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By Rob Morrison, Andrew Scott

"Long before a modern mine commences operations it has already become a wealth of information. After start up, it can generate enormous quantities of data – especially with semi-automated data acquisition by instrumented mine equipment. Much of this data is of limited use for evaluation of (potential) performance unless it links in some way to the site business model.An underlying reason for this waste of data is that the different cultures, financial, technical, community, environmental, etc, not only have many areas of interest but also have very different conceptual models by which they evaluate performance.It is too ambitious to attempt to bring all of these cultures together – in a single step. However, the success of the Mine to Mill ™ project has demonstrated that substantial operational value can be added by using a more integrated approach to comminution. The next logical step is to integrate measured data and then to track performance from ore body model to saleable product and waste disposal.The path from resource to product also represents a path from very sparse, highly variable data to much more detailed measurement and more representative sampling. However, in both cases the data collected is usually strongly focused on the technical requirements – not on the business model.This paper emphasises the difference between data and information. There is considerable potential for confusion between the two as both data and information are often expressed as numbers. For the purpose of this paper, data and information are distinguished by their uses.A data point (or datum) is a measurement. By way of contrast, information provides a basis for decision making."

Jan 1, 2003

By B Murphy, S O’Connell, J L. Heath

In the 1989 best-seller The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, the author, Stephen Covey, highlights the importance of maintaining not only ‘production’, but also, ‘production capacity’. When operating a modern flotation concentrator, production is often measured in terms of concentrate tonnage, tonnes milled and plant utilisation. There are very few metrics that focus directly on flotation equipment condition in relation to performance, which is analogous to Covey’s production capacity principal. It is evident on many mine sites that flotation equipment condition is not monitored on a proactive basis and that the prevailing culture is to wait for a failure, before addressing an issue.This paper discusses examples of how poor equipment condition can lead to production loss through poor metallurgical performance. Actual examples are given where these problems have occurred in operating plants. An outline is provided on how metallurgical and maintenance departments can work together to protect production capacity and gain more from existing equipment.CITATION:Murphy, B, O’Connell, S and Heath, J L, 2014. Maximising value through maintaining your flotation equipment, in Proceedings 12th AusIMM Mill Operators’ Conference 2014 , pp 71–76 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Sep 1, 2014

By J. Paraszczak

Underground metal mining involves many challenges. Economic slowdown, tough international competition and sometimes volatile metal prices put constant pressure on mine operators to increase productivity and to reduce production cost. At the same time, countries such as Canada, the United States and Australia are experiencing skilled labor shortages that might even stall development of certain mine projects. Furthermore, some stages of underground production take place in particularly hazardous environments where the safety and health of miners is at risk. Automation of some processes in underground mining is one of the promising avenues to alleviate some of these problems. Loading and haulage are among the most critical operations and areas where implementation of autonomous vehicles has been targeted. However, although health and safety issues are a primary driver to opt for automation, the latter should ensure an acceptable level of productivity and pro?tability. With this in mind, this article focuses on the factors affecting operational effectiveness of autonomous underground loading and haulage equipment and the means to maximize it.

By J. Paraszczak

Application of teleoperated and automated (or ?autonomous?) mobile equipment in underground metal mines is a promising avenue for overcoming some of the challenges facing mine operators. These include, but are not limited to, the issues related to safety and health of underground workers, better use of the shift time leading to increased productivity, skilled manpower shortages, and remoteness of some mine sites. Autonomous load-haul-dump machines and trucks offer several benefits over man-operated ones, but their use at their full capacity is a challenging and complex task. This paper makes an overview of commercially available equipment and systems and their applications. It examines factors affecting adversely availability, utilization, and production efficiency of autonomous vehicles and compares them to conventional man-operated machines. Technical and operational aspects are discussed and their criticality is analyzed. Based on that, recommendations concerning means and measures that may help raise operational effectiveness are given. It is stressed that due to a scarcity of publicly available information on the performance and cost of autonomous loading and haulage operations, more field studies and in-depth analysis are needed.

Feb 23, 2014

By C. Andrews

Fuel cell testing requires fully automated operation, on-site configuration of tests, and real-time monitoring for performance and failures. Balancing the flexibility and programmability of a test station with reliability, cost, and user interface can be a daunting challenge to the test equipment engineer. Endurance testing of fuel cells requires the highest level of reliability for test stand hardware and software without compromising automation capabilities or users interface. Techniques for implementing an ultra-reliable test platform addressing hardware limitations, sophisticated watchdog monitoring to prevent inadvertent shutdowns, and software limitations (e.g., balancing a highly-functional graphical users interface with reliability) are presented.

