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By R. Matusewicz, A. Kaye

Ausmelt Top Submerged Lancing (TSL) Technology has gained widespread commercial acceptance in non-ferrous applications, including the processing of lead and zinc primary concentrates and secondary (post-consumer) materials. TSL is highly flexible and efficient, and is one of the few technologies which can process primary and secondary feeds, and use varying fuels, to deliver high recoveries and excellent environmental performance. With the recent high value of both lead and zinc, and an escalating awareness of the sustainable use of resources, focus on the processing of secondary feed material sources has surged. Ausmelt Technology has proven to be well suited to the economic recovery of values, with twenty-two (22) Ausmelt furnaces processing lead and zinc bearing feed sources now in operation, under design or construction. This paper describes Ausmelt's progress in the fields of lead and zinc processing, and developments in new processing areas such as EAF dust processing and linking to innovative hydrometallurgical technology. Ausmelt has recently committed to the Whyalla Zinc project as the owner/operator of a facility for the treatment of zinc bearing secondary feeds. This project is due for start up in the first quarter of 2008.

Jan 1, 2008

By J. W. Borough

THE electrical conductivity of pure copper is markedly decreased by small amounts of impurity in solution. The magnitude of this effect has been very carefully determined by numerous investigators who studied a wide variety of impurity elements. Much of this work is summarized in an excellent review by Pawlek and Reichel.' The case of zinc impurity in copper is an exception to the above in that there has been no well-documented study of the effect using high-purity starting materials. The values for the effect of zinc on conductivity, which are usually taken from unpublished work by Skowronki, indicate that zinc in low concentration has no effect whatever in lowering the conductivity of pure copper. This effect, if true, is unusual since it is generally known that even in lowest concentration, impurities exert an effect on conductivity which is proportional to the amount dissolved. It is more reasonable to suspect that in the original work on the effect of zinc some of the zinc was oxidized out of solution during specimen preparation. The following experi- and calculated d-spacings based on the unit cell dimensions of Baenziger et al. Since the single crystal studies of Baenziger et al. were limited to (hk0) and (hk 1) data, it was not possible to Compare all the intensities of the powder and single crystal patterns. However, the strongest reflections of both studies, the (321) reflection, agree very well when the appropriate multiplicity factor is used. Good agreement was also found in a number of other reflections of lesser intensity. Despite the precautions taken in annealing the U6Fe powder, an appreciable amount of UO, was detected in the powder pattern after heat treatment. The powder pattern reported by Groganoand Clews is given in Table I. Except for the 3.15A line, which is the strongest line of UO,, their pattern, as far as it goes, compares favoEably with the data from this study. Gordon and Kaufmann have reported a diffraction powder pattern purported to be U, Fe but it bears very little resemblance to the patterns of Table I. ments were carried out to redetermine the effect of zinc on conductivity using high-purity starting materials and processing conditions capable of producing oxygen-free alloys. Materials used in the experiment were ASR 99.999 pct Cu and Cumingo 99.999 pct Zn. Four 1 lb melts were prepared with identical procedure in argon atmosphere with crucibles made from Speer No. 580 graphite. The compositions were 0.0, 0.1, 0.3 and 1.0 pct Zn. Standard No. 14 wire (0.064 in. diam) was made from these melts as follows. The 1 pct Zn sample was first reduced 94 pct by cold swaging with five annealing treatments of 800o for 10 min in hydrogen between swagings, and then reduced 94 pct to the

