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By A. B. Barlow, D. H. Pitcher

"The Geophysics/Geochemistry Section of the Ontario Geological Survey initiated an aerial geophysical survey in the James Bay Lowlands, Cretaceous Basin area, District of Cochrane, Ontario. The survey was contracted to Scintrex Limited and was carried out in 1978. Approximately 8000 line kilometres of airborne electromagnetic and magnetic data were recorded. The Tridem airborne electromagnetic system was employed, mounted in a twin-engined PB Y Canso aircraft. This specific Tridem system uses a vertical coaxial coil configuration and measures in-phase and quadrature components of the secondary field at 500, 2000 and 8000 Hz.The primary purpose of this survey was to map subsurface conductivities and, in particular, to search for lignite deposits. Physical property measurements show that electrical methods should detect differen ces in conductivity between the moderately conducting clay-lignite horizons and the less conducting clay, soil, muskeg and gravel horizons. A preliminary Tridem test survey, as well as surface DC resistivity soundings, confirmed this approach. The interpretation of the present survey data indicates that Tridem is a suitable electrical method to aid lignite exploration in the James Bay Lowlands."

Jan 1, 1980

By Zhao-shu Sun, Mao-lin Li, Rui Cui

"Fankou Mine produced pyrite concentrate (PC) from the tailings by rougher and scavenger flotation before 2010, with the averaged S grade of 40.54% at recovery of 79.34%. The economic value of PC increases with its purity. When the S grade of PC feed to sulfuric acid plant is over 47%, the pyrite cinder can reach a high Fe grade of 62% which can be directly sold as iron concentrate. On this background, engineers in Fankou Mine set the PC with S grade of 47% as target.The direct way to reach that goal was to clean the rough PC Lots of cleaner flotation tests were conducted and the balanced strategy was to produce two ranks PC with the S grade of 47% and 38% at the recovery of 44.20% and 36.17%, respectively. The dual-product flowsheet was successfully industrialized in 2010. In order to further improve the quality of PC, gravity separation was introduced into the flowsheet. The numerical simulation and tests were performed to evaluate the beneficiation and classification performance of hydrocyclone as it treated the rough PC. It was shown that the underflow of hydrocyclone could addressed the S grade of 47%, and the finer size overflow could also be enriched to PC with S grade of 47% by flotation, due to the contained pyrite with well liberation. That is to say, with the ingenious addition of hydrocyclone to treat the rough PC, single PC with S grade of 47% could be achieved. The new flotation-gravity separation flowsheet was commissioned to produce the high quality PC at the end of 2013. The averaged S grade is 47.20% at recovery of 82.26% in 2014. The two steps flowsheet improvement maximizes the enterprise benefits and leads to simple utilization of Fe in pyrite in downstream industry."

Jan 1, 2016

By A. Mitrašinovic, A. Wolf

"The aim of this investigation was to determine the most suitable additive for recovering metals from converter slags generated during Ni extraction. Fluxes analyzed were silica and lime and reductants included pig iron, ferrosilicon and copper-silicon compound. Slag was settled at 1300°C for one hour to simulate the smelting environment. The newly formed matte and slag were characterized by chemical composition and morphology. Microstructural studies showed that slag formed after adding reductants consisted of primarily fayalite, with traces of magnetite. Entrained matte was present in the slag mostly as prills of Ni3S2-FeS matrix and a Cu2S-FeS secondary phase below 10µm in diameter. Kinetic parameters of matte formation, valuable metal recovery rates and partition coefficients were deduced. Silica additions generated higher partition coefficients for copper and nickel than the addition of lime. Additives used as reducing agents had higher valuable metal recovery rates and partition coefficients. Silica additions favoured the formation a higher grade matte while lime additions will hinder metal recovery. Pig iron, ferrosilicon and Cu30Si were the most effective reductants for valuable metals recovery. Cu10Si and coke additions had little to no effect on valuable metals recovery."

