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By Zhuo Chen, Jun Zhou, Jiemin Zhou

Samples of the reacting suspension particles were taken from the reaction shaft of a commercial flash furnace at different heights. The processes of matte and slag formation and morphology of the samples in the shaft were observed and analyzed. Variations of matte and slag composition in the shaft were investigated. By analyzing the samples taken from the settler at different locations, settler processes were studied such as slag formation, agglomeration and separation of matte-slag phases, Fe3O4 reduction, copper-in-slag reduction etc. In accordance with the characteristic of matte and slag formation the flash furnace can be divided into 6 functional regions, and a mechanism model called as “Micro bath process” is proposed for matte and slag formation in a commercial flash furnace. INTRODUCTION During flash smelting, concentrate particles scattered in the reaction shaft complete their oxidation reactions in suspension. The droplets produced fall into the settler beneath with a small amount of un-melted solid particles, agglomerate and separate into matte and slag layers which are tapped out from their tap holes separately. With respect to the extent of slagging reaction in the reaction shaft, there isn’t any commonly accepted understanding in literature (Kimura, Ojima, Mori & Ishii, 1986; Kemori & Kondo et al.,1988; Kemori, Denholm & Kurokawa, 1989; Fagerlund &Jalkanen, 2000). Some assume that the slagging reaction in the shaft can be ignored and some propose that all slag is produced in the shaft. With regards to the characteristics of the physical-chemical changes of concentrate particle in the reaction shaft, although there are some research results reported from pilot scale and commercial scale experiments (Kemori, Ojima & Kondo, 1988; Hagni, Vierrether & Sohn, 1988; Jorgensen, Taylor, Dickinson & Stevenson, 1992; Swinbourne, Simak & Yazawa, 2002; Kivinen & Tuominen, 2005), they are generally limited themselves to theoretical analysis and calculations. No studies are published concerned with the processes of matte and slag generation in the shaft, quantitative analysis of the processes, variations of matte and slag composition and morphologies of the melts along the axis of the shaft, etc.

Jan 1, 2019

By C. L. Reichardt

Mining companies are increasingly looking to the developing world for the next generation of mining projects, often in countries that have little or no previous history of large-scale mining. One of the major challenges for such projects is hiring?and retaining?personnel that have technical skills and experience in mining-related disciplines. Staffing a mine with an expatriate workforce is neither cost-effective nor sustainable, and many countries now insist that mining companies ?transform? the profile of their workforce to more closely mirror the demographic profile of the host population. The need to nurture mining-related skills in emerging mining nations is not solely limited to the workforce: there are also pressing economic and sustainability imperatives to develop capacity within local service providers such as consultants and contractors, as well as to facilitate informed engagement between mining companies, government and civil society. However, few educational institutions in emerging mining nations currently have the ability to offer practical training in mining-related disciplines. Local employees who are sponsored by companies to develop their skills through international study maybe impeded by language and cultural barriers, and may also be taught using course content that is of limited relevance to the specific challenges of their future working environment. This paper addresses the challenge of skills development and retention in emerging mining nations and uses examples from sub-Saharan Africa and the Asia Pacific region to explore practical means of developing capacity in mining-related disciplines. It examines the need for companies to implement strategies to develop local technical capacity in countries where they envisage a long-term operational future and also highlights the need to foster partnerships between academia, developmental institutions, mining companies, governments and civil society to establish the critical mass of mining-related skills required to nurture the development of a sustainable mining industry.

