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By Errol Ladner

The application of large-diameter bore holes in underground operations at Heath Steele was first tried in February, 1975. Since that time, 90,000 feet of 6-l/2-inch holes have been drilled, primarily in open blasthole stoping, for a total of 1.4 million tons, 37% of underground production. This paper deals with a review of drilling with conventional percussion longhole drills, a practice which is still utilized at Heath Steele, and the changeover to accommodate the use of larger blastholes in underground operations. The discussion will include layouts for 2-inch-diameter blasthole stope blocks, 6-inch-diameter stope blocks, trials for I. T.H. (in-the-hole) stope rooms, and drill pat/ems, drilling and performance. The complexity involved in the development, drilling and blasting of 2-inch blastholes is overcome by the over-all simplicity of drilling and blasting in I. T.H. stopes. This has made the practice of open blasthole stoping more economical and efficient. The future indicates an increase in the company's I. T.H. program. Investigations are being undertaken regarding longer holes to decrease development costs. A VCR stope is also being developed for trial.

Jan 1, 1979

By Finlay Campbell

Nickel laterite pressure acid leach plants and reduction roast plants have had a checkered history in their engineering, construction, startup and operational reliability. Many potential projects have been the subject of detailed studies over the last thirty to forty years but relatively few have advanced to commercial production. Four reduction roast plants are currently operating, an additional one was partially constructed but never completed, and another was started up in 1974 and shut down after 12 years operation. Three acid leach plants have been built and commissioned in the last five years, trying to follow the example of the Moa Nickel plant in Cuba. An additional acid leach plant project is currently on hold, following limited construction work, its future subject to review by the owner because of potential cost over-runs. This paper attempts to discuss difficulties that may be encountered as a project is developed and will address factors which may affect production ramp-up schedule, long term production performance and overall production success. Comparisons are made with ramp-up performance at other large metallurgical plants that employ some comparable unit operations. Keywords: Caron, PAL, nickel laterite ore, ramp-up, reliability, process development, equipment design, step-out, commissioning, startup.

Jan 1, 2004

Patterns of successful metallic mineral discoveries in Australia are analysed for the last three decades. A trend towards more discoveries of poorly expressed and blind ore- bodies is evident and can be expected to continue. Discoveries using traditional and conceptual geological techniques have proportionally declined but are expected to continue at a significant level for a decade or so. Improvements in the quality and numbers of geological exploration models and in the quality of available basic geoscience data have aided successful discovery in recent years. Although some orebodies for the Year 2001 have already been found maintenance of a strong mineral inventory demands that more and better geological models are applied. Empirical models need to be improved by critical multi- disciplinary integrated studies of mineral occurrence at all scales. New models can and will be developed by various means. If application of these models is made with all the innovation, initiative and unorthodoxy that can be mustered then new discoveries will result. Greater attention to the surface expression of orebodies will also lead to new discoveries. Review and follow-up of old data in the light of new concepts will provide yet another discovery route.

Jan 1, 1981

Prevent the explosion of methane gas or coal dust by replacing air with inert gas inside highwall mine excavations. Approach Use combustion gases as a source of inert gas with low oxygen content to blanket the cutting, head of highwall mining machines. This gas is placed strategically at the collar of the excavation where it enters the hole to replace the mined coal volume. The elimination of oxygen from the hole prevents explosions of gas or dust. How It Works Highwall mining methods arc used when surface mining becomes uneconomical. One method of highwall mining involves use of a horizontal auger to enter the coalbed from a surface mine bench. The coal is mined in a series of horizontal, parallel, and large-diameter holes. Historically, little methane has been associated with auger mining. However, mining technology has extended the reach of auger mining, which can increase the occurrence of methane. Methane explosions at auger mining operations have been increasing. Methane has been the primary fuel source of these ignitions, but coal dust also may have been involved.

