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By Philip A. Holland

The Bureau of Mines has developed a method for determining helium in water for use in sampling and analyzing surface and subsurface waters for geochemical survey work. The accuracy of the analytical method is within ±10 percent for samples containing above 20 x 10-8 cm3 He (STP)/cm3 H20. The minimum detectable helium-in-water concentration is calculated to be 2 x 10-8 cm3 He (STP)/cm3 water. Water samples are collected in 500-cm3 stainless steel cylinders. The dissolved gases are extracted into a cylinder of equal volume containing a known quantity of neon. The resulting gas mixture is subsequently analyzed for helium and neon-21 by mass spectrometry. The volume of helium in the sample is calculated from the mass spectrometric determination of the helium-to-neon-21 ratio, the known quantity of neon used, and the extraction efficiency of helium.

Jan 1, 1981

By C. B. Webber

"Sherritt Gordon's experience with rubber mill liners began in 1964 at the Lynn Lake Farley Mine and continued at the Fox Mine in 1960, and the Ruttan Mine in 1973. This paper describes the history of the performance of rubber mill liners at the three mine operations.LYNN LAKE - FARLEY MINEThe Lynn Lake Farley Mine, which ceased production in 1976 due to exhausted ore reserves, was a 3500 T.P.D. copper-nickel operation; consisting of two parallel rod mills followed by three stages of ball mill grinding. A circuit modification in 1964 necessitated one of the tertiary ball mills to be used as a pyrrhotite regrind mill. This 8' x 5' Hardinge conical mill drawing 225 HP was initially installed with steel liners and lifters. After several months of operation a routine inspection revealed severe channeling and washing behind the liners which was threatening to erode the ball mill shell. It was thought that the highly acidic condition in the mill, due to grinding 100 º6 pyrrhotite, was accelerating the wear of the steel liners. At this time it was decided to reline the mill with rubber liners to see if the wear problem could be relieved, and in December 1964 a set of Skega rubber liners were installed."

Jan 1, 1981

By C. P. S. Barnard, D. G. Krige

Objective justification on economic grounds for expenditure aimed at improving the quality of the underground working environment requires a suitable measure of any improvement in productivity that would result under routine working conditions. For this purpose, a composite production criterion is suggested, as well as its correlation under actual operating conditions with various factors directly affecting productivity and the environment. Of the environmental factors, wet-bulb temperature appears to be the major factor affecting productivity. The production data given indicate that a decrease in the wet-bulb temperature of 1OC can be expected to result, on average, in some 3 to 4 per cent increase in productivity; in the higher temperature ranges, this percentage could be much higher.

Jan 1, 1981

By T. P. Lim, A. J. Vivyurka, N. K. Davé

Chemical and radioisotope stratification studies were carried out in an abandoned uranium tailings pile at Elliot Lake, Ontario, Canada. The tailings, with an average thickness of 7 m over an area of 16 hectares, were deposited approximately 20 years ago on a layer of black peaty material which overlays deposits of permeable glaciofluvial sands. Geohydro-chemical investigations of this tailings area have been ongoing since 1978. The radioisotope profile study was conducted on three adjacent sites. Solid core samples, collected with a split spoon sampler at various depths, were analyzed for various chemical and radioisotope constituents. The results indicated by 2 distinct zones of stratification; an upper zone, where the constituents were uniformly distributed, and a lower zone, near the peat-tailing interface, which showed increasing concentration with depth. Within the peat layer, the concentration decreased rapidly with no significant levels of contaminant penetration below the peat layers observed, though the samples were limited. The pH profile showed that the top 5 m of the tailings have been oxidized, the average soil pH in this zone was 3.4 compared to 5 .8 underneath it. The groundwater hydrology of the system was observed to be complex showing downward and lateral flow in the dry season and lateral and upward flow during the spring and periods of heavy rainfall. The results are discussed in terms of a model based on the combined segregation and settling process of the tailings fine fraction, and the geohydro-chemical interaction of the solid and liquid phases.

