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By L. A. Conley

This report, covering the period January through December 1976, contains abstracts of articles related to cost engineering and economics for chemical and petroleum plants, mining, and other mineral industries from the following periodicals: 1. Air Pollution Control Association Journal 2. Chemical Engineering 3. Chemical Engineering Journal 4. Chemtech 5. Coal Age 6. Coal Mining and Processing 7. Combustion 8. Drilling-DCW 9. Electrical World 10. Engineering and Mining Journal

Jan 1, 1977

By D. J. Steynfaard

Sishen Iron Ore Mine is situated 280 km north-west of Kimberley in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa. The mine produces and sells high quality iron ore of various specifications to various national and international clients. The saleable product is derived from the blending and beneficiation of different types and qualities of hematite iron ore. This paper documents the new developments which were implemented (or are in the process of being implemented) on the mine in the long-term planning, medium-term planning, grade control and material tracking in the beneficiation plant with special attention being paid to the quality of the final, saleable product. The process starts with the long-term planning where the pit shell and pit optimization is determined by Whittle 4X. New developments include the introduction of a linear programming based scheduling system to enhance the long-term schedule generated by Whittle 4X. The LP route was decided on in order to take into account all the constraining factors of the final product that could not be configured in Whittle. To complement this the XPAC Auto Scheduler scheduling package was introduced to do the medium-term mine scheduling. This 18-month rolling plan includes cost parameters to enable the planner to extract a detailed operational budget from the scheduling while ensuring that production standards are maintained and grade constraints are met. The existing grade control system was enhanced with GPS capabilities and a computer system to do material tracking. The high precision GPS system introduced on the shovels allows for the accurate control of the loading procedures at the mining face. Because of the complicated geology and grade composition of blasting blocks it is imperative to accurately differentiate between different materials in the same blasting block and being able to excavate that with the loading equipment. The GPS system on the trucks allows for accurate location monitoring of dumping in order to keep track of specific material types. The state-of-the-art material tracking system developed for Sishen will enable the grade control officer to keep track and record various parameters of the material from its in situ position in the blasting blocks, through the crusher and onto different stockpiles, in various stages of the beneficiation process and onto the blending beds, into the dispatching trains and eventually into the ships for international distribution. These developments elevate the Sishen planning and grade control systems to a new level of service excellence from which management can obtain accurate and timely information on product status. It also enables Sishen to maximize resource utilization while still complying with the tough market constraints.

Jan 1, 2003

By William Crowe Kellogg

By now the term AFMAG has been fairly well introduced to the mining industry. Several papers have been presented and published concerning AFMAG (references 1 and 2). However, the term AFMAG remains rather new to the industry, and the exact place which AFMAG occupies in the minerals exploration field is still somewhat uncertain in the minds of many who may have use for this new and interesting method of electromagnetic exploration for conductive minerals. It is the purpose of this paper to again review the basic theory of the AFMAG system, to describe and - illustrate the equipment and data presentation as used in aerial surveying, and to provide some idea of the cost and nature of airborne AFMAG surveys. This paper is primarily of a general descriptive nature and presents AFMAG theory in a schematic rather than mathematical form; emphasis is placed on the equipment, the present method of data presentation and survey operations, since it is believed that such, information will now generally best serve to inform the mining industry of the characteristics of the AFMAG system.

Jan 1, 1960

By A. C. Fieldner

This is the tenth annual report of research and technologic work conducted by the Bureau of Mines on the occurrence, properties, mining, preparation, and uses of coal and coal products. These annual reviews are guide's to the current work-and publications of the Bureau but do not replace the more complete reports published under the authorship of the individual investigators on specific problems in Bureau of Mines bulletins, technical papers, reports of investigations, and information circulars and in the technical press. The Annual Report of the Director of the Bureau of Mines to the Secretary of the Interior for the Fiscal Year ended June 30, 1945, summarizes the year's work on coal as follows: Coal and Coal Products The United States maintained its No. 1 industrial position in supplying fuel for war and in preparing for peace through more complete mining, improved preparation and up-grading of coal for special uses, and better utilization of coal in industrial establishments and homes.

