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By S. G. Ozkan

An investigation was carried out into the effect of physical parameters, such as particle size of the sample, residence time, solid/liquid ratio and impeller speed in the flotation cell, on the solubility in soft tap-water of colemanite (calcium-bearing borate) from Emet, in Turkey. Solubility increased steadily with residence time from 5 to 20 min but only minimally thereafter. There was a similar increase with impeller speed from 500 to 1 500 rev/min, beyond which a solubility of around 1.05 g/l was again established. There was a slight decline in solubility as the solid/liquid ratio was increased from 1 to 30%, with stable values around 1.05 g/l at a 20% ratio, while a sharp decrease was observed with decrease in size down to the -20 micrometre fraction. The effect of solubility should be taken into account if the application of a wet-processing method is being considered for the ore, while it can also result in losses of material during handling and storage

Jun 21, 1905

By P. E. J. Pitfield, S. D. G. Campbell

The regional shear zone runs along or near the southern margin of the Chinhoyi greenstone belt. It hosts four of the seven mines in the southern part of the belt with recorded production above 100 kg Au, including the top two current producers. Displacement occurred in the late Archaean, producing a shear zone with a trend ranging from northeast at Golden Kopje to east at Muriel. The orebodies at the two mines formed synchronously with the shearing and show strong but contrasting structural controls on mineralisation. The Golden Kopje orebodies plunge to the southwest, parallel to the intersection of curved foliation with discrete shear planes and sub-perpendicular to local stretching lineations. The Muriel orebodies plunge steeply west but parallel to local stretching lineations. The greatest fluid flow during mineralisation of the shear zone was along either the intersection of fabrics (Golden Kopje) or the extension direction (Muriel). There is no unique relation between the orebodies and the extension or shear direction. Where earlier mining has not established the directions of the oreshoots it is essential to understand the possible structurally controlled geometries of orebodies before planning a drilling programme to evaluate their potential

Apr 1, 1996

By A. D. Fowler, M. T. Anderson

A phenomenological model is presented that relates Pb-Zn mineralisation to proximal geopressure zones. Typically, geopressure zones (GPZ) consist of masses of undercompacted sediment encapsulated within impermeable shales and are characterised by high formation fluid pressures. Heat flow is perturbed in some GPZ on account of their insulating properties. Geothermal gradients as high as 150 degrees C/km have been observed over short distances in the sediments of the US coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Some modern geopressure zones are known to reach temperatures of 120-150 degrees C at depths of 2.5-3.5 km. It is demonstrated that the zones may act as proximal sources of hydrothermal fluids, thus explaining the high temperatures of mineralisation observed in the deposits, which are hosted in basins characterised by thick, rapidly deposited, shale-rich clastic sequences

Jan 1, 1991

By I. Marklund, W. Hustrulid

Sublevel caving is likely to remain the dominant system at both Malmberget and Kiruna for the foreseeable future. The sub-level interval has increased from 12 m in 1983 to 30 m, requiring more effective drifting and the development of a contour blasting technique to reduce requirements for rock reinforcement. Production drilling is mainly by hydraulic hammers or water-powered in-the-hole machines drilling 115 m diameter holes. Loading operations are undertaken 7 days/week with 15-25 tonne capacity electric shovels. Production has increased by nearly 70% since 1983 and productivity has risen threefold

Dec 1, 1995

By M. J. Scoble, L. M. Daneshmend, C. Hendricks

Paper presented at a meeting on: Artificial intelligence in the minerals sector, held in Nottingham, UK, 20 April 1993. An attempt is made to relate emerging technologies to education and training requirements by examining the nature of the Canadian mining industry's human resources. Particular attention is given to the trends evident in mine automation and their likely impact on instructional needs. The characteristics of "computer-aided instruction" systems are reviewed and related to the implementation and support of mine-wide monitoring and communication networks, which are seen as fundamental to the eventual automation of underground hardrock mines

Apr 1, 1994

By S. Henley

Paper presented at a meeting on: Artificial intelligence in the minerals sector, held in Nottingham, UK, 20 April 1993 (original title: The database: a pre-requisite for large-scale use of AI in mining). Artificial intelligence is a term which has been widely applied to different techniques including rule-based systems using inductive and deductive logic algorithms, neural networks, learning systems and genetic algorithms. In principle it should be applied to adaptive statistical techniques. Some of these applications have been coded in languages which are specifically suited to the novel requirements of AI but are not easy to integrate with more traditional computing methods. Efforts have been made to bridge the gaps, particularly with database management systems and such efforts at integration should provide the key to future success in the application of AI. A field which has been termed "knowledge engineering" cannot be credible as such if it fails to provide easy access to raw materials of "knowledge" i.e. the data residing in databases. In the mining industry there are a number of significant areas in which AI could usefully be applied throughout the industry, but its advance is slow because of the lack or inefficiency of such database links. Current development of object-oriented database systems for geology and mining holds out hope for such integration in the foreseeable future

