jan 1, 2012

By Jürgen Brune

This is a shortened version of the paper ?The Methane-Air Explosion Hazard Within Coal Mine Gobs published in the 2013 volume of SME Transactions (Brune, 2013, pp. 376-390). This paper analyzes the explosion hazard resulting from the formation of methane-air mixtures in the mined-out gobs of underground longwall coal mines. Evidence from numerous mine explosions suggests that explosive methane zones can form within longwall gobs. Explosions and fires resulting from these methane accumulations have led to severe and fatal injuries to the miners, including the explosion of the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia, where 29 miners lost their lives April 5, 2010.The paper also reviews current research on numerical modeling of gas flows in longwall gobs and outlines how targeted injection of nitrogen into gobs can effectively reduce the volume of such explosive methane zones. The paper concludes that comprehensive monitoring of gas compositions, along the accessible fringes of the gobs along with inertization, improved ventilation schemes and further research are necessary to control this explosion hazard and make mining operations safe. Keywords: Longwall, gob, methane, EGZ, explosive gas zones, underground, coal, explosion, fire

Feb 1, 2014

By J. S. Rapp

This report is based on existing reports and recently gathered field data. It discusses mineral resource potential of Tertiary playas in the Fort Irwin region. An estimated 1.3 million tons of measured salt "reserves", and 20 million tons of indicated salt resources, have been identified north of the fort. Other indicated resources include 300,000 tons of celestite, 800,000 tons of gypsum, and 10 million tons of selenite. Zeolitic tuff was mined south of Fort Irwin from 1978 to 1984, and unexplored occurrences are widespread. Calcium-bentonite is mined near Barstow, and more may exist, including valuable sodium-and lithium-based bentonites.

Jan 1, 1992

By Elimame Elaloui, Kais Elghniji, Constantin Virlan, Aurel Pui, Chaima Ouled Amor

Separation and identification of minerals composing the Tunisian silica sands have been conducted by acid etching and hot filtration/sedimentation (HFS) without affecting the quartz component. It was found that the hot acid etching process is an effective method to separate quartz and clay minerals in the silica sand. The SEM micrographs of the silica sand show rough surface and some cracks with irregular shapes. The surface becomes clean and smooth after acid etching process. After chemical dissolution, the clay minerals were recovered by hot filtration following by sedimentation at low temperature. FT-IR, EDS maps, and secondary electron (SE) analyses of separated clay minerals reveal the presence of Fe2O3, montmorillonite, and kaolinite minerals. The LIBS analysis of clay minerals shows the presence of Al, Fe, Ca, Al, and Mg. The sequential etching process can be introduced in the purification methods as an effective way to separate quartz from clay minerals.

Jul 29, 2020

By Harry Deitzer

Within the industrial marketplace barium sulfate has an established role as a filler or extender pigment for use in a wide array of applications. The focus of this paper is to outline a number of these applications and in each one characterizes those features of barium sulfate which provide value. Following this is a discussion of the process techniques which have been used to develop value from a selected class of barite ores found in southern Missouri. It is appropriate to define some terms which may help in clarifying some concepts as presented. Use of the term barium sulfate refers broadly to the chemical compound BaSO4 Barite will generally refer to the naturally occurring barium sulfate ores and their properties. Barytes, whether bleached or not, will refer to barite ore made suitable for industrial applications.

Jan 1, 1993

By John P. Cummings

Glass is the most unique substance which man has made. It is understood that Phoenician sailors playing on the beach in Mesopotanmia around 12000 BC, produced glass by the fusion of sand and soda in their campfire. Glass is unique for many reasons. However, let us consider the following. It is made of materials which are opaque and yet glass can be translucent, transparent, or opaque. It can be as soft as cotton or stronger than steel. It transmits light readily and yet is totally impervious to gases and liquids. It is chemically an inert, creates very little pollution in its manufacture. It is made of the most abundant raw materials on earth. It is readily recyclable and has little pollution in its disposal. Glass containers are made principally from sand (that is, silica), soda, which is sodium carbonate, and lime, which is calcium carbonate, plus decolorizers or colorants and cullet. The proportion of cullet, broken glass, in most glass tanks today is roughly 10 to 20% of the glass product. In most cases, the cullet used in the plant is glass from off-ware, or broken ware, which is a waste product within the plant. Cullet has the following advantages. It contains all of the raw materials normally used in a batch. It tends to melt at a lower temperature than batch, thus saving some fuel, and, finally, by forming a crust above the normal melting system, there is a tendency to cut down air pollution.