Jan 1, 1946

By Secis R

Northparkes Mines is located 27 km northwest of Parkes in central west New South Wales. The E26 deposit is the largest of all defined to-date in the area, containing over 50 per cent of Northparkes' resources and reserves. The combination of orebody geometry and geotechnical characteristics provide ideal conditions for the block cave method of mining of the first lift of the E26 deposit. Although this method of underground mining has been used for decades in other countries, E26 is the first example of its use in Australia. Copper-gold mineralisation at Northparkes is related to quartz monzonite porphyries that have intruded coeval Ordovician volcanics. Sulphide mineralisation (dominantly bornite and chalcopyrite) occurs principally within quartz veins associated with the porphyry intrusions. Veining and mineralisation occurs within both the porphyries and volcanics. To optimise the recovery of a resource within a block cave mine, a good understanding of the rock mass and ore flow characteristics is essential. These have a significant effect on the fragmentation size and range and on parameters such as the drawzone spacing, height of interaction zone and dilution entry. As ore within a cave column moves and mixes when material is extracted from below and beside it, the total reserve extracted is unique for a particular draw strategy/production history. Until recently, reserve estimates and production schedules were based on the application of a uniform dilution factor to the tabulated resource. However, given the complicated flow and mixing within the cave column, such a simplistic approach can produce erroneous results. Northparkes Mines purchased and sponsored the upgrading of a commercially available software package specifically developed for modelling removal of resource blocks under caving conditions. This Gemcom software package, PC-BC, has been used for mine planning, reserve reporting and production scheduling. Blocks within it resource block model are converted into a mineable reserve taking into account mixing and dilution during depletion of drawcolumns (by horizontal and vertical redistribution of insitu tonnage and metal). As PC-BC gives individual drawpoint reserves, it can be used during the planning stage to determine whether or not a drawpoint is economic. For E26 Lift I an optimal layout containing 130 drawpoints has been developed based on a nominal 14 m x 14 m drawpoint spacing and a 0.8 per cent equivalent copper (eCu) cut-off grade. Annual production schedules for the depletion of material above this layout are based on: I higher tonnage removal from higher grade drawpoints in the early years of production; and 2 drawpoint production rates proportional to the total tonnage of orr remaining in the drawcolumn up to the optimal height of draw tier subsequent years. The reserve is tabulated from the combined annual production schedules over the life of the lift. The pre-mining reserve for Lift I of E26 is 26.6 Mt at 1.43 per cent copper and 0.39 g/t gold, of which approximately 23.4 Mt will be extracted under caving conditions. By scaling down the annual production schedule, weekly drawpoint tonnage calls can be given for short-tern production scheduling.

Jan 1, 1997

By H. O. Hofman

At the Lake Superior meeting, September, 1904, Messrs. A. Gibb and R. C. Philp presented a paper entitled " The Constitution of Mattes Produced in Copper-Smelting,"' in which they concluded that ferrous and cuprous sulphides formed the chemical compound, 5 Cu2S, FeS. They arrived at this inference from the observed fact that a matte containing Cu,S, 90.4, and FcS, 9.6 per cent. (or, in round figures, Cu2S, 90, and FeS, 10 per cent.), did not contain any metallic copper, while one with more than 10 per cent. of FeS readily dissolved copper, and with less than this amount retained copper in mechanical suspension. Although they determined the melting-points of five mattes containing from 32.6 to 80.1 per cent. of copper, they did not draw a freezing-point curve, as the necessary apparatus was not available. A microscopical examination of 11 polished samples gave them a grayish-black field of very uniform appearance, except that five of the specimens showed the presence of metallic copper. The object of the present investigation was to supplement the above paper by drawing the freezing-point curve of the ferrous sulphide-cuprous sulphide series, and to see how the constitution could be further revealed by microscopical work. The results obtained lead to conclusions very different from those of Gibb and Philp. While their paper bears the date 1904, it was published only in 1906.2 In the meantime, Bolles3 had presented his paper, " The Concentration of Gold and Silver in Iron-Bottoms." The raw material which formed the basis of the research was a matte containing Fe, 61.68, and Cu, 11.20