Jan 1, 2009

By Trevor L. L. Orr

"AbstractThe background to the harmonization of geotechnical standards that has taken place in recent years in Europe has been the move to more economic and political integration following World War II that has led to the formation of the European Union. Prior to 2010 the standards used in the European countries for geotechnical design, investigation and testing and for the carrying out geotechnical work, such as the installation of piles, were the different national standards, which were not harmonized. The harmonization of geotechnical standards in Europe started in 1981 with work on a model Eurocode 7 for geotechnical design that led eventually to publication by CEN, the European Committee for Standardization, of the European Standard version of Eurocode 7 in 2004. In parallel with the work on Eurocode 7, a large number of associated harmonized standards have been, and are being, prepared by CEN and by the International Standards Organization (ISO) for geotechnical investigation and testing and for the execution of geotechnical works. Standards published by CEN must be adopted by the CEN member countries and all conflicting standards withdrawn. Hence all the CEN countries have adopted the same the harmonized text of Eurocode 7, but with National Annexes that allow national choice with regard to Design Approach and partial factor values. The adoption of Eurocode 7 and its associated geotechnical standards has removed the barriers to geotechnical activity in Europe due to the presence of different national standards. It has also enhanced the ability of EU firms to compete in the global market.Background to harmonization of geotechnical standards in EuropeThe initial moves towards the harmonization of geotechnical standards in Europe can be related to the economic and political developments that took place in the period immediately following World War II to revive the economies of Western Europe. Europe at that time was divided by a political and, in many places, a physical barrier, known as the Iron Curtain, into two very different and separate zones: communist in the east and non-communist in the west. In 1952 the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was formed, linking 6 countries: Belgium, West Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, and establishing a common market in coal and steel. The ECSC was the first international organization to be established on the basis of supranational principles whereby negotiated power is delegated to an authority by the governments of the member states. In 1957 the ECSC became the European Economic Community (EEC), also known as the Common Market in the English-speaking world, with the aim to bring about economic integration. With the addition of Denmark, Ireland and the UK in 1973 and Greece in 1981, followed by Portugal and Spain in 1986, this led to the formation of the European Union (EU) in 1993. East and West Germany were reunified in 1990, following the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989. In 1995, Austria, Finland and Sweden joined the EU, and since then the numbers of countries in the EU has increased to 28, many of which are countries that were formerly behind the Iron Curtain."

Jan 1, 2014

By Murali M. Gadde

Welded wire mesh is the most commonly used skin control technique in the United States underground coal mines. Currently, selection of the mesh is based on trial and error rather than any rigorous design methodology. Several factors affect a wire mesh?s performance including the amount of rock material to be supported and how the load is distributed, wire gauge, aperture size, grade of steel, weld strength, bolting pattern and sheet size. Although the best way to choose the mesh is to conduct full-scale physical load tests, because of the limitations on the number of variables that can be considered in such tests and the requirement of an elaborate test set-up, it may not always be possible to use this option. An alternative would be to use numerical modeling to study the load-deformation behavior of a wire mesh. In addition to providing a very detailed stress, strain distribution in the entire mesh, the advantage of this approach is the ease with which parametric studies can be conducted. In this paper it is shown that the load-deformation curves generated by nonlinear numerical models match closely with laboratory derived ones. Then, based on parametric studies, design guidelines are developed to choose the mesh appropriate for different loading conditions. The modeling studies also bring forth the limitations of the current lab studies. For example, under some conditions it was noticed that the small sheet size considered in lab tests would produce higher mesh deformations than a full-size one used in actual practice.

