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By J. Kretschmann, R. Amiri

"The Sangan iron-ore mines (SIOM) in Iran are located in a remote area, near the Afghanistan border. The deposit of SIOM is containing a geological resource of 1.2 billion tons of mostly magnetite with a Fe grade ranging from 27 to 61 %. The Iranian government plans a stepwise development of SIOM in cooperation with private companies to satisfy the growing demand of the Iranian steel industry. Sustainable development (SD) is an influential ethical concept in mining all around the world. However, a successful realization of a SD is not possible without a foundation on the core values and regarding the specific circumstances of the individual mining country. This paper introduces SIOM and describes SD activities undertaken during its development. From the early stages, these activities have been realized to secure the acceptance of the stakeholders in the region. To evaluate their effects, indicators could be filtered as the ones with the highest priority for the stakeholders. Moreover Islamic values and Iranian regulations and their influences on SIOM have been analyzed. Keywords: Iran, Sustainable Mining, SIOM, Evaluation, Islamic Values INTRODUCTION Mining Industry in Iran The Islamic Republic of Iran holds 68 types of minerals, including salt, sand and gravel, gypsum, chrome, lead, zinc, copper, coal, gold, iron etc., with 37 billion tons of proven reserves and more than 57 billion tons of potential reservoirs. Iran is ranked among the 15 major mineral rich countries (1). In accordance with the statistics published by Statistical Center of Iran (SCI), there were 5.316 active mines and 84.922 employees in the whole country in 2012-13 (2) and according to the statistics published by Central Bank of Iran (CBI) in 2011 the share of this sector in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country was 1.2 per cent (3). Sangan Iron Ore Mines (SIOM) The deposit of SIOM is one of the largest iron-ore deposits in Iran, also considered to be one of the Middle East’s richest deposits, which contains a total geological resource of 1.2 billion tons of mostly magnetite with a Fe grade ranging from 27 to 61%. It is located 300 km southeast from Mashhad, the capital of Khorasan-e-Razavi Province, and 18 km northeast of Sangan town, in Khaf County, at latitude N34°24’, longitude E60°16’ in the north-eastern Khorasan-e-Razavi Province, 30 km west of the Afghanistan border (4) (Figure 1). SIOM is owned by the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development & Renovation Organization (IMIDRO). IMIDRO intends to develop an open pit mine complex and supporting facilities in SIOM for the production of about 20 Mtpy of iron oxide concentrate and pellets in four developing phases (5)."

Jan 1, 2016

By Naohiro Kurokawa

Isa Limestone Quarry with an annual production capacity of 18 million metric tons is known as the largest limestone deposit in Japan located in the mountainous region about 20 mile northwest of Ube City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan adjacent to Isa Cement Factory to which it belongs, and which constitutes a mainstay of Ube Industries? cement operating division. Isa Cement Factory is equipped with a N.S.P. kiln of capacity of 3 million metric tons per year, which is the largest of its type in the world. Geographically, it is situated in the south- western tip of the Mainland of Japan (Mid City, Yamaguchi Prefecture) and is bordered by the scenic Akiyoshi Karstic Plateau which is world famous for its huge stalactite grotto.

Jan 1, 1982

By Jared Winkler, Jon A. Hummer, Aleksandar D. Bugarski, Shad Peters, Steven E. Mischler, Steve Cochrane, Shawn Vanderslice, Teresa Barone

The case study assessed submicron aerosols at a continuous miner (CM) section, diesel aerosol concentrations at the longwall (LW) section, and elemental carbon (EC) and total carbon (TC) exposures. Aerosols at CM sections were a mix of freshly generated and those from main drifts. Low ambient concentrations and personal exposures suggest effective control strategies, with further reductions possible by curbing emissions from high-emitting light-duty vehicles.

Mar 16, 2022

By Katarína Gáborová, Marcela Achimovičová, María Florencia Márquez‑Zavalía, Jaroslav Briančin, Oľga Šestinová, Pavel Škácha

In this paper, the structure, morphology, chemical composition and leaching of naumannite ( Ag2Se) were studied. Mechanical activation of Ag2Se in a planetary ball mill resulted in increasing its specific surface area. The influence of milling time on the particle size was studied by particle size distribution analysis and scanning electron microscopy. The leaching kinetics of non-activated and mechanically activated samples in 3.5–7.9 mol/L HNO3 solutions were examined. Subsequently, the effect of leaching temperature in the range of 25–50°C on the recovery of silver from mechanically activated naumannite was documented. The maximum yield of silver 94% was achieved after 120 min of leaching in 7.9 mol/L HNO3 at 50°C for the sample mechanically activated for 30 min. Based on calculated activation energy values from the Arrhenius equation, a mixed leaching mechanism consisting of diffusion and surface chemical reaction as the rate-controlling steps of the solidliquid reaction was assessed.

