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By Robert Maquil, Gilles Didier, Walter Steiner

"The 1580 m long dual-tube motorway tunnel Markusberg near Schengen, Luxembourg experiences strong swelling phenomena in each tube related to a 35 m wide diagonally crossing rock layer, some150 to 200m from the east portals. Overburden over the roadway is 26 to 30 meters. Tunnel construction started in 1998 and the tunnel was opened in 2003. The tunnel was driven downgrade from the West, the heave phenomenon started to occur as the tunnel approached completion. No indications of the presence of anhydrite and dissolved sulphates were known prior to tunnelling. Water samples had been taken from the beginning of construction and the concentration of anions and cat ions determined. Sulfate content was substantial, in one well it reached 22 mg/l, this high concentration requires the presence of other ions, in particular sodium and chlorine. Based on the knowledge at the time of construction heaving ground was removed from the tunnel invert and a free space was left below the roadway that is covered by a transversely spanned slab. In addition a series of posttensioned tiebacks were installed below the sidewalls. The void left in 2003 was 1.7m high and closed to less than 0.5 meters in 2007 then it became necessary to widen the free space. A central trench was dug with a height of about 2.5 meters and the benches were lowered.Level surveying had been carried out since 2002. In 2006 two extensometers were installed, one in the zone of strongest heave, the second at the edge of the swelling zone. The extensometer in the center of the swelling zone indicated heave with an essential constant rate with seasonal variations, the heave is concentrated in layer from 2 to 5 meters that heaved by nearly 300 millimeters within 5 years or 60 mm/year, which equals to approx. 1% extension per year. At the abutments heave rates of 20 mm/year where the support resistance is higher were observed. With data from other case histories a relation of heave rate with support resistance was established. Based on the numerous field observations hypotheses for the complex in-situ swelling processes, involving rock mechanics, mineralogical, soil mechanics and hydrogeological aspects were developed"

Jan 1, 2015

By A. Desbiens, M. Maldonado, R. del Villar, Aguilera. R.

This work details the application of a multiple model approach to estimate frother concentration in flotation processes. The methodology consists of identifying a set of linear dynamic models representing the effect of gas rate on the collection-zone gas holdup at different known frother concentrations (calibration step). An adaptive law is then obtained using Bayes' rule to evaluate the conditional probability that each model represents the observed system behavior. In this way, a frother concentration estimate is calculated as a weighted sum of model probabilities and their associated (known) frother concentrations. Experimental results conducted in a two-phase system using Dowfroth250C are promising. Modeling and analysis for MIBC frother are also provided.

Jan 1, 2009

By Ted J. Smith, Stephen E. Kesler

"Zonation patterns are welt developed in the mafic metavolcanic rocks that host epigenetic quartz-carbonate-gold vein mineralization at the Hollinger-McIntyre deposit. Carbonate alteration assemblages are strongly zoned about mineralization. Proceeding inward from background greenschist facies rocks to alteration envelopes enclosing individual veins, the following assemblages are observed:Assemblage I-quartz-albite-chlorite-epidote-actinolite-(calcite)Assemblage II-quartz-albite-chlorite-calcite-epidoteAssemblage III-quartz-ankerite-sericite-(chlorite-calcite)Assemblage IV-quartz-albite-ankerite-sericiteLithogeochemical zoning is equally well developed as variations in whole-rock abundances ofAs, Au, Ba, Rb, and Sb. As and Ba form the most useful zonation patterns, outlining individual ore zones as well as broader trends of mineralization.Gas chromatographic analyses of fluid inclusions in the quartz-carbonate veins indicate that the mineralizing fluid was an H20-C02 mixture. Locally, CH4-rich fluid inclusions are associated with graphitic and/or carbonaceous wallrocks. Fluid inclusions in ore-bearing veins have higher CO2 contents than those in non-ore veins. Extensive sampling and analyses of veins from the area surrounding the deposit reveals a well developed zonation of CO2 contents about the main zone of mineralization. Low CO2 levels (1-2 mole%) in veins are peripheral to the deposit and increase to over 12 mole% in mineralized zones.The observed zoning of the carbonate alteration assemblages is a result of the addition of CO2 to the wallrock, which is consistent with the zoning of CO2 in the fluid inclusions.The zoning patterns delineated in this study are useful in exploration both on a deposit scale and on the scale of individual ore zones."