Apr 1, 1994

By A. M. R. Neiva

The WNW-ESE-trending hydrothermal veins cut alternating mica schists and quartzites of mainly Ordovician age and, to the west, a Hercynian muscovite-biotite granite. They have been prospected and developed to a depth of 300 m and reserves of 20 t Au estimated. The paragenetic sequence and chemical compositions of the ore minerals are generally similar to those at Jales to the south. Gold, electrum and aurian silver form inclusions in arsenopyrite, pyrite, galena, sphalerite, pyrrhotite and quartz and also occur in veinlets that cut these minerals. Silver has been found in gold, electrum, aurian silver, tetrahedrite, freibergite and the Ag-Pb-Sb sulphide owyheeite. Early arsenopyrite crystallised at an estimated 480 degrees C and the more common, later arsenopyrite in which Au and Ag are generally included at 430-300 degrees C. Sphalerite crystallised at 307-100 degrees C. Monoclinic pyrrhotite may have been formed by the inversion of hexagonal pyrrhotite at 248 degrees C

Jun 16, 1905

By P. E. J. Pitfield, S. D. G. Campbell

The regional structure of shear and deformation zones in the belt, which is recognisable in plan view on Landsat TM images, is interpreted in terms of a conjugate-shear model. Gold mineralisation is related to this framework at a variety of scales. The principal recurrent structural geometries hosting deposits at mines such as Motapa, Durban, Charliesona, Cecil, Sunace, Turk group, Queens district, How, Peter Pat, Matabele Sheba, Goodenough, Old Nic and Bushtick are associated with shear zones and folds and include conjugate systems (shears, shear intersections, kink sets), side-step systems (en echelon segmentation, duplexes, monoclinal inflections, antiform-synform couplets) and interactions of the two. Linear sections of shear zones are generally poorly mineralised. The same geometries are identifiable on all scales from local to regional, so sections of regional structural lineaments or areas within mines should be prioritised for further investigation or development on the basis of the gold-bearing geometries observed to be dominant locally

Apr 1, 1996

By M. K. G. Whateley, W. Hatton

Paper presented at the conference: Risk assessment in the extractive industries, held in Exeter, UK, 23-24 March 1994, and first published London: IMM, 1994, preprint volume, 20pp., 31 refs. Estimates of coal tonnage on UK open cast mining sites often vary from the recoverable tonnage. This is because the estimates depend on the geological variability of the coal measures. Geological parameters, such as thickness, quality and disturbance of the seam, have a direct control upon this variance. Risk analysis techniques have been applied using commercially available software to combine each parameter's variability into a cumulative variance, resulting in a tonnage distribution. Sensitivity modelling has also been used to identify the geological parameters which have the largest influence on the variance of the simulated tonnage distribution. An understanding of the relationship between the tonnage and geological variability has helped to focus exploration more efficiently. A cost to risk relationship can now be monitored, helping management to avoid negative consequences on site

Aug 1, 1995

By H. Y. Sohn, Hang Goo Kim

Computer simulations were carried out using calcium ferrite slags containing 25 wt% CaO, and the results compared with those obtained using fayalite slags. There was little difference in overall elimination of Pb and Bi, but elimination of Sb and As was much lower with calcium ferrite slag. When calcium ferrite slag is used only in the converting stage and fayalite slag in the smelting stage, as in the Mitsubishi process, the contents of Sb and As in the blister copper can be kept to reasonable levels. This allows advantage to be taken of the considerably higher iron oxide-holding capacity of calcium ferrite slag than of fayalite slag at the high oxygen potential under converting conditions, thus preventing precipitation of magnetite. Satisfactory agreement was obtained between predicted values and observed data from a Mitsubishi converter

Jun 18, 1905

By A. P. Whittlestone, J. D. Johnson, R. J. Pine, M. E. Rogers

standpoint. The effect on efficiency of collisions

Apr 1, 1995

By K. C. Garner

The visit reported was made with support from the 1997 J.C. Boyle travelling scholarship. The management and control of hazardous gases released into the underground environment are an integral part of coal mining. The power-generations stations at Appin and Tower collieries, with a combined electrical output of 94 MW, have been operating for some time and have demonstrated a technology that is able to exploit the available gas fully. Contributory factors have been the development and introduction of directional drilling techniques, pre- and post-drainage of coal, relatively high seam permeability, a high gas content of the worked seam, high production rates and a willingness to embrace new ideas and technology

