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By H. Murray

Introduction Industrial minerals are key ingredients in a large majority of domestic and industrial products that are used in our daily lives. In the 7th edition of Industrial Minerals and Rocks, fifty three industrial mineral commodities are described. A precise definition of industrial minerals and rocks is difficult. Bates (1975) proposed a definition which is widely used and is as follows: "any rock, mineral, or other naturally occurring substance of economic value, exclusive of metal ores, mineral fuels, and gemstones: one of the non-metallics". They can be igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary and range in price from a few dollars per ton to a very high price of hundreds of dollars per ton. The growth in their production and use is closely allied with population growth particularly in countries that maintain a high standard of living. The United States just passed 300 million in population and it is predicted that by 2040 the population will be 400 million. This will result in large increases in the need for Industrial minerals. Other factors that relate to increased use of industrial minerals are increased research and development by the producing companies and better quality control. Many industrial minerals such as kaolin, barite, nepheline syenite, fluorspar, lithium carbonate, phosphate rock, potash, talc, and several others are exported from the producing countries to many users around the world which has significantly increased their use. Also, government agencies, State Geological Surveys, and Universities have contributed to their growth by their research and development activities.

Jan 1, 2007

By Funsho K. Ojebuoboh

With several “green” applications on the horizon, bismuth has become an even more important minor metal in the smelting and refining of lead. Smelters with a complex sulphide feed invariably deal with bismuth. Its behavior during the smelting of lead in conventional sinter-blast furnace operation is discussed. Because it readily deports to the lead phase during the refining of lead, its separation from refined lead remained unsatisfactory in early lead production. When commercial requirements of bismuth in lead became more stringent early this century, the procedure where by calcium and magnesium is used todebismuthise lead was developed. The present conduct of this 1936 process, the Kroll-Betterton process, is discussed with emphasis on operational improvements.

Jan 1, 1996

By R. Y. Williams

The investigative work described in this report was undertaken by the Bureau of Mines under a cooperative agreement with the department of mining engineering of the University of Illinois and the Illinois State Geological Survey." The purpose of this agreement was to provide for a comprehensive investigation of coal-mining conditions in the State, with especial reference to the possibility of lessening waste in the mining and preparation of coal and of reducing the dangers to which miners are exposed. The Bureau of Mines paid particular attention to those phases of the investigation that were of general interest from their bearing on safety and efficiency in the coal-mining industry as a whole. Thus, it studied the occurrence of gas (methane) in the mines of the southern part of the State," tested the inflammability of the coal dust from many mines, examined the efficiency of the control of ventilating currents, and investigated the factors affecting the humidity of mine air with respect to their bearing on the occurrence of mine explosions. Following the establishment of the fact that under certain conditions dry bituminous coal dust is inflammable, there arose the problem of finding efficient methods of preventing or limiting coal-dust explosions. Experiments in the gas-and-dust gallery at the Pittsburgh testing station of the Bureau of Mines verified the fact that certain dusts that explode violently when dry are rendered inert by proper humidi- .fication of the atmosphere within the gallery, and the importance of humidity as a factor in limiting the inflammability of coal dust in a mine is demonstrated by the fact that there has never been in Illinois a dust explosion during the summer months, whereas the records show a number of dust explosions during cold weather. It is easy to see that the warm moisture-laden air that enters a mine in the summer must deposit moisture on cooling, whereas the cold and relatively dry air that enters in winter must take up moisture as it becomes heated in traveling through the mine.

Jan 1, 1914

By J. MacFadyen

The U.S. cement industry experienced its best year ever during 2004 in terms of production and shipments of cement. Clinker, portland and masonry cements production and shipments were up considerably. Clinker production as reported to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) was 87.75 Mt (96.73 million st), an increase of 5.4 percent. Gray and white portland cement production from domestic and imported clinker was estimated to be 91.6 Mt (101 million st), up 5 Mt (5.5 million st) from 2003.