Jan 1, 1981

By Jed H. (Original by) Mosgrove

Good mine ventilation starts at the drawing board. A coal mine will either be adequately ventilated or not, depending upon how good a job was done in the planning. Poor planning will not only result in inadequate ventilation, but may also lead to low productivity. A mine foreman cannot achieve high productivity while trying to maintain 4.2 ma/s (9000 cfm) of air at his last open crosscut.

Jan 1, 1981

By Scott D. Thayer, George H. Milly

INTRODUCTION Ambient concentrations of radon and its daughter products have been measured and analyzed by a number of investigators for a variety of purposes. Principal among these purposes have been: (1) descriptive, to characterize the distribution and changes in concentrations under various conditions; (2) research in the use of radon as a tracer gas in the study of atmospheric characteristics and motions, such as eddy mass transfer, diffusivity profiles, large scale circulations, and the like; and (3) the use of radon as an atmospheric tracer in exploration for uranium deposits.* This information forms the basic data for this paper and for its placing the ambient natural, or non-anthropogenic, radon concentrations into the perspective of ambient radon health standards and lung cancer risk calculations. To enable better understanding of some aspects of the ambient radon data, review and analysis is also performed on selected measurements of radon emanation or flux from the surface of the earth into the atmosphere. These measurements have generally been made for purposes similar to those for ambient radon, i.e., (1) description of radon emanation characteristics; or (2) to support and justify the use of ambient concentration measurements in atmospheric research; or (3) in exploration for uranium. Interest is also developing in the use of such measurements for earthquake prediction. In addition, to complete the perspective, brief examination is given to anthropogenic ambient and flux radon measurements related to the mining and milling of uranium, so that comparison can he made with the values from natural sources. As a frame of reference we cite here previous summaries of studies which have presented representative values and ranges of ambient concentrations and emanation rates. H. Israel, in the Compendium of Meterorology (1951), cites eight studies of ambient radon concentrations which we have selected as representative of non-anomalous continental values. Their means generally range from [0.06 to 0.15 pCi lit-1 with the smallest reported minimum of zero and the largest maximum 0.53 pCi lit-1. The overall mean is 0.10 with a standard deviation of 0.03 pCi lit-1. Means over oceans are much smaller, and the data scarcer, with only three values ranging from 0.0004 to 0.003 pCi lit-1 and a mean of 0.0016 pCi lit-1.] Thirteen studies from Israel's list were selected as representative of mountainous terrain. These data, except for the cases of higher elevations, frequently show significantly higher values than the average cases in non-mountainous terrain described-above. The averages range from 0.10 to 0.59 pCi lit-l; the smallest minimum is zero and the largest maximum is 9.2 pCi lit-1. The overall mean is 0.30 with a standard deviation of 0.17 pCi lit-1. Israel also cites five studies of radon emanation (flux) from the earth's surface. These show a mean of 0.40 pCi-2m-2 sec-1 and a range of from 0.21 to 0.74 pCi m-2 sec-1. Data on flux are naturally scarcer in the literature than data on ambient concentrations, because of the greater interest in and utility of the ambient information. In this paper we also give special consideration to observations of the variability in time and space of radon flux rates, and to the impact of these phenomena on the use of such data for a variety of purposes. NATURAL(NON-ANTHROPOGENIC)AMBIENT RADON CONCENTRATIONS We have examined the following reports for the data selected for this category; these studies were generally intended to describe radon characteristics in the atmosphere. Jonassen and Wilkening (1970); Bradley and Pearson (1970); Wilkening (1970); Lambert, et al (1970); Pearson and Moses (1966); and DickPeddie, et al (1974). Another set of studies which was reviewed was selected because the investigators made ambient radon measurements in the course of examining the use of radon as a tracer in atmospheric research. This set consists of: Israel and Horbert (1970); Carlson and Prospero (1972); Subramanian, et al (1977); Larson (1978); Cohen, et al (1972); Hosler (1966); and Shaffer and Cohen (1972). Finally, unpublished data from uranium exploration activities (Milly and Thayer, 1976) was analyzed. [Treating the ocean cases first, the mean values are generally consistent with those quoted earlier from Israel (0.0004 to 0.003 pCi lit-1); they range from 0.001 to 0.011 pCi lit-1, with 0.003 the most frequently reported value. Continental values, from eight studies, range in means from 0.07 to 0.41 pCi lit-1 (not including mineralized areas, or "uranium country", discussed later), with maxima as high as 2.4 pCi lit -l. For comparison, the means from Israel are 0.06 to 0.15 pCi lit-1, with a maximum of 0.53 pCi lit-1. Some of these studies also present the typical decrease of-1 concentration with height to 0.01 to 0.04 pCi lit at 5 to 7 km. The vast numbers of uranium prospecting radon data of]

