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By Franz Reufer

At Rogesa in Dillingen, Germany, a joint venture company of AG der Dillinger Hüttenwerke and Saarstahl AG and at Salzgitter Flachstahl GmbH in Salzgitter the sinterplants are equipped with the Paul Wurth EFA™ process for the final sinterplant off-gas cleaning. In Dillingen two and in Salzgitter one EFA™ plant are in operation at the respective sinterplants to comply with the very stringent environmental rules prevailing in Germany according to the German Clean Air Act called “TA Luft”. The main target is to eliminate or reduce emissions like dust, sulfur components, dioxins/furans and others in the sinter process off-gas. Since 2006 and 2011 the two EFA™ plant are in operation at Rogesa while the EFA™ plant in Salzgitter was also commissioned in 2011. These installations significantly contribute to the improvement of the emission situation of the Dillingen and Salzgitter Works. The EFA™ technology is the state-of-the-art process for such kind of application in terms of additive and energy consumption, reliability and availability. The report gives an overview of the EFA™ process and the performance results of the Dillingen and Salzgitter plant.

Aug 1, 2018

By Nicole Peter

When introducing digital training technology a practical approach helps address cultural concerns.  Solutions to help create acceptance are discussed.  Resistance to change may be deeply rooted in traditional mine training personnel.  Traditional training staff members may consider themselves less digitally-savvy and resist technological methods available to them. A transitional approach intended to help mitigate or resolve resistance is presented as a continuous improvement pathway toward full adoption.  This presentation contends every mine should welcome the benefit of a digitally connected critical enabler.  The adoption of a digitally savvy learning centre is often viewed a disrupter to existing practice.  Given a commitment-driven learning centre model, technology offers the opportunity to transition from a compliance-based training model to one of competence.  Learning and Development practitioners should welcome the latest advances in neuroscience, Bloom’s taxonomy of learning model, and principles which guide mine safety training as outlined by the Lowell Institute for Mineral Resources at the University of Arizona. By employing digital applications to include animation, game-based simulations and immersive Virtual Reality (VR) these technologies create a viable digitally-savvy learning centre. We will outline the ingredients of a digitally enabled, or VR, Learning Centre to offer some observed benefits, successes, and potential short-comings. Much excitement in the industry surrounds implementation of simulation and/or VR headset training.  Given fair consideration of these as a ‘fit-for-purpose’ solution we examine the paradigm shift required to create real results for on-the-job learning.  Interim steps may be needed to meet the cultural transformation.   Simpler forms of VR, in the form of 3D models and VR environments as displayed on a large interactive touch screen, can serve to bridge this challenge and address a group learning environment. Features of the interactive 3D technology and ease of adoption are presented.  Usage of the touch screen is similar to that of a smart phone. It may be implemented as an obvious transitional tool.  To help describe merits of the interactive touch screen the presentation points out these sample underground and surface mine training applications. There are 3-D simulations such as ventilation, emergency response, support installation, and mine cycle and activity scheduling programs. These applications offer the ability to conduct entry examinations, complete digital pre-use checklists, and perform planned task observations in the virtual world of work. The tool may be used to teach the flow of hydraulics and do fault-finding on machinery such as loaders and dump trucks. Learners may navigate in a virtual mining environment to identify hazards, detect and assess abnormal ground conditions, address poor design features, and alleviate traffic constraints. It is possible to use connected physical controls to navigate machinery in the virtual environment. We conclude the presentation with a “compare and contrast” approach to cite potential cultural benefits by adopting a transitional method. 

May 4, 2025

By LUKE O. LINDOE

A major clay products industry in the Medicine Hat area since before 1910 has maintained a continued interest in the clays of the Cypress Hills. For the first forty years the materials used were local red-burning Cretaceous and Pleistocene clays and sands and high-quality stoneware clays of the Whitemud Formation at Eastend, Saskatchewan. Recently a much broader spectrum of raw materials has been brought into use. Including the exposures of the Eagle Butte structure, the Cypress Hills present a 1200 m section of clay-like sediments. Of this 1200 m about 94 per cent, the high montmorillonite shales of the Upper Cretaceous, can be considered useless, or nearly so; the remaining six per cent, all fresh-water beds, presents a wide variety of potentially useful materials. The development of these clay resources is complicated by deep surface creep on the south flank of the Cypress Hills, by largescale slumping on the north flank and by a structural complex in the Eagle Butte area.