Jan 1, 2006

By S. Gallagher, A. Mayton

Introduction The mining industry has long been associated with a high incidence of low back disorders and pain (Klein et al. 1984, Leigh and Sheetz 1989, Brinckmann et al. 1998). It is believed that the higher incidence of these injuries among miners is the result of high exposures to postural demands, heavy manual work, and exposure to whole-body vibration (WBV). Recent work has indicated that miners involved with heavy lifting (especially in restricted spaces or on uneven ground) or who have been exposed to whole-body vibration in undamped seats experience noticeable changes in their spines that are consistent with degeneration of the intervetebral discs of the spine (Brinckmann et al. 1998). As will be described shortly, there is mounting evidence that disc degeneration plays a large role in the development of low back pain, particularly chronic back pain. Until fairly recently, medical doctors generally assumed that back pain was the result of muscle strain, ligament pain, or so-called “trigger points” (Bogduk, 1997). However, research supporting these mechanisms of pain has been very scant. When subjected to scientific scrutiny, none of these mechanisms has been shown to relate to back pain in a convincing manner. On the other hand, there are three mechanisms that have been shown to be highly associated with back pain in controlled scientific studies: sacroiliac pain (present in 13% of back pain sufferers) (Maigne et al. 1996), facet joint pain (present in 15 % of back pain sufferers) (Schwarzer et al 1994), and disc disruption and degeneration (present in 39% of chronic back pain sufferers) (Moneta et al. 1994). The latter mechanism, which bears the highest relationship to back pain that has been objectively demonstrated, will be the focus of this section. Scientists now believe they have a good idea how back pain may develop in cases involving disc disruption and degeneration (Bogduk 1997). As the spine experiences loading during lifting tasks or whole body vibration, the first structure to fail is called the vertebral endplate, which is a structure that attaches the disc of the spine to the vertebral body (Figure 1). The endplate typically experiences a fracture, which the body will attempt to heal by means of scar tissue. Unfortunately, this scar tissue impedes the flow of nutrition to the disc itself (discs are dependent on nutrition from the vertebral bones), and if the supply is reduced sufficiently, the disc will start to degenerate. As this degeneration process proceeds, fissures or tears in the fibers of the disc start to develop. If any of these tears is a grade 3 fissure (Figure 2), an inflammatory response occurs in the disc, which will lead to the well-known sensation of low back pain (Peng 2006).

Jan 1, 2007

By T. Norvell, R. Gosine, S. O’Young

"This paper describes the use of dynamic scheduling and discrete event control to provide coordinated control of multiple automated vehicles. This work has been carried out within ongoing research into multi-robot coordination developed around the underground mining scenario. Demonstrations using scaled laboratory models of underground mines illustrate the potential for this technology for full-scale implementation for mine-wide automation. IntroductionIn the past decade, the mining industry has been improving the efficiency of underground mining operations. Robotics and automation have demonstrated the potential to further reduce costs. Tele-operation of underground vehicles from above ground and autonomous navigation have reduced travel delays and allowed for single operator control of multiple vehicles (Bloomquist and Hinton, 2001). Other recent projects include the automation of the digging process as well as the drilling and blasting operations. Infrastructureless guidance systems are also being developed (Bloomquist and Hinton, 2001).Mine-wide automation requires significant developments at two levels: (1) the development of mining robots capable of performing tasks either autonomously or semiautonomously; and (2) the development of methods for automating operations at a systems level. This paper focusses on the latter, and describes a general framework for the coordination of multiple mobile robots in an unstructured or semi-structured environment."

Jan 1, 2003

By D. J. MacDonald

Wettability measurements and laboratory waterflood tests were compared under a wide variety of conditions. Experiments were conducted with synthetic and natural crude oils, treated and untreated outcrop and oilfield sandstone cores, and synthetic brines with and without caustic, detergent, or phosphate additives. Measurements were made on equilibrated and unequilibrated systems at 77° and 150° F. Wettability was evaluated by the Bureau of Mines method from capillary pressure curves determined with a centrifuge. The waterflood data were fitted by empirical curves; the parameters of the curves characterize primary and subordinate production and also give the ultimate oil recovery. Results showed that wettability measurements at 77° F were useful predictors of recovery efficiency in waterflood tests run at both temperatures. Oil recovery in the early stages of waterflooding increased with increasing water wettability; however, the ultimate recovery was highest at a slightly oil-wet condition. The oil displaced at highest speed in the centrifuge was correlated with ultimate recovery in waterflood tests. Chemical additives to the brine sometimes lowered wettability and also sometimes improved waterflood recovery, but wettability and recovery were not correlated with additives present. The effect of additives on recovery in waterflooding was best seen in water-oil ratio curves.