Mar 4, 2023

By J. M. Goris

The U.S. Bureau of Mines, in cooperation with the Homestake Mining Co., and the University of Utah, is conducting a field demonstration to evaluate the behavior of rock masses supported with cable bolts. One of two rock masses being studied is supported with both conventional and birdcage cables. This rock mass is located between the 6500 and 6650 levels of the 45-4BN stope. 21 ledge. The second rock mass is the hanging wall of the D-limb stope between the 3500 and 3650 levels near the Ross Shaft and is supported with conventional cables. The primary objectives of the project are to monitor the behavior of the two rock masses during mining using extensometers and cable support strain gauges, after which the rock will be modeled using the finite-element code UTAH III. Field data will be used to verify the modeling. In addition. a comparison between the effectiveness of conventional and birdcage cables will be made.

Jan 1, 1991

By Yuting Xue, Brijes Mishra

The relaxation test on sandstone specimens showed typical behavior in pre-failure region and stepwise behavior in the postfailure region. Overall, more significant stress relaxation occurred within the failed specimens than the intact ones. Numerical simulations were conducted with pre-defined failure plane and with Voronoi tessellation to visualize the relaxation behavior. The model with pre-defined failure plane showed the key role of failure plane and asperity in simulating the step-wise post-failure relaxation behavior. The inhomogeneous stress distribution within failed specimen and the viscous deformation of intact rocks induced high stress concentration at the asperities. The observed step-wise relaxation initiated from the failure of asperity. Furthermore, the simulations with Voronoi tessellation showed time-dependent fracture development during relaxation in post-failure region. The presence of fractures completely changed the stress distribution. Stress concentration occurred at the front area of fractures and at the interacting areas between fractures. During relaxation, fractures still developed with time and the sudden significant increase in the “damage” coincided with the acceleration of stress relaxation leading to step-wise relaxation. Finally, the results showed the possibility of using residual strength as the long-term strength of failed rock.

Jun 25, 2020

By E. J. Rorem

Rockfall and unstable rock slopes can be con-trolled by using steel wire-rope net systems as barriers or as slope draping. The chief advantage of such systems over rigid type barriers is the flexibility of wire rope netting. This flexibility and strength permits kinetic energy dissipation with low maintenance requirements. Mining activities can produce temporary or long-term unnatural slopes and unstable rock faces that may produce rockfall hazards. Such conditions can necessitate efforts to minimize the hazard to workers, structures and equipment.

Jan 1, 1996

By M. Westerstrand

It is known that the water chemistry of the process water during ore refinement can affect product quality, such as iron pellet strength. The main objective of this study was to quantify the amounts of major elements, such as Ca, Mg, Na, S and Cl carried by process water and by magnetite grain surfaces to the end product, iron ore pellets made from magnetite ore from the Kiirunavaara Mine in northern Sweden. In addition, the amount of colloids (0.22µm ? 1kD) in the process water was examined by ultrafiltration. The amounts of various elements sorbed to the magnetite surfaces were estimated by leaching with Milli-Q water, MgCl2, NH4-acetate and Na-acetate. Total dissolved solids were between 1,446 and 1,775 mg/l, dominated by Ca, S, Na and Cl (89%). The colloidal fraction was less than 3% for major ions. For Ca and Mg, sorption to magnetite surfaces was a much more important transport mechanism for the pelletizing process than evaporated process water, but for Na, Cl and S process water was an important carrier.

Jan 1, 2010

By L. Thompsen

High pressure grinding has been introduced into many grinding applications. The high pressure grinding roll offers capacity increases of existing plants and savings in operating costs. Also metallurgical advantages could be achieved. The first high pressure grinding roll in a copper mine was commissioned in Arizona in July 1995. This paper provides information about the operating experience gathered during the first months of operation. The current flowsheet will be described as well as further options for plant arrangements.

