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The last decade has seen the use of powerful computerized Mine-Wide Monitoring (MWM) systems for detecting hazardous conditions in underground coal mines. Recently, the U.S. Bureau of Mines and Jim Walter Resources, Inc. (JWR) expanded the scope of MWM system to include ground control. Single-point extensometers were installed in each of 30 intersections along a tailgate entry. These instruments monitored the rate of roof sag, a sensitive indicator of roof instability. Data were collected by the mine's own computerized MWM system. The paper describes the successful integration of ground control instruments into MWM, the data reduction procedures, and the identification of several hazardous areas.

Jan 1, 1994

By D. M. Larsen

Since start-up in 1985, the Cannon Mine has produced and shipped a 170-g/ton (5 oz/ton) gold flotation concentrate to various smelters for gold and silver recovery. Several processes have been investigated to economically produce done' at the mine site from the refractory concentrate. This paper describes laboratory and pilot scale test work used in the process design and engineering. feasibility study of a 73-t/d (80 stpd) pressure oxidation and carbon-in-leach (CIL) facility. The designed pressure oxidation circuit utilizes a series of verti¬cal autoclave units operating at 170°C (338F) and 1.4 MPa (200 psig). Projected operating costs are discussed.

Jan 1, 1993

By J. P. Kennedy

Process data managers or historians are recognized as essential for reengineering projects in industrial plants. With increasing automatic data collection, the knowledge of how to use these data profitably grows as well. This paper is a summary of the data historian and its components plus examples of benefits including environmental reporting, performance monitoring, and exception reporting to management.

Jan 1, 1994

By B. Anameric, S. K. Kawatra

Pig iron nuggets were produced in a laboratory scale furnace at Michigan Technological University. These nuggets are produced from pellets consisting of a mixture of iron oxide, coal, flux, and a binder, which are heated to 1450°C.These pellets then self-reduce to produce a solid, high-density, highly metallized (96.5% Fe) pig iron. During the nugget production process, a separate slag phase forms that cleanly separates from the metal. The physical and chemical properties of the pig iron nuggets are similar to pig iron produced by blast furnaces, which is distinct from Direct Reduced Iron (DRI).

