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By Q. Han, W. Dai

Al-Ti-B type master alloys have been widely used in the grain refinement of aluminum since 1940s. The introduction of Al3Ti and TiB2(AlB2) particles reduces the grain sizes down to about 200 micrometer level and makes cold work possible. However, the mechanism for the grain refinement is still not clear, though it is believed that TiB2 in the presence of Al3Ti nucleate a-Al grains in solidification. This paper presents our finding on the formation of (Ti,Al)B2 solid solution, which leads to a proposed theory on grain refinement by Al-Ti-B type master alloys that upon addition into aluminum melt stable TiB2 particles react with aluminum slowly and release titanium into the melt. The titanium thus released in combination with titanium in the melt through dissolution of Al3Ti maintains a transient titanium-rich layer on the surface of (Ti,Al)B2. This layer offers a low crystal mismatch with a- Al and promotes the nucleation of aluminum grains.

Jan 1, 2014

By M. C. Villeneuve, P. A. Siratovich

We present an integrated analysis of laboratory-based thermally induced fracturing and results of numerical models to give insight to the role of thermal shock fracture on geothermal reservoir rocks. Thermal stimulation is a reservoir permeability enhancement technique applied to commercial geothermal reservoir rocks to enhance fluid injection capabilities for spent power plant working fluids. The process is well known to enhance permeability but the thermodynamic and physical constraints of the process are less certain. In an attempt to constrain the interaction and the ideal conditions that lead to permeability enhancement, experimental procedures were carried out to mimic the conditions that a reservoir rock would experience during a thermal stimulation using temperature differentials ranging from 50-300°C. Samples underwent such thermal gradients under controlled laboratory conditions and were characterized for the changes to permeability, porosity, ultrasonic velocities, dynamic elastic moduli and petrological changes. The thermal stimulation was simulated in a FLAC2D thermal numerical model to investigate the nature of the thermally induced changes in the sample. The development of this model also allows us to investigate the relationship between geological characteristics and the ability to thermally stimulate any type of rock. The results indicate that numerical thermal shocking experiments are corroborated by laboratory-based results. The implication of this study is that the refined numerical models present an insight to the conditions and constraints under which thermal stimulation can prove to enhance permeability that could not be gained through purely laboratory-based studies.

Jan 1, 2015

By Godfrey W. McDonald, Dennis E. Fredrickson

"Commercial coal mining has been recorded in Nova Scotia since 1863 and during this period an estimated 60,000,000 short tons of mine discard containing 10 1030% coal has been accumulated, Approximately 70% of these dumps are in the Cape Breton region and most are owned by the Cape Breton Development Corporation (CBDC), formerly DEVCO.The explosion of oil produced energy costs which created an increase in thermal coal demand as well as the desire to rehabilitate abandoned mine dumps encouraged coal reclamation. CBDC was receptive to a proposal from the Selminco Joint Venture and encouraged the building of the Princess Recovery Plant (1980) and The Summit Plant (1982).The mine dump contains scrap, waste rocks, coal and substantial quantities of fine shale. The scrap and oversize are removed and the remaining material slurried with water to a density of 1.45. The slurry is cycloned to separate the saleable thermal coal from the rejects which are returned to designated areas of the dump for contouring and revegetation.BackgroundThe recorded coal production in Nova Scotia from 1863 to 1980 was 390,000,000 short tons. This extraction was associated with an estimated 60,000,000 short tons of discarded material. This mining discard and coal washing plant reject are located in numerous, varying sized dumps throughout the mining areas. Approximately 70% of these dumps are in the Sydney coal field region of Nova Scotia. The coal content of these dumps varies from 10 to 30% coal with an average of 18%.Energy CostsThe explosion o f energy costs in the mid-1970s greatly increased the sale price of thermal coal which made recovery of coal from some of the dumps economical. The environmental benefit of these operations will be the rehabilitation of the dumps upon cessation of the coal reclamation operation."