Jun 21, 1905

By R. Lahtinen, M. Tiainen, R. Salminen

The application of similarity analysis derived from regional geochemical mapping data to the location of Ni-bearing intrusions was tested in southwest Finland, where a well-known nickel belt is situated. Samples of till from the vicinity of the Vammala and Kylmakoski Ni-Cu deposits, which were collected independently of the Geological Survey of Finland's regional geochemical mapping programme, were used to provide geochemical modelling data. The data consist of the aqua regia-leachable concentrations of 20 elements from the less than 0.06-mm fraction of glacial till. The variables used in the similarity analysis were selected on the basis of a factor analysis in which the method of oblique rotation was used. A hierarchical clustering of the modelling samples produced two main groups. The first group was described as the "nickel deposit environment model" and the second as the "nickel deposit location model". The data for the standardised variables were compared sample by sample with the model data by similarity analysis using the Simana program with a cos theta measure of pattern similarity. The nickel deposit environment model delineated the known Ni belt and indicated an extension to the east. The nickel deposit location model identified target areas of reasonable size with the greatest potential for Ni ores within the nickel belt

Dec 1, 1991

By B. E. Burakov, S. D. Lupal, O. A. R. Thalhammer, B. Saini-Eidukat

Electric-pulse disintegration is a mineral separation technique that liberates all mineral grains from any igneous or metamorphic rock irrespective of its lithology or grain-size distribution. The normal mechanical crushing of whole-rock samples is replaced by the rending effect of an explosion, produced by applying an electric current from a high-voltage power source. A voltage greater than the 100 kV necessary for the electrical breakdown of rock samples is achieved by using capacitors charged in parallel, but discharged in series. The sample sits in a water bath and the rapid distribution of electric pulses leads to an explosion which occurs preferentially along grain boundaries of the sample. Individual, undamaged mineral grains can be recovered in their original shape and form regardless of grain size. Examples are given of the liberation and concentration of important accessory minerals from different rock types. The examples show the recovery of diamond from two types of non-kimberlitic host rock in Popigai and Kumdykol in Kazakhstan and platinum group minerals associated with chromitites from the Konjdor intrusion and sulphides from intrusions in the Kola Peninsula in Russia

Apr 1, 1995

By A. E. Tercan, D. Mamurekli

Ordinary kriging on the assumption of a gaussian error distribution and indicator kriging were used to derive the probability that a given calorific value would or would not be exceeded by coal from an area of a deposit. The two techniques led to similar probability maps despite local differences; the lack of an absolute reference makes it impossible to judge which method is better for this particular application

Jun 19, 1905

By M. R. Smith, H. Kanli

The impact crusher is a popular device for producing crushed aggregates from non-abrasive rocks such as limestones, offering the advantages of high reduction ratios and relatively low installed costs. To extend the application of a process-flowsheet simulator to the quarrying industry, a mathematical model of an impact crusher was therefore developed using the general crusher models of Andersen and Whiten as a basis

Aug 1, 1995

By G. Adachi, K. Machida, T. Ozaki, K. Murase

The chlorination rate with CCl4 was unexpectedly slower than carbochlorination using chlorine under the same reaction conditions. Chlorination with CCl4 was topochemical and the amount of monazite reacted after different periods suggested that the kinetic control step was the reaction between CCl4 and the monazite core at the interface. The kinetic order of the reaction was 0.5. The presence of a complex former, AlCl3, promoted the chemical vapour transport of rare-earth chlorides as complexes

Jun 18, 1905

By Y. Ichihara, H. Matsumoto, K. Itakura, H. Eguchi, G. Deguchi, K. Sato

Mechanical data from a rockbolt drilling machine, such as torque, thrust, revolution and stroke, are useful for understanding the geological and geomechanical conditions around roadways and hence selecting the optimum bolt type and density. Laboratory experiments showed that the level of torque or thrust reflects differences in rock type, with separation of strata and cracks appearing as a specific pattern. Algorithms of neural networks based on adaptive resonance theory and back-propagation were used to extract the pattern and estimate the location of discontinuities. For field testing in an underground coal mine, a prototype data acquisition system was attached to a portable drilling machine. Several sets of logging data from one locality were combined to construct a two-dimensional model of the strata, from which the slope angles of discontinuity faces could be estimated

Jun 19, 1905

By J. S. Coats, G. E. Patts, N. Hughes

Conventional sampling methods are known to suffer from the variable loss of fine gold by elutriation. Freeze sampling yields representative and quantitative data that, when combined with information on the sedimentology of gravel-bed rivers, may facilitate the development of improved dispersion models for source detection. It is suggested that freeze sampling may have particular application to the orientation stage of a large gold exploration survey

Jan 1, 1991

During the construction of storage caverns, and during their lifetime if the use to which they are put so requires, it is necessary to provide adequate ventilation to ensure the safety and comfort of the underground workforce. An analysis of likely contaminants during construction has indicated that where a large facility is situated in a rock mass of even moderate temperature climatic conditions are likely to be the limiting factor during most of the mining operation and atmospheric pollution when blasting is undertaken. Possible options for improvement are increased air flow, cooling of intake air and reduction of the heat source by altering the number and type of haulage units employed in the cavern. Local solutions are an alternative approach where heat problems are confined to a few specific locations

Aug 1, 1994