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By A. Boeing

Rock-breaker automation and remote operation improves the safety and efficiency of mining operations. This article presents an overview of the Rocklogic rock-breaker automation system architecture that provides collision avoidance, automated parking, and remote operation functionality. The system consists of a distributed computer control system that interfaces with sensors attached to the rock-breaker, the rock-breaker hydraulics, and the site infrastructure. We present results of an automated Transmin rockbreaker installed in a production environment at an underground Australian mine site. The system has been in production use for over 900 days during which there have been no reported collisions, and 100% adoption of the remote operation technology. As a result, Rocklogic has significantly improved the safety of rock-breaking operations and reduced the rock-breaking cycle time, thereby improving the sites overall throughput.

Aug 1, 2013

By Lorrie Fava

Two needs in the mining industry, to enable overall process improvements, are open systems and network connectivity in underground mines. The Pando project, a collaboration between Symboticware, Vale and Xstrata Nickel, and supported by CEMI, addresses these issues, and leverages the solution platform to deliver intelligent applications. An open system is one that uses publicly available standards for its key interfaces. Vendor-neutrality and ease of information flow are two main benefits that result from the use of open systems. By facilitating the interoperability of systems, open systems allow information to be available when and where it is needed for decision support. Network connectivity in underground mines is typically limited, with hotspots in strategically chosen areas that are relatively static. Mobile equipment moving through a mining work cycle experiences intermittent connectivity; in this situation, seamless remote equipment monitoring is impossible. The Pando project establishes an open technology platform, adhering to the IREDES and OPC UA standards. It enables the collection and integration of information generated by mobile equipment? seamlessly while there is a network connection, and as a store-and-forward gateway to manage intermittent connectivity. The platform capabilities are leveraged to support embedded intelligent applications. This open platform, the SymBot, is a rugged hardware and software device. The platform complies with open standards for industrial automation and systems interoperability. The SymBot platform is capable of providing advanced real-time decision support at the device level, and is designed to be remotely configurable. Applications being developed through the Pando project include engine monitoring, a dynamic load weighing system, machine location monitoring and automated activity monitoring including production and maintenance reporting.

Oct 1, 2010

By P. E. Weidmark

"PART 1-Published PapersAllcott, G.A., and Archibald, D.E.; ""Description of pillar behaviour at Heath Steele Mines""; Can Min Metall Bull; 74:834:80-87; 1981.Baar, C.A.; Discussion of Theme 1: ""Physical properties of intact rock and rock masses""; Proceedings 3rd Congress Intnl Soc of rock Mechanics; 3:32-33; 1979.Baar, C.A.; Discussion of Theme 1: ""Physical properties of intact rock and rock masses""; Proceedings 3rd Congress Intnl Soc of Rock Mechanics; 3:37-38; 1979.Baar, C.A.; Discussion of Theme 1: ""Physical properties of intact rock and rock masses""; Proceedings 3rd Congress Intnl Soc of Rock Mechanics; 3:38; 1979.Baar, C.A.; Discussion of Theme 1: ""Physical properties of intact rock and rock masses"" ; Proceedings 3rd Congress Intnl Soc of Rock Mechanics; 3:41; 1979.Baar, C.A.; Discussion of Theme 1: ""Physical properties of intact rock and rock masses""; Proceedings 3rd Congress Intnl Soc of Rock Mechanics; 3:42; 1979.Baar, C.A.; Discussion of Theme 1: ""Physical properties of intact rock and rock masses""; Proceedings 3rd Congress Intnl Soc of Rock Mechanics; 3:46; 1979.Baar, C.A.; Discussion of Theme 2: ""Tectonophysics""; Proceedings 3rd Congress Intnl Soc of Rock Mechanics; 3:60; 1979.Baar, C.A.; Discussion of Theme 4: ""Underground openings""; Proceedings 3rd Congress Intnl Soc of Rock Mechanics; 3: 116; 1979.Baar, C.A.; Discussion of Theme 4: ""Underground openings""; Proceedings 3rd Congress Intnl Soc of Rock Mechanics; 3:116-117; 1979.Baar, C.A.; Discussion of Theme 4: ""Underground openings""; Proceedings 3rd Congress Intnl Soc of Rock Mechanics; 3:117; 1979.Baar, C.A. '; Discussion of Theme 4: ""Underground openings""; Proceedings 3rd Congress Intnl Soc of Rock Mechanics; 3:118-119; 1979.Baar, C.A.; Discussions (2) of Theme 4: ""Underground openings""; Proceedings 3rd Congress lntnl Soc of Rock Mechanics; 3:119; 1979.Baar, C.A.; Discussion of Theme 4: ""Underground openings""; Proceedings 3rd Congress Intnl Soc of Rock Mechanics; 3:120-121; 1979."

