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By L. Xinghua

Limonite is a general term for a group of amorphous iron oxide and iron hydroxide materials. It is considered as one of the very refractory iron ore types due to its wide variation in chemical composition, iron content, moisture content and easily sliming in the course of comminution. Iron grade of test sample is 25.48%, the iron minerals are mainly limonite; and the gangue minerals consist of quartz and feldspar in majority, secondarily silicate minerals. In this test work, high intensity magnetic separation (HIMS)-cationic reverse flotation and magnetic roasting-low intensity magnetic separation (LIMS) tests were conducted on limonite ore. The test results show that the concentrate with iron grade of 50.97% and recovery of 68.50% can be obtained by HIMS-cationic reverse flotation technique; while using magnetic roasting-LIMS technique, the better concentrate indexes of iron grade of 60.36% and recovery of 89.71% are achieved, and the iron grade of tailing is only 4.42%. Therefore, the magnetic roasting-LIMS technique is a better suitable method for beneficiation of low-grade limonite ore. Keywords: Low-grade limonite; Mineralogy; HIMS; Cationic reverse flotation; Magnetic roasting; LIMS

Feb 27, 2013

By Dennis Molvik, Roberto J. Guardia, Brad Cowles, Rick Andrews, Robert A. Robinson

A 220-meter (m) segment of the Henderson/ ML King Combined Sewer Overflow(CSO) consists of two 1.8-meter-inside diameter (I.D.) pipe-jacked tunnels that pass beneath Interstate-5 and the BNSF and UPRR railroads. A seismic tomography survey was conducted to develop a 3-dimensional profile of the tunnel zone and better define potential obstructions. The tomography was conducted through three 11 cm high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipes installed in a triangular pattern around the future tunnel alignments using horizontal directional drilling methods. The pipe-jacked tunnels have been successfully completed, thus permitting a comparison between the predicted obstructions and those actually encountered. The top HDPE tomography pipe was also used to monitor settlements with an experimental horizontal profiler above the advancing tunnels during construction and located two areas of ground loss beneath I-5 that were subsequently grouted.

Jan 1, 2005

By J. F. Hutwelker

A pilot plant was constructed and operated to investigate the column flotation of 20 x 200 mesh North Carolina phosphate ore, using high throughput, high solids operating conditions developed at the NCSU Minerals Research Laboratory. Flotation was performed at 45% solids in a 9.5 cm (3.75 in.) diameter by 2.26 m (7.4 ft.) tall column at throughputs of 19.1 t/hr/m2 (2.0 stph/ft2) and 31.7 t/hr/m2 (3.3 stph/ft2). Recoveries in excess of 98% of the phosphate value were obtained at the lower throughput -- while obtaining concentrate grades containing over 28% P205 (61.2% BPL) at that recovery. Recoveries of about 95% of the phosphate value were obtained at the higher throughput, while making a concentrate averaging 27.6% P209 (60.3% BPL). In addition, a better understanding of the variables governing the column flotation of coarse nonmetallic minerals was gained. Low air flow rates adversely affected concentrate grade at the lower throughput. At the higher throughput, phosphate recovery decreased at an elevated air flow rate. An unexpected result of the study was the effect that frother type had upon phosphate metallurgy. Use of Nottingham Econofroth 925 provided better flotation selectivity than American Cyanamid F-65 at the low throughput. This is significant since the high' throughput tests were conducted with F-65 exclusively. It is reasonable to expect further improvement in high throughput performance when the optimal frother type and dosage are determined.

Jan 1, 1993

When defining a ?megaproject,? one need only to look at Seattle, WA?s State Route 99 Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement project. This $3.1-billion project is one of the largest of its kind in the world, and includes the use of the world?s largest tunnel boring machine (TBM). However, for as large as the Alaskan Way project is ? especially given the size of the TBM being used ? there are several other megaprojects underway around the world. Each has its own challenges that require innovative design techniques and financing arrangements, as well as variations on established tunneling technologies. So it was that 266 tunneling and underground construction professionals ? owners, contractors and engineers ? convened in Seattle in November for the Cutting Edge Conference on Megaprojects. This was the second joint meeting between the Underground Construction Association of SME and the North American Tunneling Journal. The first joint conference took place in April 2012 in Miami, FL and attracted 238 attendees. A third joint conference, to be held in 2014, is in the planning stage. The key reason Seattle was chosen as the site of the megaprojects conference is the Alaskan Way Viaduct project. Before the conference began, many of the attendees were able to visit the project and get a close look at Bertha, the Hitachi Zosen earth pressure balance TBM that is boring the tunnel. In addition, the conference included an exhibit that attracted 20 industry suppliers, up from 10 the previous year in Miami. The 25 presentations during the two-day conference covered all aspects of the tunneling and underground construction of megaprojects. Topics included the Alaskan Way Viaduct project; considerations for procurement and contracting; political risk, financing and insurance; international megaprojects; risk and risk sharing and project delivery. Each session concluded with panel discussions.