Jan 1, 1984

By Xiaozhen Song, Ashish Ranjan Kumar, Shimin Liu

Diesel particulate matter (DPM) presents considerable occupational health hazards in large-opening underground mines (LOUM). Previous studies have primarily focused on single-factor ventilation optimization, while this study innovatively integrates booster fan configurations and loading truck placements utilizing a coupled CFD turbulence– particle tracing model. Three distinct ventilation scenarios were simulated to evaluate their effects on DPM dispersion and dilution efficiency. Results indicate that dual booster fans substantially enhance airflow distribution, increasing air exchange efficiency; The migration pathways of DPM closely align with airflow trajectories, and air turbulence is the predominant factor influencing particle behavior within LOUM; Loading truck placement critically influences local DPM accumulation; Airflow effectiveness diminishes markedly with distance from booster fans, causing stagnation at distant working faces. The coupled CFD approach accurately captured airflow–particle interactions, offering valuable insights for optimizing mine ventilation strategies and effectively mitigating miners’ exposure to DPM.

Feb 22, 2026

By Zhi Yang, Ahmad Ghahreman, Farzaneh Sadri

Impurity removal is a very important stage of the hydrometallurgical treatment of rare earth elements (REE) processing circuit, which is performed after water leaching of the acid baked REE concentrate. Lime neutralization has a high efficiency in removal of impurities and is the preferred process due to its economic advantage; however, the process has its own problems, such as the production of large volumes of gypsum and co-precipitation of REE with gypsum, i.e. REE loss. This work deals with the effect of several additives (cetryltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), polyvinylsulfonic acid (PVS) and polyacrylic acid (PAA)) on the uptake of REE by gypsum from synthesized acidic solutions. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the changes in the crystalline morphology of gypsum precipitated by the addition of crystal habit modifiers and to determine the crystal changes’ effects on the uptake of REE by gypsum. In this regard, different concentrations (0.2, 2 and 5 g L−1) of above-mentioned additives were studied at room temperature.

Mar 1, 2018

By Morris J. D, Baldwin Z., Wiltcher P. M

21 Moorfields is an oversite development in central London spanning Moorgate tube station. It required the installation of both the highest loaded bearing piles and the highest top loaded static pile test ever undertaken in the UK, at 50.5MN (5,680 tons). The 17-storey building is founded on only 15 large diameter bored piles installed through the roof of the live station. The piles are located in two parallel rows 50 m (164 ft) apart, bridging the underlying train lines and the Crossrail tunnel below. This unique project required a diverse cross-section of skills and experience from the Project Team as we not only pushed the boundaries of design but also those of construction practices. Our team therefore needed to be made up of members from multiple businesses and disciplines. The team worked together, in a highly collaborative environment, for around two years before any work started on site. A key challenge for this project was that there was only one opportunity to construct each pile. If a position had to be abandoned there were no alternative locations and the impact on the project would have been catastrophic. It was therefore vital that all events that may have led to the abandonment of a pile were investigated ahead of commencement on site. Risk elimination and mitigation strategies were developed for all eventualities whether they be associated with the design or construction processes. The successful pile load test, coupled with all contract piles being fully instrumented with state-of-theart fiber optic (CemOptic) cable along their full length, has improved our understanding of the performance of such large and heavily loaded piles. The works piles will all be monitored during the construction of the new building, providing new insight into their real-world performance. Such groundbreaking work has never been undertaken before in the UK and has the potential to significantly influence the industry’s understanding of pile behavior, and design, in the future. This paper will discuss the challenges the team encountered during the design and construction of this highly complex urban project, particularly when adopting, by necessity, a pioneering approach.

