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By C. P. Browning

Copper, as far as we know, was the first metal used by man, and due to the fact that it occurs in many places in the 'native' state, and also to the ease with which it may be shaped, it has played an important part in the evolution of civilization. Copper tools with inscriptions dating back to 6,000 B.C. are known in Egypt, where the metal probably got its start as a useful material in human hands. Just how far back the use of copper in Canada dates is difficult to say, but it was in use by the Indians in the Lake Superior country long before the arrival of the first white man. For many generations the Eskimos also have used copper derived fr0m deposits of the native metal found in the Coronation Gulf district. Due to the metal's many unique qualities, imperishable with age, ancient implements and utensils are apparently as good today as when they were made, having withstood the onslaught of time probably better than objects of any of the other base metals. Copper alloys so well with other metals that today it is second only to iron in its industrial value. Even at the beginning of the eighteenth century the world's production of copper was probably not more than seven thousand tons a year, with Great Britain producing three-fourths of this. One hundred years ago the mines of the United States, Chili, Mexico, Canada, South Africa, Australia, and Tasmania, which now produce about nine-tenths of the copper of the world, were totally undeveloped. Ln 1926 the world production of copper was approximately 1,658,000 tons, which was seventy thousand tons greater than in the preceding year; but growing demand absorbed the increased production, so that the stock of rough copper throughout the world is comparatively small. Of this huge tonnage of the metal, Canada produced four percent, two-thirds of it emanating from British Columbia, nearly one-third from the Province of Ontario, and the balance from Quebec.

Jan 1, 1927

By P. Harvey

"Following initial discovery in 1991, BHP Billiton Diamonds Inc. opened Canada’s first diamond mine, the EKATI Diamond Mine (EKATI) in the Northwest Territories on October 14, 1998. Four short years later, on November 29, 2002, saw the opening of North America’s first underground diamond mine, the Koala North mine. Nestled between the original Panda open pit and the new Koala pit, which is in the early stages of production, Koala North represents the only underground kimberlite mining venture in Arctic conditions outside the new underground mines being developed by ALROSA in the Yakutsk region of eastern Russia. Extensive underground kimberlite mining has been practiced in the Republic of South Africa for much of the 20th century and continues today.Underground mining represents a key component of the long-term business plan for EKATI. As various open pits reach their economic limit, continued recovery of high-value ore at depth is dependent upon the ability to productively mine the kimberlite pipes by underground methods. As a function of its location, size, and value, the Koala North pipe is ideally positioned to host the first underground mine at EKATI. Koala North is designed and approved as a learning mine, from which to gain valuable experience in preparation for the potential mining of other larger, higher value pipes by underground methods in the development, the Koala North mine is well into its production ramp-up phase and currently producing at around 1,200 t/day from the first two production levels."

Jan 1, 2005

By E. Chiyangwa, L. Schoeman

The commercially successful electrowinning and refining of metals typically requires the optimization of the electrolyte composition and operating parameters to produce high quality compact electroplated metal. The prediction of the effect of the electrolyte composition on the structure and morphology of the plated metal remains a challenge. Initial work on the use of polarization measurements to predict and control plating behaviour in electrowinning plants involved potentiodynamic polarization but proved unsatisfactory as accurate and repeatable predictions could not be achieved. The aim of the present work was to develop a reliable galvanodynamic technique specifically applicable to the plating of zinc from sulfate electrolytes with which plant operation may be controlled and optimized. Initial results indicated that plating and nucleation potentials could be measured accurately and repeatably and that the relationship between the two could be used as a predictive tool for the effect of electrolyte composition on the quality of zinc electrodeposits.

Jan 1, 2014

Although Canadian bentonite is competitive in quality for most uses, it has not been accepted for the pelletizing of iron ore concentrates. In 1962, Canada consumed about 10,000 tons of imported bentonite for this use. By the end of 1965, the planned domestic consumption for this purpose alone will probably be more than 100,000 tons a year, valued at about $3 million. Consequently, a challenge exists for the establishment of a Canadian source of high-quality bentonite for pelletizing. Such a bentonite would also be suitable for the two other major applications -well drilling and foundry use. Brief mention is made of such topics as the identification, 1noperties, occurrences, exploration, applications, technology and laboratory testing of this clay. In particular, the type of bentonite in demand, the geological horizons warranting exploration, and simple preliminary test methods are discussed.

