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By Liam Bussey, Graham Speirs

Si bien la automatización de plantas de proceso es quizás la norma actual en la minería, la adopción de esta en la minería subterránea se ha retrasado. En este artículo se compartirán algunas ideas de cómo implementar los sistemas de automatización en la mina subterránea y se explicará cómo la tecnología puede mejorar la operación, de manera que las minas sean más seguras y sus operaciones más competitivas. Se discutirán diversos aspectos tales como los sistemas de comunicación, los sistemas de seguridad, los equipos de producción, los servicios mineros y la gestión de operaciones.

Sep 20, 2019

By T. Wisdom, D. Romo, G. Seale, R. Jansen

Thickening remains relatively misunderstood since it is typically near the end of the process and not directly involved in metal recovery. When operating well, thickeners are ignored and left to run independently, the ‘out of sight, out of mind’ phenomena. However, when operating poorly, there is a lack of basic understanding and remedial actions to solve issues are reactionary rather than proactively addressing shortcomings. This series of papers breaks down in sequential order the stepped phases required to gain an appreciation and thorough understanding of the science behind thickeners, and key thickener components, and basic troubleshooting skills. This second paper starts with identifying the different approaches to thickener test work including static and dynamic settling tests followed by high-rate versus paste thickening. Complimentary to test work, the mechanisms surrounding coagulation and flocculation are presented and explained. The basic mechanisms for coagulation and flocculation are discussed to support the different test work approaches and provide the reader with the basic background.

Mar 2, 2022

By Raymond L. Lowrie

Coal deposits in the Boulder-Weld County coalfield in Colorado are analyzed in relation to economic factors governing the growth, stability, and competitive potential of the coal industry. Recoverable reserves, estimated to be 571 million tons, are discussed in detail, particularly those in the Erie and Frederick Quadrangles. Geology of the coal measures, quantity and quality of water resources, and chemical and physical properties of the coal are described. Coal production factors, including mining techniques and equipment, labor requirements, transportation facilities and rates, and markets, are considered for coal's position in competition with alternate fuels. Growth of the fuels market, through increasing thermal-electric power generation in the Denver Metropolitan Area, will stimulate coal production in Colorado. Reserves of the contiguous Boulder-Weld coalfield, if mined in a sustained, year-round, high-tonnage operation, could be used to supply much of that fuel demand.

Jan 1, 1966

By R. L. Grant

During the last decade or more , experimental research on commercial detonators used for initiating the detonation of dynamite and other high explosives has led to important improvements . Developments , especially in the United States , have been directed toward improvement in the construction of detonators to make them safer to manufacture and use . More suitable and safer initiating charges also have been found . Although for many years mercury fulminate was unrivaled as the initiating charge for dynamite , during the last decade it has been replaced to a large extent by less sensitive , more efficient, and cheaper combinations of ignition , priming , and base charges . Commercial detonators were once of relatively simple construction and almost universally identical . Today they are technically complex, with special nodifications for particular uses ; they have developed along different lines n various countries and even among the several manufacturers within any one country .

Apr 1, 1943

By W. W. Adams

The United States Bureau of Mines, in cooperation with the National Send and Gravel Association conducted a safety contest in 1929 Among producers of sand and gravel. Only 26 plants were enrolled, as the contest was late getting under way. It is hoped that a ranch larger number of plants will be represented in the safety competition of 1930. Two trophies, both of which were provided by Rock Products magazine, were awarded at the end of the contest; one trophy was given for the best safety record among plants working 100,000 or mare man-hours during the year and the other for the beat record among plants working less than 100,000 man-hours. The trophies were presented to representatives of the winning, companies on January 29, 1930, at the annual convention of the National Sand and Gravel Association at Memphis, Tenn.