By David Bartsch

The Ohio Valley Coal Company (Ohio Valley) has operated the Powhatan No. 6 Mine in Belmont County, Ohio since 1972. Ohio University owns a 455-acre research farm over a portion of the Ohio Valley reserve containing 51 acres of old-growth forest known as Dysart Woods. In 1988, when Ohio Valley applied for a new mining area for its first longwall located several miles away from Dysart Woods, Ohio University claimed that mining at that distance would lower the regional water table and kill the old trees. In response, Ohio Valley began to study potential impacts from longwall mining on hydrology, soil moisture, and tree growth. Early studies examined the impacts of longwall mining on hydrology, soil moisture, and tree growth directly over mined areas compared to woodlots that were not undermined. A subsequent study examined tree-ring growth for a five-year period before and after longwall mining for several woodlots, some directly over panels and others at distances of up to 2000 ft away. No significant differences in growth rate associated with longwall mining were observed. New research was begun that compared longwall-mining impacts on groundwater hydrology, available soil moisture, and tree growth in two stands of mature trees located near Dysart Woods in order to confirm the earlier results. Using a test technique known as "Before-and-After-Controlled-Impact-Pairs," data was collected from one woodlot (test) that was undermined and from another (control) that was not undermined. Data collection began several years prior to longwall mining and has continued for several years after mining. The data for the test site shows that although the shallow and deep groundwater levels were affected by longwall mining, the soil moisture, vigor rating, or the growth rate of trees did not decline significantly compared to the control site where there were hydrologic impacts. The study shows that there are no known significant impacts to trees from longwall mining. The results of these studies were used by Ohio Valley to obtain State approval to longwall to within 300 ft of Dysart Woods

Jan 1, 2005

By N. Cabrera

IN a recent paper Kuczynski' studied the rate at which the crack between a metallic plane and a spherical particle of the same material is filled up gradually when heated at temperatures near the melting point. If x is the radius of contact between plane and sphere (fig. I), Kuczynski shows experimentally that x5 = At [1] where t is the time. Assuming that the mechanism of transport of matter is the volume diffusion of vacant lattice sites, he is also able to prove Eq 1 theoretically. The constant A contains as a factor the self-diffusion coefficient of the metal and he shows that the values for this coefficient deduced from his experiments yield the same activation energy as that calculated by other methods, which is a confirmation of this point of view. Kuczynski has also considered theoretically the law of growth of x which would be expected if surface diffusion were the important mechanism. He suggests that x should then obey a law of the form x7 = At, and claims to be able to decide the mechanism involved from the observed law of growth., The purpose of this note is to prove this incorrect. On the contrary, when the mechanism is surface diffusion Eq 1 is also obeyed, but with a different constant A. Following Kuczynski, we suppose the bottom of the crack (surface A A) to have an average radius of curvature p. As a result of this curvature the concentration of adsorbed atoms in this surface, n(p) per cm2, will be smaller, and the concentration of vacant lattice sites in the neighborhood, N(p) per cm3, will be larger than the corresponding concentrations, n(w) and N(w), for a flat surface. For all practical cases we can write Thomson's formula in the form n(co)— n(P) N(P)—N(cc) _ 2a-a" n(oo) JV(co) kTp [2] where u is the surface energy of the metal and a the interatomic distance. 1. Let us now consider the mechanism of surface diffusion. We suppose the concentration of ad-