Dec 1, 2013

By F. Calizaya

This paper describes the basic requirements for the utilization of belt air to ventilate working sections at remote locations in relation to the main fans. It highlights the risks involved, potential problems, and the provisions that must be followed by mine operators for the safe use of belt air. The paper also presents a brief review of the current regulations, conveyor belting tests, atmospheric monitoring system requirements, and the experience gained by mine operators to utilize the belt entries to ventilate remote working sections or areas where mechanized equipment is being installed or removed. The paper concludes with a set of recommendations with respect to the utilization of belt air and the composition of belt material in under-ground coal mines.

Jan 1, 2008

By D. Brün, T. W. Nattkemper, T. Kuhn, T. Schoening

Underwater exploration for marine resources using camera-equipped devices (OFOS, ROV, AUV) is receiving growing attention. This development is creating a continuously growing pile of digital underwater images leading to a serious bottleneck in the analysis. However, any harvesting strategy must be coupled to an efficient and effective assessment of the biodiversity in the area of interest and in nearby control areas. To integrate manual image and computational image interpretation on different levels (i.e. regarding geology and environmental sciences and taxonomy), sophisticated software support is required, which is not yet offered explicitly, neither by commercial software companies nor by academic or other publicly founded institutions. Here, we present the first version of a new digital asset management system that offers functionalities for easy data management, sharing, manual annotation and integration of computational modules for image enhancement/pre-processing and interpretation. The functionality is demonstrated with data from the CCZ provided by the BGR Hannover.

Sep 1, 2014

By David J. Lowell

The gold content of porphyry copper deposits ranges from less than 0.05 g/t to more than I g/t ((0.0017 to 0.035 oz per st) and the average is about 0.05 g/t (0.0017 oz per st) gold. Perhaps the highest grade mineralization found near a porphyry cop¬per deposit is the Ok Tedi Gold Cap ore body whose grade falls in the 2 to 3 g/t (0.07 to 0.1 oz per st) range. It is difficult to define a gold-rich por¬phyry copper deposit. All porphyry copper ore bodies contain some gold, but there seems to be a fairly sharp break in the gold content at about 0.1 g/t (0.003 oz per st) gold. There is also a problem in identifying dis¬seminated gold deposits that may have an indirect relationship to porphyry copper systems. This relationship is clear cut in deposits such as the Ok Tedi Gold Cap, the El Hueso deposit, the Fortitude and West de¬posits at Battle Mountain, NV, and the Sur¬prise deposit at Ely, NV. There are many other bulk disseminated, epithermal-type gold deposits - McCoy, NV, for example - that might be related to a porphyry system but where this relationship is remains very uncertain. In such places as the Goldfields and Tonapah district in Ne¬vada and in the El Indio, Chile district, there may be a vertically stacked ore deposit rela¬tionship between near surface epithermal deposits and disseminated molybdenite and chalcopyrite enargite mineralization at depth that may represent a deep porphyry system. This, however, has not been positively demonstrated. Most of the bulk epithermal gold deposits are probably not related to porphyry copper systems. Exceptions would probably be Ok Tedi, El Indio, El Hueso, Battle Mountain, and Lepanto where vertical or lateral zoning relationships are more apparent. This author believes that porphyry copper systems are related to a relatively unique type of intrusion that is probably distinct from, for example, the McCoy intrusivebody. For that reason, deposits such as McCoy, Chimney Creek, and the like will not be included in the definition of gold-rich por¬phyry copper deposits for this article. The interpretation of the origin of several of the deposits previously mentioned are subject to an unusual amount of contro¬versy. For example, geologists seem to be equally divided about the presence of a porphyry copper deposit below the El Indio deposit. Geologic setting Continental vs. island arc Several geologists have speculated that the gold-rich, moly-poor, porphyries are

Jan 1, 1989

By R. L. Grayson

Using powerful database management software, nested-field analysis and microanalysis of narratives have been made of West Virginia accident data, resulting in a new approach for targeting and prioritizing safety interventions by county, mine size, specific mine, job title, type injury, etc. and combinations of these parameters. The analyses have been useful in focusing training and discussion sessions on specific work problems, trends, conditions, and situations for targeted groups of miners. Application of the technique will be presented in this paper, along with comparisons of various mine performance measures.