Jan 1, 1981

New Zealand Steel Limited is nearing completion of the environmental reporting and planning procedures for its proposed fivefold expansion to steelmaking at Glenbrook, and supporting mining operations at Waikato North Head. A report on the proposal to transport concentrate from the mining operations to Glenbrook has also been prepared and is awaiting release. This paper draws from these events, and by discussing some of the problems encountered, gives some guidelines for the preparation of an Environmental Impact Report.

Jan 1, 1981

By James E. Palmer

Geologic constraints on mining and recoverability include the following: coal seams too thin or thick for conventional mining methods; coal seams with insufficient stratigraphic separation; unstable roof or floor strata; discontinuous or lenticular seams; coal seams that have high dips or are intensely faulted; water problems due to proximity of aquifers; and coal quality problems such as excessive sulfur, ash, chlorine, sodium, etc. The demonstrated reserve base for western coal of 220 billion tons is considered misleading as it does not adequately incorporate the above parameters in estimating procedures. Current reserve base estimating procedures involve an abstraction of data from generalized resource estimates. The authors believe the reserve base should be determined independently beginning with well-known deposits, with all mining and recoverability constraints fully incorporated.

Jan 1, 1981

By L. J. Prosser

The Bureau of Mines has completed an underground degasification project in which an underground piping system was used to transport methane from the coalbed to the surface. In a la-month period four horizontal holes were drilled to an average depth of 1,450 feet. All four holes were surveyed vertically and azimuthally. In 991 days of degasification, 255 MMcf of gas was drained from the coalbed. The underground piping system proved to be a safe and effective means of transporting methane from the coalbed to the surface.

Jan 1, 1981

By Charles A. Seitz

This Bureau of Mines report describes an automatic and continuous transducer-drift compensator. The compensator formed a part of the instrumentation used to indicate the saturation by hydrogen of a cryogenic, adsorption column. It has a variable delayed-response characteristic and will respond only to signals having rise times faster than component drift times. Zero drift due to varying ambient conditions and component aging is nullified. Equations relating the output as a function of the input signal are given.

Jan 1, 1981

By R. A. Bloomfield

This report summarizes Bureau of Mines contract research on the disposal of retorted oil shale. A data base has been developed describing the physical-chemical properties, geotechnical engineering properties, and natural cementation characteristics of spent shale. Results of field compaction tests and seepage pond tests are presented, along with results of a partially saturated finite element seepage model used to predict infiltration and seepage rates. Preliminary engineering analyses are presented for underground disposal systems, which include material transport methods, and for a surface disposal system, which includes stability analyses.