Jan 1, 2015

By Marcio Luis S. Godoy

The Salobo Project will be the first Vale operation to use an HPGR mill to process copper-gold ore. The mine is located in Para state, southeast of the Amazon region in Brazil. The circuit was designed to treat 12 million metric tons per year of finely disseminated sulphide ore with high hardness. The comminution circuit comprises a gyratory primary crusher, secondary crushing utilizing two cone crushers, two 2 x 1.5 m HPGR operating in closed configuration with 6 mm screens, followed by two 26 x 40 ft ball mills. The concentration circuit consists of two rougher flotation stages using mechanical cells, regrinding with vertical mills, three cleaner stages with columns and one cleaner scavenger stage in mechanical cells. The concentrate is dewatered, filtered and transported by trucks and train to the port, to be exported. The circuit was designed on the basis of data obtained from a comprehensive laboratory and pilot plant campaign. The ore variability was assessed through simulation using data from a drilling core characterization program. The start-up of the industrial plant is planned for 2011. This paper describes the main aspects of circuit design, as well as information related to the beginning of the project construction.

May 1, 2010

By T. Maio

Twelve years ago, Kennecott Utah Copper modernized its Refinery in conjunction with the modernization of the Kennecott Smelter with the latest flash smelting and flash converting technologies. The Refinery modernization consisted of installation of new polymer concrete cells, installation of KIDD TPS (total production stripping) system, installation of automated materials handling system, and the construction of a new hydrometallurgical slimes treatment process and precious metals plant. This paper outlines the Refinery operations and process improvements. Also presented are the newly implemented technologies and operating results of one of the world' s largest and most modern electrolytic copper refineries.

Jan 1, 2007

By J. M. Whiting

"North America has entered a period when greatly increased attention must be given to energy .supply and demand by government, industry and individuals. Such increasing concern about energy will be a long-term phenomenon, accompanied by continuing examination of future resource development and utilization. Those engaged in or associated with mining, a major energy consumer, are likely to experience a variety of problems which are associated with the end of an era of low-cost, virtually unlimited energy supply. Their efforts, furthermore, may be subjected to escalating public and government scrutiny, involvement and control. However, ever-growing recognition of the real and urgent necessity to systematically develop new energy supplies within Canada and the United States will provide unusual challenges and opportunities for those companies and individuals with mining expertise. The vast deposits of coal, tar sands and oil shale provide a relative certainty of supply which only stands to gain in attractive ness with time. In order to benefit from this aspect of certain supply, nevertheless, synthetic fuels will have to be produced at a tolerable cost. This will always require excellent process design and engineering. As synfuels development expands to any significant production level, however, and Jess than ideal reserves are scheduled, the usual geologic-productivity complexities encountered in making ore out of low-value rock will tend to become of prime concern. It is for this reason that the services of experienced mining personnel will be in growing demand in energy production."

Jan 1, 1973

By L. K. Sinclair

In situ leaching of copper has the potential to deliver low-cost recovery for soluble copper deposits of sufficient permeability. In order to provide key inputs for modeling of the in situ leaching process, bench scale test work can be used in conjunction with geochemical software to identify key leaching and precipitation reactions. A case study is presented in which a series of flow-through acid leaching tests were conducted on drill core sections from a porphyry copper deposit without crushing or grinding. Concentrations of copper and other key elements were monitored in the recirculating leach solution over several months. A geochemical model of each leaching test was prepared using Geochemist's Workbench using a combination of diffusion-controlled and reaction-controlled rate mechanisms. Key reactions included leaching of chrysocolla, iron oxides, and plagioclase. The model was able to simultaneously satisfy the evolving chemistry of the recirculating leach solution, mineralogy of the head and leach residue, measured acid consumption, and leaching rates for key minerals reported from previous laboratory studies. Opportunities and limitations for scaling up the model to simulate the commercial wellfield are discussed.

