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By N. Shi, T. G. Joseph

ABSTRACTA series of algorithms were developed to perform geometric and kinematic analyses of cable shovel dipper-ground interactions for a given set of mining face conditions. The routines examine and analyze (a) the position of the dipper in relation to the shovel; (b) the dipper in relation to the face conditions; (c) the dipper position in relation to possible interference or collision with crawler tracks during digging cycles; and (d) kinematic and geometric considerations with respect to any point on the dip-per as it conducts a duty cycle. In all cases, field measurement verifcation provided good agreement(within 4% variance).

Jan 1, 2011

By C. Peña, C. A. Zaror, M. Bustamante, M. Vega

The goal of this paper is to present the carbon footprint of Chilean cathodic copper, as a function of the electricity generation mix, ore grade, and process efficiency. Ore grades and acid leach-solvent extraction-electrowinning (LX-SX-EW) yields in the range 0.5-1.0% and 60-80%, respectively, were considered here. Additionally, electricity supply from two Chilean suppliers, SING (1.0 ton CO2/MWh) and SIC (0.4 ton CO2/MWh) was assessed. Simulation results show that oxide plants located in northern Chile, served by the SING network, feature carbon footprint within 4.3 - 11.4 MWh I ton cathodic copper, as compared with 3.5 - 9.3 MWh I ton copper in plants served by SIC. The footprint was found to increase as ore wade and process yields decrease.

Jan 1, 2011

By Dallas W. Davis

Twin - Kennecott Deal Announced April 15, 2004 ! Kennecott earns 56% interest, if in 4 years, spends C$10 million and recovers at least 200 cts of +1 mm diamonds in all dimensions from any contiguous body ! Earn-in can take up to 6 years, but incurs stepped reduction of interest from 56% to 46% or 0% if $C10 and 200 carats not achieved ! By funding all costs through feasibility study, Kennecott earns 71% in 7 years, or, stepped reduction to 62% if completed after 8 years ! By achieving production within 10 years and funding Twin?s share of development and construction costs, Kennecott earns further 4% ! If no election to develop a mine within 2 years of feasibility study completion, Twin may present development proposal which Kennecott has 60 days to elect to follow or transfer management to Twin and dilute to 49% ! Each party has one time right to elect to market its diamond share ! On signing and annually, Kennecott will purchase $C250,000 of Twin shares at 130% of then prevailing market price until achieved earn-in