Jan 1, 1962

By G. S. Scott, G. W. Jones

ECONOMIC waste caused by mine fires may become considerable,15 especially if a fire is allowed to spread or temporarily to get beyond control. It is important, therefore, to act promptly whenever a fire is suspected and to make every action count. To contribute toward its extinction effectively it is necessary to know at the earliest possible moment, and continuously thereafter, what is happening at the seat of the fire, which may be in a remote or inaccessible area, and also to recognize what may be expected as a result of any proposed combative measure. In combatting a fire the mining engineer and the chemist should cooperate, first deciding upon the course of action to be taken and then drawing upon the mining engineer's intimate knowledge of the physical structure of the fire area, the cost and time required to carry out proposed operations, and the probable efficiency with which these operations could be performed, and upon the chemist's knowledge for the results to be expected therefrom. After the initial steps to be taken have been decided, it devolves upon the mining engineer to see that they are carried out and upon the chemist to evaluate the results and to keep the mining engineer continuously informed in regard to a variety of matters-such as the composition and toxic or asphyxiating properties of the atmosphere in which the men may be working, whether the fire is increasing or decreasing in intensity and its probable temperature, the quantity of air leakage and the explosion hazards of the fire area. The purpose of this paper is to discuss what the chemist can and cannot contribute as a member of the fire-fighting personnel. The technical literature contains several hundred papers relating directly and indirectly to mine fires, and this fact alone is testimony to the complex nature of the phenomena involved in the birth, life, and final demise of a fire. A fire may be stopped (I) by preventing oxygen from reaching the coal or (2) by removing the conditions necessary for the rapid reaction of coal with oxygen; i.e., decreasing the temperature. All methods of prevention or control. necessarily must be based upon one or the other, or both, of these two principles. . The chemistry of a fire may be understood readily if the low-temperature oxidation of coal is considered as a starting point; then oxidation at higher temperatures (or combustion) ; and with these, the composition of the solid and gaseous products resulting from the oxidation or from the effects of the heat liberated. This discussion refers particularly to Pennsylvania anthracite, although much of the material applies equally well to coals of lower rank. OXIDATION OF COAL Oxidation of coal fundamentally is confined to the surface; that is, the rate at which oxygen penetrates into the interior of a solid block of coal is so slow that it may be ignored.6,16 Oxidation starts when a fresh surface is exposed, and the rate is

Jan 1, 1942

By E Widzyk-Capehart, C Hölck Teuber, S Steffen, V Rivero, O Fredes, E Sanchez, I Pedemonte, N Gonzalez

This paper summarises the research, development and initial application of a sensing platform that has the potential to monitor subsurface deformations, pore pressure and other variables simultaneously to gain a better understanding of rock mass behaviour. The platform is based on Networked Smart Markers (NSMs) devices, which, with their ability for wireless communication between individual sensors and the possibility of real-time data acquisition and processing, will assist in the development of predictive tools to better assess rock mass behaviour.A good opportunity to implement this technology is in the specific application of transitioning from an open pit mine to an underground caving operation. One of the key elements to maintaining the mining business during such a transition is having a good understanding of the unique geotechnical conditions of mutual influence created during the open pit to underground interaction. The knowledge acquisition will require the implementation of a robust platform for geotechnical monitoring, which could be enhanced by incorporating the NSMs. The integration of sensors within the NSMs would enable the collection of additional data about rock mass behaviour (ie caving propagation and crown pillar fracturing), which could be used to improve the management of mining operations and, specifically, allow the development of reliable predictive tools based on the data collected.CITATION:Widzyk-Capehart, E, Hölck Teuber, C, Fredes, O, Rivero, V, Sanchez, E, Pedemonte, I, Gonzalez, N and Steffen, S, 2016. Understanding rock mass behaviour through the development of an integrated sensing platform, in Proceedings Seventh International Conference and Exhibition on Mass Mining (MassMin 2016), pp 275–284 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