Jan 1, 2015

By Eiichi Sato, Koichi Kitazono, Hiroshi Masuda, Kenta Higane

"The present study investigated the low-temperature creep mechanisms in ultrafine-grained (UFG) aluminum manufactured by accumulative roll bonding. UFG aluminum with grain size 0.39 µm showed steady state creep even at room temperature under low stresses as confirmed by the creep curves in the strain rate–strain plot. The low-temperature behavior was divided into four regions by three distinctive stresses, sI, sII and sIII: sI (=45 MPa) is denoted as the micro-yielding stress with which dislocations start movement, sII (=85 MPa) the dislocation-multiplication stress above which dislocations multiply with creep deformation, and sIII (=171 MPa) the conventional yield stress above which macroscopic plastic strain is generated. During low-temperature creep, below sI, negligible plastic strain is generated. Between sI and sII, creep deformation with stress exponent 2.5 occurred, which is accommodated by dislocation absorption into grain boundary and grain boundary sliding, similarly to the low-temperature creep of HCP metals. Between sII and sIII, creep deformation with stress exponent 7.0 occurred, whose mechanism is similar to the low-temperature creep of coarse-grained aluminum. Above sIII, power-law breakdown occurred.INTRODUCTIONIt is well understood that the creep deformation brings about at high homologous temperatures (T/Tm) of >0.4, where Tmis the melting point, with diffusion processes. Recently, the importance of aluminum is increasing for cryogenic temperature parts such as a metallic liner or a cap in high pressure-hydrogen vessels, and the presence of creep behavior in aluminum at room temperature has become recognized (Matsunaga, 2013;Kassner, 2015).In HCP metals and alloys, especially intitanium, steady-state creep behavior appears at room temperature with apparent activation energy of1/10 of that for self-diffusion(Neeraj, 2000; Matsunaga, 2009).On the other hand, Kassner (2015) claims that aluminum shows creep behavior at room temperature with apparent activation energy of 4/5of that forself-diffusion, but never reaches the steady state. We should note that it is derived from the data obtained from short-term creep tests of few hour, and Matsunaga (2013) already claimed the presence of steady state in room temperature creep in aluminum with activation energy of 1/5of that for self-diffusion.The mechanisms for low temperature creep are considered different between HCP and FCC metals: in HCP metals, grain boundary sliding is observed and is thought to accommodate piled-up dislocations at grain boundaries through absorbing them. The so-called slip-induced grain boundary sliding occurs with low number of activated slip systems(Matsunaga,2009).On the other hand, in FCC metals, many activated slip systems bring about work hardening with dislocation cell structure formation. In the initial stage of creep, it results in primary creep (Kassner, 2015), but Matsunaga (2013) claimed that once the annihilating of a cross-slipped dislocation to another reaches balance, steady state is established. It has been, however, strongly required to show more convincing experimental verification for the presence of steady state in FCC metals at low temperature."

Jan 1, 2018

By Ali M. Ghazi, Ronald J. Goble, Lowell S. Whiteside

"Geerite (Cu1.6S) is a rhombohedral copper sulphide which occurs naturally in epitactic replacement of sphalerite; cell dimensions closely approximate those of the host sphalerite.Geerite-type structures can be produced by leaching digenite (Cu1.8S) in ferric sulphate solutions. X -ray diffract ion and electron microprobe studies indicate that eight metastable geeritetype structures can be produced, depending upon the concentration of f erric sulphate solution used and the duration of the each. Although compositions cluster on or near values observed for natural phases, optical properties indicate that we are dealing with polymorphs of these phases. Leaching of chalcocite (CU2Sj in dilute f erric sulphate solutions produces similar results. In contrast, leaching of chalcocite in more concentrated solutions seems to produce true analogues of natural minerals.During froth flotation, sphalerite is activated with a monolayer of floatable copper sulphide with the composition, CuS, of the mineral covellite. However, covellite is not significantly more floatable than sphalerite, and has an incompatible structure because of the presence of covalently-bonded atoms of sulphur. Leaching ofdigenite was used to produce a polymorph of covellite with a geerite-type structure, compatible with that of sphalerite. This polymorph has a flotational behaviour similar to copper-activated sphalerite, suggesting that the monolayer has a geerite-type CuS structure. IntroductionIn an ideal close-packed sulphide structure the distance between sulphur layers, D, is equal to 2R 2/3, where R is the radius of the sulphur atoms. In sulphides with covalently-bonded sulphur layers, such as covellite (Fig. I), D will be an average of the number of covalentl y-bonded and close-packed sulphur layers, weighted as to the relative number of each type of layer. Both D and R are spacings which are readily identifiable structurally and on X-ray diffraction patterns. Goblel has shown that for copper-iron sulphides with metal-to-sulphur ratios between 0 and 2 and copper-to-total metal ratio s between 113 and I there are strong correlations between composition and measured D and R distances (Fig. 2). D can be represented by a single empirical equation relating interlayer spacing to composition; R must be represented by three equations relating the radius of sulphur atoms to composition. One of these equations (R, in Fig. 2) represents ideal close-packed behaviour, the other two represent sulphur radii greater than (R1) or less than (Rh) the ideal."

