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By M. Schafer

The 6-m- (20-ft-) diameter cast-in-place tunnel lining for Phase 3 of the Mill Creek Tunnel (MCT3) has been completed. This article summarizes aspects of liner design and ad-dresses the construction approach in placing the liner in areas of tunnel that experienced crown overbreak. Tunnel lining production rates, installation procedures and form buoyancies experienced during concrete placement will also be presented. The Mill Creek Phase 3 tunnel (MCT-3) is expected to be completed this year. It is one of the largest tunneling projects undertaken by the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD) to date. The tunnel horizon is situated within the Devonian Chagrin Shale rock formation at an average depth of 85 m (280 ft). The tunnel was excavated using a two-pass method. A full face, fully shielded, Robbins 7.2-m- (23.8-ft-) diameter tunnel boring machine (TBM) was used to excavate approximately 4,500 m (15,000 ft) of tunnel and facilitate installation of initial supports (first pass). The final lining (second pass) consists of 305-mm- (12-in.-) thick cast-in-place reinforced concrete and integral low flow channel. Seven shafts were constructed on the project. The excavation of the tunnel commenced at Shaft 14 and proceeded down grade to Shaft 9, the terminus shaft. Because of the presence of overbreak in the tunnel crown, measures were required to support the form and counteract the effects of buoyancy during concrete placement.

Jan 1, 2008

By D. Jacobson

There are many different machine setup parameters and variables that affect the production of cone crushers in a mineral processing plant. One of these variables is the eccentric speed at which the cone gyrates. In June 2012, pilot tests were conducted on a 200 hp high speed cone crusher to determine the production and operating conditions over a wide spectrum of eccentric speed. Every plant will have variations in the ore characteristics and feed rates throughout the life of the mine, and at times throughout a single shift of operation, which result in non-optimal use of the crushing energy and inconsistent process control. For high speed cone crushers, the crusher will exhibit a different capacity, power required, and discharge size distribution as the speed ranges over the design limits of the machine. This study documents the measured variation in production and energy efficiency both when the crusher was ran at full capacity as well as when the feed to the crusher was not sufficient to run at full capacity. Overall, the results match theory and the capacity and power fluctuated by 25% and 17%, respectively, over the speed range when operated full while there was an overall trend of slightly coarser discharge size distribution as the speed decreased. The results with the fixed feed rate were more telling, as the crushers had 4-14% higher production when making a theoretical minus 12.5 mm product when operating at the optimal speed as compared to the worst speed in the ?typical? speed range for this application. Secondary analysis of the fixed tonnage testing also showed that the power draw was more consistent with lower magnitude spikes at the higher speeds (higher cavity level), as on average the standard deviation of the power draw increased from 7% to 18% and the peak power spikes from 20% to 48% over the speed range tested. The findings lay groundwork for more efficient plant design. Varying the speed of the crusher can be used to tune the crusher speed during commissioning, adapt to changing ore conditions over long periods of time, or be used as a dynamic input into an advanced control system. Each action above would serve to make the crusher(s) more productive and more energy efficient, and would also have mechanical benefits for the machine. Key Words: cone crusher, ore reduction, process control, crushing efficiency

Feb 27, 2013

Impala Platinum?s No.16 Shaft mine is currently under construction and is expected to reach full production of 256 500 tons per month by 2014. Mining will start at 1 260 m below surface with a maximum mining depth of 1 535 m where virgin rock temperatures of 56.6°C will be experienced. As a result of depth, high virgin rock temperature and narrow reef mining, an expected total of 31.5 MW[R] of air cooling capacity will be required to achieve acceptable underground conditions. This will be achieved by cooling mine intake air in a single dedicated air cooling installation located on surface. The compact installation includes air cooling spray chamber, refrigeration machines, condenser cooling towers, evaporator and condenser water reticulation as well as all electrical and control systems. Construction and commissioning of the first phase of this air cooling installation has recently been completed on a turn-key contract basis.

Jan 1, 2009

By James Wm. White

Today a large number of open pit mines use computer-based mine management systems to automatically assign haul trucks, track equipment, and manage information. Now advances in digital communications allow the use of these systems in underground operations. Underground mine management systems help maximize production by providing impressive gains in areas such as equipment and manpower utilization, draw point equalization in block caving operations, preventive maintenance, and safety. Current systems use allocated or "locked" train and LHD dispatching. While allocated dis-patching rarely optimizes open pit production, it offers an efficient mode of operation underground where options are more limited.