Jan 1, 2004

By Victor E. Archer

INTRODUCTION Man is exposed to many agents which induce mutations in germ cells and/or cancer at work, at play, and at home. In this total mix of mutagenic and carcinogenic agents, how important are radon and its daughters? Before man moved into caves and other permanent dwellings, the principal mutagenic and carcinogenic agent to which he was exposed was natural background radiation--cosmic rays, radium and potassium-40 in his food, plus gamma rays and radon from the soil and rocks. When man moved into caves, captured fire, and began to preserve and store foods, his exposure to carcinogens and mutagens took a quantum leap. Carcinogens and mutagens appear to act in the same way, that is, by altering the DNA or nuclear proteins of cells. Most mutagens are carcinogens, and vice versa, so when I say mutagens from here on, I will be referring to both. The relationship of the two is emphasized by the fact that administration of a carcinogen to a group of animals not only increases cancer rates among the exposed animals, but also among their progeny (Tomatis 1979). Environmental Mutagens Smoke from man's fires, overheated foods, and foods preserved by smoking, resulted in ingestion and inhalation of many polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons--many of which are mutagens. Caves and houses with tight windows and doors tend to collect the radon which is constantly emanating out of soil, rocks and concrete, so man's exposure to the radon daughter component of background radiation increased several fold. Preserving food by salting or pickling with material that contained nitrites and nitrates led to increased ingestion of nitrosamines, which are potent mutagens. When his grains and other foods were stored in slightly damp rooms, fungi or mold would grow on them. Several of these fungi are now known to produce very potent mutagens. The best known of these is aflatoxin B (Ramachandra 1979). It may seem strange that a living organism would produce a mutagen. One might think that it would scramble its own genetic heritage. The reason it does not is that it produces the mutagen in an inactive form. It can be activated only by an animal's enzyme systems after being eaten. When man moved into cities, the collective smoke from wood and coal fires further increased his exposure. That particular smoke has now mostly disappeared, but has been replaced by smoke from automobiles and industry. When man moved into the age of technology, his exposure to mutagens again increased dramatically. Many mutagenic chemicals, from benzene and beta naphthylamine to a long array of pesticides and tobacco products have been added to our environment. Excess deaths from cancer are now being observed among chemists in most industrialized nations. Mutagens are even found in much of our wine, beer, and whiskey (Keller 1980). Some of the chemical mutagens were widely used in food or in other commercial products before their potential was discovered. Striking examples of this is the original butter coloring agent and the polychlorinated biphenyls that have been widely used in brake fluids and electrical transformers. Large quantities of them have been discarded or disposed of in a careless manner--in such a way that many of them have contaminated our food, our ground water and air (Landrigan 1981). In this nation, with the help of several recent laws, we were just beginning to get control of the industrial chemical mutagens. With the relaxing of these laws that is currently going on, it appears that it will be many more years before we really bring chemical mutagens under control. Many nations have yet to come to grips with this problem. On top of this massive array of chemical mutagens we have now added radiation from many artificial sources. For most of us this means medical X-ray and fallout from nuclear weapons testing. Ionizing radiation is one of the most potent mutagens, so it has caught the public eye, and its contribution cannot be ignored. Fortunately, by the time we started using radioactive materials in quantity with the Manhattan Project, we had experience with radium and X-ray (some of it bad); we knew enough radiobiology and enough about methods of radiation protection so that most nuclear laboratories have had a phenomenal record of radiation safety. Radiation is one new technology with great potential for harm that has not exhibited that potential except for a few isolated situations like that of radium dial painters, uranium miners and atomic bomb victims. Uranium miners slipped into this list almost by accident. We could have protected our uranium miners just as well as we did the workers in nuclear laboratories; but we failed to do so. Why didn't we? The reason is simple. The Atomic Energy Commission was charged with protecting the health of their workers. They did not wait for a pile of bodies before they introduced controls. Congress appropriated the money, and taxpayers were willing to pay for the protection against radiation. Miners unfortunately did not work for the Atomic Energy Commission. Although mine operators were ignorant about radiation, the key item was that in the 1950s nobody was willing to pay the extra costs of adequate ventilation to control the high levels of radon and radon daughters in uranium mines. Control was not achieved until new laws and regulations were passed which made it compulsory. BIRTH DEFECTS AND CANCER

Jan 1, 1981

By Siddhartha Agarwal

The mining industry collects a significant amount of operational data. However, gleaning useful information from the terabytes of data is difficult, and not just because of the sheer volume of the data. Therefore, an automated tool was developed at the University of Alaska Fairbanks to go through data and apply sophisticated statistical and neural network techniques in order to identify the data streams that are important to a process. This paper presents results from the tool as applied to SAG mill data from a gold mine. The results were compared to results achieved earlier with available commercial modeling tools. The comparison indicates that there was little or no loss in performance by automating the very complicated process of neural network modeling. Therefore, the intent of the exercise, to examine if complicated modeling tasks can be automated, was realized. Mining Engineering, 2011, Vol. 63, No. 12, pp. 52-54. Official publication of the Society for mining, metallurgy and exploration, Inc.

Jan 1, 2011

By J. L. Heaver

All complete plant foods require phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium. And phosphate rock is the primary source for the phosphorus of the inorganic fertilizers. As more and more world food production is grown with these chemical fertilizers and since the Florida field supplies over 30% of the phosphorus component, let us look at the vital phosphate industry. Mining of phosphate rock in Central Florida began in 1891 and production has continued to grow at a steady pace. In 1965 a phosphate mine was opened in Hamilton County, North Florida and one in Beaufort County, North Carolina in 1966 . Since the beginning of mining in 1891, approximately 700 million metric tons of phosphate rock have been produced of this amount one-half was mined in the last 11 years. While the field was not deliberately "high-graded," the best of the known deposits were mined first. Those now being mined, and those yet to be mined, cost more to operate and the product is of lower grade. The U. S. Bureau of Mines' data for 1977 lists "Florida" phosphate rock production as 40.6 million tons; 86% of U. S. production and 85% of "Florida" capacity. The U. S. Bureau of Mines includes North Carolina production in "Florida" statistics so as not to reveal individual data for the one mine operating there. Approximately one-half of "Florida" production is exported, either as rock or as rock equivalent in upgraded products. Deposits of phosphate rock necessary to support present and future production are catalogued as: reserves, paramarginal reserves and resources. Reserves denote deposits which can be mined at a profit now. Paramarginal reserves are defined by the U. S. Bureau of Mines and the U. S. Geological Survey as: that portion of sub-economic resources that a) borders on being capable of production economically, or b) is not commercially available solely because of legal or political circumstances. The " b)" part of this definition may now be expanded to include environmental controls and requirements. Resources are deposits which cannot be mined at a profit at present. Listed in Table I are reasonable values for each of the three categories of phosphate deposits in the northern and southern parts of Central Florida. North Florida and North Carolina.

