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By W. Tom Witherspoon

Many Engineers are skeptical and cautious about skin friction factors for the portion of drilled piers where temporary casing is used. This has led Texas engineers in many cases to eliminate skin friction values for the cased section, which necessitates deepening the drilled shaft to compensate for the loss in the cased section. This paper has provided field test data that supports inclusion of skin friction in the temporarily cased hole section as a contributing factor in total axial capacity as comparable to open hole shafts of the same diameter. Reasons for the resultant friction values are provided including; remolding of the cased clay section and the increased pier circumference necessitated by the oversized casing required for adherence to the engineers shaft diameter specification.

Jan 1, 2009

By Xinquan Zhou, Rudolf E. Greuer

MFIRE, written in Fortran 77, is a computer program for ventilation state simulation in the steady state or transient state condition. It can be applied for the calculation of normal ventilation system planning or the analysis of the dynamic state variation in a ventilation system under thermal or mechanical disturbance. The state simulator MFIRE is a useful tool for mine fire fighting. In the case of a mine fire, mine ventilation engineers want to get some help to obtain more information, such as what is happening in the underground mine and how to control the mine fire, for correct decision making. By use of program MF'IRE, forecasts can be made on the variation of airflow, temperature, and contaminant distribution in a ventilation system during a mine fire. The paths which the contaminant takes at each time interval can be traced. The program MFIRE can be of assistance in the preplanning of escape routes. It can also be helpful during a mine fire emergency and mine recovery operation. Besides of offering the information of state simulation during a mine fire, MFIRE can be applied for state control by pretesting the suitability of the selected state control measures. It is to simulate the effects of the state control measures on the airflow distribution of a dynamic ventilation system. The testing result can be used for fire fighting in a similar real case of a mine fire. By employing empirical methods or a qualitative analysis like Budryk approach, ventilation engineers can choose different combinations of locations and sizes of control devices as samples of state control for an underground mine fire. Program MFIRE can simulate the different combination samples, that consist of a certain mine fue, the corresponding different control measures, and obtain the control effects. After the different control results are compared, the state control measure, which creates the best effect among the different state control measures, will be chosen for that fire case. When a mine fire, which is similar to one of the pretested cases, breaks out, the corresponding choice of the state control measure is applied to the ventilation system. It means that the simulator MFIRE has the function of indirect state control [10]. To achieve the above two functions, state simulation and state control, the mine ventilation system condition, sometimes, should be changed in a wide range to meet the requirement of the fire fighting. These wide system condition changes, such as adding operating fans, stopping or reversing fans, changing fan characteristics, adding regulators and making airflow shortcuts are represented in the time table of the input data set When the data files are changed in a wide range, however, an iteration divergence and some other computing errors in the distribution of airflow, temperature, and contaminant may occur. More serious logical programming and flexible selection on the algorithms are wanted to meet the request of the different data sets, to achieve correct state distribution simulation and improve the iteration convergence. To enhance the reliability and common suitability of program MFIRE, it is necessary to make investigation, analysis, and modification for the formal versions of MFIRE. The version 1.29, permitting dry .calculation, and versions 2.01/v2.0, permitting dry and humidity calculation, are widely applied