Jan 1, 2005

By J. A. Abols, P. M. Grady

Recovery via gravity is one of the oldest mineral processing methods available. Unfortunately, the use of gravity techniques for gold recovery has been in decline for the past century as more effective chemical processes such as flotation and leach/CIP have been developed. Recently, with the push towards more sustainable environmental outcomes, the benefits of gravity separation have become more apparent. While gravity as a unit process is not usually capable of achieving as high a recovery as flotation or whole ore cyanidation, a combination of gravity devices alone or in conjunction with these processes can offer significant advantages to the operator. This paper reviews the range of gravity devices available, their application and the results that can be achieved by maximizing gravity through the use of a combination of gravity recovery devices. Three case studies are provided.

Jan 1, 2005

By Aris Tambunan, Nella Lubis, Nurafrianti Saala, Komang Widhiayanto, Herry Saputra, Rudolf Sitorus

Maximizing mining recovery rates and minimizing ore loss are pivotal objectives for economic efficiency and operational effectiveness. This study explores methods to address these imperatives by enhancing ore production and recovery through improved blasting techniques and spillage control in the Martabe Gold Mine Project in North Sumatra Province, Indonesia. Between 2018 and 2021, the average mining recovery rate stood at 93%, resulting in a potential annual ore loss of 7% and a potential quarterly financial impact of close to $2 million. Maintaining and enhancing mining recovery became crucial, with a planned 30% increase in total material movement for 2022. The mining recovery target for 2022 was set at 96% based on best achievement historical data from 2021 to increase ore tonnage by 203 KTon per annum. To achieve the primary objective of increasing ore production by improving mining recovery, the study focused on predicting and controlling the movement of blasted ore to reduce spillage and enhancing the grade control model to reflect actual conditions post-blasting. Several alternative solutions were explored, primarily emphasizing drilling and blasting activities. Essential methods included capturing the actual blasting movement to adjust the ore block based on blasting design data and post-blasting muckpile topography. This approach minimizes ore loss by providing output as ore block adjustment based on post-blast movement data. In addition, the tie-up design was adjusted to control ore spillage outside the pit ridge. The implementation of these methods yielded significant improvements. Adjusting the ore block based on actual blasting movement contributed $1,545,764 in benefits. Controlling ore spillage outside the pit ridge achieved a 10% reduction in spillage, contributing $79,184 in benefits. These enhancements successfully met the 2022 mining recovery target of 96%, marking a 3% increase from 2021. Consequently, ore loss was reduced by 178 KTon throughout 2022, resulting in a financial impact of $7.3 million. The study underscores the significance of precise blasting techniques and effective spillage control in enhancing mining recovery rates.

Jan 21, 2025

By T. Gupta, T. Ghosh

Rare earth elements (REEs) and their compounds are essential in a multitude of mundane and sophisticated applications such as renewable energy technologies, catalysts, medicine, and defense applications. The global supply deficit could be attributed to the destabilization of REE market that has, as a result, incentivized indigenous production of REEs. Cost-effective and environmentally benign opportunities are being explored for the production of REEs from non-conventional mineral sources including coal and coal by-products to stabilize the supply chain. Coal from Healy coal mine and Wishbone Hill deposits in Alaska have been quantified for REEs and were found to possess elevated total REE concentrations as compared to world average levels (60– 70 ppm). The objective of the study was to concentrate the REEs in the froth phase by froth-flotation of the fine size fraction (< 75 μm). A Box-Behnken design of experiment was employed to ascertain the main and interaction effects of operational parameters on response variable by analyzing 3D response surfaces. Experiments were carried out to maximize REE recovery and concentration by modeling and optimization of three operating variables (frother dosage, pulp density (% solids), and collector dosage). Based on the results, the optimum flotation conditions for maximum recovery at an elevated concentration of REEs in the froth fraction was obtained at 4.2% solids and 32.7 ppm of frother dosage for Healy sample and 10% solids and 37.9 ppm of frother dosage for Wishbone Hill coal sample. The quadratic relationship between the input and response variable was found to be independent of collector dosage suggesting good surface hydrophobicity and floatability of the two coal samples.

