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By W. Z. Rogers

U.S. feldspar output sold or used in 2005 was an estimated 760 kt (838,000 st), valued at $44 million free-on-board plant. This was below the 2004 volume and was the second year of decline in a row. Output included flotation concentrates, feldspar content in feldspar-silica mixtures, potash feldspar and aplite. The strong housing market in the United States maintained demand for ceramic tiles, plumbing fixtures and fiberglass insulation requiring feldspar. Shipments of glass containers were about the same as in 2004. Imports of ceramic tiles and plumbing fixtures continued to increase, taking the place of U.S.-produced goods and the feldspar required to make them. For 2005, 80 percent of the ceramic tiles sold and 50 percent of the plumbing fixtures sold in the United States were imported. Since 2000, manufacturing plant closures in the plumbing fixtures industry have reduced the demand for feldspar and feldspar-silica mixtures by 100 kt (110,000 st). Increased demand from the ceramic tile industry has partially offset the lost volume.

Jan 1, 2006

By M. J. Gregory

The Pebble Cu-Au-Mo deposit in southwest Alaska is one of the world's largest porphyry deposits. The western part of the deposit was discovered by Cominco America in 1987, who sold the project to Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd., in 2001. Northern Dynasty discovered the high-grade eastern part of the deposit in 2004 and went into a 50:50 partnership with Anglo American PLC in 2007, forming the Pebble Limited Partnership (Lang et al., 2008). The Pebble Limited Partnership has continued to delineate the deposit through diamond drilling with the most recent resource estimate released in February 2010 (Pebble Limited Partnership, 2010). The Pebble deposit mineral resources comprise 5.94 billion tonnes of measured and indicated resources grading 0.78% Cu EQ, containing 55 billion pounds of copper, 67 million ounces of gold and 3.3 billion pounds of molybdenum. Also delineated are 4.84 billion tonnes of inferred mineral resources grading 0.53% Cu EQ, containing 25.6 billion pounds of copper, 40.4 million ounces of gold and 2.3 billion pounds of molybdenum (Pebble Limited Partnership, 2010). Resources are calculated using a 0.3% Cu EQ cutoff. GEOLOGY AND MINERALIZATION Deposit Geology The Pebble deposit is located in the Kahiltna terrane, between terminal strands of the north-east-striking Lake Clarke strike-slip fault. This fault represents an accretionary boundary and separates the Kahiltna terrane to the north-west from the Peninsular terrane to the south-east (Lang et al., 2008). The Pebble deposit represents a large magmatic-hydrothermal system centered on a group of 90 million year old porphyritic hornblende granodiorite intrusions. An east-west cross section through the southern part of the deposit (Figure 1A) shows the typical relationships between the various rock units which host sulfide mineralization. Sub-parallel ~96 million year old granodiorite and diorite sills were intruded into siltstones of the Jura-Cretaceous Kahiltna flysch. In the west, these sills were cut by a ~96 million year old alkalic intrusive complex composed of porphyritic monzonites and monzodiorites and related intrusion breccias (Bouley et al, 1995). The mineralized 90 million year old hornblende granodiorite intrusions cut all rock types and comprise four small stocks in the western part of the deposit and a larger pluton in the eastern part of the deposit. Recent deep drilling indicates that these intrusions coalesce at depth. The strongest porphyry-style mineralization is centered on the eastern granodiorite pluton and extends into the surrounding rock units (Figure 1A). The western half of the deposit crops out at surface, whereas the eastern side is un-conformably overlain by a cover sequence of Late Cretaceous to Eocene sedimentary and volcanic strata. The deposit was tilted 20º to the east during the Eocene.

Jan 1, 2012

By William R. Yernberg

The Society of Economic Geologists (SEG) held its biennial conference May 14 through 16, 2006, in Keystone, CO. SEG is an international organization with about 3,500 individual members with interests in economic geology. The 2006 SEG conference theme was “Wealth creation in the minerals industry — integrating science, business and education.” The conference exceeded expectations with 705 participants, including 102 students, from 44 countries. The conference featured 30 oral presentations, 24 professional posters and more than 70 student posters. The conference also included a trade show with 50 vendors, numerous field trips, workshops and social activities.

