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By S. D. Rosenthal

"This paper will share my ‘shift in career direction’ journey from corporate mine engineer, with 31 years of mining various commodities with a wide range of responsibilities in a variety of countries, to the world of academia. There are times in one’s career that a change is required, albeit perhaps not as drastic of a change as moving to teaching. This paper will share how the transition arose, the decision to make the change, the challenges of the first year in academia, and the journey within academia going into the second year. INTRODUCTION As a graduate of the Montana College of Mineral Science and Technology (Montana Tech) with a B.S. Mining Engineering degree in May of 1982, my first job with Utah International in the Farmington area took me back to my home state of New Mexico. Some of you will remember that the early 1980’s was not a period of prolific opportunities for mining engineers; given low commodity prices, especially for copper (for example, Anaconda Company had been taken over by Arco and was in the midst of closing down its Butte operations). Coal was good and the learning opportunities abounded with Utah (which became BHP and then BHP Billiton). Gold was taking off in the mid to late 1980’s thanks to use of cyanide and heap leaching technology improvements, coupled with deregulation of the gold price, so I ventured off to work in the gold industry with a (then) junior Canadian company called Barrick at a new acquisition of theirs known as Goldstrike. That same gold surge was causing a shortage of iron ore mining engineers in Australia so after a few years in Nevada, I uprooted the family and left for a little town in the Pilbara of West Australia, known as Newman, to work in the iron ore industry with BHP Iron Ore. An initial short overseas posting turned into six plus years before transferring to BHP’s Indonesian steam coal mines in Kalimantan on the island of Borneo. BHP was going through a rough period following some ill-fated projects (Magma copper purchase, Beanup and HBI) and was reviewing assets and staffing so internal opportunities became scarce. Employees were encouraged to ‘leave the company and find work elsewhere.’ So, off I go to Argentina to try copper mining in the Andes with Minera Alumbrera. This short stint in South America was followed by a move to another mining town, Morenci, Arizona, and a posting with Phelps Dodge (now Freeport McMoran). After 12+ years without living close to snow we moved to the Denver area in a new position with Newmont Mining Corporation. Along the way I became a Professional Engineer (Nevada) and completed a Masters in Project Engineering and Management. After 11 years with Newmont, I moved to Butte, Montana where I accepted a position as Assistant Professor of Mining Engineering."

Jan 1, 2015

By W. W. Albrecht

I. Introduction Refractory metals like tungsten, molybdenum, rhenium, tantalum and niobium and their compounds are essential ingredients of our modern technology. Especially in purified form, they are used in special alloys, electronics, optics and ceramics. The processing route from raw material to high purity refractory metals and their compounds includes, as a prime option, the following steps: - dissolution of raw materials. - liquid liquid extraction. - precipitation of high purity intermediate compounds. - calcination/reduction to high purity oxides/metals. Especially in the first three steps, major amounts of chemicals like acids or sodium hydroxide are used and, as by-products, substantial quantities of residues and effluents are generated. The impact of environmental regulations on these by-products and the attempt to reduce or minimize the amount of residues and effluents produced will be discussed in this presentation using Ta/Nb chemistry as the example. The basis of our considerations will be the way these by-products are handled at HCST, a major, and in some cases, the biggest producer of refractory metals (tungsten, molybdenum, rhenium, tantalum, and niobium).

Jan 1, 1992

By Charles H. Jones

Jan 1, 1905

By S. D. Rosenthal

"This article will share my ‘shift in career direction’ journey from corporate mine engineer, with 31 years of mining various commodities with a wide range of responsibilities in a variety of countries, to the world of academia. There are times in one’s career that a change is required, albeit perhaps not as drastic of a change as moving to teaching. This paper will share how the transition arose, the decision to make the change, the challenges of the first year in academia and the journey within academia going into the second year.As a graduate of the Montana College of Mineral Science and Technology (Montana Tech) with a B.S. mining engineering degree in May of 1982, my first job with Utah International in the Farmington, NM area took me back to my home state of New Mexico. Some of you will remember that the early 1980s was not a period of prolific opportunities for mining engineers, given low commodity prices, especially for copper (for example, Anaconda Co. had been taken over by Arco and was in the midst of closing down its Butte operations). Coal was good and the learning opportunities abounded with Utah (which became BHP and then BHP Billiton).Gold was taking off in the mid to late 1980s thanks to use of cyanide and heap leaching technology improvements, coupled with deregulation of the gold price, so I ventured off to work in the gold industry with a (then) junior Canadian company called Barrick at a new acquisition of theirs known as Goldstrike. That same gold surge was causing a shortage of iron ore mining engineers in Australia. So after a few years in Nevada, I uprooted the family and left for a little town in the Pilbara of West Australia, known as Newman, to work in the iron ore industry with BHP Iron Ore. An initial short overseas posting turned into six plus years before transferring to BHP’s Indonesian steam coal mines in Kalimantan on the island of Borneo. BHP was going through a rough period following some ill-fated projects (Magma Copper purchase, Beanup and HBI) and was reviewing assets and staffing, so internal opportunities became scarce. Employees were encouraged to “leave the company and find work elsewhere.” So, off I went to Argentina to try copper mining in the Andes with Minera Alumbrera. This short stint in South America was followed by a move to another mining town, Morenci, AZ, and a posting with Phelps Dodge (now Freeport- McMoRan). After 12-plus years without living close to snow, we moved to the Denver, CO area in a new position with Newmont Mining Corp. Along the way I became a professional engineer (Nevada) and completed a masters in project engineering and management. After 11 years with Newmont, I moved to Butte, MT where I accepted a position as assistant professor of mining engineering."