Jan 1, 1983

By Scott L. Ewart, William M. Bryden, Donald E. Wakefield

"Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt develops commentaries from time to time on topics of legal interest. These may deal with new legislation, changes or developments in government policy or recent judicial decisions of importance to its clients. The commentaries are, of necessity, general in nature. Because the law which they deal with is often new and untested, it is hard to arrive at precise statements of the way in which the principle s discussed in a commentary might be applied in specific circumstances. When further guidance is needed , consult a solicitor.The purpose of the Bill is to simplify, modernize and standardize the regulation of mineral exploration and development in Ontario. Many of the changes proposed by the Bill are of an administrative nature and move much of the detail with respect to staking, assessment work, prospecting work, surveys, quarry permits and leases contained in the existing Mining Act to the Regulations contemplated under the Bill.The Bill will undergo revision and be re-introduced and therefore it is not the intention of this present article to detail the specific changes contemplated by the Bill; however , its more significant changes are as follows:1. Provision is made for a lifetime prospector's licence with the elimination of annual renewals;2. Perimeter staking of a block o f claims is permitted to reduce the cost of staking;3. Assessment work requirements are expressed in term s of dollars spent rather than days worked;4. Persons doing exploratory work are required to furnish notice to owners of surface rights of intention to perform assessment work;5. Annual work summaries will be available to the industry to lessen duplication in exploration work;6. The option of continuing assessment work rather than applying for a lease is provided;"

Jan 1, 1984

By Lesley Hymers

First Nations Natural Resources Youth Employment Program PDAC Mining Matters ? Charitable organization ? Provide education to students, teachers, and the public about rocks, minerals, metals, and mining ? Provide current information and offer exceptional educational resources that meet provincial Earth science and geography curriculum expectations First Nations Natural Resources Youth Employment Program ? Provide instructional development workshops for educators who are teaching Earth science and geography ? Since 1994, reached more than 400,000 students, teachers, industry representatives, and members of the public

May 1, 2009

"The gravimetric dust sampler is one of the tools now available to the industrial hygienists for determining the worker 's exposure to the numerous types of particulate matter that may be present in the workplace. The paper ' reviews the different sampling trains that can be used for the two major criteria for respirable dust and some of the sources of error in this dust assessment technique.IntroductionIt may be stated simply that the measurement of airborne dust in the working environment is done for one or two reasons: namely, for engineering control purposes and! or to evaluate the potential for toxicological insult arising from the inhalation of dust particles.This paper reviews the progress made in the development of dust-assessing instruments, particularly the gravimetric types designed to meet British and U.S. dust criteria , and discusses the limitations in their use for this purpose."

Jan 1, 1981

By W. G. Jeffery

"The mining and mineral industries have been, and remain, a major component of the Canadian economy. There are approximately 560 producing mining establishments of which there are some 130 metal mines and an equal number of non-metal mines, the balance being quarries for stone, sand and gravel. For 17 metals and minerals, Canada ranks within the top five as a world producer. There are 29 metallurgical plants. Employment in mining, smelting and refining was about 150000 in 1990. Mineral production, including coal, is about $20 billion. Exports up to the metal stage amount to $15 billion providing a positive trade balance of some $10 billion.The producing industry has a wide diversity of products. The companies range from small single mining operations to large multinationals. In terms of technology the industry has always been in the forefront of cost-effective practice, either using home-grown innovation or freely importing technology from around the world,The Mining Industry Technology Council (MITEC) makes an annual survey of the exploration and R&D expenditures of the senior mining industry that is the mining companies that are involved in mineral production from their existing mines. It does not include those companies solely involved in exploration using funds raised through equity sales.Table 1 shows the actual R&D and exploration expenditures as a per cent of sales. R&D shows a rising trend since 1988although the drop in value of output due to lower prices must be recognized as contributing to the increase. The point about this compilation is that the mining industry re-invests some 4070 of its sales in both exploration and R&D in order to sustain itself. Exploration for the renewal of metal inventories for future mining is a process unique to mining. It is not classified as R&D, and the necessity for this investment goes unrecognized by those who state that the industry does not do enough R&D."