Jan 1, 1978

By A. Galicia, A. Charest

The Marlin deposit is a low sulphidation Au-Ag, epithermal system, with reserves of more than five million ounces gold equivalent. Marlin was discovered in December 1998, after a nine months grassroots exploration program in western Guatemala, focused on volcanic terrains of the Sierra Madre. Before the Marlin discovery, several gold prospects were found along an east-west corridor of approximately 70 kilometers long, associated to regional faulting systems. The deposit is hosted in faults, within Tertiary andesitic rocks and bedded volcano-sediments. Host-rocks are argillized closer to the surface and propyllitized at depth. Mineralization occurs in multi-stage quartz stockworks and breccia veins.

Jan 1, 2004

By K. V. Raj, R. Jacksha

Conveyor systems persist in being a source of injuries and fatalities in the mining industry. To reduce these incidents, better methods are needed to enhance the monitoring of probable hazards and improve situational awareness during the normal operation and maintenance of conveyor systems. To address these issues, researchers from the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) continue to investigate emerging technologies that show the potential to improve miner safety around conveyors. This paper presents a feasibility assessment by NIOSH researchers of a fully integrated, commercially available wireless Internet of Things (IoT) system to improve situational awareness around conveyor systems.

By R. H. King

This paper describes the results of an underground coal mine trial installation of a shielded trailing cable. The cable was a three conductor, round, type SHC-GC, and was installed on a shuttle car in a conventional room and pillar mining section. The purpose of presenting the information is to prepare mine operators for proposed legislation that will require shielding on low-voltage trailing cables. Specifically, machine modifications are required to cable reels, packing glands, and couplers. Cable splicing is not as complex as expected but additional materials are needed in the kit and splice training is necessary. Even though shielding will cause some problems for the mine operator, it can reduce the hazard of electrical shock to mine workers. This paper will present information that mine operators can use to solve most of the problems that will be encountered if they are required to install shielded cables. The in-mine evaluation was funded by the U.S. Bureau of Mines.

Jan 1, 1980

By David Butts

Solar ponding to crystdlize sodium chloride has been used for thousands of years.1 The systems used were inefficient and usually small compared to the large 25,000 acre pond areas seen today. It has only been in the last 25 years that any real effort has been applied to develop solar ponding technology. Many large solar pond systems have been constructed without much thought to efficient and optimum production rates. The recent high costs of labor, of equipment and of energy have forced producers to take a closer look at their solar pond systems in an attempt to squeeze out the highest possible yields. Other companies such as the Arab Potash Company, the Dead Sea Works, Texas Gulf (Moab, Utah) and San Francisco Salt Companies have no more land area in which to expand and therefore efficient ponds are essential. This paper is written to show how the subdivision of solar ponds can result in production increases of up to 20% and beyond.