Jan 1, 1951

By Travis A. Shoemaker, Mitchell S. Youmans, Nancy T. Chin, Michael S. Senior

A geologic assessment and stability analysis of the right abutment of Boundary Hydroelectric Dam in Pend Oreille County, Washington was completed in May 2017. The stability analyses identified a potential failure plane of a rock block that supports a bridge abutment, and weight restrictions were established to reduce the bridge loads. To restore full use of the bridge, a long-term stabilization solution was designed. A two-phased construction approach was implemented to reduce risk: (1) cable lashing and wire mesh and (2) 24 permanent post-tensioned tiebacks. The tiebacks were located and sequenced based on stabilization effect and site access to incrementally ease the bridge loading restrictions throughout construction. Due to weight restrictions and site tolerances, all work was performed with rope access construction methods. The contractor’s means and methods, tight drilling tolerances, and an exploratory adit within the rock block made the construction uniquely challenging. Due to limited exploratory data and irregular rock face geometries, the design orientation, location, and tolerances of the tiebacks were established in a 3D Building Information Model (BIM). The 3D model was revised frequently during construction to 1) model the as-drilled conditions of the tiebacks; 2) compare with the remaining proposed anchors; 3) anticipate the contractor’s sequence to reduce risk during drilling; 4) accommodate the contractor’s requests for information; 5) make design changes based on field observations; and 6) incrementally assess rock block stability. The 3D model was created using BIM software and automated using custom programming to link per-plan, proposed, and as-installed tiebacks between the 3D model, field logs, and a stability analysis. This system allowed for a near real-time 3D model and stability analysis, which were easily communicated between the design team and field staff. This workflow and automated model nearly eliminated manual editing of the 3D model, accelerated contract document response time, and helped reduce risk for the owner, contractor, and engineer. Here, we present a successful case study utilizing the Observation Method and a real-time 3D model to complete a project with numerous complexities relating to design, communication, and risk.

By Michal Rehor, Vladimir Cablik, Peter Fecko, Tomas Lang

"1. Introduction The North-Bohemian Basin area is known for its largest Czech brown coal deposit. About 50% brown coal reserves have been exploited in the North-Bohemian Basin by the mining company of Severoceske doly, a.s. (North Bohemian Mines, j.s.c.) today. The opencast mining of brown coal naturally led to vast landscape damages. Therefore reclamation work has acquired great significance. The specific feature of Severoceske doly, a.s. mining is the fact that the mining has been realized in two geologically absolutely different localities. This fact demands even rather different methods of reclamations. The main problem at Doly Bilina localities is the occurrence of overburden rocks from the series of rocks of coal seams. These rocks are texturally light but large amounts of coal (cca 5 %) and sulphur (cca below 3 %) which makes the soil reaction extremely acid. If they appear on the surface of the dump, they create a phytotoxic area, reclamation of which requires special methods. Rocks from Doly Nastup Tusimice localities are more suitable to reclamation use, but texturally extremely heavy rocks with large fraction of physical clays appear there that can generate a sterile soil area. Their reclamation requirements are completely different from those on Doly Bilina phytotoxic areas. That is the reason of the application of some non – traditional restoration methods. This report briefly summarises the experience in application of fertilizable soils, power plant stabilizer, power plant ash and aerial sowing of charlock. The results are documented by the monitoring of the physical, mineralogical and pedological parameters of rocks in testing areas.2. Properties of Overburden Rocks in Opencast Mines Bilina and Libous The reclamation work methodology in the North Bohemian Basin is above all determined by the properties of overburden rocks which occur in the top horizon of the reclaimed sites. The research of the rocks reclamation properties dealt with four current mining localities in the central part of the basin. It concerned the Bilina and Libous mines. This chapter states the stratigraphic status properties of these sites with respect to reclamation availability. The total status of the area of interest is shown in the figure No. 1."

Jan 1, 2008

By J Centofanti, D Conti, R Riske, C Morley, A Cook

Why is it so difficult? Why are there differences throughout the resources industry in how reconciliation factors are reported and calculated? Why is there no standard formula to use? These are common questions asked when mining companies try to compare reconciliation results across operations or attempt to undertake internal or corporate governance reporting processes. For many mining companies the calculation of reconciliation factors is often a very time and resource intensive part of mandatory reconciliation reporting. Some major mining companies, that move millions of tonnes of material per annum, dedicate full time resources to the calculation of reconciliation factors. The willingness of these companies to set aside resources demonstrates the value that operations place on good reconciliation reporting. Reconciliation is about measuring the variance between two like measures at different points along the mining sequence. It can be undertaken between predictive models, forecast plans and actual measured performance. Calculations are used to derive a variance between two sections within the mining sequence, with the result being commonly known in the resources industry as a æfactorÆ. Mining companies use the calculation of reconciliation factors as key performance indices (KPIs) to provide a æhealth checkÆ of their operation, with variances often pointing to issues either with the accuracy of the original estimate or the quality of the measurement being used in the comparison. There are many reconciliation factors that can be calculated and reported. This paper will set out, clarify and provide a recommended standard means of calculating each specific factor that, where adopted by a company, will ensure compliance with the international reporting codes, such as JORC. Using case studies from Rio Tinto Group (Rio Tinto) and BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance (æBMAÆ), and the authors experience across a wide range of mine sites, the outline of a generic solution for tracking a parcel of material from the pit through to the port along with appropriate reconciliation factors is provided. The intention of proposing standardised reconciliation factor terminology and methodology is to provide the foundations of a system to enable communication and comparison across different commodities, companies and mines sites.

