Search Documents

By ANTON GRAY

In considering the possibilities and costs of discovering minerals by exploration. mineral occurrences may be classified roughly according to the size of the target they offer to the various methods that have been used to search them out. This classification is advantageous because the methods of search which might be expected to give results in one case may be totally inapplicable in others. Mineral deposits for the most part have been found in groups, or districts, in which the individual deposits occur under the same general geological conditions and usually contain more or less the same metals. There are, also, what are apparently isolated de- posits, although if the truth were fully known many of these probably would not be isolated. These districts, such as the Belgian Congo copper fields, the California Mother Lode, and the Linares lead district of Spain, form the first division of my classification. The second division is formed of the individual deposits of these districts, for example, Kambove mine in the Congo, the Kennedy-Argonaut vein in California, and the Cruz vein at Linares. The third division consists of the separate ore bodies that make up the deposits

Jan 1, 1949

By M. J. Russell, W. E. Stephens, D. B. Mohamad, A. B. MacKenzie

Redox front processes in rocks are important in the context of both radioactive waste disposal and the development of orebodies. Results are presented from a study of the distribution of uranium and thorium and the natural decay series equilibrium about redox fronts in a granite at the Criffel pluton and Craignair quarry, Dalbeattie in southwest Scotland. The results are considered in the context of large scale uranium aqueous transport in the region and compared with those from a previous study of highly developed redox fronts at Pocos de Caldas, Brazil. Results show that the Criffel pluton has experienced a recent and rapid removal of uranium from the uppermost section of the granite whereas thorium has remained relatively immobile. The radium and uranium distributions indicate that diffusion processes probably control the distribution of radionuclides about the front. These processes are similar to those observed at Pocos de Caldas. The trends of concentration and activity ratio about the Dalbeattie redox front are less pronounced than those at Pocos de Caldas owing to the shorter time available for the process and the lower intensity of weathering at Dalbeattie.

Jan 12, 1992

By W. O. Hotchkiss

AN ESSENTIAL mental equipment for planning exploration is the fullest possible. knowledge of the way in which the orebodies occur in the region to be explored, also the realization that in no mining district is this knowledge complete, and that new: facts of importance will he revealed to the explorer in every exploration if he is in the proper frame of mind to grasp them. The geology, of the ore deposits of the Gogebic Range for a long, time was thought to be relatively simple, but work in recent years, by several men, has proved that this is not the case. We now realize that we are far from knowing all the factors that have resulted in the localization of ore deposits. For example, we have long known that the intersections of the dikes and. the foot wall were favorable places to look for ore, but only within the last few years have we learned that there are several horizons' in the various members, well north of the foot wall, that are likely to carry ore. The influence of the numerous cross faults on orebodies is not known or appreciated beyond a general realization that they are important. Just how they may be favorable or unfavorable to the localization of ore is not known. Such elementary information as the positions of these faults is just beginning to appear on the mine maps. Such being the condition, one can hardly overestimate the importance to the various operators and fee owners of careful studies of conditions in their properties for the purpose of assuring themselves that they are not missing valuable ore-that they are doing all the exploration that their situation demands in order to secure maximum returns. Valuable ores have been missed in the past and will be missed in the future. Only with a complete knowledge of all the factors that have united to produce ore could anything else be expected. The purpose of this paper is to call attention to these facts briefly and to suggest a few of the principles that should guide effective exploration. The foremost principle is that the man who starts out with the idea that he knows all about the mine geology of the Gogebic Range is starting with a heavy handicap.

Jan 8, 1920

By Larry Meinert

Most large skarn deposits are zoned in both space and time relative to associated intrusions, and this zonation can be used to guide exploration. Zonation occurs on scales from km to, and reflects infiltrative fluid flow, wallrock reaction, temperature variations, and fluid mixing. In most skarn systems, there is a general zonation pattern of proximal garnet, distal pyroxene, and vesuvianite (or a pyroxenoid such as wollastonite, bustamite, or rhodonite) at the marble front. In addition, individual skarn minerals may display systematic color or compositional variations within the larger zonation pattern. Such patterns are reviewed for several well-studied examples of Cu, W, Au, and Zn-Pb-Ag skarns. In addition, many deposits have endoskarn or other alteration of the associated intrusion and recrystallization or other subtle changes in the surrounding wallrocks.