Jan 1, 1982

By Ltd Changsha Research Institute of Mining and Metallurgy Co., Shi Yunliang, Luo Yunbo, Chen Jun, Liu Miaohua, Xiao Jinxiong, Long Yan

"A refractory lead-zinc oxide ore located in Yunnan has hundreds of tons of metal reserves, which is hard to be recovered effectively by conventional oxide ore beneficiation methods. In this study, by sulfidation roasting of raw-ore, sulfide deposit is formed on the surface of the lead-zinc oxide ore, and then the roasted ore is processed with bulk flotation. The test results indicate that a bulk concentrate with grade of 7.85% lead and 34.24% zinc, recovery of 79.13% lead and 79.04% zinc, respectively, can be obtained by using conventional sulfide ore flotation method.The sulfidation process shows that pyrite in the raw ore releases S firstly, then S reacts with PbO and ZnO to transform into PbS and ZnS. When the mole ratio of sulphur:zinc is 0.59, the surface of smithsonite is covered with a layer of zinc sulfide. When the mole ratio of sulfu:zinc rate is 1.47, entire simthsonite particle is transformed into zinc sulphide. Thus the transformed particles can be recovered by flotation without complete sulfidation.INTRODUCTIONWith the increasing demand for zinc and decreasing of zinc resources, people pay more attention on development and utilization of zinc oxide ore. However, zinc oxide ore has wide range mineral kinds, complex mineral composition, disseminated fine-grained particle size, and high content soluble salt, so current study results about the zinc oxide ore with conventional flotation are not satisfactory. So far, process dealing with zinc oxide ore includes: sulfuration (Na2S)-flotation, direct flotation with fatty acids collectors, metallurgical methods, in which sulfuration flotation is the most widely used method. The basic principle of sulfuration flotation method is firstly roasting oxide ore with vulcanizing agent, and then recovering the sulfurated oxide ore with flotation, which is similar with recovering nature sulfide ore by using conventional collectors such as amines and xanthate."

Jan 1, 2016

By R. D. Studer

"The Snow Lake massive sulphide deposits are hosted by Aphebian volcanic rocks of the Flin Flon - Snow Lake greenstone belt, which in this area were deformed and metamorphosed to the amphibolite facies during the Hudsonian orogeny. All the known deposits occur in felsic rocks a short distance below the contact with an overlying mafic rock unit.The Stall Lake copper deposit occurs close to the top of an explosive felsic volcanic sequence. Rocks stratigraphically underlying the deposit have been hydrothermally altered by the mineralizing fluids. The sulphides were probably deposited from submarine volcanic vent(s) on the flanks of a felsic dome. The ore has been tightly folded, flattened and elongated parallel to the northerly trending lineation of the surrounding rocks during the several periods of deformation. Strike lengths of the lenses range from 60 to 300 feet and plunge-to-strike ratios are as much as 15:1.Ore lenses I to 4 typically consist of massive coarse-grained pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite and pyrite. A stratigraphically higher lens differs in that it contains fine-grained pyrite and chalcopyrite, with an increase in sphalerite toward its hanging wall. The No.4 orebody has a distinct footwall alteration zone characterized by brecciation and abundant chlorite-staurolite- garnet schist, with minor kyanite, anthophyllite, cordierite and anhydrite, as well as sulphide minerals. Chemically, the alteration zone is distinguished from the unaltered felsic rocks by Na20 depletion and Mg-Fe enrichment"

