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By P. K. Kaiser

3-D virtual reality (VR) visualization has opened new opportunities for complex 3D (x, y, z), 4D (x, y, z, t) or even nD data interpretation. The integration of common earth models (3D geologic data), mine models (3D excavations and stress), extraction models (1D time sequencing or mine sequencing) and nD monitoring data (e.g., seismic event parameters) into a common mining process model provides a platform for experts in various fields to better design, evaluate, monitor and modify mine plans throughout a mine?s life; from feasibility, through operation, to closure. Viewing seismic data in a stereoscopic VR environment within a mining process model offers data interpretation processes previously unavailable at lower dimensionality. MIRARCO has developed data analysis and viewing processes specifically designed to enhance microseismic and seismic data interpretation in a collaborative, immersive VR environment; bringing mine personnel and expert consultants together to evaluate data and make strategic decisions for cost effective and safe mining. Seismic events cause immediate hazards (rockbursts) and microseismicity causes gradual hazards through its cumulative effect in rockmass degradation. The focus of this paper is on understanding seismicity from a mine safety and mine planning perspective; in particular, how seismic migration patterns relate to the rockmass response to mining. The benefits of innovation in seismic data interpretation are significant, e.g., for hazardous work area identification, allowing better formulation of re-entry policies and workforce allocation planning, as well as allocation of effective support systems to strategic areas of elevated risk. Better understanding of the overall response of a mine to extraction also facilitates mine planning and design, assisting in reducing production costs and thus in enhancing profitability.

Apr 1, 2005

By D Trembath

"One of the key risks to the success of a mining operation is the accuracy of the estimates of both the economic mineral and any accompanying contaminants contained within the ore reserve. Misrepresenting the mineralogical characteristics of the ore reserve can result in considerable financial investment in an operation that is in fact uneconomic and/or carries a significant environmental risk. This in turn can result in an unplanned closure of the operation with associated financial, environmental and social legacy. One way to minimise this risk is to undertake high density resource sampling to gain a better understanding of the resource characteristics. However, such an approach is expensive, time-consuming and often impractical. The risk of not having an accurate model is typically assessed during a feasibility study utilising a Monte Carlo simulation method or some form of sensitivity analysis. Importantly, the error margins used in these types of analyses are often based on subjective or very general criteria such as ‘professional judgement’ or an ‘industry standard’. This presentation introduces a conditional simulation method for developing a range of mineralogical distribution models. Based broadly on the method outlined in Journel and Kyriakidis (2004) the proposed approach develops this work further. It combines a geostatistical analysis of the available data with automated mine design software to provide a rigorous method for assessing the confidence in the mineralogical characterisation of the ore reserve. The process is based on simulating possible mine plans based on the statistical characteristics of the available resource sample data. These plans are then assessed against high resolution resource models generated using a Sequential Gaussian Simulation method. The outcome is confidence intervals for important characteristics of the ore reserve estimate relative to the actual resource. These confidence intervals are an objective and transparent measure important for assessing closure risks and represent an improvement over common practice.CITATION:Trembath, D, 2016. A simulation approach for improving the assessment of closure risks, in Proceedings Life-of-Mine 2016 Conference , pp 36–38 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne)."

Jun 28, 2016

By E. R. Olson

The introduction gives not only a historical background but also touches on shaft sinking and surface construction and gives some general information on the Potash Conservation Regulations which the Saskatchewan government introduced in 1969. It also gives information on the corporate and local organization of Alwinsal Potash.

Jan 1, 1972

By W. G. Davenport

Most pre-t 988 Outokumpu flash furnaces were built with blast heaters. Many continue to use them. Blast temperatures in these smelters· are typically 400 to 700 K (Table 2. 1) This chapter: (a) shows how hot blast is included in our calculations (b) evaluates the effects orhot blast onauthothermal65% Cu matte production.