Jan 1, 1996

By M. P. Smith, C. Hughes-Narborough, Y. T. Man

"Money and reputations can be lost in bad projects. Causes of bad mineral processing projects include poor contract definition and purchase of equipment without adequate test work. However, the root cause of many of the problems that can lead to bad projects is not any inanimate object, bad weather or catastrophic natural event but the people working on the projects. Because the people are so critical to the success of a mineral processing project, one must have suitably qualified and experienced people (SQEP) in all key positions. Characteristics that define SQEP include people who have successfully executed projects of similar size before; have undertaken projects treating the same minerals and producing the same valuable products and people who are familiar with designing, operating and implementing the required technologies and unit operations.To minimize the likelihood of future bad mineral processing projects, five recommendations are put forward in relation to the people aspect of a project.1. Attempt to retain SQEP during any down turn in the mining economic cycle so thatthe knowledge and experience can be kept within the industry.2. Increase the effort in attracting young people into the industry and retaining them.3. Set up robust training program to give young professionals a firm foundation of what real life projects and operations are like.4. Provide mentoring and continuous training for people after they have completed their formal graduate training program. Their career progression should be appropriately monitored and controlled.5. People working in projects must be exposed to as many detailed design and other finer issues as possible so that they can comprehend the amount of work required to deliver a project successfully."

Aug 1, 2016

By Robert W. Roscoe

For over a century, St. Joe Minerals Corporation in Southeast Missouri has been sinking shafts for their lead mining operations. Upon discovery of the Viburnum Trend, or "New Lead Belt", St. Joe brought its experience and expertise in shaft sinking to the area. Eleven shafts were then sunk in an 18 year period, ending in 1972. In 1981, St. Joe began sinking a new shaft in the Trend with hand-picked employees from the four operating lead mines and service facilities. The paper describes the general history of St. Joe shaft sinking methods and equipment, focusing on the current development of the Viburnum No. 35 Shaft.

Jan 1, 1983

By Sahin Furkan Sahiner, Onur Golbasi

Effective maintenance planning is vital for coal mining operations, where haul truck fleets directly determine production continuity. This study presents a discrete event simulation (DES) model for evaluating maintenance strategies under multiple failure modes and their interdependencies. The model integrates corrective, periodic preventive, and opportunistic maintenance, dynamically updating equipment lifetimes through probabilistic time-betweenfailure and time-to-repair distributions. Applied to a fivetruck coal haulage fleet over a one-year horizon, results show that periodic preventive maintenance delivers the highest availability (76%) under unconstrained conditions, slightly outperforming corrective-only maintenance (75%). Opportunistic and integrated approaches performed worse (68% and 69%), reflecting redundancy from overlapping interventions. These findings suggest that structured preventive programs provide the most reliable outcomes when costs and resources are not limiting. The DES framework serves as a baseline for future models incorporating cost, spare parts logistics, and workforce availability, supporting robust maintenance planning in coal mining operations.

Feb 22, 2026

By Paul A. Rittenhouse

First of all, I want to thank John Dunlap for asking me to this AIME meeting in Denver. I was first introduced to Denver and The Rocky Mountains more than ten years ago and immediately decided it was one of the most attractive spots in the world. I've come back many times since and still welcome any opportunity to return, even if it means I have to prepare and give a paper on potash. When John Dunlap gave me this assignment, he told me that the program would include papers on the geology of potash, papers on new discovered potash deposits and new mines and asked me to discuss potash from the commercial point of view. He also asked me to include a supply/demand outlook for potash. However, one thing he did not mention was "how far into the future he wanted me to look" and it seems to me the time element is a crucial factor to you who are both geologists and miners as well as to me. In your case, you have to look far enough into the future to give you time to explore, find, evaluate, develop, and bring into production a commercial deposit. My mining associates and friends don't agree on how long that takes but it's probably somewhere in the range of eight to fifteen years. But, they all agree on one thing and that is that the time required is continually getting longer. Now my time problem is just the opposite. It is "relatively" easy, and I stress relatively, to identify and evaluate the importance of the various factors that impact on both the supply of and demand for a commodity such as potash if the time period is today. It gets a little tough if one has to project into tomorrow or next week or next month. And when we start talking in terms of a year, five years or ten or fifteen years, things really get sticky and the old crystal ball becomes mighty cloudy. But we economists and forecasters are not known for our temerity so let me get on with the job at hand and take a look at the world potash supply/demand outlook.

Jan 1, 1978

By David E. Nicholas

Design of underground openings is becoming more critical as the mine deposits become lower in grade, initial investments increase, ore depth increases, additional safety regulations come into law, and increased ore recovery is required for conservation of minerals. Stability of these openings is dependent on the strength of the rock mass and the pre-mine stress field. The rock mass is composed of solid blocks of rock (rock sub- stance) and structural features (faults, joints, bedding, etc.). Methods of testing the rock mass strength are improving and be- coming more common, however it is difficult to justify the high cost of large scale testing for an initial mine design. An alternative to testing the rock mass is to measure the rock substance and the structural features separately, and then combine them to estimate the rock mass strength. The rock mass strength will vary depending on the orientation of the opening with respect to the structural features. The other factor affecting the stability of underground open- ings is the pre-mine stress field. Methods are available to measure "directly" the pre-mine stress in competent and relatively massive rock. These methods are costly to employ, therefore, they may not be justified in an initial study. The pre-mine stress field can be estimated based on the structural relationships formed from past tectonic events.

