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By E. Steel

The asbestifom habit is most commonly developed in certain amphiboles and chrysotile, but other minerals may also crystallize with this unususual habit, The habit may be characterized by 1) a fibril structure, single or twinned crystals of very small widths (generally less than 0.5 inn) which have gram with a common fiber axis direction but which are disoriented in the other crystallographic directions, 2) anomalous optical properties, primarily parallel extinction, 3) unusual tensile strength, 4) high aspect ratio, and 5) flexibility. In addition, there is evidence to indicate that some amphibole asbestos may have unusual surface properties.

Jan 1, 1979

By E. H. R. Schumann

The local stratigraphy and composition of the coal measures, including competent dolerite sill and massive sandstone lavers is shown to have a restricting influence on the development and magnitude of surface subsidence above total extraction panels in South Africa. The critical panel width necessary to induce nonviolent failure of a dolerite sill is quantified. Small subsidence due to the deflection of a 70 metre thick dolerite above subcritical panels is shown by example. Maximum surface subsidence tilt an; ground strain is compared to the NCB model. An exponential subsidence profile curve, SPC, describes a trough half-profile. A parabolic relationship between horizontal displacement and tilt, which has been discovered to exist can be substituted in the first derivative of the SPC in order to generate transverse displacement and strain profiles.

Jan 1, 1988

By James E. Rider

"Fractures in mine hoist drumshafts are rare. We know of no previously reported attempts to repair a fractured drumshaft; any feasible method would involve welding and the associated problems of distortion, crack formation and strength.In June 1984, a fracture was discovered in the drumshaft of the production hoist in the Teck Corporation, Lamaque Division Mine at Val d'Or, Quebec. Delivery time on a new shaft would have been at least six months. The shaft was repaired in ten days and the total out -of-service time was four weeks.This paper describes why the shaft failed, how it was repaired, and the special alignment procedures employed during re-installation to minimize stresses in the repaired area.IntroductionThe performance of a mine hoist drumshaft is absolutely critical to mine operation. An inoperable drumshaft means no hoist, which in turn means no production or mine operation.Fractures in mine hoist drumshafts are rare. Previously when they have occurred, no one has seriously considered attempting a repair because of problems involved. Any feasible method would involve welding, which raises several major problems - namely, metallurgical, alignment, and strength.In July 1984 this very situation occurred at the Teck Corporation, Lamaque Division Mine in Val d'Or, Quebec.It was recognized that a new shaft would take at least 6 months' fabrication and delivery time. However, having had some experience at repairing broken shafts in other machines under similarly desperate circumstances, and after due consideration, it was concluded that by applying the correct techniques and engaging the right expertise, it would be possible to perform a repair and have the mine back in operation within a month.Thanks to outstanding efforts by all, the repair was accomplished in ten days and total out-of-service-time was only four weeks. The causes of the failure were determined and the calculated stress levels confirmed by strain gauge measurement during operation.The success of this project was achieved by adhering rigorously to fundamental management and engineering principles."

Jan 1, 1988

By Lawrence Adler

In-situ rock has well-recognized rupture and yielding responses. Attention is called to an intermediate response, granulation, which consists of an evenly distributed, small-scale crumbling accompanied by swelling. Granulation results in a negative slope for the inelastic portion of the stress-strain curve as successive interlocks are destroyed, and the load-carrying capacity of the material is reduced. Volumetric swelling with softening also takes place. The prerequisites for such a response are moderate confinement and a uniformly distributed defect pattern. Since rock masses, as well as rock as an intact material, have such patterns in their jointing and texture, respectively, granulation is characteristic of them. The presence of granulation can be demonstrated for a very wide scale, ranging from laboratory testing to regional geologic phenomena. The response of an engineered structure is considered in detail. Granulation appears to be dependent upon internal moments, the formation of which can be controlled by engineering design. The practical implications of such control can be significant in optimizing underground instability and in improving excavation techniques. Rock is usually considered to behave inelastically under high load, by fracturing as a brittle material, or by yielding as a ductile material, ignoring time dependency. These responses, which are characteristic of metallic behavior, appear idealized in Fig. 1, where linear-elasticity approximates the initial behavior. However, another major deformation mechanism peculiar to rock has long been recognized in geology, the granulation of an interlocked material. Granulation consists of a uniformly distributed fracturing and crumbling of the material, accompanied by swelling and softening. Predictably, the associated inelastic portion of the load-deformation curve has a negative slope,