Jan 1, 1964

By H. Hitchen

THE object of this paper is to present the various facts that l1ave been revealed during lengthy investigations into the performance of all types of ropes on different hoisting installations. It then goes on to suggest means by which most of these findings could be usefully employed to obtain more economical rope lives with increased safety. SHAFT HOISTING ROPES Four basic designs of ropes are now employed for hoisting duties: (1) Six-strand, round strand ropes with fibre cores. (2) Six-strand, triangular strand ropes with fibre cores. (3) Non-rotating, multi-strand ropes. 0) Locked coil ropes. Round Strand Ropes (Figure 1) Very solid and reliable ropes can be obtained with this simple geo-metric design of strand. 1'1?iangula1? Strand Ropes (Figure 2) Owing to the fact that the wires in the strands are bent over a triangle, they do not seat quite so solidly as when they are bent over a circular core wire, as is the case with

Jan 1, 1963

By Marvin E. Lane

Viburnum, located in the foothills of the Ozarks in south-east Missouri, is the site of a modern lead mining and milling operation. Two mines are currently producing a total of 5,000 tons per day and a third mine is in the final development stage, with full production scheduled for late this year (1964). These mines will supply the tonnage required to keep the Viburnum mill operating at a full capacity of 7,000 tons per day for many years. The efficient underground mining operation is completely trackless. Drill jumbos are used to break the ore in a room and pillar method of mining. Transloaders, or St. Joe shovels, and trucks do the loading and hauling. The Viburnum mill has a world-wide reputation as a most efficient operation. This is due to the extensive use of automatic process controls, and labour saving materials handling facilities. Introduction THE St. Joseph Lead Co., has operated lead mines in southeast Missouri for 100 years. These operations have been confined largely to the area called the

Jan 1, 1964

By A. J. Macdonald

Gold deposits hosted by banded iron formation (BIF) in Ontario exhibit a marked association with localized zones of deformed and hydrothermally altered BI:F . Secondary sulphides and carbonates are conspicuous. Proposed carbonate-facies IF , or exhali tes, such as green carbonate in the Larder Lake camp and ankerite veins in the Porcupine Camp are structurally controlled, hydrothermally deposited zones of carbonate replacement and fissure filling. Gold precipitation from hyd r othermal fluids in strain-generated conduits may be due to (a) plating upon secondary sulphides, (b) pH change due to carbonatization of BIF or (c) destabilization of gold in solution due to sulphidation of BIF .

Jan 1, 1984

By Deborah A. McCombe

"There are a number of important dates that must be disclosed when a Qualified Person (QP) is preparing a technical report for securities purposes. The dates are discussed in NI43-101 and the Form of the Technical Report, NI43-101F1. •,Effective date of the technical report •,Possible revision date of the report •,Effective date of mineral resources and mineral reserves •,Date of the personal inspection (site visit) •,Signature date of the date report (execution date) •,Date of the certificate of the QP •,Date of the consent of the QP The effective date of the report is basically the cut-off date for the information that is included in the technical report. The effective date should be close to the signature date. If there is too long a period between these dates, the QP runs the risk of new material information becoming available and then the technical report would no longer be current. The effective date is disclosed on the title page of the report and on the signature page. If a technical report needs to be revised to correct problems or disclosure deficiencies identified by the regulators, the QP will normally need to include a revision date on the title page of the report to distinguish the revised version from the original version. In these circumstances, the regulators will request that the original date of the report remain on the title page and the revised date will be below it. When a technical report must be revised, the QP must resign and date the signature page of the report and provide a new certificate and consent."

