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By Ivan Carrasco, Benjamin Cebrian

Mining companies have traditionally organized their structure around a scheme easy to manage: Mining Department and Mill Department. In a challenging landscape for mining, with decreasing grades, increasing rock hardness and more expensive energy, this way to organize departments has resulted in internal disputes and often contradictory targets between both mine and mill. These compete for individual, separated budgets whose Key Performance Indexes often damage each other’s output. The results are increased total production costs and reduction of profits. Some companies have completed the first step in eliminating these inefficiencies by creating Fragmentation Engineers and Fragmentation Superintendents. With all the knowledge available on the overall fragmentation process and costs, in this document an overhaul of the traditional management structure is proposed. Is a step further Mine-to-mill and mine-to-leach programs. Since comminution is the most expensive step of the mineral exploitation, it should be taken as a whole, not divided into competing departments. Thus, mining departments should be re-grouped into: transportation, fragmentation and flotation.

Jan 1, 2014

This paper considers the application of recent laboratory gas sorption data to the understanding outburst phenomena in underground coal mining. Previous use of threshold limits based on gas content and coal rank are placed in perspective. Although this work focuses on overseas research and experience, parallels can be drawn for New Zealand coal settings, taking into account localised mining and geological factors.

Jan 1, 1994

By O. W. Borgeson, D. K. Honsberger, R. T. Bell

The Scully Mine, situated in the Labrador Trough near the Quebec-Labrador boundary, is one of the world's largest continuous ore deposits. This paper outlines the sequence of the mining operations from the planning stages to the delivery of the ore to the crusher at an average rate of 50,000 tons per day, 7 days per week. The principal equipment required to maintain this production rate includes four 12.\1.1-inch rotary drills, seven 8-cu.-yd electric shovels and a fleet of large haulage trucks. Particular attention is given to grade control, programmed by computer, drilling and blasting techniques and operational aspects inherent with open-pit mining in Canada's North.

Jan 1, 1969

Nauru Phosphate, which is one of the world's highest grade deposits discovered to date, contributed in 1969, 2.2 million tons of the total world production of 77.7 million tons. Phosphate production, which is the major source of revenue for the island nation, is carried out by the Nauru Phosphate Corporation, headed by a Government appointed Board of Directors. The complete mining operation, including ship loading techniques, is discussed along with proposals at present being investigated to upgrade the Quality of the product.

Jan 1, 1971

By J Harris, P Kirsch, R LaBouchardiere

æMining + Health in DevelopmentÆ is a project funded by the International Mining for Development Centre (IM4DC, 2012) to develop a centralised database of corporate sustainability initiatives for managing and improving occupational and public health, based on information extracted from social and environmental reports of major mining, oil and gas (MOG) companies. This register of materials has the potential to increase stakeholder awareness of the unique health risks impacting the minerals industry, employees, their families and surrounding communities, as well as to inform stakeholders on global industry approaches to health management.Data and preliminary outcomes from analysis of different MOG corporate sustainability reports on public health and disease management are presented for six African countries (Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Mozambique, Sudan, Tanzania and Zimbabwe) and six Asia-Pacific countries (Indonesia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines and Vietnam).With the minerals industry facing ongoing rapid growth worldwide, including continuous expansion into developing regions, the æMining+Health in DevelopmentÆ project will inform industry, civil society and regulators of current health management practices and programming among the different sectors of the minerals, oil and gas industries and across various regional operations. This baseline information will serve as a resource for minerals industry managers, providing a forum for sharing best practice health management approaches amongst MOG companies.CITATION:LaBouchardiere, R, Harris, J and Kirsch, P, 2012. Mining and health in development - An inventory of global resource industry health initiatives in developing countries, in Proceedings International Mine Management 2012, pp 75-90 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Nov 20, 2012