Apr 24, 2001

By Douglas F. Crickmer

Pocahontas Land Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Norfolk and western Railway Company, owns a 100,000-acre block of coal lands in Martin, Johnson, Pike, Floyd and Lawrence Counties, Kentucky. These holdings were largely acquired in three major purchases between the years 1942 and 1959. The area is undeveloped and constitutes a part of the coal reserve for future mining. This block, which is principally in Martin County, lies in a triangle formed by the Levisa and Tug Forks of Big Sandy River on the sides with Dewey Dam at its base and the Town of Louisa at the apex. The topography'is typical of eastern Kentucky and consists of steep hills rising from 500 to 800 feet above creek level. There is little level ground in the area. As a matter of fact, some roads are on the creek bottoms with what little bottom land is available in the hollows being utilized for small-scale farming. The steep hills are marked by three separate massive sandstone formations which form cliffs ranging from 40 to 100 feet in height.

Jan 1, 1964

By T. P. Williams, M. B. Rydzewski, B. Corner

Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) plc is an integrated copper producer operating on the Copperbelt in Zambia. KCM has numerous mining operations located in the towns of Chililabombwe (Konkola Mine), Chingola (Nchanga Open Pit and Underground operations), Lusaka (Nampundwe Mine), with a smelter located in Kitwe (Nkana Smelter) and an SX-EW plant in Chingola (Nchanga Tailings Leach Plant). [ ]

Jan 1, 2005

By A. Robison, V. T. McLemore

"The San Juan Basin, New Mexico contains many heavy mineral beach-placer sandstone deposits of Cretaceous age. Beach-placer sandstone deposits are concentrations of heavy minerals that formed by mechanical concentrations (i.e. settling) of heavy minerals on beaches or in longshore bars in a marginal-marine environment. They have high concentrations of several elements, such as Ti, Zr, rare earth elements (REE), Sc, Y, U, Th, Nb, Ta and Fe. These elements are becoming increasingly more important to industry, because they are used in the manufacture of devices our society uses every day, i.e. cell phones, computers, and alternative energy devices, like solar panels. It is unlikely that any of the beach-placer sandstone deposits in the San Juan Basin will be mined in the near future because of small tonnage, low grades, high iron content, and distance to processing plants and markets. However, as the demand for some of these elements increases because of increased demand and short supplies, the dollar value per ton of ore rises, enhancing deposit economics. Current studies at the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources are focused on the Apache Mesa (formerly Stinking Lake) deposit near Dulce, New Mexico. INTRODUCTION Beach-placer sandstone deposits are accumulations of heavy, resistant minerals (i.e. high specific gravity) that form on upper regions of beaches or in long-shore bars in a marginal-marine environment. They form by mechanical concentration (i.e. settling) of heavy minerals by the action of waves, currents, and winds (Fig. 1; Bryan et al., 2007). Modern examples are found along the Atlantic Coast, USA (Koch, 1986; Carpenter and Carpenter, 1991), southeastern Australia (Roy, 1999), and Andhra Pradesh, India (Rao et al., 2008), where they are mined for titanium, zircon, and monazite (a Ce-bearing rare earth, REE, mineral). Detrital heavy minerals comprise approximately 50-60% of these sandstones and typically consist of titanite, zircon, magnetite, ilmenite, monazite, apatite, rutile, xenotime, garnet, and allanite, among other minerals. Most of these minerals have a high specific gravity exceeding 4 and are dark colored, giving the sandstones a dark color, resulting in them being called black sandstones. Although beach-placer sandstone deposits are found in strata of all ages; the deposits in the San Juan Basin in New Mexico are restricted to Late Cretaceous rocks belonging to the Gallup, Dalton, Point Lookout, and Pictured Cliffs Sandstones (Fig. 2; Table 1; Chenoweth, 1957; Houston and Murphy, 1970, 1977). The beach-placer sandstones are black, dark gray, to olive-brown, resistant to erosion, and radioactive due to radioactive zircon, monazite, apatite, and thorium minerals. Anomalously high concentrations of Ti, Fe, Nb, Th, U, Zr, Sc, Y, and REE are characteristic of these deposits. Similar Upper Cretaceous heavy mineral, beach-placer sandstone deposits are found throughout Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Arizona, and Colorado (Dow and Batty, 1961; Houston and Murphy, 1970, 1977; Zech et al., 1994)."

