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By Ismet Canbulat, John Naylor, Jason Emery, Peter Craig, Andy Sykes

"Longwall mining is by far the most common method of underground coal extraction in Australia. The industry trends and expectations are placing increasing emphasis on the reliability and productivity of these operations. The longwalls are becoming wider and longer while retreat rates are continuously increasing due to significant improvements achieved in longwall equipment reliability and automation. This increased longwall productivity is placing significant emphasis on the reliability of longwall panel development.Although there have been significant improvements in the reliability of continuous miners and hydraulic drill rigs, the traditional resin encapsulated bolt installation is still the principal method used in all major coal-producing countries around the world. Anglo American realised an opportunity existed to introduce an alternative roof bolt installation technique called “spin to stall” in Australia. Spin to stall was first introduced in Anglo American Coal in South Africa where it has been successfully used for over a decade, though implementation of South African spin to stall resin in Australia has proven to be near impossible due to a significant difference in geotechnical conditions, mining method, and, subsequently, roof bolting equipment. Therefore, a new spin to stall development project was initiated between Anglo American Coal and Jennmar Australia (SPIN2STALL®). This paper summarises the journey of this project, the results, and the successful implementation of spin to stall achieved at Grasstree Mine.INTRODUCTIONThe Anglo American Coal business unit operates Grasstree and Moranbah North underground longwall mines in the Bowen Basin of Central Queensland, with a third longwall mine, Grosvenor, currently being developed, and two more (Aquila and Moranbah South) in the project pipeline. The vision for Anglo American is to achieve “Zero Harm” through the effective management of safety at all operations, while for the coal business unit, at the same time to achieve industry-leading operational performance. Currently, both Grasstree and Moranbah North longwalls are operating at industry best practice rates. This is placing increased pressure on the development process to allow such high productivity levels to be sustainable."

Jan 1, 2015

By Stefan Wahlund, Tom Adams, Mats Söder, Zhi Zhang

By applying high-end rolls with utmost performance and superior surface quality, hot strip mills can be further optimized. Operations in the mill have been also waiting for improved roll solutions that can minimize required roll changes which impact production efficiency. Limitations are usually due to the low performance and surface degradation of the rolls in the late finishing stands (F5 – F7). VICTURATM is the most recent developed grade for rolls utilized in the late finishing stand at Union Electric Åkers (UEÅ). These rolls have been tested and applied in mills all over the world. A significant improvement over the enhanced ICDP rolls has been observed. Hot strip mills are realizing improved operating efficiency and Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) through the transition of their entire roll inventories to these break-through products.

Oct 1, 2019

By Haibin Wang, Zhiwei Huang, Zhixiang Cui, Wenzhao Cui, Zhi Wang

Fangyuan Two-Step copper smelting process was commercialized in October, 2015 and has been operating for 3 years and 5 months. As the unique continuous copper smelting process with simplified flow in the world, production parameters have been significantly improved after three years. In the first half of 2018, the feed rate was above 200t/h, availability reached 97.5%, operation cost was about 20% lower than the conventional three-step processes showing obvious economic advantages. The Two-Step process in Fangyuan is composed of 1 Submerged Lance Smelting furnace (SLS) and 2 Submerged Lance Converting& Refining furnaces (SLCR). Two SLCRs work alternatively to ensure continuous production. High grade and liquid matte from the SLS is introduced to the SLCR by sealed launder to complete converting and refining. The SLCR is an original and independent innovation of Fangyuan, for which Fangyuan completed lots of development and improvement. This paper will introduce the process and experience. INTRODUCTION China is the largest producer and consumer of refined copper. Most of the processes adopted in China are conventional "Three-Step" copper smelting processes, which are comprised of smelting, converting and refining. There exists some problems in the conventional processes, such as high energy consumption, large heat loss, low altitude emission of SO2, etc. To deal with these problems, Fangyuan developed the new copper smelting process with simplified flow, low cost, clean and high efficiency. The SLCR that combines converting and the refining process was also developed, which shortens the process flow from conventional three steps to two steps. The SLCR is of great significance in promoting the development of the copper industry. Development and industrialization of SLCR At present, copper concentrates are treated in three steps: smelting, converting and refining. Anodes are also produced by continuous converting processes such as the Mitsubishi process and the Double Flash process. Problems like matte transportation by ladle, capacity limitation, and low altitude pollution exist.

