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By C. C. Bailie

This paper will be concerned with those mineable coal measures at depths necessitating deep mine operations in the range of 200 feet to 800 feet in depth. The area is generally classified as the Southern Illinois Field but more specifically includes that part of the state south of a line extending from St. Louis, Missouri on the west to Vincennes, Indiana, on the east. This embraces an area which presently includes a total of 38 shipping mines and 5 local or truck mines. Of these shipping mines, 22 are deep (shaft or slope) mines and the remaining 16 are strips. The average annual production of the shipping mines is around 29 million tons. The presently classified mineable reserves of the area are estimated at around 70 billion tons.

Jan 1, 1964

By N. T. Mirafuente

The device called "Dynastat" which is described in this paper provides in situ borehole measurements of dynamic and static parameters for use in a wide range of design applications. In the dynamic mode, the Oynastat allows measurement of shear and compressional wave velocities. From these velocities in situ dynamic Young's modulus and other dynamic elastic parameters can be calculated. In the static mode, the device allows measurement of load versus deformation from which in situ static Young's modulus can be determined. Information on in situ horizontal stress fields can also be estimated from the load deformation curves. In both mining and civil engineering applications, in situ measurements of material properties are indispensable for accurate evaluation of design problems. Laboratory dynamic and static test measurements in comparison to in situ measurements are often misleading due to difficulties in obtaining undisturbed samples and in accounting for effects of discontinuities, etc., for mass properties. The authors contend that among in situ borehole measurements, the method employed with the Dynastat is the most accurate and detailed technique of measurement. The Dynastat employs the crosshole method of shear and compressional wave velocity measurements and also performs as a borehole jack to obtain load-deformation relationships of materials at exactly the same location at depth in boreholes.

Jan 1, 1976

By K. H. Nimerick

Laboratory data and field tests indicate that substantial losses of valuable coal can be caused by wind erosion. Wind tunnel tests show the effects of wind velocity and particle sizing on the amount of coal lost while in transit. Different coals were evaluated to determine the variables associated with wind erosion. The erosion losses can be substantially reduced by using a binder, or crusting agent, to consolidate the surfaces of the coal into a solid mass which resists erosion. This not only reduces economic loss but minimizes pollution.

Jan 1, 1977

By C. Brown, N. Rayyan, T. H. Dubaniewicz

Lithium-Ion batteries (LIBs) have the potential to go into thermal runaway which introduces a new ignition source in hazardous environments such as gassy underground mines that may contain methane in the surrounding air. Researchers from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) used an accelerating rate calorimeter (ARC) to induce thermal runaway in individual lithium-titanium-oxide (LTO) and lithium-nickel-cobalt-aluminum-oxide (NCA) LIB cells within a sealed enclosure with either no methane, a lean, a stoichiometric, or a rich methane-air mixture in the surrounding canister to determine if these LIB types would ignite the methane, causing an additive effect on overpressures. Canister pressures and maximum temperatures reached by the cells, surrounding air, and exhausted gases were measured in this study and remained consistent with varying methane concentrations.

Feb 1, 2023

By M. N. Herrera

The bioleaching of mineral sulfide pulps in a bench-scale rotating drum reactor has been studied. The reactor includes horizontal paddles in the inner wall for lifting of the mineral pulp. The performance of the reactor was tested in the bioleaching of a refractory pyritic gold concentrate in the presence of pure Thiobacillus ferrooxidans strain (ATCC 19859). The concentrate was efficiently bioleached at 50% pulp density with the drum operating at 0.5 -1.0 rpm Attempts of bioleaching the concentrate at the same pulp density in conventional stirred reactor showed severe inhibition of bacterial activity. The results demonstrated that the drum reactor allows to operate at much higher pulp densities than the conventional stirred tank reactor. This behavior is explained in terms of an improvement of the bacterial activity due to a better control of the attrition of the mineral particles.