Jan 1, 1985

By J. S. Kirkaldy, W. J. Slater, G. R. Mason

Activation analysis for copper and manganese in 10 mg samples machined from aluminum-base diffusion couples has been used in the study of ternary diffusion in the Al-Cu-Mn system. The accuracy, economy and convenience of the method are considered to be very competitive with other methods for analysis of such small samples. Neutron-activated aluminum-zinc alloys in the range from 10 per cent to 100 per cent zinc have been equilibrated with a known volume and the vapors subsequently condensed and collected. The vapor pressures relative to pure zinc (the thermodynamic activities) have been determined at 550°C' by recording the relative count of /'-rays from zn65 in the collected samples. The method is a sensitive one, although subject to serious obstacles to experimental accuracy.

Jan 1, 1961

By Gordon W. Parsons, Ross E. Sampson

"THIS PAPER will trace the work done in bringing the Munro underground ""A"" •Orebody into production to replace the open pit, which was scheduled to be completed early in 1959. Included will be an outline of the exploration work and early planning, and of the final decisions on mining methods. Some of the more detailed work will be described and reasons will be given for the decisions made regarding development work, mine ventilation, ground support, and equipment. Brief mention will be made of open pit operations, as these have had some influence on underground development. Also, some of the main geological features of the ore occurrence will be de-scri0bed, as these had to be taken into consideration when making decisions on ore development and mining methods.LOCATION AND HISTORYhe Munro mine of Canadian Johns-Manville is in Ontario, approximately 50 miles east of Timmins and 40 miles west of the Que-bec-Ontari-0 boundary. The producing orebody is in the southwestern part of Munro township. Property controlled by the Company extends nortl1westerly about 2¥2 miles into Beatty township, on which two other interesting asbestos-bearing zones have been partially expl-0red. Active exploration work on the property was started in March, 194.9, and continued until the summer of 1950."

Jan 1, 1960

By A. Bowles

The process of accumulative roll bonding (ARB) has been applied to wrought magnesium alloy AZ31. Accumulative roll bonding results in severe plastic deformation of sheet material. In AZ31, this process leads to the refinement of the microstructure by dynamic recrystallization. The refinement of the microstructure results in an improvement in mechanical properties with potential for producing materials for superplastic forming. In this work AZ31 was bonded with up to 64 layers and the potential of roll cladding with aluminium was also investigated. The development of microstructure and the mechanical properties are reported here.

Jan 1, 2006

By M. Rafieazad, P. Fathi, X. Duan, M. Mohammadi, A. M. Nasiri

"Direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) is a metal additive manufacturing technology that creates highly complex components by fusing metal powder into a solid part. In this study, the impact of surface roughness on corrosion resistivity of AlSi10Mg_200C alloy manufactured through DMLS was investigated. The as-printed DMLS-AlSi10Mg _200C alloy was subjected to various surface finishing processes including grinding and sandblasting. The corrosion performance of the surfaces was then evaluated using potentiodynamic polarization testing and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) in a 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution to mimic seawater environment. Surface characterization and corrosion morphology of the samples were assessed by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy. The results of this study show that the surface finishing process and the resultant surface roughness has a significant impact on the corrosion resistivity of the DMLS-AlSi10Mg_200C alloy in the seawater environment.INTRODUCTION Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS), also known as Selective Laser Melting (SLM) (Sames, List, Pannala, Dehoff, & Babu, 2016), Laser Beam Melting (LBM), or Laser Metal Fusion (LMF) (Herzog, Seyda, Wycisk, & Emmelmann, 2016), is an additive manufacturing process that utilizes a precise, high-power laser to micro-join powdered metals and alloys layer by layer to form almost fully dense and functional components in three dimensions from the 3D computer-aided design (CAD) data. Complex geometries not possible with conventional manufacturing processes can be readily manufactured with high accuracy using the DMLS process with no need to time-consuming tooling."

Jan 1, 2018

By G. E. Peacock

SIGMA MINES is situated in the township of Bourlamaque, Abitibi County, Quebec. It is a gold producer, and presently treats an average of 1,200 tons of ore per day, at a grade of approximately 0.18 oz. per ton recovered. The mill started operations in March, I937, at a rate of 300 tons per day. This was increased to 800 tons in I940, and to 1,000 tons by I943. The rate was cut back during the war years, but was brought back up to capacity by I948. The mill tonnage was in-creased to the present 1,200 tons per day in I960. The underground workings are serviced through No. 2 Shaft (Figure 1), which, with 24 operating levels, extends from surface to a depth of 3,317 feet. When depth exploration was decided upon, two possibilities were considered: (a) deepen the main shaft by1,000 feet; (b) put down a winze for the same distance.