Jan 1, 2003

By R. Pressacco

"IntroductionAgrium’s history in fertilizer production and marketing goes back to 1931. Today, Agrium Inc. is a world leader in the production, distribution, and marketing of fertilizers and related products to the agricultural industry. Agrium is the largest North American producer of nitrogen fertilizers, a major producer of phosphate and potash fertilizers, and a world leader in fertilizer wholesale distribution and retail marketing. The mine at Kapuskasing is located some 40 km southwest of Kapuskasing, Ontario (Fig. 1). It has been developed to supply high-quality, low-cost phosphate rock to the company’s Redwater, Alberta facility, where it is an ingredient in ammonium phosphate fertilizer production. The Kapuskasing mine is the only phosphate mine in Canada and will rank as one of the highest-grade phosphate mines in the world (Clark and Duncan, 1999). Apatite is the principal ore mineral mined at the Kapuskasing Phosphate Operations.GeologyThe first record of exploration in the area was from a program executed by Continental Copper Mines in 1955 which evaluated the magnetic anomaly located in the Cargill and Cumming townships for its base metal potential. Intermittent exploration of the base metal potential of this magnetic anomaly continued in the following years, until the phosphate potential of the area was first examined in 1974 by International Minerals Corporation which recognized the presence of a layer of apatite sands overlying the carbonatite host rocks.The local geology consists of a core complex of multi-phased carbonatite rocks which are surrounded by a ring of pyroxenite, and have provided a U-Pb age date of 1907 Ma ± 4 (Sage, 1988). These two rock types are in turn situated within quartz diorite gneisses that form a large portion of the Kapuskasing Structural Zone (Fig. 2). The carbonatite host rock is sub-divided into two sub-types: sovite and rauhaugite. The sovite is a medium- to coarse-grained, white, banded rock in which calcite is the dominant carbonate species and it includes accessory minerals such as phlogopite, magnetite, clinohumite, apatite, olivine, pyrrhotite, and amphibole. Apatite can reach 15% abundance in this rock type (Sage, 1988). In sharp contrast to the sovite, the rauhaugite appears as a massive, fine-grained, dense, beige to tan-coloured rock in which dolomite is the dominant carbonate species. Phosphate values can range to 14% P2O5 in the rauhaugite."

Jan 1, 2001

By J. Tuzo Wilson

Abstract A division of part of the Canadian Shield into provinces believed to represent former mountain belts is attempted, special emphasis- being laid upon radioactive age determinations, the relation of Archaean to Proterozoic rocks, and the structure of the Grenville province. Original data on the distribution of radioactivity within several batholiths and their connection with ore deposits are' presented. The possible growth of continents and a theory which explains the shape and distribution of the world's younger mountain and island areas are discussed and applied to the Canadian Shield in an attempt to explain how the growth and present structure came about. The relation of the major mining camps of northeastern Ontario to fault zones is discussed in the light of this theory. Introduction The valuable symposium issued by this Institute to celebrate its jubilees emphasizes the important role of major faults in determining the location of many ore deposits in the Canadian Shield. Many of these faults are known to extend for long distances. It is therefore widely appreciated that it would be of great value if the pattern, ages, and causes of these faults were better understood. This would be particularly useful if the relations of the major fault systems to petrological and metallogenic provinces and to former mountain belts could be established. Each year the volume of available data, and hence the chance of reaching a fuller solution of this problem, increases. This article is a review of the present situation. It is accordingly based almost wholly upon the work and ideas of others, which are gratefully acknowledged. Naturally, responsibility for the selection and marshalling of the data is the writer's.