Jan 1, 1997

By H. Sis, D. Dahlin, S. Chander, C. Summers

Bench-scale selective-flocculation tests were conducted on samples of Florida phosphate and Western phosphate process tailings to recover upgraded phosphate concentrates. After physical and mineralogical characterization, the slurry samples were treated with a broad suite of flocculants with a range of molecular weights and anionic functional groups. Parameters investigated included pH, dispersant and flocculant types, and dose; conditioning parameters and settling times were, for the most part, held constant. Where selectivity was achieved, phosphate minerals remained dispersed, whereas silicate minerals flocculated and settled. Single-stage tests using reagents with low to medium anionic characteristics produced upgraded phosphate concentrates at moderately elevated pH. Two- stage site-blocking tests, in which low-molecular-weight flocculants were used as site-blocking agents, gave improved results.

Jan 1, 2002

By D. Oyler

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s(NIOSH) Pittsburgh Research Laboratory (PRL), RAG Pennsylvania and Strata Control Technologies of Australia have collaborated to conduct an extensive study of roof bolt strata interaction at the Emerald mine in Southwestern Pennsylvania. The primary goal of the project was to obtain detailed data on the interaction between the mine roof and the support elements for use in modeling studies. The study site was a longwall tailgate subjected to high horizontal stress. Three arrays of instruments were installed at the site, one in the tail-gate entry and two in an adjacent crosscut. Pumpable concrete cribs were present in the tailgate array, and cable bolts were installed in one of the crosscut arrays. The instruments included mechanical and sonic extensometers for measuring roof movement, instrumented roof bolts, and three-dimensional roof stress cells. The study was ultimately successful in determining the magnitude of the horizontal stress concentration, the height of roof failure and the roof failure sequence, and the loading history of the primary roof supports.

Jan 1, 2004

By Ross R. Bhappu

In 1989, William A. Vogely created the Mineral Economics and Management Society (MEMS). He did this after SME disbanded the Minerals Resource Management Committee, a group dedicated to technical programming of minerals economics and management issues. A few years later, SME reinstated this committee. MEMS held its fourth annual conference "Mineral resources: Managing dilemmas and opportunities," in Boulder, CO March 9-11, 1995. Some of the MEMS programs are similar to the Minerals Resource Management Committee programs. However, MEMS conferences cover more diverse issues. These include minerals policy, environmental legislation impacts on the minerals industry and minerals economics issues. The 1995 MEMS conference included six sessions and three distinguished speaker addresses. Papers topics included US and Canadian mineral policy, financial strategies for managing mining companies, Latin American mineral investment opportunities, quantitative economic modeling and the impact of environmental interest groups on the minerals sector in the United States and Canada. One session was dedicated to students who competed for $1900 in prizes for outstanding papers.

Jan 1, 1995

By O. W. Kamper

To most of you present here the word "refractories" is not new and you are familiar with the materials and use. To many people though the question is asked, "What are refractoriness and what are they used for?" Refractories are non-metallic products which are so resistant too melting at very high temperatures that they can be used for building or lining furnaces of all kinds. A large variation occurs in the size, form, and composition depending on the service for which they are intended. They are made from a wide variety of raw materials, of which fire clay and quartzite are used in largest quantities. Other refractory raw materials include magnesite, chrome, diaspore, bauxite, kyanite, sillimanite, olivine, zircon, and many others. Most of these are assembled from-widely-'separated points in the United States while others come from the far corners of the earth. Chrome is imported from the Philippines and South Africa, and, to a lesser extent, Turkey and Greece Kyanite and sillimanite come: from India and bauxite from the Guianas. And there's "magnesite from brines," produced in chemical plant's by treatment of sea water or inland deep-well brines with hydrated lime. The proportion of magnesia available in sea water is so small, less than one pound from 500 pounds of water,, that millions of gallons must be pumped and processed each day in a sea water magnesite plant. The realm of refractory raw materials, therefore, is very extensive and continues to grow because of the endeavor to find-better raw materials from which to produce better products for refractory service.

