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If one can embrace the medical analogue, much of the mining industry currently suffers from a massive bacterial infection. When pyrite-bearing or sulfide-bearing rock formations, tailings, or mine wastes are infected by Acidithiobacillus ferro-oxidans, the likelihood of forming acid rock drainage (ARD) is almost guaranteed. The ?pharmacy? of antibiotics available is extensive, ranging from solid alkaline amendments like limestone to liquid ?medicines? such as sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium thiocyanate, waste milk, and bipolar lipids. Unfortunately, the ?geo-medical? teams of geochemists, microbiologists, engineers, and mine managers lack the tools to surgically apply these active ingredients where they are needed most with a minimum of waste. Distribution of fine grained limestone on the surface of an acidic mine waste dump is analogous to applying a bandage soaked in antacid to treat an upset stomach. The implementation of up-to-date best management practices has not healed the patient; an equivalent combination of hypodermic needle, cyber knife, and arthroscopic probe is clearly needed. Using an engineered, flow-able or pumpable foam or pHoam? as the medicinally analogous ?dextrose delivery solution? for solid and/or liquid ?geo-antibiotics?, the authors have combined off-the-shelf technologies that have been previously applied in solving geotechnical problems in the mining industry. A patent for the innovative process is pending. This paper discusses method concepts and the advantages it could provide over conventional BMPs.

Jan 1, 2012

By W. D. Riley

Engineered Scavenger Compounds (ESCs), developed by the U. S. Bureau of Mines I are a novel class of compounds that can selectively recover a desired element from 'a solid or molten alloy. Lithium titanate (Li2Tip7 or Li20' 3TiO.) is being used as an ESC to recover lithium (Li) from Aluminum-Lithium (AI-Li) alloys. X-ray diffraction measurements have shown that lithium titanate undergoes a phase change from an orthorhombic structure to a hexagonal structure. This change is due to the incorporation of Li in the matrix of the material and the effect of temperature. Although both of the structures are metastable, the hexagonal phase that forms during the scavenging of Li from AI-Li alloys appears to be the more stable phase. Recovering Li from the ESC by electtodeposition does not cause the structure to revert to the orthorhombic phase. Both the orthorhombic and the hexagonal structures of Li.Til07 have similar scavenging capacities for Li. This paper proposes a new mechanism for the phase transformation.

Jan 1, 1991

By V. R. Degner

The trend in both the metallic and non-metallic mining industry is toward processing increasing y higher tonnages of lower grade ores, thereby resulting in a growing interest in progressively larger volume individual machines in the flotation circuit. Because of the relatively high cost of large flotation machine development and evaluation, it is important to establish a rational basis by which the existing smaller flotation machine experience can be extrapolated to establish the configuration of the next larger family of flotation machines with a minimum of development modification in the field. This paper reviews the R&D approach used in translating smaller flotation machine experience to establish the configuration of a 1000 cu ft (2B.3 cu m) induced air machine. Internal cell hydrodynamic principles, which governed this extrapolation, and cell (liquid) surface and froth management considerations will be reviewed, and prototype machine mill tests will be summarized.

Jan 1, 1978

By M. L. Trépanier

"Engineering and technical services are supplied by the Engineering Department, located at Thetford Mines, Quebec, approximately 60 miles southwest of Quebec City. The department serves the three operating mines in the Thetford area, the Asbestos Hill mine at Putuniq, Nouveau Quebec, and the Nordenham plant at Nordenham, West Germany. The Engineering Department is responsible for supplying the following services. 1. Administration and coordination of capital projects. 2. Engineering, design and drafting services for in-plant changes or improvements. 3. Preparation of geological plans for mine planning and ore reserves determinations. 4. Short-, medium- and long-term mining plans. 5. Rock mechanics studies and monitoring. 6. Grade control monitoring. 7. Environmental control engineering and construction. Details of the organization and services rendered will be the basis of the paper."