May 1, 2004

By Narasimha Mangadoddy, Balraju Vadlakonda

"Bubble size distribution, bubble rise velocity and gas and solids hold-up are the key major hydrodynamic parameters that are extensively used for column flotation design and performance evaluation. The distribution characteristics of mean gas hold-up is studied using electrical resistance tomography (ERT) coupled with pressure transducers (PT) in column flotation. The ERT technique facilitates non-invasive and nonintrusive visualization of different flow regimes even in the presence of particles in a column flotation. The effect of superficial gas velocity, feed flow rate and slurry height in the column on mean gas hold-up and its radial distribution has been analysed for both two-phase and three phase flows. Experimental results show ERT coupled with PT is suitable as an online monitoring tool to provide useful information on the three-phase flow hydrodynamic parameters of the column flotation. The tomography images, which were generated using a modified sensitivity back projection algorithm, are employed to explore the influence of parameters in two phase flow in column flotation. Mean gas and solids hold-up values extracted from ERT have been critically analysed for the column operating in various flow regimes. Gas hold-ups and solid hold-ups results using ERT are in very good agreement with conventional estimation and correlations obtained using pressure transmitter methods. Meanwhile, the results show that the gas hold-ups in the centre region increase constantly with an increase in the superficial gas velocity, whereas solid hold-ups distribution is very heterogeneous for high gas velocity. Furthermore, the results also indicate that ERT is a very powerful tool for diagnosing the 'inside' flow behaviour of gas –liquid–solid three phase flow in columns operating for a wide range of flow regimes.INTRODUCTIONColumn flotation is perhaps the most significant technological innovation in flotation machinery and its successful introduction in mineral processing plants. There has been a lot of attention in understanding the various mechanisms that take place during operation. Due to many reasons column flotation has been found to yield better performance than conventional flotation cells, particularly with fine particles (Honaker & Mohanty, 1996). Due to complex flow behavior in nature, the performance of column flotation influenced by on flow characteristics of the process, (Jena, Biswal, Das, & Reddy, 2008). Previously basic research is carried out to evaluate the effect of the hydrodynamic parameters on performance of column flotation (Finch, J.A.;Dobby, 1991). Many techniques have been developed that could be used to experimentally analyse the hydrodynamics of column flotation. Tomography techniques are well sound to investigate the hydrodynamics for process equipment. Among that, Electrical resistance tomography (ERT) has been used in various industrial investigations for visualization of the concentration profiles and characteristics of the fluid dynamics in gas–liquid two-phase systems (Wang, Dickin, & Mann, 1999; Williams, R.A; Wang, 2000). ERT is an imaging technique to analyse the internal flow behavior non-intrusively. ERT provide very useful tools for measuring and monitoring of column flotation process on line. Due to its high speed capability, low cost measurement, robust sensors, ERT is considered to be the most powerful tool among other tomography techniques such as positron emission tomography (PET), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), optical and infrared tomography. Application of ERT has extended in process systems due to its improved speed of data acquisition, sensitivity, flexibility and noise immunity. In multiphase flow of bubble columns, gas hold-up and solid hold-up are explored by using the coupling of ERT and difference pressure method (Jin, Han, Yang, & He, 2010)."

Jan 1, 2016

By W. A. Gow, V. F. Harrison, H. H. Mccreedy

A semi-continuous bench-scale, countercurrent-decantation system, in which the ore was moved countercurrently to the flow of leaching solution, was used to conduct acid-leaching tests on uranium ore with the aid of bacteria. This method, which involved a low degree of agitation, was successfully applied to extract uranium in practical amounts and at practical rates. The acidity of the leaching solution was the main variable investigated in the bench-scale tests done at the Mines Branch, Ottawa. Over 90 11er cent of the uranium was extracted in a six-stage system. The results suggest that this technique could be ap-plied in the utilization of bacterial oxidation and leaching as a method for treating Elliot Lake uranium ore.

Jan 1, 1969

"Successive seismic waves may cause progressive weakening of a fault zone, which has been recognized as the mechanism of earthquake aftershocks. However, it is unclear that how a fault zone slips under each wave cycle and how slip displacement accumulates under continuous wave cycles. This laboratory study provides direct evidences on the slip process of a simulated granular fault zone dynamically induced by an incident wave without the effects of late-arriving and reflected waves. The experimental observations show forward and backward slip paths of the fault zone and partially recovered slip displacement after a wave incidence. The unrecovered slip displacement after each wave cycle can be accumulated until it reaches a critical slip distance for seismic faulting, which may reinterpret delayed triggering in earthquake dynamics. The limited interseismic period restricts fault self-healing in strength. The experimental results also indicate that the dynamically induced frictional slip on the fault zone is associated with a complex frictional system, including seismic wave radiation, frictional slip initiation and normal stress vibration. Different from the dynamically induced frictional slip on the fault zone, the statically induced frictional slip causes a permanent increase of slip displacement along the shear loading direction. INTRODUCTIONAn earthquake mainshock may induce aftershocks by suddenly changing external stresses applied to another fault zone in the near field (Kilb et al., 2000) and by slightly perturbing a fault zone from a critical steady state to stick-slip faulting in the far field (Gomberg and Davis, 1996). The dynamically induced frictional slip on a fault zone has been recognized as the mechanism of earthquake aftershocks (Marsan and Lengliné, 2008; van der Elst and Brodsky, 2010). Although earthquake aftershocks have been extensively studied by many seismological methods, a simplified laboratory fault zone can provide possible interpretation on real faulting and detailed analysis on a friction process (Dieterich, 1979; Nielsen at al., 2010). According to a few laboratory experiments related to the dynamically induced frictional slip on a simulated fault zone (e.g., Uenishi et al., 1999; Johnson et al., 2012), the slip process induced by successive seismic waves exhibits continuous motions. However, it is unclear that fault slip response under each wave cycle and slip displacement accumulation under continuous wave cycles."

