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By I. Pordea

The materials used for the construction of buildings contain natural radionuclides of the U238 and Th232 series and are ? 50% due to land radioactivity. Another component of natural radioactivity is K40, with ? 40%. The presence of these radiopollutants in the final products (i.e. bricks, concrete) due to body irradiation is by two pathways: external irradiation and internal irradiation. External irradiation is due to gamma radiations emitted by Pb214 (RaB) + Bi214 (RaC) from the U238 series, by Ra228 (Mezothoriu I) + Ac228 (Mezothoriu II) + Tl208 (ThC??) from the Th232 series and by the K40 radionuclide. Internal irradiation is due to inhalation of radon (Rn222) and Rn220 (Tn) plus short life descendents (Po, Pb, Bi), radionuclides which are present in concrete. A fraction from radon present in concrete enters into a house leading to internal irradiation by inhalation. In Romania, the maximum concentration of radon allowed for new buildings is 200 Bq/m3.

Jan 1, 2008

By Charles H. Arnold, Timothy Fallara, David A. Day, Paul H. Marshall

The Upper Scioto West Interceptor Sewer (USWIS), Parts 1 and 2, consists of approximately 7,128 meters (23,385 ft) of 328 cm (129 in.) diameter tunnel. The project ex-tends from the City of Dublin to Griggs Dam in the City of Columbus. The majority of the tunnel was designed for excavation in rock by TBM. The remaining portions span pre-glaciation formed valleys in-filled with glacially-derived sediments. Tunnel construction in one of the glacial till filled sections includes excavation by drilling and controlled blasting. The other section will be constructed by ground consolidation followed by excavation by TBM. This paper describes the methods employed to mine the glacial till filled valleys.

Jan 1, 1997

By Weixing Wang, Zhenghe Xu

The paper applies the principles of the incompressible viscous fluid-flow to studying the movement of particles on shaking table and examines the separating process of tabling according to Bagnold's shearing theory. It is shown that, in addition to the periodic movement, the particles possess the uniform movement on the asymmetrical reciprocating table; the dilation of the particle layers on the table is periodically obtained; on the backward stroke, the particles in the bed are kept loose because the shearing dispersive pressure is of maximum: the differences between the light and heavy particles become greater when the length and frequency of the stroke are greater and the deck motion is more asymmetrical.

Jan 1, 1995

By M. R. Leonard

It is estimated that between 5 and 15 pounds of solid waste are generated monthly by each individual. Finding a final resting spot for such waste is an important matter. In the "good ole days," dumps of every description and condition were available. Not so now. Almost all states have adopted and are enforcing strict regulations regarding the disposition of solid waste. Many companies, owing to the nature of their business, have potentially good waste-disposal sites available. Cleveland Quarries Company falls in this group; but in spite of our having state and county permits, opposition by the local community denied us the opportunity to provide a needed local service.

Jan 1, 1974

By Louis W. Cope

The Compañía El Zapote Yacimiento Y Minas, S.A. has an ore body containing 650,000 tons of 0.185 oz/t gold ore in Mexico. Metallurgical testwork has been done to determine the response of this ore to several possible processing schemes. The paper describes the rationale for selecting the Silver State Mining Co. methods in Colorado. Plans for developing the mine and building the treatment plant are described in detail in the paper. Estimates of capital and operating costs are included.

Jan 1, 1984

By Charles E. Scott

The molybdenum industry has been in a depression since the beginning of the decade. Real molybdenum prices are significantly reduced from 1979-1980 levels when there was a perceived capacity shortage and continued expectations of burgeoning demand. Primary capacity brought on stream since then has been unable to operate profitably and indeed, in light of high inventories and reduced demand, has been largely unnecessary. Structural changes in the molybdenum industry will be needed in the future to weed out superfluous capacity and to expand demand through new product applications.

Jan 1, 1986

Ravensthorpe Nickel Operation (RNO) is a major new mine and processing plant currently being constructed by BHP Billiton in a ?green field? site near the small town of Ravensthorpe, about 150 km west of Esperance and six hours drive from Perth in Western Australia. Ensuring that the project has a positive overall impact on the surrounding region and that this extends well beyond the life of the operation will be a major challenge for RNO, state and local government, and the local community. For the last two years, the Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining (CSRM) has been assisting RNO management and the RNO Community Liaison Committee to develop a community sustainability monitoring framework for the project. This paper reports on the process that was used to develop the framework, describes the main elements and briefly discusses key learnings from the exercise.