Jan 1, 1981

By Frank E. Dalton, Forrest C. Neil

INTRODUCTION The Tunnel and Reservoir Plan (TARP) (Figure 1) was adopted in 1972 as the most cost-effective way to bring Chicago area waterways up to Federal and State water quality standards. TARP will significantly reduce pollution of these waterways and provide flood relief for Chicago and 53 adjacent suburban communities. These communities, covering an area of 971 sq km (375 sq miles), are at present served by combined sewers, which carry both raw sewage and stormwater. Because porous ground surfaces have been covered over in recent years by buildings, streets, and parking lots, stormwater runoff into sewers frequently exceeds the capacity of the sewers. When this happens, sewers back-up into hundreds of thousands of basements, and the overflows on the combined sewers discharge rainwater mixed with raw sewage directly into the area's waterways at 645 overflow points. The result is severe pollution of the waterways and flooding in 53 communities. During particularly heavy rains, overloaded rivers have to be relieved by opening the locks and allowing the polluted waterways to flow into Lake Michigan, the region's water source. Goals of TARP 1. PREVENT BACKFLOWS INTO LAKE MICHIGAN. 2. ELIMINATE WATERWAY POLLUTION CAUSED BY COMBINED SEWER OVERFLOWS. 3. PROVIDE AN OUTLET FOR FLOOD WATERS.

Jan 1, 1981

By W. J. Guay

Scrubbing of simulated copper reverberatory furnace gases containing 1.0 percent sulfur dioxide with the minus 74 ~m fraction of the San Manuel tailings has shown sulfur dioxide removals of almost 100 percent over an effluent pH range of 3.1 to 4.6 and a wide range of liquid to gas ratios with absorptions of 11 to 17 Kg of sulfur dioxide per tonne of minus 74 um slimes. The high reactivity of the tailings slimes with S02 indicates that the reaction rate is not controlled by the slow dissolution of calcium carbonate in sulfurous acid which characterizes scrubbers using ground limestone. The interpretation of these results has been considerably enhanced by wet chemical analysis and emission spectrographic analysis which show that calcium and iron account for about 90 percent of the SO2 absorption with the rest being accounted for by aluminum, magnesium, potassium, and sodium. Mineralogic examination confirms the, chemical and spectrographic analyses showing that the major constituent removed from the slimes is calcium carbonate, with lesser amounts of chlorite and montmorillonite (silicates containing iron, magnesium, aluminum, and calcium) being removed.

Jan 1, 1981

By Peter G. Tregelles, Derek K. Barham

Introduction A successful step towards mechanisation of the collier's work was taken in 1954 when the first Anderton shearer loader was commissioned in Lancashire, and progress was reinforced in 1956 when the first powered supports were installed in Nottinghamshire. By 1970, virtually 100% of the coalfaces in the United Kingdom were mechanised and the industry's productivity had doubled. In 1961 the National Coal Board recognised that the next move towards greater productivity and improved safety would be to automate the longwall system. What was not well enough understood, however, was that the basic prerequisites of automation - reliability and measurement - had not yet been achieved. Consequently, the schemes for automatic longwall faces and for an entirely automated colliery were abandoned at the close of the decade. A review of mining research and development policy, commissioned by the Board in 1974, confirmed that the system of longwall mining had great potential for investment and that the short-term policy of automation must once again be pursued. Since then, aided by advances in computer technology, systems for automating the transport of coal from the face to the coal preparation plant have been successfully instituted. Applications of sub-systems dealing with the conveyor, coal preparation plant, and various items of fixed plant are now at the exploitation stage. In the medium term, a number of key problems have been identified, which will arise once the productivity from the coalfaces has doubled, as it is now expected to do in the next five years. One of the most important of these problems is machine guidance, and considerable research and development work is now being carried out in this area. This paper reviews the work on machine guidance prior to 1974 and explains the programme on which the National Coal Board's Mining Research and Development Establishment is currently working.

Jan 1, 1981

By Claes G. Björk

Over the past decade mined unlined rock cavern storage for crude oil and refined products has become economically more attractive. This trend is likely to continue, primarily due to advances in excavation methods, rising steel costs for above ground tanks and larger capacity requirements. The construction experience related in this paper comprises the excavation of more than 80 storage facilities (total capacity 90 million bbl) for crude and refined products ranging from propane to heavy fuel oil. This paper also deals with the experience gained as well as the problems derived from the utilization of these oil storage facilities.