Jan 1, 1996

By Staff

The mineral sector is a fundamental part of the U.S. economy. It contributes to the real gross domestic product (GDP) at several stages—basic (mining), intermediate processing, manufacturing of finished goods and construction. The estimated growth rate for the real GDP of the United States for 2006 was 3.2 percent. The nominal GDP was about $13.2 trillion. The value of minerals mined in the United States in 2006 rose significantly because of increased unit price for some metals—particularly copper, zinc and other base metals. There was also a significant reduction in metals stocks. Infrastructure expansion and manufacturing in China and India have been absorbing a significant portion of world output. Domestic production increased for some industrial mineral materials, mainly cement and construction sand and gravel. Production of crushed stone declined less than 1 percent in 2006 compared

Jan 1, 2007

By Jeremy Theys

The Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District (SRCSD) is improving the sewer system in the Natomas area of Sacramento, CA. The Upper Northwest Interceptor (UNWI) system is an ongoing series of tunnel pipeline projects that will provide sewer conveyance for all residents of northeast Sacramento County to the New Natomas Pumping Station, located North of downtown Sacramento, also in the city of Sacramento limits. The New Natomas Pumping Station then carries wastewater flowsto the Sacramento Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant in Elk Grove via the existing Lower Northwest Interceptor. The Joint Venture of Traylor Brothers, inc. and J.F. Shea (TSJV) were awarded the UNWI 1&2 project in late September, 2007. The planned 5.8 km (3.65 mile) construction route for UNWI 1&2 begins at the New Natomas Pump Station and runs north along the East Drainage Canal to the begin-ning of UNWI 3&4 at Bridgecross Drive. UNWI 1&2 includes approximately 5.8 km (19,240 feet) of 3.65 m (144 inch) inside diameter pipe using Earth Pressure Balance Tunneling Methods. The project also includes 16.76 m (55 feet) of 3.04 m (120-inch) diameter interceptor pipeline, twenty three access manholes spaced approximately 305 m (1,000 feet) apart along the alignment, a 2.13 m (84-inch) by 3.65 m (144-inch) transition structure, a 3.65 m (144-inch) by 3.04 m (120-inch) transition structure, and the connection of three existing sanitary sewer lines to the interceptor.

By J. F. Lupo

Leaching operations combine both metallurgical and hydraulic processes to extract metals from the ore heap. In the design of leaching operations, metallurgical tests and simple hydraulic tests are often conducted to define operational parameters such as leach cycle time, application rate, lift height, and effective leach area. While metallurgical constraints are often the primary focus on leach facility design, the hydraulic factors are also critical to the overall success of the operation. Some of the hydraulic factors that are known to impact solution flow through heaps include: • Ore physical and hydraulic properties, • Variation in ore properties under heap loading, • Ore mineralogy and its susceptibility to chemical and/or mechanical degradation, and • Heterogeneities within the heap. This paper presents a discussion on hydraulic factors that may impact the effectiveness of leaching operations. In addition, methods are presented which may be used to assess flow conditions within active and inactive heaps.

Jan 1, 2000

By L. M. Anisdahl

Ventiflex is a flexible ventilation duct system with a global market within mine and tunnel ventilation. The system is distributed in a wide range of qualities and dimensions. It is very important that ventilation systems are designed correctly in mines and tunnels. An incorrectly dimensioned system might result in bad air quality and too high costs. The objective of this study has been to assess some important design parameters for ventiflex comprising the friction loss factor for the duct wall itself, as well as the shock loss factors and the leakage factors for the different couplings systems. This has been obtained by carrying out a large scale experimental program on ducts with all the three different couplings: Velcro, zip and steel-ring. Pressure profiles and air flow rates have been measured, and based on these data the different factors have been calculated. The following results have been obtained: A friction factor l = 0,012 (K = 10) for the duct wall, a shock loss factor z = 0,0125 for velcro- and zip couplings, a shock loss factor z = 0,005 for steel-ring couplings, and a leakage factor f* = 0 mm2/m2 for all three coupling types. The latter result proves that no leakage is possible for a correctly installed duct with proper alignment. The results also confirm that ventiflex complies with class S, or better, according to the SIA-norm. However, whether ventiflex should be designed as class S, A or B according to the SIA-norm, depends on the particular application.