Jan 1, 2007

By Y. Astafyev

Autotransport is one of the most conventional kinds of transport in iron ore open-pits. It. is successfully used both independently and in combination with other kinds of transport. In the Krtvoy Rog Basin open-pits annual truck transportation accounts for more than 235 million tons of ore and waste rock. In the process of operation trucks make up various transport streams depending on - the development of autoroads in the open-pits; - the capacity and the number of loading equipment ; - the load carrying capacity and the speed characteristics of trucks

Jan 1, 1979

By Louis A. Sandbak

Drift excavation by boom-type roadheaders in the San Manuel and Kalamazoo sulfide copper ore bodies has been successfully demonstrated. Geomechanical rock classification in conjunction with detailed geologic mapping has been necessary to assess roadheader performance, and to predict advance rates in the varied rock classes in the San Manuel block caving mine. Rapid excavation and less fractured ground are obvious advantages of roadheader drift excavation over conventional drill and blast techniques. The geomechanical system of Engineers International (1984) can be an effective roadheader performance and ground support tool.

Jan 1, 1985

By J. Mastoris

The growing environmental awareness and the need for providing social service to the community, urge the primary sector companies (such as mining) to find new solutions, by adjusting their operations with the special, local conditions and meeting everyday problems in practical ways. We hereby present a real case of re-design of an open pit, closed-bench type industrial minerals (clay) excavation, for the purpose of rehabilitation and utilisation as a water reservoir. The potential use of rainfall water was studied on the basis of covering the irrigation needs and improving the living standard of the neighbouring farmers and also as a project or recreational development of the area by shaping a wetland. The experience from the project progress and the reservoir use has been positive to date and the reclamation plan seems to have the acceptance of the local community.

Jan 1, 2002

By J. Loredo

Asturias, in Northwestern Spain, has an extensive mining history. As a result of these historical mine activities where operations have been usually developed with little control on effluents or emissions (environmental regulation of mining activity has only been introduced recently), pollution has been severe in some areas, specially in Hg abandoned mine sites, which constitute one of the major environmental problems related to mining. In many of these sites, materials stocked in spoil heaps can be considered as hazardous wastes because of their chemistry, content on ecotoxic elements and potentiality to spread these to the environment. In the humid climatological conditions of the region, water and wind eroded spoils are dispersed through the environment by different pathways and occasionally surrounding soils and waters are intensively affected by pollution. According to the environmental risks that these unreclaimed mine sites suppose for human beings and ecosystems, remedial options must be considered.

Jan 1, 2003

By G. Récoché

For the African continent promoting a sustainable utilization of its mineral resources could be considered as a key determinant to fight against poverty. Sustainable development performance indicators for measuring the economic, environmental and social impacts of mining activity are necessary for drawing up policies and sectoral actions, identifying and controlling risks, identifying and implementing sustainable development actions, negotiating between stake-holders, improving mine production, etc. To respond to this need, the SIGAfrique Network proposed to develop a joint decision support tool entitled the African Mining Observatory (AMO) and, to this end, develops a system of indicators to be integrated within the SIGAfrique database. The development of both the OMA and the indicators is based on a participatory method within the working groups, which comprise experts/participants from the 13 SIGAfrique partner and observer countries (Guinea, Burkina Faso, Mali, Tanzania, Niger, Mozambique, Kenya, Uganda, Senegal, Angola, Madagascar, Ethiopia, and Mauritania).

Jan 1, 2007

By Yong-ping Wu

Based on the rules of strata behavior and the characteristics of rock movement, the elementary problems of using fully mechanized coal mining techniques in steeply dipping coal seams are described. A model of the "surrounding-support-rock" relationship is made. The support systems stability during fully mechanized mining of steeply dipping coal seams is studied. Then, a practical engineering example of the fully mechanized mining of a steeply dipping seam is presented. The seam used in the example is in the Lushuidong colliery, which is administrated by Huaying Mining Bureau, Sichuan Province.

Jan 1, 2003

By F. Ferella

In this paper several leaching tests were per-formed to optimize the leaching section of a hydrometallurgical process for the recycling of alkaline and zinc-carbon batteries. Zinc and manganese oxides were dissolved by an acidic-reductive leaching using sulphuric acid and oxalic acid as reductant. Leaching tests were developed according to a full factorial design. The operational variables were pulp percentage, sulphuric acid concentration, temperature and oxalic acid concentration. Additional tests were performed to evaluate the precipitation rate of Mn and Zn oxalates. Finally a hydrometallurgical process were proposed for the recycling of alkaline and zinc-carbon batteries, in which Zn and MnO2 are recovered from purified solution by electrowinning: Zn is recovered as metallic compound, while Mn can be recovered as electrolytic manganese dioxide (EMD), but recovery of further manganese compounds is possible with simple process changes.