Jan 1, 1988

By W. A. Lang

RESEARCH has been defined as the link between the present and the future. Science, wonderful though its achievements may be, has but scratched the surface of the unknown. Research is directing its attention to winning new facts in order that their application to the processes of today may open up new sources of wealth for the common benefit. Two classes of research investigations are often recognized-fundamental and applied, but these classes merge into each other and it is often hard to distinguish one from the other. Fundamental research is carried out primarily to develop basic facts, but frequently these are found to have immediate economic value, while applied research, specifically aimed at economic values, often necessitates a preliminary fundamental investigation. Both are essential and both should proceed by scientific method. It is obvious in fuel technology that a knowledge of the physical and chemical constitution of the various coals is fundamental to their industrial utilization, and further, a knowledge of the way these coals react under different conditions of temperature, atmosphere, etc., is necessary in solving such problems as storage, combustion, carbonization, gasification, or con-version to liquid fuels. The wide range of coals, the complexity, of their constitution, and the many uses for coal, makes fuel research no simple subject but one with unending possibilities. The Research Council of Alberta, formerly known as the Scientific and Industrial Research Council of Alberta, was established in 1919, to promote the development and conservation of the natural resources of the Province. The work of the Council was arranged in six major divisions: Fuels; Geology; Road Materials; Soils; Natural Gas; and Forest Products. The office and laboratories are located in the University of Alberta. The Council was financed until the depression of 1933 by a separate vote of the Legislature, but since then has been continued, though on a much smaller scale, as one of the activities of the University. It might, however, be noted that although the Council is now in abeyance, a skeleton organization has been maintained so that it can be brought back to active service as soon as conditions warrant. Annual reports are still submitted to the Legislature. Funds have not been made available, however, for the publication of the last five reports.

Jan 1, 1942

By M. Mohammadijoo, J. B. Wiskel, D. G. Ivey, S. Kenny, H. Henein

Cold-wire tandem submerged arc welding (CWTSAW) has recently been developed as a novel welding technique to replace the conventional tandem submerged arc welding (TSAW) process and improve the productivity of pipeline manufacturing. The process involves two electrodes with arcs and one electrically cold electrode. Since heat-input of the welding process is a key factor affecting the properties of the weld metal (WM) and the heat-affected zone (HAZ), and the additional cold-wire affects the heat introduced to the weldment, it is of interest to investigate property and geometry changes in the WM and HAZ when a cold-wire is added to the welding process. In the current research, the CWTSAW process is investigated and optimized by correlating the main welding parameters with the micro-hardness of the WM and HAZ and the geometry of the weld, i.e., the bead width (BW), penetration depth (PD), reinforcement area (RA) and coarse grained heat-affected zone (CGHAZ) area. Three statistical and mathematical methods are employed to optimize the CWTSAW process in terms of the mechanical properties and WM and HAZ geometry of a typical microalloyed steel used for pipeline manufacturing.

Jan 1, 2015

By Wignall. T. K., J. De Geoffroy

Statistical models are fitted to the observed distributions of eighteen characteristics of the population of commercial porphyry deposits of North and South America. The statistical base required for the formulation of the statistical models includes 58 commercial porphyry-copper-molybdenum deposits of the Cordilleran Belt from which geological, geometric and economic data were collected. Predictive and composite models are derived from the statistical study to assist explorat10n. planning, engineering studies and fmanc1al analyses as required for the development of new porphyry deposits in the Cordilleran Belt.

