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By Manuel Vicente Vásquez

El presente texto describe dos posibles alternativas para el diseño de ventilación de la mina Mallay, ubicada en la provincia de Oyón, Lima. La infraestructura de la mina tiene 6 niveles, donde se ha previsto contar con 3 chimeneas principales de ventilación, cuyo requerimiento de aire mediano y largo es de 70,707 y 154,652 cfm, respectivamente. En ese sentido, se plantean dos alternativas de solución para este sistema de ventilación: La primera alternativa consiste en la construcción de dos chimeneas a superficie para la extracción del aire viciado y en el que cada chimenea contará con un ventilador principal como extractor en superficie. Mientras que la segunda alternativa, utilizará el nivel 4470 para la extracción a superficie del aire viciado mediante un ventilador principal instalado en la bocamina. Para ello, se realizará una ampliación a una sección de 10’x10’ en los primeros 70 m de la bocamina y se construirá un by pass para permitir el acceso al nivel. De las dos alternativas planteadas, ambas satisfacen el requerimiento de aire a mediano y largo plazo de la mina, con la diferencia que la segunda alternativa cuenta con la ventaja que el Nv. 4470 ya existe y sólo requiere ampliar la sección; mientras que en la primera alternativa las chimeneas tienen que ser construidas.

Sep 12, 2011

By Yi Luo

The efforts to mitigate longwall subsidence influences on various residential and farming structures by many coal mining companies have been successful in the recent years (Luo, et al, 2003). The successes were largely dependent on the accurate subsidence predictions, correct assessments of potential influences, appropriate design and implementation of the mitigation measures. However, such efforts for protecting large industrial structures are still very rare. In this paper, the successful assessment and mitigation of the subsidence influences associated with a very intensive dynamic longwall subsidence process on a large workshop are presented.

Jan 1, 2005

By Tom Carmichael, Brenton Crawford, Sam Scher, Brigette Martini

Los datos de imágenes hiperespectrales de sondajes son consistentes, precisos y continuos. Ricos en información de alta resolución, son ideales para la elaboración de modelos de regresión y de clasificación automatizada, útiles para predecir parámetros geometalúrgicos en ámbitos coincidentes donde se recopile la referida data. Consecuentemente, se pueden usar estas interpretaciones para proyectar el modelo a lo largo de una región mayor. El presente artículo muestra la exitosa aplicación de la metodología de evaluación automática en un depósito tipo skarn en Perú y en un pórfido de cobre en Chile, tanto para predecir la ley de Au y la presencia o ausencia de skarn, como para extrapolar parámetros de dureza del mineral en áreas de roca de baja calidad.

Jun 30, 2019

By Natalie Swan, Carlos Santana

La ejecución de programas de monitoreo biológico es un desafío para la gestión ambiental de proyectos mineros, principalmente por la alta demanda de recursos y tiempo que requiere y la poca certeza sobre sus resultados. Por ello, se presenta el uso del ADN ambiental como una alternativa de calidad y probada eficiencia. La aplicación de análisis de ADN ambiental en un programa de monitoreo implica tener en cuenta aspectos sobre la ecología del ADN ambiental, las etapas requeridas para su análisis y el estado de desarrollo de las distintas aplicaciones existentes.

Sep 30, 2022

By James A. Whelan

The Bureau of Mines sponsored research studies of variables in rotary drilling, done in the Department of Mineral Engineering, University of Minnesota. By studying carefully controlled drilling with good instrumentation, it was hoped to obtain a better understanding of rock failure during drilling and of the stresses in drill bits during drilling. Experimental procedures and equipment are described. From these studies it was concluded that 1. Thrust requirements, other things being equal, are proportional to the total length of cutting edge in the bit. 2. Data from penetrating a wedge into rock under thrust only are not directly applicable to rotary drilling. 3, In rotary drilling the initial wear on a bit greatly decreases penetration rate under any given set of conditions; however, after initial wear the effect of wear on penetration rate is reduced. 4. An increase in rotary speed increases the overall penetration rate but decreases the penetration per revolution. 5. An increase in thrust increases the overall penetration rate and the penetration per revolution. 6, Torque on a drill bit is proportional to both penetration rate and bit diameter. 7. For small-diameter holes full-hole drilling will save both drilling time and energy compared with pilot drilling followed by reaming; for large-diameter holes pilot drilling-reaming is advantageous in both respects,