By A Croll

A panel cave using LHDs for ore extraction came into production at Premier in 1990 at a depth of 630 metres below surface on the western side of the mine in the BA5 mining block. A post-undercut mining sequence was used with all development on both the undercut and production levels completed prior to the undercut being advanced over the pre-developed drawbells. Support and rock mass damage on the production level was extensive as the undercut moved overhead. Undercutting and coarse fragmentation created problems. The mining sequence was changed to an advance undercut with the minimum of development and support undertaken on the production level prior to the undercut moving overhead. Only once the abutment stresses had stabilised were drawbells developed and final support installed. The height of the undercut drill design was decreased from 18 to 13 metres. The changes resulted in markedly less rock mass and support damage on the production level. Lessons learned in the BA5 mining block on the 630 level were incorporated into planning and scheduling the BB1E mining block which came into production on the 732 metre level on the eastern side of the mine in 1996. An advance undercut mining sequence was planned, undercut height was minimised and undercutting parameters were optimised in terms of the BA5 experience. Numerous problems still occurred. As the undercut area increased in size severe spalling from the cave back resulted in vertical propagation of the cave to a height of 30 metres instead of the planned 13 metres. The resultant coarse fragmentation created secondary blasting problems and an excess of undercut ore that had to be loaded and trammed, slowed the rate of undercut advance. The planned mining sequence was compromised and considerable support and rock mass damage resulted on the production level below. Once these problems had been overcome the undercut advanced at the planned rate and continuous caving initiated at the predicted hydraulic radius. At a later stage the unexpected ingress of water hampered undercut drilling and slowed the rate of undercut advance in a section of the cave. Leads and lags between adjacent tunnels and the overall face shape could not be developed as planned. The rate of natural horizontal cave propagation exceeded the rate of undercut advance and three undercut drilling tunnels were extensively damaged. More tunnel development on the production level prior to undercutting than was planned resulted. The slow advance of the undercut and high abutment stresses caused extensive damage to installed support and the rock mass on the production level, 15 metres below. Experience in the BB1E mining block on the 732 metre level has taught that an advance undercut mining sequence reduces damage on the production level markedly. Extremely tight control on the rate of undercut advance, leads and lags between adjacent tunnels and overall undercut face shape as well as extraction ratio, tunnel development and support sequence on the production level below is required. Premier Mine plans to implement a block cave at a depth in excess of 1000 metres within the next decade. All the experience gained on current mining levels together with data collection and numerical modeling is being used to plan the proposed mining operation. The geotechnical challenge of mining at this depth in weak rock has been identified as the greatest risk to the project. Challenges centre around adopting the correct mining sequence, limiting the extent of rock mass damage associated with undercutting and effective support. The hydraulic radius needed to initiate caving, fragmentation, drawpoint spacing, secondary blasting and the possibility of seismicity are geotechnical concerns that are being addressed. Results to-date suggest that a pre-undercut mining sequence with all development and support on the production level carried out only after the undercut abutment stresses have passed overhead will have to be implemented.

Jan 1, 2000

Eco-Efficient Gravity Separation Solutions in India Sustainable development and social responsibility issues are a principal aspect of mineral processing operations around the world. With the need for more environmentally effective technologies, some gravity separation systems have provided eco-efficient mineral processing solutions in places where it is not otherwise viable because of lack of fresh water or for other environmental reasons. Advanced spiral separation technologies developed in Australia offer a cost effective and environmentally viable way to process minerals. In particular, we review recent case studies of spiral plants commissioned in India where environmentally sustainable solutions to design problems included the use of spirals operated with sea water and the use of high capacity (HC) spirals to provide low consumption of energy and materials and a reduced plant footprint. This paper evaluates the performance of various spiral plants in India and how critical environmental issues which affect the overall viability of wet concentrating processes where resolved.

Sep 13, 2010

As part of the Bureau of Mines program for conserving domestic mineral resources, a survey was made of the methods used for identifying scrap metals. Because of the large number of alloys currently being scrapped, correct identification of these materials is essential if they are to be recycled effectively. The methods and instruments used to identify scrap metals are described and evaluated. These include object recognition, color, density, magnetic testing, spark testing, chemical spot testing, thermoelectric measurements, eddy current measurements, and elemental analysis by chemical and instrumental methods. Other potential techniques are discussed also.

Jan 1, 1982

Researchers from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) are developing a coal pillar rib rating (CPRR) technique to measure the integrity of coal ribs. The CPRR characterizes the rib composition and evaluates its impact on the inherent stability of the coal ribs. The CPRR utilizes four parameters: rib homogeneity, bedding condition, face cleat orientation with respect to entry direction, and rib height. All these parameters are measurable in the field. A rib data collecting procedure and a simple sheet to calculate the CPRR were developed.