Jan 1, 2015

By J. Locat, G. Parker, D. Turmel

ABSTRACT Since 1964, the Iron Ore Company of Canada has deposited iron ore tailings into Wabush Lake in western Labrador, Canada. From 1999 to 2008, the authors completed multibeam bathymetric and sampling surveys and an airborne LiDAR survey. These data were integrated to study the evolution of the tailings delta shoreline and lakebed elevation. Subaqueous channels evolved between surveys, influencing the tailings depositional pattern. With this analysis it is possible to evaluate the effect of disposal strategies on the delta topset and tailings accumulation. This project uniquely couples marine and terrestrial techniques to follow the fate of tailings in a dispersal system.

Jan 1, 2014

By Wael Abdellah

Mine haulage drifts are the primary access to the mining blocks of an orebody in a multilevel mining system of a tabular ore deposit. The stability and functionality of haulage drifts are thus crucial to the success of a mining operation. Drift instability could lead to serious consequences such as injuries, production delays and higher operational cost. In this paper, the performance of the haulage drift stability is evaluated on the basis of the primary rock support system comprising 1.8 m resin grouted rebars in the drift walls and 2.1 m long bolt in the back. Two failure criteria namely the extent of Mohr-Coulomb yield zones around the drift, and linear elastic brittle shear failure are adopted and compared, with respect to lower level and same-level mining and filling sequence in the vicinity of the haulage drift. The case study is one of the #1 Shear East zone of the Garson Mine in Sudbury, Ontario. Random Monte Carlo (RMC) technique, which has been previously established to assess the haulage drift stability, is employed in this investigation. The RMC technique is used in conjunction with finite difference modelling software FLAC for random assignment of model input parameters in the FLAC grid. Deterministic model results reveal the drift behaviour in terms of deformation (convergence) and mining-induced stress distribution. Comparison between the two different criteria is carried out to determine which method is most suitable in evaluating unsatisfactory drift performance. The results are presented in terms of probability of instability and categorized with respect to failure condition and mining step. It is shown that the brittle shear failure condition based on linear elastic response calls for enhanced support system at a later mining step than what Mohr- Coulomb yielding condition does. The paper presents a detailed discussion of the stochastic analysis results.

Jun 1, 2012

By K. Lambrych

Hydrometallurgical equipment used to extract and refine copper and other metals is exposed to extremely corrosive chemical environments. These systems must be fabricated from materials that are durable against corrosion, meet exacting mechanical requirements, and perform economically over the life of the mineral processing plant. In several recent large hydromet projects, fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) has been shown to provide equal if not superior durability relative to alternative materials of construction. This paper will compare corrosion performance and cost of plant equipment fabricated with corrosion resistant alloys, rubber lined steel, and FRP made with Epoxy Vinyl Ester thermoset resins. Case histories for FRP piping, storage tanks, extraction vessels, and electrowinning cells combined with laboratory-based corrosion studies will be reviewed to demonstrate how FRP materials are selected for hydrometallurgical equipment. Specific examples from projects such as El Boleo, Long Harbour and others will be used to demonstrate how the versatility of FRP allows for remote fabrication of durable corrosion-resistant large-scale equipment for hydrometallurgical refinement of copper and other metals. INTRODUCTION Fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) began to emerge as a material of construction for corrosion service in many industrial processes in the late 1950s because of its ease of use and overall performance. Corrosion resistant (CR) FRP, as an alternative construction material to alloys, rubber and tile linings, grew steadily in following decades. The aggressive operating conditions associated with hydrometallurgical processes typically require materials of construction that can withstand acids and acid chlorides at temperatures up to 90°C, sometimes higher. Common metallic materials of construction, such as carbon steel, are not compatible with these conditions. High nickel alloys are capable of meeting performance requirements, but often at a high cost. In many cases FRP mining equipment based on epoxy vinyl ester resin (EVER) offers durability, long service life and lower maintenance costs. Through demonstrated performance and decades of case histories, more and more design engineers are confidently specifying FRP as the material of construction for new mineral processing equipment.