Jan 1, 1993

By Mark Mammele, John Bowles

With the continuing rise in the cost of petroleum products and the focus on the increasing use of renewable resources, a readily available, economical replacement for fuel oil in ANFO is the logical next step, and has finally come to realization. This “green” fuel is plentiful, derived from renewable resources, more cost effective and reduces CO emissions. It also increases product density and bulk strength performance. As this unique fuel replaces some of the mass of ammonium nitrate prill, increased savings will be realized proportionally with the increasing cost of ammonium nitrate. Minimal changes are necessary, as this renewable fuel is designed for use and handling with current, commonly used ANFO blending and loading equipment. This proven technology is now in use by commercial operations in the Southwest, providing significant economic benefit with reduced cost per hundred weight of ANFO consumed.

Jan 1, 2008

A pilot steel ladle injection facility designed to assist in the production of high quality steels suitable for use in pipelines has been built and commissioned at the Basic Oxygen Steelmaking (BOS) plant at Port Kembla Works.The plant design and the injection procedure are described.The performance of the unit and some metallurgical results are discussed in terms of the addition to the steel ladle of various quantities of calcium silicide and a lime based material. The effects of these additions on sulphur content and inclusion morphology and hence on steel ductility are also presented. The influence of ladle lining on desulphurisation is illustrated.On the basis of the experience gathered in the pilot plant a permanent and more sophisticated injection facility has been designed.

Jan 1, 1983

The poor reconciliation between the values of estimated and actual grades can cause major economic losses to the mining industry. In a mining operation grade reconciliation is comparing the values of estimated grade calculated in exploration stage with actual grade obtained from blastholes' data. Many different factors affect the degree of reconciliation in a mining operation. In this paper we investigate the factors related to estimated grade which affects the reconciliation process in the exploration stage of the orebody. These factors are the sources of uncertainty in the rest of mine life. In this area the most important factors are inherent variability, statistical uncertainty and systematic uncertainty. A probabilistic model was presented to model each source of uncertainty. The implementation of proposed model was checked and its validity was investigated using real data in an iron open pit mine in Iran.