Jan 1, 1973

By N. Waters

"Nickel saprolite ores are normally mined as feed to Fe-Ni smelters or Ni matte smelting operations. The smelting processes typically require high Ni cut-off grades of approximately 1.5 to 2.2% Ni, depending on the operation. These very high cut-off grades result in a significant portion of the saprolite profile being regarded as “waste” and hence having little to no value. The Starved Acid Leach Technology (SALT) was developed to recover nickel and cobalt from nickel saprolites and Caron plant residues. Relatively small amounts of acid are applied to ground saprolites or Caron residues in order to selectively leach nickel and cobalt. The leaching is performed atmospherically under low free acid conditions. Nickel and cobalt may be recovered from the leachate as a mixed hydroxide. The mixed hydroxide may be added directly to a saprolite smelting operation or refined separately. InCoR Technologies is advancing the application of SALT at a number of sites. Bench scale testing has provided a relationship between acid addition and nickel extraction in leaching. Conceptual engineering studies have been completed by SNC Lavalin. The simplicity of the SALT technology provides the benefits of low capital and operating cost and an expected rapid ramp up to full production.INTRODUCTION The recent history of hydrometallurgical nickel laterite treatment plants has demonstrated mixed financial and operational performance. Table 1 summarizes the next generation plants built after the financial and/or technical failure of the Bulong, Cawse and Murrin-Murrin plants in Australia. The Coral Bay plants (Line 1 and 2) stand out (and now Taganito) as relatively low capital cost, simple (no acid plant, production of mixed sulfide product), and modest in scale (10, 12 and 36 kt Ni/a). However, the other plants in the list (Ravensthorpe, Ramu, Goro and Ambatovy) are all characterized by financial and technical challenges. All plants have a very high capital cost ($67,000 to $120,000 USD/annual t of Ni production). Ravensthorpe was sold by BHP Billiton after a poor startup. Ramu has had a steady ramp up but only produces mixed hydroxide for refining by others. Goro has had an extended construction period (since 2001), is high cost and has been very slow to ramp up to design production rates. Ambatovy has had a steady ramp up."

Jan 1, 2017

By M. Pelegrin Rodríguez, J. Castellanos Suarez, R. Causse Miyares, A. Mosqueda Martínez, Rubén Aja

"This paper will describe the methods and the results of studies to integrate polymetallic nodule extractive metallurgy methods into existing and operating technologies or plants with the aim of reducing the capital cost of deep-sea mining challenges and to streamline the supply chain of raw materials where such opportunities exist (Moa Bay and others). It will also assess the possibility to carry out pre-industrial processing operations with productivity corresponding to pilot mining operation in the Clarion Clipperton Fracture Zone (5–10% of assumed annual production) with the use of existing facilities. The present study shows the results of high pressure acid leaching of polymetallic nodules (PN) mixed with laterite non-commercial ore. It also presents PN processing in the presence of ammoniacal tailings obtained from the Caron process. The experiments were carried out according to 24 full factorial design. The regression equations were determined for extractions of Ni, Co, Cu, Zn, Fe and Mn. The obtained results show that increasing temperature, the acid/ mineral ratio and the leaching time have a positive and significant effect on extraction of all the studied metals. However, increasing the tailings addition favors the extraction of the Co, Zn and Mn. The extraction of Fe diminishes, while the extraction of Ni is not affected. In the following conditions; 180 min, 260°C, 0.5 kg acid /kg minerals and 2.5 kg PN/kg tailing; the following extractions were achieved; 96% Ni, 90% Co, 97% Cu, 99.9% Zn, 43% Mn and 26% Fe."

Jan 1, 2017

By W. J. Asselstine

Introduction This paper is prepared from data gathered for a similar paper to be submitted to the United States Bureau of Mines, for publication as one of their information circulars. It covers the history and development of the present milling practice at Premier. The authors wish to acknowledge the assistance and suggestions given during the preparation of this paper by D. L. Pitt, Manager of the Premier Gold Mining Company, Limited; also their indebtedness to various members of the Engineering Staff and of the Accounting Department who have assisted materially in gathering the data used. Location The Premier mine and mill are situated in northern British Columbia, approximately fifteen miles north of the head of Portland canal, in the Salmon River section, about half a mile east of the Alaska-British Columbia boundary line where it crosses die Salmon river. The mill is located on a rather steep hillside on the horizon of the main haulage level of the mine, and is within a hundred feet of the mouth of the tunnel. Both the mine and mill are connected with tidewater at Stewart, B.C., by an aerial tramway (1) eleven and one-half miles in length, which delivers both ore and concentrate to the bunkers at the dock for shipment to the smelters. All mine and mill supplies are transported from Stewart dock to Premier over this tramway, except heavy machinery. Heavy pieces have to be hauled either by truck in summer or sleighs in winter over a good road which runs from Stewart dock to Premier.