Jan 1, 1993

By Lluís Fontboté, François Lieben, Robert Moritz, Massimo Chiaradia

"Abstract - The Las Cañas stratabound Pb-Zn deposit, in northern Chile, is hosted by the Lower Cretaceous back-arc marine carbonate and subordinate andesitic volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks of the Chañarcillo Group, one hundred meters above a thick pile of magmatic arc-related basaltic to andesitic lavas of the Bandurrias Formation. The deposit is not obviously related to local intrusive rocks, which include an Upper Cretaceous granodiorite batholith and dacite dikes emplaced along normal faults. Stratabound Pb-Zn-Ba mineralization is constrained within several porous stratigraphic units, including a 50 cm thick lapilli-tuff and less well mineralized algal-laminated limestone. Veins that locally carry some Pb-Zn occur along normal faults that displace the stratabound orebodies, and this study shows that they represent a different type of mineralization.Fluid inclusion microthermometric data for ore-stage quartz and barite indicate saline fluids (6 to 30 wt% NaCleq) and a formation temperature in the range of 80°C to 160°C for the stratabound mineralization. Two types of fluid inclusions occur in the veins. The type I vein fluid inclusions indicate less saline (average 7 wt% NaCleq) and slightly higher temperature fluids, in the range of 110°C to 220°C. The type II vein fluid inclusions indicate highly saline fluids (25 to 40 wt% NaCleq) which might be related to minor copper mineralization.206Pb/204Pb, 207Pb/204Pb and 208Pb/204Pb ratios for galenas from the stratabound mineralization, with mean values of 18.42, 15.59, and 38.25, respectively, fall within the range of stratabound polymetallic deposits of northern and central Chile, and indicate a Lower Cretaceous magmatic rock source. Galenas from veins have slightly more radiogenic 206Pb/204Pb, 207Pb/204Pb and 208Pb/204Pb ratios, with mean values of 18.47, 15.61, and 38.34, suggesting two distinct episodes of mineralization.?34S values for galena and barite range from negative values (-31.2‰ to -12.5‰ and -7.7‰ to +12‰, respectively) in the mineralized tuff to higher values in the algal-laminated limestone (-2.5‰ to +1.2‰ and +13.2‰ to +17.4‰, respectively), close to Lower Cretaceous marine sulfate values for barite, and homogeneous values for the galena from veins (-12.0‰ ±1‰). Changing redox conditions can partly account for ?34S variations in the tuff. Sulfur sources include magmatic rock sulfur (-1.5‰ to +9.7‰) as well as sedimentary sulfides and marine sulfate."

Jan 1, 1999

By Robert W. Plummer

"This paper describes the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) as a tool for mineral exploration by using the Eskay Creek area of northern British Columbia as an example. Data entry, analysis and output are discussed. Examples of some of the capabilities of the technology are presented.The main benefit of the technology is being able to perform complex and sophisticated searches of large and diverse data sets to highlight exploration targets. A GIS is a powerful data management tool that can be used in mineral exploration. It is a computer based system that is designed for the collection, storage and analysis of objects and phenomena where geographic location is an important characteristic. The main function of the GIS is to produce information for the geologist from a variety of sources (geology, geophysics, geochemistry, mineral deposits and so forth) quickly and efficiently. This allows the geologist to examine large amounts of data in a fraction of the time than can be done using conventional manual methods."

Jan 1, 1992

By R. H. McCorkell

Radon emanation rates. J. and compositions of materials from the Canadian Certified Reference Materials Project (CCRMP) indicate that the fraction of the Rn produced that escapes, E, is usually 1% to 8% and the 238U decay chain is nearly in secular equilibrium. For some Chinese ore standards, E values are higher than f or the CCRMP materials. Standard ore tailings have 2/oPb concentrations higher than expected from their 226Ra concentrations and Rn escape rates (12 - 34%) . Biological materials have E ˜100%, their ash E ˜0%. Pelletizing ore powders at 20 000 lb/in2 reduces J by only 20 - 40% but only 2% of Rn escapes from pressed Li2B4O7 pellets and 0.01 - 0.04% from fused Na2B4O7 or Li2B4O7 discs. Large, difficult-to-explain random variations in J are observed in some situations but several highly reproducible ways of measuring emanation rates have been found.