Jan 1, 2019

By C. B. Catanach

The development and in place leaching of a chalcocite ore body at Mountain City, Nevada is described. Block caving was used to induce permeability while ore removed during development was leached in heaps on the surface. Copper was recovered by precipitation on iron. Excess ground water which seeped into the mine was pumped into a deep disposal well. A parallel system was used to purify water by lime neutralization. Copper extraction was at an annualized rate of 11% during the first six full months of underground leaching and totalled approximately 30% during six months of heap leaching. Leach solution flow and distribution had a major effect on extraction rate. Enrichment of leach solutions with ferric sulfate did not produce conclusive results until analyzed with the aid of a leaching model.

Jan 1, 1976

By Ming’an Wei, Qifu Duan, Jianmin Wu, Lusheng Zhou, HMR Group Limited / HMR Technology Canada Ltd., Wenjian Wu

"The development and industrial applications of magnetic liners have been around for decades. A Swedish company Skega first introduced rubber magnetic liners, and then followed by the Chinese invention of metal magnetic liners. Traditionally, both liners were used in secondary ball mills and regrind ball mills for industrial applications, especially for ores containing magnetic materials. Mostly steel balls or equivalent forged steel balls, usually below 60 mm in diameter, were used as grinding media. With the development of mineral resources over the years, SAG mills and larger ball mills have become the dominating components for comminution circuit design. Due to the development of larger diameter ball mills and thus larger ball charge diameter (up to 80mm) especially in non-ferrous metal mining operations, the application of magnetic liners have been very limited. Based on “Magnetism theory” and the development of new materials, the HMR Group Limited has been conducting researches on examining the structures of magnetic liners, associated materials and magnetic circuits which led to the invention of the Nano Alloy Steel Magnetic Liner (NSML). Recently, NSML had a successful application in a 5.5 m diameter × 6.5 m ball mill at the Erdenet Copper Mine in Mongolia. The NSML successfully handled a ball size up of to 80 mm, while achieving a service life of nearly 24 months, which is almost 3 times wear life of the original manganese steel liners.INTRODUCTIONDuring the development and utilization of mineral resources, mineral processing is an indispensably operation. The effective separation of various useful minerals depends on sufficient monomer dissociation of minerals in the ores. The crushing and grinding operation is prior operation of mineral processing. Ball mills are used in different concentrators. As the main consumption parts of mill, liners have been studied constantly. As a new kind of liners, magnetic liners besides can meet the requirement of production, and also have characteristics with maintenance-free, saving energy and increasing efficiency. So the magnetic liners are worth to be spread and applied world widely."

Jan 1, 2016

By Ming’an Wei, Qifu Duan, Chengtie Wang, Jianmin Wu, Erdenet Mining Corporation, Lusheng Zhou, Wenjian Wu

"The development and industrial applications of magnetic liners have been around for decades. A Swedish company SKEGA first introduced the rubber magnetic liner, and then followed by the Chinese metal magnetic liners. Traditionally, both liners were used in secondary and regrind ball mills, especially for ores containing magnetic materials. Mostly steel balls or equivalent forged balls, usually below 60 mm in diameter, were used as grinding media. With the development of mineral resources over the years, SAG mills and larger ball mills have become the dominating components for comminution circuit design globally. Due to the larger ball mills and thus larger grinding balls (up to 80 mm) especially in non-ferrous metal industry, the application of magnetic liners has been very limited. Based on the new development of materials, the HMR Group Limited has been exploring new designs of magnetic liners which led to the invention of the Nano Steel Magnetic Liner (NSML). Recently, NSML had a successful application in a 5.5m x 6.5m ball mill with 80 mm balls at the Erdenet Copper Mine in Mongolia. Although the first set of liner had a service life of 12 months, the design of the second set was modified and improved to accommodate the operating conditions, which is expected to reach least 24 months service life. The original manganese steel liner only had about 8 months liner life.1. IntroductionMineral processing is an essential operation for the development and utilization of mineral resources. The effective concentration of various useful minerals depends on sufficient liberation of the mineral particles in the ore. The crushing and grinding process such as ball milling are the most common way to achieve proper liberation size. Mill liner is an eternal topic for the operations, not only because it protects the equipment, but also affects the mill grinding efficiency and availability. In recent years, magnetic mill liners have been developed that can easily meet the production targets with numerous benefits, such as zero maintenance, reducing specific energy consumption and improving grinding efficiency."