Jan 1, 1976

By Carlos Andrade

An engineering endeavor involves the creation of an expansive, environmentally conscious reinforced sloped MSE wall system. The objective is to enlarge a flat mining work area. Situated in southern Arizona, this mine is dedicated to extracting essential resources such as Manganese, zinc, silver, and lead, crucial for advancing clean and renewable energy initiatives. The project necessitates the implementation of a Mechanically Stabilized Earth retention system. This system aims to both expand the mine’s working area and facilitate access to underground tunnels. The expansion pad must be robust enough to endure the substantial loads exerted by heavy mining machinery. The wall’s reinforcement components are strategically designed to counteract the challenges posed by aggressive soil conditions with low resistivity. Furthermore, they must be resilient against potential damage during installation. The system’s ease of transportation is crucial due to challenging access conditions, and its design must allow for efficient drainage. A significant consideration is the integration of a face system that fosters vegetation growth and seamlessly merges with the existing flora of the area. In addition, plans include the construction of an access road downslope from the wall. The chosen solution involves a reinforced sloped system with a 70-degree incline. The wall’s surface is adorned with an erosion control mat, intended to promote the proliferation of vegetation. For added durability, the wire basket units are equipped with galvanized wire featuring a polymer coating. High tensile strip bonded geogrids, featuring a robust polyester core, provide essential reinforcement. The completed wall is an impressive feat, spanning 1500 feet in length and soaring to a height of 45 feet. It stands as a testament to innovative engineering in harmony with environmental and functional considerations.

Feb 1, 2024

Designing for early access to deep orebodies is an essential driver for improved project payback. Vertical shaft sinking techniques have been developed to allow concurrent mine level excavation while continuing to sink. Project cash flows can also be improved when simultaneously deepening existing shafts beneath operating hoisting systems. Further economic advantage has been realised through creative sinking sequencing in twin ventilation/service shaft projects. A fourth technique to reduce project schedules involves partial shaft barrel equipping allowing unrestricted access to construct stations and continue with level installations. This approach reduces interference with barrel sinking activities to insignificant proportions. This paper reviews how these approaches have added significant value to actual shaft sinking projects, as assessed from a contractorÆs perspective, and discusses some of the practical issues to be addressed when planning future projects. Designers need to take cognisance throughout all project engineering phases of the adage that you are only sinking when cleaning the face. Cleaning can only be sustained when there is sufficient hoisting capacity.

Jan 1, 2005

By C. D. Wittreich

The University of Idaho, Department of Metallurgical and Mining Engineering, through the Generic Mineral Technology Center, has been engaged in mine design research at the Lucky Friday Mine, Mullan, Idaho. The purpose of the research is to develop and implement the longwall underhand cut-and-fill mining method for conditions at the Mine. The longwall underhand cut-and-fill mining method involves backfilling mined stopes with a compacted tailings-cement mix. After the backfill has been allowed to cure, mining is resumed from underneath. Horizontal stresses in the Lucky Friday Mine are exceptionally high and rock bursts are a common problem. Beus and Chan (1980) have reported a 2:1 horizontal to vertical stress ratio at the mine with a 65-MPa (9,500-psi) maximum horizontal stress at the 1,295-m (4,250-ft) level. Using this mining method under these stress conditions, it is desirable to have a backfill material that has sufficient strength to safely carry the high horizontal wall loads while minimizing external steel supports.

Jan 1, 1987

By Graham G. W. Mustoe, Andrew I. Hustrulid

An advanced numerical model based upon the Discrete Element Method (DEM) has been developed to provide the engineer with unique detailed information to assist in the design of transfer points in large industrial conveyor systems in mining operations. This modeling technique provides a quantitative description of the bulk solids movement through the transfer point. This information consists of the velocity distribution of the bulk solids and the stresses within the bulk solids. The DEM model also gives detailed information concerning the impact forces acting on the transfer structure and the conveyor belts from the bulk solids flow.