Jan 1, 1971

By Uwe Hess

For the Danish landworks for the coming fixed link between Denmark and Sweden across the Øresund the focus has been on the environmental aspects of the construction and operation of the facilities. This paper describes how the environmental objectives pertaining to the project have influenced the design and construction of one of the major elements of the Danish landworks, i.e. the tunnel in Sydhavnsgade and under Sydhavn Station. The chosen construction methods for the construction pit bracing and the groundwater lowering will be described along with the observed effects on the environment as shown by simulated or measured values for noise impact, settlements, pumped groundwater and extension of the drawdown cone.

Jan 1, 1996

By James E. Rider

"Fractures in mine hoist drumshafts are rare. We know of no previously reported attempts to repair a fractured drumshaft; any feasible method would involve welding and the associated problems of distortion, crack formation and strength.In June 1984, a fracture was discovered in the drumshaft of the production hoist in the Teck Corporation, Lamaque Division Mine at Val d'Or, Quebec. Delivery time on a new shaft would have been at least six months. The shaft was repaired in ten days and the total out -of-service time was four weeks.This paper describes why the shaft failed, how it was repaired, and the special alignment procedures employed during re-installation to minimize stresses in the repaired area.IntroductionThe performance of a mine hoist drumshaft is absolutely critical to mine operation. An inoperable drumshaft means no hoist, which in turn means no production or mine operation.Fractures in mine hoist drumshafts are rare. Previously when they have occurred, no one has seriously considered attempting a repair because of problems involved. Any feasible method would involve welding, which raises several major problems - namely, metallurgical, alignment, and strength.In July 1984 this very situation occurred at the Teck Corporation, Lamaque Division Mine in Val d'Or, Quebec.It was recognized that a new shaft would take at least 6 months' fabrication and delivery time. However, having had some experience at repairing broken shafts in other machines under similarly desperate circumstances, and after due consideration, it was concluded that by applying the correct techniques and engaging the right expertise, it would be possible to perform a repair and have the mine back in operation within a month.Thanks to outstanding efforts by all, the repair was accomplished in ten days and total out-of-service-time was only four weeks. The causes of the failure were determined and the calculated stress levels confirmed by strain gauge measurement during operation.The success of this project was achieved by adhering rigorously to fundamental management and engineering principles."

Jan 1, 1988

By David J. Reddish

Longwall systems are inflexible in layout, intolerant of disruption and represent a substantial investment. It is therefore essential drat all understanding of the likely strata behaviour and support requirements is obtained prior to panel development. For many tears rock mechanics engineers have applied numerical modelling based kill finite element techniques to the design of the support and layout of underground excavations. Whilst such design methodology has worked well in civil engineering and hard rock situations, it has been less reliable when applied to excavation design in the soft rocks of the coal measures. This lack of reliability has been identified largely as being the result of the utilisation of unsatisfactory input data, This paper describes the results of an ongoing research programme at the University of Nottingham in which a novel rock mass rating system known as the UK Coal Mine Classification system was developed to enable the prediction of the strata properties that are required as input parameters for use in numerical modelling of the deformation of soft rocks around excavations such as roadways and longwall faces in coal mines. The paper describes the development of the system. the way in which classifications are applied to derive input data for numerical models and gives two case studies ill which deformations and stress re-distributions around coal mine excavations have been simulated by numerical modelling using the FLAC finite difference code.

