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By Roger D. Sharpe

Oklahoma contains extensive resources of high-purity gypsum that were deposited in the Anadarko and Hollis basins during Permian time. The gypsum resources and reserves are estimated to be about 48 billion short tons and a; located in the western portion of the state. Oklahoma is the largest producer of gypsum products in the United States. The Blaine Formation and the Cloud Chief Gypsum contain several beds of minable thickness. Four stratigraphic units in the Blaine Formation are quarried in Oklahoma. The Shimer, Nescatunga, and Medicine Lodge Members are quarried in northwest Oklahoma. The Van Vacter Member, consisting of three gypsum beds, is quarried in southwest Oklahoma. The Cloud Chief Gypsum is quarried in the west-central part of the state. The gently dipping gypsum in the Blaine Formation generally crops out along low escarpments and is covered in the downdip direction by increasing overburden, consisting of sand, shale, and/or dolomite. Anhydrite occurs in the downdip direction under the thicker overburden. The Cloud Chief Gypsum crops out as hills, which are eroded remnants of a more widespread, massive sulfate unit. All of the gypsum produced in Oklahoma is extracted using quarrying methods. A variety of products are made from gypsum quarried in Oklahoma. The products are manufactured from uncalcined, calcined, and deadburned gypsum. Products vary from raw, ground gypsum used for agriculture, to high-value-added industrial plasters, cements, and fillers produced from calcined gypsum. A sampling of the many products manufactured from Oklahoma gypsumincludes: (1) agricultural-soil amendment; carrier for insecticides, pesticides, and herbicides; calcium supplement in animal feeds; (2) gypsum wallboard-common, fire-resistant, and water-resistant varieties; (3) industrialgypsum plasters-art and casting, pottery and ceramic, molding and tooling, crayons, wall patching; (4) industrial gypsum cements-oil-well cement, high-strength statuary, high-strength tooling, fiber-reinforced architectural, road and bridge repair; (5) food and pharmaceutical-filler and binder in aspirin and other medicines, yeast activator in brewing of beer, moisture absorbent in bread and pizza dough; and (6)portland-cement retarder-ground with clinker to control setting time.

Jan 1, 1999

By Theophilus Mensah, Kwame Awuah-Offei

Engineers face significant challenges when determining what geometry provides the most profitable and safe stope for extraction. Several techniques and optimization algorithms have been developed in recent years, but most fail to find optimal solutions because they are heuristic or LP-based without efficient geometric constraints. This paper presents a two-dimensional binary linear programming (BLP) model for determining the optimal combination of blocks in a stope that maximizes the economic value of the layout of stopes for a sublevel deposit. The work draws from Queyranne and Wolsey’s (2017 & 2018) formulations of tight constraints for bounded up/down times in production planning problems to formulate novel and efficient geometric constraints along with geotechnical and grade constraints for the BLP stope layout optimization problem. Results from the model indicate that it is possible to formulate efficient shape constraints in LP-based approaches. The model used for the numerical example contained 144 valuable blocks out of 774 blocks, which translates into an economic value of $53.21M. The BLP model selected 60 valuable blocks and 13 waste blocks that met all constraints translating into a maximum economic value of $34.4M in 1.83 hours within a gap tolerance of 0.00%.

Jun 25, 2023

By L. A. Weakly, D. A. Weiss, R. B. Crookston

A presentation of experience gained from using mechanical and conventional equipment for excavating shafts, raises, tunnels and other openings in various Colorado oil shale mining properties.