Jan 1, 1984

New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland dominate Australian black coal production and exports. NSW produced 86 Mt (95 million st) of saleable coal in 1994, a doubling of output since 1980. Asian demand for thermal and coking coal has driven this growth. This high Asian demand is expected to continue and NSW will seek to secure its share. History The history of the New South Wales (NSW) coal industry can be traced to 1797 when coal was first taken from Newcastle to Sydney (Ellis, 1969). At that time, NSW was a British colony, independent from the other colonies, such as Victoria and Queensland. Australia, as a federation of colonies, did not exist until 1901. The Newcastle coal industry grew through the 1800s in line with the growth of the colonies. Several events spurred demand for Newcastle coal. These included: ? The NSW and Victorian gold rushes of the 1850s and associated population growth. ? The development of steamship traffic at the expense of sail. ? The development of railways and town gas supplies. By 1900, Australia was producing 6.4 Mt (7 million st) of coal, most of it from NSW. By then, NSW had established strong export markets in Indonesia, China, Japan and New Zealand. The history of energy consumption is marked by continual competition, changing intensity of use and substitution. From 1900 to 1940, the Queensland, Victorian and Indonesian coal industries developed at the expense of NSW exports. Similarly, New Zealand developed its hydroelectric industry and thus declined as the largest customer for NSW coal. Oil replaced steam in the shipping and railway markets and electricity replaced gas for lighting. Industrial efficiencies also affected coal. Between 1928 and 1938, coal consumed in generating power fell from by 17% on a kilowatt hour basis and, during the same period, the amount of gas produced per ton of coal rose by 18% (Shaw and Bruno). Faced with these pressures, production and exports stagnated. By 1941, Australian black coal production was 14.2 Mt (15.6 million st). NSW's production was 11.7 Mt (12 million st), up only 19% from 1912. Exports had virtually ceased (Fig. 1). In such circumstances, the industry had lost focus. Unions resisted the need for mechanization, for security of employment reasons, and owners were loath to invest. This reluctance to mechanize and the associated in-

Jan 1, 1997

By R. E. Ray

As coal reserves at shallow depths continue to be exhausted, a number of U.S. coal mining companies are beginning to develop coal seams previously thought to be coo deep to mine economically. Because of increased cover load, mines operating in deeper seams face unique ground control problems. In addition, the volume of methane gas contained in coal beds increases with depth, and ventilation requirements are much more stringent for deep underground coal mines than for shallower mines. When the longwall mining method is used at great depths, ventilation, ground control, and operational considerations must all be addressed in the design of longwall panels. This paper examines the influence of these factors, particularly ventilation and operational considerations, upon the feasibility of two, three, and four-entry longwall development panels in Jim Walter Resources' four deep mines.

Jan 1, 1986

By B. J. Vorster

The South African Iron and Steel Company Ltd operates a large Iron Ore Mine in the Cape Province of the Republic of South Africa. The Mine is situated on the farm, Sishen, approximately 600 km west of Johannesburg. The annual capacity of the Mine is 100 million ton of ore and waste and the present production level is 60 million ton. The Mine operates continuously for 6 days a week. The primary equipment used to maintain the above production are 55, 154 t trucks (Wabco and Unit Rig) and 14 P & H shovels. During 1979 an urgent feasibility study into the application of a trolley assist system was launched at the Mine. This was due to the unrealistic escalation in the cost of diesel fuel and the appeal from the South African Government to reduce the use of fossil fuels. Tests and economic evaluations proved the system technical feasible. The estimated discounted cash flow return exceeded 50% and the diesel fuel consumption would be reduced by 120 million litres in the next 10 years. Management subsequently approved the implementation of the system at Sishen. The construction of 7,7 km of line and the conversion of 66, 154 t trucks were completed in March 1982.

Jan 1, 1985

By E. A. Twichell

An entirely new concept in the effective utilization of magnetic, energy has resulted in a major break-through in the design of magnetic separation equipment. One of the first applications of this concept has resulted in the development of a Permanent Magnetic Wet Drum Separator with strength .and operating characteristics equal to Electro Wet Drum Separators. Prior to this development when strength and adjustability were required, electro wet drums were specified even with all their drawbacks. The electros, by nature, are subject to coil failure or burnout, over-heating and loss of strength, high power consumption and generally high maintenance. Now the high strength and the adjustability, formerly the exclusive property of electros, has been engineered into permanent wet drum separators. These units combine maximum field strength in the separation zone with strength adjustment to suit changing conditions. Adjustment can be effected while the drum is in operation without stopping either the feed or the drum.

Jan 1, 1967

By S. E. Phifer

The Haile Gold Mine was the largest gold producer east of the Mississippi River prior to 1942. It is currently the only producing gold mine in the Southeastern United States. Current development involves the mining and heap leaching of some 1000 TPD. Carbon is employed as a recovery medium. Due to its clayey nature and excessive fines in the oxide ore, agglomeration using Portland cement is required prior to leaching. The ore ranges in screen size from two inches to -200 mesh. The agglomerating step combined with certain other conditions has enabled Piedmont Mining Company to achieve recoveries of 90%.