Jan 1, 1981

By R Fox, R Watt

On behalf of ICI's group of explosives companies around the world, a research programme is being undertaken to develop a new electrical shotfiring system which will have markedly improved safety features and operational advantages over existing initiating systems. The paper describes the development of the 'Magnadet' Electric Detonator and 'Magna' Primer and the field experience to date. It also indicates those areas where further work is being carried out on modification of the basic designs to meet specific application requirements.

Jan 1, 1981

By H. D. Sharma

INTRODUCTION Uranium mill tailings, by-products from the mining and milling of uranium oxide contain all decay products of uranium-238, uranium-235 and all the Th-232. The ore containing all daughter products of the parents U-238, U-235 and Th-232 is ground to approximately 50% under 200 mesh particle size and after extraction of uranium, the residue, described as tailings, is discharged into natural depressions confined by dams. These deposition sites are referred to as tailings ponds. Tailings ponds are located in two mining districts, Bancroft and Elliot Lake in the Province of Ontario, Canada. Some parts of tailings ponds are dry up to a depth of several meters, whereas other parts have a water table very close to the surface and still others are covered with water. The extent to which the daughters of uranium isotopes are in equilibrium with the parents U-238 and U-235 is dependent on the age of the deposit in which uranium occurs and the extent to which the decay products are removed by geochemical processes. In the mining district of Bancroft, the deposit is known to be approximately 1 billion years old, whereas in Elliot Lake, the deposit is considered to be approximately 2 billion years old. The ratio of radiogenic lead isotopes Pb-206 and Pb-207, can provide some estimates concerning the age of the deposits. If the tailings are not affected by geochemical processes, the tailings would contain all the daughters of the 4n+2 and 4n+3 series in equilibrium concentrations. The equilibrium activities of some members of the 4n+2 series are calculated in Table 1. [ ] The amount of radiogenic stable lead isotopes depends on the age of the ore deposits. If the deposit in each district is of the same age, a definite relationship is expected with respect to the activity of Pb-210 and the radiogenic stable isotopes. Approximately 33 million tons of the tailings have been deposited in the early 1960's, approximately 20 years ago. During this period of storage, the segregation of uranium daughters, like radium, the diffusion of gaseous product, Rn-222, and removal of precursors by geochemical processes, can cause dis-equilibrium. Earlier work concerned with the uptake of Ra-226 and Pb-210 by plants (Kalin and Sharma, 1981), indicated that the concentrations of Pb-210,in samples of the tailings taken, were lower than the expected equilibrium. The diffusion of radon from a variety of matrices has been studied (Tanner, 1964). It has been shown that the diffusion coefficient is dependent on the particle size in which its precursor is present, the moisture content and the surface conditions. The direct measurement of radon concentrations in the environment near the ponds is dependent on the metereological conditions. Kramer, Schroeder and Evans, 1964, have examined the variations in the concentration of radon near the ground level with respect to atmospheric variables, such as changes in barometric pressure, precipitation, wind velocities, thermal atmospheric instability. It is difficult to relate the total release of radon from the ponds to the atmosphere over an extended period. Our measurements of Pb-210 and total lead on tailings samples taken from 16 sites indicate that the ratios of the activity of Pb-210 to the mass of total lead can provide parameters which are helpful in the estimation of the total amount of radon and its decay products diffusing from the tailings ponds. In this paper, we present the results of measurements of activities of Ra-226, Pb-210 and total lead in samples from various ponds situated in both mining districts. The measurements were confined to samples taken at 0-25 cm depth from the surface.