Jan 1, 1986

By G. Kollberg

"IntroductionThe SALA Caravan Mill system represents a proven concept for the design and operation of mobile and semi-mobile ore dressing plants.The Caravan Mill has been developed to meet the demand for a flexible processing plant to be used for small and medium-sized orebodies or for pilot investigations of deposits directly at the mine site e •The first Caravan Mill installation was put into operation in 1970 and a number of plants have been delivered world-wide since then.The Caravan Mill system has great flexibility both in capacity, ranging from 50 to 1000 tons per day, and in process combinations. The process modules available are:• crushing by jaw and cone crushers;• pre-concentration by the Dyna Whirl Pool dense media system;• grinding by wet rod or ball mills;• separation by gravity, magnetic, flotation or leaching-CVP adsorption methods;• dewatering by lamella or conventional thickeners and vacuum filters.To form complete plants, auxiliary equipment is also available, such as:• bins, feeders and conveying systems;• power generator units;• water tank and pump for process water;• interconnecting piping and cables;• erection and service tool kits;• set of spare and wear parts.For mine sites with rainy or winter conditions, a plastic tent with air heater can be supplied to cover the ore dressing equipment. Each module is workshop assembled complete with slurry pumps, internal pipe work, electric wiring with plug-in connections, hoses, etc., all arranged for quick and simple connection between the units. Before delivery, each unit is tested in the workshop."

Jan 1, 1982

By P. S. Daly

"The purpose of this paper is to describe the types of instrumentation used at Sherritt Gordon's Ruttan Mine to monitor the"" effects of mining. The aim of the monitoring program is to establish parameters to achieve a maximum ore recovery with minimum dilut ion in a safe environment.The copper-zinc Ruttan Mine is in northwestern Manitoba, approximately 760 km from Winnipeg (Fig . I) . Production commenced in 1973 from the open pit at the rate of 10,000 tons per day. Pit bottom lies 58 metres above the first mine level. Underground development has overlapped with open-pit mining throughout. The open pit was phased out in the latter part of 1980.Underground production began in early 1979. The mining method employed in the first lift is sub-level blasthole open stoping with delayed hydraulic filling. Large-diameter (6.5-in.) holes are being drilled in the crop stope area and are also planned for some other areas for vertical retreat mining into a slot. GeologyThe orebody consists of numerous sulphide lenses of variable size, geometry and geology . The lenses occur within volcanoclastic host rocks which exhibit a strong variability in intensity and type of alteration and structural characteristics. Stope design and sequencing were based on these complex geological factors."

Jan 1, 1981

By Ian Rozier

"Emphasis in recent years in western Canada has been placed on the development of large open-pit coal mines, the most notable developments being in northeast British Columbia. However, vast resources exist below the limit of economic open-pit mining, and with world demand predictions of the late seventies in mind, the potential of underground coal mining in western Canada has been investigated. Particular emphasis has been placed on the Plains coalfield of Alberta, and there is optimism that underground coal mines will be developed in the Lethbridge area of southern Alberta.With no existing operations in southern Alberta with which to compare mining conditions, any mine planning and feasibility level studies rely heavily on the engineering/geotechnical data obtained from surface investigation to predict ground control problems and technical constraints on mining. Such investigations have been integrated with exploration drilling programs. Emphasis has been placed on extracting maximum information to provide an over-all appreciation of potential ground conditions and to identify specific ground control problems that could be encountered.The acquired geotechnical parameters are then used to evaluate the mine properties from an engineering standpoint for input into the determination of optimum mine layouts, development directions, mining methods and roadway and face support requirements. These geotechnical studies have been primarily directed toward the longwall mining method, but the acquired data base could equally be applied to alternative mining methods.In addition to the lithologic and structural controls which relate to roof stability, caving characteristics, floor heave and subsidence, investigations have been directed at gaining an understanding of the over-all surface and ground water regime with respect to potential inflow into the mine openings and ground control problems that could be caused by inflows encountered during mining. Experience has shown that soft floor conditions and water control are important factors to be considered in a longwall layout, and without doubt these parameters will play a major role in the design and operation of a successful longwall operation in the Lethbridge coalfield."