Jan 1, 1982

By Jorgen Elbrond, Noel Billette

"La connaissance du niveau de variation de I' alimentation d' une usine minéralurgique est essentielle pour estimer le taux de récupération dans un concentrateur. De plus, il est important de connaître la période moyen ne de correlation afin d’améliorer la qualité des contrôles et de l' au tornatisation.Le modèle proposé permet de prédire ces paramètres à partir du minerai en place et des activités d'exploitation dans une opération à ciel ouvert. II est basé sur la combinaison des variogrammes directionnels dans diverses zones d'un gisement, ce qui permet de définir la correlation à la sortie de chaquc zone en fonction des decisions opérationnelles, puis sur une loi binômiale modifiée, afin de séparer minerai et stériles dans Ie but de décrire variance et corrélation dans Ie minerai même, Les statistiques classiques sont alors utilisées pour décrire la combinaison de plusieurs zones et obtenir la variance et la correlation au concentrateur.IntroductionUn concentrateur est habituellement rodé de facon à recevoir une alimentation à teneur fixe en métal ; Ie minerai qui s'y presente a, par contre, tendance à osciller auteur de cette valeur cible, tantôt plus riche , tantôt plus pauvre . Ces variations entraînent des pertes de deux types: tout d'abord, la teneur du concentré oscille de facon similaire à celle de l' alimentation , ce qui peut même impliquer des pénalties a I'usine de smeltage lorsqu'elle est trop riche ou trop pauvre; la récupération peut pour sa part être diminuée de plusieurs points par un engorgement du circuit lorsque la teneur est trop forte."

Jan 1, 1984

By Royston Colbourne

Objectives Of Presentation - Identify specific risks - A fresh look at risk - Provide a moment reflection on risk - Open discussion on risk A route to solution and advanced thinking.

May 1, 2010

By H Zorychta

Based on underground measurements made at the Nova Scotia coal mines of the Dominion Coal Company, Limited, this paper presents a comparison between the physical properties of hardwood packs and steel friction props when used for longwall support. The probable loads sup-ported by steel friction props on a longwall face at both the Dominion No. 20 Colliery and the Princess Colliery are delineated, and the results of the tests are presented in graphical form. It is concluded that the steel friction props are more efficient than the hardwood packs that they replaced as roof supports. Introduction AN evolution in the methods of longwall face support is taking place in the Sydney coalfield. Longwall face support had consisted primarily of timber props and hardwood packs. In 1957, however, at the Princess Colliery, Sydney Mines, Nova Scotia, the first longwall was equipped with steel friction props. At the present time, eleven longwall faces are supported on wood and sixteen faces are carried on steel friction props.

Jan 1, 1965

By J. Béland, C. Giguère

"The auriferous mineralization at the Sigma-2 gold mine occurs in quartz-carbonate-tourmaline veins emplaced in a fractured granaphyre layer in the upper part of a differentiated gabbro-diorite sill. Kinematic indicators show that fracture planes were active as strike slip, dip-slip (reverse) and tensional faults.Measurements of attitudes of fractures and movement vectors indicate eight different sets that can be grouped into three systems: (I) an east-west oriented system includes a subvertical set and two other sets dipping north and south respectively; (2) a subhorizontal system of two conjugate sets bisected by a third tensional set; and (3)a system of sub vertical conjugate northeast and north-northwest trending sets.Kinematic analysis indicates that the subvertical set of the east west system was subjected to dextral strike-slip movement activated by a northwest-southeast compressive stress whereas the bulk deformation resulting from the remaining and subsequent seven sets can be explained by a protracted subhorizontal north-south compressive stress.The valuable gold mineralization is found principally in the fracture-filling veins of the subhorizontal system and subordinately in the other sets; among these other sets, the NE trending subvertical one is slightly more favourable.The over-all tectonic picture is that of an early mild dextral strike slip faulting in a ductile-brittle medium followed by a general flattening involving, first, a vertical and, later, a lateral extension by fracturing in a medium that had become brittle.The structural features are such that the differentiated sill could not be the source of the auriferous hydrothermal solutions."

