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By V. R. Degner

The minerals industry trend toward very flotation machines, exceeding 10 m3, began in the late 1960's and responds to the continuing desire to achieve better plant economics through improved plant floor-space utilization, power requirements, and operational /maintenance manpower heeds. In general, as process design tonnage increases, the benefits of the larger flotation machine becomes more evident. The development of the larger flotation machine can be distingushed from earlier, smaller, machines in demanding a rational "scale-up" procedure to guide the basic design, thereby producing a machine prototype capable of satisfactory-operational evaluation at minimum cost. Proven flotation machine "hydrodynamic" scale-up consideration, successfully applied in the development of both the WEMCO No. 164 (28.3 m3) and No. 190 (42.5 m3) machine will be reviewed, and the resulting economic benefits of large flotation machines in high tonnage applications will be summarized.

Jan 1, 1985

By M. R. Hieb, J. R. Britt, S. P. Harteis, M. J. Sapko, E. S. Weiss, R. K. Zipf

The design requirements for mine ventilation seals have undergone a radical transformation in recent years, and these revisions have greatly increased the cost of the seal designs and their construction. For example, in the past two years, new federal regulations have increased the minimum design requirement to withstand explosion pressures from 138 kPa (20 psig) to 345 kPa (50 psig) or 827 kPa (120 psig), depending on whether the sealed mine volume is monitored continuously or not. Moreover, there is still a possibility that under certain conditions (such as detonations), even higher pressure requirements may be necessary. The ability of a monolithic, stand-alone mine seal to reliably withstand the full range of possible explosion pressures is becoming increasingly difficult and expensive. In an effort to develop a practical alternative, the West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health Safety and Training (WVOMHST) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) have collaborated in a research effort to develop a practical, economic and safe mine sealing technique that can enable mine seals to meet the full range of new explosion pressure design requirements. The basic idea is to use a barrier of common mine gob and rubble, in combination with a conventional mine seal, so that the pressure resulting from a gas explosion is reflected, absorbed and attenuated, and the pressure on the ventilation seal is reduced. This paper discusses some concepts and preliminary test results for a “passive mine blast attenuator” (PMBA) that can provide a useful alternative to increasingly larger and stronger stand-alone mine seals. Numerical models and full-scale experiments conducted at the NIOSH Lake Lynn Laboratory Experimental Mine (LLEM) show that the use of a PMBA can signficantly reduce the blast pressure and impulse on conventional ventilation seals.

Jan 1, 2009

By A. Noble

Linear circuit analysis (LCA) is a fundamental tool which has been used to evaluate mineral separation circuits during the preliminary design phase. Traditionally, the LCA methodology uses the analytic circuit solution to determine the relative slope of the circuit?s partition curve. This value is then used as an indicative performance measure suitable for the comparison and ranking of alternative circuit configurations. Unfortunately, the partition curve slope only reflects the separation potential of middling material. In most mineral systems, this material represents a small portion of the initial feed (due to liberation) as well as a small portion of the revenue potential (due to the incremental value). Respecting these limitations, the authors have developed new separation performance indicators which may be derived from the analytical circuit solution and used in LCA problems. These indicators inherently reflect the separation potential of pure material, providing a better indication of lost revenue due to misplaced material. The complete methodology has been integrated with prior software to produce the Heuristic Optimizer for Resource Separation Economics (HORSE).

Feb 23, 2014

By Allan G. Provost

Shaft construction is assuming ever increasing importance when new mining enterprises are considered. The reasons for this increased emphasis is the much greater depths at which many new ore-bodies are being developed and the rapid depletion of near surface reserves requiring mines to go to greater depths on existing deposits. These greater depths increase the probability of exposure to unfavorable geologic conditions and it is more likely that high ground and/or water pressures will be experienced at these depths. The large capital costs involved and the critical position of a shaft in the overall mining program necessitate that this element of project development be given careful and critical consideration. The Henderson No. 2 Shaft is located in the Rocky Mountains of north central Colorado (See Figure I), about 55 miles west of Denver, near the community of Empire in Clear Creek County. At the 10, 442 foot collar elevation, winter arrives in late September and brings snow to contend with until May. The labor force for Shaft No. 2 is approximately 90 men. They are provided access to the project via all-weather U. S. Highway 40. SHAFT DESIGN The Henderson No. 2 Shaft is a 28-foot I. D. circular, concrete lined (1 foot thick) vertical shaft. The final depth will be approximately 3100 feet