Jan 1, 1962

By Richard Knobler

El presente texto describe el proceso del diseño de la planta metalúrgica en la mina Mantos Blanco, Chile. La mina de cobre de Mantos Blancos es conocida desde 1913 y está situada a unos 45 Kms. al Noreste de Antofagasta, Chile. El mineral de Mantos Blancos es del tipo óxido y contiene solamente trazas de sulfuros que requieren de un chancado muy fino. Por ello se creó el diseño de un sistema de planta que maneje mejor esos componentes a través de la instalación de dos stockpiles, después del chancado primario, de forma que estos alimenten el mineral en forma controlada y proporcional y así aprovechr la alta proporción de carga recirculante en el circuito de chancado terciario, para obtener una íntima mezcla de los dos componentes.

Jul 1, 1959

By Scott Turner

Since my whole life has been spent in the mining business , I naturally tend to address my remarks particularly to the newly- graduated mining and metallurgical engineers among you . To a certain extent , all forms of engineering principles are involved in the training of the mining engineer , and most sorts of engineering are certainly utilized by him , so that every one of this graduating class is concerned with the field I propose to discuss . The fact that , beginning with to - day , you will always be styled engineers , indicates that you have passed successfully through preparatory school , and have survived the hard grind of the technical college . One object of your training here has been to instruct you in accurate , close , and clear thinking . Your minds have been taught to act directly , calmly . and always to the point . By now , you should know how to get facts , look far , and think through . You are supposed to be willing to recognize and adopt sound engineering principles and practices , in so far as they are known to you , and to furnish character , ability , and devotion to your calling . Some of you may have had a general college course before coming here to specialize in engineering . Where that has been possible , I hope it is the case , since a liberal educational course tends to make the alumnus more flexible and adaptable than the purely scientific graduate. The broader education enables one to change , with less serious loss , from one job to another; ready adaptability is a great asset ; the engineer should be capable of much more than a single special task . The necessary preliminary training for a professional occupation is intellectual in character , involving knowledge , and to some extent learning , as distinguished from mere skill . The well -balanced engineer is expected to embody a happy combination of theory and fact , of pure science and material reality ; experience shows that he is apt to give a good account of himself , once he gets the chance . For the long pull , the importance of unquestioned integrity can not be overemphasized . Leaders of big business sometimes have need for a man as agile and unscrupulous as a cat on a back fence ; on occasion , they may have to employ brilliant , smart , spectacular , and crafty people , but when the special purposes for which such men are hired have been accomplished , they are no longer wanted . Given natural health , intelligence , ability , and adequate training , probably the characteristics most admired in the young employee are steadiness , dependability , and loyalty . The last is the best . If you can not be simple , direct , and faithful in your dealings with your administrative superiors , no one will want you for long . I believe these points are of primary importance to the young engineer . Your groundwork must be right before you can get far . These personal characteristics are what eventually determine your relations with men and affairs . They are vital in the human engineering which may be a large part of your work .

Aug 1, 1932

By Louis A. Turnbull, JOSEPH J. SHIELDS

The Bell & Zoller Coal & Mining Co. recently completed construction of two slopes at Mine 3 near Zeigler , Ill . The slopes are in the Big Muddy River Valley , and construction was particularly difficult because the strata from the surface to a depth of 70 feet comprise water saturated sandy clay and sand . Many mining companies have similar shaft- and slope - sinking problems , and because these slopes were satisfactorily completed and now are in use the methods followed during construction are described in this information circular . It is believed that other companies with similar problems . will benefit by adopting the methods followed at Mine 3 .

