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By Georgy A. Cherkashov

Two principal types of the hydrothermal fields in Atlantic - axial and off-axis - could be established based on their structural setting in the rift zone of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) (Figure1). The first (axial) type is represented by five high- and three low-temperature hydrothermal sites (Table 1). All of these fields are connected with young axial effusive volcanism and related to large linear volcanic ridges or central volcanoes at the inner floor of the rift valley. The hydrothermal activity here is controlled by the intersection between longitudinal magma feeding faults and transverse weakened zones characterized by high permeability. [ ] The hydrothermal sites of the second (off-axis) type (such as Rainbow, TAG, 24°30?N, Logatchev, newly discovered 13°N (Figure 2) and possibly 16°48?N sites) are related to large tectonic dislocations forming marginal scarps of the rift valley as well as transverse discontinuities.

Jan 1, 2003

By Richard E. Hucko

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Coal Preparation Program focuses on providing the technical and process-development basis that can be utilized to produce environmentally acceptable clean-coal feedstocks for use as market conditions permit. A major objective of the Coal Preparation Program is the development of physical coal-cleaning technologies capable of significant removal of mineral matter and pyritic sulfur at high energy recovery levels.

Jan 1, 1989

By John C. Ferm

Although roof falls account for approximately half of the fatalities in underground coal mining, the factors that produce them are not clear. Mining methods can account for some, but in others the controlling factors are the geological setting in which the mining takes place. The present investigation was undertaken to determine the kinds of rocks that were most likely to produce roof problems. Such knowledge would be helpful to mine planning since rock samples can be obtained in advance of mining by core hole drilling. The investigation was undertaken in underground mines in the Pocahontas #3 seam in southern West Virginia and southwestern Virginia. The Pocahontas #3 is one of the most widespread in this region and is a major source of high quality metallurgical coal. There are at least ten very large mines in the area and many smaller ones. The region has a very long mining history and considerable experience has been gained in roof control problems. The study was conducted with the support of the U. S. Bureau of Mines.

Jan 1, 1978

By W. S. Sadik

This paper presents the ventilation design for an underground testing facility in a salt medium. The underground workings consist of two-12 ft. (3.66 m) diameter watertight shafts and approximately 6000 ft. (1830 m) plus of drifting. These facilities are designed for the purpose of providing access for an in-situ testing of a salt horizon in which a variety of hazardous and non-hazardous materials could be temporarily stored or permanently deposited. The ventilation system includes a design basis for gassy mine conditions and provides for the option of bulk air cooling and heating.