May 9, 2016

By O. A. Cheadle, F. E. Lane

ThE computer program for arbitrary crystal systems reported by Camp and Clum' has been modified to make it more convenient for hexagonal crystals. The program' uses the Miller indexes (hkl) which can be confusing for hexagonal crystals while the modified program uses the Miller-Bravais indexes with four axes; e.g., the angles between the (110) planes, Fig. 1, are 0 and 90 deg but in the (hkil) system the angles between the (1150) planes are 0 and 60 deg. If a Laue photograph is taken of a crystal oriented with the prismatic planes nearly parallel to the film then the spots on the stereo graphic projection will be from high-index planes. The probable positions of the low-index planes, e.g., (0001) plane, can only be obtained from the intersection of zones and this is not accurate to 1 or 2 deg. The number of planes considered by the program (card 1)' has to be limited to the ones of low index or the program time is excessive but a solution will not be obtained if one of the spots has an index that is not being considered. To overcome this problem the program1 was modified so that if no fit was obtained at *1 deg (card 3) of the tabulated angles then ±2 or ±3 deg was tried. If still no solution was obtained either due to one of the angles not being measured correctly to ±3 deg or because one of the spots was from a high-index plane, then the last spot was discounted and a fit tried for the remaining spots at i1 deg, and so forth. The minimum number of spots that the program will try to fit is five. If the limit on any individual index is 4 (card 1) and (h + k + l + 1) is six then twenty-three planes are considered and there are over 1000 interplanar angles. Many pairs of planes have very similar interplanar angles and with the errors previously mentioned the program will often produce several alternative solutions to a group of spots particularly at ±2 or ±3 deg. However without the program the alternative solutions would probably not have been found. If a large number of spots are used the number of possible fits is reduced. In the example shown in Fig. 2, if only spots which are on the film are used (case 1) the program gives six possible solutions, Table I. However if points 7 and 8 are also used (case 2) the program gives only one fit which also agrees with a standard projection of the crystal. In addition to time-saving the program ensures that a correct solution is obtained since it is unlikely that all the alternatives would have been gound manually; the first would probably be assumed to be the correct solution. The program has been used for zirconium crystals but is equally suitable for other hexagonal materials.

Jan 1, 1969

By H. M. Beatty, T. L. Joseph, Gust Bitsianes

SUCCESSFUL blast-furnace operation depends upon securing an optimum balance between a number of important variables. This balance will vary somewhat from furnace to furnace in the same plant and with raw materials available in different plants. It is difficult to isolate the effect of any one variable unless it has a rather pronounced effect upon the efficiency of operation. The physical properties of iron ore and coke are known to affect the process, yet it is difficult to set up any definite yardstick by which these differences can be appraised. In recent years, whenever practicable, operators have taken steps to obtain better control over the absolute size and uniformity of size of the ore and coke. The size and physical character of the stone, however, have received comparatively little attention, emphasis being placed upon chemical composition, fluxing efficiency, and action as a desulphurizing agent. Since the stone occupies only about 10 per cent of the volume of the stock column, its influence upon permeability is less than that of the ore and the coke. The large pieces now used have a tendency to roll to the center and thus increase the permeability of this part of the stock column. Smaller pieces would be more effective in promoting the permeability of denser portions of the stock. The size and physical properties of blast- furnace stone are important also for reasons best understood by considering the results obtained by the crushing and the sizing of iron ore. Crushing ore to about 2 in. at Provo, Utah, and to about I in. in Alabama produced material somewhat less permeable to gases, even though sized. In spite of some sacrifice in permeability, the efficiency of the process was improved by crushing and sizing the ore, as indicated by a substantial saving in fuel and increased output. This saving in fuel is due in large measure to more thorough reduction of ore in the upper part of the furnace and to a corresponding decrease in the amount of carbon consumed prematurely above the tuyeres by the reaction CO2 + C = 2CO ? 70,080 B.t.u. [I] The physical properties of stone, its size and rate of calcination are important because they influence the rate at which C02 is released and the completeness of calcination before reaching a level in the furnace where the temperature does not exceed 1050°C. (1920°F.). Briefly, carbon dioxide from the limestone or from the reduction of ore may cause premature com- bustion of carbon above the tuyeres. Assuming that 1000 lb. of limestone is used per ton of pig iron, about 435 lb. of C02 will be liberated during calcination of a good grade of stone. If all this CO2 from the stone were to oxidize carbon prematurely, about 120 lb. would be consumed above the tuyeres in a heat-absorbing reaction. The amount of carbon thus consumed when a

Jan 1, 1942

By Manuel R. Lastra

Critical to successful dump and heap leaching for gold, silver, copper and uranium are factors such as permeability, solution delivery to the ore, and solution recovery. This paper deals with possible techniques for successful accomplishment of these three factors. New developments as well as older techniques are discussed, together with rationale for use of some techniques in reference to others. The authors hope to present a checklist so that the ideal application to individual mine situations can be achieved. This involves a discussion of the merits of each different method and the situations for most logical application. It is hoped that such discussion will broaden the geographic areas where dump and heap leaching can be applied to include greater winter cold and tropical regions of large amounts of rainfall.