Apr 1, 1949

By Robert D. Harris

In 1958, the coal industry, through Bituminous Coal Research, Inc., and the electric utility industry, through the Edison Electric Institute and the Association of Edison Illuminating Companies, initiated a joint program to study coal pyrite and its removal as a means of lowering the sulfur content of steam coals. It was assumed that significant amounts of pyrite often remained in washed steam coal not because available systems for coal cleaning were inadequate, but because the pyrite was small and widely disseminated, During the first two years, samples of coal were examined petrographically to determine the size, association, and mode of occurrence of the pyrite in the raw coal and in the products of laboratory separation, Samples of coal were also pulverized in different equipment to determine how effectively pyrite was released by pulverization and if the mode of pulverization affected the liberation of pyrite. From these studies, the following tentative conclusions were made (1 ): 1. Much of the coal pyrite is within a 250-70 micron size range, and therefore is too small to be removed by conventional coal cleaning, but relatively large when compared to the size of coal as pulverized for combustion in large boilers. 2. The degree of pyrite liberation is mainly determined by the size of the product and not by the type of crusher. 3. For improved pyrite removal, the coal should be cleaned during or after pulverization at the power station.

Jan 1, 1965

By Ben Bradshaw

Context ? Community engagement has become an increasingly significant and challenging part of mineral exploration and mine development; indeed, opposition from communities proximate to a proposed mine site has been known to derail technologically- and financially-sound projects. ? These cases suggest that mining firms need to better understand how to engage constructively with local communities in the pursuit of their claims. ? While a range of publications exist promoting various community engagement strategies, these recommendations, when viewed as a whole, are disjointed and largely untested in real development contexts. Aims of Presentation 1. Synthesize industry, NGO, government and academic publications focused on community engagement best practice in order to highlight those practices that are most commonly recommended. 2. Review the (Canadian) mining industry?s experience with some of these strategies based on existing case material in order to identify the extent to which commonly prescribed strategies are used and validated in practice.

May 1, 2010

The processes by which particles and bubbles interact capture many of the central concepts of colloid science and hydrodynamics. This area of research embraces hydrodynamics, interfacial(including capillary) forces, particle and bubble behaviour and solution chemistry. In this review, we discuss collision, attachment and stability efficiencies. We deal with the identification of a flotation ?domain?, the deformation of a bubble surface upon interaction with a solid surface, the kinetics of three phase contact line expansion and the determination of attachment efficiencies through to the direct measurement of bubble-particle interaction forces. We have recently carried out a test of collision theory where the latter embraces both inertial and centrifugal forces. The real challenge is now to quantitatively describe the behaviour of real systems and to incorporate a reliable description of the behaviour of particles in flotation froths. The approach described is very robust when applied to flotation, both from qualitative and quantitative points of view, providing an intellectual foundation for understanding this complex process in separation science and technology.

Jan 1, 1999

By I. F. Avery

The productive capacity of natural-gasoline and cycling plants in the United States on January 1, 1958, was 48.8 million gallons per day, according to the Bureau of Mines biennial survey. This represented an increase of 2.4 million gallons per day during the 2-year period since the last survey. In the previous 2-year period, capacity had increased 7.5 million gallons per day. The major increase in operating capacity occurred in Texas and New Mexico. In New Mexico, capacity increased 43 percent. The total number of plants decreased from 600 on January 1, 1956, to 584 on January 1, 1958. The number of operating plants decreased from 571 to 558. Five new plants were completed in Colorado, increasing the number of operating plants from 7 to 12.

Jan 1, 1958

By P. D. Rao

The combination of high moisture and low heating value has restricted most low-rank coal (LRC) usage worldwide to mine-mouth power generation. Coals from Usibelli Coal Mine and the Beluga coal field have a heating value of approximately 8,000 Btu/lb and 28% moisture. Hydrothermal treatment (at 275 to 352'C) of lump coal from Usibelli Coal Mine and Beluga coal field enhanced the heating value of the coal, on an equilibrium moisture basis, from 8,000 Btu/lb to nearly 12,000 Btu/lb. The product coal with high heating value and 0.2 % S is an environmentally acceptable premium fuel. The Hardgrove grindability index of the coal is greatly improved, further enhancing its value. Increase in hydrothermal drying temperature promotes vesiculation of resinite. Vitrinite reflectance increased to 0.72 and vitrinite was subjected to widespread visiculation resulting in a coke like structure indicative that the material went through the fluid stage.