Jan 1, 2001

By Thomas C. Miller, Rudolph Sporcic

A relatively simple and inexpensive encapsulated hydraulic device has been developed by the Bureau of Mines to facilitate study of coal bumps , and to measure pressure changes in a coalbed as it is subjected to roof loading during mining . Construction of the device and application techniques are described . Preliminary feasibility tests in the laboratory and field indicate that the device responds satisfactorily to pressure changes in coal created by roof loading .

Jan 1, 1964

By Nicholas Tabor, Norbert Fuegenschuh, Richard Taylor, Jean-Marc Wehrli

The Plymouth Tunnel forms part of the 16-mile long route of the Purple Line Light Rail Project promoted by the Maryland Transit Administration. The tunnel is approximately 1,220 feet in length with a shallow vertical alignment located beneath a residential area. Challenging mixed ground conditions included surficial soils, decomposed Saprolite, and highly weathered to fresh rock requiring the use of the Sequential Excavation Method (SEM) for construction. This paper discusses innovative approaches implemented during construction as well as challenges faced during planning and installation of a spray-applied permanent concrete liner.

Jun 13, 2021

By J. A. Marts

Reservoir properties including porosity and permeability distributions in longwall coal mine gobs have direct application to modeling the flow patterns and gas distributions in the gobs. Proper assessment of these distributions is required to assess gob gas hazards such as spontaneous combustion and explosive methane mixtures and to optimize gob gas venthole operation and nitrogen inertization. Determining the reservoir properties is difficult given that the gob is inaccessible and direct measurements cannot be easily taken. Several techniques had been used by previous researchers and will be discussed. This paper will present the methodology used to model the gob compaction by simulating the sequential extraction of coal. Two Western US coal mines were used for case studies. By determining volumetric strain, the porosity and permeability distributions in the gob can be calculated. The geo-mechanical model predicts an axisymmetric volumetric strain distribution with a steeper slope near the start-up room and a shallower slope near the active face.

By Howard C. Pyle, John E Sherborne

Core analysis is a recent development in the field of petroleum technology. The earliest work on this subject was done in connection with evaluating and planning secondary oil recovery by water-flooding. Present-day analysis of sands of flush fields requires new and independent interpretations of the data provided by cored material. Particular attention is being paid to the development of rapid, routine methods for measuring physical characteristics of sandstone, such as permeability, porosity and grain size, as well as the sand's fluid content. Permeability may be defined as the fluid-passing capacity of a rock. For a sandstone to be permeable it must be possible to pass a measurable quantity of fluid through the material in a finite period of time. The common unit of permeability is the darcy, which may be defined as the rate of viscous flow, in milliliters per second, of a fluid of one centipoise viscosity through a porous medium having a cross section of one square centimeter, under a pressure gradient of one atmosphere (76.0 cm. Hg) per centimeter.' For convenience the subunit millidarcy, or one-thousandth darcy, is often used. Porosity is defined as the fluid-containing capacity of a rock and is usually expressed as a percentage ratio of the total pore volume to the rock or bulk volume. Since measurement of only the effective or communicating pore volume is often made, porosities are distinguished as total or effective.2,3 Net effective porosity is defined as the net pore volume available for oil and gas. Oil and water content of sand is measured and expressed either as the percentage saturation of the total pores or of the bulk rock. The oil content may also be expressed as the percentage saturation of the net effective pores. In connection with water-flooding, methods of core analysis were developed to furnish data that could be used in determining the quantity of recoverable oil14-6 and the probable rates at which various sands or divisions of a sand open to the wells would take water or produce oil. In flush fields, the analytical data are used to predict the productivity of a cored interval. They indicate the presence of oil, gas and water and may

Jan 1, 1939

Since 1958 there have been 16 major coal mine explosions in the U.S. claiming 323 lives. Whilst the exact cause of a number of these incidents has not been determined, the majority has involved gas ignitions in one way or another. In addition there have been fatal gas explosions in salt mines and vapor explosions in oil mines. Furthermore, many of the oil shale mines in the U.S. have proven to be gassy giving cause for concern. Compounding these problems is the fact that frictional ignition of methane in coal mines has dramatically increased over the past several years; over 100 such ignitions were reported in 1979. While, no fatalities have been attributed to frictional ignition in the U.S. since early 1978, a recent mine explosion in Nova Scotia which resulted in 11 fatalities was attributed to a frictional face ignition. Research being conducted at the Bureau of Mines is aimed at the prevention and suppression of gas explosions. Emphasis is placed on new coal cutter bits for reducing ignition frequency, machine-mounted water sprays for preventing frictional face ignitions and automatic devices for quenching incipient ignitions and fully developed gas explosions.