Jan 1, 1990

By Stanley G. Butcher

Predictions of coal cleaning plant performance from the washability data are traditionally used at the conceptual design stage of a coal preparation plant to confirm process selection. The development of computer programs which simulate the operation of a plant facilitates the optimization of product yield and quality, and ultimately proceeds. It is shown that the optimum is sensitive to changes in mine operations and market price structure. A computerized review of operations is thus recommended as an on-going activity .

Jan 1, 1979

By Margarete Kalin

Mine Waste Management ?Reduction of Sulphideoxidation or inhibiting weathering of rocks Geologist - broken or ground rocks Hydrologist - sources of contaminants Mining engineer - waste sites Consulting companies - income units People - Ugly, bad, dead Ecological Engineer Landscapes which contain building blocks of an emerging ecosyste

May 1, 2013

By David A. Grieve, David E. Pearson

"A rank-map of Crowsnest coalfield, showing the distribution of the bituminous coal measures and the locations of major structures, has been produced from vitrinite reflectance measurements on over600coal samples. The timing of coalification in relation to these major structures has also been determined.In the west-central portion of the coalfield a complete stratigraphic succession of coal measures which rides on major thrust surf aces is all of high-volatile bituminous rank, but despite the structural discordance no break in rank is discernible across these structures. The thrust faults therefore predate much of the coalification.Three major valleys expose cross sections of the folded coal measures and in each an increase invitrinite reflectance is demonstrable as individual seams are traced from ridge crest to valley floor. Thus, in these sections, a significant amount of coalification post-dates folding. The proportion of this post-folding coalification is found to increase toward the south of the coalfield.A late gravity-fault, exposed along the east crop of the coalfield, places high-volatile coal-bearing successions in contact with low-volatile coal and demonstrably is a reactivated thrust fault. Coalification at this locality occurred between these two different ages of faulting.The variations in rank and the subtleties of the coalification pattern have, together with systematic changes in the maceral composition of coal seams, had a profound effect on coal quality in the coalfield. Coking coals with a variety of properties occur together with some coals that have no caking capacity."

Jan 1, 1985

By Peter Harben

"This paper discusses the benefits of industrial minerals, their sources of supply, price and marketing trends, and their increasing use as substitute materials and ""strategic"" minerals. IntroductionKaolin finds have yet to spark the kind of frenzy associated with the 1849 California gold rush; no dolomite deposit has ever gained the notoriety of the Comstock Lode; and few industrial minerals are counted among the currently fashionable list of "" strategic mineral s"". Nevertheless, the glamorous zhine associated with metals may be somewhat superficial; further digging provides perhaps the real foundation of modern society - industrial minerals.They are often tagged as common, everyday materials that are simply dug out of the ground, crushed and hauled to a local point of consumption. Although this description is accurate in the case of road aggregates, sand and gravel, and the like, there are many exceptions to this rule. The term industrial minerals is rather nebulous, covering as it does the mundane and esoteric, the chemically active and the refractory, the $2 and the $10m-a-ton product. All of these minerals influence every facet of modern life from fertilizers to fire retardants, ceramics to cars, construction to clothes, and toothpaste to tennis courts. Their usefulness is well illustrated by the variety of industries they serve; the main ones are listed in Table 1. It is now time to dismiss the notion of non-metallics as the ""third world"" of natural resources business after the metallic and energy products by dispelling some of the myths regarding abundance, variety and value of the group's sixty-plus products."