Jan 1, 2019

By J. G. Pearson, F. H. MacDougall, A. G. Galley

The difference in age, host rock lithology, alteration and style of mineralization indicates a fundamental difference in the format ion of gold deposits in the Flin Flon and Amisk Lake areas. The Flin Flon area contains early quartz-sulfide-gold veins fo rmed within intermittently active fractures and later plutonic hosted deposits thought to be generated in a porphyry system. In the Amisk Lake area two types of gold occurrences are recognized: I) gold-quartzcarbonate- sulfide veins within or flanking fault zones and 2) structurally and stratigraphical ly controlled zones of dissem inated and vein type sulfide-gold mineralization within extrusive and intrusive rhyolite and dacite porphyries. Both types of deposits are set within supracrustal rocks. are accompanied by intense alteration haloes and were formed prior to the major deformation event suggesting an early, epigenetic hydrothermal origin.

Jan 1, 1986

By E. J. Wade

The general location, climatic conditions and access of the Tasu mine are covered briefly, with comments on the Jack of conventional transportation and communication facilities. The Haïda story of Tasu and early at-tempts at production are presented, together with a discussion of the government legislation which throttled exploration and production in the late fifties. General and specific details of local geology, mineralogy and current ore reserves are also covered.

Jan 1, 1968

By Technische Universität Braunschweig, K. Saksl, J. Furste, P. Eschenbacher, F. Brunke, D. Wolter, M. Kohnke, C. Siemers, J. Kiese, M. Schlemminger

"In general, titanium alloys combine outstanding mechanical properties with corrosion resistance and biocompatibility and are, therefore, used in many challenging applications. Nevertheless, for special products, well-tailored properties are required which might not be achievable by a specific design so that new or modified alloys are needed. In this overview paper, alloy development strategies performed at the Institute for Materials of the Technische Universitat Braunschweig are discussed at different examples, namely, (1) oxidation-resistant, microstructural-stabilized and cold-workable alloys for exhaust applications, (2) aluminum- and vanadium-free, medium-strength and cold-workable alloys for implants and osteosynthesis applications and (3) free-machining alloys by the addition of particles with low melting points for non-safety critical light-weight constructions to replace heavier steels, e.g. in automotive applications. A special focus is set on the alloy development techniques and the analyses carried out to achieve well-balanced properties by the optimization of the alloy compositions. INTRODUCTIONTitanium belongs to the allotropic metals and can therefore exist in two different equilibrium lattice modifications. Pure titanium crystallizes at 1668°C in a body centered cubic (bcc) structure called ?- titanium which at 882°C transforms to a hexagonal close packed structure (hcp), the a-titanium. A martensitic ?-to-a-transformation is possible at large cooling rates. This thermally induced hexagonal martensite is called the a'-phase. The transformation temperature named ?-transus-temperature (T ?) can be influenced by alloying elements (Peters & Leyens, 2002).For titanium alloy production typical alloying elements are aluminum (Al) and oxygen (O), both a-stabilizers shifting the ?-transus temperature to higher temperatures, whereas tin (Sn) and zirconium (Zr) only show a limited influence on the ?-transus temperature. The ?-stabilizing elements are subdivided into two groups: Niobium (Nb), molybdenum (Mo) and vanadium (V) stabilize the ?-phase between the melting point and room temperature and are therefore called isomorphous -stabilizers. Elements like copper (Cu), iron (Fe) or silicon (Si) also stabilize the ?-phase to lower temperatures but undergo a eutectoid reaction during cooling. ?-titanium then dissociates to a-titanium and an intermetallic compound. Consequently, these elements are called eutectoid ?-stabilizers (Boyer, Welsh & Collings, 1994)."