Jan 1, 1981

By Wright R. J

The Commission called tenders for a four boom hydraulic jumbo, plus basket, on an art- iculated carrier in Sept. 1977. Atlas Copco submitted the successful tender in Jan. 1978 for the supply of a three boom jumbo, plus basket. The Promec TH470 jumbo was commiss- ioned in the 2000 m long Sophia tunnel in Nov. 1978. Adequate spare parts were not available during the first three months of operation and the hammers could not be overhauled at the recommended interval. One hammer was removed after drilling 13 600 m due to a crack in the intermediate housing. Tests were conducted with different types of drilling consumables. Both rope and Hi-teed threads were tested and found compar- able. The average penetration rate in the granite was 1.1 m/min. Initially the drillers were not experienced enough to operate the BUT 15ERH booms without causing damage to the booms and hoses. Drilling deviation espec- ially of the perimeter holes was greater than expected. It is now obvious that greater attention must be given to attracting, train- ing and retaining the right type of operator and maintenance fitter.

Jan 1, 1981

By M. J. Robinson, G. E. Blight, J. A. C. Diering

The mechanism of the flow of tailings slurry is examined, and a mathematical model is derived to describe the flow. Predictions based on the model are then compared with the flow that actually occurred near the shaft at Bafokeng after the No. I tailings dam had failed. The predictions are found to be of acceptable accuracy.

Jan 1, 1981

By -1ng. B. Stampa

Introduction The author investigates the technology available for mine flow reversibility by reversing the operation of the main fans. Air bypassing, reversed sense of impeller rotation, and blade angle overturning are indentified as the most important means of achieving the flow reversibility. The axial flow fan is studied in some detail and the important variables of fan capacity, pressure, and efficiency are compared. Although some references to rotor velocity vectors are made (Fig. 1) the subject is not presented in detail in order to stay within the paper's intent. Background Where applicable, the requirements of mine air reversibility are an important part of the overall mining operation and should be given proper attention during mine ventilation design. The need for preventing mine fires in intake shafts is the reason that, for a long time, it has been a requirement in the Eastern European countries to have the feature of flow reversibility built into all main mine ventilators. In West German coal mines, this requirement does not apply since higher priority is given to safety precautions. Some metal and mineral mines in the United States are required to have ventilation currents readily reversible in order to fight underground fires as stipulated by the Title 30, Mineral Resources, and by the mining laws of some states. From an equipment performance standpoint, assuming the validity of other flow technical data, the question of the ventilator flow reversibility is of ten related to the actual scenario of the begining of an emergency. Most of the time, the system operates within half of the design capacity only and assuming that the equivalent mine orifice is stable only a quarter of the design pressure must be produced by the fan in any event. For such an operating point, the effective gradient and energy losses can be disregarded since fire emergencies usually last for only a short period of time. Equipment Comparison Fig. 2 depicts a ventilation arrangement wherein the flow can be reversed through changing the functional position of the dampers (slideplate or blade type). Both axial or radial fans can be applied in this case. For the mine exhaust operation, slide plates (guillotines) I and I11 are opened while plates I1 and IV are closed. The flow thus encounters two reroutings, which due to the reverse ventilation flow cannot be equipped with proper sheet metal deflectors, and therefore large pressure losses result during the air reroute operation. When the intake operation is considered, the dampers I and I11 are closed and the pair I1 and IV is opened. For this arrangement, almost the same flow conditions exist as for the foregoing exhaust mode; however, one additional corner must be applied. Even if a highly efficient ventilator is used in one of the previously described systems, the additional pressure losses resulting from air rerouting plus those encountered between the planes "0" and "00" significantly affect the overall energy requirements. Illustrated in Table 1 are the relative component losses of even flows for evaluation of various detour arrangements. From the aerodynamics standpoint, when these components are being designed, serious consideration must be given to the individual levels of the pressure loss coefficient, 5. Should there be an increase in the sum of the loss coefficients due to the particular component selection such that, for example, the net change is 1.2; the resulting pressure to be produced by the fan can be calculated from:

Jan 1, 1981