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By V. Anthony Cammarota

MINERALS INFORMATION PROGRAM Mineral data collection by the Federal Government actually began in 1882 with an appropriation by Congress to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Although the Bureau of Mines was instituted in 1910, it was not until 1924 that the collection, interpretation, and dissemination of worldwide information on production, consumption, and availability of minerals became the responsibility of the Bureau. The objective of the Bureau's minerals information program is to maintain and provide reliable, timely, and comprehensive data for analysis of national minerals problems. This program is implemented by a staff of specialists who cover about 100 mineral commodities and the mineral industries of 168 countries. Data are also provided on the minerals industry on the State and county level. The specialists analyze information to identify trends and problems, forecast future U.S. and world supply and demand for the nonfuel minerals, and relate trends and developments to their impact on the domestic minerals industry. Data Sources and Publications The primary sources of data concerning the domestic minerals industry are the companies that produce, use, and trade in these minerals. Approximately 60,000 survey forms are sent to industry, on a monthly, quarterly, semiannual, or annual basis, to obtain the data. Domestic trade data are provided by the Bureau of the Census, U.S. Department of Commerce. Information on mineral developments abroad is developed by Bureau specialists from mineral reports supplied by U.S. embassies worldwide, from primary source documents, from a review of the technical mining literature, and from onsite mine and plant visits in foreign countries. The information is disseminated through a number of Bureau publications: "Mineral Industry Surveys" provide aggregated data on a monthly. quarterly, or semiannual basis to give timely information on the most important mineral commodities. "Mineral Commodity Summaries," published each January, provides preliminary annual data on supply and demand and discusses significant events of the previous year. The final data are published later in the "Minerals Yearbook," which is the definitive historical record for mineral statistics. "Mineral Facts and Problems," an encyclopedic work issued every 5 years, covers industry structure, technology, supply-demand analysis. economic factors, reserves, and forecasts of U.S. and world demand for individual commodities. "Mineral Perspectives" and "Mineral Issues" cover important international mineral developments and significant issues of current U.S. policy as they relate to minerals. Discussions and analyses of mineral trends and developments also appear in other Bureau publications, such as "Minerals and Materials" and "Information Circulars." These publications provide the basis for analysis and policy determinations by the Bureau and by virtually every Federal agency concerned with minerals, defense issues, the national economy, and foreign relations. The data are also used by industry in planning capital investments in mines and processing plants, by financial analysts, by U.S. delegations in their work with international commodity groups, and by a host of other minerals related organizations. Data Bases The data bases used by the specialists for preparing publications or in response to a continuous stream of inquiries include both those that contain individual commodity data from respondents, and those that are summary data bases on production, trade, capacity, employment and a number of other minerals-related items, not all of which are derived from data reported to the Bureau of Mines. The data bases maintained on the mainframes are not accessible by non- Bureau users. A 10-year data base of supply- demand data, published each year as an update of tables that appear for each commodity in Mineral Facts and Problems, is available on a floppy

Jan 1, 1987

By J. D. Mc Beth

The Carlin Gold Mining Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Newmont Mining Corporation has been successfully operating an open pit gold mine and cyanide mill for approximately the past ten years. It is a unique operation in that about 20 percent of the mill feed is a carbonaceous ore refractory to cyanidation that must undergo a pretreatment stage developed for, and by, Carlin. The mine and plant are located in the Tuscarora mountain range is north-eastern Nevada near the towns of Carlin and Elko. Claims were staked at the minesite in 1961 and 1962. A drilling program was initiated late in 1962 and after drilling a total of 250,000 feet of rotary drill holes an estimated 9,300,000 tons of ore at a grade of 0.32 ounces of gold per ton was delineated.

Jan 1, 1975

By Herschel H. Potter

Back injuries arising from such activities as lifting and handling objects have been and continue to be constant and undiminishing hazards of the occupational environment. Back pain in one form or another is experienced by almost a1 1 individuals. During the past 30 years, a great deal of accident prevention education has been directed toward the reduction of back injuries. However, it has not produced any great change in the incidence of the injury. The human spine remains the most vulnerable area of the muscul o-skeleta1 system. Back injuries account for about 400,000, or 18 percent, of all disabling work related injuries each year according to the National Safety Council estimates. These serious back injuries are estimated to have cost more than 1.9 billion dollars in 1976 in medical and lost time pay. 1

Jan 1, 1981

By M. W. Harmer

Laboratory test work, pilot plant testing and plant experience with wet, fine mesh screens is discussed. High frequency, low amplitude, fine mesh, wet screens were installed on the 6th cleaner concentrate stream. These screens produce a 60% oversize recovery split of the molybdenite concentrate that is of leached equivalent quality. The undersize stream is leached with 'hot ferric chloride to remove Pb and Cu contaminates before roasting or shipment to sulfide customers. This plant modification is a good example of using existing technology in an unconventional flow sheet to yield significant cost savings.