Jan 1, 1976

By Elham Najafi, Sina Ghassa, Ata Akcil, Hadi Abdollahi, Sandeep Panda, Zohreh Boroumand

The present study investigates the influence of ferrous iron (as FeSO4) and ferric iron (as Fe2 (SO4)3), and pyrite (FeS2) on the ability of bacterial leaching of a high-grade sulfide Zn–Pb ore. In this regard, shake flask experiments were carried out at 5% (w/v) pulp density of the ore sample (having 40.7% Zn and 12.4% Pb initial metal content) using a consortium of mesophilic iron and sulfur-oxidizing acidophiles. A concentration of 0.04 mol/L of ferric iron in the leaching media was found to be optimum for zinc extraction without affecting growth of the microorganisms. Under this concentration, the dissolution of Zn, Pb, Cd, and As was found to be 57%, 0.2%, 0.03%, and 9.9% in 25 days. Using ferrous iron in the media, 0.16 mol/L of Fe2+ was found to be the optimum concentration for efficient bacterial growth and metal dissolution (54.6% Zn, 0.08% Pb, 0.03% Cd, and 10.2% As) from the sample in 25 days. On the other hand, using pyrite as the source of energy for bacterial growth, an initial 12-day lag period was observed when compared to the effect of ferrous iron in the media. Under the optimum concentration (test with 0.24 mol/L iron in the form of pyrite), the dissolution of Zn, Pb, Cd, and As was found to be 39.8%, 0.1%, 0.03%, and 10% in 25 days. The surface chemistry analysis indicated formation of a sulfur layer over the particle surface that hindered reagent diffusion and affected metal recovery through bioleaching.

By B. Ladanyi

An adequate knowledge of the overall behavior of a rock mass at a given site is fundamental to the satisfactory design of a rock slope. The be- havior is controlled by a variety of factors, in- cluding rock type, geological structure, stress and ground water conditions. There are essentially three lines of approach that may be used to obtain information on the in-situ rock mass behavior for the purpose of the design of a rock slope: (1) Direct measurements of rock mass properties by means ol laboratory and field tests. (2) Evaluation of rock mass properties from a study of slope failure case histories and sta- tistical information on stable and unstable natural rock slopes. (3) Evaluation of in-situ behavior of rock mass by using a physical or mathematical model technique.

Jan 1, 1980

By Thomas N. Walthier

This paper will review world trends that are increasingly restrictive of mineral exploration and mining throughout the Free World This is occurring in the face of projected huge increases in demand for mineral products Some of the impediments are direct and absolute; others are indirect, but nevertheless effective; still others represent merely hostile attitudes Many of the world governments have a reputation for lack of integrity in dealing with existing foreign investments within their borders, and consequently are quite uninviting places for new investments, especially in the capital intensive natural resources industry. Compared with even 35 odd years ago (and pre-World War II is not that long ago) there are few places left where private mining investments are both wanted and where investors are willing, to go. We shall begin with an analysis of conditions in the U. S., shift to neighboring Canada and Flexico, and then have a look around the world. As the world grows smaller for the private mining sector, the function of exploration, development, and operation is passing over to government. We'll conclude with a view of what this holds for the future

Jan 1, 1976

By J. D. Isbister

Coal is the most abundant and most economical source of energy in the United States, however, combustion of coal results in release of pollutants to the environment. The release of sulfur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen during combustion of coal contributes to the deterioration of the environment. Energy independence in the United States must include the increased use of coal reserves. Increased reliance on coal for energy will dictate the necessity for making coal a cleaner fuel. New technologies employing a variety of techniques from harsh chemical treatment to mild physical separations to clean coal are rapidly becoming available. Success for any coal cleaning process is in economics which translate into efficient removal of sulfur with high recovery of combustibles as well as low capital and operating costs for the process. Conventional coal cleaning processes remove water soluble sulfates and a portion of the pyritic sulfur and ash from coals. Removal of additional sulfur from coals requires more advanced coal cleaning techniques. Coal contains many organic sulfur forms which are the most difficult of the sulfur types to remove from coal. The heteroaromatic sulfur species, such as the comlex thiophenes, are the most commonly found organic sulfur forms. These sulfur forms are resistant to chemical attack and are considered to be refractory compounds. Atlantic Research Corporation has developed an "unique" microorganism, CB1 (Coal Bug 1), capable of oxidizing thiophenic sulfur in coal to form water soluble sulfates.