Jan 1, 2005

By Franklin H. Persse

The Bureau of Mines estimated reclamation costs for 13 surface coal mines in nine States west of the Missisisppi River. With the exception of the Pacific Coast coal province, at least one mine in each of the western coal provinces was studied. Cost estimates were, made using standard estimating procedures from data obtained from company records, interviews with industry personnel, and onsite observations. Estimated costs are presented in four categories which represent the four phases of mined-land reclamation: (1) Design, engineering, and overhead; (2) bond and permit fees; (3) backfilling and grading; and (4) revegetation. Estimated costs as of the first quarter of 1976 are expressed as averages and ranges in terms of per acre, per ton of coal produced, and per million Btu. Total reclamation costs ranged from $860 to $7,200 per acre, from 6 to 84 cents per ton, and from 4 to 35.3 mills per million Btu. A mine in the Northern Great Plains coal province (Region D) showed the highest per acre cost whereas mines in part of the western region of the Interior coal province (Region A) experienced the greatest per ton and per million Btu cost. The high cost of reclamation in the Western United States is reflected in the backfill in and grading category, particularly in the cost of topsoil removal and subsequent replacement as required by individual State reclamation regulations.

Jan 1, 1977

By W. J. Farley

Location and History The Sherritt Gordon mine is in northern Manitoba, one hundred miles north of The Pas and forty miles northeast of Flin Flon. The original discovery was made by a Cree indian, Philip Sherlett, in 1922. The claims lapsed in 1924 to be re-staked and optioned by various mining groups who carried out a certain amount of development work before relinquishing their options. In 1927 the present Company, Sherritt Gordon Mines, Limited, was formed to take over the property. Production commenced in 1931, but in the following year operations were suspended and it was not until 1937 that the prevailing price of copper pemitted resumption as an economic operation. The mine has operated continuously from that time to the present. Total production to the end of 1947 has been: Copper . . . . . . . . . 301,813 . .,345 pounds Zinc . . . . . . . . . . . 112,636 tons of concentrat (50% zinc) Gold . . . . . . . . . . 83,070 ounces Silver . . . . . . . . . 2,651,317 ounces General Geology The consolidated rocks in the vicinity of the mine, all of Precambrian age, are a series of gneisses and form a part of a great area of what are known as the Kisseynew gneisses. The Sherritt is the only known economic base-metal deposit to occur within the Kisseynew series. Extreme metamorphism has produced recrystallization that has imparted a decided igneous-like texture to many of the units. However, the gneisses are predominantly of sedimentary original although the most basic member, a hornblendegarnet gneiss, is considered to be an altered basic flow. Figure 1 illustrates the intricately folded structure and the succession of roe types. The footwall enclosing members are of sedimentary origin and represent quartzite and arkosic and greywacke derivatives. The contact footwall member is gneissic quartzite, a medium to coarse grained rock composed mainly of quartz with minor altered feldspar (orthoclase and plagioclase), muscovite, chloritized biotite, and magnetite. Most phases of this unit show varying degrees of granitization.

Jan 1, 1949

By George J. Hartman

The Fort Cady in situ borate-mining project involves recovering boron from a deposit more than 400 m (1,300 ft) below the surface. The resource recovery method is a new in situ mining technology that uses weak acid solution injected directly into the ore body. As the acid contacts the calcium-based ore (primarily natural colemanite), the contained borate values are digested as boric acid. This boric acid solution is then pumped to the surface by submersible pumps. A series of chemical reactions and precipitations are performed that result in the production of calcium borate. The borate values are then recovered as a finely divided solid white powder. The refined product is sold under the trade name Cadycal 100. The Fort Cady in situ borate-mining project is located about halfway between Los Angeles, CA and Las Vegas, NV in the Mohave Desert.

Jan 1, 1996

By H. R. Shell

The work on synthetic mica and related subjects is being reported in a series of technical articles (see Supplementary Bibliography), each of which describes some special aspect of the subject. This is the final report on chemical analysis of the fluoride-containing silicates. A condensation of this report has been published (26).3/ Chemical analysis affords one of the best means of ascertaining the final com-position of either a heterogeneous mass or a single pure crystal, particularly where some constituents may be volatile. The analysis of fluoride-containing silicates was not so well known or understood that highly accurate results were commonplace. For example, on synthetic mica a university laboratory reported 11.6 and 9.2 percent fluoride when at least 13.3 and 11.3 percent were present, respectively; a commercial testing laboratory reported 9.14 percent as compared to 12.6 percent; and a glass company reported 7.0 percent as compared to 9.0 percent present. No intimation is made that these analysts could not have done better, but the point to be stressed is that the methods in use were long, tedious, and generally required a certain familiarity for best results.

