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By F. A., King

THE problem of the proper size and capacity of the open-hearth furnace has been a predominant issue ever since its inception some sixty years ago. The original furnaces, built in 1868 at Landore, England, were only to 3 to 4 tons capacity, and from' this there has been a steadily increasing and almost uniform rate of expansion until furnaces producing 300 tons are in successful operation today. At the end of the first half of this 60-year period, or about the year 1900, 50-ton furnaces we're common. Up to this time the problems of expansion had been largely those relating to suficient capital and the engineering development of larger units. But as 75, 100-ton and larger furnaces were proposed apprehension grew and other questions assumed leading consideration.

Jan 1, 1928

A good deal of experimental work has been done from time to time on the application of compressed air to the elevation of wet pulp. On account of the flat nature of most of our mill sites elevation of the pulp has to be provided for, and the various methods in vogue show considerable loss of time, in the replaceing of wearing parts. During the last two years the writer has carried out a great many experiments with a view of devising an elevator that will give continuous work with a minimum of wear.The results do not show a high efficiency for the power employed, but the lift is continuous in operation, very cheaply installed, and possesses no wearing parts. The lift was tried working in a bore hole of 8 in. diameter, but in many cases it is more convenient to sink a small well for the purpose. The result to date showed that the most efficiency was obtained when the depth of the wellwas not less than the height of the lift required. The pressure of air required in pounds per square inch was (approximately) half the number of feet to be lifted.In the majority of cases the lift required varied between 20 ft. and 50 ft. and the air pressure required between 10 lbs. and 25 lhs. per square inch. In most existing installations the air compressors in use were delivering air to the receivers at about four times that pressure, and when air so compressed was expanded to perform its work at a reduced pressure, it was apparent that the power exerted in origInally compressing the air above the working pressure required at the lift was absolutely lost.

Jan 1, 1901

By B. J. Klee

What is the economic basis for direct, continuous particle size measurement and control? First, precise grinding control is necessary to achieve and maintain a specified recovery and throughput. Second, throughput and recovery are direct functions of particle size-and these two factors control the economic performance of the ore concentration process. Third, only size-based control using a particle size and percent solids monitor (PSM) has achieved the necessary precise control. Recovery, throughput and cost can be accurately measured for various concentrator operating conditions if particle size is closely controlled. From such data the economic results of different particle size grind points can be analyzed. This will reveal the best combination of recovery and throughput to meet objectives established by financial management. Predictable, repeatable response to set-point selection is essential if the projected profitability of the mill is to be reached.

Jan 11, 1976

By M. A. Upham

"Prairie Evaporites of the Province of Saskatchewan in a deep oil-well hole. Exploitation started in 1950 under a shroud of doubt that this huge reserve could be mined. It was fraught with almost insurmountable physical problems in penetrating the Prairie Evaporites. After 12 years of experimentation and development of new shaft-sinking methods, mining equipment and processes to treat the high-grade potash ore (sylvanite), a new era of high-risk resource development dawned in Saskatchewan.The development of 10 new mines opened up the largest known mineable potash reserves in the world and Canada became the second largest. producer of potash to supply domestic (U.S.A. and Canada) and overseas markets. A monumental program in marketing-devising new transportation systems and strategically locating warehouses-was developed in order to expeditiously service domestic and overseas customers. The year 1969/70 started a period of overcapacity and the problem of prorationing. As the market strengthened in 1974, the Saskatchewan Government applied the reserve tax to the industry. Then, they announced the setting up of a Crown corporation to acquire ownership by purchase of up to fifty per cent of the industry. During this time, potash was discovered in New Brunswick within 50 to 60 miles of a seaport, where two deposits have been explored by the same pioneers who started the potash development in Saskatchewan.With this background, the paper will examine various elements of the economics and marketing of Canadian potash."

