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By Chris Mills

El papel de la separacion gravimétrica en la industria minera es brevemente considerado en perspectiva. Las pruebas e intentos de laboratorio y mineralógicas para el diseñio de los procesos gravimetricos son examinados poniendo especial énfasis en la selección de la tecnologia del proceso. Es tratado y comentado el material disponible en equipos para pequeña escala y trabajo de pruebas-piloto, particularmente en relación a la escalacion y a la adquisición de datos precisos y fiables. El transporte del comportamiento de los datos desde la planta piloto a la planta a escala es igualmente explicado. Son resefiados todos los tipos de equipos a escala total existentes para la separacion gravimétrica, poniendo de relieve las unidades de alta capacidad. Es considerada la disposicion de la planta y la seleccion de 1os equipos auxiliares.

Jan 1, 1982

By Duk-Won Park

The PSU/MVS program, one of the computer programs for ventilation network analysis most recently developed at The Pennsylvania State University, was applied to the analysis of modifications to an existing ventilation system for a coal mine located in southern West Virginia. The program is well designed and has diversified capabilities which allow the users to make decisions on the optimum size and number of fans, the location and number of airshafts, and the optimum operational procedures. The mine had 10 working faces, from which the average production rate was about 5900 tons of clean coal per day. Two vane-axial mine fans were used in parallel at a shaft, and both of them operated simultaneously. One additional shaft was in the final construction stage and it would be used in four months to alleviate the load for the existing fans and distribute intake air more evenly. The overall ventilation surveys, including the altimeter pressure survey and the air quantity survey, were carried out in the mine entries, shafts, slopes, and gob areas. Computations were made using the above-mentioned computer program on the present condition and after one additional fan was placed in operation at the new shaft. Also, recommendations were made on the air route and fan blade settings for the most economical and efficient ventilation system. Further studies were carried out to decide the proper period when the third air shaft would be required according to the long-term mining plan. Additional branches were added for the next 4 years of the production plan, and the ventilation conditions were tested at the end of each year. Numerous combinations of blade settings and modifications of air routes were tested. It was recommended that the third air shaft be added at the end of the third year so as not to experience fan stall.

Jan 1, 1982

By P. A. Witherspoon, Y. W. Tsang

Normal stress-fracture closure variation and stress-dependent fluid flow rates were calculated for rock fractures of different aperture distributions. This study shows that both the mechanical and hydraulic properties of the fracture are controlled by the large-scale roughness of the rock fracture. Hence the typical large-scale undulation wavelength of the rock joint dictates the suitable sample size to be used in normal stress and fluid-flow measurements, if results due purely to sample size are to be avoided.

Jan 1, 1982

The seam gas content at Westcliff Colliery is 12-15m3/tonne of coal.Composition ranges from 99% CH4 to 52% C02 in one area. Desorption rates are proportional to gas contents and CH4 is preferentially desorbed. A crushed zone of reduced permeability advances with the face - at Westcliff ribside crushed zones are 2.5 to 6.5m wide. Poor strata control widens crushed zones. 12 months of pre-drainage allowed 2 heading development and longer pillars to be used in a virgin area instead of 3 or more headings without drainage. Machined coal may lose as much as 1.6m3/tonne being conveyed out of Westcliff Colliery. Experience differs from mine to mine. Permeation is affected by time, strata movements, changing water content, and changing stress. Permeabilities vary from lOmd for Pittsburgh Seam to less than 1 and for the Bulli Seam. All these data and differences await further investigation.

Jan 1, 1982

By Catherine C. Kilgore

The Bureau of Mines investigated the availability of manganese from known domestic occurrences. Eight of these deposits were found to have demonstrated resources totaling 420 million metric tons with an average grade of 10 percent contained manganese. They were found to be submarginally subeconomic. Economic evaluations of the eight deposits resulted in incentive prices ranging from $8 to almost $35 per long ton unit (22.4 pounds) of contained manganese. Comparing these prices with the current market value of $1.70 per long ton unit of manganese clearly illustrates the submarginal nature of the domestic ores analyzed. These domestic resources would probably not be developed except in the case of an extreme national emergency. Production from the eight deposits would take 3 to 6 years to develop, and the final product would be manganese ore concentrate, which could be used in the production of ferromanganese. If preproduction development began in 1981, annual production would peak in 1987 with 900,000 metric tons of recoverable manganese. Thereafter, production would see a steady decline unless additional resources were located or technologic improvements were made to allow processing of lower grade material, or unless mining and processing of ocean manganese nodules began to take place.