Jan 1, 2006

By E. Barnard

Tarkwa Gold Mine is located in south western Ghana, and is majority owned and operated by Gold Fields Ghana Limited. The Tarkwa CIL plant utilises a single low aspect 27' x 42' 14MW dual pinion drive SAG mill designed to mill 4.2mtpa (525tph). The plant was designed and constructed in a manner that would facilitate its expansion to 8.4mtpa (1,050tph). Since the plant was commissioned in September 2004, the SAG mill has consistently exceeded its nameplate throughput by up to 25%. Through the installation of a 26? x 36? 14MW dual pinion drive Ball mill along with additional upstream and downstream equipment, the plant will now be expanded to 12mtpa (1,500tph). This paper endeavours to outline the process and engineering design challenges along with the future construction challenges of the expansion in the midst of a fully operational plant.

Jan 1, 2008

By W. G. Lawrence

The rapid development of science and technology in Russia has been the result of well laid plans since 1918. At that time the Institute of Silicates was established is Moscow and later the establishment of similar more specialized institutes for the study of cement, glass, refractories, construction ceramics, electrical ceramics, building materials and asbestos provided the necessary research facilities for studies related to all types of ceramic inorganic materials. The' Institute of Ceramics and the Institute of Silicate Chemistry, Academy of Sciences, USSR, were founded in Leningrad. The work now going on in these various research' institutes covers every branch of silicate science and ceramics The impetus behind such establishment of special¬ized laboratories is no doubt due to the 5-year plans and the necessity of improving the scientific knowledge regarding the materials being used and the products being manufactured.

Jan 1, 1960

By C. Restarick, R. G. Robins, R. M. Taylor, I. Ennis

Lime addition to acid mine drainage waters (AMD), possibly accompanied by aeration, has been the basis for their remediation by precipitation of predominantly metal hydroxides. An efficient novel alternative technique causes precipitation of double M(II)-M(III) hydroxy sulfates which readily precipitate and are easily dewatered. When the Fe(II)/Fe(III) + Al(III) ratio of the AMD is appropriate, the Green Precipitate (GP) Process provides a more effective alternative to normal liming/aeration. The process can be adapted to give a continuous in-line treatment by the choice of suitable computer-controlled reactors designed to improve the liming efficiency, reduce scaling and control the rate of treatment. The processes are described in terms of the chemistry involved.

Jan 1, 2000

By Kal V. S. Sastry

Comminution is an important unit operation of mineral processing in terms of large tonnage of materials processed, huge energy consumption, and high capital and operating costs. Substantial research efforts have been directed towards the development of process-engineering tools including mathematical models, process scale-up procedures and computer simulation packages (Austin et al., 1984; Rajamani and Herbst, 1990; Kawatra, 1992). The simulation systems are found to provide significant cost savings by enabling efficient circuit design and development of control systems. Most of these simulators are built from scratch, do not make use of software modules from other sources and are designed with minimal usage of formal software methodologies.

Jan 1, 1995

By W. A. Wilkinson

Mining companies today are under increasing pressure to boost output from their existing mines and to bring new projects online quickly. Fundamental to the long-term performance of an operation is geologic modeling and mine planning. To maximize mine profitability, planners and schedulers must account for a staggering array of variables and create accurate mining plans that meet production and profit targets. Not surprisingly, this can be a difficult task, and getting it wrong can result in large unforeseen costs and significant lost revenue opportunities. This paper discusses the top five challenges geologists and engineers are facing in developing mining plans.

Jan 1, 2012

By E. V. Manlapig

This review paper describes recent advances that have been made at the Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre (JKMRC) in Brisbane in developing a framework for simulating the flotation process. The work has been carried out collaboratively with the Mineral Processing Research Unit of the University of Cape Town in South Africa (UCT), as part of the Australian Minerals Industries Research Association (AMIRA) P9 Project. The framework consists of four components, namely – the mathematical model of the flotation process, suitable measurement tools for characterising the flotation cell, a computer program for modelling and simulating the process and the plantas for testing and validating the flotation models. A brief description of the model is first presented, then a number of applications of the model are described. The paper shows how the model can be used to optimise the performance of flotation cells, and then two case studies on the modelling methodologies are described. Finally the current and future plans of the project are outlined.