Jan 1, 2009

Coal has been mined in the central Appalachian coalfields of southern West Virginia, western Virginia, and eastern Kentucky for more than a century. The dwindling reserve base consists in large part of coal that would have been considered unmineable by earlier generations. Nearly every current operation is working on a property where coal has been extracted in the past, from seams either above, below, or both. NIOSH is conducting research aimed at helping mine planners prevent hazardous conditions due to multiple seam interactions. To-date, more than 300 case histories have been collected from underground mines, mainly from central Appalachia. This paper focuses on several of the more challenging situations that have been encountered, including: • Room-and-pillar development 20 ft (6 m) beneath full extraction workings at a depth of 1,000 ft (300m) of cover (Virginia) • Pillar recovery 45 ft above full extraction workings at 900 ft (270 m) of cover (Virginia) • Near-simultaneous room-and-pillar mining with pillar recovery with 40 ft (12 m) of interburden and 1,500-2,000 ft (450-600 m) of cover (Kentucky) • Longwall mining directly beneath main entries in overlying seams (West Virginia) • Some of these operations have been highly successful in overcoming the challenges, others less so. The lessons learned from their experience will help ensure that these and similar difficult reserves can be mined safely.

Jan 1, 2006

By R. L. Howell, L. C. Atkinson

Typical sedimentary sequences overlying coal seams consist of interbedded sandstones, siltstones, shales, and rider coal seams. In many surface coalmine settings, these sediments are saturated; and prior dewatering of them is necessary for effective and economic mining, including the stacking of saturated spoils. Such sedimentary sections usually have a very low vertical hydraulic conductivity that does not allow them to drain in a timely manner prior to their being stripped. One potential solution is installation of drainwells. Drainwells are small diameter wells that can collect water laterally from the various more permeable layers in the overburden and then gravity drain it to a lower layer – often the coal seam being mined – where it can be removed by pumping wells or sumps located in the bottom of the pit. A ground-water flow model utilizing the 3-dimensional finite element code MINEDW has been used to evaluate the effectiveness of usingdrainwells in a hydrogeologic setting that is typical of the Powder River Basin. A series of numerical simulations were completed using various combinations and spacings of drainwells and pumping wells to dewater the overburden and coal seams. The numerical simulations suggest that drainwells can be a very effective method of overburden dewatering.

Jan 1, 2000

By A. Sand

A 2-dimensional computational model based on the discrete element method (DEM) is utilized for modeling of stamp-charged coke making. In this process, a large volume of coal is compacted to one single coal cake before entering the coke oven. Cake densification and mechanical strength development are key factors for the subsequent production of a high-quality coke. An approach is introduced for model calibration utilizing multiple control parameters obtained from a laboratory-scale stamping device. Experimental data on stamper rebound amplitude, attenuation and peak force are compared with simulation output in a pairwise manner by constructing a criteria space, which allows identification of model settings best satisfying the control parameters. The calibration procedure carried out by multiple criteria comparison aided model parameter selection for reproducing stamper behavior in response to the properties of the cake subjected to compaction. This modeling and calibration procedure offers possibilities for numerically studying the densification and mechanical strength development of coal cakes. However, the approach is also more widely applicable to other compaction processes.

Feb 27, 2013

By R. C. Burton

One of the major problems encountered with recirculatory breathing apparatus presently used by mine rescue teams is that the inspired air becomes uncomfortably, and often dangerously, hot. This is also true with self-rescuers. It is well known that man can tolerate very high dry-bulb temperatures if the wet-bulb temperature is low, but not vice- versa. The maximum tolerable, wet-bulb temperature is about 42 °C (108 °F). A continuously inhaled wet-bulb temperature above this value can cause irreversible damage to the throat and lung tissue, and wet-bulb temperatures close to it cause extreme discomfort (1) and seriously retard the capability of the man to perform useful work. A theoretical analysis, combined with experimental results, has shown that it is the carbon dioxide absorbent that is the major cause of high wet-bulb temperatures of the inspired air in the Siebe Gorman Proto 4, and in the Draeger BG 174 apparatus, both of which are used by rescue teams on South African mines (2). In the Proto 4 apparatus, the absorbent for the carbon dioxide is soda lime (calcium hydroxide). The German Draeger BG 174 also uses this absorbent but under arduous conditions such as in hot environments (50 °C, 122 °F), the use of an alkali absorbent cartridge is recommended which consists mainly of caustic soda (sodium hydroxide). Lithium hydroxide is used in some apparatus in the United States. It is clear that different absorbents will produce different quantities of heat and moisture for a given rate of absorption of carbon dioxide. The proportion of this heat and moisture which is transferred to the user depends upon how much can be removed from the recirculating air between the absorbent and the mouthpiece. This paper discusses the present methods of heat removal and describes the design and test results of a prototype evaporative cooler.