By H. Savasci, G. Yarim, J. S. Chung

As part of ongoing deep-ocean mining research, hydraulic transport systems as well as status of deep-ocean mining systems are reviewed in the aspects of manganese nodules and crusts from 8006,000-m depth. The emphasis of the investigation of hydraulic transport is placed on the shape effect of particles on the pressure gradients and flowrates. Series of tests are being conducted to study the lift characteristics of a 2-phasevertically upward hydraulic transport of 2 types of small solid particles in a PVC pipe of 1-in (2.54 cm) diameter: irregular-shaped silica sands and equivalent spherical glass beads. Pressure drops and mass as well asvolumetric flow rates were measured by electromagnetic(EM) flowmeter and mass flowmeter. The particle sizes used are 8-10 mesh. The results in turbulent flow range of 101045Re show that pressure gradients or friction factors are smaller for the spherical beads than the sands. The larger the concentration of the particles are, the larger the pressure gradients become. The larger the particle concentration is, the less the effect of particle shape on pressure gradients becomes. The shape effect is greater for the minimum particle transport velocities than for the settling velocities.

Jan 1, 1999

By J. S. Chung

As part of ongoing deep-ocean mining research, hydraulic transport systems as well as status of deep-ocean mining systems are reviewed in the aspects of manganese nodules and crusts from 800-6,000-m depth. The emphasis of the investigation of hydraulic transport is placed on the shape effect of particles on the pressure gradients and flowrates. Series of tests are being conducted to study the lift characteristics of a 2-phase vertically upward hydraulic transport of 2 types of small solid particles in a PVC pipe of 1-in (2.54 cm) diameter: irregular-shaped silica sands and equivalent spherical glass beads. Pressure drops and mass as well as volumetric flow rates were measured by electromagnetic (EM) flowmeter and mass flowmeter. The particle sizes used are 8-10 mesh. The results in turbulent flow range of 104 < Re < 105 show that pressure gradients or friction factors are smaller for the spherical beads than the sands. The larger the concentration of the particles are, the larger the pressure gradients become. The larger the particle concentration is, the less the effect of particle shape on pressure gradients becomes. The shape effect is greater for the minimum particle transport velocities than for the settling velocities.

Jan 1, 1999

By Jonathan Peck, Jim Gray

"While the mine developer looks for bigger and better orebodies in countries offering lower risks to development capital, the opera-tor of existing mines is looking for bigger and better ways to use his existing resources. Mining operations today utilize a variety of stand-alone systems for planning and managing their operations. In both small and large mines, payroll, accounting, inventory, planning, and engineering requirements are met using a combination of manual and computer-based systems.Technical advances and new enabling technologies are changing how mines are doing business. PC-based systems are allowing small operations to join the larger mines in using advanced computer-based systems. Advanced monitors are being used in maintenance to track, predict and correct the health of production equipment. Production monitoring systems are used to measure the performance of operating equipment and personnel in real time. This detailed information on how much, where, when, and by whom is being used for proactive management and planning. Ultimately, this information can be used to optimize and control the machines’ activities, eventually leading to robotic and autonomous operation of mining equipment.As the use of technology increases in mining, specific information objectives are being met but other problems are being created. The life cycle of technology is small, and as current systems are replaced by newer ones, integration problems and additional end-user training are created. In addition, onboard monitoring systems can create large volumes of data, data which are frequently archived without being analyzed. Mine operators are also duplicating efforts applying new technologies in an effort to be more competitive, but in doing so are creating interfaces which are only compatible with their own facilities. As system development moved from the centralized mainframe computer to the PC environment, the fragmentation of these systems became more pronounced.To efficiently continue in adapting and utilizing advancing technology, the mining industry needs to develop a system architecture that readily integrates as many sub-systems as possible. This will provide a framework for existing system integration and design guide-lines for future development. The Total Mining System (TMS) concept will allow a network of stand-alone functional modules to be readily integrated with minimal effort. This paper will discuss some of the current technologies cur-rently in use in some surface mine operations.In addition, a description of the information system and communications requirements that will be needed to integrate these components in the future, will be discussed."

Jan 1, 1996

By M. S. NORTH

IT may be a far cry from the days of the old horse whim, and it is relatively a long way back to hand production in factories. Modern machinery has made possible deep shaft-sinking, newer methods have increased the recovery of mineral. Technically, excavating and ore dressing have advanced as has mass production and its many ramifications in the manufacture of commercial product. To those of the mining industry who would have us believe that mining and manufacturing are totally different enterprises, it can be said that certain differences do exist. These differences rather than being fundamental are the result of adhering to past practices which were possibly sound years ago but do not measure up today. Differences in managerial control, sales, and distribution, cost finding, etc., are often so pronounced that efforts to compare or contrast are almost futile.