Jan 1, 1981

By G. W. Josephson

Since the earliest years of recorded history the durability and protective qualities of asphalt and tar have been known and utilized. The mummies of early Egyptian kings were coated with asphaltic materials, and asphalt mastics were common in Babylon. However, according to various authorities, it was not until 1780 that the first forerunner of present-day composition roofing was discovered,l and the large-scale expansion of the industry has taken place since 1900. Historical Background Development was stimulated by the growing popularity of manufactured gas. The by-product tars from these operations accumulated in large waste piles that had no commercial value and were a source of annoyance and expense to the gas companies. These tars were offered at very attractive terms to anyone who would take them away, and the infant "composition" roofing industry benefited accordingly. At first the process consisted simply of dipping sheets of burlap or other fabric in a tank of molten tar or asphalt. The long strip of roofing was rolled up for convenient handling, and the early experimenters soon found that it was necessary to dust the surface of their new "roll roofing" with some kind of material that would prevent the tarred surfaces from sticking together. Any finely divided, low- priced local material like sand or fine gravel served this purpose and from its application the roofing-granule industry grew. As time went on other characteristics of a properly applied mineral surfacing were recognized. As with wooden shingles, tar and asphalt can be ignited by flying embers from near-by fires. It was found that by increasing the largest particle size to the maximum that could be successfully embedded, and by properly controlling the amount of smaller fractions retained in the grade so as to cover the asphalt completely a high degree of resistance to fire was attained. Needless to say, in this early period asphaltic roofing needed such selling points to gain acceptance in a field dominated by wood, slate, and tile. When asphalt is protected from the sun's rays it is extremely durable, but when exposed to sunlight its surface is comparatively rapidly decomposed. Completely covering asphalt roofing with mineral surfacing protects the asphalt and adds materially to the life of the roof—conservatively, 500 per cent. Slate Graftules In the production of split slate shingles a large quantity of waste slate is accumulated, as 60 to go per cent of the rock quarried is discarded. This waste was a continuing burden on the industry. Some was marketed as ground slate flour for filler in paint and linoleum, and there is a record that as early as 1906 two carloads of coarse screenings from slate flour were marketed as granules for surfacing roofing. This new field appeared to the slate Pro-

Jan 1, 1948

By G. W. Josephson

Since the earliest years of recorded history the durability and protective qualities of asphalt and tar have been known and utilized. The mummies of early Egyptian kings were coated with asphaltic materials, and asphalt mastics were common in Babylon. However, according to various authorities, it was not until 1780 that the first forerunner of present-day composition roofing was discovered,l and the large-scale expansion of the industry has taken place since 1900. Historical Background Development was stimulated by the growing popularity of manufactured gas. The by-product tars from these operations accumulated in large waste piles that had no commercial value and were a source of annoyance and expense to the gas companies. These tars were offered at very attractive terms to anyone who would take them away, and the infant "composition" roofing industry benefited accordingly. At first the process consisted simply of dipping sheets of burlap or other fabric in a tank of molten tar or asphalt. The long strip of roofing was rolled up for convenient handling, and the early experimenters soon found that it was necessary to dust the surface of their new "roll roofing" with some kind of material that would prevent the tarred surfaces from sticking together. Any finely divided, low- priced local material like sand or fine gravel served this purpose and from its application the roofing-granule industry grew. As time went on other characteristics of a properly applied mineral surfacing were recognized. As with wooden shingles, tar and asphalt can be ignited by flying embers from near-by fires. It was found that by increasing the largest particle size to the maximum that could be successfully embedded, and by properly controlling the amount of smaller fractions retained in the grade so as to cover the asphalt completely a high degree of resistance to fire was attained. Needless to say, in this early period asphaltic roofing needed such selling points to gain acceptance in a field dominated by wood, slate, and tile. When asphalt is protected from the sun's rays it is extremely durable, but when exposed to sunlight its surface is comparatively rapidly decomposed. Completely covering asphalt roofing with mineral surfacing protects the asphalt and adds materially to the life of the roof—conservatively, 500 per cent. Slate Graftules In the production of split slate shingles a large quantity of waste slate is accumulated, as 60 to go per cent of the rock quarried is discarded. This waste was a continuing burden on the industry. Some was marketed as ground slate flour for filler in paint and linoleum, and there is a record that as early as 1906 two carloads of coarse screenings from slate flour were marketed as granules for surfacing roofing. This new field appeared to the slate Pro-