Jan 1, 2000

By Gary Watters

PORTS AND ARCTIC CONDITIONS ?Large ice forces ?Standard designs fail in the arctic ?Specialized construction methods for ice PRESENTATION OUTLINE 4 Example Projects ? 2 Alternative Construction Methods ? Advantages & Disadvantages ?Controlling costs

Oct 1, 2010

By Edward L. Burwell

The Bureau of Mines conducted laboratory experiments to determine the change during retorting in the apparent permeability and the degree of compaction of beds of broken oil shale. Grades of oil shale studied ranged from 20.6 to 46.7 gallons of oil per ton (gpt), and the simulated overburden pressures applied to the shale were from 300 to 900 psi. Linear regression analysis of the data produced equations describing the response of the oil shale. Oil shales of approximately 20 gpt experience only minor apparent permeability reductions under test conditions, but richer shales (30 to 50 gpt) lose essentially all permeability. The permeability reductions were accompanied by corresponding decreases in bed height that ranged up to 37 percent of the original bed height.

Jan 1, 1974

A mathematical model for spontaneous combustion of coal with moisture included is presented in this paper. The one-dimensional unsteady state model consists of conservation equations for oxygen, water vapour and inherent moisture of coal and energy for both gaseous and solid phases. A first order Arrhenius reaction rate for oxidation under both pore diffusion and chemically controlled reaction regime is considered. The rate of evaporation or condensation is also considered as a function of temperature of coal, water content of coal and gas streams. The equation of the model is solved numerically by the finite difference technique. Influences of different parameters on the process of spontaneous combustion can be examined by using this model. Also the model can be used to simulate full-scale storage conditions.

Jan 1, 2005

By Allan Herse

"The years following World War II were nation building years in Australia. Soldiers returned from the European and Asian theatres of war sparking a major infrastructure construction boom. Dams and highways were built to keep up with the growth of towns and cities, which were bursting at the seams, not just from the returning soldiers settling down with their families but also from the many waves of refugees from war torn areas around the globe.The demand for electricity generation and distribution required for the growing population sparked the expansion of the national power grid with new high-voltage transmission towers appearing across the landscape. However, with an original design life of 50 years, those transmission lines constructed in the 1950s are nearing, or are at the end of, their anticipated service life.In recent years, the Australian power distribution network has changed from a period of high construction activity in greenfield high-voltage lines to a period that is now focused on reducing cost and maintaining existing assets. Replacing aboveground structural members and electrical components is relatively simple even under live conditions. However, the replacement or repair of tower foundations, many of which are in remote locations, has been a problem that has caused difficulties for power utilities trying to operate on a budget while also avoiding costly and unpopular power outages.With thousands of miles of aging transmission lines needing life extension work, Piling & Civil Australia (PCA) has developed a patented system of upgrading the foundations with micropiles while under live-line conditions without requiring costly outages. The system is seen as revolutionary by power utilities, allowing the utilities to extend the life of their existing assets until demand increases to warrant the construction of a new line. PCA has been working on a potential solution with Powerlink Queensland for the past 5 years to develop a quick and cost-effective foundation replacement system that can extend the life of its existing asset base anywhere from an additional 5 years to 50 years.With design support from Quanta Subsurface, USA, PCA recently completed the foundation replacement of 26 lattice tower foundations in the Townsville region of North Queensland. Using a steel bracket (patent pending) to connect hollow bar micropiles to the lattice towers, the installation techniques that were developed enabled the micropiles to be installed within a tolerance of less than about 3/8 in (10 mm) through the existing steel grillage foundation while maintaining live line conditions. The project was an Australian first and a trial by Powerlink for wider use within its network, and it was delivered on time and within budget at one tenth of the cost of traditional methods."