Jan 1, 1996

By F. S. Thurner

"This paper describes the engineering and construction activities of the ""design-build"" project awarded to the joint venture of Foundation-Comstock-Janin for the construction of the plant and wharf facilities, camp site, power plant and all supporting services. As a member of the Foundation Group of companies at that time, Fenco actecl as consulting and design engineers for the project. Particular emphasis is given to the problems which adversely affected design and construction activities due to prevailing arctic conditions and the remote location of the project. The paper also describes the approach taken in the investigation of the site and soil conditions as well as the selection of the special structures for the 225,000-toncapacity fibre storage building, the wharf structure for 50,000-dwt vessels, and the 1,000-tph-capacity reclaiming and ship-loading facilities . It further covers the logistics problems and the scheduling activities related to the short duration of the shipping season, and the transportation of equipment and mate1•ials by sea as well as by air."

Jan 1, 1976

By B. Burke, R. Colquhoun, K. Thomas, R. Walton, D. Fentie

The new Roasting Facility at Barrick’s Goldstrike Mine in Nevada, U.S.A. was developed to process 12,000 tons per day of refractory gold ore. The process consists of crushing, dry grinding, roasting, extensive gas purification, calcine quenching and leaching in the presence of activated carbon. The new plant is integrated into the existing Goldstrike facility, treating ore from both open pit and underground sources. The process design, procurement, construction and commissioning of the Roaster facility was performed successfully over a 3½ year period with peaks of 400 engineering personnel and 950 construction personnel supporting the project. The US$330,000,000 project was completed ahead of schedule and under budget. The commissioning was well planned and proceeded smoothly through a rapid start-up to achieve all primary goals within three months of the start of processing of ore.

Jan 1, 2001

By V. R. Degner

The trend in both the metallic and nonmetallic mining industry is toward processing increasingly higher tonnages of lower grade ores, thereby resulting in a growing interest in progressively larger volume individual machines in the flotation circuit. Because of the relatively high cost of large flotation machine development and evaluation, it is important to establish a rational basis by which the existing smaller flotation machine experience can be extrapolated to establish the configuration of the next larger family of flotation machines with a minimum of development modification in the field. This Paper reviews the R&D approach used in translating smaller flotation machine experience to the configuration of a 28.3 m3 (1000 cu ft) induced air machine. Internal cell hydrodynamic principles, which governed this extrapolation, and cell (liquid) surface and froth management considerations will be reviewed, and prototype machine mill tests will be summarized.

Jan 1, 1981

By John Garcia

THE presence of carbon de terre along the banks of the Illinois river was noted by the members of the Joliet and Marquette expeditions in 1673, and that may be referred to as the birthday of coal in the Middle West. The march of progress in the majority of indus-tries radiating from Chicago-one of the phenomena of history-is due in no small measure to this same carbon de terre and to the development and exploita-tion of the vast coal resources, which nature in a generous mood spread so lavishly over almost the en-tire state. The geological records indicate that coal-bearing rocks underlie three-quarters of Illinois, in-cluding 85 of the 102 counties and the entire area is estimated at from 36,000 to 42,000 square miles. Not all of the coal in this great area may be mined under the conditions existing today; producers are now taking the "cream" since industry demands the best quality and the lowest cost, thereby forcing competition among operators, which, in turn, com-pels the development of mines in those areas where the coal may be most readily .won, leaving the coal that is more difficult and expensive to mine to pos-terity. This is not such a bad arrangement, since the engineers of succeeding generations will enjoy the advantage of the experience of their ancestors, where-by they should profit and know how to mine a 2-ft. seam with as much economy and dispatch as we today work coal of thrice that thickness. During the period between 1830 and 1850, Illinois coal-mining progressed from the art of scratching along the outcrop to the development of small mines, mostly slopes, drifts and shallow shafts, but the real progress in the industry was coincident with the con-struction of railroads.