Jan 1, 2016

By M. A. Cocquerel

INTRODUCTION Davy McKee have developed and patented a combined mixer settler (CMS) which has undergone extensive trials and has now been installed in two commercial uranium plants in South Africa. Substantial capital and operating cost savings can be realized over conventional mixer settler in uranium extraction, especially from dilute feedstocks containing approximately 200 ppm U308. Pilot plant work has also been undertaken on other metal extraction systems and the results are very encouraging in most areas of interest. CONVENTIONAL MIXER SETTLERS The conventional plant in use at many uranium recovery facilities consists typically of a mixer box in which the aqueous and organic phases are contacted and a settler in which the two phases separate. The mixer box must allow sufficient residence time for the mass transfer kinetics to be satisfied for the particular species involved. The settlers are usually rectangular and take the form of shallow tanks of large cross sectional area.

Jan 1, 1984

By L. S. Zhou

Germany-made AFX-100 multi-grade fluidized classifier, with exquisite built-in structure and unique novel design, materializes not only advanced and efficient classification, but also precise particle distribution and safe operation, in addition to lower energy consumption and operational cost. It, simultaneously in place of screw grader, water cyclone, and fine mesh sieve, is equipped with multi-function, and indicates superior advantage in comparison with other else grading facilities. As the third-generation equipment, which is efficient and modern, it, in China and therefore all over the world, will find wide application in processing both fine and ultra-fine iron ore resources. Industrial test, carried out in Benxi Steel?s Waitoushan Iron Mine, shows efficient classification, i.e., ?74µm particle contents in coarse, medium and fine products come to 6.09%,11.82% and 82.73%, respectively, while qualitative and quantitative efficiencies end up by 74.38% and 87.66%, respectively. Its separation efficiencies amount to 2.2 times as many as spiral classifiers, 1.8 times as hydrocyclones, and 1.3 times as vibration high-frequency fine screens. Another industrial test, which was practiced in Anshan Steel?s Donganshan Sinter Plant, indicates that classification qualitative efficiency comes to 65.06%, equal to 1.51 times as many as hydrocyclones; yield, 55.79%; -71µm particle contents in medium and coarse products, 42.02%; -71µm content in fine product, 95.42%; and concentration, 12.33%. Estimated separation indexes are as follows: Yield for concentrate at 31.22%, up 0.22% than that from general processing line; concentrate grade at 66.42%, up 1.13%; recovery ratio comes to 65.84%, up 1.28%, which, based on pilot study, results in 20 million yuan of economic return for Donganshan Floatation Plant.

Jan 1, 2014

By C. N. Logan

The Southern Company is one of the nation's largest electric utilities and is the parent firm of five operating companies: Alabama Power, Georgia Power, Gulf Power, Mississippi Power and Savannah Electric and Power. Another subsidiary is Southern Company Services (SCS) which provides engineering and technical sup-port to the five operating companies. This technical support includes the procurement and supply of over 40.9 Mt (45 million st) of coal annually for the 22 coal fired plants in the system. Approximately 80 percent of this tonnage is purchased under long term contracts and the remaining 20 percent is purchased on the spot market. The coal is principally supplied from Alabama, Illinois Basin and the eastern Appalachian coal fields. Most of the coal is delivered by unit train and barge but one plant in Alabama receives all its coal by truck and conveyor belt.

Jan 1, 1990

By David A. Heitman

The Buick Concentrator is a highly automated operation which utilizes a process control system for continuous monitoring and control. The process control system development, installation, and application to the concentrator grinding and flotation circuits are presented in this paper. The design and implementation of analog field sensing instrumentation, a continuous on-stream X-ray analyzer, grinding and classfication circuit controls, and a recent digital process control system utilizing a centralized computer are discussed. Emphasis is placed on the project planning and installation of the digital control system including a presentation of future plans for continuing application of computer control.