Jan 1, 1991

By E. V. Lilford

Equity investors and project sponsors have divergent views about expected or minimum returns that should be generated by a mineral project. Irrespective of their views, the fundamental estimation of the corporate cost of capital remains singularly determinable, with additive components of risk and uncertainty often incorporated in the final analysis. This paper discusses and details the fundamental, numerical determination of the corporate cost of capital.

Jan 1, 2006

By SANDEEP KUMAR JENA

This review work reports the recovery of potassiumfromdifferent rocks and mineral sources. The global demand for potassiumis rising consistently due to the growth of agricultural production. A major portion of the world potassium production is consumed in making of fertiliser; however, other uses include those in pharmaceutical, glass, ceramic, food and detergent industries. The availability of soluble potash minerals (sylvite, kainite and carnallite) in different countries like Canada, USA, Israel and Russia makes them as major potash producers, whereas agricultural-based countries like Liberia, Somalia, Central African Republic, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia including India meet their potassium requirement through import only. On the contrary, the availability of huge potassium-bearing rocks/minerals (like nepheline syenite, feldspar, mica, glauconitic sandstone) in these countries containing around 4–17% K2O would be a prospective for commercial production of potassium. The potassium recovery from minerals/rocks is very complicated due to the uniform distribution of potassium throughout the crystal structure. Different physico-chemical separation methods like bioleaching, chemical leaching, flotation and roast leaching have been discussed for the successful recovery of potash values from these rocks/minerals. However, the recovery of potassium from hugely available seawater using the chemical precipitation, solvent extraction,membrane separation and ionic exchangemethods is not cost-effective due to the low concentration of potassium.

Aug 31, 2020

By M. Rezaee

Push backs used in the production planning of open pit mines play an integral role in generating annual cash flow. Although several algorithms for push back designs have been proposed, none have studied the optimum number of push backs. In this paper, different algorithms have been implemented for the push back design of a cross section of a copper deposit and the results discussed. Moreover, the optimum number of push backs has been determined using analytical and multiple attribute decision making (MADM) methods based on minimizing the risk associated with grade uncertainty, and minimizing stripping ratio, while maximizing net present value (NPV). According to the findings, the optimum number of push backs has been proposed to be between three and six, as lower quantities of push backs are more likely to achieve the calculated net present value, and have smoother stripping ratios for different pushbacks. This approach was examined in an operating mine and the optimum number of push backs determined to be four.

Jan 1, 2012

By Airton Antônio Silva

A Samarco Mineração, desde o início de suas atividades em 1977 na mina de Germano, tem sido pioneira na lavra e beneficiamento de minério de ferro friável e de baixo teor (itabiritos). Atualmente, a queda no teor de Fe associada à maior participação de materiais compactos, semi-compactos e com maior presença de contaminantes tem impactado na recuperação do circuito de flotação convencional do concentrador I. A redução da recuperação nessa etapa de flotação motivou a reavaliação do circuito de flotação atual buscando alternativas para reestabelecer a recuperação sem afetar o teor de concentrado final e com menor investimento. Foram realizadas amostragens, caracterização física e química das amostras e, em seguida, execução dos ensaios de flotação em bancada, balanço de massas e desenvolvimento de modelos para a simulação de circuitos. Os resultados analisados mostraram oportunidades de melhoria do desempenho do circuito. O circuito de flotação antes da modificação era composto das etapas: rougher, cleaner, recleaner e scavenger. Com a reavaliação do circuito, a recleaner foi transformada em cleaner da scavenger. O concentrado scavenger antes da modificação possuía teores de 23%Fe e representava 38% da alimentação nova. Com a modificação do circuito, a carga circulante foi reduzida de 36% para 15% e o teor de ferro subiu para 41,7%, aumentando o tempo de residência. O teor de ferro no rejeito global foi reduzido de 10,92% (média 2013) para 10,2% gerando ganhos de recuperação em massa e metalúrgica.