Jan 1, 1972

By Paul H. Rylund

Substantial priming was a considered necessity for proper initiation of ammonium nitrate-fuel oil mixes as ANFO began to carve its niche in the mining industry in the latter fifties. Heavy priming accompanied the introduction of prills and oil to many blasting operations, large charges of high explosives were commonly used at the bottom, top and frequent intervals through-out the column. As the quality of ammonium nitrate improved and operators became more experienced, primer costs began to diminish. Increased experimentation continued with reduced primer costs a main objective. Cast primers were introduced and became accepted as an excellent companion for ANFO. Although the trend toward larger diameter boreholes became increasingly popular, emphasis on lower and lower priming costs continued. A primer was simply required to produce any type of initiation within the ANFO column to be considered adequate. Suddenly ANFO priming had digressed from excessive to marginal. Early experimental data developed at "test site" and laboratory locations indicated that ANFO had a tendency to react inefficiently in the initiation region of the column unless substantially primed. This was evidenced by the presence of unstable reaction rates detected with newly developed detonation velocity measuring equipment. These 10" order or "transient" velocities were believed to originate because of inadequate primer strength or a primer diameter to column diameter mismatch. How-

Jan 1, 1972

By S. J. Schatzel, R. B. Krog, H. Dougherty

Longwall face ventilation is an important component of the overall coal mine ventilation system. Increased production rates due to higher-capacity mining equipment tend to also increase methane emission rates from the coal face, which must be diluted by the face ventilation. Increases in panel length, with some mines exceeding 6,100 m (20,000 ft), and panel width provide additional challenges to face ventilation designs. To assess the effectiveness of current face ventilation practices at a study site, a face monitoring study with continuous monitoring of methane concentrations and automated recording of longwall shearer activity was combined with a tracer gas test on a longwall face. The study was conducted at a U.S. longwall mine operating in a thick, bituminous coal seam and using a U-type, bleederless ventilation system. Multiple gob gas ventholes were located near the longwall face. These boreholes had some unusual design concepts, including a system of manifolds to modify borehole vacuum and flow and completion depths close to the horizon of the mined coalbed that enabled direct communication with the mine atmosphere. The mine operator also had the capacity to inject nitrogen into the longwall gob, which occurred during the monitoring study. The results show that emission rates on the longwall face showed a very limited increase in methane concentrations from headgate to tailgate despite the occurrence of methane delays during monitoring. Average face air velocities were 3.03 m/s (596 fpm) at shield 57 and 2.20 m/s (433 fpm) at shield 165. The time required for the sulfur hexafluoride (SF6 ) peak to occur at each monitoring location has been interpreted as being representative of the movement of the tracer slug. The rate of movement of the slug was much slower in reaching the first monitoring location at shield 57 compared with the other face locations. This lower rate of movement, compared with the main face ventilation, is thought to be the product of a flow path within and behind the shields that is moving in the general direction of the headgate to the tailgate. Barometric pressure variations were pronounced over the course of the study and varied on a diurnal basis.

Jan 1, 2018

By S. J. Schatzel, R. B. Krog, H. Dougherty

Longwall face ventilation is an important component of the overall coal mine ventilation system. Increased production rates due to higher-capacity mining equipment tend to also increase methane emission rates from the coal face, which must be diluted by the face ventilation. Increases in panel length, with some mines exceeding 6,100 m (20,000 ft), and panel width provide additional challenges to face ventilation designs. To assess the effectiveness of current face ventilation practices at a study site, a face monitoring study with continuous monitoring of methane concentrations and automated recording of longwall shearer activity was combined with a tracer gas test on a longwall face. The study was conducted at a U.S. longwall mine operating in a thick, bituminous coal seam and using a U-type, bleederless ventilation system. Multiple gob gas ventholes were located near the longwall face. These boreholes had some unusual design concepts, including a system of manifolds to modify borehole vacuum and flow and completion depths close to the horizon of the mined coalbed that enabled direct communication with the mine atmosphere. The mine operator also had the capacity to inject nitrogen into the longwall gob, which occurred during the monitoring study. The results show that emission rates on the longwall face showed a very limited increase in methane concentrations from headgate to tailgate despite the occurrence of methane delays during monitoring. Average face air velocities were 3.03 m/s (596 fpm) at shield 57 and 2.20 m/s (433 fpm) at shield 165. The time required for the sulfur hexafluoride (SF6 ) peak to occur at each monitoring location has been interpreted as being representative of the movement of the tracer slug. The rate of movement of the slug was much slower in reaching the first monitoring location at shield 57 compared with the other face locations. This lower rate of movement, compared with the main face ventilation, is thought to be the product of a flow path within and behind the shields that is moving in the general direction of the headgate to the tailgate. Barometric pressure variations were pronounced over the course of the study and varied on a diurnal basis.