Jan 1, 1962

By Getu F. Biftu

There is general agreement among scientists that global surface temperatures have been increasing during the past decades. The increase in temperature is postulated to be the result of either an increase in greenhouse gases emission or climate variability (i.e., due to variations in sun or volcanic activity or El Nino and La Nina events) during past decades and may continue to increase. The effects of a predicted rise in the Earth?s surface temperature include an increase in average global evaporation and increase or decrease in precipitation (Bloomfield, 1992; Mann et al., 1991; Vinnikov et al., 1990; Gan 1995; Zhang et al., 2000a). The general circulation models (GCMs) project a global warming due to greenhouse effects of 1.5-4.5°C by the mid 2050s, with the most pronounced changes taking place in northern latitudes (Nicholls et al., 1996). However, similar predictions at a watershed scale or even a regional scale using GCMs are mot possible yet (Arnell et. al., 1996; Georgievskii et. al., 1996; Zhang et al., 2000a). Detection of historic trends, changes and variability in climatic variables is another indirect means of understanding potential future changes or variability at regional and local scales. The main objective of this paper is to review studies related to climatic change or variability and associated hydrologic changes at a regional scale and local scale, particularly those studies applicable to the Oil Sands Region (OSR) of Alberta. This paper identifies gaps in our current understanding of the hydrologic processes that may be affected by climate change; it discusses potential implications to developments in the OSR; and it explores mitigation opportunities including several that have already been implemented.

May 1, 2004

By H. F. Naldrett

"AbstractAt the end of May, 1950, Imperial Oil, Limited, had completed a total of 192 D-3 wells in the Leduc-Woodbend field, 62 of which lost circulation in the D-3 zone for periods ranging from two hours to fifty days. The majority of the remaining wells •lost some mud without actual loss of returns. In addition, independent operators completed 69 D-3 wells, of which 9 lost circulation. Included among the latter is the now well known Atlantic No. 3 well, which blew wild out of control for seven months. The well was finally brought under control through two directionally drilled wells, but not before the derrick fell and the well caught fire. Practically all known filler materials have been used in attempt3 to prevent or regain loss of circulation, but none has been successful, except in minor cases. Ordinary sawdust has come to be the most commonly used filler material and is added to the mud before the D-3 zone is contacted. In cases of serious loss of circulation, the on1y successful method of getting returns has been the use of a series of small cement plugs.IntroductionThe Leduc field is twenty miles southwest of Edmonton, Alberta. Geologically, it is on the east limb of the Alberta syncline, in the homoclinal belt. The main productive zones are in the Upper Devonian formation and are known locally as the D-2 zone and D-3 zone, respectively (see Figure 1).The D-3 zone is a dolomitized reef with fair average porosity and permeability, and shows considerable evidence of vertical fracturing. Porosity is mainly due to moderately uniform development of vugs which are interconnected by small crevices. However, the formation is known to be, locally, extremely vuggy and in places cavernous. These latter conditions create very serious drilling problems due to the hazard of loss of circulation, particularly in the gas cap, which has a maximum thickness of 200 feet. The D-3 zone is contacted at an average depth of 5,300 feet."