Jan 1, 1980

By J. H. Dietz

The electric assist option for diesel-electric trucks can improve truck productivity while maintaining the inherent flexibility of a truck and shovel operation. In addition, the resulting cost reductions offer a rapid investment payback for many mine situations. A review of the present technology and performance experiences verify the projected benefits in productivity and operating cost. New technologies can further improve the productivity/cost scenario.

Jan 1, 1984

By-products are of greater importance in lead and zinc mining than in any of the other major base metals. While I think most mining people would accept that statement, you would probably get some widely varying estimates when attempting to quantify the value of by-products in lead and zinc mining. We are now able to do this with our lead-zinc mine cost model. This model was originally developed as a zinc mine cost model to help us forecast long-term zinc supply and price as part of a study we completed in late 1979 entitled "Zinc - The Next Decade". Before demonstrating the importance of by-product revenue to lead- zinc mines, let me first explain how the cost model was constructed. I will discuss the model as it was originally constructed - as a zinc mine cost model. It has subsequently been expanded to include lead only mines and now can Be run either as a zinc or a lead mine cost model.

Jan 1, 1980

By S. H. Logan

The present discussions throughout the civilized world on the subject of gold for monetary purposes may seem due to general economic conditions during the past year. But for some years previously a small group of authorities had warned the world against the continued disregard of an equitable distribution of existing gold reserves, and had urged the necessity of keeping the supply of new gold equal to the monetary demand, which, according to world production and trade figures, increases on the average about 3 per cent per annum. In 1927, Sir John Aird, the President of The Canadian Bank of Commerce, stated that the United States could spare a billion dollars of the supply it then held, 4 ½ billion dollars. About a year and a half ago the Professor of Banking and Currency in the University of London, Mr. T. E. Gregory, said, "If the world finds it impossible to modify its habits so far as to make an organized effort to economize gold seem less Utopian, it must be prepared to pay for its bad habits, in this and other respects, by a possible loss of material welfare." These clear-cut statements were not heeded, perhaps for one reason because most countries were in the flush of prosperity, and making such great demands upon the mining fraternity for industrial materials as to distract attention, at least to some degree, from gold mining. Now the world knows it faces serious problems, first, of making? fully effective its present monetary reserves, which, although badly distributed, are as a whole ample for the needs of the present, and secondly, of preventing a shortage in the supply of new gold, one that may come within the next few years if the present sources of supply are not enlarged, and if there is no marked change in the technique of gold production.

Jan 1, 1931

By Richard Newcomb, Michael Rieber, William A. Vogely

INTRODUCTION The solid fossil and nuclear fuels, but especially uranium, are given prominent, indeed leading, roles by energy experts in most long range estimates of world energy futures. Optimistic forecasts are inspired partly by the disproportionately large solid fuels resource base compared to present rates of consumption or to oil and gas resources, and partly by the vision of inexpensive high technology applications. Such a view overlooks the fact that while resource- use disparities and new technologies give allure to the promise of the solid fuels, they do not guarantee cheap solutions to the basic problems of solid fuel uses: viz., their relatively difficult conditions for efficient ignition and control, including the management of environmentally acceptable residuals disposal. Contrary to the varied versions of this optimistic hypothesis, this paper shows that a great many persistent economic and technical problems interfere with such a simple inference. These act as constraints which qualify or dispute much of the national energy policy based on existing modeling of solid fuel requirements and optimistic engineering evaluations. The assumptions and techniques of such exercises are sometimes at fault. As often as not, however, the distortions created in open market fuel com- petition due to misdirected national energy policies themselves are to blame for misdirected efforts. A number of interesting implications result. Among them are the distinct possibility that the low technology applications will dominate, so that more direct coal and less synfuel or nuclear use will occur; that, accordingly, exhaustion rates for uranium will be low, that the most extensive growth of solid fuel through 2000 will be in conventional pulverized coal cumbustors, and that the traded share of the world coal bum will be much larger than predicted. These trends will place much more pressure on oil and gas prices than forecast by most experts. On the way to these findings the paper demonstrates that solid fuel resource adequacy in situ, balanced against the projections of demands as capacity requirements, mean little as conventionally measured by years to exhaustion or potential supply schedules. Indeed, all stock concepts of demand requirements or of fuel re- sources must be tied to the paths of the unit costs and the deliverable prices of all substitute fuels and systems over time. This requires a dynamic analysis of supply and demand, integrated with geological and engineering constraints, to provide insights into the multiple modes of market and product substitution. Market forces rather than technical promise will determine the allocation of the solid fuels. Moreover, the equilibrium paths of individual fuel prices and market shares are not easily simulated by general or network models, and decision makers will continue to rely on the partial, local comparison of alternatives in their choices of fuel systems at any time. 'The economics of the solid fuels differs from that of other energy sources in important ways relating to their form in use, conversion efficiency, (dis)economies and externalities. Petroleum and gas are in a more convenient form for