Jan 1, 2001

By Maurice Grieves

GC. Waterman Mr. Grieves' paper on "Shaft Sinking Today--A Boring Business Tomorrow" in the Dec. 1981 issue of MINING ENGINEERING is an excellent description of recent improvements in speed and costs of shaft sinking. However, shaft boring techniques are not a recent development. In 1935-36, the Idaho Maryland Co. (gold), Grass Valley, CA, bored the vertical 1.5-m-diam Idaho No. 2 ventilation and supply shaft to a depth of 346 m. The equipment was designed and perfected by Branner Newsome and was, I believe, described in "Transactions." Pickands Mather later bored a 1.8-m-diam shaft to a depth of about 305 m using Newsome's design. The Idaho No. 2 shaft cut through hard gabbro, diabase dikes, soft serpentine, very incompetent ankeritized serpentine and a strong fault zone. The completed shaft did not require timber support; the fault zone was cemented. Equipment consisted of a rotating 1.5-m or 3-m core barrel with a slotted bottom which cut a 76-mm kerf. The cutting agent was chilled steel shot introduced into the slot as needed. The driving mechanism and core barrel were lowered into the shaft, the former secured to the wall and the inshaft "engineer" operated the motors which controlled core barrel rpm and advance. After an advance of 1.5-3 m the equipment was lifted out of the shaft, a half(?) stick of powder cut off the drilled core, and it was hoisted to the surface with a cable attached to an eye bolt at the tope of the core. A "shift" consisted of three men: hoistman, equipment operator (down the shaft), and a surface laborer. Advance was variable as equipment and techniques were perfected. Near the end of the job advance was, as I remember, 1.5-3 m per shift. Costs were, as I recall, about $115/m. Up to 4 m cores were lifted out in one piece and swung to the dump by a stiff leg derrick. The Newsome equipment was relatively inexpensive to build and operate and his method should be (more than?) competetive with the methods described by Grieves. W.E. Hawes The author, in mentioning the South African developments of the cactus grab, ignores the parallel development of the Cryderman mucker in this hemisphere. Perhaps a slightly longer history of blind hold drilling would have been in order. Blind shaft boring got a major boost at the Nevada Test Site, as part of the nuclear weapons development, when it was essential to be able to quickly assess depth for weapons testing. One of the early civilian attempts to utilize this technology occurred when Kerr McGee drilled the shaft at the Section 19 Mine at Ambrosia Lake, NM. This twin masted drill rig belonged to a subsidiary of Kerr McGee, not Shaft Drillers. This was a difficult hole, due to bentonitic shales that decomposed. Later advances in drilling fluids eliminated this problem. The Conoco project referred to is not entirely correct, and needs minor amplification: The depth of the development (not pilot) shaft drilled was 684 m, at a diameter of 3.05 m, with a 2.16 m ID hydratatic casing being installed to a depth of 669 m. Conoco Inc., not Challenger, executed the drilling, however Conoco did use Challenger Drilling Company's Rig 14-S. Rig 14-S is unique in that it is specifically designed for shaft drilling, rather than being an oil field rig used for this service. All work was planned and directed by Conoco personnel. Deviation of the aforementioned shaft from vertical was 31 cm. Two smaller shafts (pilot shafts) were drilled with the same rig. These smaller ones were drilled 1.8 m in diameter, to depth of 665 m and cased with .91-m-diam casing, to depth of 650 m to be used as pilot holes for 5.5 m diameter shafts. The total elapsed time for all drilling, casing, cementing, and rig moves was 50 weeks. The constraints mentioned of vertical accuracy, torque, wall collapse, rig set up time, lining time etc., pumping out, etc., may not be as serious as the author implies. First, vertical accuracy: The record achieved by Conoco indicates that with reasonable care, good accuracy can be obtained, primarily by having a fair amount of weight in tension, rather than on the drill bit. Second, the amount of torque that can be applied to the drill stem has been greatly increased by the introduction of larger diameter drill stems, such as the new Hughes rig uses. Third, risk of collapse of shaft walls is minimal with the proper mud program. Basically, the walls are supported by the weight of the mud and it is not removed until some type of casing is installed and grouted in. Here in the real challenge of blind drilling shafts to devise a more economical method of lining bored shafts than using steel casing. The remaining issues were minor at Conoco, provided adequate planning and scheduling takes place. An excellent paper, "Shaft Drilling--Crownpoint Project" by Hassell H. Hunter, presented at the Fifth Uranium Symposium in Albuquerque in Sept. 1981 contains details of this project. A combination of blind boring, with enlargement by either mechanical means (boring machine, or tunneling type shield) or slabbing down, with muck removal through a larger bored shaft would seem to be the future trend in shaft development. The economics, especially for wet conditions, favor this concept over conventional sinking, as has been demonstrated at Kerr McGee --Churchrock, UNC--Churchrock and Conoco at Crownpoint.