Jan 1, 1908

By W. L. Saunders

(Wilkes-Barre Meeting, June, 1911.) I. INTRODUCTION. IT is now generally admitted by experts that at least so far as rapid progress is concerned the Alpine system of tunnel-driving is superior to any other. This is perhaps natural in view of the record of experience in driving tunnels through the Alps. These great mountain-chains cannot be treated in the ordinary way by shaft-sinking and driving headings, thus multiplying the points of attack. The work must be done from the ends only, hence speed in driving is of the utmost importance; and, as necessity is the mother of invention, the concentration of effort to make progress has resulted in an organization and in mechanical appliances that have produced results so much in excess of the usual practice, even in America, that a discussion of the subject in detail should be of much value to the engineer and contractor. The first Alpine tunnel was the Mont Cenis, length 7.5 miles, driven with a progress that averaged about 7.75 ft. per day. Next came the Saint Gothard, 9.5 miles long, 18 ft. per day; Arlberg, 6.5 miles long, 27.25 ft. per day; Simplon, 12.25 miles long, 36 ft. per day. The figures represent progress when driving from two headings, so that by dividing them in two we get the daily single-heading progress. The latest of the Alpine tunnels is the Loetschberg, now being driven. In this work the world's record has been beaten by a single day's record in one heading of 36 ft. and by an average daily record in. one heading of 29.5 feet. The Alpine range forms a natural barrier between a large section of northern and southern Europe. This range extends from the southeast of France to the frontier of Hungary, between Italy and the plains of southern Germany. The contour

Jul 1, 1911

By Jean-Marie Fecteau

The gold mine sector is presently facing low gold prices as well as technological challenges. Its competitiveness and survival will depend on new mining methods and equipment to improve ore extraction. In 1999, Natural Resources Canada has invested new funds over a period of three years at CANMET?s Experimental Mine to establish the Narrow-Vein Mining Project. A team of engineers and researchers specialised in mining, mechanics and electronics engineering are working to meet the critical need of ore-extraction technology. CANMET?s program in mechanisation and automation for narrow vein mining had, prior to 1999, realised several important achievements, many in co-operation with a consortium of mining companies (Soredem). The investment of new funds in this area will contribute to develop technologies to improve the productivity, as well as health and safety conditions of the narrow vein mining industry. Several important impacts of this project will be monitored. Specifically, a database of methods and equipment used in narrow vein mining is being developed. A key thrust is to identify operators? needs with respect to the development and automation of mining methods and equipment. Based on those needs, research and development projects will be created. The main problems identified following meetings with mine operators are described with a few elements of solution and the Web site created for the broadcast of the results is presented.