Jan 1, 1930

By Mehmet Mesutoglu, Ihsan Ozkan

This study investigates the feasibility of rock bolting support in an underground coal mine gallery with a thick coal seam. The Ömerler underground coal mine working area, owned by West Lignite Enterprise of Turkish Coal Enterprises, was selected for this purpose. Longwall top coal caving is implemented as the production method in the Ömerler underground coal mine. Field and laboratory studies were conducted to determine rock mass and rock material properties, followed by experimental, empirical and numerical analyses based on the acquired data. The obtained design results were evaluated using a resin-grouted rebar rock bolting (RBR) system and steel arch support (SAS) pilot application areas. The numerical modeling results conducted using the fast Lagrangian analysis of the Continua 3D (FLAC 3D v6.0) program indicated less displacement and secondary stress change in the RBR-supported zone compared to the SAS-supported zone. In situ measurements also demonstrated that RBR provided more successful support to the roof during coal production activities. The findings suggest that RBR is a more effective solution when evaluating the feasibility of rock bolting support systems in underground galleries with thick coal seams at the Ömerler Mine. This study emphasizes the importance of more sustainable and safe support systems to enhance operational efficiency in the coal mining industry.

Mar 1, 2025

By W. Rostoker, A. Siede

THE venerable problem of hydrogen embrittlement of ferritic iron lacks as yet a complete explanation. Possibly part of the difficulty has been the exclusive preoccupation with the total ductility prior to fracture. In the past few years it has been noted at least twice1,2 that hydrogen charged into iron has the ability to depress the upper yield point and, at room temperature, to eliminate completely the discontinuous yield phenomenon. Cracknell and Petchl rationalize that the depression of the yield stress is an example of the behavior of inhomogeneous stresses. Their explanation requires that microcracks exist in the annealed metal, and that hydrogen collect in these cavities under high hydrostatic pressure. The hydrostatic pressure of hydrogen generates localized tensile stresses in the iron which, with external loading, reach the critical stress for yield prematurely. The local plastic zones will spread across the specimen before the Lüders bands can be generated, and the yield-point elongation phenomenon is eliminated. This viewpoint will be discussed in succeeding paragraphs. Rogers,2 on the other hand, represents the depression of the initial flow stress as a result of the interaction of hydrogen with dislocations. He submits two alternative modes of interaction. In the

Jan 1, 1959

By RUSSELL C. FLEMING

THE important advances that have been made of recent years in mining and milling methods and in mechanical equipment at mines need no re- telling, but there has been a remarkable growth in one type of equipment which has gone nearly unnoticed. That is the increasing use of storage-battery locomotives underground. Since the war the number of these locomotives and their field of use have increased tremendously; their growing acceptance represents an al- most complete reversal of opinion from an earlier period when they were generally looked upon as in- adequate for the strain of mine service. At the time when storage-battery powered units were first making their bid for recognition, the use of power in haulage had already passed through several phases; hand tramming, rope haulage, compressed air locomotives, even gasoline locomotives, had all been used, ending finally in the general adoption of the electric trolley locomotive for practically all power-haulage requirements. It was, and is, conceded that the trolley loco- motive met more adequately the varied and severe conditions of mine service than any previous type of haul- age unit. Subsequent developments have had to endure comparison and surpass in performance that type of haulage before changes would be considered.

Jan 1, 1930

By N. A. Gjostein

From their study of the anisotropy of grain boundary mobility in aluminum, the authors conclude that tilt boundaries have a higher mobility than twist boundaries because the atomic misfit at the pure-twist boundary is relatively small compared to the misfit at a tilt boundary for a given amount of misorientation. If this is true, then one would expect a twist boundary to have a lower grain boundary energy than the corresponding tilt boundary. Fig. 6, taken from the work of Gjostein and Rhines,10 shows that this is indeed the case for [001]-cu tilt and twist boundaries in the high-angle region, thus lending support to the authors' conclusion.