Jan 1, 1997

By D. Olsen, S. Cole, J. Strid, G. Colzani

This paper focuses on the underground tunnel work at the Hollywood Water Quality Improvement Project (HWQIP) in Los Angeles, CA. The HWQIP is being constructed to provide a water distribution system to bypass the existing Hollywood Reservoir System, which supplies drinking water for 500,000 people. The major project features include, a 2.9-meter diameter 1,829 meter long bypass tunnel, a 1.8-meterdiameter 366 meter long utility tunnel, 3 jack and bore tunnels, two 136 million liters underground circumferentially wrapped pre-stressed concrete water storage tanks, associated piping, and mechanical facilities. The physical project location coupled with strong community involvement and stringent environmental concerns was a considerable driving force for this project located in the Cahuenga Pass area of the Hollywood Hills north of Los Angeles, CA.

Jan 1, 2001

By B. K. Parekh

Economical dewatering of ultra-fine (minus 74 m) clean coal slurry produced in column flotation to a 20 percent or lower moisture level will be an important step in successful implementation of the advanced fine coal cleaning processes. The main objective of the present study was to evaluate efficiency and effectiveness of three dewatering techniques, namely, hyperbaric, vacuum and screen bowl centrifuge, in dewatering of ultra-fine (D50 -25 m) clean coal slurry produced by the 'Ken-Flote' columns operating at the Powell Mountain Coal Company, St. Charles, Virginia. he hyperbaric filter using 3 bar pressure and 1650 cake formation angle, provided a filter cake with 23.6 percent moisture with a throughput of 800 Kg/m2-h and air consumption of 868 Nm3/t (460 scfm/t). The vacuum filter with 30 percent submergence provided a filter cake with 27.8 percent moisture with a throughput of 122 Kg/m2-h. The screen bowl centrifuge provided a dewatered product containing 32.9 percent moisture at a feed rate of 450 Kg/hr, however, the solids capture was only 65 percent. Addition of 1 Kg/t of a cationic surfactant provided filter cakes with 19.1 percent, 23 percent, and 34 percent moisture using hyperbaric, vacuum, and centrifuge, respectively. Similarly, addition of 0.5 Kg/ton of copper chloride lowered filter cake moisture to 20.7 percent and 24.8 percent, using hyperbaric and vacuum. With the centrifuge no improvement in filter cake moisture was noted. However, use of 80 Kg/ton of 'orimulsion' in the centrifuge provided dewatered product containing 26 percent moisture, and the solids capture increased from 65 to 95 percent. The dewatered product appeared dry and was easily handleable.

Jan 1, 1999

Ceremonies for the induction of four mining industry pioneers into the National Mining Hall of Fame will be held Saturday, Sept. 13, 2008 at the Charles F. Barber Pavilion of the Museum Convention Center in Leadville, CO. This will be the 21st Annual National Mining Museum and Induction Banquet. The four inductees are Lew Eklund, 76, Carrie Jane Billings Everson (1843-1914), ?Colonel? William C. Greene (1851-1911) and Arthur L. Hawkesworth (1860-1905). Lew Eklund founded Eklund Drilling that is now based in Elko, NV. He invented many designs that play a major role in today?s mining industry. His Cyclo Blower and various sampling devices he designed helped to revolutionize gold deposit exploration by allowing mining companies to effectively sample microscopic gold. Carrie Jane Billings Everson discovered and proved a method for bulk oil flotation concentration of mineral ores, the precursor to modern froth flotation methods of minerals concentration. She patented her process in 1886. In the early 1890s, coworkers built and operated demonstration plants incorporating her bulk oil flotation process. ?Colonel? William C. Greene was responsible for the development of the great copper mining properties of Cananea, Mexico. In seven years, he went from ragged cattleman and adventurer to the greatest captain of industry the borderlands have ever seen. Arthur L. Hawkesworth was a master mechanic for Anaconda Copper. He invented the detachable drill bit. His invention generated tremendous savings for the mining industry in time, in dollars and in safer operating conditions underground. His bit?s long lasting contribution to improved mine economics is immeasurable. The 21st Annual National Mining Museum and Induction Banquet will begin with an open house and reception at 5:30 p.m. followed by the dinner and program at 7 p.m. The inductions will bring to 201 the number of mining ?greats? whose engraved photographs and biographical sketches are installed in the National Mining Hall of Fame.