By T. Gupta, T. Ghosh

"Rare Earth Elements (REEs) and their compounds are essential for numerous modern high tech applications such as renewable energy technologies, catalysts and defense applications. The destabilization of REE pricing owing to the global demand and supply deficit has forced many countries to re-evaluate the possibility of indigenous production of REEs. Cost effective and eco-friendly opportunities are being widely explored for extraction of REEs from non-conventional mineral sources such as coal and coal byproducts to stabilize the supply chain. Coal from Central Alaska (Healy Coal Mine) and Southern Alaska-Cook Inlet (Wishbone Hill) province have been found to possess elevated REE concentrations as compared to average world coal estimates. The objective of the study is to enrich the REEs in the fine size fraction (-75 Microns) from Healy and Wishbone Hill by froth flotation technique. A Box-Behnken design was applied for modeling and optimization of some operating variables on the flotation to maximize REE enrichment. The variables studies were frother dosage, pulp density (% Solids) and collector dosage. Experiments were carried out using a statistical design and the main and interaction effects on response variable was evaluated by analyzing 3D response surfaces. Based on the experimental results the optimum flotation conditions for maximum REE enrichment in the froth fraction was obtained at 4.2% Solids and 32.7 ppm of frother dosage for Healy coal sample and 10% Solids and 37.9 ppm of frother dosage for Wishbone Hill coal sample. The quadratic equation for modelling and optimizing the response variable is found to be independent of collector dosage for both the coal samples. INTRODUCTION Alaskan coal deposits are distributed in three major coal provinces and are in Cretaceous and Tertiary rocks. The climate, vegetation type and sedimentation process has attributed to low sulfur content (averaging 0.3 percent) in Alaskan coals compared to other coal deposits found across the globe. In Central Alaska-Nenana and Southern Alaska-Cook Inlet coal province coal resources are contained in Tertiary rocks while bulk of the Coal resource in North Slope coal province is contained in Cretaceous and Tertiary coal bearing rocks [1]. Coals from Central Alaska- Nenana (Healy) and Southern Alaska-Cook Inlet province (Wishbone Hill) have been found to possess elevated concentrations of critical REEs as compared to the amounts present in world coals (Figure 1). The Wishbone Hill deposit is considered a relatively small deposit, with about 14 million tons of identified reserves, compared to Healy which has over 500 million tons identified [2]. The REE concentrations up to 286 ppm and 524 ppm on ash basis have been reported by Gupta et al. in 2016 with elevated concentrations Ce, La, Y and Nd which are expressed to be of critical importance by US Department of Energy. Accordingly, the two coal samples possess the potential to be used as a REE resource in the near future under favorable socio-economic and geo-political scenarios. [3, 4]"

Jan 1, 2017

By Naiyang Ma

Along with steel production, various steelmaking slags are constantly generated at considerably high rates. In general, steelmaking slags are not categorized into hazardous materials and do not cause any environmental issues. Therefore, recycling of steelmaking slags is often aimed at creating values by using the slags to replace high-cost raw materials. Chemical compositions and particle size distributions of slag products from steelmaking slags will determine what raw materials the slag products can replace. Consequently, maximizing the values of steelmaking slags will require to produce slag products with the highest values and to process the slags with the lowest costs. In this paper, several slag processing processes are assessed based on maximization of the values of the steelmaking slags.

Mar 1, 2017

By J. K. Atherton

If the metals sector is to contribute successfully to sustainable consumption we must adopt principles and practices which address the entire life cycle of the materials we produce. Progress must be founded on a sense of shared responsibility for the resources we utilize and the materials we create - it is this integrated approach which lies at the heart of materials stewardship. Materials stewardship means mining and metals companies producing materials in a responsible manner and then working with others, beyond their site, to ensure that the downstream material flows and applications are managed properly to create maximum societal value. In September 2006 ICMM published &apos;Maximizing Value: Guidance on implementing materials stewardship in the minerals and metals value chain&apos;. This document takes a practical view presenting structured guidance as well as good practice case studies. In the publication, materials stewardship is described in terms of the range of activities that can be undertaken to ensure that all parties work collectively toward the responsible use of metal and mineral resources. This paper introduces the materials stewardship concept as set out in `Maximizing Value&apos; and describes the business case for implementation as well as the ICMM framework for promoting materials stewardship.