Dec 6, 2010

By W. B. Agocs

IN August 1954 a low altitude test geophysical survey was made in the Green Pond area of Morris County, New Jersey, with a Gulf Research and Development Co. Model II total magnetic field variation magnetometer mounted in a Sikorsky S-55 helicopter. The test was made in this area to compare the results of a high precision, very low altitude magnetometer survey with an existing ground magnetic survey in this area having known magnetite concentrations, so that the method could be used in areas of difficult access for the detailing of airborne magnetometer anomalies of interest in place of ground surveys. The load capacity of the Sikorsky S-55 permitted installation of a recording scintillation counter so that a radioactivity survey would be made simultaneously with the magnetometer survey. The area surveyed is located at approximately 41°00'N and 74o28'W, just south and east of the town of Green Pond, N. J. The outstanding topographic feature of the region is Copperas Mountain, a well defined ridge, maximum elevation 1222 ft, which runs the entire length of the survey. The lowest point in the survey, 810 ft, is in the extreme eastern corner. Topography of the area is shown in Fig. 1. The three major rock units outcropping in the area are all metamorphic: the Pochuck gneiss, which has been divided into two metamorphic facies; the Byram gneiss; and the Green Pond conglomerate. The relative ages of the Pochuck and Byram formations, both pre-Cambrian, are in doubt, but it is believed that the Pochuck is the older of the two.' The Green Pond conglomerate is Silurian.' Distribution of the outcrops and mine locations is shown in Fig. 1. Two facies of the Pochuck gneiss can be distinguished locally—the Copperas Mountain and Kitchell members. The Copperas Mountain member is a hornblende gneiss, and all the mines and prospects in the area are in this unit. The Kitchell is a quartz-plagioclase feldspar gneiss. The Byram gneiss is a relatively nonresistant valley formation which is high in the potash feldspar. The Green Pond conglomerate is a well indurated quartzite-conglomerate which forms the Copperas Mountain and the Green Pond Mountain's ridge to the north. It overlies the gneisses with a strong angular discordance that may be a fault. The geologic structure of the Green Pond area is relatively uncomplicated. The foliation planes of the gneisses dip steeply to the southeast, and the Green Pond conglomerate dips steeply to the northwest. Additional faulting in the area is indicated at the contact between the Kitchell member of the Pochuck and the Byram along the base of the topographic spur extending to the southeast from Copperas Mountain. The magnetite mines of Pardee, Winter, Davenport, Green Pond, Copperas, and the Bancroft shaft are described by Bayleyl and Stampe2.' The ore is in the Copperas Mountain member of the Pochuck gneiss. The magnetite veins are 10 to 50 ft wide and up to 300 ft long, dipping to the southeast at angles ranging from 40" to 75". The locations of these mines are shown in Fig. 1. Dip Needle Survey: The dip needle survey shown in Fig. 2 was taken from a U. S. Bureau of Mines Report of Investigations." The figure numbers below the local, individual map area outlines refer to the figures in the aforementioned reports which were not contoured. The area of the dip needle survey was confined almost exclusively to the outcrops of the Pochuck gneiss. The separation between survey profiles was 100 ft and the distance between stations on the profiles was 25 ft in highly anomalous zones to 100 ft in magnetically flat areas. A total of 16 1/2 miles of traverse was surveyed over an area of approximately 1/2 sq mile with 2050 stations. The magnitude of the magnetic anomalies is difficult to determine due to the lack of information concerning the type of dip needle used and the procedure followed in making the dip needle survey. This latter would include the method of "zeroing" the dip needle and the procedure of reading at the stations, whether on the swing or statically. Calibrations made of the Gurley dip needle, Lake Superior type, show a static sensitivity of 385 gamma per degree in the range from —25" to +35o, corresponding to a variation in the total field of —9600 gamma to +13500 gamma in a total field of 57000 gamma, inclination 72". The sensitivity increases to 16 gamma per degree from a deflection of 60" to 76", and from 76" to 172" the sensitivity decreases continuously to a low of 260 gamma per degree. From the above it may be seen that it is difficult to assign an arbitrary sensitivity for the dip needle used on this survey. However, an estimated value of 100 gamma per degree may be assigned. On this basis, the majority of the magnetic anomalies, whose deviation is +20°, would be 2000 gamma. Locally, west and northwest of the Pardee mine the magnetic anomaly is +50°, or 5000 gamma; in the Green Pond mine area deviations of +75" are observed that would correspond to anomalies of 7500 gamma. The areal extent and width of the dip needle magnetic anomalies is comparable to profile and station spacing. Hence it is concluded that part of the detail may be due to control, and the probable cause of the magnetic anomalies is at or near surface exposures of magnetite concentrations in the form of veinlets and disseminations whose locations correspond to the local magnetic anomalies. On the basis of the magnetics, none of the magnetite concentra-

Jan 1, 1956

By Giovanni B. Barla, Stefan H. Boshkov

The block caving method is examined in this paper on the basis of experimental results and observations in the field, and through the use of numerical modeling by the Finite Element Method. The Grace Mine, developed by a panel caving method, served as a reference case. However, the results obtained and the simulation techniques which have been developed may find useful application in more general conditions as encountered in other mining operations by block caving. Following a brief description of the Grace Mine and of the mining method, the problems associated with the behavior of underground drifts at the production levels, during undercutting and caving, are addressed. The most important results obtained through monitoring of strains and loads in the supports of a runway are discussed, while giving relevance to the sequence of mining operations in the immediate vicinity. The most important geomechanical data, as provided for subsequent modeling, are described with reference to: (a) rock mass characterization and (b) in situ state of stress. Then, the numerical modeling procedures, developed by the Finite Element Method in order to predict the caving phenomena and the behavior of underground openings during undercutting, are discussed. Finally, an attempt is made to compare the pre- dictions of the numerical analyses with, the measurements carried out at the instrumented site. Suggestions as to how to improve the results both qualitatively and quantitatively are also given.