Jan 1, 1982

By P. E. Weidmark

"PART I - Published PapersBallivy, G., and Dupuis, M., ""Laboratory testing for the design of grouted rock anchors""; Proc 6th Pan Am Conf Soil Mech Found Eng; Lima; 1:277-291; 1979.Ballivy, G., Ladanyi, B., and Gill, D., ""The effects of moisture content on the strength of fissured rocks""; Proc 1// 1ntnl Congr 1.A.E.G.; Madrid; //:2:7-16; 1978.Baumgartner, P., and Stimpson, B., ""Development of a tiltable base friction frame for kinematic studies of caving at various depths""; Int J Rock Mech Min Sci Geomech Abstr; 16:4:265-267; 1979.Bawden, W.F., and Roegiers, J.-c., ""Discussion and interpretation of the mathematics governing radial flow in a single horizontal rock fracture""; ISBN 07727-7002-6; Dept Civil Engng publication 79-11; Univ Toronto: 134p;1979.Chatterji, P.K., Smith, L.B., and Insley, A.E., ""Construction of Saline Creek Tunnel in Athabasca oil sand""; Can Geotech J; 16:1:90-107: 1979.Coates, D.F., and Gyenge, M., ""A case history of pit slope design""; Proc 4th ISRM Congr; Montreux, Switzerland; Sept 1979; 1:Theme IV:591-596; 1979.Crawford, A.M., and Curran, J.H., ""A dynamic direct shear machine for determining the time-dependent behaviour of rock joints"": Dept Civil Engng publication 79-08; Univ Toronto; 1979.Crawford, A.M., and Curran, J.H., ""A displacement discontinuity approach to modelling the creep behavior of rock and its discontinuities""; Dept Civil Engng publication 79-09; Univ Toronto; 1979.Crawford, A.M., and Curran, J.H., ""A higher-order displacement discontinuity element""; Dept Civil Engng publication 79-10; Univ Toronto; 1979.Cruden, D.M., ""A computer-based system for rock mass description""; Proc 1// Intnl Congr I.A.E.G.; Madrid; //:2:155-159; 1978.Cruikshank, D.J., and Curran, J.H., ""A.B.LE. approach to modelling of fluid flow in fractured rock masses""; Proc 7th Cdn Congr Appl Mech; May 1979; Sherbrooke, Que; 887-888; 1979."

Jan 1, 1980

By M. P. Filion, K. Ferguson, L. L. Sirois

Acidic drainage is the largest single environmental problem facing the Canadian mining industry today. Technologies to prevent acidic drainage from occurring in wasterock piles and tailings sites, and on the walls of open pits and underground mines, need to be developed and demonstrated. There are two groups in Canada which have accepted this challenge: the national Mine Environment Neutral Drainage (MEND) program and the British Columbia Acid Mine Drainage (BCAMD) Task Force. This paper summarizes the activities of these two organizations.

Jan 1, 1990

By Kurt Tischler

This paper presents the field experience of Siemens with regard to Gearless Drives in the mining industry ? We consider the elapsed production hours of Siemens Gearless Drives to be extensive enough to provide a reliable estimation of availability calculated on the basis of data representing repair time, downtime, and operating time. The users of Siemens Gearless Drives confirm an availability of more than 98% after exclusion of some major issues. The paper addresses all of these major issues of Siemens Gearless Drives, describes successfully applied corrective measures, explains the influences on the design of the drives, and lists the downtimes associated with each of these issues.

Jan 1, 2012

By Ken Woloschuk

??Owners?Perspective ??Owners?Challenges ??EcoNomics?Delivery Model ??Projects ??Project Outcomes ??Questions ??Balancing the triple bottom line initiative: ?shareholders expectations of economic costs and benefit; ?stakeholders expectations of social and environmental costs and benefits; ?deciding what is sustainable and which design alternatives are the most sustainable. ?? Delivering required project outcomes

