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By Paul Kunze

We have been told many times by legal folks and insurance types about the importance of producing accurate blast reports should you ever get dragged into court. In that venue the investigators will look at the information regarding product type and quantity, it’s distribution among the holes, and delay information in order to arrive at some judgement regarding vibrations or other blast induced phenomena

Jan 1, 2003

By R. E. Radabaugh, J. M. Brown, J. S. Merchant

The Gilman district is on the northeast flank of the Sawatch Range in central Colorado. It has yielded a total of 10,000,000 tons of ore having a value of over $250,000,000. Paleozoic sediments intruded by a Tertiary quartz latite sill and unconformably overlying Precambrian intrusives and metasediments comprise the country rock of the area. The sediments strike northwesterly and dip 8° to 12° northeasterly. Structures in the Precambrian are related to the Homestake shear zone of the Colorado mineral belt. Only minor folding and faulting occur in the sediments. The principal ore bodies are massive sulfide replacement deposits in carbonate rocks. They consist of long, pipe-like mantos in the completely dolomitized Mississippian Leadville Limestone and funnel-shaped chimneys of copper- silver ore cutting across the Mississippian and Devonian strata. Mineralization is continuous from the chimneys into the mantos. The principal ore bodies are roughly in the shape of a four-tined fork which points up dip. Smaller manto deposits occur in the Cambrian Sawatch Quartzite, and fissure veins are present in the Precambrian rocks. The principal minerals in the mantos are marmatite and galena in a gangue of pyrite and manganosiderite. The chimneys consist of a central core of pyrite with erratically distributed chalcopyrite, tetrahedrite, freibergite, and occasional galena with a shell of zinc ore on the outer margin. Both the chimneys and the mantos are surrounded by imperfect shells of manganosiderite and sanded dolomite. The mineralization is of Laramide age. Hydrothermal alteration affects all rock units to varying degrees. Clay mineral alteration halos occur around the ore bodies. Hydrothermal solutions have developed sanded rock, rubble filled channels, and banded zebra textures, principally in the Leadville Limestone. Structural control of the ore bodies is not well defined. Both the location of the district and the chimneys are probably related to basement structures. The mantos are largely controlled by stratigraphic factors and a pre-Pennsylvanian karst topography in the Leadville Limestone, which were modified by hydrothermal activity, and by weak zones of northeasterly trending faults.

Jan 1, 1968

By Kevin G. Stricklin

Introduction Continuous monitoring techniques have been used in the US and abroad for many years. A continuous miner has a monitor that measures methane and automatically gives a warning if the methane exceeds 1%. It deenergizes the continuous mining machine automatically at a maximum concentration of 2%. Main fans are also continually monitored to ensure operation. Alarms may also be given at a remote location should a fan slow or stop. The systems being developed can continuously monitor various gases and equipment throughout the mine and transmit pertinent data to a surface monitoring station. At this station, conditions throughout the mine can be monitored and, in some instances, controlled. These are known as Mine Wide Monitoring Systems (MWMS). History The use of environmental monitoring systems began in 1976 when a federal court approved the petition of modification to use belt air at the face. The first mine to receive a modification did install a system to supplement existing safeguards. Later, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) and the US Bureau of Mines (USBM) conducted tests dealing with the use of belt air. Findings from these tests are being used to set guidelines as requirements of a petition. These requirements include: • Velocity of air has to be 0.25 to 1.5 m/sec (50 to 300 fpm); • Monitors will be installed at each belt drive and tailpiece and at intervals not to exceed 610 m (2000 ft); and • An alarm level of 10 ppm, above the ambient level is appropriate. The early uses of environmental monitoring could only be used outby the last open crosscut. That may be a reason for an initial slow growth of these systems. In June 1982, MSHA began evaluating systems that could be used in returns to ensure that monitoring systems being used in areas where permissible equipment is required does not of itself pose an explosion hazard. This is known as the Mine Wide Monitoring Systems Evaluations and Sensor Classification program. The evaluations and classifications granted are based on electric currents and voltages. Use of mine wide monitoring systems The environmental aspect of MWMS in today's coal industry deals with carbon monoxide (CO), methane (CH4), and air velocity. Just as all mines are different and encounter different problems, the MWMS are diverse and can be used to provide necessary data in all areas of coal mines. Mine operators in an ultragassy seam, for example, may be concerned with monitoring methane, while a mine that used diesel equipment may want to continuously monitor for diesel contaminants. In a mine with roof fall problems, airflow monitors may be helpful as an indication of whether the air is flowing in its normal course and at its normal volume. Today's MWMS can monitor any or all of these parameters. Most systems can be expanded as mining needs require. For example, a mine is now being monitored for methane and five years from now CO monitoring would help increase safety. It may be possible to use the same system by adding additional equipment. In the US, 30 environmental monitoring systems were installed from May 1985 through May 1986. In 1984 and 1985, there were 38 and 44 environmental monitoring systems in operation, respectively. Due to mine closings, 11 of these are no longer in use. However, the number of mines using environmental monitoring systems increased to 63. Use of these systems are not limited to any geographic area or

