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By C. Sunderman, R. Jacksha

"Mine monitoring through various sensors is a vital component of successful miner safety and health programs. Data from environmental, geotechnical, infrastructure, and other types of sensors are increasingly being used to discover and mitigate health and safety concerns in underground mines. In many smaller underground mines, as well as in new development headings of larger underground mines, leaky feeder communication systems may be the only available means to transport crucial monitoring data. In addition, data transport is increasingly being delivered using Internet Protocol (IP) while older forms of serial communication are being retired. This paper presents the selection, configuration, and testing methodologies that were employed by researchers from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to integrate commercially available land mobile data radios into an existing leaky feeder communication system to provide Internet Protocol data transport. INTRODUCTION To enhance the health and safety of their mining workforce, mine owners and operators are increasingly installing environmental monitoring and control systems in underground mines. Real-time, mine-wide monitoring is becoming a reality with the implementation of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) into the underground mining industry [1]. However, not all underground mines, especially smaller mines and new development headings in larger mines, have the information technology (IT) infrastructure in place to handle the data transport requirements for the newer IP-based technologies that are part of IIoT. This was the case with a mine in the Western United States; it lacked the infrastructure to perform critical monitoring in remote headings. The mine partnered with the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s (NIOSH’s) Spokane Mining Research Division (SMRD) to develop and evaluate a cost-effective solution for real-time monitoring of geotechnical conditions in relatively remote sections of the mine. This paper describes SMRD’s solution to leverage the mine’s existing leaky feeder system to achieve IP data transport using commercially available land mobile data radios. DATA RADIO SELECTION The primary selection criteria for the data radios were network data format, modulation type, and radio channel spacing. The network data format decided upon was Internet Protocol. This format allowed for straightforward integration between the IP-enabled data acquisition system located in a remote heading and the network switch located in the control room. It also eliminated the added complexity of additional network hardware such as Ethernet to Serial converters. IP additionally provided a direct path to integration into higher bandwidth networks, such as fiber optic, should they become available."

Jan 1, 2018

By D. E. Ranta, M. G. Hester

The ore reserve modelling of stratiform uranium deposits to be mined by selective underground mining methods must be done with consideration of the erratic nature of the ore-forming processes that produced the mineralization. Estimation methods that model the uranium grade as a smooth transition between high-grade and low-grade drill hole intercepts tend to greatly overestimate the ore tonnage. Care must be taken to first establish realtistic ore pod geometries and then estimate the grade of the reserve units within the pods.

Jan 1, 1992

By Pierre Ollivier, Dominique Morin

A general study of gold refractory arsenopyrite pyrite concentrate bioleaching has been carried out including two continuous bioleach testworks at different sizes, namely one at a laboratory scale with a 100 1 unit at a 2 kg/d dry solid flowrate and the other at a pilot scale at a 100 kg/d dry solid flowrate. Both tests show a 80% bioleaching of arsenopyrite in about four days of treatment and with the same kinetic. Pyrrhotite is attacked at the earlier stage of the bioleaching but pyrite remains unaffected. The weak potential of oxidation associated with the decomposition of arsenopyrite and the abundance of arsenite leads to a high grade of elemental sulfur in the bioresidue which consumes the major part of the cyanide during the gold recovery, furthermore, the arsenite and ferrous produced in solution have to he oxidized to obtain a stable precipitate in the waste products and as outlined in previous works of other authors on this subject the addition of iron to obtain a Fe/As molar ratio at least above 3 is necessary. The agitation equipment used in the pilot unit allowed an optimisation study calculation for scaling-up the design and power requirements of an industrial installation, For the pretreatment of a gold refractory As high-graded concentrate the reagent cost has the greatest part in the operating cost of the biooxidation step due to the necessary retreatment of the biosolution, In that conditions the power cost is quite marginal, actually it is significant for the treatment of pure pyrite.

Jan 1, 1990

By S. R. Wardwell, M. J. Robison

INTRODUCTION The first phase of the Los Angeles Metro Rail Project consists of 7.1 km of subway and stations running through downtown Los Angeles from Union Station to MacArthur Park. Contract A146, Tunnels from 5th/HILL Station to 7th/Flower Station, involves tunnel construction through the heart of downtown Los Angeles. The alignment of the tunnels passes beneath twelve buildings, ranging from a 3-story below grade parking structure to numerous 12 to 14 story buildings. The soil along the alignment is alluvium, consisting of silts and clays, clean sands and gravels located above the ground water table. Because of unstable ground conditions, which led to excessive ground losses in several instances, and because of the potential for excessive building settlements, it became necessary to design and perform a program of chemical grouting. The chemical grouting program was designed such that tunneling could proceed on a one shift per day basis, with chemical grounting being performed on the remaining two shifts. Each day 21,000 to 31,000 liters of sodium silicate grout were injected through sleeveport grout pipes installed 18 m deep through the tunnel face. Tunnel advance rates of 12 m per day, 60 m per week, under full chemical grout cover were achieved. The chemical grouting program virtually eliminated both ground loss and settlement and permitted successful excavation of the tunnels. The purpose of this paper is to describe the chemical grouting program used to control ground losses and settlement on Los Angeles Metro Rail Contract A146. The paper begins with a description of