Jan 1, 1968

By Donald L. Katz, Leo B. Bicher

A correlation is presented for predicting the viscosities of light paraffin hydrocarbon mixtures such as natural gases for temperatures from o° to 4o0°F. and for pressures fro1 atmospheric to I0,000 lb. per sq. in. The correlation is based on the viscosity data for the methane-propane system and requires only a knowledge of the molecular weight of the naturaI gas. The viscosities of natural gases reported in the literature up to 2500 lb. were reproduced by the correlation with an average deviation of 5.8 per cent. Introduction The viscosity of a natural gas is required whenever calculations are made of the pressure drop that occurs while the gas flows through pipes or porous media. Methods of predicting the viscosities of gases at the present operating pressures are not available. This paper presents a simple method of predicting the viscosity of a natural gas in the single-phase region from its molecular weight, temperature, and pressure. Viscosity oF Methane-propane Mixtures The viscosity of methane, propane, and four of their binary mixtures, 20,40, 60, and 80 mol per cent, have been determined for pressures from 400 to 5000 lb. per sq. in. and temperatures from 77" to 437 F., with an experimental accuracy of 3.2 per cent.2 The apparatus used in the investigation was a modification of that employed in previous studiesaJ4 on the viscosity of normal paraffin hydrocarbons. It consists of a viscosimeter of the rolling-ball, inclined-tube type,5>k7 with auxiliary equipment for making up and charging binary mixtures into the viscosimeter.~ The viscosity data on the methane-propane mixtures have been plotted as a function of molecular weight with lines of constant pressure, charts of constant temperature in Figs. I to 3. These charts are extrapolated at temperatures below 77°F. and at pressures above 5000 lb. per sq. inch. Prediction OF Viscosity from Molecular Weight of a NaturaI. Gas At atmospheric pressure the viscosity of light hydrocarbon gases increased with increased temperature, contrary to the change of viscosity of liquids with temperature. The atmospheric viscosities of the normal paraffin hydrocarbons have been determincd by several investiga-tors 3,4,9,10,12,15,16,17,19 and are plotted in Fig. 4 as a function of molecular weight, with extrapolation to 896'F. and to 220 molecular weight. Data for isopentane and normal pentane show less than 2 per cent difference in viscosity, indicating that Fig. 4 can be used for isomeric parafin hydrocarbons with an accuracy of approximately 2 per cent. Trautz and Sorg'7 determined the atmospheric viscosities 01 methane-propane mixtures and showed that they are proportional to the molecular weight. The viscosities of these mixtures

Jan 1, 1944

By A. W. Fahrenwald

CELL depth has been for many years a controversial question in a flotation-machine performance. In the impeller type of machine, we are really talking about impeller submergence-i.e., the depth in the pulp at which the impeller is required to produce aeration. THE FLOTATION MACHINE A COMPRESSOR A flotation machine can be considered as an air compressor or blower in which the aeration mechanism takes in air under atmospheric pressure[t] (14.7 lb. per sq. in.) and blows it into the pulp (the pulp being the receiver) against a head of 14.7 plus cell depth in feet times 0.4333 lb. per sq. inch. In commercial machines the impeller is submerged in the pulp to depths ranging from about 2 ft. in the smaller machines to as much as 5 ft. in some of the larger ones. In the 2-ft. cell, the hydrostatic head on the impeller is (2 X 1.25 =) 2.50 ft. (assuming a pulp density of 1.25), equal to (2.50 X 0.4333 =) 1.078 lb. per sq. in. For the 5-ft. cell, the hydrostatic head against which the impeller must make air is (5 X 1.25 X 0.4333 =) 2.708 lb. per sq. inch. In the small 2-ft. machine, the volume reduction is (1.078 [-] 0.147 + 0.01078 =) 6.85 per cent and in the large, 5-ft. machine, the volume reduction is (2.708 [=] 0.147 + 0.02708 =) 15.5 per cent. It is obvious that for unit volume of free air intake the larger machine receives a lesser (8.65 per cent less) volume of aeration* than the smaller machine. The bubbles in escaping from the pulp expand and are greater in volume at the surface than at the moment of their formation in the pulp; 7.33 and 18.4 per cent larger, respectively, in the small and large machines. Just how this situation affects flotation is not known. It is interesting to note, however, that the bubbles are smaller in the zone of the coarsest particles and largest in the upper zones of the finer, more easily suspended mineral particles. It would seem that the relationship might be reversed advantageously. The deep cell is at a greater disadvantage in this respect than the shallow cell. Nothing, however, presumably can be done about this situation. The shallow cell is a partial corrective. Not only does the compression ratio of aeration increase with impeller submergence but the hydrostatic head against which the impeller must operate also increases. THE FLOTATION MACHINE AS A PUMP Since, in impeller machines that rely upon their own operation to produce aeration, pulp passes through the im-