Jan 1, 1984

By T. G. Madgwick, W. Calder

Production of petroleum increased again during 1929, thus maintaining the steady growth inaugurated by the bringing in of Royalite No. 4 in Turner Valley, Alberta, towards the end of 1924, prior to which a decline over a number of years had been experienced. The growth has been confined to the Province of Alberta, the older production in New Brunswick and Ontario showing declines, although in the latter case considerable activity in the search for new gas structures was maintained and during the last six months two wells were brought in, one at Howard in the Trenton at a depth of 1250 ft., giving 5,500,000 cu. ft., and the other at Tilbury in the Guelph or Salina at 750 ft. giving 9,000,000 cubic feet. As has been the case during the past five years, interest in the search for structure and in the following up and development of areas already recognized has centered in Alberta and adjacent portions of Saskatchewan. This was due in the first instance to the striking of wet gas in the Palaeozoic limestone (Madison) of Turner Valley, some 30 miles south of Calgary, in Royalite No. 4 in October, 1924. The bringing in of other wells of similar importance late in 1928 and in the spring of 1929 which extended the productive area 3 miles southwards led to greatly enhanced drilling activity throughout the structure and adjacent areas and in other parts of Alberta. As a result good strikes of heavy crude oil have been recorded during the year at Ribstone, Oyen, Skiff and Coutts, in each case at moderate depths and in sufficient quanitity to justify prolonged testing. The prospects of a satisfactory production of this grade of oil are very encouraging. Actual oil production in the west is still confined to the Province of Alberta and for all grades of oil totaled 997,359 bbl., which compared with previous years shows a gratifying increase. To this increase the naphtha obtained from the wet gas of Turner Valley has proved the principal contributant, heavy crude also showing an improvement, while the light crude, the product of the Cretaceo-Jurassic sands overlying the Paleozoic of Turner Valley, remains unchanged. This is largely owing to operators casing off these sands in their endeavor to reach the limestone, but, there is evidence that in future more attention will be paid to

Jan 1, 1930

By Joseph D. D?Annunzio

The report on cut and cover construction as assembled by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development covered 17 different countries based on a total of just under 400 individual replies of which about 30% of the replies were from the United States. In general, the review of replies to the questionnaire led to the impression that cut and cover construction is a very inadequate method which needed many improvements. This unfavorable judgment, however, resulted in the manner in which questions were asked rather than in the method itself, It can be concluded that the cut and cover construction method has proved itself as an excellent method and that it has reached a high degree of technological perfection, but inadequacies stilt exist, and for purposes of complete evaluation, comparisons with mining tunnelling methods should be carried out. The principal problem in cut and cover construction is the interaction during construction between the construction process and the existing use of the surface and subsurface environment. The greatest impediments to cut and cover construction have little to do with the physical works being constructed, but more with creating a site in which the work can be performed. Utility relocation, traffice maintenance, and protection of existing structures are major problems for the construction contractor, and too frequently receive insufficient attention in preconstruction planning and design. Some OF the areas in which research should be undertaken are as follows:

Jan 1, 1970

By James M. Spear

The U.S. Bureau of Mines and the U.S. Geological Survey conducted a mineral survey of the Elk Creek RARE II area during the summer of 1981. The study area encompasses 18,900 acres [29.5 sq mi (7,680 ha)] along Elk Creek, 18 mi (30 km) southeast of Covello, California. No mineral resources were identified by the U.S. Bureau of Mines during this survey. Assay results of samples taken in this area indicate only trace amounts of manganese and chromium. No radioactive or fluorescent minerals were detected. No oil and gas, coal, or geothermal leases have been recorded for the study area.

Jan 1, 1982

By A. Zauschquevich

El objeto del presente estudio señala la lixiviación en pilas de minerales oxidados del cobre como solución económica viable para las condiciones de este mineral. En este sentido se analizan cuatro posibilidades que mejoren la concentración del cobre a un menor precio. Entre estas tenemos: la flotación, seguida por lixiviación sulfúrica y con agitación; flotación sola, la lixiviación por percolación en estanques o bateas y la lixiviación en pilas. De los cuatros alternativas anteriores, se encontró que la lixiviación en pilas de minerales oxidados del cobre permite beneficiar económicamente determinadas menas de cobre provenientes de la explotación de yacimientos existentes en pequeñas estructuras geológicas puesto que hay un precio económico ligado al precio del cobre en el mercado mundial y porque se ajusta a las propiedades del mineral.

