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By Philip D. Pearson

Competition is the problem and modernization is the solution in today's underground iron operations on the Lake Superior Range. Profound changes in the iron ore picture during recent years have prompted correspondingly great changes in the economic position of the Lake Superior underground mines. To meet the ever growing competition from other lower cost iron sources, underground operators are becoming increasingly aware that the newest advancements in mining technology must be incorporated in their operations. UNDERGROUND POSITION TODAY The extraction of iron ore by underground methods has been going on for many decades in the Lake Superior region, starting in 1872 on the Menominee Range. The number of mines has changed gradually over the years as new ones were opened and old ones were exhausted, but in recent years, the most drastic change occurred from 1960 to 1961. In 1960, there were 31 underground mines operating in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin, but at one period in 1961 only 20 were operating (Table I). In western Ontario so far there has been only some temporary curtailment of operations. Of the 11 U.S. mines which ceased operations in 1961, some may he closed only temporarily, but some will remain closed for our lifetime, at 'east, unless there is a tremendous reversal of the present trend in the iron ore market

Jan 3, 1962

By B. Campbell

This paper will detail the successful construction methods of a 20- foot diameter wet well shaft, approximately 180 feet deep in overall depth and 150-feet below the water table, adjacent to Lake Nacimiento, in San Luis Obispo County, California. In addition to this, highlights will include the selection process in determining the most economical support of excavation, while minimizing risk of large water inflows as indicated in the Owner?s Geotechnical Baseline Report (GBR).

Jan 1, 2010

By Randall J. Essex

A massive mudslide blocked a river in Utah, impounding a 61 m (200 ft) deep lake. Under emergency conditions, a system was designed and constructed to: (1) drain the impounded lake; and (2) provide a permanent diversion for the river around the mudslide. The system consisted of a low level tunnel, a connecting vertical shaft daylighting close to the lake shore, control valves mounted within the tunnel, and an inlet channel between the lake and the shaft. This paper focuses on the problems and concerns surrounding the inlet channel excavation and the stabilization of the remaining vertical rock walls.

Jan 1, 1984

Early efforts to control the dust necessarily produced during dry crushing operations, took the form of venturis at loading chutes and other places where dust was most evident. These venturis discharged to the atmosphere and for obvious reasons were not very satisfactory.Attempts to collect the dust drawn off by the venturis, using dry cyclones, were not successful, the cyclones catching only the coarser particles. Further, no satisfactory method of continuously discharging the dust catchment was evolved. Water sprays were also used, and will be referred to later.In 1940, a single discharge fan of 3,000-4,000 cu. ft. per minute capacity, was installed to draw the dust-laden air from the Symons crushers and ·screening sections with their attendant conveyors. Suction was through two 15 in. ducts which branched off into 10 off-takes situated over the conveyers at points of discharge from crushers and screens.A dry cyclone was installed in front of the fan, which exhausted into a bag-house.The cyclone suffered from the defects of the smaller units mentioned earlier. When the collected dust reached a certain level in the cone, no more collection would take place until the cone was emptied. This objectionable feature was overcome by introducing a jet of water ahead of the cyclone. The water and dust collected overflowed a weir and were pumped to the mill.

Jan 1, 1948

By Tyler J. Irving

"In June, 2018 Lalor Mine experienced a catastrophic blade failure of its No. 2 main exhaust fan. Over the following weeks several key changes were made to the auxiliary ventilation system to allow for continued production while the exhaust fans were repaired. Issues encountered during the period of reduced ventilation, and how they were addressed, are analyzed. The suspected causes of the exhaust fan blade failure and how risk was mitigated during the reconstruction are discussed. Key findings and lessons learned are summarized.INTRODUCTIONLalor Mine, owned and operated by Hudbay is an underground zinc, gold, and copper mine located in northern Manitoba. The mine workings extend to a depth of 1090 metres below surface and is ventilated using a push-pull system. The mine exhausts through the main exhaust raise; equipped with two, 2,500 HP fans and upcasts through a portal located at the neighboring mine, Chisel North. Air is supplied to Lalor Mine through four intake fans: The Production Shaft Downcast (two, 250 HP), Lalor Downcast (one, 400 HP), and Chisel Downcast (one, 600 HP) fans (Figure 1). In June 2018, Lalor was scheduled to produce approximately 4,000 tpd.On June 20, 2018 at 2:52 pm Lalor Mine experienced a fault on the Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) for Exhaust Fan No. 1. Time would be needed to complete the necessary repairs. The No. 2 exhaust fan was ramped up from 525 rpm to 800 rpm, 90% of its capacity, in order to maintain underground ventilation. At 4:46 pm, approximately two hours after the rpm was increased, exhaust fan No. 2 experienced a catastrophic blade failure. The forces from the blade failure resulted in the top half of the fan housing being thrown 50 metres from where it was installed; with several large sections of fan blade being thrown further (Figure 2)."