Jan 1, 1949

By Corrie Pitzer

Safety performance in many companies and even industries has stalled in the last decade. Accidents rates are improving but more slowly and yet, serious accidents and fatality rates are not: in fact, these rates of more serious incidents have plateaued or deteriorating. In more dramatic cases, organizations that had ?exemplary? safety statistics, suddenly had a catastrophic or multi-fatality event occurring. Popular books such as In Search of Excellence of Peters and Waterman or Good to Great of Jim Collins created many delusional ?secrets? or recipes, to achieve great performance and yet, most of those ?great? or ?excellent? companies have now declined in their performance, some dramatically and some have fallen from grace, like Fanny Mae, a company Jim Collins identified as a ?great? one, that had to be bailed out in the latest financial crisis. These organizations share several ?delusions? about managing a business, and often, these delusions are created by academics, consultants and authors of popular books about (safety) management. More damaging however is that safety management is defined by a set of key practices or axioms: a focus on human error, compliance to rules and regulations, creating consistency of systems and actions, reacting to accidents and incidents and on prevention of those, measuring safety with performance metrics and rewarding employees on those measurements. All of these axioms contain the seeds of destruction, and they create conditions and dynamics that precede the disaster - and ironically, they are all 'good things' we do in safety management. For example, a mere focus on safety in the business, and the measurement of it, create a culture of repression of mistakes and incidents, leading to a situation where the organization knows incrementally less and less of risks and risktaking behaviour - until the day it all coincides destructively! This paper discusses seven such safety delusions and how they impact on the views and safety management approaches. They are: ??The delusion of (risk) control, that risks can actually be identified, analyzed and mitigated. ??The delusion of compliance, that mere compliance to rules will safeguard the business ??The delusion of consistency, that standard operating procedures will ensure safe operations ??The delusion of predictability, that accidents and trends tell us everything about the risks of the future ??The delusion of human error, that people are the weakest link and that it can actually be dealt with through discipline and enforcement. ??The delusion of statistical trends, that safety is measurable with statistics ??The delusion of invulnerability, that we have achieved high levels integrity and capability to deal wit risks. Organizations that suffered catastrophes all share some or all of these delusions and this paper traces how these played a role in many disasters, ranging from the Titanic, Challenger, Piper Alpha, Bhopal, BP Deepwater Horizon and many more.

Aug 1, 2013

By Ralph V. Stewart

"The asbestos orebody is contained within ultrabasic rocks of Precambrian age, being located in the continuous permafrost zone of the Quebec Ungava Peninsula, some 300 miles north of the tree line at approximate latitude 61'49' and longitude 73°58'.The asbestos deposit is at the western tip of a folded ultrabasic sill complex which trends northeast and covers an elliptical area 4.5 miles wide by 15 miles long. Locally. the asbestos occurs in. a completely serpentinized dunite rock. The principal rock types in the vicinity of the ore-body originally consisted of dunite, peridotite and pyroxenite, all of which have experienced at least two periods of alteration, so that no fresh rock now remains.The main ore zone in the open pit is approximately one quarter mile in length, 150 to 200 feet in width, and plunges at 25 to 30 degrees in a northeast direction below surface, to a vertical depth of at least 1,200 feet, Consider¬able tectonic activity resulted in favourable structural conditions which culminated in the formation of the ore zone in its present form.The deposit consists principally of cross-fibre ""gash type"" veins which vary in length from several inches to several feet. The principal fibre vein direction is parallel to the dip of the enclosing serpentinized dunite and sill complex.Some of the problems encountered during diamond drill¬ing in permafrost are briefly discussed."