Jan 1, 1988

By R. Webeler

In order to study the role of work hardening in the fatigue process, use was made of the great sensitivty of the resistivity of AuCu to cold work. A change of the resistivity of AuCu of the order of 1 to 2 pct at the temperature of liquid nitrogen was found to occur as a consequence of severe fatigue. ACCORDING to Orowan's theory,' the process of fatigue In metals 1s associated with the production of a number of small regions which have undergone strain hardening. This phenomenon is supposed to occilr even if the stress applied during fatiguing is always smaller than the yield stress. In an attempt to verity the existence of such regions, Welber and Webeler' undertook to detect the stored energy associated with severe fatigue in copper. Previous experiments" had shown that the energy stored in a sample of copper which has been cold worked by torsion is released in the temperature range between 150" and 250°C when the sample is heated from room temperature and that no more energy is released (or absorbed) between 250" and 450°C. In particular the stored energy amounted to 0.41 cal per g for a case in which the mechanical energy expended in twisting the sample was 11.9 cal per g. In the case of fatigued copper, however, no release of stored energy could be detected between 150" and 250°C, so that the experimental error of &0.02 cal per g represents an upper limit for the amount of energy stored in strain hardening., It seemed desirable to attack the problem in a new fashion. For this purpose, it was decided to make use of the fact that, if an alloy capable of undergoing the order-disorder transition is ordered and then cold worked, the resistivity, p, increases very greatly above the value for the ordered state even if the deformation is very small. Some insight into the nature of the fatigue process may be obtained then by measuring the resistivity of an ordered sample before and after subjecting it to fatigue. For reasons which will become apparent from the following remarks, considerably more can be learned by carrying out the resistivity measurements at two different temperatures. In the case of a material containing impurities, vacancies, dislocations, or other imperfections of essentially atomic dimensions, the resistivity, p, according to Matthiessen's rule, can be represented as a sum of two terms p = p, + p, where p, is the (temperature dependent) resistivity of the pure metal, and p, is the temperature independent contribution of the imperfections. Briefly, the physical basis for this rule is the following: The main contribution of the impurities in question to the resistivity results from the fact that they interrupt the periodicity of the lattice and thus scatter the conduction electrons with a probability which is almost independent of temperature. In order that this be the case, it is necessary that the' extension of the impurities be small enough—roughly less than one electron mean free path—so that their main effect on the resistivity occurs for the foregoing reason. If an alloy like AuCu is partly or completely disordered by quenching from an appropriate temperature, Matthiessen's rule also applies to a very good approximation* with p, representing in this case the resistivity po of the ordered sample and p, the additional (temperature independent) resistivity due to the disorder. In general, the disorder can be represented in terms of atoms which are displaced from their "proper" positions in the superlattice and which thus qualitatively represent the imperfections in the superlattice responsible for the term p,. Since the misplaced atoms are distributed at random throughout the super-lattice, their contribution to the resistivity still can be considered in terms of the scattering of conduction electrons by lattice defects. The situation is somewhat more complex in the case of an alloy disordered by cold work because the process of disordering here does not involve a random redistribution of the atoms; however, Matthiessen's rule also holds in this case. Whenever Matthiessen's rule does apply, the values of the quantity /3 = (p? — /(T, — T,), where p, and p, are the values of the resistivity at two fixed temperatures, T, and T,, respectively, is constant (independent of p,) for a given alloy or metal. In particular, if a sample of AuCu is subjected to ordinary cold work, the value of /3 remains equal to Po, the value for the ordered material. According to Orowan's theory,' as remarked before, a fatigued sample contains a large number of isolated severely cold-worked regions, which make up only a small proportion of the metal. Thus, if a sample of AuCu initially in the ordered state is fatigued, more or less disordered regions will be produced within the ordered material. If these regions are small enough so that Matthiessen's rule applies, then it follows from the previous discussion that /3 again will remain equal to Po. If the effect of fatigue is to produce cold-worked regions which are macroscopic—of the order of at least several electron mean free paths—the effective resistivity, p, has to be computed by use of the ordinary laws of large-scale electrodynamics. For the sake of simplicity, it will be assumed here that the cold-worked regions are completely disordered and have a resistivity, p,. For a given proportion A of disordered regions the effective resistivity, p, for the current in a given direction depends on the geometrical configuration of these regions. In any case, the value of p for such