Oct 1, 2001

By K. A. Stanley, N. A. Karl, D. R. Wilburn

"This summary of international mineral exploration activities for the year 2014 draws upon information from industry sources, published literature and specialists in the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Minerals Information Center. The summary provides data on exploration budgets by region and mineral commodity, identifies significant mineral discoveries and areas of mineral exploration, discusses government programs affecting the mineral exploration industry and presents analyses of exploration activities performed by the mineral industry.Three types of information are reported and analyzed in this annual review of international exploration: 1) budgetary statistics expressed in U.S. current dollars provided by SNL Metals & Mining (SNL) of Charlottesville, VA; 2) regional and site-specific exploration activities that took place in 2014 as compiled by the USGS and 3) regional events that affected exploration activities including economic, social and political conditions, which were derived from published sources and discussions with USGS and industry specialists. Commodity and regional compilations are presented in this summary. Because multiple sources are used to develop these compilations, statistics may differ depending on the source and type of data that are being reported.The SNL data summarize planned company budgets for worldwide exploration activities in 2014 for 19 nonfuel mineral commodities based on company surveys. Research focused on precious metals (gold, platinum-group metals and silver), base metals (cobalt, copper, lead, molybdenum, nickel, tin and zinc), bulk commodities (iron ore, phosphate and potash), and specialty mineral commodities (diamond, lithium, niobium, rare-earth elements, tantalum and uranium). Information on uranium exploration activities was included for the first time in 2007. Data on lithium, niobium, phosphate, potash, rare-earth elements and tantalum were compiled for the first time in 2010 because of their increased significance. Since 1999, companies with exploration budgets of $100,000 and greater were included in the SNL compilations. SNL budget estimates exclude bauxite, coal and oil and gas. Exploration budget estimates for iron ore have been compiled since 2011 but reported separately. The 2014 SNL company survey is reported by SNL to cover an estimated 95 percent of the world’s nonferrous, nonfuel mineral exploration budgets. The 5 percent that is not covered includes companies that chose not to participate in the SNL survey, private companies that do not publish their budget data, and government-funded exploration activities"

Jan 1, 2014

By Richard C. Moore

The U.S. Bureau of Mines contracted a study to review the air and water monitoring requirements of five Federal environmental acts (the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act) and to compile information on the currently available monitoring instruments. A literature review of the acts and their associated regulations was conducted to determine applicability to the mining industry as well as any air and water monitoring requirements. In addition, an industry search and literature review was performed to assess the instrumentation available to comply with the monitoring regulations. Based on this research, the instruments are classified by general applicability to air, surface water, or ground water monitoring, then catalogued by monitoring parameters. A discussion is provided on recommended and innovative monitoring techniques.

Jan 1, 1981

A symposium was held on January 30 and 31, 1973, at Pittsburgh, Pa., to review the state-of-the-art in designing and utilizing diesel-powered equipment in underground mining. The Health and Safety Activity of the Bureau of Mines sponsored the symposium with major assistance from the following four participating organizations: The American Mining Congress J. Allen Overton, President The United Mine Workers of America Arnold R. Miller, President The National Independent Coal Operator's Association Cloyd D. McDowell, President The Bituminous Coal Operators' Association, Inc. Guy Farmer, President Seventeen papers were presented during four half-day sessions devoted to the general subjects of the diesel engine, the place of the diesel in underground mining, health protection using diesels underground, and maintaining safety of diesels underground. Eleven of the speakers were from industrial organizations here and abroad; one represented the Provincial Government of Nova Scotia; two were with the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare; and three reported on Bureau of Mines work related to diesels.

Jan 1, 1975

By Daniel H. McClain

A unique partnership between the Colorado Mine Safety and Training Program (CMSTP), the Colorado Rock Products Association (CRPA) and the Higher Education and Advanced Technology (HEAT)Center resulted in a video CD-ROM training program for new miners entering the aggregate industry. Cooperation from everyone involved, including the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA),made this the product against which other training materials in the mining industry will be measured in the 21stcentury. This product’s versatility and wide application make it a tool that is as critical to a mine’s success as any earthmoving machine. The state and federal grant money involved allows this product to be affordable to small operators and independent contractors. The quality of this two CD-ROM set rivals any commercially made CD-ROM training.

Jan 1, 2003

By William O. Vanderburg

This paper gives the results of a reconnaissance of the mining districts of Mineral County, Nev., made during the month of June and the first 10 days in October 1936.3/ During the field work virtually all the mining districts in the county were visited and many data were obtained relative to active and inactive properties. The report covers the location of the various mining districts, nature of deposits, ownership, information on past and current activity, data on economic conditions, and general information likely to be useful to operators and investors and others interested in mining. The geology of the deposits is discussed only in a general way. For nearly three-quarters of a century mining tin Mineral County has been the principal if not the only industry of importance. At times it has reached a very low ebb, and at other times it has been attended by the wild excitement that usually accompanies valuable discoveries of precious metals.