May 1, 2008

By R. D. Studer

"The Snow Lake massive sulphide deposits are hosted by Aphebian volcanic rocks of the Flin Flon - Snow Lake greenstone belt, which in this area were deformed and metamorphosed to the amphibolite facies during the Hudsonian orogeny. All the known deposits occur in felsic rocks a short distance below the contact with an overlying mafic rock unit.The Stall Lake copper deposit occurs close to the top of an explosive felsic volcanic sequence. Rocks stratigraphically underlying the deposit have been hydrothermally altered by the mineralizing fluids. The sulphides were probably deposited from submarine volcanic vent(s) on the flanks of a felsic dome. The ore has been tightly folded, flattened and elongated parallel to the northerly trending lineation of the surrounding rocks during the several periods of deformation. Strike lengths of the lenses range from 60 to 300 feet and plunge-to-strike ratios are as much as 15:1.Ore lenses 1 to 4 typically consist of massive coarse-grained pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite and pyrite. A stratigraphically higher lens differs in that it contains fine-grained pyrite and chalcopyrite, with an increase in sphalerite toward its hanging wall. The No.4 orebody has a distinct footwall alteration zone characterized by brecciation and abundant chlorite-staurolite-garnet schist, with minor kyanite, anthophyllite, cordieriteand anhydrite, as well as sulphide minerals. Chemically, the alteration zone is distinguished from the unaltered felsic rocks by Na20 depletion and Mg-Fe enrichment.IntroductionThe Stall Lake copper deposit is located aproximately 4 miles southeast of Snow Lake in northern Manitoba (Fig. 1). The Snow Lake district has been a producer of gold (Rex, Bingo, Laguana and Nor-Acme Mines) and, since the fifties, of copper and zinc from deposits of Hudson Bay Mining & Smelting Co., Ltd . The district is located near the eastern limit of the Flin Flon - Snow Lake greenstone belt, which contains Amisk metavolcanic rocks of Aphebian age."

Jan 1, 1982

By J. W. Smith, J. G. Eacott, D. H. Napier

"Three hydrometallurgicat processes (Noranda chloride leach, B. C. Research biological leach and Sherritt-Cominco activated oxygen leach) and the Noranda pyrometallurgical process have served as the basis for design projects in the final year of the chemical engineering program at the University of Toronto. Each member of a team of five or six students devotes about 200 hours to the project and the final report is expected to include an economic analysis.None of the processes has been developed to full- scale plant, nor, in the case of the B.C. Research and Noranda processes, were pilot plant data available. Nevertheless, the designs developed provide a useful basis for a preliminary estimate of capital and operating costs and for a preliminary assessment of project feasibility.This paper discusses the approach used in the design projects with respect to engineering and economic aspects, and outlines the educational features and benefits of such a program as well as some of the problem areas that arise.IntroductionAs part of the undergraduate degree course in chemical engineering at the University of Toronto, students devote some 200 hours to a design project in their final year. Hydrometallurgical processes, not yet proven at the commercial scale, have been selected for study. The students are required to develop laboratory and / or pilot scale results into a conceptual plant design, using sound engineering principles. Capital and operating costs are then determined and a preliminary feasibility study and economic analysis are carried out."

Jan 1, 1986

By Guoxiang Chi

This paper consists of two parts: the first part describes the principles and functionality of the BsnMod program, and the second part presents preliminary application of this program to paleo-fluid flow modeling in the Anticosti Basin. The BsnMod program simulates fluid flow and heat transfer during the evolution of sedimentary basins through numerical solution (finite difference method) of three partial differential equations, which describe sediment compaction, fluid continuity, and heat conservation. It can be used to estimate the evolution of fluid overpressure, flow rate, and temperature during the basin history. The program was written in C++, works under Windows environments, and has a user interface allowing inputs in dialogues and outputs in both tabular and graphic forms. The program was applied to the Lower Paleozoic Anticosti Basin in eastern Canada. The basin history consists of a passive margin stage and a foreland basin stage. Preliminary simulation results indicate that no significant fluid overpressures were developed in the passive margin stage and during the early period of the foreland basin stage, but strong overpressures were developed within the foreland basin succession during the middle and late periods of the foreland basin stage. Fluid flow rates were generally slow, and thermal profiles were not significantly disturbed by fluid movement throughout the basin history. Potential source rocks of hydrocarbons were found in the foreland basin succession. The strong overpressures in the foreland basin succession could have been a major driving force for hydrocarbon migration from the source rocks to the underlying potential reservoir rocks.

May 1, 2001