Jan 1, 1933

By D. H. Pulling

Statistics for copper consumption from various sources show that the importance of production from secondary sources is increasing. This is of particular significance in countries such as the U.K ., which are totally dependent on secondary material for the supply of home-produced copper . A brief survey of the U.K . industry has shown that, in the past, relatively high profit margins have not encouraged high cap ital investment and development of more sophisticated operating techniques, but set against a background of rapidly escalating operating and energy costs , together with an ever-increasing demand for copper , it is anticipated that the industry will see great changes in the near future. With this in mind, an experimental furnace for continuous smelting of copper-bearing scrap has been developed at the University of Birmingham. This furnace has been designed to combine the conventional operations of blast furnace or reverberatory smelting, usually followed by converting, in one unit, and incorporates many of the features of the WORGRA and Noranda processes for continuous primary smelting . It consists of a long, sloping channel, constructed of chrome-magnesite refractory, which: is churned near the top. Smelting is effected lower down the channel, where iron, etc., in the scrap is oxidized and slagged off with silica flux. Provision is made for oil injection to increase oxidation rates. Metal can flow from the bottom of the channel, and slag from the top, so that a counter-current flow is achieved. The approximate molten capacity is 25 kg. Various scrap charges, both synthetically made and as supplied from various industrial smelters, have been successfully smelted. Metal of 83 -95 % Cu has been produced, depending on the original charge composition and the degree of air injection, although air injection was also found to considerably increase the copper loss to slag. Recoveries of other valuable non-ferrous metals in the charge were good.

Jan 1, 1977

By N. Romani, R. Provost

"Commissioning of a circulating dry scrubber plant was recently completed at an existing facility, in order to treat the sulphur dioxide off-gas emitted from rotary kilns. Proper planning of the different commissioning stages and staffing an integrated team are the most important factors required for a successful plant start-up. A strong operational readiness plan must be in place as early as the start of construction in order to ensure a smooth transition from commissioning to operations. Plant performance can meet or exceed performance criteria within the required timeframe if the proper group dynamic and good communication is established between construction, commissioning and operations teams.INTRODUCTIONCommissioning of a circulating dry scrubber (CDS) plant was recently completed at an existing facility in Quebec, Canada. The CDS plant treats the sulphur dioxide off-gas emitted from rotary kilns in order to meet increasingly stringent environmental requirements. This installation enables the existing facility to reduce their sulphur emissions by over 90%.The CDS ProcessA general overview of the CDS process is presented in Figure 1 below. The combined, de-dusted off-gas from multiple kilns is sent to the CDS, which acts as an entrained fluid bed, where the gas is contacted with a water mist, re-circulated solids and hydrated lime. The SO2 from the gas stream and the available calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2) from the hydrated lime dissolve in the water and react to ultimately form calcium sulphites and gypsum. The solid residue (referred to as CDS residue), is the primary byproductof the process.Fresh hydrated lime and CDS residue is captured by the dust collection system and is re-circulated to the CDS via a fluidised transport system. Clean off-gas passes through the dust-collection system and is then sent to the atmosphere by a single exhaust fan.The CDS residue purged from the system is combined with the dust collected from the kiln offgas system and this mixture is wetted in the already exiting agglomeration system, to minimize dust generation during handling, and then sent to disposal."