Jan 3, 1983

By Matthias Rheinlander

The paper will describe Virtual Design and Construction (VDC) as a tool which will enable us to build a project ?virtually? on a computer before constructing and operating it in the real world. VDC computer models are built, using information from various sources including survey, 3D laser scanning, CAD and GIS to represent the project and its components in a coordinated and consolidated infrastructure model. This model is reviewed and evaluated by, and shared among project teams including owners, con-tractors, designers, engineers, construction managers, stakeholders and operators. It allows teams to fix costly design and construction issues before construction on site. Benefits and lessons learned from global projects will be discussed

By Steve Kral

Conference themes are usually chosen by organizers to reflect the current state of the industry. The Colorado Section MPD came up with what may be the most appropriate theme of a mining conference during the last few years. The local SME MPD section’s theme of its 56th annual conference was “The Wild, Wild World of Mining.” The current boom can be felt in all aspects of the industry, including exploration, mining, processing, sustainability, and economic and political issues. Each of the 25 speakers at the conference, held in Colorado Springs, CO, touched on how the boom has impacted each of those aspects. The meeting attracted about 110 people from around the world.

Jan 1, 2006

By Warder A. Shaver

INTRODUCTION Mine No. 95 of the Consolidation Coal Co., a divi¬sion of Continental Oil Co., is located in Shinnston, WV. Mine No. 95 was opened in January 1967 and has been operating continuously since that time. The mine has 544 hourly and salaried employees. In 1974 this mine was the largest coal producer in West Virginia. Opera¬tions include two longwall sections and eight Marietta Borer continuous miners. Originally there were also two Jeffrey Heliminer continuous miners, but use of these was discontinued in June 1978. Production averages 12 727 t/d (14,000 stpd). Two portals now service the mine with a third portal proposed for 1978. GEOLOGY Mining takes place in the Pittsburgh coal seam which dips 0.04 rad (21h°) northwest. The working seam is steam coal with an average height of 2.2 m (86 in.). Immediately above the seam, the overburden is com¬posed of 6.1 m (20 ft) of shales followed by 6.1 m (20 ft) of weak sandstone and 51.8 (170 ft) of shaley limestone. The shale weathers when exposed to mois¬ture. Surface water has been a problem due to a fire¬clay floor which turns to paste when mixed with water. GENERAL DESCRIPTION The present mining plan for Consol's No. 95 mine has a proposed life of 35 to 40 years. One set of main headings has been driven in the north direction and one set in a western direction. These are the areas in which the majority of the virgin coal lies. The panels are driven off of the mains at 2134 to 3048-m (7,000 to 10,000-ft) intervals. The continuous mining sections are set up 133 x 610 m (600 x 2000 ft). Longwall sections are 259 x 1220 m (850 x 7000 ft). All of these mining sections are retreating uphill. Development is with continuous miners. A Marietta Borer miner is used for the main development work. These miners cut 4.1 m (13 ft 6 in.) wide and 2.1 m (7 ft) high, leaving an arch cut. Along with the arch, a 152.4-mm (6-in.) thick layer of roof coal is left in place to protect the roof from weathering. The combi¬nation of the self-supporting arch and the roof coal al¬lows the entries to be driven 30.5 m (100 ft) without bolting. Full bolting, however, is carried outby the last open crosscut. This bolting is done on 1.5 x 1.5-m (5 x 5-ft) centers using 1.5-m (5-ft) long roof bolts with tandem anchors and 152.4-mm (6-in.) steel washer plates. When needed, crib blocks with a 50.4-mm (2-in.) drill hole are used as supplemental supports. Three-hole steel channel with the ends curved down¬ward to conform to the borer arch may also be used. In the mining sections, a 14 BU loader is used be¬hind the Marietta miner to load two Torkar shuttle cars. These haul to Long-Airdox feeder breakers which load onto a 1.07-m (42-in.) wide conveyor belt. With the exception of the shuttle cars, which use 275-V d-c power, the face equipment operates on 550-V a-c power. The main power line is 7200 V ac. The same loading and hauling equipment is used with the Marietta Borer miner for driving both panel and development entries. In the retreat sections, the same equipment with the exception of the miner is utilized. Because of the advantage of a variable cutting hight, Jeffrey Heliminer ripper-type continuous miners were employed in these retreat sections. For longwall mining the first unit uses an Eickoff EDW 300-L double-drum ranging shearer. Drum di¬ameter is 1.69 m (66 in.) with a drum rotation speed of 45 rpm. The drum is equipped with 48 Carmet 34-L-1 bits. The 300-kW (400-hp) motor operates on 1000 V. Tramming of the shearer head is done through a hydraulically driven 26-mm wide chain. Maximum cutting speed is 7.93 m/min (26 fpm), and maximum tram speed is 12.8 m/min (42 fpm) with an average cutting speed of 3.66 m/min (12 fpm). Web cutting depth is 762 mm (30 in.) and the cutting height is 2.13 m (7 ft). The conveyor width is 686 mm (27 in.). It uses a single chain, 26 mm thick, with flights on 0.91-m (3-ft) spacing. The face conveyor speed is 64.3 m/min (211 fpm) when driven by two 112-kW (150-hp) 1000-V Louis Allis motors through torque convertors. The roof support used is Gullick Dobson chocks [6-legged 77.3 t (85 st) per leg, 463.6 t (510 st) total capacity] with double-acting leg jacks. The hydraulic pressure for the legs is 13.8 MPa (2000 psi), and the hydraulic pressure for rams is 6.8 MPa (1000 psi). The yield valves are set at 57.8 MPa (8500 psi). Each chock weighs 4.09 t (4.5 st). The stage loader is an Eickoff drive, with a 68-kW (90-hp), (00-V Reliance motor. A 26-mm thick single strand chain with flights on 0.6-m (2-ft) centers runs at 75.89 m/min (249 fpm). The stage loader is self-advancing and is connected to the belt tail piece with a special fifth wheel attachment so that the stage loader can advance and guide the tail piece. The hydraulic pressure for the roof support is supplied by two 45-kW (60-hp) Reliance motors op¬erating on 699 V, with 1.26 L/s (20 gpm) constant volume Gullick hydraulic pumps. Each pump services alternate chocks, with the two pressure lines connected at the tailgate by 25.4-mm (1-in.) hydraulic hoses, rated at 27.21 MPa (4000 psi). The 6.8 MPa (1000 psi) pressure rams advance is supplied by a 45-kW (60-hp), 600-V Reliance motor and a 1.26-L/s (20-gpm) con¬stant volume Gullick pump. Return lines are 35.5-mm (1.4-in.) diam hydraulic hoses with rated capacity of 27.21 MPa (4000 psi). The fluid used in the hydraulic system consists of 95% water and 5% Hy-chock fire resistant water soluble oil. Water is stored and mixed in a 6096-L (2000-gal) track-mounted tank and goes to a 655-L (180-gal) reservoir at the pump. The belt conveyor structure is 1.07 m (42 in.) wide with 0.47 rad (27°) idlers, bottom stands located on 3.05-m (10-ft) centers, top stands on 1.5-m (5-ft) centers, and is supported on a 19-mm (3/4-in.) diam