Jan 1, 1991

By F. G. Rinker

The world demand for metallized iron continues to increase, keeping pace with steelmaking requirements for lower cost hot metal. Virgin iron ore and in-plant oxide fines can be reduced to direct reduced iron (DRI) and hot briquetted iron (RBI). MR&E has developed an improved coal-based process for cost-effective production of either DRI or HBI. Starting with dry compaction, the process combines the latest technology for material preparation, rotary hearth furnace construction and environmental control. Coarse iron ore fines are blended with pulverized non-metallurgical coal to produce a highly metallized (>90%) product. This paper presents production and installation cost data based on operating and under-construction iron oxide reduction facilities.

Jan 1, 1999

By Richard Komarek

When limestone (Ca03) is calcined in rotary kilns to produce quicklime (CaO), it is not unusual for 10% to 20% of the stone to abrade and emerge from the kiln as quicklime fines (-6.3 mm or -0.25 in.). While there are various industrial processes that can use fines, handling and shipping is tricky and dangerous. Due to the highly caustic nature of quicklime, airborne dust easily bums eyes and skin. On the other hand, money has already been invested in mining (or buying) the raw material and in the equipment and energy needed for calcining. Discarding the fines will not only waste that investment, but add even more cost in transportation and possibly dumping charges. So the question becomes, how can fines best be turned into a revenue-generating asset? Some plants convert leftover quick-lime fines into calcium hydroxide - Ca(OH)2, also known as hydrated or water-slaked lime - for sale into agricultural applications. For farm uses, hydrated lime fines are preferred over quicklime because they are easier to handle. And they are favored over raw limestone fines for their higher concentration of calcium and greater solubil¬ity. From the producer's viewpoint, quicklime fines are ideal for this use because they go through hydration faster than the larger chunks of quicklime. Those larger chunks, or "pebble lime," are more readily salable and more easily handled, for such uses as steel, copper, aluminum and magnesium production, water waste treatment, chemical, paper, glassmaking and flue gas desulfurization in coal- fired boilers.

Jan 1, 1993

By J. S. Chen

DOE recently funded 21 projects under the solicitation by its Environmental Restoration and Waste Management Division. This project is combining the expertise of an interdisciplinary team of researchers with that of three manufacturers to isolate nuclear waste storage sites using remote longwall mining. The concept is being pursued in Germany, too. This paper will present the conceptual approach to the project and discuss the problems in transferring longwall mining technology to nuclear waste containment.

Jan 1, 1994

By R. A. Limons

Natural ores, sinters, and pellets were subjected to a carbon monoxide reduction-disintegration test under laboratory conditions including a simulated blast furnace gas and a 1000°F temperature. The most significant findings were that: 1. Self-fluxed pellets broke down to a greater extent than either the acid pellets or the acid or self -fluxed sinter. 2. When pre-reduced, both the acid and self-fluxed pellets had very good resistance to breakdown.

Jan 1, 1964

By Edward J. Budill

One of the most dramatic innovations in the materials handling industry has been the development of stacker cranes and automated material handling systems. The stacker crane with its many capabilities and the development of reliable industrial automation controls have combined to produce dramatic achievements in an area once characterized by inefficiency lack of management attention, and capital investment. In many areas of application however, stacker cranes and high rise storage systems have been designed and installed with insufficient thought given to their integration into the overall operations of the plant or distribution facility. This paper will look at some new and interesting breakthroughs in the integration of stacker cranes and high rise storage systems into the total manufacturing plant system. In this paper we will refer to both bridge type stacker cranes and aisle stackers. The bridge type stacker crane was developed first and was initially developed with forks or other handling devices hoisted up and down a rigid or telescopic mast. This mast system was suspended from a trolley mounted on an overhead crane bridge. Today, the primary application of the bridge type stacker is in warehousing systems for handling basic metal products such as coils, bars, sheets and plates. There is no question that the bridge type stacker has achieved notable results in storage and handling of these commodities. However, a new area for stacker crane application has been developing which in many cases over-shadows the accomplishments in the storage area. This is the application of the bridge stacker as an integral part of the manufacturing processes, or in other terms the production applications of stacker cranes. The stacker crane has a number of attributes which makes these applications very important. First, the crane bridge provides the stable platform for the mounting of machinery which can accommodate the hoisting and lateral movement of large capacity loads. Today stacker cranes are being built with capacities of up to 30 - 40 tons. The bridge cranes can easily accomplish accommodation Of these large tonnages. Secondly, the mast system provides a stable platform for the mounting of a wide variety of manipulating devices which can be used for the placement of material into manufacturing processes, the extraction of this material from these processes, and movement to other points in the process area. These attributes combined with excellent operator control and safety have led to development of the stacker crane as a production tool.