Jan 9, 1987

By V. Koump, T. F. Perzak, R. G. Olsson

Jan 1, 1965

By Anna M. Ferrero

Stability condition of underground excavations have to be assessed to guarantee safe operations within the quarrying working areas. This objective requires a reliable assessment of the rock mass natural state of stress and of the stress redistribution induced by the excavations. This goal is often complicated by difficult geological conditions induced by tectonic stresses, complex topographies and large and irregular excavation geometries. Consequently, the acting state of stress needs to be measured by specific in situ measurement devices. This work refers on an in situ measurements campaign carried out by CSIRO tests in an underground quarry located in the Carrara marble basin. The difficult path carried out for interpretation of the measurements is described in this paper. In particular, the numerical modeling performed using the Boundary Element Method (BEM) first, to study the influence of both surface topography and excavation geometry and then the Distinct Element Method (DEM) to evaluate the influence of rock discontinuities in the measurement zone are illustrated in this work. Parametrical analysis of the rock mass mechanical features is also described in order to calibrate the numerical models and analyze the experimental results. The work has been carried out trough several phases, which are: characterization of the rock mass through geostructural surveys: this allowed us to classify the rock mass and determine the mechanical and physical parameters necessary for modeling; on-site measurement of stress levels through the application of over coring techniques; numerical analyses for the simulation of excavation phases, using the Examine3D (BEM) engineering analysis code. comparison between the measured stress levels and those numerically calculated and subsequent calibration of the BEM model; Numerical model of the forecasted excavation based on the calibrated (BEM) model.

May 1, 2009

By H. A. D. Kirsten

Shotcrete has become a strategic component of support in underground mines. The ductility of reinforced shotcrete makes it a safe and economic means of surface support under adverse static and dynamic loads. The ability of ductile shotcrete to sustain load at large deflections enables excavations in squeezing conditions to be stabilized and the safety in excavations subject to rock bursting, to be assured. A Shotcrete Working Group was formed to find the configurations of fibre reinforcement that would give shotcrete the same ductility as when reinforced with mesh. Beams and panels reinforced with various types and lengths of fibre were accordingly tested. A single mix design consisting of river sand, ordinary Portland cement, fly ash, condensed silica fume and gunite dust and segregation suppressant was used. Steel and polypropylene fibre varying in length from 25 to 50 mm were used in nominal contents of 5 % and 0.5% by mass respectively. Beams, panels and control specimens were shot into specially made formers. Suitable mixing procedures were developed for the different types of fibre. The test specimens were shot in a semi-dry mix process. The shotcrete was cured until tested 28 days after shooting. The fibre contents and uniaxial compressive and Brazilian tensile strengths of the shotcrete were determined from the control specimens. The beams and panels were tested in bending in specially manufactured test rigs. The beams were examined for simple supports and fixed ends. The panels were fixed in a manner that simulated underground conditions and were loaded statically under uniform pressure. The beams were loaded and the corresponding deflections measured up to failure. The panels were loaded up to mid-span deflections of 150 mm. The results are presented in the form of load-deflection graphs. The peak loads and ultimate deflections for the fixed end beams were considerably larger than for the simply supported beams for the various types of fibre considered. None of the beams tested, however, were able to sustain load at relatively constant value beyond the peak load. The panel tests showed that 40 mm and 50 mm long steel fibre and 30 mm, 40 mm and 50 mm long monofilament polypropylene fibre reinforcement gave shotcrete the same ductility as mesh.

