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By T. Fernandez, V. Juchen, C. Petter, F. Cantini, V. Lenz, V. I. Araújo, R. Petter, R. Darrigo, A. Young, I. G. da Costa, J. Oppermann

There are many methods to estimate costs quickly. One of these is the Parametric Method, where costs are estimated from general algorithms (or curves). Derived from an original tool based on the O’Hara model, a software called MAFMINE was developed. MAFMINE is based on parametric models to estimate investment and operational costs in mining. The software itself is based on the use of a computer model known as client-server. However, the model needs new inputs from advances made by the mining industry, mainly in terms of electrification, automation, digital transformation and preconcentration to face Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) concerns. Thus, this work was to prepare a new core module ready to incorporate the new technologies aiming to deliver operation and capital costs associated with environmental impact mitigation. The tool generates an order of magnitude estimate for CAPEX and OPEX to establish a very first Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) in a mining venture. For quick evaluations, at a preliminary level, the results are very promising.

Mar 2, 2022

By Carlo Sampaio, Moacir Veras, Aaron Young, Carlo Petter

"Three major challenges for the mining industry are the minimization of energy use, water consumption and environmental impact. Therefore, any technique that reduces milling waste, decreases water usage and shrinks impact during mine life must be considered a major innovation in mining.To these ends, one of the most impactful developments in mining within the last 10 years has been the expanded use of high technology sensors to create preconcentrations of mine ore (Jönsson, 2014). The most common sensors used are charge-coupled device (CCD) cameras, that allow through a red, green and blue (RGB) coloring system, the separation of minerals with different colors, tones and, in many cases, with differences in brightness.More recently, the development and use of dual energy X-ray transmission (DE-XRT) to enable the separation by atomic density of the constituent minerals within a given rock has become a reality. Within this work, a rapid bibliographical review of the CCD and DE-XRT methods and examples of their usage within mining and the industrial minerals sector are presented.Sensor-based sorting in miningAutomation within mining is one of the industry’s current goals. Sensors of various kinds have been used as steps toward automation in recent years, from improving the safety and productivity of haul trucks through the use of cameras and global positioning satellites (GPS), to the divination of slope failures. Just as with other mining areas, sorting has improved dramatically and made great steps toward automation in recent years (Wotruba et al., 2014).Sensor-based sorting (SBS) uses spectromatic sensors to identify intrinsic characteristics of particles and separates them by either mechanical or pneumatic means into different product streams (Wotruba et al., 2014). SBS can be used with great effectiveness to improve gravimetric beneficiation through the selective separation or preconcentration of run of mine ores (ROM)."

Jan 1, 2015

By Y. Akin, M. Hancer, M. S. Celik, J. D. Miller

Flotation pulps with boron minerals such as colemanite and borax using primary amine collectors, e.g. dodecylamine, exhibit collector precipitation above a critical pH depending on the amine concentration. This was earlier attributed to the formation of a mine hydroborate. However, results from this current study indicate that the precipitate is dode-cylamine, rather than dodecylamine hydroborate. A systematic study involving solubility, zeta potential, microflotation, adsorption, and surface tension measurements is presented to elucidate the role of a mine precipitates in boron flotation systems.

Jan 1, 2000

By Peter G. Chamberlain

Domestic mining will not produce a significant portion of the manganese consumed in the United States unless new mining and processing techniques are implemented that will enable domestic lean ores to economically compete with rich foreign ores. One mining-processing technique that appears promising for certain deposits is in situ and/or heap leaching with aqueous SO2. Since leaching offers economic advantages of low capital costs, low operating costs, and short start-up times as well as environmental and safety improvements over conventional mining-processing, the Bureau of Mines studied the leachability of manganese deposits from several districts. Manganese oxides, hydroxides, and carbonates were leached to 80 to 90 pct recovery in 7 to 40 days of leaching with a solution containing 5 pct SO2 in column leaching tests. Preliminary cost analyses of surface mining-heap leaching, block caving-in situ leaching, and shrinkage stoping-in situ leaching indicate that the products of manganese leaching may be economically produced for the chemical and electrolytic manganese industries. The easiest marketable product to obtain would be a manganese sulfate commonly used as a fertilizer amendment. Manganese carbonates and hydroxides could also be precipitated from the pregnant leach solutions.