Jan 1, 1982

By Thomas J. Sawarynski

This paper discusses current trends of coarse and fine coal refuse disposal techniques. Emphasis is on site-specific engineering used by coal companies to tailor safe, cost effective, and environmentally sound refuse disposal system to the needs of a particular mine. Geotechnical design considerations will be discussed in relation to system performance, regulatory acceptance, and industry use.

Jan 1, 1982

By Robert Craig, Earl L. Rau

Introduction Grinding circuits are used to reduce the particle size of ores to the size desired for beneficiation or to grind a concentrate to a size required for final marketing. Grinding and classification can be carried out using either wet or dry circuits. Most sulfide ores are ground in wet circuits using one or more stages of grinding to obtain the necessary mineral liberation to produce a final concentrate which will meet the desired criteria. Iron ores are ground in circuits applicable to the particular ore using either wet or dry grinding. Nonmetallic minerals frequently present different requirements. Barite is likely to be subjected to wet grinding before beneficiating the ore; the concentrate is dried and then dry ground to meet market particle size requirements. The one thing that most mill operators will agree to is that there is no such thing as the "best" configuration of equipment for grinding. The circuit which works well on one ore may be totally unsatisfactory for another ore body. The general trend in the industry is flow sheet simplication with fewer parallel circuits instead of multiple-line circuits using small mills. This change in philosophy has been brought about by the saving of both capital and operating costs that may be possible with larger equipment. Remember that comminution is basically a very inefficient process, and that the costs can range upwards to 50% of the total milling costs. It, therefore, behooves the mill operator to carefully design his grinding and classification circuits. He must ascertain the optimal economic particle size for beneficiation and then make certain he has achieved the best balance between capital and operating costs to achieve the desired mesh of grind. Equipment Grinding circuits consist of one or more pieces of equipment to grind the solids. Generally, these circuits include one or more grinding mills, classification equipment, and the necessary materials handling equipment such as pumps, pipelines, and conveyors. There are many different types of equipment available which are used to grind and classify ores and minerals. Following is a tabulation of most of the equipment used for wet and/or dry grinding.

Jan 1, 1982

By M. Ashraf Mahtab

In Louisiana salt mines a sudden erruption or outburst of salt and gas occurs when the heading face approaches a pressure pocket (altered salt with high pressure gas). The resulting cavity is semi-ellipsoidal, reaching lengths of 50m or more. Potential risks from the outbursts include loss of life and equipment. A gas outburst is initiated by "disking" of the salt in biaxial compression and propagates by spalling of the cavity walls and further disking. The outburst is terminated by a combination of dilatancy hardening, increase in stress along the cavity axis, and enlargement to boundaries of the pressure pocket.

Jan 1, 1982

By David A. Summers

The use of high pressure fluid cavitation is investigated as a means of breaking an ore into its constituent grains. This Cavitational Rock Dissagregation (CRD) is found to be possible and effective in breaking down galena ore, both in sandstone and dolomite host material. The technique did not work as well in comminuting and cleaning oil shale, because the cavitation drove the oil into emulsion with the water. The presence of dominant bedding in the rock also caused preferential breakage to these lines, rather than to the individual grain boundaries. This problem was also encountered in tests on igneous ore where weakness plants of the overall ore proved weaker than the boundaries of the individual grains. It was found that the prevailing expression of cavitation erosion dependence on pressure was not absolutely valid. In contrast it was found that CRD is much more sensitive to jet flow diameter, and when this was recognized it was found possible to erode rock with compressive strength of up to 350 MPa with operating jet pressures of 10 MPa.

Jan 1, 1982

By John Cogan, P. M. Gomez

A typical problem in applied rock mechanics is an accurate prediction of support requirements for deep rock cuts. This paper presents experience with this problem as obtained from excavations for a powerhouse at the Pine Flat Dam near Fresno, California. The project, sponsored by the Kings River Conservation District is still under construction. Highly jointed and weathered rock was discovered during initial excavation. Wedge failures along clay filled joints and bedding planes presented potential support problems. Detailed mapping of joints and beds was undertaken to establish basic patterns of all rock discontinuities including mean orientations and an estimate of orientation variations. Rock bolting patterns were devised to meet these patterns as excavation proceeded. Shear friction angles across joints and beds were estimated from rock wedge fallouts. Friction angles as low as 27º were identified on highly weathered joints. Weathering strongly influenced stability conditions. Examples of bolting patterns to stabilize critical slopes are presented.