Jan 1, 1985

By G. A. Vissac

IN THE preliminary design of a coal washery, the most important factor to evaluate is the ash content of the final product. The ash content permissible may be imposed by market demands, but, in the final analysis, sooner or later - as most consumers today are buying coal on a 'heat value' basis - the coal operator has a certain margin of latitude. and the ash content of the coal to be delivered can be determined on the basis of maximum returns and highest profits. A few years ago, the most desirable separation was selected on the basis of the plus-minus 0.10; that is, the most desirable gravity of the separation was selected at the point showing a minimum amount of near gravities in the raw coal. The reason for this was an expected wide error over these near gravities. Today with the recent development of cry accurate, automatically controlled cleaning apparatus, a much larger latitude is possible, and the most desirable gravity of separation can be selected, almost exclusively, on the basis of the economic factors involved. To illustrate these new methods of investigation we shall give two examples, based on actual coals from the western United States.

Jan 1, 1957

By J. B. Morrow, D. H. Davis

THERE are two general approaches to the problem of increasing profits from an operation. One is to lower expense; the other is to raise income. Mechanical preparation of coal may be used for either purpose but a prudent consideration of many details must precede any decision lest the results be negative instead of positive. It is quite possible that any net gain will result from a combination of the two. Since mechanically prepared coal invariably is a better product qualitatively than a hand-picked coal from the same mine, it is a reason- able expectation that the customer will be willing to increase the producer's income by paying a higher price. Or there may be the possibility that a combination of mechanical mining plus mechanical cleaning will give a lower over-all production cost for the coal in the railroad car. More likely, there will be found a combination of these two factors. From the customer's point of view, the competitive delivered cost per B.t.u. considered in relation to such incidental factors as dust nuisance, handling properties, ash disposal, and ash fusibility determines what he will pay. In a bulk tonnage product such as coal, freight is a very considerable part of the delivered fuel cost, and obviously freight paid on incombustible ash has no economic attractions. INCENTIVE FOR CLEANING Coal is prepared in four major ways: 1 (I) by screening or sizing, (a) by mixing or blending, (3) by cleaning, including hand picking and mechanical cleaning, (4) by dustless treatment. By a combination of any or all of these methods, coal can be prepared to standard specifications. It is easily possible to have good cleaning and still get a poor final product because of faulty screening or mixing,