Jan 1, 1998

By R. S. McClain

The Federal Bureau of Mines investigated residues from aluminum plants, to determine if carbon could be removed by flotation while recovering fluorine and aluminum compounds for recycling to the reduction process. This publication summarizes studies on samples representing three types of plant waste products, supplied by three aluminum-producing companies. Samples of flue dust, pot skimmings, and pot linings from the various plants all responded to a simple turpentine flotation scheme to reject 90 to 97 percent of the carbon. Aluminum compound recoveries ranged from 42 to 94 percent on the flue dust, were about 95 percent on the pot skimmings, and ranged from 75 to 89 percent on the pot linings. Fluorine recoveries from the same samples ranged from 35 to 63, 92 to 95, and 77 to 86 percent, respectively. The pot linings contained soluble salts of aluminum and fluorine which were recovered by precipitation with sodium aluminate and carbon dioxide gas. Composites of residues from each plant responded to flotation much the same as the individual samples. Aluminum is produced by the electrolysis of alumina in a molten cryolite bath. The electrolytic reduction cell consists of a carbon-lined box containing a pad of molten aluminum which serves as a cathode, a carbon anode, and an electrolyte of molten cryolite in which the alumina is dissolved. Alumina is reduced to aluminum at the cathode, and carbon is oxidized at the anode.

Jan 1, 1961

By T. McCallum

Crud is a common concern in SX processes and is formed as a complex solid stabilized emulsion of aqueous and organic.1,3 Crud formation is highly dependent on the amount of solids entering the circuit and is influenced by a number of other operational factors. A common practice for crud processing is interfacial pumping, wherein crud, organic, and aqueous are pumped from the settlers for treatment and utilizes a variety of equipment. These mechanical means of crud processing are effective, however, require significant processing time and require oversight to prevent the return of contaminated organic. Cytec has developed a unique crud treatment process utilizing both chemical and mechanical means to enhance the solid/liquid separation. The use of ACORGA CB? 1000 crud busting reagent allows a rapid separation of solids from the organic phase and provides similar volume recovery to current practices. The process allows operations to return clean organic back to the plant more efficiently and may enable operations to process more crud. In addition, the organic quality of the recovered organic is higher than that recovered by typical means, which can lead to operational cost savings.

Feb 27, 2013

Coal-bearing regions cover about 18,464 square miles or one third of Iowa, primarily in the south-central part of the state. Coal quality ranges from subbituminous to high volatile bituminous. Iowa's coal reserves are estimated to be 2.2 billion tons, less than one-half of one percent of total U.S. reserves. Coal beds are typically thin seams with a maximum thickness of five feet. Coal deposits in Iowa were fist mined in the 1840s for blacksmithing and domestic purposes. Demand for coal increased with the use of coal to fuel steamboats and railroads. Production peaked in 1917, when Iowaproduced9 million tons of coal. Since then, conversion to natural gas and fuel oil has decreased the demand for coal. Today, electrical power generating plants have created a continuing, but declining, demand for Iowa's coal. Coal production in Iowa is by surface mining methods. The Iowa regulatory program was conditionally approved January 21, 1981. Full approval was received March 28,1982, and the Abandoned Mine Land Program was approved March 28, 1983.

Jan 1, 1992

By Wilbert T. Malenka

A modified factorial experiment was used to determine the effect of operating factors in hydraulic mining of anthracite. Seven basic factors at various levels were considered. The significant factors were found to be pressure-volume, pattern, and jet traverse speed. Mining data were programed for computer, and a prediction equation was determined from printout information based on the hydraulic "jumbo" operating parameters and characteristics of anthracite, The source of error is discussed. The prediction equation is general in nature and might be useful in delineating performance characteristics in the design of equipment and/or more effective utilization in a medium with characteristics similar to those of anthracite.

Jan 1, 1968

By P. Hickey, J. Spenceley, T. J. DeMull

Development of the Batu Hijau Project was successfully completed in the fourth quarter of 1999 with the final handover and start-up of ore processing facilities. The development project had started more than three years earlier, in August 1996, when the Owner, PT. Newmont Nusa Tenggara (PTNNT), awarded an EPC contract to Fluor Daniel (FD) for design and construction of the project including: copper concentrator, port, power plant, town site, and infrastructure. PTNNT managed the development of the mine and procurement of mine equipment with its own forces. Bringing the Batu Hijau copper deposit into production was the largest mining project ever undertaken. Development of Batu Hijau was a complex project involving the work of tens of thousands of people in all parts of the world to complete engineering, manufacture and deliver equipment, supply materials, and build the plant. The ore deposit is located on the tropical island of Sumbawa in a remote and undeveloped section of Indonesia. The location and environment presented challenges for all phases and aspects of the project. To meet the challenges, the project team combined good planning and teamwork to best utilize the resources available. This approach assured continuity of personnel through construction to operations and minimized cost, resulting in completion of the project ahead of schedule and under budget.