Jan 1, 2009

By Steve Kral

The list of environmental issues facing industry in general, and the mining industry in particular, has placed greater emphasis on the concept of risk assessment and risk management. In informal terms, risk can be defined as the chance of injury, loss or damage. More formally, it is defined as the probability of an occurrence and its consequences. In simple terms, risk assessment involves three questions: What can go wrong? How probable is it to go wrong? If it goes wrong, what are the consequences? Experts on the subject of risk assess¬ment and management met in St. Louis, MO in October 1992 to discuss the extensive and innovative technology that has been developed in this arena. Each agreed that a consistent framework can be used to approach risk assessment/ management considerations in siting and design alternatives, as well as when considering financial aspects of mine development. And the environmental planning process for mines, as well as planning for operation through closures, will rely more heavily on risk assessment and management techniques. Risk assessment is a tool to assist engineers, scientists and managers make better, defensible operational decisions. A realistic and probabilistic risk analysis, coupled with a sound financial model, can combine a large set of alternatives and criteria to arrive at a defensible decision. Organizers of this regional SME conference believe that mining professionals should become fully conversant with risk assessment techniques and approaches because this arena provides opportunities to develop more rational decision-making techniques. Current health risk assessments rely heavily on Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approaches. Several speakers and papers show how this approach has been applied to a variety of topics. Two major advantages come forward when applying risk assessment techniques to environmental clean-up options for contaminated sites. They are the selection of practical options and cost-effective alternatives. A probabilistic risk assessment provides results that can be directly related to clean-up costs. It has been shown that small reductions in risk are obtained for large increases in cost after a certain threshold value is reached. A preferred, practical clean-up alternative that provides permanent solutions can be selected based on a probabilistic assessment. Here are summaries of some of the papers presented at the meeting.

Jan 1, 1993

By E. B. Kroeger

One of the problems encountered when constructing a roadway is the planned route often needs to cross soils that are soft and highly compressible. An approach to dealing with soft and compressible soils is to construct the fill from lightweight materials, thereby reducing the stresses on underlying soils. Most lightweight fills have approximately the same cost, so the most important consideration when choosing a lightweight fill is that the material properties of the lightweight fill match the conditions existing at the site. Expanded polystyrene (EPS) has been used as a lightweight fill material for more than 30 years. The EPS used for road fills is typically in the range of 0.5 to 2 lb/ft3, and has a compressive strength of in the range of 10 to 30 lb/in2. If a higher strength material is needed, then the material density is increased, which also adds to the cost of the material. Another type of lightweight fill material that is commonly being used is lightweight aggregate (LWA). LWA can be created by passing slate or shale through a rotary kiln or reheating coal fly ash with other materials to form pellets or aggregate. Several companies throughout the U.S market these materials under a variety of names. LWA can have a unit weight from 45-80 lb/ft3. For sites where trucking granular fill does not pose a problem, this material may be an alternative to EPS. One of the drawbacks to using LWA is the availability of the material. Only a few companies are manufacturing LWA, so it may not be available or may be cost prohibitive in certain areas of the country. Lightweight flyash blocks have been produced which may fill the gap in unit weight between the EPS and LWA. Blocks have been produced with a unit weight as low as 30 lb/ft3. They are relatively inexpensive, easy to handle, and have a moderate compressive strength. Although the unit weight is dramatically higher than EPS, the strength is also higher. If lateral stabilization of the fill is a problem, then geofabrics or grids can be incorporated into the design to add lateral strength.