Jan 1, 1990

By C. Einberger

Groundwater Monitoring is typically required by regulatory agencies at potentially hazardous landfills or surface impoundments. Agencies have often required an arbitrary number of wells with limited evaluation of the effectiveness of the network to detect a leak. A Monitoring Efficiency Model (MEMO) has been developed to improve the design and cost effectiveness of monitoring well networks. MEMO 15 an analytical model that simulates the migration of hypothetical contaminant plumes from a site and quantifies the efficiency of alternative well network designs in detecting the plumes. The computed monitoring efficiency provides a quantitative measure of the well network adequacy based on hydrogeologic considerations. The model was recently used to design the groundwater monitoring well network for a heap leach pad at the proposed Beartrack Project.

Jan 1, 1993

By John M. Arnold

Several years ago it became apparent to some of our people that; there was developing a very definite need for largee coal reserves in the West to satisfy- the need for fuel for the furnaces of electric generating plants with the rapid development of, the West, of both population and industry, it was impossible for hydro-electrics plants to keep up with the ever increasing demand for electricity. In 1960, Mr. E. R. Phelps, then associated with the engineering department of Peabody Coal Company, began a search for and development of coal deposits in the very remote northeast section of Arizona near the village of Kayenta. Travel to this section of the country was not easy even at this late date, and it was an eight hour drive from Farmington, New Mexico to Kayenta, Arizona, a distance of some 130 miles. The trip was over roads that even' a-horse and wagon had trouble negotiating and a four wheel drive vehicle was about the only type of transportation that could satisfactorily traverse these roads, as testify many badly beaten sedans and coupes that tried it. Since that time a very excellent road has been constructed from Shiprock; New Mexico to Cameron, Arizona where it junctions with another excellent road that runs north to Page, Arizona and the Lake. Powell area and south to Flagstaff, Arizona on highway 66. Kayenta is a small village nestled at the foot of the Black Mesa near its northeast extremities. The coal deposits of interest were on the surface of the mesa. This location presented another problem, as the only trail to the top of the mesa was intended for walking, horseback, or a brave soul In a horse and wagon. Once again the four wheel drive vehicle was about the only answer. To reach the coal deposits you must climb the mesa, which is vertical ascent of some 1,500 feet, and then proceed southward into the bowl of the mesa with an ensuing descent of some 1,000 feet, finally coming to an elevation of 6,500 feet, at which elevation the coal outcrops become apparent.

Jan 1, 1969

By Shawn P. Coughlin, Michael A. Schimmenti, Juan Leonardo Tello del Pino

"PROJECT OVERVIEWThe Sistema de Potabilización Área Norte project (Northern Area Purification System) was a major expansion of the potable water system in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. The aim of the project was to transport and purify raw water from the Paraná River to provide potable water for five communities in the northern part of the province, benefitting up to two million inhabitants. The project was constructed by a joint venture of four South American contractors (“the JV”), and consisted of the following key components:• Treatment Plant: A 16 hectare area was cleared for the construction of a treatment plant to purify 900,000 m3/day of raw water from the Paraná River and distribute it to the surrounding communities.• Bored Tunnel: Nearly 15 km of 3.6 m inner diameter tunnel, ranging from 18 to 22 m below grade, was bored with two EPB tunnel boring machines to draw the raw water from the river. The TBMs started from a central launch shaft and proceeded in opposite directions: Cristina advanced northbound to the Paraná River Intake System, and Liliana advanced southbound to the new treatment plant.• Access & Ventilation Shafts: Five access shafts and eight ventilation shafts were installed along the length of the tunnel. The access shafts were designed to provide entry points for inspection and maintenance of the final tunnel. The five shafts consisted of: one central launch shaft in the middle of the tunnel alignment, one retrieval shaft at each end of the tunnel (Intake and Treatment Plant, respectively), and two intermediate shafts. The intermediate shafts were installed before the TBM passed, with a final liner to be installed afterwards. Access Shaft 3, the intermediate shaft located between the launch shaft and the treatment plant, experienced persistent leaks during initial excavation attempts."