Jan 1, 1948

By O. W. Ellis

In view of the extensive use of the brasses and bronzes in engineering practice it is indeed surprising that so little scientific work has been done on the oxides in these alloys. Recognition of the ill effects of these compounds is universally accorded, both in foundry procedure and in such specifications as cover the melting of these useful mixtures. In the latter, limits, for example, are placed on the proportions of scrap metal In the charge, and clauses governing the use of fluxes are included, the addition of fluxes to the charge being made with the object of avoiding oxidation during the process of melting and of subducing and separating non-metal-lic matter from the melt.1 In the manufacture of brass it occasionally, though rarely, occurs that the virgin metals, copper and zinc, alone arc used. In the event of virgin metals being employed, that of the higher melting point is always melted first. If it is melted under suitable conditions, little or no oxidation will occur. Whether oxidation has occurred or not, however, can best be determined by microscopic examination of a sample taken from the melt. Avoidance of Oxidation in Furnace Practice When melting virgin copper in crucible practice, the avoidance of oxidation is not difficult, nor is it hard to forestall trouble in the electric furnace. In gas-fired furnaces of the barrel type, however, the avoidance of oxidation is almost impossible, no matter what the condition of the flame, the flux employed, or the amount of charcoal included in the charge. Copper melted in furnaces of this type is almost invariably so highly oxidized as to requirc very considerable additions of such deoxi-dizers as, for example, silicon copper to render it free from cuprous oxide. As a result,, the castings produced are decidedly inferior, on account of the. large amount of silica which is engendered in the metal as a result of the reaction, Cu2O + Si = SiO2 + 2Cu. The deoxidation of such oxidized copper could, of course, be effected by means of zinc with, however, even more disastrous results.

Jan 1, 1930

By H Zahiri

Utilisation of the InSAR technique for monitoring of subsidence in mining areas, employing open pit and underground mining methods, has large potential due to sensitivity and safety issues associated with usage of the classical surveying techniques. InSAR can also be very competitive concerning the cost of provided results. However, there are a few issues that may significantly limit InSAR applicability for subsidence monitoring in mining areas. The altered terrain topography, involving steep slopes and deep pits, may lead to the layover of radar signal for specific satellite and pit geometry. Also, the highly dynamic character of subsidence induced by mining, especially using mass mining methods, may lead to issues such as apparent heave and ambiguous results. In this paper the authors analyse the above-mentioned issues and demonstrate how InSAR technology was applied, as a supporting system, to monitor large scale and highly dynamic subsidence for a real case study in Western Australia.

Jan 1, 2008

By Dance A

Highland Valley Copper recently implemented a system of measuring run-of-mine (ROM) ore properties and monitoring their effect on both mine and mill performance. These properties are principally ore hardness and size. For some years, Highland