Jan 1, 1982

By Ian Hutchison, Ted Sluder, Jack Caldwell, Don Moore

Introduction The Cannon mine at Wenatchee, WA has recently been brought into operation to recover gold from the sandstones of the Swauk formation. The mine is a joint venture between Asamera Minerals (US) Inc. and Breakwater Resources. A tailings impoundment was constructed to impound 2.7 to 3.6 Mt (3 to 4 million st) of tailings at 1.8 kt/a (2000 stpd) over about five years. This paper describes the design and construction of the impoundment. In particular, it describes the 100 m (300 ft) high earthfill embankment that is the main feature of the facility. Project environment The project is located on the outskirts of Wenatchee, a town of about 40,000 people. The town is situated on the flat alluvial terraces beside the Columbia River. The Cascade Mountains rise from the terraces in a series of ridges and valleys. The mine is at the foot of the Cascades. The tailings impoundment is in one of the steep valleys. The climate is mild and dry (Table 1). Site selection Twelve alternative sites within a 16-km (10-mile) radius of the mine were examined. Decision making theory was used to select the most suitable site. Advantages of the chosen site include its proximity to the mine and its low visibility from points of common public access. Also, the area was already heavily impacted by an existing silica quarry. The major disadvantage of the site is the need to pump tailings over a distance of 1.5 km (1 mile) and against a static head of 200 m (655 ft). Also, it is located in a gulch just upstream from the town of Wenatchee. Site geology The impoundment is generally underlain by interbedded sandstones and siltstones. The siltstones are often shattered. The sandstones are often friable. Both rock types are extensively jointed. Some isolated faulting of the sediments occurred before the area was covered with basalt flows. About 10,000 years ago, at the end of the ice age, the basalts were covered by 3 to 10 m (10 to 33 ft) of wind blown loess - a fine sandy clay and silt. River deposits filled the base of the valley to depths between 5 and 25 m (16 and 82 ft). Under the main part of the embankment, these materials were removed to expose bedrock. Ground water flow is generally through the more permeable layers. The permanent water table is about 5 m (16 ft) beneath the ground surface. Project and impoundment layout Figure 1 shows the layout of the mine, the mill, and the tailings impoundment. The tailings deliv-

Jan 8, 1986

In practice, frothers are selected following general guidenlies and verification by laboratory and/or plant flotation tests. The terms “powerful” or “selective,” which are commonly used to characetrize frothers, have intuitive rather than scientific meaning. A research program has been set out to study fundamental properties of the flotation frothers and to identify the tests which can provide information needed to characterize and classify such flotation agents.