Jan 1, 2019

By H. S. Wilson

"The property owned by the Lamaque Mining Company comprises a group of forty-four claims and fractions occupying an area of about 2,458 acres, in west-central Bourlamaque township, Abitibi county, Quebec. It is on ,the outskirts of the towns of Bourlamaque and Val d'Or, about 70 miles east of Noranda, near the eastern end of the belt of greenstones of Keewatin and Timiskaming age that extends eastward through Kirkland Lake into northwestern Quebec, terminating in Haig and Jurie townships 40 miles to the east.The claims on which the orebodies occur were first staked in 1923; No. 3 vein was discovered the following year. The original discovery was made by R. Clark in 1923. This was a small quartz vein containing a pocket of coarse gold on the north side of a hill near the northwestern corner of block 3. It is said that all the gold was removed in one shot in blasting into the vein; elsewhere it was barren. A picket line was then run west along the strike of the vein, which occupied a narrow shear zone, and about 2,000 feet west, in prospecting on either side of the picket line, a large boulder of quartz and tourmaline containing visible gold was found. This led to more intensive prospecting by trenching in the vicinity with the result that the No. 3, or 'float' vein, about 250 feet north of the boulder, was found. Due to low ground this vein was exposed in only one trench. The only other important vein found on the surface was the No. 1, or H, vein, which was exposed in several places by stripping and trenching, but it did not carry appreciable amounts of gold."

Jan 1, 1954

By Douglas M. Smith, G. A. Maki

"The initial development of the massive potash deposits of the prairie evaporite formation took place over a decade ending in 1970. The potash mining and refining facility near Rocanvi11e, Saskatchewan was the 1ast of ten mines to come into production during that era. This operation, known as Sylvite of Canada Ltd., was designed to produce 1. 2 million short tons per year of KCl product in granular, coarse, standard and special standard grades.In 1977 the parent company, Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting, sold the Sylvite property to the Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan. Shortly thereafter PCS slated its new Rocanville Division for a two phase program of expansion. The first phase, completed in the spring of 1979, was relatively small, involving mill debottlenecking and additional equipment in the compaction circuit and the product and ore storage areas. The second phase was a major undertaking which included additional mining equipment and a new 300 STPH milling circuit. This work was completed during the fall of 1981 and has increased the Rocanville Division's nameplate capacity to two million STPY.Thickening equipment operating in the Saskatchewan potash industry is generally situated within the main refinery building or a separate insulated and heated structure due to the harsh winter climate and the need to closely control plant brine temperatures to ensure good flotation circuit performance. Since these thickeners process large volumes of slurries, conventional basin type designs tend to be large, ranging up to 150 feet in diameter or more. As part of the general effort to minimize capital costs, the potash industry has begun investigating the use of alternate high capacity, compact thickener designs. In this regard, PCS Rocanville undertook a program in 1978 to evaluate a Lamella™ Thickener and one other type of 'High Rate' thickener* as alternatives to a conventional design for the phase two expansion project."