Jan 1, 2007

By B. Petri, N. Rouse

"Air overpressure monitoring procedures and instrumentation guidelines which apply to production blasting in underground limestone mining are not readily available. The industry also lacks an applicable source for air overpressure levels that are produced by blasting operations in underground limestone mines. As such, there was no available background data from which the expected overpressure levels from production blasting in a new underground limestone mine could be predicted. During the development phase of the mine, it was imperative that newly constructed underground structures be capable of withstanding the overpressure produced by blasting in nearby production headings. To ensure the structures could withstand the blast-induced overpressure, a study was conducted to record empirical overpressure data and develop a model which could be used to control air overpressure levels by the production crews. This document describes the procedures used to develop the model, the development of the model, and the applicability of the model for predicting underground blast overpressures. INTRODUCTION A developing underground limestone mining operation required that a ventilation wall be built to house the permanent mine fans. At the time of the study, the mine was a single-level room and pillar operation with a 7.9 meter (26 ft) high roof, 13.7 meter (45 ft) wide entries, and 13.7 meter by 13.7 meter (45 ft by 45 ft) pillar dimensions. The mine is accessed via a 396 meter (1300 ft) long decline and 100 meter (330 ft) deep ventilation shaft. The ventilation wall was to be partially constructed of autoclaved aerated concrete blocks, for which dynamic strength data from explosives loading were unavailable. The company ownership feared that airblast may affect the wall due to the close proximity of the working faces. Therefore, the company management asked that the overpressure levels be estimated and compared with the designed wall strength. Few studies that apply to explosively-driven air overpressure levels in underground production blasting were found through a literature review. Therefore, the logical approach to assess the overpressure levels was to monitor the blast pressures at the site and conduct a thorough evaluation of the data. As a result of this study, the equipment setup and monitoring procedure used to record the airblast data is described. Finally, the experimental data gathered during the monitoring program is presented, trends and findings from the data are discussed, and recommendations for further study are presented."

Jan 1, 2015

By S. Chai

Waste dumps are widely used to discharge stripped mine wastes in open pit mining methods. As mining progresses, the height of the waste dumps will increase gradually, which may induce sliding failure once the height exceeds a critical value. Therefore, estimation of the maximum dumping height is crucial to the life-cycle use of a waste dump. However, published information about the maximum height of mine waste dumps are extremely rare. In this study, the maximum dumping height is estimated based on the strength-reduction technique by numerical simulations. The influences of dump geometry and properties on the maximum height are investigated. The results show that the maximum dump height decreases as the dump slope inclination angle α or the unit weight of dump materials γ increases, but decreases when the shear parameters of dump materials (cohesion c and internal friction angle ϕ) increase. The maximum height starts to increase with the ground inclination β when shear failure occurs at the interface between the dump and the base. Furthermore the effects of the dump width B, Young’s modulus E, and Poisson’s ratio μ of dump materials on the maximum height are almost insignificant. Good agreement was found between numerical results available in the literature and those obtained in this study.

Oct 1, 2022

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 T. S. Grewal, S. C. Gupta, H. Natarajan, T. W. McQuade, N. Nejibulloev-Mamedov

Cigar Lake is one of the world’s largest high-grade uranium mines. The ore mined at Cigar Lake is milled at Orano Canada Inc’s (Orano) McClean Lake mill. The average Cigar Lake ore uranium grade since the start of mining activities in 2014 is 17.8% U (range 8– 28%). To achieve budgeted production of 18 M lbs U3O8/yr the required average feed tonnage to the mill is about 45 kt/yr. Arsenic, occurring as arsenides and sulpharsenides, is one of the major elements of concern associated with Cigar Lake ore. The leaching process is a sulphuric acid leach under oxidizing conditions at near atmospheric pressure. The presence of arsenic in the ore consumes oxidant in leaching as well as ferric sulphate in tailings preparation for arsenic sequestration. The average arsenic grade since the start of mining at Cigar Lake is 0.57% As. Further, the ore is hosted in a matrix of sandstone and clay, which results in poor settling in CCD. The average uranium grade for the balance of Cigar Lake Phase 1 ore is expected to drop to 12.5% U and the average arsenic grade is expected to increase to 1.6 % As, with an annual average peak of 2.5%. Therefore the tonnage throughput required to sustainably meet the production target will increase to 55 kt per year. Orano partnered with Hatch Ltd. (Hatch) to perform a gap analysis study to identify key circuits and equipment in the mill that would require debottlenecking. A METSIM mass balance model of the McClean Lake mill was generated and validated with actual mill operating data. Various feed scenarios were then studied, and the outcome was a traffic light table, which highlighted feed scenarios that exceeded installed capacity of major equipment and circuits. The results provided the basis for the PDC for the pre-feasibility study. This paper will outline the results of the gap analysis, the mass balance model, the feed scenarios and the study undertaken to prepare the McClean Lake mill for the change in ore quality from Cigar Lake.