Jan 1, 2008

Market confidence is on the rise and industry leaders turning toward the vast and diverse region of Latin America are faced with abundant, yet daunting, opportunity. From the iron orebodies of Brazil to the renowned copper mines of northern Chile, drilling teams in Latin America are often faced with abrasive, broken ground. These types of ground conditions tear up coring bits rapidly, making it extremely difficult for even the most seasoned drilling teams to maintain effective productivity. The drilling challenges faced in this rich and opportune region are being met today by advanced coring technology, bringing with it the potential for increased productivity in Latin American mineral exploration.

Jan 3, 2010

By Keith Jones, Michael Francis

Contract 240 of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link comprises construction of twin4.7 km long running tunnels through a densely populated area of East London. The tunnels were constructed by EPBM in Sands and Sandy Clays, passing 4.4 m below the existing London Underground tunnels, and at depths of 20–30m below ground level beneath the Great Eastern railway lines into London Liverpool Street and a series of railway bridges and hundreds of buildings. This paper describes how the project team managed the challenges relating to the issue of settlement: mitigating settlement effects, prioritising the structures to be assessed, controlling resource expenditure by incentives and flexible response to urgent work relating to unforeseen events such as ground collapse and discovery of unusual structures.

Jan 1, 2005

By Daniel H. Israel

Indian tribes own a substantial portion of the West's minerals. More importantly, Indian reservations contain coal, oil and gas, uranium, and oil shale reserves in unusually large and unencumbered blocks. Many tribes are now prepared to intensify development of their large reserves knowing that they can offer energy partners the unique opportunity to develop major energy facilities free of overlapping local, state, and federal permitting authorities. The tribes, therefore, can offer mineral developers both substantial reserves and an unusual degree of freedom from a multiplicity of government regulation. In the past, Indians and energy companies enjoyed only partial success as business partners. Indian tribes lacked the resources and know-how to act as equal partners with large oil and gas and mining operators. The tribes relied on the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to initiate and execute reservation energy projects, and as a result the tribes never developed adequate tribal structures and the expertise to responsibly manage their energy resources. At the same time industry made little effort to understand and learn the laws, customs, and institutions existing on Indian reservations. To the contrary, industry found it easier to bypass the tribes and deal with BIA officials. But the situation has changed. In 1975 the tribes organized an effective coalition, the Council of Energy Resources Tribes (CERT), which recently acquired substantial federal assistance to bring the tribes a level of technical and business expertise that begins to equal that of industry. Because the tribes have changed the rules of the game, industry must now change and learn to work directly with tribal governments. A working knowledge of Indian law, practices, customs, and policies must be acquired by energy companies before beginning negotiations with tribal governments for development of reservation energy resources.

Jan 6, 1980

By Paul D. Tomlingson

During the next several months, SME’s E-Newsletter will feature 15 articles on maintenance management. The articles may be read online or downloaded and distributed within your organization. They will address maintenance management topics, offer guidelines to mining managers and provide techniques that the maintenance manager can use. The articles will stress equipment management, a strategy that the mining industry has accepted as a modern replacement for outdated maintenance practices. Equipment management is the mutually supportive interaction of all mine departments as they establish equipment needs, procure equipment, test, commission, operate, maintain, modify and eventually replace equipment. The successful application of equipment management principles can quickly and reliably produce cost reduction and performance improvement results while providing a dependable way of sustaining them. Equipment management embraces modern management techniques. These include reliability-centered maintenance, life-cycle costing, capital performance, the effective use of information and productive organizational models.

Jan 1, 2003

By Jochen Belz, Allan Henneker, Nod Clarke-Hackston

For the construction of tunnels and other underground structures, extraction of the exact amount of material is of paramount importance both economically and for engineering purposes. In the Sequential Support Method (NATM) immediate (sequential)and smooth support by means of shotcrete, steel arches, lattice girders and rockbolts, either singly or in combination are used; cutting of the precise (albeit sometimes of complex geometry) profile is an integral part of the method. In order to save unnecessary excavation and provide better information to the machine operator, VMT GmbH has developed a system to support precise excavation of the tunnel profile when using road headers or other partial face cutting machines. This paper outlines the principles of this system with examples from Australia, Ger-many, Sweden and Spain and will cite examples of typical savings achieved.