Jan 1, 2004

By Carl Pinches

Underground or surface mining is only the first stage in the ore mining process. Once the ore is mined, it is transported to the surface for further processing. Generally, this is done to extract the particular metal or other component of the ore that has commercial value in its purified form. In its raw state, there are typically between 4 and 7 g/t (0.12 and 0.2 oz/st) of valuable material from rock mined. Once on the surface, the ore is crushed and milled in order to obtain smaller rock particles and to expose the minerals that contain the desired metal or component. Mixing the milled ore with water, a process known as ?froth flotation,? can be employed. This technique consists of a series of tanks, or ?cells? through which the process liquid flows. To obtain the maximum recovery, the milling and flotation process will often be repeated a second time. An increase between 100 and 1,000 g/t (2.9 and 29 oz/st) of rock following this stage of the process is typical. Efficient recovery is key to maintaining a profitable mining operation. The measurement and control of the froth flotation process is vital.

Jan 1, 2010

By S. Hardcastle

Tele-remote operation of production equipment from surface will change the design criteria for underground mines. And for ventilation, with machine operators on surface, conventional planning to dilute and remove pollutants can become redundant. Natural Resources Canada with industrial partners are investigating what will be the new environmental design criteria. Additional complications include new mining equipment being designed without standard services and mines’ desire to eliminate conventional auxiliary ventilation. Findings to date show the cooling of equipment’s hydraulic systems to be the most demanding element, especially in dead-ends and when stationary. Consequently, revised ventilation based heat control strategies for equipment are being developed for the automated mine of the future.

Jan 1, 2001

By Adrian Molinari

A radioisotope probe (Minexan 202) capable of simultaneously analyzing a mineral slurry for five elements and pulp density has been developed by Outokumpu Oy, Finland. The probe is designed to operate immersed directly in a process stream, or it can be equipped with a flow cell through which passes a continuous sample of the main stream. A minicomputer (PDPII) is used to control the probes and calculate the assay data. This paper describes the probe as applied to slurry analysis and compares it to the conventional x-ray on-stream analyzer (Courier 300).

Jan 1, 1977

"The profile of the respondents was that of a professional responsible for communications, community relations or corporate social responsibility programs. By targeting a consistent professional profile it was possible to ensure that most respondents had a similar degree of responsibility and/or decision-making ability related to the application of communication technologies. The research attempted to be inclusive and attention was paid to interview respondents from both genders and from indigenous groups.4, 5 A codebook of 80 themes was developed that highlighted recurring topics; for example, codes were created to identify risks, benefits, policies and learning process of using social media and included topics that were repeatedly emphasized by respondents (i.e. age, efficiency and language). Both manifest coding (i.e. coding of the visible content, such as specific words) and latent coding (i.e. coding of underlying meanings) was undertaken (Creswell [13]). The codes were used in the qualitative analysis using ATLAS.ti software and network views were created to illustrate the relationship between major themes of this research. There are limitations to this research, largely related to the changing nature of the Internet and communication technologies. There is also a geographic limitation to the application of this research because most of the data was gathered primarily from Canadian sources.6 Different levels of Internet penetration, or limited access to computers or mobile devices, and low literacy rates may reduce the applicability of the research in countries with low Internet penetration. A more systematic process to selecting candidates may have helped bring balance to the final list of interview respondents. For example, most of the corporate respondents were from medium and large companies and there was not adequate representation of small mineral exploration companies. The research did not probe into social media applications by different business groups within the mining sector, such as smelting and processing."

Jan 1, 2011

By Douglas A. Anderson

Mine the Internet? You bet. Precious information resources are there to be found by those willing to explore. Of course, the stratigraphy and the exploration tools must be learned. This article is is designed to help learn those tools and how to find the information that can help the reader. However, beware the Internet. It can be addicting. On the other hand, information can be found that you never suspected. And users can make contact with people who might otherwise never have crossed their paths.

Jan 1, 1996