Jan 1, 2016

By Matthew Janes

Advantages: Clean samples Low sample disturbance Very low spoil Versatile Fast Penetrates all formations Resonant Drill 100 or 150 kW Self tuning to resonance Rotation to 100 rpm Increased depth in dense soil Increased productivity Reduce water use Reduce casing plugging

May 1, 2013

By A. R. Naji Meidani, A. Cameron, A. Richardson, M. Isac, R. I. L. Guthrie

The supersonic core of shrouded jets remain coherent over longer distances vs conventional supersonic jets. This phenomenon should allow for greater penetration of oxygen into slag/steel reactor systems. As such, they hold the promise for faster slag/metal mixing in BOF type metallurgical reactor systems, possibly creating greater surface area/volume ratios of reacting phases, and thereby faster kinetics, as compared to conventional supersonic jet systems. In order to assess the potential of shrouded supersonic jets versus their conventional counterparts, an experimental investigation of impinging shrouded supersonic jets into a water model of a simplified BOF system was carried out in the MMPC's water modelling laboratory. The experimental results for three different designs of a shrouded supersonic jet nozzle have been compared in terms of greater penetration depths and reduced mixing times. Based on a novel dimensional analysis, the depth of penetration of a gas jet into a liquid bath is shown to depend on the nozzle-bath distance, the liquid's Froude, Reynolds and Weber numbers, reflecting the ratios of gravity, viscous and surface tension forces to the jet's inertial, or momentum, forces. Good agreement between the mathematical model and experiment was obtained in terms of predicted and observed depths of penetration. Further efforts have been made to study jet penetration into liquid metals. The effects of mean liquid density of slag/metal mixtures and a wide range of gas flow rates on the penetration depth were investigated theoretically. The results show that the penetration depth can be increased with increasing gas flow rate and decreased bath density.

Jan 1, 2004

By Muhammad Zaka Emad

Cemented rockfill (CRF) is a mixture of rock aggregate and binder slurry. It is a stiff backfill, it is fast curing, its operation is simple, placement rate is reasonably high and no drainage is required. The main demerit of CRF is failure of exposed faces causing ore dilution, which can be associated with the fill placement method. This paper discusses the effects of two placement methods being practiced by mines and numerical modelling is used as a tool to evaluate stability of the backfill column. In the first method, practiced in longitudinal retreat mining of a narrow vein deposit, the rockfill is hauled and dumped into the stope with a LHD scooptram. Once dumped, cement slurry is sprayed into the stope. In the second method, a raise situated centrally above the mined stope is used to convey already mixed CRF into the stope. Stopes are mined out transversely in primary and secondary blocks in a sublevel stoping system. Problems of poor mixing in combination with both placement methods are discussed. The two backfill placement methods are analyzed for blast induced vibration damage using the dynamic Flac3D modelling technique accounting for rock mass and fill damping characteristics, and a pressure wave is used to simulate the blast vibrations. Fill heterogeneity has also been considered for the two cases and results are compared.

Jun 1, 2012

By ManhKha Trinh, Neal Pyke

Dofasco was the first company to adopt oxygen steelmaking in North America in 1954, two years after the first LD vessel installed and operated successfully in Linz, Austria. Since then, Dofasco has investigated and implemented several strategies to maximize hot metal usage and minimize overall cost. Some key strategies -low hot metal silicon, combined blowing conversion, vacuum degassing tank upgrade and BOF slag carryover control - are discussed. Post combustion, scrap preheat, carbon injection trials along with current operating philosophies are described.