Jan 1, 2020

By M. Jorgensen, I. Markland, D. Shuck

"The McLaughlin Mine owned by Homestake Mining Company is located 70 miles northeast of San Francisco in California's coastal range. The mine began operations in February of 1985. The mill currently processes 3,000 short-ton per day of sulfide ore that has an average grade of 0.15 ounces of gold per ton, plus another 3,000 tons per day in a newly completed oxide circuit. Annual production from the mine totals over 200,000 ounces.The sulfide ore extraction process involves three basic steps, grinding, oxidation of sulfide minerals in an autoclave, and cyanide leaching for recovery of gold in a carbon-in-pulp circuit. This process, which incorporates a new technology where oxidation of sulfide minerals is conducted prior to cyanide leaching to facilitate gold recovery, was successful from start-up. However, limitation in the grinding mills initially limited sulfide tonnage throughput.This paper discusses modifications made in the grinding circuit, both mechanical and operational, to resolve it deficiency. The SAG mill, in particular, was unable to achieve design tonnage initially and proved to be most troublesome. Complications occurred due to the hardness and variability of ore being processed, short component life, and a lifter /liner arrangement that had to be tailored to the particular circumstances at McLaughlin. IntroductionHomestake Mining Company's McLaughlin Mill, located in northern California, was designed to process a refractory gold ore at a rate of 3,000 tpd to render the ore amenable to cyanidation. Seven years transpired between discovery of the near-surface ore body in 1978 and the February, 1985 plant start-up. Development of the McLaughlin mill and open pit gold mine hinged on the use of autoclave technology to achieve design recoveries."

Jan 1, 1991

By Robin Dill, Wei Song, Andrew Perham, Leo Martin

"AECOM completed a subsurface exploration program for an 18-foot diameter, approximately 4-mile long rock tunnel project in Hartford, CT. The tunnel crosses the regional geologic trend through the middle of a sedimentary basin, passing through four separate rock formations, including two volcanic flows. Faulting is prevalent, with at least 15 faults encountered during the site investigation. Severe artesian flows were also experienced in several of the borings, requiring highly specialized drilling equipment. Sixty-two borings and associated testing were performed to characterize the structural geology, hydrogeology, rock properties and ground conditions. A phased program was carefully planned and implemented with participation of geotechnical and geologic specialists, with thoughtful evaluation along the way to react to the ground conditions encountered, and make appropriate refinements. This paper will discuss the subsurface program details; the integrated efforts used to effectively characterize the ground; and will summarize the final characterization presented in the GBR. PROJECT DESCRIPTION The South Tunnel Conveyance and Storage Tunnel project is part of the Metropolitan District (MDC’s) Long Term Control Plan to address discharges to various water bodies throughout the greater Hartford area. This program includes a main conveyance and storage tunnel; a tunnel boring machine (TBM) launch shaft and retrieval shaft; adit tunnels with associated drop shafts and connection structures; consolidation conduits and manholes; and a tunnel pump station (TPS) at the downstream end of the main conveyance tunnel. AECOM is serving as prime designer for the MDC on this project. The main conveyance tunnel (hereinafter referred to as the “South Tunnel”) will be a deep rock tunnel with an invert depth of approximately 180 feet at its downstream end and approximately 218 feet at the TBM retrieval shaft. The tunnel will have a finished diameter of 18 feet. The tunnel will rise in grade at a slope of 0.1 percent to its upstream end. Total invert depth along the deep tunnel alignment ranges from about 180 ft. to as high as 320 feet. The total length of the tunnel will be 21,754 feet. The South Tunnel will be constructed using a shielded TBM and fully lined with pre-cast concrete segments."