Jan 1, 2017

By David B. Brooks

I gratefully acknowledge the help of a number of American and Canadian geologists, in both federal surveys and in private firms, who took the time to discuss this problem with me. Hans Landsberg and Bruce Netschert also followed the study with interest and encouragement. In their 1961 monograph, THE FUTURE SUPPLY OF THE MAJOR METALS, Bruce Netschert and Hans Landsberg noted that identified potential resources (that is, known but submarginal resources) of lead and zinc were much lower relative to reserves (that is, known and supermarginal resources) than was the same ratio for other metals.1/ Put another way, it seemed that for such metals as iron, manganese, copper, and aluminum, slightly more favorable economic conditions or modest advances in technology would greatly increase reserves by permitting the exploitation of vest quantities of leaner or deeper or otherwise less valuable mineral deposits. But for lead and zinc, Netschert and Landsberg concluded that either: "(1) there is relatively little material below present cutoff grades; [or] (2) such material exists, but for some reason there are no data.? 2/ This situation, which they called "the lead-zinc anomaly" has been subsequently discussed by other authors. The purpose of this paper is to carry the discussion further by examining the evidence in favor of (1) and (2) and by advancing a third alternative.

Jan 1, 1967

By Cary Hirner, Sarah Lothman, Chris Mueller, Savita Schlesinger, Mike Hanna, Ian Fitz-James

Loudoun Water is currently implementing a quarry to reservoir conversion that will improve water supply reliability in periods of drought and flexibility in water supply operations when turbidity in its Potomac River supplies are high. The Milestone Reservoir Project consists of an inter-tie to the existing Potomac River Pipeline; new pipeline and tunnel; and a pumped intake and outlet works. Planned construction involves significant risks due to underground conditions which includes hard, igneous rock and high groundwater at the creek crossing. In addition, the site is constrained by Goose Creek, an adjacent residence, active mining in a quarry next to the new reservoir, public use of adjacent park space, and the Washington and Old Dominion Trail. Working with these constraints will require close coordination with active mining operations and public and private property owners. Safety of personnel involved with construction also represents a concern with quarry high walls over 30 meters in height near the planned construction. In consideration of key projects risks, Loudoun Water determined that an innovative CMAR delivery approach provided the best opportunity to achieve its goals in quality, innovation, front-end cost and schedule certainty, and operational flexibility and reliability. What matters most to Loudoun Water is the value in having a builder participate in the design process where key decisions can be made based on consideration of risks, cost, schedule, quality, and operability and maintainability of the system. While a progressive design-build delivery model may have produced similar outcomes, Loudoun Water had already invested in substantial development of the design for the work, and ultimately, CMAR provided Loudoun Water the opportunity to retain the partnership with the design team while gaining valuable input from a contractor. Among the challenges with CMAR in the Commonwealth of Virginia is a substantial limitation on self-performance corresponding to 10 percent of the construction value of the work. A significant industry outreach program was initiated by Loudoun Water to encourage participation with incentives in contract terms that allowed for the CMAR Contractor to make a reasonable profit. This paper reviews the CMAR procurement process and discusses contract incentives that were adopted to promote the work within the constraints of contract law in Virginia.

Jun 13, 2021

By Robert W. Row

The run-of-mine coals in the U.S. being fed to coal cleaning plants have become increasingly finer due to the adoption of modern, mechanized mining methods, and economics are dictating that finer fractions, as well as the coarser fractions, be cleaned. Traditional dewatering methods (vacuum disc filters and centrifuges) are proving inadequate for preparing fine refuse for disposal or fine coal product for downstream handling. The Electric Power Research Institute has been supporting research into the nature and limitations of mechanical dewatering, and novel ways of improving it. The efficiency of various silicone-based chemicals at aiding dewatering was investigated, and it was shown that the final moisture content of hydrophilic coals after vacuum Filtration could be reduced by 1 to 5% with up to 40% increase in filtration rate by addition of one of several of these silicones. EPRI also has an on-going program at its Coal Cleaning Test Facility to investigate the performance of the Larox pressure filter in comparison with that of the disc filter and solid bowl centrifuge. While improvements to the dewatering performance currently being obtained in existing operating plants by such means are achieveable, a fundamental study has shown that, regardless of changes in operating conditions, there may be a limit to the lowest cake moisture content attainable by mechanical dewatering of a given sample of coal fines. Determination of this limit for a specific coal would be useful in designing facilities to dry and handle it.