Jan 1, 2015

By Henry E. Keniston

In every business today costs come under almost microscopic scrutiny. It's hard to conceive that less than 30 years ago there was no such cost consciousness apparent in overall industry. Railroads, through their almost absolute monopoly on freight handling, were one of the industries where little thought was given to overall costs. True regulation kept rates in line, but railroads did very little in the area of supplying equipment intended to help the shipper minimize his costs and at the same time result in savings to the rail carrier. During this period, except for isolated cases, railroads placed standard cars for loading. Most railroad car fleets consisted of box cars, hopper cars, flat cars and low side gondola cars certain roads having unique movements developed special cars to accommodate the particular product, but seldom did these cars move in general interchange service. Most of you are aware that several large companies built railroads of their own as an integral part of raw materials handling from remote sources to production plants located near concentrations of usage. On these railroads special cars were built with little thought to inter-change service. Examples of such railroads are the Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range, the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern, the Union Railroad, the Bessemer and Lake Erie and the Birmingham Southern.

Jan 1, 1972

The Australian minerals sector has a shortage of skilled professionals to satisfy an industry that is experiencing renewed vitality. Graduate numbers are low throughout Australia and the world, while economic rationalisation is seeing many educational institutions downsize, or even close, their minerals-related programs. In addition to requiring more entry-level graduates, minerals producers are looking to update the skills of their current workforce to keep up with the industryÆs continuing technological revolution. To address the issue the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) endorsed collaboration between several Australian minerals producers and a team of universities to generate the Mineral Tertiary Education Council, or MTEC. MTEC recently initiated a venture to increase the availability of professionals with relevant skills to the minerals industry. Primarily aimed at delivering postgraduate programs, the initiative will allow graduates from other disciplines to æconvertÆ to the minerals sector as well as provide professional development training to an existing work force. This venture represents a novel approach in that courses will be delivered by more than one institution and will employ innovative teaching materials with flexible and remote delivery formats. The programs will cater specially for professional development in the minerals sector, which generally requires high flexibility due to the nature of work conditions and locations.

Jan 1, 2004

By R. Schipper

Two bench scale biochemical reactors (BCRs) were operated over a period of 3 months for the removal of uranium, radium, and selenium from mining influenced water (MIW). A BCR is an anaerobic reactor comprised of organic and inorganic substrate including woodchips, straw, sawdust, and limestone. Uranium and selenium are removed in a BCR by biological reduction of oxidized species (i.e., selenite, selenate) to less soluble forms (Pahler et al. 2007, Blumenstein et al. 2008, Rutkowski et al. 2013). It is believed that radium may be removed through absorption to the biomass in the BCR. The bench scale BCRs were constructed of 6 inch PVC columns with a top to bottom flow configuration. The bench influent water consisted of three different water ratios from two adit seeps. BCR hydraulic retention times of 24 to 36 hours were targeted during the study. Influent concentrations ranged from 19 ug/L to 1.86 mg/L for dissolved uranium, 12 ug/L to 270 ug/L for dissolved selenium, and 4.9 pCi/L to 24 pCi/L for radium 226. The average and maximum dissolved uranium removal was 93.6% and 98.5% respectively, the average and maximum dissolved selenium removal was 93.3% and 98.9% respectively, and the average and maximum radium 226 removal was 89.5% and 100% respectively.