Jan 1, 1987

By C. Opoku-Ware, M. Kukay, P. Conrad

"This project is exploring the potential for developing trees tolerable to degraded un-reclaimed mine site soils and tailings as a solution to re-establishing long-term tree growth on those sites. The project incorporates growing tree seedlings in an underground greenhouse grown from seeds planted in the degraded mine soils in which they will eventually be planted. The outcome of the project is expected to lead to a successful solution for re-establishing tree growth in soils and tailings containing high metal concentrations with minimal post-planting human intervention. The research is being conducted in an underground greenhouse located 100 feet below the surface in the old Orphan Boy Mine Underground Mine Education Center (UMEC) located on Montana Tech’s campus in Butte, Montana. INTRODUCTION In an effort to improve Butte Area One natural resources, the research project was proposed to help restore tree growth in the Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit Boundary (BPSOU). Research by Blicker, et al. (2003) found that, the BPSOU, which is part of the Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area National Priorities List (Superfund) Site within and near Butte, Montana has multiple historic mining sites situated entirely within the urban setting of Butte. Mine wastes and mill tailings, accumulated from over 100 years of gold, silver, and especially copper mining are dispersed throughout Butte, posing health risks to human and environmental receptors. Stabilization of tailings sites is needed to control fugitive dust, prevent run-off of toxic material resulting in subsequent sediment deposition in streams, reducing the volume of water seepage through acidic and heavy metal contaminated material, and improving land productivity and aesthetic VALUES ((Watkin and Watkin, 1982). If successful, the project will help restore water quality and maintain stream flow in Silver Bow Creek where it flows through Butte Area One. Trees native to Butte are being grown in an underground greenhouse located in the UMEC and will be planted in five areas located within the BPSOU designated for tree planting by the Butte Silver Bow government. Growing trees is expected to help restore vegetative ground cover within the watershed contributing to stream flow in Silver Bow Creek. They will prevent soil and tailings from eroding and being deposited in Silver Bow Creek where they could degrade water quality and choke stream flow."

Jan 1, 2018

By B. Schimm

Improve the mines productivity by simplifying the mining process, for these tasks the Wirtgen Surface Miner offers an attractive alternative. Surface Miners cut, crush and load material in one operation with only one machine. The cutting depth is controlled exactly.

Jan 1, 1997

By Robert W. Row

Advanced physical coal cleaning processes that are now under development may remove significantly greater fractions of pyritic sulfur and ash than do commercial coal cleaning processes at comparable heating value recoveries. These processes may be useful for reducing sulfur dioxide emissions from electric utilities and other emission sources. However, little work has been done to determine their applicability to any major coal market. The northeastern states of the United States are interested in burning more coal, but with further sulfur dioxide emission restrictions. Their nearest coal sources are relatively high sulfur Northern Appalachian coals. The project discussed in this paper, which is scheduled to be completed in June 1985, has the objective of technically and economically evaluating various coal supply scenarios involving five selected advanced physical coal cleaning processes; and comparing the economics of them with alternative fuel supply options open to the northeastern users.

Jan 1, 1985

By Paul T. Allsman, Paul F. Yopes

17.1--CURRENT AND FUTURE STATUS OF SURFACE MINING PAUL T. ALLSMAN AND PAUL F. YOPES 17.1.1--CURRENT The history of surface mining essentially is one of mining coal, copper, iron and aluminum ores, of placer mining gold and tin, and of pits and quarries producing clays, gypsum, phosphate rock, sand, gravel and stone. Table 17-1 is a summary of the estimated world and United States production of crude metallic and non¬metallic ores and coal in 1969. It includes estimates of the quantities produced by surface-mining methods. Two-thirds of the 10 billion tons are mined from the surface, ranging from a third of the coal. 57% of the metallic ores, and nearly all clays, stone, sand and gravel. Production by surface methods in the United States, parallels that of the world with one exception: about 90% of the copper and iron ore is mined from the surface, whereas elsewhere only about half the copper ore is surface mined. In Canada, surface mining of the Athabasca tar-sand deposits is a recent large-scale unique operation. In surface mining of coal and, to a lesser extent, metallic ores, much waste is stripped, but in nonmetallic pits and quarries the ratio between waste and ore usually is small. Assuming that the stripping ratio for surface mining in the

Jan 1, 1973