Jan 1, 1984

"The Cooperative Research Centre for Mining Technology and Equipment (CMTE) is funded by the Commonwealth Government, by its mining research members — the Universities of Queensland and Sydney and the CSIRO1, and by its industry members — BHP Coal, RioTinto R&TD, Hamersley Iron, Mining Technologies Australia, Pasminco, Shell Coal, WMC Resources, Advanced Mining Technologies, and Aberfoyle. The Centre conducts work aimed at improving the competitiveness of the Australian mining industry. The current work is focused in four areas: new mining and drilling systems, geological sensing, automation, and equipment maintenance and reliability. This paper describes much of the work in these program areas that relates to metalliferous mining. Mechanized Rock ExcavationThe disadvantages of the drill-and-blast excavation method are widely recognized and the last half of the 20th century has seen mining companies and mining research organizations aggressively pursue technology to excavate rock by other means. As discussed below, despite considerable effort and large amounts of funding, the quest for mining’s “Holy Grail” has been unsuccessful in all but the weakest rock types.COMRO (the Chamber of Mines Research Organisation) supported by the South African gold mining industry, spent three decades and (probably) tens of millions of dollars developing prototype drag bits and, later, impact breaking machines aimed at the mechanized stoping of narrow, tabular reefs. This work has not yet produced a commercially-attractive mining system. Work continues in South Africa to mechanize these stoping operations although now the emphasis is on the use of diamond-wire sawing techniques. This work remains in the experimental phase.Both British Coal and Germany’s Bergbau- Forschung spent many years developing techniques trying to extend the range of rock types which roadheaders could cut economically. Again, although new knowledge was produced, it is difficult to claim that any new commercial mining systems emerged from this work."

Jan 1, 2001

By H-S Yang, H Park, S-J Kim, Y-H Ko, H-S Kim, S-H Cho, J-K Kim

An investigation was undertaken to devise a new method for reducing dust spread during blasting demolition utilising water tube and detonating cord. Modelling of smooth particle hydrodynamics (SPH) with AUTODYN software was initially completed to determine the expected diffusing behaviour of the water tube. The actual behaviour was then captured with high speed videos during each experiment, and each result analysed in detail. Water mist diffusion was generated and analysed by changing three key variables. In sequence, these included changing the location of detonating cord in the tube, the charge quantity and the tube diameter.As a result of experiments and simulation, optimum design for ideal diffusion behaviour was suggested and each behaviour of water mist was classified by diffusing shape of water tube as the design criteria.CITATION:Ko, Y-H, Kim, J-K, Kim, S-J, Park, H, Kim, H-S, Cho, S-H and Yang, H-S, 2015. Mist diffusion experiment and evaluation of water tube for blasting demolition dust control, in Proceedings 11th International Symposium on Rock Fragmentation by Blasting, pp 809–814 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Aug 24, 2015