Jan 1, 1984

By Duane L. Abata

This paper discusses recent technology dealing with the use of computer graphics in the mining industry and presents a newly developed computer software package specifically designed for use in underground mining operations. This software package, developed under a United States Bureau of Mines contract, 1) displays mine ventilation schematics and other representative illustrations for a real time data acquisition system and 2) utilizes the Bureau-owned Minefire and Ventilation Code for display of ventilation and contamination predictions on the microprocessor system. The package utilizes a unique system of display indexing that provides a simple yet efficient method of recalling a series of mine schematics detailing an underground operation and an alarm acknowledgement scheme that provides an effective method of identifying problem areas which may exist in the mine network. The package was written in Fortran for a 64 kilobyte, Z80-based microprocessor-computer.

Jan 1, 1984

By Simón Díaz‑Quezada, Ernesto Arancibia, HUMBERTO ESTAY, Tomás Vargas

In situ leaching (ISL) is an attractive technique that enables copper recovery from copper oxide ores that are either low-grade or located at depths too great to be economically exploited through conventional methods. At present, in situ leaching (ISL) has been applied to intact copper oxide ores, in particular, those which (i) present a good natural permeability and (ii) do not require preconditioning. Many copper oxide ores present low natural permeability. These are located above the water table and need preconditioning for the ISL application. The present work shows an economic assessment of the application of ISL to this type of copper ores. The preconditioning technique considered here involves the application of partial mining by sublevel stoping by removing a small fraction of the ore. This technique results in forming an ore bed with good permeability and good solution collection at the stope base. The economic assessment of this approach suggests that it can be implemented with positive net present values to copper oxide ores located at depths in the 100–300 m range, with copper grades above 0.4%. The maximum acid consumption values are below 52.5 kg/t, with blasting procedures designed to produce an ore bed with an average particle size below 6″. The breakdown of operational costs indicates that the mining cost is still very high, accounting for up to 60% of the total operating costs. Therefore, optimizing mining procedures is still necessary for improving the economic outlook of this approach and thus expanding the application field of ISL.

Feb 4, 2023

By Paul Soros

There has been a steady increase in shiploading capacities in the last 20 years. One of the reasons has been the general increase in ship sizes, with the largest vessels currently around 280,000 DWT in the bulk trades. Obviously, the large vessels can accept loads faster and their economic utilization justifies higher loading rates, up to a point. The high capacity facilities have loading rates far beyond this point. The economic logic of these facilities is based on the fact that for a given annual throughput the capital and operating cost of a single high capacity system is less than that of two smaller systems. Thus, where the projected throughputs are large, there is a great incentive to reduce capital costs by maximizing capacity. Tubarao, in Brazil, designed for a 100 million ton per year throughput with one finger pier and one high capacity berth is a successful demonstration of this approach. In the current state of the art, the high capacity systems have shiploading capacities in the range of 10,000 - 16,000 TPH, for annual throughputs of 20 million tons and larger per loading berth.

Jan 1, 1982

By R. O. Harma

Wet autogenous grinding is utilized in three iron ore concentrating plants operated by The Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company (CCI). This paper will trace some of the development in converting from the use of metal grinding mill liners to the use of rubber and will update the current performance of rubber liners in these applications. The Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company is a natural resources firm with major interests in iron ore mining and processing and oil and gas contract drilling. The company also has interests in oil shale, uranium, forest products, and Great Lakes shipping.

Jan 1, 1982

By Malte J. M Gurgel

Subsurface spatial planning is becoming increasingly important in view of competing underground applications. This development is influenced by global agreements to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, precise knowledge of the underground space is a basic prerequisite for future applications. The three-dimensional registration and reliable georeferencing of underground infrastructures can establish a holistic geodata basis for such tasks. Those tasks are discussed both for the development of energy projects such as deep geothermal energy as well as for storage applications. Research on geothermal energy has been carried out at RWTH Aachen University as part of the SuperC project in a license field in the Aachen area since 2001. Recently, this research has been extended to include monitoring aspects in the overlapping GEObservatorium Aachen field. The documentation and visualization of underground activities using photogrammetric methods like Structure from Motion is discussed based on recent research in sites for the final disposal of radioactive waste. Finally, both applications provide an outlook on supporting underground projects by using high-resolution geodata.