Jan 1, 1982

By Chauncey Berrien

THE Hawkesworth detachable drill steel shank and bit were invented by A. L. Hawkesworth; while he was a mechanical foreman for the Anaconda Copper Mining Co., at Butte, Mont. Mr. Hawkesworth died on June 16, 1925, at the time that his invention was practically a proved success. The first application for patents was made by him in November, 1918, and the bit is now being manufactured under patents issued in 1922 and 1923. The credit, for its development in the early stages belongs to A. L. Hawkesworth, Roy S. Alley, Harry A. Gallwey, E. J. Bowman and various officials of the Anaconda Copper Mining Co. Later improvements, manufacturing problems and the direct usage in the mines were originated and perfected by the mechanical department under C. D. Woodward, E. R. Borcherdt, head of the Rock Drill Equipment Department, Robert E. Kelly of the Mechanical Department, and various operating department heads of the Anaconda Copper Mining Co. The author wishes to acknowledge the assistance of these officials in the preparation of this paper.

Jan 1, 1930

Effective tools are not only essential for the design of practical and efficient underground mine ventilation systems but must also play an integral part in the operation of the mine. One such tool is VUMA-coal ventilation simulation software. VUMA-coal is Windows-based and has been specially designed for the simulation of underground coal mines and includes user-friendly coal specific interfaces and three-dimensional graphics designed to facilitate in the construction and analysis of networks. VUMA-coal can be utilised during the design phase of new collieries, be used to conduct ?what-if? and optimisation studies, and be integrated into the ?day-to-day? ventilation related operations. In addition, VUMA-coal can be used to simulate dust and gas distribution in a ventilation network, as well as predict the impact of control measures. This paper describes the interactive VUMA-coal ventilation simulation software and its underlying design features and outlines a case study of how VUMA-coal has been integrated into Anglo Coal?s Ventilation and Occupational Hygiene Engineering [VOHE] department as part of the standard planning and evaluation process in their operational mines as well as long term planning and future mining operations.

Jan 1, 2009

By Robert M. Semple, Harvey W. Parker

INTRODUCTION Two promising innovative tunnel support systems are being developed by the Civil Engineering Department of the University of Illinois. One of these is a lining which can be placed by a slipform located immediately behind and contiguous with a tunneling machine. Recent advancements in construction materials appear to provide the breakthrough required to make such a system feasible and practical. The lining material which permits this construction scheme is wire fiber reinforced concrete made with high, very early strength regulated-set cement. Parts I and II of this paper relate to this slipformed liner. Part I discusses the material and equipment required to install the liner. The "Extruded Liner System" (ELS) has been devised to place the lining. This ELS concept is briefly described and a tentative development program is outlined. In Part II, the physical properties and practical construction aspects of the liner material are discussed and a program for structural testing of 10-ft diameter prototype tunnel supports is presented. Part III contains descriptions of improvements to conventional steel-rib tunnel supports. It is shown that square tubular box sections are structurally superior to wide flange sections for complex loading conditions often encountered in rock tunnels. Analytical studies and tests on connections have been performed to evaluate their structural behavior. These are presented along with a program for comparative large-scale tests on horseshoe-shaped frames with a 10-foot span. This research is being conducted by the Department of Civil

Jan 1, 1997

By Fred K. Stieler

The largest updraft sinter machine built has a roasting area of 132 sq.m. Sinter machines with an area of over 200 sq.m. are under consideration. These large machines require new techniques with regard to drive thrust and sealing mechanism. To optimize the results of sinter plants, the charge preparation systems and the return fines circuits were improved. Special crushers were developed for crushing return sinter of up to 800 ºC to a size of minus 6 mm. Strand cooling of Pb-sinter was investigated. Different methods for plant ventilation were compared. New processes, which might replace sintering in the future, are in the stage of large - scale testing.

Jan 1, 1977

By R. F. Winkle

Shortly after World War II, considerable impetus was given to use of truck haulage in open pit mines by the manufacture of large off-highway trucks. Mine management was quick to utilize this more flexible approach to open pit operation and in the ensuing years much time and energy has been spent to improve the basic concept. Dramatic progress has been made in drilling, blasting, loading and hauling with much emphasis placed on equipment improvement. In general, haul roads in open pit mines and quarries have received rather perfunctory treatment in studies of surface mining operations. Their importance to the successful pit operation requires more than a brief sentence saying, "Good haul roads must be maintained." Haulage costs account for approximately one-third of total mining costs including general costs and about 90 percent of the total loading-haulage cycle time is consumed in travel, hence, good haul road planning, construction and maintenance are mandatory for a viable operation.