Jan 1, 1982

By Guy A. Johnson

In 1976, The Bureau of Mines developed a prototype system to sense and extinguish fires in shafts and shaft stations in underground metal and nonmetal mines. Subsequent work modified this technology to include fueling areas, spontaneous combustion zones and coal mines. This paper updates IC-8783 "In-mine Fire Tests of Mine Shaft Fire and Smoke Protection Systems," which was published in 1978 and summarized the design and in-mine, actual fire testing of the first prototype mine shaft fire and smoke protection system. This paper also updates related work from IC-8775 "Spontaneous Oxidation and Combustion of Sulfide Ores in Underground Mines," (also published in 1978) and IC-8808 "In-mine Evaluation of Under- ground Fire and Smoke Detectors," (published in early 1979).

Jan 1, 1982

By Mark D. Zoback, Bezalel C. Haimson

INTRODUCTION A Workshop on Hydraulic Fracturing Stress Measurements was convened by the authors in December 1981 in Monterey, California under the auspices of the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. National Committee on Rock Mechanics. There are now over a dozen groups of investigators around the world who are actively using the hydraulic fracturing method for making in-situ stress measurements. Because of the extensive recent experience of these different groups, the Workshop enabled forty investigators from eight countries to comprehensively assess the status of the method. Based on the presentations and discussions at the Workshop, in this paper we briefly discuss the current status of the hydraulic fracturing stress measurement method concentrating on problem areas where further research needs to be done. A complete account of the presentations at the Workshop will be available through the Proceedings of the Workshop which will be published by the U.S. National Committee on Rock Mechanics in early 1983. The most exciting aspect of the Workshop was the discovery by the various groups of investigators that others were having very similar experiences with the method. The consensus among the different groups of investigators at the Workshop was that they were recording very similar pressure-time data in the field, they were able to interpret them in similar ways, and they were achieving results that were quite encouraging because of several factors. First, the results at various locales were found to be internally quite consistent. This was reported by investigators from Germany (Rummel, Baumgartner, and Alheid, 1982), Japan (Tsukahara, 1982), Australia (Enever, 1982), and the U.S. (see, for example, Haimson, 1978, 1982a; Zoback

Jan 1, 1982

By J. C. Franklin

An experiment was conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Mines and the Canada Centre for Mineral and Energy Technology (CANMET) to measure the emanation rate of radon from cemented unclassified mill tailings in two dewatered stopes of a uranium mine at Elliot Lake, Ontario, Canada. The radon was monitored upstream and downstream and in both stopes to determine the concentration in the stopes and the amount exhausted from both stopes. The emanation rate was determined to be 0.55 pCi/cm2 sec-1 from the mill tailings, which is approximately 1,000 times higher than the average flux in the mine before backfilling.