Jan 1, 1956

By LeRoy Scharon

EACH year it becomes apparent that geophysical activities in the fields of mining and engineering are increasing in the number and variety of applications. Many mining companies are including, as part of their exploration programs, geophysical surveys. The value of geophysics in highway and structural foundation investigations has been realized and is now an important part of subsurface investigations in conjunction with soil and rock borings. United States of America One of the major orebody discoveries of the year is that of the Grace mine near Morgantown in Berks County, Pa. This orebody, now under development by the Bethlehem Steel Co., was discovered by an airborne magnetometer survey carried out by the Aero Service Corp. of Philadelphia. The orebody, the geological occurrence of which is similar to those existing at Cornwall, Pa., was found at a depth of 1500 ft under a cover of Triassic sediments and is reported to have a reserve of well over 100 million tons. Shaft sinking and other construction work has started at the site. Resistivity work was carried out at proposed dam sites in New York and in connection with the search for fluorspar veins in Kentucky. Spontaneous polarization investigations were pursued in the Appalachian region at various localities from North Caro¬lina up into Virginia. This work was done in connection with the search for sulphide-bearing structures. Several indications were proven by subsequent drilling to correspond to unknown sulphide deposits, a few of these occurring in the vicinity of properties long under exploitation. Refraction seismic methods applied to bedrock depth determinations as related to water problems on the Marquette Range and the extension of the. regional gravity survey on the Menominee Range to learn the major structural features of the area have been reported by, Lloyal O. Bacon. A gravity survey has been completed in the vicinity of Tioga, Bradford County, Pa. with a gravity profile being observed from Tioga east to the Delaware basin. The Indiana Geological Survey is concerned with a state-wide gravity survey. Judson Mead, University of Indiana, reports that the bulk of the State Survey's geophysical work, however, has been "seismic refraction work in connection with drift thickness problems. The survey has made almost 1000 determinations in areas of moderately thick drift. The results of this work are of interest to both the coal mining industry and to the stone industry." In the southeastern Missouri lead belt, magnetic electrical resistivity, and electromagnetic applications for the discovery of new lead deposits have been used with success. A gravity survey of the residual-barite deposits in Washington County, Mo., was made during the summer season with preliminary computations of tonnages checking with tonnages mined. Robert M. Dryer, of the University of Kansas has had considerable success in mapping structural features in southwestern Kansas with the gravity meter and is now engaged in tracing shoestring sands in eastern Kansas by resistivity surveys. Several, foundation sites were investigated in greater St. Louis using electrical resistivity and seismic refraction methods with success. A minimum amount of drilling data was available for checking and interpreting the geophysical results (Fig. 1). It is to be noted that geophysical methods are finding a place in subsurface investigations for highway and foundation problems. Interest has been so keen in this field that the American Society for Testing Materials, at its annual meeting in June of this year, devoted one session of its symposium on surface and subsurface reconnaissance to geophysical papers involving the application of the electrical resistivity and seismic refraction methods to subsurface studies. At least three major mining companies in the United States have entered the field recently in geochemistry. The program of research and development of geochemical techniques by the U. S. Geological Survey continues. Experimental field projects were conducted over lead-silver, cobalt, copper and zinc deposits in Idaho, Oregon, California, Wisconsin and Montana. Similar experiments were carried on by M. P. Nackowski in the Illinois-Kentucky fluorspar district and in the Tri-State Zinc district by R. Maurice Tripp with favorable results. Geophysical activities of the U. S. Geological Survey for 1951 were extensive and varied. About 21,000 miles of airborne magnetic and 10,000 miles of airborne radioactivity traverse were flown in 1951 by the U. S. Geological Survey. A total of 35,000 miles of aeromagnetic traverse were compiled, 57 aeromagnetic maps were published and 14 preliminary maps were placed on open file. Airborne surveys were made in Aroostook County, in the Katahdin and Dead River areas in Maine; in northwest Washington; over the Mother Lode district in California; in northeastern and northwestern Minnesota; and in the New York-New Jersey highlands. Of special interest were the surveys in Washington, where highly magnetic Eocene lavas gave information on structures in the overlying Miocene sedimentary rocks and in northeastern Minnesota over the Duluth gabbro. The latter survey was made following the discovery of nickel-copper mineralization in the gabbro near its contact with the Virginia slate. The principal ground geophysical surveys for metalliferous deposits and related purposes were made in the Colorado Plateau region, where electrical surveys assisted in prospecting; in Aroostook County, Maine, where ground magnetic surveys, following aeromagnetic surveys, have permitted tracing

Jan 1, 1952

By R. S. Dennen

A ground penetrating synthetic pulse radar system has been used by the Bureau of Mines to probe into a coal pillar to locate hidden structures or anomalies. Two types of velocity tomographic reconstruction methods, direct matrix inversion and iterative, were used to obtain a velocity image of the interior of the pillar. The reconstructed image showed the existence and location of a relatively low velocity material within the pillar. Core samples were taken from the pillar in a region surrounding the low velocity material. Analysis of the cores showed the presence of a clay vein coinciding with the low velocity material imaged in the tomogram.