Jan 1, 1943

By J. B. Morrow, D. H. Davis

THERE are two general approaches to the problem of increasing profits from an operation. One is to lower expense; the other is to raise income. Mechanical preparation of coal may be used for either purpose but a prudent consideration of many details must precede any decision lest the results be negative instead of positive. It is quite possible that any net gain will result from a combination of the two. Since mechanically prepared coal invariably is a better product qualitatively than a hand-picked coal from the same mine, it is a reasonable expectation that the customer will be willing to increase the producer's income by paying a higher price. Or there may be the possibility that a combination of mechanical mining plus mechanical cleaning will give a lower over-all production cost for the coal in the railroad car. More likely, there will be found a combination of these two factors. From the customer's point of view, the competitive delivered cost per B.t.u. considered in relation to such incidental factors as dust nuisance, handling properties, ash disposal, and ash fusibility determines what he will pay. In-a bulk tonnage such as coal, freight is a very considerable part of the delivered fuel cost, and obviously freight paid on incombustible ash has no economic attractions. INCENTIVE FOR CLEANING Coal is prepared in four major ways: l (1) by screening or sizing, (2) by mixing or blending, (3) by cleaning, including hand picking and mechanical cleaning, (4) by dustless treatment. By a combination of any or all of these methods, coal can be prepared to standard specifications. It is easily possible to have good cleaning and still get a poor final product because of faulty screening or mixing, while it is possible to produce a very acceptable product from mediocre cleaning if the coal is well screened and mixed.

Jan 1, 1950

By Kenneth K. Humphreys, R. M. Quinlan, Stan Venkatesan

INTRODUCTION 1 * The coal industry in the United States has undergone significant economic changes in recent years. For example, the price of coal remained relatively constant from 1950 to 1969 (see Figs. 5-1 and 5-2) but steam coal prices tripled and metallurgical coal prices doubled from 1969 to 1974. This price structure has created a new economic environment for coal preparation. Contributing factors to these price trends include: 1) Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969. 2) Mid-East oil embargo of 1973.

Jan 1, 1979

By Kenneth K. Humphreys, F. R. Zachar, A. G. Gilbert

INTRODUCTION by F. R. ZACHAR and A. G. GILBERT Coal producers are not only faced with the problems of mining coal, but must also decide to what extent they can invest capital and what operating and maintenance expense they can afford, after mining, to market their product in sufficient volume and at a reasonable profit. Regardless of whether the operator is contemplating a new operation or merely considering expanding present facilities, market requirements, ability to make a product meeting requirements, probable costs and possible future changes in raw coal or finished product must be considered. In addition, such items as flow sheet, structural designs, storage facilities, etc, must be examined individually and collectively. In estimating preparation costs to meet predetermined market specifications, the operator must calculate the economics of present preparation practices to anticipate the increase to total production which results when the quality of the finished product is increased. The consumers of coal are continually seeking to obtain the best and most adaptable product for their money. Regardless of whether coal is used for coking, industrial requirements, electric power generation, domestic fuel or for other purposes, it will be scrutinized from such standpoints as delivered cost, suitability for utilization in certain equipment, ease of ash disposal, adaptability to material handling system plans and its potential for generating dust problems. Utilities, due to large capacity volume requirements, are generally in a position to select coal that will result in the lowest over-all cost per million Btu. Freight costs, paid by the utility, are important and are given utmost consideration when a coal is under consideration. Steel companies, whether producing or purchasing coking coal, are continually seeking coal that will result in lowering the cost of pig iron production. Since it is usually necessary to clean to lower specific gravities, say 1.40, to turn out a product meeting metallurgical requirements, it follows that a high ash "middling" product is created. These low quality middlings do not command a good price. Therefore, unless the metallurgical coal can command sufficient realization to carry or subsidize the middlings, the operator may be ahead economically to prepare steam coal at a higher specific gravity. While the "unit-train" rate reductions have been helpful to the economy of the coal industry, the establishment of these rates has made mandatory the installation of storage and rapid car loading facilities at mines and plants shipping utility coal (see Chapter 15). A study of the economics