Jan 1, 2016

By Ken A. Phillips

Like the Arizona jeans commercial says: Arizona's not just a state, its a state of mines. Nearly 300 mines operate in Arizona making it the largest nonfuel mining state in the nation. Although copper is king in Arizona's mineral complex, nonmetallic minerals play important roles both regionally and nationally. Throughout Arizona's mineral resource development history industrial minerals have dominated over the metals for most, but not recent years. The State's metal mining industry which makes Arizona the number one mining state in the United States is a relatively young phenomenon. Arizona was an important industrial mineral producer long before her metal mining industry got started. Salt, phosphates, silicates, and oxides as food additives, tanning chemicals, gemstones, components of aboriginal ordnance, pigments, and construction materials are among the minerals produced long before copper, gold, silver, and the other metals became important. Around 92 % of Arizona's mineral industry is made up of nonfuel minerals, 86 % of that is accounted for by copper. Another 4 % is taken up by copper byproducts of molybdenum, silver, and gold. The remaining 10% of the production is occupied by non-fuel, non-metallic minerals. Arizona's 1994 industrial mineral production of nearly $380 million ranks us among the top 25 in the nation and higher than the total mineral production of at least 15 states.

Jan 1, 1996

By S. B. Patton

A comprehensive approach to the development and organization of an expert system that is designed to assist electricians in diagnosing electrical faults m mining machinery is discussed. The system includes diagnostic, reference, and tutorial programs. The diagnostic portion of the system is based on a causal-reasoning approach which is used to establish a hierarchy of symptoms and the subsequent production rules for identifying component-level failures m the motor-control circuit of a shuttle car. With this approach, conclusions are developed directly from knowledge of the circuit and its behavior (in both working and failure modes) based on first principles, rather than the heuristics of a domain expert. The symptoms and their hierarchical structure an: formulated by creating "what-if" scenarios and performing a qualitative circuit analysis for each fault Techniques for incorporating interactive graphical displays of the circuit schematic into the diagnostic portion of the system are also presented. Supportive computer programs that provide' reference material and tutorials on the circuit are also described.

Jan 1, 1989

By Harry Deitzer

Within the industrial marketplace barium sulfate has an established role as a filler or extender pigment for use in a wide array of applications. The focus of this paper is to outline a number of these applications and in each one characterizes those features of barium sulfate which provide value. Following this is a discussion of the process techniques which have been used to develop value from a selected class of barite ores found in southern Missouri. It is appropriate to define some terms which may help in clarifying some concepts as presented. Use of the term barium sulfate refers broadly to the chemical compound BaSO4 Barite will generally refer to the naturally occurring barium sulfate ores and their properties. Barytes, whether bleached or not, will refer to barite ore made suitable for industrial applications.

Jan 1, 1993

By Henry J. Jacoby

This report concerns Contract No. 3B of the Port Richmond Project, for the Department of Water Resources of the City of New York. It involves the construction of 7, 000 ft. of 7 ft. finish I. D. interceptor sewer by tunneling in soft ground, as well as associated manholes, regulator chambers, siphons and miscellaneous sewers and structures, beneath a heavily travelled perimeter road in Staten Island. The Contractor is Richmond Constructors, a joint venture of Grow Tunneling Corp., sponsor, MacLean Grove & Company, Incorporated, Morrison-Knudsen Company, Inc., and Andrew Catapano Co., Inc. Project manager is Paul DeMarco, Vice-President of Grow Tunneling Corp. The cortract, as designed and bid, requires the use of liner plates 101 -0" O. D., and both cast iron and steel designs of several widths were included in the bid documents by the owner. The specifications also required the contractor to install and put into operating condition, prior to commencement of mining, a complete low pressure compressed air plant and all accessories for mining in compressed air, even though the contractor was given the option of using other methods of ground water control. A third requirement of the specifications was that a shield be used, either manual or mechanical, and with full provision for "breasting". BACKGROUND The first soft ground shield driven tunnel in the United States was in New York City and was built under Broadway in lower Manhattan in 1869