Jan 1, 2001

By McHenry Mosier

SUMMARY MERCURY is one of the strategic metals of which the supply has been raised from critical uncertainty to more than enough for essential demands. Work by the Bureau of Mines has contributed substantially to increased production of mercury in the United States and to consequent accumulation of Government stocks. Other contributing factors have been higher prices for mercury and Government loans to operators. The Bureau has undertaken 13 exploration projects, 10 of which have been completed. This work has comprised 28,376 ft. of several types of drilling and 23,798 lin. ft. of surface trenching, and has indicated commercial ore containing 34,800 flasks of mercury and marginal ore containing 26,200 flasks, a total of 61,000 flasks; equivalent, respectively, to domestic production for 8 months, 6 months, and 14 months. As Government stocks are now adequate, domestic production (currently at the rate of 50,000 flasks per year) is gradually being curtailed through Government control of labor and operating supplies.

Jan 1, 1944

By Y. Thibault, G. Deschênes

An open-pit mine, located in Mexico, processes an ore a rate of 4000 tpd, using conventional cyanidation and AYR. A laboratory study was conducted to increase silver extraction and to reduce the concentration of cyanide in leaching. The sample contained 0.41 g/t Au, 125 g/t Ag, 99% gangue minerals, 0.7% pyrite, 0.07% sphalerite, 0.03% chalcocite. Silver was present as acanthite, stromeyerite, silver mercury/halogen, silver with copper in solid solution and jalpaite. The plant conditions (2400 ppm NaCN) produced 90.2% gold extraction (residue at 0.04 g/t Au) and 92.7% silver extraction (leach residue at 9.1 g/t Ag). The CELP (CANMET Enhanced Leaching Process) produced 97.0% silver extraction (residue at 3.8 g/t) and 90.2% gold extraction using 500 ppm NaCN. The incremental gross revenue was estimated at $US7.6 million and the reduction of cyanide costs was $2.9 million per year (79%).

Jan 1, 2011

By Rob Farnfield, William Birch, Douglas A. Anderson

In the blasting industry, even to the most safety conscious shotfirer, misfires are a constant source of concern. In the United Kingdom, there are two types of misfire, as classified by the Health & Safety Executive. Type A occurs when testing a shot before firing reveals broken continuity that cannot be rectified. However, due to the fact that a majority of quarries use non-electric initiation [i.e. shock tube] that cannot be tested, this type of misfire is very unusual.

Jan 1, 2016

Detailed characteristics of gold from Pliocene auriferous quartz gravels from Waimumu (Southland) have been studied using a combination of optical microscopy, energy dispersive microprobe analysis and scanning electron microscopy techniques. The gold at Waimumu is classified as either: 1. detrital gold, or 2. irregular gold. A number of different morphologies a recognisable within each 'gold type'. Evidence is given for an predominently authigenic origin for some of the gold at Waimumu.

Jan 1, 1987

By Thomas Z. Jones

Deep mining within the Sewell Coal member of the New River Formation in southern West Virginia has exposed several small-scale thrust faults and related features. The faults were en- countered in Westmoreland Coal Company's Eccles No. 6 Mine located near Beckley, West Virginia (Figure 1). The purpose of this paper is to: 1) describe the nature of these faults and the effect they have on mining, 2) discuss the roof support methods used in the fault zones, 3) establish a mechanism for the origin of the faults. and 4) demonstrate how the mechanism was used to forecast fault trends across the mine property.