Jan 1, 1946

By Leo B. Bicher, Donald L. Katz

A correlation is presented for predicting the viscosities of light paraffin hydrocarbon mixtures such as natural gases for temperatures from o° to 4o0°F. and for pressures fro1 atmospheric to I0,000 lb. per sq. in. The correlation is based on the viscosity data for the methane-propane system and requires only a knowledge of the molecular weight of the naturaI gas. The viscosities of natural gases reported in the literature up to 2500 lb. were reproduced by the correlation with an average deviation of 5.8 per cent. Introduction The viscosity of a natural gas is required whenever calculations are made of the pressure drop that occurs while the gas flows through pipes or porous media. Methods of predicting the viscosities of gases at the present operating pressures are not available. This paper presents a simple method of predicting the viscosity of a natural gas in the single-phase region from its molecular weight, temperature, and pressure. Viscosity oF Methane-propane Mixtures The viscosity of methane, propane, and four of their binary mixtures, 20,40, 60, and 80 mol per cent, have been determined for pressures from 400 to 5000 lb. per sq. in. and temperatures from 77" to 437 F., with an experimental accuracy of 3.2 per cent.2 The apparatus used in the investigation was a modification of that employed in previous studiesaJ4 on the viscosity of normal paraffin hydrocarbons. It consists of a viscosimeter of the rolling-ball, inclined-tube type,5>k7 with auxiliary equipment for making up and charging binary mixtures into the viscosimeter.~ The viscosity data on the methane-propane mixtures have been plotted as a function of molecular weight with lines of constant pressure, charts of constant temperature in Figs. I to 3. These charts are extrapolated at temperatures below 77°F. and at pressures above 5000 lb. per sq. inch. Prediction OF Viscosity from Molecular Weight of a NaturaI. Gas At atmospheric pressure the viscosity of light hydrocarbon gases increased with increased temperature, contrary to the change of viscosity of liquids with temperature. The atmospheric viscosities of the normal paraffin hydrocarbons have been determincd by several investiga-tors 3,4,9,10,12,15,16,17,19 and are plotted in Fig. 4 as a function of molecular weight, with extrapolation to 896'F. and to 220 molecular weight. Data for isopentane and normal pentane show less than 2 per cent difference in viscosity, indicating that Fig. 4 can be used for isomeric parafin hydrocarbons with an accuracy of approximately 2 per cent. Trautz and Sorg'7 determined the atmospheric viscosities 01 methane-propane mixtures and showed that they are proportional to the molecular weight. The viscosities of these mixtures

Jan 1, 1944

By Richard Berry

The spacing of grout injections is typically about 2 to 2 V½ meters if the purpose of the grouting is densification of the in-situ soils. Hole spacing will vary with the in-situ soil properties and the grout injection rate; faster rates requiring closer hole spacing.

Feb 10, 2003

Ilmenite (FeTiO3) is the primary global source of titaniumdioxide which is commonly used as a whitening agent in papermanufacture and a pigment in paint manufacture. In WesternAustralia ilmenite is processed by the Becher process (Becher,1963, Becher et al, 1965) where ilmenite particles are feddirectly into the furnace with coal and heated to form acomposite of elemental iron and TiO2. The mechanism of thecarbothermic reduction of ilmenite has been extensively studied(Grey, Jones and Reid, 1973; Jones, 1973; Grey and Reid, 1974;El-Tawil, Morse and Francis, 1993) and is reasonably wellaccepted.

Jan 1, 1997

By David Ziegler

A formal blast plan is sometimes required for projects involving rock excavation. A written blast plan submitted with a bid proposal can also be an important sales tool. A blast plan will cover the basic elements of shot design: hole diameter, spacing, burden, loading, and so forth. Some suggestions are discussed here for additional items or topics to address, including: safety issues, ground control, traffic & site control, public relations, pre-blast inspections, seismic monitoring.