Jan 1, 1983

By Helmut Thielsch

DURING the last three decades a great many arguments have been presented on the subject of "mosaic" or "block" structures of metals. Apparently because of insufficient evidence, the "block-structure" theories have never been widely understood among the physical metallurgists in this country, and most investigators among the few that have tried to demonstrate the existence of such an inner structure of crystals or grains have failed to recognize also the existence of a lamellar structure. Moreover, little thought has been given to justify the existence of such "lamellar" or "mosaic-block" structures on a theoretical basis. Since properties such as plasticity, ferromagnetism, hardness, diffusion, and others may be explained by structural faults in the lattice network of the crystals, the great importance of a more detailed knowledge of the structure within crystals or grains becomes now evident. Because of the vast extent of the field of submicroscopic structures, it shall be the purpose of this paper only to review the more important of the results obtained by other investigators, especially in Germany, where a great deal of attention has been given to mosaic structure during the last three years. The origin of this mosaic pattern f and effects of cold reduction and recrystallization will be shown in further studies later on. IMPERFECTIONS IN CRYSTALS The many terms used in the literature to denote structural types of crystals are often not clearly defined. To clear up some of the confusion, the meaning of the more important terms will be given here. Ideal, or Perfect Crystals.-Crystals without any structural imperfections are called "ideal crystals," or "perfect crystals," meaning a homogeneous interior structure of atoms, ions or molecules, as the case may be. In other words, at every point in the interior of the crystal exactly the same orientation of the crystallographic axes of the coordinate system would exist. The surface of such a body, if etched with an appropriate etching reagent, would reflect light with perfect uniformity. Crystals of this type are almost nonexistent. Real Crystals.-" Real crystals"' may contain various types of structural defects, which can be classified into: (I) lineage structure, (2) mosaic-block structure, (3) lamellar structure. The inhomogeneities existing in these groups mean that the orientation of the crystallographic axes will not be the same at every point within the interior of a crystal (or grain of a polycrystalline body). Perfect Real Crystals.-The term "perfect real crystals" is generally used to describe crystals with minute structural or thermodynamical inhomogeneities. The former

Jan 1, 1945

By Garth A. Maki, Douglas M. Smith

"The largest Canadian Lamella thickener installation to date, with 13,600 square feet of effective clarification area, is being successfully operated at the Rocanville Division of the Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan. This paper describes the operational principles and design features of the Lamella thickener, the testwork leading to its specification f or the Rocanville phase two expansion project and a review of the performance of the full- size unit which was ultimately installed.IntroductionThickening equipment operating in the Saskatchewan potash industry is generally situated within the main refinery building or a separate insulated an d he a ted structure due to the harsh winter climate and the need to closely control plant brine temperatures to en sure good flotation circuit performance Because these thickeners process large volumes of slurries, conventional basin-type designs tend to be large, ranging up to 46 metres in diameter or more. As part of the general effort to minimize capital costs, the potash industry has begun investigating the use of alternate high capacity, compact thickener designs. In this regard, PCS Rocanville undertook a program in 1978 to evaluate a LamellaTM thickener and one other type of ‘High Rate' thickener as alternatives to a conventional design for the phase two expansion project.This paper describes the operational principles and design features o f the Lamella thickener (manufactured by Axel Johnson lnc.), the testwork leading to the specification of a Lamella for the Rocanville expansion project and are view of the performance of the full size unit (1486 m2 of the effective settling area) which was ultimately installed and is now successfully operating in the Rocanville plant."

Jan 1, 1983

By D. J. Hallbom

The ?yield plastic? rheological model describes the flow behaviour of a variety of non-settling suspensions, including many types of mineral slurry. The current paper presents the laminar flow relationship (pressure gradient vs. flow rate) for a yield plastic fluid flowing through a pipe or cylinder. Simplified algebraic equations, suitable for engineering purposes, are presented for yield plastic fluids with values of the scaling factor in the range that includes most industrially important slurries. The laminar pipe flow relationship is one of the most important fluids engineering calculations. It may be used to determine the rheological parameters of a material in a capillary rheometer or flow loop. If the rheology is known, these relationships may be used to determine the laminar flow pressure gradient in pipelines of various sizes.

Jan 1, 2014

By C. Okay Aksoy

In Turkey, the increasing demand for lignite has necessitated an increased emphasis on both lignite production and recovery. This emphasis has resulted in a gradual increase in the application of the retreat longwall mining method for both its product recovery and productivity benefits. Also, in order to maximize the recovery of the natural resources and to increase total production, it is necessary to take advantage of underground reserve before abandoning the mine. This means that at the end of the life of the mine, the main drift safety pillar and the shaft pillar will generally be extracted. This investigation a preliminary study of the stability of the main drift and the shaft at the Hustas Mine as the safety pillars are extracted. In this study, field surveys belonging to the underground colliery of Hustas Co. in Soma have been investigated with the help of LAMODEL working under the Laminated Displacement Discontinuity principle for the models calibrated as a results of physical model and finite element analyses. The convenience of Laminated Displacement Discontinuity Analysis has been researched in such studies. The results out of the models have been coherent with the previous studies.