Jan 1, 1973

By E. Pizarro

Division Andina has considered in its long range planning, the exploitation by panel caving method of "Third Panel" mine, which was started its production stage during the second half of 1995. This mine has two production levels, the first is grizzly level and another is L.H.D. level. Both sectors use the same haulage level where mineral is recollected through ore pass. For mineral loading and haulage its use 50ton diesel trucks combined with electro-hydraulic chutes. The automation has permitted what this operation is carrying out with remote control by driver's truck, in concordance to short range planning.

Jan 1, 1998

By Issac Douglas, Sheila Devasahayam, John S. Thella, Manoj K. Mohanty, Jeremy Prishmont

The flotation performance of Sodium O, O-diisobutyl Di thiophosphate (referred to as reagent A) was compared with Aerophine 3418A (referred to as reagent B) for floating a complex copper ore grab sample (Ore A). Preliminary test results indicated a cumulative copper concentrate grade of 10.19% with a recovery of 86.31%, which was achieved with reagent A from a feed consisting of 5.32% Cu. The grade and recovery achieved using reagent B are 9.11% and 87.85%, respectively. A comparative analysis based on the preliminary test results indicated that reagent A’s performance is better than that of reagent B at lower concentrate grades, specifically below 12% Cu. However, the flotation performance is better for reagent B at higher concentrate grades (>12% Cu). A more detailed study was conducted to optimize the grade-recovery performances achievable from both reagents on a complex low-grade copper ore sample (Ore B) from Western USA. Test results indicated a copper concentrate with a grade of 5.5% Cu and 78.59% recovery was obtained with reagent A compared to 4.31% Cu and 62.04% recovery with reagent B from a feed consisting of around 0.25% Cu.