Feb 1, 2025

By H. D. Dahl

In January, 1969, the Central Research Division of Continental Oil Company initiated a research program on roof control. The purpose of the research was to improve roof stability. Toward this end, it was necessary to determine which of the many geological and geometrical variables have a significant effect on roof stability. The isolation of these significant variables would allow research effort to be concentrated where it would be most effective in improving roof control. The research effort was directed toward two major objectives. One was to de-fine the geological and/or geometrical parameters that affect the severity of roof conditions in any particular area of the mine. This study was concerned with roof fall intensity. The second was to define why roof falls in Humphrey No. mine (and in northern West Virginia-south-western Pennsylvania coal mining areas) are oriented so that they occur primarily in north-south rooms or entries. This study was concerned with roof fall orientation. To provide a reference framework for further discussion, a geological description of the area is presented in Part II. In Parts III and IV, the procedures, methods, and 'results of the research applied toward the afore-mentioned major objectives are presented. Part V contains the conclusions and recommendations for-warded by this study.

Jan 1, 1971

When a company like Lonmin, the third largest platinum producer in the world, is mining one of the most precious metals in the world, time is money. Every piece of equipment is expected to be in top shape because every minute of downtime can add up to lost profit. Two different types of platinum ore are mined and processed by Lonmin, namely Merensky and UG2. Merensky has a grade of 3.5 g/t (0.1 oz/st) and UG2 has a grade of 4.5 g/t (0.13 oz/st). The mine also produces platinum group metals (PGM), which consist of platinum, osmium, palladium, rhodium, iridium and ruthenium. Although South Africa has more than 80 percent of the world?s PGM reserves, these minerals are very scarce. Lonmin is considered a low-cost producer of these minerals, generating 21.5 t (694,000 oz) of platinum and 18.6 t (600,000 oz) of PGMs in 2012. So when the company?s Karee K3 concentrator plant in Rustenburg, North West Province, South Africa, was experiencing high operating costs on the transfer points, a solution was needed.

Jan 1, 2012

By Mehdi Noori, Atefeh Azizitorghabeh, Fereshteh Rashchi, Ataollah Babakhani, Sarah Mahmoudi

The focus of this research was to evaluate the synergistic effect of bis(2,4,4-trimethylpentyl) phosphinic acid (CYANEX 272) and di-(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid (D2EHPA), diluted in kerosene, on the extraction and separation of Co(II) and Li(I) from synthetic sulfate solution. The results indicated that using a mixture of CYANEX 272 and D2EHPA was efficient in extracting and separating Co(II) from Li(I). The optimum ratio of CYANEX 272/D2EHPA was found to be 5:1, in which the highest separation factor was obtained (5973.23), and ΔpH0.5 was 4.10. Adding tributyl phosphate (TBP) as a modifier and increasing the temperature improved the metals’ separation rate and extraction efficiency. Thermodynamic studies were also carried out, and ΔH, ΔS, and ΔG values were computed, revealing the endothermic nature of Co(II) and Li(I) extraction by CYANEX 272/D2EHPA mixture. The conducted experiments for the McCabe–Thiele diagram showed the possibility of using two stages to extract over 99% of Co(II) and Li(I). Slope analysis and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) were employed to comprehend the Co(II) and Li(I) extraction mechanism using a mixture of CYANEX 272 and D2EHPA.

Jan 17, 2022

By William R. Yernberg

Caterpillar introduced 21 new products during Caterpillar Press Days ‘96, held in June at the company’s proving grounds near Tucson, AZ. The event, billed as the largest product introduction ever held by Caterpillar, was attended by press from around the world. Most of the new products were demonstrated at Caterpillar’s Tinaja Hills Training Center in the Sierrita Mountains south of Tucson. Under the scorching Sonora Desert sun, the press was treated to demonstrations of the new equipment. After a display of the equipment’s power and capabilities, the press was given an opportunity to operate the new models and, in some cases, compare them with the old.

Jan 1, 1996

By J. G. Groppo

A beneficiation process has been developed to provide selective separation of unburned carbon from high loss-of-ignition (LOI)fly ash. Using froth flotation to achieve selective separations requires long residence times and high reagent costs. A proprietary reagent system has been developed to address these limitations. Based on the results obtained from laboratory and pilot-scale investigations, a flowsheet design has been developed to produce two distinct usable products from class F fly ash — low LOI ash and a high-carbon product suit-able for reburning or further upgrading.

Jan 1, 1996