Jan 7, 2020

By Fred D. Fox

Introduction Abandoned mill tailings deposits can be found throughout the northern Black Hills of South Dakota, indicative of mining activities that originated during the great gold rush days of 1875. The Refuse Act of 1899 attempted to regulate the deposit of debris from mines and stamp works. But, in most cases, huge volumes of mine and milling wastes were disposed of in ways no longer considered environmentally acceptable. Restoration of gold mill tailings deposits is a relatively new practice to the Black Hills area. This discussion will present an overview of the environmental setting, environmental problems associated with past tailings disposal practices, practices being implemented to solve these problems, and prospects related to present the future tailings disposal practices. Environmental Setting An understanding of climatic characteristics, geology, surface and ground water hydrology conditions, and the physical and chemical characteristics of selected mill tailings deposits will aid in understanding environmental problems associated with tailings disposal and restoration. Climate The Black Hills region is in the middle latitudes, which have a

Jan 11, 1984

By D. S. Richards

Computers have revolutionized the collection of data on modern mines. Never before has it been possible to collect data from all aspects of the mining value chain at rates now common. With this has come a new challenge. Deriving information from these copious amounts of data and disseminating it. This problem is being exacerbated by technical software systems, which use proprietary and binary data formats that severely inhibit the flow of data and information both across departments and the larger organization. Generally this had led to data duplication and data redundancy. The Gemcom Enterprise Mining System (GEMS) makes use of industry standard, secure and open databases for all its data objects. It manages multiple users accessing the same bits and bytes in the database, preventing data duplication and redundancy. Developed in the Microsoft BackOffice ® environment, GEMS is also able to leverage the enormous amount of tools available in this environment, whether it’s for e-mail notification, reporting or data capture. Microsoft’s® Active Server Pages are one of these tools. These are standards used to create dynamic and interactive web pages with links into databases and many other objects. The real example outlined in the text, demonstrates how a user anywhere in the world is able to login to a web page and run a query that returns a report with vector plots of performance for the user-selected time frame. As integration is tightened between the various components of the mining value chain, the importance and reliance on ASP pages will grow as the need for management information tools develops. Keywords: mines, computers, ASP, GEMS, integration, Microsoft, Management Information.

Jan 1, 2003

By F. A. Camisani-Calzolari

The latter half of the 20th century has seen the proliferation of a series of codes to address commodity needs which were brought about by rapidly advancing technologies and the globalization of markets and consumerism. This paper addresses the specific needs and the origin of this surge and presents these codes in the context in which they were developed. It also compares the main codes or groups of codes and elaborates upon their strengths and weaknesses. Three main categories of codes are identified, namely codes for reporting to international agencies, codes addressing government needs and, finally, codes for the investors and the stock market. Codes governed by international agencies usually relate to strategic commodities which have highly specialized fields of usage such as nuclear power generation where international cooperationis eventually the only viable approach for both the development of technologies and their applications. Codes for reporting to governments address the necessity of each state to exploit its mineral potential profitably and to secure the preservation of wealth for future generations. Reporting to investors is experiencing a considerable popularity as of late because of globalization in mining and the growing need for outside financing of mining projects, whose capital requirements are getting out of reach for the average mid-cap mining company. All these codes have advantages and shortcomings dictated by the specific circumstances under which they were developed, therefore necessitating the definition and implementation of some kind of international standard whereby investments and the spread of information across political boundaries would be facilitated. Though none of these codes might ever become international in the true sense of the word because of significantly different legislations at national level, a step that would greatly contribute to the cross-border disclosure of information would be the reciprocal recognition of competent persons by the major mining countries, including China and Russia. It is also becoming essential that financial institutions and investors be properly advised on mining projects by reporting reserves and resources in a transparent and responsible way with the relevant public disclosures being compiled by professionals who take full responsibility for their submissions. Keywords: reporting codes, mineral resources, mineral reserves, competent person, UN Framework Classification, IAEA classification, JORC Code, SAMREC Code and CRIRSCO.