By Katja Ohenoja

Polymer dispersants, also known as grinding aids, are widely used to reduce the viscosity of mineral particle suspensions and to improve energy efficiency during fine grinding. In this study, the effect of polymer dispersant with different molecular structure on the suspension properties in the wet stirred media milling of limestone was studied. The stability of suspension was studied by combining rheological and zeta potential measurements. The PDI value of polymers corresponds to the width of the molecular weight distribution so that low PDI corresponds to narrow MW distribution and high PDI to the wide one. In this study, two traditionally fractionated polymer dispersants with high PDI (over 2) and one novel polymer dispersant with low PDI (1.2) has been tested. It was noticed that dispersants worked as electrosteric stabilizators and prevented the agglomeration of ground limestone particles. The uses of dispersants could increase solids concentration used in the grinding experiments and at the same time lower the particle size and specific energy consumption. The obtained particle sizes were about 1 µm regardless of which dispersant was used or the amount of it. The novel dispersant with low PDI reduced viscosity most when compared with the traditionally fractionated polymer dispersants. Results indicated that even higher solids concentrations can be used at the same amount of dispersant when the novel low PDI polymer dispersant is used. Alternatively, lower dosage of novel low PDI dispersant can be used compared to traditionally fractionated dispersants.

Sep 1, 2012

"Longwall shearers are widely employed in underground coal mines. The reliability of such machine has significant importance for successful mining operations. This paper aims at studying reliability of a longwall shearer using failure data recorded for a year. Data was pre-processed, sorted and selected for analysis. Selected data is then examined using statistical models. Distribution fitting of time-between-failure (TBF) and time-to-repair (TTR) are accomplished using three different models. Goodness-of-fit criteria is used to ascertain the best fitting model. Reliability in terms of mean-time-between-failure (MTBF), and mean-time-to-repair (MTTR) are calculated using the model which best represents the failure data. Exponential distribution best represents the time between failure and lognormal distribution the time to repair data. A well-known risk management technique Failure Mode Effect and Criticality Analysis is used to evaluate the critical breakdowns. Critical system/parts, experiencing regular failures is delineated based on this analysis. INTRODUCTION Mining is a capital intensive process, and huge monetary investment is required to develop and operate a mining project. Heavy and expensive equipment’s are employed in development and operation of these projects. In order to ensure timely completion of set milestones, it is mandatory that equipment’s perform their required task productively. Delays are not unusual owing to breakdown of these equipment’s. Breakdown or failure experienced by any of the equipment pose heavy financial burden. Moreover, frequent times, companies have to employ and dedicate additional resources to make up for such delays. Delays in project is not only detrimental to company’s image in market, but it also interrupts customer commitments. Mines having history of not fulfilling their promise usually get lower commodity price. Penalties are also imposed on the companies defaulting its obligations. Especially, in today’s world where competition among the companies are growing, success means keeping up the commitments in a timely manner. Heavy machinery and equipment are instrumental in success of any project. These machinery and equipment’s have to reliable in a sense that they can perform the set task in given time period. Reliability of these equipment plays a pivotal role in success of any project. The reliability analysis of mining equipment has long history. Many researchers have applied different statistical models for analyzing the reliability of mining machines (Samanta, Sarkar [1]. Kumar and Klefsjö [2] demonstrated the use of the power law process model for reliability assessments of repairable mining machines. Barabady and Kumar [3] performed the reliability analysis from failure data of the crushing plants."

Jan 1, 2018

By P. Zhang, K. Liu, L. Ou

"The strength and mechanism of Portland cement prepared from stone coal vanadium slag were studied in this paper. Initially, the slag was used as silicon raw materials to prepare clinker. By blending the prepared clinker with gypsum, waste, and fly ash, a series of different grades cement got well prepared. All of performances of the cement were up to the requirements of China’s national standard. The hydration products and microstructure of cement were identified and analyzed by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. With the comparison of cement hydration characteristics at different ages, the strength formation mechanism of cement was clarified. The experimental results suggested that adding the fine materials (mainly waste and fly ash) to replace part of clinker would accelerate cement hydration, as it provided additional surfaces for the nucleation and growth of hydration products. And the hydration products were similar to ordinary Portland cement, mainly containing the amorphous calcium silicate hydrates (C-S-H), acicular ettringite (AFt) and portlandite (CH). With hydration time increasing, the hydration products continuously covered the cement particles, resulting in a thicker surface layer. As a result, it gradually condensed into a dense structure block with small pores and smooth surfaces, which led to higher strength. In conclusion, using the vanadium slag to prepare Portland cement can realize the utilization of solid mineral wastes, which will bring huge ecological and economic benefits.INTRODUCTIONWith the development of China’s mining industry, more and more mineral waste residue is discharged every year. These solid wastes cause varieties of resources and environmental problems on people’s living area. While at the same time, the demands of cement are increasing with the remarkable development of the construction industry. Thus, in recent years, utilization of proper solid waste to prepare cement has become an efficient way to deal with the solid mineral wastes problems (Boncukcuoglu, Kocakeri?M, & Tosunoglu, 2002; Simatupang, Hanafi, Purwasasmita, Imran, & Pane, 2012; Tsakiridis, Papadimitriou, Tsivilis, & Koroneos, 2008; Yun, Yong, Choi, Lee, & Lachemi, 2009)."