Feb 22, 2026

By Karan S. Keith, Haydn H. Murray

The sorptive and impervious nature of clay materials was recognized long before modem technology allowed us to understand the physiochemistry of clays. In Cyprus, around 5000 BC, sorbent clays were used for fulling woolen cloth. One of the earliest recorded uses of clays as an impervious liner was more than 3200 years ago in the construction of a bitumen-sand-gravel-clay liner built along the embankment of the Tigris River at Assur. Today one of the most common applications for clay minerals in the environmental industry is for use as impermeable barriers to fluid transport. Clay minerals are fine in particle size and thus have large surface areas, which, as a result of intermolecular forces and ionic substitutions, make them excellent materials for both ion exchange and ion sorption. Therefore it was logical to consider certain clay materials for applications in the environmental industry, where they can act as physical and chemical traps for potential contaminants. Certain bentonites have historically been used as sealants for fluids (Grim, 1962), and other clays have been used as sorbents for both water and oil (Haden, Jr., 1972). Prior to the 1980s, disposal of the nation's municipal, commercial, chemical, and nuclear wastes was largely indiscriminate and poorly regulated. This created environmental pollution problems, especially with respect to groundwater contamination. Promulgation of federal regulations like the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA - commonly known as Superfund) have forced a more careful and costly approach to waste disposal. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the government body charged with enforcing and ensuring compliance with federal regulations governing toxic waste production, storage, and disposal. Widespread application of geotechnology to the design and construction of waste containment systems and to pollution remediation has become necessary due to such laws and because of increasing use of the subsurface environment for the disposal of hazardous wastes. In the United States nearly 1.8 kg of trash is disposed of per person per day, which amounts to nearly 181 Mt per year. This amount is more than double the waste produced in 1960, and these numbers are expected to continue to increase. Canada produces approximately 1.68 kg of waste per person per day. The EPA estimates that in the United States 64% of our garbage is landfilled, 18% recycled, and 18% incinerated. Even with continued increases in recycling and incineration efforts, the EPA projects that the United States will still need 82% of today's landfill capacity in the year 2000. Data on the exact number of landfills in the United States and Canada is conflicting in part because of changing definitions of what constitutes a landfill and because of inadequate record- keeping by some states and provinces. An estimate of the number of municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills in the United States in 1990 to 1991 ranged from 4 462 to 10 467 with an average estimate of 6 600. In Canada the number of MSW landfills reported varied from 5 493 in a 1982 survey to 1 766 reported in a 1991 National Solid Wastes Management Association (NSWMA) survey (Repa and Sheets, 1992b). A properly operated MSW landfill on average requires 1 hectare of land per year per 25 000 people (Coates, 198 1). In addition to MSW facilities, there are also waste disposal facilities needed for hazardous waste and low level and high level radioactive waste. In 1983, approximately 266 Mt of hazardous waste was generated in the United States, almost 50% of this by industrial production. About 68% of the hazardous waste generated in the United States and Canada and almost 50% generated in Europe are still landfilled (Egger, 1987). In 1985, approximately 51 000 m3 of commercially produced low level radioactive waste was disposed of in radioactive waste disposal sites across the United States (Jungling and Greeves, 1989). By 1987, the US defense program had produced approximately 10 000 t of high level nuclear waste. In addition, there were approximately 14 000 t of spent fuel assemblies from commercial nuclear power plants in temporary storage; the amount is expected to nearly triple by the year 2000. Presently most commercial spent fuel assemblies are stored in water-filled pools at nuclear power plants. Defense waste is stored on federal reservations in surface and underground steel tanks (Anon., 1987). Under federal law nearly all waste disposal and containment sites are required to have a liner or barrier and a cover system design that meets federal- or state-approved hydraulic conductivity requirements for the type of waste that the site will receive. When approved materials, necessary for constructing the waste containment structure, are not available on site, one of the most economical ways to meet these requirements is through the use of clay, soil/clay, or clay/geotextile materials. In a 1991 survey by NSWMA of its members and other select private sector facilities, 81% of the surveyed landfills had some type of liner system. About 75% of these liners were clay materials (either recompacted or natural). The remaining 30% were using flexible membrane liners as part of a liner system. Clay liner materials are most commonly used in the South, Midwest, West-central, and South-central regions of the United States. About 93% of the landfill facilities had closure plans, and of these 91 % were using clay materials in some way for the final cover material (Repa and Sheets, 1992a). Waste barriers and containment structures take several basic forms, and they are used in a variety of different applications: 1) cutoff walls, 2) soil or soil/clay-admix liners, 3) geosynthetic bentonite-clay/geotextile membranes, 4) radioactive waste containment barriers, and 5) synthetic geomembranes. This chapter will discuss the first four of these categories. The field of synthetic geomembranes, although a related topic, is beyond the scope of

Jan 1, 1994

By Bob Katsiouleris

Having passed through the worst of times for industrial minerals demand, there are signs that the best of times lie ahead. If the downturn was the result of unsustainable economic policy, the path forward has everything to do with sustain-ably meeting the demands of more people enjoying higher standards of living than ever before. Minerals producers must be poised to understand and meet their requirements well into the next decade. Successfully marketing industrial minerals - the building blocks of a growing and increasingly urban world population - will depend on producers? ability to respond nimbly to a rapidly changing and regionally evolving macroeconomic environment. A renewed focus on energy conservation, sustainable agriculture and building practices and consumer demand for products with a smaller environmental footprint will drive product and market segmentation strategies. These trends will not only shape the way industrial minerals producers do business, but also the type of skills and people they will require to run those businesses.

Jan 1, 2011

By Ihsan Berk Tulu, Haochen Zhao, Deniz Tuncay

The process of designing pillars and selecting support measures in underground coal mines relies highly on the accurate assessment of mining-induced loads and the load-bearing capacities of the supports. This study proposes a new method to estimate the percentage of load carried by the gob in underground coal mines using a new parameter that introduces the site-specific overburden geology.

Jun 1, 2023

By M. Manrique

Various pyrometallurgical methods for treating Ilmenite and Zircon concentrates are reviewed. Laboratory experiments, using a thermal plasma reactor, have been performed to evaluate: the conversion of ilmenite to TiC or TiC-Fe and the conversion of zircon to ZrC or ZrC-SiC. Results are examined and possible processing routes are identified.