Jan 1, 1975

By J. D. Grenia

The Buick Mine is a joint venture of American Metals Climax, Inc., and Homestake Mining Company located 120 miles by road southwest of St. Louis, near the village of Boss, in the 'New Missouri Lead Belt' (See Figure 1). Since start-up in 1969, over four million tons of lead-zinc ore have been mined and milled at Buick. Situated about 1,100 feet below the surface at an elevation 270 feet above sea level, the flat lying sinuous ore bodies are up to 250 feet wide, 85 feet high and several thousand feet long. Mineralization is galena, sphalerite and chalcopyrite in dolomite, Access to the mine is through two 18'Ø concrete lined vertical shafts - one for servicing and the other for hoisting ore (See Figure 2). The mine is being worked by a modified room and pillar method using both rubber tired equipment and a sub-level rail haulage. Ore is broken from first pass headings, back and bench faces and transported by load-haul-dump units to ore passes located on 900 foot centers. The ore is pulled from chutes on the sublevel 90 feet below into 15 ton bottom dump cars and delivered in 10 car lots by a 15 ton diesel locomotive to a 42" gyratory crusher (See Figure 3). A recent innovation has been the introduction of two 50 ton trucks with plans to haul up to 60% of the ore on the mining level to an ore pass feeding directly to the primary crusher (See Figure 4). Ventilation raises up to 16'Ø, which were originally planned for 900 foot centers, are now driven on 450 foot centers.

Jan 1, 1973

By E. R. Mueller

The natural lives of machines and components vary tremendously! Maintenance managers struggle constantly to maximize their equipment lives while minimizing their maintenance costs, but they normally lack the tools and techniques they need to do this properly. This paper proposes a methodology based on probabilities of failure and expected values for repairs that recognizes the variation among individual machines and components as well as the high costs associated with catastrophic failures. It enables a user to determine the optimum change-out intervals for many types of equipment. The approach proposed here is sophisticated enough to be reliable but simple enough to be applied by the maintenance staff on the shop floor. It will complement existing preventive and predictive maintenance programs.

Jan 1, 1995

By Hugh Jones

Mine planners are challenged to hold two seemingly opposing objectives: maximizing the mine?s operational efficiency while minimizing post-closure impacts. One of the most effective approaches to meet these objectives is to plan for mine closure from the start. Mine closure is typically viewed as the process that happens in the period of time when the operational stage of a mine is ending and the final decommissioning and mine rehabilitation is being undertaken. In reality, it is a continuous series of activities that begins with preplanning prior to the project?s design and construction and ends when long-term site stability is achieved and a self-sustaining ecosystem is established. Putting this model into practice as early as possible can significantly reduce the financial burden of mine closure and rehabilitation.

Jan 1, 2011

By Yuting Xue

Classification of rock and coal is one preliminary problem for fully automated or intelligent mining. It assists in automated rib stability analysis and enables the shearer to adjust the drums without human intervention. This paper studies the classification of rock from coal on rib images using machine learning techniques. A database of rock and coal images was created by filtering photographs taken by NIOSH researchers during site visits. Machine learning was conducted on patches, smaller images randomly extracted from each rock or coal image. After training, the classifier was validated with the testing dataset and achieved an accuracy score of 0.9.