Jan 1, 2016

By Donggen Fang, Liu Xuan, Jilai Xue

SiO2 and Al2O3 in the metallurgical slag of nickel laterite ore have great recycling values. In this work, Si and Al were extracted from the slag in NaOH based molten salts through alkali roasting and water leaching process for preparing zeolite materials. The extraction ratio of SiO2 increases with increased temperature and appropriately prolonged time, and more than 80% SiO2 can be recycled from the slag after roasting at 550°C. Si and Al from the slag are in the filtered liquor for producing zeolite materials, while Mg, Ca, Fe and other impurities remain in the leached residues. Adding Na2CO3 into the alkalin-slag roasting process can reduce the amount of pure NaOH used with minor decrease in extraction ratio of SiO2, while make better separation of Ca to avoid it getting into the filtered liquor. Adding Al2O3 into the alkalin roasting process can replace part of more expensive NaAlO2 addition that is required for preparing zeotite material, which may bring out a minor decrease in extraction ratio of SiO2 due to formation of NaAlSiO 4 in the filtered residues. Quality X zeolite and 4A zeolite materials can be made from the starting liquor containing Si and Al recycled from the laterite nickel slag through alkali roasting and water leaching process.

Mar 1, 2018

By R S. Sing, M D. Yadav, G Udaybhanu

This paper presents the results of the first part of a research project to study the effect of various inhibitors to reduce the spontaneous heating susceptibility of some highly susceptible Indian coal seams. In this investigation 11 inhibitors were chosen and applied at three, five and ten per cent of their concentrations in an aqueous solution for four coal samples collected from four different seams. The susceptibility of coal samples, before and after application of these inhibitors, was determined by carrying out crossing point temperature (CPT) analysis. The findings of this study have indicated that it is possible to retard the tendency of spontaneous heating of Indian coals to a considerable extent by the application of six of the inhibitors studied. Further, these inhibitors were tested in 1:1 combination to study their synergistic effect. Finally the economics of the application of these inhibitors has been analysed and four inhibitors are recommended for field use. These results have direct application to control fire and improve productivity and safety in coal mines.

Jan 1, 2005

By Eduardo A. Pérez, Alejandro R. Alonso, Rosa María Luna-Sánchez, Gretchen T. Lapidus

Rare earth elements have been widely used in various sectors, from the aerospace and steel industries, to electronic applications, particularly in displays and batteries for portable devices. The high demand for newer and better equipment, such as cell phones, tablets and lap tops, has increased the consumption of the rare earth elements and at the same time the need for its recovery from electronic wastes. For that reason, the recycling of batteries is important, principally the Ni-HM batteries, due to their elevated content of rare earths elements, in addition to the high concentrations of cobalt and nickel. The current processes are based on dissolution in strong acid solutions (sulfuric acid concentrations from 2 to 4 mol/L), and temperatures from 30 to 90°C. In the present work, electrodes from spent Ni-HM batteries were leached using 1 mol/L H2SO4, in the presence of ozone as the oxidant, where recoveries of 96% for La, Ce and Nd were obtained at room temperature. The separation of Ni and Co from the leach solutions was performed using an electrochemical reactor, after which rare earth elements were precipitated, obtaining a mixture of its hydroxides with impurities below 1%, according to EDS analysis.