Jan 1, 1950

By J. Coffin, M. Muinonen, D. Fragomeni, R. Multani, C. Deredin

"Rejection of pyrrhotite from pentlandite is of critical importance to the economics of nickel concentrate production and the main goal of the Strathcona milling operations. A joint team of XPS, Glencore Technology and Strathcona Mill personnel executed a comprehensive program of work to develop and implement strategies for increased Po rejection with focus on challenging ores containing high feed Po/Pn ratios (> 7) and significant hexagonal Po content (> 40% of total Po). This paper describes the team results including minerology, bench-scale flotation tests, and plant validation tests and modeling that have defined the path forward to improving the metallurgical performance and economics of the mill operation. Techniques to quantify hexagonal and monoclinic pyrrhotites were developed at XPS to assess the differences in their metallurgical behavior since their flotation responses are quite different. Mineralogical tools including QEMScan were extensively used to determine mineral liberation, associations, optimum grind size, and nickel deportment into pentlandite, pyrrhotite and non-sulphide gangue. Several reagents/strategies were evaluated during bench-scale flotation testing to significantly increase Po rejection. A significant shift in the Po-Pn selectivity and grade recovery curves was achieved using several strategies including the use of DETA and sodium metabisulfite, and regrind of the rougher concentrate and rougher cleaner/rougher tails.INTRODUCTION The Strathcona Mill is owned and operated by Glencore Nickel – Sudbury Integrated Nickel Operations and has been processing Ni-Cu ores from the Sudbury Basin since 1968 (valuable sulphides: pentlandite (Pn) – (Ni,Fe)9S8 and chalcopyrite (Cp) – CuFeS2). Currently Strathcona Mill receives ore mined from two main sources in the Sudbury area and produces two concentrate streams – a nickel-copper concentrate that is shipped to the Sudbury Smelter and a copper concentrate that is sent to the Fonderie Horne (Glencore Copper, Rouyn-Noranda). The general flowsheet currently used at Strathcona is displayed in Figure 1. It is highlighted by separate feed circuits for regular grade Ni ores and high grade copper ores. The copper circuit has a preflotation stage prior to a rougher-scavenger stage, a copper-nickel separation circuit, and a pyrrhotite (Po) rejection circuit."

Jan 1, 2018

By Dr. Ralph W. Edie

The limestone reef reservoir at Swan Hills consists essentially of a "buildup" of successively smaller atoll-like layers. Precipitation of calcium carbonate within the lagoonal area of each layer essentially kept pace with growth of the outer organic lattice. Within the reef mass, six de-positional environments characterized by specific suites of fossils (or fossil fragments) and associated limestone textures are recognized as follows: ( 1) Aerated moderately agitated water of normal marine salinity (widespread shelf or submerged reef-built platform). Thamnopora-type corals, Amphipora, "pancake" stroma-toporoids, crinoids, articulate bra-chiopods, rare rugose cup corals, and ostracods occurs in light gray-buff skeletal microgranular limestone of low permeability. (2) Semi-stagnant quiet water of normal marine salinity (leeward side of reef). Crinoids, articulate brachio-pods, rare thamnopora-type corals, Amphipora, pancake and bulbous stromatoporoids, rugose cup corals, ostracods and gastropods occur in impermeable dark brown argillaceous skeletal calcilutite with thin black bituminous shale beds and rare dark chert nodules.

Jan 1, 1961

By P. G. Lazenby

This paper describes the latest instrumentation improvements in the INPUT Airborne E.M. System, particularly the new electronic signal-processing techniques. Several anomaly examples illustrating these techniques are shown.

Jan 1, 1973

By P. Favreau

"This paper describes the progress accomplished at the Noranda Technology Centre in the field of three-dimensional computer-aided underground blast design. Traditional methods of laying out underground blasts are reviewed, and the new computer-aided approach is described. Time savings achieved through the use of BLASTCAD can be advantageously used to better engineer blasts, using models and blast vibration analysis. Future work involving the attachment of blast models directly to the system is also addressed.IntroductionThe Noranda Technology Centre's (NTC) Environment and Mining Laboratory, in cooperation with the mining operations of the Noranda Group, is committed to the development and implementation of new technologies in the field of mineral extraction . Within the frame of its research program, the Blasting Technology Program is developing computer "" tools"" designed to assist the blasting engineer or technician. These computer "" tools"" are regrouped under a global software system called BLASTCAD.The BLASTCAD project started in 1990 at NTC. At that time computer programs designed to calculate and model various blasting parameters had been accumulated. These programs cam e from different sources and were mutually incompatible. Furthermore, they were developed as research programs with tittle effort spent on user interface. These programs are very useful, but are highly specialized, need large input files and can be quite tedious to use as ""standalone"" packages .Therefore, the situation being faced was one where all these programs were available at the Noranda Technology Centre, but not a t the operations. The two following options were then considered: 1. continue to run all the models and programs at the Noranda Technology Centre, and present results through reports to the mines, or2. regroup all the different programs under a single one that would make them share the same data base and be transported to the user. This second option is the one that was adopted; the result is BLASTCAD."