Jan 1, 2016

By G. B. Harris, C. W. White

A study to investigate the recovery of base metals, notably copper, nickel, cobalt, zinc and manganese from iron-free concentrated chloride solutions using ion exchange was undertaken. In such solutions, apart from nickel and, to a lesser extent manganese, these metals are present predominantly as complex anions, and therefore conventional separation techniques based on cationic resins are not applicable. The results demonstrated that zinc, copper and cobalt can all be separately recovered leaving nickel and manganese behind. Specifically, zinc is a major nuisance element in nickel and cobalt processing, and the testwork showed that it can be preferentially removed prior to copper and cobalt. Selective resins for both copper and cobalt were identified, and it was demonstrated that the strength of the chloride background matrix has a significant effect on the efficiency of separation. An additional major advantage in such systems is that stripping can mostly be effected with water. Finally, some observations are made on the hurdles that must be overcome when attempting to introduce and commercialise new technologies.

Jan 1, 2015

By J. Asfahani

"The inverse slope method (ISM) was applied to reinterpret vertical electrical soundings (VES) data from pits at the Al-Sharquieh phosphate mine, in order to demonstrate applicability and suitability of the ISM for interpreting VES data from sedimentary phosphatic environments. The ISM overcomes limitations of the curve matching method and the complexity of lithological sections. The ISM geo-electrical interpretation results correlated well with lithologies of the pits. This method characterized resistivity and thickness of the phosphatic layer, and identified favourable phosphate-prospecting areas using the newly developed thickness/depth parameter. The ISM is recommended for interpreting VES measurements in similar sedimentary phosphatic regions.RÉSUMÉ La méthode d’inversion de la pente (ISM) a été utilisée pour réinterpréter les données de sondages électriques verticaux (VES) effectués dans des puits de la mine de phosphate Al-Sharquieh, afin de démontrer l’applicabilité et la pertinence de cette méthode pour interpréter les données VES dans des environnements de sédimentation de phosphates. Cette méthode (ISM) surmonte les limitations de la méthode de comparaison de courbes et la complexité des sections lithologiques. Les résultats de l’interprétation géoélectrique ISM correspondaient bien aux lithologies des puits. Elle a permis de caractériser la résistivité et l’épaisseur de la couche phosphatique et d’identifier les secteurs favorables à la prospection pour le phosphate en utilisant le paramètre nouvellement développé épaisseur/profondeur. ISM est recommandée pour l’interprétation des mesures VES dans des régions semblables où se trouve du phosphate sédimentaire."

Jan 1, 2016

By A. Yaghini, Y. Pourrahimian

"Human factors (HFs) play an important role in the mining and mineral industry, affecting operational and maintenance efficiency and safety. Despite the introduction of new technologies and automation in this sector, it is well known that a significantly large proportion of total human errors occur during the operation and maintenance phase. A comprehensive literature review of HFs across several industries is provided. From this review, the impact of HFs on operation and maintenance is summarized, with a focus on what the mining industry is currently doing and what opportunities exist for additional improvements. Future research directions and themes are also identified.RÉSUMÉ Les facteurs humains (FH) jouent un rôle important dans l’industrie des mines et des minéraux, en ce qu’ils affectent l’efficacité et la sécurité de l’exploitation et de l’entretien. Malgré l’apparition de nouvelles technologies et de l’automatisation dans ce secteur, il est bien connu qu’une grande partie des erreurs humaines (EH) se produisent durant une phase d’exploitation et d’entretien. Cet article propose une analyse documentaire approfondie des FH dans plusieurs secteurs. L’impact des FH sur l’exploitation et l’entretien est résumé à partir de cette analyse, une attention particulière étant accordée à l’évolution de l’industrie minière et aux possibilités d’améliorer davantage ses activités. Sont également identifiés les futurs thèmes et voies de recherche.INTRODUCTIONDuring the past several decades, the mining industry has focused on improving equipment, machinery, and methods that have led to more advanced hardware and software, equipment with higher reliability and productivity, and other technological advancements. These actions have improved safety and productivity and have reduced casualties and maintenance workload. Although today’s mining equipment and machinery are technologically advanced and highly reliable, the risk of accidents is still relatively high and key performance indicators have not improved significantly compared to other industries (Sorensen, 2012). A prominent reason could be due to insignificant integration of human factors (HFs) as part of planning, operation, and maintenance activities. The current mining system is a people system, and inevitably HFs and human error (HE) figure prominently in all aspects of this industry. Even the most advanced technologies and innovations require operators and maintainers with significant knowledge and skill, which could increase the potential for HE."

Jan 1, 2018