Jan 1, 2004

By H. Kolcz, G. S. Dobby, R. Stratton-Crawley, S. W. Wilson

"The Matte Separation plant at Inco's Copper Cliff Smelter Complex is described. The continuing implementation of flotation column technology in the flowsheet in various applications is reviewed. Comparative studies on 0.038, 0.10, 1.1 and 1.8 m diameter columns have been carried out. It was demonstrated that consistent metallurgical performance was obtained with both pilot- and plant-scale units. Grade-recovery relationships for plant columns can be predicted with confidence from data obtained from test equipment. The work indicates further areas of the flowsheet in which columns present an attractive alternative to conventional cells. INCO’s MATTE SEPARATION PROCESSNickel concentrate from Inco’s Sudbury area mills has been processed in the Copper Cliff smelter for sixty years. Prior to that, Sudbury ores had been smelted directly. Historically, copper-nickel separation from smelter converter matte was achieved by the classical Orford process. In the mid-1940s Inco developed an improved separation scheme based on mineral processing methods, the Matte Separation Process. A generalized Copper Cliff Smelter Complex flowsheet is shown in Figure 1.Iron sulfide and gangue contained in the nickel concentrate are rejected in the smelting-converting process. The molten product, typically containing 50% Ni, 25% CU and 22% s, is cast at about 1000 ºC, into floor moulds and allowed to slowly cool for four days. During this period nickel sulfide (heazlewoodite, Ni,S,), copper sulfide (chalcocite, cu,S) and a copper-nickel metallic alloy precipitate and form a coarse grain structure that is amenable to separation by physical means. The phase chemistry of this system has been described previously by Sproule et al (1). This matte then becomes the feed to the Matte Separation Process.A simplified block flowsheet of the Matte Separation Process is shown in Figure 2. Matte ingots, typically weighing 20 tonnes each, are broken and crushed in a three stage crushing plant to approximately minus 0.01 m and conveyed to the Matte Separation building. Grinding is carried out in two parallel circuits each consisting of a rod and ball mill in series producing a flotation feed which is 65% minus 44 microns. Typical throughput of each grinding circuit is 650 tonnes/day. The metallic fraction of the feed is recovered by magnetic separation. This product, containing about 66% Ni and 15% CU, is a major component of the feed to the Copper Cliff Nickel Refinery."

Jan 1, 1990

By A. Mortazavi, H. Nasab

"The storage of petroleum products on surface is associated with difficulties and limitations. Accordingly, a viable alternative is to excavate underground space in rock and provide a safe way for oil storage. Soft rocks such as salt domes provide good conditions from environmental and operational points of view. The potential for high-volume storage and low permeability are encouraging aspects for oil storage in salt domes. The complicated shape of oil storage caverns, the complicated behavior of salt rocks, and boundary conditions associated with large underground openings are important challenges in the design of oil storage caverns. The aim of this paper is to delve into the stability and deformation mechanisms of storage caverns created in salt domes. A parametric study of effect of the cavern size, orientation, and depth is carried out as a function of ground stress regime. The stress field and deformation mechanisms are calculated for each case aiming at providing design guideline.INTRODUCTIONOne of the most popular soft rock that is used for underground oil storage is salt rock (halite). Salt rock has particular characteristics which makes it suitable for oil storage. Salt rock has several advantages for oil storage, these are: high production rate, high degree of availability, short filling period, high level of safety and low permeability [1]. The low permeability is due to the fact that halite deforms in a plastic manner over a wide range of pressures, temperatures and rates of deformations. This property prevents joints or gaps opening up in the formation, thus preventing the escape of liquids and gases. The state of stresses around the cavern in salt domes depends on the depth of the cavern (initial stresses and rock mass temperatures are increasing with depth), the in-situ stress state within the rock mass, and the internal oil pressure in the cavern. Furthermore, the salt creep behavior and the cavern geometry are influencing stress redistributions during loading and unloading phases.Rock mass structure, cavern geometry, material behavior and cavern operation patterns require complex physical models to describe the load-bearing behavior of the geomechanical structure. The determination of stress, strain and deformation in the rock mass due to cavern construction and operation are complex problems which can be evaluated employing numerical tools such as the Finite Element Method (FEM) or Finite Difference Method (FDM). In this study, the finite difference method was used to evaluate the behavior of oil storage cavern in salt rock."