Jan 1, 1983

By Malte J. M. Gurgel, Axel Preusse

The planning, construction, and monitoring of underground storage facilities is a key factor in meeting upcoming challenges as part of the energy transition from fossil fuels to renewables. Therefore, the many years of knowledge and expertise in ground control gained from coal mining are highly valuable for new mining and storage operations. For such applications, our previous work examined cavity registration, combining structure from motion and LiDAR through a case study in a former lead ore mine. Building on this, the results of this recent case study are discussed regarding the possible application in sites for nuclear waste disposal in Germany including a view on the situation in the United States. Photogrammetric methods are particularly suitable as part of long-term monitoring, which relies on both precise survey results and a large variety of detailed visualization. In order to gain a better understanding of the resulting application potential for holistic monitoring, both existing repositories sites in Germany and ones yet to be found are examined. This search and selection process for high-level nuclear waste disposal is studied in detail together with rules resulting from the (German) mining law, regulations, and other guidelines. Hereby, key requirements of photogrammetric products like oriented images, point clouds, and three-dimensional (3- D) models are identified for different case studies. The findings on accuracy and integrity of the generated models are not only of interest for future repository sites or underground pumped storage power plants, but also offers various possibilities for underground mining of coal and other commodities.

Jul 1, 2023

Nautilus Minerals and Neptune Minerals are betting that the next great metals rush will take place more than 1,500 m (5,000 ft) below the sea. Nautilus is the first company to commercially explore the ocean floor for gold and copper seafloor massive sulfide (SMS) deposits. Its main focus is the Solwara 1 Project, a polymetallic copper, gold, zinc, silver deposit that is under 1,600 m (5,200 ft) of water off the coast of Papua New Guinea in the western Pacific Oceans? Rim of Fire. Nautilus Minerals, in a joint venture with Placer Dome (now Barrick Gold), began its exploration of what would become the Solwara 1 area in 2005 with side scan sonar and dredge sampling. The dredge and grab sampling confirmed the grade tenor of earlier sampling by scientific research programs. The 45 dredge samples aver-aged 10.8 percent copper, 3.7 percent zinc, 224 g/t (6.5 oz/st) silver and 13.7 g/t (0.4 oz/st) gold. Nautilus has since staked out more than 300,000 km2 (115,800 sq miles) of tenement licenses and exploration applications in the waters off Papua New Guinea, Fiji, New Zealand, Tonga and the Solomon Islands. That is an area about the same size of the United Kingdom. Interest in Nautilus and its projects has grown tremendously since its inception. The company is now listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. It has raised more than $300 million and spent more than $23 million on exploration. The company has gained the backing of mining majors such as Teck Cominco, Epion, Anglo American and Barrick Gold. It is positioned to become an emerging producer in 2010. Teck Cominco recently agreed to exercise share purchase warrants to acquire three million additional common shares of Nautilus at a price of US$15 million. This will take Teck Cominco?s shareholding to approximately 7.2 percent of the issued shares. Teck Cominco will conduct and manage a ship-based exploration program that will run in addition to the exploration that was already planned for 2008.

Jan 1, 2008

By J. P. Gliddon, G. C. Wade, J. W. Lill

Since 1980 a number of significant changes have been introduced at Palabora in an effort to offset the effects of reduced product price and increased unit costs of production. These changes and improvements include major equipment rationalization programs, the introduction of trolley-assisted truck haulage, adoption of a sophisticated computerized truck control system, pit design enhancements, improved drilling practices, use of emulsion explosives, and the installation of an in-pit crushing and conveying system. The various changes, their effect on the operation, and their contribution to cost reduction and improved productivity at Paihbora are considered.

Jan 1, 1987

By Susan L. Bednarz

Recent advances in digital cameras and image processing allow photographers to produce excellent high-resolution action shots in low light and high contrast conditions commonly encountered underground. Digital photography is often used for construction and inspection documentation for underground structures. Designers, owners, and contractors benefit from quality photographs that document incremental progress and project milestones. Documentation photos serve as a lasting record of as-built conditions, are an important marketing tool, and help the owner build public support for expensive public works projects. When the project is complete, the only mementos that the participants will hold onto are the photographs.

Jan 1, 2008

By E. C. Westman, F. J. Shreve

This paper presents the design and construction of a multi-channel geophone array that improves tomographic imaging capabilities in both surface and underground mines. Especially important in the design of the array is sensor placement. Three issues related to sensor placement are addressed in this paper: 1) sensor placement in long, horizontal boreholes, 2) development of simple, robust, MSHA-acceptable clamping unit, and 3) orientation of the geophones within the borehole. Improved imaging capabilities will produce energy, environmental, and economic benefits by increasing exploration accuracy and reducing operating costs.