Jan 1, 1974

By P. K. Guerrero, N. Arbiter

The correlation of power consumed by a tumbling mill with the dimensions, speed, and load has been attempted by three principal methods. One of these, the torque formula, has been reviewed critically elsewhere.' This approach, while analytical, disregards the individual motion and speed of the tumbling bodies and assumes that the gross geometry of the entire load is sufficient to establish the power requirement. A more general approach, using dimensional analysis, has been applied in this laboratory by the present authors1'1, and more recently by Rose.3 This disregards the internal conditions within the mill entirely and in effect is an empirical procedure for correlating data. Finally, the complete analysis of tumbling mill dynamics as first made by Davis' attempts to develop the power requirement from individual ball and rod paths and velocities. Although Davis' result is applicable only at a single speed for a given size and load it could be useful, since his optimum speed is at the upper limits of conventional tumbling mill practice. Where power values predicted by the Davis equation were compared with actual mill requirements, they were found too low for small mills and much too high for the largest mills. This suggested that the agreement with actual intermediate range requirements might be fortuitous, and the development of the equation was examined critically. The probable source of error was found to lie in an erroneous assumption made by Davis in converting the energy of ball or rod motion to power. With the same approach, but with different assumptions, a modified equation has been obtained which predicts results that are usually consistently high. This is to be expected, since it is assumed that there is no slip between load and shell and no interference among tumbling bodies. Both these effects should account for the difference. Development of Equation: When a cylindrical shell charged with a substantial weight of rods or balls is slowly rotated about a horizontal axis, the load surface first assumes an inclination that gradually increases to a maximum. Continued rotation results in failure within the load, characterized by a sliding of the top layers down the slope and a reduction in the angle of inclination. Further rotation again increases the angle, and the cycle repeats. If the speed is increased, there is continuous load failure and build-up and a continuous stream of rods or balls descends over the upcoming mass, which moves in circular arcs. At higher speeds the up-

Jan 1, 1961

By K. Kasas, J Kermeci, S. Vujic, S. Secei, P. Kermeci

On the ‘Majdan III’ open pit mine, supplying with brick clays the production plants of the industry of building material ‘Potisje-Kanjiza’ from Kanjiza, a modern ECS (excavator-conveyor-spreader) complex was built, integrating four bucket excavators, six conveyors and one spreader into a whole. This complex connects the mineral-exploitation unit with the final brick-products plant of the company. Monitoring and management of the ECS complex is carried out by modern computer-supported information-management system (IMS) implementing most modern measuring-regulation, computer and GPS equipment. It was concluded that, for safety reasons, the functions of the IMS should be developed by a component of active visual monitoring of the ECS complex. For this purpose, the task of making a project on intelligent system for visual monitoring of the ECS complex was entrusted to the Department of Computer Application at the Faculty of Mining and Geology, University of Belgrade. This paper gives a review of basic project solutions. Keywords: Automation, process management, information management technology, visual system, intelligent systems, TV monitoring, surface exploitation, clay, Majdan III, Potisje-Kanjiza.

Jan 1, 2003

By Philip A. Dirige

This paper presents the variability of responses of paste backfill specimens that have been prepared with varying binding agent and binder combinations, when subjected to uniaxial compressive strength testing. A testing program conducted for an underground operating mine to produce cost efficient paste fill recipes using four different binding agents, in various ratios and combinations, is presented to illustrate the responses. These binding agents are Normal Portland Cement Type-10 (NPC T-10), oxidation or sulphide attack resistant binder (Binder A), replacement binder B (Binder B), and replacement binder C (Binder C). The paste fill recipes were prepared at 2, 3.5 and 5% binder content at varying binder combinations, at fixed size and tested in a Material Testing System (MTS) under constant strain rate conditions following cure times of 7, 14, 28, 56, 90, 112, 180 and 240 days. The results of tests suggested that the strength data clearly shows a trend of increasing strength with increasing binder content but not necessarily cure time. It is noted that all the blends achieved dramatic increases in strength up to 28 days of cure and then either increased or decreased moderately beyond 28 days curing, depending on the binder content and binder combination. The moderate decrease is apparent for the 2% paste fill blends and in some binder combinations of the 3.5 and 5% blends, which indicated lackluster performance beyond 28 days curing. This lackluster strength performance indicated that the binder content and combination may not be sufficient for the paste fill to achieve complete hydration and acquire adequate strength performance beyond 28 days. This study indicated that economic paste fill recipes can be designed with confidence using affordable alternative binders. However, it is noted that these alternate binders cannot be used as stand alone binders but should be used in combination with NPC to facilitate hydration of the paste fill.