Jan 1, 2016

By J. L. W. Birkinbine

INTRODUCTION. This paper is a discussion of a part of the mineral wealth of the States of Oaxaca and Puebla, Mexico. It does not refer to the precious metals, some miles of which, in these States, are said to have been worked before the advent of the Spanish conquistadores in the sixteenth century, as my purpose is to invite attention to the exploration of deposits of coal and iron-ores in the Mixteca region. The prominence given to coal is warranted by the great effect of the scarcity of fuel upon the industrial development of Mexico. Under the progressive administration of President Porfirio Diaz, the Republic has made wonderful advances in the past three decades; and this progress would have been greater but for the limitations imposed by expensive fuel. In the spring of 1906 I was detailed by the Birkinbine Engineering Offices, of Philadelphia, to accompany A. B. Adams, of New York, in a reconnoissance of reported deposits of iron-ores in the State of Oaxaca. The result of this expedition was the formation, in 1907, of the Oaxaca Iron & Coal Co., of which Mr. Adams became, and has remained, President and General Manager, and I have spent the past three years as Chief Engineer of this company in Mexico, principally in western Oaxaca, where field-headquarters were established. GEOGRAPHY AND POPULATION. Although the geographical anti topographical, features of the Republic of Mexico are well known, few realize that the majority. of its population is domiciled in the States which immediately surround the capital city of Mexico, including the Federal District, Mexico, Tlaxcala, Morelos, Puebla,

Sep 1, 1910

By J Lea, P Hatherly, J L. Edwards

Coal exploration has traditionally involved the acquisition of data to enable a resource to be quantified and qualified to the extent that its economic potential can be determined. This process commonly relied on: drilling to determine the depth and thickness of coal seams, broad characterisation of the overburden and interburden, and to provide cores for coal quality analyses; basic wireline logging to cross-check the depth and thickness of coal seams and provide some indication of rock mass strength; and basic surface geophysics and remote sensing to identify major geological structures. In recent years, the adoption of the JORC Code as a basis for the reporting of resources and reserves has placed a greater emphasis on the need for detailed, reproducible data sets that not only satisfy the traditional requirements of mine planners, but also satisfy the governance requirements of corporate and financial institutions. Similarly, the development of sophisticated numerical modelling techniques for use in both open cut and underground mine design, has seen a greater demand for precise geotechnical data, in situ stress characterisation and hydrological information as routine input to the design process. These requirements, coupled with the prevailing trend toward high capital, relatively inflexible mining techniques less tolerant of geological surprises, and the need for consideration of environmental issues such as groundwater impacts and surface subsidence, requires that modern exploration programs be multifaceted, and designed to commence capturing data relevant to ædownstream issuesÆ even during the initial phases of exploration planning.