Jan 1, 2016

By J. Jin, J. D. Miller

"Bubble attachment at hydrophobic surfaces is of critical importance in the flotation recovery of mineral resources and fundamental experimental results have been reported in the literature describing the details of film thinning, rupture, and displacement. Now, for the first time, bubble attachment phenomena are examined using Molecular Dynamics Simulations (MDS). The simulation involves a nitrogen bubble containing 906 nitrogen molecules in a water phase with 74,000 water molecules at the hydrophobic molybdenite (001) surface. During the simulation period of 1 ns, film rupture occurs and the nitrogen bubble attaches to the molybdenite (001) surface, resulting in a contact angle of about 90o. In contrast, the film is stable at the hydrophilic quartz (001) surface and the bubble does not attach. Contact angles, determined from MD simulation after stabilization of the three phase line of contact, are reported and these results agree well with experimental and MDS sessile drop results. In this way, film stability and bubble attachment are described with respect to interfacial water structure for surfaces of different polarity. For example, the interfacial water molecules for the hydrophobic molybdenite (001) surface have relatively weak interactions with the surface when compared to the hydrophilic quartz (001) surface, as revealed bythe presence of a 3 A water exclusion zone at the molybdenite/water interface. INTRODUCTIONAttachment of air bubbles to mineral particles is of fundamental importance in understanding flotation separation phenomena. It is well known that attachment of an air bubble at a hydrophobic surface includes film thinning, film rupture, and film displacement (Somasundaran, 2006; Wilson, Adlard, Cooke, & Poole, 2000). Experimental techniques, such as high speed video, can catch the process of bubble attachment at a mineral surface (Drelich & Miller, 2012; Niecikowska, Krasowska, Ralston, & Malysa, 2012). However, molecular scale information to examine the phenomena has not yet been reported."

Jan 1, 2016

By Stéphane Robert

This document presents estimates of future "total cash cost per ounce" and "minesite cost per tonne" that are not recognized measures under United States generally accepted accounting principles ("US GAAP"). This data may not be comparable to data presented by other gold producers. These future estimates are based upon the total cash costs per ounce and minesite costs per tonne that the Company expects to incur to mine gold at the applicable projects and do not include production costs attributable to accretion expense and other asset retirement costs, which will vary over time as each project is developed and mined. It is therefore not practicable to reconcile these forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures to the most comparable GAAP measure. A reconciliation of the Company&apos;s total cash cost per ounce and minesite cost per tonne to the most comparable financial measures calculated and presented in accordance with US GAAP for the Company&apos;s historical results of operations is set forth in the notes to the financial statements included in the Company&apos;s Annual Information Form and Annual Report on Form 20-F, for the year ended December 31, 2009, as well as the Company&apos;s other filings with the Canadian Securities Administrators and the SEC.

May 1, 2011

By Ronald D. Boyer

"Early in the design stage of Meadowlands Xanadu, the client’s project director informed me that “after construction, nobody is going to come to Xanadu to see the foundations.” My response was, “Well, that’s good, because the only reason someone would come to see the foundations is if there is a problem with them.” The client’s real message was clear: the money for the project would be better spent on architectural design components and interior finishes that would attract high-end tenants and entertainment seekers. The foundations, however, were challenging. The sheer size of the Xanadu development, the varying depths to rock, the loading conditions associated with the different structures, and the construction sequencing required the use of multiple deep foundation types and specialty foundation contractors. Xanadu, when completed, will consist of over 2.5 million sq ft of entertainment venues, restaurants and retail stores; America’s first i n d o o r s n o w dome; North America’s tallest (287 ft high) Ferris wheel; and four parking decks. Finished grades for Xanadu were essentially within about 1 to 2 ft of existing grades at the site, except for a 5 acre wetlands area, which received about 8 ft of new fill. Before the current construction, the approximate 75-acre Xanadu site was occupied by the Continental Airlines (now Izod) Arena, on-grade parking lots and the wetlands area. The Arena property is part of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA) Meadowlands Sports Complex, which also includes Giants Stadium and the Racetrack, and is located in East Rutherford, N. J. Subsurface ConditionsThe site subsurface conditions include fill materials underlain by organic silt and peat (former marsh deposits or “meadowmat”), varved clay, glacial till and shale bedrock. The Xanadu site had been a marsh until the Sports Complex was created by filling in the early 1970s. The fill consists of dredged materials from Lower New York Harbor imported by hydraulic pipeline from the Hudson River. The fill also includes “historic fill,” defined as nonindigenous material deposited to raise the topographic elevation of a site, such as construction debris and other nonhazardous solid waste, and was generally encountered in thicknesses ranging from 8 ft to 18 ft. Within the previously developed portion of the site, a layer of marsh deposits consisting of peat and organic silt was encountered beneath the fill in thicknesses ranging from two ft to seven ft. Within the existing wetlands area, the marsh deposits were up to 10 ft below existing grade. The varved clay stratum was six ft to 36 ft thick. The depth to shale rock increases from approximately 15 ft near the west side of the site to approximately 80 ft near the south side. Groundwater was tidally influenced and varied from about 6 to 12 feet below both existing and proposed grade."

Jan 1, 2009