Jan 1, 2002

By Miles T. Stephens, Felipe Calizaya, Jacob O. Kingston

Currently, the Bear Canyon Mine is facing the challenge of excessively high coal and rock temperatures in one of its headings. In Mine No.3, the air temperature at the 6th Right panel reached 36.4ºC and the coal 83.9 ºC. Due to these severe work conditions, the mining plan has been altered by changing the mine direction to avoid the high temperatures. To investigate the problem, drill holes were developed from the entries and the rock temperatures monitored using K-type thermocouples. The measurements confirmed the existence of localized “hot spots” in the mine. This paper presents a summary of ventilation surveys that were conducted in this mine. It includes the results of coal and rock temperature measurements from drill holes, interpretation of results using a heat flow simulator and the identification of hot spot areas. It also includes a summary of methods that were developed to reduce the hazard and control the problem.

Jan 1, 2005

By Dongjie Zhang, Shuxin Liu, Jianduo Wang

Broken rock mass and unreasonable stope structure parameters can cause excessive ore loss and dilution in sublevel caving; this is the main problem faced by caving mining in recent years. This paper proposes a stope structure parameter optimization method suitable for steeply inclined medium-thick broken ore bodies and evaluates the reliability and effectiveness through case studies. To solve the problem of large ore loss and dilution in the high-end wall sublevel caving method of Xilinhot fluorite mine, it is necessary to select proper stope structure parameters. Based on the theory of random media, an end-wall ore drawing experiment was carried out, and the bulk flow parameters needed to optimization of stope structure parameters were determined. In the experiment, it was found the draw-out body of high-end wall ore drawing showed a fine top and a thick bottom; the granular media had good fluidity. The reasonable caving step is determined to be 1.2 m instead of the 1.6 m originally used. Through the optimization experiment of the mining route position along the vein, the study found that the best route position is different with the ore body inclination. When the inclination angle of the ore body was 90°, the reasonable route was located in the center of the ore body. When the inclination angle of the ore body was between 85° and 90°, the route moved from the center of the ore body to the footwall at a rate of 22.5%. When the inclination angle of the ore body was between 80° and 85°, the route moved to the footwall at a rate of 54.8%. When the inclination angle of the ore body is not greater than 80°, the route should be arranged on the boundary of the footwall. Field application results showed the dilution rate reduced by 7.66% and the recovery rate increased by 7.31%. Field test results verify the effectiveness and applicability of the optimized stope structure, which corroborates the effectiveness and applicability of the optimized stope structure.

Mar 10, 2022

By A. J. Getz

The paper reviews the status of the major precious metals projects in Australia, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, the Philippines, and New Zealand. The projects may be at the stage of exploration, development, operation, or expansion. The paper covers project location, reserves, method of resource exploitation, anticipated production, and other unique conditions.

Jan 1, 1990

By D. J. Dodds, W. L. Schroeder

INTRODUCTION The plate loading test is a simple, useful tool in rock mechanics. The test consists of applying load to a rock surface and noting the resulting deflections. Plate loading tests are typically used to obtain modulus of deformation and related material properties, but can also provide information on blast damage and in situ stresses (1). Properties obtained are of course dependent on test procedure and test environment . In order to eliminate extraneous results it is essential that the interrelationship between the physical test environment and various rock properties obtained be thoroughly understood. Test interpretation is based upon elasticity methods, and the general assumptions made during analysis which include the following: 1. The rock is homogeneous, isotropic, elastic and continuous. 2. The stress is induced in a semi-infinite solid. 3. The plate is perfectly rigid or completely flexible. 4. Rock properties are independent of in situ stresses. 5. The plate and rock surface are smooth and parallel.