Jan 1, 1989

By M. E. Lewellyn

A lower moisture content for a clean coal product means increased Btu content, or increased yields at the same Btu content, and lower operating costs. The conventional surfactant-based dewatering aids effeciently lower the moisture content but often the presence of residual surfactant in the filtrate and recycle water causes problems downstream. ACCOAL-DRI 1000, a surfactant-based dewatering aid, was developed to solve this problem by minimizing the downstream effects while efficiently lowering the moisture content. The theory of the use of surfactants in filtration will be discussed as well as the development and field evaluation of this new product.

Jan 1, 1988

By AIME AIME

CHARLES WASHINGTON MERRILL, the second to be honored by the award of the James Douglas gold medal, throughout his entire professional career has been identified with the cyanide method of extracting gold from ore. To his efforts this branch of the metallurgical industry owes a large measure of its success in continuing to treat some gold ores profitably, in spite of economic adversities. Mr. Merrill was born at Concord, N. H., Dec. 21, 1869, and received the degree of B. S. from the School of Mines at the University of California in 1891. Among his first professional connections was the Standard Mining Co., at Bodie, Cal., followed by a short engagement at Harqua Hala, Ariz. From 1895 to 1899 he was connected with the Montana Mining Co., at Marysvale, Mont., and then followed his nine years of fruitful association with the Homestake Mining Co. In 1909, the Merrill Co. was formed, to exploit more than a score of patents granted to Mr. Merrill, covering various phases of the cyanide process and numerous pieces of equipment for its operation; among the most noteworthy of these innovations were the Merrill filter-press, and the use of zinc dust as a precipitant. The Merrill Co. has a long record of successful accomplishments in its chosen field, to mention only the plants at the Dome mines of Ontario and at the Sta. Gertrudis mines of Mexico as among the more recent. Mr. Merrill is president also of the Western Ore Purchasing Co.; and a director in two gold dredging companies of California.

Jan 1, 1924

Prof. Henry M Howe, New York: It is extremely probable that this efflorescence of silica is due to the liquation either of silicon or of a silicide, and the subsequent oxidation of the silicon to silica. As Mr. Fackenthal says, it is very hard to see why silicon should liquate from an iron containing so little silicon, and it seems more probable that some silicide of some volatile element has liquated, and has dissociated on reaching the air, and that the volatile element has volatilized, leaving the silicon to oxidize to silica. The volatile elements present which might thus liquate in combination with the silicon are sulphur, zinc, and lead. It is hard to see why sulphide of silicon should have liquated from an iron containing so little of either sulphur or silicon. At first, one naturally thinks that either the zinc or the lead present in this furnace might have liquated as silicide. It is true that they are both volatile at the temperature within the furnace, but then the vapor-tension* of each of them within

Jan 1, 1901

By Andrea Koschinsky, Luise Heinrich, Stefan Gößling-Reisemann

"Germany, like several other countries, has entered a contract with the International Seabed Authority (ISA) to explore the prospects of commercial manganese nodule mining in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ). Ensuring a maximally sustainable deep-sea mining operation requires a thorough understanding of the environmental impacts associated with every step of the mining process from the extraction of the nodules at the seafloor to the refinery on land. Against this background, the project presented here applies a combination of scenario-building and life cycle assessment (LCA) to assess and evaluate the sustainability performance of the individual process steps as well as the entire mining operation.Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a comprehensive methodological framework that allows the identification and quantification of impacts occurring during a products life-cycle, as well as the analysis and evaluation of their contribution to pre-defined impact categories, such as climate change, acidification and toxicity (Rebitzer et al., 2004). Until now, LCAs with a focus on raw material extraction have almost exclusively been applied to terrestrial processes. Noteworthy exceptions are offshore drilling, offshore wind farms and ocean fishing. Hence, the first part of the project is to investigate in how far LCA can be applied to deep-sea settings and if and in what way it could be adapted to be used in a deep-sea mining context."