Jan 1, 2017

By Allan Herse

"The years following World War II were nation building years in Australia. Soldiers returned from the European and Asian theatres of war sparking a major infrastructure construction boom. Dams and highways were built to keep up with the growth of towns and cities, which were bursting at the seams, not just from the returning soldiers settling down with their families but also from the many waves of refugees from war torn areas around the globe.The demand for electricity generation and distribution required for the growing population sparked the expansion of the national power grid with new high-voltage transmission towers appearing across the landscape. However, with an original design life of 50 years, those transmission lines constructed in the 1950s are nearing, or are at the end of, their anticipated service life.In recent years, the Australian power distribution network has changed from a period of high construction activity in greenfield high-voltage lines to a period that is now focused on reducing cost and maintaining existing assets. Replacing aboveground structural members and electrical components is relatively simple even under live conditions. However, the replacement or repair of tower foundations, many of which are in remote locations, has been a problem that has caused difficulties for power utilities trying to operate on a budget while also avoiding costly and unpopular power outages. With thousands of miles of aging transmission lines needing life extension work, Piling & Civil Australia (PCA) has developed a patented system of upgrading the foundations with micropiles while under live-line conditions without requiring costly outages. The system is seen as revolutionary by power utilities, allowing the utilities to extend the life of their existing assets until demand increases to warrant the construction of a new line. PCA has been working on a potential solution with Powerlink Queensland for the past 5 years to develop a quick and cost-effective foundation replacement system that can extend the life of its existing asset base anywhere from an additional 5 years to 50 years.With design support from Quanta Subsurface, USA, PCA recently completed the foundation replacement of 26 lattice tower foundations in the Townsville region of North Queensland. Using a steel bracket (patent pending) to connect hollow bar micropiles to the lattice towers, the installation techniques that were developed enabled the micropiles to be installed within a tolerance of less than about 3/8 in (10 mm) through the existing steel grillage foundation while maintaining live line conditions. The project was an Australian first and a trial by Powerlink for wider use within its network, and it was delivered on time and within budget at one tenth of the cost of traditional methods."

Jan 1, 2017

By Nigel Marx

In order to understand (and ultimately to predict) the friction reduction resulting from the use of polymer solutions, the rheological properties of model polymer solutions have been measured over a wide range of shear rates. Both temporary and permanent shear thinning have been observed. By using base fluids of different viscosities it has been shown that permanent shear thinning depends more closely on the shear stress experienced by the fluid than on the strain rate. Hydrodynamic measurements have been made on the polymer solutions using a compliant ball on flat lubricated contact that operates in isoviscous-elastic conditions. The measured friction values can only be predicted with reasonable accuracy if the measured shear thinning properties of the lubricant are taken into account in the hydrodynamic model.

Jul 31, 2018

By M Zhu, G Tranell, J You, K Tang, X Ma

The thermal conductivity of slag is critical for the efficiency of high temperature metallurgical processes such as the smelting reduction of ferroalloys, the ladle refining and the continuous casting mold flux in steelmaking. Experimental determination of slag’s thermal conductivity is fraught with challenges, as seen in yielding data for the SiO2-Al2O3-CaO system that are often inconsistent and widely dispersed. In molten slags of this system, thermal transport occurs via phonons within the network structure. To quantitatively describe thermal conductivity based on the microstructure, hightemperature Raman spectroscopy was employed to measure the silicate tetrahedra Qi (i = 0, 1, 2, 3), with Q4 species inferred from mass balance. This study also integrated molecular dynamics simulations to provide a fundamental understanding of the microstructure units distributions. Machine learning algorithms, especially deep neural networks, were applied to establish the relationship between slag composition and the configuration of tetrahedra. The thermal conductivities were then connected with silicate tetrahedra Qi using an Arrhenius-type formalism. This study sets the stage for extending our findings to more complex, multicomponent slags, enhancing their practical application in industrial processes.