Jan 1, 2009

By DIFTIGIHT E. WOODBRIDGE

(Glen Summit Meeting, June, 1911,) DURING April, May, and June, 1910, I was in charge of an examination of the greater part of the Moa iron-ore area in Oriente Province, Cuba, on the north coast, near the east end of the island. My instructions, on arrival at the properties, were to check former estimates of tonnages and grades, and to re-examine the ore comprised in claims covering 44,727 acres. This work included .the running of lines dividing the properties into co-ordinate planes, the boring of many thousand feet of holes spaced at the intersections of these co-ordinates, the taking of samples of the ore penetrated, the analysis of these samples for their various constituent minerals, and the determination of the results as to tonnages, depths, and grades, both for individual properties and for the entire group. Each section of every one of the thousand holes drilled was to be compensated for depth and grade with every other, a series of simple arithmetical calculations of no slight magnitude, the mere mechanical labor of which consumed much time, but finally resulted in giving a complete average of all the essential facts for the entire area of 18,000 hectares. Had it not been for the more than willing, active, and able co-operation of the officers of the Spanish-American Iron Co., from Charles F. Rand, President, and Jennings S. Cox, General Manager, down to the most humble water-carrier, the work would have consumed far more time than it did. Papers prepared by others, and to which my present paper may be considered an addendum, elucidate, more fully than I could hope to do, the origin and geological character of these ores. I will confine myself to the situation, method and expense of exploration, and to probable courses of development and mining, with some attention to the cost of the ore delivered in the United States.

Mar 1, 1911

By Vladimir Jindrich

This paper presents a history of a successful three year effort in locating a large, economic deposit of high purity limestone. The exploration program has been carried out by Ernest K. Lehmann & Associates, Inc., geological consultants, for Dravo Corporation, owner of the limestone property which is now under development. The permission of Mr. L. P. Struble, Jr, President of Dravo Lime Company, and Mr. M. W. Robinson, Director of Research and Development, to present this paper is gratefully acknowledged. The limestone property is on the Ohio River near Maysville in northern Kentucky, 60 miles east of Cincinnati (Fig. 1). The area lies at the eastern flank of the Cincinnati Arch, a regional structure where the Lower Paleozoic strata crop out below the adjacent younger sedimentary rocks of the Illinois and Apallachian basins. In general, the limestone formations of the Middle Ordovician High Bridge group offer the best potential for industrial limestone in Kentucky and adjacent parts of Ohio and Indiana. These formations are exposed along the axis of the Cincinnati Arch in central Kentucky. Toward the west, east and north, strata of the High Bridge group are progressively deeper, concealed beneath a succession of interbedded fossiliferous limestone and shale. The High Bridge group limestone formations are shallow-marine deposits largely of tidal flat, shallow lagoon and related environments. Principal lithologies include cryptocrystalline micritic limestone and crystalline dolomitic limestone to dolomite. Shale and bioclastic limestone are subordinate but the proportion of shale increases in the basal formations. Characteristic, is the occurrence of several thin beds of bentonite that serve as regional stratigraphic key horizons.

Jan 1, 1975

By H. O. Harju

Inco acquired majority interest in the nickel laterite concessions in eastern Guatemala in 1960 and, through its subsidiary Exmibal, extensively explored the deposits until 1965 to define the site for project development on the north shore of Lake Izabal. This paper outlines the exploration methods used to evaluate the Guatemalan laterite deposits.