May 1, 2004

By Rafael Abreu Fraga

Este trabalho tem como objetivo apresentar a nova linha de Laminação de Chapas Grossas da Usina de Ouro Branco da Gerdau, marcando a entrada da empresa na produção de chapas grossas de alto valor agregado no Brasil. A primeira fase do projeto consiste de um forno de reaquecimento de placas, um laminador de chapas grossas, sistema de resfriamento acelerado – Mulpic®, desempandeiras a quente e a frio e uma completa linha de acabamento constituída de linha de tesouras, oxi corte e máquina de ultra som. Neste projeto estão empregadas as mais modernas tecnologias para garantir a qualidade do produto: automação completa dos equipamentos com modelos matemáticos de controle do processo, sistema HAGC, Work Roll Bending e Work Roll Shiftting Smart Crown®. A nova linha tem capacidade de produção de 1,2 milhões de toneladas por ano na primeira fase, podendo alcançar 1,8 milhões de toneladas na segunda fase com espessura variando entre 6,0 a 150 mm e largura entre 900 a 3700 mm.

Aug 17, 2017

By João Júnio Pereira Lino

Este trabalho tem como objetivo demonstrar a aplicação das técnicas de laminação termomecânica de aços microligados para obtenção de propriedades mecânicas elevadas em um laminador Steckel. O processamento de um aço com composição química favorável à obtenção de propriedades mecânicas compatíveis com o grau X60 especificado na norma API 5L é demonstrado. Foram alcançados limites de escoamento a 0,5% de deformação e a resistência à tração mínimos de 473MPa e 549MPa respectivamente, alongamento médio de 38%, razão elástica em 86% e temperatura de transição dúctil frágil em torno de -50°C atendendo às especificações da norma.

Aug 17, 2017

By Emanuelle Garcia Reis

Este trabalho apresenta as mais avançadas tecnologias do equipamento de resfriamento acelerado e têmpera direta da linha de laminação de chapas grossas da Gerdau Ouro Branco. O laminador de chapas grossas possui um conjunto de técnicas de última geração para controle de forma (Bending, Shifting e Smart Crown) integrado ao modelo matemático que define o esquema de passes ótimo em função das propriedades mecânicas objetivadas no produto final. Isso permite obter chapas grossas de aços microligados em várias classes de resistência mecânica de 600 a 1.200MPa e de boa tenacidade a -60°C.

Oct 30, 2017

By K A. Heasley

The LaModel program was initially developed in 1993, and it is used to model the stresses and displacements in thin tabular deposits such as coal seams. It uses the displacement-discontinuity variation of the boundary-element method with a simplified laminated overburden model and because of this formulation, it is able to quickly and effectively analyse large areas of single- or multiple-seam mines. Over the last couple of decades, LaModel has been used by many mine engineers and researchers for improving pillar designs and mine safety, and it has been continually updated to add functionality and improve its ease of use and accuracy. The present LaModel can calculate seam displacements and overburden, multiple-seam and total seam stresses, pillar safety factors, energy values, roof-bending stresses, fault effects and surface subsidence. It can automatically generate the mine and overburden grids from AutoCAD drawings, and it includes wizards for automatically generating Bieniawski strength coal pillars, easily calibrating the overburden properties to observed abutment stresses and calibrating the gob material to expected gob loading. This paper will present the formulation and features of the modern LaModel program and demonstrate its utility with a multiple-seam case study from the rugged topography in Southern Appalachia.CITATION:Heasley, K A, 2014. LaModel – a program for coalmine modelling, in Proceedings AusRock 2014: Third Australasian Ground Control in Mining Conference , pp 409–414 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Nov 5, 2014