Jan 1, 2015

By C. P. Jenney

"Exploration for copper, in a region of 7,000 square miles on the Arctic coast between longitudes 114 and 118 degrees west, has covered a period of nearly 200 years. Occurrences of native copper, used by the natives for tools and weapons, have been reported since the early part of the eighteenth century. In J 771 Samuel Hearne of the Hudson's Bay Company, in the course of his classic 3-year journey from Fort Churchill, became the first white man to see the deposits, and incidentally the first to reach the Canadian Arctic coast by land. During the next 140 years the deposits were mentioned by every explorer and traveller who passed through the area. A good historical summary of this literature has been presented by Tyrrell (1912).In 1911-12 the Douglas-Sandberg party did the first geological mapping along the Coppermine River and Dismal Lakes (Douglas, J., 1913; Douglas, G. M., 1914), and described the copper occurrences there. In 1914 J. J. O'Neill (1924) of the Canadian Arctic Expedition investigated the showings on Bathurst Inlet. In 1929-31 two Canadian exploration companies sent prospectors and geologists to the area (Gilbert, 1931; Norrie, 1931; Duncan, 1931). Since that time only brief references have been published (Kidd, 1931; Stockwell and Kidd, 1931; Lord, 1941, 1951; Washburn, 1947). In 1943-45 an area of more than 1,500 square miles was prospected by American Metal Co. of Canada, Ltd., under the direction of the writer. Forty-nine showings were examined; seven of these were mapped in detail by plane-table and two were sampled by 27 short diamond drill holes totalling 3,061 feet. All holes were in permanently frozen rock, and the deepest vertical distance reached was 206 feet. Five groups of claims were staked. These later lapsed, but one of the groups was restaked in 1951, and assessment drilling and some trenching were carried out in 1952-53. Results were disappointing, and the claims have been allowed to lapse.The area is within the Arctic Circle, northeast of Great Bear Lake and 360 miles north of Yellowknife on Great Slave Lake. For exploration purposes, access is by aircraft from Yellowknife. During the short open season heavy freight can be brought by sea to Coppermine at the mouth of the river, either from Aklavik at the mouth of the Mackenzie or around Alaska. Concentrates would have to be moved by these routes.Although none of the deposits so far found is mineable under present conditions, the total volume of copper in the numerous showings marks the district as a major area of copper mineralization, which may some day be of economic importance."

Jan 1, 1949

By M. N. Vu, G. Armand, A. Noiret, D. Seyedi

Extensive experimental observations have been performed around drifts and shafts at the Meuse Haute-Marne (North-Eastern France) Underground Research Laboratory (URL) to assess the extent and pattern of the induced fracture networks in Callovo-Oxfordian claystone. Two types of fractures can be distinguished, namely; shear (mode II) and extension unloading (mode I) fractures. The main goal of the present paper is to provide insights on the extent of damaged zone around the drifts by numerical simulations. A two-step approach is considered. First, 2D elastic calculations are performed for simulating the excavation of a drift following the direction of the major in situ horizontal stress. The evolution of the stress and strain tensors around drifts are calculated by applying an elliptic convergence function on the drift wall. Two failure criteria are then verified for the induced damage. An equivalent strain and an elastic energy based damage criteria are considered. The obtained results show that the employed simplified approach provides rather good results for the extent of the damaged zone for drifts parallel to major horizontal stress. However, post-processing elastic results leads to overestimating the vertical extent of the damage zone and underestimating its lateral extent, where the in situ stress state is quasi-isotropic in a section of drift. Nevertheless, the obtained results show that an energy based damage criterion could be considered as a potential way for reproducing the extent of the damaged zones if a convergence function can be defined for the drift.

Jan 1, 2015