Jan 1, 2003

By Florian Aurelian, Mihai Popescu

"It will be tested four types of “geochemical barriers”. All those mixtures were contacted with mine waters containing uranium, radium and heavy metals. The loading capacity was determined. The optimum mixture was determined and its efficiency was tested within an uranium areal, where the activity was stopped. It was determined the possibility to recover the radioactive elements and the heavy metals from the investigated barriers.IntroductionThe paper presents the results concerning the performances of some “geochemical barriers” used for the decontamination of mine waters from uranium mining sites, which were tested in lab and in situ.ExperimentalThe research activity was carried out in lab and on the site.In the lab a module was constructed in order to follow up the uptake capacity of the “permeable reactive geochemical barriers” used to remove the radiolelements from the contaminated waters originated from the uranium mining industry. The barriers, which were used, are made of cheap natural materials, which can be easily got (wood chips, peat coal, sawdust, iron span, steel and zeolitic tuff). The following types of barriers were tested:•, 1st barrier: peat coal, sawdust, zeolite on weight ratio of 1/1/1;•, 2nd barrier: bentonite, sand, wood chips, peat coal on weight ratio of 1/1/1/1;•, 3rd barrier: iron span, steel, sawdust, peat coal on weight ratio of 2/1/1;•, 4th barrier: iron span, steel, sand, firry wood chips on weight ratio of 1/1/1.Lab researches concerning the uranium uptake capacity of the above described “reactive barriers” pointed out that the 3rd mixture (iron span, steel, sawdust, peat coal on a ratio of 2/1/1) didn’t reach the maximum uranium uptake capacity not even after eleven contact stages (the uptake capacity being of 70.6 mg U/ kg of mixture) and the mixture of peat coal, sawdust and zeolite has an uranium uptake capacity of 26.6 mg U/kg of mixture and becomes saturated after four contact stages.Each one of the components involved in physical-chemical processes of sorption, reduction and precipitation, will determine the diminution of uranium and other metals contents upstream the permeable reactive barrier."

Jan 1, 2008

By E. D. Gardner

WHEN the National Forests Were created, all lands embraced in their boundaries were exempted from all forms of entry, except mineral claims. Later, by Act of June 11, 1906, and as amended by Act of Aug. 10, 1912, provision was made allowing homesteads on areas chiefly valuable for agriculture and not necessary for the public use. Patents to mining claim in the Forests are granted the same as on land not in the Forests, irrespective of timber or other values. It is the policy to encourage the highest use of the Forests. As a business proposition, it is a good policy to have mines developed in the Forests. Their development in remote or inaccessible regions causes the country to be opened up and, in addition to the local market which the mines create, means of transportation are afforded to outside markets. No examination of mining claims is made until patent has been applied for, unless they are actively interfering with the administration of the Forest. In this case, an examination is made, and if there is evidence that the claims are being held in good faith they are in no way interfered with. Timber is never sold from a mining claim except with the consent of the claimant, or unless it is clearly shown, after an examination, that the claim is abandoned. In the case of fire-killed timber, which rapidly deteriorates by standing, a contract bond arrangement can be made for the sale of the timber which protects the interests of both the mining claimant and the government. The promiscuous locating of mining claims has in the past caused considerable trouble. It has been, and still is, the custom in some parts of the West to locate a mining claim when the surface rights of any particular area are desired, irrespective of the mineral character of the ground. This has been done to hold power sites, town sites, summer residences, springs, etc. When the, ground is desired for any of these purposes, what is known as a Special Use Permit will be issued at a nominal sum, to legalize the occupancy. In most instances, it is far cheaper to take out one of these permits than to do the annual assessment