Jan 1, 1993

By T. Krumins, L. Zunti, R. Frischmuth

Mercury is known to occur in sulphide-bearing refractory gold deposits in the form of sulphide minerals or elemental inclusions. These deposits typically require an oxidative pre-treatment process, such as pressure oxidation or roasting, to achieve economic gold recovery. However, these processes also have the potential to liberate mercury, a portion of which may then be released to the environment through gaseous emissions. Mercury emissions from mine processing operations have been of particular interest in recent years, as governments impose lower emission targets and organizations adopt better industry practices to reduce the environmental and health aspects of releasing mercury into the environment. This paper describes various mercury removal technologies with respect to pressure oxidation gas handling circuits, with a focus on key design variables and technology selection criteria.

Jan 1, 2014

The Bluebell mine of The Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company of Canada Limited extends under Kootenay lake, in southern British Columbia, and water control underground has always been a major problem. This paper gives a brief history of the operation, and then de-scribes the methods used by Cominco to keep the combination of lake seepage, ground water and thermal spring water under control. The pumping arrangements are de-scribed in considerable detail, with illustrations to show the various stages of development, and the power supply sys-tem is outlined.

Jan 1, 1966

By Cristina Echavarría

MAIN POINTS ? The region: opportunities and limitations ? Overview of main issues emerging from MMSD in South America ? Who comprises the local community? ? What are the main challenges? ? Some suggestions for companies to improve their contribution to local sustainable development of mineral rich localities THE REGIONAL CONTEXT 1. The region is a producer of minerals contributing over 20% to world metal production. It consumes only 8% 2. Significant diversity of national contexts-both between countries and within countries 3. Variable but predominant need for strengthening of government and community institutions and governance, especially at the local level 4. Dearth of baseline information for decision making 5. Sustained social spending during early 90?s as a consequence of economic recovery and fiscal policy, produced important advances in education and health 6. Despite government efforts in most countries poverty continues growing 7. Highly inequitable distribution of wealth persists

May 1, 2002

By M. Kreuh

Crystalline Mg(OH)Cl and amorphous Mg2(OH)3C1 were successfully isolated from a hydrolyzed molten salt electrolyte sample in this work, It was found that the chemical form and crystallinity of the hydroxylchloride were controlled by the cooling rate of the molten sample when it was taken. Crystalline Mg(OH)Cl could only be obtained by cooling the molten electrolyte sample at a rate not faster than 0.6 °C/min, Upon more rapid cooling, the hydroxylchloride species precipitated as Mg2(OH)3Cl, The behavior of these solid hydroxylchlorides when contacted with fresh and non-hydrolyzed molten electrolyte at 550°C was also examined, It was found that the Mg(OH)Cl rapidly dissolved in the hot electrolyte and did not decompose into MgO at that temperature as would be expected from the literature, The dissolution rate of solid Mg2(OH)3Cl was found to be so slow by comparison that it resulted in the complete decomposition into MgO which thereafter was incorporated into the electrolyte as a suspended solid phase rather than dissolution.

Jan 1, 2004

By M. Gangal, M. Grenier, D. Mchaina, S. Hardcastle

"Exposure to airborne respirable silica in surface and underground mine operations is known to be the cause of industrial lung diseases. For this reason, silica is a regulated substance and worker exposure must be monitored regularly. Diesel exhaust also contains substances which are potential caricinogens. In an underground setting, diesel particulate may be the main component of what is referred to as respirable combustible dust (ReD). Although diesel particulate or soot is not at present a rigorously regulated substance, new epidemiological data is prompting North American institutes and agencies to regulate diesel soot or RCD exposure. This paper describes a method where by silicaand RCD exposure may be determined using a single personal sample. In this method, an airborne respirable dust sample is obtained and analyzed nondestructively for silica components using an on-filter X-ray diffraction method. Filters are then ashed at 500°C in a muffle furnace over a four-hour period to determine mass loss due to RCD burning. Using on-filter X-ray diffraction analysis as opposed to redeposition of dust samples onto another analytical substrate allows the"

Jan 1, 1992

By J. Pepin

When using alternating current submerged arc welding (SAW) to produce pipes from microalloyed linepipe steels, it is critical to balance penetration depth and deposition rates, in order to minimize the number of weld passes while still maintaining good heat affected zone (HAZ) microstructures and properties. A series of bead-on-plate (BOP) submerged arc welds were performed on X70 steel, using different waveform variable settings (i.e., balance, offset and frequency). Weld bead cross-section profile deposition and penetration areas were measured, and both Vickers hardness and Charpy V-notch impact testing were performed. Both single electrode and tandem electrode welds were evaluated.

Jan 1, 2011