Jan 1, 1983

By Robert E. Thurmond

With modern exploration techniques, it seems likely that an increasing number of the orebodies to be found in the future will be under alluvial fans or valley fill. As a result, a larger proportion of open pit mines will be confronted with the necessity for removal of substantial quantities of alluvial overburden; whereas in the past, for the most part, the open pit mine operator has dealt mainly with hard rock. If this proves to be the case, methods, equipment, and costs for alluvium stripping will become an increasingly important factor in open pit mine planning. Several operations are now faced with this situation, and various methods and equipment are used. At Pima Mining Company's operation the stripping ratio is in the range of 6/1 Well over half of the stripping volume is alluvium. The alluvium is removed almost entirely by carryalls hauling direct to a waste dump. Some removal has been accomplished by shovel and truck operation; more will be done by this means in the future. At American Smelting and Refining Company's neighboring .Mission Mine, nearly all alluvium removal is by large shovels and, trucks. U. S. Borax's Boron operation is accomplishing alluvium removal with carryalls but has been investigating other methods and equipment. The various operations in the Gas Hills Uranium District in Wyoming are stripping mainly with carryalls, although some small draglines are employed. The M. A. Hanna Company in the Mesabi Range employs large draglines and conveyor systems for removal of glacial fill. Nchanga Consolidated Copper Mines in Northern Rhodesia strips overburden with a large excavating wheel and conveyor system. There are no doubt other open pit operations with which the writer is not familiar, that are handling large quantities of alluvial overburden.

Jan 1, 1963

By K. Neumann

"INTRODUCTION For many automation and safety tasks in open cut and underground scenarios it is crucial to have highly reliable distance measurements at hand. These measurements can for instance be used to obtain the exact position of a machine in one-, two- or even three dimensions. Research and development has shown interest in the ultra-wide-band technology (UWB) in recent years. While for this technology short range, high speed data transfer is the current main research focus, the technology can also be used for highly accurate ranging applications. Due to the use of a very wide frequency band, it is robust against disturbances of many types (e.g. EMC, rain, dust etc.) and is therefore attractive for the use in mining applications. The wide frequency band also offers benefits for ranging applications. Especially in environments with strong multipath problems such as in underground mines it is possible to focus on the dominant signal propagation path, thus increasing the reliability of the measurements. [1] State-of-the-art UWB ranging equipment claims precision within the range of a couple of centimeters and working ranges of more than hundred meters. At the Institute for Mining and Metallurgical Machinery (IMR) at RWTH Aachen University in Germany a modern UWB system was examined in several laboratory and real life tests to examine the feasibility of UWB bases ranging equipment in mining applications. UWB TECHNOLOGY The term ultra-wide-band denotes radio systems that use an ultra-wide frequency band. A common definition for UWB radio systems is that it needs to work on a frequency bandwidth of more than 500 MHz or a bandwidth equal to 20% or more of the center frequency [1]. Due to the ultra-wide frequency bandwidth UWB systems overlap the frequency spectrum of narrow band radio technologies like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and other mobile communication systems which use a defined carrier frequency onto which information is modulated on (e.g. by using frequency or phase modulation). In order to not conflict with these other radio applications, it needs to be ascertained that the transmission power of a UWB system on a given frequency is so low that narrow band systems are not affected by it. As opposed to this only a small fraction of the UWB system’s bandwidth is affected by the narrow band system. The unaffected remaining bandwidth is sufficient to reconstruct the original signal, even if additional noise is present. Figure 1 shows the power spectral densities of popular radio standards [6], [7], [8]. A significant driver of research and development of UWB systems has been wireless high bandwidth communication. Using an ultra-wide frequency band is highly desirable here, as the channel capacity is dependent on the bandwidth. So far systems have been realized especially for short distances (e.g. wireless USB or Wireless HDMI) but beyond that, communication systems for long distances (several kilometers) are possible [2]. Advances in semiconductor technology led to a reduction in power dissipation of such systems. This enabled higher integration levels which in turn facilitated smaller solution sizes for space constrained applications [3]. Nowadays, UWB is also used for high-precision ranging applications [4], [5]."