Jan 1, 1960

By George F. Weaton

During the past eight years there has been a dramatic change in the iron ore industry of Minnesota, in that its status has changed from that of a seller's market to a higly competitive buyer's market. Minnesota's natural ores must now be beneficiated and up-graded considerably to be marketed in order to compete with the higher grade foreign ores as well as with the locally produced and highly desirable taconite pellets. With the passage of the "Taconite Amendment' in the November, 1964 election, the taconite industry commenced to expand in Minnesota, which, although initiated in that state, was benefiting many other states and some foreign countries to a much greater extent than Minnesota. These other areas were actually appropriating markets that had been established and retained by Minnesota for many years. Since the approval by the state voters of this amendment, there has been a great increase in the development of taconite properties on the Mesabi Range.

Jan 1, 1966

By Robert J. Timko, Edward D. Thimons, Robert L. Derick

In early June, 1986, a fire of unknown origin erupted in one of several main entries of a coal mine located in southwestern Colorado. The fire was aggressively fought with high- expansion foam. As a result of several strategic decisions, the fire appeared to be held in check. Unfortunately, sufficient quantities of foam were unavailable and as soon as the foam was depleted, control of the fire was lost. To prevent further damage and the possibility of an explosion, all entries to the mine were sealed. This paper recounts activities from the discovery of the fire to the initial reentry of the sealed mine including location of the fire, the decisions made to best combat it, and the steps taken to rapidly and securely seal the mine when this became necessary. The mine operator requested the Bureau's assistance in obtaining and analyzing mine fire gases taken from sampling ports placed through the mine seals. This report describes how samples were taken and what gases were analyzed. In addition, this work describes the initial exploration of the sealed mine by personnel using oxygen breathing apparatus.

Jan 1, 1987

By R. E. Blair

The economics of the producer-consumer interface - the route from mine to market - impact much more severely on specialty industrial minerals, extender/fillers that have to be sold, than on commodity industrial minerals that are basically supplied. Working capital costs for inventories and accounts receivable, fixed capital costs for storage/ warehousing/distribution, and sales and marketing costs all make the extender/filler producer much more of a marketer than a miner. The future survival of an extender/filler producer will primarily depend on the skill he has in the economics of the interface.

Jan 1, 1981

By Glenn A. Gruber

The conditioning of phosphate flotation feed with anionic flotation reagents was identified as a high- priority research topic during a beneficiation work- shop sponsored by the Florida Institute of Phosphate Research (FIPR). FIPR subsequently solicited research proposals to identify the mechanisms of reagent adsorption, to determine scale-up relationships for conditioner design, and to investigate the effect of conditioning variables on reagent adsorption and flotation performance. The two-year research project was awarded to Jacobs Engineering. Somasundaran, Inc., the University of Florida Mineral Resources Research Center, and the U.S. Bureau of Mines assisted Jacobs. Two mechanisms of anionic collector adsorption were detected by spectrographic analyses and confirmed by microcalorimetric measurements. The mechanisms provided a sound technical basis for the empirical practice of conditioning phosphate flotation feed at a high percent solids. Tests performed in laboratory and pilot-scale agitated tanks indicated that power intensity may be used as a reliable scale-up parameter for anionic conditioning of phosphate slurry. Excessive agitator speed during conditioning was found to be detrimental to anionic flotation performance. Some dimensional ratios of anionic conditioners were found to be consistent with good utilization of agitation energy. Laboratory conditioning and flotation tests demonstrated that adsorption of collector onto phosphate and the subsequent recovery of phosphate in anionic flotation were significantly influenced by the quantity and quality of water used in conditioning. Conversely, the quality of water used in flotation was more influential on the recovery of quartz in the concentrate. A comprehensive survey of anionic conditioners and conditioning practice in the Florida phosphate industry was also performed during this project. The study clearly showed that flotation testing with laboratory conditions typical of scientific research gives different results than laboratory testing with simulated plant conditions. The effects of test conditions on laboratory test results should be carefully considered by investigators planning and conducting applied research.