May 1, 2006

By Sanford J. Douglas

This publication describes a study by the Federal Bureau of Mines of devices and methods used for testing and splicing 4,160-volt and 440-volt cables and for providing ground-fault protection for 440-volt circuits, as developed and used by the electrical staff of the Tecumseh coal mine, an open-pit operation at Boonville, Ind. The testing and ground-fault devices described should find ready application in other open-pit mines, and, with suitable modifications for voltages involved, in underground mining. The devices and testing methods are based on sound engineering principles and are time-tested and economically feasible, Four devices are used: A high-voltage tester, and a low-voltage high- current tester, both for testing 4,160-volt cables; a tester for 440-volt cables; and, electronic ground-fault protective device for 440-volt cable circuits. All the cable testers and the grounding device were designed and built at the mine from standard parts. They are inexpensive, dependable, and job tested, An attempt has been made here to describe them in enough detail so that interested persons can assemble duplicate units.

Jan 1, 1960

The Harmonious Design on the Beneficiability for the Pt-Pd Ores Containing High MgO Gangue in Yunnan

Sep 13, 2010

By S. Babendererde

The twenty-ninth Sir Julius Wernher memorial lecture of the IMM, presented at Tunnelling '97, London, 2-4 September 1997. The tunnelling industry is well prepared to face the challenge from the population explosion in urban areas in the near future. Many well-established yet redundant concepts are still impeding progress, however, including the prediction of excessive surface ground settlements. The correct selection of TBM can minimise these, and ground deformations can be avoided completely if the appropriate techniques are applied. Advanced techniques have been used in the Tokyo Bay Crossing, where the tunnel lining was installed by robots. Other advanced techniques include the use of a sliding slip form to give temporary support to an extruded tunnel lining, the chemical processing of ground by polymers during earth-pressure balanced tunnelling and the use of electronic monitoring and steering devices in TBMs. There will be challenges to tunnelling in urban environments, as open cut techniques will no longer be tolerated. Two examples of mined stations are briefly discussed