Jan 1, 2015

By Daniel F. Meyer, William C. Paschen

INTRODUCTION The problems involved with moving millions of tons of rock are being addressed by nationally recognized tunnel contractors who have converged in Chicago over the past 5 years. This wealth of expertise has been needed to meet the risk and challenge of constructing the world's largest network of underground tunnels which in turn has required a dramatic advance in the art and science of tunneling. These pioneers, through innovation, adaptation, and hard work, have eliminated the one major concern of The Metropolitan Sanitary District of Greater Chicago - how to move 8 million tons of rock. The Metropolitan Sanitary District of Greater Chicago (MSDGC) serves 122 municipalities covering 866 square miles in Cook County, Illinois. Of these cities, towns, and villages, 53 have combined sewer systems. On an average of once every four days, these systems overflow about 4 million gallons of combined sewage and rainwater into the area's rivers and canals. The overflows occur at approximately 640 outfall locations of which 10% are owned by the MSDGC, with the remainder of the points belonging to various other municipal bodies. All those who own these "point" sources of pollution are in violation of Illinois State and Federal regulations. To enable its member municipalities to come into compliance with State and Federal law, the MSDGC is implementing its Tunnel And Reservoir Plan (TARP). TARP is a regional solution to the problem of combined sewer overflow in the metropolitan Chicago area. TARP will greatly reduce the pollution of area waterways by intercepting the combined sewage and rainwater carried in the existing sys-

Jan 1, 1981

By N. Del Bel Belluz

Drilling underground in the Grasberg De-watering drifts has routinely hit water aquifers with high flow rates and pressures. Two types of holes are utilized; pilot-holes to probe ahead of the tunnel development to intersect aquifers ahead of the face; and de-watering holes to de-water rock formations that will drain water from the Grasberg pit and allow tunnel development to proceed safely. Recently, rates of 1050 psi static pressure have been recorded with flows from a NQ hole measured at 1350 gpm (US). The water flows can be slightly acidic, necessitating the use of stainless steel collar gear to resist corrosion. These rates were anticipated and contingencies were planned early to deal with these conditions. The collar gear is used to control water flows whereby the water is treated as an important resource. As a result, pm has established procedures to maintain safety of the drill crews, enable coring of the rock and to maintain safety of the miners who are driving the drifts.

Jan 1, 1998

By Arthur R. Still, Paul A. Bailly

5.1-PURPOSE, PROCEDURE, METHODS, MANAGEMENT Exploration can be technologically defined, with regard to the discovery of new mineral deposits, as all the activities and evaluations necessary before an intelligent decision can be made establishing size, initial flowsheet and annual output of new extractive operations. The purpose of mineral exploration is the discovery and acquisition of new mineral deposits amenable to economic extractive operations now or in the future. A prime objective of mineral exploration, however, is to find and acquire a maximum number of such mineral deposits at a minimum cost and within a minimum time. Immediately upon the heels of a successful ''exploration" discovery follow activities called, first, development, then operation. Under U.S. Internal Revenue Code regulations (Secs. 1.615.1 and 1.616.1) in effect at the time of this writing, which state that the "development stage" has been reached when "deposits of ore or other minerals are shown to exist in sufficient quantity and quality to reasonably justify commercial exploitation by the taxpayer," exploration in the technological sense may well continue after a mineral property has entered the "development stage" as defined for tax purposes. In many instances continued exploration, after reaching the tax defined "development stage," has disclosed additional reserves which justify a much larger, more efficient and more profitable operation than that which would constitute the minimum feasible. Even after a mine goes into production, continued ore search generally will increase the reserves, either justifying expansions in plant capacity or prolonging the life of the operation, but this work (actually "exploration") is normally considered, for bookkeeping and tax purposes, a part of mine development. Each exploration entity defines its own objectives in terms of acceptable mini- mum rate of return on investment for any deposit found and retained, and in terms of which commodities, and markets, are to be involved. For these reasons, exploration programs, and aims, will vary over a wide range, although all have the common objective of endeavouring to create new profit centers for the future. 5.1.2-EXPLORATION METHODS Exploration has evolved in the past several decades into a highly sophisticated and expensive endeavor in which large corporate entities, or subsidaries, normally are directed and staffed by highly trained exploration specialists. In some instances consultants, with expertise in a given field, are utilized to the benefit of such corporate groups. The "grasshopper" approach to exploration-searching only for outcropping minerals and/or investigating only mineral prospects offered by the discoverers of such outcrops has given us most of the past and present mines in the US., but this method is rapidly approaching the point of diminishing returns in areas that have been thoroughly prospected for currently marketable commodities. With