Jan 13, 2022

By E. J. Sullivan

This study seeks to define the mechanism of oxyanion sorption onto surfactant-modified zeolites. Zeolites which have been treated with hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (HDTMA) surfactant to produce a hydrophobic surface are capable of sorbing both organic compounds as well as oxyanions such as chromate, selenate, and sulfate. Simple ion exchange and charge-balancing mechanisms do not fully explain this unusual phenomenon. The sorption of HDTMA surfactant appears to be partly ion exchange and partly sorption to non-ion-exchangeable sites. Sorption of chromate is a simple exchange mechanism with bromide, which co-adsorbs with HDTMA to form a surface precipitate. Information from this study will be used to design on-site and in situ treatment systems for contaminated water, such as filter beds and permeable barriers.

Jan 1, 1995

By C. E. Jordan

The Tuscaloosa Metallurgy Research Center of the Bureau of Mines, U.S. Department of the Interior, is investigating the recovery of phosphate from beneficiation slime, as part of the Bureau's efforts to conserve mineral resources through increased use of wastes. Phosphate equivalent to about two-fifths of U.S. production is discarded annually in the wastes. Exploratory flotation tests on the plus 5-um fraction of a slime sample showed promise for a classification-flotation technique. Onsite classification tests at six phosphate washing plants were conducted with a two-stage hydro cyclone system designed to recover the plus 5-um material. The cyclone underflows contained 8.3 to 19.1 percent P2O5, and the recovery of the plus 5-um PZOS values ranged from 81 to 95 percent. The percent P2O5 recovery from the total slimes ranged from 38 to 47 percent. Batch-flotation studies are currently being conducted.

Jan 1, 1978

By W. H. Renison

This paper will discuss the operation and maintenance of Molycorp's Quests Mine ore conveyor system. The 1.2 m wide, steel cable-reinforced conveyor belts are capable of transporting 1089 kt/h of ore over a belt line distance of 3124 m with a vertical rise of 518 m. A portion of the conveyor runs in a 2057 m long underground decline on a 10° slope. Six 448 kW motors power the main 1.2 m wide belts.

Jan 1, 1984

By PETER ROBINSON, KEVIN BARBER, OLIVER WHATNALL

Investigation and uptake of filtered tailings continues to grow throughout the globe. This is driven by a wide range of site-specific considerations, which include such factors as tailings characteristics (e.g., amenability to filtration), production rates, climate, water availability, cost drivers, environmental requirements, and social factors. Despite the aforementioned technological growth, the currently available filtration technology is not able to meet the needs of many operations and projects that would otherwise adopt the technology. Experience with large-scale industrial filtration shows that vacuum belt filter systems meet the needs of many modern users, exceptions being the inability to effectively dewater tailings at altitude and/or with a fine particle size distribution: a potential fatal flaw. This paper presents a case study on the utilization of the patented Viper Filtration technology on gold tailings to overcome this challenge and shares the resultant full-scale plant design, highlighting the features designed to overcome cost and scalability deterrents. This technology is a novel mechanical process which complements the vacuum pressure in dewatering the filter cake as it travels along the belt filter. This project commenced with a pilot testing program, which successfully met the objective to rigorously test, measure and record any performance improvements achieved when engaging the Viper technology. Of the two tailings products tested, gross improvements of 4.2%w/w and 5.7%w/w were achieved when compared to the conventional vacuum belt filter operation. This pilot testing facilitated measurement of operating and design data, which forms the basis of the full-scale system design and resultant equipment supply of three vibration roller assemblies for retro-fitting on the existing vacuum belt filter.

Jan 25, 2021

By Kadri Dagdelen, Lee J. Zamalloa

Truck-shovel dispatch systems based on linear or nonlinear programming algorithms have been in operation since the mid-1980s, with different levels of success depending on the correct arrangement of operational resources and the complexity of the mine. These systems are known for shortcomings related to the logic behind the decision-making of the operational objectives. This makes it necessary to have a human agent (dispatcher) to guide the system when the operational parameters change, creating the possibility of suboptimal decisions due to the human factor. To address this issue, the present work discusses the implementation of a methodology based on artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to assist in the decision-making of the best optimization goals arrangement when operating a fleet management system. The focus of the analysis is on the evaluation of variable goal weights in a nonpreemptive, multigoal optimization model for multiple uncertain scenarios based on regions of optimal feasibility.

Apr 1, 2025