Jan 1, 1980

By Carlos Henrique Turolla Maia, Ulrich Maidl, Marc Comulada, Julio Claudio Di Dio Pierri

"Pure sands are typically the domain of slurry shields due to their high permeability and their granular characteristics. However, the Earth Pressure Balanced (EPB) shield machine technology has advanced in recent years with improved conditioning agents and shield machines that are equipped with slurry injection facilities and alternative mucking methods. These new so-called hybrid EPB machines have steadily increased the range of application of the EPB technology. The contribution discusses the capacities and operational features of hybrid EPB vs. slurry shield technology in pure sands. At the example of the Metro Line 4 in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), the contribution shows that hybrid EPB tunneling in pure sands is possible and it is compared with a state-of-the-art slurry shield project as the KASIG project in Karlsruhe (Germany). Furthermore, the control of the support pressure by means of foam conditioning and slurry injection in conjunction with a close, real-time monitoring of machine parameters is discussed. INTRODUCTION Slurry shield and EPB technologies have both undergone significant developments in recent years, leading to the use of parts of one technology in the other and even to completely hybrid systems. Also the ranges of application (see recommendations by DAUB (DAUB 2010)) of both technologies have been shifted far beyond their original limits and are largely overlapping by now. Nevertheless, the basic principles of face support remain unchanged. Exploiting the possibilities of process data analysis (Maidl 2014), the interactions between the ground and the shield machine are a matter of research and have been intensely investigated. PRINCIPLES AND CALCULATION OF FACE SUPPORT PRESSURE Figure 1 shows the principles of two approaches for the determination of required support pressures: kinematic methods and numerical methods. Kinematic methods that are employed for the assessment of face stability only consider the situation in front of the TBM. The required face support force is determined by means of an assumed failure wedge that would form in ultimate limit state. Based on the ground properties, the vertical surcharge and the self-weight is transformed into a horizontal force along a virtual sliding surface. This horizontal force is to be balanced by the face support. The calculation results are amended by respective partial safety factors for water and earth pressure and the method-specific support pressure fluctuations are added."

Jan 1, 2016

By K. Awuah-Offei

An aggregate plant may have difficulty balancing product stockpile inventories if hot mix asphalt (HMA) design engineers do not account for aggregate inventory during mix design. Yet HMA design engineers do not, often, take this into consideration during asphalt mix design. This is due to the lack of tools that enable the lab technician or engineer to optimize the mix for good performance while helping the aggregate plant manage its stockpile inventory levels and reducing the aggregate cost. This work presents a linear programming model of the asphalt mix design problem that helps aggregate plants manage their inventory levels while meeting HMA customer demands. The algorithm is implemented in MATLAB as an Asphalt Mix Design Optimization (AMIDO) program. The program is successfully validated with real-life data. The results show that AMIDO can be used to successfully produce any mix design while reducing the cost of aggregates by using the cheapest stockpile materials. The application of AMIDO will increase aggregate plant profitability when serving HMA customers and could potentially be modified for concrete aggregate customers too.

Jan 1, 2009

By Douglas B. Silver

Super Cycle future The final topic is mining?s future. The most important questions are ?How much longer is the Super Cycle going to last? What should we expect to see going forward? How will the Super Cycle end?? Three possible scenarios follow. Scenario one: Super Cycle has peaked Kathy Casey-Kirschling is officially the first Baby Boomer. She was born Jan. 1st, 1946. If you google ?first baby boomer,? she?s the one that shows up. A Baby Boomer is anybody born between 1946 and 1964. In the United States, it represents about a quarter of the population ? approximately 76 million people. The Baby Boomer generation is going to change the economics of the world because there are so many in the generation. A review of spending patterns indicates that the largest amount of discretionary spending occurs between the ages of 49 and 52. Retired people tend to live on fixed incomes so they have less discretionary income. They also tend to downsize their house, which may contribute to the housing glut and the need for a lot less metal. Therefore, the upcoming retirement of the Baby Boomer generation could result in a massive shift in economic spending resulting in the peaking of the Super Cycle. Figure 1 is an index graph from the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). The index has recently peaked. A lot of people see that as a sign that bad things coming our way. A careful review of different commodity prices also suggest that the peak has occurred and it does not seem to matter which commodity prices are considered. Copper prices have seen a peak as have nickel prices. Nickel and molybdenum displayed the same trend with a peak in 2005 as did zinc. Uranium, which has single-handedly tried to behave like the dot com craze, has also peaked.

Jan 1, 2008

By I. Loomis, D. Rachmad, I. Duckworth

During the past two years the Underground Mine Ventilation Group at PT Freeport Indonesia has undertaken to upgrade their Hygiene Laboratory. This process has included upgrading equipment for dust sampling and gas monitoring, as well as procurement of an OCEC analyzer for Diesel Particulate Matter analysis. While the laboratory equipment represents one factor, these changes have also required re-evaluation of the sampling protocols and the burden of ventilation monitoring personnel. This paper provides a review of these experiences.