Jan 1, 2004

By Jack J. Ayotte, Michael R. Nadon

"Today's demand for better and more efficient methods inspires new approaches to construction and mine development.A project at Asarco's Aquarius Mine provided a challenge that resulted in the adaptation of a civil construction technique to a mining application.This paper describes the construction of an escapeway shaft to surface from the mine's 150m level. The prime consideration was to provide the most cost-effective method of establishing a shaft collar in the 145 ft (44 m) of water-bearing overburden. This problem was resolved with the employment of the drilled in-caisson method.The remainder of the 500ft (152m) deep shaft was raise bored and portable hoisting equipment was used to install a permanentmanway and shaft liner.IntroductionHaving completed the first phase of exploration development in 1982, J.S. Redpath Limited was engaged to carry out an engineering and cost study to investigate the feasibility of re-opening Asarco's Aquarius Mine near Timmins, Ontario. The scheme was to develop the proven ore reserves and proceed with shrinkage stoping while carrying out further exploration development and diamond drilling.One significant and costly component of the project was the provision of an escapeway shaft to supply additional ventilation as well as a second means of egress from the mine. The major complication to this task was the presence of 145 ft (44 m) of water-bearing overburden at the site. The first and obvious approach was to use conventional ground-freezing methods as had been employed previously on .this property for the initial development shaft. This being the only ""sure"" method available at the time of the budget estimate, it was used as a basis for the study but its considerable projected cost and time demand inspired further investigation into other possible solutions.After considerable research and several brainstorming sessions, a Redpath team came up with an approach whose basic procedures had been used extensively in the civil construction field, although they were novel to the mining industry."

Jan 1, 1987

By Richard Short

Shallow rainfall-induced landslides in residual and colluvial hillslopes and steep embankments are a common occurrence in many settings [1, 2, 3]. While occasionally posing a threat to property and life-safety, they more often present an ongoing maintenance problem and can lead to the initiation of larger failures. Typically, these slides consist of 2 to 4-foot thick translational movements of silty and clayey soils down slope through the reduction of strength from increases in pore water pressures. Direct surficial infiltration and indirect groundwater seepage are the normative triggers for failure. In the residential community of Blackhawk, California, located east of the San Francisco Bay, these types of landslides are a common occurrence (Figure 1). However, shallow landslides have also been a repetitive and constant problem along many state highways where steep embankments have been constructed in close proximity to busy thoroughfares. Given the real threat to property values in residential and commercial settings and the constant maintenance problem posed to lifeline structures such as utilities, roadways, and pipelines, new methods to deal with these landslides are needed.

Jan 1, 2007

By M. G. Zabetakis, T. D. Moore

The use of a partially slotted 6.5-inch-inside-diameter vertical pipe to remove methane from a longwall gob area at a depth of 2,260 feet in the Pocahontas No. 3 coalbed ms investigated. The value of gas removed by such a pipe under free-flow conditions was found to equal the cost of the installation in this case. Approximately 25 percent of the available methane passed through the pipe without the use of an exhauster; an additional 10 percent was removed when an exhauster was employed. The diversion of methane through a vertical slotted pipe to the surface permitted the use of increased mining rates and decreased the ventilation air requirements.

Jan 1, 1972

By Dale S. Preece

"Detonation delay timing has been an important aspect of quality rock blasting for decades. Detonators that enable delay timing have improved over the years especially with the recent advent of precision electronic detonators. The positive effects of precision delay timing have been observed repeatedly in the field with improved fragmentation, heave and overall blast control. Three-dimensional computational capabilities in terms of software, material models and computer speed have recently made possible the computer simulation of multiple blast holes in a bench configuration with precise delay timing between holes. Some of the key physical phenomena enabled by precise delay timing include: 1) collision and interaction of stress waves produced by adjacent blast holes, 2) reinforcement of stress waves from multiple holes as they reflect from the bench face and ground surface, 3) reflection of stress waves from “dynamic free surfaces” created by previously detonating holes, and 4) deformation induced fracturing, cracking and fragmentation. Simulating rock blasting in 3D has shed light on the physics involved and is resulting in an evolution of our understanding of fragmentation mechanisms. Routine use of these 3D computational tools will result in a much better understanding of the complex physics set in motion by the rock blasting process and allow predictionof improved blasting."