Jan 1, 1937

By F. S. Young

Previous laboratory and field experimentation has demonstrated the effect of several variables on drilling rate.1-5 These results have been incorporated into optimization theories6-" for the purpose of reducing drilling cost. Minimum-cost drilling theories rely on a combination of historical data and empirical prediction techniques for selecting optimum bit weight and rotary speed. Past solutions have required extensive use of computing equipment because of both the complexity of the mathematical formulations and the large number of parameters involved. Field attempts to apply these computed results have frequently failed because of the uncertainty of input data requirements. Humble has developed an on-site computer system to control bit weight and rotary speed and thereby implement the concepts of minimum-cost drilling. This system can (1) perform short interval drilling rate tests for formation evaluation, (2) use the results of these tests as input information to solve minimum-cost drilling formulas, and (3) control bit weight and rotary speed in accordance with these computed solutions. The purpose of this paper is to describe the computer control system and present results of initial field testing. Theoretical Considerations Minimum-cost drilling (MCD) requires a quantitative evaluation of the variables involved. Several forms of a basic mathematical model have been sug-gested.'?,' "he relationships reported here form the basis for the solution programmed in this work. Four equations are used, expressing drilling rate, bit bearing wear, bit tooth wear, and cost. A solution for minimum-cost drilling assuming constant bit weight and rotary speed over the entire bit life has been programmed for use in computing MCD schedules. This solution is subject to certain limiting assumptions such as those discussed by Graham et a1.I2: 1. Drilling cost is the summation of bit cost, rotating cost, connection cost and hoisting cost. 2. Diamond bits are excluded. 3. Bit life is limited by either bearing failure or tooth wear, or by a combination of operational factors that make it cheaper to pull an incompletely consumed bit. 4. Circulating hydraulics are adequate and do not limit drilling rate. 5. Bit weight considerations exclude hole deviation. 6. Drilling rate is a function of only bit weight, rotary speed, and degree of tooth dullness; that is, the effects of pressure, lithology, fluid properties hydraulics and drill string dynamics are ignored. In equation form, the four MCD expressions are as follows:

Jan 1, 1970

Relatively few longwall mines in the U.S. operate under multiple seam conditions where the two seams are less than 200 ft apart. This paper describes the experience of six that do. These operations are located in PA, WV and UT, and include examples of both undermining and overmining. Some operate above or beneath their own workings, others are in historic mining districts and must contend with abandoned mines that are decades old. The lessons that these mines have learned cover a broad range of topics, including: • Whether to stack gateroads or place them under old gob areas; • How to size pillars and select artificial support to cross longwall stop lines; • How to use yield pillars to minimize multiple seam stresses and coal bump potential, and; • When to anticipate the creation of pathways for gas, water, or oxygen between current and abandoned gobs.

By J. R. Thoenen

The enormous and constantly increasing demand for limestone to supply a multitude of uses is a remarkable feature of the mineral industries. As approximately 130,000,000 tons of limestone are produced annually, it is not surprising that deposits at or near the surface are gradually being exhausted and that less advantageous supplies are being worked. Quarries are becoming deeper and wider year by year, and in many places the volume of overburden that must be removed to allow open-pit work has increased alarmingly. Quarrymen are also gradually learning how expensive it is to sort and clean stone from a deposit overlain by poor material. As such conditions confront the limestone industry, the natural tendency is to seek some modification in method whereby the handicaps of increasing cost may be met and overcome. Operators, some of them unwillingly, have been forced to conclude that underground work in drifts and tunnels is the most logical solution of the problem. The unwillingness of some is largely due to unfamiliarity with mining and to the unfounded fear that costs must increase and dangers multiply when mining is undertaken.