Aug 21, 2024

By A. T. Iannacchione, D. G. Puglio

The Bureau of Mines established geologic factors affecting the mining of the Lower Kittanning coalbed to aid in coalbed minability studies and examined the occurrence of "wants" (places where coal is missing) and types of unstable roof rock strata. Trends established from mapping, including prediction of areas of high methane emissions, were extrapolated to unmined areas. "Wants" in the coalbed are of two types: Erosional and depositional. Erosional features occur where north-south-trending sand-filled channels cut into the coalbed. Variations in depositional environments have caused the coalbed to "split" into several thinner units. Slickensides, commonly indicative of unstable roof, are adjacent to and on the underside of sandstone channels; they were caused by differential compaction and by soft sediment sliding along the contact between the sandstone and adjacent shale. The frequency of unstable roof also increases where the interval between the Middle and Lower Kittanning coalbed is less than 30 feet. The zones of weakness at the contacts above and below the Middle Kittanning coalbed are the controlling factors for unstable roof in these strata. Methane emissions from the coalbed are controlled primarily by depth, fracture permeability, and rank of coal. Local geologic factors are coalbed thickness, associated rock strata, structure, and proximity to outcrop.

Jan 1, 1979

By Joseph M. Morrison

This paper offers a comprehensive solution to the problem of dust emissions at belt conveyor transfer points. It discusses details of enclosure design and presents a straightforward procedure for calculating required dust control exhaust volumes. Many design variables are taken into account which heretofore have been commonly ignored or inadequately considered. These include belt widths, belt speeds, enclosure openings, material flow rates, material bulk densities, material lump sizes, height of material fall, material temperature, and ambient air temperature. All of these quantities are handled by means of a "fill-in-the-blanks" type of calculation form which permits quick, reliable solutions by relative "non- experts".

Jan 1, 1970

By S. L. Gula

"Effective and timely communication during routine operations, and especially during emergency situations, is no easy task in any underground mine. At Cominco Fertilizers, Potash Operations, where 150people are employed underground to produce 3.1 million tonnes of potash per annum at a depth of 1100 m (3600ft), this is no exception. The over-all mine workings underlie an area of approximately 20 km 2 with average travel time to the active mining areas being approximately 30 to 40 minutes by light vehicle, and significantly longer than this for heavy equipment.In a mine of this size, the deployment and management of personnel and materials on a day-to-day basis, and during mine emergencies, is an important exercise. The Personal Emergency Device (PED) system has provided the Potash Division a means to achieve improvements in this area and reduce the communications bottleneck.The MineAt Cominco Fertilizers Potash Operations, approximately 30 km southwest of Saskatoon, the orebody is the same horizon being mined by other potash producers in the Saskatoon area and extends over 300 km in an east-west direction, and approximately 150 km in a north-south direction. Mining operations are carried out with approximately 150 employees operating on a continuous-shift basis, seven days a week.Mining is presently being done from Block 6 which takes the mine to its northernmost boundary and contains reserves of approximately 50 million tonnes. Production is from one level by five twin rotor continuous mining machines, each capable of cutting a face up to 5.5 m wide and 3.3 m high . All ore is transported to the shaft via approximately 20 km of conveyor where it is removed to surface by two 24 tonne skips.After the ore is conveyed to the mill for processing, the finished product is shipped by rail car or trucks to other parts of Canada, the United States or through Vancouver to other parts of the world."

Jan 1, 1993

By Bertrand Wolfman, William E. Stanley

"This paper reviews the traditional mine accounting systems, including ""custodial accounting"" and unit costing, and then suggests that the use of flexible budgets represents a more suitable method of reporting costs in order to assist the mine manager in improving productivity. Examples of various applications are given to show that the result is a clear reporting structure.Custodial Accounting is Emphasized in Traditional SystemsTraditional mine accounting has been mainly concerned with the accuracy of financial reporting to ""head office"" for the use of the directors and the company's bankers and shareholders. This is often called custodial accounting and it represented the main purpose of accounting when first developed in Europe hundreds of years ago. This important development permitted the establishment of enterprises which were separated from their owners because they could rely on accurate financial reports of management's stewardship.As custodial accounting is fairly broad and historical in nature, it is often not very useful to the mine manager for ongoing monitoring of performance of mining, milling, maintenance, and other support and staff groups. In spite of the considerable investment in accounting staff and computer support, many accounting systems have not been upgraded so that they accurately reflect workplace performance on a weekly or monthly basis.Budgets are Often FixedMany mines today also still emphasize fixed budgets. Thus, the mine plan which is set in the fall of one year is converted to a monthly tonnage and detailed dollar budget for periods of up to sixteen months in the future. The only certainty in this plan is that actual events will differ; timing, mix of mining methods and production volumes will differ on a monthly basis.Unfortunately, the fixed budget has no capability to reflect these operational changes. It is frozen for the full year. The result is that actual results will inevitably be compared to an outdated target."