Jan 1, 2014

By S. Radacina Rusu

The satellite-based global positioning system (GPS) has significantly changed the way site operations are carried out in surface mining. The GPS has impacted safety, productivity, fleet efficiency, and maintenance practices. However, no comparable global localization system exists for underground mines. This paper discusses recent work in the application of ideas from the mobile robotics research community to the problem of real-time vehicle positioning in underground drift networks. Related previous work recently focused on the creation of globally consistent 2D maps of underground environments that possess sufficient detail to be used for underground localization. Our current work entails the development of a GPS-like system for mobile mining equipment, with results given from both laboratory and field experiments.

May 1, 2011

By Claudinei Joaquim Franco

O uso de tratamentos de superfície proporciona melhoria das propriedades tribológicas dos materiais, possibilitando a utilização de materiais comuns, de menor custo e com alta tenacidade, porem menos duros, em condições que exigem alto desempenho da região de superfície. Os tratamentos termoquímicos podem aumentar o desempenho da superfície de forma mais simples e com menor custo quando comparado a processos de deposição de filmes finos. Neste trabalho foram realizados tratamentos termoquímicos de boretação, nitretação sólida e boretação multicomponente em aço AISI 1045 com o objetivo de melhorar o comportamento tribológico. O tratamento de boretação multicomponente consistiu de boretação seguido de nitretação, ambos realizados por via sólida. Foram realizados ensaios de desgaste por deslizamento do tipo pino-sobre-disco com contra corpo de WCCo. Os resultados mostraram o melhor desempenho das amostras apenas boretadas.

Aug 7, 2018

By David F. Gearhart, Mark Van Dyke, Heather Dougherty, Ted Klemetti, Gabriel S. Esterhuizen

"Coal mine longwall gateroads are subject to changing loading conditions induced by the advancing longwall face. The ground response and support requirements are closely related to the magnitude and orientation of the stress changes, as well as the local geology. This paper presents the monitoring results of gateroad response and support performance at two longwall mines at a 600-ft and 2,000-ft depth of cover. At the first mine, a three-entry gateroad layout was used. The second mine used a four-entry, yield-abutment-yield gateroad pillar system. Local ground deformation and support response were monitored at both sites. The monitoring period started during the development stage and continued during first panel retreat and up to second panel retreat. The two data sets were used to compare the response of the entries in two very different geotechnical settings and different gateroad layouts. The monitoring results were used to validate numerical models that simulate the loading conditions and entry response for these widely differing conditions. The validated models were used to compare the load path and ground response at the two mines. This paper demonstrates the potential for numerical models to assist mine engineers in optimizing longwall layouts and gateroad support systems.INTRODUCTIONThe need for roof stability in coal mine longwall gateroads places significant demands on the gateroad ground support system. The variable loading conditions associated with the approaching longwall face can cause excessive ground deformations that need to be accommodated by the support system. In coal mines in the United States several different types of supports are used to maintain the stability of gateroads. The supports may include grouted roof bolts, cable bolts, and roof trusses as intrinsic support. Standing supports include timber cribs, engineered timber props, and various types of cement-based cribs. The intensity of support is governed by the expected geologic conditions and the expected stress changes that will occur during longwall mining. At present, the design of ground support for gateroads is largely based on local experience. In-mine trials are usually conducted when new support technologies become available or ground conditions dictate a change in the support system. The research reported in this paper has the objective to assist mining engineers in evaluating alternative gateroad supports and to design suitable support systems for the local ground conditions."

Jan 1, 2018

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Jan 1, 1992

By A. M. Radigan, W. G. Prast

Various industrial minerals that are traded internationally receive support from governments, enabling these materials to be more competitive. The role of government in encouraging nonmetallics exports ranges from the ownership of an integrated mining company to partial or selective government ownership, to the sponsorship of exporter organizations. In certain cases, regional governments have a direct stake in the industrial minerals industry. This paper assesses the commercial impact of these involvements.

Jan 1, 1984