Jan 1, 1998

By Howard C. Pyle, John E. Sherborne

Core analysis is a recent development in the field of petroleum technology. The earliest work on this subject was done in connection with evaluating and planning secondary oil recovery by water-flooding. Present-day analysis of sands of flush fields requires new and independent interpretations of the data provided by cored material. Particular attention is being paid to the development of rapid, routine methods for measuring physical characteristics of sandstone, such as permeability, porosity and grain size, as well as the sand's fluid content. Permeability may be defined as the fluid-passing capacity of a rock. For a sandstone to be permeable it must be possible to pass a measurable quantity of fluid through the material in a finite period of time. The common unit of permeability is the darcy, which may be defined as the rate of viscous flow, in milliliters per second, of a fluid of one centipoise viscosity through a porous medium having a cross section of one square centimeter, under a pressure gradient of one atmosphere (76.0 cm. Hg) per centimeter.' For convenience the subunit millidarcy, or one-thousandth darcy, is often used. Porosity is defined as the fluid-containing capacity of a rock and is usually expressed as a percentage ratio of the total pore volume to the rock or bulk volume. Since measurement of only the effective or communicating pore volume is often made, porosities are distinguished as total or effective.2,3 Net effective porosity is defined as the net pore volume available for oil and gas. Oil and water content of sand is measured and expressed either as the percentage saturation of the total pores or of the bulk rock. The oil content may also be expressed as the percentage saturation of the net effective pores. In connection with water-flooding, methods of core analysis were developed to furnish data that could be used in determining the quantity of recoverable oil14-6 and the probable rates at which various sands or divisions of a sand open to the wells would take water or produce oil. In flush fields, the analytical data are used to predict the productivity of a cored interval. They indicate the presence of oil, gas and water and may

Jan 1, 1939

By C. V. Corless

WE are living at a period of the world's history in which social phenomena are on so vast a scale, are of so profoundly soul-searching a nature, and are occurring in such rapid succession in the great world drama in which we are both actors and spectators, that, in our efforts to obtain a rational point of view in relation to them, our minds may fail to discern the simple in the complex and our understanding is liable to be-come confused or even overwhelmed. To the social student whose scientific training has convinced him of the truth of the evolutionary law, Natura non facit saltum, it is neither the vast scale of the events; their deeply soul-stirring nature, nor their rapid succession that matters so much, as the discovery of the underlying principle or law in accordance with which the disintegration and reintegration, which are the two aspects of social evolution, or indeed of evolution everywhere, are occurring. He is most deeply concerned in seeking an answer to the question: Have we in the present great and perplexing upheavals in human society, whether regarded in Central Europe, in Russia, in Great Britain, or in America, a really new cause at work, or, have we, though on a very- large scale, merely new manifestations of the working out of an old principle? When we think of the appalling struggle in Europe, into which the world's greatest exemplar of democracy was finally drawn, no one has any hesitation in admitting that the great conflict was fundamentally a life-and-death struggle for self-preservation and self-propagation on the part of autocracy. The variations we meet with in the statement of the cause of the war arise mainly from differing distances of perspective: but in the last analysis all agree that the autocratic system of political government, which found its very soul and center in Prussian despotism, was consciously arrayed in a final "world-power-or-downfall" struggle against a love of freedom which was steadily widening and-deepening throughout the world, and particularly throughout those parts of the world where this love of freedom and justice has found expression in democratic institutions. It is not irrelevant to our discussion to recall in passing that this most imposing structure ever conceived by the human mind as an instrument of tyranny is lying today an irretrievable mass of ruins, completely over-