Jan 1, 1974

By A. Santha Ram

The Indian Mining sector is subjected to a number of trends including call for global transition towards the route to sustainable development. Several regulations were enacted by the Government departments, from time to time, in order to identify the problems faced by the mining industry, including small-scale mining operations and to suggest appropriate mitigation measures in the form of environmental standards and certifications. During this process, a pursuit of sustainable development is regarded as an important area responding to socio-economic conditions, priorities and thus guides eventually corporate policies and practices. Thus, there is a need to formulate strategies for sustainable development. Based on these strategies some environmental indicators were developed in order to track down the progress and to evaluate its success. A case study pertaining to a group of iron ore mines in North Goa and Chromite mines in Sukinda, Orissa was selected for this study. Base line environmental data has been generated in the respective study sites. A core set of environmental indicators monitoring environmental progress based on the P-S-R model pioneered by OECD is linked with indicators for assessing the integration of environmental concerns.

Jan 1, 2003

By Weiran Zuo, Wanzhong Yin, Jin Yao, Keqiang Chen, Qiuyue Sheng, Liu Liu

It is important to investigate the liberation properties of gangue minerals and establish liberation models for low-grade iron ores to reject gangue early. In this study, three types of iron ores from different iron deposits were ground to different particle size distributions by locked-cycle grinding and batch grinding. The liberation distribution of quartz, the most dominant gangue mineral among the three types of iron ores, was tested by Mineral Liberation Analyzer (MLA). Afterward, the liberation distribution of the three types of quartz was fitted using the beta distribution function, and their shape parameters were related to particle sizes to develop the liberation model. MLA test results showed that the liberation distribution of quartz with different grinding methods was basically the same. The developed liberation model predicted the liberation distribution of quartz in low-grade iron ores from different iron deposits well, and its coefficient of determination (R2) was between 0.90 and 0.98. This study deepens the understanding of the liberation rules of quartz in low-grade iron ores from different iron deposits, and on this basis, a more efficient liberation model based on the beta distribution function is developed.

Oct 18, 2023

By Kexin Cai, Isidro Rivera, Shawna Von Stockhausen, Maria Chastka, Kevin Huynh

The Newell Creek Dam Inlet/Outlet Replacement Project is located approximately 11 miles north of Santa Cruz, California along Highway 9 in the San Lorenzo Valley. This project will replace the existing inlet/outlet works at the Loch Lomond Reservoir by constructing a tunnel using conventional excavation methods while simultaneously drilling three intake shafts to intercept the tunnel from within the city’s water supply. This project will improve the system’s overall operational efficiency and performance, and provide a safe and reliable facility for the City of Santa Cruz’s drinking water supply. This paper discusses the overall project configuration, construction observations, and challenges during construction, including tunnel excavating through the marine sedimentary siltstone of the Monterey Formation, probing and pre-excavation grouting, and the tools utilized to manage the project.

Dec 1, 2022

By Chee S. Theng

As the 2015 president of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration Inc., I am pleased to present the 2015 issue of the Transactions of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration Inc., Vol. 338. A significant portion of the contribution that we make as a professional society is the publication of professional and technical papers that accelerate the advancement of scientific knowledge and enable the transfer of technology. Communication within the mining community is the key to a successful society. This technology exchange continues a tradition that dates back to the 1871 meeting of 22 mining engineers in Wilkes-Barre, PA, that resulted in the founding of AIME. Those individuals envisioned that these transaction volumes “would form a most valuable and greatly needed addition to our professional literature.” This volume fulfills that pledge. The 2015 Transactions contains some of the most interesting research and insights from the past year and features an international slate of authors spanning industry, academia and government. Papers include the latest findings from the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and special-focus articles on gold processing, iron ore processing and coal processing. The 2015 Transactions consists of a total of 67 technical papers, encompassing all 22 papers published in 2015 in the Technical Papers Section of Mining Engineering (Vol. 67) and all 29 papers published in 2015 in Minerals & Metallurgical Processing (Vol. 32). Additionally, this volume contains 15 papers and one discussion that are being published for the first time in this issue. The papers presented in this volume were written by some of the most distinguished professionals in the industry worldwide. All of the technical papers were peer-reviewed. The process of review and publication requires much hard work by authors, reviewers and our publications staff. As the 2015 president of SME and on behalf of all our members, I would like to extend our gratitude to all whose volunteer efforts contributed to the publication of this volume.