Jan 1, 1976

By Patrick Wong, Gareth Hatch, M. A. Halim, V. I. Lakshmanan, Darcy Tait

"This paper describes development of an integrated chloride process for separation and purification of REEs. The process includes atmospheric leaching of ore/concentrate with mixed chloride lixiviant containing HCl and MgCl2 followed by bulk recovery of REEs, dissolution of the bulk intermediate product, and separation of individual REEs by solvent extraction (SX) process steps. Mixed chloride leaching technology provides the opportunity to regenerate the lixiviant, while the addition of MgCl2 in HCl enhances the hydrogen ion activity by orders of magnitude increasing REE extraction efficiency at a lower concentration of HCl. An individual REE separation process developed by Innovation Metals Corp. is being piloted at a state-of-the-art facility at Process Research ORTECH Inc. in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. The SX process includes the separation of light REEs (La – Nd), medium REEs (Sm – Gd) and heavy REEs (Tb – Lu plus Y) from leach liquor followed by individual REE separation. Each SX circuit proceeds by multistage extraction followed by scrubbing and stripping. The process is chloride based and reagents are recycled, reducing waste generation and optimizing water usage to reduce environmental impact.INTRODUCTIONRare earth elements (La to Lu plus Y) exhibit a range of unique magnetic, electronic, catalytic and optical properties. Due to these special properties, the application of REEs is increasing and they are found in components for wind power generation, hybrid electric cars, catalytic converters, and many electronic devices.Rare earth elements (REEs) are commonly divided in two groups: light rare earth elements (LREEs) and heavy rare earth elements (HREEs). Light rare earth elements include elements from lanthanum (La) to neodymium (Nd). Although promethium (Pm) is considered an LREE it is unstable and scarcely occurs in nature and is generally excluded. Heavy rare earth elements include elements from samarium (Sm) to lutetium (Lu) plus yttrium. Although rare earth elements are not rare and the rare earth oxides are scattered around the globe, over 95% of REEs+Y are currently produced in China (Pitts, 2011). On one hand the Chinese government is restricting the export of rare earth elements and on the other hand the demand for REEs+Y is increasing in the rest of the world. This has created an imbalance in the supply and demand of rare earth elements and has led to a rush for developing new rare earth projects."

Jan 1, 2016

By F. A. Auld

"During the period 1958-1980 seven deep shafts were sunk from the surface in the UK. From 1977 until 1989 sixteen deep shafts were sunk in the UK, all concrete lined. Subsequently from 1989 up to the present day no deep shafts have been sunk in the UK, a period of 30 years. Developments in the design and construction of deep shaft linings in the UK therefore were predominantly carried out throughout the period 1977–1989. This knowledge is recorded in several published papers by the author over that period which will be referred to in the paper. INTRODUCTION The paper includes a review of past precedent for the design of deep shaft concrete linings in the UK and sets out the principles for future designs, including the design load to be adopted and Factors of Safety (SFs) to be used in the design. Hydrostatic pressure increases with depth from the surface and therefore the concrete lining must increase in thickness and strength throughout its depth to resist the pressure. High strength concrete mixes were developed to enable economic linings to reach greater depths and these will be detailed. The ground conditions to sink through in the UK consist of predominantly competent (self-standing when excavated) rock, which can be water bearing, and hence a hydrostatic pressure resisting lining is required. The paper describes the construction measures needed to produce a dry shaft by way of pour length, joint detail, backwall grouting and joint sealing details. PAST PRECEDENT FOR UK DEEP SHAFT SINKING AND LINING Seven deep shafts were sunk from the surface in the UK from 1957–1977 over a 20-year period (Auld, 1987). These are listed in Table 1. Three shafts were for British Coal, two were for Cleveland Potash Ltd and two were for the Central Electricity Generating Board. The British Coal shafts were 5.486 m and 7.315 m internal diameter to depths of 550 m and 780 m, respectively. At 5.5 m internal diameter and a depth of 1150 m, the two Boulby Mine shafts for Cleveland Potash Ltd are currently the deepest shafts in the UK. The two Central Electricity Generating Board shafts of 5 m and 10 m internal diameter, to depths of 255 m and 440 m, respectively, were ventilation shafts for a pumped storage scheme. Six of the shafts were sunk by Thyssen (GB) Ltd and one by Cementation Mining Ltd."