Jan 1, 1982

By A. J. Richardson

Before the development of the underground stoping and mining costs can be considered, certain facts about the ore body, the proposed mine, markets, etc., must be known or determined. In the case to be studied, the zinc-lead mineralization occurred with a narrow vertically dipping structure of undetermined length and vertical extent. Exploration completed to date has revealed 6.5 mil¬lion st t of proven reserves. A further 820,000 st of in¬dicated reserves has been outlined and this tonnage is considered capable of being expanded by a factor of approximately four after more detailed drilling. After studying the market conditions and completing a very preliminary feasibility study, it was decided that production would be 730,000 stpy (or 2000 stpd) of ore. First year production would be at the rate of 1500 stpd. The main design criteria for the selection of the min¬ing methods are minimizing surface subsidence, maxi¬mum recovery of the ore body, maximum degree of grade control, maximum productivity, and safe working conditions. Two basic extraction systems are considered capable of meeting these requirements: mechanized cut¬and-fill stoping and sublevel long-hole stoping with filling. The primary development system of the mine has been designed to give maximum flexibility in stoping systems and layout and to permit changes if considered necessary as a consequence of actual production ex¬perience. At the present time, access to the mine is by a circu¬lar concrete lined vertical shaft, 16 ft diam, sunk to a depth of 1380 ft. Two exploration levels have been driven within the ore zone at depths of 165 and 1246 ft below the surface outcrop. The development to date had the objective of sampling the mineralization and produc¬ing detailed information on the outline of the ore body and the distribution and controls of zinc and lead values. In an attempt to satisfy the basic design criteria for the mine, it was decided that production would be best achieved by a combination of 40% sublevel long-hole stoping and 60% cut-and-fill mining. Costs of exploration and capital development of per¬manent underground facilities are normally written off over the life of a mine. Production expenditures, on the other hand, are of a temporary nature and are normally charged as and when incurred as an operating expense. Reasonably accurate predictions of mine production costs can be built up from engineering design and estimates of individual mine activities for ultimate inclusion in the comprehen¬sive data required for financial decision making. The simulated operations can be costed on a detailed basis in the form of a monthly operating budget. The budget format can be generalized or detailed, depending upon the scope of the project. However, ex¬perience suggests that a fairly detailed format has the advantage of assuring that all significant cost items are included. For underground costing it is suggested that the budget structure include five major cost centers (i.e. development, diamond drilling, ore extraction, hoisting/ transportation, and general mine expense). These in turn are detailed under numerous subheadings. The mechanism for compiling an operating budget will be illustrated. Because of its relative simplicity, ore extraction under sublevel long-hole stoping has been chosen for illustration. All other activities, simple or complex, can be estimated in similar fashion. BLOCK AND STOPE DEVELOPMENT Long-hole blocks, used where advantageous, will be up to 250 ft in height, depending upon the vertical con¬tinuity of the mineralization, and approximately 300 ft long. Drawpoints will be at 36-ft intervals and serviced by loading crosscuts driven from a footwall drift parallel to and close to the ore zone. Pillars between the stopes will be 50 ft wide. Stopes will be drilled off with vertical rings of blastholes drilled from sublevels approximately 60 ft apart vertically. This drilling will be done by percussion drilling machines (31/2 in.) mounted on a trackless drilling rig. Load¬haul-dump (LHD) equipment will be used to move broken ore from the drawpoints to the orepass connecting to rail haulage systems. On completion, long-hole stopes will be backfilled to prevent caving and to facili¬tate later pillar removal. From a planned stope layout, a forecast of produc¬tion and development is made in Table 1. Table 1. Block Tonnage and Stope Development Quantity Ore Waste Total ore block 375,000 st 2 stopes 310,000 st 1 pillar 65,000 st Access crosscuts, 4 at 100 ft 400 ft Drill sublevel drifts, 6 at 300 ft 1800 ft Stope raises, 3 at 250 ft 750 ft Undercut sublevel drifts, 2 at 300 ft 600 ft Loadout crosscuts at 35-ft intervals 550 ft 100 ft 3300 ft 500 ft Total development footage 3800 ft Tons per ft of development 987 st

Jan 1, 1982

By T. P. Harrington, P. G. Doctor, K. A. Prisbrey

Crushing and grinding ore consumes so much energy that it represents a major component of total processing costs. While it has been estimated that only about 0.6% of the total energy expended in grinding is actually used to create new surfaces, accurate measurement of this quantity is difficult. If energy expended in crushing and grinding could be more directly measured, alternatives for increasing efficiency of the processes could be evaluated more effectively. Since the energy intensity associated with rock fracture is related to fracture sonority, it should be possible to use this sound (acoustic emission) to measure the actual energy expended. However, it is difficult to apply this approach because the mill environment is so noisy. To make the approach practical, a method for differentiating acoustic emissions caused by rock fracture from those caused by extraneous noises must be found. Pattern recognition analysis may provide such a method. This paper presents the results of pattern recognition analysis to make two types of differentiations: acoustic emissions caused by crushing two types of minerals (quartz and chrysocolla) and those caused by two extraneous noise sources, and acoustic emissions produced by each mineral.

Jan 1, 1982

By D. E. Munson, H. J. Sutherland

Empirical methods for describing the shape of the subsidence trough over coal mines in Europe are tested against field measurements of subsidence over longwall panels in the United States. The graphical methods developed by the National Coal Board in the United Kingdom do not correlate well with the U.S. measurements; however, the profile functions typically used on the Continent give quite acceptable fits to the data. In the case of two longwall panels mined at Old Ben No. 24 in Illinois, a trigonometric profile function appears the best choice; in the case of two longwall panels mined at York Canyon in New Mexico, an error integral function is somewhat superior. Analyses of subsidence development curves show that rate effects occur. A comparison of fitting parameters establish influence functions as an important methodology for future analysis. In conjunction with the evaluation of empirical methods, an analytic model based on material failure and bulking was developed. A key element of the model is the void-volume distribution function which establishes a mechanism for transfer of significant amounts of the mined volume to the surface. Preliminary calculations demonstrate the features of the model and illustrate close correlation to physical observations in the field. Moreover, centrifuge models simulating the subsidence process have been used successfully to demonstrate the dominant or key failure modes necessary to the analytic model. General features of the centrifuge simulations and model calculations correlate well.