Jan 1, 1986

By Suping Yao, Chuanyu Jiang

In the last decade, the copper industry in China has witnessed a significant change. The capacity and production of refined copper has grown remarkably from 1.5 million tons in 2002 up to 5.88 million tons in 2012. And now, China has become the biggest copper producer in the world, counting about 30% of the global refined copper production. This paper summarized modern copper smelting and converting technologies employed in China copper industry, such as OT flash technology, TSL (ISA/Ausmelt), SKS bottom blowing, Jinfeng side blowing, etc…This paper also presents some key development and improvement of these technologies up to date from their practical application in China, what will contribute as great value to any new / or renovation copper smelting projects down the road. As an engineering company in China, NERIN has been involved in many of these projects in the past decade, played an important role in the engineering works and accumulated intensive experiences. NERIN is one of the best choices for the world clients in the copper industry, providing quick engineering service, delivering cost effective projects.

Jan 1, 2014

By D. Mraz

"In certain instances, rocks around underground excavations behave as a plastic mass. This paper offers several solutions to predicting the mode of plastic flow around cavities and designing mining pillars where plastic conditions exist.IntroductionWhen stresses around underground cavities exceed yield limits of the host rock, the material often behaves as a plastic mass. The best example of this phenomenon is the behaviour of salt rocks in deep salt and potash deposits (more than 500 m deep).However, many other soft rocks exhibit similar properties. For example, Jeremic(1) described certain types of coal yielding plastically under high pressure. Alder suggested that granulated rock behaves plastically.The object of this paper is to propose a de sign procedure for mining pillars exhibiting plastic flow due to the combination of rock properties and in-situ stresses.Prandtl(3) mathematically defined a concept of a generalized, perfectly plastic substance, not possessing the property of strain hardening (Fig. I). He had in mind, a solid with a quasi quasi-isotropic , polycrystalline structure having a well defined yield point, and he postulated that its material elements start and continue to deform plastically when the maximum shearing stress ""'MAX"" reaches a sharp limit, dependent on the mean value of the sum of the major and minor principal stresses:"

Jan 1, 1984

By John H. Fowler

"Barytes is one of the major components of drilling fluids used in oil and gas well-drilling. This mineral's close association with the petroleum industry bestows it with a commodity status not enjoyed by many other industrial minerals. Approximately 85% of world barytes production is used as a weighting agent in oil and gas well drilling while the remaining 15% is consumed mainly in the manufacture of barium chemicals, glass and as a pigment, filler or extender.Barytes mining began in Nova Scotia around 1865 and has continued until the present. Currently there are three barytes producers in the province one exporting pharmaceutical-grade barium sulphate and the other two supplying drilling mud-grade barytes to the offshore. Several barytes exploration and development programs are underway with excellent possibilities that Nova Scotia deposits will supply a significantly larger share of the drilling mud-grade barytes used in east coast drilling programs.Currently there is renewed interest in barytes activities in Nova Scotia because of its use as a weighting agent in drilling flu ids used in offshore oil and gas drilling programs.This paper reviews the use of barytes by the well drilling industry; outlines the history of barytes mining in the province, progressing to present-day exploration, development and production activities underway in Nova Scotia; and concludes with the market potential for Nova Scotia barytes."

Jan 1, 1986

By Ö Yilmaz

In this study, the behaviour of rock mass subjected to blasting load is investigated using three dimensional finite difference numerical modelling. In the analyses, Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion has been used for the characterisation of the rock mass strength. Stresses acting on the borehole boundary have been simulated by an exponential function which reaches its maximum within a short time and then falls to zero value in a considerable time period. The strain rate effect on the mechanical properties of rock material has also been taken into account in the analyses. Four different explosive-rock mass combinations have been studied to investigate blast induced damage zone. It has been observed that proposed equation for the dynamic compressive strength of rock material fits very well to general suggestions. Results have shown that blast damage analysis model recommended with this study is successful.