Jan 1, 1968

By Donald D. Haas

Contract mining has a definite place in the mining industry, both in the United States and around the world. A mine owner should evaluate the utilization of contract mining in the devel­opment and production of mining properties. This evaluation of contract mining should be performed at various times in the life of a mining prope1iy from the development and initial operation of a new mining project, periodically throughout the mine's life, and at mine closure. Many factors must be considered in ana­lyzing and evaluating the potential of contract mining and those factors are both quantitative and qualitative. Quantitative factors are those factors for which costs or measures can be determined or estimated objectively; and qualitative factors are those factors for which costs or measures must be determined subjectively and do not lend themselves to objective determination or estimation. Some of the qualitative aspects may provide only yes, maybe, or no answers while others will provide a tendency or partiality toward one answer or the other without a quantified cost. The major quantitative aspects include operating and capital costs, monitoring costs, capital preservation, acquisition and disposal of new and used equipment, direct payroll and administrative costs, recruiting and training costs, and employment and termi­nation of staff and hourly personnel. The major qualitative areas include corporate philosophy, risks associated with capital and operating costs, financing the project, operating control, operat­ing flexibility, recruiting and training of personnel, employment and termination, administrative concerns, and owner/contractor relationship.

Jan 1, 1998

By Robert Sutton, Milan Sjaus

Conveyor pulleys are an important and integral component of a conveyor. Conveyors work in sequence to make up conveyor systems. Each conveyor system is only as reliable as its crudest component. If the pulley fails, then the whole material handling system stops. So what is the effect of this downtime? What are the costs of repair? How much are we willing to pay to solve the problem? What should we spend to prevent an unscheduled shutdown? Do we use the technological improvements at our disposal or do we ignore them to satisfy immediate cost savings? This study will focus on the cost of pulleys relative to the total conveyor cost, the cost of downtime, the maintenance costs and the costs for resolution of the problem. Some philosophic and design concepts are injected for illustration and discussion.

Jan 1, 2000

By Warwick Bullen

A hypothetical economic model has been developed for diamond projects in the Canadian Arctic using data from recent exploration and mining projects. The model reflects economic conditions as it applies to the diamond mining industry in the Canadian Arctic at the present time. The economic model captures pre-production expenditures, production data, and post-production costs. Before- and after-tax cash flows are derived from the data along with the relevant economic criteria. From the corporate perspective, the model provides guidance as to the minimum size and/or in-situ value per tonne requirements of targets being sought in order to ensure economic success and probable exploration and development expenditures. From the government perspective, the model provides an indication of income and mining tax revenues that can be expected from a particular diamond project. The model shows, on average, diamond projects in the Canadian Arctic are expensive to explore for and develop, but are economically robust. They generate great economic return for mining companies and significant amounts of tax revenue for governments. The fact that diamonds can be transported directly from the mine site by air makes them particularly attractive targets for mining companies that operate in the Canadian Arctic.

Apr 1, 2005

By W. Bullen

A hypothetical economic model has been developed for diamond projects in the Canadian Arctic using data from recent exploration and mining projects. The model reflects economic conditions applicable to the diamond mining industry in the Canadian Arctic at the present time. The economic model captures pre-production expenditures, production data, and post-production costs. Before- and after-tax cash flows are derived from the data along with the relevant economic criteria. From the corporate perspective, the model provides guidance concerning the minimum size and/or in situ value per tonne requirements of targets being sought in order to ensure economic success and predict exploration and development expenditures. From the government perspective, the model provides an indication of income and mining tax revenues that can be expected from a particular diamond project. The model shows, on average, diamond projects in the Canadian Arctic are expensive to explore for and develop, but are economically robust under the present conditions. They generate great economic return for mining companies and significant amounts of tax revenue for governments. The fact that diamonds can be transported directly from the minesite by air makes them particularly attractive targets for mining companies that operate in the Canadian Arctic.