Jan 1, 2006

By W. E. Threlkeld, J. A. Treacy, L. J. Stewart, J. C. Ruckmick

The Mustang Draw sulfur deposit is developed in a dolomite reef complex in the Permian San Andres Formation on the eastern margin of the Midland basin in Glasscock County, Texas. Interpretation of the genesis is dependent upon coincidence of a NE-trending fault system with the NW- trending reef complex. The reefs, reef talus, and oolites contained up to 30% interstitial anhydrite. It is indicated that artesian ground waters, hydrocarbons, and bacteria circulated into the reef complex along the fault zone. Bacterial consumption of hydrocarbons and anhydrite created extensive porosity, permeability, and deposition of sulfur in vugs and cavities, and along fractures in the dolomite.

Jan 1, 1992

By Rock M. Poulin, Bruce G. Moulton, Daniel E. Nowak, David T. Cass

The Yacambu Irrigation Tunnel Project of 34 km, 5 meter diameter circular and horseshoe section, has been under construction since the early 1970's. Notable among the excavation challenges is high ground cover of 3,000m creating large lithostatic pressures in the tunnel alignment with subsequent plastic flow of the ground in the tunnel walls. The tunnel may converge from small amounts to 1 or more meters of diameter over long sections. Several excavation techniques have been attempted but all without desired results. The paper proposes a new machine concept that uses the history of ground experience as its basis for design.

Jan 1, 1995

By Robert S. Post

A highly respected coal mining company in West Virginia updated their stacker belt by switching to a new magnetic coupling. The savings they achieved are the subject of this paper. A steep incline and heavy belt loads are powered by a dual drive arrangement. The magnetic couplings were custom designed for complete fluid coupling retrofit and easy installation in the field. Maintenance personnel updated the drives in just a few hours. Over the following several weeks, adjustments were made to the couplings for optimum performance. Cost savings are found in reduced down time, no coupling maintenance, and equipment protection.

Jan 1, 2000

By Mike S. Ness, Allan G. Provost

High speed drilling, mucking, and hauling equipment was used in driving approximately 2.16 km(7100 ft) of lower power tunnel in quartz diorite for the Tyee Lake Hydroelectric Project near Wrangell, Alaska. The .91 m(36 in.) guage rail mounted equipment included a Tamrock 2-boom electric/hydraulic drill jumbo, a Haggl and 8HR mucker , and 3 Hagglund 115C shuttle cars. Several other innovative techniques allowed maximum advance rates of up to 17.5 m/day(57ft/day) in the 3 m(10ft) horseshoe section. Average tunnel advance was approximately 11 m(day(35.4 ft/day). The primary difficulties preventing full utilization of the equipment potential were the operators' "learning curve", the need for complete retraining of all personnel in the new methods, and minor sections of faulted ground.

Jan 1, 1983

By S. K. Bhoumik, D. K. Sengupta, B. P. Singh

This paper deals with experimental work to improve the settling and filtration characteristics of an industrial sludge from an iron-ore mine using synthetic polymeric flocculants. The experimental work consisted of the characterization and evaluation of suitable flocculants to enhance settling and filtration rates. The optimum dosage of the flocculants were determined. The experimental results revealed that the settling rate can be increased many times, compared to untreated sludge, by using a suitable combination of flocculants. Compared to cationic and nonionic flocculants, anionic flocculants were found to be more efficient in sludge flocculation. The synergistic effect of two anionic flocculants produced the best settling conditions. Filtration test results also reveal that suitable flocculants can improve the dewatering characteristics of the slurry.

Jan 1, 1997

By P. N. H. Bhakta, X. P. V. Lei

The U.S. Bureau of Mines developed an alkaline oxidative pretreatment to increase the recovery of gold from refractory sulfide ores containing arsenopyrite (FeAsS) and/or pyrite (FeS2). Pretreatment of a low grade ore containing 0.4% FeAsS, 3.5% FeS2, and 2.74g/mt Au with 1.2m NaOH, 40 psig o2, 100° C, and 4 hr in a 2-L autoclave resulted in 94 to 96% sulfide oxidation. cyanidation of the pretreated residue resulted in 88% Au extraction compared to <20% Au extraction for untreated ore. Cyanide consumption was 0.25 kg NaCN per metric ton of ore. A flowsheet for treating sulfidic low-grade gold ore is proposed.

Jan 1, 1990