Jan 1, 1982

By David K. Ingram

The objective of this U.S. Bureau of Mines investigation was to characterize overburden response due to longwall mining. Subsurface strata and surface deformations were monitored during the mining of two adjacent, 900 ft wide longwall panels in southeastern Ohio. The panels were separated by a five entry, four pillar system (about 350 ft wide). The overburden thickness in the study area ranged from 214 to 280 ft, and the extraction thickness averaged 70 in. To delineate the geology of the overburden, six coreholes were drilled along a profile line extending across the two longwall panels. Multi-point borehole extensometers (MPBX) with eight-anchors were installed in six boreholes to measure subsurface displacements. The MPBX units were continuously monitored using a data logger. During the mining of the first panel, displacement occurred in a radiating pattern beginning just above the extracted area in the center of the panel and extending upward and outward towards the surface and margins of the panel. Overburden deformation did not project over the gate road entries. During the mining of the second panel, the MPBX's showed almost simultaneous displacement, indicating that the overburden began to move as a whole unit. Again, overburden deformation was confined to the immediate panel area. At both panels, overburden movement began when the longwall face was approximately 55 ft beyond the line of MPBX boreholes. Moreover, all ground movement was complete when the longwall face was approximately 200 ft beyond the line of MPBX boreholes. This paper discusses the results of the study and identifies the characteristics of overburden deformation.

Jan 1, 1986

SOLUTION MINING Solution mining techniques present a means of extracting soluble ores, particularly such materials as salt and potash, from horizons which are not accessible by conventional mining. In the process of dissolving materials, it is evident that solution may be complete or partial. In general, the solution mining operations described in the following section relate to complete solution of the desired compound. Even though the solution of material is complete, there may be instances in which insoluble material is present to a large extent either as granular separated particles or as insoluble layers. The process required for obtaining the desired product involves access wells to reach the deposits, sufficient water supply to yield the production goals, and the development of an underground cavity. The process of solution mining, therefore, depends to a great extent on three factors: availability of a relatively pure strata or formation of salt or potash to be mined, access well or wells, and adequate control of the solutioning process so that enlargement of underground cavities can be fairly well delineated. Since halites represent the most general ores mined by this procedure, the considerations which follow are based primarily on the production of sodium or potassium chloride. The producing formations may be in the form of bedded evc~porites wherein the salt member may be some 30 to 500 ft thick or from salt domes in which great depths of salt occur. Solution mining has been carried out to depths of nearly 10,000 ft. The recovery of saturated brine from wells drilled to effect the solution-mining process leads to further processing. In many instances, the procedures are relatively simple and involve simple recrystallieation or fractional crystallieation, while in others more complex flow systems are required before a final product is obtained. The intent of this section is to provide information relative to the basic procedures for obtaining materials which are soluble in water and to acquaint the engineer with the various aspects of the overall problem which in many instances, may become quite complex and present numerous difficulties. The storage of fluids, particularly hydrocarbons, underground has proven to be a very important part of industry operations. Cavities formed in salt provide excellent storage facilities. The formation of well-defined controlled configurations of such cavities has been possible because of better understanding of the solution process, wide experience gained over nearly 30 yr, and improved technology in drilling and completing wells, surveying caverns, and the operation of numerous types of systems. Solution mining techniques will improve in the future. Many facets of the simple operation of pumping solvents and extracting valuable minerals require further study. Developments undoubtedly will occur to further the processes of mining by solution. In addition to those whose names appear in connection with the individual subjections which follow, a major role in assembling and processing the material in this section was played by Dr. D. A. Shock, Central Research, Continental Oil Co., Ponca City, Okla.

Jan 1, 1973