Jan 1, 1974

By A. D. Davis

The former Homestake gold mine at Lead, South Dakota, has been selected by the National Science Foundation as the proposed host site for the Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory. The deep laboratory and associated research campus will be developed at approximately the 7700-ft level. Plans also include the development of the Sanford Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory at the 4850-ft level. After the mine?s pumps were shut off in June, 2003, water levels rose to approximately the 4650-ft level by early 2008. Pumps in the 8150-ft deep mine were turned on again for dewatering in April, 2008. Instrumentation is being installed in the mine to measure water-level declines during pumping, for later analysis of permeability and related hydraulic properties of the formation. Pressure-sensitive transducers and data loggers will provide real-time information on water levels that will be available to interested parties. Quality of the water also will be monitored as it is pumped from the mine. I

Jan 1, 2009

By C. C. Russelll, V. T. McLemore

The Metals Mining Sector of the Acid Drainage Technology Initiative (ADTI-MMS) addresses technical drainage-quality issues related to metal mining and related metallurgical operations, for future and active mines, as well as, for historical mines and mining districts. One of the first projects of ADTI-MMS is to develop a handbook describing the best sampling, monitoring, predicting, mitigating, and modeling of drainage from metal mines, pit lakes and related metallurgical facilities based upon current scientific and engineering practices. One of the important aspects of planning a new mine in today’s regulatory environment is the philosophy of designing a new or existing mine or expansion of operations for ultimate closure. The holistic philosophy taken in the ADTI-MMS handbook maintains that sampling and monitoring programs should be designed to take into account all aspects of the mine-life cycle. Data required for the closure of the operation are obtained throughout the mine-life cycle, from exploration through post-closure.

Jan 1, 2004

By Greg Wieland

Deep sewer tunnels are required to meet future growth demands of the City of Austin?s down-town redevelopment. The tunnel is 18,000 ft long and varies in finished diameter from 54 inches to 96 inches. The tunnel crosses under Austin?s Town Lake three times and there are four main work shaft sites. Geology, groundwater, foundations, downtown redevelopment, and an active, healthy community put significant constraints on the design. This paper discusses a major underground project for downtown Austin and discusses the risk considerations and the opportunities the design team took toward optimizing the project design for the construction phase.

Jan 1, 2008

By R. M. Cox

The ground forces generated by a properly installed and tensioned mine roof truss assembly can provide permanent mine roof support, even in severe ground conditions, either by direct suspension of the rock loads within the potential failure zone above the mine opening or indirect reinforcement of the natural rock arch that tends to form within the immediate mine roof. Notable advancements in mine roof truss support systems hardware and design technology have occurred since the introduction of the in situ mine roof truss concept for permanent mine roof support in 1966. The systematic installation of mine roof truss support systems has proven to be a very effective method of mine roof control room and pillar mines under a wide variety of ground conditions, even in areas otherwise considered unmineable because of severe roof control problems. Properly designed mine roof truss systems have also been used for permanent support of mine slopes and haulage tunnels.

Jan 1, 2002

By S. A. Abdel Sabour

Conventional methods for selecting a production plan for an open pit mine is based on the assumption that ore grades throughout mine life as well as market variables are known with certainty. Another important issue that is also being ignored in the conventional procedure is the value of management flexibility to revise operating policy with time according to the arrival of new information. Based on this oversimplification of reality, an optimum mine plan that is thought to be maximizing net present value (NPV) of the project is selected. Given the multiple sources of risk affecting the estimated NPV, there is a high probability that the actual value will be different from that estimated. This could mislead decision making process regarding selecting an optimum mine plan. This paper proposes a multi-criteria ranking system for selection between alternative mine designs under both geological and market uncertainties. The system is based on integrating multiple market and geological uncertainties as well as the operating flexibility to revise the ultimate pit limits using a Monte Carlo-based real options valuation (ROV) model. To compare the methods, the article applies the proposed system, along with the conventional NPV-based method, to rank possible mine designs for a copper and a gold mine. It has been found that, considering multiple risk analysis measures while integrating uncertainty and operating flexibility results in selecting a mine design that is different from that selected by the conventional method.