Jan 1, 1956

By A. C. Fieldner

[The Sectional Committee on Classification of Coals, functioning under the sponsorship of the American Society for Testing Materials and the rules of the American Standards Association, in its 1934 report recommended to the American Society for Testing-Materials that Specifications for Classification of Coals by Rank be adopted as tentative. These specifications, slightly modified as recommended by the Sectional Committee, in its 1935 report,6 wore approved as tentative standards by the society in 1935. The specifications rover the classification of coals according; to their degree of metamorphism, or progressive alteration, in the natural eerie s from lignite to anthracite. The basic scheme of classification is according to fired carbon and calorific value (expressed in B.t.u.) calculated to the mineral-matter-free basis. The higher-rank coals are classified according to fixed carbon on the dry basis, and the lower-rank coals according to B.t.u. on the moist basis, that is, containing its natural bed moisture but free of visible surface moisture. Agglutinating and weathering indices arc used to differentiate between certain adjacent groups.]

Jan 1, 1935

By Ting Chinsu

Diaphragm wall with tie-back cable is widely used for deep excavation, especially in the area with high density of buildings. This paper presents the measured earth pressure distribution on diaphragm wall during excavation. The earth pressure cells used in field were successfully installed in deep slurry trench by a new type of simplified manipulator. The sizes of the deep excavation are 26m X 36m on plane and 9m in depth. The construction site is located between two multistorey buildings at the main business section of Beijing city. In this paper the field measurements of earth pressure distribution and the analyses based on the comparison between calculation and measurement are very valuable to improve the current calculation method for diaphragm wall design.

Jan 1, 1991

By C. J. Preston, R. E. Ström, G. R. Baiden

"On January 1st 1996 Inco Limited, Tamrock OY, Dyno Explosives Group and CANMET formed a consortium for the development of robotic mining equipment. This project is a five year research and development agreement that combines the talents of the above organizations to facilitate the creation of mining equipment and systems for robotic mining.The projects are based on the communication system developed by Inco Mines Research and currently sold and marketed by Automated Mining Systems Limited. Main projects include the development and implementation of a positioning and navigation module (including a software mapping system that will be inherent to each piece of equipment), robotic systems for development and mining, and software systems to support the use of this equipment. Included in the program is the establishment of a test mine, at Inco’s 175 ore- body at Copper Cliff. This facility will allow collaboration of companies and research organizations for the design and testing of techniques and equipment for Robotic mining.This paper discusses the creation of this new research alliance, the Mining Automation Program or MAP."

Jan 1, 1997

By H. DeWitt Smith

THE mine operated by the United Verde Copper Co. is situated near Jerome, Ariz., on the eastern flank of the Black Hills, at an elevation of approximately 5500 ft. (1676 m.) above sea level. The mine and the town of Jerome are located on a steep hillside, which slopes rapidly to the valley of the Verde River. The smelter town of Clarkdale is situated in the Verde valley 4.1 mi. (6.5 km.) distant in an air line from Jerome, and at an elevation of 3560 ft. The two towns are connected by the standard-gage railroad of the Verde Tunnel & Smelter R. R., a subsidiary of the United Verde Copper Co. This road is 11 mi. long and has a compensated 4 per cent. grade. At Clarkdale, it connects with the Verde Valley branch of the Santa Fe R. R. The narrow-gage (36-in.) line of the United Verde & Pacific Ry. was, until 1919, Jerome's only rail connection with a main trunk line. This road connects with a branch line of the Santa Fe system at Jerome Junction, after traversing 26 mi. of mountainous country. From the time of its location, in 1876, until its purchase by Senator W. A. Clark, of Montana, in 1889, the United Verde mine was worked on a small scale and shipments of high-grade gold-silver ore were made from the surface workings. Until 1894, when the narrow-gage railroad to