Jan 1, 2019

By M. A. Vasina, I. A. Matveeva, E. A. Naumova, V. V. Doroshenko, N. A. Belov

"Using the calculated (Thermo-Calc software) and experimental methods (SEM, TEM, EMPA, DSC, XRD, etc.) the phase composition, structure and hardening of aluminium alloys of the Al-Ca-Zn-Mg system were studied in the following range: 2. 5%Mg, up to 10% Ca, and up to 14% Zn (wt%). Fragments of this quaternary phase diagram in the aluminium corner were constructed, including the liquidus surface, as well as some vertical sections. It was shown that the relatively large amount of zinc enters in the Ca-containing phase, which formula can be described as (Al,Zn)4Ca. An increase of Zn content leads to formation of Al4Ca primary crystals at lower concentrations of calcium. The eutectic (Al)+(Al,Zn)4Ca has a fine structure and aluminide particles are capable to spheroidization during the heat treatment at temperature 500 C. The maximal level of hardness observed on calcium containing alloys was higher than 200 HV, what gives the reason to expect good strength properties. With an example of an Al-9% Zn-2,5%Mg-3,5% Ca model experimental alloy based on the (Al)+(Al,Zn)4Ca eutectic, a principal possibility of manufacturing thin rolled sheets was demonstrated.INTRODUCTION Aluminum alloyed with calcium was first studied in 1970-80s by such authors as Piatti (1976), Moore (1978, 1980), Il'enko (1985), Swaminathan (1990), and Perez-Prado (1997) as superplastic materials. In particular, the alloy systems Al-Ca-Zn were studied (Il'enko, 1985, Swaminathan, 1990, Perez-Prado, 1997). For some time there was no new published works concerning the aluminum-calcium alloys. During the last years many works were published dedicated to the calcium alloying of magnesium alloys (Kim, 2011; Xu, 2011; Aljarrah, 2008; Bakhsheshi, 2014). This urged the authors (Belov, Naumova & Akopyan, 2016) to start studying cast and wrought aluminum-calcium alloys for construction (2008–2014). There is almost no information in the literature concerning triple and more complex diagrams of the aluminum-based system states with calcium and other elements. In recent work, parts of the state diagrams are plotted for the aluminum angle zone: Al-Ca-Mg-Sc (Belov, Naumova & Bazlova, 2016), Al-Ca-Ni-Sc (Belov, Naumova & Bazlova, 2017), Al-Ca-Si-Sc (Belov, Naumova & Akopyan, 2017) and others. Special attention was paid to the study of the system Al-Ca-Zn-Mg (Naumova, 2017). Based on this system creation of advanced extra-high tensile alloys is planned. Wrought extra-high tensile alloys series 7??? based on the system Al-Zn-Mg-Cu are well studied."

Jan 1, 2018

By C. George Miller

"As the influence of governments has become more widely felt, the use of research techniques to analyze policy has increased. Mineral economics, as one of the foundations of mineral policy research, has grown accordingly. Policy research and analysis has been carried out within governments, university departments and the private sector. Each of these institutional environments has characteristics which influence the topics of study, the approach, the methodology and the output of the research. A brief survey of recent research activities provides illustrations of trends and developments occurring within this organizational framework.A radically different organization, the independent research institute, has begun to make an impact on policy research in recent years, and will have an increasing importance in the future. Combining certain features of the traditional research organizations, it nevertheless has important differences which are essential to its effective functioning. An overview of the formation, goals, organization and operation of one such institute is presented."

Jan 1, 1976

By C. G. Williams

IN preparing this paper on Canadian mine taxation, there has been no attempt to detail the requirements of the various taxing bodies; but rather to consider the matter from the standpoint of its underlying principles and give a general idea of the methods adopted. I have added an Appendix setting forth the principal features of the various Acts, which should be used for general reference only, since new rulings alter minor details from time to time. In current legislation, many important points are left to the discretion of the Ministers and their deputies. We are, indeed, fortunate in having in Canada an able and conscientious body of permanent officials, who bring a sense of justice and courtesy to their work which is most commendable, and which has done much to simplify the working out of general problems. The production of metals may rightly be deemed a form of manufacture, but differs from the average manufacturing business in three important respects: (1) In its early stages, it is wholly speculative, since it is impossible to make any definite appraisal of value or possibilities. (2) The principal asset of any mine, i.e., the ore in the ground, is a wasting asset, and is irreplaceable. (3) Any additional burden by way of taxation cannot be passed on to the public but must be borne entirely by the producer. Having regard to the first of these differences, it is apparent that, since the risk of loss is great, the reward in case of success must be correspondingly great. This fact seems to be constantly overlooked by those who regard the all too few outstanding successes in Canadian mining history as fit prey for predatory legislation. As an illustration of the speculative nature of early mining development, let us consider the Province of Ontario-and I take this illustration simply because I am more familiar with conditions there, and not because I believe it differs greatly from any other province. From 1907 to 1933, 165,243 claims were staked and recorded, from which 43 mines were developed which paid one or more dividends. There was, of course, some duplication through re-staking; also, on some claims very little work was done, and most mines have more than one claim. But, since staking and recording cost real money and effort, each of these claims must have been considered to have had merit.