Jan 4, 1919

By W. Rostoker

INTRODUCTION THE process of diffusion alloying of mixed powders offers attractive possibilities both commercially and experimentally. It avoids the fabrication difficulties arising from high alloy contents. Indeed, the process is facilitated by larger alloy additions. The direct formation of the part or test piece and the opportunity to perform machining operations under more favorable conditions are of no small importance. However, it is necessary to make only brief mention of the interesting features. As yet there have been few attempts to study this process in detail and to carry it to completion, if such is possible. It was intended not only to measure the intermediate and optimum magnetic properties of sintered alloys but to use magnetic testing itself as a means of following the progress of alloying under various conditions. Having established that alloys could be successfully synthesized by this technique, the opportunity was taken to study the magnetic properties of several alloys of iron and silicon which had hitherto been too difficult to prepare in suitable test piece form, While avoiding some of the difficulties inherent in the fabrication of alloys by orthodox methods, the diffusion alloying process introduces a few of its own. The first of these is the evaluation of the approach to homogenization. In recent years some notable contributions have been made to this question, but considerable uncertainty remains in its definition and evaluation. This work has concerned itself with further study of this problem and it is hoped that more light has been shed on it, The second of these difficulties arises from the presence of porosity. It is inevitable that in the consolidation of a loose bulk of powder, there should remain some voids unless extremely high pressures are repeatedly applied. It was therefore of importance to investigate their effect on magnetic properties. Recently this effect has been studied and certain predictions made of its behavior. It is believed that the experimental results presented here provide a sound substantiation of the theoretical treatment. The attempt has been made to synthesize five alloys of the iron-silicon system and three each of the iron-nickel and iron-cobalt systems. A series of experiments was also conducted on some of these alloys to test their susceptibility to heat treatment. Some unfortunate experiences have provided opportunity to report data on the deleterious effects of nitrogen on magnetic properties when present as a contaminant in protective atmospheres. MATERIALS, PREPARATION OF SAMPLES AND TESTING The purest materials available were employed for this work. A specially purified,

Jan 1, 1948

By Mohamed A. Sakr

An experimental study on the behavior of pile group's arrangement under lateral load was carried out in the level ground and at crest of sand slope 3H: 2V. Tests were conducted on single pile and pile groups with center-to-center pile spacing of 3D. The model piles were founded in sand with relative density 25%. Several configurations of pile groups were used to study the effect of piles arrangement in the group (series or parallel) with respect to slope crest. The behavior of the pile groups in the level ground was compared with the behavior of pile groups at different configurations at the slope crest. Based on the test results, the behavior of laterally loaded pile groups adjacent to a slope crest depends largely on piles arrangement in the group with respect to direction of the lateral load. Pile groups in the level ground have more resistance to lateral loads when they are arranged in a parallel configuration than in a series, whereas the reverse is true in cases of pile groups constructed near to the edge of a slope. It is advisable to use the pile group in series arrangement for groups constructed at slope crest to minimize the effect of the ground slope on lateral capacity of piles and the occurred deflection and maximum bending moment of the lead row in the group.

Jan 1, 2010

By B. Genc, C. Gous

Spontaneous combustion during coal mining operations is a major problem that affects the health and safety of workers and causes environmental problems. The phenomenon is associated with the presence of coal, coal shale, and pyrite. In 2020, a premature detonation incident occurred at an iron ore mine where the waste material contains black carbonaceous shale units known to be associated with pyrite. The spontaneous combustion propensity and properties of samples of the black carbonaceous shales from the mine were examined and compared with samples from the Witbank Coalfield. The spontaneous combustion liability indexes of these samples were correlated with X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and proximate and ultimate analyses using linear regression. The Wits-Ehac Index classification results show that the samples were between medium and high risk. The linear regression analysis showed very poor correlations between the Wits-Ehac Index results and the XRF and proximate and ultimate results. The most valuable relationship found is between the presence of relatively high sulphur (greater than 3%) and ground reactivity with nitrate-bearing explosive emulsion.

Jun 5, 2023

By A. Collings, A. Farmer

Power ultrasound may be used in the processing of mineral suspensions to clean the particle surfaces of oxidation products and fine coatings, mainly through the large, but very localised forces, produced by cavitation. This effect may be utilised in lowering the level of iron contamination in silica sand used for glass making, in improving the sharpness of electrostatic separation of heavy mineral concentrates, in shortening the time of leaching of minerals and in improving the selectivity and recovery of flotation processes. Parameters affecting the efficiency of these processes, such as input power and levels of reagent addition, are discussed. In particular, we present data showing the relationship between power input and the particle size of surface coatings removed, which can be explained by the Derjaguin approximation for the energy of interaction between a sphere and a flat surface. Pilot scale studies, using commercially available components, are currently being used to assess process viability and will be compared with laboratory scale results.

Jan 1, 2003