Jan 7, 1914

By Dean Edwin Dallin

A computer system was developed by Texasgulf's Corporate Data Center (at Raleigh, North Carolina) to evaluate the economics of proposed new projects and to determine the incremental expansion effects of existing projects. The Corporate Treasurer, Controller, and Senior Staff Members of the corporate office guided the project with advice from the Chairman's office. After consideration of commercially available programs, the decision was made to develop an in-house investment system. The main specification was that the program must do the accounting calculations on the computer exactly as done by hand in the corporate office. No average "approximations" or values were allowed. Also, the capability to change the calculation procedures quickly was a must. The experience gained in developing a program to evaluate Gulf Coast off-shore oil lease-bids was used to develop an investment system. Several ideas were taken from A Programming Language (APL) concepts. An investment functional language was developed, and computer programs were written to process the functional language. One feature is a print-out of the model in English. The English print- out assists the debugging and documentation of a model. The major expansion at the Kidd Creek mine was the test case for the new system. After the results were approved and accepted for the base case, many sensitivity runs were made. Numerous additional models were developed to reflect the investment opportunities at other sites. An existing edit program was used to build the models and to systematically organize all the data for different projects. Remote input-output capabilities were added to the system, allowing data to be prepared and submitted at one Texasgulf site with the results printed at another location within minutes. The project has been well accepted by Texasgulf's senior management. Growth of the system is now in the areas of (1) merging individual projects into the corporate financial statements, (2) use of classical forecasting to project future costs, and (3) coupling the investment program to mine planning and general ledger systems. Also, the system is now being installed on an interactive computer system to provide faster turn-around time and more flexibility.

Jan 1, 1977

By Frank Hagar, George M. L. Robinson

INTRODUCTION Mine waste monitoring and management is essential when the industry is being required to accept the environmental liability for all generated, stored and disposed solid and hazardous waste. Environmental regulations mandate the operator to minimize waste production while requiring the operator to cleanup existing contamination. Since these requirements are being enforced, many operators do not have a clear under- standing, whether their existing operation will or could be required to adopt remedial plans to mitigate off-site contamination impacts. The following methods, using conventional and advanced geostatistical methods, provide a tool to make appropriate assessments whether existing or potential contaminant issues are present. BACKGROUND Generated solid wastes from mining operations are currently exempt from Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA) Sub- title C (RCRA), statutes and promulgated regulations, however, compliance with SWDA Subtitle D statutes and regulations is required. In order for the mining operator to be exempt from hazardous waste regulations, the operator must demonstrate that generated waste does not have hazardous waste characteristics. In many instances the operator will be able to use statistical tools and their existing data to determine whether their site could be a potential hazardous waste liability. METHODS The following statistical and geostatistical methods can be used to determine whether existing wastes could be a regulatory concern. The following presents a brief discussion of standard statistical methods and discusses, in greater detail, how advanced geostatistical tools can be used to define potential waste issues. The following will discuss how data can be screened, "Data Filtering and Reporting"; how data can be evaluated using "Conventional Statistics"; followed by a detailed discussion o f "Geostatistical and Estimation Techniques" and "Statistical Modeling". Data Filtering and Reporting Data filtering is the simplest, but potentially the most powerful statistical tool because data can be easily sorted to meet regulatory reporting requirements. Filtering includes unions and intersections of data such as date, maximum and minimum values of one or several variables. Using the data base presented in "Mine Waste Data Base Management Procedures", Robinson and Hagar, 1987, an example of a filter group is presented.

Jan 1, 1987

By C Yeung, N Swa, D Gribble, R Reupana

BlastLiteÖ is a low density explosive developed by Dyno Nobel and has been in use at BHP Billiton Iron OreÆs Mt Whaleback Operation since March 2004. The Mt Whaleback Operation utilises BlastLite because it offers an attractive alternative to ANFO in soft to medium strength rock types. Its use also reduces the amount of liquid fuel oil consumed and is well aligned with BHP BillitonÆs corporate Energy Excellence initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This paper presents the:results of characterisation work completed on-site as a fourth year mining engineering thesis, and application and benefits of the product at Mt Whaleback. One of the key features of low density products is that the detonation is non-ideal. That is, the explosive does not react fully in the detonation driving zone. This manifests itself in that the product is highly dependent on charge diameter and confinement conditions. Dyno Nobel has access to the Vixen suite of detonation codes for characterising the ideal and non-ideal behaviour of explosives. The objectives of this work were to use the Vixen_i code to characterise the detonation performance of BlastLite, in order to understand the role of the bulking agent and to allow modelling of the explosive. The detonation performance was established by detonating a series of unconfined charges at various diameters and measuring the velocity of detonation (VoD). The work program consisted of sourcing and preparing cardboard tubes of various diameters (80 mm to 305 mm). The tubes were loaded with explosive at the BHP Billiton Iron Ore Mt Whaleback test range and detonated one at a time. Over the past three years BlastLite has been used in various applications across the site. Initial findings illustrate that shovel productivity from BlastLite shots was comparable to the baseline ANFO blasts. The study results were also backed with visual inspection and feedback from shovel operators. A work program is currently in place to develop different blends of BlastLite and TITAN« BlastLite to tailor the explosives to various blasting applications. The trials at Mt Whaleback are leading to future opportunities of BHP BillitonÆs satellite orebodies.