Jan 1, 1973

By Johann Steynberg

The design and construction of a Concentrator based on initial pilot plant work is rarely perfect. Palabora's plant was no exception although the basic objective to produce copper in a safely conservative manner was certainly achieved in a profitable manner. identification of the metallurgical and mechanical deficiencies of the plant through operating experience and a better concept of the minerology of the orebody enabled the development of a more efficient process both in terms of the metallurgical performance and cost effectiveness. To maintain and improve this level of efficiency, continuous inspection and revision of the plant metallurgy and engineering standards is required. In this presentation a few of the investigations and changes are described: 1.0 Alternative methods to restrict and eliminate the detrimental effect of critical size material on the performance of an autogenous mill. 2.0 An analysis of the environmental condi¬tions in Palabora's grinding circuit and the introduction of high chrome balls as grinding media. 3.0 The role of magnetite in the beneficiation process at Palabora. 1.0 Alternative methods to restrict and eliminate the detrimental effect of critical size material on the performance of an autogenous mill.

Jan 1, 1985

By R. O. Burt

The paper examines the role of gravity concentration in both an historical contest and within the modern mineral processing industry. It discusses the principles of the process on both a theoretical and practical level. The importance of ore mineralogy and its effect on the choice of the wide range of equipment available is discussed. The paper concludes with a discussion on the relative merits of gravity concentration to other forms of processing and seeks to answer the classical question - "Quo Vadis?"

Jan 1, 1982

By C. D. Iles

The philosophy used in designing and writing Duval's Sierrita mine design programs is discussed. The Sierrita Incremental Design system (SID) is reviewed with emphasis on Pushback Extraction Design (PED). FED is a method by which predesigned pushbacks are sequenced into an optimized period-by-period design that can be directly utilized in daily operations as well as intermediate and long range planning. The advantage of SID is that it provides a practical, mineable open pit design. PED is not a theoretical design system; it is in operational use.

Jan 1, 1981

By Thomas E. Newman

This paper is a case study using new laser-terrain-mapping technology by EagleScan, Inc., for creating topographic maps. Holnam, Inc., has used this technology to create maps and volumetric calculations of several mines in the United States. The information is superior to conventional methods through accuracy, manpower, time, and cost. Holnam, Inc., was the first cement manufacturer to use the Digital Airborne Topographic Imaging System (DATIS?). The technology uses the DATIS? to produce high-resolution terrain maps and volumetric assessments of any area. DATIS? is a mapping instrument that integrates (1) a Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) instrument to measure terrain elevation using laser light, (2) a large-format digital camera, (3) a relative position Global Positioning System (GPS) to measure aircraft position, and (4) an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) to measure aircraft attitude. The DATIS? can measure up to 220,000 elevation samples per mil. The system continually collects data on the aircraft's position and measures the time for each laser pulse transmission to return from the ground, giving each sample a GPS reference. The system can operate at night, in overcast sky, and during high-wind conditions and can measure terrain below vegetation cover, unlike standard aerial photography used for traditional surveying and mapping. Surveyed ground-control panels are no longer necessary with this new technology, and only one ground GPS base station located within 60 mi from the aircraft position is required. A computer elevation-point data file is created with the x, y, z coordinates of each laser elevation sample. With this file, CAD engineering programs can create topographic maps that rival products using conventional aerial mapping techniques. Volumetric measurements of stockpiles and pits are also available due to the high density of points collected from an area. This new technology radically changes the turnaround time for map users, giving a product in the format used by today's cartographers. The time line from flight to maps is measured in days instead of weeks.