Jan 1, 2006

By Jose A. Delgadillo

The hydrocyclone problem has been a challenging task for the last 30 years. In the 80’s and 90’s Computational Fluid Dynamics solution to this problem began to appear. These were unsuccessful due to over simplification. In the past 3 dimensional solution with ?-e model and Reynolds Stress Model have been published. In this paper RSM and ?-e models are compared with velocity profiles measured in 75 mm and 250 mm diameter hydrocyclones. It is shown that results are not satisfactory with RSM or ?-e and that a model called Large Eddy Simulation is needed to describe velocity profile evolution and size classification.

Jan 1, 2005

By R. L. Virta

Editor?s note: Each year, the June issue of Mining Engineering features an industrial minerals review. Several people put in a fair amount of time in developing the material for this issue. Thank you to the industrial minerals annual review editor, to the technical committees chair and vice-chair, and to the authors of the individual commodity profiles. Jim Norman, member SME, of GeoTrans Inc., is the industrial minerals annual review editor. Abani Samal, member SME, of Pincock Allen & Holt, is chair of the industrial minerals technical committees. Technical committee vice chairs include: ? Abani Samal, member SME, of Pincock Allen & Holt, agricultural minerals. ? Aaron McMahon member SME, of Pincock Allen & Holt, ceramics and refractories ? Bradley S. Van Gosen, member SME, of the U.S. Geological Survey, chemical raw materials. ? Mark Zdunczyk, member SME, of Continental Placer Inc., construction materials. ? Jerry Gauntt, member SME, of Marston, fillers and pigments. ? Michael Cheshire, member SME, of Indiana University, sorbents, filters and process aids. ? Candace Trimble, Oil-Dri Corp. of America, specialty minerals. Their help makes possible this June industrial miner-als issue. On behalf of ME readers, the editors thank them. Ball Clay Four companies ? H.C. Spinks Clay (owned by Lhoist Group), Kentucky-Tennessee Clay (owned by Imerys Group), Old Hickory Clay, and Unimin Corp. ? mined ball clay in four states in 2008. Production, on the basis of preliminary data, was 964 kt (1.1 millon st) with an estimated value of $45.3 million. That was a 10- percent decrease in tonnage from 1.07 Mt (1.2 mil-lion st) with a value of $49.2 million that was produced in 2007. Tennessee was the leading producer state with 63 percent of domestic production, followed by Texas, Mississippi and Kentucky. About 73 percent of production was airfloat, 16 percent was crude and 11 percent was water-slurried.

Jan 1, 2009

By Y. Nien Wang, Moe Amini, Heiner Sander, Max John

INTRODUCTION As the population increased along the coast route (California Route 1), and the people’s need to have guaranteed access increased, the landslides and related road closures began to have serious adverse economic impacts. Landslides were causing major long-term road closures about every 10 years on average. In 1983, ground movement at Devil’s Slide caused Highway 1 to be closed for an extended period of time which caused significant economic loss to the surrounding coastal communities. A number of options for bypassing the slide area were considered, and the Martini Creek inland bypass was selected for design. Subsequent litigation led to the creation of the Devil’s Slide Tunnel Study in 1996. The results of this study indicated that a tunnel alternative would be competitive with the inland bypass. The final decision was left to the citizens of San Mateo County, who approved the tunnel alternative in the November, 1996 election After completion of environmental studies and the processing of legal challenges, the final environmental document was finished in 2001. The preferred tunnel alternative was designated to proceed for final design and construction. PROJECT DESCRIPTION The Devil’s Slide Tunnels consists of a separated two-lane road, one lane in each direction, which passes through twin tunnels and over twin bridges and then connects with the existing non-separated, two-lane road at each end. The total length of the project is approximately 1900 meters consisting of four main project divisions, which are described below, going from south to north. 1.Operations and Maintenance Center (OMC) area, 2.Southern approach roadways to the South Portals (250 meters), including the South Rock Cut,

Jan 1, 2005

By Bruce Geller

The 2005 Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) convention continued the upbeat mood found in 2004. The global mining industry is booming due to higher commodity prices in nearly every sector. Other factors include low commodity inventories, China’s strong resource demands, the weak U.S. dollar, the very strong Euro, global uncertainties, an almost overripe investment climate for natural resources and the highest mining exploration budgets in seven years. Even unglamorous commodities, like iron, uranium and zinc, received copious attention in talks, the investors’ exchange, the core shack and in certain hospitality suites. The following impressions were gathered at the convention and enhanced by conference handouts and some abstracts that are available on the PDAC’s Web site, www.pdac.ca. At least 119 papers were presented, almost twice last year’s number.

Jan 1, 2005