Jan 1, 2017

By Valcana Stoyanova

Data and information for this study were collected in June-July 2009 onboard the RV Yuzhmorgeologiya in the area covers about 7000 km2 in the eastern part of the CCFZ between 10º05? - 10º55?N and 119º25? ? 121º08?W. In accordance with the IOM research program the cruise was intend to acquire both geological and environmental data and information necessary for delineation of nodule deposits and also data for identification of the baseline of benthic ecosystem. Having implementation of its 15-year plan of work for exploration under the contract with ISA, current activities of IOM were focused on nodule fields within prime areas that could be mined in the future. Bottom photographs obtained by towed deep-sea vehicle NEPTUN along 6 profiles with common length about 300 km (Fig. 1). In total, about 11,500 digital photographs (what cover approximately 40,000 m2 of the ocean floor) were analyzed for assessment of nodule coverage and investigation of megafauna (animals, visible in photographs, the dimension more than 2 cm). The giant single-cell organisms Xenophyophorida were the most multiple animals in seabed photographs. Their number on the site area averaged 1187 ind/ha. However, the vertical camera position does not allow counting all xenophyophorids, therefore their valid number is represented 10 times more. According to all available information these protozoans play the relevant role in assemblage of deep-water environment, giving for other animal groups an [ ] additional source of nutrition and a substratum for settlement and attachment. The ophiuroids are found in assemblage with xenophyophorids in many cases, standing on a sediment at their base.

Jan 1, 2010

By Charles L. Kimbell

In overview, the world's mineral industry in 1989 registered gains over its 1988 performance, but these gains were by no means as pronounced as had been those of 1988. The traditional statistical measures of mineral industry performance, namely production, trade, and consumption levels, reflected significant growth in most industry sectors from crude material extraction through the gamut of down- stream processing. Growth in market economy countries generally exceeded growth in the centrally planned economy countries as a result of a variety of causes that will be covered subsequently, but even among the centrally planned countries there were some upturns. In contrast to these measures of the soundness of the industry, the situation for nonfuel mineral and metal prices was less satisfactory than in 1988, and low crude oil prices continued as a problem for the all-important petroleum sector, despite some gains during the year. The oil price situation mitigated against price increases for competitive fuels. Although this was unfavorable for fuel producers, it remained advantageous to consumers, including nonfuel mineral producers, processors, and transporters. Thus it cannot be viewed as a negative factor for the whole of the global mineral industry. Global crude mineral output value was estimated at nearly $1,420 billion in current dollars, an increase of 9% over the 1988 level, and an increase in current dollar terms for the seventh consecutive year. Measured in terms of constant dollars, however, adjusting for inflation, the increase was only 4.7% compared with the 1988 level. Despite the prolonged growth trend, the 1989 crude mineral output value level was still 3.2% below the record high set in 1980, which was $1,467 billion in terms of 1989 dollars.

Jan 1, 1992

By G. J. Schneider

The higher stress zone adjacent to an underground opening causes a velocity anomaly that can be mapped in favorable conditions with an acoustic cross-borehole logging system. Bureau personnel used a specialized system at the Colorado School of Mines test site near Idaho Springs, Colorado, to locate the Edgar Mine tunnel and its associated stress anomaly. Data from the logging system' were processed with a tomographic image reconstruction algorithm to map the opening and the location of the high velocity zone around the opening. The velocity imagery from tomographic analysis compared favorably with predictions from numerical modelling of the location of the stress anomaly.

Jan 1, 1988

By D. S. Bloswick

An investigation an4 analysis of slip/fall accidents specifically pertaining to underground coal mines was conducted. From a population of 751 accident reports, three major sources of injury which account for over 80% of the incidents have been identified. The specifics of this study are presented in this paper. Based on the results, several recommendations are made to reduce such accidents in underground mines. In addition, a brief discussion of the slip-hazard analysis laboratory at the University of Utah, which will be useful in future analyses of these accidents is presented. Work in this facility includes the simulation of certain mining activities in a controlled setting. Foot forces are measured and work methods subsequently developed to minimize the slip potential of these activities.