Jan 1, 1976

By F. A. Steward

Copper is one of the trace minerals essential to life. It is added, usually in the form of copper sulfate, to virtually all formulated feedstuffs and to dietary supplements fed to animals on forage. Over the past five years, an improved inorganic copper source trademarked Micronutrients TBCC™, has been developed, tested and commercially introduced. TBCC is a crystalline form of basic copper chloride. Synthesis is accomplished in a continuous neutralization I crystallization process. In current commercial production, the primary sources of copper currently used as feedstocks are the etching solutions used to manufacture electronic printed wiring boards. These solutions have traditionally been managed as hazardous wastes, but their use to manufacture TBCC™ exempts them from regulation as wastes under the "Use/Reuse" provisions of RCRA. Research conducted over five years at multiple universities has shown that animals are healthier when fed this source of copper and that vitamin losses in feed are reduced by its use.

Jan 1, 2000

By R. Mira, S. Rosa, P. Souza

This paper shows the historical data, local geology and mineralization, the mining methods applied, current production,, the planning staff, the resources of hardware and software available and the computer methods used. The activities are described starting with the driving of ramps/research levels, their dimensional parameters and positioning, driving of production sublevels with the same parameters plus those concerned with the stability of the rock mass during the development and the mining itself. Then, the detailing of the ore body is described together with the stopes planning, the openings stability analysis, and the drilling patterns and explosive types are discussed.

Jan 1, 1998

By J. -M. Bosgiraud, G. Armand, S. Dewonck, L. Richard-Panot

"The Meuse/Haute-Marne Underground Research Laboratory (URL) is located on the eastern boundary of the Paris Basin. The URL started to be built in 2000 (shaft sinking operations) in the framework of ANDRA’s (French national radioactive waste management agency) research program aimed at determining the feasibility of a reversible deep geological disposal of high-level and intermediate-level long-lived radioactive waste (HLW, IL-LLW). Its underground drifts are used to study the Callovo- Oxfordian claystone layer between 420 m and 550 m in depth.The ongoing research program (started in 2006) following the “Technology Readiness Level” (TRL) Scale is more dedicated to technologies improvement and demonstration issue of the different disposal components, even if characterization and monitoring studies are still ongoing.In rock mechanics, at the main level of the URL (located at 490 m), construction and evolution of disposal cells of different size are studied for HLW and IL-LLW packages. A step by step approach, started in 2006, is carried out based on comparison of HM behavior of parallel drifts excavated/supported by different construction methods. These various configurations give insight of the influence of construction method on the EDZ extent and evolution and on the progressive loading of the support, which are key issues to design the Cigéo disposal drifts and excavations.The concept of disposal cells studied for HLW consists in horizontal steel lined micro-tunnels 80 m long and 70 cm in diameter. Several campaigns of tests have been carried out since 2009 in order to demonstrate the feasibility of excavating such micro-tunnels and study their behavior under different conditions (with and without back filling the annular gap between the rock and the casing, watertight or not casing). A full scale demonstrator representative of the benchmark concept has also been excavated, to study its behaviour under thermal loading with heat produced by electrical heaters."

Jan 1, 2015

By H. O. Olsen

MARMORA mine is located a mile southeast of Marmora village in Hastings County, Ontario, 130 miles from Toronto and 150 miles from Ottawa. Highway No. 7 passes half a mile north of the mine and Highway No. 14 half a mile west. The Canadian National Ry. branch line between Trenton and Bancroft passes through the property just east of the open pit. The iron orebody at Marmora is the result of a replacement of Pre-Cambrian limestone with zones or bands of magnetite interlaid with metamorphic rocks and cut by later intrusives. The ore and associated Pre-Cambrian rocks are overlain by 100 to 150 ft of flat-lying paleozoic limestone. It is a low grade magnetite deposit that requires concentration before it can be used economically for production of iron and steel.

Jan 1, 1957

By Paul J. Lauricella

This presentation will summarize the basic safety components of an underground safety program. The program will begin with the first ingredient to a successful safety program, top management support, and continue through emergency services. Particular attention will be devoted to top management support for the safety program.

Jan 1, 1985