By Elio Flórez

El presente trabajo refiere la utilización práctica de las escorias metalúrgicas -en tanto material de aislamiento térmico-. La lana de escoria es conocida como "lana mineral", cuya industria se inició en 1897. La manufactura suelta no es el producto final, sino la materia prima, que será tratada en un proceso seco para obtener las diferentes formas de productos y adaptarlas a distintos usos. La lana de escoria puede ser usada como aislante térmico, en absorción de sonido y también como medio de filtración y material de relleno. En el primer caso, se utiliza en casas y edificios, hornos, duetos de aire acondicionado, salas frigoríficas para alimentos, tanques de agua caliente, calderos, intercambiadores de calor, tuberías, etc. Mientras que en el segundo caso se utiliza para extraer polvo, agua de aire o gases. Asimismo, los productos de lana de escoria son la granulada, acolchada en mantas, en bloque, en planchas comprimidas, en formas moldeadas, las cuales tienen una densidad instalada desde 2-lb/pies3 en las formas más-79- livianas, hasta 16 lb/pies 3 en las formas semi-rígidas.

Aug 20, 1963

By John Todhunter

Longwall mining is certainly not new in the United States, having first been used in the late 1800's in Illinois, but the surging acceptance of the method is relatively new. The number of longwall installations in this country are nearly doubling annually as this method continues to prove itself as a coal producer's delight terms of operating cost, performance and safety. Since 1951, several longwall installations have been tried in Barnes and Tucker Company operations. Although all efforts actually proved that the system itself could be used in prevailing conditions, it was not until 1967 that a unit was put in use that proved competitive with regular mining equipment, both conventional and Continuous.

Jan 1, 1968

By Adolf U. Honkala

Dundee Cement Company was incorporated in 1958. The equity capital for the venture was supplied by a Swiss firm called Holderbank Financier and a group of its principals. Holderbank Financier, a holding company, is a direct outgrowth of Holderbank Cement Company, a company founded in 1912 by the father of Dr Hans Gygi who is the president of Dundee Cement Company and a member of the Board of Holderbank Financier. From one plant in 1912 located in Zurich, Switzerland, Holderbank grew to its present size of 32 plants in 17 countries, having a capacity of 90 million barrels of cement per year. Dundee Cement Company constructed its first cement plant near the little town of Dundee, Michigan. This site was selected because there is an abundance of limestone and clay of the correct chemical composition for cement manufacture and the deposit was advantageously located near the large population centers of Detroit, Toledo, Cleveland, and Chicago. Construction of the 5. 5 million barrel, two kiln, plant was completed and the plant started up in the fall of 1959. After a year or two of the usual problems in a new plant and the expected difficulty of breaking into a nearly saturated market, Dundee began to prosper.

Jan 1, 1970

By H. D. Hagen, George W. Abbott

2.2-1. Need for Acquisition Operating Plan. In planning a trip by automobile, a road map is procured and studied. Travel by plane suggests detailed examination of route maps, weather charts, and navigation charts. Planning for construction of a factory, office building, shopping center, or housing subdivision envisages working out a complete development plan. Household needs arc generally jotted clown on a shopping list, with each item checked off as it is purchased. In turn, forwarding of any surface mining project should be undertaken only after an acquisition operating plan has been set out, by checklist, under three general headings: 1. Public relations-a check list setting out applicable Federal, State, and local laws and regulations, and the office, board, commission, and individuals having responsibility for licensing, administration, and enforcement of each such law or regulation. 2. Land requirements-a complete check list encompassing all aspects of land acquisition, ownership, management, control, and disposition, with applicable laws. 3. Water requirements-a full check list embracing all aspects of water development and control, acquisition of rights to use, manner of use, and manner of disposition, with applicable laws and regulations. 2.2-2. Public Relations Aspects of Operating Plan. NEED TO DETERMINE APPLICABLE LAWS. The laws and regulations governing acquisition of land and mineral rights, water and water rights, and the use and control of those rights, vary so much from state to state that one cardinal rule must govern all preplanning: determine applicable Federal, State, and local law at the outset. Changing conditions in the past century have resulted in a multiplication at all levels of governmental agencies interested in, and having responsibility for, acquisition, use, control, and disposition of minerals and mineral lands. The same is true of waters and water rights found in, brought to, or discharged from, the operating site.

Jan 1, 1968

By R. Bruce Thorndycraft

The Land Application Disposal (LAD) system will be described, in its most typical adaptation. A bibliography of existing mines using LAD will be presented. Numerous variations of the concept have been used and will be described.

Jan 1, 1992