Jan 8, 1920

By J. Cooperman

THE INVESTIGATION was carried out in three stages, depending on the objectives of the work and the kind of equipment used. The first stage involved testing of 11 representative Alabama coals, the source of which is given in table 1. The objective was to find whether these coals could be gasified raw by the Lurgi method, and the equipment used was a 4-inch batch generator (to be described later). This generator proved too small and difficult to control to provide adequate amounts of products under continuous operating conditions for testing. For the second stage, a 6-inch batch generator was used, which was provided with facilities for superheating the steam-oxygen mixture and for synthesizing additional methane from the residual carbon monoxide and hydrogen in the primary Lurgi gas. Selected Alabama coals, Pittsburgh-bed coal from West Virginia, "Disco," and anthracite were used. For the third stage of the work, a continuous generator of 1 square foot grate area, following closely the design of the industrial generators operated in Germany, was provided. This generator was designed by 0. Hubmann, engineer for the Lurgi company, and was expected to give results closely simulating industrial-scale apparatus. The purpose of this equipment was to test prepared materials shown to operate smoothly in the 6-inch generator under conditions approximating as nearly as possible those prevailing in industrial practice. Work of the first stage showed that Alabama coals could not be used in the Lurgi process without first destroying the coking power.

Jan 1, 1951

By John J. Henn

An evaluation is presented of the Bureau of Mines process for the recovery of metal and mineral values from municipal incinerator residues. This process employs standard mineral beneficiation techniques and is operating on a pilot-plant scale of 1,000 pounds of incinerator residue feed per hour. Products from this separation process include ferrous, aluminum, and copper-zinc scrap, and colorless and colored glass. Cost estimates were prepared for four plant sizes. The estimated capital and operating costs For the four plants follow: [ ] It is assumed that the separation plant is located adjacent to a municipal incinerator. Provision is made, however, for part of the residue feed to be delivered by truck so that one large separation plant can be used for residue from more than one incinerator.

Jan 1, 1971

By T. Z. Mugodi, D. R. Fleming

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is defined as ‘The goods and services that support the electronic display, processing, storage and transmission of information’. Early in 2002 the South African Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) commissioned a study into the diffusion and adoption of ICT in eight sectors of the economy. The platinum mining Sector was one of these. The key findings presented in this paper are based on the platinum sector component of that study. The paper examines the theoretical basis behind technology transfer and innovation diffusion and presents the results of an ICT diffusion survey carried out in the South African platinum mining sector. ICT is shown as the modern day technological tool which is an accelerator of economic development. The current state of ICT diffusion in the platinum mining sector is defined and projections for the near future are given. Recommendations which will ensure smooth and full adoption are presented and justified.

Jan 1, 2003

By Antoine F. Mulaba

Introduction Copper and cobalt oxide mineral deposits formed by the atmospheric weathering of near surface sulphide deposits are commonplace in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The most common route for the extraction of these metals is a hydrometallurgical one in which the base metal oxides are dissolved in sulphuric acid and then concentrated further by solvent extraction. However, as many of these deposits are relatively low grade (i.e. 0.5-1.8%Co and 2-4% Cu) and can also contain large amounts of acid consuming gangue minerals (i.e. dolomitic, micaeous, and/or siliceous), the hydrometallurgical route becomes uneconomic due to the excessive acid leaching costs. Some means of pre-concentration ahead of leaching is then desirable to improve the process economics. Apart from the small scale mining (Pan. Afr. News Agency, 2000) handpicking, although not easy, oxide concentration by flotation has been suggested. For the flotation process, the two most common approaches are controlled potential sulphidisation (CPS) and the fatty acid flotation method. The preferred method is dictated by the nature of the mineral makeup of the gangue. Being secondary deposits, the gangue associated with these ores is often complex and can play a significant role in the overall flotation efficiency. Laboratory flotation experience gained from the testing of a number of different ores of this type has revealed that it is not possible to prescribe a set method for the flotation of various ore types. Each ore needs to be analysed very carefully before and after laboratory flotation on an individual basis in order to arrive at an acceptable flotation technique Laboratory flotation testwork was carried out on three different samples from the DRC in attempts to isolate some of the more important variables affecting the flotation of copper and cobalt oxide minerals from these weathered deposits. This paper describes some early results achieved and experiences gained with these different ores ahead of a more detailed flotation test program which will follow in the near future on receipt of a significant quantity of a more representative sample. Controlled Potential Sulphidisation (CPS) was used in an attempt to achieve acceptable recoveries of both copper and cobalt.

Jan 1, 2005

By Alfred Boyles

"HEREDITY"' in cast iron has been a subject of much discussion. Numerous experimenters have found that the properties of gray iron may vary greatly without corresponding variations in composition or thermal treatment. The main structural difference in such cases is in the size and distribution of the graphite flakes and the explanations given usually attribute this difference to some chemical element not shown by ordinary analysis or to some physical factor, such as inclusions in the melt. It cannot be said that any of these theories is completely satisfactory. Much remains to be learned about cast iron and for this reason a study of the material was undertaken as a part of the program of fundamental research at Battelle Memorial Institute. A review of the literature indicated that very little systematic work had been done on the mecha-nism of freezing in cast iron. The experiments described below are largely concerned with that problem.