Jan 1, 1996

By Edward S. Plotkin, Joseph D. Guertin

In a continuing effort to upgrade tunnel design and construction practice, the New York City Transit Authority sponsored a geotechnical monitoring program on a recently completed section of the E. 63rd Street line in mid-town Manhattan. The purpose of the program was to document rock behavior as well as temporary and final rock support systems to provide a possible basis for either confirmation or modificification to design methods and construction specifications. This paper describes those portions of the study associated with rock behavior and temporary support systems. The entire study included monitoring of rock movements above the tunnel as well as adjacent to a 36.6m (120 ft) shaft, monitoring of stresses in steel ribs, monitoring of loads in rock bolts in two test sections and monitoring of stresses in the final concrete lining. PROJECT DESCRIPTION Route 131-A, Section 4 is located in mid-town Manhattan extending from under the Central-Park Zoo on Fifth Avenue eastward under 63rd Street to the end of contract between Madison and Park Avenue. Figure 1 is a Project Locus Map. The contract included approximately 355m (1165 l.f.) of 4 track tunnel(13.4m (44 ft) wide by 13.7m (45 ft) high excavated dimensions) plus a 22.9m (75 ft) by 19.8m (65 ft) by 36.6m (120 ft) deep ventilation shaft. The entire tunnel and most of the excavation shaft was excavated in metamorphic rock, known locally as the Manhattan Schist. The depth to tunnel invert varied from approximately 27.4m (90 ft) at the west end of the contract to 35.Om (115 ft) at the east end. Rock cover above the excavated crown varied from approximately 6.7m (22 ft) at the approximate mid-point of the contract to 18.9m (62 ft) at the western end. A plan view and interpreted geologic profile are illus-

Jan 1, 1979

By Edwarde R. May

The Flambeau volcanogenic massive sulfide deposit located in northwestern Wisconsin occurs within the southern lobe of the Canadian Precambrian Shield. The steeply dipping tabular body occurs in a complex pile of cyclic schistose intermediate to felsic fragmental volcanics. No chloritic alteration pipe is recognized but adjacent rocks have undergone magnesia metasomatism and subsequently were metamorphosed to the upper greenschist and lower amphibolite facies. Although modest in size the deposit is of special interest in that it has an extensive and well preserved supergene enrichment blanket. Economic minerals found within a pyritized quartz-sericite schist are chalcocite and bornite overlying primary chalcopyrite.

Jan 1, 1976

By J. C. Heter

The P.W. Gillibrand Company has been processing and stockpiling a suite of heavy minerals at its Soledad Canyon Mine as co-products with construction aggregates since 1984. The heavy minerals are composed of ilmenite, magnetitie, apatite and zircon. The source of the heavy minerals is the Precambrian San Gabriel Anorthosite Complex of the western San Gabriel Mountains. The valuable minerals are readily amenable to standard ore dressing techniques, such as, gravity, magnetic, flotation and electrostatic separation with good recovery and product quality. More than 20,000 short tons of coarse ilmenite were sold in 1990 to the export market for titanium pigment production.

Jan 1, 1992

By Changhong Huang, Y. J. Wang

This paper describes the formulation of mine ventilation network optimization as a standard nonlinear programming problem and the solution of the problem using the generalized reduced gradient (GRG) method. In general, the GRG method is regarded as one of the most effective and efficient methods for solving large-scale nonlinear programming problems. The variables considered in the network optimization include air quantity, regulator pressure loss, and fan pressure for each branch. Each of the variables is constrained by lower and upper bounds. This facilitates proper assignments of ventilation requirements and provides a great flexibility to include various situations encountered in mine ventilation. The objective of the network optimization is to minimize the overall air power consumed by or supplied to the network; whereas the constraints are, in addition to the variable bounds, the two fundamental network laws: Kirchhoffs voltage law and Kirchhoffs current law. A computer program has been developed based on the GRG method for the network optimization. An example of network with 18 branches, 8 regulators and 3 fans is included for illustration.

Jan 1, 1993

By H. B. Charmbury

The acid mine drainage problem in Pennsylvania is of continuing and growing interest to the coal mining industry, the state government and the citizenry at large. Approximately one-third of the total volume of mine drainage presently polluting the streams of the Commonwealth originates from active coal operations and two-thirds come from ?abandoned mine discharges.? For this reason the Pennsylvania Department of Mines and Mineral Industries has mounted a significant research and action program seeking solutions to this two-fold problem. The Coal Research Board of the Department has sponsored a wide variety of research projects in an effort to study the treatment of acidic and highly ferruginous mine waters. A review of the published literature on the treatment of mine waters indicated that many laboratory and theoretical studies had been undertaken on various aspects of the coal mine drainage problem, but little applied, developmental, or engineering study had been undertaken. In January of 1964 the Board commenced a rigorous program using state and industry funds in an effort to find a ?least cost? solution or solutions to this vexing problem.

Jan 1, 1967