Jan 2, 1927

By Staff

"The Weyburn Oil Field, located 80 miles southeast of Regina, Saskatchewan, was discovered by Central-Del Rio Oils Limited, in January, 1955. As of January 1st, 1959, the field had 357 wells capable of producing an estimated total of 45,100 barrels of oil per day.Highly portable, economical, drilling rigs are used to penetrate the pay at a depth of 4,400 to 5,100 feet. Presently, the complete drilling operation for an average field well, including drilling, coring, testing, and running casing, requires 12 days. Drilling procedures are conventional for a field of this depth and no serious problems exist. Central-Del Rio core the productive section of all their wells, which provides valuable information for well completions and reservoir studies. Production casing procedure is to set through the zone and perforate the productive inter-val. This was found advisable due to the lensing nature of the porosity and permeability throughout the reservoir, and to the high connate water saturation encountered in the tighter sections of the reservoir in the north and northeast areas of the field.Although a few wells in the field have produced naturally by flowing or pumping without acid treatment, it has generally been necessary to acidize the wells to make them commercial producers. To date, acid treatments appear to effect better stimulation of the limestone reservoir than fracturing treatments. Perforation sealing balls have been used as an aid in selectively treating all of the perforated interval.The majority of the field is on pump, producing at a low gas-oil ratio. The main part of the field has water-free production, with most of the water being produced in the north and northeastern area. Salt-water disposal is now available in the field through two disposal wells completed in the Basal Blairmore sand.The Midale Beds ""Marly"" and ""Vuggy"" zones form the principal reservoir, which is a stratigraphic trap, with the north and northeast edges terminated by a porosity and permeability pinch-out and the south-west and west edges bounded by water-laden porosity. There is no evidence to date of a gas cap. The reservoir apparently is producing on a fluid-expansion-type mechanism. The increasing water production in wells on the southwest and west edges of the field indicated water encroachment from these directions, and suggests some recovery energy may be available from this source.The total probable ultimate remaining recoverable reserves have been estimated at° 332,469,000 barrels of oil. Markets have not been able to keep up with the rate of development of the medium crude re-serves. However, it is felt strongly that substantial additional markets for Weyburn medium crude will be developed by the producers in the near future at realistic wellhead prices."

Jan 1, 1959

By J Euston

In the 1990s round flotation tanks were introduced as a result of the lower fabrication costs for larger cells. It was soon observed that round tanks held a number of further advantages over the traditional rectangular cells, such as better hydrodynamics, lower costs and reduced footprint per unit volume.In the last twenty years flotation cell sizes have increased almost exponentially and designs of 250 to 300m3 are a well established standard with plans for full scale pilot installations of 500m3. The option to install these large cells gives flexibility in circuit arrangements and allows efficient and economic matching of flotation lines with modern mill designs. The benefits of scale up are well known with reduced numbers of cells required, lower power costs per unit volume, etc. These benefits will be briefly reviewed with specific reference to the installation of 300m3 to 350m3 flotation cells at the Copperton Concentrator of Kennecott Copper in Utah, USA.The sophisticated techniques required to model these ‘supercells’ have led to a critical review of the fundamentals of flotation science and engineering. In addition to outlining the advantages of large flotation cells, this paper will review the science which supports, and occasionally challenges, the ongoing trend to larger flotation cells.

Aug 8, 2011

By K. N. Karparov

The classical limit equilibrium methods are suspected to be ineffective in predicting the potential for highwall failure in many instances in coal mines around the world. Slope engineers have for many years recognized a block thrust failure mechanism for slope failures, but little work had been done before 2000 to explain the actual mechanisms which must be responsible for the failure. The main reason for this is that limit equilibrium methods implicitly assume rigid blocks, and the resulting force equations must be satisfied everywhere simultaneously for them to have any meaning. This paper will show that the material involved in the slope failure is not rigid; indeed it undergoes considerable permanent deformation during failure. This observation allows the authors to treat the block boundaries independently, because they need not maintain a constant spatial relationship with one another, as is assumed in other methods. To enable analysis of this type the authors assume that the weight of the blocks is evenly distributed. This is reasonable, because the slope material is not strong enough to be self-supporting without some sort of constraint, or strong enough to be able to apply point loads to the surrounding material. The purpose of this paper is to extend the practical application of the analytical method developed from mechanism studies to provide an objective assessment of the risk of slope failure, and therefore guidelines for more stable slope designs. This work is based on studies carried out on two failures in an open pit coal mine in South Africa, and provides a methodology to assess the potential for failure more objectively than is possible with currently accepted methods, while at the same time remaining sufficiently simple to allow a ?back of the cigarette box? assessment by geotechnical engineers on site.