Jan 1, 1999

By Keith G. Wallace, Justus B. Deen, Daniel J. Brunner

This paper describes the impact of natural ventilation pressure (NVP) on the Nuclear Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico (WIPP). The WIPP site is a U.S. Department of Energy underground facility for the disposal of low level radioactive transuranic defense generated waste. Because the facility is designed for the storage of nuclear waste, special design considerations are necessary to ensure containment of potential radioactive releases. The main design considerations which influence the ventilation system are the requirements of separate air splits for mining and storage operations and of air filtering before atmospheric discharge in the event of a radioactive release. The leakage between the two air splits must always be from the mining area to the storage area. The transient effects of natural ventilation pressures, caused by seasonal and diurnal surface temperature changes, impact the ventilation characteristics throughout the facility. This paper discusses the measurements taken to quantify the changes in NVP and the engineered systems designed to mitigate against the effects of NVP.

Jan 1, 1991

By M. S. Prasad, K. J. Reid, M. P. Katsoulis

The State of Minnesota is interested in stimulating the development of clay resources and recently supported a two-year project to collect data on geological, mineralogical, processing, economic and environmental aspects of such potential developments. This paper presents the various process options adopted on bulk samples collected from the Minnesota River Valley area, which is a primary deposit and contains a major silica fraction. A standard test flowsheet involving degritting, dispersion. HGMS and cycloning was developed and for some samples yielded an acceptable filler grade product. Secondary streams containing relatively high grade kaolin but of coarse size were also obtained. Improvement in particle size distribution and in physical properties related to paper product specifications (brightness, viscosity) were obtained by size-reduction processes. Market and economic considerations for kaolin consumption in the upper Midwest are analyzed. Current markets for paper grade kaolin in Minnesota are briefly discussed.

Jan 1, 1992

By Michael L. Nave

Mining belt conveyor elements are becoming larger and more expensive. Conveyor reliability requirements are rising. Conveyor condition monitoring can aid maintenance, reliability, and risk management in conveyor system operation. This paper examines the application of condition monitoring in coal mining belt conveyor systems. Types and form factors of condition sensors are described. Example costs are included. Suggestions for OEM developments are examined. Application problems are discussed. Two simple cost case studies are presented.

Jan 1, 2000

By E. J. Meets, C. F. Meyer

Bord and pillar mining at shallow depth (400 m approx. maximum) is widely used in South African coal mines. One of the problems encountered in extracting coal in this manner is the ventilation of advancing bord and pillar headings. The traditional ventilation methods of force, exhaust and overlap (force/exhaust) are reasonably effective but tend to be both cost and labour intensive. Ducting often restricts the available free area of roadways thus impeding the transport of coal and other materials inbye the coal production section. Due to the above facts, ductless fans are currently being used to minimize the amount of ducting required in advancing sections. Two different types of fans are used, namely, vortex fans and the so-called `jet' fans. Vortex fans were developed from the fan blade design used for vertical take-off aircraft. The fans have the capability of delivering air over distances of about 30 m in the underground situation without any ducting attached to it. Jet fans are standard axial flow fans fitted with outlet reduction pieces which increase the velocity pressure at the discharge to such an extent that the air delivery distance is improved to almost match that of vortex fans. The paper describes some applications of both these fan types in advancing bord and pillar sections.

Jan 1, 1993

By Robert A. Cortese, Carrie E. Lucci

Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) regulations require underground coal mine operators to dust their mine corridors with an inert material to prevent coal dust explosions. The most commonly used material is pulverized limestone. Current practice to determine compliance with MSHA regulations requires the coal mine foreman or an MSHA inspector to collect samples of the deposited dust, a mixture of coal dust and limestone rock dust, for above ground laboratory analysis. To expedite this process, the U.S. Bureau of Mines has developed two instruments to facilitate the inspection and rock dusting processes, the explosibility meter and float dust deposition meter. The explosibility meter is a hand-held instrument which provides an in situ measurement of the explosible nature of homogeneous mine dust samples. The float dust deposition meter measures the mass loading density of the top layer of coal or limestone dust deposited on the mine floor during mining operations by the ventilation air. It may also be used to automate trickle rock dusting equipment. The operation of each device is based on the difference in the optical reflectance between the light limestone dust and the dark coal dust. The principal of the explosibility meter is based on the observation that, for a fixed coal volatility, the optical reflectance of dust mixtures is relatively constant at the limit of flammability, and independent of the coal dust particle size.