Aug 1, 2013

By H. K. Olsen, B. Thomassen, H. K. Schønwandt, L. Grahl-Madsen, H. Stendal

Abstract-The central part of the early Proterozoic Ketilidian orogen in South Greenland consists of an I-type granitoid batholith transected by four regional NE-SW-trending shear zones. The batholith was probably emplaced during subduction, from the south toward the Archaean craton in the north, in a sinistral transpressional system. A regional sediment sampling program covering 5000 km2 shows a close connection between a gold-mineralized trend and one of the major shear zones within the epizonal facies of the batholith. The gold mineralization is not directly related to the major shear zones, but occurs in quartz-veined and silicified second-order structures. High-grade (up to 114 ppm Au over 6 m) low-tonnage mineralization is found within these second-order structures cutting both amphibolites and granitoids. The mineralization is characterized by negligible or small alteration halos. Gold is associated with various element combinations of enhanced As-Bi-W- Cu, which indicate that the mineralization is mesothermal in origin.

Jan 1, 1995

By H. K. Olsen, B. Thomassen, H. K. Schønwandt, L. Grahl-Madsen, H. Stendal

The central part of the early Proterozoic Ketilidian orogen in South Greenland consists of an I-type granitoid batholith transected by four regional NE-SW-trending shear zones. Thebatholith was probably emplaced during subduction, from the south toward the Archaean craton in the north, in a sinistral transpressional system. A regional sediment sampling program covering5000km2shows a close connection between a gold-mineralized trend and one of the major shearzones within the epizonal facies of the batholith. The gold mineralization is not directly related to the major shear zones, but occurs in quartz-veined and silicified second-order structures. High-grade(up to 114 ppm Au over 6 m) low-tonnage mineralization is found within these second-order structures cutting both amphibolites and granitoids. The mineralization is characterized by negligible or small alteration halos. Gold is associated with various element combinations of enhanced As-Bi-W-Cu, which indicate that the mineralization is mesothermal in origin.

Jan 1, 1995

By P. Mayer

"Determining the correct mechanism of a boiler tube failure is important for the prevention of future tube failures. Proper corrective measures can be undertaken to alleviate the root cause or causes for a failure only when the correct mechanism is known. A mechanism of boiler tube failure is defined as the process which degrades the tube and produces a failure.An expert system package was developed for use by electric utility power plant personnel during investigation into the cause of a boiler tube failure. It is intended to assist their efforts to recognize and identify a basic failure mechanism that can produce the type of boiler tube failure under investigation. The program guides the user to the most likely failure mechanism by asking simple questions, answers which can be obtained by determining the failure location, type of fuel, and from visual inspection of the failed tube. Expert systems are a form of artificial intelligence which imitate the decision-making process of experts.IntroductionBoiler tube failures (BTFs) continue to be the single largest source of forced outages in fossil fired electricity generating stations. Because of this a concentrated effort is being made to minimize boiler tube failure occurrences. Eliminating boiler tube failures could be worth $5 billion a year to the electric power industry(1).The aggressive service environment of fossil-fired boilers is largely the reason for these failures because the combined effects of stress, temperature, corrosion, erosion and vibration cause deterioration of boiler tube material properties and reduction in wall thickness.Determination of the boiler tube failure mechanism is important for the prevention of future problems. The root cause for a failure can be established and proper ameliorative measures taken only when the failure mechanism is identified correctly. The correct identification of failure mechanism is a complex process which may include many individuals and institutions. Technical specialists in metallurgy, chemistry, combustion, and boiler design frequently cooperate with the station staff in a failure investigation . These individuals rely on personal experience and numerous reports , theories, studies, private communications and investigations concerning the different failure modes and mechanisms."

Jan 1, 1990