Nov 20, 1969

By Tracy Jarrett

IN making gold alloys possessing certain physical properties, such important factors as corrosion resistance, color, hardness and melting points must be considered. All of these requirements depend directly upon the composition. It is possible to obtain the same colored gold alloy by using different compositions, but in doing so one may bring in some undesirable property. Other investigations have been carried on in this field by F. E. Carter,1 E. M. Wise,2 and L. Sterner-Rainer.3 To make a complete study of the effect of composition upon these properties, a systematic investigation was carried on involving a range of copper content from 85 to 65 per cent. Elements such as zinc, silver and nickel were used to replace in part the copper content. The gold content in all the alloys remained constant. Only 10-karat gold alloys of those containing 41.6 per cent gold will be considered. All of the alloys were made in an induction furnace. Each alloy was cast in a 3 by ¼ by ¾ -in. ingot. The method of obtaining the melting points and making color determinations was described in a previous paper.4 The Rockwell B scale with the ball and 100-kg. weight was used for all hardness determinations. The submersion of test pieces in concentrated nitric acid is one of the standard corrosion tests used in the optical trade. A test piece in the 50 per cent cold-worked condition, ½ by 2 by 0.043 in., is blanked from a strip using a. die, and the weight, loss per square inch of surface is taken as a means of comparison. The time for this test is 2 ½ hr. of actual sub-mersion of the test piece in the acid. This standard test was applied to all of the 10-karat gold alloys discussed in this paper. The tensile tests were made upon strips of the dimensions shown in Fig. 1. The test pieces after blanking were annealed at 1300° F. for 20 min. and cooled in air. The "drop of the beam" method was used in determining the yield point, as there was a very marked "drop" when the yield point was reached.

Jan 1, 1939

Improve the field-of-view into the front-right blind spot for drivers of large haulage trucks, thereby reducing the growing collision hazard in surface mines. Approach Reduce the glare problem found in the first generation fresnel lens blind area viewer design by eliminating the upward-looking section of the fresnel lens and adding a rear hood to reduce backlighting. How It Works The first generation blind area viewer was developed and in-mine tested as an aid to improved visibility for large haulage trucks. Other aids were improved left-and right-hand mirrors. Evaluations showed that a blind area viewer mounted on the right-front of the radiator deck was effective and was readily accepted by drivers. Nevertheless, because glare was a problem under certain conditions, a low-profile viewer was developed. Glare control louvers from the earlier design were kept and a backlighting glare control hood was added. The height of the hardware was reduced by eliminating the top three inches of the fresnel lens. This portion of the lens contained an upward-looking segment which originally was thought to be needed so the driver could see the horizon when he looked through the viewer and be better

Jan 1, 1982

By William H. King

Preliminary examination of the Virgin River manganese deposit was made by C. H. Johnson, Bureau of Mines engineer, in March 1941. During, April and May 8 trenches were dug, a 48-foot inclined shaft was sunk, and 719 linear feet of channel samples were cut. McKelvey and Wiese, of the Federal Geological Survey, completed mapping the deposit, including the entire area of overlying formations comprising the point of land between the outcrop and Lake Mead. The geologic maps, maps, and ore estimates resulting from these examinations formed the basis for a preliminary report by C. H. Johnson, who recommended further exploration by diamond drilling.

Jan 1, 1949

By J. T. Burwell, J. Wulff

As is well known, the alloys of iron containing 18 ± per cent chromium, 8* per cent nickel and less than 1.2 per cent carbon exhibit the same allotropic modifications as iron. The face-centered cubic or gamma phase is stable at high temperatures and the body-centered cubic or alpha ferrite is presumably stable at room temperature. The transformation from the gamma phase to the alpha phase in alloys of the above composition (18-8 or stainless steel) is sluggish; even moderately rapid cooling permits the retention of the gamma phase. Cold-work, however, causes the transformation from gamma to alpha to occur at room temperatures. It is difficult, nevertheless, to induce complete transformation regardless of the method of cold-working. Since metallographic polishing is very effective in transforming the surface austenite to ferrite, as indicated by the magnetic studies of Buehl and Wulff,1 it was decided to investigate the phenomenon by electron diffraction methods. Apparatus The apparatus used (Fig. 1) was a hot-filament type employing movable slits, similar to that described by Germer.2 The sample-to-photographic plate distance was 69 cm. and the accelerating voltage 30 kv. Since electrons do not in general follow geometrical paths, it is necessary that either the electron source or the sample be movable in a plane normal to the beam. In this case the sample is fixed and the electron source is movable. The source is adjusted until the shadow of the sample appears in the brightest part of the beam as viewed on the fluorescent screen, then the slits composing the two pinholes are inoved into position one by one. The system is evacuated by means of a mercury diffusion pump backed up with a Cenco Hypervac oil pump. Pressures lower than 10- mm. of Hg are read on a calibrated ionization gauge.