Jun 19, 1905

By L. L. Seigle

Free energies, heats, and entropies of mixing of solid Fe-Au alloys have been measured by the galvanic cell method between 800° and 900°C. A positive deviation from Raoult's law and a large excess entropy of mixing were observed, both attributable to lattice distortion caused by the disparity in component atom sizes. Since the terminal solid solutortiontions are not regular, thermodynamic properties computed from the location of the mis-cibility gap do not agree well with measured quantities. The electromotive force data suggest some changes in the existing Fe-Au phase diagram. ALTHOUGH a considerable amount of information has been accumulated about the thermodynamic properties of metal solid solutions which exhibit negative deviation from Raoult's law, particularly those in which ordering occurs, relatively few experimental measurements have been made on solutions with positive deviation. This is due to the infrequency of broad homogeneous regions suitable for experimental measurement in solutions of this type, since any marked positive deviations from ideality lead to restricted solubility and the formation of miscibility gaps. Thermodynamic data reported in the literature for such systems have usually been calculated from the location of the miscibility gap boundaries under the assumption that the entropies of mixing are ideal, i.e., the terminal solutions are regular.' One of the few binary systems with both positive deviation and a wide homogeneous range in the solid is the Ni-Au system. A recent investigation of solid Ni-Au alloys' revealed that the entropies of mixing were much larger than ideal and consequently thermal data computed from the phase boundaries assuming regular solutions were seriously in error. Theoretical considerations put forward by Zener indicated that high entropy values should generally be associated with systems possessing a miscibility gap in the solid, when this is due to differences in the size of component atoms. These facts suggest that the regular solution assumption is a poor approximation for many solid solutions with positive deviation and that reliable thermodynamic data generally cannot be obtained by conventional methods from the location of miscibility gap boundaries. The Fe-Au system, Fig. 1, resembles the Ni-Au system in certain respects. The presence of a miscibility gap in the solid indicates a large positive deviation from ideality, but there is nevertheless an extensive single phase region suitable for experimental measurement. The following investigation of solid Fe-Au alloys was carried out in order to obtain additional data on the thermodynamic properties of metal solid solutions with positive deviation from Raoult's law and to further compare thermodynamic data computed from miscibility gap boundaries with those measured experimentally. Experimental Method The thermodynamic properties were derived from measurements of the potential developed between pure solid iron and Fe-Au alloys in a high temperature galvanic cell. The experimental apparatus and technique were the same as those used for the Ni-Au alloys and described in a previous report.' Cell electrodes were 1/16 in. diam rods swaged from chill-cast ingots and annealed for one week at 850°C. The alloys were prepared by melting fine gold granules under argon with pure iron obtained from the National Research Co. The cell electrolyte was

Jan 1, 1957

By D. R. Dolinar

The fall of small pieces of rock between roof bolts causes over 80 pct of the ground fall injuries in underground coal mines. Roof screen, if installed on the bolting cycle, can significantly reduce the number of these injuries. As the surface of the roof fails, the screen will have to retain the broken rock without failing or excessive deformation. Welded wire screen is the most common type of screen material used for roof surface control in underground coal mines. The load-deformation characteristics and the load capacity of welded wire screen were evaluated in the laboratory in a specially built test frame. In the frame, the square screen sections were held in place by bolts and bearing plates at the four corners while a center load was applied to the screen. The parameters evaluated included the wire gauge and configuration, the bearing plate loads and bolt spacing. The wire gauge of the tested screen was 4, 6, 8, 9 and 10. Maximum screen capacities for both load and displacement were developed for each of the wire gauge sizes along with the screen stiffness. This information can be used for screen selection and for the evaluation and determination of screen performance. DISCLAIMER: The findings and conclusions in this report have not been formally disseminated by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and should not be construed to represent any agency determination or policy.

Jan 1, 2009

By H. Lowers, B. Van Gosen

The Iron Hill (Powderhorn) carbonatite complex is a 31 km2 alkalic intrusion located about 35 km south-southwest of Gunnison, Colorado. The intrusion has been well studied and described because of its classic petrology and architecture of a carbonatite-alkalic complex. The complex is also noteworthy because it contains enrichments of titanium, rare earth elements, thorium, niobium (columbium), vanadium, and deposits of vermiculite and nepheline syenite. In particular, the complex is thought to host the largest titanium and niobium resources in the United States, although neither has been developed. It may be economic to extract multiple resources from this complex with a well coordinated mine and mill plan.

Jan 1, 2007

By Walter E. Pittman

In its role of providing technical assistance to the mining industry, the Bureau of Mines' Tuscaloosa Research Center has conducted research to develop trapped miner location systems which would aid in locating miners trapped by underground mining disasters. Efforts to produce electromagnetic systems for the location of trapped miners underground and to communicate with them were surveyed, from the 1920's to 1981. Theoretical studies of through-the-earth electromagnetic transmissions are described as well as studies of the electrical characteristics of various rocks, minerals, and soil. Several trapped miner location systems are reviewed including the Westinghouse systems, the DEVELCO system, and an automated three-dimensional location system, and the phase difference of arrival technique. Tangential research, relevant to trapped miner location systems is described. A comprehensive bibliography covering all aspects of trapped miner, through-the-earth electromagnetic location and communications systems is appended.