Jan 1, 1979

By Norman L. Wimmler, H. G. Iverson, S. Ricker, P. E. Oscarson, S. H. Lorain

THIS paper has been prepared with the principal objective of recording the results of the Bureau of Mines exploration of five major clay deposits in the Western Region. It is based mainly on data contained in unpublished Bureau of Mines reports. Acknowledgment is made to the Federal Geological Survey for its cooperative work with the Bureau of Mines, to the various State geological and mining departments, and other State and local agencies. CLAY EXPLORATION BY THE BUREAU OF MINES Much has been written and published on clays and clay deposits relating to their refractory, ceramic, and other qualities but such literature is lacking in analyses of the available alumina content of the clays and provides little indication of their possibilities as a source of alumina. With this new objective in view, a great many of the known clay deposits were reexamined and new ones discovered. The Bureau of Mines made preliminary examination of numerous areas in the western United States. Five of those most favorably indicated were systematically drilled, and in each a large amount of high-alumina clay has been found. These five major projects are Molalla and Hobart Butte, in western Oregon; Cowlitz-Castle Rock, in southwestern Washington; Lone, in California; and the Olson-Troy area in Idaho (Fig. I). Preliminary scout drilling was done in the Stockton deposit at Coeur d'Alene, Idaho; the Whiteware deposit near Lewistown, Mont.; and 13 areas in the Spokane or eastern Washington region, where the most favorably indicated area, known as the Excelsior, is now being drilled more systematically. Preliminary drilling was undertaken in numerous areas adjacent to the major deposits and others more remote. As a result, large additional clay possibilities were found. THE CLAY DEPOSITS The clay deposits under consideration are of the sedimentary or transported types, parts of which have been altered further by the agencies of weathering, ground water, or hydrothermal action. There are extensive deposits of residual clays in northern Idaho and in eastern Washington, but they have been found to be low in the available alumina and to contain much free quartz, mica, and unaltered feldspar. To be of value, they must first be subjected to beneficiation to remove these gangue minerals. The sedimentary clays have been derived largely from the decomposition, erosion, and transportation of granites, gneisses, schists, and basalts. At Molalla, some

Jan 1, 1944

By Michael Murphy, Gamal Rashed, Brent Slaker

Many underground stone mines in the United States operate on multiple mining levels. The effects of interburden thickness, pillar offset between mining levels at various depths of cover, and in situ stress conditions are poorly understood. Pillar offset is the degree to which pillars are not columnized or stacked. In this study, calibrated numerical models are used to examine limestone pillar stability in these conditions. Also, the critical interburden thickness required to minimize the interaction between mining levels is explored. The model results show that there is interaction between numerous factors that control the stability of stone pillars in multiple-level conditions. The highest degree of local pillar instability occurs when pillar overlap ranges between 10 and 70 percent. The highest degree of stability occurs when pillars are stacked.

Jan 1, 2023

By Michael Murphy, Gamal Rashed, Brent Slaker

Pillar stability continues to be a significant concern in multiple-level mining conditions, particularly for deep mines when pillars are not stacked or the thickness of interburden between mining levels is thin. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is currently conducting research to investigate the stability of pillars in multiple-level limestone mines. In this study, FLAC3D models were created to investigate the effect of interburden thickness, the degree of pillar offset between mining levels, and in situ stress conditions on pillar stability at various depths of cover. The FLAC3D models were validated through in situ monitoring that was conducted at a multiple-level stone mine. The critical interburden thickness required to minimize the interaction between the mining levels on top-level pillar stability was explored, where the top level mine was developed first followed by the bottom level mine. The model results showed that there is an interaction between numerous factors that control the stability of pillars in multiple- level conditions. A combination of these factors may lead to various degrees of pillar instabilities. The highest degree of local pillar instability occurred when pillar overlap ranges between 10 and 70%. On the contrary, the highest degree of stability occurs when the pillars are stacked, the underlying assumption is that the interburden between mining levels is elastic (never fails). Generally, for depths of cover investigated in this study, the stability of top-level pillars shallower than 100 m (328 ft) or with interburden thicknesses greater than 1.33 times the roof span—16 m (52.4 ft) in this study—does not appear significantly impacted by pillar offset. The results of this study improve understanding of multiple-level interactions and advances the ultimate goal of reducing the risk of pillar instability in underground stone mines.