Jan 1, 1930

By John Heter

An alum/sulfur deposit (USDA organic registered) was mined underground for alunite (K,Na) Al3 (SO4)2 (OH)6 from the early 1900s to the 1930s. It is now being mined as an open pit quarry. A larger assemblage of minerals is included with this method (Alunite, Potassium?Alum, Jarosite, Gypsum, Native Sulfur and K-feldspar). This assemblage of minerals provides the necessary requirements as a Volcanic Soil Conditioner Sulfur-Potash. Heart of Nature? Company has been marketing this product to farmers on the west coast as a (1) pH reducer, (2) soluble sulfur and potassium source for plant growth and (3) soluble calcium. Recently, a new market has been tapped. This product has been found to solve many odor, bacteria and algae problems faced in the dairy industry.

Jan 1, 2008

By Robert T. Gdagher, Allison Butts

EDUCATIONAL trends as reflected in curricular changes are of interest and importance in engineering educa¬tion both as matters of record and as considerations for the future. The data on which the evidence of this report is based were obtained by sending questionnaires to all schools in the United States granting the undergraduate degree in mining engineering, metallurgy, or metallurgical engineering. The questionnaire had two parts, one inquiring as to the general nature of revisions made or planned, and the other asking for information on specific courses added to or dropped from the curriculum, or given more or less time than formerly. The frequency with which curricular changes are made, even in normal times, is notable. Although it was expected that the period since 1939-40 would show numerous revisions, it was somewhat surprising to find that of 62 mining or metallurgical curricula in existence in 1939-40 and reported in the present survey, 58 had been revised or are shortly to be revised, 52 having already been changed during this period. Moreover, approximately half of the mining schools that have already revised their curricula, and probably a similar proportion of the metallurgical schools, are about to make further important changes.

Jan 1, 1948

By Worner H. K

Education has always been a topic to rouse the interest of mining and metallurgical engineers, but the recent activities of the Education Committee of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy 1, 2, together with the moves throughout the Commonwealth to extend the field of technological education, have made the subject a very live one at the present time. The authors have felt it would be appropriate that on the occasion of the First Ordinary Meeting for 1950, in Victoria, some contribution should be forthcoming concerning the history, present status and possible future trends of mining and metallurgical education in this State. As for the past, the time approaches when there will be none having personal recollections of the beginning of Victorian mining schools or of the men who started them. As for the future, it is obvious that rapidly expanding metal-producing and metalconsuming industries will demand a greater output of competent graduates and diplomates. The era immediately ahead seems to be bristling with opportunities, but mining educators need to temper their enthusiasm for various policies and programmes with the realisation that they are helping to train men who will be leaders 15-20 years hence when the problems of industry and trials of life generally may be very different from what they are to-day.

Jan 1, 1950

By AIME AIME

MOST of the copper mines in Canada are favored by nature in having other metals besides, copper in their ore, which puts them in a most satisfactory competitive position. Noranda ore has an important gold content, Flin Flon gold and zinc, and International Nickel of course has nickel. All of the larger copper companies in Canada operated during 1.933 and the total production of copper exceeded that of the year before. The Britannia Mining and Smelting Co. worked out to succcessful conclusion a three-product flotation process for separating the copper, zinc and iron from its low-grade ore. Although the method and equipment is different from that used at the Flin Flon mine, the object is the same, that

Jan 1, 1934

By GEORGE D. RAMSAY

WHEN the Ironton blast furnace of the Columbia Steel , Co. was first put into operation the iron ore was mined frol11 the deposit near Iron Springs, Utah. This is principally a hematite with 12 to 20 per cent of magnetite finely disseminated throughout the ore. It varies from a fairly soft broken rock structure to that which is hard and compact. In the broken form it will weigh about 150 lb. per cu. ft., and in place the density is approximately 250 lb. per cu. ft. The first ore received for the blast furnace was crushed so as to pass through approximately a 4-in. square opening screen. A typical screen test of this ore is shown in Table 1.