Jan 1, 1935

By A. G. Doll

The Bond low energy impact (crushing) work index test is specified to be performed on rock specimens between 50 mm and 75 mm in effective diameter. NQ-diameter drill core, frequently used in mineral exploration programs does not meet that specification, it being 45 mm diameter or less. This paper reports the effect of performing the impact test on contiguous sections of HQ diameter and NQ diameter core, exploring the hypothesis that the contiguous intervals give equivalent results in spite of the core diameter difference.

Jan 1, 2012

"The Cooperative Research Centre for Mining Technology and Equipment (CMTE) is funded by the Commonwealth Government, by its mining research members — the Universities of Queensland and Sydney and the CSIRO1, and by its industry members — BHP Coal, RioTinto R&TD, Hamersley Iron, Mining Technologies Australia, Pasminco, Shell Coal, WMC Resources, Advanced Mining Technologies, and Aberfoyle. The Centre conducts work aimed at improving the competitiveness of the Australian mining industry. The current work is focused in four areas: new mining and drilling systems, geological sensing, automation, and equipment maintenance and reliability. This paper describes much of the work in these program areas that relates to metalliferous mining. Mechanized Rock ExcavationThe disadvantages of the drill-and-blast excavation method are widely recognized and the last half of the 20th century has seen mining companies and mining research organizations aggressively pursue technology to excavate rock by other means. As discussed below, despite considerable effort and large amounts of funding, the quest for mining’s “Holy Grail” has been unsuccessful in all but the weakest rock types.COMRO (the Chamber of Mines Research Organisation) supported by the South African gold mining industry, spent three decades and (probably) tens of millions of dollars developing prototype drag bits and, later, impact breaking machines aimed at the mechanized stoping of narrow, tabular reefs. This work has not yet produced a commercially-attractive mining system. Work continues in South Africa to mechanize these stoping operations although now the emphasis is on the use of diamond-wire sawing techniques. This work remains in the experimental phase.Both British Coal and Germany’s Bergbau- Forschung spent many years developing techniques trying to extend the range of rock types which roadheaders could cut economically. Again, although new knowledge was produced, it is difficult to claim that any new commercial mining systems emerged from this work."

Jan 1, 2001

By R. Blazej

Machinery Systems Division (MSD) in the Institute of Mining Engineering at Wroclaw University of Technology specializes in belt conveying systems analyzing, calculating and design. Within the division operates the certified Laboratory of Belt Transportation (LTT) and Laboratory of Rollers. Since few years, a group of several people have begun work on developing a comprehensive system for the automatic evaluation of condition of conveyor belts working in the mines. Group uses both magnetic devices developed by specialized companies servicing belts and its own machine vision system developed for assessment of belts covers and edges during belt movement (up to 7 m / s) on the specially designed for this purpose the test conveyor. Recently they have got the research grant funded by the National Centre for Research and Development (NCBiR) for development of the system for automatic diagnosing of conveyor belts? condition and aiding of rational belt management. On the basis of previously created diagnostic tool called ABCDE (Automatic Belt Condition Diagnostic Equipment) the five modules: vision-A magnetic-B, preventive-C, forecasting?D, and determining safety factor-E will be developed. They will automatically interpret data about conveyor belts? condition to indicate the extent and timing of repairs, to prevent failures and to select the optimum moments for their replacements. The system will use results of ongoing research & development and planned research concerning modeling of belt wear using evolutionary genetic algorithms. The reached stage of research can not yet allow to start the implementation work by potential users. It is therefore necessary to pursuit research in real scale, the development of new modules (C-E) and intensive testing of the system in working condition with system calibration to optimize the economic effects.

Aug 1, 2013