Jan 1, 2006

By C. Hutton

"SynopsisThe last commodities supercycle (2003 to 2011) was characterized by a belief in volume at any cost, where absolute output was deliberately prioritized over productivity considerations. This practice fuelled overoptimistic forecasting and planning, which in turn contributed to the economic crisis that followed. The sudden collapse of commodity prices has resulted in mining companies scrambling to find the right balance between optimizing current operations and preserving sufficient flexibility to grasp future opportunities. The runaway costs of building and operating mines have almost squeezed out profit margins, while lower ore grades are inflating production costs. Mining companies therefore need to look at the business with fresh eyes, and develop strategies to attract equity capital as traditional approaches are simply not working anymore. This is especially so in the context of a dwindling investor base that continues to demand greater returns, despite a significantly lower appetite for risk. This paper revisits the micro-economic concepts and demonstrates how pressure from shareholders to prioritize output contributed to spiralling costs and value destruction. Practical techniques are described to model cost curves to optimize a Mineral Resource endowment and address the need to rightbalance a business and preserve agility.IntroductionHenry Lazenby (2014) for the Mining Weekly writes, ‘Bruised and battered, the global mining industry today is undergoing a sea change. Practices and policies that might have worked wonders in the past are not as relevant today, and new approaches to running profitable mining operations need to be found.’ One significant practice the mining industry had during the last commodities supercycle (2003 to 2011) was chasing volume at any cost; absolute output was deliberately prioritized over productivity considerations (Goldsmith, 2013). Lazenby contends that in the face of falling and volatile commodity prices, many mining majors ‘across all commodity groups are currently grappling with sagging profits and low company valuations. This is often regarded as the result of the were in pursuit of growing their output at all costs in a high commodity price environment.’ Lee Hodgkinson, KPMG’s Canadian mining industry leader and quoted by Lazenby, says that ‘mining companies are now trying to find the right balance between optimizing current operations and preserving their agility to grasp future opportunities. The runaway costs of building and operating mines have almost squeezed out profit margins [whilst] lower grades of ore are inflating production costs. Mining companies need to look at the business with fresh eyes, and develop strategies to attract equity capital as it seems clear that some of the traditional approaches to the mining business are simply not working anymore."

Jan 1, 2015

By Ronald G. Schmidt

AND SOME RIN UP HILL AND DOWN DALE, KNAPPING THE CHUCKY STANES TO PIECES WI' HAMMERS, LIKE SAE MANY ROAD MAKERS RUN DAFT. THEY SAY IT IS TO SEE HOW THE WARLD WAS MADE. Sir Walter Scott St. Ronan's Well - 1824 In the minds of many, geologic exploration has advanced little since the early nineteenth century. In truth, despite the development and refinement of new and potentially valuable technological tools, the approach or philosophy of the explorationist has received meager attention in professional literature. In many areas, the explorationist relies upon experience, subjective judgement and general intangible inspiration, often traveling together under the misleading pseudonym of "art," in achieving both an exploration plan and in making the myriad day to day decisions necessary to the execution of that plan. Without a solid, objective basis for decisions, exploration under this concept is little more than guesswork largely by intuition, and it is small wonder that many exploration programs flounder in a sea of over-expenditure inefficiency or fail to fulfill their expected goals within the funding which has been provided. From a rational management point of view, such a state of affairs is frustrating and inconsistent with the application of the same scientific principles which are presumed to be the basis for the exploration methods which are used. This somewhat presumptuous point of view cannot be extended as a general condemnation of the many exploration programs which are both technically and economically successful. On the other hand, the

Jan 1, 1968

By Richard C. Harris

Substantial economic benefits exist today for fine coal preparation and improved technologies coupled with more stringent air quality standards should increase those benefits in the future. The costs of cleaning can be determined with reasonable certainty with proper consideration given to mining methods, plant feed characteristics, refuse disposal and marketing impact. The benefits cannot be as accurately determined but include impact on generating capacity, plant maintenance, emission standards, slagging, fouling, transportation, and handling. Site specific cleaning offers particular benefits in some situations to tailor the preparation plant facility to boiler characteristics. Improved communications and methodologies need to develop to allow the coal producer and the coal user to clean coal to the degree that results in the lowest overall cost for electrical generation.

Jan 1, 1988