Jan 1, 2015

By S. Norman Kesten

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, commonly known as RCRA, which amends the previous Solid Waste Disposal Act, was signed into law on October 21, 1976. Members of the mining industry began their contacts with EPA in this area two to three years before the Act finally was passed, and that seemed and probably was all to the good. We reviewed and commented upon their studies and in general tried to acquaint them with the peculiarities and the uniqueness of the wastes generated by our industry, of which they were abyssmally ignorant. I suppose we thought that through the bureaucracy we might have some influence upon the provisions of the solid waste legislation that was being bandied about on the hill. Certainly the industry, in general, did very little direct lobbying, as I recall, and there were several reasons for that. For one thing we conceived that the legislation was aimed at the chemical industy and believed that if their people looked after their interests, ours would be safeguarded automatically. Also, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) was heating up at the same time and, in fact, was signed into law on the same day. In addition, a great deal of lobbying activity was required by amendments of the Clean Air Act and Federal Water Pollution Control Act that were being put together in Congress. These were conceived to be of far greater importance to our industry than a bill to control mostly chemical wastes and, in fact, new bills in both areas became law the following year. Finally, the solid waste bill, RCRA, was patched together by committee staffs over one weekend and was reported out by a conference committee rather hurriedly. Some little goodies about mining were almost after-thoughts in this process.

Jan 1, 1981

By N. Edmonson

An examination of the statistics of the world phosphate fertilizer industry since 1980 reveals an increasing tendency for fertilizer manufacturing activity to concentrate in phosphate rock mining areas. The economic justification for this resource-oriented strategy is clear. The choice between shipping phosphate rock, a comparatively low-value product, and shipping more valuable finished fertilizers will always be resolved in favor of the latter if cost considerations control the decision. The historical existence of substantial phosphate fertilizer manufacturing capacity oriented toward fertilizer-consuming activities and dependent on imported phosphate rock shows that narrow cost considerations have not always determined the industry's location. One is entitled to ask what conditions have changed to precipitate the observed relocations, and how permanent these changes are. These questions are the subject of this investigation.

Jan 1, 1995

By Paul Culvenor, Brad Gyngell

Ensuring effective management of contractual processes is essential for maintaining profitability and operational efficiency in mining. However, due to limited capacity and resources, sites often struggle to manage these processes effectively, leading to oversights and financial losses. Recent advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) offer promising solutions to these challenges. Large Language Models (LLMs), like those powering ChatGPT, now enable machines to understand unstructured data like contracts. These can therefore be applied to address these challenges by taking some of the heavy lifting off of humans. In this paper, we analyze a real-world case study of the application of LLM tools for preventing a $400k contractual issue on an underground gold mine in Western Australia. We provide a gap analysis of the failure modes in existing processes that led to the issue. We then describe the application of LLM tools to flag it early and facilitate a collaborative solution between the operator and the supplier. This includes a comparative analysis of base case vs LLM case to evaluate the impact on project cost and time. Finally, we discuss how the integration of AI can foster improved relationships between clients and contractors across a broad range of potential contractual applications, allowing the time required for collaborative and proactive problem solving.

Feb 1, 2025

By Jianliang Li, Xi Peng, Guorong Lu

This paper describes a wind tunnel modelling study on airflow and pollutant concentration in a large open pit mine located in southern China. A 1:1000 scale model of the surface mine was fabricated and placed in a wind tunnel. Airflow velocity in the test section of the wind tunnel can be continuously adjusted from 0.3 m/s to 6.0 m/s. In this study, both the present pit condition and the projected final pit condition were modelled. Airflow direction and velocity profiles were obtained. The impact of wind direction and velocity on airflow was also studied. The pollutant concentration distribution in the open pit was simulated using smoke, and a distribution profile was obtained. Respirable dust concentrations at the mine site were measured, then its concentrations at the projected final pit condition were estimated using the obtained pollutant concentration distribution profile. Under normal meteorological conditions, it is expected that the respirable dust concentration for the final pit should not exceed the government standard. Key Words: wind tunnel modelling, open pit, surface mining, scale model, mine ventilation, airflow profile, point source.

Jan 1, 1993

By Michael H. Vallez

On September 13, 1973 MAPCO Inc. leased from Pocahontas Land Corporation an 18,000 acre tract of coal lands in Eastern Kentucky's Martin County (See Figure 1.). In July, 1974 initial run of mine coal shipments commenced and in April, 1976 shipments of a 12,500 BTU, less than 1% sulphur, washed coal was being shipped. Results of exploration demonstrated that large quantities of overburden would have to be moved. MAPCO decided to invest in large surface mining equipment to tackle the job.

Jan 1, 1981