Jan 1, 1935

By C. A. Heiland

WITH seventeen papers submitted. and thirteen presented in three sessions, the geophysicists had a most successful meeting at New York in February. The first paper on Monday morning dealt with the location of a diabase dike near Chapel Hill, N. C., by magnetic and resistivity methods. The magnetic indications were pronounced directly over the dike. whereas the anomalies of apparent resistivity were less distinct and displaced away from the dike. In the second paper, Professor Keys reported on the results obtained with four different methods of depth calculation on known portions of the Falconbridge

Jan 1, 1937

By J. F. Myers

A bit of old philosophy: The optimist, the pessimist, The difference is droll; The optimist, the doughnut sees, The pessimist, the hole. This is a neat summation of the viewpoint of those engaged in "treating the crude mineral crust of the earth." Many of those in high places have reminded us during the year of the diminishing supply of the resources so essen-

Jan 1, 1948

By Harlowe Hardinge

AN extensive recent trip throughout the mining districts of the Southwest, Central West, an Northwest,&apos; reveals a numbes of interesting conditions that have influenced operators, in both large and small mills, to modify their flow sheets insofar as they pertain to crushing and grinding. The changes made and planned for the future should be of interest. It is interesting to note when traveling through the country, how ideas change and practice is modified, and it is rather amusing to see how milling methods seem to run, more or less, in cycles. New ideas and developments are brought about which run through the industry and are taken up by many of the best and most well informed operators. Some of them will change, sooner or later, back to their old practice; for, like everything .else, what will work well in one place will not necessarily be suited to another. On the other hand, it is often difficult to establish. other practices known to be of value, owing to the natural resistance to make a change, but on the whole, the western mill men seem to be more alive to possible benefits of various modifications than any other engineers with whom I have come in contact in all parts of the world. Mill men in other parts of the world always keep in con- tact with what is being done in the western part of the United States, but it does not necessarily follow that those in the western part of the United States are always right. Some of these changes that have been made and afterward abandoned will be referred to later.

Jan 1, 1929

By AIME AIME

A PERIOD of business depression and falling prices always raises questions as to the possible responsibility of the monetary or banking system. This is natural enough, for it is agreed that the supply of money or credit is a very important factor in modern business and in prices. However, it is far from being the only important factor. One of the chief merits of the gold standard is that under its workings the supply of currency and credit is regulated automatically to the masimun extent, in- stead of by the control of any arbitrary authority. The supply of new gold comes from the mines, and mining is free. It is distributed among the countries by the currents of trade and the play of economic forces, with the general result that the distribution tends to be in accordance with the economic development of the countries and their ability to use it or command it. Inasmuch as the accumulated stock of monetary gold is very large in comparison with the annual additions, the total avail- able supply changes but little from year to year, and it may be assumed that price-changes that are properly chargeable to gold will take place gradually rather than suddenly.

Jan 1, 1930

By S. S. Arentz

An organized safety program has reduced accidents at Pioche because effort is first devoted to arousing and maintaining interest in safety, followed by training in accident prevention, assigning responsibility for the detection and removal of safety hazards, and finally, by keeping score through an adequate system of records. A health program is intergrated with the safety program.

Jan 1, 1950

By Clyde E. Williams, V. N. Krivobok, C. H. Herty

THE extreme effect of the depression on the steel industry is well illustrated by the fact that the amount of iron ore shipped from the Lake Superior district was the lowest in 47 years. Something over 3 1/2 million tons of ore was shipped in 1932, compared with over 65 million tons in 1929. It is not surprising then that practically no advancement in iron ore beneficiation has been made. Improved research and development work, however, was continued at the Michigan College of Mines in the survey of the lean iron ores of Michigan with reference to the possibility of their concentration; at the University of Minnesota in its large-scale jigging studies of Lake :Superior ores; and at Battelle Memorial Institute in the development of improved jigging of iron ores. The successful operation of the new Hadsel mill at a gold property in California gave such low grinding costs on a quartz ore as to give much encouragement in the iron ore industry for a cheapening of the cost of grinding lean ores for concentration.

Jan 1, 1933