Jan 1, 1982

By Jack C. White

As part of an investigation of the production of alumina by the nitric acid leaching of kaolinitic clay, the Bureau of Mines designed, built, and tested a fluidized-bed system for the calcination of aluminum nitrate nonahydrate to alumina, while recovering nitric acid. The calciner consisted of an 8-in-square by 36-in-tall vessel containing 18 in of fluidized solids. Molten aluminum nitrate, sprayed directly into the fluidized solids, formed sandy, granular alumina by growth of successive layers on fluidized particles. Solids were fluidized in a dense bed at temperatures of 250° to 500° C with steam, air, or mixtures thereof. Decomposition of nitrate ranged from 4 to 10 pet during single-pass steam or air fluidization, respectively. Alumina dust losses and low throughput are significant unsolved problem areas.

Jan 1, 1982

By H. C. Ko

Heats of solution of calcium carbon-ate (calcite) and calcium oxide in hydrochloric acid were determined by solution calorimetry. Combination of these two heats yields a value of 42.643±0.024 kcal/mole for the enthalpy of calcination of calcite at 298.15 K. Literature data on ?H°298.15 of calcination of calcite were reviewed and compared. Thermodynamic properties for the calcination process were calculated from 298.15 to 1,500 K using Gibbs energy functions. This research was undertaken by the Bureau of Mines as an effort to provide thermodynamic data for the advancement of minerals technology, energy conservation, and environmental preservation.

Jan 1, 1982

By T. Alan O'Hara

"The decision to invest capital in developing a mine and constructing a mineral processing plant and services is usually made after a feasibility study shows 'that the estimated future cash flow from mine operations will yield an adequate return on the estimated capital expenditures.The actual return on investment may differ substantially from that estimated in the feasibility study, because of the probabilities of errors in estimating capital costs, ore reserves, operating costs, mineral revenue and operating productivity. This paper outlines the R.S.S. (root sum of squares) risk analysis procedure of computing the overall probability of the actual project D.C.F. (rate of discounted cash flow), differing from that estimated in the feasibility study.Variation in Project D.C.F.It is assumed that a feasibility study of the project has been completed which has defined the estimated values for all the project parameters, such as ore reserve tons and grade, capital cost, concentrate recovery, metal revenue, daily milling capacity and operating costs.The financial analysis of the mining project will have determined that the cumulative cash flow will yield an expected D.C.F. on the capital cost if all project parameters attain the estimated values. If, however, the actual value of any parameter varies from that estimated, the actual project D.C.F. will vary from the estimated D.C.F. Risk analysis methods attempt to determine the overall effect of probable variations in the estimated values of all project parameters on the D.C.F. of the mining project. This overall effect is expressed as a probability profile, which shows the likelihood of actual D.C.F. values greater or less than that estimated.Thus, a completed risk analysis of a mine project, with an expected D.C.F. of 15.51%, would display the characteristics shown in the preceding diagram."

Jan 1, 1982

By W. B. Morrey

"In recent years, the major effort in detonator development has been concentrated on ""non-electric"" systems. Existing types all involve some form of explosive reaction to transfer ignition energy from outside the borehole to the pyrotechnic delay element contained within the detonator. These may be based on low-energy detonating cords having grained or plasticized explosive cores, shock tube energy transmission principals and explosive gas ignition systems. Each has properties of internal and external effects not present in electric conductors.The MAGNADET System introduces transformer coupling into electric blasting circuits. Safety features with respect to current leakage, stray currents of AC or DC source, electrostatic energy and radio-frequency radiation are comparable to ""non-electric"" systems, with advantages in simplicity, speed of hook-up and range of application.The transformer device used is a small ferrite ring or toroid which is an integral part of each specialized detonator. The detonator legwires form the secondary side of the transformer winding. The primary side is a single wire loop common to all units within the circuit. Power is supplied from a frequency-tuned portable exploder with unique circuit-sensing features.The MAGNADET System is expected to have particular application to shaft sinking, raising and tunnelling where the protective features as well as speed and efficiency are critical factors. Applications of the 'MAGNA' booster in quarries, open pits and longhole deck charges offer control over vibration problems and elimination of surface noise.IntroductionFor many years, electric detonators and electric blasting systems dominated surface and underground applications where controlled delay times were required. Control over the instant of detonation by blasting machines or power-line switches is the major safety feature.Electrical energy exists in many forms. It may originate from many sources. Electrical energy can be difficult to contain. It may enter or escape through a variety of conductive paths. It may fluctuate, concentrate or dissipate to pose a most elusive potential hazard."

Jan 1, 1982