Aug 16, 2017

By D Teyhan, J Kirsch

Traditionally, most Australian iron ore mining operations have been surface-based. Processing plants were designed to handle dry ores. In recent years mining operations in the Pilbara have progressively moved below the water table exposing wet, sticky ores which have caused lost efficiency in screening operations as particles tend to agglomerate and adhere, blinding screening media. Miners and vibrating screen manufacturers have experimented with a shift from linear motion to elliptical motion screens. Elliptical motion conveys and lifts particles. Effective on flat deck (horizontal and inclined) or sloping decks it can be configured to provide a controlled transport rate, applying pressure in all directions to maximise screening efficiency. In practice, elliptical motion screens have proven to be effective in dislodging sticky particles from screening media, reducing blinding rates and improving screen efficiency. Moisture and clay content change during the life of a mine. These changes are sometimes the effect of seasonal rainfall, in other cases due to increased groundwater and clay content as mining operations go deeper. To compensate for such changes and optimise screen efficiency, changing the ‘shape’ of elliptical screen motion is required. This has traditionally required shutting down processing plants and making mechanical screen adjustments. Plant downtime is costly and machine adjustment has been a ‘trial and error’ practice. This paper will explore the results of a field trial that is currently underway in Brazil of a next generation elliptical motion screen design that allows operators to make changes to exciter rotational direction, speed and screen stroke angle, through electronic drive phase control. The machine’s electronic drive system synchronisation is enhanced for stability with a unique mechanical timing system. Operating at up to 6 g, screen adjustments can be made on the fly without stopping production. Early trial results are showing up to 50 per cent improvement in screen efficiency compared with traditional elliptical motion machines under certain feed conditions.

Nov 8, 2021

Since roof falls in the vicinity of the working face in underground coal mines are a major source of fatalities and injuries in this country's coal mines, it is evident that the present systems of temporary support for use in this working area are ineffective. This seems to be chiefly due to the inconvenience of setting up heavy and awkward devices such as jacks, posts and the like, which also interfere with the movement of men and machines in this critical working area. This program was concerned with defining and testing commercially available materials that could be used as support elements in a more convenient flexible personnel shield. The objectives of this program were to: 1. survey the materials that might provide the support elements of a flexible-material personnel shield for use in underground coal mines and prepare a list of those materials which appear most suitable for use in coal mines. 2. prepare a proposed testing plan for the materials to be selected from the aforementioned list by the Bureau of Mines for further evaluation. The test plan was designed to provide the following information: a. Tensile strength. b. Proportional limit. c. Creep characteristics at room temperature. d. Elastic properties depicted by stress-strain curves. Properties were tested in two directions for woven fabrics. e. Density. f. Resistance to abrasion. g. Resistance to attack by mine atomsphere. h. Resistance to humidity. i. Impact characteristics.

Jan 1, 1972

By Lorena Cristina Amorim, Iara Patrícia Vieira de Oliveira, Leandro Rocha Lemos, Guilherme Liziero Ruggio da Silva, Erick Mitchell Henrique Braga, Paulo Santos Assis

No atual cenário acirrado de competitividade, umas das linhas para redução do custo da mistura de carvões é o desenvolvimento de matérias-primas alternativas nacionais que minimizem o custo do coque e mitiguem a emissão de CO2. O presente trabalho avaliou a utilização de resíduos de shredder (fluff) como aditivo nas misturas para a produção de coque metalúrgico. A utilização de fluff na mistura de carvões minerais sugere uma rota de destinação ecologicamente correta, a fim de mitigar o impacto causado pelo acúmulo desse resíduo no meio-ambiente, além de uma alternativa para redução de custos de produção do coque metalúrgico. Foram realizados enfornamentos, em escala piloto, com adição de fluff, com objetivo de avaliar o impacto sobre a qualidade do coque, especialmente sobre a Resistência após Reação com CO2 (CSR) e a Resistência Mecânica a Frio (DI150-15). Os resultados mostraram a viabilidade técnica da adição de até 1% em massa do material, mantendo a qualidade metalúrgica do coque produzido.

Oct 1, 2019