Feb 23, 2014

By Z Lianbi, Z Yibin, Z Youhong, P Bin

Without adequate soil available, it is difficult to rehabilitate a large area of acid mine waste dump with sustainable plant communities, which has a strong potential acid generation. In the present project, paste tailings capping method has been put forward to reconstruct plant ecosystem on acid mine waste rock dump. This rehabilitation method uses paste tailings as capillary break and plant growth media. The tailings used contained 26.3 per cent of particles of less than 20 ¦m which satisfy the requirement of grain of paste tailings preparation. The tailings are not acid- producing materials. In addition to Cu, total contents of Zn, Pb, Cr, Cd, As and Ni in tailings are lower than those in local soil. Paste tailings concentration 70 per cent ~ 72 per cent was prepared by concentrating ten per cent tailings by using polypropylenecrylic sodium as flocculation. The potential pollution risks are low by using paste tailings as capillary break layer. Plants directly grown in the tailings did not particularly accumulate Cu, Zn, Pb, Cr, Cd, As, Ni in roots, stem and leaves, which were 0.01 ~ 1.6 times of those grown in soil.CITATION:Yibin, Z, Lianbi, Z, Bin, P and Youhong, Z, 2012. Study on paste tailings capping ecology reclamation on acid mine waste rock dump, in Proceedings Life-of-Mine 2012 , pp 243-246 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 10, 2012

By B. Crane, S. Schwartz

"IntroductionThe Cape Breton Development Corporation (CBDC) located in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, in eastern Canada, was established in 1967. Its mandate at that time was to facilitate a phased downsizing of the coal industry and developing viable replacement industries. The oil crisis in the early 1970s changed CBDC’s mandate and focus was modified to increase coal production to support Nova Scotia Power Commission’s “off oil” policy for their power generators. In the late 1980s the mandate to develop viable replacement industries was eliminated and CBDC became primarily a coal mining company. CBDC presently operates two underground coal mines, Phalen Colliery and Prince Colliery, using a retreat longwall method of mining. Both mines operate beneath the Atlantic Ocean. CBDC also operates associated infrastructure — central workshops, a railroad, coal preparation plant, and international pier. The Need For Substantial ChangeOver the last few years, CBDC has been facing some challenging issues, including improving labour management relations and achieving financial self-sufficiency and profitability. Recent achievements with regard to human resource issues, especially in the areas of collective bargaining, absenteeism, and attendance, show noticeable improvements. All participants should be commended for successfully concluding the collective bargaining process with all four CBDC unions, CUPE; CAW; IAM&AW; and UMWA. However, although these changes are encouraging, even critical in the short term, they are not sufficient to ensure the long-term viability of the company. Market ForcesShort- and long-term financial realities are drawing the need for further substantive changes. The corporation has a mandate to achieve financial self-sufficiency by the year 1999. This goal can only be achieved through a combination of cost reductions and productivity gains, specifically, a reduction in the workforce of 658 and an increase in production of 800 000 tonnes annually. This increase in productivity requires CBDC to re-think the way it does things.In the longer term, CBDC faces even greater challenges. The energy market is becoming more competitive. The electrical utilities across Canada are anticipating deregulation and are positioning themselves for the resultant competition. As primary fuel supplier to Nova Scotia Power Inc. (NSPI), the corporation will have to become ever more competitive to stay in business."

Jan 1, 1997

By Federico Chavez

The process for recovering lead from battery residues used in several Mexican Plants include lead blast furnace and rotary furnaces. The formers are basically fed with recycled batteries together with the necessary additives to produce metallic lead. One of the by-products generated in the blast furnace is a dust mainly formed by lead sulfide. The rotary furnace is used to recover lead .from lead batteries, dross from the refining-alloying process and the leady fines produced in the blast furnace. This paper describes thennodynamic analysis made to the rotary furnace process to understand the effect that each component of the system has upon the lead recovery. In order to enhance the process, the influence of iron chips composition and excess coke on slag viscosity is discussed. A computer optimization program . has been developed to design the furnace charge based on material and energy balances, .together with the thennodynamic equilibrium calculation.