Jul 27, 2022

By W. H. Emmons

THE exploration of deposits of the metals will never become an exact science. There will always be an element of uncertainty in prospecting and developing mines. In countries where the surface has been closely scrutinized, most of the deposits whose outcrops contain valuable metals have probably been discovered. Many metalliferous deposits, however, are normally so much altered at the surface that the true significance of their outcrops is likely to be obscured. If a deposit is not exposed, its presence may become known by some one of its characteristics that is different in kind or in degree from a similar feature of the associated rock. Thus, a deposit that is not exposed may be discovered because of its magnetic property. So few minerals are strongly magnetic that the value of magnetic surveys is limited, but the dip needle has nevertheless proved of great aid in locating magnetic belts, and these in some regions are associated with workable iron ores. The Cuyuna Iron Range of Minnesota, which does not exhibit any outcrop of iron ore, was discovered by drilling "areas of attraction" that are due to belts of magnetic rocks associated with the iron ores. In some regions the use of the clip needle is justified, even if it does no more than reveal the strike of the rocks, since a knowledge of the latter enables the driller to locate and point his holes to advantage. The measures of gravity by the use of the pendulum are so accurate, or the limit of error is so small, that one might detect the presence of a concealed tabular deposit approximately at the surface, 34 ft. (10.36 m.) thick, having a density double that of the surrounding rocks. However, not many deposits have a density twice that of ordinary rocks and a thickness as great as 34 ft.; if they lie a short distance below the surface the density or the thickness must be even greater. Consequently, there is not much hope of sufficiently developing the gravity method of detecting deposits of heavy ores to make it of practical value. If the limit of error could be reduced to about one-tenth the present factor, and if the rather tedious and painstaking methods of determining gravity that are now in use could be simplified, the method would promise some degree

Jan 3, 1917

It is well known that in most areas of Central Europe it is not difficult to find water - usually at shallow depths - and to recover and use this water. What is much more difficult, however, is to find water sources that offer both sufficient in quantity and qual- ity. Far too often, there are sources that offer abundant quantities but of poor quality or vice versa, i.e. high quality water but insufficient volumes. In the former case where water quality is not adequate - which is more often than not due to anthropogenic factors and only very rarely a result of geogenic effects - the application of treatment techniques can help to turn such water into potable water that is suitable for human con sumption.

Jan 1, 1988

By J. S. Jaspal

Mining of thin coal seams is both difficult and uneconomical. As a result, most of thin-seam coal reserves in the U. S. are not being mined. It is estimated that nearly 910 Gt (K. Unrug, 1985) of coal reserves exist in 355 to 710 mm thick seams. The Bureau is attempting to develop new techniques for mining 150 to 1065 mm thick coal seams. This paper summarizes the research work on existing thin-seam mining techniques, testing on small and full scale physical models of the Bureau slot mining concept, and computer modeling of the full-scale process.

Jan 1, 1992

By Arthur W. Ruff

Estimated reserves of high-grade iron ore at Serra dos Carajás total 16 billion metric tons and have an average grade of 66.7 percent iron, 2.2 percent combined silica and alumina, and 0.05 percent phosphorous on a dry basis. Hematite is predominant and no significant sulfur or other deleterious elements are present. Figure 1 illustrates the comparative magnitude of the Carajás reserves. Serra dos Carajás is located in northern Brazil, about 550 kilometers southwest of Belém, Pará. It is six degrees south of the equator between the Xingu and Tocantins Rivers. Both rivers flow northward toward the Amazon River. The greater part of the area is covered by thick jungle, and the most practical means of access is by air. Figures 2 and 3 show the location of Serra dos Carajás. Figure 4 shows the distribution of the major iron-ore deposits.

Jan 1, 1973

By Vanderlei Beisiegel, Arthur L. Bernardelli, Arthur W. Ruff, John H. Tremaine

Estimated reserves of high-grade iron ore at Serra dos Carajás total 16 billion metric tons and have an average grade of 66.7 per cent iron, 2.2 per cent combined silica and alumina, and 0.05 per cent phosphorous on a dry basis. Hematite is predominant and no significant sulfur on other deleterious elements are present. Serra dos Carajás is located in northern Brazil, about 550 kilometers southwest of Belém, Pará. It is six degrees south of the equator between the Xingu and Tocantins Rivers. Both rivers flow northward toward the Amazon River. The greater part of the area is covered by thick jungle, and the most practical means of access is by air.

Jan 1, 1974