Jan 1, 1999

By B. W. Stunkard

Hibbing Taconite Company is located by the cities of Hibbing and chisholm near the center of the Mesabi Range, approximately 169 km (105 miles) from the Canadian Border. The plant site is equidistant from these two communities, about 6.4 km (4 miles) from each. A 169 km (105 mile) railroad connects us with the port of Superior, Wisconsin, where the pellet production is loaded into lake carriers for lower lakes destinations. Immediately to the south of the mine area is the world famous Hull- Rust-Mahoning Mine which produced more than 700 000 000 million tons of red ore between the years 1893 and 1973.

Jan 1, 1979

By Leonard Sugin

As we approach the end-of the 20th century we are made more aware of the tremendous role that energy plays both directly and indirectly in our varied way of life. The industralized nations of the world have already established industries and economies which are greatly dependent upon the availability of energy. The underdeveloped and developing nations of the world are slowly and surely moving to the same utlimate requirements. The world wide need for distribution of energy sources is continuing to grow. At the present time there is a great imbalance between the sources of energy and the consuming economies In order to bring about greater equality between supply and demand major efforts and large capital expenditures are constantly being made. Industralized areas are seeking their own independent sources of energy whereas those areas of the world which contain great reserves of energy are limiting its export as well as developing its own industralized capacity. Nevertheless, energy bearing materials are still transported great distances in order to satiate the appetites of power hungry economies.

Jan 1, 1975

By J. F. Burr, D. P. Snyder, G. W. Luxbacher

"The Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act (MINER Act) of 2006 established the Office of Mine Safety and Health (OMSH) within NIOSH and provided authority for awarding contracts related to the development and implementation of new mine technology and equipment. Subsequently, Congress provided additional funding to NIOSH to initiate and continue the program. OMSHR has fulfilled this Congressional mandate through annual Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) solicitations, directed Requests for Proposals (RFP) and Inter-Agency Agreements (IAA), and has further expanded the program through capacity building BAA contracts with U.S. university mining departments in the areas of mine ventilation and ground control. This paper describes the extramural funding program and broadly examines the results of the 150+ contracts issued to date, grouped into key focus areas. INTRODUCTION The Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act (MINER Act) of 20061 established the Office of Mine Safety and Health Research (functioning as the Office of Mine Safety and Health Research or OMSHR) within the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and provided authority for awarding contracts related to the development and implementation of new mine technology and equipment. The OMSHR external contracts program was formed in accordance with the MINER Act and has since issued over 150 contracts focused on worker health and safety. Initial funding for this program was provided by Congress through two Emergency Supplemental Appropriations (ESA) and was focused on emergency oxygen supply, communications and tracking, and refuge chambers (also referred to as refuge alternatives). Since the MINER Act, Congress has continued to fund the program through the annual NIOSH mining appropriation. The program was supplemented starting in 2009 with an academic capacity building program directed toward developing university tenure-track faculty and facilities and supporting graduate students in the area of mine ventilation; ground control was added as an additional focus area in 2011. A short synopsis of each contract is published on the NIOSH Mining website2 and final reports are available in digital form on request. A summary of the progress OMSHR has made over the 10-year period since the Act was published previously.3"

Jan 1, 2018

By X. P. Zheng

Barium fluorphlogopites were synthesized in the laboratory in order to investigate the effects of composition and crystal parameters on surface properties and floatability. The negative surface charge of mica is determined by the barium content, the crystal cell volume, the distance between layer structure and the Ba-O bond length. The higher barium content, the larger the cell volume and distance between the layer structure and the longer the Ba-O bond, the more negatively charged the surface is and hence the more easily adsorbed to cationic collectors. When an anionic collector (sodium oleate) is used, barium oleate forms on the mica surface and hence chemical adsorption occurs.