Jan 1, 2007

By D. Roberts

SUMMARY In order to accommodate a new plant in a limestone quarry in the Mendip Hills, it became necessary to excavate a potentially unstable disused face of the quarry. A simple two-dimensional graphical method was used to analyse a failure, which occurred during a period of exceptionally heavy rain in 1968, and the results of this analysis were used in estimating the stability of the proposed excavation. The presence of water in vertical fissures and tension cracks was found to be a dominant factor in determining the stability of these faces. The results of this approximate analysis were used as a guide in deciding upon the final slope design and the purpose of presenting this example is to illustrate how the various factors involved in arriving at this design were weighed to arrive at a compromise between theoretical recommendations and practical considerations. INTRODUCTION The successful outcome of a geological and geochemical survey to prove adequate re- serves of high quality limestone, suitable for producing burnt lime, led to planning for the installation of the necessary plant at Amalgamated Roadstone Corporation's Batts Combe Quarry at Cheddar in Somerset. Topographic and property boundary limits added to restrictions which were likely to be imposed by any forthcoming planning consents and restricted the choice of plant location to one site. The particular site is, in fact, the main floor area of the original quarry which, like many hillside quarries, had been worked with just one face. Before a benching scheme had been introduced on higher ground, the original face had attained a height of 230 ft. and sloped at angles of 58º to 64º. Fig. I shows the present configuration of the disused quarry face and the present working area above. The floor area below the disused face accommodates the existing crushing, conveying, and screening plant. The new facilities for lime burning are to be in addition to the existing main line business of producing roadstone and concrete aggregates and, although a new aggregate production plant would be included in the new installation, no disturbance of current production was to be contemplated.

Jan 1, 1972

By M. J. Taylor

A common method of classifying non-water- impounding mine waste structures is necessary to facilitate professional comnunications within the industry and between representatives of industry and government. Camnon classifications can a1 so he1 p quickly create and maintain a mental picture of the structures being discussed. Three categories for classification presented in this paper include: (1) configuration and location with respect to existing topography. (2) material characteristics of waste, and (3) environmental sensitivity or characteristic; of the disposal area. Configuration and location classification involve terminologies typically utilized for waste dumps over the past several years. General classification categories for non-impounding structures include: (a) valley-fill, (b) cross-valley, (c) side-hill, (d) ridge, and (e) heaped. Material characteristics can govern the location, engineering details, and environmental sensitivity of the waste structure. Material classification includes: (a) hazardous, (b) non-hazardous, (c) inert, (d) fugitive dust susceptible and (e) leachate susceptible. A1 though many characteristics are potentially applicable, this paper will focus on the categories mentioned above. Environmental sensitivity of a waste structure encompasses many objective and subjective evaluations plus many multi-disciplinary considerations. Environmental sensitivity incorporates numerous factors in addition to those highlighted in configuration and location, and material characteristic classifications. A few examples of how this categorization can govern the engineering design and location of waste dumps are provided in this paper. In addition to the verbal descriptions of classifications, a simplified version of the combined classifications with an alphanumeric format and its methodology is discussed in this paper. Surface water controls often govern the classification or vice versa. In order to maintain a non- impounding status, water must be prevented from collecting behind the structures. Depending on material characteristics, water inflow to or over the site can cause significant environmental or human consequences. Finally, the access of water to the waste dumps can play a large role in the degree of environmental sensitivity to the site. This paper provides a framework in which to discuss the other aspects of this conference and also provides insights as to how the framework is based on actual practice.

Jan 1, 1985