Jan 1, 1937

By John C. Cook

This was a study to identify and evaluate known technologies employing electromagnetic resonance phenomena in solid minerals for their identification and assaying, particularly assay logging of exploratory boreholes. A comprehensive literature search and study revealed some little known NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) techniques developed by Professor G. J. Béné's group at the University of Geneva, Switzerland. These are suitable for use in weak, inhomogeneous magnetic fields. Laboratory NMR tests of numerous U.S. ore minerals showed good identifying signals from phosphates, fluorspar, bauxite, oil shale, and spodumene (lithium) ores, but not from the copper, lead, antimony or manganese ores tested. Use of EPR "signatures" for such ores is suggested. A conceptual design for an NMR assay logging system is proposed.

Jan 1, 1978

By W. E. Armstrong

Gypsum was first exploited as ?a commercial proposition in this province by the Union Mining Company which, in 1900 opened quarries on the east shore of Lake Manitoba, near the present site of Gypsumville. This company established a mill at the head of Portage Bay on the lake, and the manufactured plaster was carried by the companies boats to McArthur's siding on the Whitemouth river near Westbourne, Man., from which point it was distributed. In 1904 a reorganization took place and the Manitoba Gypsum Company Limited bought out the original company, and operated the original mill for about one year when it was destroyed by fire. There were many factors which rendered the operation of a mill at the quarries very difficult; lack of rail transportation for bringing in supplies, and the impossibility of local power development made manufacturing costs very high. Satisfactory distribution could not be affected because of water transportation and poor terminal facilities at McArthur's siding. For these reasons the new mill was built at Winnipeg, where cheaper power and better distributing facilities permitted the industry being placed in a better position. The company continued to bring the gypsum rock by steamer to Totogan, from which point it was transported by rail to Winnipeg. This period was one of steady expansion as the product became better known and more universally accepted as a wall finishing material. Unfortunately, in 1909, this new mill was destroyed by fire, causing a serious set-back to the company, at a time when the steady growth of the western market gave every promise of the industry being placed on a profitable basis.

Jan 1, 1925

By Enrique Rubio Esquivel, Matías Fuentes Bustamante

The transition from open pit to underground mining represents a key strategic challenge in modern mine planning. This paper presents a multicriteria and multivariable methodology to plan such a transition, integrating technical, economic, environmental, and social considerations. The proposed framework focuses on risk reduction (de-risking) through the identification of alternative development paths, the use of stochastic simulation to model geological and technical uncertainty, and different mining strategies such as methods, production rates, sequence, etc. for ultimate underground implementation. The study summarizes the limitations of traditional planning methods—which usually treat the open pit and underground mine designs as independent processes—, also often it considers a single mining method and production rate for the underground option. Instead it is proposed an integrated approach that leverages synergies between both mining methods and scalable production rates. Also the proposed methodology incorporates the definition of critical variables (geotechnical, economic, and social, among others), the construction of multiple operational and technological transition paths, and the evaluation of each path under criteria of economic attractiveness and practical do-ability (capacity to be executed). Using simulation tools (SIMPLAN for operational performance and SIMVAL for economic evaluation), probabilistic distributions of the different path are obtained, enabling the quantification of the project’s Value at Risk (VaR). A subsequent multicriteria analysis weights the expected profitability against the feasibility of execution of each alternative, producing a decision matrix that provides a framework for evaluating the different project path. As a result, the proposed approach identifies OP→UG transition strategies that maximize business value by capturing remaining resources while minimizing financial and operational risks. Finally, strategic conclusions and recommendations for the industry are provided, emphasizing the importance of early transition planning even challenging the open pit sequencing of the latest push backs by introducing early underground operations. Future work includes strengthening the methodology—such as integrating real-time analysis and adaptive decision-making—and providing recommendations for its application in various mining operations. In summary, this paper delivers a technical and professional framework to guide mining companies on when and how to carry out a successful transition from open pit to underground mining, balancing resource recovery with financial, operational, and social security.

Feb 22, 2026