Jan 1, 2007

By John Sleavin

As part of the Link Light Rail project in Seattle, WA, work was completed at the Pine Street Stub Tunnel (PSST) in early 2007 for the Central Link project. This tunnel was excavated using cut-and-cover construction within the limits of Pine Street. The stub tunnel provides a turn back via double crossover for light rail trains running in the Downtown Transit Tunnel (DTT), as well as a connection point for the next phase of the project, the University Link (Fig. 1). Designing the new University Link tunnel connection to the existing PSST was a tricky task. The on-site geotechnical conditions, buried obstructions, geometry, requirements for construction and balancing operational considerations and neighborhood stakeholder concerns associated with the recently completed PSST combined to create a uniquely challenging assignment.

Jan 1, 2010

By P. J. Rua

The Piedras Verdes copper mine is a new run-of-mine (ROM), heap leach, solvent-extraction/electrowinning (SX-EW) operation located 21 km (13 miles) north-northwest of the town of Alamos in the state of Sonora, Mexico. The Piedras Verdes copper mine is wholly owned by Frontera Copper Corp. (FCC), a Canadian corporation, through its 100 percent beneficial interest in Cobre del Mayo S.A. de C.V. (CDM), a Mexican registered company. The January 2008, minable reserves were estimated to be 193.6 Mt (213 million st) at a grade of 0.36 percent copper. The overall recovery of total copper was estimated to be 61.9 percent. The property has an additional 17-year life and is designed to produce 31.7 kt/a (70 million lbs/year) of cathode copper. Construction commenced in early October 2005. The first copper cathode was produced 12 months later at a total capital cost of $100 million. Elevations at the site range from 150 to 300 m (490 to 985 ft) above sea level. The area has excellent infra-structure in the form of towns, power, water, roads, rail, airfield and access to the deepwater port of Guaymas (Fig. 1). The surrounding area is also famous for its numerous polymetallic (lead, zinc, copper, silver and gold) epithermal veins. Some of these were mined for more than 200 years and provided the wealth on which the town of Alamos was built. The original village of Piedras Verdes was located in the area of the proposed openpit mine and, consequently, it was necessary to construct a new townsite 6 km (3.7 miles) to the south before project development could commence. The new town site (Fig. 2), complete with power and water supplies, roads, sewer system, schools, clinic and recreational facilities, was completed and occupied by 49 families in September 2005. CDM received its remaining permits from the Mexican environmental authorities on Sept. 20, 2005. This enabled the company to proceed with full-scale development. CDM owns or controls 27 mining concessions covering the resource. Surface rights to the Piedras Verdes project were controlled by four Ejidos (communal agrarian and/or ranching societies) and five individual landowners. CDM has acquired all surface rights necessary for its mining operations and associated facilities either through outright purchase or long term lease agreements.

Jan 1, 2008

By Mohammad R. Jafari

The Camp Dresser & McKee (CDM) has been retained by the Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District (SRCSD) to design the Mather Interceptor, a portion of the South Interceptor and Mather Interceptor program. The Mather Interceptor consists of 14,667 feet of 54 to 72 inch gravity interceptor. Approximately 90 percent of the alignment will be constructed via tunneling. Cobbles and boulders in a sand/gravel matrix dominate the ground conditions combined with seasonal perched groundwater table at some of the deeper reaches of the alignment, impacting design consideration. This paper will present the results of a comprehensive geotechnical investigation conducted for this project and in-depth technical evaluation of various trenchless techniques feasible for tunneling in the cobble and boulder laden formations of this project. This paper will also present the risks and issues of the design alternatives and selection criteria.

By R. P. King

The MODSIM mineral processing plant simultor is used to find optimal combinations of target separation specific gravities in a typical modem coal washing plant. A plant that is set up with these optimal targets can deliver up to 10% more yield at the same ash content as the same plant set up with separation targets chosen by conventional methods. MODSIM is the only simulator currently available that can simulate the liberation of pyrite and other mineral matter during open- and closed-circuit grinding operations. The simulator can therefore be used to assess the benefits of grinding operations in the flowsheet.

Feb 24, 1997