Jan 1, 2009

By J. Kuti

In room and pillar mining a large number of working points are arranged to follow a mining pattern. Geological and roof control problems can be overcome or their effect minimized by varying this pattern. Longwall mining on the other hand, fixes the mining pattern for anyone panel. This aspect of longwall mining leads to constancy, so that a well-conceived organization, ventilation, dust and roof control systems lead to daily repetition and subsequent simplicity of control. All the same, a fixed mining pattern calls for a very careful consideration and selection of design parameters. (Ref. 1.)

Jan 1, 1971

By D. M. Rippley

THE St. Lawrence Seaway Project ranks with the greatest engineering undertakings of all time. A summary of major materials going into the construction of this project, shown in Table I, will assist in an appreciation -of this fact. These data relate to Seaway construction only, and it should be remembered that two large-scale power projects are in the construction stage on the St. Lawrence river concurrently with construction of the Seaway. A project of such magnitude as the Seaway would attract widespread interest even if it were being constructed in a remote area. The fact that it is located in a heavily populated and developed section of both Canada and the United States has done much to enhance this interest, and in many ways complicates the problems confronting the engineer in the design and construction phases. Many consider the St. Lawrence Seaway to be a new idea that has developed within the past decade - such is far from the fact, because the St. Lawrence River canal systems have existed for more than a century, and the Seaway Project is but a new, larger, and more efficient version of a continually expanding facility.

Jan 1, 1957

By R. G. Dalbke

An increasing number of water pollution control systems are certain to be installed by many industries in the future because of new federal, state, and local government regulations, and because of the rising general concern about the deterioration of our water resources. Extensive engineering, some of it based on methods not yet developed, will be required if these new systems are to provide optimum pollution control. Capital cost, operating cost, and present and future regulatory requirements will be primary factors to be considered by engineers. This paper outlines procedures and gives examples of advanced engineering practices that have achieved efficient pollution control systems in the steel and nonferrous industries.

Jan 1, 1968

By V. C. Rogers

ALTHOUGH surveying at mining properties is fundamentally the same regardless of the method of mining, at Climax, due to the nature of the ground, the policy of advance development work, and extremes in climatic conditions, surveying practice has had to be revised to meet the specialized conditions of this particular type of mining operation. The company's mine is one of the largest underground properties in the United States. It has proved ore reserves of 275,000,000 tons, 60,000,000 tons of which have been broken. To date, 109,000 ft. of development drifting have been driven, as well as 40,926 ft. of development raising, 10,000 ft. of ventilation drifting and raising, 16,000 ft. of exploration drifting, and 206,000 ft. of diamond drilling. Normal production varies between 1.2,000 and 15,000 tons daily. Development work proceeds at a rate of 11/2 tons developed for every ton milled and with a development of 18,000 to 20,000 tons per day, the following crew is required to take care of mine and surface engineering

Jan 1, 1946

By C. E. White

The depletion of higher grade mineral reserves will accelerate the trend toward production from progressively larger and lower grade deposits. The discovery of adequate reserves of leaner ores will require the development of improved exploration techniques with a greater depth range. The principal challenges to the Canadian mining industry are to find the mineral resources required to meet fast growing world demand and to develop mining methods and equipment to ensure production costs which will strengthen our position in export markets in the face of in-creasing world competition. The challenges cannot be met without intensive efforts to attract more technical men to the industry and to improve their training.

Jan 1, 1967