Jan 1, 2009

By J. C. van Dyk

The objectives of this study were firstly to characterize and quantify the inorganic material in the Secunda gasification feedstock. Secondly, the effect of washing on coal properties and sulphur content was investigated. Coal from a single source and a coal blend from 6 different mines were tested. Composite samples were visually sorted by a geologist in the groups containing roof, floor, C-shale, pyrite, carbonates and siltstone material. Inorganic mineral types from the single source and coal blends were characterized separately. Characterization results indicate that the average mineral matter distribution (mass %) of the coal tested was as follows: carbonates (6%), carbon-shale (19%), pyrite (12%), roof (18%), floor (46%) and siltstone (22%). The roof, floor, pyrite, carbon-shale, carbonates and siltstone in the single source and coal blend have similar chemical properties and characteristics, except for the ash melting temperatures of pyrite and kaolinite in the siltstone. By implementing selective mining and increasing mining management practices, the percentage discard in the run of mine coal can be significantly reduced, by up to 45%, if the mining of roof and floor material can be avoided. No significant impact of mining practices on sulphur content is expected in this case due to the low concentrations of sulphur in the roof and floor material. In summary, selective mining practices will probably result in almost45% decrease in the discard content in the run of mine to gasification, an increase in the carbon content from 55.0% to 58% (air dry basis) and a decrease in sulphur content from 1.1% to 0.9% (air dry basis). It is clear from this study that the main source of sulphur is not in the high ash-content mineral types (e.g. floor and roof), but in situ in the coal structure. Keywords: inorganic material, effect of washing, roof, floor, pyrite, C-shale, carbonates and siltstone

Jan 1, 2005

By D. J. Fourie

During the production of pure TiO2for the pigment industry, ilmenite, containing 35?60% TiO2, is reduced to high titania slag, containing 70?95% ?TiO2? and pig iron. The high titania slag produced, consists mainly of titanium in different oxidation states and FeO in equilibrium with liquid iron. To predict the phase and chemical reaction equilibria in a furnace, a suitable solution model is required with accurately determined binary interaction parameters, as slag melts tend to behave very non-ideally. This paper investigates two popular slag models, namely, modified quasi-Chemical (MQC) model and the cell model and provides the binary interaction parameters based on recently published data of the ternary system and critically assessed published unary and binary data. Very few modelling results have been published on the ternary Ti-Fe-O system pertaining to high titanium slags. The solution models, with their regressed interaction parameters, can subsequently be implemented in commercial software of the slag-metal phase equilibria to predict how much and which type of solids will precipitate for a given bulk slag chemistry and operating temperature or, alternatively, above which temperature should a furnace be operated to avoid excessive solids precipitation.

Jan 1, 2005

By Robert M. Valentine, Randall L. Lentell

Interpretive geotechnical investigations were performed for the construction of approximately 15,250 m (50,000 ft) of wastewater interceptor tunnels in Austin, Texas. Subsurface materials consist of claystone (or clay shale), siltstone, altered volcanic tuffs, chalk and limestone. Special conditions include multiple crossings of Onion Creek with cover ranging from about 1/2 to 3 m (2 to 10 ft.), and the potential for mixed-face conditions consisting of water-bearing gravels overlying clay shale or siltstone. The methods and results of the geotechnical investigations are discussed and the inferred construction conditions are compared to those encountered during tunneling. A suggested format is presented for interpretive geotechnical reports for underground construction projects.

Jan 1, 1985

By L. Nahai

THE OUTPUT ff the mineral industry in 1964 in both non-Communist and Communist Europe showed an upward trend for most countries in keeping with the higher index of overall industrial production. Comparable indexes of mineral industry production for non-Communist and Communist Europe (including the U.S.S.R. in Asia) are not available, primarily because the U.S.S.R. does not report details of its industrial production by industrial sectors. However, available data both in the form of index numbers on production published by the United Nations and based on data as reported to the United Nations by the various countries, and actual production data for selected major commodities published by the various European countries reflect generally expanded output by both the extractive sector and the processing sector of the mineral industry in most of the 26 nations of Europe.