Jan 1, 2009

By William R. Oakley

In order to best-discuss the met spar industry let me take the liberty to review our involvement, that is, my company's. Our organization has been involved in the fluorspar industry for approximately thirty-five years. We started our activity in Western Kentucky as a mining company and a beneficiator of spar, that is, grinding and grading. After a few short years, the mine became contaminated and rather than invest in a flotation plant, the property was sold and our spar activity was moved, primarily to Mexico. It was decided not to establish ourselves as a Mexican corporation, so, it was necessary to take the position of backer-financier of numerous mining operations. We served in this capacity for quite some time. We also built processing plants on the border in Texas, that is, sizing, grading, etc. in order to market into the steel industry. In 1957, generally speaking, fluorspar for the steel industry was purchased as gravel fluorspar with a maximum of 10% -1/16". The price of this material was $23.50 to $24.00 per ton f.o.b. railcar at the Rio Grande Crossings and about $26.00 or $26.25 f.o.b. barge, Brownsville, Texas. Usually the material was purchased on an effective basis. As you know, 2-1/2 times the silica total, subtracted from the total CaF2 gives the effective calcium fluoride. This was normally the extent of the chemical specifications. Consequently, material was shipped with no regard whatever, to anything other than effective units. The variations in material was absolutely unbelievable. In addition to this, quite frequently, cars were shipped, as they say in the industry, topped. This being, good material placed in the top of cars or barges over bad or low grade. The entire shipment may very well have met the effective unit spec, but the complete imbalance of the sub grade vs. the high grade more or less guaranteed that the consumer was probably using a great deal of low grade and therefore, his usage had to be way higher than it should have been. He came to the conclusion, that because of these conditions and the new technology developing in the steel industry, it was just a matter of time that the entire raw material industry would have to improve. Rather than spend our efforts directed to a substitute flux, we put together a sizing and grading plant in order to ship a controlled crude product, with independent laboratory analysis confirming size and quality. The age of control was started. We began shipping 70 to 72-1/2, 80 and 85 effective with sizing 1/2" by 2", 1" by 3", and 2" by 5" with absolute control on the amount of fines. A material with no fines was a premium product. Incidentally it sold for $24.50 -60 effective up to $28.50, $29.50 for 80 effective.

Jan 1, 1978

By M. Oliverio

The Cigar Lake uranium deposit was discovered in 1981 at the south western end of Waterbury Lake, approximately 660 km north of Saskatoon in the province of Saskatchewan (see Figure 1). It is the largest undeveloped high grade uranium deposit in the world. It contains proven and probable reserves of more than 226 million pounds U3O8 at an average grade of 20.7%. The world average grade is less than 1% U3O8. [ ] The ore body is located about 450 m below surface at the interface between sandstone above and basement rock below (see Figure 2). The sandstone is fractured rock and saturated with water. This makes water inflow a real hazard at the mine. In fact there have already been two significant mine inflow events. The first of these occurred in October 2006 and resulted in the flooding of the mine. The second occurred in August, 2008 during mine recovery activities.

Jan 1, 2011

By Jr. Raleigh

As part vi the development of the Coal Quality Expert (CQRN) --a computer program capable of predicting the impacts of coal quality on power plant performance, costs, and emissions control--several nationally important coals are being characterized to augment the coal quality database associated with the software. The project is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) under the Clean coal Technology Program. Since 1989, CQ Inc. (a subsidiary of EPRI) has characterized seven bituminous coals from Alabama, Illinois, Kentucky and Oklahoma and six sub-bituminous coals from the Powder River Basin (PRB) in Montana and Wyoming. Coals from the PRB region--being burned more frequently in Midwestern and southern power plants to reduce emissions of sulfur oxide compounds--can sometimes contain significant concentrations of potentially toxic elements. Although no limits were imposed on air toxics emissions from fossil-fuel fired utilities by the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, future regulations may be implemented at the conclusion of Federally-mandated emissions studies. One possible result is that any increased utilization of coals, including those from the PRB, may depend on the potential for removing toxic trace elements prior to combustion.

Jan 1, 1993