Jan 1, 1995

By J. L. Thompson

Lime made in a coal-fired, rotary kiln has two distinct parts: the interior of the pebble which constitutes about 90% to 95% of the mass, and the surface dust layer which is the remaining 5% to 10%. Uncalcined carbonate and impurities in the product may be present and will not contribute to the hydration reaction. Sulfur, in the form of calcium sulfate, inhibits the hydration reaction out of all proportion to its actual weigh-percent concentration (perhaps more than 100 times). If the stone contains dolomite, this will also inhibit the reaction as its rate of hydration may be nearly 3 orders of magnitude slower than that of calcium oxide. Early in the hydration reaction dolomite appears practically inert, but given sufficient time, it will hydrate. The heat of reaction is nearly the same as for calcium oxide, but the time necessary for complete hydration may be hours; whereas for calcium oxide it is only fractions of a second. The dust layer on the surface also inhibits hydration as it contains a collection of compounds which have low heats of hydration. This layer can tie up additional calcium and delay or prevent its reaction. In addition to these chemical processes, an important physical characteristic of the lime is its specific surface area. This is effected by the thermodynamics of calcination and the original stone grain chemistry. All of these factors are agglomerated in the gross slaking rate of lime. The total hydration of the chemical complex that is called commercial lime can be more easily understood by considering the individual reactions and combining them to form a more comprehensive picture of the situation. Calcium oxide and magnesium oxide hydrate similarly, differing only in their reaction kinetics. Dolomite, however, reacts differently than a simple mixture of calcium oxide and magnesium oxide as its hydration is strongly influenced by calcination thermo-dynamics and stone grain structure. Finally, the dust hydration and composition should be examined Understanding these reactions enables one to examine hydration reaction graphs with more insight into the factors which determine their shape.

Jan 1, 1978

By Kish. L.

"The results of a chemical and mineralogical study of eighteen opaque-oxide occurrences are discussed and the detailed chemical, metallurgical and mining feasibility study of a vanadium-rich magnetite deposit is summarized. A plot of the mol-percentages in the system FeO- Fe2O 3-TiO2 indicates that the deposits fall into two distinct groups: some contain hematite with ilmenite, and some others have magnetite with ilmenite (titaniferous magnetites). The plot also suggests that the two types of deposits were crystallized from liquids of different compositions. Each group has its distinct structural features. Vanadium is present in all of the studied specimens, however concentrations of economic importance have so far been found only in the titaniferous magnetite deposits. The vanadium content of the oxide concentrations of the Dore Lake Complex is the largest among the studied occurrences. Analyses of the concentrates of the drill-core sections show a compositional variation across the orebody; a continuous increase in the tenor of Ti02 and a decrease in the vanadium content upward in the layered sequence is found. Concentration tests on several tons of samples indicate that about 80 per cent of the vanadium is recovered in the magnetite concentrate."

Jan 1, 1972

By Babak Mamaqani, Pirooz Barar

Regional Connector Transit Corridor (RCC) is part of the Los Angeles metro expansion project under construction which adds three new stations into the system. PB&A was responsible for the design of the support of excavation (SOE) systems for two stations, 2nd/Broadway and 2nd/Hope, in RCC. In this paper, challenges and lesson learned from SOE design of 2nd/Broadway station with a main focus on underpinning design are discussed. 2nd/Broadway station required to cut and cover excavation of 500 ft long by almost 100 ft deep, underneath 2nd Street. SOE systems consisting of drilled soldier beams with tiebacks and/or struts. The main challenge in 2nd/Broadway station was to underpin the LA Times building which was partially protruded into the station. A chellenging underpinning system consisted of concrete panels and ground anchors was designed to support the building surcharge and prevent settlement. The underpinning system was designed based on METRO design criteria and the deflection was evaluated by Finite Element Analysis (FEA) program, PLAXIS 2D. A maximum deflection of 0.4 inches was calculated to occur at the top of the underpinning system. Data from settlement and tilt sensors showed minimal movements which aligned with PLAXIS outputs. PROJECT DESCRIPTION The Regional Connector Transit Corridor (RCC) is Los Angeles Metro’s ambitious Light Rail Project. It runs under the City’s main thoroughfares, Flower and 2nd Streets, and when complete will alleviate traffic and parking congestion in downtown Los Angeles. The Regional Connector will connect thousands of residents living in the bedroom communities of the Inland Empire and Long Beach to their jobs Downtown. The rail line will serve 1.9 miles, using the $1.756 Billion budget to construct the underground rail line, including 3 new stations, at 2nd & Hope Street, 2nd & Broadway, and 1st St. & Central Ave (Fig. 1).

Jan 1, 2019

By John Wellington Finch

INVESTIGATIONS by the Bureau of Mines of deposits containing strategic minerals were authorized by what has become known as the Strategic Materials Act (Public No. 117, 76th Congress, Chapter 190. 1st Session). A later act providing an appropriation for the first of four years through which the investigations are to be conducted was signed on Aug. 9, 1939. No time has since been lost as seven field projects already are being vigorously prosecuted, and two others no doubt soon will be in course of execution. Project engineers were at their stations within two days after funds had been made available. Crews have been hired; equipment and supplies have been purchased; 5 bids for diamond drilling have been obtained and the drilling has started base camps have been established: ground has been cleared; and several thousand feet of trenching, test-pitting, and sampling have already been done. At the Reno Experiment Station of the Bureau, a special metallurgical laboratory has been provided to make assays, analyses, and tests upon samples of ores from all projects under investigation.