Jan 1, 1986

By C. G. Storm

Permissible explosives are those that have passed the tests pre- scribed by the Bureau of Mines for explosives intended for use in coal mines, and are therefore recommended by the bureau as suitable for this class of work when used under the prescribed conditions. The tests for permissible explosives and the conditions prescribed for their use are described in Miners' Circular 6 of the Bureau of Mines. Up to June 1, 1915, 168 explosives had been classed as per- missible explosives; 133 of them were then on the bureau's "per- missible list" and 35 had been withdrawn by the manufacturers. In addition to the required physical tests, each explosive is sub- jected to a complete chemical examination in order that its exact composition may be known and also that the composition of future samples of the same explosive collected in the field may be compared with that of the sample which originally passed the bureau's tests, for by such comparison it may be possible to ascertain whether or not the explosive as supplied to the miner is still "permissible." This bulletin is published primarily for the purpose of informing manufacturers of such explosives as to the methods used by the Bureau of Mines in the analysis of samples received for tests to determine their permissibility. Such information may be of value in cases of possible controversy over the results obtained in the analysis of a field sample as compared with those obtained in ana- lyzing the sample originally tested by the bureau. Also, a descrip- tion of the methods used by the Bureau of Mines in the analysis of explosives should be of assistance to the many chemists engaged in similar analytical work.

Jan 1, 1916

By J. Hindman, E. Moeller

Vermiculite is currently mined from shallow (less than 25 m or 80 ft) surface deposits throughout the world. The largest producers are Palabora Mining of Phalabowra, South Africa (ore stock is a phlogopitemica), Xinjiang Yuli Xinlong Vermiculite of Korla, China, and W.R. Grace of Enoree, SC (ore stock is a biotite mica). Smaller operations are in Australia, Brazil, Russia and Zimbabwe. They also produce vermiculite on a continuous basis but do not export any significant amounts of product to North America. Intermittent and poorly documented production on a minor scale is reported from Argentina, Egypt, India and Uganda. Worldwide vermiculite production in 2004 increased1.7 percent to 432.8 kt (477,000 st). North American production declined, while African and Chinese production continued to increase.

Jan 1, 2005

By Timo Niitti, Antti Rinne, Janne Turunen, Sami Grönstrand

"This paper describes novel methods to enhance the flow dynamics of a mechanical flotation cell that can be applied to an existing installation. There are several reasons to alter the flow dynamics. The most common motivation is to improve the metallurgical performance of the cell, for instance, to improve the flotation recovery in particle size ranges that are normally difficult to recover.The flow dynamics enhancements are associated with the geometry of the rotor-stator area and additional features in the tank. The rotor-stator area has been modified to provide more concentrated turbulent kinetic energy or respectively more pumping efficiency with less attrition to the slurry. The tank can be fitted with various geometrical features, aimed to create a desired particle suspension profile. Depending on the targeted particle size range and application, badly selected or designed features can also have a negative effect on the metallurgical results.Besides new flotation equipment, the enhancements can be applied to existing flotation cell installations, thus enabling improvements in the mixing profiles, solids suspension, tank sanding and metallurgical performance of operating flotation circuits. Results of several tests carried out in existing plant operations are presented, concerning both flow variables and metallurgy.The common factor to above-mentioned enhancements is the use of modern computational fluid dynamics tools in the design phase, as well as the validation of the obtained CFD results in laboratory and production scale. Validated variables include mixing profile, power draw and local air hold-up.The paper demonstrates the effects of various flow geometries on the mixing profiles and metallurgical results of existing mechanical flotation cells. It shows how modern computational fluid dynamics analysis can be used to screen and select different approaches before carrying out costly trial-and-error experiments in plant scale."

Jan 1, 2006

By John A. Franklin, Tom C. Palangio, Norbert H. Maerz

WipFrag systems I and II have become the world standard in photoanalysis systems to measure fragmentation. Mines, quarries and excavating contractors can now easily measure blast results and track the progress of optimization efforts. This technology was developed and evolved to allow automatic measurements of the size distribution of patiicles on moving conveyors, in truck boxes and on crusher feeds. Production machinery can now be controlled by photoanalysis results and multiple cameras allow various locations to be monitored by a single system. Blast designs can be monitored on a shot by shot basis. Changes in delay times, explosives, patterns and hole sizes can be quickly evaluated. Along with this measurement capability has come a heightened awareness of the importance of “optimum size” and uniformity of particles for lowest cost production and material handling efficiency. In the past, savings in the “drill / blast” cycle of the operation were sometimes overshadowed by downstream production costs related to fragmentation. Now total production costs can be compared with fragmentation sizes which will immediately show the trend towards optimum size for economical production. No cost reduction program can be complete without this critical information.

Jan 1, 1997