Jan 1, 1993

By Jr. Freed

Basic design features, details of the face ventilation system, roof support and Operator protection system, certified lighting, and in-mine evaluation plans are presented for an Automated Extraction System (AES) that has been designed to fill needs which are present in the Mining Industry. The philosophy of design and proposed operation of the machine, as well as the relationships between these factors, are reviewed. The AES is designed to help overcome production problems resulting from the regulation of roof control, clean-up, ventilation, dust suppression, and operator protection required by the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969. The design permits more continuous operation and greatly improves operator safety. The machine is a full-face drum-type continuous miner which includes self-advancing, continuous temporary roof support and permanent roof support equipment. Onboard self-advancing face ventilation, dust suppression, and air scrubbing equipment are also included in the design. A further improvement over existing equipment is the incorporation of an automatic programmed cutting cycle control system. All mining functions including movements of the roof support system are handled by this automatic system.

Jan 1, 1978

By W. R. Reed, D. E. Pollock, T. W. Beck, J. A. Organiscak, J. D. Potts

In underground continuous mining operations, ventilation, water sprays and machine-mounted flooded-bed scrubbers are the primary means of controlling respirable dust exposures at the working face. Changes in mining arrangements — such as face ventilation configuration, orientation of crosscuts mined in relation to the section ventilation and equipment operator positioning — can have impacts on the ability of dust controls to reduce occupational respirable dust exposures. This study reports and analyzes dust concentrations measured by the Pittsburgh Mining Research Division for remotecontrolled continuous mining machine operators as well as haulage operators at 10 U.S. underground mines. The results of these respirable dust surveys show that continuous miner exposures varied little with depth of cut but are significantly higher with exhaust ventilation. Haulage operators experienced elevated concentrations with blowing face ventilation. Elevated dust concentrations were observed for both continuous miner operators and haulage operators when working in crosscuts driven into or counter to the section airflow. Individual cuts are highlighted to demonstrate instances of minimal and excessive dust exposures attributable to particular mining configurations. These findings form the basis for recommendations for lowering face worker respirable dust exposures.

Jan 1, 2016

By U. B. Kodukula

The iron ore beneficiation plant at Serra-Azul Mines of ArcelorMittal, Brazil operates at a rated capacity of 3.2 million tons per year. The ore is concentrated using magnetic separation, jigging, hydrocyclones and spiral concentrators. The tailings from the process plant are generated from classifier overflow of 135 tons per hour dry solids and thickener underflow of 48 tons per hour dry solids. A systematic experimental program was carried out using Multi-gravity separator (MGS), and wet high-intensity magnetic separator (WHIMS) for recovering the iron values from both of the tailing streams while minimizing the total quantity of tailings to be discarded. The classifier overflow contained 32.3 percent iron, 49.9 percent silica and 2.18 percent alumina and was 45 percent finer than 45 microns in size. The thickener underflow sample contained 47.3 percent iron, 27.6 percent silica and 2.49 percent alumina and was 16 percent finer than 45 microns in size. Separation results on the classifier overflow sample with the MGS indicated that a concentrate containing 62.1 percent of iron, 10.8 percent silica and 0.36 percent alumina can be achieved with a weight recovery of 24.5 percent. The results with WHIMS at 6500 Gauss indicated that concentrate containing 62.6 percent iron, 8.3 percent silica, and 0.65 percent alumina can be achieved at a weight recovery of 34.7 percent. 4.7 percent. WHIMS studies at 6500 Gauss on thickener underflow sample indicated that a concentrate containing 61.4 percent iron, 8.8 percent silica, and 1.74 percent alumina can be achieved at a weight recovery of 57.2 percent. Based on these results, and further in-house test works, a WHIMS installation was adopted for the recovery of iron values from the tailings in the operating plant at ArcelorMittal Serra Azul Mines, Brazil.

Feb 23, 2014