Jan 1, 1966

By J. P. Kennedy, O. A. Bascur

Large metallurgical complexes have more data than a small city and these data change as internal and external conditions evolve. Staffing turnover hinders experienced-based decisions especially with simple tools like spreadsheets. Lack of current information can contribute to decisions that result in significant deterioration in the quality of operation. Timely, unified information from sophisticated analyses presented to the broadest possible reach will improve operation. The major innovation is the addition of the web browser to the suite of software people will use with no training – the other two are spreadsheets and graphical presentations – and the consistent organization and transformation of the real time data to support broad access. This paper describes the data transformations and presentation methods necessary for a Web view, especially the special needs of real time data and analysis required for active operations decision-making. Many people inside and outside the complex, not just operators, need timely information that is abstracted, aggregated, organized and unified. Unification and aggregation of real time data presented via the Web opens a new paradigm for collaboration. The analysis tools are as important as the data. These rule-based tools add significantly to the operations database in the form of results stored for viewing with plant data. Mining and metallurgical plants already use many sophisticated analysis tools such as predictive maintenance policies based on statistical analysis vibration analysis, and oil and lube analysis for critical equipment. These add real time events, similar to an alarm package, and unified production information to the operational database. Simple models are used on line to create key indices that provide a real time indication of performance. Key indices include metrics for losses due to plant availability, performance efficiency, and overall process equipment effectiveness. These additional data in the operations database are used for early fault detection, increased production, better quality, higher availability of equipment and faster detection of process bottlenecks. An important feature is the ability for people to create their own key indices and store the results for use by anyone in the plant historian, but accessible by a browser. Keywords: plant information, principle components analysis, data reconciliation, gross error estimation, Internet, Word Wide Web

Jan 1, 2002

By D. E. Stephenson. Discussion by R. G. K. Morrison, L. Obert

R. G. K. Morrison (Chairman, Dept. of Mining Engineering and Applied Geophysics, McGill University, Montreal, Que., Canada) - The discing of drill core has been a recognized pressure phenomenon for many years but only recently has an interest been taken in the mechanism involved. The work of Jaeger and Cook is referred to in the text. The authors have now advanced the study to establish, within certain loading limitations, a direct relationship between axial and radial stress at failure. This is an important contribution. In mines generally, where pressure conditions result in the spalling of openings, the faces of drifts and crosscuts, on scaling, usually show a concavity with respect to the opening very similar to the face of the drill hole after the separation of the stub. The same holds for shaft sinks. This suggests a similarity between the mechanism of the discing of core and that of the spalling of an opening, under pressure, to develop a more stable outline. The latter, commonly regarded as shear, is the most conspicuous type of failure observed in

Jan 1, 1967

By B Mobilio, M Secheny, J Rachocki, G B. Sharrock, A Jäger, J L. Lett, I Brunton, G W. Capes

Establishment of the Cadia East Panel Cave Stage One (PC1S1) commenced with the firing of the first bell in early 2011. Production began with the completion of the undercut in May 2014. PC1S1 used a post-undercut composed of 114 drawbells covering a footprint area of 73 438 m². The extraction level is located at a depth of 1200 m below the surface and is based on a 32 × 20 m El Teniente layout. Cave establishment required the construction of multiple conveyor drifts, a large-capacity jaw-gyratory crusher and ancillary ventilation and pumping infrastructure. Preconditioning via hydraulic fracturing and blasting was implemented at various locations of the cave block height. This paper presents an overview of the key learnings from the commencement of undercutting to surface breakthrough, including rock mass classification and modelling, stress measurements, preconditioning, numerical modelling and cave monitoring.CITATION:Lett, J L, Brunton, I, Capes, G W, Jäger, A, Mobilio, B, Rachocki, J, Sharrock, G B and Secheny, M, 2016. Undercutting to surface breakthrough – Cadia East panel cave (stage 1), in Proceedings Seventh International Conference and Exhibition on Mass Mining (MassMin 2016), pp 65–82 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

May 9, 2016