Jan 1, 1986

Peru has become an established mining country. The industry and industry-related businesses account for a significant amount of the country´s revenue, on state and local levels. But like other countries with thriving mining industries, Peru has seen its mining industry revenues fall off in recent years due to a lackluster global economy. And the mining industry in Peru must also deal with increasing concerns about mining?s environmental impacts, local community and other social issues, as well as a regulatory environment that has placed more restrictions on what miners can do. That said, the Peruvian government is beginning to realize how important mining and natural resource development is to building the nation?s economy, improving its infrastructure and lifting its population out of poverty. The government support was evident during the Perumin 2013 mining convention, held in September in Arequipa. In addition to Peru?s President Ollanta Humala speaking at the closing ceremony, the country?s ministers of Energy and Mines, and Economy and Finance participated in the event, as well as numerous other federal and state authorities. Perumin is put on by the Instituto de Ingenieros de Minas del Peru (IIMP, or Peruvian Institute of Mine Engineers). The 31st edition of the convention, billed as the ?world?s largest mining convention? by the IIMP, this event was led by Abraham Chahuan CEO of Antamina and Romulo Mucho (SME member) as president of IIMP, attracted about 118,000 participants from more than 48 countries. This was more than the anticipated 75,000 attendance and well past the 51,000 people who attended the 2011 convention. The last edition of PERUMIN was led by the CEO of Compañía Minera Antamina, Abraham Chahuan and Rómulo Mucho (SME member) and representative of the IIMP. The event attracted more than 1,000 journalists from all over the world, the IIMP said. A total of 2,213 booths from equipment and machinery supplying companies from the five continents were present at the Mining Technology Exhibition (Extemin), including companies from the United States, Canada, China, South Africa, Germany, Australia, Brazil and Chile, among others. The convention has grown so large in recent years, that the IIMP shifted its location from Tecsup vocational school in Arequipa to the Cerro Juli Convention Center. The venue is 116 percent larger than Tecsup, the IIMP reported, covering about 20 ha (40 acres). It was reported by Latinomineria magazine that about 10 million Peruvian soles were invested in the new venue to create a world-class events center. It was also estimated that the event generated more than 234 million soles to Arequipa?s economy.

Feb 1, 2014

By Monica Campos, Jose Mujica, Maria Campos

The extraction and processing of metals and other minerals have played an important role in economic, political, and social development worldwide, from the early stages of prehistory to the present day (Gosner, 2020). In other words, mining has been a fundamental part of human civilization, providing the raw materials necessary for technological, infrastructure, and industrial advances. As society progresses, the importance of mining continues to grow, supporting the development of everything from the smallest electronic devices to the tallest skyscrapers (The Importance Of Mining In Modern Society, 2024). The mining industry is closely linked to a country’s economy and activities related to natural resources. The economy of a nation is connected to its extractive industries (Moreira & McMahon, 2014), which have seen dramatic growth in recent years (Pietrobelli et al., 2018). In a context of increasing demand for natural resources, driven by the development of emerging technologies, the expansion of infrastructure, and the foundation of engineering achievements for the coming decades (Importance Of Mining - Minerals Education Coalition, 2024), mining should focus efforts on global development, requiring a comprehensive approach to sustainability that addresses the planet’s needs and protects the well-being, primarily, of the communities and environments where mining operations take place (Figari, 2024). In these areas, diversity and inclusion should be promoted, thus fostering equitable and sustainable development. Speaking of sustainable development, diversity, and inclusion brings us to an interesting topic: the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as the Global Goals, which could serve as a key framework for fostering a strong social management culture in mining. The SDGs were adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as a universal call to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030 (Sustainable Development Goals, n.d.). Companies have compelling reasons to align their actions with the SDGs, as their long-term success depends on healthy communities. This is a major challenge and requires collaborative efforts (Singh & Rahman, 2021). As Fraser (2021) mentions, achieving more sustainable outcomes may involve mining companies and communities working together collaboratively. This research proposes an innovative approach: Inclusive Mining for Sustainable Development, which aims not only to maximize economic profitability but also to promote social and environmental well-being by integrating the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), primarily focused on diversity and inclusion. This can be achieved through the implementation of a key value-added initiative for mining companies: the Creation and operation of a corporate volunteering program aimed at developing and executing inclusive practices to promote gender equality, the inclusion of local communities and indigenous peoples, and accessibility for people with disabilities. This proposal will educate employees and stakeholders about sustainability and promote concrete actions through corporate volunteering to strengthen the mining company’s commitment to community development, improve social relations, and advance toward achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, establishing the company as a global change agent.

Feb 1, 2025