Jan 1, 1926

By J. W. Thompson

ESTATE IN MINERALS. Minerals beneath the surface may be made the subject of separate ownership either by a grant of the minerals by the owner of the land or by a grant of the land excepting the minerals, and thereby an estate in fee simple is created in the minerals, as corporeal things real. Colby, In re, Iowa, 169 Northwestern 443, p. 444. DEEDS EXCHANGING DIFFERENT MINERALS-RIGHTS OF PARTIES. The lands of two adjoining owners were underlaid with cement rock and clay at a depth of about 100 feet from the surface and with coal veins some 600 feet below the surface. By an exchange of deeds one of the land owners conveyed to the other the cement rock and clay with the right to mine and remove the same without entering upon the surface, but the deed contained no covenant not to injure the surface. The other deed conveyed the coal seam and so much of the rock and other minerals just above and below the coal as might be required in connection with the mining and removing of the coal, together with the right to mine and remove the same, and the adja- cent rock, clay, and other minerals, without entering upon or injuring the surface, with one immaterial exception. The deeds do not define the word "surface" and neither expressly nor by implication did they secure to the coal owner the right to subside the overlying cement rock; but the implication is to the contrary, as the deed gives the right to mine and remove coal without entering upon or injuring the surface. The provision that the coal owner should not enter upon or injure the surface amounts to a clause that the coal mine. shall not be worked so as to let down the surface and this does not create any inconsistency with the provision giving the right to mine and carry away the coal.

Jan 1, 1919

By David A. Monaghan

This report describes the results of a 2-year investigation of extensible face ventilation techniques and systems for use at the working face in underground coal mines. The goal was to provide a safe and convenient method of maintaining the extensible system within 10 feet of the face, thereby ensuring good ventilation. A summary of approximately 20 extensible ventilation systems proposed or tried in the past is included for reference, together with a detailed description of the design, construction, and underground testing of a new extensible brattice panel and a new fiberglass duct system. The extensible brattice system utilized a special panel which could be pushed forward as the miner advanced. Brief testing in three mines revealed some conflict with the mining cycle and led to recommendations for two improved designs. The extensible duct system was designed for a Goodman borer and utilized a telescoping tube on the left side of the roof, so that it could be extended without interfering with the miner operator. For mine sections with right-hand return ventilation, a special flat tube section is used to cross over the entry. Underground testing showed substantial improvement in face ventilation without interfering with production.

Jan 1, 1976

By Neo Molelekeng, Jocelyn Bouchard, Rebecca Monnapula, Martin Émond

"Xstrata Alloys – Eland Platinum concentrator (South Africa) has recently been commissioned and is now initiating a challenging optimisation program encompassing the entire operation. Process control improvements are key elements of the program and initial results have demonstrated how leveraging from current assets can bring significant improvements through overall reduction of variability. This paper gives a brief overview of the operations and details how Eland is striving to become a top tier leader with advanced regulatory control strategies recently implemented. Results reveal that what can be achieved in a standard control system (PLC or DCS) should not be underestimated as the first interventions led to a steadier operation of the primary ball mill circuit. Following the improvements, significant and sustained reductions of standard variation were observed for key process variables around their set-point: primary ball mill feed rate (72 %), rougher feed density (58 %), and rougher feed flow rate (47 %). A path forward has been identified to tackle further opportunities around the primary grinding circuit: water balance management, throughput optimisation as well as charge and power draw control.INTRODUCTIONThere are numerous approaches to mineral processing plant optimisation. As the benefits of determining the right reagent types, mix, dosage and addition points, or the proper charge of grinding media in a mill are fully appreciated, there is still nowadays some misunderstanding and misconceptions about process control in general and how it can contribute to the whole optimisation process. The confusion between the various disciplines involved, i.e. instrumentation, control system programming, automation and process control, certainly does not serve the best interest of the industry with this regard."

Jan 1, 2010

By D. D. Bell

This paper presents the history of uranium procurement and demand, and takes a look at future requirements. The three basic conclusions drawn are: (1) the productive capacity of former and existing producers whose operations may be profitably reactivated is insufficient to meet demand projected beyond 1975; (2) reserves in the $5 -$10 price range do not provide the flexibility to sustain production at the high rates required in the late 1970's; and (3) only higher prices can overcome these deficiencies, as this would provide sufficient inducement for the industry to explore for and develop new reserves and productive capacity.

Jan 1, 1967