Jan 1, 2003

By Vijaya Bhushan Rao, Ali Semercioglu, Jason Redgers

Large diameter steel water tanks with high storage capacities impart heavy loads deep into the ground, generally requiring deep foundations to adequately support them. The use of ground improvement as a sustainable and cost effective alternative is tempting but the design of the foundations for such heavily loaded, thin-shelled structures have to meet several performance requirements such as bearing capacity, limiting the specified total settlements, typically limiting the radial differential settlement to 13mm over 10m along the circumference and dishing settlement from edge to center of 1/120 as per standard API 650 Appendix B as well as the mitigation of liquefaction induced settlement risk. Any inadequacy in the soil investigation, geotechnical design, or misrepresentation of stresses of the foundations may lead to serviceability compromise or potentially catastrophic failures. Therefore, the selection of the foundation is dependent on the availability of suitable ground report and the limitations imposed by operational requirements. Two such case studies are evaluated and compared in this paper, with tank diameters ranging from 41 to 106m in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, (KSA) which were founded on two types of soils and supported on deep foundations i.e., stone columns and bored cast-in-situ piles.

Oct 1, 2022

By D Sidea

There has been increased focus in Australia on large diameter raise boring for ventilation shafts and orepass excavation in good quality, brittle, highly stressed rock. As mining in many parts of Australia progresses to deeper levels, more vertical openings are being excavated in highly stressed ground conditions. However, whilst shafts have been successfully raise bored in highly stressed rock, it is often at a significantly increased risk of loss or damage to inhole equipment. It is important for both mine owners and contractors to have an appreciation of these risks at the planning and tendering phases of raise boring contracts. This paper provides an understanding of the risks associated with large diameter raise boring and a review of methods to predict failure in highly stressed rock.

Jan 1, 2005

By H. E. Powell

A laboratory mineral-dressing investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Mines on four limonitic and four sideritic iron ores from the North Basin of the east Texas iron-ore district. The samples, composited from drill cores, were considered representative of the iron-ore reserves of the area. The objectives of this research were twofold: (1) To devise a mineral-dressing method whereby the yield from currently mined east Texas iron ores might be increased and the grade improved, and (2) to extend such treatment to include the lower grade ferruginous materials that are not amenable to beneficiation by simple washing and, therefore, are not being exploited. Of the mineral-dressing methods used in this investigation, magnetic separation of roasted are was shown to be the most effective. Results show that, by this method, a laboratory recovery of 82 percent of the iron is attainable at a grade surpassing that obtained by current plant practice and that both limonite and siderite are amenable to concentration by the process. The existence of large deposits of iron are in eastern Texas has been recognized for over 100 years. These ores were first exploited during the Civil War and were mined intermittently until about 1911. From that time until 1944 when the Defense Plant Corporation financed the erection of three blast furnaces to use these east Texas ores, production was almost at a standstill.4/

Jan 1, 1960

By Victor R. Spironello

Applications of three experimental design techniques to smelting operations are explained. The report describes a factorial design using three variables at two levels, a fractional factorial design which investigates seven variables, and response-surface methodology for optimization of electric- furnace smelting processes. These methods may be applied with a minimum of trials and at little expense. Further, the writer knows of no reasons why the same methods could not be applied to other operations as well, such as steelmaking.

Jan 1, 1970

By C E. Johnson, S Hosein

Previous researchers have put forward two different theories as to the origin of air overpressure from quarry blasting. In 1980, Siskind et al postulated that the initial face movement gave rise to the displacement of air and that this resulted in the air overpressure pulse. However in 1990 McKenzie et al carried out research that indicated that the air overpressure pulse came into being as a consequence of the shock wave created by the detention of the explosive charge in a blast hole. In an attempt to evaluate these hypotheses, an investigation was undertaken over a 4-year period with the aim of determining the precise origin of air overpressure. The research was carried out at a chalk quarry in the North of England.

Jan 1, 2017