Jan 1, 1988

Mond gas-producer tar, and, in fact, all tars obtained from the retorting of coal where steam and air are admitted to the retort, are of entirely different chemical composition to the ordinary coal tar made in the gas or coke works. These tars contain none of, the aromatic hydrocarbons - benzene, toluene, naphthalene, and anthracene, sought after by the ordinary coal-tar refiner.The distillation of Mond tar shows it to consist of phenols of high molecular weight, unsaturated hydrocarbons of high gravity and low viscosity, paraffin wax, and resinous substances of whose composition little is known.The physical properties of Mond producer tar are also peculiar. It has a "short," granular texture when cold, which might be likened to candied honey. It "dries" (hardens) when exposed in thin layers to the air, and, for a coal tar, it cannot be considered sticky. This latterò property, combined with the short texture, prevents its being used successfully for road-making or macadamizing.The drying properties and the paraffin wax contained in: this tar cause it to hold up large percentages of water, probably in the form of emulsion. When containing as much as 10% to 15% moisture it appears to be quite dry.

Jan 1, 1918

By J H. Wood, I Gray

This paper examines the occurrence of outbursts, coal bursts and rock bursts in underground mining. It then examines them from the viewpoint of the failure mechanism and velocity of particles. The presence of gas is extremely important as it can both act as the fluid pressure component of effective stress leading to failure, and as a substantial energy source in projecting material during a burst. For gas to drive a dynamic event it must be present as free gas held in voids within the rock or coal mass. This can pre-exist the burst event or be released from desorbing gas during it. The latter is typically part of a multi-stage outburst event which can reach very large proportions. Rock and coal bursts are driven by strain energy release and can vary in form. These tend to be single events associated with failure and strain energy release. It is also possible to conceptually have hybrid events where the failure of the mass and the energy release are due to both stress and expanding gas.

Nov 29, 2022

By Jim Gebhardt

Douglas W. Fuerstenau (DWF) grew up on a farm and in several small communities in rural South Dakota during the depression years, where he learned the value of hard work. Working hard can produce results but being clever and hardworking will give you a bright future. In his later school years, Fuerstenau’s family moved to Rapid City where his intellectual curiosity and capacity helped him graduate with a B.S. in Metallurgical Engineering from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in 1949. His technical interests led to graduate studies and completion of a master’s degree from the Montana School of Mines in 1950 and Sc.D. degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1953.

By T. J. DeMull

AMAX's Sleeper Mine uses conventional cyanidation milling and heap leaching techniques to produce gold. Since milling operations commenced in March 1986, average ore processing rates have improved from the design rate of 455 tonnes per day to more than 720 tonnes per day. Heap leaching was added to the process facilities in September 1986 at a design rate of 1,500 tonnes per day, and current heap leaching rates exceed 2,680 tonnes per day. Presented are descriptions of the Sleeper processing facilities with emphasis on the crushing and grinding circuits, a review of the selection of crushing and grinding equipment, and a summary of operating performance during the first 16 months of operations.

Jan 1, 1988

By D. U. Gustafsson

After half a million meters drilled with Wassara we are now confident that ITH hammers powered with simple water will become an established product for production drilling. Today four drill rigs in LKAB Malmberget equipped with Wassara drill about 25 000 m per month of 4 1/2" holes. In Kidd Creek, Canada, Was sara is used for production drilling in stopes with good results. The first Wassara 6" hammer has drilled a 36 meter long, completely straight horizontal cut hole for drifting in the LKAB Malmberget Mine. Main advantages are about doubled penetration rate, very good air quality and improved hole cleaning which facilitates stabilized drilling. Disadvantages are resistance to new technology and, in some cases, the increased use of water.

Jan 1, 1995