Jan 1, 1982

By S. J. Schatzel, W. P. Diamond

High methane emissions originating from the active face areas and from the fractured formations overlying and underlying the mined coalbed can adversely affect both safety and productivity in underground coal mines. Since ventilation alone may not be sufficient to control the methane levels in the longwall mining environment, gob gas ventholes have become a standard supplementary methane control option in many mines. As mines progress into deeper and gassier coalbeds, or as longwall panel size increases, ventilation and gob gas ventholes together may not be sufficient to maintain methane levels within statutory limits. To decrease the risk associated with methane emissions under these circumstances, in-seam horizontal methane drainage is often used to reduce the gas content of the coalbed prior to mining. Horizontal methane drainage borehole completion designs, drilling strategies, and degasification lead times may need to be adjusted for site-specific conditions due to mine design, geology, and the gas content of the coalbed. This study investigates different horizontal methane drainage borehole patterns, borehole lengths, and degasification times prior to and during panel extraction to evaluate their effectiveness in reducing methane emissions using a "dynamic" 3D reservoir modeling of a 38 1-m wide longwall panel operating in the Pittsburgh coalbed. Results of this study showed that dual and tri-lateral boreholes are more effective in decreasing emissions and in shielding the entries compared to fewer shorter, cross-panel, horizontal boreholes parallel to the longwall face. Modeling results showed that after 12 months of pre-mining methane drainage, the average longwall face emission rates can be reduced by as much as 10.3 m3/min and 6.8 m3/min using tri- and dual-lateral boreholes, respectively. It was also shown that if pre-mining methane drainage time is short, it is important to continue methane drainage during the panel extraction to maximize reductions in longwall face emissions since additional face emission reductions achieved during this period can be comparable to pre-mining degasification.

By Lewis Martin

Whereas many researchers and mine engineers have conducted tests using different types of grout, grout ratios, and physical modifications of the cable to determine cable bolt load characteristics, few studies have been conducted on cables fitted with internal instruments. Those studies that have been done have concentrated on cable behavior averaged over significant cable lengths. Researchers at the Spokane Research Laboratory (SRL) of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in Spokane, WA, are investigating the physical properties of cable bolts by replacing the conventional king wire with a modified king wire on which strain gauges have been installed . This paper documents test results on these modified cable bolts. Three tests were conducted at SRL on 1.83-m-long cables grouted into two 0.91-m-long pull-tube assemblies. Load along the cable was monitored with 20 strain gauges installed along the length of the cable. The instrumented cable bolt provided reproducible point measurements of cable load as opposed to load measurements averaged over significant cable lengths. Such point measurements can assist in interpreting the influence of cable confinement, grout quality, rock mass stiffness, and other factors. The instrumented cable bolt is a practical field and research tool because it can predict point loading along the cable and thereby allow interpolation of maximum possible loads on a cable.

May 1, 2002

By Francis S. Kendorski

Over the past 25 years, the present author has written with several co-authors a series of papers beginning with the landmark paper in the 1st International Conference on Ground Control in Mining in 1981, in turn, based upon U. S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) funded contract research managed by the author with a final report issued in 1979, all concerning this paper?s title subject, Effect of Full-Extraction Underground Mining on Ground and Surface Waters. Initially the work was a summary of British, Russian, and Hungarian experience tailored to United States strata conditions, but has evolved into a consistent and well-documented model of the behavior of strata influenced by full-extraction underground mining such as longwall coal mining. The several strata zones recognized in these works, Surface Fracture Zone, Constrained or Aquiclude Zone, Dilated Zone, Fractured Zone, and Caved Zone, have been observed by several workers in the field. The concepts presented initially 25 years ago have been adopted, rightly or wrongly, by state regulators, ground and surface water researchers, and mining practitioners. The development and utility of these concepts and recent findings will be summarized.

Jan 1, 2006