Jan 1, 1995

By Robert B. Fulton

Staurolite, an iron aluminum silicate mineral, is used industrially as a high value-in-use sandblasting agent, as a premium-grade foundry sand, and as the source of aluminum in portland cement manufacture in areas where the aluminum constituent is not economically available from shale or argillaceous limestone. Staurolite is produced by E. I. duPont de Nemours and Company as a coproduct of titanium mineral production in Florida, where it was first recovered on a commercial scale in 1952 from the Pleistocene sand deposit known as Trail Ridge. At this deposit it comprises about one-fifth of the heavy mineral suite, the principal other heavy minerals being ilmenite, leucoxene, rutile, zircon, kyanite, sillimanite, and tourmaline. Staurolite and other nonconductive silicate heavy minerals are separated from the conductive titanium minerals on high-tension electrostatic separators. The silicates are then separated from one another magnetically, the staurolite being relatively magnetic. In the total process, 200 t of raw sand yield 7 t of heavy mineral concentrate from which about 1 t of staurolite is recovered. The staurolite concentrates have the characteristics given in Table 1. Staurolite concentrates are sold in three grades having the size distribution of subrounded grains shown in Table 2. All three grades are used in sandblasting for cleaning metal, for paint removal, and for cleaning masonry buildings. Staurolite compares favorably with lower priced abrasives, such as boiler slags and silica sand, in applications where the abrasive is used only once and is not recovered and recycled. Because it is hard, fine, clean, and dense it can reduce blasting time, and less material is required to clean a specific area. Compared to higher priced abrasives such as aluminum oxide and garnet, which are recycled, staurolite costs significantly less per kilogram and cleans at equal or faster rates. Its breakdown factor, which is a measure of recycling performance, is intermediate between those for aluminum oxide and garnet. [ ] [Tables 3 and 4] show the blast cleaning performance of the three staurolite grades compared to other abrasives. [Table 5] compares the longevity of premium priced abrasives during recycling. [Table 6] shows a cost comparison between silica sand and staurolite. Fringe benefits claimed for staurolite's use as an abrasive are: 1. Good flow properties and freedom from the lumps or slivers found in silica sand or boiler slag abrasives. 2. Low dusting affords good visibility, permits faster working, and reduces cleanup problems. 3. Heated storage is not required during freezing conditions, because the mineral is nonhygroscopic.

Jan 1, 1994

By Henrique D. G. Turrer, Robert F. Winterfield, Jobe E. Wheeler, Marcello R. Cru, Baojie Zhang, Pedro P. Pinto

Efficient particle classification is essential to enhance gravity and magnetic separation stages in one iron ore beneficiation plant. This study investigates the use of high-frequency screens to process finely ground iron ore, focusing on two size cuts: 400 μm and 100 μm. Pilot-scale trials were performed on four ore blends using a full-scale screening unit. A total of 48 tests were conducted, evaluating the effects of panel aperture, solids concentration, wash water, and feed particle size distribution. Results showed that wash water improved efficiency by up to 5%, while a solids concentration near 40% w/w delivered high separation performance with minimal ultra-fines in oversize streams. Apertures slightly larger than the target cut sizes yielded better precision in particle separation. Feed particle size distribution had limited impact on efficiency. The investigation successfully identified optimal screening conditions, including aperture selection, to achieve the most effective separation performance for downstream concentration processes.

Feb 22, 2026