Jan 1, 1939

By M. Gensamer

IN applied mechanics and in metallurgy the transition from elastic to inelastic action is a matter of considerable interest and importance. Often the first inelastic deformation is apparently quite homogeneous; that is, uniformly distributed throughout the specimen. Sometimes this deformation is heterogeneous; that is, localized; inelastic deformation proceeds to some definite amount in restricted regions before adjacent regions of the specimen are inelastically deformed. In such cases the deformation does not become homogeneous until the whole specimen has been deformed the amount corresponding to that for each localized deformation. If the test is stopped before uniform extension sets in, the heterogeneous character of the deformation is apparent on the surface of the specimen through characteristic markings, which have been called "Lüders"' lines, "Hartmann's" lines, the "Piobert effect," or simply "flow figures." These markings are the source of considerable trouble in fabricating operations, particularly in the deep drawing of steel sheet. In many cases where the transition is of this nature, the stress developed at the upper limit of the elastic range is greater than the stress during the period of heterogeneous deformation, giving rise to the familiar "drop of the beam" effect in testing. The amount of the yield-point elongation, as well as the value of the stress at the lower yield point (the value to which the stress drops when yielding begins), are functions of the temperature and the testing speed. Lower temperatures and faster rates of testing increase both the yield-point elongation and the yield-point stress. These matters have been ably discussed in a recent paper by Winlock and Leiter1 though, as brought out by the discussion of that paper, the phenomena are but little understood. The purpose of the present paper is to clarify the problem through the application of a simple principle, and to show that, through the application of this principle, a number of phenomena in the plastic deformation of metals become more readily understood. The principle is this: During homogeneous flow, the rate of work-hardening is greater than the rate of change of stress resulting from change

Jan 1, 1938

By Stefan Gerl, Werner Stahl

Steam pressure filtration combines mechanical and thermal processes in one filtration device. Steam condensation at the cold layers of the filter cake, build a condensation front, which even removes the capillary water from the porous filter cake. Depending on the choice of parameters it is possible to achieve a very low residual moisture content. The influence of the parameters on the dewatering results was systematically examined on a bench-scale apparatus. This paper explains the physical fundamentals, the influence of the cake dewatering parameters, and one possible method of applying the process to a disk filter device as well.

Jan 1, 1995

By Richard McCaffery

THE statistical analysis of blast-furnace data was undertaken to determine some of the relations which exist between the variables involved in furnace operation, and particularly to show the effect of variation of slag composition on such economically important factors as coke consumption, daily tonnage of pig iron and sulfur elimination. It was desired to correlate the results obtained in- commercial practice with those predicted from a study of the quaternary system lime-alumina-silica-magnesia. This paper presents the results of a preliminary study of blast-furnace daily operating reports, and is intended to indicate the suitability of our method of attack and something of the results that may be expected from an extended statistical examination of such data. It has been shown that blast-furnace slags are not composed of oxides, as reported by chemical analysis, but are actually composed of several compounds, each made up of two or more of the oxides present.1 These compounds persist in the liquid state, and the properties of a slag are the properties of a mixture of these compounds, and not of a mixture of the ultimate oxides .2,3 The oxides lime, alumina, silica and magnesia make up 94 to 96 per cent. of the usual blast-furnace slag, and assuming that we may neglect the remainder of the components, we may determine the minerals present, and their relative proportions, from a study of the quaternary system involving these four oxides. Operating reports from 15 furnaces were available for this investigation. Complete slag analyses for one slag per day were available, permitting the calculation of the mineral composition of the slags used. Basic, malleable and foundry irons, with silicon varying from 0.75 to 4.50 per cent. were included in the reports for this examination.

Jan 1, 1931