Jan 1, 1939

By AIME AIME

DREAMS do come true at times, although it is evidently better to believe in engineers than to "believe in fairies" if most dreams are to be translated into fact. It was a fine dream that David H. Moffat had when he projected a railway directly west from Denver; a dream of opening a new empire in northwestern Colorado, and of quickening transportation from the Middle West to the Pacific slope. But Moffat had been a miner and had become a banker. He knew that dreams, untranslated into works, benefit no one and pleasure only the dreamer, so he employed an engineer, H. A. Sumner, to study and plan the route to be followed by the rails. Previous main lines had run to the north, the Union Pacific, or the south, the Santa Fe. The Denver and Rio Grande, it is true, wriggled its way bravely across Colorado but, in order to reach a point 74 miles in an airline west of- Denver, travelled 281 miles following two canyons and crossing Tennessee Pass at 10,240 ft. Valuable as such a road is, it could never accomplish what Moffat had in mind. It was known that no low pass could be found directly west of Denver but up to 9000 ft. the topog-

Jan 1, 1925

By D G. Oldfield

Pall has developed and supplied to several airlines cabin air libers to provide clean air for passengers and crew in flight, while reducing airline operating costs. Most of today's modern commercial passenger aircrafts employ cabin air recirculation as a means of reducing operating costs. With large numbers of passengers being subject to an increasing proportion of recirculated air for hours at a time, the matter of cabin air quality, with particular respect to the health effects on passengers and crew, has to be addressed. Commercial pressure will ensure that the airlines and aircraft manufacturers will not revert back to the total fresh air systems of the 1960s and 1970s. In fact, feasibility studies are already being undertaken to look at increasing the proportion of recirculated air to 80% and above. With the application of specialist nitration technologies. Pall is able to ensure that the requirements for economy are met whilst ensuring that the air is effectively rendered as 'fresh air’ each time it is recirculated.

Jan 9, 1996

By Joseph Clare

It’s not the 1960s anymore. Upgrading wastewater pipelines in the current era demands the latest trenchless technology to minimize impacts. King County Wastewater Treatment Division in Seattle, Washington is designing a nearly mile long Direct Pipe® influent sewer combined with microtunneling to replace a 1960s era trunk sewer constructed along and within Coal Creek and its natural area. Trenchless installation using Direct Pipe® and microtunneling was chosen due to reduce impacts to residential neighborhoods, natural creek environments, and the constraints of topography

Jun 13, 2021

By Nikolaos Syrtariotis, Mark Berger, Timothy O’Brien, Vojtech Gall

The Northeast Corridor Superconducting Maglev Project (SCMAGLEV) entails construction of a high-speed train system between Washington, DC and New York City, with the first leg between Washington and Baltimore, MD. This innovative project will shorten travel times between Washington DC and Baltimore to approximately 15 minutes, and connect Washington, DC to New York City in under an hour. In 2021 the draft EIS is expected to be issued for comment with a Final EIS/ROD anticipated by early 2022. This paper provides an update on the project as presented in Gall et al. (2020) and discusses the economic and environmental benefits, preferred alignment alternative, preliminary staging and launching of the TBMs for construction, and preliminary station design.

Jun 13, 2021

By Charles B. Henderson

DESPITE the loss, by enemy conquest, of a high percentage of our normal sources of supply for tin, the position of this important metal is easier today than that of rubber and a long list of other strategic materials, many of which are produced in this country. Actually, there is no shortage of tin for essential war purposes, owing to a strict control of its use, to increasing considerably the amount of secondary tin available, and to the foresight of the Government in authorizing the Reconstruction Finance Corp., as early as June, 1940, to acquire and produce certain critical and strategic materials of which tin was one of the most important. The construction of the Longhorn Smelter on the Gulf Coast in Texas is an important part of this program.

Jan 1, 1943

By Adriana Aurazo

Actualmente, el Perú cuenta con una minería del primer mundo, más sostenible en su desarrollo productivo y con mejores práctica en tecnología e innovación que contribuyen al cuidado del medio ambiente, así como respecto de su interrelación con los actores de su entorno y el Buen Gobierno Corporativo. Luego de analizar algunas consideraciones generales en materia de estándares medioambientales, sociales y de gobernanza (ESG, por sus siglas en inglés) para el sector minero, se destaca la importancia de la automatización de datos así como de plataformas de sistematización integrada que permiten realizar un seguimiento de las métricas ESG y la presentación de informes de sostenibilidad. Por ende, la inversión digital minera en dichas materias, será el foco en los próximos dos o tres años.

Sep 29, 2023